A Head Full of Clay

by Squinty Mudmane

Chapter 5: The Best Idea Ever

“Good morning, my little ponies! I hope you’re all happy and excited to begin today’s lesson! Let’s start out by going over the results of last week’s math test!”

It was always a source of amazement and slight admiration to Sweetie Belle how Cherilee could muster the same level of enthusiasm for teaching, no matter the day, weather or motivation of her pupils. She was always cheerful, always smiling, always willing to offer help and encouragement if there were parts of the day’s lesson that someone was struggling with. Above all, she exhibited a pure, genuine passion and joy for teaching, something that usually inspired Sweetie Belle to listen in rapt attention to whatever the subject for the day was. Usually.

Today Sweetie Belle’s attention was divided between four different things. She was dutifully trying to follow the lesson, naturally, but she also kept thinking about her meeting with Twilight later that day. Additionally, she wondered what it was that Apple Bloom had come up with that was so urgent and pressing. Lastly, she was trying very hard to block out the spiteful whispering of Silver Spoon of Diamond Tiara from the row behind her. They were loud enough that she could hear their conversation, but not loud enough that Cherilee could make out their words from her position at the blackboard. It seemed like someone had agitated the two snobby fillies, and they had decided to make the Crusaders the object of their displeasure.

“…And just look at that hideous shade of purple in her mane. I mean, if I had something like that for my mane, I would probably, like, try to hide it or dye it.”

Sweetie Belle picked up her pencil with her teeth and looked firmly up at the blackboard. Minty, another unicorn filly with an appropriately mint-coloured coat, was in the process of writing the results for the first couple of questions—fairly basic addition and subtraction—while Cherilee offered words of encouragement and praise. To Sweetie Belle’s chagrin, Minty was levitating the piece of crayon in a shimmer of magic, and even though her writing was somewhat clumsy, the sight of the floating and firmly intact crayon still stung slightly.

“…And what kind of self-respecting unicorn doesn’t use her magic to write?” Silver Spoon whispered.

“Probably just the kind that's too stupid to be able to do magic. I mean, even Snips and Snails can do it,” Diamond Tiara replied, eliciting very unsubtle giggle from both of them. Sweetie Belle did her best to shut her ears and instead checked her own results against those of Minty’s on the blackboard. To her satisfaction, they were all correct so far.

“Thank you, Minty, that was very good!” Cherilee said brightly as a somewhat embarrassed but pleased-looking Minty took her seat again. “Now, how about you come up here and go through the multiplication questions, Diamond Tiara?” she continued with a smile, turning her attention to the row behind Sweetie Belle. The giggling from the two fillies ceased abruptly, and Sweetie Belle struggled to resist the urge to give Cherilee a high-hoof.

For the next five minutes, she had the enjoyment of getting to watch Diamond Tiara stew by the blackboard, and while the earth pony had gotten most of the questions right, there were still a few which Sweetie Belle triumphantly could note that she alone had gotten right, while Diamond Tiara had to redo them on the blackboard in front of the rest of the class. The unicorn filly took a moment to glance around, noting that Scootaloo was making no effort to hide her obvious entertainment from watching the discomfort of their nemesis, grinning widely and leaning back in her chair. Apple Bloom, meanwhile, seemed disinterested and almost bored, glancing towards the windows as if anxious to get outside.

The rest of the lesson was uneventful, with a couple of other foals being pulled up to go over the remaining parts of the test. To Sweetie Belle’s silent relief, she was not among them. Even though her results were perfect, she did not feel like showing off her distinct lack of magical ability to everyone else more than necessary. She tried to press Apple Bloom during lunch break for more information regarding the supposed big revelation, but the other filly merely shushed her and looked meaningfully at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who were nearby having a very animated, very unflattering conversation about the Crusaders.

After finishing school, the three fillies made their way towards the orchard of Sweet Apple Acres. Scootaloo was—somewhat reluctantly—pulling her scooter to allow her friends to keep up, while Apple Bloom all but skipped along.

“Do we have to go all the way to the clubhouse? It’s a long way from the library,” Sweetie Belle grumbled at the back.

