My Little Investigations: The Gemstone Godfather

by Metool Bard

Digression of Despair

July 13, 9:48 PM
Ponyville
Golden Harvest's House
***

As soon as I got home, I marched up to my room and crashed into bed. I just didn't have the energy to do anything else. But no matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn't relax. I was still in the middle of processing everything that had happened and worrying about what was gonna happen next. It was this weird paradox where I was completely exhausted, yet at the same time, I was too stressed out to recover my strength. Yeah, Carrot Top's security system did give me some peace of mind, but it couldn't account for everything.

This continued right through dinner (which I had downstairs) and all the way into the night. At this point, I had completely given up on getting any shuteye. It's not that I didn't want to fall asleep; quite the contrary. I just knew it wasn't gonna happen. Not with all of these thoughts and fears keeping me awake.

I heard a soft tap on my door and sighed. It was probably Dinky worrying about me. Groggily, I got up from my bed and opened the door with my magic. As it turned out, it wasn't Dinky standing in front of me. Instead, it was Derpy, carrying a firefly lantern in her wing.

"Did I wake you, Ammy?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. Actually, I can't sleep."

"Oh, good," said Derpy. She then sighed. "Actually, I can't sleep, either. I keep thinking about that Dragonvest meanie, and how mad he must be that we got away from him."

That was actually a good thing to be worried about. Since we left him out cold in his hideout, we haven't heard from him once. I doubt anyone could stay knocked out for that long, and there's nothing stopping him from coming after us, is there? The only thing I could think of that would prevent him from exacting his revenge would be the teenage dragons coming back and realizing that their boss no longer had any authority over them. Unless, of course, he had access to Shroud Emeralds. And that made me more worried.

"Tell you what, Mom," I said. "I still remember that spell Princess Twilight gave me. If I use it and we see that nothing's wrong, we can go back to sleep. Okay?"

Derpy stared at me for a moment (in the, loosest form of staring). "It's as if you read my mind," she said.

I chuckled. "What can I say? I'm worried, too," I said.

"Mmm," said Derpy with a nod. "Alright. Let's go check in on Dinky first."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. We then tiptoed over to Dinky's room down the hall. Derpy opened her door as quietly as she could. At first glance, nothing seemed to be wrong. Dinky was there, sleeping peacefully in her little bed, safe and sound. But just because everything appeared to be okay didn't make it so.

Derpy quietly tiptoed up to Dinky and brushed her mane with her hoof. "Hmm. She feels real enough," she said, keeping her voice low. "I don't think an illusion could fake that."

"Shroud Emeralds can," I said with a swallow. "While under their spell, nothing you do can be seen by anypony else until it's too late. So, there's only one way to find out for sure."

Derpy sighed. "Right," she said, stepping back. She then took a few deep breaths. "Okay, I'm ready, Ammy."

"I'm glad one of us is," I muttered to myself. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. As I exhaled, I spoke the incantation Princess Twilight taught me:

"I am not afraid of reality;
Show me the truth, whatever it may be!"

I felt a large burst of energy shoot through my horn. When I opened my eyes, the entire room was bathed in a bright pink aura. And as the aura faded, so did Dinky.

When the aura was completely gone, Derpy's lantern fell to the ground with a loud clang, sending fireflies everywhere. I myself felt my heart freeze. Dinky's bed was completely empty, and her covers were disheveled. Not only that, but her window was broken. Shards of glass lay strewn on the floor, and the room felt a lot colder.

"No. No no no," Derpy whimpered, falling to the ground as tears welled up in her eyes. "I... Muffin... Why did...? How...?"

"Is everything alright in here?" asked Carrot Top, making her way onto the scene. "I just heard a noise and— Sweet merciful carrots! What the hay happened?!"

"I-I couldn't even begin to tell you," I said. "Hold on, I need to check something."

Before Derpy or Carrot Top could respond, I rushed out the door. This is bad. This is all kinds of bad. Dammit, I tried so hard to protect Dinky from this exact thing, and it happens anyway. I guess that's what I get for not keeping my Pinkie Promises. I'm probably gonna regret saying this, but this can't possibly get any worse.

