Horrors of the Unknown (with Vulcan)

[Vulcan 3,256]

 

"Alright...gimme a sec" Crescent replied clossing his eyes and listening for the feint sound of a howling whisper before leading Enigma underneath patches of trees and between oddly shaped rocks that looked similar to giant foreboding creatures petrified in cracked asphalt....then suddenly Crescent stopped as the quiet scent of salt and limestone filled the air. "Over there..." Crescent smiled placing his arm excitedly over Enigma's shoulder as he pointed towards an eerily shaped cave bellowing a weak yet audible wailing out into the Forest. "The Whispering Wail" He announced  as he walked cautiously towards the cave holding and guiding Enigma by the hand, Both ponies could see, as they walked closer,  the large gaps and holes of different shapes and sizes surrounding the caves interior causing the winds to mimic the sound of a faint cry as well as the gentle glow of phosphorescent minerals scattered across it's Ceiling as if mimicking the appearance of a starry night sky  . "Talk about a trypophobic's wonderland am I right?" Crescent joked as he rested by one of the walls and fished a small candy bar from his satchel. "So....Let's check out that report!"  

Edited June 10, 2017 by Vulcan

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

Enigma nods as she takes out the report while she used her magic to light a small fire "Well what is said here is that from what could be seen, whoever is causing this disturbance is not only a follower of my master, but also a cultist of the Cthulhu mythos.." she says with a deep frown "As if some of my master's stories and his other proxies are bad enough, combining them with the mythos of Cthulhu just makes things worse" she rubs her temples a little, the marks both around her eyes and her flank begun to glow, "This may be beyond just the two of us, I may need to call in some help" she then looks to the palms of her hands and sighs "I'm just not entirely sure who to call upon" she then looks to him and pets Tailey, "Cursor, Firebrand and Deadhead may help, Clockwork as well and hmm..." she closes her eyes "If really need be, Habit and even Master himself" she sighs as she begins to get some food out to cook. "But onto lighter things..tell me Crescent, how do you exactly feel about and towards me?"

[Vulcan 3,256]

"I...ermm...I'm not exactly great at expressing emotions with words..." Crescent admitted , smiling at Enigma while scratching nervously on the back of his head. "...or really emotions in general now that I think about it....But I guess..." He added as He inched closer towards Enigma his right hand grasping her shoulder as his left gave her a gentle tap on her snout. "Boop....I hope that answers your question" He smiled for a moment before quickly kissing her forehead. "Now then...Let's get back to the Report" He spoke turning towards the outer walls of the cave. "I suppose we have to investigate the scene of the disturbance eventually" He added before  thinking a bit. "We should hold off on contacting your boss....at least for now" He spoke taking a quick bite from the candy bar . "I'm sure we could handle a Cultist on our own"    

Edited June 10, 2017 by Vulcan

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

Enigma sighs but giggles at the boop on her snout "You're right, though the black smoke rising from the area is worrying, it could just be black smoke, but that means anything from burning off something that shouldn't be burned to the manufacturing of anything to fire arms and ammunition" she says "The other thing is, very dark and black shadow magic is in use" she says and Tailey growls at it, "and with the disappearances of ponies, I'm willing to bet it may be black shadow magic to aid in pony sacrifices"

[Vulcan 3,256]

 

The Wales of the cave grew louder as the cold evening winds blew through it's crevices. "Boy, This Forrest is freezing at Night" Crescent shivered leaning himself beside one of the walls, as mysterious otherworldly shadows began slivering their way like arching branches through the cave's dim phosphorescent light. "Ritual Sacrifices and Black Shadow magic..." Crescent pondered , scratching his chin. "Hmmm....We should totally check it out~" Crescent smiled a maniacal grin as the black shadows have now grown to  a large foreboding size behind him. "Say...You ever get the feeling we're being watched?" 

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

Enigma snorts a little "Crescent darling, I'm always being watched" she says and huddles next to him, "The observer is always watching me" she sighs and nuzzles him softly "Now I think I know why you were somewhat fascinated by Cursor, she reminded you of Dawn, didn't she?" she asks and nuzzles him, her tail wrapping itself with his "and we will check out the source of the black smoke" she shudders a little and closes her eyes "Keep watch as I sleep" she asks softly as she then rests her head on his chest and swiftly falls asleep.

