> Spike the Brave and Glorious
>  by Troyjan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Expected Guests
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity was having a pleasant lunch with her eccentric friend Pinkie Pie, on the far edge of the meadows on the outskirts of Ponyville. The two of them had finished eating the sandwiches that they had packed. With some help from Rarity, Pinkie Pie had finished off the small cake that she had brought, which was made from a new recipe that she had been wanting to try. Satisfied with her meal, Rarity was sipping on the last of the iced tea in her glass.
“I’m glad you had the chance to stop by Pinkie Pie. It has been a while since we had a proper outing.”
“You said it Rarity! Taking on a full-time-traveling-party-planning-career with Cheese Sandwich has had us hopping, skipping, and jumping all around Equestria all day, every day, for every party we host! I’ve hardly had any time to experiment with any of my totally-unimaginable-scrumptious cakes or baked good ideas between party services and party dessert orders. I’m soooooo glad I got a chance to taste test my “Caramel Marshmallow Quadruple Fudge Brownie Cake.” I think I’ll add it to my regular rotation of cake selections for my upcoming party planning events.”
“That all sure sounds like the hoof-full. I’m glad everything is working out well for you and Cheese Sandwich. I think the two you make a fine pair.”
“Aw, thanks Rarity. We’ve actually been thinking about some things. Our is goal is to host at least one major event in every single area on the continent, before retiring our traveling party services. After that, we plan to find a place to open our own party supplies business.”
“Why, that sounds absolutely lovely Pinkie Pie. In due time, I’m sure the two of you could make that dream of yours come true.”
“We can actually do that whenever we want. Between my savings from working for the Cake’s bakery, what Cheese Sandwich got from selling his gag factory research facility, and the funds we earned from our traveling party services, we have bits to spare. Well, that is, for all long as both of us don’t go out of control spending it all in one massive party blowout like we did that time with Rainbow Dash’s birthday-move-in-anniversary.”
“Oh Pinkie, you haven’t changed at all. I’m sure everything will turn out fine, as they usually do.”
“Thank you Rarity. You always were the super duper smartest with your bits out of all our friends. Seeing your success was actually the reason I decided to start saving in the first place, instead just spending my entire paycheck on party decorations and cake ingredients. It just makes me so uncontrollably happy that Cheese and I might one day be able to accomplish everything we ever wanted to do, and then many other things we never ever knew we wanted to do.”
“Well, I’m glad to be of help in any way to such a dear friend, Pinkie Pie.”
“Yay, I’m in such a good mood right now! I feel like I could just run all across Equestria, give a day long circus performance, and then give out cupcakes to every creature in Ponyville,” yelled Pinkie Pie, as she began to prance around Rarity. “OH!,” she suddenly exclaimed, before coming to a stop. “There are at least thirty seven tasks I wanted to get done before my plans for tomorrow, and that doesn’t even account anything I could come up with before then! Goodbye Rarity, and see you later!,” yelled Pinkie Pie, as she quickly pranced away.
“Pinkie Pie darling, don’t you have a moment to…,” said Rarity, before trailing off. In just a brief moment, Pinkie Pie had darted away, leapt through some grass, and into a nearby patch of forest. Rarity got up and ran after her. “Pinkie Pie wait, you forgot your cake holder!,” yelled Rarity, as she followed her impulsive friend’s spontaneous sprint through the woods. But it was no use. Pinkie Pie did not hear her. Her pink fluffy tail quickly left Rarity’s sight as she hopped between the densely packed trees. Rarity halted, giving up her chase, and turned around. She would just go and return the things Pinkie Pie had left the next chance she saw her.
Rarity was slightly disoriented as she looked around the unfamiliar woods she found herself in. Not wanting to stay in the dark, unnerving place any longer, Rarity made her way towards the nearest visible clearing. When Rarity emerged from the forest, she was in a very different place then when she first entered it. Instead of grasslands, Rarity found herself in an extremely barren area where little vegetation grew in the dry rocky soil beneath her hooves. All around her were piles of loose dirt, several large, unnaturally shaped boulders, and numerous deep, mysterious holes in the ground. From the looks of things, Rarity believed that she was near Ponyville’s local gem caves. Standing still, she could not help but notice how eerily quiet the place was. She peered into one of the dark holes that bored deep beneath the surface. Rarity suddenly remembered exactly where she was, and whose territory she was standing in. Wasting no time, Rarity trotted away from the holes, and towards the general direction of Ponyville.
After a moment, Rarity reached some familiar looking grasslands. Then she spotted the cups and plates atop the blanket that she had left out from her lunch with Pinkie Pie. Rarity slowed down to a trot, and made her way towards her belongings. Letting out a sigh, Rarity started gathered her and Pinkie Pie’s things into her saddle bags. Just as Rarity finished, she heard something which sounded like a twig snap. Rarity turned and looked around, but saw absolutely no creature else. Assuming that it was some sort of coincidence, Rarity slipped on her saddle bags and began walk to Ponyville. Rarity then heard leaves rapidly rustling. Rarity turned her head again towards the sound, but saw nothing but the vegetation surrounding the outer perimeter of the nearby forest waving in the gentle breeze. Dismissing what she heard, Rarity turned and continued walking through the grasslands. Rarity’s ear suddenly twitched as she heard some sort of strange growling noise. Rarity quickly turned her head once again, but saw nothing but the tall, ever abundant grass that surrounded her.
Rarity quickly looked around, trying to spot any sign of any creature else that would have been following her. “Pinkie Pie are you there?,” Rarity called out, feeling more uneasy by the second from the now ominous silence. But no creature responded. Now creeped out, Rarity began quickly trotting towards Ponyville. After a few moments, she heard what could have been a set of paws, thumping on the ground behind her. Rarity turned her head back towards source of the paw steps, but saw nothing but the set of trees that she passed. Not stopping, Rarity continued her way home. At last, Ponyville was in sight. Rarity moved on, and entered the bustling streets of her hometown. All around her were various familiar ponies that she would spot from time to time. At ease, Rarity walked past the several stalls setup throughout the commercial area of town, and towards where her boutique was located.
Passing an alleyway, Rarity heard a loud rattling which sounded like several wooden boxes being knocked over. Rarity peered into the alley from which the sound had come from. However, all she saw was a small pile of old wooden crates, and a pair of trash bins. Not a single creature was in sight.
Rarity could not have reached her home soon enough. She closed the door quickly, before letting out a loud sigh of relief. Perhaps it was just her own imagination that was messing with her. After emptying the contents of her saddle bags, Rarity went straight to her workshop to get some work done. After a few moments, Rarity was intensively focused on her store’s next line of summer themed clothing, and had begun sewing a sun dress from one of her sketches she had tacked to her workshop’s wall. After several hours of work, Rarity had forgotten all about the weird observations she had during her trip back home after her lunch.
But what had followed Rarity to her home had not forgotten their goal.
> Ambush at Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The darkness of night had fallen upon Ponyville. Resting on the ground near the rear entrance of Rarity’s estate, were three out of place wooden crates. Slowly, and ever so quietly, the lid from atop of one of the crates was slid off of it from the inside. A pair of dull yellow eyes crept over the edge of the wooden box.
“Is it clear?,” came a whisper from one of the other two boxes.
“Not a pony in sight,” whispered the creature from the middle box.
“Let’s move,” whispered a voice from the third box.
Just as slowly and carefully as the first, the lids of the other two boxes were removed. With steady and careful movements, all three creatures stood upright, and stepped over the edges of the now opened crates. Once out, they crept towards the rear entrance of the estate. One of the creature’s paws brushed up against a loose brick, making the faintest clinking sound. The other two creatures stopped, and quietly shushed towards the other one, who blinked in response. After that, all three had made their way to the rear door.
There were no nearby streetlights, or any outdoor lighting along the rear exterior of the building, making the scene completely dark. However, the three creatures were more than accustomed to such low levels of light, and could see easily.
“Do your thing,” one of the creatures whispered. In response, the smallest one nodded. A piece of metal was jostled inside the old padlock that was holding the rear door shut. After several tense minutes, the padlock made a metallic click, the shackle released from the body, and the lock was moved. Ever so quietly, the rear door was opened.
As expected, there were several cardboard boxes and pieces of furniture obstructing the rarely used, rear exit of the Boutique. The largest of the three creatures slowly and carefully pushed aside several shelves and boxes to clear an open path. With enough space to walk, the three made their way from the supply room, and into the main room of the boutique. In there were numerous pony-quins, shelves, and racks, with a massive variety of clothing on display. Sweeping the area, none of the three intruders could spot any sign of any security systems within the ground floor of the shop. With the space clear, the three made their way to the staircase, and crept their way up to the next floor.
“Look there,” uttered one of the creatures while pointing. “That glass case, it’s full of gems. And there’s probably more around here too.”
“And look at all these precious items,” murmured the second creature, eying up a crafty looking vase, an expensive looking painting, and an elegant set of furniture. “Imagine all the bits we could sell this to other ponies for, and all the gems we could buy,” he continued, while rubbing his paws.
The third creature elbowed both of the other two. “Stop that now!,” he whispered. “Remember why we are here,” the creature urged to the others. “If this works, we will all have more gems than we could possibly find in here, and in that pony jewel store, put together. Maybe we can come back here later and take the gems. But we cannot get caught now.”
“Right,” said the second creature, nodding.
“To the pony’s room,” said the third creature.
The largest creature gently bumped into the small table, causing the vase on top of it to dangerously teeter. Another one lunged forward, and quickly gripped the vase before it fell over. “Careful!,” he scolded, before placing it back where it was. The larger creature looked down for a moment, before nodding.
“I think the pony is sleeping behind this door,” whispered one of the creatures.
“Do both of you know what to do?,” asked the first creature. The other two nodded. “Good. Now it’s time for the tough part.”
The door to Rarity’s room creaked open. Rarity lied completely still in her bed, with her sleep mask over her eyes. Among the moonlight drifting through the room’s window, were the three diamond dogs, named Rover, Fido, and Spot. The three of them were just barely visible, standing around and leaning ever closer the edges of Rarity’s bed. Each of their muzzles were twisted into malevolent grins, revealing their yellow predatory fangs.
Rover help up a hollow, cone shaped magic seal in one paw. The other two diamond dogs, Fido and Spot, held up the ropes that they were carrying. Rover lifted his other forepaw, and held out three of his toes. Then he lowered one, holding out just two. Then he lowered another toe and was holding just out one. Then Rover lowered his last toe.
Immediately, Rover leaped into the air and onto Rarity’s bed. Without wasting another second, he clasped his paw over Rarity’s muzzle, and jammed the magic seal onto Rarity’s horn. Rarity was immediately awoken and attempted to scream, but nothing more than a loud muffle came from under Rover’s paw. Fido and Spot had already flung the covers off Rarity’s bed, and were grasping each of Rarity’s legs. In panic, Rarity began struggling and flailing at the intruders. With all three keeping Rarity pinned to her bed, Fido and Spot attempted to wrap their ropes around her body to restrain her. By moving her neck, Rarity managed to push her sleep mask off of her face, and stared at the three savage canines in her room with wild eyes. Rarity continued rocking and thrashing about, bluntly kicking wherever she could manage. Out of instinct, Rarity shifted her jaws and managed to bite down on the edge of Rover’s paw. Rover winced in pain, but continued to hold Rarity steady while Fido and Spot attempted to tie Rarity’s legs together.
Suddenly a bright blue light began forming along her horn, before a hot beam of magical energy was fired from it, burning the wall above Rarity’s bed. It was at this moment that Rover realized that the magical seal was not fastened correctly, and that the unicorn could still use her magic. Rarity turned her head forward, and started blasting her magic at Rover. Rover flinched as another beam singed one of his ears. With her magical beams being ineffective, Rarity attempted to use her kinesis to hurl various objects around the room, towards the three diamond dogs. Rover winced in pain again as one of Rarity’s sowing needles was lodged into his back. Once it was clear that hurling objects wasn’t working, Rarity attempted to summon force fields to repel her assailants. But the three of them resisted against the magical barriers, and remained in place. With all his strength, Rover grabbed the now lose magic seal, and forced it back onto Rarity’s searing hot horn with both his paws. This time, after sliding it all the way down to the unicorn’s head, Rover gave the seal a firm twist, completely nullifying Rarity’s magic. However, by using both his front paws to fasten the seal, nothing was there to muffle Rarity’s voice.
“RELASE ME THIS INSTANT YOU DIRTY, SAVAGE, UNCULTURED, MUTTS!!!,” shouted Rarity.
Rover pressed both his paws onto Rarity’s muzzle, forcing it shut. “Please, you must be quiet, or you will ruin everything!,” pleaded Rover. He then turned to Spot. “Quick, gag her.”
“Got it,” Spot responded, as he held out a separate wad of rope. Rover released Rarity’s muzzle and instead clasped her forehooves.
“HOW DARE YOU…,” screamed Rarity, before being cut off as Spot stuffed the chunk of rope into her mouth. Spot then wrapped the loose ends of the rope around her jaws, and behind her head. Assisting him, Fido wrapped another rope under Rarity’s muzzle and over her head, pulled her jaws together, and tightened the rope. With her magic sealed, her mouth tied closed, and her body tightly constricted by the tangle of rope around her neck and limbs, Rarity resigned and stopped struggling.
“We’re very sorry Rarity, but I’m sure you know why this must be done. For now, we promise to be careful, and to keep you safe. We hope that you can forgive us later,” pleaded Rover.
“Yeah, there was no better way. We had to do this right,” said Spot.
“We’ll make this as painless as possible,” said Fido.
Rover looked at Fido and Spot. “We got Rarity. Now we leave.” Fido and Spot both nodded in affirmation, before hoisting Rarity over their shoulders. Rover quickly crept out of Rarity’s room, with Fido and Spot following. One of the diamond dogs bumped into the same table as before, causing the vase on it to rock back and forth again. Rarity’s eyes widened, seeing her priceless family heirloom teetering. Rover gasped, before lunging forward, and preventing the vase from falling over again. “We must be more careful!,” scolded Rover, before turning around again.
Suddenly, Rover accidently jammed a toe on one of his rear paws into the corner of a wooden shelf. “DAUGHTER OF A HOUND!!!,” Rover shouted as he held his rear paw with his forepaws while hopping up and down on his other rear paw. Losing his balance, Rover fell backwards into the shelf he jammed his toe into, which promptly caused the shelf to collapse and fall onto him. The impact caused a decorative mirror that Rarity had hung up on the opposite side of the hallway to fall off its hook, and land on top of Rover’s backside, shattering on contact.
Fido and Spot quickly rushed over to Rover. “I’m okay,” affirmed Rover, as he stood up, shaking the broken glass and wooden splinters off of him. “I just need a moment to…” said Rover before being cutoff. As Rover stood up, the now loosened carpet slipped from beneath him, causing him to slip again. Pulling the carpet as he fell, Fido and Spot also lost their balance, and fell forward towards Rover. The three diamond dogs, along with Rarity, fell towards the staircase, and began tumbling down it. Luckily for Rarity, the bundle of ropes around her body completely softened any impact to her. Rover, Spot, and Fido landed at the bottom of the stairs, right before Rarity safely landed on top of Rover’s head. Taking a few moments to recover from their fall, the diamonds dogs stood up again. Fido and Spot hoisted Rarity over their shoulders once more.
“Let’s get out of here,” suggested Spot.
“Agreed,” said Rover.
Just as Rover finished speaking, all of the diamond dogs stumbled into some of the pony-quins that were left on display, which caused them to fall into a large metal shelf. The impact knocked over the shelf, which crashed into a glass case, shattering it on impact. The diamond dogs looked at the mess in guilt, before standing up again with their captive in their grasps.
“We’re almost out of here,” said Rover, as the three approached the rear entrance of the boutique. The rear door was still opened by a narrow crack. They were just about to step outside, when another voice called out, and interrupted them.
“Rarity, what’s going on here?,” asked a voice that sounded like it belonged to a young filly. Following her voice, was the bright yellow color of the filly unicorn’s magic. Immediately, the magically powered electric lighting system of the boutique was activated, illuminating the disastrous scene. The diamond dogs halted and turned around towards the voice of the young pony. The pony in question was none other than Sweetie Belle.
“Who are you creatures?” asked Sweetie Belle, who was just now witnessing a diamond dog herself for her first time. “And why would Rarity invite you guys here this late into the night,” she asked, looking at the clock along the far wall. “And why is the shop such a mess?,” she asked while looking around the ravaged area. “And Rarity, why are you tied up like that?”
Rarity tried to speak as clearly as possible, but only a faint muffled noise left her mouth. Rover took a step towards Sweetie Belle. “Well, you see young pony, there’s a very good reason for all of this.”
“Yeah,” said Fido and Spot simultaneously, while nodding.
Sweetie Belle looked at the diamond dogs, while turning her head in suspicion. “Could you at least let Rarity tell me what’s going on? It looks like she has something important to say.”
Rarity continued trying to speak, but only incoherent muffles left her mouth. Rover sidestepped in front of Rarity. “I think what she is trying to say, is that she also cannot tell you what is going on. And just to be safe, perhaps you should also tell no one about any of this.”
Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes. “Hey, are you three trying to abduct my sister?”
“That’s silly. What makes you think we would do something like that?”
“Well, it just looks like you are. Although, I have seen something else like this happen before. First you come in here unannounced to see Rarity at late hours of the night. Then I hear you in Rarity’s bedroom, fighting with each other on her bed. After that, you end up leaving behind a large mess, and cause Rarity to be all cranky the next day. But the kind of stallions who normally come by and do this don’t show up this late, or leave behind this big of a mess. And none of them had ever tried to carry Rarity out of here before while tied up or gagged. She can walk on her own just fine. That’s what makes all of this look suspicious to me.”
Rarity let out a muffled gasp upon realizing who Sweetie Belle might have been talking about, followed by some very angry sounding muffled screams. Her already reddened face blushed even more intensely. Whether it was out of anger, or embarrassment, it was difficult to tell. Rover, Fido, and Spot looked back at each other, and then at Rarity. Clearly there was something else going on that they should all probably never mention again.
Rover turned back to Sweetie Belle. “Think what you want about all this, but Rarity, and the rest of us, should not tell you what we are doing. And as I said, you should probably not tell what you have seen here to any pony. You will be in some very big trouble if you do.”
“Why?!”
“We cannot tell you why. It would be even more trouble for all of us if you knew.”
“Well, if you cannot tell me where you’re taking Rarity to, then let me come with you and make sure you are not up to anything bad. If you won’t let me do that, then I’ll have to stop you.”
Rarity began rapidly shaking her head from side to side, her eyes wide in fear. She wouldn’t ever want her sister to endanger herself by confronting the savage animals who were handling her. Fido and Spot looked at each other and then to Rover.
“It might be trouble if she comes with us, or if she tells other ponies about this,” said Spot.
Rover looked around and noticed a long, loose carpet on the floor, along with several sets of string that were scattered about. A mischievous grin formed across his face. “I got an idea,” said Rover.

