Curiosity killed the Colt

[Nightbow]

She panted heavily, not being used to run around quite this much in one go. Thankfully, before she thought her legs would fall off, they got a chance to catch their breaths. And just as good -they'd do best to thread these grounds cautiously.

"I overheard somepony saying that there's been a drastic increase in the beast population, leading to monster attacks and thus the barrage, but that can't be the whole truth." She remembered the close brush with death from the timber wolves. Such creatures were one with the forest, ambushing prey daring or foolish enough to venture into their realm, but to think they would leave the forest? No.

"Those wolves appeared out of nowhere and viscously attacked us. From what I have read, it's not like them at all. They are cunning and swift ..." her voice trailed off. RockNote didn't need to drown in all of her obsessive creature research. "I'm positive that they where quite on edge. Something is not right in this forest - something has scared them."

Nightbow paused for a moment, scanning her surroundings. She wasn't all that stupid. More dangerous creatures could be lurking nearby, so they had to be on their guard. The thought excited her as much as it frightened her.

"Did you see that golden moonflower? There are definitely things around here that aren't supposed to be! Extinct plants, maybe even animals ... the guards clearly have no clue what is going on, but it seems according to rumor that the monsters would source from ..."
Some secrets ponykind was not meant to know. Big quivering questions to which the answers would do more harm than good. But this was different. This was dangerous. "... some kind of 'darkness'."

[Person]

Rocknote swallowed hard as they kept travelling through the sea of emerald. If something was big or fierce enough to frighten a whole pack of Timberwolves, then he didn't want to meet that face-to-face. An audible *crunch* sounded from the wood a short distance beside them. The red stallion quickly took a step away in the other direction, moving with a bit more haste than before.

"it seems according to rumor that the monsters would stem from... some kind of 'darkness'."

"I guess that would be why we're doing this, right?" Rocknote responded, forcing light-heartedness into his voice, "Either give the rumors a little bit of weight and extra details, or prove them completely false. Either way, we get the information, and we can get it to somepony else; especially if it's important."

Rock looked in the direction the two were walking, and thought he could see a clearing coming up through the trees, but couldn't quite tell because it was a long way off. The wildlife around them was oddly diverse for a single forest. Flowers ranged from deep brown to fluorescent pink. Trees ranged from firs to pines to weeping willows, all within thirty yards of eachother.

"This place is really going crazy," Rocknote said as he stopped and bent down to examine a three-petaled orange flower, then looked at the sketchbook hanging around 'Bow's neck.

"Could you draw this?" Rock asked hopefully, "A picture or sketch of some of the more unusual things around here might prove useful."

[Nightbow]

Nightbow studied their surroundings as they went, constantly lagging behind by a few steps. Untainted wonder filled her eyes - why on earth had she been so stupid as to not bring her camera along?

"Could you draw this? A picture or sketch of some of the more unusual things around here might prove useful."

Her heart raced as she yielded the stallion's inquiry. Of course, the sketchbook! The silly little unicorn had almost forgotten she brought it along.

"Sure," she answered, hastily getting it out along with the five pencils she had in her bag. She was relieved to have his permission to sit down in front of the peculiar plant and make a quick sketch of it, because if she were to draw everything of interest in this glade it would definitely slow them down. "I'll look for them in the botanical tomes of Neigathorn once we're back."

As soon as she was satisfied with the flower, she went on to depicting a strange little tree with glowing lotus-like flowers on its branches. She made a pause, walked up to a low hanging blossom and examined it, only to go back to her work.

"Seven ... petals ... slightly rounded." She was so absorbed by her drawing, she did not take notice of a shadow looming beyond the horizon, quietly stirring.

[Person]

"This place is nuts," Rocknote said as he waited for Nightbow to be satisfied with her sketching, "I think if you were dreaming that you were in a forest, this is what it would look like."

He looked around at the various pieces of odd, cool, and sometimes disturbing plantlife nearby. Pointy leaves and branches and glowing mushrooms all left the stallion nearly speechless. He took a peek over 'Bow's shoulder at her sketch which looked remarkably like the plant she was drawing.

Rock's ears perked up as he thought he heard a low hum, like somepony tuning a bass guitar. He turned his head side to side trying to pinpoint its location.

"Can you hear that?" Rocknote said, "Maybe we're getting close to the rift."

[Nightbow]

Drawing was an important experience to the creative soul of Nightbow, and no less so, a physical one. She had a fine pencil steadily clenched between her teeth and her sketchbook magically levitating in mid-air, and she was just in the middle of a firm stroke when the colt's voice disconnected her from her bliss, having completely forgotten that she was sitting in the middle of monster-infested woods.
She couldn't be bothered to answer him with tool in mouth, but hummed impatiently. Then she realized what RokNote had just said and the pencil clattered onto the sketchbook and fell into a mossy patch. She listened.

