Title:           Course of History - Chapter 2
Author:          VisiTi
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/xjMDRPiM
First Edit:      Friday 3rd of October 2014 04:43:42 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Last edit on: Wednesday 8th of October 2014 11:59:41 AM CDT

Chapter 2: Chasing Rumors
 
>Twilight and Anonymous exited the boutique together, leaving behind the slightly confused Rarity and the grumpily tired Rainbow Dash.
>Those first steps were the start of Twilight’s investigation, and she knew where to go first.
“So tell me Princess, what makes this investigation so important to you?”
>”I explained this to Rainbow Dash: as Princess of Ponyville, it’s my responsibility to keep my citizens safe. If there’s even a chance that something unnatural is related to Turbine’s disappearance, I must look into it.” Twilight explained as they started to walk through town.
>Step one was to confirm if Honey Sickle had actually seen Turbine wander into the Everfree Forest.
“So you believe this pony’s disappearance to be of unnatural origins?”
>Twilight nodded her head.
>”Think about it: who would go into the Everfree forest? No pony would. They all know to stay away from the place. Even I hate going in there.”
>She kept explaining to Anonymous her thought process as she guided him through town.
>“So the question would then be ‘what drove Turbine to want to willingly enter the forest?’”
>The Princess had a sense of where Honey Sickle lived, and would probably need to ask around the area to get the exact house.
“Maybe it wasn’t ‘willingly’.”
>Anonymous was directly on target.
>”That’s what I’m most afraid of.”
>They were headed for a more residential zone in Ponyville.
>The relative closeness of everything would hopefully make this trip a short one.
“You must be well-versed in dealing with the unnatural, then.”
>”I’ve dealt with more than my fair share of monsters and creatures.”
 
>Twilight looked up at Anonymous walking beside her, and saw this as an opportunity to change topic.
>”Speaking of… ‘different’ things, I’ve never seen anything like you before.”
“I’d assume most ponies have not.”
>”What kind of creature are you then?” Twilight asked curiously.
“I am Anonymous.”
>”Right, but that’s not what I meant,” she mumbled, trying to find the words to rephrase her question.
“Believe me Twilight, as mysterious as I am to you, so am I to myself.”
>Twilight stopped in her tracks.
>Anonymous was a strange fellow, but his words, they left her worried.
>Who exactly was this creature that didn’t even know himself?
>Was he dangerous?
>Could he be trusted?
>She barely even knew him and already she was bringing him with her on an investigation.
>Anonymous was standing behind her, face as blank as ever.
>”Listen, Anonymous,” she had to be delicate, “I don’t really know you.”
“We did just meet; it is to be expected.”
>”Right, but you see, this is probably going to be a very serious job, and I just,” why did telling somepony that they aren’t welcome have to be so hard?
“You do not know if I can be trusted.”
>”Exactly! I just-” Twilight stopped herself when she realized he had just spoken for her.
>”You… you aren’t upset are you?”
“Princess, I must reassure you that I pose no threat to you. I have no vendetta towards any one here, all of whom I have just met.”
>It didn’t seem like he was lying, of course, it was hard to detect anything in his voice.
 
>”For as little I know of myself I know plenty else of the world. I can help you Twilight. Honest.”
>He extended his arm to her in a meaningless gesture.
>Twilight mulled it over in her head once more.
>She’d been too quick to judge him, she decided.
>If there was to be any chance of him being her friend, she would need to trust him.
>That’s who she was after all: the Princess of Friendship.
>It was her duty to actively practice all that she had learned over the years.
>This could be a bonding experience.
>Not the most pleasant thing to bond over, but still.
>”Okay. You can join me,” she said, still leaving Anonymous hanging.
>He eventually understood that the gesture was foreign to her and retracted his arm.
“Thank you. I shall do my very best to assist you.”
>”I’ll hold you to that. Now come on, we aren’t too far from Honey Sickle’s house.”
>She pointed her head down a side street that led into a neighborhood.
>The two continued to walk once again.
“You wish to confirm that the rumor is true, yes?”
>”That’s the plan. If Rarity was right, then we’ll play it by ear from there on out.”
“And if she isn’t?”
>”Then I guess we’ll have to think of something else.”
>Part of Twilight wanted Rarity’s story to be true, but another part didn’t.
>She was conflicted on the matter.
>The implications and possibilities of a pony just waltzing into the forest were numerous.
>They’d find out soon enough.
 