After several moments, Rover, Fido, and Spot left the now dark and silent Carousel Boutique. The three quickly made their way to their hiding spot. They carefully placed Rarity inside the smallest of the three wooden boxes that they were previously hiding in, before placing the lid back on it.
The three diamond dogs looked around the area. The scene was just as dark and quite as when they had first arrived. From the looks of it, no creature seemed to have spotted them or were aware of what they were doing. Wasting no time, Rover, Fido, and Spot sprinted down the streets of Ponyville on all fours, with Fido and Spot carrying the box containing Rarity atop their backs.
After a few minutes, the trio had left Ponyville, and dashed past the tree line on the far side of the surrounding meadows. Once they were sure that they were safe, they stopped, and placed the wooden crate down on the ground. They removed the lid of the box, and lifted Rarity out of it. They untied the ropes restraining Rarity, removed the magic seal on her horn, and removed the wad of rope that was blocking Rarity’s speech.
“I understand that you had to be discrete and all with this operation of yours, but did you really need to put your paws all over me without my permission?!,” Rarity bellowed at the diamond dogs.
“We just couldn’t think of any better way. We’re very sorry if we hurt you Rarity,” said Rover, as all three of the diamond dogs lowered their heads and flattened their ears.
“And while I’m on the matter, did you all have to break so many things on your way out?!”
“Those were all accidents. We never wanted to break your things. Honest,” answered Rover.
“Accident or not, that still doesn’t excuse how you busted in, or that altercation with my sister. This all could have been avoided had you three idiots decided not to act like savage animals.”
“Rarity is there anything within reason that we could do for you to make this all up to you?,” asked Rover.
“I do not wish to speak with any of your right now. We could talk about reparations later.”
“Would you at least like us to carry you, or do you prefer to walk?”
Rarity turned away, flicking her tail as she did. Without a word, she stepped back into the box, sat upright on her haunches, and held up her nose up high. As on cue, Rover, Fido, and Spot lifted up the box, and began to carefully carry Rarity to their hideout.
> Spike the Valiant
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
> Spike the Selfless
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not wanting to waste another moment, Spike ran to his private quarters. Without hesitation, he unlocked his large wooden chest, containing all of the gems and bits he was savings. Then, Spike went over to the wall of his room, and removed several loose bricks from a particular spot on the wall. Behind this hole was a small room containing most of his valuable items, including another small hoard of gems. Spike dumped his chest and the bin containing his hoard into one pile in the middle of his room. He got to work sorting the gemstones into categories, and ordered them by mass. Realizing that even with all he had, Spike was still short several gems in some categories, and had absolutely no pearls at all.
Putting all his bits into his largest and strongest sack, Spike carried his bag down the stairs, and ran to Ponyville’s local jewelry store. There, Spike found several giant pearls on display, along with the other types of gemstones that he was looking for. Spike reviewed what remained on his list, went up to the counters of the jewelers, and described his order. After weighing several pearls and examining the quality of several gemstones, Spike brought his order to checkout and spent the majority of his bits on his purchase. With the deal made and done, Spike put everything he bought into his sturdy coin sack, and ran back to his room in the castle. There, Spike laid everything out.
After going over the collection spanning the entire floor, Spike was certain that he had all the gemstones. He had to get 180 diamonds, 132 Amethysts, 96 Sapphires, 84 Pearls, 60 Rubies, 48 Emeralds, 24 garnets, and 12 Opals. To reach these quantities, Spike to split some of the oversized gemstones into multiple pieces. While some of the small gems weighed slightly less than 8 ounces, many others weighed more than the minimum weight to compensate. Having no other practical options at that point, Spike just accepted what he had, and hoped it would be good enough. However, Spike knew that he also needed the 48000 bits to complete the demand. Spike crawled back into the hole in his bedroom wall, and took out a ceramic piggy bank. Spike closed his eyes as he hurled it into the brick wall, as the very last of his savings scattered around the floor. Counting what he had left over from his trip to the jewelers, and what lied within the pile of broken ceramic shards, Spike was still several thousand bits short from 48000. He knew that it was now time to liquify.
Spike took every last belonging he had in his room that could be of any meaningful economic value and bundled it all together into one large pile. This included the entirety of his hoof-ball card collection, his sets of his rare graphic novels which he got signed by the original authors, and a wide variety of baubles, trinkets, and decorations that he had collected over the years. Going down into the castle’s storage, Spike took out a massive crate, and filled it with everything that was in the pile. With one last sorrowful look, Spike placed the lid on top, and carried the heavy box out of the castle. Slowly but surely, Spike made his way to Ponyville’s commercial district. Spike’s first spot was the thrift store, where he unloaded the majority of his things for a heap of bits. Nearby, Spike stopped off at several special bookstores and hobby shops, where he was able to haggle a solid price from his more eccentric possessions. After everything was sold, Spike had carried his crate full of bits back into his room in the castle. Taking out one last possession, Spike took out his small, and now completely empty, steel safe, from the secret space behind his bedroom wall. It was the first gift he received from Twilight after they first moved into the castle. After one arduous and very tiring trip, Spike hauled his safe to Ponyville town square, where he put it up for auction. Luckily for Spike, some stallion was willing to pay more for the item and Spike could have haggled for on his own. With the last bits in his claws, Spike went back to his room, and counted the pile of gold coins.
Unfortunately, Spike was still almost 2000 bits short. Then Spike remembered that Twilight, being a Princess with her own castle, had multiple reserves of bits hidden away, which included her own private savings. Spike crept into Twilight’s bedroom in the castle, and with some searching, found one of such reserves. Going against his better judgement, Spike took the remainder of what he needed, and left a written note detailing how much he “borrowed” from Twilight. There were several thousands of bits in there already, and he was only taking some to save Rarity. Spike thought that surely Twilight would understand. Rarity was her friend too. If anything were done about it, Twilight would just dock his official wage as her personal assistant, until his debt was paid off.
At long last, everything was in order. All the gems, and all 48000 bits were piled high in Spike’s room. Spike took another very long look at the pile of gemstones he had gathered. Spike’s mouth began to water as he began to focus on a particular diamond. His stomach let out a growl. Spike had not eaten lunch, and the particular diamond was looking very tasty to him at the moment. Spike reached out for it with one claw, before slapping it away with his other. Spike did not forget what he was doing, and why he needed every last gemstone he had collected. If just one were missing, it might possibly be the reason that Spike would never see Rarity again.
To satisfy his hunger, Spike went down to the castle’s kitchen. Reaching into the cupboards, Spike took out some potatoes and several containers of Twilight’s old leftover food. While undercooked potatoes and the almost overdue leftovers tasted nasty, it more than sufficed for a filling lunch. Finished with his meal, Spike went back to his quarters one last time. Reluctantly, Spike began to put the huge sum of bits, followed by the heap of gemstones, into the sack that he used earlier that day. After shifting the contents around, Spike sealed the top of the sack with a rope.
Spike let out a sad sigh as he looked around his room. Save for his bed, some furniture, and the work related stuff on his desk, Spike’s room was almost empty. Spike was beginning to regret on insisting that he be the one who pay Rarity’s ransom. But then he suddenly remembered the reason he was doing all of this.
In the deep recesses of Spike’s mind, he began to fantasize. He imagined being a far larger, stronger, and handsome dragon than he was now. He imaged that he had large muscles along his entire body, enough to make even that huge bully of a dragon named Garble, cower in his presence. Spike would infiltrate the diamond dog cave on his own, effortlessly fighting off the waves upon waves of the hostile, subterranean canines with nothing but his bare claws. At last, he would make it to the lowest pits of their cave systems, where he would confront Rarity’s captors.
“I’ve met all of your terms, and I have easily bested all of your finest fighters. Now, you will free Rarity or I will do so myself,” Spike would say, in a deep and attractive voice.
The last three diamond dogs would cover in fear, as they handed Spike a key. Immediately, Spike strutted over to one of the cells, undid the lock, and flew open the rusted metal door. Around the corner of the cell, was a pristine, majestic white unicorn mare. She was wearing her finest dress, complimented with matching horseshoes, and the finest jewelry that money could buy. Rarity would see Spike, immediately run towards him, and grasp his body with her forelegs in a tight embrace.
“Spike, have you come all this way to rescue me!,” Rarity would say.
“That I have, Lady Rarity.”
“Is it true that you had given up nearly every last possession you have owned, and have risked life and limb just for me?”
“Yes I have. There is no price I wouldn’t pay to see you safe and happy once more, Lady Raity.”
“Oh Spike, my honorable handsome hero, my lovely knight in shining scales, I knew you would never abandon me.”
Rarity would hold Spike closer, and stare straight into his gleaming, emerald eyes. With one swift, passionate movement, Rarity would lock lips with the dragon. Spike would be overtaken by an overwhelming euphoria, as the surroundings around him became irrelevant abstractions to the loving touch of his true one and only. It was something worth any price.
Spike shook his head, bringing himself out of his fantasy. That last part would have to wait until later. He looked back up at the massive bag of valuables he had accumulated. The next step was to bring the monstrosity down the stairs and into the throne room.

As soon as Twilight left the castle, she flew over to Sugar Cube Corner. She asked Mrs. Cake, who was running the register, if she had seen Pinkie Pie lately. She claimed that neither she nor her husband had heard from Pinkie Pie for months. Twilight began asking other ponies around town if they had any idea where the pink pony was. Each time, Twilight would be unable to get even a single piece of useful information. After enough time, Twilight gave up on finding Pinkie Pie.
Twilight quickly made her way towards Flutteryshy’s cottage. Upon relaying the news of Rarity’s abduction, Fluttershy agreed to meet Twilight by the front of the Caste of Friendship within the hour. Afterwards, Twilight flew her way to the School of Friendship, which was run by her appointed Head-mare, Starlight Glimmer. Entering the main office, Twilight briefed Starlight Glimmer of the emergency. Unlike Fluttershy, Starlight had never encountered any diamond dog before, and had no idea what to expect. Being the principal of the school, Starlight Glimmer agreed to help rescue Rarity only after her school’s dismissal time, when she was free from her professional obligations for the day.
Twilight flew back to her castle, and landed on the pathway to the front entrance. Rainbow Dash was already there waiting for her. “Ready to kick some canine tail?,” boasted Rainbow Dash.
“Rainbow Dash, I know we did this before, but this is still a very serious problem. We should wait for the others, and come up with a plan before we do anything rash,” responded Twilight.
“Whatever,” said Rainbow Dash, blowing her own mane out of her face.
After several minutes, Applejack came rushing along the dirt roads. “Hey Twilight, Sweetie Belle and her friends told me everything, and I came as soon as I could. They should be here soon.”
“I hope so, I’ve been waiting here for a while already. When are the others coming Twilight?”
“I couldn’t find Pinkie Pie anywhere, but Fluttershy said that she would arrive soon, and Starlight Glimmer said that she would come at three-thirty at the earliest.”
“Come on Twilight, Rarity is waiting for us. We can’t take that long,” complained Rainbow Dash.
“Let’s at least wait for the others a little longer before we do anything,” suggested Applejack.
After a few more minutes, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom came running down the dirt through Ponyville. The three seemed more than exhausted from running around town for the past few hours. Following from behind was Fluttershy, carefully soaring her way to the meeting spot.
“We… made it… Twilight,” gasped Sweetie Belle, between breaths. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were taking similar deep breaths.
“Oh dear, I hope Rarity is still all right. I can’t bear to think if she had gotten hurt,” said Fluttershy.
“For the time being, Rarity should be just fine. Let’s all head inside the castle, and talk about this some more,” suggested Twilight. “Hopefully Princess Celestia got my message and was able to send back a reply back through Spike by now.”

Spike was carrying the massive bag of money and gems in his shaking arms, which altogether was at least four times his body weight. Spike had just managed to clear his bedroom doorway as he continued down the short hallway, and towards the stairwell. His arms, legs, and torso continued to tremble more intensely with each passing second. Needing a break already, spike placed down the load and sat down on the top of the stairs. Spike suddenly felt a very familiar discomfort in his chest, before letting out a fiery belch. Out of his mouth came a letter from Princess Celestia, addressed to Twilight Sparkle. Spike went down the stairs and placed the message on Twilight’s desk in her throne room. When Spike returned to the stairs, he timidly looked up at the heavy bag which rested ominously at the top. Knowing what he had to do, Spike puffed his chest, and continued what he started. With no need to lift it off the floor, Spike began to slowly slide the dense mass down each single stair at a time. He let out a sigh of relief as he finally reached the ground floor, only to realize that it was still a fair distance to the throne room. With the last of his strength, Spike began to carefully slide the bag across the smooth, crystal floors. At long last, Spike got the bag into the throne room as Twilight has requested.
Catching his breath, Spike took a look at the time. The throne room clock indicated that it was already a few minutes past three. Spike’s heart began to race again, as he realized that there was less than nine hours left remaining to save Rarity. Twilight already should have been back by now. Suddenly, Spike heard the castle doors open, followed by several sets of hooves walking through the main hall. Spike looked around and saw Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy, followed by Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo.
> Spike the Unwavering
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Twilight, your back! Did you figure out a rescue plan yet? Do you get a lead on where Rarity might be?,” asked Spike.
“Sweetie Belle and I took a few moment to look around the Carousel Boutique. Besides some fur and a few sets of odd looking pawprints, we still have no idea where Rarity might be. As for our plan, we’re all here to discuss that now,” answered Twilight. “Did Princess Celestia have a chance to respond to my message?,” asked Twilight.
“She did Twilight. I left Celestia’s letter on your desk. While you were gone, I gathered the entirety of the ransom payment right here,” said Spike, while gesturing to the large sack in the middle of the floor. Twilight gave Spike a look of bewilderment as she eyed the massive bag.
“Wow Spike, did you really gather everything on that list while I was away?,” asked Twilight.
“Yep, I sure did,” Spike exclaimed proudly.
“Excellent work. That may come in handy later,” said Twilight, as her horn glowed with her magic. A protective purple forcefield formed around the large sack on the floor in the shape of a hemisphere. “That should keep it safe for the time being.”
“I’m sure that the diamond dogs would gladly give Rarity back after we shown them this.”
“Woah, not so fast Spike. We should see what Princess Celestia had to say in her letter first,” suggested Twilight, as she levitated her letter and the ransom note that were left on her desk. “I’m having some serious suspicions about all of this, and I want all of them satisfied before we act.”
“Like what?,” questioned Spike.
“Take a closer look at the writing of the diamond dog’s alleged ransom note that they left,” prodded Twilight, levitating the note up for the others to see. “Notice how articulate the language is. With what little we still know about diamond dogs we do know that they use vastly different speech patterns in their verbal communications. The grammar used in their note does not seem to match. Did ‘The Diamond Dogs’ really write this? If not, then what creature did?”
Twilight then lowered the note, and began levitating it around to be seen more closely. “Next, look at the style of writing. Upon a closer look, the text seems to have been made with a fine point, ink well pen. And notice how neat, precise, and consistent the body of the note is. Even most unicorns I know in Canterlot don’t write this neatly. I find it dubious that dogs that live in caves with minimal lighting, with little furniture to write on, and who are not at all associated with any mailing system that I am aware of, would ever bother to learn to write like this. And then take a look at the signature at the bottom. The sloppy letters that make up the signature don’t match the rest of the writing at all. Again, did the diamond dogs we met years ago write this, or is this some other creature’s writing?”
Twilight then moved the letter to Spike, and looked at him intensely. “Sweetie Belle claimed that the diamond dogs who tied her up, intentionally left this note behind to be found later. And yet, it is addressed to you Spike. How did the diamond dogs know that you were coming to see Rarity the following morning? And why did they address the note exclusively to you instead of any creature else?”
“Gee Twilight, I didn’t even think of that,” admitted Spike.
“And there is something else that I just cannot overlook. I understand that the diamond dogs might know more about gems, minerals, and the composition of the underground more than any other species in Equestria. I can see why they were as detailed as they were in deciding Rarity’s ransom. But I just find it extremely weird that all the quantities they listed were multiples of twelve. It could be a coincidence, but I have a feeling that it may not be. Just what could it mean?”
“Twilight, what do you recon is going on then?,” asked Applejack.
“I don’t know Applejack, but I do have a strong feeling that the diamond dogs did not act alone. They must have had some kind of insider. How else would they have known where Rarity lived? How did they creep through Ponyville undetected?” Twilight turned away for a moment to think, before turning back towards her friends. “Have any of you seen Pinkie Pie anywhere these last two days?” asked Twilight. “I know that she was away traveling around Equestria with Cheese Sandwich these past few months, but she said she would visit Ponyville this week. But yet, I couldn’t find a single trace of her.”
“I haven’t seen Pinkie anywhere either,” said Applejack.
“Me neither,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Exactly,” explained Twilight. “Why is Pinkie Pie suddenly absent now? I know what I am about to say next might sound insane, but I cannot ignore this feeling I have that Pinkie Pie may somehow be involved in all of this. It would explain how the diamond dogs apparently knew as much as they did.”
“That’s outrageous Twilight!,” outburst Rainbow Dash. “There’s no way that Pinkie Pie would work with the diamond dogs to take away Rarity!”
“I also doubt that Pinkie Pie would do such a thing Rainbow Dash,” responded Twilight. “But from what I could gather, I am starting to suspect that is all a lot deeper than some quick scheme to obtain some easy gems.” Twilight looked around at her friends. “And we still cannot rule out that the diamond dogs could be intent on foul play. Who knows if they will honor their side of the bargain to free Rarity if we pay the ransom, or if they are planning some sort of ambush, trap, or trickery?”
“Even so, we have to go now!” demanded Spike, as he took a step closer to Twilight. “We are running out of time, and we must do something. We at least owe that to Rarity, considering all that she has done for us. I say we give the diamond dogs the ransom now. If they refuse to free Rarity, we can enter their caves, do what we did last time, and free her by force.”
“Now that’s a plan I can get behind,” added Rainbow Dash.
“Oh dear, I hope it doesn’t come that. I’m not sure if I could fight off more than one diamond dog if they got up close to me,” uttered Fluttershy.
Twilight sat down on her haunches and clenched her eyes shut. She began to massage the sides of her head with her forehooves to combat her growing headache. “Spike, I already gave you several reasons why we can’t just do what they want, and why we can’t just rush into their caves if they don’t comply. On another topic, I think it’s about time to go over Princess Celestia’s letter now.”
Spike stomped his foot, and looked at Twilight with anger. “I don’t care Twilight! We can eventually take back any material payment from the diamond dogs later, but Rarity might be lost to us forever if we don’t act now. Rarity needs us. We must press on, even if it’s dangerous, even if it’s a trap, and even if it’s exactly what those diamond dogs want. And if it turns out that there is more to all of this than it seems, we’ll get to the bottom of this once Rarity has been saved.”
“I’m with Spike,” added Rainbow Dash. “I’m tired of waiting around and who knows how long we actually have. I say we take this to those dogs. And if it’s a fight they want, it’ll be a fight they get.”
“Now Rainbow Dash, Twilight has made a very good case as to why we shouldn’t do exactly what you just said,” said Applejack.
“And I really don’t want to go into their caves,” said Fluttershy.
“Fine, whatever, we’ll do it Twilight’s safe and lame way,” pouted Rainbow Dash.
“Spike, keep quite or leave us be. The rest of us have important matters to discuss, and we don’t need your silly distractions,” scolded Twilight.
Spike stepped closer to Twilight, looking her in the eyes. “What type of lousy friend are you to leave Rarity in danger like this?!,” accused Spike, raising his voice. “If none of you want to help, then I’ll just save Rarity myself. I’ll show you who’s being silly Twilight.”
“That’s enough Spike! Stand down and go to your room, or you’re in big trouble!,” ordered Twilight, clenching her teeth.
Spike put his face directly in front of Twilight’s. “Then why don’t you try and stop me!”
Twilight let out a frustrated snarl. “You little twerp,” said Twilight coldly, as her horn glowed the purple color of her magic aura. The same magical aura formed around Spike, as he was lifted in the air. Spike let out a wheeze, as he felt his entirely body constricted by Twilight’s telekinetic grasp. Then, with a significant portion of her magical power, Twilight slammed Spike back down onto the floor.
“AAAACK,” Spike cried out upon impact.
Twilight formed another forcefield around Spike’s body, similar to the one she used to secure the sack of money and gems. “The rest of us are going to continue this discussion elsewhere. Spike, you are going to stay here, until you get you head together, and are ready to do as your told,” Twilight spat, before turning away. “Let’s go the map room. It will be far more comfortable in there,” suggested Twilight to the others. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy looked back at Twilight in bewilderment. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo stepped out of Twilight’s way as she walked towards the door. Spike remained silent, too ashamed to even lift his face off the floor.
The group of ponies left the throne room, and walked into the significantly smaller room across the hall. Within the room was a large circular table containing a map of Equestria, along with a set of six stone thrones, with a smaller one besides Twilight Sparkle’s. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy took their respective seats. Sweetie Belle sat in her sister’s chair, and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shared Pinkie Pie’s chair.
“Are there any other concerns to address before we move on?,” asked Twilight.
“Um, yes,” whispered Fluttershy. “I think you were a little too harsh with Spike.”
“Spike was out of line, and some pony had to show him his place,” responded Twilight.
“I agree with Fluttershy!,” said Rainbow Dash. “Sure, Spike might be out of his mind from this whole mess, but his heart is in the right place. He did not deserve to be hurt the way he was. I think you’re the one who was out of line Twilight.”
“Oh please, that was nothing. Spike has taken far worse impacts before, and always seems to end up fine,” retorted Twilight as she rolled her eyes. “If I didn’t take care to discipline him every so often, no pony would do anything when he misbehaves.”
“Now Twilight, I admit that I don’t know what it’s like to live with Spike every day, nor would I know him as much as you do. I’m not even sure if you would even consider him part of your family,” admitted Applejack. “But I do know that Spike deserves better than to be treated like some sort of pest. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that you owe him an apology.” Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy nodded in agreement.
“Look, fine, I was wrong!,” huffed Twilight. “I’ll apologize to Spike later when things settle down. But right now, we have more pressing matters” affirmed Twilight as he pressed her front hooves onto the table, and placed downs several papers. “Now unless any of you have anything else to say, I will read what Princess Celestia had to say about Rarity’s hostage situation.”
Twilight looked around the room. Fluttershy looked away, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack stared at Twilight. The younger fillies pressed their lips shut. After a long enough pause, Twilight lifted Celestia’s letter in front of her with her magic, opened the envelope, and read the contents of the message aloud.

