//------------------------------//
// Spike the Valiant 
// Story: Spike the Brave and Glorious 
// by Troyjan 
//------------------------------//

Spike made his way to the Carousel Boutique as he normally did in the morning as he usually did each week. He was carrying with him a very large box of spools of vibrantly colored threads that Rarity had requested the week prior. When he arrived, Spike found that the front door of the estate had been left wide open. Spike stepped inside and looked around.
“Wow, what happened here?,” asked Spike, as he looked around at all of the fallen displays and damaged furniture. Spike put the heavy crate of sowing supplies down. “Rarity are you here?,” Spike called out.
Spike heard a faint voice come from deep inside the store. “Is any pony here?” asked Spike. Spike stepped forward and heard the voice again. It was coming from the supply room. Spike navigated around the fallen displays, and to the back of the store.
“Help Spike, I’m stuck in here!,” the voice called out. Spike opened the door and stepped inside the room. In the back, under a large pile of various objects, laid Sweetie Belle. A carpet was wrapped around her entire body such that only her head stuck out from it. The rolled up carpet was tied together with several pieces of string. Miscellaneous items were then stacked on top of the rolled up carpet, ensuring that the young filly could not escape.
“Sweetie Belle, what happened?!,” asked Spike, as he started to push aside the heavy pile of materials that was stacked on top of her.
Sweetie Belle sniffled, before taking a deep breath. “Those beasts took Rarity! They tied her up, put me in here, and left with her. I’ve been here for hours!”
Spike was more than surprised. “What do you mean by beasts?! Who or what did this?!,” asked Spike, as he just managed to pull the rolled up carpet out from the pile.
Sweetie Belle did everything she could to keep her composure. “I don’t know. I never saw them before. There were three of them. They all looked like that there were the same species. They resembled some sort of hybrid of dogs and moles. They had brown and grey fur, bright yellow eyes, short and rough looking tails, large fangs, and large dull claws on each of their four paws. They also switched between walking upright on their two rear legs and on all fours, and spoke in a very weird way.
Spike thought about Sweetie Belle’s description, as he untied the strings keeping the carpet rolled up. His heart immediately began to race as he uncovered an unpleasant set of memories with three creatures that seemed to fit the Sweetie Belle’s description very closely. Spike shook his head, dismissing the thoughts. It seemed unlikely that the diamond dogs would be stupid enough to try what did all those years ago again, after how badly it had turned out for them. Surely, it had to be some other creatures. Unless, that is, the diamond dogs had another plan.
Spike unrolled Sweetie Belle from the carpet, only to reveal that her legs were also tied together with string. Spike quickly untied the knots. With the last string gone, Sweetie Belle stretched out her legs, before standing up on all fours.
“Sweetie Belle, do you know anything else about these creatures?,” asked Spike.
“Not any more than I already told you. I never seen anything like them before,” answered Sweetie Belle. “However, one of them said that they would leave behind a note,” she said, while walking out of the supply room. “It’s still here on the checkout counter, where they said they would leave it!,” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. Spike ran over to see. The two of them held up the note, and read it together.

This is a message to the young dragon known as Spike.

We have taken the unicorn pony named Rarity for ransom. By the time you are reading this message, we will have Rarity confined within a secure and secret location. We promise not to harm her, if her ransom is paid in full, in accordance with all of our terms and conditions. The payment for the ransom is listed as followed.

180 diamonds
132 Amethysts 
96 Sapphires
84 Pearls
60 Rubies
48 Emeralds
24 Garnets
12 Opals

48,000 bits

All gems must be at least eight ounces in mass, and must be completely pure in composition. All gems must also be appropriately cut, and smoothed, to be accepted for payment.

All bits must be completely unmarked, and must not be counterfeit.

The entire payment must be delivered by you, Spike the dragon. It must be delivered directly behind the twisted oak log that lies in the meadow between the eastern boundary of the outskirts of Ponyville, and the local Gem Cave mountains. You must make this delivery alone. You must leave the payment within a hole in the ground that has already been dug for you, burry it, and then leave immediately. Once the entire payment has been received by us in full, Rarity shall be promptly released peacefully and cooperatively. This comes with a promise that no related or future threats of extortion, retaliation, or persecution will be made to you, Rarity, or any other party involved.