***

I went around back to Carrot Top's garden and cast the anti-illusion spell on everything I could find. I was hoping that the culprit was stuck in one of Carrot Top's traps, but that simply wasn't the case. Many of the traps were sprung, but there was no one to be found. However, I did notice that the traps that were sprung had a coating of mud on them. Looking around, I saw quite a few mud holes that were covered in now-broken tarp. Carrot Top must've set those up after Dinky told her about the Shroud Emeralds and how they don't affect stuff like mud and plaster. I also saw a large molehill at the edge of the carrot patch. It was obviously the culprit trying to cover his tracks, and that meant that one of the passageways in the access tunnels led straight to Carrot Top's garden. The very thought made me sick to my stomach.

Shaking myself, I scanned the ground carefully, noticing that a set of muddy tracks were leading out of the garden and around to the front of the house. That, doesn't make sense. If the culprit was leaving muddy footprints, then why didn't we notice them until now? Curious, I followed the prints to the front of the house.

When I got there, I immediately found my answer. The muddy tracks stopped at the welcome mat, which was stained dark brown. There's no question about it: The culprit knew about the Shroud Emerald's weakness, so to get around it, he wiped his feet on the mat before coming in. There were also splotches of mud that decorated the front of the house, probably from when he was shaking himself off or something. Even though we were prepared, this guy wasn't missing a trick.

Just then, there was a loud thump from inside the house. A split second later, I heard Derpy screaming and sobbing.

"L-let me go, Carrot Top!" she wailed, sounding very much like a foal throwing a temper tantrum. "M-my Muffin is in danger! I have to save her!"

"I'm not letting you do anything reckless, Derpy!" Carrot Top barked. "It's too dangerous, even for you!"

"I don't care!" Derpy bawled. "I'm her Mama! It's my duty to protect her!"

"Derpy, getting yourself killed isn't going to help her!"

"You don't understand!"

"I understand perfectly, Derpy! Which is why I'm not letting you run off like this!"

"No! No no no no no~!"

I could just picture Derpy flailing around on the ground like a child while Carrot Top tried to rein her in. Just thinking about that made my heart sink. Poor Derpy. She's really broken up about this. And honestly, right now, I'm not faring much better.

I then remembered that the culprit usually left a note nailed to the door. Looking at it, there appeared to be nothing there, but I knew better. I used the anti-illusion spell a third time, and sure enough, the note was revealed. I removed the nail that pinned it to the door and read it over.

Amethyst "Sparkler" Star:

You are a naughty, naughty girl.

I don't say that lightly, mind you. I mean, here I am, trying to be a nice guy. Trying to give you a chance. And what do you do to repay my kindness? You try to play the master detective in the vain hope of taking me down. It seems that I'm not getting through to you. In light of this, I'm resorting to more, drastic measures.

So, here's my offer. Take every gem in your possession and leave them at the northern timberline by midnight tonight. If you don't, then I'm afraid you'll never see your little "sister" ever again. And if you think I'm bluffing, try me.

You brought this upon yourself for thinking you could defy me, Ms. Star. Don't say I didn't warn you.

~Anonymous

I-I think my world just shattered. Just when I thought I hit rock bottom, this dock-hole had to throw me a shovel. I mean, this guy's beyond sick; he's bucking demented! I don't think he even wants the gems at this point! I think his goal all along was to make my life a living nightmare! Why do I think this? Well, let's see: He knows who I am, where I live, where I work, who I'm close to, what I've been doing all this time, and what my past was like. And he's using all that to hurt me in ways nobody has ever hurt me before! I-I... DAMMIT!

I-I can't take it anymore. I-I just can't. Th-this is simply too much for me to handle. I-I need a moment to pull myself together. And, I suppose while I do that, I might as well address the elephant in the room. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to talk about this, but screw it. I can't dodge the subject anymore. Not after this.

For those who haven't figured it out yet, I have a bit of a confession to make. Derpy Hooves isn't my real mother, and Dinky's not my real sister. In fact, I don't even know who my real parents are. I'm adopted. I'm not ashamed of this in the slightest, but it is a bit of a sensitive subject for me. Here, let me try to explain...

