Willow arrived at the inn a little past noon and guided them down to the docks. There were many boats of a variety of sizes. None of them got too much larger than a yacht, having to navigate the river. Most were built of wood, though one or two were metal-clad. Willow was not walking towards one of those. She was bound for one of the middle-sized fishing boats, its nets hung up on its sides. "Here we are."
The captain, a pony who reminded Applejack of Sonata, with visible gills and a somewhat fishy appearance waved them aboard as she smiled. "Welcome! I hear you're needing a lift to the rail line?"
Applejack lightly hopped between the dock and the boat. "That we are. Mighty fine ta make yer acquaintance, miss...?"
She held out a hoof to Applejack. "Captain Silvertail. Applejack was it? Willow's been talking about you and your fine wards. Rest easy, I'll get you all down safely."
Applejack met the hoof with a hoof in a clop. "That's a relief to hear."
The Crusaders spread out over the boat, looking at everything curiously. Sweetie approached Silvertail. "Excuse me, miss. What are you?"
Silvertail turned and looked down at the small white pony asking her this. "I'm a pony of course, same as you."
Sweetie pointed up at her horn. "I'm a unicorn. She's an earth pony," she pointed at Applejack. "And Scootaloo's a pegasus." Pointing at Scootaloo was a bit trickier with the pegasus flying from place to place in eager exploration.
Silvertail gave a patient smile. "Ah, what kind of pony, hm? They call me a sea pony, though I prefer rivers to seas. Before you ask, I don't breathe water despite the gills. Never got the hang of that. I sleep in a bed like anyone else. I swim well, at least."
Sweetie bobbled her head appreciatively. "Thank you! Sorry to bother you."
Silvertail shook her head. "You'd be surprised how often I hear that exact question, and many of them aren't as polite as you were." She turned back to Applejack. "Everyone aboard?"
Willow nodded from behind Applejack. "Everyone's here. We're ready to set sail."
Silvertail trotted off and began to ready the ship for departure. Applejack looked to Willow. "I don't see any other sailors. She the only one?"
Willow nodded. "This is her boat and she runs it by herself. When I told her about your journey, she volunteered. A good spirit, she's exactly what my mother talks about when she goes on about you ponies."
Applejack lifted a hoof to Willow's shoulder. "Yer a good po--person too. Just give yerself a chance."
Willow raised a brow. "I trust myself fine enough. It's everyone else that bothers me."
Applejack let Willow wander off and turned to face the children. "Attention! Everypony form up. That includes you, Sunflower." They quickly assembled in front of Applejack. "Now we're gonna sail down this river, and ah I want y'all on the boat, not in the water. Listen to what Silvertail tells ya and don't tarry near the edges, ya hear?"
They all gave a nod before scattering across the boat. Applejack nodded to no one and moved to find Willow. The mother-cat was perched on a barrel, looking out over the water pensively. As Applejack approached, the ground shuddered and the boat began to move, detached from the ground and the dock, it went with the flow of the water, carried swiftly away from the city. "Huh, Ah'm not used ta getting through a place without even a lick of trouble."
Willow chuckled at that. "What does it say about us that I agree with that thought?"
Applejack sat on her haunches beside Willow. "That we're both all-too-used ta keeping an eye on troublesome little ones?"
Willow nodded. "I'll drink to that." She tapped the barrel she was resting on. "Speaking of which..."
Applejack lowered her gaze to the barrel. "There's cider in there?"
"You do like cider." Willow chuckled softly. "But no, a different kind of drink. It belongs to Silvertail, but she said she'd share with us if we shared stories in kind, over dinner."
Applejack smiled. "Something ta look forward ta then. Ah did mean what ah said though. That wall ya built around yerself ain't doing ya any favors."
Willow frowned at Applejack's prying. "I am here to pay back my debt, not be analyzed."
Applejack took off her hat and held it to her chest. "Ah ain't trying ta be a bother, but..."
Willow's expression hardened a moment before she let out a sigh and reached out a paw, tapping Applejack on her nose. "You've got a good heart, now stop talking please."
Applejack set her hat back on her head. "If that's what ya want, but if ya want ta talk, 'bout anything at all, ah'm here." Applejack walked back to the front of the boat and settled down, watching the water pass by peacefully. Her solitude was broken by another equine form settling beside her. A glance revealed Silvertail had joined her. "Huh? Don't ya have ta pilot the ship?"