To Princess Twilight Sparkle

I sincerely apologize for taking so long to reply. I was hosting a critical meeting with my administration officials and top advisors, and I put your message aside for later, assuming it to be of lesser importance. I was quite alarmed to learn about the situation that Rarity is in right now. Time is of the essence, and we must make an appropriate response immediately.
I have already promised other ponies to fulfill some equally pressing royal matters today. While I cannot come directly, I have sent out one of my most competent secret service agents out to investigate the case. This agent goes by the alias “770X”. After thoroughly investigating the scene, my agent should report any findings to you at your castle, sometime this evening. That should still leave you plenty of time to decide on your next course of action.
The diamond dogs will likely need to be confronted in order to resolve this conflict. I am well aware that force will need to be leveraged if a fair and reasonable negotiation cannot be met. I have already informed the newly appointed Captain Flash Sentry and several of Equestria’s finest soldiers, in the case where the diamond dogs will need to be engaged directly. He will remain on standby until you request his assistance, any time today.
Be smart and stay sharp Twilight. With the help I offered, and your friends at your side, I am more than confident that you can resolve this conflict.

Signed,
Princess Celestia

“Well, that sure is some good news,” said Rainbow Dash.
> Rarity the Captive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity stretched her body as she lay on her comfortable sofa, before returning to her original pose once more. Surrounding her were several pieces of her furniture. A soft classical melody was being played from a vinyl record on her magically operated phonograph. Rarity finished the last bite of her salad, before taking a sip from her glass of seltzer. However, Rarity was not in her home, nor was she in any of her establishments. Rarity was resting deep underground, in one of the deepest spaces of a highly complex cave system. The several oil burning lanterns that hung around the area provided the space with ample lighting, making the chamber the most brightly lit space in the underground caves that were untouched by sunlight. Unlike the tunnels that Rarity had traversed on her way to her current location, the floor and walls were composed of compact stone, and contained no traces of any sort of loose soil, clay, or stone dust. Several decorative items and pieces of art were hung along the walls of Rarity’s space. The ceiling composed of short dull stalagmites. The only thing that was noticeably out of place in the chamber, was a large, rusted iron door. It completely blocked off the only exit, and was held shut with a heavy, complimentary padlock. The iron door was meant to keep things out of Rarity’s cell just as much as it was to keep her in it.
But Rarity was not the only creature in her cell. The three diamond dogs, Rover, Fido, and Spot were still busy tending to their captive.
“May I take that from you?,” asked Rover, as he looked over Rarity’s empty salad plate.
“Yes, and would you please get me some more seltzer,” said Rarity as she levitated her almost empty glass. Rover nodded in response.
“Are you still cold?” asked Spot, as he added more thermal insulation around the walls of the large space they were in.
“Yes, but considering you couldn’t get a fireplace in here as I had requested, I suppose that this temperature will just have to do,” said Rarity dismissively.
“Do you want more lights?,” asked Fido, holding several sticks of unlit candles.
“Yes please, it’s so dark and dreary down here, without any windows,” said Rarity.
Rover unlocked Rarity’s cell with the key he was holding, walked out while carrying Rarity’s plate, and locked the door again. He came back holding another bottle of seltzer and a dish of ground up wheat in his paws. He refilled Rarity’s glass and placed the new dish on the small table besides Rarity’s sofa. Rarity took another sip before looking at the next course of her late lunch. Rarity turned her head and held her nose up high.
“Unacceptable,” said Rarity, in as polite of a tone as possible.
“Is something wrong, Mistress Rarity?,” asked Rover.
“This plate of ground up wheat, it is unacceptable for consumption. Even that dish you served which was nothing more than cut up grass and leaves was more edible than this.”
“My humble apologies Mistress Rarity,” said Rover as he bowed his head. “You ponies do not eat any meat, none of the plants we forage, or that canned dog food that we like. We don’t really know what food you ponies like. I was sure that you ponies like eating grains.”
“We do eat grains, but we typically don’t eat them raw. To start, you should mix this flour with water and cook it with something, before serving it to me.”
“Understood,” nodded Rover, before leaving again.
The three diamond dogs had spent plenty of time and effort preparing Rarity’s cell to her specifications, to the best of their abilities. Once Rarity was there, they had spent the next several hours tending to their captive’s demands. After Rarity had finished her amply delayed lunch, she sat up from her sofa and let out a sigh. “I cannot say that I’m pleased, but I can tell that you three are doing the best that you can. I suppose I can call this satisfactory for now,” said Rarity.
“Thank you Mistress Rarity,” said Rover, Fido, and Spot, as the bowed their heads at once.
“We are still sincerely sorry Mistress Rarity for what we did last night. Are you ready to forgive us diamond dogs now?,” asked Rover, as he knelt down before the pony.
Rarity turned her head and let out a huff. “That will have to wait. What you did was beyond unacceptable, and criminal,” accused Rarity. Rover winced in response. “Although, I suppose that it was part of your plan all along. And you did provide this space for me and my belongings. I suppose that I can dismiss that incident for the time being,” said Rarity contemplatively.
Rover’s ears immediately perked back up, as he stood back up on his rear paws. Fido and Spot did the same.
“Has there been any update?,” asked Rarity as she looked at her grandfather clock. The time was already well past two in the afternoon.
“I checked just fifteen minutes ago Mistress Rarity. The dogs on watch have not found any signs yet,” responded Rover.
“What a bother,” commented Rarity. “It is so utterly drole and dismal here in this cell. I wish to be let out to the surface for some fresh air.”
“I deeply apologize Mistress Rarity, but I believe we have already explained why we cannot do that,” responded Rover.
“You are our captive. We cannot let you anywhere near the surface, until we are ready to let you leave.”
“Well, then I wish to be escorted someplace else for the time being. Anything to leave this cell for a little while,” complained Rarity.
A smile quickly formed across Rover’s face. He never forgot that Rarity was an educated unicorn with competent magical abilities. Abilities that could be used for all of their mutual benefits. “I have another idea!,” exclaimed Rover. “How about you help us find gems like before? You locate the buried gems, and we dig, gather, and sort them,” proposed Rover. “You get to keep the best gems that are found, we keep the rest.”
“Don’t worry about the filth Mistress Rarity. You don’t have to walk through the tunnels,” said Fido. He turned lifted up one of Rarity’s other sofa’s which had a wooden frame nailed underneath it, and long wooden handles nailed to the frame. Fido held up the apparatus at one end as Spot held up the other. The two diamond dogs lowered the sofa such that Rarity could easily climb up onto it.
“We will carry. You don’t have to take a step Mistress Rarity,” said Spot.
Rarity took a moment to contemplate as she looked over the makeshift litter. All she had to do was try to stay comfortable, and to use the gem locating spell that she knew, whenever she was taken somewhere new in the tunnels. 						 
“Fine, I suppose I could help with that for a while,” said Rarity.
Rover, Fido, and Spot smiled brightly as they rubbed their paws together. “We are very pleased to have your help Mistress Rarity,” said Rover.
Rarity got onto her other sofa, and Fido and Spot hoisted her up onto their shoulders. “Diamond Dogs, onward!,” exclaimed Rover, as they carried Rarity out of her cell.
> Spike the Resourceful
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike picked himself up off the floor after lying down silently by himself for several minutes. He was still surrounded by the purple magical forcefield that Twilight had made. It took every bit of Spike’s composure to prevent himself from crying. Even with no pony around, it only would have hurt more.
This wasn’t the first time that Twilight had purposely used her magic on Spike in an unpleasant way. But it was the most direct case in which Twilight had done so. Spike had endured far worse before from other creatures. Being a young yet stout dragon with thick scales all along his body, Spike was at least a little tougher than he looked. It was the pony who had done the act is what really hurt Spike so deeply. It was one thing to be tormented by older dragons whenever Spike dared go to the Dragon Lands. It was just as bad whenever he was shoved aside or given a rude remark by some older pony, donkey, or griffon that Spike had the misfortune of encountering. But having Twilight, the only creature that he was close enough with to consider as family, to slam him as she did, made his heart throb.
Spike tried to tell himself that Twilight had acted out of concern for both him, and her will to rescue her friend Rarity. But no matter how Spike tried to think of his recent encounter with her, he couldn’t see Twilight’s act of aggression as anything other than cruel. Spike then began to wonder who he was to Twilight, and how much did he actually mean to her. Surely if Twilight had never cared for him at all, she would have already sent him away to live on his own. But Twilight had never explicitly stated that Spike was ever part of her family either. Spike began to ponder if Twilight merely looked down on him as some sort of pet that she merely happened to hatch and take care of as a filly. Perhaps once Spike was able to read, write, and comprehend instructions, Twilight saw him more as a private servant, than a pet. Or maybe Twilight saw him in a way that Spike had not even thought of before. Thinking again about what had just happened only made Spike feel even more confused.
Once Spike had built up the courage, he would confront Twilight. She will answer for what she did, even if it meant receiving a fearfully powerful blast of magic from an angered alicorn in return. But that would have to happen later. There was another pony that needed Spike far more than Twilight apparently needed him.
Spike attempted to push through the forcefield surrounding him, but the magical barrier did not budge. Spike pounded on the obstruction with his claws, but did not leave a mark. Spike began to wail harder on the barrier, slamming and slashing at it with his claws, tail, and head. Frustrated, Spike attempted to bite down into the surface, but the tips of his teeth that touched the magical hemisphere just painfully bounced off the forcefield. Quickly tiring himself out, Spike decided to his fire breath instead. He let out a deep exhale as he spewed his green fire onto the barrier. Being a young dragon, Spike’s fire was not as plentiful, nor did it burn as hot as the fire from most other dragons. But by being unnaturally hatched from Twilight’s magic from a still dragon egg, and having several magical enchantments placed on him from both Twilight and Princess Celestia, Spike’s fire breath, among other things, contained certain magical properties. When focused, Spike’s fire reacted weirdly with the magical energy field, which caused it to warp in shape and color. Catching his breath, Spike began to strike at the barrier in the affected area once more. While still sturdy, the altered area felt noticeably weaker. Spike began to alternate between using his fire and scratching with his claws. After several minutes, Spike forcefully thrust his claw forward, and pierced the magical barrier. Spike used his other claws to pry at the weak point where several cracks had formed. With all his strength, Spike began to pull apart where he made a partial break, causing the web of cracks to spread. The magical forcefield suddenly shattered into thousands of tiny shards of magical energy, which caused Spike to tumble. The small energy shards quickly vanished into the air.
Getting back up, Spike looked over towards to the larger forcefield surrounded the sack of gems and bits. Now all alone again in the throne in the throne room, with no other creature around to see or hear him, Spike got to work breaching the other forcefield. Twilight had applied significantly more of her magic on the larger forcefield, making it far more difficult to break. But it was nothing that Spike could not undo. Several more minutes later, with one large kick, Spike broke free from the second barrier, freeing the ransom that he collected.
Spike ran up to his room again, and peered into his opened closet. One of the few things that he did not sell, was his armor. The armor laid about in pieces on the floor of the closet, due to never having a rack to rest on. Spike began to put on his armor one piece at a time. He started with the front and back chest plates, followed by the small plates that went over his shins, thighs and hips, then his knee braces, then his shoulder pads, then the plates that went over his upper arms, elbows, and forearms, and the metallic boots that went on his feet. Spike finished it off by placing his knight helmet over his head. Reaching into his closet again, Spike took out a small shield, and a short, lightweight mace. Spike flapped his wings, which comfortably rested outside his back body plate through two narrow slits.
Spike did not bother to sell his personal set of armor or weapon earlier that day. He doubted that any pony or creature would want protective gear that only fit a tiny, bipedal dragon. Well, that, and the fact the Spike’s armor was almost entirely made of cheap scrap material. Spike found the most valuable piece of his suit, his helmet, over a year ago while he and Twilight were helping Celestia’s knights sort the nearly forgotten materials from the deepest depths of Canterlot castle’s armory. They were sorting things that were valuable artifacts that should be preserved, obsolete items that could be either be repurposed or recycled, and things that were simply trash. Amongst their search, Spike found the small aluminum helmet. The helmet was small in size, very light in weight, and had ample space for the eyes. It was clearly designed to be worn by a young colt. It was made during a long bygone era, when it was once acceptable for even young colts and fillies to serve in lower ranks of the Equestrian military. Being in such a rough condition and not nearly as old or important as the artifacts that were already in or being sent to a museum, Twilight reluctantly let Spike keep his find. Spike found his iron mace in the same manner later that day, a long obsolete weapon that was made for armed combat. All of the metal plates that made up the rest of the armor were cut and bent into shape from the pieces of scrapped aluminum sheet metal that Spike had found near a recycling plant after he helped Twilight sort the old armory. The kite shield was cut and bent from the largest and thickest piece of scrap aluminum that Spike could find. The boots were made by taking a pair of old leather boots that Spike owned, and covering both of them in several compacted layers of aluminum foil.
Adding a finishing touch to the armor, Spike completely covered each piece of his suit with black spray paint. He then applied strands of red paint over the helmet, body plates and shield on top of the black paint to give off an intimidating and menacing appearance. Twilight, amongst several others, had told Spike that his armor was “lousy,” “silly,” “was not to be used for combat,” or worst of all, “edgy.” But he didn’t care what they all thought. Wearing his armor made him feel awesome. Whenever Spike put it on, for just moments at a time, he would feel like he was truly an honorable and noble hero.
Sure, even Spike could not deny that his armor, shield and weapon were of questionable quality at best. The thin aluminum plates that even he could bend, would probability not protect him very well or last long against a serious threat. And that didn’t even mention all of noticeable gaps and weak points in his armor, which included the slits where his wings came out. But in crucial times like these, some protection was way better than none at all. And at the very least, Spike’s layout was light enough to allow him to fly around without too much trouble. Spike made a confident grin while raising his eyebrows as he looked at himself in the reflection of the hallway walls. “Surely no diamond dog will be stopping this dragon today,” Spike said to himself.
With newfound moral, Spike strutted his way back into the throne room and towards Rarity’s extremely high, and heavy ransom that he had collected. Spike squatted down, grasped the bag, and carried it off the floor in his arms. After struggling to take just a few steps, Spike realized that there was no way that he would be able to carry it all out of the castle by himself, let alone make it all the way to the diamond dogs by the end of the day. Spike needed a different approach. He placed the bag down, and began to think. Then another great idea popped into his mind.
Spike went to Twilight’s study. He snooped around, until he found Twilight’s potion making equipment and materials, accompanied by a bookshelf of books containing information on potions and various related fields of magic. Spike might not be able to use any magic, beside the limited capabilities of his fire breath, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t make and use some potions. Instead of the teleportation spell that Spike had known Twilight to use to transport herself or other objects far distances, Spike could instead make a potion that he would use to teleport himself and the payment, where they were needed. Surely something like that was possible.
Spike flipped through the table of contents of many of the books from Twilight’s shelf. After enough searching, Spike spotted something that seemed useful. Flipping to the appropriate section of the book, Spike began to scour the text for what he was looking for. Soon, Spike found a simplified recipe for what was most certainly a teleportation potion. Spike reviewed the section multiple times to make sure he fully understood the otherwise magical nonsense that he read. After that, Spike looked through various other books for supplemental information that would confirm his understanding. With most of the instructions clear, Spike got to work.
From twilight’s supplies, Spike took out an empty glass bottle, some containers of fluids, some strange minerals, and some bizarre looking dry herbs. Spike first carefully measured out the appropriate quantities of the minerals and dry herbs. Spike began to crush each of the ingredients into fine pieces, and mixed each of the solid ingredients into one pile. After that, Spike measured out the various different fluids, and poured each fluid into the glass bottle. Spike then added the dry ingredients to the solution, and vigorously stirred the mixture with a glass rod through the bottle’s narrow neck. At last, Spike finished, and sealed the bottle with a piece of cork. Looking at the table of contents again of the book he followed, Spike found some other things that looked like they could be of potential use. Spike read several more sections of the book before eventually putting it back on the shelf where he found it.
Spike left Twilight’s study with his newly made potion, and an atlas of Equestria in his hands. He figured that once he freed Rarity, Spike would escort her directly to her home after paying her ransom, so he would only need to teleport once to get his bag to the diamond dogs. Spike recalled that the diamond dogs were expecting Rarity’s ransom somewhere by an old, twisted log in the meadow between the eastern boundary of the outskirts of Ponyville and the local Gem Cave mountains. Flipping through the atlas, Spike eventually spotted the boundaries of the meadow that the diamond dogs must have been referencing. Knowing exactly where he was going, Spike made his way back towards to the throne room to pick up his bag. Once there, Spike noticed the time. It was already more than half an hour past four. Suddenly, Spike heard a set of hooves running along the main hallway of the castle.
“I’m sorry I’m late Twilight,” called out a voice that sounded like Starlight Glimmer’s. “A wall collapsed after you left, and I had to allocate the budget to fix it and to find an alternative space for that class. Then there was this highly important meeting to resolve some administrative issues that I just had to attend, and it went on even longer that I thought it would.” Starlight Glimmer ran through the large doorway, into the throne room. “I’m here now Twilight. Would you please…,” said Starlight Glimmer, before cutting herself off. She looked around and saw only Spike.
“Did Twilight and the others already leave?,” asked Starlight Glimmer.
“Oh, no, they’re still going over their plans in the map room,” answered Spike.
“Thank you Spike,” said Starlight Glimmer. Before turning to leave, she looked at Spike once more. “Spike, may I ask why you aren’t with Twilight. I’d imagine you would be more concerned about saving Rarity more than any pony else.”
“Oh, Twilight told me to stay in here. I’m keeping watch of Rarity’s ransom payment that I’ve collected,” answered Spike, while placing his claw on the large sack resting on the floor.
Starlight Glimmer turned her head and looked at Spike in mysticism. It was more than dubious seeing the small dragon standing guard all alone in Twilight’s throne room, wearing his shoddy looking armor complimented with a shield and mace. Adding to that, he was holding Twilight’s atlas of Equestria in one claw with some foreign looking potion in his other, while standing in front of a suspiciously large bag that allegedly contained Rarity’s ransom payment.
“I must say Spike, you sure do look like you’re ready to face some trouble.”
“I’m just doing what Twilight does best, and preparing for the worst.”
“That she does,” said Starlight Glimmer, rolling her eyes. “You don’t have any plans of your own, do you Spike? I sure hope you aren’t going to try to rescue Rarity all by yourself.”
“What, no way, I would never do something like that,” said Spike, trying to sound as convincing as possible. “I just got bored waiting around for Twilight, so I decided to be proactive.”
“Well, I’m sure Twilight and the others must be close to figuring out what to do by now, so I doubt you would need to wait around much longer,” said Starlight Glimmer, as she turned to leave.
“Wait!,” exclaimed Spike. “I have a question.” Starlight Glimmer turned back around.
“What is it Spike?”
“While I was waiting, I spent some time reading about potions. I read that for the effects of some potions to be activated, some sort of magical essence needs to be applied first. But I thought that potions were meant to be used for creatures who couldn’t use magic. Would you please explain to me how this works?”
“Why sure Spike. As you said, most potions can be used by those who don’t have magic. But some potions still require some form of magic to function. If the magical essence cannot be supplied directly, it must come from somewhere else. For most applications, nearly any source of magic would do for activating such potions, whether it be some form of reside of a magical source, or some magically volatile substance. Does that answer your question?”
“Yes, it sure does. Thank you very much Starlight,” said Spike.
“Glad I could be of some help,” said Starlight Glimmer with a smile. What that, she left the throne room, and met up Twilight and her other friends in the room across the hallway.
“Okay Spike, you known what you have to do,” he said to himself.
Spike uncorked the teleportation potion he made. He then poured the contents of the small bottle over top his bag and his own body, carefully to evenly distribute the liquid over the combined mass. Spike placed down the atlas on the floor, and intensely focused on the specific coordinates of interest. With the specific location in the forefront of his mind, Spike tilted his head down towards his body. Being extremely careful, he blew a thin stream of his green fire onto some of the teleportation potion he had applied to his armor. Suddenly, the solution on him began to glow brightly, as small currents formed in the air around him. Magical sparkles formed in the space around Spike and his bag. Spike clenched his eyes shut, and continued to focus on where he wanted to be as he held onto his bag and shield, with his mace tucked beneath his other arm. In a flash of light, Spike vanished.

