My Little Investigations: The Gemstone Godfather

by Metool Bard

Everything is Relative

As I suspected, not a lot of ponies were crowding around Rarity trying to figure out what was the matter when we got to Carousel Boutique. Like I said, Rarity's melodramatic freak-outs have yet to cause a panic in this town; mainly because everypony knows that Rarity can throw a hissy fit over the silliest of things. That's not to say that nopony takes her seriously when she really does need help, but she's not called the Drama Queen of Ponyville for nothing.

We found Rarity standing outside her house and looking up into a tree. From that image alone, I think I can figure out what the problem is.

"What's wrong, Rarity?!" asked Derpy. "Are you alright?!"

"Oh, Derpy! It's horrible! Just horrible!" Rarity cried. "My poor Opal is stuck in that tree, and she can't get down!"

Yep, I totally called that one. With a sigh of exasperation, I looked up into the tree, expecting to find Rarity's pet cat, Opalessence, clinging to a branch for dear life. What I actually saw caused my jaw to drop. Opal was in the tree, sure, but she was tied to the branch and had a gag in her mouth. There are only three words I can think of to describe what I'm looking at right now: What, the, and buck. I know Ponyville is a crazy town, but seriously, who does that?!

"Omigosh!" Derpy gasped. "H-how did she get like that?!"

"I-I don't know!" wailed Rarity as she started to hyperventilate. "I was just *phoo phoo phoo* working on my new line *phoo phoo phoo* and minding my own business *phoo phoo phoo* when the next thing I knew *phoo phoo phoo* Opal was up there!"

Already, my mind was forming a connection between this and what happened to the jewelry store. Without some form of magic, there's no way that anyone could sneak into Rarity's house, kidnap her cat, tie her to a tree, and do it without getting caught. Especially not in broad daylight. Call it mare's intuition, but I'm starting to suspect that this is the work of the same guy who's after me. I guess that theory I made up on the spot was right after all.

"Sorry I'm late, milady!"

My musings were interrupted by Spike running in and panting heavily. Huh, I was wondering where he was. He's pretty much the only resident in town who takes Rarity seriously no matter what she's freaking out about.

"Oh, Spike! Thank goodness you're here!" said Rarity. "It's my darling Opal! She's stuck in that tree!"

After catching his breath, Spike looked up into the tree and immediately did a double-take. "Whoa! What the heck happened here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, buddy," I said.

"Please, Spiky-poo! Save my poor wittle Opal~!" Rarity bawled.

"A-at once, milady!" Spike said with a hasty bow. In the span of a few seconds, he darted up the tree. There was a pause.

"Um, Rarity?" he hollered.

"What is it, Spike?!" Rarity called back.

"We have a bit of a problem!" said Spike. "If I cut these ropes, Opal's gonna fall!"

"Hang on," I said. I then positioned myself directly underneath Opal. "Alright, Spike! I got her!"

"Right, here goes!" said Spike.

With a swipe of his tail, Spike severed the ropes that held Opal to the tree. Concentrating as hard as I could, I used my magic to slow her descent until she was safely on the ground.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Rarity exclaimed, pulling Opal into a hug. "My dear Opal is safe! Thank you both so much! Thank you thank you thank you~!"

"'Tis no trouble at all, milady," said Spike as he climbed down from the tree. "It was my pleasure."

"Yeah, no problem, Rarity," I said. "Glad we could help."

Rarity then released Opal and raised an eyebrow. "Strange. There seems to be something written on the gag in her mouth."

"Really? What does it say?" I asked.

Rarity's face contorted in disgust. "I, um... I don't know. H-here, Sparkler. You take it out and see."

I should've seen this coming. Rarity has a major aversion to anything that's messy (or "icky," as she calls it). She refuses to get herself dirty unless it's absolutely necessary. Never mind that she can just use her magic to take the gag out; there's no way she's handling something that's been in a cat's mouth. Oh well, it can't be helped.

Rolling my eyes, I used my magic to carefully remove the gag so that Opal's jaws didn't tear it. I unfurled it and read it aloud.

Okay, that clinches it. This was done by the same guy who's after me. It can't be a coincidence that both Rarity and I are getting ransom notes at pretty much the same time. Not to mention that he managed to pull this off without anyone noticing, just like he did when he trashed the jewelry store. It has to be him.