“Of course! This is the kind of news that ya just can’t tell anywhere ’cept in private, an’ there ain’t no more secure a place than our clubhouse,” Apple Bloom declared happily. Scootaloo rolled her eyes a bit, wondering if Apple Bloom knew that their clubhouse often played home to meetings of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club as well.

“If you say so,” the unicorn filly muttered, though she seemed unconvinced as well.

The rest of the walk took place in relative silence, with only the occasional annoyed huff from Sweetie Belle. Once the door to the clubhouse was safely closed behind them, Apple Bloom upended her bags, revealing the books she had borrowed, along with her other schoolbooks and papers. She picked up Tracking Tincoat and tossed it towards her two rather puzzled-looking friends so that it slid to a halt between them.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders, allow me to present ya with the best idea ever!” she announced, beaming at her friends. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked from Apple Bloom to the book and back again.

Scootaloo sighed in exasperation. “That’s it? A book? Apple Bloom, we already tried Cutie Mark Crusader Librarians, remember? That was a dud, too.”

“No, it ain’t that. It’s the book itself! It’s got the answer to our problems!” Apple Bloom was practically bouncing on the spot in excitement.

“And would you care to tell us exactly what that answer is, or do we have to read the book first?” Sweetie Belle asked in an annoyed tone.

“Right, so listen here,” Apple Bloom said, her tone mimicking that of Applejack when she told bedtime stories. “So long ago, there was this feller named Tincoat, right? An’ he made these things called golems, which are ponies made of clay and magic. The pony who wrote this book says Tincoat might’ve been a really important pony, only no one knows what happened to him. It said somethin’ ’bout discoverin’ a tablet near Ponyville, even had a name of the pony who found it, an’ Granny Smith confirmed he was real!” Apple Bloom paused to look at her two friends, who both looked rather nonplussed.

“Don’t ya see? It’s our chance to find somethin’ that’s gonna make history! We know it really happened, because Granny Smith said the discovery of that there tablet thingy was real! If we can find out what happened to this Tincoat feller, we’re gonna be famous! Discoverin’ somethin’ like that is sure to reveal our special talents! We’re gonna be Cutie Mark Crusader History Finders! Uhm… Cutie Mark Crusader Dust Diggers! No, Cutie Mark Crusader… erh…”

“Lore Seekers?” Sweetie Belle suggested flatly.

“Yeah! Cutie Mark Crusader Lore Seekers! It’s gonna be so cool!” Apple Bloom cheered, flashing her biggest, most winning smile at her friends.

“Are you even listening to yourself?” Sweetie Belle groaned. “You want us to go looking for some story you read about in a book that nopony else in who knows how long has managed to find? And you expect us to do this how?”

“Well…” Apple Bloom hesitated. “Granny Smith said the pony who found that tablet moved to another town, named somethin’ about birds an’ starting with ‘S’. An’ in the book, it said Tincoat’s journal was moved to the Canterlot Archives, or was goin’ to be moved there, anyway.”

“So all we have to do is trudge all over Equestria until we find the right town starting with ‘S’, and break into the Canterlot Archives to steal a book? Yeah, that doesn’t sound dangerous or crazy at all,” Sweetie Belle scoffed, throwing her hooves up in the air.

“It’s no crazier than some of the other things we’ve already done,” Scootaloo pointed out. Sweetie Belle looked at her incredulously.

“Wait, you’re actually taking Apple Bloom’s side in this?” she protested.

“Yeah? Don’t you remember the promise we made to each other when we started all this? That we were gonna keep on trying no matter what until we succeed? And that we were going to do it together?” Scootaloo retorted.

“This isn’t the same—”

“Girls,” Apple Bloom tried to intervene, but with no success.

“Oh, so you’re just too scared to go through with this when it really counts, huh? You’d rather just sit at home waiting in case a Cutie Mark is magically going to fall on your flank?” Scootaloo let out a derisive snort.

