//------------------------------// // Misused and Unused (A) // Story: My Little Investigations: Marehunter // by Metool Bard //------------------------------// December 14, 12:07 PM Mt. Kohryu Welcoming Chamber *** "Uh-huh. I see. That's very interesting." Some ponies say that Pinkie Pie is incapable of taking anything seriously. I can see why they think that, but honestly, I don't agree. Take right now, for instance. She's already whipped out the magnifying glass and is searching for clues on her own. Plus, her body language indicates that she's not treating this as a game. At least it seems that way; it's nigh-on impossible to know what goes on in Pinkie's head. "Did you find anything yet, Pinkie?" I asked. "Mmm? Oh, hey Sparkler," said Pinkie, not even bothering to look up. "I think I found something. Kinda. You're not gonna like it, though." A disclaimer like that just sounds so promising, doesn't it? Ugh, screw it. We might as well get it over with. "What did you find?" inquired Derpy. "The thing I found is a curious lack of things," said Pinkie. It sounded like some kind of joke, but Pinkie's tone was completely without mirth or humor. That does not bode well. "What sort of riddle is that, Pie Pinkie?" growled Orph, his tail swishing from side to side. "It's not a riddle. It's the truth," said Pinkie, squinting a bit and continuing to look around. "I've been looking all over for pawprints or blood or anything that would be helpful, but I haven't found squat." "I ain't seen nothin', neither," Applejack chimed in. "The only indication that someone was nosin' around is that there corpse strung up like a scarecrow." Warning bells started going off in my head. On paper, this sounds impossible. There's no way someone could do this much damage without getting caught. However, something about this scenario seems eerily familiar to what happened back in July. I can't prove it yet, but perhaps the lack of clues is in and of itself a clue. If that makes any sense. "Maybe we should try looking at the body," I suggested. "At the very least, we can figure out the cause of death." Derpy gulped. "I-I think I'm the only one who can do that," she whimpered, not sounding too keen on the idea. Hey, I don't blame her. If I was in her horseshoes, I'd be getting the willies, too. "Do nyot bother yourself, Hooves Derpy," said Orph. "I shall handle this task." "You? How?" asked Applejack, tilting her head. "You can't fly." Orph smirked. "Nyo, I cannyot. But I can do this." With that, he leapt up into the air at one of the ropes holding Dodger. As soon as he landed on the cord, he ran up it on all fours. I feel like I should be amazed by this, but he's a cat creature who lives in the mountains. It kinda makes sense that he can climb like that. Still, I gotta admire that dexterity. When Orph reached the body, he squinted and let out a thoughtful purr. He then leapt up to a higher rope and carefully observed one of Dodger's front paws. "Odd," he mused, furrowing his brow. "Quite odd indeed." "You found somethin'?" hollered Applejack. "I might have," replied Orph. "One moment." He then leapt from rope to rope, taking care not to touch the body with his own paws. After a while of searching, he leapt down and landed perfectly on his feet. "Well? What's the story?" asked Pinkie. Orph flicked his tail and folded his arms. "His front paws are caked with someone's blood. Whether it is his own or someone else's, I cannyot say." "Whoa there, partner," said Applejack, arching an eyebrow. "Pinkie just got through sayin' that she didn't find any blood. How in tarnation can there be blood up there, but not down here?" Applejack does raise a good point. Logically, if Dodger's paw was bleeding or covered in blood, it would drip onto the floor. But looking at the ground now, there isn't even a speck of blood to be found in this leafy carpet. I dunno, maybe the culprit took the bloody leaves and hid them somewhere. But why would he do that if he's just gonna leave the body hanging there, anyway? "I do nyot have an answer for that at this time," Orph sighed. "I don't even knyow how this mongrel died." I did a double take. "Wait, what? But you were just up there." "I only saw his bloody paws," said Orph. "The rest of his body has barely even a scar or blemish. The damage to his body could be internyal, but I'll need the assistance of the Grand Shoguns to knyow for sure." Why do I find that hard to believe? I mean, it's not impossible, but to my recollection, most of Dodger's enemies wanted to tear him limb from limb. Not to mention that I remember him being able to hold his own against Desoto. You'd think that he would have some battle scars or something, but according to