Meanwhile, within the deepest depths of the diamond dog caves, Rarity was being carried around the dimly lit tunnels on her litter. At every new bend, Rarity would use her gem finding spell to locate uncovered gems hidden deep within the rock. She would indicate each potential find by magically projecting a dim light at each place to dig. Accompanying Rover, Fido, Spot, and Rarity were several other diamond dog workers. Some were equipped with picks, shovels, and gloves on their forepaws that they used to bore through the rocks and dirt. Other workers would haul wooden wagons around, and would place the chunks of precious rocks and veins of minerals that were taken from the ground, into their respective bins. A few larger diamond dog guards surrounded them, each of them wearing armor and wielding a pike or some other kind of melee weapon. The guards watched over the operation to make sure nothing was hoarded, as the rest of workers did their jobs.
As Rarity would eventually learn, these gem hunting operations were just one of the diamond dog colony’s means of sustainability. When they weren’t mining, the diamond dogs would spend the rest of their days hunting and foraging for food or other coveted resources. Unlike Rover, Fido, and Spot, Rarity noticed that the other diamond dogs seemed even less sophisticated in their education, their mannerisms, and their speech. Instead of speaking with words, the other diamond dogs communicated with barks, grunts, growls, and bodily gestures. Rover, Fido, and Spot seemed to possess the most authority, intelligence, and knowledge of outside civilizations, then the other diamond dogs. It was rather frightening for Rarity as she slowly realized that those three were likely some sort of leaders among the colony.
Every so often, Rarity would look down at the ground beneath her. She cringed as she imagined all of the dirt and bodily filth that the diamond dogs would track throughout their tunnels. There was no sign of running water, or any visible measures of cleanliness amongst the gem caves. Rarity knew better than to think of the diamond dogs as a bunch of low, dirty animals. They were intelligent, organized, and civil in their own ways. But Rarity still could not help but think about how easily diseases would spread amongst the workers, given their living conditions. She was very glad that she was being carried, and not walking on her own hooves through the tunnels.
“I say that we unearthed more than enough for now,” said Rarity as she looked at the wooden wagons being pulled behind her, which were now overflowing with gems.
“Yes, today was very good,” said Rover joyfully. “It may have taken us years to find some of those gems on our own. We are very thankful for your services Mistress Rarity. We diamond dogs will make sure that you are rewarded with your share.”
Rarity looked over at the wagons once and made a gleeful smile. She would most definitely be getting first picks from the day’s haul. But that would barely compare to what was to come later. Once this whole ordeal was over, it will have been definitely worth the trouble.
Rover, Fido, and Spot began to take Rarity back into her cell, while dragging one of the wagons behind them. On the way, Rarity heard some sort of clamor coming from one of the tunnels. The noise sounded like the combined barking of several dogs. However, the sounds were rhythmic and harmonious. It almost sounded like some sort of chant.
“May I ask what is going on down there?,” asked Rarity.
“We diamond dogs like to sing sometimes,” said Rover. “It makes the work of digging go by much faster.” Suddenly, Rover’s face lit up. “Hey, isn’t our other guest here today,” asked Rover, looking towards Fido and Spot.
“Oh yeah, that other pony should be down here,” said Spot.
“It is always fun when that pink pony comes,” said Fido.
“Pink pony?,” asked Rarity. “Do you mean to say you bring other ponies here?”
“Oh no, Rarity. The pink pony is not a captive. She is a nice friend who comes to help us work. She can make even digging fun. In fact, I think you already know the pink pony,” answered Rover.
“I do?!,” asked Rarity, bewildered. “I would like to see this pony. Could you take me to where she may be?,” asked Rarity. She suspected there had to be some sort of mistake. Surely, these diamond dogs were not actually referring to her friend, Pinkie Pie.
“Certainly,” said Rover. The three diamond dogs carried Rarity down the tunnel, where the rhythmic noise was coming from. The sound became louder and clearer as they got closer to the source. The muffled chanting began to sound more and more like singing, along with some sort of percussion melody accompanying it. Steadily, Rarity was almost able to make out audible lyrics from the singing. The voices continued to repeat the lyrics over and over again. Finally, she was carried around a bend, and into an open space, where the voices were amply clear. 
“
Hoo hah hoo hah, we chip and chip, the ground away.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we work all night and work all day.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we move rocks, and dirt, and clay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we work hard, we do not play.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we will all dig, for our pay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we still work on, we’re here to stay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we hope for gems, loads someday.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we hope we find, we hope we may.
“
In the vast open cavern were several diamond digs chipping away at the rock in rhythm. Each of them were singing the lyrics in harmony with their strikes. In the center of the space was the pink pony, singing the song the loudest and with the most enthusiasm.
“PINKIE PIE is that you?,” called out Rarity.
Pinkie Pie put down her rock pick, and turned towards Rarity with her familiar smile. “Oh my gosh, Rarity, I never would have expected to find you down here!” Pinkie Pie joyfully hopped over to Rarity. The other diamond dogs continued the chant over again as they continued working. 
“Pinkie Pie, what are you doing here?!”
“I’m helping the diamond dogs with their work. I like coming here to meet with them every so often. We have so much fun together,” said Pinkie Pie.
“You mean, you’ve come down here on your own before?,” asked Rarity.
“Yep, I’ve been coming here for years. And it was even more fun to do it in secret. Although now that you know my secret, do you want to join us Rarity?”
Rarity looked down from her makeshift litter, and noticed her friend’s bright pink hair and hooves were completely caked in rocky dust. “No thank you Pinkie, I’d much rather not do any digging,” said Rarity, cringing at the idea. “Although, I am rather surprised that have been coming here all along.”
“It’s true,” said Rover. “The pink pony is a friend of diamond dogs. She comes here to help us dig, and we all sing while we dig. She knows a lot about rocks from her family.” 
“Yep yep yep,” said Pinkie Pie in affirmation. She was raised on her parent’s rock fields with her three sisters before moving to Ponyville. In the caves, she could get to put her dormant skills to use.
“Well, I’d love to stay and talk, but I’d love to get back to digging even more. Come on every dog, lets sing through these chores,” said Pinkie Pie, as she darted back to where she placed down her pickaxe. With great vigor, she resumed her tireless process of chipping away the stone beneath her. Taking another deep breath, she picked back up at the next repetition of the verse.
“
Hoo hah hoo hah, we chip and chip, the ground away.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we work all night and work all day.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we move rocks, and dirt, and clay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we work hard, we do not play.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we will all dig, for our pay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we still work on, we’re here to stay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we hope for gems, loads someday.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we hope we find, we hope we may.
“
“We first met the pink pony when she came here for you with your other pony friends,” said Spot. “She first came back a few weeks after that. She kept coming back since.”
“The pink pony may be a little crazy, but she is very nice,” said Fido.
Rarity just laid down on her sofa, not knowing what to think of the situation. “Just take me back to my cell. We’ll sort the gems we found when we get there.”
“Why certainly Mistress Rarity,” said Rover. And with that, the three diamond dogs carried Rarity and their wagon of gems back through the tunnels. The repetitive chanting soon turned back into incoherent muffling, eventually dampening to the point where Rarity could not hear it. Before long, Rarity was back in her cell.
> Spike the Tenacious
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The intense light around Spike ceased once he fully rematerialized. Spike immediately noticed that instead of standing on his feet, he was a in a freefall at a considerable distance off the ground. Holding his bag which weighed several times the rest of his body, along with his armor, Spike desperately flapped his wings to slow his fall. Gravity hurled Spike into the ground after just a few seconds. Luckily, Spike’s armor absorbed the majority of the impact.
Picking himself off the soil, Spike looked around. The area he was in was vaguely familiar. Spike picked up his mace and shield, while leaving his sack containing Rarity’s ransom where it landed. Spike figured that if anything were strong enough to come and carry it away, Spike wouldn’t have any means of stopping such a force. Spike wandered around the vaguely familiar meadows, ponds, and patches of forest. Deciding that an aerial view would be helpful, Spike rapidly flapped his wings and flew upwards.
Once up in the sky, Spike was just barely able to make out the far outskirts of Ponyville in the distance. Turning around in the air, Spike saw a somewhat familiar looking mountain range in the distance. Spike let out a sigh of relief, as he confirmed that he was in fact where he thought he was. The teleportation potion had worked. Well, it worked well enough. Knowing that he was close to the target destination, Spike looked down at the ground. He began to scan the land for anything that could resemble a fallen, twisted, wooden log.
After flying around for several minutes, Spike homed in on a particular patch of trees that was relatively close to a dirt path. Looking closer, Spike spotted a fallen log lying on the ground on the opposite side of the grove of trees. Spike descended towards the log, and landed. Examining it further, the log seemed to be the remains of a long dead oak tree trunk. The wood seemed to have been deformed and twisted due to years of rotting, with algae and fungus growing all over it. Spike looked around the area, and then gasped. Near the log, was a deep hole in the ground that looked like it had been dug very recently. That had to be it. That had to be where the diamond dogs wanted Rarity’s ransom payment.
Spike took back to the skies, quickly flew back to where to originally teleported to, and spotted the sack that he left on the ground. Spike descended, and landed just besides it. While it was insanely heavy, Spike only had to carry it a relatively short distance. With some effort, he would manage. Second by second, Spike carried the massive load towards its destination. With just a little more effort, Rarity would be saved.
As Spike marched on, he could not help but feel uneasy about his situation. Getting late in the afternoon, the color of the sky was slowly changing towards the shade of orange of an early dusk. Shadows were stretching longer, and daylight was rapidly fading. Spike noticed how eerily quiet the entire area was. The things that Twilight had warned him about were finally settling in his mind. Spike was likely marching into diamond dog territory, all alone, possibly into some sort of ambush. And he also had no idea if giving away the gems and bits would actually help Rarity at all. Yet, Spike still marched on. It was up to him to save Rarity, and he would not let such things deter him from his important mission.
Spike made it to the log, and placed his bag down before letting out a loud exhale. With one last push, Spike carefully slid the massive bag into the hole in the ground, nearly filling it completely. Spike pushed the pile of loose dirt back over the hole, covering up his ransom payment and patting the dirt flat. Then, Spike waited. He continued waiting. Then he waited some more. Another several minutes gone by, but nothing happened. Spike looked around. As far as he could sense, there was no sign of any pony or dog anywhere in the area.
After several more minutes, Spike had had enough. He jumped up onto the log, holding up his shield and mace in his claws, with his helmet over his head. “COME OUT DIAMOND DOGS!,” he called out. “I’ve come for Lady Rarity. I have collected her ransom payment, as detailed in the note that you have left in her home. I wish to see her immediately. Come out if you want your gems and bits.”
Spike was only answered with silence. Spike stood in place, awaiting some sort of response. Then, Spike heard a strange sound. Turning his head, he noticed small disturbances coming from a small unsuspecting pile of tree leaves. The leaf pile was suddenly hurled into the air along with chunks of dirt, as three hairy bodies emerged from underneath. Rover, Fido, and Spot stood up, looked down, and scowled at Spike.
“YOU!!,” exclaimed Spike, immediately recognizing the three diamond dogs.
“The note said to leave all the gems and bits in that hole we dug, and to go away,” said Rover. “We will return Mistress Rarity later. We have no more business with you, dragon.”
“Yeah, beat it,” spat Spot.
“Get lost,” mumbled Fido.
“Now hold it right there,” said Spike. “How am I supposed to know that you even have Rarity, and that you will safely let her free?”
“We promise to bring her out when we are done counting the gems you brought. You have our word,” said Rover.
“You’ve taken Rarity twice now for your own selfish reasons. I have no reason to trust anything you say. Set Rarity free now, or you will not so much as touch these gems,” said Spike, standing over the filled in hole beside the log.
“No way!,” said Rover. “We need to take the gems and count them first.”
“Yeah, we need to know that you got them all, and that none of them are fake,” said Fido.
“Move aside dragon, or you’re not going to see your precious pony friend,” said Spot.
“In the bag buried beneath me, are 180 diamonds, 132 Amethysts, 96 Sapphires, 84 Pearls, 60 Rubies, 48 Emeralds, 24 garnets, and 12 Opals, along with 48,000 bits, everything you asked for. I promise you that it’s all in there. You have my word.”
“Pah, as if we would trust you,” spat Rover. “You’re a dragon who eats gems. You chew them up and swallow them, and they are all gone forever. Every day you destroy more precious gems, gems that we would love to have. We diamond dogs despise you dragon.” Rover stood upright, taking a menacing step towards Spike. “You better not anger us. Leave right now, or you will be sorry.”
“Gem Eater!,” snarled Spot.
“Greedy Pest!,” growled Fido.
Spike stood tall, not budging from the ground he stood on. “It seems that you three are not willing to negotiate,” said Spike. “You abduct Rarity, demand a high ransom for her, and now you threaten me for it. You monsters don’t deserve any gems. You dogs need a harsh lesson in common decency.” Spike lowered the front of his helmet over his face, and assumed a battle stance. “We shall settle this with a duel. If I am defeated, I comply with your terms. If I am victorious, you will set Rarity free, and I will take back her ransom.”
Rover barked in frustration. “You’re going to regret this dragon! Get him!,” ordered Rover.
“Bring it on,” taunted Spike. Immediately, Rover, Fido, and Spot lunged forward. Then Spike’s vision suddenly went black.

