Eye of the Storm

by Doodle Note

Chapter 4: The Mineshaft

As Sunset ran through the tunnel, she turned her head around to check if any of the mob was chasing. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw a shadow of a cluster of people behind her. Her eyes widen again, and she turned back to the direction she was running. She heard the loud shouts of the mob behind her, but she didn't dare turn her head around to look once again. After all, the man from the saloon called Percy and the angered villagers were suspecting her as a witch.

Sunset ran through every single pathway, searching for the mineshaft Griff was talking about. But then, she skidded to her feet from the moment she set her eyes on a rusty old mine cart. She gulped before turning around to find the silhouette behind her. Then, she looked back at the cart before her eyes looked at the rails. Her teal eyes widen when she realized the tracks were going down. Regardless, she ran to the cart and her hands grabbed it. But not before the angry mob began to close in on her.

"There she is!" Percy, being the leader of the mob, pointed his torch at the young Equestrian. "Burn the witch!"

She heard the angry crowd shout with anger, and it quickly motivated her to push the cart. She struggled, but she didn't blame the cart for the fact that it was old. But she didn't give up, for the rust cart was better than nothing. Finally, the cart's wheels began to move. She let out a sigh of relief before she started running with the cart in her grasp. Once she decided that the speed she had now was enough, she jumped into the cart, which began to go down in a quick motion. With her flame-like hair moving to the rhythm of the air striking her head, Sunset looked behind herself to see the angry mob stop at the tracks. She heard them grumbling before they walked away, officially giving up. But Percy stayed behind, his gaze glaring into her soul.

"I'll find you, witch!" Percy shouted, swinging his torch around. "And when I do, I'll burn you alive until you're nothing but ashes!"

Sunset felt chills go down her spine when she heard him give away a maniacal laugh before running away, flailing his arms around. Then, she settled down in her cart, letting out a sigh of relief despite how fast it was going. Suddenly, she fell asleep and had another dream. Another memory, perhaps. It was daytime, and Sunset was inside a forest, sitting down near a lake as Jesse skipped any nearby rock he could find. It was the day when Jesse wanted to take the newest member of the Order of the Stone to his favorite place in the forest. With a stick in her hand, she used it to draw a picture in the dirt. Meanwhile, her emerald-eyed friend spotted her and approached her. Hovering over her, he saw the drawing she made. It was a perfectly drawn self-portrait of herself.

"Looking good," Jesse said, getting Sunset's attention.

"You think so?" She gave away a nervous grin.

"I know so. That's a good self-portrait, Sunset." He sat beside her.

"I was bored. I didn't think I'd nail it."

"But, you did. I'm proud of you for it. You should be too." Jesse said, his warm grin giving her all of the comfort she needed.

"Maybe I should." Sunset shrugged.

"Still warming up to your new home, I see. I don't blame you. You know that, right?"

"I do." She nodded.

With a chuckle, Jesse gave her a gentle pat on the back. After that, Sunset's dream was disrupted when the cart hit something hard. The noise was loud enough to wake her up. With a gasp, she opened her bright teal eyes and flinched, looking around to find herself in a strange new area. Sunset curiously raised an eyebrow before stepping out of the mine cart. That way, she can examine her new surroundings. She found herself standing in a dark area lit with torches and a singular wooden door was seen in a stone wall.

The ember-haired youth quietly walked up to the door, and once she got closer, her right hand grabbed the doorknob and she twisted it so the door can give her access to the other side. As soon as the door was opened all the way, Sunset stepped through. She looked around the place she was unfamiliar with. It was a hallway, also lit up with torches, and there were visible cobwebs on every crevice of the place. Remembering Griff's words, Sunset squinted at her new environment. She turned back to the area where the mine cart was, and that was when she realized where she was.

"This must be the mineshaft Griff was talking about..." She said to herself.

Pulling out the map she was given, she opened it and her eyes looked at it. Looking at the map, she saw the drawn trail again, and it was pointing forward. When Sunset looked up from the map, her feet began to move. As she walked, the echoes of her feet tapping on the ground were the only thing filling the silence in the mineshaft. Besides all of that, she even heard the squeaks of mice scurrying across the dirt and dust in front of her and the wingbeats of bats flying past and above her head. All she could do was let out a sigh before she could continue.

Sunset was also wary of her surroundings while she followed the trail that was drawn on the map of the mineshaft. Knowing that her new environment was dark, she suspected that there will be mobs lurking through the shadows. If she wanted to be safe, then she will have to be armed. Fortunately, she was with her sword and her magic.

The ember-haired wanderer even took sharp left and right turns during her travels through the mineshaft. Her eyes went back and forth, one moment, her teal eyes pointed at the map and next thing she knew it, she was looking back at where she was walking. After a long journey of walking and looking around, she finally stopped, for she had found the only thing Griff told her to look for. In front of her was an obsidian circle with a wispy purple within it. It was a portal to the Nether, she figured.

Taking in a deep breath, Sunset slipped the map back into her satchel and looked back at the portal. As she readied herself for a hectic odyssey through one of the most dangerous realms of the world, she held on to high hopes. Hopes that she would come out of there alive. Hopes that she can continue her wanderlust in peace. Most importantly, she hopes that she could see one or more of her human friends again.

"Here goes nothing..." Sunset mumbled before jumping into the Nether portal, her expectations of the realm high.