Spike the Brave and Glorious

by Troyjan

Rarity the Villain

Rover, Fido, and Spot walked their way back to Rarity’s cell. Upon their arrival, Cloe finished up telling her latest story to Rarity, said her farewell, and left. Now alone, the diamond dogs began to count up all of the gems and bits from the bag they brought into the room earlier. One by one, the diamond dogs examined each and every gem. Some were smaller or lower quality than the others, but were still good enough. After that, they counted up all the bits that were left in the bag.

“It’s all here. There are 180 diamonds, 132 Amethysts, 96 Sapphires, 84 Pearls, 60 Rubies, 48 Emeralds, 24 garnets, and 12 Opals, along with 48,000 bits, everything that we asked for,” said Rover.

“Excellent work,” said Rarity, walking up to the three diamond dogs. “Now that you confirmed that everything is here, it is time to split it up. Afterwards, you will take me to the surface.”

“Oh yes, Mistress Rarity. We know that you want your share of the gems. We still think that we should share the gems evenly,” said Rover. Spot and Fido nodded.

“I suppose that is fair,” said Rarity.

“Good, each of us gets one out of four gems,” said Rover. “We’ll count out your-”

“Now hold it right there!,” said Rarity, raising her voice. “I agreed to split the gems evenly between us. That means that I get half of the gems.”

“HALF!,” exclaimed Rover, Fido, and Spot, in unison.

“There are four of us, so each of us get one out of four,” said Spot.

“Yeah, that’s right,” said Fido.

“No, not at all,” said Rarity. “Must I remind you all that I agreed to split these gems evenly between all parties. I am representing one party by myself as the abductee, and you three diamond dogs represent the second party as the abductors. Therefore, I get half, and you all get half. If you want, you three can share your gems evenly between yourselves.”

“HEY!,” shouted Rover. “You are trying to trick us pony! You would get one out of two gems, and the three of us each would only get one out of six.”

“Yeah, that’s no fair,” said Fido.

“We should all share it evenly,” said Spot.

“Those were the terms that I agreed to,” said Rarity sternly. “You will accept them, or I will not share with you at all.”

“Accept that?! Now way,” retorted Rover. “Pony, you forget that you are trapped here alone. You are at our mercy. We can just take all of gems for ourselves, and send you away with nothing if we want to. Or we can just keep you here in your cell.”

“You will do no such thing,” said Rarity in bossy tone.

“What are you going to do about it?,” threatened Rover.

Rarity huffed, lowered her eyebrows to make as menacing a look as possible, and moved her face directly in front of Rover’s. “Must I remind you that I am friends with Princess Twilight Sparkle. She is a very magically capable, highly intelligent, and politically powerful alicorn. If you try to keep me down here, Twilight will come and look for me sooner or later. When she does, I will let her know that you abducted me from my home, and imprisoned me here for a ransom. And if any of you decide to harm me to keep me silent, and Twilight were to eventually find out, well, I’ll just say that losing a few gems will likely be one of your lesser problems.”

“Hey, that’s not the whole truth. This was all your plan,” scolded Rover. “You told us your plan many days ago. Part one, you told us to come to your home. You let us take you from your home, while you pretend that you do not want to leave. Part two, we leave the note you gave us in your home for the dragon to find. Part three, we keep you down here, until the dragon gives us all the gems. Part four, we let you free and we all promise not to tell any other creature about this.” Rover pushed his face closer to Rarity, causing her to smell his foul breath. “You will get caught too, if you tell.”

Rarity sat down, and held her nose up high in an authoritative manner. “It will be my word against yours. Need I remind you again that Twilight and I are very close friends. I doubt that any accusations that any of you crooks might have would end up swaying her at all. Now, you three agree to my terms and then let me go free, or you will have to face Twilight, one way or another.”

Rover, Fido, and Spot blinked, and stared back silently, as they slowly realized their circumstances. “You sneaky pony! You knew all that from the start!,” accused Rover.

“I took some time to think this through,” admitted Rarity. “And may I remind you that I am still very vexed about how you three came and took me away from my home before I told you which day to come and do it on. And while not part of your intentions, I am still displeased with how you three ambushed me in my sleep, the mess you made on your way out, how uncomfortable this cell is, and your poor service. I am now considering going back on our arrangement, and informing Twilight exactly what happened the next time I see her,” threatened Rarity.

