The Town That Went Silent [PretzelPony]

[Jabberwock]

I could not have been a better night for exploring a town lost to time.

There was a fog that hung thick in the air, so thick that it almost created an oppressive hold of its own that seemed to suck the very life and breath out of the world around it. There were no birds, no tell-tale sounds of live thriving within the fog's embrace, giving the night a lifeless air. This town was notorious, but the exact location seemed to change depending on who you asked, whether through a need to keep others away or a genuine uncertainty of the exact location, the map that had been cobbled together through he said she said directions seemed to be heading in the right direction, gripped in the soft pink magical aura of the stallion who was currently looking for the town. He'd heard stories about the town, some good, others bad, but all were the same in the overwhelming curiosity they had implanted in the young stallion. It wasn't just curiosity that brought the cat to the middle of nowhere, looking for a town that may or may not actually exist, he was here for another purpose, more business oriented. Fine the town and discern what happened there, those were the instructions the police in the town over had given him, and that was the real reason he found himself searching for the town in fog so thick, it made breathing difficult.

They say that sometimes, you only find things where you're least likely to, from wallets to abandoned towns that seemed to hold true. And as Symphony trotted intrepidly through the oppressive fog, he quite literately stumbled directly into the town. He lifted the shades from his eyes as he studied the sign that hung like an ominous warning, barely breaking through the fog, but it was the words on the sign that piqued his interest.

WELCOME TO BLACKTHORN GROVE

"So here it is..." The stallion's face was solemn as he looked the sign over, it was remarkably untouched by the elements, something that, in hindsight, should have been the first red flag, but the fearless stallion didn't even consider the fact, or if he did he chose to ignore the warning, as he trotted along the road into the mysterious town, the fog seeming to swallow him alive as he followed the road. His first impression of the town was that while it was somewhat dilapidated, the town was remarkably well preserved, seemingly caught hanging in time as if the previous inhabitants just one day ceased to be. He found the thought almost sad, especially when his hoof bumped a long abandoned children's doll, "Shame..." He nudged it with his foot, whatever had happened here, every citizen had suffered the same fate all at once. His keen eyes picked up other unsettling signs as he took his first exploration, strange markings sprayed ominously over some of the buildings and walls, cult activity perhaps, he mused to himself, deciding that he would keep his ears alert for any sounds of the living creeping about. His interest was perked when he saw a large, ornate building come into view through the fog, the bell in the large tower seemed to hang suspended in time, forever frozen by rust and age. He had a feeling this was the town hall, and did not hesitate to slip inside, musing that if any building in this strange town was going to have any inkling of what happened here, Town Hall would be the one.

[Pretzelparty]

 

"A curious place isn't it?" cooed a sweet, calming voice in one of the buildings rooms. A look at a worn sign showed that in the past this was the town hall's records room. There were several rows of filing cabinets; all of them a faded green. Some of them had been open for a while, others upon closer inspection seemed to be more recently touched. The room had a musty smell to it, what little light from the sun that shined through the window showed multiple fleck of dust particles drifting through the air. At the other end of room was the distinct shape of a mare, but something seemed to be wrapped around her hoof and she was speaking to it. 

"I wish the dust wasn't so heavy though..."

The mare's coat was ghostly white with mane of two- no wait, make that three tones; one side white, the other black and the middle being purple. Stamped on her flank was simple but mysterious looking symbol; a five pointed star with an eye in the center and what looked to be either a moth or a butterfly resting on the upper right quarter of the circle that encompassed the pentacle.

"Mind if I ask what your name is, Stranger? I'm excited to not be alone anymore." The mysterious mare's lips curled up into a playful smile. In her hoof she held what looked to be an average black parasol, an unusual accessory on such a fog ridden landscape. The ... thing that was wrapped around her hoof swiftly uncoiled and seemed to wrap itself up around the handle of the pony's parasol.