Diamond's Evil Journey

Chapters

1. Magical Mishap
The Village Trap
Enter the Big Cheese
Gifts
Del Lago
Take me to Church
Melting the Big Cheese
Storming the Castle
Kidnapped Again
A Friend's Demise
Separation
Back Together, Back Apart
Undergrounded
Salazar's Downfall
Not the Ideal Island Vacation
An Old Comrade Appears
Putting on a Show
Mission Accomplished
Welcome Home
Cabin a Lot of Trouble
Severing the Right Hand

1. Magical Mishap

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were walking around Ponyville. Diamond's head hung low in pure boredom. Silver's face lit up and she looked towards her friend “We could get something to eat at sugarcube corner!” she suggested.

Diamond's expression barely changed “Nah, I'm not hungry.” she said.

Silver frowned again “We could go back to your place and play dolls.” she said.

“Nah, we do that too often.” she answered.

“Maybe we can go pick on the crusaders?” she suggested.

Diamond hummed in thought before sighing “Nah, don't feel like it.” she said.

Silver was starting to get fed up “What do you feel like doing?” she asked, slightly annoyed.

Diamond stopped walking and stared down at her hooves “I don't know. Everything just sounds boring. I want to do something new, something I've never done before.” she pondered on that thought for a moment “Like, go on an adventure or something.” she said.

Silver raised an eyebrow at her “You want to go on an adventure? Where is all this coming from?” she asked.

Diamond rolled her eyes “It was just an example.” she said.

They stood in silence until something caught Diamond's eye “Look over there.” she said before running ahead.

Silver was caught off guard but caught up “What is it?” she asked.

Diamond pointed ahead at two mares, one lavender and the other pink “It's Twilight and Pinkie. Whenever those two are together, it always ends in a train wreak. It should be good for a laugh at least.” she said.

Pinkie was hopping circles around Twilight as she walked “Please Twilight, please please please.” she pleaded.

Twilight stopped and sighed “What was it that you wanted pinkie?” she asked.

Pinkie stopped bouncing to explain “Well I was testing my party cannon but it broke so I reached for a screwdriver to crack this baby open and find the problem but stopped when I thought “that's not very fun” but then I got an idea. It would be super fun to be itsy bitsy tiny and fix it from the inside. So I came to you to ask if you knew a spell to shrink me.” she said.

“So you want me to shrink you so that you can have a fun while fixing your party cannon?” Twilight asked.

Pinkie nodded her head vigorously. Twilight thought for a moment then nodded “Okay, I know a spell that will shrink you for thirty minutes. Will that be enough?” she asked.

Pinkie nodded “Ooh ooh can you also teleport me to sugarcube corner. It would take so long to run there if I were super small.” she gasped loudly “And I could get stepped on by ponies who can't see or hear me because I'm tiny.” she gasped again but Twilight shoved her hoof into her mouth to stop her.

“I understand, I'll just mix both of the spells.” she said.

Pinkie's face lit up even more if that's even possible “Ooooh that sounds exciting. What's that gonna do?” she asked.

“It'll just allow me to cast both spells simultaneously but I'll need you to be quiet. If I'm interrupted during this then the spell could result in anything, okay?” she asked.

Pinkie nodded and pretended to zip her lips. Twilight took a breath and focused on the magic in her horn. She concentrated on both spells as she gathered enough magic. She was almost done, as long as no-

“Look out!” she heard and felt a body ram into her. She felt the magic leave her horn. She looked to the pony who crashed into her to see Rainbow Dash. Rainbow got to her hooves and rubbed the back of her neck “Sorry about that Twi, I may have done one too many flips.” she said.

Twilight got up and glared at her friend “You have to be more careful. I was trying to cast two spells at once. Being interrupted during something like that could be dangerous.” she scolded.

Rainbow racked her brain for something that will get her out of trouble “Well no harm no foul, right?” she asked nervously.

Suddenly they heard a nearby scream. Twilight shot another glare at Rainbow before running towards the sound.

Rainbow sighed “Bad timing.” she said to herself before following with Pinkie.

When they reached where they thought the scream came from they saw a shocked looking Silver Spoon “What's wrong?” Twilight asked.

Silver started tearing up and pointed an accusing hoof at Twilight “Your magic hit Diamond Tiara and she just disappeared.” she said.

Twilight went wide eyed and Rainbow tried to calm the filly “Don't worry, I'm sure Twilight can bring her back from where ever she sent her, right Twi?” she asked with confidence. She lost some confidence when she saw the worried look on her friend's face “Twi? You can bring her back right?” she reiterated.

Twilight finally got her thoughts in order “To be honest, it will be difficult. Since I was interrupted I didn't have any control over it's effects.” she said.

Rainbow looked down at Silver and saw that she was now fully sobbing. She then looked back up at Twilight “Can't you give us any good news?” she asked.

Twilight pondered for a second “Well the effect would be close to one of the spells I meant to cast. Since she didn't change size at all I'd have to think that she was teleported but the destination is unknown.” she said.

Rainbow nodded “Well I guess that means she's still alive. Is there anyway to figure out how to find her?” she asked.

Twilight started to sweat from the stress “I...I don't know, maybe Celestia and Luna will be able to help. Let's go back to my library and send a letter.” she said.

Rainbow nodded then looked back down to the teary eyed filly “Come on, you should come too. We might need your information. Hop on.” she said as she bent down.

Silver wiped her eyes and climbed onto the pegasus. They all made their way towards the library as fast as they could.

Diamond woke up with a headache. Her eyes fluttered open to see that she was on a path in the woods. She got to her hooves and looked around. The trees around her were dying and the brown leaves littered the ground “What happened to me? Am I dead?” she asked herself.

She bit her hoof and winced at the pain “I guess that rules out the afterlife or dream.” she said. After a few seconds she decided to just follow the path.

After a minute or two of walking she saw a bipedal creature. It had blonde hair and a brown jacket. Diamond thought that the type of creature looked familiar. That's right, it looks like one of those mythical creatures that Lyra is obsessed with. What was it called again? Human, that's it. She started walking closer to it. She noticed that it was talking to a black plastic thing in his hand “Whoever this group is, they sure picked the wrong girl to kidnap.” the human said in a clear masculine voice.

She heard a feminine voice come from the thing in his hand “I'll try to find more information on them on my end as well.” it said.

“Good. Talk to you later. Leon out.” the human responded before attaching the thing to his belt.

Diamond got right behind him “Excuse me?” she asked.

The human quickly turned around and held what looked like a small machine in his hands. He scanned the area but found nothing “Down here.” Diamond said.

The human pointed the machine down but stepped back in shock at the sight of her. Diamond smirked “I know I'm cute but you don't have to be so surprised.” she said.

The human composed himself and kept the machine pointed at her “You can talk? What are you? What's your name?” he commanded.

Diamond frowned “Daddy always told me that a gentlecolt should always introduce himself before asking a lady her name.” she said.

The human lowered his arms in confusion “Daddy? Gentlecolt? Lady?” he asked. He composed himself “Whatever, assuming that you're real and I'm not going insane, I guess I should introduce myself. Leon Kennedy.” he said while putting the machine away “How about yourself?” he asked.

Diamond remembered the way her father taught her to introduce herself. She gave a gentle curtsy “My name is Diamond Tiara Rich, of the Rich family.” she said.

Leon glanced back at something that resembled a carriage with two more humans in it. They both had faces of shock. Leon looked back to Diamond “So they see you too, I guess you are real.” he said to himself.

Diamond looked towards the machine that he had put away on his belt “What's that thing you were pointing at me?” she asked.

Leon looked at it and back to her “You've never heard of a gun before?” he asked. Diamond nodded and Leon rubbed the back of his neck trying to think of a way to explain it “Let's just say it's used to hurt people who are trying to hurt you.” he said.

Diamond nodded in understanding. Leon then thought of something. He pulled out a small picture and bent down to show it to her “Have you seen this girl anywhere?” he asked.

Diamond stared at the picture of the blonde girl then shook her head “Never seen her. I'm not really from around here.” she said.

Leon pocketed the picture and rolled his eyes “Should of guessed that. What are you doing here, you seem a bit young to be someplace like this all alone.” he said.

Diamond then looked down sadly “I don't even know where I am. Somepony botched a spell and I think it sent me to another world since we don't have humans in Equestria.” she said.

Leon rubbed his chin in thought “Spell? Then you'd have to be from another world, 'cause there's no magic in this world.” he said. He looked down at the sad filly and sighed “Listen I have something very important to do, if you stay with my friends here then maybe they can help you.” he said.

Diamond raised an eyebrow “What do you have to do that's so important? Does it have to do with the girl you showed me?” she asked.

Leon nodded “Yeah, she's the president's daughter. The president is the leader of my country. She has been kidnapped and I've been tasked with finding her. Now can you just save any more questions for my friends?” he asked.

Diamond shook her head and walked ahead “No way, that sounds boring. I'll help you look for that girl.” she spotted a small house nearby “Maybe somepony in there knows something.” she said before darting towards the house.

Leon ran after her “Hey! Stop! It could be dangerous!” he called out to her but she ignored him. She opened the door and slipped in.

Leon sighed and walked in himself. He took out his handgun and walked further in. he then saw diamond nudging the leg of the resident of the house “Excuse me? I'm trying to ask you a question.” she complained. The villager didn't seem interested in her.

Leon pulled her away from him “I'm sorry about her. But while I'm here” he pulled out the small picture again and held it out to him “Have you seen the girl in this picture?” he asked.

The villager turned around took one glance at the photo then stared Leon down “Que carajo estas haciendo aquí? Lárgate, cabrón!” he snapped.

Leon held up his hand defensively “Sorry to have bothered you” he said and went to put the picture away.

Diamond pouted “Rude.” she said. The villager then grabbed a nearby hatchet and raised it for a strike at Leon “Leon lookout!” Diamond warned.

Leon looked up just in time and rolled out of the way. He pulled out his handgun and pointed it at the villager “Freeze!” he commanded but the villager continued slowly advancing on them.

Diamond hid behind Leon's leg “Didn't you say that the gun thing you have is to hurt people trying to hurt us, you should probably do it now!” she said.

Leon hesitated as the villager got closer “I said freeze!” he repeated. Once again the villager refused and raised the hatchet for another attack. Before he could bring it down, Leon fired a single bullet through his head, causing him to fall backwards onto the floor.

Diamond looked shocked “Did...did you kill him?” she asked while peeking from behind his leg.

Leon felt bad for killing in front of a small child but it had to be done “It was either him or us.” he said.

Suddenly they heard the sound of a car starting up. Leon ran to the window and peeked through the blinds. He saw a truck drive past and towards where his friends parked. He heard the sound of tires screeching and a crash. He turned from the window “Shi-” he stopped himself from cursing “Fuck.” he face palmed “That's not better.” he mumbled.

He took out his communicator and spoke into it “Hunnigan.” he said.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“There was a hostile local. I had no choice but to neutralize him. There are still others surrounding the area.” he said.

“Get out of there and head towards the village, take whatever measures necessary to save the subject.” Hunnigan commanded.

Leon nodded “Understood.” he said.

He put the communicator away and looked down at Diamond “Uh Leon, what was all that noise out there?” she asked.

They heard banging on the door “No time to chat, I'll get us out of here safely.” he said before scooping her up in his arms and ran up a flight of stairs. It led him to a small room with a table and a window.

He looked down at the filly in his arms “Hold on tight alright?” he asked.

Diamond nodded and made sure she had a good grip on him. Leon ran at the window and jumped through the window while shielding Diamond. He landed with a roll and he turned to see four villagers walking towards him with different kinds of farm tools. Leon took Diamond in one arm and grabbed his handgun in his other. He shot three of them in the head, killing them instantly. The last one charged him with a pitchfork. He knocked it away with his hand and kicked her in the jaw. When she fell to the floor, Leon took out a knife and slit her throat with it.

Leon scanned the area again to see that there were no more. He sighed and put Diamond back on the ground “Come on.” he said as he ran back to where the car was with Diamond following. When they arrived all they saw was some tire tracks near the cliff.

He leaned over the edge and saw the trunk and car but no signs of life “Oh no.” he said.

Diamond got his attention by knocking on his leg “Are your friends okay?” she asked with worry.

Leon didn't see the use in lying to her “I don't think they made it out in time.” he said.

Diamond felt sorry for him so she tried to make him feel better by nuzzling his leg. Leon knelt down to her “Don't worry about it kid. I can't let something like this stop me, I still have a job to do.” he said.

Diamond looked down in sad contemplation “What should I do now?” she asked, now feeling very lost.

Leon sighed and looked around for a few seconds “Just stay right there, I'm going to step aside for a moment to make a call.” he said then walked away. He made sure that she was still within eyesight then grabbed his communicator “Hunnigan, is there any chance I can get an evac here soon?” he asked.

“Why? You're not abandoning your mission, are you?” she asked.

Leon shook his head quickly “No no it's not for me. You see, I met this filly when I arrived-”

“Filly? I'm not sending an evac for a horse.” she said.

“Well she not like any horse I've ever seen. She's pink, has huge eyes, and can somehow speak perfect English. She says that she's from another world and came here on accident.” he explained.

Hunnigan was silent for a moment then spoke in a exasperated tone “Have you been eating wild mushrooms out there?” she asked.

“No, I-” he sighed and pointed the communicator towards Diamond “Just look.” he said. After a few seconds he faced the communicator back to him “Her name is Diamond Tiara and she's obviously a young child. Do you think you can send out an evac for her?” he asked again.

Hunnigan sighed “I can't believe you were telling the truth. Anyway I'm under strict orders not to send out evacs unless you're wounded, or the subject is secure. I'm sorry.” she said.

“Then what do you think I should do?” he asked,

“She has no importance to the mission at hand. You can bring her with you and try to keep her safe, or you can leave her. The choice is yours.” she said.

“It wouldn't feel right to leave her to fend for herself, especially with these hostile villagers around.” he said.

“Alright then. Is that all?” she asked.

“Yeah, I'll contact you again when I get more information. Leon out.” he said before putting the communicator away.

He walked back to the filly “Diamond!” he called.

She turned and walked to him “What was all that about?” she asked.

Leon knelt down to her “I tried to get some friends to come pick you up and take you somewhere safe but I couldn't.” he said.

Diamond looked down sadly.

Leon raised her chin to make her look at him “So you'll be joining me on my mission. I'll keep you safe, and when I save the president's daughter then I can help you find a way home. Is that okay with you?” he asked.

Diamond smiled a bit and hugged him “Thank you Leon.” she said.

Leon smiled too “No problem Diamond.” he said.

Author's Note

For those of you who don't know any Spanish, the guy in the house said "What the hell are you doing here? Get out of here dumbass!"

The Village Trap

Leon and Diamond walked down the path towards the village. Leon stopped when he saw a wooden sign type thing with dry blood and old skulls on it. Leon reached out to touch it before thinking. Diamond broke him out of his thought “Why are we stopping? What is that thing?” she asked.

“It seems to be a sign. It's probably a warning of some kind.” he answered.

Diamond backed away from the sign slightly “A warning of what?” she asked.

Leon took out his handgun and started slowly proceeding forward “I'm not sure, that's what worries me.” he said.

Suddenly they heard some kind of pained whimpers. Diamond's ears perked up “What's that?” she asked no one in particular. She ran forward towards the sound. Leon sighed before following “Don't run ahead!” he called after her.

He saw Diamond run up to a wolf with it's left hind leg caught in a bear trap. She gasped “Dear celestia.” she said. She then tried to pry the bear trap open but she couldn't.

Leon chuckled and holstered his weapon. He bent down on the other side of the bear trap “Come on we'll do it together.” he said. With Leon's strength they were able to pry it open enough to allow the wolf to lift it's leg out.

It faced Diamond and licked her face in appreciation. Diamond smiled at it “I should name you. What should your name be?” she wondered then lit up “I know, I'll name you after my best friend! Your name will be Silver.” she said.

Silver looked behind them as if something got her attention. She ran as fast as she could with her injury. Diamond frowned at the retreating wolf “Silver...” she said sadly.

Leon got her attention “at least Silver's alive. Either way we have to continue. Come on.” he said. He started walking again and Diamond followed.

They walked past while looking out for more bear traps. After walking a few steps they came to a small area with four trees. Leon stopped and chuckled “They must think I'm brain dead.” he said with a shake of his head.

Diamond tilted her head in confusion at his sudden statement “What do you mean?” she asked.

Leon pointed to the two pairs of trees “Do you see those devices on those trees?” he asked. Diamond nodded and Leon continued “Those are explosive devices, and they have a trip wire between them. If I were to walk through that then...well it might be better to show you.” he said. He grabbed a medium sized rock and tossed it at the wire.

The wire broke and the two devices exploded, just doing minimal damage to the trees they were attached to “Seems like they weren't very powerful. They were probably meant to injure instead of kill.” he said.

Diamond laughed and grabbed a rock “Let me try.” she said before throwing the rock and blowing the devices.

Leon was amused by her childish antics but decided that they wasted enough time “The village can't be too far, let's continue.” he said.

They started walking again but shortly ran into another villager. Leon was caught off guard and the villager grabbed his throat and lifted him off his feet. Diamond started to panic “Leon!” she called. She ran to the villager's leg and bucked it as hard as she could. The villager stumbled and lessened his grip on Leon's neck. Leon took the opportunity to land a kick to his chin. The villager landed on his back and Leon quickly fired a bullet into his head.

Leon caught his breath and rubbed his sore throat. Diamond looked up at him with worry “Are you alright Leon.” she asked.

Leon composed himself before answering “Yeah, thanks for lending a hand...or hoof I guess.” he said.

Diamond started looking proud of herself. Leon got her attention “As grateful as I am for the help, remember to stay back and let me fight anyone we come across.” he said.

Diamond pouted “I'll help if I want to help.” she muttered.

They came to a small shack and Leon walked in to check it out. He saw a women stuck to the wall with a pitchfork through her head. The body was still bleeding fresh blood. Diamond tried to follow him into the shack but Leon blocked her way with his leg “There's nothing here, let's go.” he said and ushered her along the path.

They walked to a ravine with a bridge across but there were two villagers with hatchets in front of it. They charged Leon with their hatches raised. Leon blocked the first strike then countered with a kick to his stomach. He then dodged the others strike and grabbed his other arm. He pulled and threw him over the cliff into the ravine. Leon turned to see the first villager getting off of the floor. Leon grabbed his knife and stabbed him in the heart.

Diamond made sure there were no more and caught up to Leon “If you have that gun then why are you fighting them?” she asked.

Leon put the knife away and turned to her “Guns need ammunition to work and I have a limited supply of ammo. I don't want to waste too much of it.” he said.

On a cliff on the other side of the bridge, three villagers spotted them “Un forastero!” one called while pointing

“Avisar a los de mas!” another yelled.

“Te cogí!” the last said.

They ran away towards the village. Leon sighed “That didn't sound friendly.” he said.

They crossed the bridge and came across another shack. After what Leon found in the last shack, he didn't want Diamond to follow him “Wait here, I'll check this out.” he said. As soon as he got close a villager ran out like a bat out of hell and swung her hatchet at Leon. He tried to dodge but the hatchet clipped his chest. He looked down and saw a tiny bit of blood seep from his wound. He ignored it for now.

The villager came for another attack but Leon grabbed her wrist and slammed his fist into her elbow causing her to grunt in pain and drop the hatchet. Leon grabbed it and slit her throat with it.

Diamond ran up to him “Did she get you?” she asked in panic.

Leon wiped the blood from his chest and saw that there was barely any blood coming “A bit, but luckily it's just a scratch.” he said.

Diamond saw the scratch and nodded “Good thing you're so fast.” she said.

Leon chuckled and continued forward. Diamond rolled her eyes “And he tells me to be careful.” she said under her breath.

They walked up to a large solid metal door “This should be the entrance to the village.” he turned to diamond “Don't run ahead this time. It'll probably be filled with these villagers.” he said before walking through the door.

Once they walked through the door Leon got a call on his communicator. He answered to see Hunnigan “Leon, how ya holding up?” she asked.

“Bad question Hunnigan.” he responded.

“Sorry to hear that. How's Diamond Tiara? She's still with you isn't she?” she asked.

Leon glanced at the filly then back to Hunnigan “She's taking all of this a lot better than I thought she would.” he said.

“That's good, but remember your actual mission.” she said.

“Yeah, don't worry. I'll bring the subject home safe.” he said.

Leon disconnected the call and hid behind a nearby tree while gesturing Diamond to follow. Leon peeked out from the tree to see the village. He took out a pair of binoculars to get a clearer view. He saw the villager going along with their business and working. In the middle of the village was a large fire. In the fire was one of his fellow officers attached to a log with a hook through his chest “Damn.” he said to himself.

He scanned the rest of the village and made note of as much as he could “Four visible villagers...four visible buildings...Diamond Tiara...” he put the binoculars down “Wait, what?” he said and looked again. Diamond Tiara was sneaking behind one of the buildings in the village. Leon put the binoculars away and ran in.

Diamond was spotted by a man with a pitch fork. He threw the pitchfork at her but diamond dodged by shuffling back in fright. Leon came up behind him and stabbed him in the neck.

“Te voy hacer picadillo!” yelled a villager as he took a hatchet in his hand.

Leon ran and stood in front of diamond “Didn't I tell you not to run off!” he asked as he shot two incoming villagers.

Diamond cowered behind his leg “I didn't run, I walked.” Diamond shot back. Leon breathed a sigh of annoyance. He grabbed her in an arm and ran past a few of them and into one of the houses. He slammed the door and was glad to see none of them inside.

“Esta en la trampa!” yelled a villager.

Leon set Diamond down and ran to a window “Who are these people? What are they planning?” he asked himself. He then heard the sound of a chainsaw rev up.

Diamond tried to stay as close to Leon as possible out of fear “what's that sound?” she asked.

Leon ran towards a dresser “Chainsaw.” he answered as he pushed the dresser in front of the door “That should hold them for a minute.” he said. They heard the sound of glass breaking up stairs “Shit.” he said.

He then turned to another window that was boarded up and saw the villagers trying to break through “Son of a...” he said. He ran up the stairs “Upstairs!” he called back to Diamond “And stay behind me” he threw in.

They arrived at the second floor to see the top of a ladder leading through the broken window. Leon saw a villager climbing through “Oh no you don't.” he said as he kicked the villager's face, sending him off the ladder. He then threw the ladder down. He saw that there were more banging on another nearby window.

Leon spotted a shotgun in a glass container on the wall. He broke the glass and grabbed it. He inspected it and found that it was loaded. He also grabbed a box of shotgun shells. Someone set the ladder back up to the window but Diamond was quick to push it away again. They heard the sound of a chainsaw sawing through wood downstairs. Leon stood in front of the window with three villagers behind it “It's time we left.” he said as he fired a shot from his new shotgun.

The window shattered and the three villagers fell to the ground dead. Leon grabbed diamond and jumped out of the window. They ran to the top of the next house and Leon turned around and switched the shotgun for his handgun. A crowd ran towards them. He killed most of them with the handgun but next time he pulled the trigger all that came out was a click. He was about to reload but two more villagers ran towards him. He slammed the handgun into the first one's head then landed a kick to his back sending him off the roof. The other attacked with a sickle slicing Leon's arm a bit. He kneed her in the stomach and punched her off the roof.

Another group arrived on the roof. At the back of the group was a man with a bag over his head and a chainsaw in his hands. Leon growled as he reloaded and fired at the group.

Diamond kept her eyes on the group in front of her. Behind her a villager climbed up a ladder. He grabbed her in his hand and she started flailing her legs around “Let me go you freak!” she yelled. One of her hooves slammed into his eye. He dropped her and stumbled back while covering his eyes. He accidentally stepped off of the roof, fell and broke his neck. Diamond pushed the ladder down then brought her attention back to the group in front of Leon.

Leon killed all of them except for the chainsaw guy. Leon fired two bullets into his chest and one in the head. The bullets caused him to stumble back but he stayed up and continued advancing on them “What's this guy made out of?” he asked.

Leon switched for his shotgun and blasted his chest. He was knocked to the floor but still got up even with a chunk of flesh missing from his chest “You've gotta be kidding me.” he said as he took his handgun out again. He emptied the magazine into the chainsaw guy's chest causing him to finally fall down limply.

Leon saw more villagers running around the village. Suddenly some church bells started to ring out from somewhere. All of the villagers stopped in their tracks “La campana.” one said before walking towards the sound

all of the remaining villagers followed the sound “Lord saddler.” another said. Soon they were all gone.

Leon looked around in confusion “Where's everyone going? Bingo?” he quipped.

“Good riddance!” Diamond yelled in the direction that the villagers went.

Leon held his cut arm and grunted in pain. Diamond ran to him “Oh no, will you be okay?” she asked.

Leon sat down and took out a spray can and a roll of bandages “Yeah, I just have to take care of this real quick.” he said. He took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeve. He then took the can and sprayed his wound “This will numb the pain and insure that it doesn't get infected.” he said. He then wrapped the bandages around the wound. When he finished he stood up and put his jacket back on.

He then slightly glared down at diamond “You ran ahead again against my orders.” he said.

Diamond lowered her head with a guilty look on her face “I'm sorry, I was trying to get a closer look. I wanted to be helpful.” she said.

Leon sighed and calmed down a bit “I get that but this isn't a game, you could have died. There are other, safer ways that you could be helpful to me.” he said.

Diamond gained an idea and lit up “You got a new gun right? Give me the other one so that I can defend myself!” she said.

Leon shook his head “I'm not giving a child a firearm.” he said.

Diamond gave Leon the look that she always gave her dad when asking for something “Pleeease?” she asked.

Leon showed Diamond the handgun “You couldn't use it if you tried, not with hooves. Just listen when I give you a command, and obey. It's for your own safety.” he said.

Diamond sighed and gave up “Fine, I understand.” she said with a pout.

Leon and Diamond got down from the roof. Leon took another look at the officer in the fire, still burning. He took out his communicator “Hunnigan I have some bad news. I've confirmed the body of an officer. Something's happened to the people here.” he said.

“Leon you two need to get out of there. Look for a tower and follow the trail near it.” she said.

Leon looked to the nearby tower “Got it.” he said.

He put the communicator away and turned his attention to Diamond “Can we take a break, my legs are getting tired.” she asked him.

Leon was about to refuse but then he thought of something “Okay go sit down. I'm going to look around the village for some more ammo or anything else that might be useful.” he said.

Diamond sighed in relief and took a seat on a nearby log “I hope we find that girl soon.” she said to herself as Leon walked off.

Author's Note

If you wanted to know what the Spanish in this chapter meant, then I'm here to help.

The three villagers on the hill:
"An outsider!"
"Warn the others!"
"I got you!"

The first villager in the village: "I'm going to turn you into mincemeat!"

After Leon ran into the house: "He's in the trap!"

After the church bell rings: "the church bell."

Enter the Big Cheese

Leon and Diamond left the village through a wooden door. They ended up at fenced in area. They saw a barn as well as another building. Cows and chickens could be seen around the area. Diamond had a disgusted look on her face “Ugh I hate farms. This is just as filthy as the apple hick's farm.” she said.

Leon readied his handgun and started walking towards the barn “This seems to be a ranch, not a farm.” he said.

Diamond rolled her eyes “So what? What's the diff-” Leon covered her mouth when he saw a villager in the barn. Luckily the villager didn't seem to have heard her. He just continued working.

Leon silently signaled for Diamond to stay put. He then took out his knife and sneaked behind him. He then quietly slit his throat.

Diamond caught up to him “These idiots are so unobservant.” she said. A villager heard her and ran in the barn at them. Leon aimed his handgun at him but he grabbed Leon's wrist and pushed it to the side causing him to miss. Leon struggled against the villager for a bit but eventually Leon kneed him to make him let go. He then gave him a kick to the chest to get some distance from him so he could finish him with a shot to the head.

Leon gave Diamond a disappointed look. Diamond sighed and hung her head “Yeah yeah, I'm sorry.” she said. Leon just left it at that and continued scanning the ranch.

They looked inside of the next building to see one villager on the first floor and a ladder leading to another. Leon silently took care of the first one with his knife then climbed the ladder to kill the next one.

While he was up there, another villager walked in through the other side of the building and saw Diamond. She took a few steps back as he advanced “There's another one down here!” she called up to Leon.

The villager got close and raised his hatchet. Before he could bring it down, Leon threw the body of the other villager at him to knock him down. He then finished him with his handgun. Leon climbed back down “See, I told you that there were safer ways for you to help me.” he said.

Diamond glared up at him “That's what you call safe? I was basically live bait!” she complained.

“Not bait. You can be my second pair of eyes.” he said then continued on.

Diamond followed with an angry expression “Yeah that will save me from getting a hatchet to the face. I'll just stare them into submission.” she said sarcastically.

They exited the ranch through a door and ended up at a narrow trail with a steep rocky wall to the left. Leon spotted another bloody sign nearby “Looks like another warning. Keep a eye out for traps.” he said.

They slowly proceeded while scanning the trail. Suddenly they heard a crash from behind them. They turned to see a boulder come crashing down from the top of the wall. It started rolling towards them. They instantly started running for their lives. After a few seconds Leon spotted a tunnel ahead. Near the tunnel the trail opened up a bit. Leon pointed to the two sides “When we get near the tunnel jump to the right, I'll go left!” he shouted over the noise of the boulder.

Diamond nodded while straining herself to speed up. Once they got close enough Leon shouted “Now!” and he rolled left. Diamond jumped right and the boulder crumbled as it hit the entrance to the tunnel.

Leon looked to Diamond to see her breathing hard and sweating “I...hate...this place.” she said between pants.

After they caught their breath they walked into the cave. Once they made it half way through a few bats flew over them. Diamond screamed and covered her head. Once she lifted her head she saw Leon giving her a slightly amused look. Diamond blushed and turned her face away from him “Shut up!” she said before continuing on.

They exited the tunnel and found themselves in another area with one small house with a slightly demolished shack nearby. There was also a larger house farther away. Leon noticed a villager start lighting a stick of dynamite. Leon's eyes widened “Get down!” he shouted and he pulled Diamond back and shielded her.

The villager threw the stick and it exploded far enough that the force didn't effect Leon much. He got up and shot the villager before he could pull out another stick. Another villager ran into sight with a stick of dynamite. He was about to throw it but Leon shot it while it was still in his hand causing it to blow him up.

Diamond's ears flattened against her skull “I know that we're trespassing but this seems like a bit much.” she said.

Leon spotted the top of a villager's head and another stick of dynamite through a small window in the house. Leon grabbed a round green thing from his belt “I'm glad that I brought grenades along.” he said as he pulled a pin from it and tossed it through the window. After a second a explosion sounded from inside.

They continued forward while being careful to dodge bear traps or trip wires. They arrived at the large house. The metal door had a large tough looking lock on it. Leon kicked the door but it didn't budge. He tried again to the same result.

Diamond didn't look amused “I don't think you'll be able t-” Leon gave one more hard kick causing the lock to snap and the door to fly open. Diamond's jaw dropped “Wow!” she exclaimed “You have to teach me to do that.” she said.

Leon entered the building “It take a lot of training and exercise.” he said. Once they walked in they noticed the dismal state of the house. The drywall was ripped apart exposing the wood underneath. The floor was littered with the remains of the walls and everything looked old and moldy.

Diamond almost gagged at the sight “Don't these people know how to clean. How do they live in this filth?” she asked.

“I get more questions then answers the more I see of this village.” he said. Then suddenly they heard loud banging from deeper in the house.

“What is it now?” Diamond asked in an exasperated tone.

Leon took his handgun out and proceeded with caution. They entered a hallway with a trip wire attached to two explosives. Leon crouched under it while Diamond walked under with no problem. They entered a room with no more doorways but they still heard the banging.

Diamond glanced around the relatively empty room in confusion “Where the hay is that coming from?” she asked.

Leon walked up to an empty bookcase and put his ear close to it “It's coming from behind here.” he said before he pushed it out of the way to reveal a hidden doorway. The banging sounded much clearer.

They walked in to see another fairly empty room but at the end of the room sat a tall dresser. The banging seemed to be coming from it since it slightly shook with each bang. Leon got on one side of the dresser and gestured Diamond to the other side.

Leon had his handgun at the ready as he quickly pull the dresser open. A man fell out and onto the floor. Leon had his gun pointed at him but then noticed that he had tape over him mouth and his hands bound behind his back. The man frantically shook his head.

Leon holstered his handgun and bent down to rip the tape off the man's face “Ahh, a little rough don't you think?” he asked in a Spanish accent. The man had medium length black hair and some light facial hair. Leon rolled him over and started undoing the ropes bounding his hands “You're...not like them?” the man asked.