>The street that ran through the neighborhood they were in was donned with numerous colorful flowers.
>This was the place, Twilight was sure.
>However, she faced the problem of not knowing where Honey Sickle lived.
>It was a minor detail, she assured Anonymous.
>Flagging down one of the nearby walkers, she asked if they knew where Honey Sickle lived.
>After asking four ponies, one finally knew that she lived at the end of the street.
>Thanking the kind stranger, Twilight and Anon continued their walk down the street, looking for a house with an orange mailbox.
>Excitement filled Twilight as she saw the indication that this was Honey Sickle’s home.
>The investigation had truly begun.
>Three knocks on the front door later, Honey Sickle was standing there, looking at her two visitors.
>She was golden in color, with deep blue eyes and a white-streaked mane that curled around her head.
>”Princess Twilight Sparkle! H-hello! What brings you here?” Honey Sickle asked timidly
>Her incessant bowing annoyed Twilight; she hated the whole ‘princess treatment’.
>”No need to bow, honest,” Twilight was not really familiar with this pony and hoped this wasn’t going to be an awkward ordeal. “We would just like to talk to you.”
>”Talk to me? About what?” she questioned.
>Better be upfront about it, thought Twilight.
>There wasn’t any reason to beat around the bush.
>”We’re here to ask you some questions.”
>”Oh, alright I guess, you can come in,” she said almost reluctantly.
>Perhaps the only reason she let them in was because Twilight was a princess.
>She opened up the door fully for them to walk through and closed it behind them.
 
>”So Twilight, who’s your friend? Some kind of bodyguard?” Honey asked as she lead them into her living room.
>”He’s just a friend of mine. We’re working on this… by thing ourselves.”
>”And by ‘thing’ you mean looking into Turbine’s disappearance?”
>Twilight nodded her head.
>”So you know why we’re really here then?” Twilight asked.
>”You wanna know if the rumors are true. You aren’t the first, really.”
>They spread out in the living room, each taking a seat.
”We have heard the rumors, but we were hoping to hear it from the horse's mouth… so to speak.”
>Anonymous pondered the validity of that expression as Honey sighed.
>”Then allow me to explain to you what happened.”
>It had been late in the evening when she had seen Turbine stumbling around.
>He hadn’t smelled of liquor, nor was his speech slurred.
>Simply put, Turbine was entranced by something.
>When asked what he was doing, he simply replied, “I’m going to meet her!”
>Any other questions posed were met with quiet mumbling.
>Honey Sickle had found this behavior odd obviously, and followed him from a short distance.
>Eventually, Turbine made his way to the Everfree Forest, and walked through the thicket.
>That was the last time anypony saw him.
>”So yes, the rumors are true: Turbine went into the Everfree and never came out,” concluded Honey Sickle.
>”And you have no idea why he would do that?”
>Honey shook her head.
>”Sorry. All he said was ‘I’m going to meet her,’ whatever that meant.”
 
>Twilight found that bit of information the most perplexing.
>Who was ‘she’?
“Forgive me if this seems rude, but you didn’t think to notify anyone of his disappearance?”
>”It’s just… I didn’t know why he was going into the forest. Sure ponies rarely go in there, but it’s not unheard of and there’s not a single guard regularly stationed in Ponyville.”
>”Sure’s right Anonymous. I’ve gone in there myself plenty of times. One of my friends even lives in there.”
>He sat there, in thought, trying to make sense of the story on his own.
>The task proved exceedingly challenging without outside help.
“Then there must have been a reason, one way or another.”
>”Thank you for your hospitality Honey Sickle,” Twilight said politely.
>”Oh, no problem. Good luck on your investigation I guess.”
>And with that, the two were back on the streets of Ponyville, the sun past its apex in the sky.
“So it seems we have a case on our hands.”
>”Yeah…” Twilight looked upwards to gauge the time.
>If this was going to a proper investigation, she was going to need some tools for the job.
>”First things first though, I need to get some things from the library,” she turned around and began walking. “Follow me.”
>Anonymous chuckled and followed the princess.
“After today’s events, I made a point to memorize the location of the library.
>And so the formation was created once again, and the two walked through the busy streets.
>Hopefully they’d finish their rounds for the day before it got too late.
 
