"...And then Snips and Snails had to spend the rest of the day cleaning the class," Scootaloo snorted as she finished her story.
"No way!" Theta laughed. "Was Cheerilee really mad?"
"A little bit," she said, staring ahead with a smile on her face. "But she doesn't really get mad, she just gets kinda annoyed."
"Sounds like we missed a lot while we were gone," Sigma said half-heartedly.
"Ya can't expect everythin' t' just stop when y'all ain't around," Apple Bloom chuckled.
"I suppose that is true."
"So did you guys have anything interesting happen to you when you were gone?" Scootaloo asked, looking to the pair.
"No, our time was spent being together," he said honestly. "We didn't have anything that you would find interesting happen to us."
"What, did you guys just stand around all day doing nothing?"
"That isn't far from the truth," he muttered, glancing at Sweetie Belle. Every so often he would catch her staring at either him or Theta with a strange gleam in her eye, but he decided not to question it.
"Whelp, here we are," Apple Bloom sighed as they reached their destination.
The girls quickly walked up to the door, while the two colts stood behind them. Scootaloo knocked on the door a few times, and within a few seconds Twilight opened the door.
"Hello, girls," Twilight said, curiously surprised by their appearance. Her eyes then caught the sight of the girls' two companions who stood close by. "What can I do for you today?"
"Hey, Twilight. Do you happen to have any books on how to properly dig for things like treasure and fossils?" Scootaloo asked.
"I'm sure I do somewhere. Come on in while you wait," she replied, walking towards the bookshelf that Pinkie had burst through. "Going for an archaeology Cutie Mark today?"
"Yup," Apple Bloom chirped, trotting in to help her look for it. "Thought it could be fun t' find somethin' really, really old. Imagine findin' a really rare artifact and gettin' famous for it!"
"That would be quite an experience," Twilight murmured thoughtfully, eyes darting across the line of books. "And it is a nice surprise to see Theta and Sigma back."
"Yeah, it's awesome to know that they're back," Scootaloo chuckled. "Hopefully for good this time."
"I hope so too," Theta said, but his smile fell after a second's thought. "Not looking forward to school tomorrow, though..."
"You'll be fine. Besides, if those bullies give you trouble again, I'm sure Sigma will step in and show them what's what," she said as she turned to look at the colt in question. "Right, Sig?"
"Of course," the distant colt agreed.
"You seem different somehow," Twilight said quietly, watching him out of the corner of her eye.
"As everyone keeps saying," he said quietly. "I'm just thinking, that's all. There is no need to worry about me. I'm sure I'll be back to normal given some time."
"Let's hope not," Church grunted.
"Church is back too?" Sweetie Belle asked, eyes narrowing to studious slits.
"Yeah, of course he is," Scootaloo said, giving Sweetie Belle a strange look. "He's Sigma and Theta's older brother, remember?"
"Oh, I forgot about that," Sweetie Belle said as she shook her head.
"Let's see..." Twilight mumbled as she grabbed a few books with her magic. "I think 'Digging Guidelines and Safety Tips' and 'Archaeology and You' should do it. If you do end up finding something, be sure to bring it here. I'd really like to see what you find, and I could probably help you find out what it is."
"We will, thanks!" Apple Bloom said, grabbing the books with her teeth.
"We'll bring the books back as soon as we can!" Scootaloo said, closing the door behind them after they had all filed out.
The five of them quickly made their way back to the acres. Once they arrived, they split up to look for the tools they needed. The girls went into the farmhouse to look for most of the stuff they needed while the two fragments went into the barn to find rope and other tools they may need. The girls were the first ones to find what they needed and made their way to the front of the barn to wait for the boys.
"Hello, young ones," O'Malley said as he approached them from seemingly out of nowhere. "What are you doing with those bags?"
"We're goin' diggin' for treasure," Apple Bloom said, smiling lopsidedly at him.
"Oh? Well that sounds fun. I just hope you know that treasure isn't the only thing buried in the ground," O'Malley murmured mysteriously.
"What are you talking about?" Scootaloo asked curiously.
"I simply mean not all things buried were meant to be unearthed," he said. "In fact, some things were put in the ground for the sole purpose of not being obtained with ease."
"Like what?"
"For one, I've heard many stories of murderers burying their victims in areas like the orchard," O'Malley said in an amused tone, smirking at the looks of fear growing on the young fillies' faces.
"Why would they bury p-ponies out there?" Apple Bloom stuttered, looking to the trees.
"Lots of reasons," O'Malley chuckled darkly. "Soft ground, easy to dig. Secluded, private property, far away from the public. A large area of land, enough space to make finding a victim impossible. A prime location indeed."
"We woulda noticed if somepony was comin' onto our property doin' that," she mumbled, trying to convince herself that he was just trying to scare her. In fact, she knew he was just trying to scare her. But that somehow made it worse.
"Maybe," he agreed, eyes gleaming with admiration. "Unless the murderer didn't need to sneak onto the property."
"What do ya mean by that?"
"We got the stuff!" Theta called out as he pushed open the door to the barn, Sigma next to him with the bag on his back. He began walking towards the girls, only to pause next to O'Malley when he saw the way they were looking at him. "What's wrong with them?"
"Nothing. We were just engaging in a pleasant chat about the glorious pastime of digging up remnants of the past," O'Malley said. "Now if you'll excuse me, Gary wishes to speak to me about private matters regarding the city. We're going to debate how we proceed when we receive a missing pony report."
"Uh, okay then," the purple colt mumbled unknowingly as he walked up to the jittery girls. "We'll be out in the orchard if you need us."
"Have fun," O'Malley chuckled hollowly, disappearing into the darkness of the barn.
"We will, thanks," he said as Sigma followed him to the girls. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get digging!"
The girls watched nervously as Theta set a brisk pace towards the treeline, whistling softly as Sigma trailed behind him, carrying the bag of tools effortlessly. Sharing a glance with each other, they noticed the look of fear on each other's faces.
"Yeah, let's go," Scootaloo gulped weakly, following after their companions.
Sweetie Belle shook her head and followed, leaving a still scared Apple Bloom by the farm.
"Ah don't wanna do this anymore," she murmured, but followed after them anyways, not wanting to be alone near O'Malley.