Rover, Spot, and Fido quickly lowered themselves to stand on one knee. “We’re very sorry Mistress Rarity,” whimpered Rover. “We’ll do what you say, if you promise not to tell.”

“Yeah, we’re all very sorry Mistress Rarity,” said Spot.

“Please don’t tell,” said Fido.

Rarity made a confident smirk. “Well, I suppose that I can forgive you for everything you have done, if you agree to my terms. As I made clear, both parties will split these gems equally. In addition, you will help me organize all of my belongings that I brought down here. Lastly, you will release Spike along with me. I have some others plans for him.”

Rover, Fido, and Spot, stood up, and looked at each other. The three quickly came to a silent agreement, and nodded reluctantly. “Alright Rarity,” said Rover. “Just give us some more time to get some things ready before we do that. We will not take long. Will that be okay?”

“I suppose so,” said Rarity. “But make it quick. I am running out of patience.”

With that, Rover, Fido, and Spot frantically left Rarity’s room. They split up, and began to complete a few important tasks around the colony. Once alone, Rarity giggled in amusement.

Twilight went over each item on the long list of weapons, armor, and materials, with each item having a check mark next it. Twilight looked up, seeing all of the royal soldiers, in position, supported by the militia made up of civilian ponies and other creatures. “Pegasus fighters and bombers in the skies, unicorn operators managing the magically powered tanks, artillery batteries, and infantry support units, demolition experts ready with their bombs and landmines, our infantry assault force of over one thousand strong all fully armed, protected, and in formation, civilians and reserve forces at the ready, extra supplies and munitions locally stockpiled, and all medics on standby. All right every creature, be ready to charge on a moment’s notice,” ordered Twilight. “When I give the command, we raid, route, and raze the entire diamond dog colony.”

“Whoa, cool,” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, looking at the military gear once more. “It looks Princess Celestia seriously upgraded Equestria’s military. I guess after that latest incident where Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow nearly took over the entire country, Celestia had enough with having our national security being threatened.” Rainbow Dash yet again looked at the massive, assembled force of ponies in awe. “With armies like these, we will be the ones conquering other lands.”

“Oh dear, I don’t like this one bit. I hope no creature gets badly hurt,” whispered Fluttershy nervously. “Twilight, couldn’t we just use the new set of elements of harmony that were created by the other princesses and The Six Pillars?”

“I’m with Fluttershy on this one, Twilight,” said Applejack. “Your plan might cause a lot more harm than good.”

“I have an important lesson that I want to teach the diamond dogs, and simply using the new elements of harmony will not cut it,” answered Twilight. “Don’t worry about any creature getting hurt, our magic cannons will be fired at low power, only low yield explosives will be used to create strategic openings, and our invasion force is equipped with non-lethal, ballistic weapons.”

Starlight Glimmer looked at Twilight concerningly. “Twilight, I’ve been known to do some condemnable things in the past and that I know that I’m hardly in any position to say this, but are you sure this is right? I mean, these experimental, non-lethal firearms are still very dangerous.”

“Well then, I guess the diamond dogs will help us find out how non-lethal our experimental weapons really are,” said Twilight coldly.

“Princess Twilight, I must humbly suggest that you wait before you give me the orders to attack,” said Flash Sentry. “Even if you can justify this rather dangerous plan, many innocent diamond dogs will be caught in this raid. Even more worryingly, we might endanger their hostages.”

“I have considered all of my options, and my decision is final. Captain Sentry, if you have any interest of self-preservation, stand down, and obey my orders without any unnecessary commentary” said Twilight threateningly.

“Yes your highness!,” said Flash Sentry with a salute of a foreleg, before stepping backward.

“Princess, I urge you to stop this assault!,” pleaded Agent 770X. “We still don’t have enough evidence to conclude where Rarity or Spike would be, or what was done to either of them. And we also don’t have enough information to determine which diamond dogs, or if any other creatures, are responsible for this.” Agent 770X walked in front of Twilight. “If you go through with this assault then…”

“SILENCE!,” shouted Twilight, cutting off the agent. “I made it clear that I am not going to talk about this any longer. Now excuse me, I have an announcement to make.”

