Guard Tiara: The Grand Guard Games

Diamond Tiara stood on the platform of The Crystal Empire's train station. Nearby stood Rumble, with a wing over Dinky, who was pressed tightly against him. The pair of them had been quiet since Dinky had been released from the infirmary. Dinky had been looking tired and worried since she had regained consciousness. Considering what she had told them, it was hard not to blame her.

*****

"There was a flash of red," Dinky said, "and then I saw my mom... or what looked like my mom... sort of. She was..." Dinky swallowed, shivering as she pulled her body tighter. "She was... dead. She was rotting, and you could see her skull. One eye was missing and her cheek was peeling away. She looked at me and... and.."

Giving a shake of her head, she moved to get up.

"I need to get back to Ponyville. I need to check on mom. To make sure she's okay."

As soon as she climbed off the bed, her leg collapsed out from under her. One of the nurses came to her aid, helping her up and back into the bed.

"You've just been through a rather traumatic event," the nurse said. "You're in no condition to go anywhere yet."

"I need to get back to Ponyville," Dinky insisted.

"I'm sure you will," the nurse said gently, "but the train won't even be here until this afternoon. Plus, you still need to be cleared to leave. Just get some rest now, an we will try to get you taken care of as quickly as we can."

With a sigh, Dinky climbed back into the bed.

*****

In a way, Dinky and Snow Sugar had been lucky. Although Dinky had gotten it worse out of the two, neither of them were affected by whatever was done to them as much as the other victims. The current speculation was that the attacks were interrupted, with Dinky being attacked more to keep her from further pursuit.

The others did recover. Physically they were unharmed, but emotionally they were pretty shaken up. They would probably need some help getting over it, but they would eventually be fine. With the new attacks and information though, there had been a new theory among the leaders.

Fear.

Whatever it was that was behind the attacks was using a pony's worst fear against it. Practically all of the crystal ponies over the age of ten were alive during the rein of Sombra, so it made sense that some would still be afraid of him and his return. The second -- once she had awakened -- told the doctors how she had heard stories of the crystal wolves and how they would eat lost or naughty ponies when she was filly, leaving her frightened of the creatures. Snow Sugar eventually managed to share that she was extremely arachnophobic: one of the things she liked about living so far north was that it was supposed to be too cold for most insects, and thus no spiders. And Dinky... Considering how close she seemed to her mother, it was understandable she would be afraid of losing her suddenly.

Unfortunately, there were still a lot of questions as what, how, and why. And now, Diamond Tiara had a time limit.

*****

"What do you mean I'm going back to Ponyville?" Diamond Tiara asked, eyes wide.

"I thought you would be happy," Twilight Sparkle said, blinking. "I mean Dinky was traumatized and Rumble is blaming himself. Neither are in any condition to continue for now."

"But I am," Diamond insisted. "Come on, this thing attacked a friend and a crystal pony that I know."

"Which is part of the reason you should not be involved in it any further. Yes, having it be personal does make you more driven to figure it out, but it also makes you more inclined to do something reckless or dangerous for revenge."

"Come on," Diamond whined, looking at Twilight with big, wet eyes. "Would you be willing to leave if it was one of your friends?"

"...No..." Twilight conceded. "Look, what you're asking is not an easy thing to do. A lot of the teams have their dynamic worked out as it is, and introducing a new -- if temporary member --"

"Don't," Diamond Tiara said.

"Excuse me?"

"I said 'don't,'" Diamond repeated.

"Diamond Tiara," Princess Twilight said gently, "you can't go out there on your own. This thing is going after ponies that are by themselves."

"I know. This means that it might come after me. You could use me as bait. Or trust me to be able to fend for myself if that thing does come for me. Best case scenario is that if it attacks, I'll be able to find out enough about it that we will be able to stop it once and for all."

"And the worse case scenario is that this thing decides you are enough of a threat to kill you," Princess Twilight Sparkle pointed out.

"Besides, what if it's after me?" Diamond asked, the thought just coming to her. "I mean I found the first victim, and I'm the one who had us go to Snow Sugar's the first time. Snow and Dinky could have been attacked because this thing is tracking me. If that's the case, then it will just follow me to Ponyville."

Twilight shifted, tapping his chin as she considered the idea. One of her wings gave a flicker as she thought about the matter.

"It seems unlikely," she finally said, "but not outside of the realm of possibility." With a sigh, she slipped her hoof up to her forehead, rubbing at it. "Oh, Celestia, I can't believe I'm doing this." Taking a deep breath, she turned her attention back to Diamond Tiara fully.

"Okay," Princess Twilight Sparkle stated, "here is a bit of a compromise. Tomorrow afternoon, some new guards will be arriving to help, taking the place of some of the teams that are already here. That means you will have one day to find out what you can. Afterwards, when they arrive, you will return to Ponyville. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Diamond Tiara said, giving a salute. "Thank you, Princess."