“Hey!” Sweetie Belle jumped to her hooves, her face red with anger. “Just because you don’t have a sister on your tail all the time throwing a fit whenever you get in trouble—” She immediately regretted her words, wishing she could swallow them and put them in the deepest, darkest corner of her stomach when she saw the look on Scootaloo’s face.

“S-sorry, Scootaloo…” Sweetie Belle whimpered apologetically.

“It’s fine,” Scootaloo hissed through gritted teeth, pointedly not looking at the unicorn filly. Apple Bloom swallowed. The tension in the clubhouse was so oppressive that it felt like the roof was pressing down on them.

“So, uhm…” she ventured cautiously. “Ah was thinkin’, since ya were gonna go visit Twilight an’ all, maybe ya could try an’ get her to take ya along to them archives? Ah mean, if ya still wanna be in on all this…”

“I’m… I don’t know…” Sweetie Belle mumbled, fidgeting nervously, looking like a mouse trapped in a corner. Scootaloo still refused to look at her.

“Ain’t askin’ ya to steal anythin’. Just borrow it. It ain’t illegal to borrow stuff from libraries,” Apple Bloom assured her, moving over to touch necks with the unicorn filly. “Meanwhile, me an’ Scootaloo could go lookin’ for the old-timer. We got maps, an’ Scootaloo’s got her scooter, so we’d be able to get around quick. If we find out this is just a dead end, we’ll drop it, promise, but Ah just really, really, really wanna give this a shot. Please?”

Sweetie Belle wilted under the imploring look her friend gave her. She looked from Apple Bloom to Scootaloo, biting her lip.

“Oh, all right. Okay, I promise I’ll try,” she relented at last, her shoulders sagging a bit. “Just don’t tell Rarity or anypony else what we’re planning. I just promised her yesterday that I’d be more careful. If she knew—”

Apple Bloom smiled and gave her a hug. “Don’t worry, we ain’t gonna tell nopony. Just tell Twilight you’re really interested in all them books in the Canterlot Archives, Ah bet she’ll buy it for sure.”

“I’m not sure, Apple Bloom, is it really right to be lying to somepony like that?”

“It ain’t lyin’. Not really. Ah mean, ya really are interested in findin’ Tincoat’s journal, right?”

“I guess…” Sweetie Belle conceded.

“Right! It ain’t lyin’, then, it just… ain’t the whole truth. That’s different.”

“I’m still not sure about this, but… okay then. I’ll try.” The unicorn filly took a deep breath. “I better get going. I’m already late as it is.” She sighed and got up, heading for the door.

“Good luck, Sweetie Belle! We’ll meet back here tomorrow after school,” Apple Bloom called after her.

“Yeah. Good luck,” Scootaloo said, finally looking at her. Sweetie Belle gave them both a little smile before closing the door behind her.

Apple Bloom turned to look at her pegasus friend with worry. “You okay, Scootaloo?”

“Yeah, I’m just… nevermind.” Scootaloo shrugged. “What did you say that town we’re looking for was called?”

Apple Bloom picked up Maps and Travel Routes of Equestria and flipped it open. “Well, Granny Smith said it was something with ‘S’ and birds. Can’t be too many of those, right?”

Scootaloo went over to join her. “Hmm… well, there’s Starlingholm. It’s down one of the roads from where I live. Think that might be it?”

“It’s worth a shot, ain’t it?” Apple Bloom smiled. “If it ain’t too far, I reckon we can have a look today, see if anypony has seen or heard of a pony named Jitterleaf.”

“That’s his name?” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow and let out an amused little snort. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes slightly.

“Anyway, reckon ya could get the cart for the scooter? Don’t think we can make it there an’ back in a day otherwise.”

“Yeah, guess so. Pick you up at the farm?” Scootaloo asked, putting on her crash helmet. Apple Bloom nodded.

“Right, see you in a little. Better be ready.”

Apple Bloom grinned. “Oh, Ah’ll be ready. Trust me, this is gonna be awesome.”

---

Scootaloo was on her way back towards Sweet Apple Acres with the scooter cart in tow, just passing by Fluttershy’s cottage, when a voice above her made her heart leap up in her throat.