***

As far back as I can remember, I grew up at an orphanage in Baltimare. It wasn't a bad place by any means, but it never really felt like "home." Actually, it never really felt like anything. It wasn't great; it wasn't terrible. It just, was. Maybe you were expecting something more than that, but that's really how I felt about it. I don't know what to tell ya.

Anyway, after I got my Cutie Mark, I decided that I wanted to open my own jewelry store. So, I did a few odd jobs around town to save up enough money to buy myself a shop. I ended up renting a small shack downtown, and well, it didn't work out. Pro tip: Knowing how to carve and refine gemstones doesn't mean you know how to sell 'em. I ended up pricing myself out of the market, and as such, no one bought a single thing from me. In hindsight, maybe I was a bit biased towards my handiwork. That or I was a naïve kid who didn't know a thing about economics. Either way, my jewelry business was a bust.

After that, I kept doing odd jobs around town, hoping to eventually get back on my hooves. As I got older, I started taking on more and more foalsitting jobs. I didn't really know why at the time; I just felt like I worked well with kids. There is a deeper reason than that, but I'll get to that in a moment.

Anyway, I eventually got old enough to take care of myself, and I decided it was time for a change of scenery. It's that I didn't like my hometown, but it just didn't feel like home to me. So, after much scrimping and saving, I hopped on a train heading to Ponyville.

Now, most ponies who moved to Ponyville from somewhere else will tell you that Pinkie Pie is the first pony they run into. As I mentioned before, this is because Pinkie's goal is to make friends with everypony she meets. She's pretty much the town's unofficial welcome wagon. However, that wasn't the case for me. No, the first pony I met in Ponyville, was Derpy Hooves.

***

I had just gotten off the train, taking a moment to breath in the fresh country air. Already, things were looking much better. I couldn't quite describe it, but something in the air told me that this is where I belonged. In retrospect, it might've been just the fact that this was something new and exciting. That's probably the case, now that I think about it. Eh, whatever. It's irrelevant.

So, after that, I started walking towards the town. As soon as I left the train station, a blur of grey barreled in out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground.

"Owie~," groaned the grey pegasus who rammed into me. She got up and brushed herself off before realizing who she crashed into. "Omigosh, I am so sorry! Are you alright?"

"Ugh. Yeah, I'll live," I said, slowly getting to my feet.

"Here, let me help you," said the pegasus, reaching out her hoof.

"N-no, that's fine," I said. "It's okay."

"No, it's not," said the pegasus. "I had a hard time looking where I was going, and I didn't see you, and..."

"Alright, alright. I forgive you," I said, getting a bit peeved. "Sheesh. I'm not mad at you or anything."

The grey pegasus tilted her head, and I could see that her eyes were, well, odd. "You're not? But lots of ponies get mad when I crash into stuff."

"Well, it was an accident, wasn't it?" I said with a shrug. "So, no harm done."

"I guess," said the pegasus. "Oh, wait! I should probably introduce myself. I'm Derpy Hooves. What's your name?"

"Amethyst. Amethyst Star," I said.

Derpy tilted her head again. "Huh. I don't think I know anypony by that name," she mused, stroking her chin. "Are you new here?"

"Gee, I don't know where you got that idea," I said, rolling my eyes.

Derpy blinked. "Um, from the fact that I don't recognize your name," she said plainly.

I gave her a blank stare. Did she seriously not understand the concept of sarcasm?

"Well, yeah. I actually just moved here," I said.

"Oh. That's neat," said Derpy. "What do you plan on doing?"

"Well, my big plan is to open up my own jewelry store," I said. "But first, I'm gonna need a house. Do you know where I can rent a place cheap? I don't have a lot of money."

"Hmm," said Derpy, rubbing her head. "Well, you can talk to the Mayor about buying a house. They usually go for five hundred bits or so."

My eyes went wide. "Five hundred bits?! Aw, man! I can't afford that!"