By midnight tonight, if the requested payment has not been made in full, and some other mutual agreement has not been made, Rarity will be severely harmed and forced into our servitude.

The fate and well-being of Rarity lies in your claws Spike. If you care for her, you will not disappoint us.

Signed,
The Diamond Dogs

Sweetie Belle looked up from the note. “Diamond dogs, they must have been what those things were called,” she observed. “Gee, that sure is an extremely high ransom that they are asking for Rarity.” Sweetie Belle looked over to Spike, who was now trembling in place and intensely sweating. “Um, Spike, are you alright?”
Spike did not respond. One of his worst suspicions had most certainly come true. Rarity had been abducted by diamond dogs again. Spike vividly remembered what had happened the first time this happened. Just three of them had ambushed him and Rarity. He tried to fight back to stall for Rarity to escape, but he was knocked away effortlessly. He watched powerlessly as Rarity was dragged into their burrows. Even with the help of Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, it was nothing short of a miracle that they managed to successfully infiltrate and raid one of the diamond dog caves, find Rarity, and rescue her after a short negotiation. And all without any pony being hurt.
This time, it seemed like the diamond dogs were serious. Rarity had less than a day before she was harmed, forced into slavery, or something far worse. Even worse than that, the diamond dogs were definitely well aware of his pony friends and their capabilities. Spike had no doubt that they would have readied their fighting forces in advance in the case that any creature would try to rescue Rarity by force.
“Spike, I know you’re at least as worried about Rarity as I am, but I’m sure we can get her back. We just got to…,” said Sweetie Belle, before Spike gripped the sides of her head.
“THERE’S NO TIME!! WE GOT TO GO TELL TWILIGHT AND GET THE RANSOME PAYMENT NOW! RARITY’S LIFE DEPENDS ON ME!,” shouted spike, before quickly turning towards the door. He opened his wings and flew out of the front door of the boutique in a blind panic, with the ransom note clutched in his claws.
“Wait for me Spike!,” called out Sweetie Belle, as she sprinted after him.