Leon stopped untying for a second “No, you?” he asked before continuing. The man didn't answer.

Leon finished untying and the man sat up. He glanced around the room and his eyes landed on Diamond “I think they must have drugged me. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?” he asked. Diamond looked insulted by his comment.

Leon nodded “Yeah, but as strange as it sounds she's real.” he said.

The man nodded and looked back to Leon “Okay? But I have one very important question...do you got a smoke?” he asked.

“Got gum.” Leon answered.

Before anyone else could speak they heard loud footsteps coming towards the room. Two villagers walked in but it was obvious that they weren't the cause of the footsteps.

The man seemed to understand what was coming “Perfect.” he said sarcastically “The big cheese.”

Leon looked over to him “What?” he asked.

From behind the villagers came a tall man. He was wearing an old black trench coat. He was bald but also had a long black beard. But the most notable thing about him was that his left eye was red while the right was a dull green.

Leon charged him and attempted a kick to his midsection. The tall man easily caught his foot without even flinching. He then flipped him back causing him to fly into the man he just saved and the dresser. The dresser broke from the force with Leon and the other man on top of it.

Diamond ran over to them and tried to shake Leon awake “Come on, now's not the time to nap!” she shouted in fear. The tall man took a few steps toward her. Diamond gave up on Leon and took the knife from Leon's belt. She then faced the man and tried to look menacing but she couldn't stop her legs from shaking.

The man grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. Her stared at her for a few seconds as she futilely struggle against his grip with fear in her eyes. He then slammed her against the wall causing her to lose consciousness. He then dropped her and she fell limply to the floor.

Twilight and her friends were in the Canterlot castle throne room along with Filthy Rich. Twilight finished explaining the situation to Celestia and Luna. Celestia glanced to her sister then back down at Twilight “That is very worrying.” she said

Twilight hung her head in guilt “Is there any spell that you know of that could help us find her? I know a few radar spells but even the most powerful one I know only covers a few hundred miles. It would take forever to find her with that.” she said.

“If she's even still in this world.” Pinkie threw in. Filthy glared at her. Pinkie shrugged “What? Somepony had to say it.” she said.

Celestia got their attention again “She is correct, we cannot disregard that possibility. Though we should first be sure if she is in this world or not. I do know a radar spell strong enough to cover the planet though it will take a few hours to be sure.” she said.

Twilight then thought of something “Wait princess, how could she have ended up in another world? As far as I know there isn't a spell capable of traveling to different worlds.” she said.

Celestia began casting the radar spell as she spoke “There are few restrictions to teleportation spells. One is that you can only travel to a place that you can accurately imagine in your mind. The second is if there is a magical barrier around your target location. Since the spell was interrupted, there was no target location” she said.

“when a pony is teleported with no target, they will be send anywhere that isn't magically protected. The best scenario is that she was just teleported elsewhere on this planet. The next best scenario is that she was teleported to another world.” she said

Filthy growled at this news “How could the second best scenario be that my daughter is alone in some unknown world!” he yelled.

Celestia didn't want to tell him the truth but she knew that she would have to “We don't have any spells that can scan or teleport from other worlds, so it would be very unlikely to save her if that's the case. Not impossible, but very unlikely.” she said.

Filthy eye's widened and started to water “N-no.” he whispered.

Applejack turned to Celestia with hesitation clear in her face “May ah ask what the worst case scenario is?” she asked.

Celestia sighed sadly and averted her gaze from Filthy “There is a chance that she ended up in between worlds. There is not much that we know about the space in between worlds. We don't even know if a pony could survive in it. The chances that she returns from there is...less then one percent.” she said sadly.

Filthy turned away from the others and started quietly sobbing. Fluttershy walked up from behind him and laid a hoof on his back “Um, i-it's okay. Twilight will do everything she can to bring your daughter home safe.” she said in an effort to comfort him

Filthy whipped his head around and glared at her “Twilight!” he snapped “I don't trust twilight! She's the one who caused this! If Diamond dies, the blood is on her hooves!” he yelled.

Rarity glared back at him “I know that this is a horrible situation but that is no reason to say such things!” she shot back at him.

Twilight stopped Rarity “No, he's right rarity. This is all my fault. If something happens to her, I'm not sure if I'll ever deserve forgiveness.” she said grimly.

Rainbow flew to her side “What are you saying, do you even remember what happened? You wouldn't have ever botched your spell if I didn't crash into you, I'm the one to blame not you.” she said.

Celsetia stopped them before the argument could escalate any further “Stop, please. Arguing about who's at fault will help nopony. This spell will take quite a while. You all can stay at the castle to rest. I will call for you all when the spell is complete.” she said.

Filthy just nodded and walked out of the room.

Gifts

Leon and Diamond were sat into chairs. They were still unconscious and two men in black cloaks stood nearby. After a moment another man walked into the room. He was wearing a purple cloak with gold accents and had a staff in his hand.

He walked up to the two unconscious intruders “So these are our latest guests.” he said. He glanced over at Leon “An American sent to retrieve his president's daughter. How predictable.” he said.

He then turned his attention to Diamond “But you? I never could have predicted you.” he said with a amused smile. He used his hand to lift her chin up and get a better look at her face “An otherworldly visitor if I'm not mistaken. This opens up a whole new world of possibility.” he let her go and turned towards another room “Bring them out.” he called.

Two more cloaked men walked in with syringes. The man chuckled as the syringes were put up to their necks “Allow us to give you...our power. Soon you will become unable to resist this intoxicating power” he said.

The syringes were inserted into their necks. The men pushed the plungers causing something to move into them from the syringe.

Diamond's eyes slowly fluttered open. She felt a throbbing pain in her head. She tried to put a hoof to it but found that she was unable to. She then noticed that she couldn't feel the ground under her hooves. She looked up at her hooves to see that the were shackled to the wall. She tried to struggle out of them but she didn't have enough energy to keep it up for long. She sighed and took a look around the room.

She saw Leon sitting in the middle of the room without his jacket for some reason. He had his wrists shackled to the Spanish man that they tried to save. They both looked to still be unconscious “Leon. Leon! Get your lazy flank up already!” she yelled.

Leon awoke with a jump and turned his gaze to Diamond “Diamond? Are you okay?” he asked.

She gave an extremely unamused look “I'm hanging from a wall. What do you think.” she said.

“I meant are you hurt?” he reiterated.

“Other than this headache, I'm fine.” she said.

Leon turned his neck to look at the still unconscious man he was shackled to “Hey. Hey, wake up” he said while nudging him.

The man woke up “Ai yi yi. Crawl out of one hole and into another.” he said.

“You want to tell us what's going on here?” he asked.

The man glanced to him then to the filly hanging from the wall “I can guess that you're americano, si? But what is she?” he asked.

Diamond didn't like how he framed the question “I'm a pony from Equestria. I came to this world by accident.” she said.

Leon took an attempt at escaping his bonds but he just ended up hurting the man “Easy there whoever you are.” he said.

“My name's Leon. Her name is Diamond Tiara.” he said.

“An American and a pony from another world? May I ask what brought you two to this part of the world?” the man asked.

Leon fished Ashley's picture from his pocket and faced it towards him “I'm keeping Diamond safe for as long as she's lost in this world, but I'm here looking for this girl. Have you seen her?” he asked.

“What? Are you supposed to be a cop or something?” he paused for a moment “Nah, you don't look the type.” he said

“...Maybe.” Leon answered.

The man glanced down at the picture for a second before looking back up “Okay...let me guess, she's the president's daughter.” he said.

Leon gave him a skeptical look “That's too good for a guess. Want to start explaining?” he asked.

“Psychic powers.” he said.

Diamond gasped “Really? Because if you do have magic, maybe you can use it to get us out of these shackles.” she said.

The man just chuckled “I was just joking nena. I overheard one of the villagers talking something about the president's daughter in the church.” he said.

Diamond growled “This is no time to be making jokes. What's your name anyway? You never told us.” she said.

“Fair enough. Me llamo Luis Sera. I used to be a cop in Madrid. Now I'm just a good for nothing guy, who happens to be quite the ladies' man.” he said.

Leon raised an eyebrow “You used to be a cop? Why'd you quit?” he asked

Luis scoffed “Policia...you put your life on the line, but no one really appreciates you enough for it. Being a hero isn't what it's cracked up to be anymore.” he said.

Leon nodded and sighed “I used to be a cop. Only for one day though.” he said.

Luis glanced back at him “And I thought I was bad.” he said.

Diamond nodded “Yeah, what did you do to get fired so fast?” she asked.

Leon ignored their comments and continued “Somehow I managed to get myself involved in the incident in raccoon city, on my first day in the force.” he said.

Diamond had a questioning expression “Incident? I don't remember you mentioning anything about some incident.” she said.

“That was the incident with the viral outbreak right? I might have seen a sample of the virus in the lab at my department.” Luis said.

Before they could talk anymore, they heard footsteps enter the room. They looked to the source to see a bloodied villager walk in with an axe in his hands. Luis started struggling against the shackles “Do something cop!” he said to Leon.

Leon was also trying to break free “After you!” he shot back.

Diamond pulled away from the wall with all her strength “For the love of Celestia, will someone do something!” she shouted.

The villager stood over Leon and Luis and raised the axe in the air. Leon and Luis glanced at each other and nodded “Now!” Leon shouted. They both leaned forward, exposing their shackled wrists. The axe came down and broke the shackles easily. They both rolled away from each other.

Leon laid on his back as the villager charged towards him for another attempt. Leon took advantage of the villagers momentum and used his foot to kick him into the nearby wall. He landed on his head and broke his neck. Luis got to his feet and ran out of the room. Leon was about to chase after him.

He heard Diamond clear her throat to gain his attention “Are you gonna get me down from her anytime soon?” she asked impatiently.

Leon nodded and took the villagers axe from the ground “Don't move okay?” he asked.

Diamond nodded and Leon swung the axe at the shackles. They broke and Diamond fell to the floor “Finally. My legs were starting to go numb.” she said.

Leon took out his communicator to contact Hunnigan “It's Leon. Sorry I couldn't get in touch sooner but I was a bit tied up.” he said.

“You're okay right? Diamond too?” she asked.

Leon glanced to Diamond who was stretching “Yeah, we're both still alive. More importantly, there was a male civilian held captive. According to him, Ashley's in some church somewhere.” he said.

“What happened to him?” she asked.

“He managed to escape.” he answered.

“Do you have a fix on the location of the church?” she asked.

“No, but apparently, there's a secret passage in the village that leads there. I'm heading back to the village now.” he said before putting the communicator away.

Diamond looked up at him “Are we really gonna trust what that guy says? I wouldn't.” she said.

“It's the only Intel we have. We have to check it out.” he said.

Diamond opened her mouth to object but found no valid argument “Fine, but I still don't trust him.” she said.

They walked out the room but stopped when they saw a small window in front of them. In the window was a man with a hood and mask obscuring most of his face “Over here, stranger.” he beckoned before walking out of sight.

Diamond shook her head “There is no way we are going anywhere near him, right Leon?” she said and looked up at him. She saw a thoughtful look on his face “Leon?” she asked.

Leon took his handgun out and started walking again “Just stay behind me and keep your eyes peeled.” he said.

Diamond groaned and reluctantly followed “Did your parents teach you to follow strangers into dark alleys or something?” she asked.

They exited the building and walked around it to find the man. They found him waiting at a dead end. The man opened his coat to show that it was full of guns, ammo, and all kinds of items “Got something that might interest ya.” he said.

Leon took a couple steps towards him “You're a merchant?” he asked.

He nodded “I am. Would you like to take a look at my wares stranger?” he asked.

Leon thought for a second before nodding “I could use some more ammo and grenades.” he said.

The merchant handed over the items Leon asked for and in turn Leon handed over a some pesetas from a bag “Hehehe thank you.” he said. He then glanced down and saw Diamond peek out from behind Leon “Well hello little one. You're a long way from Equestria, aren't you?” he asked.

Diamond's eyes widened, then she stepped closer to him “How do you know anything about Equestria? Just who are you?” she said suspiciously.

He just lightly chuckled “Just a humble merchant.” he then looked as if he remembered something “Now that I think about it, I have a special item for sale.” he said.

The merchant held out a weirdly shaped handgun “A twenty-two caliber handgun. Not the most powerful weapon but it's quiet and doesn't have too much recoil to it.” he said.

Leon raised an eye at the particular gun “How are you even suppose to fire it? I don't see a trigger.” he said.

“That's because it's not used by humans.” he gestured to the back of the gun “This piece that comes out the back is the trigger. It goes in the users mouth. They only need to bite down to fire.” he said. He then turned his attention to Diamond “Perfect for a pony.” he said.

Diamond smiled then nudged Leon's leg “Get it, please. It's just like he said, perfect for a pony.” she said in excitement.

Leon shook his head “I didn't change my mind. You're not getting a gun.” he said.

Diamond rolled her eyes and dug into her mane for something “I'm glad I always keep a bag of bits on me for emergencies.” she said and pulled out a small brown bag “How much?” she asked.

The merchant rubbed his chin “For you little one, fifteen bits.” he said.

Diamond counted out the correct amount and offered them to the merchant. He accepted them and held the handgun out to her. She reached out with her mouth to grab it but Leon took it and held it out of her reach. “No, I wasn't kidding. You don't need it.” he said.

Diamond growled at him “That's not fair! I even paid for it with my own bits!” she shouted.

Leon glared down at her “Have you ever killed someone before?” he asked.

Diamond tilted her head in confusion “What does that have to do with anything?” she asked.

Leon took a knee to be eye level with her “Bringing yourself to kill another is difficult, especially your first time. Someone may be able to take another's life but will regret it everyday afterwards.” he said.

Diamond narrowed her eyes “What do you mean?” she asked.

Leon sighed before continuing “Killing can take a mental toll on people. I've been doing this for a long time, so I've gotten used to it. You're just a little kid, you don't need that kind of mental damage.” he said.

Diamond seemed to have calmed down “I understand, really I do. But you've said it yourself, this isn't a game. If I don't have a way of defending myself, then I'll die. Honestly I am scared of the thought of killing, but I'm terrified of dying.” she explained.

Leon pondered on her words for a few moments. He didn't want to admit it but she was right “Fine, but as long as you agree to a condition.” he said.

Diamond managed a small smile “What is it?” she asked.

“i want you to promise to only use it if you have no other option. I'd still rather you not have blood on your hooves.” he said.

Diamond hesitated a bit but nodded “I promise.” she said.

Leon gave her a smile and a pat on the head “Alright, let me show you how to use it.” he said. Leon gave her a quick lesson on handguns. He showed her how to eject and insert a magazine, how to aim, and how to reload.

As the lesson was coming to a close, the merchant reached for something among his seemingly endless wares “Allow me to throw something in, free of charge of course.” he said as he pulled out a pair of saddle bags and put them onto Diamond.

Diamond looked over the dirty brown bags then glanced up to the merchant “If you're a merchant, why are you giving this to me for free? Seems like bad business. ” she asked.

He chuckled “I just get the feeling that you might need it.” he said as he started walking off. He stopped before walking out of sight “I also left some extra ammo in the bags, but that's where my generosity ends. Next time you'll have to pay like everyone else.” he said then left.

Diamond took her handgun and stuffed it into her saddle bags “What a strange guy. Not like Pinkie strange but still strange.” she said.

Leon held his chin in thought “And how did he know about your homeworld. Do you think he might know of a way to get you back?” he asked.

Diamond shrugged “We should have asked. Maybe we'll see him again, we'll ask him then.” she said.

Leon nodded “You're right, either way we should be moving on.” he said.

They left the area and found a red metal door in a rocky wall. Leon was about to walk through it but stopped. He glanced to he right to see a broken part of the wall. He walked over to it and peeked through it. He saw a large canyon ahead. There were buildings on the cliffs and wooden bridges connecting the two sides. He also noticed a large number of villagers in the area and most of them were armed.

Diamond got his attention by nudging his leg “What are you seeing?” she asked.

Leon took once more look at the area then down at Diamond “There's a large amount of villagers ahead. It wouldn't be worth it to take them all out. We'll just have to get past them and run.” he said.

Diamond took a breath and nodded “Alright, lead the way.” she said.

Leon opened the door and walked through with Diamond. They ran towards the first bridge. There was a villager waiting for them on the bridge. Leon took out his knife and stuck it into his leg causing him to fall to his knees. He then gave him a roundhouse kick to the head to knocking him into the canyon.

They continued on and were about to cross the second bridge but stopped when they saw a large group coming towards them. They instead ran up to the nearby cliff and followed the path. Leon shot a few villagers that were in their way. They reached what looked like a dead end.

Leon saw a red chest on a nearby shelf. He took a quick look inside of it to find half of an emblem. He saw a insignia in the middle that looked familiar.

“Leon!” Diamond shouted “If your done playing with that thing, then maybe you want to do something about the villagers who are catching up.” she said.

Leon saw the villagers coming closer to them but he also saw that they were walking by a red barrel. He hopped that it was what he thought it was. He fired a bullet at the barrel and it caused a fiery explosion. All of the villagers caught in the explosion died leaving just a few who were behind them.

Leon noticed an area below them with a door. Leon grabbed Diamond and jumped to the lower cliff. He let her down then ran to the door. He tried to open it but it wouldn't budge.

Diamond watched as more villagers were approaching. She turned to Leon who was still working on getting the door open “What's taking so long?” she asked urgently.

Leon saw a indentation in the middle of the door. It looked like the emblem he found would fit but he would be missing a half “I think we need to find the other half of this emblem.” he said. He turned around to see that the villagers were almost to them. He took out his shotgun and fired into the crowd a few times. That cleared enough of a path for them to run past.

As they were running Diamond looked to the top of a building. She saw a red chest like the one that Leon found the first emblem half in. She pointed up to it “There's another chest up there.” she said.

Leon nodded and he quickly climbed up a ladder up to the roof with Diamond close behind him. He ran up to the chest and opened it to find the other half of the emblem.

He then started walking back to the ladder but he saw a large group of villagers waiting under it for them. One tried to climb it but Diamond bucked his face and sent him back down “We're not getting down this way.” Diamond said.

Leon saw a ladder leading down into the building “This way.” he said before jumping down. Two villagers were waiting for him down there and one grabbed Leon by the neck. He struggled against the villager's grip as he saw the other raise a hatchet over him. Suddenly three bullets went through the villager's chest causing him to fall backwards.

Leon took the chance to escape from the choke hold with a kick. He then fired a bullet to finish the villager off. He looked up to the top of the ladder to see a wide eyed Diamond with her gun in her mouth “come on we have to get going.” he said.

Diamond didn't move, she just stood as if in shock. Leon climbed back up the ladder to grab her and ran out of the building. He ran around the villagers and darted towards the door. He set Diamond down and took out both halves of the emblem and put them in the door. He heard a click and pushed it open.

He brought Diamond to the other side and took the emblem halves out before slamming the door “That should hold them.” he said. He then turned his attention to Diamond. He knelt down to her “Are you okay Diamond?” he asked.

Diamond's eyes started watering “You were right. I don't know why I thought it would be easy to kill someone. I don't know if I'd be able to do that again.” Diamond grabbed the gun from her saddle bag and tossed it towards Leon “Take that thing away from me.” she said.

Leon laid a hand on Diamond's back “No, you were right. This is a situation that is too dangerous to be unarmed. I know that it must be difficult for you to take a life, but I know you can get past it. You've seen so many terrible things ever since you came to this world. I thought that you'd break down a lot earlier. You're a lot stronger than you think.” he said.

He picked her gun off the floor and held it out to her “I have to stop treating you like a child, because a child would never make it this far. For a long as this mission lasts I'll treat you like my partner instead. Do you think you can continue as my partner?” he asked.

Diamond gave it some thought then she managed a smile and took the gun back “Yeah, I'll do my best. Sorry for overreacting like that.” she said.

Leon stood up and nodded “Don't worry about it. Are you ready to move on, partner?” he asked.

Diamond put on a determined face and nodded “'Of course.” she said.

They walked down the path to find a large building. Leon led as he opened the door and scanned the room. There was rusted piping running through the room, and the lights flickered weakly. They made there way past the random boxes and garbage to the next room.

Once he entered the next room he saw an unarmed villager. He charged Leon but was quickly disposed of with a bullet to the head. Two more ran towards them. Leon shot one in the head then a bullet came from behind him and hit the other in the leg. The villager took a knee from the pain and another bullet through the chest finished him off.

Leon glanced back at Diamond to see her holding her gun once again “How are you feeling?” he asked.

Diamond put the gun down for a second “I...I feel okay.” she said.

Leon nodded and they continued on. The ended up in a room with no more doorways, just two windows. Diamond glanced around in confusion “Is this it? The building looked a lot bigger from the outside.” she said.

Leon looked out the window “This way.” he said as he backed up from the window. He then sprinted and jumped through the window while shielding his face from the glass. Diamond climbed through the broken window after him.

They saw two villagers on the other side of a wall of sand bags. They slowly climbed over the sand bags to get to them. Leon was about to shoot the but two more villagers popped up from behind the short wall and threw lit dynamite towards them. Leon grabbed diamond and jumped behind a large metal box.

After the explosion they peeked out of cover to see that the first two villagers were dead. Diamond face hoofed “They really aren't that smart.” she said. The other two villager stood up again to throw more dynamite. Leon and Diamond took cover again then Leon threw a frag grenade over the wall. The explosion killed the villagers so they started to move on.

Leon stopped Diamond “Wait, be careful of the bear traps.” he said as he pointed out the bear traps that weren't hidden very well. They slowly walked around the bear traps and made it to the next room.

They entered the next room which had a layer of water covering the floor. Diamond unknowingly stepped in it “Ugh gross, that smells like sewer water.” she said.

Leon turned back to her “Are you coming?” he asked.

Diamond sighed “Yeah yeah, I'm coming.” she said before taking a few more steps into the water then following Leon.

The walked through the next door to see dry floors but it didn't look any cleaner. They walked deeper down the slope and found themselves in an area with one villager and two ladders, one leading down and the other up.

The villager charged them with a pitchfork. Leon parried the attack and kicked him away. The villager tried to get up but Diamond rammed into him and sent him down the ladder. They looked down to see him floating in dirty water. Diamond narrowed her eyes “I think this actually is a sewer.” she said.

Diamond quickly climbed up the ladder to get out of the disgusting area. They emerged from a well and saw that the path forward ended in a house. They continued while passing through some obvious traps. They entered the house and up a flight of stairs. They came to door with what looked like a large circular blue gem with a black plus sign in it.

Leon attempted to open it but it wouldn't budge and had no door knob “I'm not sure how to get this door open.” he said.

Diamond pointed up at the gem “Maybe that blue thing has something to do with it?” she suggested.

Leon touched it and noticed that it rotated easily and that the plus sign was some other symbol “I think it's some sort of puzzle.” he said. Leon rotated the sphere a few times before he created the same insignia that was on the emblem “There's that insignia again.” he said to himself.

Suddenly the door slid open allowing them in. Diamond walked in and saw a bedroom “What kind of weirdo wants to solve a puzzle to enter their bedroom?” she asked.

Leon walked in and notice two pictures of the same hooded man “Why would this person have two of the same picture. And who is this anyway?” he asked.

Diamond climbed onto a desk and opened a box. She saw a key with the same insignia from before “This insignia really is everywhere.” she said before taking it and putting it away in her saddle bag.

Leon walked to the next door but stopped when he heard voices that were to quiet to understand. He slowly opened the door and walked out into the hallway. He saw a painting of the tall man who attacked them ahead. Leon turned around only to be caught by the neck by that same man. He lifted Leon into the air while applying more pressure into his throat.

Diamond started bucking the man's leg as hard as she could but it didn't seem to be doing anything “Let go of him you jerk!” she yelled as she continued attacking.

The man kicked her sending her tumbling into the wall. He stared into Leon's eyes as he choked him. Leon's eyes closed but when they opened they were a shade of red. The man dropped Leon out of shock. Leon held his neck and caught his breath.

The man pointed down at him “You carry the same blood as us, it seems. Nevertheless, you're an outsider.” he glanced down at Diamond who was getting up from the floor “Just remember, if either of you becomes a nuisance to our eyes. Then you will face severe consequences.” he said before walking through the door to the bedroom.

Leon recovered and got to his feet “What? Same blood?” he asked.

Diamond got up “Maybe he means you two have the same blood type?” she said.

Leon shook his head “Somehow I doubt that.” he said.

Leon suddenly got a call from Hunnigan “Leon. I've been able to get some new info that may help you.” she said

“Fill me in.” he said.

“Apparently, there's a religious cult group involved. They're called the Los Illuminados.” she said.

Leon thought about the name but it didn't sound familiar “Los Illuminados? That's a mouthful. Anyway we just had an unexpected run in with the big cheese of this village.” he said.

Hunnigan seemed slightly worried “Neither of you were injured right?” she asked.

“Not anything serious...but he could have killed me, but he let me live... And he mentioned something about me carrying the same blood as them. Whatever that means.” he explained.

“Carrying the same blood? Hmmm...interesting...” she said.

“Anyway, there are more important things than solving riddles right now.” he said.

Hunningan nodded “You're right. Hurry up and find that church.” she said.

Leon put the communicator away and turned towards the bedroom door. He took his handgun out “I'm gonna see if I can get some more information out of that guy, stay behind me and have your gun out.” he said.

Diamond readied herself and they proceeded into the room. Leon entered the room only to be punched by the tall man who was waiting for him. Leon was knocked to the floor and the man grabbed Diamond before she could fire and threw her at a dresser. Before Leon could recover, the man stepped on his chest. Leon struggled to get out from under him but it was futile.

Suddenly the man took two bullets to the back. He didn't react much but turned to see a woman outside of the window. She was hanging from something and held a handgun. She was also wearing a red dress.

The man suddenly ran to the window. The woman zipped out of sight and the man flew through the window. Leon and Diamond got up and gathered their dropped weapons. Diamond looked towards the broken window “Who was that?” she asked.

Leon pondered that for a moment “I don't know. But something about her seemed familiar.” he said.

Del Lago

Leon and Diamond left the bedroom and walked downstairs. They entered a dining room with a table set with plates, candles, and bottles of wine. Diamond looked around the room in confusion “Every house we saw until now looked destroyed and abandoned. Why is this one so clean?” she saw some mold growing in the corner “Comparatively at least.” she said.

Leon examined the kitchen “It does seem strange that this is the only house that seems habitable.” he said. Before they could ponder anymore the heard the sound of a chainsaw revving up outside. Leon took his shotgun in hand “It looks like they know we're here. Get ready.” he said.

Once Diamond was prepared Leon kicked the door open to see another villager with a bag over his had and a chainsaw in his hand. He was also accompanied by two other villagers carrying hatchets “I'll handle the man with the chainsaw, keep the others off me if you can.” he said.

Diamond nodded and fired a few shots at the two villagers to attract them. Leon fired his shotgun at the advancing villager. He was slowed down by the blasts but was still running towards Leon as he continued shooting. The villager was just a few steps from Leon when he swung his chainsaw with a yell. Leon ducked under the chainsaw then took out his knife and stuck it into the villager's throat.

Once the villager dropped the chainsaw and fell backward, Leon turned to where Diamond was to see her standing over the two villagers' bodies. They continued down the path where they encountered a group of four villagers but Leon and Diamond made quick work of them.

They walked up to a metal gate that was barred with a plank of wood. Leon grabbed the wood and tossed it to the side. They walked in to see an area that seemed familiar. Leon scanned the area then it hit him “Good. We made it back to the village. Now we have to find the path to the church.” he said.

They walked to the middle of the village and started searching. Leon saw a door that had that insignia on it “I think that might be the only door we haven't checked.” he said.

Before they could check it they heard many footsteps behind them. They turned around to see a large group of villagers running towards them. Leon and Diamond darted to the door and Leon tried to open it to no avail “No good, it's locked.” he said.

Diamond suddenly got an idea “Wait maybe that key I found would work.” she said.

Leon took out his shotgun and faced the oncoming mob of villagers “Try it. I'll keep them busy.” he said and started firing into the mob.

Diamond grabbed the key in her mouth and got onto her hind legs to reach the lock. She stuck it in and luckily it turned and clicked. She took it out and deposited it back in her bag. She opened the door and took a few steps in “Come on Leon, it's open!” she called out.

Leon ran through the door and slammed it closed and locked it. They looked around the building they entered. It didn't look like much different then anything they saw so far. Diamond walked through a nearby door to see a relatively empty room “Don't tell me we came in here for nothing.” she grumbled as she searched the room.

Leon walked in and noticed a wooden trapdoor in the floor. He pulled it open and saw that it led to a cave under the house “This looks like it would led somewhere important.” he said before jumping in. Diamond examined the cave below before jumping down after him. They walked down the cave path until they saw a blue light ahead.

They walked further to see that the cause of the light was a blue fire. Next to the fire was the merchant that they met earlier. The merchant chuckled as they approached “Stranger, little one. Glad to see ya. Perhaps you'd like to check my wares.” he said.

Diamond smiled at the sight of him “I was hoping to see you again. I had a question for you.” she said.

“Ask away little one.” he said.

“You were talking about Equestria last time we saw you so I was wondering if you knew a way to get back there?” she asked.

The merchant shook his head “Sorry little one, but I wouldn't know anything about that. I haven't even been there myself.” he said.

Leon raised an eyebrow “That doesn't make sense. How did you learn about Equestria and how did you know that Diamond was from there?” he asked.

The merchant seemed to be losing his patience a bit “I've said all that I will on the subject stranger.” he said firmly.

Leon nodded and decided to give up “Alright then. We should pick up some more ammo while we can.” he said causing the merchant to open his coat, showing his selection.

After purchasing more ammo for their guns they left through a door and continued on. They came to a ladder and climbed up it to find themselves overground again. They walked down the path in front of them until they came to an area with multiple grave stones. Diamond scanned the area “Is...this a cemetery?” she asked.

Leon spotted a large structure behind the cemetery sporting that insignia that was becoming a normal sight “Yeah, and that must be the church. We're almost there.” he said. They walked towards the church but a villager charged them with a hatchet. Leon caught his wrist when he tried to strike and gave him a kick to the chin.

Diamond watched with a smile on her face. Even though she should hate the sight of such violence, she had gotten used to it and now found it cool. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around to see a female villager approaching her with a kitchen knife.

Diamond was about to reach for her gun but what Leon did entered her mind. She left the gun in her bag and waited for the villager to attack. Soon she got what she wanted as the knife was raised and came down at her. Diamond raised a hoof and stopped the attack. She then pushed her arm away and rammed into her stomach, knocking her to the floor. Diamond then took out her gun and finished her off.

She then turned to Leon who seemed to have seen her “Not bad Diamond.” he said. Diamond felt a rush of pride but she knew that they couldn't stay around so she just smiled and continued towards the church.

Once they got close two more villagers tried to stop them but they stood no chance. They walked up to the door to the church and Leon attempted to open it but couldn't. Diamond sighed in annoyance “Can't we find one door that isn't locked, just one.” she said.

Leon saw an indentation in the middle of the door. It was in the shape of a circle with three points around it “I guess we need something that fits in this space to get in. I'm going to inform Hunnigan.” he said. He took out his communicator “Hunnigan, it's Leon. We found the church but it's locked, we can't get in.” he said.

Hunnigan raised an eyebrow “Didn't they teach you to pick locks at the academy?” she asked.

Leon scoffed slightly “There's no picking it. There's some kind of indentation, like something might fit inside.” he said.

“Well, there's no use standing around. You have to find some way inside, even if you have to find the key.” she said.

“Right, I'll let you know if we find something.” he said before hanging up “Alright, let's look for another way in.” he said to diamond.

They scanned the perimeter of the building but any other door was locked and the only other thing the found were villagers. They walked back to the front of the church afterwards. Leon saw a path next to the church that led to some wooden bridges “I guess we should look for the key then, let's check that way.” he said.

They followed the path to the wooden bridges. A female villager met them as they walked onto the bridge. Diamond charged her and jumped to land a punch to her chin. The punch caused her to stumble back and fall off of the bridge. They then came to a gap between them and the next bridge with two villagers waiting for them across the gap.

One of the villagers tried to jump across but Leon shot him in midair causing him to fall short. The next made the jump but Diamond bucked him in the shin causing him to take a knee. She then took out her gun and shot him point blank sending him off.

Leon then ran and easily cleared the gap. Diamond took a few steps back before running and leaping. She barely cleared the gap. They entered a shack attached to the bridge and Leon spotted a sheet of paper on a table. He grabbed it and started reading.

After half a minute Diamond got his attention “What's it say? Is it important?” she asked.