Twilight walked down the long, narrow column of space between different platoons of earth pony soldiers, standing in rows and files. At the very front of the army was a portable, raised podium that had been set up for her. It had megaphone mounted to the front of the wooden structure. Twilight walked up to the few steps up to the podium.

Twilight’s horn glowed the dark purple color of her magic. Her light got brighter and brighter, until Twilight was drawing her magical energy from every fiber of her body. Then, with one motion of her head, she hurled a large, hyper concentrated ball of magical energy towards the mountain in front of her. On impact, the magical energy burst into a blindly bright and deafeningly loud blast that obliterated a significant portion of the mountain’s peak, reducing the stone into fine gravel. All the other creatures watched the act in silence, as they felt a weak tremor from where they stood.

Once the dust settled, Twilight moved her head towards the megaphone. She took a deep breath, and applied a voice amplification spell to herself. “RESIDENT DIAMOND DOGS OF THE GEM CAVE MOUNTAINS, THIS IS PRINCESS TWILIGHT. WE SUSPECT THAT SOME OF YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR UNLAWFULLY IMPRISONING MY FRIENDS RARITY, AND SPIKE THE DRAGON, WITHIN YOUR COLONY. AS PRINCESS, I DEMAND THAT YOU RELEASE BOTH OF THEM, ALIVE, CONSCIOUS, AND UNHARMED, IMMEDIATELY. IF RAITY AND SPIKE ARE NOT RELEASED WITHIN THIRTY MINUTES, AND IF THOSE RESPONSIBLE DO NOT PRESENT THEMELVES WITH A PROPER EXPLANATION, WE WILL RAID YOUR ENTIRE COLONY. WE WILL STRIKE DOWN ALL RESISTANCE BY FORCE, AND COLLOPSE YOUR CAVE SYSTEMS. CONSIDER MY PREVIOUS DEMONSTRATION AS A WARNING.”

Back in the gem caves, Rover, Fido, and Spot had returned to Rarity’s cell. While they were gone, Rarity had put on one what could be described as one of her more radiant dresses that she had brought with her. Lining the fine, machine sewn fabric were several tiny rubies, and sapphires of various different colors, offering a vibrant, but not garish appearance. Complimenting her dress was wearing was a jeweled tiara, a matching set of earrings, and a pair of four, clean, glass horseshoes under her hooves. Rarity had styled her mane and tail in a simple, yet regal manner.

Upon returning, the three diamond dogs, carefully gathered all of Rarity’s furniture, and other belongings, and carefully stacked everything into one, neat pile. Suddenly, all of them felt a rather brief, yet powerful tremor from the ground above.

“What was that?!” asked Rover. “That could not possibly be an earthquake.”

“I don’t think any tunnels collapsed,” said Spot.

“Our guards would have alerted us if it was something in the caves,” said Fido.

“Well, whatever that was, the shaking stopped. Let’s go find out what caused it later,” suggested Rover. “For now, we have business to do.” With everything else accounted for, the diamond dogs began dividing the massive pile of gemstones into two sorted collections on Rarity’s carpet.

“Here you are, Mistress Rarity,” said Rover. “This is half of all that was listed in your note.” Rover’s attention turned to the smaller pile of miscellaneous gemstones beside Rarity. “Next to that is your share of the gems that you helped us find, which you got to pick what you wanted from the kart first. We helped organize your things, and we have already cleared a path for you leave our caves. We plan to free the dragon as soon as you’re ready to leave.”

“Lovely,” said Rarity, before turning her head to think. “However, I believe I mentioned that I want to be financially compensated for the damages you caused in my home.”

“Why of course, Lady Rarity. How can we help fix that?”

“I suppose that the 24000 bits of your share of the payment, will be enough to cover the damages,” suggested Rarity.

“All 24000 bits?,” asked Rover. Fido, and Spot all tilted their heads in confusion. “Are you sure that you need all of that?”

“Why yes. Why would you think otherwise.”

“We diamond dogs do not trade with coins very often, and we are unsure how valuable these bits are. We wonder if you want from us is fair. We could still trade our bits with other ponies, so we do not want to just give away all of them.”