"Maybe," she whispered, as if she was afraid that the Rift itself would hear her. She shot the red stallion an urgent look and gathered her artist's gear, putting it hastily back down into her bag.
Once she was finished packing, Nightbow started softly walking further into the forest. "For the ponies," she whispered before motioning towards her partner that from now on, they should keep absolutely quiet.
There was no question about it. They were this close now. And they needed to check it out.

The pair crept steadily closer to the source of the ringing. It was very weak - RockNote certainly had a good ear. And even if it didn't sound much closer even after fifty yards through the strange terrain, her intense listening amplified its intensity and threatened to give her a headache. But the unicorn told herself to listen beyond the noise.

Soon they could see a transparent curtain of black lick the height of tree trunks up ahead. It seemed to become denser with every step they took. Nightbow had to remind herself why she was doing this, because just then she almost turned back. Something about the aura of this place rubbed her the wrong way - literary. She could feel waves of discomfort brushing her mane.
They finally reached the top of the hill and there, through a narrow valley, stretched a ribbon of black, darker than night. It felt ethereal, forbidden, dangerous - as if though two foals against the words of their mothers had gone to play near a violent stream, only to find out that it was also inhabited by a kelpie.

From the depths of darkness something new - or old - out of place and time emerged. Nightbow gasped loudly, but thankfully the creature didn't have hearing as sensitive as her own. It was a Stoneback, hunted to extinction in the Dream Valley Era.
Instinctively the unicorn telekinetically picked up her sketchbook and started on a fresh page.

[Person]

Rocknote watched as the menacing stoneback aimlessly wandered around the area near the black curtain of shadow. The massive darkness made him feel, in simplest terms, conflicted within his skull. On one half of his mind, he wanted to run as far away from it as he could then pull a blanket over his head and never move again. The other, perhaps more dangerous, side of his mind wanted him to stay here explore, watch, and see what it was, no matter what the consequences.

It was then that he came up with an idea. Something dangerous, reckless, stupid, and completely desirable in his mind.

He wanted to touch it.

But he couldn't just walk up to it with the stoneback so close by, but it seemed to be getting closer to the treeline. It didn't have to be a long touch, just a quick little tap, nothing serious. His mind raced back and forth between doing it or not. It could kill him, and then what would his partner in crime do? He looked at the sketch Nightbow was making of the stoneback. He couldn't just leave her here in the forest. Looking back to the clearing and the monster of times past or future, the grass seemed oddly orange to the stallion.

He looked to the sky and saw the sun resting just on top of the tips of the taller trees, beginning to journey its last sixth of the way across the sky.

"We need to get moving," He said in a hushed whisper to the artist at work, "It's going to get dark soon, and what wakes up to play at night, I don't want to see." The red stallion flicked one of his earrings back and forth with a hoof. "That... and I have a gig tonight that I'd really rather not miss. The guys kinda need me there on time."

[Nightbow]

[Would it be too much of a stretch if these guys ran into AJ and 'Shy in the other thread?]

RockNote urged her to move on, to dispatch herself from the glorious abomination that was subject of her childhood dreams and countless of her impossible theories. She lay the last hoof (or jaw) on her depiction, not truly satisfied with it, and then placed it gently back into her bag. Who would ever believe what they had seen? Her ears drooped in disappointment.

"That... and I have a gig tonight that I'd really rather not miss. The guys kinda need me there on time."

Nightbow couldn't help but giggling quietly, snapping out of it. She nodded and took a few steps back, signalling that she was ready to depart.
"RockNote," she whispered amazed, "that's a stoneback. It's an animal who hasn't been around for ... many thousands of years!" The unicorn was artistically gifted, keeping track of numbers not so much. "What do you reckon it's doing here? Now?!"

She looked around, making sure there wasn't any debris that would betray them when they moved back out. "Are you saying you're holding a concert at the Sun Celebration?"

[Kiernan]

[Person]

"What do you reckon it's doing here? Now?!"

"I have no idea. My best guess would be is it's probably related to what's going on in the forest," Rocknote said, starting off toward the general direction of Whinnyapolis, "but I'm not usually the best with these magical things."

"Are you saying you're holding a concert at the Sun Celebration?"

Rock smiled at the question. "Not quite," he said, "We're holding one tonight rather than in the morning and the subject matter is a little... darker... than that."

As they reached the treeline, Rock picked up the pace through the forest, trying to get going a bit faster so that they might reach the city in a shorter time.

[Nightbow]

[Moving to An apple a day...]