Leon nodded “It says a few different things but most importantly it confirms that Ashley's being held in the church. It also says that there's a key to the church beyond a lake, but it's guarded by something called Del Lago.” he said.

Diamond tilted her head at the name “Del Lago? What do you think that is?” she asked.

Leon laid the paper back on the table “I can't be sure, but we need to get past it if we're gonna save Ashley.” he said.

Diamond nodded and they exited the shack to continue. Leon decided not to tell her that the paper also said that both him and Diamond shared the same blood as them. He shook off the thoughts and continued following the bridges.

Once they got to the end of the path they walked though a door to see a circular area with three shacks and a giant door. Diamond narrowed her eyes at the door “Why build such a big door? The only thing that would need a door that large is a dragon.” she said. Her eyes then widened and she turned to Leon “You don't have dragons in this world do you?” she asked.

Leon shook his head “No we don't have dragons, but whatever's behind that door is probably dangerous. We shouldn't search it unless we need to.” he said.

They turned away form the door and continued on through a normal sized door. They ended up on a narrow path with tall rocky walls on both sides. Diamond spotted a bloodied sign nearby “It's one of those warnings. There's some kind of trap ahead.” she said.

They slowed their walking speed while scanning for anything suspicious. When they past the sign the heard the sound of rocks scraping against each other above them. They looked up to see a boulder fall down towards them and start rolling “Not again!” Diamond yelled as she and Leon started running as fast as they could.

Up ahead they saw that the path opened up on the right side. Once they reached that point they both jumped out of the way and let the boulder shatter against the wall nearby. Diamond wiped some sweat from her forehead “You'd think we would've learned from last time.” she said.

They caught their breath for a second before moving on. They saw a long stretch of filthy water with wooden structures along it's length. Leon spotted many villagers around the area “We should try to get past these villagers instead of killing them. We don't have that kind of time.” he said.

Diamond just stared at the water in disgust “I feel like I'll get a disease if I touch that water.” she said.

“Well you'll have to. It looks like those bridges don't cover the entire area.” he said. Diamond sighed in defeat and followed Leon as he walked towards the first bridge. He saw a villager waiting for them but he also saw a trip wire behind him. Leon fired a bullet into the villager's shoulder causing him to stumble back and into the trip wire. He blew up but the noise alerted the other nearby villagers.

Leon and Diamond ran to the end of the bridge and saw nowhere to go but into the water. Leon looked to Diamond who looked uneasy “I hope you're ready to get wet.” he said before jumping into the water to find that it was only about waist deep. Leon then felt Diamond land on him. She held tightly to his neck.

Leon groaned from the slight pain “Diamond!” he said in an annoyed tone.

Diamond pointed to some villagers who were coming towards them “Just hurry up and move.” she ordered. Leon wanted to argue but decided that it would be simpler to carry her. He started running as fast as he could but was being slowed down by the water.

Leon glanced back and saw some villagers chasing him so he was going to reach for his handgun. Diamond stopped him and took out her gun “I'll keep them away. Just get us away from this water.” she said. Leon nodded and focused on running. Diamond turned her neck to be able to fire at the pursuing villagers. She missed a few times due to Leon's movement but she got used to it and started thinning their numbers.

Leon spotted a trip wire ahead so he was about to reach for his handgun again but stopped when a villager ran into the trip wire, killing himself.

Shortly after they got out of the water and ran through a door. Leon dropped Diamond onto the ground and blocked the door with a large branch “I doubt they could get through that.” he said.

They looked ahead to see two paths. One led up to a cliff and the other led downwards. Leon walked up to the cliff and Diamond followed. Once at the cliff they could see across a large lake. Diamond scanned the relatively quiet lake “Didn't that letter you read say that something was guarding the lake? Wasn't it called Del Lago or something? I don't see anything like that.” She said.

Leon took out his binoculars to get a closer look. After a few seconds of looking he spotted a boat with two villagers in it. They threw the body of a police officer into the water before leaving in a hurry. After a few seconds something gigantic burst out of the water and ate the body before disappearing back into the water. Leon took a step back in surprise. He turned to Diamond who was just as shocked as he was “Did you see that?” he asked. Diamond nodded slowly. Leon looked back to the lake “Do you think that was Del Lago?” he asked.

Diamond shivered in fear “I hope to Celestia it's not.” she said.

Leon collected himself “Well we have to get past that lake. Come on.” he said before walking down towards the lake.

Diamond sighed before following “This Ashley girl better be worth all this trouble.” she grumbled. They made it down to the lake and saw a small boat waiting for them. It had a motor and a large amount of harpoons. Leon stepped into it and waited for Diamond “Are you coming?” he asked.

Diamond took her tiara off of her head and held it out to Leon “Put this in one of your hundreds of pockets. I don't want it falling into that water. It costs more then your life.” she said.

Leon ignored her comment but took the tiara and put it into a compartment of his belt. Diamond then stepped into the boat. Leon turned on the motor and they drove towards a path on the other side of the lake. When they got to the middle of the lake a large whale like creature popped out of the water in front of them. The force caused their boat to be pushed back and their anchor to fall into the water. Del Lago swam back under water and the anchor attached to it's tail.

Del Lago reemerged and started swimming away but the anchor caused them to be pulled along with it. Diamond started to panic “We have to get out of here!” she said with urgency.

Leon grabbed a harpoon “We can't as long as we're attached to that thing.” he said as he threw the harpoon into Del Lago's back causing it to wale in pain and sink under the water. The boat stopped moving.

After a few seconds Diamond spoke up “Did you kill it?” she asked.

Before Leon could answer they saw in emerge from the water ahead. It started charging them with it's mouth wide open. Leon grabbed another harpoon and threw it into Del Lago's mouth causing it to close it's mouth and dive back under water. It caught the anchor again and started pulling them. Leon threw two more harpoons into it's back before it sunk back into the water.

It then turned and charged them again. Before Leon could turn the boat Del Lago flipped it over sending him and Diamond into the water. Leon quickly swam to the boat and looked back to see Diamond still swimming towards the boat. Leon saw Del Lago swimming after the filly “Diamond! Hurry, it's behind you!” he shouted to her.

Diamond pushed herself to swim faster and when she got close enough, Leon pulled her in. Del Lago chomped onto nothing but air and dove back underwater. Diamond shook the water from her coat “Gross gross gross.” she said as she tried to get all of the filth off of her.

Del Lago started pulling the boat again. Leon threw more harpoons into it's back. It sank into the water and seemed to detach from the anchor. Leon took another harpoon in hand and waited “It'll probably try to charge us again.” he said.

Diamond glanced at the grenades on Leon's belt and got an idea. Del Lago emerged and charged them with an open mouth. Diamond snatched a red grenade and pulled the pin out. She threw it as hard as she could and it landed in Del Lago's mouth before erupting in a fiery explosion. Del Lago let out a cry of pain and started to sink limply into the depths. Diamond jumped up in excitement “Yes! Yes! I did it!” she shouted.

Leon let out a sigh of relief but then he noticed that the rope that was was attached to the anchor was being pulled along with it. He looked down to see that the rope was also around his leg. Before he could react he was pulled onto his back and the rope did it's best to pull him under. Diamond gasped and tried to help by pulling on the rope.

Leon tried to ignore the squeezing pain in his leg as he pulled out his knife. He slashed at the rope multiple times before it cut through. Diamond let go of the rope and watched as it sank down into the water. Leon laid on his back and tried to catch his breath. Diamond ran to his side “Are you okay?” she asked.

Leon started getting back up to his feet “Just fine.” he said as he got back to the motor and drove the boat. They made it across the lake and got off. They saw a small cabin nearby. Leon started walking towards it while clutching his chest. Diamond watched him with worry “Are you sure that you're not hurt?” she asked.

Leon started coughing into his hand. When he looked down he saw blood in his palm. He then screamed in pain while holding his stomach. Diamond tried to get his attention “What's wrong? Tell me, please!” she said in a scared tone. Leon slammed the door of the cabin open and let out one more scream of pain before passing out on the floor.

Diamond ran to his side and started shaking him “Leon! Get up please! Tell me what you need!” she said in a panic.

Leon didn't respond. Diamond started pacing around the room wondering what she should do. She saw Leon's communicator on his belt. She took it, placed it on the ground in front of her, and started pressing buttons “Hunnigan! Hunnigan!” she called into the device.

Hunnigan's face appeared and she looked confused when she saw Diamond instead of Leon “Diamond?” she asked.

“Hunnigan! It's Leon, I don't know what to do!” she said quickly.

Hunnigan's eyes widened “Diamond calm down, explain what happened.” she ordered.

Diamond tried to calm herself down “Leon looked like he was in pain and he started coughing up blood. Then he just fell on the ground and isn't responding. What should I do?” she asked.

“First of all, can you get Leon to a safe location?” she asked.

Diamond glanced around the cabin they were in “We're in a cabin. I think we should be safe here.” she said.

Hunnigan nodded “Now block all of the entrances to the cabin.” she said.

Diamond ran to the door and closed it. She then dragged a chair over and jammed it under the doorknob. She then ran back to the communicator “I did it.” she said.

“What position is Leon in right now?” she asked

Diamond glanced to Leon then back to Hunnigan “He's laying on his stomach.” she answered.

“Get him on his back and check if he's breathing.” she said.

Diamond rolled Leon to get him on his back. She then stared at him and called back to the communicator “How do I know if he's breathing?” she asked.

“Put your hoof in front of his nose and tell me if you feel his breath.” she said.

Diamond did as she said but felt scared as she wasn't feeling his breath, then she felt slight air on her hoof. She felt relief wash over her “Yeah, he's breathing. Thank Celestia.” she said.

Hunnigan also felt relived “Good. Do you think you can keep him safe until he wakes up?” she asked.

Diamond nodded “Yeah.” she answered.

“Okay, contact me again if something else happens or when he wakes up.” she said.

Diamond agreed and took her gun out to stand on guard.

Twilight was walking to Canterlot castle's throne room again after summons from Celestia. When she got near the doors she saw Filthy Rich. She gave him a nervous smile “Hello.” she greeted.

Filthy glared at her before walking into the room ahead of her. Twilight hung her head and followed behind him. When she entered she saw that her friends were already waiting for her.

Filthy bowed slightly to Celestia “Please tell me you have good news about my daughter.” he said.

Celestia hummed sadly “I'm very sad to say that I could not find her. She is not in this world.” she said.

Filthy sat and stared sadly at the floor. Twilight's eyes started to water and she held her head in her fore hooves “What have I done? What have I done? What have I done?” she repeated to herself.

Her friends ran to her side and pulled her into a group hug. Applejack lifted Twilight's chin to make her look at her “This is not the time to despair sugarcube. There is still hope.” she looked over to Celestia “Right princess?” she asked.

Celestia cleared her throat “There is. Though it will not be simple. We will have have to combine certain spells that will allow us to scan other worlds.” she said.

Twilight had a questioning look on her face “Do you know the spells that will allow us to do something like that?” she asked.

Celestia shook her head “No, but Luna is in the library researching as we speak. In a moment I will join her. With both of us, I'm confident that we will come up with the solution.” she said.

Twilight stepped up “Please let me help, I can't stand not being able to do anything helpful.” she pleaded.

Celestia smiled warmly but before she could speak rarity also stepped up “Allow me to help too. I may not be as magically gifted as Twilight but I would love to be of some assistance.” she said.

Celestia nodded “We would be so grateful for both of your help.” she then turned to the others in the room “It may take a while to research, so I will ask the rest of you to return home. I will send you a letter via Spike when we have news.” she said.

Twilight's friends nodded and left the room. Celestia started leading Twilight and Rarity away. Filthy stopped Twilight “Before that. I would like a word with you.” he said.

Rarity was about to jump in to protect Twilight but stopped when Twilight nodded “Okay” she turned to Celestia and Rarity “Start without me.” she said.

Rarity didn't want to leave her with him but she decided to listen to her friend. She and Celestia left the room.

Twilight sighed sadly “I know that you d-” she stopped when Filthy dropped to the floor in a pleading manner

“I must apologize for how I've been acting towards you. This whole situation has me stressed.” he said as tears welled up in his eyes.

Twilight was caught off guard but recovered quickly “I understand. You have every right to be angry with me.” she said.

Filthy shook his head “No, I do not. I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at the situation but I shouldn't have thrown that on you. It was a honest accident and I understand that. Please forgive me for my actions.” he said.

Twilight was starting to feel better “Of course, you're forgiven. And I will do everything in my power to get your daughter back to you.” she said.

Filthy managed a small smile “I know you will. After all Twilight Sparkle isn't known to fail.” he said.

She nodded with new found confidence and ran after Celestia and Rarity. Filthy took a deep breath and walked the other way.

Take me to Church

Leon grunts as he starts to come to. He opened his eyes to see Diamond in front of him. He gasped at the state of her. Her fur was now a dull pink and her mane was a wreck. Her eyes were a deep red instead of their normal blue “Diamond? What happened to you?” he asked with slight fear.

Diamond just tilted her head and gave a smile that was a bit too wide for her face “Join us.” she said in a happy tone.

Leon took a step back “Join? You couldn't mean...” he wondered.

Diamond's gaze fell to Leon's arm “Oh look, it's already happening.” she said.

Leon looked down to his arms to see black veins appearing. His eyes widened as the black veins started spreading to the rest of his body. He screamed as they reached his face and closed in on his eyes.

With one last scream, he woke up in a cold sweat. He looked down at his arms to see that they were normal. He then scanned the rest of the cabin. He saw Diamond sleeping a few feet away. Thankfully she looked normal as well.

He walked over and shook her gently. She slowly opened her eyes “Leon?” she asked quietly. When she registered what she was seeing her eyes shot open “Leon!” she yelled. She got up and pulled him into a hug “You're alive!” she said happily.

They broke apart and Leon stood up “Yeah, sorry to worry you.” he said.

Diamond blushed a bit “I wasn't worried.” she said. She then seemed to remember something “Oh! I have to tell Hunnigan that you woke up.” she said. She then ran to Leon's communicator that was on the floor “He finally woke up!” she shouted to it.

Hunnigan smiled slightly and nodded “Good. Can I speak to him?” she asked.

Diamond nodded then held the communicator out to Leon. He took it from her “Hunnigan, how long was I out?” he asked.

“Close to six hours. Diamond kept you safe in that time.” she said.

Leon nodded “I guess it's good that she was here.” he said to himself.

“Do you know why you passed out?” she asked.

“No, but maybe it has something to do with what the village chief said. Either way, we still have a mission. I'll continue my search for the key to the church.” he said before putting the communicator away.

Leon walked to the door and unblocked it. Diamond walked up besides him “Are you sure you should be moving so soon? Maybe you're sick or something?” she said.

Leon opened the door to see that it was now dark out and was raining as well “Ashley's still in danger and her situation won't get better with time.” he said.

Diamond chuckled as she got her saddle bags on “It's all about the mission with you. Alright just try not to push yourself too hard.” she said.

Leon took a step outside into the rain. Diamond looked uneasy about following. Leon gave her a questioning look “What's wrong? You've been in worse then rain water.” he said.

“It's not the rain I'm worried about. It's the mud. I hate mud.” she said.

Leon sighed “You're already dirty. A little mud isn't gonna make much of a difference.” he said.

Leon was right, Diamond's coat was covered in dirt and whatever was in that water earlier. She took a breath and walked out into the rain and mud.

Leon then took the lead and they walked through a nearby door. On the other side of the door was a narrow path. They started walking down the path when they came across a lone villager. Leon took out his handgun and prepared to shoot. He stopped when the villager started twitching.

His head then started shaking violently. Then suddenly his head exploded as a fleshy mass replaced it. It had multiple tentacles whipping about and one of the tentacles had a knife-like bone attached to it.

Diamond held her mouth with her hoof as she almost lost her lunch. She swallowed her vomit “How is he still alive? Kill it, kill it quickly.” she said.

Leon nodded and fired two bullets into the fleshy mass. The villager stumbled back but still continued towards them. It swung it's knife-like tentacle at Leon but he ducked under it. He then took out his shotgun and fired a shot point blank at it.

The fleshy mass exploded and the villager's body fell to the ground. Diamond looked up to Leon “What the hay is wrong with these villagers.” she said.

Leon look one last look at the dead villager “I feel like there's more to this than we know.” he said. They then continued forward. They came to a river with a stone and metal structure over it. Diamond looked over the structure with curiosity “What's this thing?” she asked.

“Looks like a dam. It's used to stop a river like this. Though it seems to be raised so the river can flow freely.” he explained. They then moved on since the dam didn't seem important. They jumped across some stone platforms across the river. Then ahead they had to jump across the river again.

They came across a cliff that had a rope down it. Leon glanced down at Diamond “Is there any chance that you know how to rappel down a cliff?” he asked.

Diamond shook her head and Leon sighed “I thought so. Get on my back and hold on tight.” he said. Diamond climbed onto his back and hung off of his neck. Leon then grabbed the rope and started making his way down the cliff.

Once they made it to the ground they saw that the river opened up quite a bit. There were a few wooden structures around the area. Diamond spotted a villager armed with a sickle on a nearby structure. She took out her gun and fired a bullet into his shoulder. She fired again and the bullet went through his forehead, causing his to fall back limply.

Leon looked impressed “You're getting a lot better with your aim.” he said.

Diamond put the gun away and smiled “I might even get better than you.” she said.

Leon scoffed in amusement “You still have a ways to go before that.” he said. They then continued and found that they would have to cross the river yet again but the only platform ahead of them was a bridge that was too far for either of them to jump.

Diamond looked around for any other way around but found none “Don't tell me we're gonna have to swim.” she said.

Leon saw a large wooden crate being held over the river with a chain “I don't think we'll need to swim.” he said. He took out his handgun and carefully aimed. He fired and broke the chain causing the crate to fall into the river. It floated in front of them.

Leon then jumped onto the crate then onto the bridge. Diamond chuckled “You're smart, ya know that?” she said as she also jumped across.

Once across they saw that the bridge led to the waterfall. Leon noticed that there was a cave behind the waterfall “We should check out the cave behind the waterfall.” he said.

Diamond scanned the powerful waterfall wearily “Should we really be trying to walk under that?” she asked.

Leon nodded and rubbed his chin in thought “You're right. It might not be a good idea to go through that. It might wash us into the river.” he then remembered something “Wait remember that dam? It looked like it could be lowered. That would take care of the waterfall. The controls should be nearby.” he said.

After scanning the area he spotted a lever on a wooden structure on the other side of the river “That has to be it.” he said. He then saw that gap to the other side of the river was twice as wide as the last.

Diamond saw two crates attached to chains high above the river “I got this.” she said as she took out her gun. She took aim at the closer crate and fired but missed. She then tried to concentrate. She fired again and broke the chain. The crate fell and floated in front of them.

She gave Leon a smirk of pride. Leon took out his handgun “Nice job, but leave this one to me.” he said as he aimed at the further crate that was also moving from side to side. He took a moment but fired a single bullet that destroyed the chain and dropped the crate into the river.

Diamond's jaw dropped at Leon's skill. Leon gave her a small smirk back “Close your mouth and come on.” he said before jumping across the river.

Diamond recovered and vowed to herself that she would get that good. She then started jumping across the river and joined Leon. Leon then climbed up a ladder to the wooden structure and pulled the lever. After a few seconds they heard a loud metal crashing sound and the waterfall thinned before stopping completely. He then climbed back down the ladder to Diamond “Now we can get through.” he said.

They jumped back over to the bridge. Just then a group of villagers ran out of the cave and charged them. Leon and Diamond readied themselves. Diamond stayed back and fired at them from a distance. Leon charged towards them knocking one into the river with a round house kick then slitting another's throat.

One villager grabbed Leon from behind and restrained him. Another came in front of him and raised a hatchet. Before he could finish his attack he was shot in the head by Diamond. Leon then slammed the back of his head into the villager holding him causing him to let go. He then gave him a hard kick to the chest and sent him into the river.

With all of the villagers taken care of Diamond ran up to join Leon “You are way too reckless sometimes.” she said.

“I can afford to be with you watching my back.” he complemented.

Diamond blushed a bit before they continued into the cave. They walked through the damp cave for a few seconds before they found a small room filled with many candles. They was also a wall that had a circular artifact with the insignia in the middle of it. It was attached to the wall with chains “I think this is what we need to get into the church.” he said.

Diamond smiled in relief “Finally, it's about time. Tell Hunnigan.” she said.

Leon nodded and took out his communicator “We found the key to the church.” he said.

“That's great. Now hurry back to the church. Remember that Ashley's safety is our number one priority.” she said.

“Right.” he said and put the communicator away. He then grabbed the key and detached it from the wall. The wall then opened up and reveled a path. Leon seemed to have been taken off guard but recovered quickly “Let's check this path out. It may be a shortcut back to the church.” he said.

They walked through the path and a door. They then found themselves in an area with a long stretch of water and a boat. Leon and Diamond stepped into the boat and drove down the path in front of them.

They got out when they saw a wooden structure with a blue fire near it. They walked over the structure to find the merchant. He chuckled as they approached “Well if it isn't my two favorite customers, welcome.” he said.

Leon gave him a nod “Nice to see a friendly face.” he said.

Diamond stepped up “I need something.” she said.

The merchant raised an eyebrow “Oh? And what would you like little one?” he asked.

Diamond pointed to Leon behind him “I want a knife like Leon has.” she said.

The merchant smiled and opened his coat to show different kinds of knives “Take your pick little one, I've got all kinds.” he said.

Diamond scanned his selection for a bit before grabbing a good sized combat knife in her teeth. She gave it a few test swings before smiling. She then put it down and reached into her saddle bags for her bits but Leon stopped her “Don't worry about it. I'll pay for it. I've been picking up some money through our journey anyway.” he said as he took out a bag and payed the merchant.

The merchant happily took the money “It may be a hassle to dig in your bags for a knife, so take this.” he said. He pulled out a knife holster and held it out to her “This goes on your leg. It'll allow for easy access to your new knife.” he explained.

Diamond attached the holster to her right foreleg and put her knife in it. She then smiled up at the merchant “Thanks merchant.” she said.

He put a hand to his heart and gave a small bow “My pleasure.” he said.

Leon then got his attention “I'll also take some more grenades, and some for Diamond.” he looked down at her “I remember your impressive use of them before, so now you won't have to use mine.” he said.

The merchant nodded and provided the grenades and Leon quickly paid. After everything was put away, they walked away. The merchant waved as they left “Hope to see you soon stranger.” he said.

They climbed up a ladder and walked through a door. They ended up above ground again. After a few seconds they realized that this was that area with the giant door. They walked out into the large round area and suddenly both exits were blocked by gates.

Then they saw two villagers pushing the large door open. Many villagers ran out holding two ropes. They started pulling on the ropes trying to pull something out of the cave. They were obviously struggling and whatever they were pulling was pulling back. Then it came out. It was a gray skinned giant wearing nothing but dirty and beat up shorts.

The giant roared showing it's few teeth. Diamond stepped back “T-that thing is humongous.” she said.

Leon readied his handgun “And it looks angry.” he said. The giant started killing all of the villagers near him. He punched, kicked and stomped until all of the villagers were dead. He then threw a punch at Leon who dodged with a back flip.

The giant stared at Leon in anger then roared at him “Get ready Diamond, We're gonna have to kill it.” he said.

Diamond swallowed a lump in her throat and took her handgun out. The giant raised it's foot to stomp on Leon but he rolled out of the way and fired some bullets into his chest. The giant then back handed Leon into the wall.

Diamond gasped and started firing into it's back to get it's attention. It seemed to have worked as it turned towards her and approached her. It balled it's hand into a fist and tried to crush her but she jumped out of the way and shot him in the leg.

The giant then got a hold of her in it's hand. She tried to escape but it had too good a grip on her. It then began squeezing her and she let out a scream of pain.

Leon noticed this and stabbed his knife into it's ankle. It let out a roar of pain and dropped Diamond. Leon grabbed her and got some distance from the giant “Are you okay?” he asked.

Diamond caught her breath “Yeah, thanks for saving me so fast.” she said. Leon felt relived and let Diamond down.

He then took out his shotgun and faced the approaching giant. Once it was close enough, Leon fired a blast into it's chest.

The giant stumbled back and roared out in pain and knelt down. Then a fleshy insect like thing came out of it's back. Leon took aim and was about to shoot it but stopped when Diamond jumped onto it's head and onto it's back.

She took her knife in her teeth and started wildly slashing at the thing. After a few seconds it retreated back into the giant and it started to stand back up. Diamond jumped back to the ground and turned to face it again “That was for trying to crush me!” she shouted as she wiped some of the giant's blood from her face.

The giant faced her in anger but before it could attack they heard barking. They all turned to it to see a wolf on top of a cliff. Leon had a questioning look on his face “Is that a wolf?” he asked.

Diamond noticed some dried blood on one of it's hind legs “That's Silver!” she shouted in excitement. The wolf jumped down from the cliff and continued to bark at the giant. It tried to crush her but she was fast enough to dodge.

Leon started firing his handgun into it's back while it was distracted “I can't believe she's really helping us.” he said.

Silver continued to distract the giant as Leon and Diamond fired at it. The giant roared in pain and took a knee again. The same fleshy thing came from it's back. This time Leon climbed onto it's back and gave it continuous powerful slashes. After a few seconds the thing fell limply to the floor and Leon jumped from the giant.

It began writhing in pain before falling forward. They stared at it for a second but relaxed when it stayed motionless. Diamond took a deep breath “I can't believe we survived that.” she said. She then saw Silver the wolf walk up to her “I guess we also have you to thank for that.” she said.

She gave Silver a hug and started petting her. The gates blocking the exits suddenly opened. Leon got Diamond's attention “That's our cue to continue.” he said.

Diamond frowned but nodded and let Silver go “Bye Silver, thanks again.” she said. Silver responded with a bark before dashing away.

Leon and Diamond watched her leave before leaving themselves. They made it back to the bridges leading back to the church. They quickly ran past the bridges but stopped when they saw a wolf waiting in the distance.

Diamond lit up “Is that Silver again?” she asked. She started walking up to it. The wolf ran toward her with it's teeth bared.

Leon's eyes widened “That's not Silver!” he yelled.

Diamond looked confused but was pounced on by the wolf. It tried to bite at her throat but she was able to hold it off. Leon ran over and kicked the wolf off of her. He then fired a bullet into it's head to kill it.

Leon helped Diamond to her hooves “Are you hurt?” he asked.

Diamond shook her head “No. It wasn't able to bite me.” she said.

Leon nodded “Let this be a lesson. Not all wild animals are friends.” he said.

Diamond agreed and they continued to the church's front door. Leon placed the key in the indentation and heard a click. He was then able to push the door open. When they walked inside they saw that the church was empty.

Diamond seemed confused “If this is where they're keeping Ashley then why isn't it guarded?” she asked.

Leon took his handgun out “That's a good question. Keep your guard up.” he said. They started looking around the first floor but found nothing of interest. They then climbed a ladder the the second floor. Once up there they saw that a door was blocked off by a metal gate

Diamond stared at the door “If I were a betting mare I'd put my money on that door.” she said.

Leon inspected the gates “There has to be some way to open them.” he said. He then noticed a large chandelier in front of him and more to search on the other side “Diamond come here and hang on to me.” he said.

Diamond didn't question and did as he said. Leon then jumped onto the chandelier causing it to swing back and forth. He then jumped to the other side and let Diamond down. He then noticed a panel with three buttons. One red, one green, and one blue.

He pressed one of the buttons and lights of all three colors shined on the far wall. They each shined on one of three blank circles leaving a design on each one. There was one circle in the middle with the insignia in it.

Every time Leon pressed a button the corresponding light would turn “Looks like a puzzle. Give me a second.” he said before messing with the panel for a few seconds. Then the lights all shined on the middle and the insignia glowed brightly. Then the metal gates opened.

“You're pretty good at puzzles aren't you?” she asked.

Leon shrugged “It wasn't that hard to be honest.” he admitted.

They then walked through the gates and opened the door. They saw a blond woman dash across the room “Ashley?” Leon asked.

Ashley picked up a piece of wood in fright and threw it at him “Don't come any closer!” she yelled.

Leon dodged the wood “Hey take it easy.” he said.

Ashley ran to the corner and cowered “No! Get away!” she yelled.

Leon held his hands up to show that he meant no harm “Calm down. Everything's gonna be just fine, my name's Leon. I'm under the president's orders to rescue you.” he said.

Ashley's face lit up “My father?” she asked with hope in her eyes.

Leon nodded “That's right. Now we are gonna get you out of here safely.” he said.

Ashley looked confused “Um, we?” she asked.

Then Diamond walked through the door. Ashley gasped and ran across the room to hug her “She's so adorable! What's her name?” she asked.

Diamond struggled out of the woman's arms “My name is Diamond Tiara.” she said said in an annoyed tone.

Ashley took a step back in surprise “W-what? She can talk?” she asked.

Leon nodded “She's a filly from another world. Came here by accident. From the lack of options, she ended up joining me on my mission to save you.” he explained.

Ashley knelt down to get a better look at Diamond. She saw how she was covered in filth, blood and bruises “You're forcing a young child to fight with you?” she asked in a disappointed tone.

Leon held his hands up defensively “She's fighting with me willingly. And it's only until we find a way to get her back home.” he said.

Diamond nodded and gave a proud smile “And I've been doing a great job, he might not have made it this far without me.” she said.

Leon then took out his communicator “Either way, I have to report this to Hunnigan.” he said. He then faced the communicator “It's Leon. We've succeeded in extricating the subject.” he said

“Good work Leon. I'll send a chopper over right away.” Hunnigan said.

“Where is the extraction point?” he asked.

“There's another trail that you can take to get out of the village. The chopper will pick you up beyond there.” she said.

“Got it. We're on our way.” he said before putting the communicator away “Come on, let's get out of here and finish this mission.” he said.

Diamond and Ashley nodded and followed him out the door. They climbed down the ladder to the first floor. Once they ran in front of the altar the saw that the man in the dark purple cloak. They stopped and stared at him “I'll take the girl.” he said.

Leon narrowed his eyes at him “Who are you?” he asked.

“If you must know, my name is Osmund Saddler. The master of this fine...religious community.” he said.

Diamond growled at him “Religious community? That's one way to put it I guess.” she said.

“What do you want” Leon asked him.

Saddler grinned “To demonstrate to the whole world, our astounding power, of course. No longer will the United States think they can police the world forever. So we kidnapped the President's daughter, in order to give her our power, and then send her back.” he explained.

Ashley gasped and put her hand to her neck “Leon, I think they shot something into my neck.” she said with fear in her voice.

Leon glared at Saddler “What did you do to her?” he asked in a harsh tone.

Saddler chuckled darkly “We just planted her a little...gift. Oh, there's going to be one hell of a party when she returns home to her loving father. But before that, I thought I might bargain with the President for some...donations. Believe it or not, it takes quite a lot of money to keep this church up and running.” he said.

Diamond scoffed “Money? What a boring motive.” she said.

Saddler seemed to remember something and looked toward Leon “Oh, I believe I forgot to tell you that we gave you the same gift.” he said. He then turned his gaze to Diamond “You too young one.” he said.

Diamond gasped and fear filled her eyes “What?” she asked.

Leon growled in anger “He must have done it when we were unconscious. I knew there had to be a reason they didn't kill us immediately.” he said.

Saddler's smile grew “Oh, I truly hope you like our small, but special contributions. When the eggs hatch, you'll become my puppets. Involuntarily, you'll do as I say. I'll have total control over your minds. Don't you think this is revolutionary way to propagate one's faith?” he asked.

Leon shook his head “Sounds more like an alien invasion if you ask me.” he said.

Behind them the doors burst open and two men with crossbows walked in. Leon turned to Diamond “Run!” he shouted.

He grabbed Ashley's arm and pulled her as they ran. The men fired the crossbows but barely missed. Leon and Ashley flew through the window causing it to shatter. Diamond jumped through the window after them.

They landed into the side shed. Leon as glad to see both Ashley and Diamond made it “Are you two okay?” he asked.

Ashley looked up at him “What's going to happen to us?” she asked.

“Yeah, are we going to turn into one of them?” Diamond asked.

Leon tried his best to calm them down “Don't worry. We'll figure something out. I promise.” he said.

Melting the Big Cheese

Leon, Diamond, and Ashley arrived to an area with a small building and large door ahead. There was also a cliff to their left. They ignored the building and walked up the the door. Leon tried the door but couldn't get it open. There was a design of a face in the middle of the door with a red left eye.

Suddenly a red light shined out of the eye and onto Leon's eye. He took a step back in surprise but allowed the light to continue. After a few seconds it shut off. Leon tried the door again but it was still locked.

