My Little Investigations: The Gemstone Godfather

by Metool Bard

Confrontation: Dodger Dragonvest

Dodger gave me a blank stare which slowly turned into a nasty scowl.

"You've got some nerve, Momma's Girl," he snarled. "You barge in uninvited, interrupt my meeting with Kohryu, and now you want to question me? What makes you think that I want to talk to you right now, huh?"

"Well, there's this," I said, refusing to back down. "I don't trust you."

Dodger scoffed. "I find that utterly ridiculous, Momma's Girl. How could you not trust me? I'm doing Kohryu's work."

"Really now," I said. "Because I don't see why a pacifist like Kohryu would tell his hierophant to go to war."

"We've already covered this, Momma's Girl," said Dodger, fiddling with the mystical gemstones in his paw. "Sykes Silvervest is bad news, and he needs to be taken down. That's Kohryu's decree, and I'm making sure it's carried out."

"Yeah, that doesn't exactly refute what I just said," I countered. "Maybe I'd have an easier time trusting you if you were a bit more straightforward with me."

"Who says I haven't been?" said Dodger with a shrug. "I've got no reason to lie to you, Momma's Girl."

"If that's the case, then you should have no problem answering my questions," I said with a smirk.

Dodger opened his mouth to form a rebuttal, but let out a sigh as he saw my point. "Alright, Momma's Girl. You wanna play hardball? Let's play hardball. What do you wanna know?"

"Let's start with something basic," I said. "Tell me the story about how you became Kohryu's hierophant again."

Dodger nodded and shrugged. "Fair enough. But I'm warning you right now, Momma's Girl. You've got me in a really bad mood right now. Make it worse, and you're outta here. You got that?"

"Sure, whatever," I said half-heartedly. Truth be told, I have no plans about leaving. Not until I get the truth out of Dodger. But of course, I didn't want him to know that.

***
Testimony: Becoming Kohryu's Hierophant
***

"So, a few weeks ago, I was mining for gems when I came across these babies," said Dodger, hefting up the gemstones. "I felt that Sykes shouldn't have 'em, so I kept them to myself. That night, I had a vision from Kohryu's acolytes. They told me about one of my own kind exploiting the misery of others, and that I had been chosen to stop him. Of course, the rest is history."

Second verse, same as the first. Nothing about Dodger's story changed from the first time I heard it. But I was armed with some new knowledge, and I found that story to be lacking. I knew he was hiding something from me.

"There's something I don't get," I said. "Why didn't you feel that Sykes should have the gems?"

Dodger gave me a toothy smile. "Easy, Momma's Girl. I know mystical gemstones when I see 'em. Some poor schmuck obviously lost them or something, and I just so happened to come across them."

"But didn't you think of returning them to whoever dropped them in the first place?" asked Derpy.

Dodger snickered. "Hey, finders keepers. If they really wanted 'em back, they wouldn't have misplaced 'em in the first place."

While he does have a good point, I find myself getting more and more disgusted with his behavior. Maybe it's a Diamond Dog thing; maybe he thought it was fate that he came across the gems; maybe he's a massive dock-hole. I'm thinking the latter right now, and I'm gonna put that theory to the test.

"So, in that vision you mentioned, the acolytes said that a Diamond Dog was exploring the misery of others," I said.

"Yes," said Dodger.

"And you think that someone is Sykes Silvervest."

"Correct."

"Well, I find that very strange. Because Kohryu says he never mentioned the Diamond Dog by name."

Dodger shrugged. "I don't see how that matters, Momma's Girl. You've seen what Kohryu's like. He probably just forgot. He certainly has no objections with me going after Sykes now."

"Well, yeah. That's true," I said. "But, how much are you telling him?"

Dodger glared at me. "What are you implying?"

"I still find it hard to believe that a pacifist like Kohryu would condone war," I said, brushing the underside of my nose for a moment. "As such, it doesn't make sense that he would approve of your actions. And yet, it appears that he does. I can only think of one explanation for this."

"And what's that?"

"I think you're lying to him."

"How dare you!"

