• Published 24th May 2014
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My Little Investigations: Marehunter - Metool Bard



Four ponies seek the truth behind a vigilante gone rogue. I am one of them, and I hope we can save her.

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Tripping Over Guilt (A)

December 14, 1:44 PM
Mewlun Mountains
Mt. Kohryu
***

We arrived at the source of the smoke signal about halfway up the mountain. As we got closer, I could see a fiery glow generating the smoke at the desired intervals. And of course, the one sending the signal was none other than Dodger Dragonvest, alive and well. He seemed to notice us as well, as a burst of flame shot right at my leaf parachute. Before it got completely incinerated, I dropped down and landed on my hooves. I heard two distinct thuds on either side as Pinkie and Applejack landed behind me.

"Momma's Girl. It's been too long," Dodger said with a sneer, fiddling with the Fire Ruby in his paw as he stepped towards us. "How'd you like my little disappearing act? Quite impressive, wasn't it?"

"Save it," I growled, pawing the ground. "What're you after this time, Dragonvest?"

Dodger snickered. "You mean you haven't figured it out by now? C'mon, Momma's Girl. I thought you were smarter than that."

He then rotated the Fire Ruby in his paw and shot a blast of flame right at me. Before I could move, Derpy came in out of nowhere and tackled me out of the way. She winced as the fireball singed her wings.

"You ruined everything," Dodger continued, reaching into his pocket and taking out another mystical gemstone. "I was about to go down in history as the greatest revolutionary that has ever graced the underground network. I was this close to toppling that bastard Sykes Silvervest. I had a great thing going for me that would've solidified my place in history. And what did you do? You took it all away from me because apparently, you don't know your place."

I let out an angry snort as I picked myself up. "So, that's what all this is about? Revenge?"

"Bingo."

Dodger rolled the new gemstone in his paw and launched what appeared to be a sparkling cannonball at us. We quickly scattered as the projectile slammed into the ground, chipping the stairway as it bounced into the valley below.

"Since you thought taking everything away from me was a good idea, I'm gonna take everything away from you, Momma's Girl," Dodger snarled, taking out yet another mystical gemstone. "I already took care of your only ticket home, so don't even think about running away. You've got nowhere to go."

Applejack's eyes narrowed. "So you're the varmint that destroyed our airship."

"Bingo again," said Dodger with a toothy grin. "Don't you see, Momma's Girl? I created this whole charade just for you. You should feel flattered."

"What I feel is sick," I spat, glaring at Dodger with all that hate I could muster. "You've really gone off the deep end this time."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," said Pinkie, knitting her brow. "If you wanted Sparkler all this time, what does that have to do with Mare-Do-Well and her identity thief?"

That's actually a really good question. When you get right down to it, Dodger can't be the one behind this whole Mare-Do-Well mess. Our investigation is just one piece of the puzzle here. However, Dodger didn't feel like giving any answers.

"You really think I'm stupid enough to tell you that?" he scoffed. "You all might be about to die, but you're gonna die without knowing a damn thing!"

He slammed the gemstone in his paw into the ground. From the impact, several vines sprang up and lunged for us. Applejack managed to catch one of them in her teeth while Pinkie bounced around and caused them to get all tangled. Before they could undo themselves, I sliced them up with my gem-cutting spell. Dodger snorted.

"Well, this really isn't fair, now is it?" he said, taking out two more gemstones from his pocket from his pocket. "I mean, there's one of me and four of you."

"That's a lie," Applejack growled, spitting out the vine in her mouth. "We know you're in cahoots with that Sojobo varmint. He's probably waitin' to pounce on us right now."

Dodger snickered and wagged an admonishing finger at us. "Nice try, but I'm still not saying anything. Now, what's say we even this playing field?"

He then tossed the two gemstones high into the air, one after the other. They collided and exploded into a shower of icicles. Applejack swerved and swayed around them like barrels at a rodeo, Derpy flew about with the randomness of a hummingbird, and Pinkie Pie bounced around like a madpony, her tail twitching the entire time. I myself opted to stick with my gem-cutting spell to carve a path. Trust me, I'm not nearly as athletic as those other ponies.

Just as we were through the icicle storm, Dodger threw something at our feet. From there, more vines sprouted out of the ground and held our ankles fast. I deadpanned.

"Really?" I said, illuminating my horn. "You really think these are gonna stop us?"

Dodger snickered and pointed upward. "Look up, Momma's Girl."

Oh, no. H-he can't mean what I think he means. He wouldn't.

"Ammy, help!"

Sunnova bitch, he would. Against my better judgement, I turned my attention to the sky. Sure enough, Derpy was frantically trying to get away from a whole mess of large, thick vines. She fended them off the best she could, but there were just too many of them. Finally, they snagged each of her legs and both of her wings.

"Hang on, Mom!" I hollered, preparing my spell once again.

"Not so fast, Momma's Girl!" Dodger proclaimed.