“I see,” said Rarity. “Well, I must admit that after running my boutiques for several years, I have become somewhat of a haggler. Perhaps it would be unfair to ask for 24000 bits for the damages. I certainly would not want to give you the impression that I would take advantage of you. How about this…,” began Rarity, while reaching to her collection of gems. “You give me all of your bits, and in exchange, I will offer you 33 of my Amethysts and call things even. Would that be fair with you?”

Rover, Fido, and Spot looked at each other in ponderance. After a short exchange, they turned back to Rarity. “Yes, we think that will be fair. We will trade with you Rarity.” Rover pushed their pile of 24000 bits towards Rarity, and Rarity magically levitated 33 of her Amethysts to the diamond dogs.

“It has been a pleasure doing business you,” said Rarity, with a smile. She had to hold back her laughter, and keep as straight as face as possible. No rational pony worth their bits would have ever agreed to such a lopsided exchange, but the diamond dogs had naively accepted.

Without another word, Rarity bundled up all of her gems and bits into one of her own coin bags which she had set aside, and placed it next to her pile of furniture. Rover unlocked the door to Rarity’s cell, and stood aside. As he did that, Rarity removed a small wooden box from her bundle of belongings.

Rover looked at Rarity concerningly. “You are free to leave Rarity, but how will you take all your things with you?,” asked Rover.

“Yeah, that is way too much to carry. Would you need help?,” asked Spot.

“It’s no matter, I’ve already planned for this,” said Rarity. She placed down the small box beside her things. Using her magic, she opened the wooden box. A powerful flash of pink colored light shined from the opening of the box, and a similarly colored aura formed around her pile belongings. With another bright flash, everything, including the box and coin bag had vanished. Rarity turned and walked towards the door, knowing that all her things had been successfully teleported to her abode. Rover, Fido, and Spot watched the spectacle in front of them in amazement.

“Thank you for everything, Rover, Fido, and Spot,” said Rarity, as she strolled around the empty space, showing off the extravagant dress and dazzling jewelry she was wearing. “I hope to do business with you in the future. Now bring Spike down here to me, and we both shall leave” Rover, Fido, and Spot smiled awkwardly, unsure how to feel about the whole ordeal.

Suddenly, a loud thumping from a set of paw steps could be heard. It got progressively louder, until the source of the noise rushed around the corner and into view.

“WE HAVE A TROUBLE UP AT THE SURFACE! REALLY BIG TROUBLE!,” shouted Cloe in bewilderment.

“What’s going on?,” asked Rover.

“Our scouts said they saw something horrible at the surface,” said Cloe frantically. “You three, come with me! You need to see this for yourselves!”

Back at the surface, Twilight remained standing at her podium. She had a small, mechanical clock besides her, and was staring at it closely. The minute hand had just reached the eight tick, and the hour hand was almost at the ninth tick. “TWENTY MINUTES REMAIN!,” shouted Twilight into the megaphone.

Cloe was racing through the tunnels, with Rover, Fido, and Spot, trailing behind. “So, the scouts said they saw the pony Princess Twilight, and that she had other ponies with her. And thy said that the princess said that she wants Rarity and the dragon now,” confirmed Rover as he ran. “What’s the big trouble?”

“The princess said she would attack the colony with her ponies. She seemed very serious,” said Cloe worriedly.

“I still don’t get the problem,” said Rover. “We can deal with a few ponies easily, even if they have a princess. If there are more, we can just tell our guards to prepare to defend the colony.”

“That might not work,” huffed Cloe, as she climbed up a steep underground path. “We’re almost at the watch point. You can see what I mean for yourself.”

After a few more minutes, the four of them reached the end of the path. They were within the top of the tallest peak in the mountain range, just below the surface. Rover, Fido, and Spot moved a few rocks from the walls of the small space they were in. Moonlight peered through openings all around the space. The three looked through the openings from the top of the mountain, and looked at what was below. “HOLY BLAZING DEVIL GRASS!,” shouted Rover, Fido, and Spot in unison. Several crowds of ponies had formed a circle around the entire mountain, holding most the colony under siege. The three saw an alarming number of winged ponies flying in the skies above the mountains. Accompanying the sizeable army were what seemed to be some type of massive cannons, and strange, unfamiliar armored vehicles that moved on treads. Far into the distance, the diamond dogs could just barely make out what could have been Princess Twilight Sparkle, standing in front of the largest group of ponies.

