//------------------------------// // Suffering Sabotage (A) // Story: My Little Investigations: Marehunter // by Metool Bard //------------------------------// December 14, 12:30 PM Mt. Kohryu Welcoming Chamber *** "Ah, Star Amethyst. You have returned." It seems that every time I play the gumhoof, I find new ways to surprise myself. I was so worried that we'd end up getting ourselves lost in this place, but really, finding our way back to the Welcoming Chamber wasn't all that difficult. In fact, Orph was waiting for us right where we emerged. It's almost as if all the passages and corridors lead back to this one location. Which kinda makes sense, now that I think about it. "See? I told ya we'd find our way back, no problem!" said Pinkie happily. "And your timing could nyot be more impeccable," said Orph with a swish of his tail. "I take it your conversation with Suzaku went well?" "More or less," I said with a shrug. "We'll get to that in a moment. How are things going here?" Orph folded his arms and furrowed his brow. "Slowly. In fact, that's what I wanted to discuss with you. Come." He then walked towards a small alcove at the other end of the room, and we followed. As we walked, I noticed that Dodger's body had been taken down from the ceiling. That's a relief. I don't think I need to see that grotesque image anymore. It really ruins the atmosphere of this place, y'know? We arrived at the alcove, where a group of neko samurai were hard at work looking over Dodger's body. The cords that bound him also lay strewn across the ground, and each one of them was attached to a kama, just like the first one we found. This could not mean anything good. If finding one of those things was an issue in the Neko Shogunate, how the heck did this guy get his mitts on four? "So, did ya manage to find out how this here varmint died yet?" asked Applejack. Orph sighed. "We're still trying to determine that, but our current findings do nyot look promising." "Whaddya mean?" "I mentioned before that there were nyo fatal wounds on this mongrel's body. That fact has remained unchanged." Yeah, I'm still having major problems with this assessment. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it just seems very, very unlikely. "Are there any wounds on his body at all?" I inquired. "That we have been able to determine," said Orph. "The blood on his paws definitely belongs to him. My medics have taken a sample to test for poison." "So, his front paws were cut up pretty bad, but that wouldn't have been enough to kill him. Is that what you're tryin' to say?" asked Applejack. "Precisely," said Orph, rubbing his eye. "Again, at this point, it's very likely that he succumbed to some sort of toxin. Assassins in the Mewlun Mountains have been knyown to use such tactics, and he does have a bounty on his head." Derpy blinked. "I thought Mr. Rosco said that Mr. Silvervest's guys couldn't reach that Dragonvest meanie here." "This much is true, Hooves Derpy," said Orph sagely. "However, the Mewlun Mountains has its own share of assassin guilds and the like. It's nyot out of the question to theorize that one of them got wind of the bounty." "But then, why was Dodger's body found here and not in the paws of Sykes Silvervest?" I asked. Orph shrugged. "I can only speculate at this point, Star Amethyst. In truth, we are still very much in the dark. Unless, of course, Suzaku mentioned something useful to you." "Actually, he might have," I said thoughtfully. "Mr. Orph, are you familiar with Shroud Emeralds?" Orph's face darkened. "I am. It is a form of magic I will nyot forget anytime soon, nyor do I wish to," he snarled. "The Grand Shoguns outlawed their use when it became apparent that they gave too much power to the assassin guilds. You would nyot believe how much damage they caused when I was ordered to confiscate them. It was an utter mess." "Believe me, I am intimately familiar with how dangerous those things are," I said coldly. "They were pretty much the bane of my existence back in July. And I think someone used them to sneak Dodger past Suzaku." Orph's tail stiffened and bristled. "Wh-what?! Impossible! My men got rid of them all; I made sure of it myself!" "It might not be that simple," I said, knitting my brow. "To my understanding, mystical gemstones need to be treated before they can be used. Just because you confiscated the treated gemstones doesn't mean there aren't raw deposits lying around in the mountains. Suzaku himself mentioned that they're more plentiful here than in Equestria." "Hang on, hang on. I think you're onto somthin' here, Sparkler," Applejack mused. "Outta curiosity, is it illegal 'round these parts to sell raw Shroud Emeralds?" Orph paused for a moment and rubbed his eye. "Nyot per se. Selling raw Shroud Emeralds is legal, but any potential buyers have to go through a rigorous background check to make sure they have nyo nyefarious motives. On top of that, it's also forbidden to sell them to the assassin guilds or anyone with a criminyal record." Applejack sighed and lowered her stetson over her eyes. "Well, there's that idea up the flume." "Don't give up so quickly, AJ!" said Pinkie. "I think you might be on the right track there." Applejack arched an eyebrow. "How do ya figure, Pinkie? He just said that it wouldn't be easy to buy the raw stuff." "Yeah, but what if the culprit stumbled upon a deposit all by himself?" said Pinkie. "I mean, Rarity does that all the time." That's actually a very good explanation. After all, Diamond Dogs that practice magic do make use of mystical gemstones, and Dodger certainly fits under that category. If he found raw Shroud Emeralds, he most likely knew how to treat them in order to make use of them. It could also explain why Dodger traveled to the Mewlun Mountains in the first place, even though it was a risky gambit for him to do so. However, that tells us nothing about the guy who killed Dodger. We have no way of proving that he (or she, if this was carried out by the fake Mare-Do-Well) knows about Shroud Emeralds like Dodger did. All we know is that whoever did this really likes pissing the Neko Shogunate off. They're using illegal weapons, illegal magic, and they committed murder on sacred ground. This has to be deliberate. Why would anyone take so many risks for no reason? It can't be stupidity; otherwise the schmuck