Chapter II: "Stormbringer"

“But she did it again! Father, you can’t let this keep happening!”

“Firstly, she didn’t mean to do anything. We all make mistakes; the harbor can be repaired. And what exactly would you suggest I do? For Celestia's sake, she's your sister. Miasma, I respect your opinions, stubborn though they may be, but this is out of my hooves.”

The white earth pony shook her head and snorted in disgust before turning and trudging out of the throne room. Her frustration had been simmering for months. Anypony could see that something had to be done, but not one good idea had been put forth by either the King or any of his subjects.

Stargazer had first noticed the strange occurrences a few months after he had adopted the young pegasus as his own. Starstruck was…different. Ever since that stormy night during which the filly had mysteriously appeared on their shore, Stargazer had felt something strange whenever he was near the pegasus. It wasn’t just her demeanor, or even her now-famous golden eyes. It was…an energy. As the filly had grown into a young mare, unusual things had started happening around her, particularly at sea. Her first voyage aboard one of the royal ships had lasted only a day before she fell seasick. That, however, was hardly a reason to abandon the expedition; within minutes, a waterspout had formed near, and nearly sunk, the triple-masted sailing vessel. Nopony could remember the last time one of the oceanic twisters had been seen in Atlantica.

The second time Starstruck ventured out onto the ocean, everything had been fine until the second week of the trip. Early one morning, Fogdiver had noticed the young mare crying out in her sleep, presumably experiencing nightmares. Before he could wake her, shouts were echoing across the deck that a rogue wave had appeared on the horizon and was rushing towards the helpless ship. Ponies had begun to panic as the wall of water neared the frigate. As the crew was preparing to launch the lifeboats, Fogdiver had raced to wake the King’s eldest daughter in order to escort her personally. No sooner had he shaken the wailing pegasus awake than everypony had suddenly gone quiet above deck. Fogdiver returned to the helm to find that the towering wave had disappeared without a trace. The ocean’s surface was as smooth as glass, reflecting only the awestruck faces of the ponies who now stared over the bulwarks trying to comprehend what had just happened. Fogdiver had bitten himself to make sure it wasn’t a dream. No wave. Not even a ripple.

Of course, Starstruck remembered none of it, having soon arrived topside to a beautiful sunrise and placid sea. The rest of the trip had been relatively uneventful – not that there was likely to be any news more intriguing to the community than the King’s daughter ostensibly creating a natural disaster by dreaming. It seemed so far-fetched, the notion that anypony not named Celestia could be responsible for such an event. The residents of Atlantica knew well the stories of the distant region of Equestria – the Land of the Sun Princess, as it was sometimes called. Of course, Starstruck was extremely deferential when asked by the locals about the experience; the idea that she was capable of such power was terrifying, particularly since she could neither control nor explain any of the events in question. As a result, Starstruck was effectively barred from oceanic travel for fear that she would, indeed, be putting lives at risk. Before long, the tidal wave incident had earned her a nickname amongst the ponies in Atlantica:

Stormbringer.

It was not a fond moniker. Despite her reserved and polite demeanor, Starstruck was seen as an enigma by the community. Between her supernatural reputation and shocking eyes, ponies seemed to be both morbidly curious and extremely tentative when actually in her presence. It was a nice feeling to command such respect, but the accompanying fear that she sensed was even more hurtful. She told herself that the latter would pass as she became more familiar with the rest of Atlantica’s citizens.

All of this had not gone unnoticed by Miasma. The younger earth pony had grown up both overshadowed by her father and anonymous in comparison to her adopted sister. As Stargazer’s heir, Miasma felt that she deserved to be the daughter everypony was talking about, not her sister. Her, ahem, “sister.” At this point, it didn’t even make a difference what people were saying – providing it wasn’t too too bad – as long as they were, in fact, saying something about her. Any press is good press, after all. It was maddening, the way that Starstruck, among the most introverted and shy ponies in all of Atlantica Seaport, had become a veritable celebrity in the three years since her arrival. Yes, Starstruck may have already been a young filly at the time Miasma was born, but that’s no excuse. A pony was already physically mature by age three, so a two-year age advantage was of little consequence by now.

“Mye? Are you okay?”

Starstruck watched her sister with a concerned look from the half-open door. Miasma realized that during her internal monologue she had begun talking out loud. You foal.

“Yes, I’m quite alright, thank you. And for heaven’s sake, please knock before you come barging into my room! It’s my room for a reason.” Miasma bit her lip upon hearing herself deliver the words more harshly than she had meant to. Then how did I mean it?

“My apologies, sister. It’s just…I heard you talking to somepony and didn’t remember anypony else being in here. My mistake.” The lavender mare shrunk away from the door, closing it with a sharp click.

Starstruck’s shy mannerisms disgusted her sister. It was such a tedious business, attempting a conversation with the withdrawn pegasus. All the attention the perpetual Talk Of the Town had endured was turning her into a veritable recluse. And Miasma couldn’t for the life of her figure out what her sister was thinking at any given moment. Maybe her sister was just generally incapable of thinking.

The white pony’s lips curled into a smirk. She couldn’t help but chuckle at that last thought.

**********

This was not how she had imagined it.

