Video Link: Eye of the Storm
^ Watch video first. Story makes more sense with the video in mind. ^
Eye of the Storm
Clouds. Nothing but clouds. The cloaked pony peered through the telescope, seeing naught but clouds. It turned slightly right, stopping as it saw green light shining through a cloud. The light pulsed, like a heartbeat, keeping its attention for several seconds. The pony lowered the telescope from its masked face and collapsed it, placing it in its saddlebags beneath the cloak. It turned around, walking across the small wooden deck of its personal airship. It looked down at its scaled companion. The dark-scaled dragon looked up at the masked pony, seeming to glare through the pony's goggles. The dragon recoiled ever so slightly as his master patted his head with its socked hoof.
The pony walked onwards, into the depths of its airship. Its hoofsteps were silent on the worn oak platform. It stopped at a desk that was cluttered with all kinds of strange objects. It stared with its unblinking gaze at the map that lay sprawled out before it. A swirl was inked upon it towards the southern edge of the map's view. The fully covered pony picked up a large steel compass, setting the stable point in the center of the swirl. It turned the compass, drawing an arc around the swirl.
It set the compass down, and looked across the desk. Its goggled gaze fell upon a bottle of luminous green liquid. It picked the bottle up, and walked further into the ship. It paused before a grand furnace. It stared into the open hatch at the inferno within. With a moment of hesitation, it tossed the bottle into the flames. The furnace roared with a green conflagration, devouring the liquid from the bottle. The pony turned back to the desk, picking up a book. It paused, and then tossed it in. It picked up a small wooden box, and tossed it in. It picked up a random cast-iron frying pan, and paused for a moment, before tossing it in as well. It turned and picked up an ornate wooden chest. It opened it up, staring expressionlessly at the contents within, which emitted a soft golden glow. It turned its head slowly to observe the green inferno. It walked outside onto the deck of the small airship. It walked past the steering wheel, stoping at the safety ropes. It held the chest out in front of it, observing it's intricate design. It unclamped the chest, releasing it from between its hooves, letting it fall down through the clouds below.
The fully cloaked pony turned its head towards the green pulse from before, noticing it was slightly closer than before. It looked up, noticing a shadow that had cast itself over it. A raindrop fell upon the tinted goggles, moving with them to observe the castle-sized mass of storm clouds. A crooked spear of lightning shot forth from the nearly black cloud. The pony stared on, apathetic towards the imminent danger of a lightning storm.
*
Lightning streaked across the sky, more than a hoof-full nearly striking the balloon that kept the ship aloft. The cloaked pony spun the wheel forcefully counter-clockwise. The ship lurched left, dodging a thunderhead, which sparked upwards just a moment after the ship passed it. The rain ascended from the lower storm clouds, drenching the pony's underside. It spun the wheel hard-right, the small airship banking at a near forty-five degree angle to achieve the necessary turn. A spear of lightning flashed past where the ship was but a second ago, the roar of thunder echoing past the pony's ears. The cloud monster fired off a volley of lightning, lighting the sky with bright, pure light. A bolt glanced off the rubber balloon, leaving a dark scar on the surface.
*
All was calm. A gentle breeze floated past the small airship. A peaceful silence rested on the ship. The masked pony laid unconscious upon the wheel, its head low. It lay there for a time, unmoving.
It twitched suddenly, raising its head into the calm breeze. The green pulse was significantly closer. It seemed to beckon the pony towards it. It stepped back from the wheel, putting a hoof to its head. It rubbed gently, as though to alleviate some headache. It turned towards the interior of the ship, taking a few tentative steps forward. It paused after its third step, noticing it had stepped upon something.
The pony lowered its head, seeing a key upon the damp wooden deck. It picked the key up, and continued onwards. Its dragon companion lay inside, apathetically watching the clouds, and the green pulse. The pony approached the winged drake, staring at the ornate padlock that shackled its companion. The pony stuck the key inside, turning it sluggishly. The lock snapped open, and the shackles fell from the drake's limbs.
The dragon walked outside with his friend, his eyes trying to read the cloaked pony. He did not succeed, the goggles and mask blocking all view of the pony's face. It paused at the side of the ship, spreading its wings. The dragon looked at his friend one last time, before leaping into the air, flapping away. It roared a final goodbye, disappearing into the wall of clouds.
*
The wheel was secured on a fixed point, tied to three anchor points. The pony admired its handiwork, before turning back inside. It paused one final time at a lever next to the furnace. It stood upon its back hooves, pulling the lever all of the way down to the 'full-forward' position. The pony stepped back, and continued inwards. It walked down a narrow hallway, turning right into a large and spacious room. A chair faced the doorway, with a set of disorganized pipes in a fan to its immediate left, and a massive window to its right.
The pony took a seat upon the brown leather chair, its head drooping as though exhausted. The chair hissed upon noticing its weight, and swiveled ninety degrees clockwise, the pipes now behind the chair, making the chair look like some sort of twisted throne. The pony raised its head again, staring out the window, watching as the vessel sped away from the storm it just barely scraped out of.
Author's Note
Ohay. I kinda ran into this song, and I kinda... couldn't help but drop Ever Free and write this. It was too tempting. I'm sorry... :,( But hey. At least I got something for y'all to read while you wait. :3
I just hit the half-way point in Ever Free. I think you guys will be pleased with it, for the most part.
