//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16 REVISED 
// Story: A Journey Unthought Of 
// by Hustlin Tom 
//------------------------------//

Bon Bon and I made it back to Ponyville safe and sound even with our use of the train system.  We were fortunate no one had stepped near me, but it was also helpful that we were headed out into the country: there would probably have been trouble if we had been headed to one of the greater urban centers of Equestria.  The next few days were tense.  Every knock on the door sent the two of us scrambling: me to another room with my shroud on, and Bon Bon to try her best to calmly answer it.  Most days it was a customer or two, calling for a small, personal dessert rush job for a friend or loved one.  Soon after our return we reached to Twilight for help and advice.  Though we were surprised by the lack of news surrounding my 'public appearance' in Canterlot, we didn't want to risk any further slip-ups and meant to take precautions.

After we determined who it was at the door and that it was safe, we quickly let her in.  I explained the whole situation to her: what happened, and why it happened.  She blinked a few times, her eyes wide.  She brought her hoof in front of her mouth before sighing into it, "Oooookay.  Now that the water is under the bridge we need to come up with a plan should something like this happen again.  First, we have to show everyone you aren't an animal, and that you don't mean any harm."  

"That's as good a place to start as any, I guess," I replied, "How do we go about doing that, though?"  

"We'll go straight to the top," she said, "I'll send a letter to Princess Celestia.  If we can get her on your side, you'll at least have the Equestrian government's protection."  

"How long do you think that's going take," Bon Bon asked, "I'm going to be honest, after the last three days I don't know how much more we can handle this increased paranoia we're living in."  

Twilight nodded sympathetically, "I'll have a letter in writing and sent within the hour.  After that, I guess all we can do is wait."  A small smile grew on her face, "I can't imagine how hard it’s been for the both of you, living in hiding like this.  I have an idea though!  I'll talk to a friend of mine, and see if she can come and visit.  She recently had to deal with being cooped up after she broke her wing, so she might be able to help you out with your restlessness."  

That's ultimately how I met Rainbow Dash.  A courageous mare, if a little headstrong and mistrustful of strangers, but she was always there when her friends needed her.  When Twilight had asked for her help, she was more than happy to help her out, and I suppose me as well.  It turned out that she managed a good portion of the weather detail in and around the Ponyville area, which is why I hadn't seen much of her around town.  I'm not quite used to looking for people in the sky like that!  Meteorology, however, wasn't Rainbow's passion: that strictly belonged to the Wonderbolts.  

"So you want to join the army," I asked incredulously as she flew above me and my seat in the living room.  

"Nah, not exactly," she replied as she flipped over onto her back, still floating in midair somehow as she did, "The Wonderbolts are a part of the military, but are more for boosting morale than anything.  They regularly do stunt shows, but they also get called in for emergency situations or search and rescue."  She arched an eyebrow as she looked down at me, "What's weird about that?"  

"Nothing's weird about it," I said, trying to backtrack somewhat, "I just wouldn't have guessed that someone like you would be okay taking orders."  

"Eh, I'll get by," she replied with a wave of her hoof, "When I fly with them one day that'll be enough: I can put up with whatever they want."  

"You seem pretty sure that's going to happen," I said.  

"Oh, I know it's going to happen," she exclaimed matter-of-factly, "Every day, no, every hour I'm not on duty or sleeping I train.  I do maneuver after maneuver, trick after trick, to make sure that I'm the very best!" 

"Like no one ever was," I asked with a little snicker at the end.  

"Exactly!"  She came right up to my face and gently planted her hoof on my nose for a second, " 'Like no one ever was!'  I like it!"  

"What made you want to join the Wonderbolts," I asked.  

"I had family with them," she replied with a shrug, "and I want to help others by keeping them safe."  She smirked a little, in a conspiratorial fashion, "Plus, I want to be able to show off while doing it.  Nothing's better than soaring high in the skies, while others watch you do death-defying, super-awesome stunts, where it looks like you're not going to pull up in time, or you get too close to that mountain or thunderhead, and BAM!  You do it in the nick of time! Heh heh!"  She cocked her hoof back then let it fly upwards, and her body followed, doing a tight end over end tumble through the air behind her.  