Starstruck clung to her bench cushion as the bow of the ketch Dragonera fell repeatedly against the black ocean swells. It was like the sea had simply devoured the light from the sky without bothering to be lit by it. Taking a vacation? Great idea. Going on an adventure? Yeah, that sounds like fun. Holding on for dear life while being pounded by a hurricane miles from shore? Not her idea of a relaxing getaway.

“The water’s breaking over the bow! Star, throw down the front hatch!”

Her father kept his steely gaze upon the ship’s compass as he hollered over the storm. Without the stars or landmarks, there was no other way to navigate than by the glowing etched disk. The middle-aged pegasus strained against the wind, trying to keep his vessel pointing straight into the waves that threatened to swamp the ship with one false calculation.

The filly remained glued to her seat, too terrified to venture out across the deck. A flash of light raced across the sky, revealing a snapshot of boiling grey clouds and menacing cliffs of water in all directions. Starstruck heard her father plead for her to help as another wall of water crashed over the forward gunwales. Tears brimmed in the filly’s eyes as she fought to control her emotions. This is so wrong.

Lightning crackled in the heavens over them again. Starstruck looked skyward just in time to see an enormous shadow outlined against the swirling clouds. It looked almost serpentine, arching between two mountains of water. She turned her attention back to her father, still struggling in vain to keep the wheel centered. Horizontal rain and surging sea water melded in mid air, splashing against Starstruck’s face and burning her eyes. Gritting her teeth, the filly finally released her grip and threw herself across the wooden planks towards the open hatch. She slid hard into the main mast, desperately wrapping her forehooves around it as the bow plunged into another dark canyon. The mast groaned in protest as the ship lurched forward.

CRRRUNCH!

There was no light this time. The sound she had heard was not thunder. Starstruck opened her eyes as a long black shadow come hurtling towards her and winced in pain as a line snapped against her flank. She screamed as the tree-sized mizzen mast slammed into and continued through the deck next to her. Seawater flooded through the gash, shattered wood floating past the filly’s legs. The icy froth was becoming deeper by the second. She gave the open hatch one more look.

“Forget it, Star! She’s going down!”

Her father’s voice faded away in the swirling wind and rain. The port railing slid underwater as Dragonera finally gave in. Water flooded into the cabin as the masthead light fell steadily closer to the black waves. Starstruck found herself treading water as she cried out for her father. There was no response. Lighting crawled between the clouds like an electric spider web, and the filly could have sworn that she heard it roar.

The ship's bowsprit finally slipped beneath the waves. Starstruck floundered in the icy water, searching for something to hold onto. All around her was splintered wood and the remains of her belongings as they bobbed to the surface. She felt something grab her from behind.

“Star, you made it out! Thank heavens…” Her father spun her around and pulled her into a desperate embrace. She knew he would never let go of her. “Take this!”

The filly was momentarily blinded as the larger pegasus pushed a foam ring over her head. She threw her front hooves through the hole and gasped for air as she was tossed about by the swells. Where did he go? She strained to see in the broken moonlight, but only fleeting shadows presented themselves. At least she could stay on the surface now. The shivering pony looked down into the inky blackness that she dangled so precariously in.

CRACK!

A flash of light briefly illuminated the water around her, shades of dark blue fading to black once again. Something huge exploded from the water in front of her. It looked for all the world like a fin, shiny black skin stretched between towering spines. It continued rising as a black mass followed it out of the water. The pony froze as she stared up at a wall of scales the color of a ship’s iron anchor. A brilliant flash cast light across the ocean’s roiling surface. The next image stuck with her.

Nothing. Just endless hills of dark water. Was her mind playing tricks on her? Where was her father? Did anypony know they were in danger? The young pegasus began sobbing into her forehooves. Was she crying? Did it matter? The filly screamed into the night around her, but her voice was carried away before reaching her ears. This is it.

**********

“NO!”

Starstruck awoke to her own cry. Her eyes snapped open but saw nothing in the darkness. She was in her own bed. Breathing slowly to calm her frayed nerves, she rolled out from beneath the down blankets and paced across the room. Shaking away nausea, the mare pushed open the window of her room that looked out over the ocean. The sun was just peeking above the horizon. It was eerily quiet.

Then she noticed the seaport. Everywhere she looked, ponies were rushing down to the water’s edge. There were broken pylons floating between the pieces of crushed dock. There were sailboats on their sides, dinghies stranded on the dock, cutters teetering on their cracked keels in the surf. Pools of seawater remained trapped several feet above the tideline. An ambulance cart carried two earth ponies away from the wreckage. It was a disaster scene. This was not the first time Starstruck had woken to such a sight, but never had there been such devastation. It had been a couple vessels off their moorings, or a flooded boathouse. This was a disaster. Ponies had been hurt.

Starstruck squeezed her eyes shut and turned away from the awful scene. She felt sick to her stomach. She hadn’t meant to do it. But she had. She gave up and fell to her haunches. The tears came easily now. She hated what she had done. She hated whatever forces beyond her control caused it. But what was there she could she do?

Across the room, her door remained cracked open. The white mare with black socks silently watched her sister weep in frustration and anger. A satisfied grin crept onto Miasma’s face as she considered just how little she envied the pony they called Stormbringer.