The Swallow shot along on the swift stream. Dry arid scrub and rock-strewn banks stretched before the travelers on both sides.

Burble the watervole sang nonsense songs to keep his companions entertained.

"A watervole grows like an ould bullrush stalk,

An' learns to swim afore he can walk,

Just give 'im a paddle an' lend 'im a boat,

There's nought as nice as a vole wot's afloat.

Go ruggle yore tookle an' rowgle yer blot,

Come floogle yore wattle an' pickle yer swot!"

Sitting on the prow of the boat, Rainbow Dash interrupted him mid-stanza. "Great seasons, lookit the size o' those rocks ahead!"

They looked in the direction she was pointing. Two enormous rock pinnacles, their tops thick with vegetation, reared out of the water farther downstream like primitive sentinels. What lay beyond them was lost in a haze of mist formed by water spray shooting high as the stream divided three ways along the rock bases.

"Bring her in to the side!" Twilight shouted. "Find somewhere we can stop. Quickly!"

Burble jerked the steering wheel, making a sharp turn and bringing the boat over to the bank. Apple Bloom tied a loop in the end of a rope that was in the boat and lassoed a nearby tree, anchoring the boat in place.

"That was some quick roping, Apple Bloom!" Song was impressed.

Apple Bloom smiled modestly. "Well, ya learn a lot when ya have Applejack as yore big sister."

"What do we do now?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Twilight said, "I guess we'll have a bite to eat first. Then we'll follow these ledges downstream an' see where the current leads."

Song and Joshy went into the galley.

"We don't have anything to eat," said Song. "We ate the last of Burble's provisions for breakfast."

Joshy Stag Hare winked. "That's where I come in, wot wot! Fried chicken!"

And a whole bunch of fried chicken magically appeared on the kitchen table.

"How did you do that?" Song asked in wonderment.

"That's one of me special talents, m'dear."

"Wait, is this meat? I'm a vegetarian."

"It's just synthetic meat," Joshy assured her. "It only tastes like chicken."

They brought the food out to the deck and passed it out to their friends. When everybeast had finished eating, they all left the Swallow and set off to explore downstream. The grandeur of the scenery was awesome: hurtling water, towering stone and spray forever cascading through curtains of mist, over which a rainbow arched like a massive colored bridge.

Only Rainbow Dash was unimpressed. "Pssh, I could make a better rainbow than that."

"Does all this look familiar to you?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," said Rainbow, "But when I went this way before, I was riding with the Guosim shrews. They have those little logboats, so they had no trouble sailing around the rocks. But with a great big boat like this it's going to be more difficult. We'll have to find a place where the water's smoother and carry the boat over to there."

Twilight looked at Joshy. "Do you know how to magically levitate things?"

The hare nodded. "Aye, I have some experience of that. I think the two of us together could manage to lift it."

Scootaloo pointed at a bird pacing up and down the opposite bank. "Look at the size of that fella! What kinda bird is that?"

Burble had spent his life around waterways. Though he had only ever seen this species once before, it was unforgettable. "That's a fishin' eagle. 'Tis called an osprey!"

The bird too had a white crown of plumage, and its underparts too were snowy white. A mask, dark brown, almost black, stretched across its savage golden eyes, spreading back over shoulders and wings; it had a heavy hooked beak and fearsome talons. Silently they watched it prowling the bank. It struck once, but came back without any catch. Ocellus was puzzled. "Aren't they supposed to fly and swoop down on the fish?"

"Yeah, that's what they usually do," said Rainbow Dash. "But look!"

The eagle struck the water again, but could not catch the fish it was chasing. It gave a shriek of temper and charged awkwardly into the water, one wing flapping to retain its balance. Rainbow nodded knowingly. "It can't fly, see, keeps one wing close to its side. Musta been injured at some time."

Song was full of sympathy. "Oh, the poor bird. Imagine having wings and not being able to use them!"

"Yeah," said Scootaloo sarcastically. "I can't imagine that at all." Although she was a Pegasus, she couldn't fly either.

Burble chuckled as he saw a brown trout leaping and squirming in the shallows as the osprey chased it. "Pore bird? What about the pore fish? Mind though, that trout's leadin' the eagle a merry dance! Mebbe it'll escape!

As he spoke, the trout gave a mighty leap and made it to deep water. The osprey was almost out of its depth. Squawking angrily, it stumbled and was swept into the wild lashing deeps.

Joshy put a paw over his eyes. "That bird's a goner, wot!"

"Not if I can help it." Rainbow Dash flew into the air. "I'm goin' after him!"

"Wait," said Twilight. "I don't know if that's a good idea!"

But Rainbow Dash had already plunged into the roaring melee of waters.