Diamond seemed slightly worried “What was all that about?” she asked.

Leon rubbed his chin in thought “Looks like a retinal scanner. The door will only open when it see's a certain person's eye.” he explained.

“So do we just find a villager and use them?” she asked.

Leon shook his head “We would probably need someone more important.” he turned to a path to his left “Let's forget about that for now. We'll search this way first.” he said.

The others agreed and they walked down the path. They ended up at a metal structure right next to the cliff. It had lifts moving from that structure to a similar one on a lower and farther cliff. The lifts were bare bones with no walls and rusted metal.

Ashley stared at the horrible state of the lifts “Are we going to have to ride those?” she asked hoping that they wouldn't.

Diamond looked just as wary “For once I'm with her. I wouldn't trust those with anything, let alone my life.” she said.

Leon walked up to the the entrance to the lifts and watched as they were passing him “we're gonna have to trust them since we can't get through the door. This is our only option.” he said.

With a sigh Diamond and Ashley hesitantly joined Leon by the lifts. They all walked onto one as it passed by. Other then a few creaks, the lift seemed to be holding their weight pretty well. They started moving towards the other cliff.

They noticed that some villagers got on the lifts on the other cliff and started making their way up. One villager threw a hatchet their way. Leon grabbed Ashley and forced her to duck with him as the hatchet sailed over their heads.

Diamond shot him in the head causing him to fall over the edge. Leon stood up and shot two others causing the same to happen to them. Diamond saw more coming up on the lifts “Of course they would attack while we're on this hunk of junk.” she growled.

Leon aimed for another shot but stopped when their lift started shaking. He looked up to see a villager on top with a hatchet trying to destroy the joint. Leon quickly shot him before he could, sending him down into the canyon.

Leon dodge another hatchet that was thrown his way before shooting the attacker. He then saw a villager waiting on a high wooden platform. Leon guessed that he was going to try to jump on their lift as well. Leon shot him before they even got close.

One more villager tried to throw a hatchet but Diamond shot him before he had the chance. They all relaxed when they saw no more villagers around. Once the lift arrived at the structure they all walked off.

Leon turned to Ashley to see that her legs were shaking a bit. Leon got her attention “Are you alright Ashley?” he asked.

Ashley swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded “Y-yeah, just a bit s-shaken.” she said.

Diamond was obviously putting on a brave face “Stop being such a baby, it wasn't t-that scary.” she said.

Leon just turned around and started walking ahead with the other two following behind. They walked down a flight of stairs and found a path with the merchant waiting for them “I see you survived that mob, good.” he said.

Diamond narrowed her eyes at him “And how did you survive that?” she asked.

The merchant chuckled “They don't bother me, little one. They know better.” he said darkly.

Diamond took a slight step back “What are you?” she asked.

“Just a man trying to do business. Speaking of business, are we doing any?” he asked.

Leon shook his head “Not right now.” he said.

The merchant just nodded “Next time then.” he said.

Leon agreed and they continued down the path. They walked through a door to see a dead end with nothing but a large barn. Diamond looked disappointed “We rode that rusty lift for nothing but a filthy barn!” she yelled.

Leon started walking towards the barn “Let's check it out, it might have something useful in it.” he said. They got up to the door and Leon stopped before turning to Ashley “Just to be safe, you'd better stay out here and hide.” he said.

Ashley seemed glad and ran to the side of the barn in search a hiding place. Once Ashley was out of sight Leon opened the barn door and they walked in. They started slowly walking while scanning the dark barn. Diamond suddenly got the feeling of a presence behind her.

She turned around to see the tall man in the trench coat. The village chief Mendez. Diamond's eyes widened and she tried to reach for her gun but was too slow. Mendez grabbed her by the throat and began chocking her.

Leon heard the struggle and turned around with his gun out. Before he could take the shot, Mendez threw Diamond at Leon with enough force to send them both into a wooden box, breaking it. As they both groaned in pain, Mendez walked to the door and twisted the handles together to trap them all inside.

Mendez then walked and stood over Leon who was still on his back. Mendez attempted to grab at Leon's neck but he rolled out of the way just in time. Leon then kicked over a red barrel causing it to pour clear liquid around Mendez.

As Mendez was staring down at the liquid Leon aimed his handgun at the ground near him “Hasta luego.” he said before firing. The bullet scrapped the ground causing a few sparks which lit the liquid on fire. Mendez simply stood as the fire surrounded him. Leon saw the fire spreading to the barrel. He then grabbed Diamond who was still on the ground and jumped away from the barrel as it exploded.

When they looked up they that the fire was spreading to the rest of the barn. Mendez just stood in the fire as if nothing was happening. Diamond glared at Leon “Why did you set the barn on fire?” she questioned.

Leon got to his feet “I thought it would have killed him.” he said. Mendez's finger nails grew multiple times their normal size and with a sickening sound his spine elongated causing his torso to separate from the rest of his body. Many insect like legs frantically waved about from along his spine. Then two sharp insect like appendages grew out of his back and pointed toward them menacingly.

Diamond almost lost her lunch at the sight of his transformation but was able the hold it in. Leon glanced down at the slightly sick looking filly “Get a hold of yourself! We have to find some way to kill him!” he said.

Diamond took a breath and nodded “Anything will die with enough bullets in it.” she said as she fished her gun from her saddle bags.

They then faced the monstrous Mendez as he slowly walked towards them. They opened fire on him and he took many bullets to the chest and head but they barely even slowed him down. Once he got close he took a swipe at Leon with his back appendage which he ducked under. Mendez then tried to stab Diamond with the other but she dodged to the side and they both ran behind him.

Mendez took a second to turn around and walk towards them again. Leon noticed this “Looks like he can't move very fast like that. We have to use that to our advantage.” he said as he started shooting at him again.

Mendez leaned forward and his back appendages dug into the concrete ahead of him. He then used them to pull himself forward with surprising speed. Before Leon could react Mendez grabbed him by the neck and held him up. Diamond shot him in the chest in hopes that it would cause him to let go. Unluckily he kept his grip and slammed Leon into the ground before bringing him back up.

Diamond traded her gun for her knife before jumping and slashing at his spine. He then let Leon go and backed up in pain. Leon got to his feet and caught his breath. Diamond looked slightly worried but Leon gave her a nod signifying that he was fine “I think you're on to something, focus your attacks on his spine.” he said.

They then started firing into his spine and he seemed to be in pain with each bullet. Leon then ran towards him with his knife ready and gave him a powerful slash to the spine.

The spine was severed and his torso fell to the ground as the legs took a few more weak steps before falling to the floor. Diamond gave a smile and a sigh of relief. But before they could celebrate the torso's back appendages lifted him up and took hold of the rafters. Diamond growled in anger “You've got to be kidding me!” she yelled.

Mendez swung from rafter to rafter until he was in front of them. He tried to swipe at the with his appendages but they were able to dodge. Leon swapped his handgun for his shotgun “He can't take much more, let's keep at it.” he said.

Mendez continued chasing them by swinging between the rafters as they avoided and shot him when they could. After a few minutes Mendez seemed to be getting desperate. He swung straight towards Diamond with his claws out towards her. Diamond slipped in though his hands and turned around to buck him in the face as hard as she could.

He fell onto his back and before he could recover Leon stepped on what was left of his spine “It's over.” he said then fired a shotgun blast into his chest. Mendez let out a wail and held a hand out until he eventually became motionless. Then his right eye rolled out of his head and onto the floor.

Leon bend down and grabbed the eye to get a better look at it. Diamond pushed Leon in the side with a disgusted face “Ew Leon put that down, what's wrong with you?” she questioned.

Leon showed it to her “It's a fake eye. I also think it could help us pass that retinal scanner.” he said.

Diamond gagged slightly “Whatever, just put that away I don't wanna see it.” she said. Leon did as she said then turned towards a wooden wall as the fire damaged it enough to cause a hole large enough for them to jump through.

Leon noticed that they would have to jump over some fire to get through it “That's our ticket out of here. Come on” he said as he held his arms to her. She took the hint and jumped into his arms and he held her. He then jumped over the fire and out the hole safely.

When they got up they saw Ashley running towards them happily “Oh I'm so glad you two are okay.” she gave Leon a hug then knelt down to hug Diamond “I was so worried when the barn caught fire. What happened in there?” she asked.

“The village chief attacked us and locked us inside.” Leon answered.

Diamond smirked “But don't worry, We killed him.” she said.

Leon nodded “And we got something that should help us get through that door past the lifts.” he said.

Ashley smiled “Great! Although I'm not excited to ride on those lifts again.” she said.

“Either way we'll have to so let's get back there.” he said and they walked away from the burning barn.

They didn't run into any trouble as they reached the lifts. Once they got on one Diamond laid on the floor. Ashley sat next to her “Is something wrong?” she asked.

Diamond shook her head “No, I'm just tired. Now I understand why ponies say it's important to exercise.” she said.

Ashley pulled her onto her lap “Would you like me to carry you for a while?” she asked.

Diamond rolled her eyes “I'll be fine. I just need a second.” she said. Once they got close to the next cliff Diamond and Ashley got up off of the floor so they could exit. They then made their way to the door. Leon took the false eye from his pocket and held it in front of the retinal scanner. The same red light shined onto the eye then they heard a click. Leon put the eye back into his pocket and opened the door.

When they came out on the other side they saw a path that seemed to lead to a bridge to a castle. Between them and the castle was a group of armed villagers. Leon aimed his handgun at them but stopped when a truck came from behind and ran the entire group down.

The truck continued down the path at them. Leon looked around but there was nowhere to go. Leon decided to just shoot at it. One bullet went through the driver's head and the truck swerved causing it to fall on it's side before it reached them.

Diamond's eyes were wide “What was that thing?” she asked.

Leon holstered his handgun “Truck, it's a vehicle.” he answered.

Ashley held her hand to her heart as she calmed down “These villagers are crazy. Even if he did his us he would just crash into the door behind us.” she said.

Leon nodded “They don't seem to care about their lives or each others' lives. Probably because of those eggs that saddler talked about. He has control over all of them.” he said.

They then continued past the downed truck and towards the castle. Once they got close diamond turned around and saw a mob of villagers behind them “Uh, we have a problem.” she said. Leon and Ashley turned around and saw the countless number of villagers.

Leon quickly glanced at the castle entrance and back at the other two “Hurry into the castle!” he ordered.

With no arguments the three ran across the drawbridge and into the castle. They turned back to see that the mob was still advancing. Leon noticed two cranks on opposite sides. He pointed to one of them “Ashley get that one!” he said as he grabbed the other crank.

Ashley nodded and got on the other crank. With nothing to do, Diamond took her gun out and fired into the crowd in hopes that it would slow them down. Leon and Ashley started cranking as fast as they could. The drawbridge was raised and blocked the villagers from the castle.

Ashley calmed herself down. Leon got their attention “Alright, we have no choice but to continue.” he said. The others nodded and they walked forward.

Filthy Rich entered the throne room once again to see Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Rarity. He walked up to them while trying not to act frantic “I heard that you had news regarding my daughter?” he asked.

Celestia nodded with a slight smile “We have good news and bad news, and more good news.” she said.

Filthy raised an eyebrow “At least you have good news, I could really use some.” he said.

Celestia turned to Twilight “Would you like to explain the situation?” she asked.

Twilight gave her a nod then turned to Filthy “Good news is that we found your daughter in another world. It's actually very interesting how we figured it out. First we-” she was interrupted by Filthy.

“With all due respect, I don't need to know how. Just tell me the rest of the news.” he said.

Twilight blushed a bit “Oh right, sorry.” she cleared her throat “Well that's the first good news. The bad news is that while we found a way to teleport her back here, it isn't working.” she said.

Filthy sighed sadly “Do you have any idea why it's not working?” he asked.

Twilight gave a small smile “Actually, we know exactly why it's not working. Since we would be teleporting from such a long distance we would need time to get her exact location.” she said.

“Why is that a problem?” he asked.

Celestia stepped up to explain “While scanning we found that Diamond has been moving almost constantly. We would need her to stay still for a few minutes to zero in on her exact location.” she said.

Rarity put a hoof to her chin “It makes me wonder why she would be so active.” she said.

Filthy thought on that for a second before remembering something “Wait, you said there was more good news?” he asked.

Twilight's smile grew a bit “Ah yes. We do have a plan. While it would take multiple minutes to bring her here, it would only take about a minute to send something to her.” she said.

Filthy seemed confused “Send? What could you send her that will help the situation?” he asked. Twilight activated her horn and levitated a mirror in front of him. Filthy stared at it with a questioning look “A mirror?” he asked.

Twilight nodded “It's a magical mirror.” she then levitated another mirror facing herself. Filthy then saw Twilight's face appear in the mirror facing him “It allows ponies to communicate from long distances. If she has this we could talk to her and tell her to stay still so we could bring her back.” she said.

Filthy smiled for a second but lost it moments later “Why haven't you sent it yet?” he asked.

Twilight frowned slightly “As we said it would still take about a minute to send. She hasn't been in one spot that long yet.” she said.

Filthy looked down “Diamond, what are you up to?” he whispered to himself.

Luna got his attention “Worry not. We shall keep a watch on her.” she said.

Celestia nodded “And when she stops long enough we will send it immediately. You are welcome to stay at the castle. We will call you once we have contact with her.” she said.

Filthy shook his head “No, I'll stay around here. I want to see her as soon as possible.” he said.

Celestia gave a gentle nod “As you wish.” she said. She then activated her horn along with Luna. Filthy guessed that they were scanning that other world.

Rarity came up next to him and put a hoof to his shoulder “At least we know that she's safe since she's moving.” she said in an effort to cheer him up.

Filthy sighed and smiled a bit “Yeah, I couldn't be happier to hear that.” he said.

Storming the Castle

Leon, Diamond, and Ashley walked into the castle and saw a small building. When the walked in they saw the merchant. Ashley put her hands on her hips “Are you following us?” she asked.

The merchant nodded “Follow those who give you the best business. That's the first rule of business.” he glanced to Diamond “Your father should know all about that.” he said.

Diamond narrowed her eyes at him “It's creepy how much you know, and I'm guessing you won't explain how you know that.” she said.

He chuckled “You learn quick.” he said.

Leon got his attention “Do you have any rifles for sale?” he asked.

The merchant opened his coat “I've got just the thing.” he somehow pulled out an entire rifle “Semi-automatic rifle, great for long distance shooting. I also have a scope for it if you want.” he said.

Leon nodded “I'll take it, along with the scope and some ammo.” he said. He made the purchase and took the rifle.

Diamond got the merchant's attention “Hey do you have anything else I could use. Something with more power?” she asked.

The merchant nodded “Of course little one.” he reached into his coat and pulled out a revolver made for a pony “This is a revolver, one of my personal favorite weapons. It takes a bit longer to reload but has much more of a kick than that handgun you've got.” he said.

Diamond looked over the weapon before smiling “I'll take it and a good amount of ammo.” she said.

The merchant complied and Leon payed for it. Leon and Diamond put everything away and started walking away “Thanks.” Leon said before leaving. The merchant smiled under his mask.

They then climbed a few stairs and walked through a door to end up at a tight path. They turned a corner to see some hooded figures on a higher ledge. Leon saw that they seemed to be patrolling “I think it's safe to assume that they're also a part of Los Illuminados.” he said.

Diamond nodded “Anyone pacing so creepily has to be.” she said.

Leon nodded and took out his new rifle. He aimed at one of the men and fired a bullet into his head. The others seemed to be alerted. He saw another man run out of sight “They're probably coming this way. Get ready.” he said.

Diamond smiled “I get to try out my new gun.” she said as she took the revolver in her mouth. The hooded man came down a flight of stairs and towards them. Diamond fired a bullet into his head and sent him to the floor. Diamond put the revolver away “I like how that feels.” she said.

They then continued up the stairs. They saw a man wearing a red cloak and a cow skull on his head on a high ledge. The man saw them and pointed to another man behind a catapult. Then the catapult launched a flaming ball towards them. Leon backed them all up and the ball smashed on the floor along with another that was launched from another catapult. Leon started running “Hurry while they're reloading.” he said. Diamond and Ashley followed him under cover ahead. They waited until the catapults fired again.

Leon turned to Ashley “Stay here in cover, we'll take care of those catapult. Yell out if you need anything.” he said. Ashley nodded then Leon and Diamond dashed up the nearby stairs. Once up there they could see all three catapults. Leon noticed that two of them were right next to a red barrel. He pointed up at one “Shoot that barrel, quickly.” he said as he aimed for the other one.

They both fired causing them to blow up and kill the catapult operators. A flaming ball was launched towards them from the last one. Leon and Diamond ran out of the way before it could hit them and it smashed harmlessly to the ground. They ran into a nearby small shack only to run into a cloaked man wearing a metal mask.

Leon shot him in the head but the bullet just bounced off of the mask. Diamond saw this and decided to shoot him in the leg. The man knelt and Diamond stabbed him through the heart “That has to be a really strong mask.” she said.

Leon nodded then took his rifle back out. Once another flaming ball was launched and missed. Leon popped his head out of cover and aimed at the operator. While the man was reloading it Leon took his head off with a bullet. Leon took one more glance around “Looks like that was the last of them.” he said. He then walked up to a giant door with Diamond “Ashley! It's safe now!” he shouted down to her.

Once she caught up to them Leon tried the door but it wasn't budging “Hmm, barred from the other side.” he said.

Diamond sighed “Any idea how we get past it?” she asked.

Leon glanced over to another area that they hadn't gone to yet “Let's see if we find anything over there first.” he said. They walked over to the circular area with a large hole in the middle. Leon leaned in to look into the hole and saw a cannon. Then he glanced to the side and saw a crank “I think I know how we're getting through that door.” he said.

He walked over to the crank and started to crank it. After a few seconds the cannon was brought up from the hole. Diamond's eyes widened “Is that a cannon? Are you really planning on destroying that huge door?” she asked.

Leon nodded “I don't see any other way.” he said. He then search the cannon for a way to activate it. He found it quickly and fired. The cannon ball flew and exploded on impact with the door. The door was blasted open.

Ashley seemed surprised “I didn't expect it to be that powerful.” she said.

Diamond shrugged “At least it worked. Good job Leon.” she said. They then walked through the place where the door used to be. They entered another door and found themselves in a small room with some stairs leading up.

Before they could continue Leon got a call on his communicator “Leon, what's your current location?” Hunnigan asked.

“We decided to lay low in a castle, but it looks like it was a bad move.” he said.

“Why is that?” she asked.

“Well it appears that this castle is also connected with the Los Illuminados. They must not get many visitors because they're giving me one hell of a welcome.” he said.

“Sounds bad.” Hunnigan looked like she thought of something “I have an idea Leon. I need you-” she was cut off and her image was replaced with static.

Leon shook the communicator slightly “What? Hunnigan, repeat.” he said. When nothing more came from it Leon sighed “Great, just my luck.” he said.

Ashley looked worried “What happened?” She asked.

Leon put his communicator away “I lost contact with Hunnigan. Probably because the castle walls interfering with the signal. I guess we should just try to find another way out of this castle.” he said. They then started looking around the room. Leon noticed a platinum sword in an indentation in the wall. He ignored it and they continued upstairs.

Once they got up there they saw three cloaked men turn toward them. Leon quickly took out his handgun and shot at the nearest one. Diamond turned to two who were approaching her. She shot the first one in the head but the one in the back swung a flail at her. She jumped back to avoid it and ran back towards him. She gave him a hard buck to the shin to bring him down to her level. She then took her knife in her mouth and stabbed him in the throat.

They then heard yelling from down stairs. They looked down to see three more black cloaked figures with another man wearing a red cloak. Leon quickly threw a frag grenade down there. The three hooded figures died to the grenade but the red cloaked man was far enough to be unaffected.

While he walked up the stairs Diamond shot him in the head. When the bullet hit his head it exploded but his body continued to walk. A fleshy mass erupted from his neck but it was different then the ones they saw before. It was larger and had a large mouth at the top of it.

Leon fired a few bullets into it as it closed in on him. It tried to bite down on his head but Leon held it back with his hands. Leon then kicked it down stairs. It tumbled down but was obviously still alive. Diamond reached into her bag for a grenade but accidentally grabbed a blue one. She threw it and it exploded into a bright white light.

The three of them were caught of guard so the light stung their eyes. Leon grunted from the pain in his eyes “Diamond, you have to warn us if you're gonna use a flash grenade.” he said.

Diamond groaned as she tried to get her vision back “I didn't know what it did! I thought it would just explode like the others!” she shot back.

They then got their sight back shortly after. Leon looked down the stairs to see that the fleshy mass was gone and the body laid motionless. Leon looked confused “Did the flash actually kill it?” he wondered.

Ashley seemed just as puzzled “Maybe they can't survive bright lights? For some reason.” she offered.

Diamond raised an eyebrow “I don't really understand but it seemed to have worked.” she said.

Leon nodded “Let's keep that in mind next time we encounter something like that.” he said. They then started searching the room for a door.

After a few seconds Diamond turned to Leon “There's no door, what the hay.” she said.

Leon walked up to a golden sword in another indentation in the wall. After thinking for a second he turned to Ashley “go downstairs and grab that platinum sword from the wall.” he ordered. Ashley nodded and walked downstairs.

Leon the grabbed the golden sword. Diamond got his attention “What are you doing? That sword looks a bit dull to be used as a weapon.” she pointed out.

“It's not gonna be used as a weapon.” Ashley came upstairs while struggling to hold the heavy sword “Put it in this indentation.” he said as he walked past her and down the stairs.

Ashley put the sword in it's place and waited. After a few seconds the wall with the platinum sword slid out of the way to reveal a door. Leon walked up and joined them.

Diamond narrowed her eyes at him “How did you know that would work?” she asked.

Leon rubbed his chin “For some reason these people seem to like puzzles and that seemed like a simple solution.” he said.

Diamond sighed “I hope we don't run into more puzzles like that.” she said as they walked through the door. They found themselves outside again. They arrived in a small area with two doors. Before they could enter one they heard footsteps behind them.

They turned around to see Luis jogging up to them “Hola friends.” he greeted.

Diamond noticed that his arm was no longer bleeding. She guessed that he patched it “Did you find that thing you forgot?” she asked.

Luis smirked and nodded “I did, I also bring a gift.” he said. He started patting the tops of his pockets trying to feel for something. After a few seconds he frowned as he realized something “Oh shit! I must have dropped it while running away from them.” he said.

Ashley felt slightly sorry for him “Dropped what?” she asked.

Luis sighed and put on a more serious expression “A drug that will stop your convulsions.” he turned to Leon “Look, I know that you are carriers. You've been coughing up blood, right?” he asked.

Leon hesitated slightly before answering “Yes, Diamond too.” he said.

Luis then turned to Ashley “And you?” he asked.

Ashley avoided his gaze “Y-yes.” she said.

Luis clenched his fists and growled “Damn it! That means that the eggs have already hatched. We don't have much time.” he said.

Diamond had never see Luis like this “Don't have much time? Does that mean...” she stopped since she already knew the answer.

Luis turned back the way he came “I have to go back and get it.” he said and started walking.

“Wait!” Diamond called “If it's that important then why don't we go together?” she asked.

Luis turned his head back towards her and managed a smirk “If I didn't know any better I'd think you were worried about me.” he said.

Diamond blushed and growled “I am not! If you want to go alone then fine, go! I couldn't care less!” she turned around and towards a door ahead of them “Leon! Ashley! Come on!” she shouted.

Leon tried to stop her “Wait, we s-”

“I said, come on!” she shouted again. Leon and Ashley glanced at each other and nodded before following.

Once they were gone Luis chuckled and started walking again. He stopped once again when he heard something falling behind him. When he turned around he saw a small mirror on the ground. He glanced up to see if anyone threw it but saw no one.

“Diamond? Diamond are you there?” a female voice seemed to call from the mirror.

That peaked Luis' interest so he walked over to pick it up. When he looked into it her saw a lavender unicorn instead of himself “You don't see that every day.” he said to himself.

Twilight had a questioning look on her face. Before she could speak Filthy ran to her side and looked into the mirror with a smile. When he saw that the creature on the other side was not diamond he frowned “What are you supposed to be?” he asked.

Luis put a hand to his chest in mock hurt “I've heard some rude questions in my time but that one takes the cake. Perhaps you should introduce yourselves first.” he said.

Twilight shook off the surprise “Of course. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” she then gestured to Filthy “And this is Filthy Rich.” she said.

Luis gave a smile and a slight bow “Luis Sera, ladies man extraordinaire.” he said.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at his strange introduction but decided to get back to business “Luis Sera, we are actually from a different world and a pony from here accidentally got sent to yours. Maybe you could help us find her. Her name is Diamond Tiara, she's a young filly and has a pink coat and-” she was cut off by Luis raising a hand.

“No need for the description. I know of her. In fact, you just missed her. She just left.” he said.

Twilight and Filthy smiled “That's great, can you get this mirror to her?” she asked.

Luis shook his head “I can't, sorry. I have important matters to attend to.” he said and started walking while still holding the mirror.

Twilight was shocked by his blunt answer while Filthy growled “What do you mean? That is my daughter and I demand that you deliver this mirror to her.” he commanded.

Luis laughed “Diamond's your daughter? That's quite the fiery filly you've got.” he said.

Filthy didn't seem amused “That's not the point. If you give her this mirror we can bring her home.” he said.

Luis frowned slightly “You don't want her to come back. At least not now.” he said.

Filthy was caught off guard by his response “Explain what you mean! Right now! Why wouldn't I want my diamond back?” he asked.

Luis sighed “Do you want the long version or the short version?” he asked.

“Short.” Twilight answered.

“If Diamond comes home now, it's only a matter of time until she starts killing you all.” he said simply.

Twilight and Filthy gave each other horrified looks. Filthy recover first and glared at Luis “I need to see my Diamond! Bring us to her! What's more important? Those matters you have to attend to, or the well being of a young filly?” he asked.

Luis shook his head and continued on his path “She fine at the moment. I need to grab something I dropped earlier. It's important to not only Diamond but many others too. I will return to Diamond once I have it.” he said.

Twilight pondered his words for a second and nodded “Alright, but please hurry.” she said.

Luis flashed her a smile “Don't worry, Luis Sera never leaves a woman unsatisfied.” he said.

Twilight cringed at his words but collected herself quickly “While you do that, can you elaborate on why Diamond shouldn't come home immediately?” she asked.

Luis nodded “Multitasking, another thing I'm an expert at.” he said.

Moments later Diamond returned to that area with a key in her mouth. Ashley followed behind her feeling worried “Diamond, I know that Luis annoyed you but you shouldn't be so reckless. You could've gotten hurt.” she said.

Diamond rolled her eyes “I had Leon to watch my back, it was fine.” she said.

Leon put a hand to Ashley's shoulder “Try not to worry, I won't let either of you get hurt.” he said.

Diamond walked up to the other larger door and unlocked it. They all then walked in to see a large main hall ahead. When they walked forward they heard cackling coming from a high balcony. They looked up to see a short, wrinkly man wearing castellan attire to his left and right were two figures who's faces were obscured by their cloaks.

The short man stopped cackling to speak “I was starting to wonder when you might notice us.” he said.

Leon narrowed his eyes at him “And who are you?” he asked.

The man bowed slightly “Me llamo Roman Salazar, the eighth castellan of this magnificent architecture. I have been honored with the prodigious power from the great lord Saddler. I've been expecting you, my friends.” he said.

Diamond gave a look of disgust “Friends? I'd rather be friends with the rotting corpse of the village chief then you.” she said.

Salazar put a hand to his chest “My my, such harsh words for someone so young.” he turned his gaze to Leon “Either way, I suggest you release the president's daughter into our care.” he said.

Ashley held onto Leon's arm and cowered behind him. Leon glanced at Ashley then back up to Salazar “Not on your life pal.” he said.

Salazar smirked “I must ask you to reconsider. If you also hand over the pony, I might allow you to keep your pathetic life.” he offered.

Before Leon could answer, Diamond stepped up and growled at him “Keep your offers to yourself shorty.” she said.

Salazar frowned at her “Such disrespect! Fine, have it your way. We'll do this the hard way.” he said before walking out of sight with his bodyguards following behind him.

Ashley held onto Leon's arm a little tighter “I don't want to turn into one of them, Leon.” she said.

Leon gave her a nod “You won't.” he then turned his gaze to Diamond “None of us will.” he assured.

Kidnapped Again

After their encounter with Salazar, they started walking towards a hallway in front of them. Before they could get close a wall appeared from the ground and blocked their way. Diamond was caught off guard by it “I can't believe we're being blocked off again.” she complained.

Leon noticed a stone picture on the new wall. It depicted a man riding a horse while wielding a spear. The man seemed to be fighting something but Leon couldn't figure out what because the pieces were missing.

Since that information didn't seem important, Leon looked to his right and saw another door “We'll just continue on that way.” he said.

They walked through the door and ended up in a new hallway with a close door to the left. Diamond tried the door only to find it locked. She turned to a window next to her and looked through it. She saw that the room on the other side of door was some sort of dungeon. She turned back to Leon and Ashley “I was about to complain about that door being locked but it just looks like a dungeon so I'm glad it's locked.” she said.

Leon took a look through the window and saw only one cell with one person in it “I wonder what he did to be locked up by these people?” he wondered to himself.

They continued down the hallway and turned a corner to see two horse head statues blowing fire into their path. Diamond gave the statues a strange look “Those are the ugliest ponies I've ever seen.” she said.

Ashley walked up to the side of one of the statues. After observing it she lightly touched it but yanked her hand back quickly “Ah! They're so hot.” she said while holding her hurt hand.

Leon rubbed his chin in thought “We'll have to find a way to shut them off.” he said. He looked to his right and saw a painting of a man standing in a jungle. Leon noticed a key in the middle of the painting. He grabbed it and turned to Diamond “Bad news, we might have to search the dungeon.” he said while holding the key up.

Diamond sighed “Great...” she said sarcastically.

They unlocked the dungeon quickly. Leon turned to Ashley and held his hand up “You'd better stay up here just in case.” he said. Ashley complied and stayed put. Leon and Diamond walked down the flight of stairs.

After searching for a few seconds they noticed that there was a lever in the cell with the prisoner. The prisoner seemed to be wearing a few pieces of knight's armor. With a closer look they noticed that he was tightly shackled to the wall. His eyes also seemed to be sown closed.

Leon gave Diamond a signal to stay back. He checked the cell door to see that it wasn't locked but was stuck. He gave the door a kick to knock it off of it's hinges. Suddenly long metal claws came from the prisoner's gauntlets and he broke out of his bonds with a muffled scream.

He charged Leon and threw a claw out at him. Leon dove out of the way just in time. When the prisoner notice that he didn't hit anything he stopped and listened for any more noise. After a few seconds he retracted his claws and started slowly wondering around. Leon silently got Diamond's attention and signaled for her to be quiet.

Diamond nodded and took her revolver out as quietly as possible. The prisoner started walking away from them and Diamond saw a fleshy mass on his back. That looked like a target to her. She fired a bullet into it and the prisoner writhed in pain while letting out more muffled screams.

Once he calmed down he faced Diamond and ran towards her with his claw ready. She ducked as he swung his claws around wildly. Luckily the prisoner was assuming he was shot by an adult human so he rarely swung low enough to get close to Diamond.

Once he stopped and started listening again, Leon sneaked up behind him with a shotgun. He fired a blast into his back and he fell forward motionlessly.

They stayed quiet for a few seconds just in case he was still alive. Diamond sighed in relief “What a freak.” she said what looking as his dead body.

Leon walked back to the cell and pulled the lever “I hope that took care of the fire.” he said.

They suddenly heard Ashley shout from the hallway “They're here!” she warned.

Leon and Diamond quickly ran back up the stairs. Once they arrived they saw two of the cloaked men. One of them swung a flail at Diamond but she dodged and jumped onto a nearby chair. She then jumped towards the man and gave him a kick to the side of the head. Once he fell to the ground she finished him with her knife.

She looked over to Leon to see that he already had the other one on the floor. He finished him with a stomp to the head. Ashley was shocked by Diamond's actions “Diamond, where did you learn to fight like that?” she asked.

Diamond smirked “I learned from just watching Leon, pretty good huh.” she said with a smug expression.

Leon spoke up before Ashley could “You've learned a lot but you're still sloppy, so don't rely on your unarmed combat too much. You have weapons for a reason.” he said. He then continued forward as Diamond pouted in anger.

When they got to the corner again they saw that the fire was gone but their were three more men waiting for them. One of them lit a stick of dynamite and threw it at them. Leon pulled Ashley away as Diamond jumped away from it as it exploded.