[Vulcan 3,256]

 

Crescent nodded quietly as he stared at the Cave's gaping maw, He may not have noticed it at the time but Cursor did bare a striking resemblance to his former love. "Could it have been her?" He thought for a moment before shaking his head vigorously, reminding himself that Dawn couldn't have been captured like that...He would've known if she were.

Crescent's worry waned as the young mare nuzzled herself around his chest and began to sleep. "Boy, She's a quick sleeper." He noted to himself as he placed his arm warmly around her shoulder noticing how cute she looked. He waited for a moment making sure Enigma was fully asleep before inching himself closer and kissing her gently on her  cheek. 

Suddenly the Sentient shadows behind them began to spread and crawl behind Crescent's neck causing his eyes to feel heavier and heavier as the Shadows slowly seeped their way into his blood stream. "What's going on..." He yawned, attempting to fight the need to fall asleep. "I...I've got stay awake....I have to keep watch" He reminded himself to no avail as the force overpowered his senses causing him to inevitably drift from consciousness until finally falling asleep. 

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

It would have seemed that the only one out of the three, Tailey was the only one able to withstand the shadows and kept a weary watch over the two sleeping ponies, but he did curl himself around Crescent, before calling upon aid, except when he went into Slender's realm by himself, he appeared as a rather tall and handsome stallion. he was of a dark shade of grey, had long flowing black and purple mane and tail, and wore a hooded robe. He silently went over to Cursor and gently lifted her chin up and he smiles from underneath his hood "Cursor...or should I call you Dawn?" he asks with a twinkle in his eyes

(think you could play her? also the stallion's name is Dreadwitch)

Edited June 11, 2017 by Digital Blitz

[Vulcan 3,256]

(WHHHHHHHAAAAATTTTT?!!! O_O ...This really took me by surprise ...You might not like Dawn...She's not exactly RP Friendly) 

The mane and tale on Cursor's body began to shift to a darker red as Her Cutie mark shifted from  a Queen's Chess Piece to a serrated dagger overlaying a Sunrise. "What are you doing back here?" She annoyingly responded , scowling at Tailey before snapping her head away from his arms. "Aren't you supposed to be on the butt end of that little homewrecker? She might be missing her little pet" She asked sarcastically as she whipped her tail on the ground causing a sharp crack.  

Edited June 11, 2017 by Vulcan

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

Dreadwitch scowls "Now now Dawn, it isn't my fault nor hers that you were taken" he says in a low growl "As for where I belong, that is up to me and no one else" he says with crossed arms, "and you know Crescent has known Enigma since before her accident with the fire" he then looks around "Or should I assume, that someone here had something to do it? I've heard there are a few...pyromaniacs here"

[Vulcan 3,256]

 

"Waaaaiit....You thought I was Taken?" Dawn laughed as She slowly unbuttoned the neck of her collar revealing a strange luminescent necklace , gleaming with a ruby hue. "This isn't my first Rodeo, I've got bigger plans" She smirked a knowing grin as she leaned her  body on the table behind her. "And as for little Maggie's "accident....I knew about it....Crescent told me everything when we met...But I've never heard about it being staged....Oh Wouldn't Enigma be quite surprised if she ever found out"  She  chuckled.

 

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

Dreadwitch scowls "Just what are you planning? If you have anything to do with this...occult activity in the forest.." he then just rolls his shoulders, quickly writes something out, grips it in his mouth and poofs back to the waking real. Before he reattached himself to Enigma's flank, he quickly places the letter on Crescent's lap, reattached himself to Enigma and bites Crescent on the ear.

The letter read:
"Crescent, this is Dreadwitch, otherwise known as Tailey, do not tell Enigma that I am my own stallion and another agent of the Tall Stallion's, but I have just received some dark news, regarding your Dawn. She was indeed hiding as the mare known as Cursor, but she was not taken, but is..how do I put it..she's quite evil, she had a necklace with this symbol as the pendant *see below*. She is also quite..angry with Enigma, calling her a homewrecker, you had best keep a close protective eye on Enigma, or you'll have me to deal with.
Here is the drawing...
Sincerely
Dreadwitch/Tailey"

[Vulcan 3,256]

 

"Yowwww!!!!" Crescent yelps loudly as the shadows seep from behind him. Dreadwitch's Bite had caused Crescent's Ear to turn a Reddish Hue, Crescent rubbed his ear, easing out the pain when He had noticed a letter placed neatly on his lap. He snatched and read the letter, the look on his face growing surprised and angry with every sentence. "Dang it, Dawn...." He muttered before turning his head towards Enigma , gently nudging her shoulder. "Maggie...Maggie Wake up, We have to go" He whispered softly.