"Really? Oh, I'm sorry," said Derpy. Suddenly, her face lit up. "Hey, I know! Why don't you stay with me?"

I blinked. "What?"

"It's the least I can do for crashing into you like that," said Derpy. "Besides, it would be awful if you spent your first day in Ponyville without a roof over your head."

Normally I'd be skeptical about this, but she sounded so, sincere about it. Not that ponies back in Baltimare were unfriendly or anything, but they were never this friendly. Were all ponies in Ponyville like this?

"Um, well, I don't want to impose," I said.

"Oh, don't be silly! You're not imposing at all!" said Derpy. "C'mon, this way!"

Without waiting for my response, she ran off. Confused and curious, I shrugged and followed.

***

We ended up at a quaint little house next to a carrot patch. Derpy scooped up the key from under the welcome mat and opened the door.

"I'm home!" she called out.

She was then greeted by a yellow Earth Pony mare with a wavy orange mane and a carrot Cutie Mark.

"Good to see you, Derpy," said the mare. "How was your day?"

"Great!" said Derpy. "Nothing like a nice dip in the clouds to take the edge off. I really feel like I can take on that new route tomorrow."

"Good to hear," said the mare. She then saw me and raised an eyebrow. "Um, Derpy? Who's this?"

"Huh? Oh! Sorry, I forgot," said Derpy sheepishly. "This here is Amethyst Star. She just moved here, and she needs a place to stay."

"And you thought to bring her here?" said the mare with a sigh. "Derpy, this isn't a boarding house. I can't have you do this."

"Aw c'mon, Carrot Top! It's the least we can do for her," said Derpy.

"That's alright," I said. "I don't want to impose or anything. If you can just point me to an inn or something..."

"Hi, Mama!"

A cute voice rang out as a small greyish-purple filly walked in.

"Hello, Muffin," said Derpy sweetly. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing just fine," said the filly with an adorable smile. She then noticed me and tilted her head. "Oh, hello there. I've never seen you before. My name is Dinky Doo. What's yours?"

I had to do a double take. Most kids that I worked with up to this point were usually afraid of strangers. They would either hide from me or act out in front of their parents. But this filly was, polite. And she didn't seem to be afraid of me at all.

"Um, it's Amethyst. Amethyst Star," I said.

"That's a pretty name," said Dinky.

"Amethyst is gonna be staying with us," said Derpy. "She just moved in."

"Actually, we haven't established that yet," I said.

"I insist," said Derpy. "Just one night; that's all I ask."

"Derpy, we don't have any room for her," said Carrot Top.

"Then I'll sleep on the couch," said Derpy with a shrug.

Carrot Top groaned. "Must you always be this stubborn, Derpy?"

"Look, I don't want to cause any trouble," I said. "This is very nice of you, Ms. Hooves, but..."

"It's alright, Ms. Star. It's just the Circle of Niceness," said Dinky.

I gave her a blank stare. "The circle of what?"

"The Circle of Niceness," said Dinky. "If you do something nice for somepony, then good stuff will happen to you. That's the Circle of Niceness."

A-am I dreaming? Did that filly just describe the concept of karma? Who is this kid?

"Well, that's all well and good, but I really shouldn't bother you," I said.

"It's no trouble at all," said Derpy. "Listen, if you're really uncomfortable about it, you just have to stay for dinner. I'll take you to the inn right afterward, promise."

I sighed. It seemed as though I couldn't get out of this situation.

"Alright, alright," I said. "But I feel like I should give you something for your trouble."

I then looked over at Dinky, and an idea popped into my head.

"Hey, do you by any chance need a foalsitter?" I asked. "I happen to be very good with kids."

Dinky looked at me and tilted her head. "Strange. Your Cutie Mark doesn't seem to say that."

"What? Oh," I said. "Well, I just look after kids to make ends meet. My real special talent is carving and refining gemstones."

"Oh. That's very interesting," said Dinky earnestly. "I'm sure your parents are very proud."

I flinched. Up to this point, me being an orphan didn't really bother me all that much. But that innocent little comment just felt, awkward to me. Derpy seemed to notice.