Dodger recoiled from my accusation, nearly dropping the mystical gemstones.

"If there's another explanation, feel free to enlighten me, Dragonvest. Because I'm not seeing it," I said with a shrug.

"You're delusional, Momma's Girl! Completely delusional!" Dodger snapped. "Why would I lie to Kohryu; the one who convinced me to strike out against Sykes in the first place?!"

"Are you sure that's what he meant, though?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"What else would he mean?! He had to be talking about Sykes! There's no one else he could've meant!"

"How do you know?" I said. "There are a lot of Diamond Dogs in the underground network. Sykes Silvervest is just one of them. To just assume that he's the one Kohryu has 'marked' is absurd. Unless, of course, you have some sort of grudge against him."

Dodger shook his head. "Momma's Girl, have you met Sykes Silvervest? It's impossible not to hold a grudge against him. He only cares about himself and his own power. Everything else is just a stepping stone to him. He doesn't care who he hurts as long as he's turing a profit. Doesn't that sound like it matches Kohryu's description? Well, doesn't it?"

I hate to admit it, but it does. And having met with Sykes Silvervest, I don't think Dodger is exaggerating all that much. But no matter how many times he says that, it still doesn't make sense for a pacifist to orchestrate a war. There has to be something missing to this puzzle.

"Well, I can't say you're wrong, Mr. Dragonvest," said I.

"Of course you can't. Because I'm right," said Dodger smugly. "Kohryu has marked Sykes, and I'm making sure he gets what's coming to him. End of story."

"Hold on. I've still got some problems with this," I said. "Kohryu summoned me here because he thought I had a false impression of him. See, he doesn't go around 'marking' people and trying to punish them. You apparently made that up."

Dodger fiddled with the orbs in his paw nervously, sweat trickling down his face. "I, uh, I don't know what you're talking about, Momma's Girl. I mean, that vision was pretty clear to me."

"Was it? Or did you just think it was a convenient excuse to rebel against your boss?" I said.

"You can't prove that!" Dodger barked. "In fact, I'm appalled that you'd even consider that! I'm no opportunist! I'm just following Kohryu's will! Sykes is the opportunist! He's greedy, stubborn, manipulative, and all sorts of things besides! How anyone could like that guy, especially Georgette, is beyond me!"

Derpy blinked. "Wait, Georgette? You mean Georgette Jadevest? What's she got to do with anything?"

Dodger's eyes shifted around the room and he swallowed. "Uh, nothing!" he said hastily, clearing his throat. "It was just a slip of the tongue. No need to dwell on it."

I had to disagree. The look on Dodger's face said it all. He was trying to hide something, and it had to do with the Jadevest pack.

"No, I think my mom has a point," I said. "We never even mentioned Georgette Jadevest. So, why'd you bring her up?"

"I-I... GRAH!"

Dodger recoiled, nearly dropping the gemstones again. It appears he has no rebuttal for that.

"L-look, it's personal, okay?!" Dodger sputtered. "Mind your own business!"

"It doesn't seem to be that simple, Dragonvest," I said. "You said you had no reason to hide stuff from me, yet here you are doing just that. Do you see now why I don't trust you?"

Dodger took a moment to compose himself and then sighed. "Yeah, I see," he said. "But you have to understand, Momma's Girl. I'm still the good guy here. I might've told a few fibs, sure. But it's for the greater good of the Diamond Dogs!"

"The greater good of the Diamond Dogs?" I parroted. "What're you talking about? I thought you were on this mad crusade because Kohryu told you to."

"And that's true. Ish," said Dodger ambiguously. "But there's a bigger part to this story. Let me lay it down for ya..."

***
Testimony: Dodger's Crusade
***

"From the beginning, I always knew the Sykes Silvervest was a no-good scumbag," said Dodger. "I never told him to his face, of course; that would've been suicide. But I saw everything he did, up to and including breaking the heart of Georgette Jadevest. I knew he had to go, and I knew I couldn't do it alone. Which is why I'm glad Kohryu and I are after the same thing, basically. And don't try to say we're not, because we are."