>As they were walking, Twilight looked around to see Anonymous getting some strange looks to which he seemed unphased by.
>”You seem to be the popular one today,” Twilight joked.
“If the ponies wish to speak with me they must only ask.”
>”I don’t think they’re interested in talking with you.”
>Judging by Ponyville’s previous treatment of unknown creatures, they were being well-behaved today.
>”Not like you’d answer their questions about you anyways…” Twilight muttered under breath.
“I heard that.”
>Twilight grew hot in embarrassment.
“Besides, there is a correct time for every piece of information. Believe me, I would know.”
>”And there’s that wonderful Anonymous-patented vagueness,” Twilight sighed.
>The walk continued in an uncomfortable silence.
>In the silence, Twilight pondered what Honey Sickle had told them.
>’I’m going to meet her...’
>This had to be their best lead, but there was no way of telling who this pony that Turbine had to meet was.
>Maybe the knowledgeable on anything but himself’ Anon would know.
>”Anon, you wouldn’t have any ideas on what ‘I’m going to meet her’ meant, do you?”
>He didn’t waste any time mulling it over.
“Somepony told him to go into that forest. That much is clear.”
>Twilight looked down at her hooves.
>”Maybe this really is nothing more than a pony carelessly going into the forest.”
>That would be a relief, but definitely made things a whole lot less interesting.
“There’s still a chance a spell was involved. It’s worth looking into.”
>Twilight nodded in agreement as they arrived at the library.
 
>She opened the door and stepped inside first as Anonymous followed and closed the door.
>Now that Anonymous could fully see inside the building, he could in fact confirm that this was a library.
>Bookshelves lined the circular walls, filled to the brim with colorful tomes of various sizes.
>It was a marvelous sight, but paled in comparison to the one inside Canterlot Castle.
>Twilight headed straight for her writing stand as she began to levitate all the necessary tools to write a letter towards her.
>Parchment, quill, ink, Spike…
>”Anonymous, can you run upstairs and see if Spike’s there, and if he is bring him down here?” Twilight asked, her focus solely on writing a letter.
“I shall search for the dragon.”
>He walked up the curved staircase and entered the second story bedroom.
>The library’s small size gave it a cozy feeling that Anonymous admired.
>It was quite easy to hear the loud snoring coming from a small bed set off to the side of the room.
>There, lying outstretched on his blanket, was Spike.
>Little guy must have gotten tired and decided to nap.
>Good for him, Anonymous thought.
>He could not begin to imagine how disappointing it would be to not get a nap when you really wanted one.
>Unfortunately for Spike, however, it was time to wake up.
>Anonymous crouched down and spoke softly to try and awaken the dragon.
“You, sleepy one, the Princess requires you.”
>He didn’t stir at all.
>Which would be ruder?
>To awaken Spike with a fright or to keep Twilight waiting?
>Anonymous thought it over for only a second.
 
“Awaken at once!”
>Spike bolted upright with such speed that he fell forward onto the floor on his stomach.
>”I didn’t eat all the cookies! Honest!” Spike shouted in a daze.
>He looked all around feverishly.
>Once he caught sight of Anonymous’s feet, he traced them upwards to see Anonymous standing over him.
>”Huh? You?” Spike said, confused by Anon’s presence in the library. “What was your name again? ‘Annie’? What’re you doing here?”
>Spike rubbed his eyes relentlessly, hoping to remove the sleepiness from his face.
“Twilight Sparkle has requested you downstairs.”
>”O-oh. Alright then.”
>With great effort, Spike pushed himself up onto his legs, and hustled downstairs.
“And my name is ‘Anonymous’.”
>By the time Anon finished correcting Spike, he was already gone.
>Anonymous wondered how someone could get his name wrong when he went to great lengths to make it known to everyone.
>It didn’t matter, he decided.
>’Annie’ would just be another of the original nicknames he would be receiving today, alongside ‘Anon’, and such classics like, ‘Arbitrator’, and ‘Creature that ruined my life’.
>He chuckled to himself at the memories.
>They were so long ago in history, but not to him.
>As if only months had passed…
>Anonymous decided he had reminisced enough and proceeded to return downstairs.
>Sitting in front of a writing stand was a very focused Twilight Sparkle, magically manipulating a quill to her every whim.
>He watched the phenomena, and decided it was quite hypocritical.
>But as soon as the thought came it left.
>These first days were always the worst, Anonymous decided.
 