“I tried to tell you all sooner. There are a lot of ponies out there. The scouts said that the ponies plan to attack us any minute now,” said Cloe. “Do you still want all of us to fight and defend, or do you want us to evacuate?”

“We can’t fight that! If we cannot stop the attack, we have to leave!” shouted Rover. “Why are they doing this?! What does the Princess want?!”

“Our scouts said that the princess is asking for Rarity, and some other creature. We can bring rarity to the surface now. However, the scouts are not sure who this other creature is.”

“What do you mean by other creature?”

“We are not sure. They said the creature might be some kind of dragon, and have the name ‘Spike.’ Whoever this dragon is, I cannot seem to find one.”

“Did you say dragon?!,” exclaimed Rover.

“Why yes,” said Cloe. “I believe you said something about a dragon earlier. But I have no idea how a massive, fire breathing dragon would even get inside our caves, or where it would even be.”

Rover, Fido, and Spot looked at each other knowingly. They each made stern expressions, and nodded. Then they quickly put the rocks back over the openings they looked through, and turned to leave back through the tunnels.

“Cloe, we think we know about a small dragon named Spike. He should be in one of our caverns,” affirmed Rover. “We will get the dragon and Rarity to the surface immediately. For now, organize the others and get ready to evacuate every dog. The ponies have the mountain surrounded, but we have a few secret exits they should not know about. We cannot fight their whole army, but we can charge past small groups of ponies to escape. After evacuating, we gather East of the mountains.”

“Understood, begin a full evacuation of the entire colony through our secure exits and then regroup,” affirmed Cloe, before bolting back down into the tunnels. As soon as she left, Rover, Fido, and Spot raced down a separate tunnel, towards the caverns. On their way, the three began to witness the ensuing chaos among their colony, as the urgent news quickly spread. Several other diamond dog guards and workers quickly grabbed whatever of value they had, and quickly ran through every which way in the tunnel system towards the few remaining exits.

Back at the surface, Twilight was waiting restlessly at the podium, watching her clock. “TEN MINUTES REMAIN!,” shouted Twilight into the megaphone.

From the distance, a single pink pony could be seen, hopping her way down the mountain side, towards the army. Twilight stared straight forward as the pony hopped closer. She held her gaze as Pinkie Pie skipped past the podium, and out of her field of vision.

“Hey Twilight, what’s going on here? Are you having some sort of army themed birthday party all the way out here, late into the night?,” asked Pinkie Pie, as she hopped up next to her friend.

“No, not now Pinkie Pie. I have important matters to attend to,” said Twilight, not even turning her head. A few second passed until Twilight completely registered who h. She quickly turned her head to see Pinkie Pie standing next to her, smiling. “Pinkie Pie, where were you? We were looking all over for you today?”

“I was in the gem caves. I often came here in secret to help volunteer with the diamond dogs. I guess all of you found out my secret, huh.”

Twilight looked at her friend concerningly, before remembering exactly who Pinkie Pie was, and let out a sigh. “Look, I believe that the diamond dogs have abducted Rarity from her home last night. Spike went to save Rarity alone, and I believe he had been captured too. Do you have any idea what had been going on today?,” asked Twilight in annoyance.

“Oh, I think I know what you mean,” said Pinkie Pie. “I saw Rarity earlier today, being carried by three diamond dogs. She was using her magic to help them locate gems. Then later, shortly before I left, I saw Spike working for the diamond dogs too. Apparently, he owed them some sort of debt.”

Twilight was taken back by what she just heard. “You saw Spike and Rarity!,” exclaimed Twilight. “Where are they? Are they all right?”

“Rarity and Spike should still be in the caves, as far as I know. Spike seemed a little tired, but they seemed fine when I last saw them.”

Twilight let out a brief sigh of relief. “Well, I guess all there is left to do is wait.

Before long, Rover, Fido, and Spot made it to the caverns. Wasting no time, they slide down the walls, rapidly descending several tiers towards one of the lower levels. There were still a few workers remaining who were organizing some of their belongings and planning to leave. Only a single guard remained in the area. Near him was a tiny dragon with purple and green scales, laying down on his front side. The three moved in towards them.