"Don't thank me until you're home safe and sound," Twilight huffed out.

*****

The sound of the train whistle reached the ears of the ponies waiting on the platform. Several of them looked up, catching sight of the train as it approached.

"Well, here it comes," Rumble said. "Good luck."

"You too," Diamond said. "And... about earlier..."

"It's okay," Rumble said, holding up a hoof. "I deserved it."

"Yeah, you did," Diamond blurted out before she could stop herself. With a groan, she smacked herself in the face.

"Sorry," she sighed. "Old habits and all that. Anyway, even if you did, I shouldn't have. You already felt bad about what happened, and my chewing you out didn't help. Especially since you probably had to go through it again with one of the COs."

"Yeah..." Rumble shifted, grimacing at the memory.

"So..." Diamond said as she shifted as well. "I'm sorry for chewing you out about it the way I did."

"Thanks," Rumble said. "You know, it's still kind of weird hearing you apologize, especially when it sounds so sincere." His eyes narrowed. "Are you sure you're not a changeling?"

"Oh, ha ha," Diamond Tiara huffed, rolling her eyes. "You must think you're so funny."

"You know I'm kidding. Besides, if any pony here is a changeling, it would be Dinky."

"Me?" Dinky asked, looking up.

"I know I'm going to regret asking this," Diamond grumbled, "but I got to. Why is that?"

"Because she has sucked plenty of love from me over the years," Rumble answered with a grin.

"And I was right," Diamond said, rolling her eyes. "First, gross. And second, I would not call... that stuff 'love.'"

"Oh, don't act like you've never--"

"Finish that sentence and I will buck you into the train!" Diamond Tiara yelled, cutting off Rumble.

"Yep," Rumble said with a chuckle. "You're definitely Diamond Tiara alright." His smile faded. "In all seriousness, are you sure you don't want to come with us now?"

Diamond Tiara turned and looked at the train. There was technically still time to do so. Twilight did say that if she changed her mind, she could still leave. She could just tell one of the nearby guards to let the princess know she was not staying, then hop on with Rumble and Dinky, and head back to Ponyville. Then she would be safe and sound, able to see Apple Bloom again, and find out whether Silver Spoon went back or not as well. It would no longer be her problem.

"No," she finally said. "I'm trying to turn my life around and become a better pony. Wouldn't be much of one if I ran away now. I have one more day to try and help, and I'm going to use it."

"So I guess you decided not to quit the guard after all?"

The question made Diamond stop. It was something she had not been thinking about since the day of the first attack. Maybe it was because there was something bigger going on around her now to focus on, or maybe it was because of the fight she had with Aura (or possible brain trauma from it). Whatever the case, she had not thought about leaving the guard. She had even barely thought about...

Pushing the thought aside, she gave her head a shake.

"I guess so," she finally said. "I guess if I am going to try to make up for what I've done before, I might as well add one more thing to the list."

"Did you hear that?" Dinky asked, elbowing Rumble. "She decided to stay after all."

"Yes, yes," Rumble said, rolling his eyes. "I'll pay you when we get home."

"Wait a second." Diamond Tiara took a step toward the pair, her eyes narrowing. "Are you telling me that you bet I would quit?"

"Pft, no," Rumble answered, giving a wave of his hoof. "Don't be silly. We both knew you wouldn't quit. I betted that you would decide to stay after returning to Ponyville and talking to Apple Bloom."

Diamond Tiara could not help but glare at the two ponies. A part of her was furious at them. She was having a bit of a personal crisis and her team mates -- her friends -- were placing bets on her.

At the same time, a part of her was also comforted. Not by the bets themselves, but by the belief in her. If what Rumble was saying was true, then they both believed that she would stay. That even after what happened, they could still rely on her to stay by their side.

"NOW BOARDING!" a voice shouted.

"Time for you two to get going," Diamond Tiara said. "I'll see you when I get back to Ponyville."

"Alright," Rumble said as he turned toward the train.

"Diamond Tiara," Dinky said softly. "Be safe. I don't want something to happen to you because we weren't around."

"Go home and check on your mom," Diamond told her. "I'll be fine. You'll see." She paused. "Okay, given my track record... I may have another scar inducing injury or two, but that's it. And don't even think of betting what kind of scar or where."

With that, Rumble and Dinky headed for the train and climbed on. Diamond Tiara stood on the platform, watching silently until the train started to move. Raising a hoof, she gave one last wave, just in case they saw her. As she watched them leave, she hoped that she was right: Derpy would be fine, and so would she.

But first, she had to try and do something to protect the ponies here.