Leon leaned out of cover and shot him threw the head. The other two took out crossbows and fired. Leon got behind cover again as the bolts stuck into the wall. Leon then fired at one to kill him. The other fired another bolt but Leon was able to dodge it and shoot him too.

After scanning the area for any more they continued through the next door. They arrived at a large room with five cloaked men waiting for them. Leon then noticed two men on a higher floor armed with crossbows.

Leon turned to the others “Crossbows! Get to cover!” he warned. They ran towards some halls under the second floor. The archers fired a few bolts at them but luckily they missed. A man wearing a metal mask blocked their path. Leon shot him in the leg to get him to kneel. Leon then got behind him and wrapped his arms around him to suplex him.

They then came to a door. Leon glanced back to see multiple men chasing them “We'll hold up in here.” he said running into the room. It was a small room with two pressure plates in the far corners.

Leon looked between the pressure plates “Ashley! Diamond! Stand on those plates!” he commanded.

The two went to do as he said as the men started coming into the room. Leon killed the one in front then one walked in carrying a large spiked shield. Leon knocked the shield out of the way and jammed his knife into the man's throat.

He then turned to Diamond and Ashley who were standing on the plates “What's this suppose to do?” she asked.

Leon glanced around for anything that changed “I'm not sure, maybe nothing.” he said. He then turned towards the door again “I'm gonna go deal with those archers.” he turned to Diamond “I'm going to leave Ashley in your capable hooves. Can you handle that?” he asked.

Diamond felt slight fear from the idea that she would be responsible for Ashey's life but she gave a brave smile and nod “Of course.” she said.

Leon nodded and opened the door to see a man waiting for him. Before he could attack Leon kneed him in the stomach and punched him to the floor. Leon then ran out of sight.

Once Diamond saw more men trying to enter the room she took a quick calming breath before taking her handgun out. She shot a few as the group closed in on her. A shielded man got close enough to attack. Diamond dodged to the side and fired a bullet into his temple.

Ashley slightly smiled as Diamond fought “You're doing so well! Keep going! I know you can do it!” she cheered.

Diamond punched one in the gut to make him double over in pain before she slit his throat “I don't need a cheerleader.” she said to Ashley.

After a few more seconds of fighting all that was left was a man in a red cloak. He reached out his hands towards her neck but she jumped back and pulled out her revolver. She fired a bullet right between his eyes causing his head to explode.

Before she could relax a fleshy mass emerged and replaced his head. Diamond growled “Not another one.” she said. She then remembered what happened last time she encountered one. She reached into her bag and pulled out a flash grenade “Ashley, cover your eyes!” she warned.

Diamond then threw the grenade and covered her own eyes. Once the flash was over Diamond uncovered her eyes and saw the headless body fall to the floor. Diamond smiled “So it does work.” she noted.

She then turned to Ashley “Leon probably finished the archers at this point, let's join him.” she said. Ashley agreed and they ran out of the room.

They returned to the main part of the room to see Leon killing a man with his knife next to a crank that wasn't there before. Leon turned to them and they saw a quick look of relief on his face before he collected himself “Ashley, crank this. Me and Diamond will keep you covered.” he ordered.

Ashley quickly complied and Diamond got into position to defend. More men ran into the room and tried to attack. Luckily Leon and Diamond were able to hold them off without any trouble. After a few seconds of cranking a staircase leading to the second floor unfolded.

They ran up the stairs only to stop when between them and the next door was a large pool of water. Leon shook his head “We shouldn't risk swimming. There has to be some way to activate a bridge or something.” he said.

Ashley looked around and saw two cranks on a higher ledge “Maybe those will do it.” she suggested.

Leon nodded “Good idea. Come on I'll get you up there and keep you protected.” he said. Leon knelt and Ashley quickly stood on his shoulders. He slowly stood up and Ashley climbed onto the ledge.

Before Leon could step away from the ledge Diamond climbed onto his shoulder and jumped onto the ledge too “I'll take care of the other crank.” she said.

Diamond and Ashley gave each other a nod before running to their cranks. Leon got to a spot with a good view of both of them. He took out his rifle and started protecting the two. Diamond didn't need as much protection as Ashley because she was also armed.

After a short time a bridge that only reached half way across the water rose up. Ashley seemed to be the one that finished as she ran back to the ledge “Uh do you think you could catch me?” she asked Leon.

Leon quickly shot one more man that was behind Ashley and ran back to the ledge. Ashley jumped and Leon caught her in his arms. Then the other bridge rose up as Diamond finished her crank. Leon let Ashley down and ran to the other ledge “Jump Diamond! I'll catch you!” he called up to her.

Diamond did as he said and Leon easily caught her and let her down. They then ran to the bridges and jumped between them and ran through the door. Leon quickly locked the door and after making sure there wasn't any in this room, took a deep breath.

After a quick moment to catch their breath the continued down the long room. At the end of the room was a long hallway with a empty wall at the end. The saw a door halfway through so they decided to continue.

Once they were near the door Ashley stopped as she started coughing. She coughed into her hand and more then a little blood came out. She stared at her own blood with fear in her eyes.

Leon reached out to her “You alright?” he asked.

As soon as Leon touched her shoulder she panicked and shoved him away “I'm fine! Leave me alone!” she shouted a bit louder than she meant to as she started running ahead.

Diamond was caught off guard from her uncharacteristic behavior “What's gotten into you?” she asked to the retreating Ashley. Suddenly a wall of metal spikes came from the ground, separating Ashley from Leon and Diamond.

Ashley got even more frightened and continued running as more spikes rose up right behind her. When she reached the wall she pressed her back against it as she tried to calm herself down. Before she could, metal straps came from the wall and trapped her.

Leon tried to find a way past the spike walls “Ashley!” he called to her. Then the wall Ashley was against rotated making her disappear on the other side. The spikes then lowered.

Diamond growled “That foal! What was she thinking!” she said.

Leon glanced down at her “What's done is done. We'll find her again. Come on.” he said. Before they could continue, Leon got a call on his communicator. He took it out “Hunnigan, what happened? The transmission got cut off.” he said.

A laugh came from the communicator that was obviously not Hunnigan. Leon then saw that the communicator was showing the face of Salazar “Salazar! How'd you-”

“We've jacked the line. We didn't want you telling anyone any unnecessary information.” Salazar answered.

Leon decided to forget about that for the moment “Where's Ashley?” he questioned.

Salazar gave another laugh “It sounds like she fell into one of our wonder traps. We'll make sure we find her so don't you worry about her.” he then seemed to remember something “Oh yes, I let our miserable insects out for some exercise down in the sewer.” he said.

“Thanks that should keep me entertained, because boredom kills me.” Leon said.

“I hope to see you and your little brat...in another life of course.” Salazar said as he cut the transmission off.

Diamond raised an eyebrow “What does he mean by insects?” she asked.

Leon shook his head “I'm not sure but I doubt they're normal insects so keep your guard up.” he said. They then entered the door and climbed down a ladder to find themselves in a dank sewer.

Diamond cringed as her hooves splashed in the water covering the floor “Ugh, why would Salazer design a castle that forces you to walk though the sewer?” she wondered in disgust.

As they were coming to a corner they heard what sounded like something sprinting closer to them. Leon and Diamond took their guns out but the sound stopped with nothing arriving. They glanced around in confusion before putting their guns away. Diamond thought for a moment “What are the chances that we hallucinated that sound?” she asked.

Leon shook his head “Not a chance.” he said before continuing forward. While he took slow steps he scanned around. He noticed the water in front of his shift in an unnatural way. Leon threw his leg out in a kick and felt his leg connect with something.

Suddenly a bug like creature that was about the size of Leon appeared on it's back. Diamond took a step back in surprise when it seemed to disappear again “Is it teleporting?” she asked.

Leon shook his head and carefully scanned the area “No, it's using some sort of camouflage. Focus, the camouflage isn't perfect.” he warned.

After a few seconds Leon noticed some dust fall from the ceiling above him. He flipped backwards just as the insect landed where he was standing. He then took out his shotgun and blasted it in the chest. The insect flew into the wall and laid motionless on the floor.

Diamond took a few steps towards it before turning to Leon “Are these freaky things common in this world?” she asked.

Leon shook his head “I've never seen them. Probably a creation of los illuminados. Keep on guard, I doubt that there's only one down here.” he said. Diamond nodded and they continued through the sewer.

They walked until the path was blocked by a large gap filled with shallow sewer water. Diamond cringed slightly at the disgusting water “Do we really have to walk through that?” she then looked down at herself and saw all of the blood and dirt that coated her body “I guess it's fine, I'm already covered in worse.” she said.

Leon saw the water shift in two different places. He got Diamond's attention and motioned for her to be quiet. He then pointed into the pit and held up two fingers. Diamond nodded in understanding and readied herself.

Leon took a frag grenade and tossed it into the pit. The explosion caught one insect and blew it violently into the wall. The other insect jumped out of the way and climbed the wall to the two.

Leon fired a few shots into it as it climbed. When it's head popped out of the pit Diamond gave it a hard round house kick. The bug fell back into the shallow water and landed on it's back. Before it could recover Diamond jumped from the ledge and plunged her knife into it's chest. It struggled for a few seconds before going limp.

As Diamond got off of the body Leon landed next to her with a splash “Diamond, stop being so reckless. I'm not going to lose you because you want to show off.” he said.

Diamond raised an eyebrow with an amused smirk “Lose me? You sound like a concerned parent.” she said with a giggle.

Leon was caught off guard by that statement, but he quickly collected himself “I'm responsible for you until you get home. I promised that I would keep you safe and I'm going to keep my word.” he said.

Diamond thought of home and the image of her father and Silver Spoon flashed in her mind. She hung her head slightly before she shook the thoughts away. She turned to the next ladder “Let's keep going then, Ashley's not gonna save herself.” she said as she started climbing.

Leon nodded and followed her. They walked through a door to find themselves in a rectangular room with multiple jail cells along the walls. Diamond took a few steps forward while looking into the cells “Other then a few dead bodies, there's nothing in these cells. Why build a dungeon in the sewer anyway?” she questioned.

Leon saw that Diamond was standing under a large hole in the ceiling. Leon saw a significant amount of dust fall down from the hole as if something brushed past it. He turned his gaze to Diamond “Above you!” he warned.

Instead of looking up, Diamond just rolled to the side. Then two bugs landed right where Diamond was standing. They both disappeared but Diamond could tell that they were approaching her. Before they reached her Leon ran up to one and gave it a powerful kick to it's midsection and sent it to the ground.

Leon went to try to finish it off but Diamond kept her focus on the bug in front of her. She saw a brownish liquid come from where she assumed the bug's mouth was. Diamond jumped back and the liquid fell to the floor in front of her.

She saw that the liquid started eating through the stone floor. She made a mental note not to let any of that touch her. The bug swiped at her with it's claws but Diamond ducked and dodged though them. She took out her revolver and fired a few bullets into it's chest.

It stumbled back but stayed on it's feet. The bug seemed angry and pounced at her quickly. Diamond was too slow to dodge and was caught in the bug's grasp. It forced Diamond onto her back and opened it's mouth.

Diamond could tell what it was about to do but luckily she kept a hold of her revolver in her mouth. She fired on bullet through it's head and it fell limply on top of her. She wiggled out from under the freak of nature and saw that Leon was just finishing off the other bug.

Diamond stretched her body out and felt her aching muscles scream out for a rest. She decided to ignore the pain for now “I'm tired of these bugs. Let's hurry out of here.” she said.

She walked over to another pit of sewer water but this one was almost filled. She also noticed gate under the water that seemed to lead out of here “I think we have to get through here, but I don't think we can with all this water.” she said.

Leon saw a window near the pit. Through the window he could see a red valve that was connected to a pipe. The pipe ran down into the pit of water. Leon put two and two together and walked off “Stay here. I'll drain the water.” he said as he walked down a hall and out of sight.

After a short time Diamond saw Leon enter the room past the window. He then started turning the valve. The water in the pit then started draining. Leon looked to Diamond for conformation so she gave him a smile and a nod.

Leon nodded back before retreating back though a door. Then after a few seconds he returned to Diamond's side. Leon then led the way through the new gate. They walked through another door and found themselves out of the sewers and back in the castle.

Before they could feel relieved they saw a bridge to the next door. The bridge had large swinging pendulum blades along it's length. Leon looked down to Diamond “We're gonna have to be fast. Watch the swinging carefully and time your movements. I'll go first.” he said. He walked up to the first pendulum and waited for a few seconds before dashing through safely.

The next was over a pit. Leon did the same as the last and jumped over while passing though the blade. The last two were close together so he knew that he would have to clear them both at the same time. He took a breath and dashed between them easily.

Once he was on the other side he turned to see Diamond at the beginning of the gauntlet “Can you do that?” he asked, though he was sure he already knew her answer.

“Of course, just watch.” she said. She easily past the first blade and the second. She hesitated slightly on the last two. She accidentally started running later than she should of. She shut her eyes tight as she ran. To her surprise she was untouched.

She gave Leon a smug smile “See? I told you I could do it.” she said.

Leon pointed behind her “It was a close shave.” he said.

Diamond looked back to see a clump of her hair sitting under the blades. She gasped and turned to look at her tail which was significantly shorter. She growled slightly “I blame Salazar. He's going to pay for messing with my beautiful tail.” she said.

Leon chuckled slightly before continuing through the nearby door with Diamond following. They climbed up another ladder and through another door. After a few seconds of looking around they noticed that they were on the upper floor of the room where Ashley was captured again.

Diamond sighed in annoyance “Did we just go though that for nothing?” she asked.

They suddenly heard chanting and both looked down to the ground floor. There was a large group of cloaked men who seemed to be worshiping a bloody mass of flesh that was stabbed by a ceremonial sword.

Diamond seemed confused “Why are they doing that?” Diamond asked. The leader of the group heard her and noticed them. Leon and Diamond got ready to defend themselves but stopped when the group ran into the hallway and closed a large door behind them.

Diamond was even more confused now “D-did they just run from us?” she wondered.

Leon thought on that for a moment but decided to let it go for now “We should get back down there and find another route.” he suggested.

A Friend's Demise

Leon and Diamond walked up a flight of stairs to see the merchant next to a red door. Once the merchant saw them coming he let out a hearty laugh “Greetings, I see that the young lady is no longer with you.” he said.

Diamond rolled her eyes “She got herself kidnapped again. So we have to save her...again.” she said.

They could tell that the merchant was smiling under his mask “Another rescue mission? Well you'll need to stock up on your supplies for something like that.” he said with hope in his voice.

Leon chuckled “You're right. We'll take some extra ammo.” he said.

The merchant complied and quickly supplied what they needed and was compensated. They quickly said their goodbyes before walking through the nearby door. They arrived at a few fairly empty rooms. They only glanced around before continuing to the next room.

Once they entered they saw a red cloaked man on a higher ledge. The man spotted them and shouted something to the others. Two men next to him picked up some crossbows and aimed at them.

Leon saw this and ran towards the nearest cover with Diamond. They watched as the arrows flew harmlessly over their heads. Leon peeked out of cover to try to shoot the archers as Diamond walked around the outside of the square room.

She saw two cloaked men with flails blocking her path. Diamond fired a bullet into one of their legs causing him to fall to his knees allowing her to deliver an uppercut. The other swung his flail at her but she backed out of range and shot him in the forehead. She then took her knife in her teeth and slit the other's throat before he could get back to his feet.

Leon caught up with her after dealing with the archers and they entered the only other door in the room. They ended up in a hallway with stairs leading up. At the top was a man wearing a metal mask. Leon and diamond ran up the stairs towards him.

Diamond shot a bullet into his knee allowing Leon to get his arms around him. Leon then threw him backwards down the staircase. They ran out of the next door to find themselves on a square path leading them to where the red cloaked man was waiting.

They ran though the path and tried to open the door but it had no door knob. Luckily the rails ended near the door so they could just drop onto the area he was waiting in. Once they arrived, he ran through a door that led back up to the path they just left and ran through.

They wouldn't be able to worry about that for now since a masked man charged them with his hands reaching for Leon. Leon leaned out of the way and tripped the man with his foot. He then jammed his knife into the back of the man's neck.

Leon then started looking around for the red cloaked man that ran away “Where did the leader go?” he questioned. Diamond walked close to the ledge only to jump back when bullets started spraying around her “What the buck!” she yelled.

Leon peeked over the edge when the bullet spray paused to see the man operating a mounted machine gun that wasn't there earlier. He then ducked out of sight before the bullets started flying again “Get down! I'll take care of this!” he said.

He took out his rifle and waited for the bullets to stop. Once it did he poked his head out and fired but nearly missed. He ducked out of sight again and waited for his next chance. He aimed again but hit the gun instead of the leader.

The bullets started up again but stopped abruptly. Leon looked down to see the man slumped limply on the machine gun. Leon turned to where Diamond was but she was gone. He then saw her on the high path across from him with a big smile on her face.

She made her way back and Leon tried the door only to find it locked. Once Diamond joined him she frowned “Let me guess, locked.” she said.

Leon turned back to the path behind them “The leader probably has the key on him. I'll be right back.” he said. He quickly ran back down to search the leader's corpse. He found the key attached to a string around his neck. He then returned to Diamond and they went through the door.

They entered the small room that had a small stand with four small buttons and four framed paintings on the wall. Diamond walked up to the wall while staring up at the paintings. The first depicted a man with his head in a guillotine. The second depicted three men being crucified. The last two were the same and depicted two men being hanged.

Diamond felt disgusted by the violent art “Of course Salazar would put up paintings like these.” she commented.

After noticing the lack of a door Leon turned his attention to the stand with the buttons. He noticed an inscription below the buttons. He ran his fingers across the words as he read them aloud “The sacrifice of six lives shall make way the true path.” he said.

The strange words got Diamond's attention “Six lives? We don't have to make sacrifices just to move on, do we?” she asked.

Leon pressed the first button and the first two paintings flipped over. Now all four paintings depicted the hanging “It's another puzzle. I probably have to flip these painting's until it shows the deaths of only six people.” he said.

Diamond sat on the ground with a huff “Salazar and his stupid puzzles. Why does he cram so many into his castle?” she questioned.

Leon started flipping the paintings to try to figure out the solution. Diamond took this chance to lay down and rest her muscles. After about a minute the paintings showed a total of six deaths and the wall slid away to reveal the door.

Leon stepped away from the buttons and turned to Diamond “Alright we can move on.” he said. Diamond started getting up and winced from the pain in her sore muscles. Leon noticed the pain she was in and knelt down to her “Is something wrong?” he asked.

She took a deep breath and shook her head “I'm fine, I just don't usually exercise this much. It's really starting to take it's toll.” she said.

Leon pondered something for a moment before reaching for something in his pocket. He pulled out a pill bottle “These are painkillers, do you know what painkillers are?” he asked. Diamond raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Leon opened the bottle and poured one into his hand “It won't cure anything but it'll numb your pain for a few hours.” he said as he offered the pill to her.

Diamond took the pill and swallowed it quickly. Leon stood up “It should take a few minutes to kick in so hang in there.” he said. Diamond nodded and they walked through the next door.

They arrived in a fairly large square room with staircases in the four corners leading up to a upper path. They looked up to the upper floor to see Salazar waiting for them “Ah so nice of you two to join us. Leon, I thank you so very much for delivering Ashley to us. And now you've come back to hand over the pony, how very generous of you.” he said with a grin.

Diamond scoffed “In your dreams old man!” she shouted at him.

Salazar frowned and narrowed his eyes at her “Old man? I am twenty years old, still in the prime of my life.” he said.

Diamond stared back at him in confusion “With a face like that? I feel sorry for you.” she said.

Salazar growled and clenched a fist “You know nothing! My appearance is due to the power I gained from lord saddler. A small price to pay.” he said.

Leon nodded in understanding “So you're just like the others huh? Just a puppet to the parasites.” he said.

Saddler chuckled slightly “Surely you don't think I'm the same as those diminutive ganados. They are nothing but mindless slaves, but I'm different. I have absolute control over the parasites, las plagas.” he explained.

Diamond rolled her eyes “But you still do whatever saddler tells you to. Sounds like a puppet to me.” she said.

Salazar gritted his teeth “Insolent little girl! Saddler told me to take you in alive if I could, but I think I'd rather see you dead!” he tuned to the other corners of the room “Rid my castle of these two, make it painful for the pony.” he commanded.

Suddenly cloaked men walked into sight. Some held scythes while others had crossbows. Leon and Diamond got on guard as four scythe wielding men approached them. Salazar gave a small smirk and started walking away “Have fun.” he said before leaving the room.

Leon took out his shotgun and ducked under a swing from a scythe. He then put the barrel of the shotgun under the man's chin and fired to blow his head apart. He then turned to see three others cornering Diamond.

One raised his scythe to attack but Leon pulled him away and jammed his knife into his temple. Diamond fired a bullet from her revolver into the head of another. The last of the three attempted a strike and Diamond had no room to dodge. As a last resort Diamond took her revolver in her hooves and held it out in front of her to block.

The force was still enough to knock her into a wall but the revolver saved her from further damage. Before the cloaked man could do anymore Leon fired a shotgun blast to his back. Leon ran to the downed Diamond and helped her up “Are you alright?” he asked.

Diamond grunted as she rose “I hope that painkiller starts working soon.” she said.

Leon looked to his left to see more enemies coming down the stairs. He turned back down to Diamond “Stay back and don't push yourself.” he said and he faced the cloaked men approaching.

He fired and killed two of them with his handgun but stopped when an arrow flew past his head. He turned back to look at Diamond “Watch out for the archers. Stay behind those columns.” he commanded.

Diamond hesitated but did as he said “Stop worrying about me so much, I'll be fine.” she said with so much confidence that she almost believed it herself. She hid behind the columns but took out her handgun and poked her head out to fire at the archers.

Leon quickly took out the remaining enemies on the lower floor and Diamond managed to kill two of the five archers. Leon dodged an arrow then ran towards the nearest staircase “I'll take care of them!” he said to Diamond.

Diamond didn't want to leave it all to him so she made her way up another staircase.

Leon chased an archer and fired at him with his hand gun but narrowly missed. He then saw a white door that was blocked off by a metal gate. He then noticed a red button next to it. Normally he would think before pressing a random button but he didn't have time to think.

He slammed his fist into it hoping that it would help them. The button caused a large platform rise up from under the lower floor. It rose to the level of the higher floor but wasn't close enough to jump to. In the middle of the platform was a blue chest. Leon decided to forget about that for the moment.

He then saw Diamond barely dodge an arrow in another area of the upper floor. Leon sprinted over to her and scooped her up in his arms. He then ran through a nearby door and slammed it behind them. The room they ended up in was a short and tight hallway with a small pedestal at the end. On the pedestal was a large vase.

Diamond was let onto the ground and she stared around the room in confusion “What's with this room? Just for one cheap looking vase?” she wondered.

Leon walked up to the vase to inspect it. He scanned it with his eyes for a few seconds before he lifted it. Under the vase was another red button. Leon hummed in thought before pressing it. They felt the room shake but nothing notable happened in the room.

Diamond turned back towards the door “What did that do?” she wondered to herself. She pushed the door open to see two men on the large pedestal holding rocket launchers and a bridge to the pedestal appeared.

Leon quickly slammed the door and shielded Diamond with his body. They felt a explosion from the other side of the door but surprisingly the door stayed in place.

Diamond got out of Leon's hold “Holy Celestia!” she exclaimed. Leon opened the door once again to see that the men had dropped the empty rocket launchers.

He then took out his rifle and shot a bullet through their heads “They seem to really want to protect what's in that chest.” he said. They crossed the bridge to the pedestal and Leon opened the chest. Inside he saw a stone ornament that resembled the head of a goat. He picked it up and inspected it closer. He thought back to the stone picture on that wall that blocked their way earlier in the castle “We should hold on to this for now.” he said.

Suddenly the two remaining archers popped out of cover and fired at them. Leon narrowly dodged it but heard a scream from Diamond. He looked down to see that she had an arrow stuck in her left foreleg. Leon took out his rifle and killed the archers.

He then knelt down to her as she held her foreleg in pain and tried to hold back tears. Diamond gripped the back of the arrow with her teeth but Leon stopped her “Wait! Don't pull it out yet!” he warned.

Diamond let go of the arrow and gave Leon a pained scowl “Why the buck not?” she asked.

Leon took out his medical supplies as he explained “The arrow is blocking the wound. When you take it out you'll start losing blood rapidly. I'll do it and immediately bandage it up.” he said.

Diamond nodded in understanding and tried to endure the burning pain in her leg. Leon snapped off the end of the arrow in preparation. Leon looked Diamond in her eyes “I'll be honest, this is gonna hurt like hell. Are you ready?” he asked.

Diamond shook her head frantically “Just do it!” she shouted. Leon pulled the arrow out and Diamond screamed in pain. Blood started freely pouring from her wound. Leon sprayed it with some first aid spray then started to wrap it in bandages.

Diamond then started to feel the pain slowly start to melt away, not only in her leg but in her whole body “Th...the pain is going away.” she said in surprise.

Leon nodded as he finished wrapping her leg “The painkiller's kicking in.” he then stood up “Can you stand?” he asked.

Diamond slowly got to her hooves and felt slight pain around her new wound but it seemed manageable. She stared down at the blood soaked bandages “It still kinda hurts but I think I can handle it thanks to that pill.” she said.

Leon turned and saw that the white door was no longer being blocked “The painkiller won't last forever. Let's get moving before it loses it's effect.” he said. Diamond nodded in agreement and they walked though the door. They entered a dark hallway that was fairly empty. Diamond was relieved that they had a break from people trying to kill her. As they walked through the halls Diamond found it easier to walk on her wounded leg.

They walked out a door to find themselves on a path outside. They continued since the only other living things around were crows flying around.

They walked through another door and saw a small hedge maze ahead. Before either of them could speak, Leon got a call on his communicator. He answered it to see Salazar once again “Mr. Kennedy. Still alive I see. I assume the brat still lives as well?” he questioned.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but we're both alive.” Leon said.

Salazar paused before continuing “Well since you're here, do you like my garden?” he asked.

Leon turned to the maze before returning his gaze to Salazar “Seems a bit on the small side, like you.” he said.

Salazar frowned “I see that the child's behavior is rubbing off on you. But immature insults pose no danger to my health.” he cracked a smile “But the pets I keep in the maze will be more than a danger to yours. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a couple of loose ends to tie up. Like chasing down two other rats.” he said before cutting the transmission short.

Diamond raised a eyebrow in confusion “Two other rats? Like intruders other than us?” she wondered.

Leon rubbed his chin in thought “One of them has to be Luis, but...who could the other be?” he wondered. They both decided to drop the subject and continue down the path. They ignored the hedge maze for now and walked up to a door.

Leon couldn't get it open but saw that there was an indentation in the middle like something could fit inside. He noticed an inscription under it and read it out loud “Two moons make one.” he said.

Diamond sighed “So we have to find two stone keys and put them both in. Salazar has to think of some better ideas, this is getting old.” she said.

Leon looked to the stairs that lead to the hedge maze “I think it's safe to assume he hid them in the maze.” he then looked down at Diamond “He said something about his pets in the maze. Stay behind me and stay on guard.” he said.

Diamond nodded and grabbed her revolver from her saddle bag before following Leon. They walked down the stairs and into the garden. They entered through a gate to the maze and walked under a bridge.

Suddenly a wolf jumped out from behind a stone structure and started growling at them. Leon aimed his handgun at it “These have to be the pets that Salazar mentioned.” he said. The wolf charged and pounced at Leon. Leon fired a bullet into the wolf's head in midair causing it to fall limply to the ground “Keep an eye out, we don't know how many could be in this maze.” he said.

They proceeded forward and to the right until they heard frantic barking. They looked left to see a wolf locked in a cage. The wolf's back was split open and had fleshy tendrils whipping around from it.

Diamond cringed at the sight of it “Ugh, even the dogs were infected with these parasites.” she said in disgust.

Leon walked closer to the cage and aimed his handgun at the wolf “I'll put it out of it's misery.” he said. Before he could fire the wolf charged the cage door and broke through. It the jumped on Leon and knocked him to the floor.

Leon tried to hold the wolf back as it tried to sink it's fangs into his throat. A bullet flew threw it's neck causing it to fall off of Leon. It whimpered as it tried to find the strength to stand. Before it could, Diamond walked over and finished it with a bullet to the head.

Leon got to his feet “Thanks.” he said.

Diamond gave him a smirk “And you're always telling me to be careful. Practice what you preach.” she said in a joking manner.

Leon gave a light chuckle “Fair enough, I'll be more cautious next time.” he said before continuing through the maze. While walking down a straight path another wolf jumped through the hedges and charged Leon.

Leon reacted quickly and held his shotgun horizontally in front of him. The wolf accidentally bit down on the shotgun. Leon then took his knife in hand and stabbed through the top of it's head before throwing it's body away from him.

Soon after they found a flight of stairs that led up to a fountain in the shape of a woman holding a large bowl over her head. Under the flowing water was a blue stone that look like it could fit in the earlier door, at least half of it.

Leon took it in his hands and inspected it “This is what we need for the door. Now we just need to find the other one.” he said. He put it away for now and started walking back to the stairs.

Diamond was about to follow him until a thought crossed her mind “Wait!” she called.

Leon turned around and raised an eyebrow “What is it?” he asked.

Diamond ran behind the fountain and took advantage of the high elevation to scan the entire maze. She saw another fountain on the other side of the maze. She pointed a hoof at it “There's only one other fountain, I'd put my bits on the other half of the key being there.” she said.

Leon walked up next to her and nodded “Smart. Let's memorize the path from here so we don't get lost.” he said. Once they had the path in their minds they walked back down the stairs. Since they knew the path they easily arrived at the next fountain.

Diamond saw the other half of the moonstone under the falling water and took it in her teeth and put it in her saddlebags. Before they could start walking back four wolves ran into the same area of the maze and blocked their way. One pounced at Leon with it's jaws wide open. Leon stuck his knife into the wolf's gaping maw and kicked it away.

Another tried to catch him off guard but he flipped backwards to dodge it and shot it through the head.

One wolf charged Diamond from in front while another charged from behind. Diamond thought about what Leon just did. She readied herself and waited until the wolves got slightly closer. She then attempted a back flip over the wolf behind her. She landed a bit sloppily but saw the two wolves crash into each other and fall to the floor.

Diamond took her knife in her teeth and stuck it into the throat of one wolf before taking her revolver out and shooting the other.

Leon and Diamond looked at each other and both nodded with understanding that neither of them wanted to stay in the maze any longer. They ran out of the maze and back up to the earlier locked door. Leon stuck his stone piece into the indentation and Diamond stood on her hind legs to insert hers.

They heard a click and the door slid open reveling fancy looking room ahead. They walked a few steps inside but Leon stopped when he felt the barrel of a gun press against his back “Put your hands where I can see them.” said a feminine voice.

Diamond turned around to see the woman who was threatening Leon. She had short black hair, wore a red dress and sunglasses. Diamond took her handgun out and pointed it at the woman. The woman just narrowed her eyes at the filly “Don't even try it, I can put a hole in him faster than you can put one in me.” she said.

After a few seconds of thought Diamond lowered her gun. The woman smirked and turned her attention back to Leon “Now, let's see those hands.” she commanded.

“Sorry but following a lady's lead just isn't my style.” he said. He quickly spun around and grabbed the woman's wrist and put her in an arm bar causing her to let go of her gun. Leon grabbed it but the woman cartwheeled forward and knocked her handgun in the air with her foot. She then tried to catch the gun but before she could, Leon took his knife out and put it up to her throat.

The woman glanced behind her for a way to escape only to see Diamond standing there with her gun out “Now who has the upper hoof.” she said cockily.

The woman turned back to Leon “Two against one isn't very fair wouldn't you say?” she asked.

Leon took her gun and ejected the magazine before throwing it to the ground “After sneaking up on me, you want to talk about what's fair?” he questioned.

The woman took her sunglasses off and chuckled “You haven't changed much, Leon.” she said.

Leon frowned at her “Ada...so it is true.” he said.

Ada gave a knowing smile “True? What ever could you mean?” she asked in mock curiosity.

“You, working with Wesker.” he said.

Diamond seemed confused by the two's interactions “Wait, you two know each other?” she asked.

Ada turned around to look at her “We've crossed paths before. Of course I also know a think or two about you, Diamond Tiara.” she said.

Diamond seemed surprised but Leon just glared at Ada “Did Wesker order you to spy on us?” he questioned.

Ada turned back towards him and dropped her sunglasses on the floor “Maybe, maybe not.” she said.

“What's your goal? Were you ordered to kill me?” he asked.