Spike soon felt himself lying on the ground. The front of his head was aching and throbbing. His shield and mace were not in his claws. Spike had his eyes clenched shut.
“Well, the dragon still looks alive,” said a voice.
“I hope so. It would be terrible if he had died,” said a second voice. “And imagine all the trouble we would be in.”
“I don’t like the dragon either. But you didn’t need to be so rough,” said a third voice.
“I didn’t mean to kill him. I thought he was tougher than that.”
“I know. You knocked him down in just one hit.”
“Yeah, I thought dragons were supposed to fight.”
“I think that maybe this dragon does not fight so well.”
Spike slowly opened his eyes as he regained consciousness. He was wearing his armor, lying down with his back in some mud. His mace and shield were on opposite sides of him, just out of reach. The front of his helmet was resting up, allowing Spike to see clearly. Spike quickly focused onto three familiar looking diamond dogs, who were hunched over, looking down at him. “What happened?,” asked Spike, holding his aching forehead. He felt a noticeably large and sensitive bruise on his scales.
“Do you remember dragon? You tried to fight us. You lost, badly,” said Rover. “I hit you once, and you fall asleep for a few minutes.”
Spike remembered that he had challenged three large, bipedal dogs to a duel for some reason. That last thing he could recall seeing was the three of them lunging towards him. Then everything went black. And now he woke up. Second by second, Spike slowly remembered why he was where he was, and what he was doing. The reality of what had happened began to set in Spike’s mind.
“GOSH DARN IT!,” shouted Spike in frustration. Taking his time, Spike slowly got back up onto his feet. He picked up his mace and shield, and lowered the front of his helmet over his head.
“You got a lucky hit. I won’t let that happen again. It’s time for me to get serious,” warned Spike as he got back into his battle stance. Suddenly, his head began throbbing again, as he stood up too quickly. Spike winced, and lowered his stance, trying to stay balanced. “Just as soon as I’m ready.”
Rover, Fido, and Spot looked at Spike questionably, and with a hint of empathy. “Do not try it,” said Fido, sounding more concerned than threatening.
“You will not last long,” warned Rover.
Spike let out a frustrated grunt. The humiliation of his previous defeat was already starting to set in, as he considered his circumstances. However, Spike had another plan ready. “I really didn’t want to have to use this now, but you leave me no other choice,” said Spike. 
Spike dropped his mace and shield, threw off his helmet, and quickly took off his armor. Upon removing his rear body plate, Spike reached behind him, and revealed a glass bottle. Within it contained a brightly colored, sparkling liquid, appearing to be some kind of potion. Spike uncorked the bottle, and quickly gulped down the solution. Rover, Fido, and Spot turned their heads, and looked at Spike in confusion. Suddenly, a bright light began to form around Spike, the potion working its magic on his body. Soon enough, the diamond dogs were about to find out about Spike’s backup plan.
> Spike the Brave and Glorious
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The magical aura around Spike shined brighter, completely obscuring his features. From the light, Spike’s silhouette became visible. His small, stout physique began to rapidly grow. He became significantly taller, his neck and limbs grew longer, and his wings spread out to his sides. The bright light quickly faded, revealing Spike’s new form. He had large, veiny muscles throughout his entire body, spanning from his calves, to his abdominals, to his pectorals. Spike’s wings had more than tripled in length, and his long flexible tail was covered with sharp, green spurs. The claws on Spike’s his feet and arms were significantly longer and sharper. The bottom of Spike’s face had formed into a distinctly chiseled jawline. From his lengthened maw, where Spike’s pearl white teeth had formed into a confident grin. Every single part of Spike was bigger.
Upon Spike’s magical glow up, a particular tune began to play. The melody did not come from any instrument or device, but was being magically manifested from Spike’s body. Anyone who was familiar with the term giga-Chad, would know exactly what this tune was.
“That ought to even things up a bit,” said Spike the Brave and Glorious, in a deep, handsome voice. A voice that would woo even the most modest females of any species, in all of Equestria.
“How did he do that?!,” asked Fido.
“What kind of magic is this?!,” questioned Spot.
“Whatever the dragon did, we can still take him!,” asserted Rover.
“Oh, I wouldn’t be sure about that,” boasted Spike the Brave and Glorious, stepping forward, flexing his now bulging muscles. “I doubt you three are a match for me now.”
“There are still three of us, and one of you. You were easily bested once, and we can do it again,” said Rover. “Diamond dogs, attack!”
Rover, Fido, and Spot split away from each other, and then rapidly homed in on their target. Rover leaped in the air with his jaws open, as Fido and Spot rushed towards the sides. With one easy motion from his arms, Spike the Brave and Glorious deflected Rover, sending him tumbling onto the ground behind him. With as single kick, Fido grunted and fell backwards. With a sweep of his tail, Spot was knocked off his paws. Charging back around from the rear, Rover sprinted towards his foe on all fours at full speed. Spike the Brave and Glorious quickly turned around, and punched down towards Rover, before the diamond dog could attack. He then suddenly felt something latch on the scales on his shoulder. Spike the Brave and Glorious turned his head to see Spot latched onto his arm, clawing and biting away at his scales. At the same time, Fido tackled him from the hips. Keeping his balance, Spike the Brave and Glorious effortlessly flung Spot away, and into a nearby tree, while pushing back against Fido. With all his strength, Spike the Brave and Glorious lifted Fido up, fell backwards, and then hurled him backwards into a nearby boulder. Spike the Brave and Glorious heard growling as Rover rushed toward him again. He just smiled arrogantly back, already knowing what to do next.
The three diamond dogs skirmished with Spike the Brave and Glorious for a few intense minutes, not giving up their attack. While the three diamond dogs suffered several serious blows, they could hardly deal any meaningful damage back. In one last assault, all three diamond dogs surrounded the dragon and charged forward in unison. Spike the Brave and Glorious repelled Fido and Spot backwards with two quick motions. However, in that brief moment, Rover had the opportunity he needed. He swiped his clawed forepaw downwards with all his strength the motion tearing through the scales on the chest of Spike the Brave and Glorious. There was a moment of silence as the dragon remained completely still, looking at the fresh scratch on his chest. A tiny trickle of his new draconic blood dripped onto the grass beneath his feet. Rover, Fido, and Spot stood up tall, taking a defensive stance, and waiting for the dragon’s next move.
“I’ve got admit, that one hurt,” said Spike the Brave and Glorious calmly. “I’d say it is about time that I ended this little brawl.”
Immediately, Spike the Brave and Glorious let out a rapid barrage of punches, wailing the three diamond dogs in rapid succession. Then, he grabbed Rover, and crushed him tightly against his own torso. Spike the Brave and Glorious began flapping his large wings, and took off into the sky as fast as he could. Just as quickly as he came up, Spike the Brave and Glorious fell back down towards the ground, Rover held beneath him in his claws. Spot and Fido could hardly move before Rover and Spike impacted the ground besides them. When the dust settled, Rover laid dazed in the small crater that had formed from the impact.
“Had enough yet,” taunted Spike the Brave and Glorious.
Spot and Fido got back up on their paws, and lifted Rover up. Upon regaining focus, Rover snarled. “Just you wait!,” warned Rover, as he reached into his shirt. He took out a small, narrow whistle, held it to his maw, and blew a high pitched sound.
Just seconds later, there were several disturbances from the ground. The disturbances became more intense, with bits of dirt being spewed about. Suddenly, six more diamond dogs emerged from the ground. All six of them were lowly workers. The six new attackers surrounded Spike, and glared at him with dark, beaty, yellow eyes. “How do you like that?!,” spat Rover.
“Perhaps your dogs could provide me a challenge,” boasted Spike the Brave and Glorious.
“Diamond dogs, attack!!,” commanded Rover, Fido, and Spot in unison.
As commanded, the six terranean canines swarmed Spike, attempting to claw and bite through his scales. Spike the Brave and Glorious kept his composure, and remained calm and balanced during the next wave of attacks. While it took significantly more effort to fight twice as many fresh opponents all at once, he managed to stay ahead in the skirmish. Once he gained the advantage and found an opportunity, Spike the Brave and Glorious leaped into the air, and began flying. Utilizing his advantage of flight, Spike the Brave and Glorious took a deep breath, and unleashed a massive wave of fire. The diamond dogs workers scrambled to avoid the spewing hot flames, which burned hotter than any other fire they had ever experienced before. Spike the Brave and Glorious landed back on the ground in front of Rover, Fido, and Spot, as the six other diamond dogs cowered and whimpered behind them.
“Is that all you got?,” asked Spike the Brave and Glorious, in a brazenly confident tone. While he had received a few more cuts and bruises on his scales, he still hardly seemed phased.
Rover growled in frustration. “There are plenty more of us than this!,” warned Rover.
“Oh really? Do you honestly think that even ten more of you could stop me?,” asked Spike the Brave and Glorious, crossing his arms.
“That’s it, it’s time to time to call in some warriors!,” shouted Rover. Once again, Rover took out his whistle. He leaned over one of the holes in the ground that the diamond dog workers had made, and then blew a specific signal through his whistle.
The ground beneath Spike’s claws began to tremble again, far more intensely than before. Just seconds later, eleven hairy, hulking canines emerged from the holes. Their large and heavy frames landed on the ground with a collective thump. These diamond dogs were no mere workers, but the diamond dog guards that watched over their caves and protected them from intruders. All eleven guards were equipped with steel helmets over their heads, steel armor covering their bodies, and holding either a pike or spear. All eleven of the guards surrounded their target, pointing their weapons directly at Spike the Brave and Glorious.
Spike the Brave and Glorious loudly cracked his knuckles, and then cracked his neck. “About time you dogs started getting serious. Just like those before you, you too will fall. I will be triumphant once more, and then I will go save Lady Rarity, or my name is not-”
Spike the Brave and Glorious was immediately interrupted by a loud magical blast that enveloped his entire body, shrouding him in a cloud of white smoke. The magically sourced tune that had been emanating from his body had ceased. The smoke quickly cleared, revealing a young, small, and stout dragon with the same color scales, and a soft underbelly.
Spike began to frantically look around him, trying to figure out what just happened. The potion he concocted and drank to transform himself apparently did not last nearly as long as he thought it would. “Aww Crap,” Spike exclaimed defeatedly.
> Spike the Humble
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’M SORRY FOR WHAT I DID! PLEASE, LET ME MAKE IT UP TO YOU. I WILL NEVER BOTHER ANY OF YOU AGAIN!,” cried Spike, as desperately flailed his stubby legs through the air. Fido, who was carrying the small dragon in front of him by his arms, did not so much as flinch. After an eventful confrontation with the dragon, Rover was leading Fido and Spot through the dark depths of the Diamond Dog system of tunnels. After a short trip, the group arrived at the deepest levels of the caves. In the nearly completely dark tunnels, Spike noticed a row of rusted metal doors, with small spaces behind each of them. Rover reached into his shirt, took out a ring of several keys, held out one of them, and then unlocked the door to the furthest cell.
“PLEASE, DO WHATEVER YOU WANT ME! I DON’T CARE! JUST LET RARITY GO! I BROUGHT YOU ALL THE GEMS AND BITS LIKE YOU ASKED. I BEG OF YOU, FREE HER AS YOU PROMISED!,” yelled Spike, as he continued to swing his dangling body in a vain attempt to escape.
“ENOUGH!!,” barked Rover, before grasping Spike, taking him from Fido. Rover turned, and hurled Spike with all his strength into the open cell. Spike’s spine impacted the solid stone wall on the opposite side. Spike rebounded off the wall and fell on his face on the cold rocky ground. Rover slammed the iron door shut, and then locked it with the same key. “We will decide what to do with you later dragon! You will wait here!,” scolded Rover.
The three diamond dogs hobbled away, leaving the defeated dragon alone in his dark, cold, prison cell. Spike remained silent after the impact, choosing to stay where he landed, lying face down in the ground. Shame, regret, and remorse overtook his mind, clouding all other thoughts. Had only he listened to Twilight.

Back in the castle of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Starlight Glimmer, as well as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, were still gathered around the circular table in the map room. Twilight placed down some papers on the table and looked up at her friends. “And that concludes our plan of approach. Let’s just wait a few more minutes for Princess Celestia’s agent, before heading out to save Rarity.
Rainbow Dash perked up upon hearing the news that she would finally be allowed to get up and stop listening to Twilight talking. It was not like Rainbow Dash was entirely paying attention anyway. “It’s about time we get going soon,” complained Rainbow Dash.
“I have been here the whole time. I overheard the majority of your meeting,” called out a voice from the hallway. A rather strange looking pony walked into the small room, immediately catching the attention of the others. “I am designated as Agent 770X of Princess Celestia’s secret services,” said the pony, before removing the badge that was fastened onto the front of the pony’s uniform. The pony then bowed. “I’m at your service Princess Twilight.”
If it were not for the badge and uniform that was worn, it was difficult to tell the identity of Agent 770X, or what work the pony would be doing. The agent’s vaguely official uniform covered most of the body. The agent was also wearing some cloth garment that obscured the head, and dark tinted glasses that covered most of the face. It was impossible for Twilight to tell if the brown haired pony (identified by the few bits of the pony that were not obscured), was a mare or stallion. Agent 770X spoke in an unnatural, monotone voice that did not sound either masculine or feminine. The agent’s clothing covered the flank, obscuring where the cutie marks would be. Upon further inspection, Twilight could not even be sure if the pony before her was an earth pony, a pegasus, a unicorn, a changeling posturing as a pony, or an entirely different species. The identity of Agent 770X was completely obscured. To be safe, Twilight decided it would be best to refer to Agent 770X by title only.
“Great, I was told that you were investigating this case,” responded Twilight. “Would you please inform us on what you found so far, Agent 770X?”
“Certainly Princess,” affirmed Agent 770X. “I examined the bits of hair, scratch marks, and pawprints that you and Rarity’s sister found around the scene. Some group of diamond dogs were most certainly present in Rarity’s abode recently. Following the traces, I found three sets of paws move along the meadows outside Ponyville, and towards a patch of forest. Unfortunately, with all of the activity and smells of the local wildlife, their trail went cold. However, the path I had followed led me towards the general direction of the nearest gem cave and mountain range. With what we know, Rarity is most likely somewhere within the nearest diamond dog colony.”
Twilight nodded affirmingly as she listened. “Were you able to find anything else?”
“I did not find any new tangible evidence Princess Twilight. But I uncovered a few more clues after I finally got that search warrant for Rarity’s home estate. The same canine hair was found in Rarity’s bedroom, proving that the diamond dogs somehow got up there. There was a massive mess of fallen and damaged furniture on both floors of the establishment, confirming that there was some kind of violent confrontation. But most strangely of all, despite there being several expensive items in plain view, nothing was stolen. The diamond dogs were not simply there to get gemstones, because they did not bother to steal any of the gems that Rarity kept. And they were not there solely for revenge, because then they would have had no reason to leave their note. The diamond dogs who were there last night must have been there for Rarity, and nothing else. But it is unclear why the diamond dogs would even choose Rarity as a hostage, given their history with her. And while on the topic, Princess Twilight, may I see that note that the diamond dogs had allegedly written and left?”
“Sure, said Twilight,” levitating the piece of paper to Agent 770X.
“As you suspected Princess, it would be highly unlikely that the diamond dogs had written this note, given what we know about them, and the few pieces of writing Equestria has ever received from them. It is also strange that they happened to know that Spike would arrive earlier today. As you suggested, the diamond dogs most likely would have needed to have some kind of insider information. But who that insider would be remains a mystery. I still have no leads, but I already confirmed that Sweetie Belle is not involved.
“Why would I want my older sister to be abducted?!,” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. “That wouldn’t make any sense!”
“I just wanted to exhaust all the known possibilities. I have seen cases where ponies cooperate in their family member’s crimes, or even turn on each other,” responded Agent 770X.
“Agent 770X, your insight has certainly been helpful. I think it is finally time that we should proceed with our plan to go to the gem caves and search for more clues. With your skills, we might get our answers soon,” said Twilight.
“Finally!,” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, while hovering in the air. Applejack rolled her eyes to her friend’s impatience.
“Before we go, I have one last question that I want to ask you Princess,” said Agent 770X.
“You may ask.”
“Your private assistant, Spike the dragon is often either by your side, or acting upon your request. I expected to find him with you. However, he does not seem to currently be in the castle, or anywhere in Ponyville. Would you happen to know where he would be right now? I want to ask him what he knows about the diamond dogs.”
Twilight tilted her head in doubt. “Spike should be in the throne room where I left him, beside the massive coin bag containing the ransom payment that he gathered. Did you not see him in there?”
“No Twilight, there was no sign of him, or any coin bag. All that I found was a misplaced book on the floor."
Twilight froze, completely confused by what she heard. “Are you sure Spike was not in the throne room? I had him retained within a magical barrier that I made just hours ago, along with the bag.”
“I assure you Princess, he is not there now.”
“Twilight, what is this about a magical barrier?,” asked Starlight Glimmer. “When I arrived, I saw Spike moving around in the throne room. It looked like he was guarding whatever was in that massive bag that he had beside him.”
Twilight’s head slowly turned towards Starlight. Fear and unease started to reveal themselves through her facial expression. “Starlight, I formed a magical barrier around Spike to keep him still, and I made another to secure the ransom payment. Do you mean to tell me that he somehow undid them?”
“When I arrived at the castle, Spike was freely walking around.,” said Starlight. “He told me that you were waiting for me in the map room. He was also wearing that set of silly looking, black and red painted armor, along with his mace and shield. He was holding a book, and seemed to be studying it very closely. He also had a glass bottle of liquid besides him. When I spoke to him, he asked me a question about activating potions. It certainly looked like he was up to something. And there definitely were not any magical barriers that I could either see or detect.”
Twilight Sparkle was completely silent, her body now trembling. She just stared back at Starlight Glimmer, eyes wide open, and in complete and utter disbelief of what she just heard her say. Without another word, Twilight bolted out of the map room, and into the throne room. The other ponies followed her. Twilight let out a loud gasp upon seeing the empty space for herself. All there was to see was one of her atlases, lying open in the middle of the floor.
“Spike, he’s gone!,” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “And the bag is gone too!”
Twilight ran over to the book that was left on the floor, desperate for any sort of answer to where Spike was and what he was doing. She saw the page that her atlas was left opened on. Twilight let out a gasp of horror. The page covered an area that was to the East of Ponyville, and West of a nearby nearest mountain range. It did not take an investigator to figure out what Spike was up to.
“We’re going after him, right now!,” said Twilight adamantly.
“Now you’re speaking my language Twi,” said Rainbow Dash.