Silvertail waved waved a blue hoof. "We're safe for at least an hour before my touch is required. Quiet morning, not another boat in sight. So, not from around here, huh?"
Applejack shook her head. "We're from about as far away as ah figure ya could be."
Her brow furrowed. "That's a curious way of putting it. How far are we talking?"
Applejack gestured vaguely into the distance. "It's a mite hard ta explain. Ah really ain't sure how far it is, physical like. We kinda got here with magic. Whole 'nother world ah reckon."
Silvertail poked Applejack in the shoulder. "You look awfully normal for being from another world. You speak mighty fine Common on top of that."
Applejack looked befuddled. "Well, we did go and change when we got here. We used ta look a bit different, but ah didn't change languages? Common's a language Ah'm guessing?" Silvertail nodded. "Yeah, didn't change how ah talked so far ah know."
Silvertail rose to her hooves. "The Author works in mysterious ways. Did she make us in your image, or you in ours? I couldn't say." She trotted off towards the steering wheel with a jaunty little whistle on the way.
Apple Bloom rushed up to Applejack with a big grin. "We're on a boat!"
Applejack sat up and nodded at her. "That we are. Huh, is this yer first one?"
Apple Bloom bobbed her head quickly. "A boat, a real one, not that raft we made!" She spread her hooves wide with obvious excitement. "We're goin' so fast too!" She pointed to the shore that sailed past at a good pace. "We shoulda took a boat straight ta Viljatown."
Applejack shook her head a little, "Don't think that's possible. Ain't no river going from one place to tha other, and Murrage's plum center in a desert. No boats."
Apple Bloom stuck out her tongue. "Another mark against cat city." She turned and fled, calling out to the other Crusaders. She found them all gathered at the back of the boat. "Whatcha'll doin'?"
Scootaloo pointed at Sunflower. "He's fishing."
Resting in Sunflower's agile paws was a long fishing rod, line dragging out behind the boat. Apple Bloom approached curiously. "Ya know how ta fish?"
Sunflower shook his head. "Nope, but I can try! Silvertail let me borrow her fishing rod."
Sweetie pointed at the rod. "I think something's happening?"
Sunflower looked up and squeaked, starting to reel in the line quietly. "I didn't even notice it!"
Scootaloo cheered loudly. "Pull harder! You can get it!" The rod was bending dangerously as Sunflower struggled with it, dragging him back several inches despite his best efforts. Apple Bloom rushed up and threw herself in front of Sunflower, halting his slide. Scootaloo rushed around behind Sunflower and grabbed him at the shoulders, pulling him back.
The struggle against the fish turned into a group activity. Sweetie began a quick song of the water, encouraging them with her melody as they pulled and heaved. With a mighty tug, something came free of the water and arced over the boat before landing in front of Silvertail.
She whistled sharply. "Mighty fine marlin you caught there!" She brought down a hoof in a solid stomp, beating the life out of the flopping fish without hesitation. "I'll have that cooked up for tonight as soon as we set anchor, unless one of you little ones knows how to prepare a fish?"
None of them did, and they all shrugged helplessly. "Don't worry about it. Just take it below decks and find the cold room, leave it there so it'll be fresh for later."
They gathered around the fish and looked it over, with its great fins and sword-like nose. Sunflower grabbed it towards its slippery tail. "Give a hand?"
The ponies held up their hooves, having no hands to lend. Sweetie Bell's horn glowed softly as she helped lift the front with her horn, and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo rushed in underneath it to help carry it along. With all four working together, the fish wasn't hard to get down the stairs. They found the cold room, packed with ice as it was. They tossed the fish aside and slammed the door closed.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were in agreement. "We smell like fish."
Sweetie Belle waved a hoof at them and gave a musical tone. The fish funk vanished from them, and Sunflower's paws a moment later. "All fixed. Do we really have to eat fish though?"
Apple Bloom stuck out her tongue. "Yuck, ah mean, it was alive, right?"
Sunflower wobbled a paw. "Plants were alive too, and I don't see you crying about that."
Scootaloo crossed her forelegs. "It's not the same! I never saw a tree run for its life or grass cry when it was cut."
Silvertail poked her head in. "You found the cold room, good, come on back up." Then she was gone. They emerged back onto the deck, still having their argument.
Sunflower waved at the plants on either side of the river. "Just because you can't hear them doesn't mean they like being eaten."
Willow perked an ear at them. "Hmmm? What's this about?"
