My Little Investigations: The Gemstone Godfather

by Metool Bard

Two Birds, One Stone

July 13, 7:45 AM
Ponyville
Golden Harvest's House
***

"Amethyst~! Time to wake up~!"

Dinky's gentle voice was accompanied by a soft tapping on my door. I groaned and drew my sheets closer to my body. Once again, I couldn't get much sleep. Not only was I worrying over everything, but part of me didn't want to see the nightmares brewing in my subconscious. As such, I didn't really have the strength to get up.

"Nnngh. Leave me alone," I mumbled.

"Mama says you have a lot of important things to do today, and you can't do them in bed," said Dinky.

"Mmph. What time izzit?" I murmured.

"Quarter to eight."

"Then what's five more minutes?"

"It's five minutes that you're wasting doing nothing when you should be doing something. And you're not gonna get them back."

That got the ole adrenaline flowing. Sometimes, I really hate the Zen of Dinky. I know she didn't mean it, but that little nugget of wisdom reminded me that I'm on a deadline with this mystery. I can't be wasting time in bed.

"Alright, I'm up!" I moaned groggily as I forced myself out of bed. As I did so, I noticed that there was a small note on my nightstand. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I scooped it up with my magic and read it to myself.

Dear Ammy:

I have to go to work today, so I won't be able to join you for your investigation this morning. I'll join you as soon as I'm done with my route. In the meantime, please please please don't do anything reckless.

I told Carrot Top everything last night while you were asleep, so she knows what's going on. She wants you to know that she has your back, and she'll do everything she can to help you. She thinks you should probably tell Princess Twilight, but I'll leave that up to you.

Love and Muffins,
Mom

I couldn't help but smile at that. I knew right away that this letter was dictated because Derpy has horrible penmanship, but it's the thought that counts. Y'know, it's little things like this that keep me going through this whole stupid ordeal. I'm so lucky to have a pony like Derpy looking out for me. Which is why I have to do the same for her.

Well, no Derpy meant I couldn't go see Sykes Silvervest or Dodger Dragonvest, so my investigation options were limited. I guess the best thing I could do while Derpy is working her route is brush up on those mystical gemstones the Redvest pack told me about. If Karat doesn't know about 'em, I'm sure Golden Oak Library would have a book or two on the subject. Plus, I could investigate alongside Dinky without putting her in danger. She'd love that.

I put the note inside the drawer of my nightstand and opened my door. Dinky was waiting eagerly for me outside.

"Good morning~," she chirped.

"'Morning, Dink," I said with a yawn. "What're you doing up so early?"

"Ms. Harvest kinda woke me up," said Dinky sheepishly. "She didn't mean to, but I figured it was for the best. After all, we've got a lot of investigating to do today!"

"Yeah, we sure do," I said, stretching myself out. "C'mon, let's go have some breakfast."

"Um, before we go downstairs, I think I should warn you about something," said Dinky, twiddling her hooves.

I tilted my head. "What's wrong, Dink?"

"It's Ms. Harvest. She seems, upset. We should probably try and stay out of her way today."

This doesn't bode well. Carrot Top is usually an easy-going mare, but she is downright scary when she gets mad. I mean, I don't blame her or anything. Derpy did tell her about what I was going through, after all. However, if this is anything like the gopher infestation we had last month (the less I say about that, the better), then I'm glad she's on my side.

"Right. Thanks for the warning," I said. "Alright, let's go."

With that, we headed on downstairs.

***

"Hmm. I might need to bring out the heavy artillery this time around. Can't be too careful."

When we walked into the kitchen, I felt an immediate sense of dread. Sitting on the counter was a massive array of bear traps, coils of rope and barbed wire, pine boxes, and a lot of other stuff. Carrot Top was looking over the stuff while wearing a green army helmet on her head. Remember that gopher infestation I told you about? Yeah, this was pretty much her reaction back then. Again, I don't blame her. Her home's being threatened because of me; that would make anypony unhinged. But I know for a fact that when Carrot Top's like this, she takes things a wee bit too far. Except this time, I could argue that she's justified in doing so.