Rover, Fido, and Spot made their way back into Rarity’s cell. The three of them were carrying a massive bag. Working together, the three gently placed it down on the rug in the middle of the small space. Rover undid the knot of rope, keeping the bag shut. With a gentle push, the opened bag tipped over. Upon hitting the ground, an assortment of different gems, as well as a few giant pearls, spilled out of it. Rover’s, Fido’s, and Spot’s eyes widened, as sparkling light gleamed in their dilated pupils.
“By the powers that be, the dragon was not lying!,” said Rover, examining each of the gemstones before him. “It really looks like it’s all here. The real deal.”
“It’s not often one can see so many gems in place,” marveled Spot.
“We’re all going to be even richer!,” gleamed Fido.
Rarity continued to rest on her recliner, hardly bothering to look up from the novel she was reading. “I take it that you got that ransom you requested?,” asked Rarity in a bored tone.
“Yes we did,” answered Fido.
“We were starting to doubt it would happen, but here it is,” said Spot.
The three diamond dogs began to prance about, in a joyful, celebratory manner. Rarity made a huff in annoyance, and focused back to her novel. “Does this mean that I can finally leave soon?,” asked Rarity impatiently. “Honestly, I can barely stand it down here.”
“Uh, just a few more hours Rarity,” assured Rover. “Just as soon as we are done counting and inspected the gems, we will let you go, as promised.” Rarity nodded dismissively. Rover turned back to Fido and Spot, rubbing his paws together. “It’s time to delve into our spoils.”
“ROVER, ARE YOU HERE?! I’VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU!,” bellowed a loud, deep, and raspy voice. Rover, Fido, and Spot fell silent. Rarity looked up from her book, being interrupted yet again. Loud paw steps could be heard, as some large creature stomped towards them.
Then, a massive, hairy diamond dog appeared around the corner, and marched towards Rarity’s cell. The canine had thick, dark brown hair on her body. Covering her body was a set of thick steel armor, with a matching helmet covering her head. Contrasting the standard attire usually worn by other diamond dogs guards, was a set of large, silver, diamond studded earrings pierced into her ears, four matching, silver, diamond studded bracelets on each her four ankles, and a complimenting, silver, diamond studded collar around her neck. There was a tiny bit of what looked like red lip stick that had been applied to the front of the diamond dog’s muzzle.
“THERE YOU ARE ROVER! Do you have any idea how long I was looking for you? I really wanted to…,” asked the massive diamond dog, before going silent. Rover, Fido, and Spot froze in place, not moving a muscle. Rarity evaluated the rather unusual looking canine, accidently making eye contact.
“ROVER, WHO IS THIS HARLET?!,” bellowed the larger diamond dog. Rover took a step back, while Fido and Spot stepped aside.
“Excuse me!,” scoffed Rarity, placing down her novel, and standing up. “Just who do you think you are, barging in and talking to me like that?!”
“SILENCE, I will deal with you soon!,” yelled the hulking diamond dog, before turning back towards Rover, and stepping into the cell.
“Now Cloe, there is a very good explanation for all of this,” Rover said defensively, raising his front paws up in protection.
“Oh really, do you care to explain why I find the three of you secretly going off and spending the whole day entertaining this hussy? Do you also want to explain this pile of gems and coins that you so eagerly wanted to show to her? Or how about you tell me why you brought a bed down here?”
Rarity opened her mouth to offer a piece of her mind, but was cut off by Rover. “Mistress Rarity is not… that kind of worker. She was kept down here to help us with getting more gems. All of these are her own things that she wanted here. We were not up to any trouble, honest.”
“SAVE IT,” shouted Cloe. “I can’t believe you would do something like this Rover! And she’s not even a canine, she looks like an Equine!” Cloe looked at Fido and Spot, who were leaning against the opposite cell walls. “As for you two, just wait until I tell the others. You disgust me, all three of you!”
Rarity had enough. She stomped her forehoof, and stepped closer to the towering diamond dog, staring her in the face. “How dare you even imply that I would partake in such filthy activity! Unlike some of you presumptuous mutts, I am a cultured, educated and well respected member of my society. Cloe, or whoever you are, I say you should mind your manners.”
“THAT’S IT!,” howled Cloe, before baring her fangs and crawling forward on all fours. Rover raised his shoulders and arched his back.
Cloe opened her mouth and let out a loud bark, followed by threatening growls. Rover dropped to all fours as well, barking back, and taking a step forward. Cloe made another bark, and leaned ever closer to Rover. Holding his ground, Rover grunted back. Rarity witnessed the two continue to go back and forth with each other, seemingly having some sort of conversation through a series of feral noises, body language, and posing. Looking to her sides, Rarity saw Fido and Spot were nervously watching Rover faced down the diamond dog that looked like she could easily wrestle a bear. After several tense minutes, Cloe fell silent, lowered her shoulders, and flattened her ears.
“I’m very sorry pony,” pleaded Cloe. “It seems that I was in fact wrong about you. It really looked to me that you were making a dirty exchange with Rover. I hope you can forgive me.”
Rarity took a breath, regaining her composure. “That is quite all right. I suppose this all does look a little suspicious. I would be furious if I were ever in your situation. But I promise you, nothing like that is going on here. And just so you know, my name is Rarity.”
“I’ll remember that Rarity. As Rover said, my name is Cloe.”
“I’m hurt that you would even think that I would be so disloyal to you Cloe,” said Rover.
“I did not want to believe it. But I could not imagine any other explanation,” admitted Cloe.
“I know things have been tough these last few days. But I would never do something like that to you. Even after all this time, there has not been a single day I regretted my choice to marry you Cloe. I hope you believe me when I say that you are the only diamond of my life, and that you’re the only one who I would share my hard earned gems with.”
“Oh Rover, you’re still the sweet pup that I met all those years ago. I never should have doubted you.” Rover and Cloe stepped closer to each other. Then, the two canines began to affectionately rub their muzzles together, and held each other in a tight embrace with their forelegs. Spot and Fido smiled. Rarity was baffled by Cloe’s and Rover’s rapid shift in attitude.
“Now, I believe you come looking for us for a reason Cloe,” said Rover, slipping out of his wife’s tight embrace.
“Yes, I wanted to tell you we found out that the some of our food reserves had rotted. Our foragers plan to spend the next few days gathering and catching food. Will that be all right with you?”
“Of course, that’s certainly fine. We found more gems than we expected to find during these last few days. We can let some of us forage,” said Rover, before looking back to Spot and Fido. “Hey, I just remembered that we have another captive that we must check on.”
“Yeah, we should go get him soon, and put him to use,” said Spot.
“Cloe are you still on duty today?,” asked Rover.
“No, the evening shift already ended.”
“If you would be a dear, could you please watch these gems for a few moments? We need to take care of something. You could speak with the captive pony, Mistress Rarity, while we are gone.”
“This should not take long,” said Fido.
“Certainly. I can watch,” responded Cloe.
“Wait, have you captured Spike?,” asked Rarity concerningly. “I hope that you would not be cruel to him. You will all be very sorry if he gets hurt.”
“Don’t worry, the dragon will be okay,” responded Rover. “He just has a small debt to pay us.”
Rover, Fido, and Spot left the cell, and closed the door. Rover turned back towards to Cloe, took out his ring of keys, removed a particular key, and tossed it between the bars of the cell door. Cloe caught the key in her maw. She then locked the cell’s padlock, removed her helmet, fastened the key to the inside of her helmet, and then placed it back onto her head. Rover, Fido, and Spot walked around the nearest corner, and out of sight.
An awkward silence fell between Rarity and Cloe, as they sat beside each other on their haunches. Rarity looked to the diamond dog, and then back to the pile of gems. “You and Rover must trust each other a lot for him to leave you to watch over such a massive sum of gems and bits,” said Rarity. “How long have you two been together?”
“Oh, we’ve known each other most of our lives. Rover is such a sweet canine once things are all fine. Him and his two buddies sure know how to run the colony well. We diamond dogs have been doing very well after he was put in charge.” Cloe tilted her head, sniffed, and took another long look at Rarity. “I am still very sorry for what I said about you, pony named Rarity. Even I must say that you are very pretty. I just got so angry when I saw you.”
“Why thank you Cloe. When striving to be Equestria’s biggest and most famous clothing designer, looking my best is part of my job. Although I must say, out of all the diamond dogs I’ve seen today, you by far have the finest tastes. While your attire might be a bit dull and basic for my preferences, your choice in jewelry is absolutely elegant. I just have to know, where do you get that set?,” asked Rarity, eyeing all of the tiny diamond studded pieces worn by Cloe.
“Oh, these are all gifts Rover gave to me. It’s a really long story.”

Spike sat alone in dark, quite cell, feeling more hopeless than ever. He had already given up on trying to dig through the solid rock around him, bending the thick steel bars in front of him, melting them with his fire breath, and trying to either break or undo the locking mechanism. With no parchment or anything else of use in his confined space, Spike had no way to message Twilight with his magical fire breath. Spike began to wonder what would happen to him, and how long he would last while locked up. The bruise on Spike’s forehead continued to ache, and the newer bruise on his back beginning to hurt just as much. The small cut on his chest that Rover had given him also stung.
Spike’s ears perked up as he heard three sets of paw steps get progressively louder. Before long, three dark, familiar outlines stood in front of the door of the cell Spike sat in. Spike remained silent. One of the shapes took out a ring of keys, undid the lock on door, and then opened it.
“It is time that you pay for what you did to us, dragon,” Spat Rover coldly.
“What are you going to do to me?,” asked Spike, in fear. He was sure that even the diamond dogs were not barbaric enough to torture or kill some creature just for the fun of it. But lately, Spike was starting to question that assumption.
Fido dropped what looked like some small metal tool with a wooden handle. It landed on the solid ground with a metallic clink. The tool appeared to be a lightweight rock pick “You may pay us back with the gems you find,” instructed Rover, menacingly.
> Spike the Diligent
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike walked between Rover, Fido, and Spot, with the rock pick in his claws. Having little energy or motivation left, Spike did not bother to either nor dare to fight against the diamond dogs again. He continued marching on where the others were leading him. After a few minutes, Spike had been brought to some of the wider, and brightly lit tunnels. In the distance, he could hear a faint chanting that continued to grow louder and louder as he got closer. At last, Rover, Fido, and Spot led Spike to a large, cavernous area, filled with other diamond dogs who were hard at work.
“
Hoo hah hoo hah, we chip and chip, the ground away.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we work all night and work all day.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we move rocks, and dirt, and clay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we work hard, we do not play.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we will all dig, for our pay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we still work on, we’re here to stay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we hope for gems, loads someday.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we hope we find, we hope we may.
“
Spike took a long moment to take in the marvelous sight before him. Suddenly, he felt himself shoved forward, which caused him to fall and land in the tier below within the artificial cavern. Spike stood back up and picked up the rock pick that fell besides him. Rover, Fido, and Spot slid down the steep walls of the cavern, and stopped besides Spike.
Rover placed a small safety helmet onto Spike’s head. Spot put down a small empty wooden crate next to Spike, and Fido pushed a massive, empty, iron mine kart up to them. At the lower levels of the cavern, there were many other diamond dogs packed all around, chipping at the ground, and hauling loose debris out of the way. Rover waved a paw, signaling a nearby diamond dog guard to come to them. The guard approached, and then stood silently in attention. The guard was dressed in his steel armor and helmet, and carrying a large shield and pike.
“This dragon here owes us some gems. You are to watch over him, and make sure he does his work. Use any means necessary to keep him in line.”
“Yes sir,” said the diamond dog guard, while nodding. Spike took another look at the diamond dog guard. Spike recognized that he was one of the eleven guards who confronted him earlier.
“As for you dragon, you will not stop digging, until this small box is full of gems or minerals. All debris goes in this iron kart. If you are caught putting rocks, dirt, sand, or anything we do not want in that box, it gets emptied, and you start over. Got it?”
“Yes,” said Spike submissively.
“Good, now get to work. If you do what we ask, we will let you and your pony friend Rarity go free,” said Rover. Spike immediately perked up upon hearing that last statement. “We want you finished by midnight. We will come back to check on you before then, dragon.” And with that, Rover, Fido, and Spot turned and walked away.
Spike suspected that the diamond dogs were telling him the truth this time. All he had to do was fill up that one box with gems, and both him and Rarity would be set free. He would be the one solely responsible for rescuing Rarity from the tyrannical grasps of the diamond dogs. Rarity would then most likely offer her most generous thanks to him. It would also prove that he took the right action, and that Twilight was wrong for berating him. With newfound vigor, Spike stood in a convenient space between two diamond dog workers, and began swinging the rock pick into the stone.
“Faster dragon!,” ordered the diamond dog guard who was assigned to manage the area. Doing as he told, Spike quickened the speed of his strikes, repeatedly hitting the solid stone wall with his pick. Already exhausted from what he did earlier that day and still suffering from his previous injuries, Spike ran out of breath before long, and needed a few minutes to rest. He put down his pickaxe, and leaned against a boulder.
Suddenly, Spike heard an extremely loud crack as he felt a painful lash along his entire backside. “OUCH!,” Spike exclaimed before immediately turning around. Behind him was the diamond dog guard, holding a long leather whip in his paw. “What was that for?!” shouted Spike.
“You are not allowed any breaks until you are done, dragon!,” commanded the guard. “That is a rule. Now get back to work.”
Spike continued alternating between striking the ground again, and placing the broken fragments of limestone into the kart behind him. He continued at it, in fear of another lash.
“Faster, like what you were doing before!,” ordered the guard. Spike reluctantly complied, increasing the speed of his motions. “Now keep that up, and sing along with us diamond dogs.”
“What, why do I need to sing?,” asked Spike between motions.
“All workers must sing while working. That is another rule.”
Spike let out sight, before taking a sharp breath. At the beginning of the next verse, Spike joined in with the chorus of diamond dogs around him in the cavern while they are worked.
“
Hoo hah hoo hah, we chip and chip, the ground away.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we work all night and work all day.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we move rocks, and dirt, and clay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we work hard, we do not play.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we will all dig, for our pay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we still work on, we’re here to stay.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we hope for gems, loads someday.
Hoo hah hoo hah, we hope we find, we hope we may.
“
Back in area surrounding Ponyville, Twilight and her friends were frantically looking around for Spike. Now well into the evening, the sun was setting, and the sky was getting dark. Their search was becoming more and more desperate by the minute.
Not wanting to risk endangering even more young creatures, Twilight and the others decided that Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo were not to join them on their search. After a strict lecture from Applejack, the three young fillies promised not to leave Ponyville, and to watch over Twilight’s castle while the older ponies were away. Twilight and her friends followed the path that Agent 770X had traced earlier that day. Far away Ponyville, they continued their search in a dark patch of woods. Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer illuminated the area with the magic from their horns. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack all had bright lanterns fastened to the front of their bodies. Somehow, Agent 770X was able to see without any light source, despite wearing dark tinted glasses.
“It’s definitely past seven by now.” said Twilight, in frustration. “I don’t get it. We asked the entire town, and not one pony claimed to have seen a small purple dragon, in black and red painted armor, carrying a massive bag. Not one! How in Equestria did Spike not only escape the forcefield I made, but somehow carried that massive bag this far away in such a short amount of time, without a single pony seeing him? And how come we haven’t found any trace of him by now?”
“I’m not sure either Twilight,” responded Applejack, who happened to be nearby. “Even Princess Celestia’s agent is confused. That pony could not find any sign of Spike outside the castle. As far as the agent knows, Spike and whatever he was carrying seemed to have just magically vanished into the air. As if Spike could just teleport himself some place like that.”
Twilight froze in place, upon hearing what Applejack said. “Teleport himself? Do you think Spike could have done that?”
“Come on Twilight, how do you recon Spike would do a thing like that?,” asked Applejack. “His fire breath only works on small, flammable objects, remember?.”
“Starlight said that Spike had asked her a question about activating potions. Spike is also the one who restocks my studies and research labs with supplies and materials. Maybe Spike made and used a potion to leave the castle undetected. Applejack, Agent 770X might be on to something!”
Twilight and Applejack suddenly felt a gust of wind that twisted the plants and tree branches around them, followed by a loud crack from the result of the sound barrier being broken. When the wind settled, and Twilight and Applejack opened their eyes, they saw Rainbow Dash, hovering in front of them. “Twilight, Applejack, I think Agent 770X just found the log that the diamond dogs mentioned in their note, and seems to know where Spike went! Get Starlight Glimmer and Fluttershy quickly!,” Rainbow Dash said frantically.
“Whoa there, calm down. What’s going on Dashie?,” asked Applejack.
“It would better for you to see this for yourselves. Get the others and follow me.”
Wasting no time, the group reconnected with Fluttershy and then Starlight Glimmer, who were searching in the nearby fields. Once together, they all briefly shared their findings.
“As I was saying, I met some other pegasi, who claimed that they saw what could have been Rarity and Pinkie Pie walking together around here yesterday afternoon,” said Rainbow Dash. “This explains where Pinkie Pie was. But that was before Rarity was last seen in Ponyville yesterday.”
“I found this lying in the grass,” said Starlight Glimmer, as she levitated a clump of loose hair that had a very distinct pink color to it. “If this was from to Pinkie Pie, then she must have been around here yesterday.”
“Do you think the diamond dogs got Pinkie Pie too!,” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
“We only know that she was probably here recently. We don’t know where she went after that,” retorted Starlight.
“Um, I spoke with some of the wild deer who live around here,” said Fluttershy. “None of them claimed to have saw Pinkie Pie. But one male dear said that he saw three strange dogs come by here late last night, carrying a box. He said they went that way,” said Fluttershy as she pointed a hoof. “Maybe those were the diamond dogs who took Rarity?”
“We’re already going that general direction anyway,” said Twilight. “Once we find Agent 770X,” we should have our answers.
The five mares continued through the patch of forest, and into the rocky plains and hillsides on the other end. Rainbow Dash suddenly took to the sky and bolted ahead in powerful gust of wind, before racing back to the others. Signaling where to go, Twilight and the others sprinted to the location. In the distance, Twilight spotted Agent 770X standing on a large wooden log. Besides the agent was a large lantern, burning brightly in the early dusk, illuminating the vicinity.
“I have some bad news Princess,” said Agent 770X, as Twilight ran closer. “The diamond dogs got to Spike a few hours ago.”
“What do you mean…” said Twilight, before slowly training off. She took a look at her surroundings. The evidence of what happened there earlier was abundant. The most glaring evidence were the small pieces of black and red painted aluminum plating, scattered all around the area. Also lying on the ground was a small, old, iron helmet, a blunt, lightweight, iron mace, and a makeshift aluminum shield. There were claw marks and divots in the ground, along with a small crater, as if there had been some kind of intense skirmish. There were several mounds of dirt in the ground, which resembled the filled in holes that the diamond dogs were known to leave behind. Next to the log beneath Agent 770X was a wide empty pit in the ground with freshly loosened dirt around it. The pit looked like it was large enough to be the hole that the diamond dogs would have made in anticipation of Rarity’s ransom payment. But must unnervingly of all was the small amount of what was undeniably dragon blood, that had been spilled onto the grass in front of Twilight. Agent 770X and Twilight’s friends remained silent, as they watched Twilight witness the scene for herself. Twilight’s own blood ran cold, as she assumed the worst.
“No doubt this is the work of the diamond dogs,” said Agent 770X. “We’re near one of their few colonies, which consists of a complex network of tunnels beneath that nearby mountain range. If they were the ones who took Spike, they would have likely taken him in somewhere in there, along with Rarity. Don’t lose hope Princess Twilight, we still might be able to recover your friends.”
“Twilight, Spike is most likely still okay. As you sometimes say, he is far tougher than we think,” said Rainbow Dash, affirmingly.
“Rarity did say that the diamond dogs were not all that bad after we first rescued her from them,” said Fluttershy. “I trust that they would not hurt Spike if they caught him.”
“Fluttershy is right, I’m sure Spike is all right Twilight,” assured Applejack.
“We’ll get Spike back,” said Starlight Glimmer.
Twilight remained silent. She walked over to Spike’s discarded helmet. She lied down on the ground besides it, and grasped the old piece of metal tightly in her forehooves. Twilight then clenched her eyes shut, her own thoughts drowning out anything that was being spoken to her.
Twilight thought back on the day when she first saw Spike try that helmet on. She thought about how proud he looked when looking into his mirror while wearing his completed set of armor. She thought about all of the various times when she scolded Spike, shamed him, and disciplined him, whether it was justified or not. She thought about all of the times she warned Spike that his hopes were unrealistic, and doomed for failure. She thought about the aftermath of each of his more catastrophic failures, most of which were started from his own ridiculous ambitions. She thought about a few of Spike’s honest achievements, from obtaining the bloodstone Scepter, to getting his wings, to helping her and her friends vanquish the forces of evil. She thought about Spike’s identity crisis as a young dragon living among ponies, including his multiple treks to the dragon lands. She thought about Spike’s earlier years, before he even learned to read and write. Finally, Twilight thought about the time she artificially hatched Spike from a stillborn egg as a young filly.
Tears forced themselves out of Twilight’s tightly clenched eyes. Uncontrolled sobs left her mouth, between labored breaths. Twilight continued to press the small helmet into her body with her forehooves. It was one of the few remaining belongings that she had of the young dragon who she was sure that she would never get to see or hear from again.
“SPIKE YOU STUPID FOOL! I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN!,” wailed Twilight. She hardly even noticed the empathetic touch of Fluttershy’s hoof, on her back. “THOSE CRUEL, HEARTLESS, SAVAGE BEASTS! SPIKE JUST WANTED TO PROVE THAT HE COULD BE A HERO, AND THEY TOOK HIM AWAY FROM US!,” shouted Twilight, between gritted teeth, as tears fell off her face. “THE DIAMOND DOGS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS WILL ANSWER FOR THEIR CRIMES! THEY WILL SUFFER FOR WHAT THEY HAVE DONE!” Twilight Sparkle quickly stood up, not even noticing that she frightened Fluttershy. She turned towards her other friends, an intense mixture of rage and grief expressed through bloodshot eyes, streams of tears, and heavy breaths.
“Easy there, Sugar Cube,” said Applejack concerningly, yet sternly. “We don’t know for sure what happened to Spike. Even if the worst did happen, it would do no pony any good to let our emotions get the better of us. We should think about what we found before we do anything rash.”
Twilight stared at Applejack, hate still burning in her eyes. Twilight then clenched her eyes, took a deep breath, and slackened her muscles. Twilight opened her eyes again, making a dark, emotionless gaze to the other ponies. “I’m going to have a word with Flash Sentry about what was found. I will be back here in a few minutes,” said Twilight coldly. Her horn lit up with the purple color of her magic, before she vanished, leaving behind only a few magical sparks that faded into the night.
“Oh dear,” said Starlight Glimmer.