I laughed at her display of aerial and acrobatic skill, "Well it looks like you've got the enthusiasm part down!"

She chuckled a little to herself before she descended to the floor and came a little closer, "Tell you what: you've been stuck in here a couple of days now.  What I think you need is a little outside time, and I know just the place."  My eyes grew wide in shock, but she headed me off, "I didn't mean in town.  There's loads of stuff to see in the Everfree!  The outskirts are pretty safe, so if we can stay under cover of the trees and away from the edge of the forest, we can explore to our hearts' content!  There's this one place I've been dying to see, but I've never gotten the chance to."  

"Oh yeah?  What kind of place is that?"  

"Hang on a sec," she said, then turned to the kitchen area, "Hey Bon Bon, do you have a map anywhere around here?  A local area one?"  

"There's a small almanac in the bookshelf: second row, leftmost book."  She then peeked her head around the corner, her body language showing her worry, "What do you need it for?"  

"Oooooh, just you wait," Rainbow said with smirk as she jumped over to the shelf and quickly located the small booklet.  

"I'd rather not," Bon Bon said flatly, "Last time someone got that adventurous tone in their voice we got landed in the situation we're in now."  

After flipping through the first few pages, the pegasus exclaimed a quick, 'Aha' before sticking her hooftip right on a map of the outskirts of Ponyville.  A large section of the left side of the map was covered in forest, but there was one section in particular that was marked as unforested.  A small landmark sat in that area with a title just beneath it, which I read aloud, "Tumulus of the Kings?"  

Bon Bon visibly shuddered.  I glanced at her for a second to make sure she was okay, before looking back at Rainbow, "What the heck is a 'tumulus'?"  

"What am I, a bookworm," she asked with a shrug, "Ask Twilight!  If you're a normal pony, the place has a different name-"  

"Spectre Howe," Bon Bon said with another shiver, "What are you two talking about that dreadful place for?"  

"Okay, what the hell is a 'howe'?" I asked in frustration, but my question went unanswered.  

"What," Rainbow asked defensively to Bon Bon, "We're looking for excitement: discrete, local excitement!  What better place to take the dude than here?"  

"How about for starters I understand why I wouldn't want to go there," I asked the air as I looked towards Bon Bon.  

She looked away for a second before she turned back to us, "I've never been because it's...haunted.  The Everfree Forest is already a strange, untamed place, but Spectre Howe is wrong."  

"What do you mean, 'wrong'," I asked further.  

Slightly upset, the exact words not coming to her how she'd have liked, she sputtered, "I don't know!  It's just wrong.  The ponies who have been there have said there's no wildlife nearby.  It's dead quiet, because even beasts know better than to approach it."  

"See," Rainbow exclaimed, "You're using all my good reasons like they're something bad!  We won't have to worry about wildlife, and nopony's going to be around to see us.  Besides, the spookiness is what makes it fun, otherwise it'd be just a bunch of silent hills."  

"So why have you never gone," I asked as I turned to her.  

"Nopony ever wants to come with me," she said with a huff, "Fluttershy is scared stiff of the place, but then she's Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie would rather focus on partying with the living, Applejack's always busy, and yadda-yadda-yadda!  I think deep down they're all chicken!"  She then turned her head to look me straight in the eye with a cocky smirk on her face, "The real question is, are you?"  

My eyes narrowed, and I smiled back at her, "I'm no chicken!  I've been to my share of haunted houses back home.  I'll do it!"  

Bon Bon grumbled, "Just bring him back safe before dark," before she went back into the kitchen to check on her next batch of treats.  

With our new activity settled on, I grabbed a small canteen and filled it with water; within five minutes we were out the door, hiking off into the woods in search of a little adventure.  I'd soon find I'd get a little more than I'd bargain for.





"What do you think it was though," Scootaloo asked as she and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders strolled through the main stretch of Ponyville's central circuit.  