would've gotten caught long ago. "Mr. Orph, does the Neko Shogunate have any enemies?" I asked. "Besides Diamond Dogs, I mean." Orph frowned. "That is nyone of your concern, Star Amethyst. You may be a friend of Kohryu, but the Nyeko Shogunyate does nyot give such delicate information to outsiders under any circumstances." "Well, that's silly. And rude," said Derpy bluntly. "We're just trying to help." "Kohryu asked for your help; I do nyot remember doing so," growled Orph. "Now you're just talkin' outta two sides of your mouth," said Applejack with a snort. "You didn't have any problem with us helpin' you until now." "AJ's right," Pinkie concurred. "We're all friends here, so we should act like it. Help us help you help us help you help us help you help— mmph!" "I think we get the picture, Pinkie," I said, using my magic to hold Pinkie's mouth shut. Orph tilted his head. "You equines are quite a strange bunch, in more ways than one." "Oh, you have no idea how right you are," I muttered under my breath. "Pardon?" "Nothing," I said, releasing Pinkie from my spell. "Anyway, my friends have a point. If we're supposed to be working together, we should share everything we know. Someone out there is breaking a lot of the Neko Shogunate's laws. Maybe it's the fake Mare-Do-Well we're chasing; maybe it's not. Either way, we have to find out who it is, and we have to find out why. If nothing else, we'd be doing you a favor." Orph let out a strained sigh. "I do apologize if my demeanyor was a bit, brusque. I'm afraid I nyever had to deal with something as strange as this before. Nyever in the Nyeko Shogunyate's history have we ever nyeeded the assistance of outsiders." "Well, there's a first time for everything," said Derpy with a shrug. "Mmm, indeed," mused Orph, his tail swishing from side to side. "Let me send a report to the Grand Shoguns and ask them how to proceed. If they deem you trustworthy, I'll tell you everything I knyow." Considering we haven't actually met the Grand Shoguns, I don't really see how this is going to work. Sure, we're friends of Kohryu and all, but I'm beginning to wonder how much clout that really gives us. I mean yeah, Orph doesn't exactly have an unfavorable view of our involvement in this matter, but I'm not expecting a glowing recommendation from him, either. If anything, he just seems to be confused. I suppose I can understand that, seeing as the Neko Shogunate is an isolationist society. "I guess that's better than nothing," I said simply. "In the meantime, we'll continue doing what we can with what we have." "Right, yes," said Orph, nodding absently. "Tell me, Star Amethyst. Are all equines like you where you come from?" "I, don't think there's a right way to answer that question," I said sheepishly as I looked over at Pinkie and Derpy. They both tilted their head in confusion. "What is it, Ammy?" Derpy asked. "Nothing, Mom," I sighed. "Anyway, we should probably figure out what we're gonna do—" "Ms. Pie! Ms. Applejack! We have an emergency!" My train of thought was interrupted by a loud, familiar voice coming from the entrance. When I looked up to see who it was, I immediately got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Just as I thought, it was the pony from the Royal Guard that escorted us here in the first place. His armor was all busted up, his face were covered with soot, and I'm pretty sure the plume on his helmet was on fire. "What is the meanying of this?!" hissed Orph. "Terribly sorry, sir. The border guards gave us permission to come here," said the guard with a bow. "What's all the hubbub about?" asked Applejack. The guard swallowed. "I-it's the airship, Ms. Applejack! It's been, destroyed!" My jaw just hit the ground right then and there. Th-this can't be possible! The Neko Shogunate has no reason to do something like this! Wh-what's going on here?! "Whaddya mean it's been destroyed?" Applejack growled. "I-I can't explain it, ma'am," said the guard. "Something just burst our hot air balloon, and the next thing we knew, the whole thing was set aflame! Thankfully, nopony has been seriously injured. We're planning on heading back to Canterlot in order to acquire a new airship, but I don't know how long it'll take by wing alone." "Does that mean we're trapped here forever?!" Pinkie shrieked. "Omigosh, omigosh! AJ, this is terrible!" "C-calm down, Pinkie," I said sternly, trying to collect myself. "W-we'll think of something. Right now, we should go see what happened." "But how?" whimpered Derpy. "The Royal Guard doesn't know how the airship got broken." I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. C'mon, think Amethyst. There has to be something we can do. The destruction of an entire airship couldn't have just gone unnoticed. Someone had to see it. "Wait. We were docked at the base of the mountain leading up to the border, right?" I said. "Uh, yeah," said Derpy. "There's someone at that border we have to talk to," I said. "Mr. Orph, is there a faster way down the mountain?" "I can help you there, Star Amethyst." As if answering my prayers, Seiryu flew in before us. "Oh, right. I almost forgot that this was your shift," I said, clearing my throat. "Indeed," said Seiryu. "Here." He gestured with his claw, and his eyes glowed green. Three of the leaves from the floor rose before us and grew to the size of bedsheets. "Grab hold of each end of the leaf, and it will guide you where you need to go," Seiryu instructed. "Be safe, Star Amethyst." I nodded and did as he said. Suddenly, a burst of wind lifted the leaf into the air and out of the cave. Pinkie and Applejack did the same, and Derpy was flying not too far behind us. While the experience was nothing short of breathtaking, I was too worried to be awed. Someone destroyed our way back home. If that's not suspicious, I don't know what is. And things were going so well for us, too. But, in the immortal words of my mom, I just don't know what went wrong. Thankfully, I have a way to find out. Like I said, there's no way an airship can just explode without someone witnessing it. And I have the perfect witness in mind. Not only can he tell us what happened (hopefully), but he might have answers to some more pressing questions on my mind. I'm pretty sure he's not going to be cooperative though, but hey. Whoever said that killing two birds with one stone was easy?