[Whitetail Wood] The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Cottage

[Pony_Sage]

The fresh air and the warm Sun were so wonderful that day, it vaguely reminded Monty of his Homeland. The wind blowing through the tall grass and the Sun heating all it saw. Occasionally a nagging sensation would tug on his sleep but thankfully he was a deep sleeper. Well for the most part he was, whenever he slept outside he would always sleep a tad lighter. Most likely a hold over from his youth sleeping on the plains of his Homeland. A loud rustle and the sound of pages blowing in the wind, accompanied by a yelp, awoke him from his slumber.

His amber eyes flashed open assessing the situation. His saddlebags were now empty. Had the books been stolen? No, there they are on the ground for some reason. Did they fall on their own? No, they were secured before he went to sleep. What is that, tiny deer? Apparently this tiny deer, who was ringing some bells in Monty's noggin for some reason, had dumped his saddlebags all over the ground and messed up the order that he had put the books in.

"Why do you look familiar, little one?" He asked the deer with a sleepy expression on his countenance. "Did you visit my shop in Hoofington once upon a time? I swear I know you from somewhere." Monty smiled as he scrutinized the little fawn. She was adorable that is was for sure, but there was something about her. A little hint of mischief, a niggling suspicion that she had more going on behind those big doe eyes than she was letting on.

"THAT'S IT! You are the tiny Perry-whats-it that came into my shop and had some candy! You know, if the candy man can take a rainbow and sprinkle it with dew, he should be able to remember the ponies, or perry-whats-its that come into his shop at very least." Monty smiled widely as his ear flopped down. "Little Miss Chotchkie if I am not mistaken." He paused for a moment to look at the books scattered around the little deer monster. "Now be honest, were you looking through my books? Because those are for ponies a wee bit older than you are, and you should always ask before looking into someone else's things, you never know what you might find after all." Monty said with a sly wink.

He dismounted the bench and stretched his long legs. He walked over to the little deer and rumpled her horn stubs and hair. "Those are coming along nicely, I think? I have really never met another perry-whats-it before. Anyways, would you like to help me pack these books back up into my bags please?" He looked around suspiciously for a moment and leaned close to Chotchkie's ear and whispered, "I am on a mission after all. I think I can trust you with this. I am looking for the author of these books, Miss Hyacinth Hills. I heard a rumor somewhere that she sometimes visits this neck of the woods, and I was hoping that I could catch her as I moseyed on home." Monty quickly went back to gently putting his books back in the bag.

"Say, have you ever heard anything about, You Know Who?" He asked motioning to the remaining pile of books.