That being said, he's pretty inconsistent, isn't he? I mean, let's compare my situation to Rarity's for a moment. To me, this guy's a legitimate threat. He has access to dragons, magic, and who knows what else; and he's been using all that to make my life miserable. To Rarity, he amounts to little more than an obtuse nuisance. Either he really wants Rarity to blame the Redvest pack (which doesn't make sense), he's getting lazy (which isn't likely), or he's going out of his way to drive me up the Celestia-damn wall.

"So, those mangy mutts are behind this, huh?" Spike growled, clenching his fists. "Well, I'll show them."

"Um, actually, Spiky-poo. I got a letter this morning that was very similar to this one," said Rarity. "I thought it was those ruffians at first, too; but Sparkler proved me wrong."

"It's a long story," I said.

Spike furrowed his brow. "Well, if it's not them, then whose tail do we need to kick?"

"I wish I knew," I said with a sigh.

Rarity tilted her head. "Are you sure you don't want me to tell Twilight about this, Sparkler? I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help, especially now that I'm involved."

"Thanks, Rarity. But I don't want to involve the princess unless I know what we're up against," I said.

"That hasn't stopped her before," said Spike with a shrug.

I was about to respond when I spotted a familiar shadow out of the corner of my eye. When I looked over, I saw that it was beckoning me to follow.

"Um, sorry to cut this short, but I gotta run," I said. "I'll tell the princess myself when I can; you don't have to tell her for me. Seeya!"

With that, I ran over to Rarity's front yard, where the shadow was waiting.

When I got there, I saw the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well hiding in some nearby bushes; just as I suspected.

"About time you showed up," I said, dipping my voice as I joined her in her hiding place. "You must be losing your touch if you couldn't save Rarity's cat from being tied to a tree."

Mare-Do-Well sighed. "Spare me the sarcasm, Ms. Sparkler. I told you before; I can only be in so many places at once."

"Alright, alright," I said. "So, what do you want to see me about?"

"I'm currently working on a theory that might lead to our quarry," said Mare-Do-Well. "But, I need to ask you a few questions first."

"Okay, shoot."

"I remember you saying that you wanted to investigate because you felt responsible for this mess. Is that correct?"

"Well, yeah," I said with a shrug. "Why?"

"Because, Ms. Sparkler, I don't see any reason for you to feel guilty," said Mare-Do-Well. "None of this is your fault; it's the culprit's. So why do you feel responsible?"

I bit my lip. "I-I don't wanna answer that question. It's, personal," I said.

Mare-Do-Well placed a hoof to her muzzle and knitted her brow. "Mmm. I see," she said. "Fair enough. I won't pry."

Sheesh, and I thought Raindrops was wishy-washy. How many times is she going to contradict herself just to make sure that she doesn't make me uncomfortable? I get the feeling that there's something she's not telling me.

"Well, I'm grateful that you respect my privacy," I said. "But, didn't you say that you needed this information for your theory?"

"I did, and I do," said Mare-Do-Well. "But there are other leads that I can follow up on in the meantime. For example, this particular incident."

"You mean with the schmuck tying Rarity's cat to a tree?"

"Precisely."

"What about it?"

"Consider this, Ms. Sparkler. Our quarry has some method of committing crimes whilst undetected. He has used this method to destroy the jewelry store. Why, then, did he not do the same to Carousel Boutique?"

"You got me on that one," I said, rubbing the side of my head. "He's obviously putting a lot more effort into threatening me than Rarity, but I don't know why."

"Hmm. Perhaps I do," said Mare-Do-Well. "Let's say that Ms. Rarity's boutique was demolished just like the jewelry store. What do you think she would do?"

"I dunno, freak out about it?" I said.

"I mean after that," said Mare-Do-Well in a deadpan tone.

"Right, sorry," I said. "Well, I guess she'd go to Princess Twilight."

"Exactly," said Mare-Do-Well. "And from there, the princess would be spurred into action, despite the potential international incident."

"Which is why you don't want me to involve her yet," I mused. "But, that doesn't make sense. I could've just as easily gone to the princess. I simply chose not to."

"Correct. And somehow, the culprit knew you would do that."

That, took me by surprise. "Wh-what? What are you talking about?"

"We already know that the culprit knows a lot about you, Ms. Sparkler," said Mare-Do-Well. "The question is, how much does he know?"

"Well, he can't know everything about me, can he?" I said.

"No, he can't. But he can know enough," said Mare-Do-Well somberly. "Which is why I asked you that question earlier. If I know what he knows, it'll be that much easier to find him."