“Hey, Squirt, wait up a second!”

A second later, Rainbow Dash appeared next to her. She was sweating a little, but showed no sign of being really exhausted. She looked every bit like a tireless athlete, and Scootaloo suddenly remembered why she admired her idol so much.

“Hi, Rainbow Dash! How was the Wonderbolts show?” the filly asked excitedly, thrilled that the blue pegasus had come to her. She already felt guilty for even thinking bad about Dash.

“It was awesome! They performed a bunch of new tricks that I’d never seen before! You should’ve been there, Squirt, it was so cool!” Dash seemed oblivious to the expression that briefly passed over Scootaloo’s face at her words.

“Yeah, I guess I should’ve been, huh?” she agreed with a slightly forced smile. “So, uh, did you want to talk about something?”

“Oh, yeah, are you going to be stopping by the library?” Dash asked, stretching her back and wings for a moment before flying up to a nearby tree. She returned after a moment with a book in her mouth.

“Uhm, well, actually—”

“Think you can hand in this book for me? I’ve been busy practicing some of those sweet new moves I saw the Wonderbolts perform, and I forgot I had to return the latest Daring Do novel to Twilight. I’m in a good flow at the moment, so I’d rather not break off from that.”

“Oh. Sure,” Scootaloo replied, now with a very forced smile. “No problem at all, Rainbow Dash!” Hellooo? Apple Bloom, Starlingholm? Ring any bells? You’re supposed to get the cart, pick her up and go to that town, not run errands for Rainbow Dash!

“Great. Well, I’m gonna get back to my workout. These moves won’t learn themselves,” Dash said with a grin and a wink, taking off towards the sky again.

“Okay! Bye, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo called after her. Hold on, you’ve got other places to go! Just tell her to hand it in herself! She could probably do it in like two minutes! She flung the book into the back of her scooter cart and sped off towards Ponyville instead of the farm, doing her best to block out the voice that she secretly agreed with deep down in herself. Above her, Rainbow Dash darted through the air in elaborate loops and turns, blissfully unaware of the thoughts going through the head of her number one fan.

Why do you let her do this? Are you hoping that she’s going to ask you to move in with her one day? Adopt you as her sister?

Scootaloo almost hit a very startled Lyra and Bon-Bon as she drove past them at full speed, not even bothering to shout an apology back at them. Her eyes were firmly set on the library tree growing in the distance.

What is it you admire so much about her, anyway? That she is one of the best fliers in Equestria? That she is strong and independent? And you try to emulate that by bending over backwards trying to please her, hoping for her approval? Don’t you see a problem here?

She all but kicked the door to the library open, startling the two unicorns inside. She flung the book across the floor to the lavender mare.

“Book delivery,” Scootaloo told Twilight and Sweetie Belle by way of explanation, not even trying to hide the frustration in her voice, before slamming the door after her again.

---

The ride back to Sweet Apple Acres took only a few minutes, though by the time she got there, Scootaloo’s anger had dimmed to a dull ember. Next time Rainbow Dash asked her to run an errand like that, she would tell the mare just what she thought of being treated like a lackey.

Yeah, right.

Apple Bloom was tapping her hoof impatiently near the arch leading up to the farm, but brightened up in a smile when Scootaloo pulled to a halt next to her.

“Ready?” Scootaloo asked the yellow filly, who promptly hopped into the scooter cart.

“Ready!”

Scootaloo took off again, going by the most direct route back home this time, circumventing Ponyville entirely. Behind her, she could hear Apple Bloom letting out whoops and cheers from the speed they drove at. It was rare for Scootaloo to hear her be so excited. She figured her friend really did believe that they were on to something big this time. She rather wished she had the same confidence.

As they passed by Fluttershy’s cottage, Scootaloo glanced skywards to see a rainbow-streaked bolt of blue flash by high above her.

‘Next time, Rainbow Dash… Next time,’ she thought.

After a short while, they came to the crossroads with its cluster of three houses around it. Scootaloo took them down the road towards Starlingholm without slowing down.

“Hey, Scoots, was that where ya live, back there?” Apple Bloom called out behind her.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo replied simply.