Edited June 12, 2017 by Vulcan

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

Enigma opens her blurry eyes "H-huh what is it Crescent?" she asks and noticed the letter "Where'd that come from?" she asks as she goes to pick it up and reads it "Dreadwitch? Why does that name sound so damn familiar..and Dawn is against us...or me at the least? Doesn't surprise me really" she says with a sigh and stretches before gently petting Tailey "I'm not very well liked, not even within Slender's realm"

[Vulcan 3,256]

(Since she read the letter does Enigma know Dreadwitch is Tailey?) 

"Oh Come on,Mags, That's not true" Crescent argued ,playfully ruffling Enigma's Hair, "....I like you" He smiled,  booping her on her snout before pulling the young Mare up.  "N-...now, We have to get going " He stuttered, re-focusing the situation as he fished a small journal from his satchel, flipping to a page with a similar symbol and handing it to Enigma."That symbol Dreadwitch drew...We don't have much time"  He informed her, as the page showed a rough sketch of a group of shadows huddled around an open fire within a wooded area....On it's centre was a strange symbol burned in ash that matched Dreadwitch's sketch. 

Edited June 14, 2017 by Coffee

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

(I'd say she does now) Enigma shudders "How is it you fell for such an evil mare?" she asks but then she slaps herself "S-sorry, I have no right to say that of her or to ask you that question" she says as she packs up her things and stamp out the fire "So where to now? If Dawn is following us, can we even hide from her?" she asks as Tailey nudges her and she pets and cuddles him "Sh, it's ok Dreadwitch, and yes I know it's you" she says softly "I read the letter" 

[Vulcan 3,256]

"It's alright, She's actually really nice when you get to know her" Crescent replied, placing the Satchel over his shoulder. "She just...doesn't like folks like us" Crescent explained, hinting towards his horrible monstrous appearance. "She always had this dream of cleansing the world, I thought I managed to talk her out of it...but I guess something must've happened to throw her off" He sighed , remembering Dawn's frantic behaviour days before her disappearance. 

"Hide? Who said We're hiding?" Crescent reached out and held Enigma's hand tightly giving her a quick smile as he walked out of the Whispering Wail and into the dark Everfree Forrest, The nightly winds through freezing gusts through the two ponies as the feint sound of Crickets echoed through the trees. "We're going straight to that Dark disturbance in your report" He smiled madly as he looked at her. 

As the two left, The Shadows in the cave began to shift and churn until forming themselves into a strange humanoid form. it whispered softly in a feminine and broken voice "Enigma...."   before disappearing into the ether. 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2017 by Coffee

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

Enigma rolls her eyes "Yeah right, I'm sure Dawn will like me, she's already called me a homewrecker" she says with a gentle sigh and follows him ""And now Tailey is even more protective of me" she says, gently petting her tail maw and sighs "Alright,so what are your thoughts on the cult or whoever is inhabiting the forest and causing all of these disturbances? I've smelled the air, and I can't smell smoke, so...I'm thinking it's magic or something.."

[Vulcan 3,256]

(I didn't delve too much into it , In case you have any set plans for what the Disturbance is)

Crescent's eyes began to glow as he attempted to sense the surrounding magic. "I honestly don't have any ideas, If It were magic...It's covered completely by the dense fog of natural magic covering the Everfree" He shrugged with a goofy smile, as he glanced at her through his calm pumpkin orange eyes  glowing underneath the moon light. He couldn't help but smile whenever he glanced at her, He could always sense the magic around him through his eyes and He rather enjoyed the colorful wisps that always danced around the cute mare. "...And don't worry about Dawn, I think I'm starting to realize that I need to find someone better....maybe someone right...here?" He spoke nervously holding her hand tightly as they continued walking through the forests, He wasn't the best at expressing his Emotions, but Crescent had begun to realize how much Enigma had meant to him.  

