Lost at Sea
Chapter 2: Lost at Sea
Admiral Biscuit
Aurora always stayed out until last, in order to make sure that all her team had gotten to shore safely. Keeping track after a big storm when other shifts and reserve ponies and the auxiliary got called out was especially difficult, especially if stragglers had arrived after the storm had started. That was why she tried to put her own eyes on everypony who flew out, and why everypony knew to stick with their wingmare.
Neither Cloud Climber nor Star Catcher had flown to shore.
They might not have heard the signal. The storm was already many leagues north of Chonamare, and they’d been at the very front of the storm.
Aurora wasn't looking forward to flying all the way to the front and then around to tell them the fight was over—but that inconvenience was better than losing a pair of weathermares.
She turned to Monarch. “Go back to the tavern and make sure that nopony drinks too much. If I don't come back with Cloud Climber and Star Catcher, we're gonna have to do a search. Get everypony ready to go and send somepony—send a couple ponies—down to the fishing docks to tell the sailors.”
Monarch nodded and rocketed off towards town. She knew as well as anypony how the weather teams got after they'd successfully fought off a big storm. As often as not, it was the sailors or townsponies who were buying the celebratory drinks. She wasn't looking forward to telling them that the celebration was over, at least until their wayward companions were found.
As she got close, she realized that she needn't have worried. A few pegasi were still circling around above the tavern, looking out towards the ocean. Of course they know not everypony's come back. They know who was on duty with us.
Inside, nopony was eating or drinking. Conversations were quiet, and as soon as she opened the door, every ear turned to her.
“Cloud Climber and Star Catcher aren't back yet,” she announced, although of course everypony in the tavern had already figured that out. “Aurora is flying around to the front of the storm and hopefully they just didn't hear the horn over all the noise.”
“We ought to search.” Twinkle Bloom said.
“We're gonna, as soon as we find out if they're really gone or if they just didn't hear the horn.” Monarch flicked her tail—Aurora hadn't said to get a search party in the air right away, but it wouldn't hurt. “I need a dozen volunteers who'll go back alongside the storm to look. And a couple of ponies to fly down to the docks to tell the sailorponies to be looking, too, as soon as they can put back out to sea.
“But we shouldn't fly off right away. If everypony's flying around looking on her own, it's only gonna be worse.”
Assembling a search team was no trouble at all; every pegasus in the pub volunteered. She quickly picked the oldest and most experienced, and had them out the door before Star Catcher landed alone.
“She was right behind me,” Star Catcher said. “That's what I told Aurora. We'd gotten separated by the big cumulonimbus cloud on the front of the storm, and I was worried about her, 'cause the storm was so wild. After the horn call, I saw her coming under the cloud, and then she got hit by a bunch of rain and hail and when it cleared off, she wasn't there any more. I didn't see her in the water, either.
“I knew that somepony was gonna come looking for us, so I kept circling around where I was, and I was calling for her and I kept an eye towards the ocean hoping that I could find her. And then when Aurora came, I told her what had happened, and now she's circling and holding position.”
Monarch nodded. “Get inside and eat some stew. You're almost done in.”
“Not until we find her!” Star slammed her hoof on the floor. “I can’t—“
“You’re right.” It wasn’t what Monarch wanted, and she was sure Aurora would be mad, too. If it was Aurora lost in the storm, I’d be going after her.
Besides, if she said no, like as not Star would fly off anyway.
“Twinkle, you get some food together. If you can’t get it on one of the fishing boats that’s going out to search, have a couple of pegasi knock together a cloud and tow it out. Star, you know the way. Let’s get the search team over the water.”
With star at the lead, the rescue brigade emptied out of the tavern and took to the sky again, quickly climbing above Chonamare as they headed back to sea.
As they flew over the harbor, they looked down to see Captain Disko raising her sails. Harbor ponies were quickly throwing off the spring lines and shoving the boat back from the dock.
The Merry Ambree wasn't the only one making ready to leave, either. Three of the other fishing boats were hubs of activity as their crews prepared to put out to sea on a rescue mission, even though the tail of the storm was still raging outside the harbor and waves were crashing over the breakwall.
• • •
The pegasi searched the sea and sky until nightfall, and the fishing boats patrolled throughout the night with lanterns blazing high atop their masts, but nopony found Cloud. It was if the ocean or the storm had completely swallowed her up.
Not fun for this team. I hope they find their missing teammate.
It's going to be a long nigth.
This is going to be Hell for Aurora, not knowing if her teammates are alive or dead...
Damn... that's got to be just about the worst feeling possible. But I like this spirit of unquestioning cooperation and initiative here, it's just so pony. Again you paint some good images.
Love both the community spirit and the dread of not knowing. There's a lot packed into just a few words here.
Loving how this is shaping up, Biscuit. Your characters always have a spark of life in 'em that makes 'em feel so believable and relatable. Looking forward to following along on this newest tale!
8510941
Even better, it's the uncut 1798 version.
I got my 6 year old niece the Annotated Ancient Mariner with both versions and commentary. Maybe outside her age group, but I was drunk and angry after reading an article about how a parent somewhere was trying to ban Anne Frank's Diary from a school library, so got on Amazon and sent about $200 worth of books addressed to her to make damn sure she gets a healthy respect for literature. I even sent her a copy of the second print run of Past Sins.
8510950
"You could assume that, but that might not be a correct assumption."