A burst of ice flew into the air and hit Derpy square in the back. As she moaned in pain, her wings completely froze over. Dammit. I can't cut her down from that height if she can't fly. Dodger really thought this through.

The vines carried Derpy down to their master, who gripped her by the throat.

"If I see any of you move, I snap her neck like a twig," said Dodger, taking out yet another mystical gemstone.

Derpy squirmed and writhed in Dodger's grip. "L-let me go, you big meanie!" she rasped.

Dodger sneered. "I see no reason to do that," he said. "In fact, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm going to freeze the rest of you and shatter you into a million pieces."

I gasped in horror. I-I couldn't let that happen to her.

"P-put her down, Dodger!" I yelled, causing my voice to crack. "I-I'm the one you want!"

Dodger snickered again. "You don't get it, do you, Momma's Girl? When I said I'd take everything away from you, I meant it. Oh, and just FYI, the only reason I'm hurting this cross-eyed goof is because of you. So when you think about it, anything I do to her is automatically gonna be your fault."

No. No, not again. Th-this is exactly what caused my so much pain last time. Derpy's throat and my heart might as well be connected, because Dodger has a death grip on both. A spiraling dizziness overtook me as Dodger used the gemstone to slowly freeze Derpy's body, inch by inch. I could see tears seep out of the corner of Derpy's eyes. Th-this is too much. I-I can't take it. I can't!

"STOP~!"

Without a second thought, I grabbed Dodger's paw with my magic. As he tried to wrench control away from me, the gemstone he was using was flung into the air and landed back in his pocket. Suddenly, several beams of light burst from the pocket. Dodger blanched.

"No! What have you done?!" he boomed.

Without waiting for an answer, he dropped Derpy to the ground, took off his vest, and threw it off the mountain. To my surprise, the vest exploded in a blast of energy. As Pinkie and Applejack ran to help Derpy, Dodger turned savagely towards me.

"What were you thinking, you crazy cunt?!" he barked. "You could've killed us all!"

Okay, how was I supposed to know that would happen?! Furthermore, he was going to kill my mom! Did he really think I was just gonna stand there and do nothing?! I wanted to scream so bad, but I just stood my ground in silence. I don't have to justify myself to him.

Suddenly, I saw a sinister twinkle in Dodger's eyes as his lips curled into a wry smile.

"Oh. I see how it is," he said, advancing towards me. "You really hate me that much, don't you, Momma's Girl?"

I don't like the way he's saying that. I maintained my glare the best I could, even though I was instinctively backing away.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Dodger sniggered. "C'mon, admit it. You were trying to kill me with that attack, weren't you?"

That caught me off-guard. I opened my mouth to protest, but Dodger cut me off.

"Don't try to deny it, Momma's Girl," he said. "We all saw your true colors. You're willing to betray Kohryu's sacred word and risk everyone else's life just to see me dead."

I shook my head. Th-that isn't true. That isn't true at all. H-he's just saying that to mess with me.

"Hey, hey. No need to feel ashamed of it," said Dodger mockingly. "I can totally relate. I would love nothing more than to have your head mounted on my wall. In the end, we're not so different, you and I."

Horse apples! Wh-where does he get off comparing himself to me?!

"Y-you don't know what you're talking about," I growled. "I-I'm nothing like you."

"Really? Because I think your actions speak for themselves," said Dodger, staring at me with hungry eyes. "You want to kill me, Momma's Girl. And you're willing to sacrifice your precious mother to do so."

Each lie he spat at me hurt worse than the last. I-I know I shouldn't be letting him get to me like this, but the weight of my actions are really starting to sink in now. I-I almost killed Derpy back there. J-just the thought of that is causing tears to well up in my eyes. I-I didn't mean to. I-it was an accident. I-I panicked. I-I-I...

"What's wrong, Momma's Girl? No snide retort this time?" said Dodger, cracking his knuckles. "The truth hurts, doesn't it? Well, don't you worry. I'll put you out of your misery soon enou—"

"Stop hurting my daughter!"

A grey blur suddenly darted in out of nowhere and clocked Dodger in the face. I could only stare in silence as Derpy landed in front of me and spread her wings.

"If there's one thing I can't stand in this world, it's a bully," she proclaimed. "Now back off, or I'll make you sorry."

Dodger wasn't the least bit intimidated. "Are you really willing to defend her after she nearly blew us all the kingdom come just to get rid of me? Boy, you're naïve."

Derpy shook her head. "Ammy is not like that, and you know it," she said darkly. "You're just saying that mean stuff to make her feel bad. Well, I'm not gonna stand for it, mister."

"Actions speak louder than words," said Dodger simply. "We all saw what she did, and we all know why she did it."

"You don't know a thing about Ammy," said Derpy. "She made a mistake, but that doesn't make her a bad pony. She's a smart mare with a big heart, and I love her to bits. And nothing you say will change that."