"Yeah, well. I'm not sure if that's likely," I said. "It sounds too far-fetched, y'know what I mean?"

"Many truths are far-fetched at first, Ms. Sparkler," said Mare-Do-Well. "Do you still wish to continue?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" I said.

"Well, you do," said Mare-Do-Well. "Again, if you decide to just leave this matter to me, I won't hold it against you."

"Thanks, but I'm alright for now," I said. "But, could I ask you a few questions?"

"As long as they're reasonable," said Mare-Do-Well.

"Why have you come back? I mean, I'm glad you're here to help, but this is a pretty big coincidence, don't you think?"

Mare-Do-Well lowered her hat over her eyes. "You're not exactly wrong, Ms. Sparkler. However, I promised not to pry into your personal affairs; please don't pry into mine."

That's, fair I guess. But an answer that cryptic only makes me more curious. I suppose it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, and I should just be grateful that she's here to support me in these dark times. Even so, I don't get her. I know she's the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well, but you'd think she'd be a bit more open with me. After all, she needs my help, doesn't she? I mean, that's what she says. Then again, she also contradicts that by telling me I can stop investigating if things are getting too heavy for me. Nnngh, I'm tying my brains into knots just thinking about this.

"Amethyst!"

I poked my head out of the bushes to see Dinky and Derpy looking for me. Dinky was the first to spot me, and she giggled.

"There she is, Mama!" she said. "What are you doing in there, you silly-filly?"

I let out a sigh as my cheeks got warm. "S-sorry," I said, getting out of the bushes. "I was just talking to..."

I gestured with my hoof, but Mare-Do-Well was long gone. Okay, that's three things I don't get about her: I don't know why she's back after all this time, I don't know why she keeps contradicting herself, and I don't know how nor why she vanishes into thin air when my back is turned. Y'know, her whole "mysterious" shtick is really starting to grate on me.

"Talking to whom, Ammy?" asked Derpy.

"Never mind," I said with a sigh. "What's up, Dink? Did you find anything at the library?"

Dinky flattened her ears and shook her head. "No. I found some books on Diamond Dogs, but nothing about them using magic. Mr. Spike said that he could ask Princess Twilight Sparkle to check the Canterlot Archives for it."

That's going to take time we don't have. However, there is another option.

"It's okay, Dink," I said. "I think I know someone who can answer that."

"You mean the Diamond Dogs?" said Derpy.

"Yep," I said with a nod. "I think we should pay another visit to the Redvest pack."

"Ooh, ooh! Can I go with you this time?" asked Dinky. "You said these Diamond Dogs were nice, so I won't be in danger."

Derpy frowned. "I dunno, Muffin. That area is a very dangerous place right now, even if those particular Diamond Dogs are nice."

"But Mama~! I wanna help~!" Dinky whined (which is actually very rare for her). "When family is concerned, danger doesn't matter."

"Yes, but unnecessary risks are the most dangerous kind," Derpy countered. "I know you want to help, Muffin, but you'll be more helpful to Ammy and me by staying here in Ponyville where it's safe."

"But—"

"No buts, young filly. I can find something for you to investigate here, and you might be able to find out more than Ammy and I did. But you are not coming with us to see the Diamond Dogs, and that's final."

Dinky sighed. "Okay~," she said dejectedly. "I just want to help Amethyst as much as I can."

"I know, Muffin," said Derpy, giving Dinky a hug. "Don't worry, you're doing a great job. Now keep up the good work."

Dinky nodded and smiled. "Okay, Mama. So, what do you want me to investigate?"

Derpy quickly recapped what happened to Rarity. Once Dinky got the gist, she was off like a shot.

"Thanks, Mom," I said.

"Well, I worry as much about Dinky as I do about you, Ammy," said Derpy with a soft smile. "Which is why I still think you should tell her everything."

I sighed. "It's not that easy, Mom."

"I never said it was," said Derpy. "Anyway, I'll leave that up to you. For now, let's go see those Diamond Dogs."

With that, we headed on back to the northern timberline. Y'know, besides being a confusing mystery, this might be the biggest guilt trip I've ever been on in my life. And, well, it's not just because of my Pinkie Promise to Dinky. That's all I've got to say about it.

...

Hey, if I'm not telling Mare-Do-Well, I'm sure as heck not telling you. Despite what she says, I don't think it's all that relevant to this mystery, anyway. At least, I hope not...