Within the Shadow of Twilight

Lens frowned. "Hm, I had hoped there would be a place this magic doesn't reach, but it truly appears to be everywhere. At least we can confirm, however, that the magic certainly doesn't like light."

The dragon couldn't help but notice the filly as it ran. "Tell me Captain, what's in that forest?"

The captain blinked.

"The Nightwoods? Not sure of it... Dark place. During the daytime it's just a normal forest, but at night... Well, makes the Everfree forest look like a daisy picnic."

Sunbright's eyes snapped to the dragon.

"Do you think my Sunspark went in there?"

Wandering Eye smiled a little. "These Nightfall ponies seem interesting enough... as does the Nightwoods, although it doesn't quite sound like a safe place to examine... perhaps the Nightfall know about it." In truth, he'd love to explore such a place, and he'd been to a dangerous ruin and other hazardous areas, but... well, he rather liked to study a place for a while first. And come with backup. Which is often where Scorch came in.

He then frowned and looked over at Scorch. "Out of curiosity, why'd you ask that?"

"Indeed, Scorch. What draws your sight to the forest?"

"Nightfall ponies, Nightwoods, strange magic that flees from the light... I may be mistaken, gentleponies, but I'm beginning to see a theme to this island.", Lens said with a sigh and an air of annoyance. "Why can't it be sunshine and flowers and rainbows that are mean and scary for once?" Out of curiosity, I don't suppose the Nightfall, or some of the other residents of the island, happen to be Batponies?

"Miss Sunbright makes a good point, however: Assuming she was teleported away from her mother, the forest, with its proximity, seems like a place she could have been taken to, or gotten lost in. I think it may be a valid place to investigate. The only question is, whether we should contact the Nightfall ponies and Archaeus beforehoof, or go now, whilst the sun is still keeping both this strange magic, and the apparent strangeness of the nightwoods, at bay. We can also try checking it during the night itself - navigation shouldn't be too troublesome, and judging from the omni-present magic, it might outright reveal the cause of this incident, although we have no idea what we may encounter there, or how the magic might act or take effect, with no light to inhibit it."

"I also think it might be a good idea to ask a few questions to the other colt and fillies Sunspark was playing with, right before she vanished. They might have witnessed something important, that might have been easily dismissed under normal circumstances. What were their names... Fool's Gold, Snowfall and Twig, right?"

"...Wait a minute, who in their right mind makes an urban park right next to a forest that goes crazy at night? And aren't there supposed to be walls and guards to isolate such potential dangers from the general public?

(OOC: How long till the sun sets? Is the park and Nightwood outside/within the city walls?)

Stairc -Dan Felder wrote:Sunbright's eyes snapped to the dragon.

"Do you think my Sunspark went in there?"

"Well, I assume she's smart enough to not go into the scary dark forest, right?" Scorch answers without looking away from the forest. He thought about telling the others about the filly, and even possibly running after her, but he'd rather not worry Sunbright and end up chasing the mother into the forest as she desperately searches for her lost child. He'll confide in his friends when he gets a chance, but for now, he'll change the subject. "I don't think this forest is going anywhere any time soon, and we might gain some useful information about the island by talking to the inhabitants, but at the same time, if somepony is behind all this, then going around asking questions will only raise suspicion, and if those responsible find out, we could become targets, so a quick look around the forest couldn't hurt. What does Sunspark look like anyway?"

Zarhon wrote:[color=green]
"I also think it might be a good idea to ask a few questions to the other colt and fillies Sunspark was playing with, right before she vanished. They might have witnessed something important, that might have been easily dismissed under normal circumstances. What were their names... Fool's Gold, Snowfall and Twig, right?"

"Yes." Sunspark confirmed, impatience smoldering in her tone."

[quote="Zarhon"]"...Wait a minute, who in their right mind makes an urban park right next to a forest that goes crazy at night? And aren't there supposed to be walls and guards to isolate such potential dangers from the general public?

"There are walls. The magical kind." Sunspark snapped, "Nothing's ever come out of the forest in all the years."

Zarhon wrote:(OOC: How long till the sun sets? Is the park and Nightwood outside/within the city walls?)

Two hours.

Paper Shadow wrote:

Stairc -Dan Felder wrote:Sunbright's eyes snapped to the dragon.

"Do you think my Sunspark went in there?"

"Well, I assume she's smart enough to not go into the scary dark forest, right? I don't think this forest is going anywhere any time soon, and we might gain some useful information about the island by talking to the inhabitants, but at the same time, if somepony is behind all this, then going around asking questions will only raise suspicion, and if those responsible find out, we could become targets, so a quick look around the forest couldn't hurt. What does Sunspark look like anyway?"

"Like me, but smaller." Sunbright hissed.

Zarhon wrote:"Sunspark? She's a wee little sun-colored filly unicorn. Takes a lot after her mother, really. She didn't earn her cutie mark, last I've seen of her. Did she earn one yet, miss Sunbright?"

"As for taking a quick trot through the forest, I'm all for it, if you two are. Although, I think we should at the very least get a map of the island, or some kind of directions, lest we get sidetracked and lost."

"Dear Celestia! Are you EVER going to do anything?!? What does her BLANK FLANK have to do with anything?!? My daughter is MISSING, she might be DEAD and you're chasing your tails!"

Sunbright whirled on Swarthy, "You can play babysitter with these foals, I'm not waiting a second longer!"

"Sis, calm yourself! They need to make sure they're looking in the right-"

"They can knock on doors and put up lost signs all they want - I'm going to find my daughter!"

She ran off into the forest.

Stairc -Dan Felder wrote:She ran off into the forest.

"No, wait!" cries out Scorch as he pursues the mother into the forest...

(Athletics Roll: 3 (Roll) + 13 (Skill) = 16)

"Wait, madame! Oh, blast it!", Lens shouted. She's irrational, alright. Can't blame her of course, not with the annoying performance he just displayed. This wasn't a show, lives were at stake. Better go catch her before more bad stuff happens to another Sun...

Athletics/Perception:

*Gasp* "I..." *Wheeze* "...need to get some exercise!", Lens panted, trying to keep up with the mare as her legs burned with pain of exaustion. She wasn't much of a flyer, let alone a runner. So much about helping fix the mess you made. All talk and nothing to show for it: even her fabulous magic couldn't help her-Wait a minute... Perhaps it could... Maybe not to keep up with her, but to make catching her a certainly, once she's tired herself out...

With that, Lens, mid-run, cast a spell upon one of the hoofprints left behind by Sunbright, designed to help make obvious where Sunbright had gone through.

Arcana:

OOC: Lens perception checks

"Ah, ponyfeathers!" Wandering Eye took off after Sunbright and Lens. This is why he didn't interact well with ponies, especially emotional types, although it was little comfort to see his companions were similarly unskilled.

Sunbright did have a point, however - they might not have much time.