"Um, hey there Carrot Top," I said meekly. "Do you think we could get through? Dinky and I need to get our breakfast."

Carrot Top looked up and gave me a salute. "Ah, Sparkler. Good to see you. How're you holding up?"

"Uh, I'm hanging in there, I guess," I said. "Listen, we shouldn't take up any more of your time, so if we could just..."

"Oh, sure," said Carrot Top, shuffling her supplies to the side. "Don't mind me. I'm just updating security a little."

Well, at least it's not the exact same song and dance as the gopher incident. That time, she was really freaking out. Actually, to be fair, Derpy did give her some advanced warning, so she probably had some time to cool down before getting her booby traps ready. They say that "normal" ponies are simply ponies that you don't know very well, and nopony is a better example of that than Carrot Top.

"Having problems with the gophers again?" I asked, getting a couple of rolls from the breadbox. I gave Carrot Top a wink as I said that, and she winked back. Luckily, Dinky didn't seem to catch it. She was too busy climbing up onto a stool in front of the counter.

"No, it's not gophers this time," said Carrot Top. "Although if those varmints get the bright idea of taking my carrots again, they're gonna think twice once I get all this set up."

"I just hope you don't get in trouble with Fluttershy like you did last time," I said. "You know how she is about animals."

"Oh, I doubt she'll mind," said Carrot Top. "Not even she would want to deal with something like this. I'm better off handling these pests on my own."

As I brought our rolls over to the counter, I noticed that Dinky had a quizzical look on her face. She was probably really curious about what Carrot Top was referring to, but because she didn't want to set her off, she held her tongue. I sighed inwardly. I wonder how much longer I can keep this up before she gets wise to me. Like I said, Dinky's not a dumb kid. Sooner or later, she's gonna tell me to uphold my Pinkie Promise, and then...

No, I'd better not think about that right now. I've got more important things to focus on.

"So, Dink. I'm thinking that after breakfast, we should pay another visit to the library," I said.

"Oh? Why's that?" asked Dinky, taking a bite out of her roll.

"Because I found out something interesting about Diamond Dogs from the Redvest pack," I said. "Apparently, they can use magic."

Dinky smirked. "I thought as much. That must mean that our culprit is a Diamond Dog."

"That could be a possibility," I said. "But here's the thing. They said that the magic they use comes from these rare, mystical gems. And each gem seems to only control one kind of magic. We still don't know what kind of magic the culprit used to ransack the jewelry store and hogtie Rarity's cat without anypony noticing."

"And you think Golden Oak Library has a book on these mystical gems?" inquired Dinky.

"Most likely," I said with a shrug.

Dinky nodded. "That's some good thinking. I actually wanted to ask Princess Twilight Sparkle a few things, so we can easily do both."

I raised an eyebrow. "What did you want to ask her?"

"I wanted to get her take on everything that's happened," said Dinky. "She must've heard about what happened to Ms. Rarity's pet cat, either from Mr. Spike or Ms. Rarity herself. Maybe she's investigating, too."

I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. From what I heard, Princess Twilight has some pretty good investigation skills. At the very least, nopony can deny that she's good at figuring things out. However, Mare-Do-Well's warning about international incidents kept repeating in my head. If she is investigating, she'd better be careful.

"Oh, before you head out, Sparkler, I've got something for you," said Carrot Top. She then took out a small note and dipped her voice. "I found this nailed to the front door this morning, just like last time. It's probably from you-know-who."

I swallowed. Well, it's not like I wasn't expecting this. Taking care to hide the note from Dinky, I opened it up and read it.

Amethyst "Sparkler" Star:

Despite what happens today, you still have three days left. Nevertheless, I hope that this gives you some more, incentive. What am I talking about, you may ask? Oh, you'll see. Let's just say for now that you're not my only client.

~Anonymous

I felt a chill go up my spine. I knew this couldn't mean anything good. Somepony was going to get attacked by this guy, and it was probably gonna be somepony connected to me in some way. But, who was he talking about? I already know that he's after Rarity, and he already sent her two messages yesterday. So he couldn't be talking about her, could he? And furthermore, why all the cryptic secrecy? Can't this guy ever be direct? Does he get off on watching me suffer? Because if that's the case, I'm gonna be very pissed off.