Back in the depths of the gem caves, Spike was hard at work. With no magic to locate the gems, the only plan to approach the diamond dogs had to find all of the precious materials, involved excavating most of the ground around them. While such tactics ensured that nothing was left behind, they were highly labor intensive. While Spike had cleared away a considerable mass of rocks and debris for such a small dragon, he had very little to show for it. In the wooden crate besides Spike were a few meager pieces of white quartz, and a few small chunks of ironstone. Even the other diamond dogs around Spike had been slightly more successful.
“Hoo… hah… hoo… hah… we chip… and chip… the ground… away. Hoo… hah… hoo… hah… we work… all night… and work…,” wheezed Spike, between heavy gasps. He had hardly been digging for an hour, and his situation was becoming more hopeless by the minute. The small rock pick that was given to Spike was still far too large and heavy for him to comfortably handle. Already tired from everything earlier that day, Spike’s muscled ached. His body temperature was still slowly rising, his headache was getting steadily worse, and he was more parched than ever.
With the last bit of energy in Spike’s muscles fading away, he collapsed onto the rocky ground in defeat. Just seconds later, a loud whistling sound was sent throughout the cave. The diamond dogs around Spike let out a collective howl, before turning away from their work. With their tools slung over their shoulders, they walked away in single file lines.
“Wow, I’m tapped out,” called out a familiar voice among the clamor. Spike slowly lifted his head off the ground, in disbelief of what he heard. In the corner of his eye, Spike spotted a familiar pink pony walking slowly alongside the diamond dog workers. The earth pony mare’s normally puffy mane and tail were completely straight and hanging low. The pink hair on her body was a tone darker than usual, and entirely caked in dust.
“Pinkie Pie is that you?,” asked Spike tiredly. The pink pony’s ears perked up, as she turned her head. Upon making eye contact, she stepped away from the line of diamond dog workers she was in, and began walking towards Spike.
“Hey Spike, that’s a silly place to take a nap.”
“I didn’t choose to nap here. I’m too tired to move.”
“Oh, I bet. Volunteering to help with the diamond dogs is really tough work. I just worked three consecutive sessions, and I actually feel really tired,” said Pinkie Pie. She took off her orange safety helmet, and fastened it onto the belt she had around her body. Her personal rock pick was also fastened to her belt. She then lowered her flank, as if she were trying to remove something that was hanging onto her body. “I’m completely exhausted,” she said lethargically. “Lucky for me, I brought some snacks.”
“Huh, what snacks?,” questioned Spike, still laying on the ground.
“I brought coke cupcakes. Their made with one of my super special secret recipes. I kept them inside my invisible saddlebags. Twilight was kind enough to apply her invisibility enchantment to my saddlebags, and I have been using my invisible saddlebags ever since. They are really helpful.”
Pinkie Pie sat onto her haunches, and appeared to be focused on the ground in front of her. Then, as she motioned to reach for something, the end of her forehoof seemed to vanish. Then, when she moved her leg back, her hoof reappeared, holding a cupcake that she seemingly pulled out of the air. Spike found the energy to sit up slowly, and examined what was in front of Pinkie Pie. Surely enough, Pinkie did in fact have an invisible saddlebag. The outer surface was perfectly transparent, making seem like the bag didn’t exist at all. Peering inside the visible interior, Spike spotted what seemed to be more of Pinkie Pie’s cupcakes in her bag.
Wasting no time, Pinkie Pie rapidly gobbled up the baked treat in her forehooves. After one last bite, she finished the cupcake, and reached back into her invisible saddle bags for another one. Quickly finishing that one off too, Pinkie Pie devoured another, and then another, and then another. Immediately, Pinkie Pie’s straightened main and tail puffed out to their usual puffy appearance. The slightly off pink color of her hair turned back into its normal bright pink color. Pinkie Pie held her head high, with a wide smile on her face. “Ah, I needed that!,” she said, after letting out after a satisfied sigh. “Now I’m full of energy again.” Pinkie Pie had already grabbed yet another cupcake from her bags, before stopping and turning back to look at Spike. “Hey, do you want to try one of my coke cupcakes?,” asked Pinkie Pie eagerly.
Sitting upright, Spike examined the cupcake on her hoof. The small cake body was covered with a thick mound of rich, brown colored frosting. On top of the frosting was a mixture of powdered sugar, specs of raw flour, and another edible white powder that was definitely not sugar or flour. Spike’s stomach growled as he looked at the cupcake. “No thanks Pinkie Pie. I am hungry, and I know that you’re an amazing baker, but I really don’t think I should have a coke cupcake right now.”
“Fine, more for me,” said Pinkie Pie, as she tossed the cupcake up, and happily ate it in one bite. “But you do seem very hungry Spike. I know, eat one of the gems I found.” Pinkie Pie turned, and reached into her other invisible saddle bag, revealing a small topaz, and tossed it to Spike. “You seem really busy right now Spike, and I’m super busy too, so I guess I’ll go now. See you later,” said Pinkie Pie, as she turned around to leave.
“Pinkie Pie wait, don’t leave me here! The diamond dogs are holding me and Rarity captive!”
“Oh, Rarity, I saw her earlier!,” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “The diamond dogs really like her.”
“Hey!,” shouted the same diamond dog guard from before. “Dragon, who said that you could take a break? Get up now!”
“Sorry sir, I collapsed from exhaustion. May I please rest? The other diamond dogs are leaving to take their break, and I really need it.”
“Those workers have just completed their second, four hour work session today. They rightfully earned their time to rest,” retorted the larger diamond dog guard. “You have only been down here for hardly an hour, and the best thing you found is that tiny little topaz.”
“No, that’s not it,” said Spike, looking down at the small topaz that was supposed to be his snack. “Pinkie Pie, please send help! I won’t last a day down here!”
Immediately, Spike felt a painful lash cross his face, as the guard struck him with his whip again. Spike fell over, pressing his claws onto his face. “I don’t want to hear it, dragon! You owe us diamond dogs, and you will not rest until you give us what you owe,” scolded the guard.
“Oh, you owe the diamond dogs. What did you do?,” asked Pinkie Pie.
“I fought them when I tried to save Rarity,” said Spike, as he stood back up, and put his safety helmet back on his head. “They sent me to work here as punishment.”
“Sorry Spike, I can’t help you,” said Pinkie Pie. “Every creature must pay their own debts. That’s another rule of the diamond dogs. Good luck in your digging Spike. And when you see Rarity, tell her that I wished her good luck too.” Pinkie put her safety helmet back on her head, put her invisible saddlebags on her back, and then quickly pranced away to where the other diamond dog workers went to.
Spike looked back at the guard. “May I at least get a drink. I can’t go much longer without water.”
The guard let out a low growl. “Fine. The next group of diamond dogs will be down here for the nighttime shift in a few minutes. I want you back here, and working by then.” The guard turned away, and resumed his patrol route. Spike let out a defeated sigh.

Before long, Twilight magically reappeared to where Agent 770X and her friends were waiting for her. Flash Sentry materialized besides Twilight, wearing his armor and guard uniform. Behind them, several royal pony soldiers began magically appearing behind them in magical bursts. One by one, a force of several hundred soldiers lined up, along with several stockpiles of supplies, weapons, and a few large pieces of machinery. Behind the soldiers was a crowd of several other creatures, including familiar ponies from Ponyville and Canterlot, some changelings, griffons, hippogriffs, and even a few donkeys.
Twilight walked up to Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Starlight glimmer, with Flash Sentry and Agent 770X besides her. She still had the same cold, stern, and emotionless expression from before. “We are going to end this, here and now.”
> 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.
> Spike the Fool
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight watched her portable clock anxiously. Less than three minutes remained until it was nine, and then the diamond dog’s time was up. While relieved by Pinkie Pie’s recent news, Twilight was still on edge. If some creature did not arrive with answers sooner or later, the next course of action would be to invade. And who knows what damage would be caused then.
“There, I see them,” exclaimed Agent 770X. Looking around, Twilight spotted Spike and Rarity, strolling together down the mountain side. Spike was leading the way while Rarity followed along, wearing one of her glamorous yet tastefully fancy dresses, along with her tiara and glass horseshoes.
All of the ponies stationed around the mountain range, let out a collective cheer of joy, once it was confirmed that Rarity and Spike were freed safely. Twilight, along with Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Starlight Glimmer, and Pinkie Pie, walked up to greet the two.
“Hooray,” said Pinkie Pie, releasing confetti that had inside her invisible saddle bags.
“Looks like you were overreacting as usual, Twilight,” said Starlight with a smirk.
“See, what I did I tell you sugar cube? Everything was probably going to turn out fine,” said Applejack proudly.
Rainbow Dash flew above the others in consecutive loops of victory. “Aw yeah, another happy ending,” said Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy just watched and smiled quietly.
Twilight also remained quiet, but was breathing heavily. She slowly walked closer to Spike, unable to look away from him. She was unable to decide whether to be overjoyed that Spike was safe, to give him the harshest punishments of his life so far for his behavior that day, or to just walk away and pretend that the whole ordeal never happened. Once Spike was just in front of her, tears started to form in Twilight’s eyes as her relief and sorrow won out. “Spike, your alive. I thought I lost you. I’m so relieved… I’m…,” stammered Twilight. Losing all composure, she bolted towards Spike, and grasped him in a tight hug. “I’M SO SORRY SPIKE FOR WHAT I DID! I WAS WRONG! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE HURT YOU! I SHOULD HAVE JUST LISTENED…,” said twilight, before being abruptly cutoff.
“Back off, Twilight,” said Spike adamantly, as he pushed Twilight backwards, breaking himself from her grasp. “I can tell that you were worried about me. I assure you that your concerns were misplaced. I was able to pay the ransom, and free Rarity all on my own.” Spike turned away from Twilight, and looked at Rarity. “Now it is on me to escort Lady Rarity to her home. I will reconcile with you later once my duty is done.”
Twilight stared at Spike dumbfoundedly. “Bu-but what happened? How… why… did you do…,” uttered Twilight, unable to speak in coherent sentences.
“I assure you Twilight that we are both fine and well,” said Rarity. “While it is true that a few diamond dogs had abducted me last night and brought me here, it was all part of some misunderstanding. They treated me well, and released me and Spike go once everything was sorted out. Believe me when I say that the diamond dogs responsible had learned their lesson, and that there is no need to pursue them.”
“Well, if you say so Rarity,” said Rainbow Dash, hovering in the air.
“Now if you would excuse me,” said Rarity. “I would prefer to be escorted home. Come on Spikey Wikey, lead the way.”
“Why of course my dearest,” said Spike with full confidence.
Twilight remained silent, unable to process what was going on. All she could do was stare in confusion at her friend’s utterly unexpected reaction to what had just happened. Rarity followed Spike, and gave Twilight a knowing wink as she strolled past her.
“Just let Spike have this one,” whispered Starlight Glimmer. “We can talk about this later.”
“Spikey Wikey,” cackled Rainbow Dash in mockery.
“My Dearest,” snorted Applejack, also in mockery.
“This is a great excuse for a massive party, isn’t Twilight?,” asked Pinkie Pie.
Twilight let out a defeated gasp, as she watched Spike and Rarity walk away into the night. “Fine, I’ll tell Captain Flash Sentry to send his forces back to Canterlot, and to dismiss the civilian forces who volunteered today. But I am going to have a very long talk with Spike the first chance I get.”
“Well, if we’re all done here, I might as well get going. It’s getting late,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Me too,” said Applejack.
“Me three. I have a party to plan,” said Pinkie Pie.
“I will go home too,” said Fluttershy.
“Good idea,” said Starlight.
“See you tomorrow every pony,” said Rainbow Dash, before taking off to the skies.
All of Twilight’s other friends walked away. Upon receiving Twilight’s order, the massive army around the area, along with all of their supplies and machinery, were withdrawn back to Canterlot. After all the commotion was over, Twilight remained. She was looking into the moonlit sky, still unable to know how to feel about the events that day. Once alone, Agent 770X approached Twilight.
“Princess Twilight, I still have some questions that I want answered before I close this case. We can discuss them at your earliest convenience.”
“Fine,” responded Twilight, before teleporting herself back to her castle.