Scootaloo pointed at Sunflower. "He's saying eating plants is the same as eating an animal. Ugh, eating something with a face..."
Willow shrugged softly. "Life is a struggle, for plant or animal. We should be thankful to them, of either kind, for yielding their life to sate our hunger. You belittle the plants that have died for you, just as surely as any animal."
Apple Bloom frowned. "But... we don't kill apple trees ta get apples, right?"
Sweetie bobbed her head. "That's true. We don't have to kill most plants, just take a little bit of them, and they grow back. And we take care of them and help them grow. It's a trade."
Willow wobbled a paw. "Any apple could become a new apple tree, but instead ends up in your bellies. True, not every apple would have sprouted, but we don't know which is which. A small price, a trade, as you say."
Food for thought, or thought of food.
Three Fillies on a boat?
nope, cant think of anything going wrong here.
What you really need is a plant which has excelent fruit, and whose seeds need the physical and chemical processing of dgestion in order to be able to sprout. Then you cant complain. the tricky thing is is trying to find an animal thats similar. Aldebran cows (?) dont count.
5984487
No, three fillies, one kitten, and alchemy supplies aplenty.
There's nothing that could possibly go wrong. Nope.
5984487 5984584 Just hope no one rolls a nat20 on fishing.
i.imgur.com/EXlnHi3.jpg
5984641
And sometimes, a natural 20 on fishing get you a natural 20 on Animal Husbandry, giving you a badass new friend.
I'm on a boat motherbucker take a look at me
Straight flowin on a boat on the deep blue sea
Bustin five knots, wind whippin out my coat
You can't stop me motherbucker cause I'm on a boat
Take a picture, trick. I'm on a boat, bitch
We drinking Santana champ, cause it's so crisp
I got my swim trunks, and my flippie-floppies
I'm flippin burgers, you at Kinko's straight flippin copies
(I'm a really bad pony)
Yes, Authors tend to do that.
Damn Willow, that's deep.
5984831 The only thing that makes that far from a foregone conclusion is that a large part of Scootaloo's identity is the CMC. The idea of a life separated from her friends is a terribly dark place that she isn't sure she wants to be in. What's the point of being awesome if your friends aren't there to share the awesome with you?
It is notable to me because it's a problem her mentor has faced before. Rainbow is also a very sad pony when she has to be awesome alone. She's awesome to get friends, and to be with friends. They are both powered by the admiration of their peers, and the girls are her peers. The Everglow ponies are not 'her' ponies. They don't 'get' her, so far.
Can she face a world where she is a stranger to keep that adventure?
...Except ponies don't eat the seeds. (At least, they shouldn't.) The comparison works for some vegetable products, grain especially, but not with most fruit.
Shaky philosophy aside, a nice chapter. The party's well on the way in the next leg of their journey, and different viewpoints are being shared constructively. Now, let's just hope the inevitable random encounters don't mess up the boat too much.
Speaking of, typos to port:
Missing "who"
Fine. Also, "Common" should probably be capitalized.
5985272 Philosophy is boring if it's obviously right or wrong. Typos executed and harvested for delicious XP.
Change that second period to a comma.
Er, what? Doesn't this take place after the events of Pinkie Apple Pie, which included a boating sequence?
It's "sword-like" nose.
5985377 All fixed up.
5985397 The plot proceeds forward, once again with a surprising lack of side treks, much to the characters' relief. While I'm pretty sure that there'll be more antics that crop up between them and Viljatown, they're very close now, to the point where they might want to start considering their next move once they arrive in the city.
Beyond that, this was a surprisingly light chapter, as most of it was spent with the party getting used to their new surroundings. One thing that I did like was the conversation between Applejack and Willow; it was insightful, albeit somewhat overdue, for someone to point out (and really, only another adult - who can be viewed as her peer - could say that) how reserved she is. In truth, this is something that's only ever been hinted at, rather than ever being fully explored in the context of this fic. While we know that her boyfriend walked out on her after getting her pregnant, the ponies haven't heard that tale. Moreover, that doesn't seem like the heart of her conflict, though it's certainly a contributing part.
Rather, I'm still of the opinion that Willow is caught between cultures. She seems like she used to believe in the amoral acquisitiveness of the purrsians that we saw in Murrage (something doubtlessly abetted by how easily Sunflower's father left her), but is now struggling to come around to the pony way of thinking. To put it another way, she's still acting like she can't bring herself to believe in the selfless altruism that the ponies so readily express. When you're afraid that getting close to someone will get you hurt, then it's usually hard to become friends with them. Applejack did the right thing in making herself available without being pushy about it - you can't force someone else to open up to you, all you can do is offer to be there if they want to. Hopefully Willow will choose to open her heart to her friends, after she realizes that they are her friends, in the near future.