The Shadowy figure began to meld itself with the flora as She followed the duo hesitantly from a distance through the darkness of the trees and grass all the while whispering in a cold gloomy voice "Enigma..."  

Edited June 16, 2017 by Coffee

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

Enigma couldn't help but smile at that and even Tailey let out low purr "Very well, but you are right, the forest's magic is just too dense to be able to properly sense anything without getting dangerously close to the source" she says, holding his hand as they walked further away from the cave "But from what we've read in the report, from what we've seen and these shadows.." she shudders and looks around the forest "Did you hear that?"

[Vulcan 3,256]

As Enigma turned around , The shadow mare came in full view for a fraction of a second before vanishing into smoke, In that moment, Enigma could see the mare's appearance...it was distorted but strangely familiar as if it was someone she had known long ago, "Hear what?" Crescent replied turning around and seeing nothing behind them but Forest Trees and The path they trodded on. "There doesn't seem to be anything behind us, Maggs" Crescent smiled. ruffling her mane "You sure you saw something?"

Edited June 18, 2017 by Coffee

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

Enigma blinked why did that shadow mare look so familiar? she thinks to herself and shook her head "Yeah, but it could just be the shadows playing tricks on me" she says, gripping his hand gently and giving it a squeeze and looking around "Honestly, I have a bad feeling about this, so please be on your watch Crescent, I just cannot shake the feeling that we are being watched, and quite possibly tracked" she whispers to him, squeezing his hand once more for reassurance.

[Vulcan 3,256]

Crescent held her tighter as Enigma squeezed his hand, "It's gonna be fine, Maggs" He assured her with a loving smile, the wind gently blowing through the tufts of his hair. "If anything IS tracking us, I'm sure we can handle it...Together" He added, as they neared the area that the disturbance was last seen, The dark and narrow path seemingly lined with broken chunks of burnt cedar and mortar stone as the smell of ash wafted through the air. "We must be close" Crescent noted as He stopped for a moment , catching his breath before turning towards Enigma with a cautious glare "...I guess this is it"

(I don't really know what the Disturbance is or what the area actually looks like...So I'll wait for you to describe it ^ ^) 

 

[Scarlet SoftPaws 3,588]

Enigma nods and smiles, but as they got nearer to the disturbance, she suddenly stops in her tracks "Stop,we're in grave danger being out in the open like this" she whispers before taking him away to someplace more secluded and isolated, before looking around nervously "I could sense it the moment we got near that old manor, for one, even though it looks old, that manor certainly wasn't here the last time I was in the forest, and the smoke we saw, it's shadow magic, but not just normal shadow magic, but dark, very very dark shadow magic, the type that King Sombra used in the Crystal Empire" she whispers, "Which means it's worse than we could think, if these cultists are whoever they are, are worshipping both Slender and Cthulhu mythos, then..this may be beyond just the two of us"

[Vulcan 3,256]

Crescent could see a strange old Manor as they walked closer to the area...The air that surrounded it felt horrid and ominous, Crescent felt terrified yet excited as he readied to face whatever horror awaited them, "Stop ,we're in grave danger being out in the open like this"  Enigma suddenly whispered her face frozen in fear as she grabbed him by the Collar and bolted quickly in the opposite direction, Crescent held on for  dear life using his abilities to keep himself just above the ground as Enigma ran passed the trees until reaching a small secluded Clearing fronting a large frozen lake. (I can change this if you're not comfortable with it).

"M-...Maggie? What happened back there?" Crescent asked , 

 "I could sense it the moment we got near that old manor, for one, even though it looks old, that manor certainly wasn't here the last time I was in the forest, and the smoke we saw, it's shadow magic, but not just normal shadow magic, but dark, very very dark shadow magic, the type that King Sombra used in the Crystal Empire" she whispers, "Which means it's worse than we could think, if these cultists are whoever they are, are worshipping both Slender and Cthulhu mythos, then..this may be beyond just the two of us"

Crescent stopped for a moment ,as if analyzing his choices, before giving a brief sigh as his expression turned more serious, "You're right....We can't do this alone"  He replied, leaning himself on the tree behind him. "I'd rather lose some pride , than lose you" He admitted , quickly stretching his arms to the side. "So...How do we do this?" He asked her, unsure of how they were to contact the SlenderMane or the Collective.