Spike continued leading Rarity back to Ponyville. They took a calm, isolated route to avoid the busy crowds taking the roads through the meadows. Before leaving the diamond dog territory, Spike led Rarity back to where he first confronted the diamond dogs. In the dark area was a large log, with a deep pit next to it. There several recently filled in holes around the area. A large lantern that been left behind on the ground, its flame left to slowly burn out.
“Oh my, what happened here?,” asked Rarity, sounding concerned.
“I had a bit of skirmish here earlier. It was nothing,” claimed Spike. “I just had to rough up those beasts a little bit. After they had to call some reinforcements, they decided to show me to their caves.”
“Well, I’m glad you were able to successfully converse with them,” said Rarity.
“Well, I suppose things got a bit messy,” admitted Spike, while picking all of the pieces of his discarded armor, weapon, and shield. “Forgive me for my appearance Madame Rarity. A proper knight should always remain in unform, until relieved from his duties,” said Spike, as he put his armor back on.
Rarity let out a giggle. “It is fine Spike. I can see that you made an effort.”
Upon putting his helmet back over his head, Spike turned back to Rarity. “Shall we continue?”
“Lead the way, my knight in shining scales.”

After a long walk, Spike and Rarity made it to the Carousel Boutique. Sweetie Belle was by the front entrance, waiting for her older sister. “We have arrived, Dame Rarity,” announced Spike.
“Rarity, your back!,” exclaimed Sweetie Belle, jumping up and down in joy. “What happened, we were all so worried about you?”
“I have had a very long day Sweetie Belle. Right now, I need to clean up and get some rest. I can tell you what happened later,” said Rarity.
“Fine,” wined Sweetie Belle. “I’m heading out soon, and I plan to be back tomorrow afternoon, after school. But you better tell me everything then. Don’t leave out any details.”
“Heading out?,” questioned Rarity. “Where do you think you’re going at this hour young lady?,” asked Rarity in her authoritative, and almost maternal tone.
“Oh yes, I didn’t tell you. Since I was watching Twilight’s castle with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo for most of the day, Twilight offered to let us sleep over for the night. I came back here to get some of my stuff. I even packed my school stuff for tomorrow,” said Sweetie Belle, showing off her saddle bags.
“Oh, alright,” said Rarity. “But you are to listen to Twilight and obey all her rules. And both you and your friends better not be late to school tomorrow.”
“Got it. See you Rarity,” said Sweetie Belle, before running off through Ponyville’s streets.”
Rarity let out an exhausted sigh, as she watched her sister fade out of sight. “Whatever will I ever do with her?,” asked Rarity rhetorically. 
Spike walked up to Rarity, getting her attention back. “Is there any way I could be of service to you this evening?,” asked Spike.
“You certainly can,” answered Rarity, shifting her tone. “Come inside, and I will explain.” Rarity sauntered past Spike, subtly showing off some of her physical features. Those physical features, of course, were modesty obscured by her dress, but shown off regardless. She turned her head around to make an inviting wink, complimented by a sly smile.
The scales on Spike’s face burned bright red, and his breathing became heavier. Magical, purple colored, cartoon hearts began appearing and disappearing in the space around his head. At the same time, hypnotic, spiraling swirls formed in Spike’s irises. “Why sure,” said Spike, as he mindlessly followed Rarity through the front door of her home.
“Oh, what I mess,” complained Rarity, looking around the Carousel Boutique. “I never got the chance to clean up from that incident last night.” Looking around, Rarity could see several shards of broken glass and other materials that were scattered all over the floor, along with several shelves, pony-quins, and other furniture that were still knocked over. There were still a few strands of yellow caution tape, back when her home was labeled a crime scene that morning. Sweetie Belle had exerted a token amount of effort before she left for the night. She had rearranged some of the lighter furniture, and sorted the misplaced pieces of clothing that Rarity had on display. But that had hardly left made a dent in what needed to be done. Rarity let out a sigh.
“Did you want me to help finish cleaning up Rarity?,” asked Spike.
“No, it would be best for me to handle this myself,” responded Rarity. Rarity’s horn glowed with the color of her bright blue magic. Various misplaced objects were surrounded by the same magical aura, before being telekinetically lifted into the air. With Rarity’s sheer magical power output being very limited, she had to move and rotate every object very slowly and carefully. Shelves, racks, rugs, pony-quins, chairs, a sofa and a table were all shifted through the air. With the floor bare, the shards of glass, wooden splinters, chipped pieces of metal, stray hair, dust, and dirt were all pushed along the floor, into one single pile on the tile flooring near the door. After that, all of the sorted clothing that Sweetie Belle had left were placed back on the shelves and racks where they belonged. “I should wash myself off. Spike, would you please gather up that pile of debris, and then take it outside along with the trash?,” asked Rarity. “I would be a great convenience to me. I presume that you remember where I keep my broom and dustpan.”
“Why certainly Rarity,” said Spike.
“Thank you,” said Rarity, as she made her way upstairs. “Oh, and you don’t have to wear that armor anymore Spike. I assure you that there won’t be any monsters coming for us in here tonight.”
Spike removed his helmet and armor, and put it all in a neat pile besides his mace and shield. He then took a few minutes to do the last of the cleaning on Rarity’s ground floor. Rarity undressed and took a brief shower in her upstairs bathroom. After waiting a bit more, Rarity came back downstairs, wearing her expensive white fur robe. Ever so silently, Rarity’s stomach growled, reminding her that it was well past her usual dinner time.
“Spike, while you’re here, it would be utterly considerate and romantic of you to make dinner for the two of us. I’m utterly famished, and I suppose that you did not have a chance to eat anything this evening either.”
“Of course, Rarity,” said Spike. “What did you have in mind?”
“For tonight, I would like some fresh eggplant parmesan, served with a daisy salad, and roasted mushrooms. I already have all the ingredients and spices in my kitchen. Feel free to use any of my kitchenware.”
“I’m on it, Rarity,” said Spike, marching into Rarity’s kitchen.
Rarity went back upstairs, and patiently waited in her room. She finished reading the last her novel while she waited. After that, she updated the busy calendar, which was already packed with important dates. Then, Rarity worked on her personal finances, and planned her new business spending budget. When Rarity finally finished, she could smell a pleasing, bit somewhat off aroma coming from her kitchen. When Rarity walked to the source of the smell, she saw Spike in a state of disarray.
“I already finished the salad and roasted mushrooms Rarity. I just need to finish cooking the eggplant, and then add the tomato sauce and herbs. It will be ready in a few minutes,” reported Spike.
“That’s alright Spike, I can wait,” said Rarity, as she took a seat at her kitchen table. Despite giving Spike the recipe and instructions to make the dish in plain written text, it was clear to Rarity that Spike had made some mistakes. By the sight and smell of what was resting over her fire stove, Spike had overcooked the tomato sauce, used some of the wrong spices, and added the basil before cooking it.
At last, Spike was ready to serve the meal. Rarity had set her table with two placemats, each with a silver dinner plate, a full set of silverware, a folded cloth napkin, and a crystal glass besides them. In the center of the table were a set of candles, held upright within a silver candle holder, their flames, gently illuminating the space. “This went way better than the last time I tried to cook eggplant for Twilight,” said Spike. He carefully served two equal amounts of food onto the two silver plates that had been set down onto the placemats that were on the table. “I can’t wait to try this again Rarity.”
“I can hardly wait myself,” said Rarity, feigning as much enthusiasm as she could muster. She then let out another sigh. Rarity figured that if she really wanted her dinner done right, she would have had to do it herself. Taking a modest first bite, she evaluated that her food had still been acceptably prepared. Spike rapidly dug into his food, taking only short pauses to chew, breath, and wipe his face.
After both had finished their meal, Rarity wiped her face, and placed her napkin besides her clean plate. Seeing Rarity demonstrate, Spike did the same. “That was certainly a fine meal,” claimed Rarity. “Despite what happened earlier, I am having a wonderful evening. But I have just one last thing that you could do for me Spike.”
“And what would that be Rarity?”
“Come with me Spike, upstairs,” said Rarity in a sultry tone. Rarity got up from her seat, and began saunter away in a very deliberate manner. Spike watched silently from his seat. Rarity paused and turned her head just as she left her kitchen. “Don’t keep me waiting Spike,” said Rarity as she hooded her eyes and gave a knowing grin.
Spike remained still and silent as he watched Rarity ascend her staircase. Once out of sight, Spike slowly stood up from the chair he was seated in. Against his better judgement, he began to walk towards the stairs. One by one, Spike walked up to the second floor, his heartrate increasing with each step. Once at the top, Spike intuitively yet anxiously walked towards Rarity’s bedroom. The door had been left wide open for him.
Rarity had taken off her robe and was resting on one of her lounging sofas. Rarity was resting on her side, with all four her legs in front of her. “Spike, you have proven to have been a very valiant, vigilant, chivalrous, diligent, and absolutely generous gentle-drake today. To express my thanks, I wanted to bestow you the permission to shine my hooves.”
Spike took a brief pause before shaking his head. Breaking himself out of her trance, he looked at Rarity questionably. Besides her was a small container of various toiletries, bottled products, and a set of course hoof files. “Is that all?,” asked Spike.
“Yes, that will be all. Now if you may, would you kindly get to it. You should be honored that a mare such as myself would offer you such a privilege,” said Rarity in an arrogant, sassy tone.
For the first time in a while, Spike was beginning to have conflicting feelings for Rarity. Spike knew that their affections for each other had always been a bit lopsided. Spike also knew that he was competing with other stallions for Rarity’s favor since he met her. This included Sir Fancy Pants, the Wonderbolt member Thunderlane, the famous writer Trender Hoof, and any other stallions that would come and go. But after all this time, and after everything that happened that day, Spike could not help but feel just the least bit insulted and betrayed by Rarity’s offer. If Rarity had truly wanted to reward him, she could have offered something far better than that. But at the same time, Spike felt that there was nothing to be gained by either complaining about it or turning back and leaving. Compared to everything else that he had done that day, cleaning a set of hooves was practically nothing. “Fine, let’s get this over with,” said Spike reluctantly, as he inspected each item inside Rarity’s kit of her personal hoof maintenance possessions. Rarity beamed as she witnessed Spike do as he was told.
Spike got to work, following Rarity’s instructions at each step. Using various implements, Spike carefully removed every visible spec of dirt, grime, and residue from under the nails of Rarity’s four hooves, and placed it all within a designated container. At the very least, since Rarity had always taken great efforts to maintain her appearance and hygiene, there was very little that had to be done in terms of cleaning. After that, Spike had ever so carefully filed and smoothed each of her four nails such that they were all precisely flush and even. Finally, using some polish and a rag, Spike shined the entire surfaces of her hooves such that they sparkled in the candlelight.
“Would that be all?,” asked Spike, revealing a hint of annoyance through his tone.
“Yes, that will be all Spike. It has gotten very late, and I imagine that you are very tired after such a long day. You are dismissed.” 
“It’s about time I left,” said Spike, as he began walking towards Rarity’s bedroom door.
Rarity got up from her sofa and briskly walked after him. “And before you leave Spike, there is something I wanted to give you.”
“What now Rarity?,” groaned Spike.
With one swift motion, Rarity lowered her head, and swiftly planted a firm kiss on Spike’s left cheek. Spike froze, taken completely by surprise by the gesture. “Good night and take care, my sweet Spikey-Wikey,” teased Rarity. Then she abruptly closed her bedroom door, leaving Spike alone in her upstairs hallway.
Spike remained completely still and silent. The same magical, purple colored, cartoon hearts from before began appearing and disappearing around his head. The same hypnotic, spiraling swirls formed back into Spike’s irises. Any conflicting emotions he was feeling were overtaken with bliss. Then, with quick gleeful steps, Spike rapidly made his way downstairs, put his armor back on, left Rarity’s home, and rapidly flew off towards the Castle of Friendship.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rarity saw Spike fly away through her window. She then let out a huff. “What a pathetic, worthless fool,” said Rarity to herself. “Unlike with any other creature, I didn’t have to use any of my magic to alter his emotional state. So long as I act right, and keep him in a good mood, the imbecile will do just about anything I tell him to. Even while under the influence of my magic, those lowly diamond dogs still had more dignity and self-respect than that dragon ever had.”
Rarity walked over to her closet. After moving a few heavy objects out of the way, she pressed a specific spot on the wall with her hoof. That part of the closet wall slide to the side, revealing a small hidden space behind it. Using her magic, Rarity levitated a large, heavy bag out from the secret space. Rarity undid the rope knot that was securing the bag closed, and peered inside. Within it was the considerable number of bits and gemstones that she had teleported back into her home earlier that day, with the use of that magical device. Rarity continued to gaze into her recent haul.
“Ah, Sir Money, truly the finest in all the land,” Rarity uttered to herself. “No stallion or any creature out there can compare. You are truly the only one fit to be the love of my life.”

Spike arrived at Twilight’s castle, just before midnight. Walking through the front gate, Spike let out a satisfied sigh. “Twilight, I’m b…,” announced Spike, before immediately stopping. Spike froze completely still from where he stood. He suddenly became too fatigued to move a muscle, as his mind finally caught up to his body. Everything Spike did that day, from his work with twilight early in the morning, delivering Rarity’s things, racing back to Twilight in panic after discovering Rarity’s disappearance, gathering and counting the entirety of Rarity’s ransom payment, breaking free from Twilight’s magical barriers, reading about and concocting several potions, teleporting himself far away, getting knocked out from confronting the diamond dogs, his intense skirmish with the same diamond dogs after temporarily transforming himself, being taken down to the depths of the diamond dog caves, working intensely for hours, escorting Rarity back to her home, and then finally doing some of Rarity’s chores, all added up all at once. His eyes slowly drooped, and his entire body slackened. Spike involuntarily fell over onto the floor, plunging into an extremely deep sleep. His helmet rolled off his head from the impact, his mace and shield dropped beside himself. After a few breaths, Spike began to snore, as he slept on the floor of the castle entrance.
Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom ran over to the entrance to inspect the noise they heard. When they arrived, all they saw was Spike resting peacefully on floor. “That’s hardly a place to be sleeping Spike,” commented Sweetie Belle. “Spike, hello, Spike, can you hear me?,” said Sweetie Belle, raising her voice.
“Wow, he’s out cold,” said Apple Bloom, walking up to him. “I doubt that waking him up would be easy.”
“Hey, let me try something,” said Scootaloo. She placed her forehooves under Spike’s side, and abruptly flipped Spike over onto his back. Spike snorted from the motion, before regaining his steady rhythm of snoring. “Cool,” chimed Scootaloo.
“What should we do with him?,” asked Sweetie Belle. “We could just leave him here, or we can carry him to his bed.”
“Maybe we should tell Twilight,” Suggested Apple Bloom. “Twilight told us not to wander around the castle. She may not want us to go into Spike’s room.”
“Are you kidding me?!,” exclaimed Scootaloo. “He’s wide open. Think of all the fun we could have,” said Scootaloo with a mischievous smile. “You don’t get opportunities like this very often.”
“What do you mean?,” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Yeah, what fun is there to have with a small sleeping dragon?,” questioned Apple Bloom.
“Allow me to inform you two fillies,” said Scootaloo. She stepped closer, and began to whisper to her two friends. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom made similar mischievous grins upon considering Scootaloo’s suggestions.
The three fillies left Spike and walked back to where they left their bags. They returned to the sleeping dragon, bringing glue, feathers, cardboard, string, and a set of thick, wide nubbed, permanent markers. As a team, they ever so silently and carefully removed Spike’s flimsy armor, one piece at a time. The three loomed over their vulnerable canvas, who gently stirred in his sleep. Scootallo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle giggled deviously as creative art ideas collectively formed in their minds.
> Confrontation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity made her way to the castle of friendship. She was on pace to arrive at teatime for a casual meeting with her friend Twilight. These brief meeting over tea were a semiregular occurrence, where Rarity and Twilight would talk and banter for a short part of an afternoon. Several days had passed since her latest incident with the diamond dogs, and Rarity had hardly given them any thought since then.
Before long, Rarity arrived at the front gate of the castle of friendship, where she was greeted by her friend Twilight. “Rarity, I know that came for a visit, but there are some important matters that I want to talk to you about. Would that be all right?”
“Certainly, Twilight. What is your concern?,” asked Rarity.
“It would be better for me to show you. Follow me to the throne room.”
“Why sure twilight.”
Rarity followed her friend through her castle, wondering what could possibly be so important. Before long, the two made it to the throne room entrance. Rarity looked around and noticed that they were not alone. To the side where the three diamond dogs, Rover, Fido, and Spot. All three of them were on all fours, with each of their four legs shackled and chained to each other’s. Sturdy metal muzzles were tightened over each of their mouths, mitts were place onto each of their four paws, and restrictive cones were fastened around their necks. Beside the three diamond dogs was Rarity’s personal financial advisor. He was a well-educated and finely dressed unicorn stallion from Canterlot. It was this advisor who had supplied Rarity with the wooden box that she used to precisely teleport numerous large objects over long distances. He also had his legs shackled together. All four of the detainees looked more than unhappy to be there. Behind them was Captain Flash Sentry and Agent 770X, standing watch. The expression of Agent 770X was unreadable, but Captain Flash Sentry looked very serious. In front of Rarity, and besides Twilight was Pinkie Pie. While Pinkie Pie’s mane and tail retained their usual bright pink color and puffy appearance, she was standing uncharacteristically still and silent, and staring condemningly at Rarity.
Twilight stopped, turned, and looked at Rarity in eyes. She magically levitated a familiar looking piece of paper in front of Rarity, holding it close to Rarity’s face so that she could get a very good look at it. The piece of paper was a note addressed to Spike the dragon and signed by “The Diamond Dogs.” Rarity stepped back nervously, upon reading the body of the note.
“Rarity, I highly suspect that you are responsible for a slew of crimes, ranging from years of tax evasion, to extortion of the first degree,” said Twilight in an authoritative tone. “Rarity, I am going to ask you one single question, and may Lord Faust herself save you if you try to lie to me.” Twilight took a step closer, moving her face directly in front of Rarity’s. “Did you, or did you not, have any role in writing this note that was found in your home?”
“Well, I, uh, suppose one could say that I, um, contributed towards its, uh, creation,” stammered Rarity, while trying to maintain a convincing tone, facial expression, and body language.
Twilight’s stern expression did not change. “I can’t believe you did that to Spike, after everything you’ve two been through together. Rarity, you’re a piece of crap.”