“How come we ain’t ever been over at yer place?”

“Can’t hear you, wind’s in my face,” Scootaloo called back, though she had heard her friend clearly enough.

They continued on in silence. Scootaloo eventually had to slow down a little as weariness began to settle into her stubby wings. The trees on either side of the road slowly thinned out and gave way to large tracts of farmland, fields of gold swaying gently in the wind. Several earth ponies were trudging through the fields, pulling harvest machines after them, followed by other ponies who deftly gathered the corn into bundles. Starlingholm came into view as they went down a gentle slope, situated next to a large river going westward. It looked similar to Ponyville, though slightly smaller, and the buildings were more spread out, several of them with sheds or small barns next to them. A great wooden arch inscribed with the words “Welcome to Starlingholm” removed any doubt about whether they were in the right place or not.

“So how do we do this?” Scootaloo asked as she started to slow down, rolling into the town at a sedate pace and pulling to a halt next to a flagpole near the center of the town.

“Well, Ah reckon we just ask around, see if anypony’s heard of this Jitterleaf feller,” Apple Bloom replied as she hopped out of the cart and walked towards the nearest pony. Scootaloo shrugged and followed.

“Makes sense to me.”

“Uhm, ’scuse me, mister, don’t suppose ya know of a pony named Jitterleaf?” Apple Bloom asked a large earth pony, who for all the world looked like a brown and more scruffy version of her brother.

The stallion shook his head. “Nope, ain’t never heard that name, sorry.”

This reply was repeated by the next half dozen ponies they asked, but a middle-aged, cream-coloured mare finally gave them some hope.

“Ain’t heard of a pony by that name, but try askin’ ol’ Penstroke. He’s been ’ere longer’n most. Think he’s down by the riverside,” she said helpfully.

“Thank ya kindly, ma’am!” Apple Bloom smiled widely, leading the charge down to the river. An emerald-coated pony with a thinning mane of silvery grey sat by the water’s edge with a drawing board, carefully running a pencil wedged between his teeth across the paper in front of him. Even at a distance, the fillies could see that the drawing was a richly detailed replica of the golden fields and the small shapes of ponies working on harvesting them. Each stroke of the pencil was slow and deliberate, often no more than the tiniest flick.

“Shouldn’t we go talk to him?” Scootaloo muttered to Apple Bloom from the corner of her mouth. The yellow filly shook her head.

“He looks awfully busy. Ah reckon we should wait until he’s done,” she whispered back.

Scootaloo groaned. “But that could take all day! You know how it is with these old—”

“I may be old, but I ain’t deaf, young’un,” the elder grunted, not turning around or even putting down his pencil. His voice was raspy like sandpaper. “Speak your piece or get on outta here. I don’t like being bothered while I work.”

Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a slightly reproachful look, and the pegasus had the good grace to look at least a little embarrassed.

“Sorry, mister, but we’re lookin’ for somepony named Jitterleaf, an’ we were told ya might know somethin’ ’bout ’im,” Apple Bloom said, walking a little closer. The old pony stopped and slowly put down his pencil before looking over his shoulder at them. His face was ancient and gnarled, even older than Granny Smith, but he looked more lucid than she normally did.

“An’ just who told you that? Eh, bet it was that blabbermouth, Buttercream. Nevermind that, ain’t nopony ’round here with that name. Go on, shoo!” he snapped, before turning back to his drawing.

“Are ya sure ya ain’t heard the name before? He’s supposed to have come here from Ponyville back when—”

“I said no! No Jitterleafs here anymore! Scram!”

“Not a chance, old-timer! You know something, and you’re holding out!” Scootaloo snarled, darting up to the old pony and glaring at him. “I didn’t come all the way out here just for a cantankerous old coot like you to brush me off.”

“Now hold on just an apple-bucking minute—” the wizened stallion began.

Apple Bloom was slightly impressed that Scootaloo knew a word like cantankerous, but she decided to interrupt before things could escalate.