Ada just smirked at him and her dropped sunglasses exploded in a bright light that blinded Leon and Diamond. Ada immediately dove and grabbed her gun from the floor. She took one more glance at Leon and Diamond as their vision started to clear up “See ya around.” she said before jumping out the window and out of sight.

“Ada!” Leon shouted after her.

Diamond got his attention “Explain. Who was that?” she asked.

Leon glanced back at the window Ada left through then back down at Diamond “We...we met years ago but...” he paused.

Diamond raised an eyebrow “But what?” she asked.

“But I thought she was dead.” he answered.

Diamond was caught off guard by his answer but collected herself “And what about this Wesker?” she asked.

Leon thought for a moment “We don't have time to stand around and chat. Let's continue searching for Ashley.” he said as he walked to a nearby door.

Diamond wanted decided that the information wasn't important so she dropped the topic and followed.

In the next room their was a long room with two dining room tables lined up that were set with plates and silverware. Leon and Diamond walked past the tables and noticed a doorway that was being blocked off by a metal gate. Leon peeked through the bars and saw a square room with a pedestal in the middle with a red chest on it “We should find a way to get through here.” he said.

Diamond walked over to a counter and jumped onto it. Past the counter was a long hallway with a blank white framed picture at the end. She turned her attention to a call bell next to her. She rung it out of curiosity and the blank picture rotated. It now now showed a picture of a dinner including turkey, bread, and a bottle of wine. She looked closer and noticed that the wine wasn't part of the picture but was a real bottle.

Diamond smiled as she got an idea. She took out her handgun and aimed at the bottle as Leon walked over to see what she was doing. She fired and shattered the bottle of wine “Yes!” she said in celebration.

Suddenly they heard the metal gate slid out of the way. Leon looked over to see the unblocked entryway “That worked? Good job.” he said.

Diamond looked confused but then gave a smug smirk “I knew that would happen.” she said as she jumped back to the floor and into the room. She walked up to the pedestal with Leon a few steps behind her.

As soon as Diamond got close a cage fell from the ceiling, trapping her and separating her from Leon. A few men ran into the room from a different room and someone who looked just like the prisoner they fought earlier fell into the cage with Diamond.

The cloaked men took out crossbows. Most aimed at Diamond but some aimed at Leon. Diamond noticed that this prisoner was also blind so she backed away from him as quietly as she could.

Leon took out his handgun and pointed it at the cloaked men but stopped when he thought about the noise that would make. He put it away and took out his knife. An enemy charged him and swung his flail but Leon ducked under the attack and stabbed him under his jaw.

Leon then got behind a man who was aiming his crossbow at Diamond and slit his throat. Diamond dodged an arrow shot by someone on the other side of the cage. The prisoner heard this and extended his metal claws. He ran towards the sound and swung his claws around wildly. Diamond stepped away from him quietly.

Leon took out his handgun and shot the other archer. The prisoner suddenly ran towards Leon but crashed into the walls of the cage and stumbled back. Diamond took this chance to shoot at his weak point on his back. The prisoner gave a muffed scream in pain before turning towards Diamond.

Leon took out his rifle and fired into his weak point causing him to fall limply to the floor. Diamond gave a relived sigh “Thanks. Being in such a small space with him wasn't fun.” she said.

Leon walked over to the door to the cage and saw that there was a large and solid lock on it. Leon took out his shotgun and aimed at the thinnest part of the lock before firing. The lock fell off and he pushed the door open allowing Diamond to walk out of the gate “Remind me not to walk towards any chests next time.” she said before they walked to the next room.

In this room was a gap between them and the next door. In the gap was a few cloaked men that were guarding a lever. Leon and Diamond both could guess that the lever was important. Leon took a incendiary grenade down at them, killing the three of them in a fiery explosion “I'll throw the switch.” he said before jumping into the gap.

He pulled the lever and it caused a bridge extend from where Diamond was to the door on the other side. Diamond smiled but frowned when she saw three men run out of the door carrying spiked shields.

She ran towards them and the first one tried to bash her with his shield but she dodged to the side and rammed him off of the bridge. She then got behind the shield of the next one and stuck her knife into his throat.

A bullet came from behind her and broke a part of the last one's shield, exposing his head. Diamond knew that was Leon's doing. She took this chance to fire a bullet into his head, causing it to explode. Then a parasite came out of the hole. It was unlike the ones they saw before, it resembled a spider.

Leon ran up and slashed at it with his knife causing it to detach from the body. Then to his surprise it started crawling towards him quickly. Before it could attack he stomped on it and kicked it off of the bridge “Those parasites are getting more advanced. Now they can survive without a host.” he said.

Diamond shuddered when she remembered that she had something similar inside of her “Let's go.” she said quickly before heading towards the next door. The door led them upstairs and to a room with the merchant waiting for them.

The merchant welcomed them with a bow “Always a pleasure to see you two.” he greeted.

Diamond and Leon gave him and nod “Sorry, we're in a hurry and don't need to buy anything.” Leon said.

The merchant nodded “Not a problem, I'll see you next time.” he said. They then walked into the next room. After they walked a bit into the room they heard a voice behind them.

“Leon! Diamond! I got it!” they recognized the voice as Luis. They turned around to see him holding something in his hand.

Before they could speak they heard a thump and Luis grunted in pain. A large tendril burst from his chest and lifted him into the air “Luis!” Leon shouted in shock.

Luis screamed in agony and dropped what he was holding. It fell right into the hand of Saddler “Now that I have the sample, you serve me no purpose.” he said as the tendril slammed Luis back to the ground before retreating under saddlers cloak.

Diamond ran to Luis' side as Leon glared at Saddler “Saddler!” he yelled in anger.

Saddler turned his gaze to Leon “My boy Salazar will make sure you follow the same fate.” he said before walking back through the door.

Leon was about to chase after him but decided to join Diamond at Luis' side “Stay with us Luis.” he said.

Luis was still alive but was fading fast “I am a researcher...h-hired by Saddler. h...he found out what I was up to.” he confessed.

Leon tried to apply pressure to Luis' wound “Don't talk.” he said.

Luis shoved Leon's hands away from his wound and handed him a bottle of pills “This...this will suppress the growth of the parasites. Saddler t-took the sample. You have to get it back.” he said.

He then turned to Diamond who had tears streaming down her face. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a hand mirror “F-for...y-you.” he said weakly.

Diamond took the mirror with her teeth and threw it to the side “Now isn't the time for gifts!” she turned to Leon “Do something! Fast!” she shouted.

Leon looked down at Luis who had closed his eyes and was laying still “It's too late, he gone.” he said sadly.

Diamond put her head in her hooves and growled loudly “I swear Saddler will die for this!” she yelled in despair.

Leon pulled her in for a hug to try and calm her down. They stayed like that for about a minute until Diamond broke from his grip and wiped the tears from her face “I...I'll be okay. I just never had a friend die before.” she said.

Leon laid a comforting hand on her shoulder “We'll get revenge, don't worry. Saddler will pay.” he assured.

Leon glanced to the discarded mirror “What is that mirror?” he asked.

Diamond looked at it and walked past it “I don't care. Ashley's waiting for us, remember?” she reminded sadly.

Leon turned back to the mirror and decided to take it for now. He then followed after Diamond.

Separation

Leon jogged to catch up to Diamond “Wait.” he said. Diamond did as he said and turned towards him. He knelt down and took out the pill bottle that Luis gave him “Luis said that these will slow the parasite's growth. I don't know how much time we have but this will give us more.” he opened the bottle and poured one into his hand “Take one.” he said as he held it out for her.

Diamond nodded and swallowed the pill. Leon stood up and took one himself. They then silently decided to move on. In the middle of the room was a large square hole looking down on the lower floor. Leon walked to the ledge and peered over it.

On the lower floor was Ashley who was still bounded to a wall by three metal straps “Ashley!” he then turned to Diamond “she's over here!” he said.

Diamond ran over and looked down. Ashley looked up at them and smiled “Oh I'm so glad to see you two again, I was so scared that I would never see you again!” she said happily.

Diamond glanced around but saw no ladder or staircase leading down to the lower floor “Don't celebrate yet, we need to find a way to get you out of there.” she said.

Leon knew that he couldn't jump down without injuring himself. He then got an idea “Ashley, do you trust me?” he asked.

Ashley was slightly caught off guard by the question “Huh? Of course. Why?” she asked.

Leon took his rifle in his hands and aimed down at her “Then don't move.” he said.

Ashley closed her eyes and braced. Leon fired and the bullet broke the first strap. Ashley screamed out of instinct but noticed that she wasn't hurt. Leon broke the next one and Ashley just let out a frightened whimper. When he broke the last one Ashley put a hand over her heart to calm herself down “You could have told me you were going to do that.” she said.

Before Leon could respond a few cloaked men ran out of a door on Ashley's floor. Leon quickly readied his rifle again “Ashley stay away from them! Diamond help me take them out!” he commanded.

As Leon and Diamond started shooting down at the advancing enemies, Ashley backed up to the wall she was trapped against and cowered.

Once all of them were taken care of Ashley looked up at Leon and Diamond “What should I do now?” she asked.

Leon thought for a quick moment “There has to be a way for you to get up here. Look around.” he said.

Ashley glanced around her and ran up to a door. She grabbed the door knob but it wouldn't budge “It's locked!” she called up to them.

A door near her opened and a red cloaked man ran out and tried to grab her. Ashley shut her eyes in preparation but a few bullets flew through him before he could reach her.

Ashley felt slight relief but she still didn't feel safe. She looked down at the dead body in front of her and saw that he had a key hanging from his neck. She immediately grabbed it and held it up so Leon could see it “He had a key! I think I can get through this door now!” she said.

Leon nodded “Do it and try to find a way up here.” he said.

Ashley frowned and turned to the door wearily “A-alone?” she asked.

Leon didn't feel good about the plan but he couldn't think of any other way “I'd prefer to be there to protect you but we have no choice.” he said.

Ashley glanced back at the door with fear. Diamond hummed in thought. Her mind flashed back to Luis' motionless body and how she felt. Like she could have done something to prevent it. She gained a determined expression “I have an idea!” she called down to Ashley.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Catch me!” Diamond shouted back.

Ashley was caught off guard “H-huh?” she asked.

Diamond took a few steps back before charging forward and jumping off the ledge “Catch me!” she repeated.

Ashley panicked but luckily she was able to catch the filly “Diamond! You should have given me time to get ready.” she said.

Diamond got out of Ashley's grasp and looked back up at Leon “I'll keep her safe and bring her back.” she said.

Leon was shocked by Diamond's actions but shook it off and nodded “Alright, I know I can count on you.” he said.

Leon watched as the two walked though the door and out of sight. Leon found a chair near the wall and took a seat. After a few seconds something crossed his mind. He took out the hand mirror that Luis tried to give to Diamond. He looked into the mirror but didn't see his reflection. Instead he saw what looked like a ceiling.

Leon rubbed his chin in thought “Could there be more to this mirror than meets the eye?” he said to himself.

After a few seconds the view in the mirror shifted and now showed the faces of two ponies “Sweetie?” Filthy asked. His face then fell at the sight of Leon “Another human?” he wondered.

Leon was shocked silent by their appearance. Twilight cleared her throat “You're probably pretty surprised, I'll explain. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Filthy Rich. We are in another world but we're trying to find one of us that is lost in your world. We already met a human named Luis Sera that said he could help us, do you know him?” she asked.

Leon collected himself enough to answer “I do, or I did. He just died a few moments ago.” he said with a hint of sadness.

Twilight's eyes widened “Oh, I-i'm so sorry. May I ask what happened to him.” she asked.

Before Ieon could answer, Filthy cut him off “I apologize for your loss but he promised to help me find my daughter, Diamond Tiara.” he said.

Leon nodded in understanding “So you two are Diamond's parents?” he asked.

Twilight blushed and shook her head “N-no, he's her dad but I'm just...” she hung her head a bit “I was the one who accidentally sent her to your world.” she said guiltily.

Filthy seemed to have thought of something. He narrowed his eyes at Leon “How do I know that you actually know my Diamond? For all I know you and that Luis could be lying. Give me some proof that you're telling the truth.” he said.

Twilight gave Filthy a surprised look “That's not fair, they haven't given us any reason to doubt them.” she said.

Filthy glared back at her slightly “They haven't given me a reason to trust them.” he countered.

Leon held a hand up to stop their arguing “It's fine, just give me a second to think of a way to prove myself to you.” he said.

Twilight and Filthy calmed down. Leon hummed in thought of what he could do. He suddenly remembered something that happened back in the village. He reached down into a compartment of his belt “She had me hold on to this, I forgot to give it back to her.” he said as he pulled out a small tiara and showed it to them.

Tears started welling up in Filthy's eyes at the sight of the tiara “T-that's her tiara! You...are telling the truth.” he then wiped the tears out of his eyes and collected himself “Fine that proves that you know her, but where is she?” he asked.

Leon carefully thought of how much to tell them “You...missed her. We were just separated.” he said.

Filthy put his head in his hooves and sighed. Twilight gave an exasperated sigh “Will she be back?” she asked.

Leon turned his head slightly to the side. After a few seconds he gave a slight smile “Yeah...yeah she'll be back soon.” he said.

Filthy's face lit up “That's great! Then we can bring her back home!” he said happily.

Leon frowned again “You can't bring her home yet.” he said simply.

Twilight raised a eyebrow “Yeah, Luis said something similar. Something about las plagas and Los Illuminados. He wasn't very clear. Can you explain with more detail?” she asked.

Leon nodded “I do have some time to kill. Alright, I'll start from when I first met Diamond.” he started.

Meanwhile Ashley stood back while Diamond faced a cloaked man. He reached out to grab her but she took her knife in her teeth and stabbed it into his hand. When he staggered back in pain she took out her hand gun and finished him with two shots to the chest.

Ashley had a soft smile on her face “Thank you for offering to protect me. It was very sweet of you.” she said.

Diamond continued walking down the rectangular room “Sweet?” she scoffed lightly “Not many ponies would describe me like that back home.” she muttered.

Ashley raised an eyebrow “What was that?” she asked.

Diamond shook her head and looked up at a metal gate. She then looked to her left to see a crank “Nothing. That probably opens this gate. Do it.” she commanded.

Ashley nodded and walked over to it. She started cranking but looked over sadly at Diamond “Did something happen? You seem...sad.” she said.

Diamond looked away from her and sighed “That mother bucker Saddler killed Luis.” she said as she grit her as the anger washed over her again.

Ashley stopped cranking at the new information but continued shortly after “That's horrible. Were you very close to him?” she asked.

Diamond hung her head as she thought. Why did she care so much about Luis' death? She called him her friend didn't she? She had only met him a few times so why did she call him her friend? Was she that desperate for friends? She shut her eyes as she tried to get her thoughts in order “I...didn't hate him.” she said.

Ashley was going to follow up but when she finished lifting the gate Diamond walked though. In the next room was another enemy. Before he could attack, Diamond stabbed into his heel causing him to fall onto his back. She then jumped onto his chest and stabbed through his forehead.

Once she walked off of the body she saw another hallway blocked off by two metal gates with two more cranks. Ashley walked into the room since it was now safe “I'll take care of this.” she offered as she started cranking the first one. After a few seconds she turned to Diamond “Would you consider Leon your friend?” she asked.

Diamond seemed slightly caught off guard by the sudden question. She paused a second to think “I...yeah I would. I do enjoy his company and we've helped each other so much.” she said.

Ashley nodded and finished cranking. She then walked over to crank the other crank “What about me? Am I your friend?” she asked with a hopeful smile.

Once the gate opened enough, Diamond started walking through it “Stop asking such silly questions.” she said. Ashley sighed but followed her into the next hallway.

They opened the first door they came across but saw that there was no other door so they continued on. The next door led them to a room with three shut gates. Two of them led to the same area from different angles while the last was in that area but led to the next door.

Diamond turned to the left to see a red button on the wall past a table. She walked under the table and jumped up to press the button. One of the first gates opened and Diamond walked in followed by Ashley.

Ashley walked up to a fireplace and saw that there was a small stone square. It had some design but looked as if it was a part of something larger. She grabbed it and decided to hold onto it. Diamond jumped onto a chair to reach another button on a stone pedestal. When she pressed the button a gate opened that led them back to the start of the room.

Diamond face hoofed and stepped off of the chair “That's just great, these buttons are useless. I don't see any others either. How are we suppose to get through?” she wondered.

Ashley started glancing around the room “Maybe they hid the last button?” she suggested.

Diamond thought about that for a moment “That's actually not a horrible idea. Alright, try and find it.” she said. They then started walking around the small space in search for the button. Diamond looked under the few pieces of furniture in the room but found nothing but dust.

Ashley checked a few drawers but they were all empty. She closed them and hummed in thought. She then noticed a bookcase that wasn't flush against the wall. She took a few steps closer to it and looked into the space between it and the wall. She smiled when she saw an indentation with a button in it “I found it! It's behind this bookcase!” she said.

Diamond crawled out from under a couch and tried to shake the dust off of her “I wish you found it before I got myself so dusty.” she said.

They both got on the same end of the bookcase and pushed it out of the way. Ashley then pushed the button causing the last gate to open while one of the others closed. Diamond was just glad to be able to move on. They walked through the two gates and into the next room.

They ended up in a dark hallway. Ashley tried to stay as close to Diamond as possible out of fear. When they made it to a corner Ashley glanced to her left to see a rusty suit of knight's armor. She screamed and fell back onto her behind.

Diamond turned to her and growled “Try screaming louder, I don't think Salazar heard that one.” she said with obvious sarcasm.

Ashley made her way back to her feet and wiped the dust from her skirt “Sorry, I saw that rusty armor and got startled.” she said.

Diamond rolled her eyes and turned away from Ashley “Stop acting like a foal. I swear that even the cry baby crusaders would be handling this better than you.” she said before walking ahead.

Ashley followed sadly behind. They entered a room with four suits of knight's armor near the four corners. There was also a pedestal in the middle. Diamond walked past the pedestal and to the next door. She tried to push it open but it wouldn't budge “Now how are we suppose to get this door open?” she wondered.

“Maybe this will do something.” Ashley said while looking down at the top of the pedestal.

Diamond walked over but was too short to see what Ashley was looking at “Well what is it?” she asked.

“It's a sliding puzzle. Maybe if I solve it then the door will open.” she said.

Diamond sat on the ground “Alright, just try to hurry up.” she said.

Ashley nodded and started on the puzzle “Let's talk Diamond.” she said while still keeping her eyes on the puzzle.

Diamond raised an eyebrow “Why? Shouldn't you focus on the puzzle?” she asked.

Ashley shook her head “Talking will help me focus.” she said.

Diamond sighed “Fine, what do you want to talk about then?” she asked.

Ashley thought for a few moments before smiling “Tell me about your world! Or your family!” she suggested.

Diamond thought it would be hard to describe her whole world so she chose the latter “Well I don't have any siblings so I just live with my dad.” she said.

Ashley frowned slightly “What about your mom?” she asked.

An angry expression crossed Diamond's face “She doesn't live with us anymore. Serves her right.” she said more to herself then Ashley.

Ashley felt like that was a sore subject so she quickly changed the topic “Tell me more about your dad.” she said.

The anger left Diamond's face “He's a business pony and owns one of the largest companies in Equestria. I'm going to take over that company some day.” she said.

Ashley nodded in understanding “So you want to be a business pony? Good for you.” she said.

Diamond turned to her with a raised eyebrow “Want?” she asked.

Ashley's smile faded “Yeah, didn't you say that you wanted to take over your dad's company?” she asked.

“I said that I was going to take it over.” she clarified.

Ashley paused as she tried to figure out what Diamond was saying “So you don't want to do it?” she asked.

Diamond rolled her eyes “No, I...” she paused as she realized something “I don't actually know. Dad always just told me that I was going to inherent his company. I never really thought about if I wanted to. It got even worse when I got my cutie mark.” she said.

Ashley turned her gaze from the puzzle to Diamond “Cutie mark? What's that?” she asked.

Diamond pointed her muzzle towards her flank “That symbol on my flank. Everypony gets one eventually. They show up when somepony finds their special talent or destiny or something.” she said.

“What does yours mean?” Ashley asked.

“My dad always said leadership. He said it meant I was destined to lead his company to greatness. Maybe he was wrong. What kind of leader wouldn't want to run a large company.” she said.

Ashley gave her a small smile “Maybe you weren't destined to lead his company, but I can already tell that you are a great leader. Sometimes I forget if Leon's protecting you or if you're protecting him.” she said with a giggle.

Diamond looked up at her with hope in her eyes “You really think I make a good leader?” she asked.

“Of course! It's obvious that you don't really like me...but you're still sacrificing so much to help me. That's the kind of kindness that a leader needs.” she said.

Diamond felt a sudden wave of guilt “Thanks. S-sorry for being so mean.” she said while trying to avoid eye contact.

Ashley waved her concerns away with her hand “It's okay, I didn't mind. But what would you like to do for a career? Give it some thought.” she said.

Diamond turned her gaze to the floor as she pondered. She then looked up as she thought of something “I actually think I want to do something like I'm doing now. It was really scary when I first came to this world but now I kind of enjoy it. Journeying with Leon, fighting against those parasite infested freaks, and protecting you. It all just makes me feel...” she paused as she thought of the right word “Alive.” she finished.

“Then you should pursue that.” Ashley said.

Diamond's expression fell slightly “As if I could. My dad would never allow me to do something so dangerous. He's so overprotective.” she said.

Ashley walked away from the pedestal and over to Diamond. She knelt down gave her a smile “Your dad can't force you to do something you don't want to. You're the only one who get's to decide what you do with your life. I'm sure if you talked to him then he'd understand.” she said.

Diamond smiled again “You're right. You're smarter than you look.” she then widened her eyes in realization “Sorry I didn't mean to insult you again, it just came out.” she said.

Ashley stood up and giggled “Don't worry, I know you didn't mean it.” she said as she walked back to the puzzle.

Diamond then remembered something “I forgot that I never answered the question you asked earlier.” she gave a big smile “Of course you're my friend.”” she said.

Ashley giggled as she continued the puzzle “You're my friend too.” she said. Ashley just then finished the puzzle and slipped in the last piece. At that moment the next door rose out of the way. They walked in to see another dark and dusty room. To the left they saw what looked like a shrine.

There was a knight statue with a circular object in it's chest. Ashley got a closer look at it to see that it had an insignia that she remembered from elsewhere in the castle. She took the emblem out of the statue which caused the wall to rotate, taking the statue with it. It was replaced with a blue chest.

They then heard a crashed and turned around to see that the door had closed. Diamond quickly ran to it and tried to get it open. After a few seconds she gave up “It's no use, we're locked in.” she said.

Ashley felt guilty since she caused it but glanced back to the chest. She opened it to reveal a stone ornament that resembled a snake attached to another animal's hind legs. She thought that they might need that so she took it too.

Diamond was inspecting the door for some way to get it open again. Suddenly it rose out of the way again. She was about to sigh in relief but stopped when she heard the sound of metal banging on stone. She then noticed the suits of armor from the last room walking towards her carrying two handed axes.

Her eyes widened and she turned to Ashley “We have to get out of here!” she shouted. Ashley turned to see the armor enter the room. Diamond took out her revolver and shot a few bullets at them. The bullets dented the armor and staggered them but they recovered quickly.

One got close enough to her and raised it's axe for an attack. Diamond jumped out of the way and saw an opening to the door “Come on! Hurry!” she shouted to Ashley.

Ashley tried to get past her fear and ran towards the opening. As she past one tried to take a swing at her but she was fast enough to get away from it. Once they were both past the four suits of armor they ran as fast as they could through the hallway.

When Ashley arrived at the corner with the other suit of armor she saw that it was ready for her. It already had it's axe in the air and swung it towards her. Ashley froze in fear but Diamond tackled her out of the way with all her strength.

The axe crashed into the ground and the armor fell apart due to the impact. Ashley recovered and got to her feet “That was close. Thank you.” she said.

Diamond just tried to push her to continue “Thank me later, run now!” she said. Ashley nodded and they ran into the next room. After quickly running through the gates they went towards the next door. Before they reached it a suit of armor in the corner swung an axe down towards Diamond. She barely dodge and the suit fell apart. Ashley opened the door and diamond was about to follow until she got an idea.

She took the dropped axe in her teeth and dragged it out into the hallway. Ashley slammed the door and looked down at Diamond “Why did you bring that?” she asked.

Diamond dropped the large axe and pointed towards the door “Jam the door with it.” she said. Ashley nodded in understanding and grabbed the axe. She struggled to lift it but eventually got it jammed between the door and the wall.

Ashley took a calming breath “I hope that will hold them.” she said.

“We should hurry either way.” Diamond said.

“Where to? I think we checked every room around here.” Ashley said back.

Diamond thought for a moment then remembered something “We didn't look very long at that room.” she said while pointing at the other door in sight.

Ashley agreed and they headed into the room. When they walked in they didn't see much that looked useful. Ashley walked up to a round dais with a handle sticking out the side of it. She took hold of the handle and tried pushing it but it wouldn't budge.

She then noticed a small circular indentation in the middle of the dais. Diamond walked up behind her “Did you find something?” she asked.

Ashley took out the emblem she found and looked between it and the indentation “Maybe.” she said as she inserted the emblem. She then tried pushing the handle and was surprised that it was moving. She pushed it around the dais until the wall behind it slid away to reveal a ladder.

Diamond smiled “Yes! Great job Ashley!” she complemented.

Ashley blushed out of embarrassment and smiled. They then wasted no time climbing the ladder. They followed a hallway until they reached a door. Diamond pushed the door open to see the floor higher floor they were looking for. Leon saw them enter and shot up from his seat “Ashley! Diamond!” he called.

They ran up to each other and Leon knelt down to allow Diamond to hug him. Ashley joined in the hug and after a few seconds they separated. Leon turned his attention down at diamond “You did a great job. I think you deserve a reward.” he said with a knowing smile.

Diamond raised an eyebrow in suspicion “Reward? What are you talking about?” she questioned. Leon pulled out the hand mirror and Diamond narrowed her eyes “Is that the mirror Luis wanted me to have for some reason?” she asked.

Leon laid it down on the floor in front of her “You shouldn't have brushed it off so quickly. Look into it.” he said.

Diamond hesitantly looked down into the mirror and was shocked to see the faces of Twilight and her father “W-what?” she asked in surprise. Filthy and twilight were smiling but quickly lost the happy expressions at Diamond's condition.

Twilight recovered quickly to speak “Hello Diamond Tiara. I know that you're confused but we've been looking for a way to get you back home since I sent you away.” she said.

Diamond recovered from her shock “Wait does that mean that you know how to get me home?” she asked.

Filthy nodded “Yes. From what I understand, all you need to do is-”

“No you can't! Don't do it!” she said in a panic.

Filthy was caught off guard by the outburst. Twilight gave a sad nod “Yes, Leon informed us of everything that happened to you since your arrival in that world. Including the parasite you're infected with. We know what will happen to you if it grows to adulthood.” she said.

Both Twilight and Filthy started looking depressed. Ashley got into view of the mirror and gave a look of determination “Don't worry, we'll find the cure! I know we will!” she said.

Filthy raised an eyebrow at the new human “Now who's this?” he asked.

Diamond giggled “That's Ashley, another friend of mine.” she said.

Twilight nodded in understanding “Oh Ashley! The human you helped save. I'm surprised that you made so many friends in another world.” she said.

Diamond's face fell “Well I've made a lot more enemies.” she said.

Filthy cringed slightly “That brings me to something I wanted to talk about. Leon told us about the many encounters you had with...dangerous creatures and how you had to fight for your life. And I can't help but notice what looks like dried blood on your coat.” he said. He gulped before continuing “You haven't been...using lethal force...have you?” he asked, desperately hoping for a negative answer.

Diamond first thought about lying but decided that there was no reason to “I had no choice. They weren't gonna show me mercy so why should I?” she said.

Filthy and Twilight were stunned silent by the words coming from the young filly. Diamond sighed and ignored their horrified looks “Look, that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is that my life and the lives of my friends are on a timer. I'm going to do whatever I have to so we can find a cure.” she said.

Filthy shook away his shock “I can't believe this. Fine, we won't bring you back yet so you can look for the cure. But I want regular updates, every five minutes. Do you understand?” he asked.

Diamond gave a exasperated sigh at her overprotective father “We don't have time to stop every five minute. I'll check in sometimes but I don't know when okay?” she said.

Twilight put a comforting hoof on Filthy's shoulder and turned to Diamond “That's fine, just do your best. Can I speak to Leon again?” she asked.

Leon heard the request and took the mirror in his hand. Twilight put on a pleading expression “Please keep Diamond safe. It's my fault that she's in such a dangerous situation in the first place. I don't know what I'd do if I knew she died because of me.” she said.

Leon nodded “I'll do my best but she may not need it. Even at her age she's very skilled in combat. I've been trained for years and she even impresses me sometimes. She'll be home safe and sound, trust me.” he said.

Twilight managed a small smile and the image in the mirror shifted to show a ceiling. Leon knelt down to Diamond and held out the mirror to her “You should hold on to this.” he said.

She took it and placed it in her saddle bag. Leon stood and immediately got a call on his communicator. He answered it to once again see Salazar “Aww what a sweet little reunion scene.” he said in mock sincerity.

Leon narrowed his eyes at him “Scene? I don't remember being a part of some story.” he said.

“You are but a small part in a much larger story, my story. Be glad I chose to include you.” he said.

Leon scoffed “If this is your story then it'll end in tragedy.” he said.

Salazar smirked “Make jokes while you can Mr. Kennedy, because your final scene will be coming soon enough.” he let out a cackle before the line cut out.

Leon put the communicator away and turned to Diamond and Ashley “Come on, Salazar wants a good story so let's give it to him.” he said.

Diamond grinned “I can't wait to shut that wannabe up.” she said. With that they continued down a new hallway.

Twilight laid the mirror down and turned to Filthy who obviously had a lot on his mind “Do you need to talk?” she asked in the most comforting tone she could muster.

Filthy took a second to get his thoughts in order before speaking “It's just...you saw her. You heard what she said. My little filly is a killer.” he said in horror.

Twilight thought about the best thing to saw to put his mind at ease “She...she said she had no other choice.” she said with unease. She then thought of something “It's just like soldiers. They sometimes have to kill but it's out of necessity. We don't view them as killers.” she said.

Filthy glared at her “My Diamond is not a soldier! She's gonna be the head of my company one day! She shouldn't have to kill!” he said in panic.

Twilight took hold of his hoof to calm him down “I don't like to see a filly covered in blood either, but at the moment there's nothing we can do.” she said.

Filthy pulled his hoof out of her grasp “We could at least try something. Why can't we bring her back and try to get rid of that parasite ourselves. You could think of something, right?” he asked.

Twilight sighed “It's a parasite from a different world. I'd need a lot of time to research it and run tests to see what makes it tick. By what I heard from Leon, she might not have all that time.” she said grimly.

Filthy sat on the floor and hung his head “At least I'd be able to say goodbye.” he said quietly as tears started forming in his eyes.

Twilight wiped the tears from his eyes “Hey, you trust your daughter don't you?” she asked.

Filthy wasn't expecting the sudden question but still nodded “Y-yeah, I trust her.” he said.

Twilight gave him a gentle smile “Then you have to trust that she'll be alright.” she held out a hoof to him “Come on, how about we inform the princesses about what we found out.” she offered.

Filthy took her hoof and she helped him stand back up “Okay.” he said. Twilight started walking but Filthy stopped her “Twilight, thank you for everything.” he said.

Twilight smiled back at him “What are friends for?” she said. They then walked off to another room.

Back Together, Back Apart

Twilight and Filthy were in Canterlot castle's throne room with the princesses and the rest of the mane six. Twilight had just finished explaining the situation and they all had shocked expressions. Celestia recovered first and glanced down in thought “It seems that this has become much more complicated then before. It's no longer just about a lost filly but the safety of Equestria as a whole.” she said.

Fluttershy laid on the floor as tears welled up in her eyes “That poor little filly. I can't imagine how terrifying that must be.” she said.

Rainbow put on a determined expression “Well what are we doing standing around here? Just send us to that world. We'll keep her safe and find the cure in no time.” she said.

Twilight sadly shook her head “I don't think that's the best idea.” she said.

Rainbow was surprised by her answer “Why the hay not? Give me one good reason why we shouldn't go help the filly in mortal danger.” she challenged.