Orph, that simply wasn't the case. Something really screwy's going on around here. My pondering was interrupted by a soft twang coming from above me. I looked up to see Derpy batting at one of the ropes and scrunching her face. Seeing as we're trying not to disturb the body, I don't think that's wise. "Mom, what're you doing?" I sighed. "Wha? Oh, sorry Ammy," said Derpy. "I was just thinking about these ropes. Like, where did they come from?" Huh. That's, actually a very good question. I feel kinda dumb for not realizing that earlier, but that's just the way things go sometimes, y'know? "I think a better question is why the killer went through so much trouble to string Dodger up like this in the first place," I said. "But, let's take this one step at a time. Applejack, do you think you can find out anything about these ropes?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Just 'cause I like to use a lasso doesn't mean I'm automatically some kind of rope expert, sugarcube," she said bluntly. "All I know is that if they can string up a Diamond Dog like that, they must be pretty well-crafted and strong. Much stronger than I'm used to, that's for sure." "Wait, what're they even tied to?" said Pinkie, looking through her magnifying glass. "I don't see any stalagmite or stalactite connecting these things. They just seem to be stuck in the wall." Looking around, I saw that Pinkie was right. The ropes did appear to be embedded in the walls of the cave. We probably should've noticed that earlier, considering that Orph just ran up and down the things. I guess we were too preoccupied with other stuff that we completely glanced over it. Alright, I'm gonna make sure that doesn't happen again. "Mom, think you can find out what those ropes are attached to?" I asked. "You got it, Ammy," said Derpy with a salute. She then took the rope in her hooves and gave it a sharp tug. I could see something budge in the wall where the rope was connected. Derpy yanked again, and a small bit of metal emerged from the rubble. It looked like part of an anchor or something. "Hang on, Mom," I said. "I need to try something out. We don't want to damage Kohryu's place too much." "I admire your respect for the Great Kohryu, Star Amethyst," said Orph, rubbing his eye. "But is this truly within your capabilities?" "Hey, I carve gemstones for a living," I said with a shrug. "This shouldn't be that much different." Truth be told, I was partially saying that to myself. I'm good at carving gems, sure, but I haven't dabbled that much in excavation. That falls more in the domain of a rock farmer or a miner than a jeweler. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, envisioning the wall as an imperfect gemstone ready to be turned into jewelry. When I had finished centering myself, I opened my eyes and activated my carving spell. With the precision of a surgeon, I carefully traced the beam around the object, chipping away just enough rock for it to wiggle loose. When I felt it was enough, I stopped my spell. "Alright, try it now, Mom," I said. Derpy nodded and gave the rope another yank. The object slid out of the hole, taking a few chunks of metal ore with it. I wish that cut was a bit cleaner, but for my first time excavating, I don't think I did too badly. I caught the object with my magic and set it gently to the ground. The object in question was a grappling hook of some sort. At least, that's the best way I can describe it. It had a blade that resembled that of a pickaxe, but it didn't seem to have any mechanism for boring through solid rock and metal. Not only that, but the hilt had some strange markings on it. Just like so many times before, the answers were leading to more questions. Honestly, I think it would be foolish to expect anything different. "Wait. I've seen that blade design before," said Oprh, his tail becoming stiff. "A-and those markings. They're impeccable. B-but this is impossible. My samurai guard do nyot utilize this kind of weapon." Pinkie gave Orph a quizzical look. "This is a weapon? It looks more like a big fishing hook to me." "Trust me, I knyow what I'm talking about," said Orph. "This right here is the kama of a kusarigama." "The what of a what?" asked Derpy, blinking in confusion. Orph sighed. "It appears you outsiders don't knyow your weaponry," he said. "A kusarigama is a kama, or sickle, and a weight connyected to either side of a metal chain." "But I use sickles for harvestin' and stuff all the time back home," said Applejack. "Sure, it can be pretty sharp, but it clearly wasn't designed to kill nopony." "You'd be surprised how many weapons start out as something peaceful and unyassuming," said Orph, rubbing his eye. "However, you'd