>With a signing of her name, Twilight Sparkle finished her letter.
>It was a simple request to Princess Celestia in which she asked for a handful of guards to come to Ponyville for a few days.
>In the letter Twilight briefed over the situation, but didn’t feel the need to list her concerns.
>She rolled up the letter and handed it to Spike, who promptly set it ablaze in a magical spout of fire.
>Hopefully Twilight would get her response before the day was over.
>Packing her writing utensils away, she began to rummage through a drawer for a notepad.
>Taking notes was a specialty of hers, and she wanted to write down every detail.
>After she found one with plenty of blank pages, she grabbed a pencil and hopped away from the stand.
>”Now I’m ready to begin this investigation properly!” Twilight stated happily as she grabbed a saddlebag from a hanger.
>”What are two investigating?” Spike asked.
>”A missing pony case, Spike. Anonymous and I are looking into things,” Twilight said vaguely to the young dragon whilst she packed away her things into the bags.
>”Oh, alright. Have fun I guess,” Spike said indifferently.
>Sensing he wasn’t needed any more, he slowly slinked away towards the stairs.
>Twilight walked over to Anonymous whilst writing on her notepad.
>’I’m going to meet her…’ she wrote along with the other important parts of Honey Sickle’s testimony.
“Tell me Twilight, where shall we be going next?”
>Twilight finished her note writing and looked up at Anonymous.
>”Rarity said that Turbine had a friend named Willow Wisp that might know more.”
“Ah yes, I remember. Do you know where this Willow Wisp lives?”
 
>”Haven’t a clue,” she said exhaustedly. “But I want to talk to them before tomorrow.”
>She was lucky to have even known the general area Honey Sickle had lived in.
“I hope you are not going to rely on your previous method of locating this pony.”
>”No. I know just the pony to go to,” Twilight said confidently.
>Anonymous nodded in understanding.
“Very well, then let us be on our way.”
>The walk to Sugarcube Corner is a short one thankfully.
>It would seem that has been a majority of the day for both Anonymous and Twilight.
>Walking.
>The details of the almost completely silent trek shall be spared.
>Sugarcube Corner, in all of its confectionary design, was a pleasant sight to behold.
“So tell me, who is this pony we are here to meet?”
>The two walked up to the front door and Twilight began to open it.
>”Oh, just a friend of mine,” Twilight said aloofly.
>At once she opened the door.
>”TWILIGHT!” shouted an affectionate voice.
>Across the room, behind a counter was a very bouncy and pink pony named Pinkie Pie.
>”It’s been FOR-EVER Twilight!” Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly as she leaned over the counter.
>Twilight and Anonymous walked into Sugarcube Corner and approached the counter.
>”It hasn’t been that long Pinkie. Two days maybe,” Twilight reassured.
>”That’s like, the entire lifespan of a gastrotrich!”
>”A what?”
“She is right, you know.”
>”Oh my gosh! Twilight! Who’s your friend here!” Pinkie asked excitedly at the presence of someone she had not met before.
 