"Is something wrong, Ms. Star?" she asked.

"Um, it's nothing," I said.

"It doesn't look like nothing to me," said Dinky, casting her gaze downward. "I'm sorry, Ms. Star. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"N-no, not at all," I said. "I'm fine, really."

"Oh. Okay," said Dinky. "Can I ask you something, though?"

"Uh, sure."

"If your special talent is carving gems, why do you like foalsitting?"

That was something I never really considered before. But after giving it some thought, the answer was obvious.

"Well, I like kids," I said. "And, I like being part of a family, if only for a little while."

"Wait a minute. What about your own family?" asked Carrot Top.

"Oh, um..." I said, blushing profusely. "I'm, not sure I wanna tell you. It's a bit personal, and I just met you ponies, so..."

"It's alright. You don't have to say anything more," said Derpy. "Well, don't you worry, Ms. Star. Whatever the case, I want you to think of yourself as family whenever you're here."

"Me, too," Dinky chirped.

For the first time in my life, I felt as though there were some ponies that really cared about me. I had friends back home, of course, and they were all very nice. But, this was different. This was a level of compassion I never felt before.

"Th-thanks," I said. "That, really means a lot to me. Y'know, I think I'll stay for dinner after all."

"Yay!" Derpy cheered as she pulled me into a hug. And at that moment, I had this warm feeling in my chest. A warm feeling that told me that I was where I belonged.

***

After that first meeting, I became Derpy's go-to foalsitter on a permanent basis. At least, until I was comfortable enough to tell them the truth. As soon as she found out, Derpy flew all the way to Baltimare just to fill out the necessary paperwork to adopt me as her daughter. The rest is history.

So, now you know why I'm so bent out of shape. Derpy and Dinky are the most important ponies in my life, and the fact that someone is hurting them because of me makes me feel, well, guilty. I know I shouldn't feel this way; it's not really my fault. But, I can't help it. They don't deserve this. Whatever happened to the Circle of Niceness, huh?

And let's not forget the fact that the culprit somehow knows all this about me. That is just so bucked up on so many levels. And on top of all that, he now has Dinky in his clutches, even though I was trying my damnedest to protect her from this sort of thing. Now she's probably gonna be scarred for life. I-it's not fair. It's just not fair.

"Sparkler?"

I perked up at Carrot Top's words as they brought me back to reality.

"Huh, what?" I said.

"Oh, good. You're alright," said Carrot Top. "Listen, I just put Derpy to bed. She's calmer now, but I don't trust her to stay put. I'm going to tell Princess Twilight about this and ask her to organize a search party. Do you mind looking after her while I'm gone?"

At that moment, an idea struck me. I think Derpy had the right idea. Carrot Top does, too, but organizing a search party would take too long, and that's time we don't have. I know what I have to do.

"Sorry, Carrot Top," I said. "I gotta go."

"Wait, wha—?"

Before Carrot Top could complete her thought, I dashed off at full gallop.

"Oh, c'mon! Not you, too!" she yelled after me.

I completely ignored her. I know she means well, but that doesn't matter right now. I've only got one thing on my mind: Rescue Dinky. Man, I hope she's okay. She'd better be okay. Otherwise, I-I'll never forgive myself...

Comments

[Lightoller]

Dinky...kidnapped?

imageshack.com/a/img716/8076/bxlu.jpg

[comicfan616]

Oh. It. Is. ON!

[theNDinspector]

The truth comes out and the gloves are off!

[Ri2]

YOU BASTARD! NOT DINKY!

[Duckapus]

BLOOD! BLOOD DEATH AND FLAMES ON THEY WHO WOULD TAKE THE SMALL ONE!

[blite]

I will not kill them that is to nice, I will show them the deepest pit of despair they will beg for death but I won't give them that merry for it will forever haunt there nightmares even Luna can't save them from it how can I do it you ask because ulquiorra was my teacher

[mylittleponyfan12345]

Dinky kidnapped... POWER PONIES ARE BACK!
(Also with a child at stake MMDW might get the other ponies she trusts (Spitfire and Octavia)