Twilight kept a level head “I'll give you two. First, the spell to teleport across worlds takes time depending on what is being teleported. Sending the mirror only took about a minute because it's a small inanimate object. To teleport even two grown ponies would take upwards of ten minutes. Plus for me to get anything close to Diamond I'd have to keep a magical lock on her while charging the spell so she'd have to be standing still. Diamond's life is on an unknown timer so I want to waste as little of her time as possible.” she explained.

Rainbow lost a bit of her confidence “Well, I guess that's a reason but maybe just send me. It couldn't take too long to teleport one pony.” she said.

Twilight shook her head “I don't want to send anypony else. We can't just send as many ponies as we want to another world. Remember that they probably have little to no knowledge of us. If we send anypony else to the world and they have to resort to violence then they might see it as a hostile takeover from an alien species. That could endanger not only the ponies in that world but Equestria too.” she said.

Rainbow opened her mouth to argue back but she couldn't think of anything to say. Instead Applejack stepped up “Ah get that we gotta consider the well being of Equestria but there's still a little filly out there fightin' for her life. We gotta do something.” she said.

“I know but remember that she's not alone. She befriended two humans in that world that are traveling with her that are infected with the same parasite. They'll do everything in their power to find a cure. From what I heard the human named Leon Kennedy is quite capable so there is hope.” she said.

Luna got their attention “We would like a matter clarified. Thou mentioned that this filly hast been slaying the monsters that threaten her life. Dost thou know this to be the truth?” she asked.

Twilight took a sad glance at Filthy before turning back to Luna “I don't know for sure but she said that she was. I can't think of any reason for somepony to lie about that. Plus when we saw her she was...covered in dried and fresh blood.” she said.

Luna had a thoughtful expression “Interesting.” she muttered to herself.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at her sister “Have you thought of something useful?” she asked.

Luna was broken from her thoughts and quickly shook her head “No, forgive us. Forget we said anything.” she said.

Twilight thought Luna was acting suspicious but decided to let it go for the moment. She turned back to the others “Does anypony have any other questions?” she asked.

Rainbow raised a hoof to get her attention “Yeah I got one. If we aren't gonna do anything to help then why did you wake us all up at this hour and teleport us here?” she asked.

Twilight smiled as that brought her to what she wanted to talk about “I'm glad that you asked. We will need somepony keeping an eye on the mirror to check in on Diamond or in case she needs us. Me and Filthy can't do it all night so I thought we could do it in shifts. Two at a time. Do you think you can help us with this?” she asked.

The mane six all agreed quickly. Filthy covered his mouth with a hoof to stifle a yawn. Twilight turned to him and gave him a gentle smile “You should go take a rest. I know that this has all been very stressful on you.” she said.

Filthy was about to protest but then noticed how tired he actually was. He sighed “Alright, I guess that a small nap couldn't hurt. Please wake me up if something important happens to my Diamond.” he said.

Twilight nodded “Of course, please try to relax for now.” she said as Filthy left the room for a guest room. Once he was gone she turned to the others “I can watch over the mirror for a bit longer so would anypony like to volunteer to join me?” she asked.

Before any of the mane six could answer, Luna stepped up beside Twilight “We shall assist for the first shift.” she then turned to the mane six “Please make yourselves comfortable. We shall send for you when needed.” she said.

They did as she said and cleared out of the room. Twilight raised an eyebrow at her “Excuse me princess but, is there a reason that you wanted to assist me?” she asked.

Luna kept a business like face “We have our reasons, Twilight Sparkle. That is all thou needs to know for now.” she said.

Meanwhile Leon, Diamond, and Ashley continued through Salazar's castle. They came to a room that split off into two directions. One to the left that seemed to lead to a cart on tracks and one forward that was blocked off by a long pool of lava. Over the lava was a small platform that was attached to two huge wheels that looked like they could take the platform across the lava.

Leon walked up to the platform to inspect it. Ashley came up behind him and looked nervously down at the lava pit “Uh, d-do we need to go over this?” she asked.

Leon rubbed his chin in thought “I don't think this platform could carry all of us across. But we might need to check that room ahead.” he said.

Ashley took a few steps away from the pit “You two can go ahead if you want. I'll stay here and wait for you.” she offered.

Diamond raised an eyebrow at her “Are you sure you're fine being left alone?” she asked.

Ashley went through the pros and cons in her head before answering “As long as you come back quickly.” she said.

Leon nodded “Alright that sounds like a plan. The platform should hold both me and Diamond as long as I carry her. We'll investigate the room as fast as we can.” he said. He then walked onto the platform before kneeling and holding his arms out to Diamond.

She got into his arms and the platform made it's way across the pit. Diamond glanced down at the lava before glaring at Leon “If you drop me I swear I'll haunt you for the rest of your life.” she threatened. Leon just chuckled and they safely arrived on the other side.

They then entered a room that was filled with lava. There was a stone path above the lava with a few men waiting for them. Diamond wiped away some sweat that started appearing on her forehead “Ugh it's miserably hot in here, let's hurry with what we need to do.” she said.

She started walking towards a flight of stairs heading down. Before she could take another step a blast of fire erupted from her right and blocked her way “What the buck!” She exclaimed as she backed away from the flames. She looked to see where the fire was coming from and saw a stone dragon that was hanging from the ceiling by chains “What are we gonna do about that!” she said in anger.

Leon quickly came up with a plan when he noticed the chains. He took out his rifle and carefully aimed at one of the chains. He shot and broke one of the links. The other chain couldn't hold the dragon's weight and also broke, sending it into the lava.

Diamond turned to Leon with an impressed expression “Nice one.” she complemented.

Leon took the lead “There will probably be more ahead so leave them to me.” he said. Diamond agreed and they continued down the path.

After walking down a short and empty path, they came across a circular platform with a gate spinning around it. There were two entrances in the gate. Leon glanced down at Diamond “We'll have to time this correctly. Are your ready?” he asked.

Diamond nodded but started feeling dizzy from the sweltering heat “Yeah I just want to hurry out of here.” she said.

They both watched as the opening circled around to them “Now!” Leon shouted as he jumped.

Diamond lost focus from the dizziness and hesitated. Leon cleared the gap but looked back to see that Diamond was still on the last platform “Diamond what's wrong?” he asked.

Diamond slapped herself to regain focus “Sorrry, just felt kinda dizzy.” she said.

Leon suspected that her coat caused the heat to affect her much more him. He started to worry for her “Maybe you should go back and wait with Ashley.” he suggested.

Diamond gasped and glared at him “No! I can handle this!” she said. Once the opening came across her again she cleared the jump to join Leon.

Leon still felt like ordering her to leave this to him but noticed the determination in her eyes. He just sighed and continued to the other side of the platform. When the opening got into position they both easily cleared it. They then saw two cloaked men waiting for them.

One charged Leon with his bare hands. Leon knocked his hands away before putting the barrel of his handgun under his chin and firing.

The other ran at Diamond and swung a flail. She just charged into his shin which caused him to fly into the lava behind her. They then walked up to the end of the path. There was another platform ahead but it was high and far with nothing but lava between them.

When they walked up closer to the gap a stone dragon lowered from the ceiling and faced them. Leon and Diamond's eyes widened and they each rolled to the side before a blast of fire roasted the spot they were just standing.

Once the fire let up for a second Leon poked his head out of cover and fired his rifle at the dragon's chain. Luckily it hit and the dragon was dropped into the lava below. Suddenly a staircase rose out of the lava and they breathed a sigh of relief.

They were about to walk up the stairs but then heard footsteps behind them. They turned around to see multiple cloaked men running toward them. Leon was about to reach for his handgun but stopped when Diamond nudged his leg “Check out the stairs! I'll handle the garbage.” she said.

Leon nodded and turned to run up the stairs. Once up all he saw was a blue chest. He opened it and saw a stone ornament that resembled a lion's head and fore legs. After inspecting it for a few seconds he took it and put it away. When he turned to walk back down the stairs he saw three dead bodies around Diamond.

He jogged down to her “We're good, let's get out of here.” he said.

Diamond smiled in relief “Finally, I hate being sweaty.” she said. They then ran back down the path and left the room. When they returned they were glad to see Ashley still waiting for them. Leon and diamond rode the small platform back across the pit.

Ashley ran up to them happily “Was there anything important?” she asked.

Leon took out the lion ornament and showed it to her “I found another one of these. If I remember correctly there should only be one more.” he said.

When Ashley saw the ornament she gasped “Oh! I just remembered that I found one of those earlier with Diamond.” she said as she pulled out the serpent ornament.

Leon took it and gave her a smile “Good job. We should hold on these in case we find ourselves back in that area of the castle again.” he said.

Diamond rolled her eyes “I hope not.” she said. They then decided to continue through the left doorway. There they saw a small cart on tracks.

Leon glanced around but saw no other direction to go “We'll have to take a ride on this.” he said. He walked on and took a seat. Ashley took a seat across from him and Diamond took a seat on Ashley's lap.

After a few seconds the cart started making it's way across the tracks automatically. They rode in silence until the cart arrived at it's destination. They quickly exited and walked out of the room to find themselves in the room where the stone ornaments were needed.

Once Diamond noticed where they were she sighed “All of that just to end up back where we were. At least we found those stone things, I guess.” she said.

Leon walked up to the stone picture and started putting the pieces in place. Once the goat, serpent, and lion ornaments were in their correct places the wall sunk into the ground to allow them past. They walked through the hallway and the next door.

They then saw another cart waiting for them. Diamond was slightly glad that they would be able to rest some more. They all took their seats and the cart took off. Once it stopped at the track's end they got off and continued through a door. They then came across a room with three routes. The left and right and in front.

Leon knew that they should just pick one so he turned left and the other followed without question. They arrived in a rectangular room with two large knight statues in the middle. Near the four corners were four pressure plates. Leon walked past it all and checked the door but it was locked as expected.

Leon turned back and knew what he needed to do “Ashley, Diamond, stand on those pressure plates.” he ordered. They quickly did as he said. Leon then walked up to one of the large statues and started pushing it towards another plate.

Diamond watched him with envy “So strong.” she said to herself. She looked down at one of her legs. She never noticed how weak her legs actually were until now. She still had the extra strength that came with being an earth pony but her muscles were obviously feeling the effects of years of neglect.

Once Leon got the statue on the plate he then stepped onto the last one. This caused the door to slide open. They then walked towards the next room. When they entered they saw Salazar waiting patiently for them “Hello my cockroach-like friends.” he said with a smile.

Diamond glared at him “You have some nerve to call a beautiful filly like me a cockroach!” she scolded.

Salazar cackled “Just like a cockroach you refuse to acknowledge when you've been crushed. But I think you'll find this very convincing.” he said.

Before anyone could ask what he meant, sharp spikes emerged from the ceiling. The ceiling then started lowering towards them. Salazar ran out of the room while cackling. Once he was out a gate sealed them in the room.

Ashley stared at the spikes in fear “N-no.” she said. Leon spotted four glowing red spots on the ceiling. He looked down at Diamond who had a knowing expression. They nodded at each other before taking their guns out and shooting at the spots. Once they broke all four the ceiling stopped in it's tracks and the gate opened.

Diamond put her gun away and laughed “I bet Salazar couldn't even trap a carrot.” she said. They then walked through the door and a fairly long hallway. Once Leon walked through a doorway a gate shut behind him.

He looked back to see Ashley and Diamond no the other side of the gate. Leon started checking the gate for some way the get it open. They then heard a crash behind them. Diamond and Ashley looked back to see a giant drill that took up the whole hallway piloted by two men.

Diamond growled “He just doesn't give up.” she complained. Leon then took out his rifle and aimed at the approaching drill. He quickly killed both and the drill slowed to a stop with no one to operate it. The gate opened shortly after.

They then walked through into the next room with Leon. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief “Thanks Leon.” she said.

Leon just gave her a nod “Let's move.” he said. They were about to leave but Leon stopped when he noticed a red chest. He turned back to check it out.

Diamond raised an eyebrow when he opened it “What's in there?” she asked.

Leon took out a grail that had a emblem that showed a woman's head “It seems like a grail. But this seems like a strange place to keep dishes.” he said.

Diamond shrugged “Nothing about this castle makes sense. It was created by a mad man.” she said.

Leon turned back to them “I'll hold onto it for now. We've found stranger keys before. This might be the same.” he said.

“Fair enough.” Diamond said before they exited the room. They then found themselves back in the room with the pressure plates “Great, we came here for two traps and got a cup as a reward.” she said sarcastically.

Ashley put a hand to her shoulder “It's not too bad, at least it didn't take too much time. Let's just see what the other routes have.” she said.

Diamond and Leon agreed before going back to the previous room and going to the right route. They entered a door to find themselves in a hallway that had suits of armor on the sides. Leon took the lead and started walking down the hallway but stopped when Diamond jumped in front of him “Wait!” she warned “Look!” she said while pointing at a suit of armor that had it's axe raised. It just stood still waiting for someone to get close enough. Since Diamond had seen this before she just took a step closer and easily dodged the attack.

Leon gave an impressed nod “How did you know that would happen?” he asked.

Ashley stepped up to answer for her “We ran into some of those when we were separated from you.” she explained.

Diamond nodded and glanced at the other suits of armor with suspicion “Yeah, don't turn your back to any of them.” she said. They then continued while keeping their eyes on the armor.

They then turned into a circular room with a pedestal in the middle. Leon walked up to it and noticed a grail on it that showed a design of a man's head. Under the grail he saw a inscription “Listen to this.” he said to the others before reading “May wrath of evil befall the one who disturbs this holy grail.” he said.

Ashley seemed creeped out by the warning “Should we leave it?” she asked.

Leon rubbed his chin in thought “Since there's another one, I'm sure that we'll need them.” he said.

Diamond nodded “Well if we're taking it, we should be ready for some kind of trap.” she said.

“Right.” Leon said. Once they were prepared Leon swiped the grail from the pedestal. The door behind them immediately shut and three parts of the wall around them started rotating. On the other side of the walls were rusty suits of armor carrying swords. They then started moving towards the three.

Diamond turned to Ashley “Stay away from them Ashley.” she ordered. Ashley didn't need to be told twice as she ran to a empty part of the room. Luckily they didn't seem interested in her.

Diamond took out her revolver and fired at one of the knights but they only caused it to stumble back. She groaned in frustration “How are we going to beat them?” she asked.

One of them swung it's sword at Leon but he blocked it at the wrist and got a hold of the sword. He then swung it hard into the knight's head. The sword shattered and the helmet was knocked off. Instead of a head a parasite emerged and swung it's sharp tendrils around.

Diamond gave a sly smile at that “Knock the other two's helmet's off. We'll take them all out at once.” she said.

Leon nodded and ignored that one for now. He ran to another knight and dodged a sword swing before delivering a high kick to knock it's helmet off. Just like the other a parasite was hiding under it. Diamond decided to handle the third. It swung it's sword downward at her but she dodged and it got stuck in the stone.

She then ran up the sword and jumped to kick the helmet off and reveal the parasite. When she landed she quickly grabbed a flash grenade from her saddle bag and threw it towards the three knights “Cover your eyes!” she ordered. Leon and Ashley did as she said and the flash went off. When they uncovered their eyes they saw the knights fall apart.

Before they could relax the wall began to rotate again and the knights were replaced by tougher looking ones wielding axes.

“You've got to be kidding me.” Diamond said.

Leon readied himself for round two “Don't worry Diamond, keep with the same strategy.” he said. He took out his shotgun and ran behind one. One blast was all it took to reveal it's parasite.

The two others tried to corner Diamond. One raised his axe but diamond ran under the legs of the other. The knight accidentally chopped the other knight's leg causing him to fall forward. She took advantage of this to buck the helmet off of the downed knight.

The other attempted another attack but Leon interrupted it with a shotgun blast to knock it's helmet off. He then took a flash grenade and tossed it “Flash!” she warned.

The flash finished off the three knights and this time the door to the exit opened up. Ashley ran back up to them “I was worried about you two during that.” she said.

Diamond gave a prideful smile “You shouldn't be. There's nothing that me and Leon can't handle.” she said.

Ashley giggled “Maybe you're right about that.” she said.

Leon turned to the doorway “Just one more route to check.” he said. They then hurried back to the previous room. They headed down the middle path to end up at a hallway. They stopped as they saw four men wielding scythes and two wielding large shields.

“Stay back Ashley.” Leon said as the enemies started approaching. Leon took out his rifle and picked off two scythe wielders while they were making their way to them. One of the shield wielders ran up to Diamond and tried to bash her but she sidestepped the attack and stuck her knife into the side of his neck.

Another scythe wielder swung at Leon but he just flipped backwards to dodge. He then took out his knife to stab him in the stomach and in the head to finish him. He then faced a shield wielder and shattered the shield with a shotgun blast. He then swapped for his handgun to fire one into his head.

The last scythe wielder raised his weapon over Diamond but she gave his knee a punch hard enough to bring him down to her level. She then jabbed her handgun under his chin before firing.

With all of them taken care of, Ashley ran back to their side so they could continue. They walked to the end of the hallway where there was a large door that was being blocked off by a gate. On the sides of the door was two statues. One resembled a king while the other resembled a queen. They were both holding their hands out in front of them.

Leon walked up to the queen and saw an inscription under her “A toast to our royal majesty” he read.

Diamond looked between the two statues “I guess it was a good call to hold onto those cups.” she said.

Leon took out the king's grail and turned to Ashley “Put this one in the king's hands.” he said before tossing it to her. She caught it and walked over to the other statue while Leon put the queen's grail in place.

Once both were in their proper place the gate lifted out of the way. Leon pushed through the double doors to see a large room with high ceilings. A lot of the floor was missing making the path fairly narrow. But the most noticeable thing was a giant pulsing hive-looking thing hanging down from the ceiling.

Diamond cringed at the sight of the disgusting thing “I don't even wanna think about what that is.” she said.

Leon started walking forward “I doubt it's good. Let's find our way out of here quickly.” he said. Suddenly they heard Ashley screaming from behind. Before they could turn around a human sized insect flew ahead of them while holding Ashley.

“Not them again.” Leon said.

“Ashley!” Diamond called in panic. She took her handgun in her mouth and aimed at the retreating insect. She hesitated to fire because she was afraid to hit Ashley. Eventually the insect flew out of sight and Diamond growled in frustration “Buck! I hesitated too much!” she shouted in anger.

Leon tried to calm her with a hand on her back “It's fine. They wouldn't hurt her, she's too important. We'll get her back.” she said. Suddenly more insects flew up from the pit under them. Leon stood and took his rifle out “Focus up, we have more company.” he said.

Diamond tried not to worry about Ashley and took her revolver out. They started firing at the flying insects and dodging when they swiped at them.

When they killed a few Leon saw more fly up from under them “We don't know how many of these things there are. We should prioritize getting out and finding Ashley.” he said.

Diamond glanced around for some exit but only saw a raised drawbridge “I think that drawbridge is our only chance.” she said.

Leon saw a lever against the wall “That lever probably lowers it. Go pull it, I'll watch your back.” he said. Diamond nodded and ran as a few insects flew after her. She glanced back to see an insect gaining on her and reaching to grab a hold of her. Before it could reach her a rifle bullet ripped through it's back and caused it to crash into the ground.

Diamond smiled at Leon who continued to shoot any insect that got too close to her. She finally reached the lever and jumped up to pull it. The drawbridge began to fall but stopped half way since it seemed it's chains were too short to ever allow it to lower.

Diamond groaned in annoyance and glanced back to see that all of the insects chose to swarm Leon. He was avoiding them well enough but it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to keep it up forever. She turned back to the drawbridge “I have to get that down.” she said to herself. She wracked her brain for an idea.

She saw where the chains were attached to the wall and noticed that they seemed fairly weak. She took out her revolver and fired at them. Both of the chains were disconnected quickly and the bridge fell to allow them across to the door.

She ran back to Leon and started firing at the insects to draw their attention from him “Come on, let's get out of here!” she called to him.

Leon rolled out of the swarm and ran with Diamond across the bridge and through the door. Once they were through Leon turned to slam and lock the door. As they took a moment to catch their breath they heard a voice speaking

“Diamond?” it asked. It didn't take long to recognize the voice as Twilight. Diamond grabbed the mirror and laid it on the floor.

Diamond expected to see Twilight but was surprised to see Luna beside her instead of Filthy Rich “P-princess Luna? Where's my father?” she asked.

“Me and my friends volunteered to take turns watching over the mirror. Princess Luna offered to take the first shift while your dad took a rest.” twilight explained.

Diamond was shocked to hear that she had royalty watching out for her but decided to ignore that for now “Alright but why did you call?” she asked.

“Just checking in, is everything alright?” she asked.

Diamond sighed “Everything was great until Ashley got captured again so we have to save her.” she said.

Twilight gasped “Oh, I should probably leave you to do that.” she said.

Diamond was about to put the mirror away but stopped when she heard Luna speak up “Wait! We have a question.” Luna said.

Diamond raised an eyebrow “Uh okay? What is it?” she asked.

“What type of opposition are thou facing?” she asked.

Diamond thought it was a weird question for her to ask but she answered anyway “Mostly parasite infested human's with all kinds of weapons but also things like parasites controlling suits of armor and insects the size of Leon.” she said

Luna nodded then asked a follow up question “And we understand that thou hast been killing thou's enemies, is that true?” she asked.

Diamond nodded “Yeah...well me and Leon both fight but yeah I've been killing them. Why?” she asked.

Luna rubbed her chin in thought “Impressive.” she muttered to herself.

After a few seconds of silence Diamond spoke up “Well we have to go, Ashley needs us.” she said. After a quick goodbye she stuffed the mirror back into her saddle bags. She then turned to Leon “Okay let's go.” she said.

Undergrounded

Leon and Diamond exited the elevator to find themselves in a rocky cave. There was a camp set up with the merchant waiting for them. They walked up to him as he waved “Stranger, it's always a pleasure. Would you like anything?” he asked.

Leon nodded “Yeah, we might need more ammo. Maybe a few grenades too.” he said.

While they started dealing Diamond heard a voice coming from her saddle bag “Hello? Hey, are you there?” the voice called.

Diamond sighed “I have to take this, I'll be back.” she said to Leon before walking slightly away. She then took out the mirror and laid it on the ground in front of her. She saw the face of Rainbow Dash staring back at her.

Rainbow cringed at the sight of her “Whoa Twilight wasn't lying, you do look rough.” she said.

Diamond scowled at her “Gee thanks. Did you actually have anything important to say or did you just want to insult me?” she questioned.

Applejack pushed into view and glared at Rainbow before turning to Diamond “Sorry 'bout Rainbow, how are ya. Did ya find the cure ta yer parasite?” she asked.

Diamond shook her head “We haven't tried to find a cure since Ashley got kidnapped again.” she said.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow in confusion “Wait you have a life threatening parasite inside you, how is that not on the top of your list of priorities?” she asked.

“Saving Ashley is more important right now.” she answered.

Applejack seemed shocked by her words “Yer father is worried sick about ya. Maybe ya should worry 'bout yer own well being right now.” she said.

Diamond growled at her “If the Los Illuminados succeeds with their plans not only will Ashley die but countless others too!” she yelled as tears started to well up in her eyes.

Rainbow and Applejack were rendered speechless. Leon ran up to Diamond's side and knelt down “Is something wrong?” he asked.

Diamond quickly wiped the tears from her eyes “Everything's fine.” she then turned back to the mirror “Was that all you wanted?” she asked.

Applejack collected herself before speaking “One more thing. There's somepony here who wanted to see ya.” she said.

Diamond was caught of guard by that “What?” she asked. Instead of answering, Applejack just stepped back and Silver Spoon walked into view. Diamond lit up “Silvy!” she happily called.

Silver smiled at the sight of her “Di! I'm glad to see you safe.” her smile faltered “But I guess safe wouldn't be the right word, would it?” she asked.

Diamond frowned too “They told you about the parasite and everything, didn't they?” she asked.

Silver nodded before staring down at the ground “Um Diamond? J-just in case this is the last time we see each other, I just wanted to say-”

“Save it.” Diamond got her attention “There's no reason to get all sappy. This isn't the last time we'll see each other.” she said.

Silver's mood didn't seem to change “You don't know that.” she said.

Diamond gave a determined smirk “Remember who you're talking to. Have you ever known me to give up?” she asked.

Silver shook her head “No.” she answered.

“Have you ever known me to fail?” Diamond asked.

Silver managed a giggle “Alright I get it. I guess I'll just have to wait for you to get home.” she said with a small smile.

Diamond giggled “That's better. I have to go now but I promise you'll see me again.” she said.

Silver gave her a nod “Alright, I can't wait for you to get back. Bye.” she said.

Diamond then stuck the mirror back into her saddle bag before she frowned. Leon noticed the sudden change “You know it was wrong to make a promise like that.” he stated.

Diamond stared down at the floor “I know. I just...didn't want to say goodbye to my best friend. I thought it would be better if she just hoped for the best.” she said.

Leon patted Diamond's head and gave her a smile “Well, I guess we'll just have to make sure you didn't lie to her right?” he asked.

Diamond chuckled and smiled “Right, what was I thinking? Let's go, I've got a promise to keep.” she said. They then turned to a door that led further into the underground before walking through it.

After walking through a path that was dimly lit with light bulbs they stopped when they saw two villagers looking through some tools that were inside mine carts. Luckily they were facing away from Leon and Diamond, allowing them to sneak up to them.

They each walked behind one of them. They gave each other a nod before taking their knives out. Leon covered the villager's mouth before slitting his throat. Diamond climbed onto the other villager's back to do the same to him.

Once they were taken care of Diamond looked up to Leon “What are the villagers doing here?” she asked.

Leon glanced down at the mine cart filled with tools “They seem to be mining for something, but I can't imagine what the Los Illuminados could be looking for.” he said. After that they decided to continue on.

They came across a tunnel with a metal structure above it with tracks on it. On the tracks was an old looking mine cart. They were about to pass it by but Diamond stopped when she saw something red poking of from on the mine cart “Hey, Leon. Would you mind giving me a lift? I want to see what that is.” she said while pointing it out.

Leon noticed what she was pointing at and nodded “Alright, come here.” he said while bending down. Diamond walked over and Leon lifted her over his head. Diamond grabbed onto the tracks and struggled to hoist herself over but was able eventually. She then climbed into the mine cart to see a bundle of dynamite.

She smiled down at it “I thought so. Think we could make use of some dynamite?” she asked.

Leon chuckled “I don't see why not. Bring it down.” he said. Diamond took the dynamite in her hooves before jumping down into Leon's arms. He took the dynamite from her and let her down before continuing on.

They then came to a large room that was being split in two by a gigantic drill. It seemed that the only exit was on the other side of the drill. There was only one path that led to the other side but it was being blocked off by a huge boulder. There were also a large amount of villagers working in the area.

Diamond frowned as she scanned the area for some way past them “Any idea for getting through?” she asked.

Leon glanced down at the bundle of dynamite in his hand “Yeah, I think this amount of dynamite should be able to get that boulder out of our way.” he said.

Diamond smiled “Nice plan.” she then frowned slightly “Do you have anyway of lighting that?” she asked.

Leon rubbed his chin while thinking “I don't have a lighter. I could use two rocks to light it but that could take some time.” he said.

Diamond nodded “Alright, just do that then. I'll protect you.” she said. Leon thought about refusing but with one glance at Diamond, he know he could trust her.

He picked up two small rocks “I'll try to be fast.” he said. With that they climbed down the ladder. Leon took his handgun out and killed two villagers that were in his way. All of the villagers in the area were alerted and took whatever weapons that were nearby.

Leon ran up to the boulder and put the dynamite in a nook. He then took the two rocks in his hands and started striking them together trying to get a spark. Diamond stood protectively between him and the group of villagers.

She took out her revolver and fired in the group to take a few out while they were at a distance. One of them threw a hatchet her way but she rolled to the side as it stuck in the ground next to her. The villagers started surrounding her and closing on her. She quickly took a grenade out and pulled the pin. She then dropped it and ran through the legs of one of the villagers. The grenade then exploded, taking out a large amount of the crowd.

Only three of the villagers remained. Two of them charged her as the last turned to approach Leon. Diamond ran past the two while dodging a swing from a hatchet. She then fired a bullet into the villagers head right before he could reach Leon. She then turned around to see the last two swinging at her.

Her eyes shot open as she barely ducked under one hatchet. The other swung lower so she did a back flip to dodge before she shot both of them. She was about to take a moment to relax but instead tensed up when she heard a chainsaw revving up. A villager wearing a sack over his head and a chainsaw in his hands, entered into the room.

Her charged her with a scream and she fired her handgun into his chest. Unluckily the bullets didn't seem to be slowing him down. He reached her and swung the chainsaw down at her. She backed up to allow it to harmlessly pass by her. She then took her knife in her teeth before she bucked him in the knee. The pain caused him to kneel down and diamond used the chance to jumped and stab him in the eye. When she ripped it out, the villager fell to the ground lifelessly.

Diamond scanned the area to see that it was empty. She then turned to Leon “Are you done yet, 'cause I am.” she said.

Leon suddenly turned and ran toward her “Just got it! Get down!” he warned. They both ran a safe distance and the dynamite blew the boulder to smithereens. After the explosion Leon smiled and petted Diamond “You did well. You might not even need me anymore.” he said.

Diamond blushed a bit “Thanks, but I still what you by my side whether I need it or not.” she said. They both chuckled before walking through the new path and door.

In the next room was circular grate floor with lava bubbling right under it. In the middle of the room was a huge hatch that looked like it could be opened. Diamond had a miserable expression on her face “I hate places like this! Let's get through this quickly.” she said.

Leon nodded “Let me know if it gets too bad.” he said. He then walked over to a switch near the wall. He grabbed it and pulled it experimentally.

Diamond walked close to the middle hatch to study it. Suddenly the hatch opened up revealing nothing but lava. She yelped and backed up. She turned to Leon who was standing near the switch “I already have enough trying to kill me, I don't need you doing it too!” she scolded.

Leon gave her an apologetic look “Sorry, I'll close that back up.” he said before turning back to the switch. He tried pulling it again but it wouldn't budge “Never mind I might not be able to.” he said. Then the hatch closed automatically. Leon was slightly caught off guard “So it's on a timer.” he observed.

Diamond sighed and wiped some sweat from her forehead “Enough playing around with switches. Let's get out of here.” she said.

“Right.” Leon agreed before they both walked over to the humongous door on the other side of the room.

As soon as they got close the door opened up and two giants walked out. The door shut behind them. Diamond gritted her teeth in anger “You've got to be kidding me!” she yelled. One of the giants threw a fist down at her but she rolled out of danger. She then glanced back at the hatch in the middle of the room. She smiled and turned to Leon “Maybe we can use this lava to our advantage.” she suggested.

Leon nodded “I'll draw their attention while you get over to the switch. Don't throw it until I give you the signal.” he said before he took out his handgun. He fired at both of the giants to get their attention. They both turned to him and stomped towards him as he ran. Diamond then ran toward the switch and waited on Leon.

The giants had Leon backed into the corner. They reached out to grab him but he sidestepped their hands before running under them and towards the hatch. Once he reached it he turned and waited for the giants to catch up. Once they stepped onto the hatch, Leon took a flash grenade in his hand “Flash!” he warned Diamond as he pulled the pin and threw it into the air. The flashed blinded the giants and they held their eyes shut and stumbled around “Now!” he shouted

Diamond jumped up and bit down on the switch's handle and pulled it down. Leon jumped off of the hatch as it opened up and swallowed both of the giants. Diamond smiled but her smile fell as a giant hand rose up from the lava. The hand grasped the ledge and the giant started to pull itself out of the lava. The lava had obviously melted a good amount of it's flesh but it was still strong enough to stand as the lava started to roll down it's body.

Diamond stared wide eyed at the half melted monster “Oh come on! That's a load of horseapples!” she yelled. The hatch behind it closed, trapping the other giant to it's fate.

Leon took his shotgun out “We'll have to take this one out the old-fashioned way. It shouldn't be able to take much more. Be careful not to touch it since it's still covered in lava.” he said.

The giant threw a hand at Leon but he flipped backward out of the way. He then blasted it with his shotgun. The bullets pierced it's weak flesh and caused it to stumble back with a scream. Some of the lava on it's skin was flung off of it from it's movements. Diamond tried to dodge the burning liquid as it flew her way. She then yelped in pain as she felt a burning pain on her back. She turned her head to see a drop of lava burning at her coat and skin.

She quickly wiped it off with her hoof with another wince. She then glared at the giant “You'll regret that!” she shouted. She took her revolver out and emptied the whole cylinder into it's back. It turned to her and charged. She rolled out of the way and switched her revolver for her handgun. She then emptied the magazine into the giant.