>This time, Anonymous took the initiative to introduce himself.
“Hello, miss. My name is Anonymous.”
>Once again, he extended his hand in a foreign gesture.
>Pinkie grabbed it happily and shook it with vigor.
>The pink one knows.
>”Hello Anonomouse! I’m Pinkie Pie!” she said quickly.
>’Anonomouse’ was certainly another one for the list.
>”Anon-Ah-Miss, Pinkie,” Twilight corrected.
“Pinkie Pie, nice to meet you.”
>Anonymous retracted his hand and put it to rest at his side.
>”Pinkie,” Twilight started, “I need to know where somepony lives. Think you can help me?”
>”Help you? Pinkie laughed. “Of course I can help you, silly!”
>”Great! We’re looking for somepony named Willow Wisp.”
>”Willow Wisp,” Pinkie repeated like a machine. “Take a left out of Sugarcube Corner then a right then another right go straight for a while then take the second left, left, right, straight, 4th house on the right! Got all that?” Pinkie asked with a smile.
>Twilight was ferociously scribbling down the instructions, not doubting at all their correctness.
>”I think so…” she responded, finishing writing the directions.
>”Thank you Pinkie.”
>”No problem Twilight! Good luck doing whatever it is your doing!”
>The duo was about ready to leave before Twilight remembered something.
>”Oh, Pinkie? I’d like to purchase two cupcakes please.”
>Twilight needed to eat dinner after all, and she assumed Anonymous would have to do the same.
>A cupcake would have to do.
>”Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie said as she ducked down below the counter and came back up with a platter of two decorated cupcakes.
>Using her magic, Twilight exchanged the two cupcakes for 6 bits.
>Levitating the cupcakes from the plate, she gave one to Anonymous who took it confusedly.
 
>”Thanks again Pinkie. Bye!” Twilight said as she led Anonymous outside.
>”See ya!” Pinkie said whilst waving enthusiastically.
>The two walked outside as Twilight both took a bite from her cupcake and read her notepad.
>Anonymous eyeballed his pastry.
“Tell me, what am I to do with this item?”
>Twilight was undoubtedly confused by the question but didn’t bother asking.
>”You eat it,” she said bluntly.
“But why would I ne- Ah, yes. Eating. Of course.”
>With that, Anonymous took a messy bite from the cupcake.
>”Uhh… Anonymous?”
“Hmmm?”
>”You’ve gotta- you’re not supposed to eat the wrapping on the bottom.”
>He swallowed quickly.
“Says whom?”
>”No pony, I guess. It’s just... something you’re not supposed to do. Forget it…” she said, not wanting to talk about it.
>Twilight their first right turn, and so they went, following Pinkie’s simple directions.
>Right there, straight, left here? No, there it is. Another left, and so on.
>”Fourth house on the right,” Twilight whispered to herself. “Aha!”
>There it was, the house that should belong to Willow Wisp.
>Hopefully he would be home at this hour.
>They walked down to the door and Twilight did the honors of knocking.
>Three knocks, and there was silence.
>Seconds ticked by, and there was no sign of a response.
“Perhaps he is not home?”
>”Come on, we can’t be that unlucky...”
>Twilight knocked again on the door, more quickly this time, and it opened very slightly.
>Breaking through the new crack was a brown eye, scanning the two visitors.
>”What is it?” a male voice questioned irritably. “What do you want?”
 
>”Willow Wisp?” Twilight asked.
>”Yeah. What do you want?”
>”We want to ask about Turbine. He was your friend, right?”
>Willow Wisp sighed loudly, and the door opened more to reveal his grey body and black mane draping over his face.
>”You’re Princess Twilight, right?”
>Twilight nodded in confirmation.
>”Alright look. Turbine comes up to me two days before he vanished, says he met some mare. He rambles on and on about how she’s got a beautiful voice, eyes, yadda yadda.”
>Twilight was speedily writing notes down verbatim in her notepad.
>This was interesting information.
>Anonymous listened and waited as always.
>”Next day he runs up to me sayin’ he’s in love and is gonna run away with this mare. Doesn’t even give me a name. That’s the last I saw of the guy. If you ask me he ran away to Baltimare or Las Pegasus with ‘er. Skipped town and work… and me. But hey, what can ya’ do?”
>Twilight finished up her transcription and looked at Willow Wisp.
>”So he was acting erratically on the days up to his disappearance?”
>”Yeah, sure,” he said tiredly. “Listen. I’ve done nothing but talk to ponies about that idiot’s disappearance for the past day ever since that rumor of him running into the forest spread. I’m done talking about it now, thank you.”
>”But-”
>And with that, he slammed the door in Twilight’s face, effectively shutting her up.
>”Jerk,” she grumbled.
“Interesting. At least this Willow Wisp character has given us more insight into Turbine’s disappearance.”
>”I guess,” Twilight sighed. “It’s getting late. I’d feel better if we went to the library so I could do some proper thinking.”
 