“We’re awful sorry, mister, it’s just that Ah was told by mah Granny Smith that a feller named Jitterleaf left Ponyville a long time ago, an’ we’re tryin’ to find him.”

The old pony stopped and looked at her. “Smith? As in the Smith family?”

“Hah, I knew—” Scootaloo went quiet as Apple Bloom mouthed a rather unsubtle “quiet” at her. The yellow filly nodded at the elder.

“That’s right. Mah Granny’s a green earth pony with an apple pie as her cutie mark. Ya know her?”

The old stallion slowly sat down, the many wrinkles in his weathered face creasing into a pensive frown.

“Yeah… yeah, I knew her. Knew her family, too, an’ the rest of the ponies she lived with.” He let out a defeated sigh and looked at the two fillies. “You’re bringin’ back memories of a time I’ve been tryin’ to forget for more than seventy years. Why? What is it you want?”

“You really are Jitterleaf, then?” Scootaloo asked, still looking at the ancient one with a degree of hostility.

“I am,” he replied with a nod. “Congratulations on your keen insight. Now what did you want, other than to dig at old wounds?”

“Well, Ah read this book ’bout how ya found some tablet—”Jitterleaf’s expression darkened as Apple Bloom spoke “—an’ Ah was wonderin’ if ya could tell us ’bout it? We think it was real, see, an’ we’re tryin’ to find out the truth ’bout the whole thing.”

“So two little fillies are gonna clear my name an’ set the record straight, huh? Well, thank Celestia for that, ’cept that you’re a couple of decades too late. ‘Jitterleaf’ is long gone, and as for what comes to that damned tablet—” Jitterleaf took a hissing breath between clenched teeth “—ugh. Sorry, young’uns, I just don’t see the point.”

“Well, what exactly do you lose by telling us? You already said you don’t care about it,” Scootaloo pointed out.

Jitterleaf let out a little groan. “Fine, there’s obviously no reasonin’ with you. I don’t know why you care so much about this, but I’ll tell you what I know if it’ll get you off my back.” He exhaled slowly and spat a gob of phlegm at the grass.

“It all started when I was out in the Everfree Forest, markin’ trees for choppin’ an’ lookin’ for fallen ironroot tree branches. I ended up walkin’ in deeper’n usual. Can’t really remember why. Ain’t important. What matters is, after a while, I stumbled into a small clearing, an’ right there, halfway submerged in the ground, flanked by two crumblin’ stone pillars, was a tablet. The tablet. I couldn’t make out much of what it said, but right there I thought, sure as Celestia raises the sun, that there’s a right an’ proper relic, is what it is. I knew there hadn’t been ponies livin’ in the Everfree so long as anypony could remember, so I hauled the damn thing back home, thinkin’ I’d just made the find of a lifetime.”

The two fillies both sat quietly and listened, Apple Bloom with wide eyes and an attentive look, Scootaloo wearing a more skeptical expression, watching Jitterleaf with a hint of suspicion.

“Soon as I got back, I started tellin’ everypony I could find about the paperweight, how it was goin’ to make our fledgin’ community famous. Stupid. I had no way of knowin’ if anypony would even care to come take a look at it. As it turned out, a bunch of Canterlot snobs showed up a couple of days later, not askin’, but demandin’ to be shown the tablet. I showed it to ’em, expectin’ ’em to see it the same way I did, but after a lot of pokin’, proddin’ and talkin’ amongst themselves, they accused me of havin’ made the thing myself to scam ’em for bits. Me!” Jitterleaf snorted, his many wrinkles contorting in a way that made it look like his face was collapsing on itself. After a moment, he continued.

“Don’t know why, but they wouldn’t listen to a word I said, even flat-out refused me when I offered to show ’em where I’d found the thing. Only one of ’em seemed like he wanted to bring the tablet for further study, an’ the others browbeat him into silence. An’ just to rub it in, they denounced me right in front of the rest of the town before they left. An’ then it was over. My reputation was ruined. There was nothin’ left to do for me but to leave,” he finished with a sigh.

“That’s it?” Scootaloo asked incredulously. Jitterleaf raised an eyebrow.