be hard-pressed to find such a weapon within the Nyeko Shogunyate." "How come?" I asked. Orph's face darkened. "The use of this weapon was banned by the Grand Shoguns ever since it was discovered to be a hazard to our dragon nyeighbors. Seeing as they share our land and abide by our laws, it would be wrong of us to hurt them without reason. Especially since they are very powerful creatures." Okay, so much for my theory about the Neko Shogunate being responsible for Dodger's death. As strict and ruthless as they are, they do seem to have some code of honor around here. That being said, this is still very strange. If this weapon was banned by the Grand Shoguns, how did someone manage to sneak four of them into their borders? I know they only took the blade (or kama, as they call it), but it's still tied to a rope. Not to mention that Orph immediately recognized it as part of a kusarigama and not just some ordinary sickle. But believe it or not, that's not the strangest part. Looking at the kama, there's a distinct absence of blood on it. As such, it couldn't have been the murder weapon. But, why not? It is a weapon, isn't it? However, all the culprit used it for is as part of some glorified grappling hook to tie Dodger up and suspend him in midair. So on top of killing a Diamond Dog in a place where they're not allowed and stringing him up by his wrists and ankles, he also took the time to sneak in parts of an illegal weapon to do the job. There has to be a reason this guy is going through all that trouble. Otherwise, it would just make more sense to chuck the corpse off a cliff or something. "Lord Orph. This is indeed a surprise." A screech came from the mouth of the cave. I looked up and turned to see who it was. Standing before us was perhaps the biggest phoenix I had ever laid eyes on. I recognized him right away as Suzaku; one of Kohryu's acolytes. He's known as the Vermillion Phoenix as bright as the flame. And before you ask, all of the Four Benevolent Animals have long, clunky titles like that. Heck if I know why. "Ah, Suzaku," said Orph with a bow. "I take it the Grand Shoguns have been informed of this travesty." "Indeed," said Suzaku, nibbling at his wings. "Mochi and Mimi's paw-selected soldiers are scaling the mountain as we speak. They will be here to assist you in time." "Good. I feel that their assistance will be most valuable," said Orph. Suzaku nodded and then noticed me. "Star Amethyst? You are here as well? This has been quite an odd day." "It's a long story. I'm sure Kohryu will fill you in later," I said. "Right now, however, I'd like to ask you a few questions." Suzaku knitted his brow. "My journey has been long and tiring, Star Amethyst. I require rest." "Sounds to me like someone's tryin' to make excuses for himself," said Applejack, narrowing her eyes. Suzaku's plumage ruffled, and I could see the anger radiating from his eyes. "You insult my honor with your accusation, equine." "I don't think she meant it," I said, trying to defuse the situation. "Look, I ain't sayin' nothin'," said Applejack with a snort. "I just think it's a bit suspicious that you don't wanna give us the information we need to solve this thing." Suzaku snarled. "How was I supposed to know you were assisting in this investigation, equine? I just got back here." "That's enough," said Derpy firmly, flying between Suzaku and Applejack. "We're all friends here, right? We shouldn't be arguing like this." Applejack paused for a moment and sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, Derpy. I'm just a bit frustrated, y'know?" "We all are, AJ," said Pinkie, patting Applejack on the back. "Mysteries are always frustrating when you don't know what's going on." "Wise words, equine," said Suzaku, calming down a bit. "Tell you what. We'll speak in my living quarters, the Southern Chamber of the Fiery Summer. I'll tell you everything I know while I rest up." Wow, and I thought the titles of the Four Benevolent Animals were needlessly long and clunky. Seriously, who names their room that? "That's fair," I said. "Lead the way." Suzaku nodded and flew off into the cave, his fiery plumage guiding our path. "I'll let you knyow if my men find anything here," said Orph with a polite nod. "Best of luck to you, Star Amethyst." "Thanks. I think I'm gonna need it," I said with a nod of my own. With that, we took off after Suzaku. I have to wonder if Applejack is onto something with Suzaku's reluctance to talk. I mean, he's one of Kohryu's acolytes. I see no reason to doubt his word. But if he is hiding something, well, there's more than just his honor on the line. Even if he is our ally, I can't afford to pull any punches. Not that I was planning to, anyway.