"Ah don't know, but Ah know what Ah saw," Apple Bloom repeated, "It was a big, weird thing; stood maybe eight, no, nine feet tall!  An' Lyra an' Bon Bon were treatin' it like it was just the most normal'a thing as could be!"  

Sweetie Belle slid her hoof over her chin, the little filly pondering feverishly as she did, "I don't know if this is a great idea, but what if we just went and asked them what it was?"  

"Nah, they wouldn't probably tell us," Apple Bloom said with frustration, "Whatever it was, Sis was real hush hush about it; sent me away like she was just shootin' the breeze with Lyra, but I know her tells.  It's hidin' fer some reason, so the only way we'll find out what it is is to find somepony who knows weird stuff, an' I know just the pony for it!"  

The trio of stouthearted fillies arrived at the business they'd been looking for, and entered one after the other.  The shop was filled with row after row of various trinkets and knickknacks, each a unique piece and with a unique function.  Everything here was hoof-made.  Some of it seemed useless.  Some of it was just plain bizarre, and while they couldn't be sure how to even pronounce half the nametags in the shop, the fillies knew the proprietor would have the answer they were looking for.  Approaching the checkout desk at the back of the store, Apple Bloom squatted a little to let Scootaloo up onto her back, who then with a small leap and a flutter of her wings reached for the attendant's bell and gave it a sharp ring.  

It wasn't long at all before they heard a quick cry of 'Coming' from a feminine voice.  A grey pegasus with a blond mane leaned over the counter after a quick glance elsewhere in the shop, and put on a big grin, "Hi there, Cutie Mark Crusaders!  Welcome to Dr. John Whooves' Invention Emporium!"  

"Hey Ditzy," Apple Bloom said with a smile, "We was wonderin' if maybe the Doctor were around.  We need his help with somethin'!"  

Ditzy's crossed eyes shifted as she leaned her head a little to the side, offering an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Crusaders, but he's in the middle of a big experiment.  I could write a note for you though!"  

"Oh," Apple Bloom exclaimed flatly.  

"No, it's okay," Scootaloo said as they began to turn towards the door.  

"We'll just come back later," Sweetie finished their thought.  

"Girls, wait," Ditzy exclaimed as she flew over the counter and came to hover in their path, looking for their trust, "I Pinkie Promise that I will get your message to the Doctor."  

The fillies looked at each other, uncertain for a few seconds, but then they made up their minds; she had made a Pinkie Promise after all, "Okay."  

"Great," Ditzy replied with a whole new smile on her face, and she returned to her spot behind the counter, a pad of paper at hoof and a pen in her mouth, "What's the message?"  

"We're just wondering if he's seen any strange critters," Apple Bloom exclaimed, "Like real strange ones."  

Ditzy didn't even put the pen to paper, but one eye glanced up while the other remained staring down at it for a second, "Can, uh, you narrow that down a bit?"  

"It's this weird pale creature living at Lyra and Bon Bon's," Sweetie Belle explained, "It walks on it's back two legs, and it uses the front ones to hold stuff with hands of some kind."  

"It doesn't have a horn, wings, tail, or even fur," Scootaloo finished, "but apparently it has two eyes, ears, a nose and mouth, and can even talk too!"  

As their description went on Ditzy's eyes widened and her gaze centered exclusively on the three girls in shock.  

"Didya get all that," Apple Bloom asked.  

"Yeah," the grey pegasus said numbly, "Yeah.  I'll just, um, I'll just get that to him right away."  

"Great," she replied before the three of them turned and walked back out of the shop, "Thanks a lot Ditzy!"  

As soon as they exited out the front, Ditzy herself went out the back in a rush, heading for the blue shed behind the property.  She knocked twice on the door.  It wasn't long before it opened from the inside.  

"Hello Ditzy Doo, my wonderful companion-" a voice began, but she cut him off, "Doctor, you're not going to believe this."  

"Oh, I very much doubt that," he replied with a cocky tone of voice, "but try all the same."  She gave the description, just as it had been given to her.  "Well-" he said with a pause to clear his throat, and a quick exhalation, "You've certainly succeeded this time!"