Dodger shrugged. "Fine. Ignore the truth all you want. It won't matter in the end once you're all de—"

"Yee-ha~!"

I perked up as a loud whoop from Applejack echoed from behind Dodger. Before Dodger could turn around, a makeshift lasso made out of the vines he summoned was flung around his body.

"You wouldn't know the truth if it bit ya in the behind!" Applejack exclaimed.

Dodger snorted and tried to pull against his restraints. Applejack yanked back just as hard, and the two were at a standstill.

"Nngh! Pink, little help?" Applejack grunted.

"Okey-dokey-lokey!" Pinkie chirped. She grabbed hold of the vine and helped Applejack rein Dodger in. Dodger flew back, and there was a giant dust cloud as the three of them struggled against one another. When the dust cleared, Dodger was all tied up, complete with a bow.

"Nicely done, Pink," said Applejack, wiping some sweat from her brow.

"Thanks!" said Pinkie. "I think the bow adds a nice touch. What do you think, Sparkler?"

I simply averted my gaze and flattened my ears. I-I know this sounds silly, but I still feel awful about what I did. Derpy turned to me and gave me a concerned look.

"Ammy, does it hurt?" she asked, placing a hoof on my heart. "Do you need a hug?"

All I could do was nod. Derpy threw her forelegs around me and held me tight, squeezing my tears out.

"There there. It's okay, Ammy," she cooed, stroking my mane. "You shouldn't let what that meanie says get to you."

"Derpy's right, sugarcube," Applejack chimed in. "Believe you me, I've done my fair share of stupid things just for the sake of my own family. You've got nothin' to be ashamed about."

"Besides, you're still our head detective, and this mystery is far from solved," Pinkie added. "And as your Faithful Assistants, we're sticking by you no matter what."

I paused for a moment to let their kind words sink in. Finally, I found my voice.

"I-I'm sorry, Mom," I sobbed. "I-I wasn't thinking. D-Dodger was hurting you, and that hurt me, and I just snapped, and—"

"I know, I know," said Derpy. "It's alright. We forgive you." She then looked me in the eye (well, the best she could). "You're a good pony, Ammy, and I will always love you. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

I smiled and dried my eyes. "Thanks, Mom," I said. "I-I'm really sorry about acting like such a basket case."

"Nonsense! We all need a pick-me-up every once in a while," said Pinkie, giving me a pat on the back. "You did good, Sparkler."

I nodded and took a moment to collect myself. We then walked over to Dodger, who snickered.

"So, what now?" he said. "Are you gonna send me back to Sykes? Let the cat people kill me? Or maybe you'll take me to your prissy pony princess."

I stared back at him for a while, reflecting on what Pinkie said. She's right, of course. This case is far from closed. Dodger might not be the mastermind, but he definitely knows something. And it could very well be related to Mare-Do-Well. But I don't think he's going to tell us anything willingly. Luckily, I have a plan.

"Actually, I think the best thing to do is to take you to see your old master," I said.

Dodger blinked. "Huh? You mean Sykes, right?"

"No. I mean Kohryu."

Dodger blinked again. "You're kidding, right? That guy isn't gonna lay a claw on me!"

"Nyot likely, but we will."

Just then, the mountain was swarming with neko samurai. Orph himself had his katana pointed at Dodger's neck.

"Sorry, partner. Show's over," said Applejack. "Besides, didn't Kohryu say that you couldn't kill anyone in his sacred home?"

"Perhaps," said Orph, his tail swishing from side to side. "But this mongrel has broken several of our sacred laws. He must be taken before the Grand Shoguns and tried for his crimes."

"But what about Mr. Rosco and Mr. Desoto?" asked Derpy. "They want him, too."

"Not to mention that he still has to answer for the crimes he committed back in July," added Applejack.

"All of that is true," I said. "Which is why I think we should bring him to Kohryu and let him decide."

Dodger laughed. "Oh, c'mon, Momma's Girl. We all know he's gonna let me live, and that's not gonna make anyone happy."

"We don't know that," I said with a shrug. "Besides, you're familiar with Kohryu's mental prowess. You're gonna tie up all the loose ends in this mess, and you won't even have to say a word."

Dodger just shook his head. "You really are a pansy, Momma's Girl."

I smirked. "A pansy I may be, Dodger Dragonvest. But at least I'm not you."

That shut him up for good. I guess he knew all along that he was lying just to get under my skin. Derpy's right; he really is nothing but a bully. But for the record, I still don't wish death on him. Of course, you guys already knew that.

We started our trek up Mt. Kohryu with the neko samurai holding the lasso. As we walked, Derpy trotted up to me and draped a wing over my shoulder.

"I don't think you're a pansy, Ammy," she said.

I chuckled. "I know, Mom. I just wanted to shut him up." I then nuzzled her cheek. "Thanks for standing up for me back there. I really appreciate it."

Derpy grinned from ear to ear. "Of course, Ammy. After all, that's what mothers are for."

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