“So a bunch of snobs call you a liar, and you suddenly decide it’s all over? You just packed your things and left over that?” she pressed.

“Missy, I don’t know what it’s like for you, but gettin’ chewed out in front of all your friends an’ bein’ called a cheat and a liar would be enough to break any pony’s pride,” he said in a dangerously low voice. “Don’t you judge me over somethin’ you never saw yourself. Some things you just can’t live down.”

Scootaloo was about to make a scathing reply, but Apple Bloom cut her off.

“What about the tablet? Ah read it was destroyed. Is that true?”

“Destroyed? Hah, I almost wish I'd done that.” Jitterleaf snorted. “No, I buried it back where I found it, the last thing I did before leavin’ Ponyville.”

Apple Bloom blinked. “Ya mean it’s still there?”

“How should I know? For all I know, it still is. It stopped bein’ my problem when I buried it,” Jitterleaf grumbled.

Apple Bloom smiled hopefully at the old pony. “Well, uhm, d’ya think ya could show us where ya hid it? We’d really like to have a look at it.”

“I suppose if I don’t help you, you’re just gonna wander ’round the Everfree Forest until you find it yourselves anyway?” he asked wearily.

“That’s right, and then come back to you if we don’t find it, so you may as well save us all some time, gramps,” Scootaloo replied, pacing back and forth a bit. Jitterleaf let out an unimpressed snort.

“You know what? Fine. If you two want to run around repeatin’ other ponies’ mistakes, be my guest. Just leave me out of whatever your wild goose chase turns up,” he grumbled. He took a fresh piece of paper and deftly sketched a pair of rectangular standing stones, the left one partially crumbled at the top. “The stones where I buried the tablet looked somethin’ like that. If you head directly east from the Smiths’ farm, you’ll be on the right track. If you’re lucky, my old marks will still be on the trees along the way, unless somepony’s chopped ’em down in the meantime.”

Scootaloo took the offered piece of paper with her teeth. Jitterleaf let out a little sigh and turned back to his drawing board. “I suppose I should say good luck, but I’d rather you just changed your minds before you got there and give up on it now.”

“Thanks a lot, mister Jitterleaf, we’re real grateful.” Apple Bloom smiled widely, glancing at Scootaloo and nodding meaningfully towards Jitterleaf, but the pegasus filly merely rolled her eyes.

The old pony let out a little grunt. “We’ll see. Go on, then, leave me alone, an’ don’t tell nopony about me. To everypony here, I’m still Penstroke, the cranky ol’ coot, got it?”

Apple Bloom looked at him quietly for a bit. “Ya know, nopony thought bad ’bout ya back in Ponyville. Ya could still come back.”

Jitterleaf let out a little sigh. “Just let me be,” he muttered. “Please.”

The two fillies headed back towards the parked scooter, leaving the old pony at the riverside with his drawing. For a long time, he stared out towards the golden sun setting over golden fields, silent and still, watching spots of black dance across the horizon as thousands of starlings began to soar through the air like a swarm. He slowly placed a fresh piece of paper on the drawing board, the strokes of the pencil creating a meticulous, painstaking replica of the view.

Comments

[Darkarma]

Apple-bucking moment, ha. Definitely something he'd pick up from the Apple family and their predecessors. Kinda gave him away on him there a bit and Scoots put the rest together.

[TundraStanza]

Chapter 5:
Penstroke? Really?
Well, I guess I can't blame you. Several of the other fictional names have already been taken.
Overall, I like what I've seen so far. I'll keep reading this.

[FlamingSkullMon]

So far this is an outstanding story! Glad I favored it before I had the chance to read it, made it easier to find for quick reading anyway. I believe I saw one or two words misspelled but I was really captivated with the story and must have passed them, sorry about that. Got to Chapter 5 in around an hour! I need to work on my reading speed some more... Anyway. Great story!! I'll pick up on it again when I get the chance.

[Axel van Daeren]

Starlings are vile, hateful creatures. You couldn't have picked a nicer bird?

[Godiswithus3]

Jeez, that was.......an unexpected surprise. And poor scoots.