As Onyx was resting on his porch enjoying the noon sun, he spotted Spike running back into Ponyville, looking extremely panicked. He realized that the episode with diamond dogs could be starting. Onyx quickly shot out of his chair and tore off after Spike. When he caught up, he asked Spike what the rush was. "What is going on, Spike?"
Spike slowed down and spoke between puffs of breath. "Rarity was kidnapped!"
Onyx nodded his head and picked up the little dragon, and rushed towards Twilight's place. "You are kind of slow, Spike."
Spike laid in Onyx's arms limply and looked at Onyx. Onyx quickly asked Spike the question that would most likely decide what he had to do. "Who took Rarity Spike?"
Spike blinked before describing the Diamond Dogs to Onyx and the situation. Onyx let out a massive sigh of relief that canon was not different. "We are lucky it sounds like they just recently set up an outpost nearby."
"Why is that a good thing? Rarity was kidnapped Onyx!" Spike questioned while yelling at Onyx.
"Because it could have been a warren which is the next level up from outpost Spike," Onyx explained while they arrived at the tree library house.
"What is the difference?" Spike questioned.
"A warren has soldier Diamond Dogs Spike while Outpost only gathers food and send it back to a warren or a tribal location. It means that there are only gathers and their mates at the location." Onyx explained calmly. "It means that the local guard might be able to handle this with no problems."
"If it was a warren Onyx?" Spike questioned in worry.
"The guard might not be able to mount a rescue in time," Onyx informed with little worry. "Warrior class Diamond Dogs are extremely agile and strong."
"What makes an outpost a warren?" Spike looked up in surprise.
"When a warrior takes over an outpost and makes it his home, he becomes alpha of the pact at the Outpost, and the population within a few years can reach the hundreds. The more warriors there are, the quicker the warren grows." Onyx informed the differences between an Outpost and a warren.
"How certain are you that this is an outpost Onyx?" Spike was looking more and more worried with everything Onyx told him.
"The gathers that were hunting for gems you describe, there were only three of them, right." Onyx looked down at Spike as they waited for Twilight.
"Yeah, three exactly is that important?" Spike blinked at the odd question.
"Gathers normally move in groups of five, four at the least and six at the most," Onyx informed while he waited. "For a gathering group to only have three means the outpost does not even have a chance of warriors being there."
"Warriors are prideful to a fault and will not take over an outpost without at least two gathering groups. So even if there are eight gathering dogs, there is no warrior." Onyx explained as he took out some paper.
"What if there are thirteen?" Spike asked curiously.
"Not possible warriors might be prideful, but they are not stupid. They get the best education the Diamond Dogs have. They know that five is the magical number and will not send anything else out if they do not have to." Onyx informed Spike while looking at the final message. "As much as people say Diamond Dogs are savages Spike, they are really not. It is just they are stuck in the tribal stage because of the moon sickness."
"Moon sickness?" Spike spoke hopefully for something to use against the dogs that took Rarity.
"Moon sickness causes Diamond Dogs to actually become savage creatures that hunt and kill anything that gets in their path." Onyx Spoke about the sickness that was spread amongst the Diamond Dogs, and what he suspected was the Filth for them.
"Can we negotiate her release?" Spike was quickly looking for options. "I mean, they want gems from what it sounds like."
"Nope, Rarity has become a Diamon Slave, something a Diamond Dog Captured that can hunt for gems for them. She is probably his most prized possession." Onyx explained as he looked over the letters. "Send this to Ponyville Guard Captain and this one to Celestia, Spike."
Spike looked at the letters, confused. "Why?"
"All Diamond Dogs sighting needs to be reported to the local guard Captain, and this one is, so Celestia knows about the Element of Generosity being Ponynapped by Diamond Dogs." Onyx explained calmly to Spike, who nodded and sent the letters off.
As Onyx was sitting their Twilight arrived and saw Spike and Onyx sitting at her table. "Hey, Onyx, hey Spike."
Onyx nodded and was about to speak before Spike jumped up and quickly described the situation to Twilight, who let out a low gasp before looking at Onyx. "How long will the Guard take Onyx?"
"Probably about two hours for them to gather and show up," Onyx explained before Twilight and Spike rushed out to gather her friends, most likely. Onyx sighed in annoyance. "They are probably going to get themselves in trouble."
As Onyx realized, he did not have to get further involved and let this go, but he would not because Rarity was his friend. "Great, I have to do something; I have to get my weapon and meet up with the Guard captain most likely, or I could go with the girls."
"Girls, it is." Onyx nodded his head and decided to grab his weapon before looking for them.
---Time skip---
As Onyx gathered his weapon of choice and followed the girls while marking out the locations for the guard captain to follow them, listing to Twilight describe the details to the girls and decided just to throw Spike on his back. Twilight decided to ask. "What is that weapon Onyx."
"My Runic Warpick, do not like bringing it out, but Diamond Dogs are normally really dangerous girls, but it might be that we are heading to a young group because they left Spike intact." Onyx explained before they reached the clearing and seeing a massive number of holes. "Yup, young gathering dogs with what looks like a small pack of guards."
"Is that a good or bad thing, Onyx?" Applejack asked worriedly.
"It means they might not be as violent compared to normal Dogs." Onyx sat down as the girls decided what to do while he sent an airplane message with the holes' coordinates.
As the holes started getting filled, Onyx made no moves to stop it. Twilight called out. "Onyx, help us."
"Girls, you will not be able to beat the Diamond Dogs in a digging competition; there is just no way." Onyx informed while he waited and looked at how fast the holes were being filled. "Three gathers that act as leaders, and it looks like 8 guard dogs."