Spike burst through the doors of the Caste of Friendship, and flew up to the throne room as quickly as he could. Spike soared through the hall, spotted Twilight, and wasted no time. “TWILIGHT, RARITY HAD BEEN ABDUCTED BY THE DIAMOND DOGS AGAIN! WE HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT TO PAY HER RANSOM AND RESCUE HER BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!”
Twilight dropped the history book she was reading and looked up at Spike. “What about Rarity and the diamond dogs?,” asked Twilight with great concern as she witnessed Spike quickly hop back and forth between his legs.
“They took Rarity, tied up Sweetie Belle, and left this note inside their home! I just freed Sweetie Belle a few minutes ago!,” said Spike as he shoved the note he found into Twilight’s hoof. Twilight took a few seconds to read it over.
Just as Twilight had finished reading, Sweetie Belle ran into the throne room, panting. “Come on spike, you didn’t have to leave me behind like that.” Sweetie Belle looked up at Princess Twilight. “Twilight, I saw some large and hairy dog-moles take away Rarity last night. They had to be the diamond dogs. After breaking in during the middle of the night, tying up Rarity, and making a mess, they tied me up, left me behind, and then carried Rarity away.”
“Sorry, but this is extremely urgent! We can’t wait!,” urged Spike to Twilight as he looked at the clock that she kept by her throne and work desk setup. It was already several minutes past noon. “We have less than twelve hours until those diamonds dogs do something terrible to Rarity!” said Spike. “I’ll gather the entire ransom payment! Twilight, you should gather our friends and inform Princess Celestia about this immediately, in case they try to do something else!”
“SPIKE, THAT IS ENOUGH!!,” shouted Twilight angrily, who was already more than a little bit vexed that her studies of ancient Equestria history were interrupted. “We are going to get to the bottom of this, we are going to handle this conflict carefully and rationally, and we are not going to be paying any sort of ransom until we are completely sure of what to do.” Spike looked back at Twilight in horror.
“Rarity is our friend! Are you really going to leave her in the clutches of those monsters for a minute longer than absolutely necessary?,” Spike asked.
“What I suggest, is that we waste no time in doing what is absolutely necessary and within reason, to find out what exactly had happened, and that Rarity is returned safely,” retorted Twilight, as she walked to her makeshift desk. She placed the ransom note on her desk, took out a blank piece of parchment, and began writing a letter addressed to Princess Celestia.
“Twilight, you heard Sweetie Belle, and you read the note they left. What’s there left to think over?,” asked Spike frantically.
“Lots of things Spike,” affirmed Twilight. “First, we only suspect that the diamond dogs abducted Rarity from her home last night, according to you two. We still don’t know for sure who took Rarity, who wrote this letter, or who, if any creature at all, is holding Rarity captive at this very moment. Second, we don’t know for sure if paying this ransom will set Rarity free. The note could be a lie, and that leaving Rarity’s ransom buried in some hole will do nothing to help. Third, even if whoever wrote this note is telling the truth, we still have no clue where Rarity would be or how we are supposed to find her. Fourth, we should not just rush in and act in haste. If Rarity is being held captive, her captors might either try to flee with her, or use her as a hostage to bargain with. Fifth, if this is the same clan of diamond dogs from before that we are dealing with, they might have prepared something in advance. There could easily be some sort of trap or hidden threat that we don’t know about yet. If that were the case, sending a creature into the specified area to pay the ransom, or to storm their hideout, could seriously endanger them too.” Twilight took a breath, and then looked back between Spike and Sweetie Belle. “And finally, even if we just offer the ransom and everything turns out just fine, think about the precedent that would establish. It would embolden Rarity’s captors to continue to abduct other ponies in the future without facing any consequences. Spike, Sweetie Belle, I know you two are both very worried for Rarity. But just blindly doing something before we have more information could very likely make this situation worse.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” said Sweetie Belle.
“But Twilight, we only have until the rest of the day until Rarity may be put into some very serious danger! We can’t spend too much time trying to figure out what’s going on, and do nothing! That certainly won’t do any good at all,” pleaded Spike.
“I didn’t say that we won’t try to do something by the end of today. What I am saying is that we use all the time we have to ensure that we are making the best possible choice by then,” retorted Twilight. She used her magic to lift her quill off of the parchment that was on her desk, and finished the letter to Celestia with her signature. She then levitated the paper, folded it, and put it inside an envelope with Princess Celestia’s insignia on the outside, and sealed the envelope shut with a corresponding seal. “I imagine that the Princess is already busy with even more important matters right now, but I made it very clear in my letter that this is an urgent matter, and that the appropriate assistance would be of great help,” said Twilight, as she levitated the letter to Spike. Spike took a breath, and magically transported the envelope to the Princess with his enchanted fire breath. “In the meantime, we should gather our friends, do some investigation, and come up with a plan by the end of the day. Spike, if it would put you at ease, feel free to put together the gems and bits requested as payment. We could use it for later as means for bargaining if we need it.”
“I’ll do that Twilight” assured Spike.
“Now Spike, you are only going to gather the payment so that we have it available for later. You are NOT going to deliver this payment, or attempt to confront Rarity’s apparent captors on your own.”
“But Twilight, what if…”
“Spike, we’ll talk about this later,” Twilight interrupted. “I want you to remain near here, until this conflict is resolved or until I say otherwise. Am I understood?”
Spike nodded reluctantly. “Yes Twilight.”
“Good,” Twilight responded, as she turned towards Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie Belle, I want you to go find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and tell them to tell Applejack and Rainbow Dash respectively to meet me in the front of the castle. I’ll get Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Starlight Glimmer.”
“Got it,” responded Sweetie Belle, as she turned and left the throne room.
“Don’t go too far Spike. I’ll be back in good time,” said Twilight, as she flew away.