“Very well, but this time I shall lead us.”
>”Heh, alright Anon,” Twilight said tiredly.
>It is amazing what a day filled with walking around town does to a pony’s legs.
>All Twilight wanted to do now was crack down on this mystery.
>There was definitely something strange about Turbine’s disappearance.
>Maybe he really did skip town with some mare he met…
>That would mean Honey Sickle didn’t really see him that night.
>But she knew…
>’I’m going to meet her’.
>It matched up with what Willow Wisp said about a girl.
>So she would have had to have known somehow.
>But why would she make up something like Turbine going into the forest?
>This would prove to be easier to sort out if Twilight had a desk to write at.
>For this reason, once the two returned to the library thanks to Anonymous’s guidance, Twilight went straight upstairs, notepad grasped in magic.
>Anonymous was left downstairs with Spike, who was leaning up against a shelf, half-eaten gem in claw.
>”So, uh… I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what are you exactly?” Spike asked tentatively.
>Anonymous spread out his arms.
--
>Theories.
>Possibilities.
>Ifs, ands, or buts.
>Maybes that did not fit into the conclusions.
>It was frustrating.
>Twilight couldn’t exactly confirm something supernatural had caused Turbine’s disappearance.
>She couldn’t even be one hundred percent sure that he did enter the Everfree.
>All that she could really be certain of was the influence of some mysterious mare.
>Why would somepony want to get rid of Turbine?
 
>But Twilight couldn’t even confirm if he was dead or not.
>He hadn’t shown up to work in two days, and that’s when the rumors started.
>Maybe she needed to do more research.
>Twilight sighed heavily as the sound of footsteps grew louder behind her.
>She turned around to see Spike running up to her, scroll clenched in his claw.
>”This just came in, Twilight!”
>”Thank you,” she said as she seized it and unfurled it.
>’Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle, I am sorry to hear from you under these circumstances… yadda yadda, Princess talk.’
>’I shall have a small squad of guards prepped and ready to be sent over in the morning tomorrow. Should the situation escalate, please contact me immediately. Stay in contact and keep me up to date.’
>’Signed, Princess Celestia.’
>This was good news.
>At the very least, she could have the forest scouted for any evidence Turbine did go in there.
>Not that the odds of finding anything were high, but it would be worth a try.
>Then she and Anonymous could fill in the missing details while the guards worked.
>As Twilight looked outside the window and saw it getting darker, she decided today had been fruitful enough.
>Anonymous…
>He probably needed a place to stay, Twilight thought.
>Such a strange character.
>She had spent the entire day with him and noticed nothing worrying.
>He behaved just like a regular pony.
>Depends on how ‘regular’ is defined, however.
>It wouldn’t hurt to offer him to spend the night, and it’d probably be the most proper thing to do.
>After all, Twilight was the Princess of friendship.
 
>She got up from her spot and trotted down the stairs, spotting Anonymous standing with a book open in each hand.
>Nothing out of the ordinary for Anonymous, she decided.
>”Couldn’t make up your mind on what to read?” she teased as she approached him.
“Literature certainly has changed over the years.”
>Twilight took a look at the name of the books in his hands and noticed the age gap between them.
>”Give anything enough years and it’ll change. Things don’t stay the same for long. Change is natural.”
“Very wise words. I shall remember that for future reference.”
>With his focus switched, Anonymous shut both books and placed them underneath his arm.
“Tell me, Twilight, what is the news from the Princess?”
>”She’ll be sending us a handful of guards first thing tomorrow morning,” she explained. “I think it’d be best to have them scout out the forest for any signs of Turbine.”
“That sounds logical to me.”
>By Anonymous’s standards, that was a compliment.
>”Thanks. So…” Twilight transitioned awkwardly, “do you need a place to stay the night?”
“Not necessarily. A roof and bed are just luxuries after all.”
>Twilight sighed.
>”I’ll pull out the guest bed…”