Was that a House of Cards reference?
8510991
Yeah, the big storms out on the plains of the Mid-West (Never been there personally, but I have seen photos) are both terrifying and majestic.
8510041
It's never good for teams that send their men or pegasi into danger when one of them doesn't come back.
8510059
It is indeed.
8510074
That's got to be the worst feeling when you're a leader--having one of your teammates disappear on you.
8510083
It's not just pony, it's the way of the sea--from the stories I've read of the Great Lakes and the open ocean, when you hear a distress call or know that there's a ship or person in danger, you just go.
8510094
Life in a fishing village--when help is needed, everypony turns out.
8510631
Thank you!
8510968
It's just one link to a simple word replacer plugin!
8510971
Eh, age group is what you make of it. I think I read through LoTR the first time when I was about seven. Didn't understand half of it, I'm sure, but I did it anyways.
I've never really understood what anybody hopes to accomplish by banning books. Seems to me like a stupid way of trying to coddle and protect children, which ultimately makes them less prepared for the harsh reality of life. Good on ya!
If it was, it wasn't intentional. I've never seen the show.
8511001
I'm not on the plains, but I'm technically in the Midwest, and I've seen a few good ones. Saw a tornado forming once; they made me come inside when the shingles on the Michigan Bean Company elevator started coming up. And I've driven in storms with a very high pucker factor--I watched a semi nearly blow off the highway before he could get back under control when the wind hit.
8511054
I'm kind of tempted.
What would be really nice is a plugin that ponifies the internet.
8511062
8510991
Last winter, in mars, I made a one week trip in france, I came back in the middle of a snowstorm, heavy snowfall, strong wind... Nnot quite the most epic storm ever, but in a plane in the middle of the cloud, well, it can be quite scary. And I had a seat next to a porthole, so I could see the chaos outside as well as feel it each time the plane shook.
That was the first time I got scared on a plane to be honest.
But hey! It was a big confy commercial plane with a skilled pilot, so we made it.
8510972
It's really, really not. She grants wishes. Her catchphrase is "Consider it done!" Basically she's a demigod and I really think some of her went into Princess Celestia.
Take a look at this, starting from 10:25: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1asw2p
I mean...her voice has reverb. She gets downgraded later on, but this is her establishing shot.
Razzaroo and Kimono are best G3 ponies. I know Minty gets a lot of credit for being the "proto-Derpy" and G3 Rainbow Dash's "Dresses in style" gets a lot of mocking meme mileage, but I just like those two.
And, yes, Starcatcher's introduction bespeaks a higher order of majesty and grandeur hitherto unknown to the dirtponies and pointyheads.
8511035
Penn and Teller
8511090
I've never had the misfortune to be in an airplane in anything serious, weatherwise, and I'd like to keep it that way. I know how strong airplanes are, and what they're designed to take . . . and I also know that there are forces of nature that can swat them out of the air like gnats, and that there are things that no pilot who wants to live would ever consider flying an airplane into.
8511111
Yeah, you make a good point. (And I'll be honest; the comment to Uncle Mike was more of a 'nudge, nudge, wink, wink' type of comment).
I did make some changes in the second chapter to make her more in line with what you said she was like, although it's certainly not approaching demigod levels . . . from that clip, it does seem that she could have inspired Princess Celestia's character.
I don't remember her being that godlike in A Very Minty Christmas, but then I was paying more attention to Minty.
8511159
You misspelled Silver Glow.
I see Minty as more of a Sweetie Belle type of character. Canon never really established Derpy as a character like her except in response to fanon, IMHO.
I'm not really up on G3 canon (obviously), but wasn't it mostly focused on the mudponies? (by which I mean collectively all ponies that can't fly)
8511232
I love Fool Us.
8511397
Wasn't there story about weather breaking plane back in the early days of civillian fligth?
Anyway, I remember that nowaday, it is usually safe enough that staying in fligth is usually way way much better then trying to land in some conditions. The plane are sturdy, have many failsafe and can count on radar to guide themselves.
8511409
Well...focused may be too strong a word to describe G3. Like...at all.
The first special introduces Ponyville and is entirely earth ponies. The next two are about Star Catcher and Butterfly Island, home of the Pegasus ponies, and how cultural exchanges began between the two groups. A Very Minty Christmas comes next, and wingaling ponies are integral to the plot. The Princess Promenade has earth ponies, Spike, and the Breezies, and then The Runaway Rainbow introduces unicorns, and I'm not sure we see pegasi again until three more episodes and a fantastic gay anthem later, when it goes into Core 7 mode: one token unicorn and pegasus, and five earth ponies. After that, it gets weird.
8511577
Wasn't first contact with the unicorns in Come Back Lily Lightly?
8511596
No, Pinkie Pie and Minty do head for Unicornia in Come Back Lily Lightly, but they learn of its existence in The Runaway Rainbow, when Princess Rarity teleports into Breezie Blossom by accident and Cheericorn goes looking for her.
8511431
That having been said, there are storms that planes can't (or shouldn't) fly though. An Air Peru (IIRC) jet lost both engines in a thunderstorm and wound up landing on a levee, and a few commercial jets have been brought down by microbursts. I also think there's at least one commercial jet that they suspect crashed due to being hit by positive lightning (and an Super Puma helicopter did, as well).
The best idea is to avoid the really nasty stuff.