It looks like Dodger is finally starting to show his true colors. No wonder he's doing such a bad job representing Kohryu and his teachings. However, there's a lot more to this story that he neglected to mention. I'm gonna have to dig a bit deeper.

"You said that he broke the heart of Georgette Jadevest," I said. "Would you care to go into detail on that?"

"Certainly," said Dodger. "Sykes loved Georgette, and Georgette loved Sykes. But they couldn't hook up because it's taboo for packs to intermingle. So Sykes broke off the relationship and left her crushed."

Odd. She didn't seem to be all that broken up about it when I talked to her. She still considered Sykes a friend (why I don't know), so where was Dodger getting this impression?

"Wouldn't something like that be a private affair?" I asked. "How do you know about it?"

"Well, simple. I had my eye on Georgette, too."

Well, that came out of nowhere. "You what?"

"Just as I said, Momma's Girl," said Dodger with a whimsical sigh. "She is the prettiest diamond in those caves, and she certainly deserves better than a scoundrel like Sykes."

"Someone like you, I take it?" I said.

"Bingo," said Dodger with a wink. "So when I heard that Sykes broke up with her, I tried to make my move. I told her that we didn't have to follow some stupid rule; that we could do whatever we wanted. Georgette seemed keen on the idea, and she even said so. And we would've run away and gotten married right then and there had Rosco and Desoto not busted in and ruined everything."

I know this sounds hard to believe, but I'm still having trouble siding with Dodger here. Yes, some traditions become antiquated and have to change. Before Twilight Sparkle came to Ponyville, we always handled Winter Wrap Up the same way for generations, and we were always late. She changed that by making us more organized. However, there's a right reason for change and a wrong reason. I mean, from the sound of it, Dodger doesn't even know Georgette all that well. He just thinks that he's the one for her, and that it's meant to be. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure love almost never works like that. And I really doubt that such a shallow attraction justifies a rewriting of an entire culture's structure.

"So, you believe that Georgette Jadevest would've run off with you if it wasn't considered taboo," I said.

"No doubt in my mind, Momma's Girl," said Dodger.

"Well, that's funny. Because I managed to talk to her," I said. "It turns out she's still on good terms with Sykes Silvervest. In fact, he asked her to help defend the Redvest pack's territory from you and your dragons. And do you know what she did?"

"What?"

"She accepted."

Dodger sniggered. "Oh, Momma's Girl. You are so naïve," he chided. "Of course she's gonna put on a song and dance for Sykes. If he knew that she was secretly pining for me, he'd have her head."

Is it just me, or does Dodger seem to be a tad delusional? You guys are seeing this too, right? I mean, how far do you have to have your head shoved up your own rump to think that a girl you barely know has the hots for you?

"Well, that's all very interesting, Mr. Dragonvest," I said. "But I'm not sure if your worldview jives with reality."

"And just what do you mean by that?" Dodger growled.

"Let me ask you this." I said. "What do you know about Georgette Jadevest?"

"She's beautiful, she studies magic, she has a ton of mystical gems in her hoard, and she's beautiful," said Dodger with a shrug. "What else do I need to know?"

"Wait, you said that she's beautiful twice," said Derpy.

"I know. That's because she's so beautiful that it has to be mentioned twice," said Dodger with a smirk.

Oh, brother. It's as if the further I dig, the more reasons I find to hate this guy. But, I have to persevere, because there's still something he has to answer for.

"So, all you know about Georgette Jadevest is what's in her hoard and that she's pretty," I said. "And you're willing to spearhead this revolution and change an entire culture just to win her heart."

"Geeze, when you put it that way, you make love sound like a bad thing," said Dodger. "Never thought you were a prude, Momma's Girl."

"I'm not a prude, Dragonvest. I just know a load of old horse apples when I see 'em," I said. "But that aside, I wonder what Kohryu would say about this."

Dodger lowered his shades. "Come again?"

"Well, you've already made it clear to me that you're hiding your true intentions from him," I said. "Not only that, but I would think that a pacifist like him would advocate social change without using violence. For his supposed 'hierophant,' you seem to suck at your job."