“… Hoo… hah… I can’t… go on like this,” murmured Spike, as he struggled to pick himself off of the ground.

“There you are sir. We were all given your orders to evacuate. But what do you want us to do with the dragon?,” asked the guard. “He still owes us, but he too tired to continue working. Should we take him or leave him behind?”

Rover peered inside the wooden box besides him. The only thing of any considerable value in the box was a tiny topaz, a small shard of an emerald, and a jagged, murky colored diamond. “You know what, that’s good enough dragon,” said Rover. “You’re free to go now.”

Spike found the last little bit of strength to stand upright. “I can go now?,” he asked wearily.

“Yes, you no longer owe us,” said Rover, as he reached into the wooden box. He grabbed the three small jewels and held them out in front of him. Fido took the emerald fragment. Spot took the low quality diamond. Rover put the minuscule topaz into one of his shirt pockets. Rover then sorted the rest of the contents of the wooden box into a few different nearby minecarts. Rover then turned back to the guard. “That will be all. You are free to help the others evacuate now.” The guard nodded, and quickly ran towards the nearest tunnel entrance. Rover turned to leave before stopping abruptly, and looking back to Spike. “Oh, by the way dragon, we know where your pony friend Rarity is. She is waiting for you.”

Spike immediately jumped upon hearing that name. “WHERE, WHERE?!,” he asked hastily, quickly looking around.

“Follow us,” said Rover.

Rarity was alone inside her empty open cell, pacing back and forth. Amongst the ensuing chaos she heard from the tunnels above her, she heard a familiar set of three paw steps approaching her. “Rarity are you down here?!,” shouted a very familiar voice, one which most certainly did not belong to any diamond dog.

“I suppose that’s my cue,” Rarity whispered to herself. She sat down on her haunches in a dramatic pose, with her right forehoof over her face. “Oh, how awful. I have been trapped down here in this cell for a whole day!,” bellowed Rarity. “Will some creature please rescue me from this prison!”

Rover, Fido and Spot slowed down as they approached Rarity’s cell. Spike sprinted past them. “Rarity, don’t worry, I’m coming!,” shouted Spike, as he approached. He dashed around the corner, and flung upon the rusted iron door, which had been conveniently left unlocked. “I’m here to rescue you Rarity. Are you hurt?”

Rarity quickly lowered her hoof and turned towards Spike. She made a convincing gasp of surprise. “Spike, it’s you!,” said Rarity, as she briskly strutted towards him. Before Spike could say another word, Rarity wrapped her forelegs around his body in a tight hug. “You come all this way to rescue me!”

Spike looked Rarity in the eyes, as he hugged her back. “That I have, Lady Rarity,” said Spike, in as deep of a tone as he could manage.

“The diamond dogs took me here, and told me that they were keeping me here for a high ransom. Did you find a way to pay the ransom? Did you risk your life coming to rescue me alone?”

“Yes I have. There is no price I wouldn’t pay to see you safe and happy once more, Lady Rarity.”

“Oh, Spikey Wikey, I knew you would come for me,” said Rarity with a compassionate smile. “If you may, would you please lead us out of here.”

“Why certainly, Lady Rarity,” said Spike confidently. Behind him, Spike could hear Rover, Fido, and Spot, quietly chuckling behind him.

“Spikey Wikey…,” snorted Rover, putting his forepaws over his mouth to suppress his laughter.

Spike stepped away from Rarity, and then rolled his eyes. “Perhaps we should leave now,” suggested Spike, as looked at the three diamond dogs in annoyance. “Would you please tell me how we should leave these caves?” asked Spike.

“When going up through this tunnel, take a left at the first fork. Then head straight towards the main tunnels. From that point, follow the path we took you though when we brought you down here, dragon,” instructed Rover.

“Got it,” said Spike.

“The pony princess named Twilight brought her army, and is waiting for you at the surface. You may want to hurry. She seemed very impatient,” warned Rover.

“Twilight is here?! This is great!,” exclaimed Spike. “Let us go, Lady Rarity. I believe I left you waiting down here long enough.”

“Lead the way, my precious gentle drake,” sung Rarity, seemingly in joy. Rover, Fido, and Spot failed to retain their laughter once more as the two walked past them.