The bit about the children arguing over the philosophy of being a vegetarian was amusing, mostly for how simplistic it was. There are myriad factors to take into account with the killing and eating of animals versus plants, and even Willow's contributions were rather basic. There's a reason why philosophy is considered a science.
Silvertail is a character with surprising depth to her. While she just made her debut here, she feels like a very fleshed-out character, thanks not only to how she's interacting with the group, but with lots of other little details that pop up regarding her, such as her being willing to trade alcohol for a good story, something that seems very true to the nature of a life that's normally spent alone at sea (or at river, as it were).
5985456 I hadn't thought of keeping Silvertail on, but now I reconsider, though the party's already kinda big as it is.
The thought of her running into Sonata is too rich to give up easily now that I've thought of it, I confess.
"You replaced me?!"
You can't make this stuff up.
I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, it came out fun to write. It would have been out of character for any of the folks involved to produce a heavy philosophical chat. It was an idle exchanging of views between people. It was honest and without scorn, as these exchanges ideally should always be(yet fail to be often). Their fishing was also amusing. Poor Sunflower, your survival score sucks. Good thing you have lots of friends to help out.
5985472 Well, Silvertail is a character that's very well-defined, but that's purely in terms of her portrayal. Keeping her on past the river would be something else again, and would depend on how you can answer the questions of "Can I find a plausible reason to keep her with the party?" and "What does she bring to the story?"
For the first question, finding an answer isn't very hard. Would it really be that unlikely that she's headed to Viljatown also on some business, and decided to throw in with the party? After all, she clearly wants somepony to talk to, and they're headed that way anyway, so why not? As for the second question, well, your answer about Sonata certainly is a good start.
I actually wasn't going to bring this up until they got closer to the city, but the chances that they'll run into Sonata seem likely, perhaps even very likely. I strongly suspect they'd seek her out, or at least gravitate to where Applejack remembers staying (e.g. the Drowsy Mare). After all, the last Applejack saw of her, Sonata was angrily marching off to go fulfill her community service. Likewise, the last thing Sonata recalls of her is being abandoned by the group...Lex notwithstanding.
And that brings up the proverbial elephant in the room. Where Sonata is, Lex will be close by...and reintroducing him will bring up some issues, since the last that Applejack saw, he was declaring his intent to overthrow the princesses; likewise, he'll remember her as being one of the ponies that was fighting against him. It won't be the happiest of reunions. There's also the fact that Sunflower and Willow are there as well...I suspect that Lex won't know what to make of them, since he rescued them before, and he would be prone to wondering if doing so means that he has any lingering responsibility towards them now.
Similarly, I've always thought that Sunflower had a crush on Sonata before, the way he kept nuzzling up to her when they were together. Likewise, Willow's reaction to seeing them again would be interesting, since they were the pair that rescued her and her son, and Lex in particular kept them safe, often at expense to himself. (That time when Willow calmed down the panicking ponies that thought he was an evil cleric always made me wonder if she was just being pragmatic, or if she was sticking up for him.) That was the act of selflessness that, I strongly suspect, made her question everything she thought she knew about how other people acted. It was a major act of altruism, one that she repaid with...a few measly platinum coins.
aww yes philosophy may bread typos! but it also breads a much better story at the same time.
good work David Silver.
Harts Fire
well, at
bother you
"Huh, Ah'm not used ta getting through a place without even a lick of trouble."
any favors or a bit of a favor
Don't ya
I could
They tossed the fish inside and slammed the door closed.
This argument is stupid; the cats don't have a leg to stand on. The reason that fruit trees make fruit is specifically to entice animals to eat the seeds and carry them somewhere else in the their digestive tracts. That is how they spread their seeds around so they don't crowd themselves. If you don't believe me, ask Fluttershy.
5995202 Typos ground up to make fertilizer for apple trees.
I believe that should be "a mite" as in "a little bit".
6465434 Huh, first typo? I did better here.
Heh, marlin are deep sea fish, not in rivers
6921847 You attempt to convince the marlin of this, but he continues his attack despite your insistence on his misplacement.
6921847 If a strange sea pony can prefer rivers, so can a strange sea fish.