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Dodger boomed. "So we're not exactly on the same wavelength. Big deal! We're still after the same thing: The downfall of Sykes Silvervest!"

"See, I'm not sure about that," I said. "Because I happened to run into one of your acolytes prowling around the Pie Rock Farm. As I recall, Sykes Silvervest has no influence there. So, what was he there for, pray tell?"

"That's none of your business!" Dodger yelled.

"I think it is," I said. "I don't know if you heard this, but a pony was kidnapped from that area last night. Now, your acolyte seems to have an alibi, but I'm not sure I trust it."

"I'm warning you right now, Momma's Girl. You don't know what kind of trouble you're getting into," Dodger snarled. "You stop right now and get out."

"Before I do, there's one last thing," I said. "You remember how I came in, right? Through that hole in the ground."

"What about it?"

"Well, that hole leads to a tunnel. A tunnel where a certain dragon was hiding in. And it's from that tunnel that my mom was attacked three days ago!"

"I-I don't know anything about that!" Dodger roared. "I'm not the one you're after! I couldn't give two flying figs about you and your stupid predicament! My only goal is Sykes Silvervest! That's it!"

"No, your goal is to win the heart of a girl you don't even know," I said. "And to do that, you dupe a great philosopher trapped by a curse, strong-arm a bunch of dragons who have no idea what's going on, and forcibly rewrite the rules of your society. The ends don't justify the means, Dodger Dragonvest! And when Kohryu finds out about this, I doubt he'll be happy!"

All was quiet for a moment as Dodger clenched his fist and trembled. The silence was broken by him chuckling nefariously.

"Oh, Kohryu's not gonna know about this, Momma's Girl," he said. "Because you're not gonna tell him."

"And why shouldn't I?" I said. "He deserves to know. He put his trust in you, and all you've done is take advantage of him."

"You'll get no argument from me, Momma's Girl," said Dodger, fiddling with the mystical gemstones. "However, if you think that I'm gonna let you ruin this for me, then you're in for a disappointment."

I get the feeling that perhaps I went a bit too far with my questioning. I'm still not sure if Dodger's the prick who's trying to extort gems out of me, but I still managed to expose something truly disgusting about him. And it's something that he probably wants to keep buried. This does not bode well.

"W-well, maybe I was a bit too hasty," I said, trying to backpedal. "This, doesn't really have anything to do with my mystery after all, so I've got no reason to mention anything to Kohryu. Now, if you'd just let us leave..."

"Oh, you're not going anywhere," said Dodger with an evil gleam in his eye. "I'm gonna make sure you keep that trap of yours shut, and there's nothing Kohryu can do about it."

He then lifted up the mystical gemstones and rotated them around in his palm. They started to glow brighter and brighter, indicating that he was getting ready to summon the acolytes. Any moment Mare-Do-Well wanted to come out of her hiding place and save the day, it would be just fine with me.

"Consider yourself 'marked,' Momma's Girl," said Dodger. "In the name of Kohryu, you shall be..."

"Excuse me."

I saw a cloaked hoof tap Dodger on the shoulder (well, that was quick). He spun around to see none other than Mare-Do-Well, flapping her wings and giving him the evil eye.

"Wh-who the heck are you?!" he exclaimed.

"Somepony you don't want to mess with right now," said Mare-Do-Well sternly. "And if you want to hurt Ms. Sparkler, you'll have to go through me."

Comments

[Mystic Deadman]

Ask, Ammy, and ye shall receive!

[Lightoller]

AWW YEAHHHH!

[Grazy Polomare]

That's one way to dodge the bullet, Ammy.

[SilverDiamond]

So, this DODGY guy is behind all this? At least this time he didn't get any alibis throughout the story. We only got clues that pointed to different suspects, and they were kinda innocent.

Also, this is why you STOP, and get a SOLDIER if you go into hostile area! I said before that there is someone, willing to blackmail you. Is it a diamond dog? Clearly, a couple of regular ponies will PERISH if they accuse the "wrong" person!!! Ugh.