"What's wrong, Amethyst? You look a bit pale."

I took in a sharp breath through my teeth as I heard Dinky voice her concerns. Thinking quickly, I hid the letter underneath Carrot Top's arsenal.

"N-nothing. Just, worrying about Mom, that's all," I said.

Dinky sighed. "I'm worried too, Amethyst. But if you wind yourself too tight, you're going to snap. I don't want that to happen to you."

"Hey, it's not like I'm trying to drive myself nuts, Dink," I said.

"I know," said Dinky, placing her hoof atop my own. "That's what we're here for."

Before I could respond, there was a thud heard outside. Having a good idea who it was, I quickly got up and opened the door. And wouldn't you know it? My suspicions were correct.

"Mom? What are you doing back here?" I inquired.

"I-I just got back from making a delivery," said Derpy, getting herself to her feet. "There's something you might want to look into. You'd better brace yourself, Ammy. It's pretty bad."

"Why? What's wrong?" I asked.

Derpy sighed. "There's been a ponynapping just outside of Ponyville. News hasn't quite gotten to the princess yet, but I'm sure it will."

I don't like where this is going. "Wait. Just outside Ponyville, you said?"

"Yeah. On this big farm on the outskirts of town."

Oh no. I think I know what she's talking about. "Mom, you're not talking about the Pie Rock Farm, are you?"

Derpy hung her head. "I'm sorry, Ammy."

Sunnova bitch, I knew it. The Pie Rock Farm is another one of the jewelry store's suppliers when it comes to raw gems. Karat actually gets a lot more gems from them than from the northern timberline. This matches the culprit's cryptic description to a T. Ugh, Celestia dammit.

"Th-thanks for the heads-up, Mom," I said. "I-I'll be sure to look into it."

Derpy nodded. "Stay strong, Ammy. Remember, we're not letting you fight this alone."

Derpy then gave me a quick hug goodbye and took off into the air. I heaved a great sigh and turned to see Dinky looking up at me.

"What was that all about, Amethyst?" she asked.

"Change of plans, Dink," I said. "You go to the library; I'll look into this."

Dinky frowned. "No. Not this time," she said sternly. "This time, I'm coming with you."

"Dink, you really don't want to do that," I said.

"I think I do," said Dinky. "Amethyst, I'm glad that you want to protect me. But I'm not just some little kid. I'm your sister, and I want to support you in your time of need."

Oh sweet Celesita above, why does Dinky insist on making this guilt trip worse and worse?

"Dink, listen," I said. "Something very, very bad happened at the Pie Rock Farm. It's something that I hope you never have to deal with. Now, I know you don't like being treated like a little kid, but it doesn't change the fact that you are one. So, if you really want to help me, you'll go to the library and investigate where it's safer. Okay?"

Dinky cast her eyes downward and bit her lip. "I-if I asked Mama for permission, would you take me then?"

Ouch. Now I know she means business. Dinky almost never plays the Mom Card to get something she wants. I sighed.

"I, suppose," I said. "But only if she tells you it's okay. And don't lie to me and say that she did."

Dinky nodded. "Okay, Amethyst. I'll go ask her."

With that, she dashed off. Well, that's out of my hooves. I guess having Dinky tag along wouldn't be too bad, since the rock farm isn't dangerous, but kidnapping is a pretty heavy concept that I don't know if Dinky is ready for. Of course, Derpy would know better than I would, so I guess it's her call. With a heavy heart and a cloud of confusion hanging over my head, I made my way to the rock farm.

Comments

[Lightoller]

Oh boy...

[Ri2]

DEATH TO ALL GOPHERS!
No, not the Pies!

[SilverDiamond]

Yeah, this escalated. I mean, damages to property and blackmail/deathreats should have been reported immideatly, diplomacy be screwed... That's the problem of the countries that got accused. They need to get a hold of their criminals, if they can't, report them to other countries.