"You can tell all that from watching them fill the holes." Rainbow let out, shocked.
"What no with vibration magic, I can tell all of that." Onyx slowly taps his Warpick into the ground again and again. "I use this pick to pick up movement in the ground."
"And I just found Rarity." Onyx let out a snort at what he was seeing through the vibrations. The girls blinked before bombarding him with questions. Onyx sighed before informing them. "She is fine. We are dealing with a truly young group and one of the few nonviolent ones."
"They are using her to mark out gems and the like. She is most likely exasperated over anything else." Onyx looked through his magic at what was happening. "And now she is crying."
"We have to get down there now!" Spike spoke up before pulling out a gem and attaching it to a fishing pole. What followed was them getting pulled down just like in canon. Onyx, though, stayed up top, seeing that the Dogs that were here had no warriors and were just as dumb as canon.
He blinked as he heard marching coming towards him. He quickly looked over and saw Luna symbol as well as the guard captain Golden Shield. Golden quickly marched beside Onyx and overlooked the open holes while Luna marched slowly. Golden spoke up before anyone else. "Where are the Elements Rune Maker Onyx."
Onyx snorted before pointing at one of the open holes while tapping his Warpick to the ground. "Down there saving Rarity even though she does not need saving."
"It is a young outpost not even close to warren. Three Gathers and Eight guards with one of the gathers having the body type of a warrior but probably nowhere near the education required and they are totally nonviolent." Onyx explained what was happening down there.
"Then we shall remove them from the area," Luna spoke up, happy that there were no real problems and that this could be done without violence.
"What are you doing here, Princess Luna? I thought you would be resting?" Onyx asked in curiosity because it was the middle of the evening but not night.
"I had awakened early, and Celestia was in the middle of business, so she asked if I would go check." Luna explained happily that she could get away from the castle for a little while. The Guard moved into the holes to begin clearing out the Outpost for safety reasons. "The only reason one of us even bothered to show up was because one of the Elements was taken."
Onyx nodded his head while watching the girls through his magic before speaking up for the Princess. "They are on their way out of the outpost."
Onyx thought something and just decided to ask Princess Luna before anything else. "Were Diamond Dogs this good in the past with light raiding, I mean."
"They were worse. It was not uncommon for them to stop raiding for a few years and gather into a horde and do a massive raid." Princess Luna explained. "From what I have read, there have been no horde gathering in over 400 years."
"I see" Onyx let out in a low voice before sighing and seeing the girl exit while being escorted by the Guards. "Welcome back, Rarity."
The girls blinked before bowing down to the Princess. Twilight was quick to speak up. "Greetings, lady Luna. How are you, and what are you doing here?"
"I am here to make sure generosity was safe and that an outpost does not become a warren so close to a village," Luna answered happily while overlooking the girls. Twilight and the others were confused, making Onyx remember this was their first-time meeting. Luna does not use their names right off the bat because she does not know them or wants them to introduce themselves before using their names.
"Do you mean Rarity, my lady?" Twilight asked, confused.
"Is that generosities name?" Luna asked with curiosity.
"Indeed, it is my name, my lady." Rarity was quick to inform the Princess.
Twilight cleared her throat. "If it is not too much trouble Princess Luna do you wish to know the other's name as well."
"If they would not mind informing me, I would greatly enjoy that." Princess Luna spoke up and watched at the girls quickly spoke their introductions and what they were the Element of.
Rainbow Dash spoke while bowing. "Rainbow Dash, my lady, Loyalty."
Fluttershy let out nervously. "Fluttershy, my lady, Kindness."
Applejack let out quickly. "Applejack, my lady, Honesty."
Pinkie Pie let out in a serious tone of voice. "Pinkie Pie, my lady, Laughter."
"Greetings to all of you and well met. I am Princess Luna." Lune greeted back as if who she was wasn't obvious. Onyx snorted and looked at them, being all serious. "Please rise and go back to what you are doing."
Twilight looked at the various Guard pulling out a knocked unconscious Diamond Dog. "What will happen to the Diamond Dogs Princess Luna?"
"They will be moved to an area, not near a pony settlement, and be allowed to resettle and rebuild as long as they do not become violent. They will likely never see us again." Princess Luna answered while looking at the beaten-up Diamond Dogs. She blinked in surprise at the big one. "He is not a warrior?"
"Nope, from what it looked like, that gather was the leader of this group." Onyx pointed to the middle one and looked at them in thought. "No clue why the big one was not educated as a warrior."
Rarity, after making sense about what they were talking about, decided to inform them. "That is Bull, and as a child, he had injured his head; from what I heard the Guard Dogs talk about, he became totally nonviolent."
Onyx and Princess Luna let out a hum at this information. Twilight was confused. "Don't you two hate Diamond Dogs?"
Onyx and Princess Luna let out a snort of laughter while the girls were confused. Princess Luna spoke up first. "The Diamond Dogs are becoming more and more civilized from what I see, and the warriors are the only ones forcing the raids at this point."
"I pity them, Twilight. They are forced to do this because of the warriors. In fact, most Outposts are becoming more and more nonviolent from what it is looking like." Onyx spoke in sadness about what they were doing to these people. "We cannot let them stay close to the town, though with a warrior could slip in."
Twilight and the girls let out a low sigh and realized that this was really important, but it was not something they could just let go of. Onyx spoke up and looked at them. "Sorry, girls, but I really do not have a choice."
Princess Luna nodded in agreement. "Indeed, this must be done."
As the sun started setting and the group began making their way home, Onyx nodded to the Princess and followed them.