It then fell to a knee and it's parasite emerged from it's back. Diamond knew that she wasn't going to risk climbing onto the molten monster so she took out a frag grenade instead. She pulled the pin and threw it toward the exposed parasite. The grenade exploded along with the parasite. The giant let out one last dying cry before falling to the floor.

Leon jogged up to Diamond and knelt down to her “Let me see that burn.” he said. Diamond sat facing away from him so he could see it better. The lava had burned though some of her coat and her skin had second degree burns “You'll be alright. Luckily you got it off when you did, any longer and it could have done permanent nerve damage.” he said.

Diamond nodded in relief and turned to see the huge doors opened again “Now, let's get out of here.” she said. They walked past the door to see a small hallway leading to a normal sized door. Once through it Diamond was glad to be back in a cool dank cave.

They walked though a small tunnel but it shortly opened up into a tall underground room. They saw moonlight shine down from the ceiling so they were near the surface. Near a cliff was a small shrine with an engraving under it. Diamond got on her hind legs to read it “The two lights shall shine light on a new path. Is this some kind of hint or something?” she asked.

Leon rubbed his chin “I wouldn't doubt that it-watch out!” he suddenly warned. Diamond turned to see one of the human sized insects flying towards her. She jumped out of the way causing it to face plant. She then took her knife in her teeth before stabbing it into the insect's head. Leon scanned the area and saw more insects flying in from different directions “Come on, we're at a disadvantage here.” he said.

They started running up the only path they had access to while a few insects pursued. They came to a split in the path. Since they didn't have time to think, Leon ran to the left and Diamond followed. They then ran into a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was a dead end with some kind of picture carved into the wall. They didn't have time to examine it as they turned around to see a group of insects fly in after them.

With no other choice they took out their handguns. They shot at the incoming insects, killing a few of them but the rest charged them with their claws. Leon caught one in midair before bringing it to the ground and jabbing his knife into it's chest.

Another insect stood over Diamond and regurgitated some acid at her. She ran under it without being burned by the acid. She then jumped onto it's back. A insect came from behind her and swung it's claws her way. She jumped away and the claws split the insect's head. When she landed she used her handgun to finish off the last one.

Once they were alone Leon, turned to the cave carving. Next to it was a rectangular stone button. Wondering what it would do, he pressed it. The button the started to shine with a bright light. They both looked around for anything that changed but saw nothing. They then decided to exit to see a light was shining from one of two large stone statues that were high over what looked like an exit.

They walked up to the door and saw that it had no handle or anyway of getting it open. Leon gave up on getting it open quickly “There must be another button nearby. That has to be how we get through.” he said. They turned to a stone bridge that would bring them to another cave. They silently agreed to check it out.

Once they got close, four insects flew out to meet them. Leon dodged a swipe from one's claws before he slipped behind it. He grabbed a hold it's flimsy wings and ripped them off before kicking it off the cliff. Diamond shot one in the head and another flew at her from behind. She turned around just in time to see a knife fly into the side of it's head. Leon ran over and removed his knife from the corpse and pulled out his shotgun to blast the remaining insect.

Diamond stared up at him in amazement “How'd you throw your knife like that?” she asked.

They started walking into the cave “You hold the blade and throw with a moderate amount of force, depending on how far away your target it. Although I use my hands so I don't know if you'd be able to do the same with your teeth. It'd be better if you didn't try it.” he said.

They found another dead end with more cave carvings and a second rectangular button. Leon pressed it and it lit up just like the last one. They then walked back to exit the cave. When they exited they saw that the door ahead was almost all melted “What the hay? How did that happen?” she asked.

Leon just hummed in thought and continued walking up to the door. Once they arrived they saw that behind the door was a gate with a button in the middle. Leon pressed it and the gate lifted out of their way. Ahead was a tight tunnel with huge cylindrical stones wrapped in chains. They were being raised before crashing into the ground.

The first one took about two seconds to raise so Leon and Diamond were able to easily slip by it without being crushed. After passing by another they came to three consecutive crushers. Leon eyed it for a few seconds “I don't know if we can get by fast enough. It's gonna be close.” he said.

Diamond pointed a hoof at a lever next to Leon “What does that do?” she asked. Leon finally noticed it and pulled it. The lever caused the middle crusher to be permanently raised. Diamond raised an eyebrow “These traps are just getting lazy. That switch wasn't even almost hidden.” she said.

“We shouldn't complaining about things being easy.” Leon said. With that they quickly passed the crushers. The next room was fairly empty beside a coffin with a button in front of it.

The walked up to it and Diamond started examining the coffin “Why it this here? Where's the exit?” she wondered. Leon pressed the button and the ground around the coffin started raising up, bringing the two with it. It brought them up to the surface.

Diamond stared up at the full moon and smiled “Finally, I was so tired of being underground. It's nice to be breathing fresh air.” she said. Leon nodded and smiled but frowned when he saw a paper nailed to a nearby shack. He walked over and grabbed it. Diamond joined him and saw as his expression turned more grim as he read “Is it bad news or something?” she asked.

Leon finished reading and lowered it “It is.” he said. He then knelt down to her level “It's from Ada.” he said.

Diamond raised an eyebrow “You mean, that woman in the red dress?” she asked.

Leon nodded “It's information about how our parasites could be removed. She says that they could be neutralized using medication, but only if they haven't hatched yet. She also mentions that they might be able to be removed via surgery, but it would very likely be fatal.” he hung his head “I'm sorry Diamond.” he said.

Diamond's facial expression didn't change “As far as I'm concerned, nothing's changed.” she said.

Leon stared at her in confusion “What do you mean?” he asked.

Diamond smirked “So what if Ada doesn't know of a cure? That's why we're looking. Even if there is no cure, I see no reason to stop now. If we can kill saddler with what time we have left then he can't use us to do his bidding. We might not make it but we can at least still do some good with the time we have left.” she said.

Leon smiled at her words and petted her head “You're starting to sound like a real hero, ya know that? But you're right, as long as we're still standing there's hope.” he stood up and crumpled up Ada's letter “Let's get back to it.” he said.

They continue down the path in front of them until they saw some ruins. There were a few villagers walking around the ruins. Diamond sneaked up to one and rammed into his back to get him onto his stomach. She then stabbed her knife into his throat. She turned to see Leon slitting the throat of the other.

They continued through the ruins until they came across a bonfire that was surrounded by a circle of villagers. Immediately diamond ran forward. She rammed one of the villagers causing him to fall into the fire. She chuckled at his misfortune as the other villagers faced her. Leon ran in and started firing into the group.

A villager got close to Leon and swung at him with a hatchet. Leon caught his wrist and gave him an uppercut to the chin before shooting him in the head. He then turned to see another villager raising a hatchet for an attack. Leon was ready to counter but a knife flew in from the side and stuck into the villager's heart. When he fell limply to the floor, Diamond walked over and took her knife back. She then gave Leon a cocky smile.

Leon chuckled slightly “How?” he asked simply.

Diamond gave him a look as if it was obvious “I used my hooves.” she said.

“You learn fast.” he said. He then looked around but saw no more villagers. He walked up to a metal door with a design of a lion on it. The lion's mouth was open wide and it seemed like something round might fit in it. He started reading a inscription that was under the lion “Offer the sacrifice to the lion. Sounds like we need to find another key.” he said.

“What else is new. Well we have no choice so lets get looking.” she said. She started searching around the nearby ruins but wasn't finding much.

Leon broke through a boarded up window of an old looking shack. He poked his head in to see a crank. He turned to where Diamond ran off to “I think I found something!” he shouted to her before jumping though the window. Diamond climbed though as well. Leon started to crank the crank and a part of the floor slid away to reveal a ladder in a hole. He turned to Diamond “I hope you didn't get too used to the fresh air.” he said.

Diamond sighed “It was nice while it lasted I guess.” she said before she started climbing down with Leon following after. Once down they were in some underground ruins. Leon walked up to a stone tablet in front of them “Up ahead rests the offering to the lion.” he read.

“That's convenient.” Diamond said. They then continued through a tunnel. When they exited the tunnel they saw a maze-like area with short walls. They saw some villagers guarding the area and some were even laying down bear traps. To the left of the maze was a ladder leading up to a hole in the wall. It looked as if the wall was hollowed out.

Leon knelt down to Diamond “Be careful of the bear traps. Leave the visible villagers to me while you get up that ladder and search that area. Sound like a plan?” he asked.

Diamond nodded and waited for Leon to lead the way. Leon ran in and started attracting the villagers by firing at them. Diamond sprinted past them while shooting the occasional villager that was in her way. Eventually she reached the ladder and was about to start climbing when a villager carrying a chainsaw landed right in front of her. She backed up and readied herself but stopped when she heard Leon's voice “Leave him to me! Just get past him!” he shouted to her.

The villager charged her while wildly waving the chainsaw around. Diamond ran and rammed into his leg to trip him before quickly climbing up the ladder. She climbed into the large hole to see that it led to a room with a pedestal and stairs leading down. She jumped onto the pedestal to see a metal key that looked as if it were covered in small chains. She assumed that they would need it so she threw it into her saddlebag.

She then hopped down and walked down the stairs. Down there was a small empty room with one villager in the middle. Unluckily his head was covered in a bag and he held a chainsaw in his hands. One he spotted her, he charged her with a scream. She quickly rolled out of they way as the chainsaw was about to come down on her. She then pulled out her revolver and fired a few bullets which he just shrugged off.

He ran at her once again but she took her knife out and ran at him. She jabbed the knife into the villager's foot as she passed under him causing him to fall forward. He fell onto the chainsaw and it quickly cut straight through his midsection. Diamond just ignored the gruesome scene and turned to a door to walk though it.

When she opened the door she saw Leon “Are you finished?” she asked.

“Yeah, but the only other door around is locked. Did you see any kind of key?” he asked.

Diamond smirked “I knew we would need it.” she said before walking to the next door with Leon. When they arrived, she took the key in her mouth to unlock the door. Past the door was a small square room. When they walked into the room, the door they just came through was blocked off by a gate. They then heard a scraping sound above them. They looked up to see that the ceiling was covered in long metal spikes and it was now slowly lowering towards them.

They spotted four red spots near the four corners of the ceiling. Leon felt relieved “Oh it's just another one of these.” he said. He was about to shoot the spots when two spider like parasites emerged from the ground.

Diamond jumped in front of Leon “I'll handle them, take care of the trap.” she said. Leon nodded and focused on the trap. Diamond used her handgun to fire at one of the parasites but it nimbly dodged. It crawled quickly towards her but she finally landed a shot to kill it.

She turned to see the other one charging at her. It jumped at her but she quickly stood on her hind legs to take her knife in her right hoof. She threw the knife and it stuck into the parasite in midair. She then heard the ceiling stop and the door leading to the next room opened. Diamond took her knife back from the parasite's body before continuing with Leon.

The next room was empty except for a staircase taking them down to the next door. They walked in to see a cliff with no way past except three attached mine carts on a track. Diamond walked to the cliff and looked down to see just a black abyss “What are we suppose to do now?” she wondered. She turned to see Leon hopping into one of the mine carts “What are you doing?” she asked.

“The same thing you should be doing. Hop in, I'll figure out how to get this thing moving.” he said.

Diamond just stared at the rusty mine carts with unease “You're joking right? That thing looks like it's falling apart.” she said.

“Do you want to stay here?” he questioned.

Diamond sighed “Make room.” she said before she walked over and jumped into the cart.

Leon saw a lever close by so he climbed out and walked to it “This should do it.” he said before pulling it. The three mine carts started moving at a moderate speed and Leon jumped in before it got too far.

Diamond took a seat on the floor of the cart in the back “At least we can relax for a second.” she said.

Leon looked ahead and saw a wooden structure on each side of the tracks. On the structures were a few villagers who seemed to be waiting for them “I hope you enjoyed that second 'cause we've got company.” he warned.

Diamond sighed in annoyance “I'm not even surprised anymore.” she said. She took her handgun out and stood on her hind legs to get a better view. They both shot at the villagers and were able to kill them before they passed them.

They assumed that there were gonna be more ahead and were proven right shortly. They passed by more structures and the villagers they weren't able to kill fast enough jumped into their carts. One landed next to Leon but her quickly slight her throat before throwing her off. Diamond shot two others and they stumbled over the edge.

They had a few seconds to themselves but saw more villagers waiting for them ahead. Once they were about to pass them the mine carts stopped suddenly allowing the villagers to pile in. Three villagers crowded in a cart with Diamond. She knew that she couldn't dodge in such a small space so she took out a flash grenade and threw it in the air “Flash!” she warned.

Two of the villagers stumbled out of the cart and Diamond just shot the last one. She then looked at the cart Leon was in to see him finishing two other villagers before dumping their corpses out of the cart “Leon, how do we get this thing moving again?” she asked.

Leon saw a nearby lever and assumed that's how they were stopped in the first place. He quickly climbed up to the lever and pulled it before dropping back in the cart. After some time he saw more villager filled structures ahead. He took a frag grenade out and threw it at one of the structures. The explosion destroyed the structure and killed most of the villagers.

Two normal villagers and one chainsaw wielder still jumped into the carts. The chainsaw villager landed in Leon's cart and swung at him. Leon ducked the attack took out his knife before he stabbed him in the stomach. He took it out before getting behind him and kicking him in the back to send him over the side. He turned around to see that Diamond had taken care of the others. He decided to join her in the back cart.

Suddenly the track started picking up speed as they started heading downhill. Then they started going down a downward spiral, picking up even more speed. Diamond held onto the cart so she didn't fly out. After the spiral they were on a straightaway while keeping their speed.

Leon saw that the track ended up ahead but there was a huge gap before the next platform. His eyes widened as he thought of some way to survive “Diamond! Hold onto me tight!” he ordered.

Without question Diamond climbed onto him an hung tightly to his neck. Leon waited for the perfect moment as they got closer and closer to the edge. Once the first two mine carts left the track Leon leaped forward. With the momentum from the carts he flew far. He reached out a hand to barely catch the edge of the platform. He grunted as he struggled to pulled them up with just one arm.

Diamond started to panic since it seemed like Leon wasn't going to be able to get them up “Hold on!” she shouted as she climbed up his arm and pulled herself onto the platform. She then turned around and took Leon's hand in her fore hooves and started to pull. With her help, Leon was able to grab onto the edge with his other hand and pull himself up.

Diamond started breathing heavy but managed a giggle “You fly better then some pegasi I know.” she said.

Leon chuckled “That's a compliment I never thought I'd hear. Now let's move on.” he said. They continued into the next room which only had a stone table and a octagonal artifact. It had a design of a half naked man being stabbed through the abdomen with a staff that bared the insignia of the Los Illuminados. Leon took it in his hands to study it “I think this is our sacrifice to the lion.” he said.

“Great, but how do we get back to the door? Our ride back is kinda at the bottom of a hole.” she said.

Leon thought for a moment “We have no choice but to continue forward and try to find our way back.” he said.

Diamond nodded in agreement and they walked through the next tunnel until they came across a ladder. Once up the ladder, they found themselves on the surface near some familiar ruins. They figured out where they were once they saw the bonfire. Diamond shrugged “I guess that makes sense. I should just be thankful instead of questioning it.” she said.

They walked up to the lion door and Leon stuck the sacrifice into it's mouth causing the door to slide open. Behind the door was an elevator that seemed to lead back into Salazar's castle. They walked into the elevator and it took them up.

The elevator stopped and let them off. They walked out into the hallway which was the same style of the other parts of Salazar's castle. They walked out to the end of the hallway to find a large room. There was a towering stone statue of Salazar standing near them.

Diamond stared at the statue in disgust “He has horrible taste in décor.” she said.

“They almost made it as big as his ego.” Leon said, causing Diamond to laugh

her laughter started to die down but she held a smirk on her face “You know, I think I actually like it. It can't talk and doesn't have a superiority complex. It's just a better Salazar.” she said.

Now it was Leon's turn to laugh. After a moment they both decided to move on. They turned to a bridge that ran over water which covered the rest of the room. As soon as they were about to take a step on the bridge, it started to sink into the water. They turned around to see castle guards around the upper rooms and the Salazar statue was holding his hands out while raising and lowering his left.

Diamond growled slightly “It's almost like it's mocking us. Never mind what I said, I hate it just as much as the real Salazar.” she said.

Leon saw a ladder in the room to Salazar's right “Let's go. There has to be a way to get the bridge back.” he said before they ran towards the ladder to climb it. Once up there they were faced with three guards wielding flails.

Two of them charged at Leon. He dodged one flail before catching the other's wrist. He took the flail before throwing the disarmed guard down to the lower floor. He then bashed the other guard's head with the flail. Diamond dodge rolled out of the way of a flail strike before throwing her knife into the guard's head.

They didn't see anything else of interest in that room so they turned their attention to the statue again. It's left hand was lowering to their level before raising out of sight. With no other choice they jumped onto the hand and let it lift them up. It brought them next to a higher room, but they were greeted by a guard with a crossbow.

Leon barely dodged the arrow while Diamond jumped into the room. She got behind the guard and threw a roundhouse kick to his knee to bring him down to her level. She then shot him in the back of his head. Another guard came up behind her but Leon jumped into the room before blasting him with his shotgun.

Leon walked up to a lever that was in the room and gave it a pull. They saw half of the bridge rise up from the water “The other switch must be somewhere on the other side.” he said while looking at the rooms that were on the other side of the Salazar statue.

Diamond saw that the entrance on the ground was gated off “How do we get over there?” she asked.

Leon rubbed his chin and studied the giant statue. He then noticed a switch located on the crotch “What a weirdo.” he mumbled.

“What was that?” diamond asked.

“Nothing, there's a switch down there.” he said. Diamond looked over the edge and saw the switch. They then rode Salazar's hand down to a platform near his crotch. Leon hesitantly pulled the switch while feeling dirty. Suddenly Salazar's left hand stopped and his right started rising and lowering.

They used his hand to reach the room across from them. It held nothing interesting beside a ladder leading down. They climbed down to see a red coated guard standing in front of the last lever they needed. Her swung his flail at Diamond but she flipped out of it's way before Leon ran past and slashed at his stomach. Before he could recover, Diamond fired three bullet's into his chest to finish him.

Leon pulled the switch and the last half of the bridge rose out of the water. Then then gate blocking them opened. They walked out to the bridge. Before they could start crossing they heard the sound of stone scraping against stone. They turned around to see the giant statue take a step toward them.

“What the hay!” Diamond exclaimed.

“Damn! Run!” Leon shouted and they both started sprinting away from the statue.

Diamond pushed herself to keep up with Leon “Now it's trying to kill us! It's exactly the same as Salazar!” she yelled. They reached the end of the room and Diamond tried the door but there was a lock hanging off of the door “Come on!” she shouted.

“Move!” Leon commanded and Diamond complied. Leon then kicked the door open while breaking the lock. They then ran through the door and thought they were safe. To their dismay, the statue punched a giant hole through the wall and continued chasing.

Leon and Diamond started running across the bridge leading to a tall tower. The bridge started to crack and break under the weight of the giant statue. Leon saw the cracks catching up to them “Get ready to jump!” he shouted.

The statue started to fall forward and broke through the rest of the bridge. Leon and Diamond leaped forward at the last second. Leon caught onto the edge with one hand. Diamond barely missed but Leon caught her hoof with his other hand.

He grunted from the pain in his arms but managed to throw Diamond safely onto the ledge. She then helped him up.

Diamond tried to catch her breath “I'm getting... really bucking...tired of Salazar.” she said between breaths.

“Just now? I was the first time I saw him.” Leon said with a light chuckle. He then got to his feet and turned to the door to the tower ahead of him “Are you good to go?” he asked.

Diamond caught her breath and gave him a grin “Do you even have to ask? Of course I am.” she said before they walked into the tower.

Salazar's Downfall

Leon and Diamond stepped into the room to see Salazar and his remaining bodyguard “Salazar!” Leon called with a growl.

Salazar glared at the two “It seems like the two thorns in my side have returned.” he said.

Diamond managed a small smirk “I can switch that thorn with a knife if you want.” she said.

Salazar turned his gaze away from her with an unamused expression “Witty as always Miss Tiara, too bad your wit won't be sharp enough to cut the strings of fate.” he said.

Leon's frown deepened “Enough poetry! Tell us where Ashley is!” he demanded.

“She is right where she needs to be Mr. Kennedy. We are about to begin our special ritual for her in this very tower. I would extend an invitation to you, but I'm afraid you'll be too dead to make it. But don't worry because I've prepared a ritual just for the two of you.” he said. He reached his left hand out to trigger another trap.

Leon thought quickly and threw his knife out. The knife lodged itself into Salazar's hand and stuck it to the wall behind him. Salazar stared at his hand and whimpered in pain.

Diamond couldn't help but laugh at the pathetic display as Salazar attempted to dislodge the knife. Suddenly the bodyguard grabbed the knife and launched it back at Leon. Luckily he was as able to dodge as it stuck into the door behind him.

Salazar and his bodyguard quickly ran into an elevator behind them. Leon and Diamond tried to chase after them but the door closed and they were raised out of sight “Damn!” Leon cursed.

Diamond stomped a hoof in anger “Does he know how to do anything but run?” she asked.

Leon turned his attention to the staircase that ran along to walls “I guess we'll have to take the scenic route.” he said.

They started up the stairs but as they were walking around a protrusion in the wall, they heard something rolling down the stairs ahead. They saw a large barrel rolling down with surprising speed. The barrel smashed into the wall next to them and after a few seconds another was sent down.

“Barrels? Really Salazar?” diamond questioned.

Leon saw a safe area fairly close ahead “We should be able to make it past fast enough. We'll go right after this next one passes us.” he said. They both prepared as they watched the barrel rolling down towards them. As soon as it crashed into the wall they shot up the stairs. They arrived to the safe area and stepped aside before another barrel rolled past.

Leon frowned as he didn't see any more safe spaces along the stairs. Diamond nudged his leg to get his attention “I think we could get up that way.” she said pointing to some wooden platforms in the middle of the room being held up by chains.

At the end of the wooden path was one guard and a ladder “Good eye.” Leon said before continuing onto the wood.

He approached the guard who charged to attack with his scythe. Leon ducked under it then kneed the guard in the stomach before throwing him off the side. They then quickly climbed up the ladder to see a guard at the top of the staircase. He had his hand resting on a lever. The guard pulled the lever and a barrel fell from next to him and started rolling down the stairs.

The didn't seem to notice the two so Diamond quietly walked up behind him. She got up onto two legs and held onto his leg with her fore hooves. She then pulled him to the ground. Once he was on his side, Diamond ran over the his head and slit his throat.

Leon suddenly heard the sound of the door on the bottom floor opening. He looked down to see a large group guards enter the room and start running up the stairs “Diamond! Large amount of guards coming up the stairs!” he warned.

Diamond stared up at the lever “Let's see how they like it.” she said before jumping up and grabbing the lever with her fore legs. Another barrel fell and started rolling down “That should slow them down, but where do we go now?” she asked.

Leon turned around to see a lift in the middle of the room that had two wooden crates on it “That should be able to take us up.” he said. They ran onto the lift and Leon saw a control panel with up and down arrows. He pressed up but nothing happened “It's not working. Maybe it's over the load capacity.” he said.

Diamond turned to the large wooden crates “Maybe these are to blame.” she said.

“Let's dump them.” Leon said before he ran to one and started pushing it. It tipped over and fell off of the lift. He then turned to the other one to see that Diamond had already dealt with it. He then pressed the up button and the lift started slowly rising.

Diamond frowned at the lack of speed “Why does this thing have to be so slow!” she complained.

Suddenly an arrow flew next to Leon's head and he quickly turned to see a guard holding a crossbow. Leon took his rifle out and quickly took his head off before he could shoot again “Be on guard! There's probably more around.” he said.

He then saw more archers on the upper floors and aimed his rifle at them. Before he could shoot, two guards jumped from the upper floors and and landed on the lift. With their extra weight the lift jerked to a stop. They both approached Leon but Diamond rammed into one's back to knock him off of the lift. She then shot the other in the head before pushing the corpse off.

The lift continued it's ascent and Leon killed the two archers. After a few seconds of nothing happening, four more guards landed on the lift to cease it's movement again. A guard swung it's flail at Leon but he dodged and countered with a punch to the face. The punch caused him to stumble back. Diamond tripped him to cause him to fly off the lift.

A guard swung his flail down at Diamond but she dodged and his flail got stuck in the floor. She then bit down on his sleeve and pulled with all her strength to send him over the edge. The two last guards came at Leon from both sides and attacked at the same time. He rolled out of the way and they two killed each other on accident. He then kicked the two overboard to allow the lift to continue.

The lift arrived at it's destination with no more interruptions. They got off at a seemingly unfinished part of the tower. Wooden planks created a path that led out and around the tower. They followed the path while being careful not to fall. They then found another, much smaller lift.

The lift brought them to a much more finished path on the outside of the tower. They followed the path until they saw the merchant standing outside of a door. Diamond smiled at the sight of him “Hey Merchant.” she greeted.

“Little one! Great to see you. I just got something in that might interest ya.” he said.

“Really? What is it?” she asked.

The merchant reached into his coat and pulled out a smaller then normal rifle “A rifle. Very powerful, and great at a distance.” he gestured to the trigger that resembled a normal one, but was larger “It was modified to be used by hooves, so a pony can use if as long as they can stand on two legs. Would you like it.” he said.

He held it down to her and she grabbed it with her hooves. She held it with her hoof on the trigger and put her eye to the scope. After a few seconds she smiled “I like how that feels.” she said.

The merchant smiled as well “It may have a bit more kick then you're used to, but I'm sure you'll be able to handle it.” he said.

“That's fine.” she said as she put her left fore hoof and neck through the rifle's sling to allow it to hang off of her body.

Leon smiled at her. He was surprised to see such a young girl to be so excited to receive a new gun. It was like a child opening a chrismas present. He took out his money and walked up to the merchant to pay for the weapon.

After the transaction the merchant waved to the two “I hope to see you two again soon.” he said.

Leon and Diamond nodded to him before walking through the large door. Past the door was a large room. Salazar and his bodyguard stood in front to a small altar. On the far wall as a humongous parasite that resembled a flower bud and roots.

As Leon and Diamond ran into the room, Salazar turned to them “So you two have made it all the way here? Very impressive.” he said.

“Cut the crap Salazar! Where is Ashley?” Leon asked.

“Unfortunately, you've just missed her. The ritual is already over. My men have taken her to a nearby island.” he said.

Diamond growled at him “Just activate whatever trap you have in store for us so it can fail.” she said.

Salazar glared at her “No traps this time. The time for games have long passed. I didn't want to sully my hands with your blood but you've given me no choice.” he said.

Diamond chuckled “You? We've beaten everything you've thrown at us, what chance to you have?” she taunted.

Salazar scoffed “Everything you've face until now has been mere appetizers, while I'm the main course.” he said.

Leon smirked “Good, 'cause I'm starving.” he said.

Salazar raised his arms out to his sides “I'm going to make you both beg for your pathetic lives.” he said as tentacles emerged from the wall parasite and started to wrap around him and his bodyguard. They were both raised up from the ground and the tentacles brought both of them into the bud.

After a few seconds, Diamond raised an eyebrow “Was that supposed to-” she was cut off when the bud opened again and a giant fleshy head emerged from it with a roar. It only had one huge eye and was connected to the bud by a long neck. Two large tendrils busted through the wall on each side of the wall. At the base of the creature's neck was some kind of hard shell that was split down the middle.

The shell opened to reveal Salazar. His clothes seemed to have disappeared but he was merged with the creature. He had a large fleshy growth growing out of his chest that almost resembled a heart. After a few seconds the shell closed around him again.

Diamond lowered herself into a ready stance “Okay, this might be slightly harder then I expected.” she admitted.

Leon took his handgun in his hand with a determined look in his eye “We got this Diamond. Let's wipe this monster from the map.” he said.

Diamond calmed herself with a deep breath before narrowing her eyes in focus. One of the creature's tendrils raised over Leon before coming down towards him. He rolled out of the way and fired a couple shots at it's head. The bullets seemed to only bounce off of it's hard exoskeleton “Damn it! It's skin is too hard to puncture.” he said

They heard Salazar's laugh echo throughout the room “Are you just now realizing that you are an ant facing down a lion.” he said. Diamond growled as the laughter started getting on her nerves. She took her revolver in her mouth and fired at the head. The bullet flew into the creature's eye and it recoiled in pain “Ah! You damn brat!” he yelled in pain.

Diamond smirked in satisfaction “You were saying?” she taunted.

The creature roared in anger “There will be nothing left of you once I'm done!” he screamed. The creature's head rose up in the air and rammed down towards her. She shot another bullet into it's eye before barely jumping out of it's way. As the head hung down trying to recover, the shell protecting Salazar opened up.

“He's exposed! Get him!” Leon ordered. He took out his handgun and was about to fire at him but a tendril swung itself at him. He quickly back flipped out of the way.

Diamond saw that Leon had his hands full with the tendril so she stood on two legs as she took her rifle in her hooves. She looked through the scope and laid her sights on Salazar. She struggled to get a good aim on the moving target but fired a shot into his right shoulder. She held her breath as she attempted another shot. This one flew into the heart-like growth.

Salazar held the growth in anger and pain. The shell closed over him to block Diamond from getting anymore shots off. She returned to four legs as she saw one of the tendrils reaching out for her. She jumped out of the way but it still wrapped around her body to pick her up off the ground.

It raised her up and started to squeeze the life out of her. She let out a scream as she felt the pressure on her bones increasing. Suddenly a bullet flew through the tendril causing it to drop Diamond. Leon caught her before she hit the ground “Are you injured?” he asked.

Diamond got to the ground and tried to ignore the pain “Not any more than usual.” she said.

Leon nodded “Don't push yourself.” he warned. The creature's head tried to ram them both but they jumped to either side of the head. Leon fired a few shots at the head but due to it's erratic movements, only landed one to it's eye.

While Leon distracted the head and one of the tendrils, diamond took her rifle back into her hooves. She kept her sights on the creature's eye. She fired but barely missed. The shot got the creature's attention as it turned to her. The head split open vertically to reveal a mouth filled with dagger-like teeth. She could tell that it was about to rush forward in an attempt to eat her.

Her first instinct was to run but she forgot that she was on two legs. She knew she couldn't get away fast enough on two legs and it would take too long to get to four legs. As the creature shot forward with it's maw open wide, Diamond held the rifle in front of her horizontally. The creature tried to close it's mouth over the filly but it was stopped by the rifle that was jammed in it. Diamond was surprised to see that she was still alive.

The creature tried harder to bite through the rifle to get to Diamond. She knew that she had to act quickly since she was still in it's mouth. She backed out of the jaws to get on four legs before taking her knife in her teeth. She then jabbed it into the creature's exposed eye. It roared in pain and recoiled. Luckily it dropped the rifle which Diamond took back. The head hung in an attempt to recover and Salazar's shell opened once again.

Diamond and Leon both took aim with their rifles. Diamond landed a shot to his chest and Leon finished it with a bullet between his eyes. Salazar slumped forward limply as the creature let out a loud cry. It fell to the ground and rapidly shriveled up like a dehydrated plant.

Leon jogged over to Diamond “I almost thought you got eaten. What happened there?” he asked.

Diamond smirked at him “What? Did you really think Salazar could kill me?” she turned her head away from him in mock hurt “I'm insulted.” she said.

Leon chuckled “Right. Forgive me for doubting you, your highness.” he said sarcastically.

Diamond giggled before they decided to continue on. They walked through the room and exited to find themselves outside once again “Didn't Salazar mention something about bringing Ashley to an island? How are we going to follow them?” she asked.

Leon rubbed his chin in thought “There must be boats nearby that they use to get there and back. Hopefully there are still some left or else we'll be swimming.” he said. He turned to look down at Diamond to see her standing on two legs. He raised an eyebrow in confusion “Is there a reason that you're standing like that?” he asked.

Diamond nodded “I learned something back there. I can use that rifle but there is a slight problem. I can't really walk or run that well on two legs since ponies don't usually have much reason to. So I thought I should practice.” she said.

Leon nodded in understanding “Alright, but watch your balance since we are still really high up.” he said. They walked forward until they reached end of the path. To the right was a rope hanging off of a wooden structure. Leon glanced down to see that the rope extended all the way down the side of the tower “This will bring us down near the water. If boats are anywhere nearby, they'd be there.” he said.

Diamond stared at the rope slightly moving in the breeze “So you want to hang off the side of a tower from just a rope?” she asked.

“Yup, so get on my back and hold on tight.” he said.

She climbed onto his back and hung onto his neck. Leon then grabbed hold of the rope and started rappelling down. After a few minutes they finally reached the bottom of the rope which left them in front off an elevator. They took it down to end up in a room where the merchant was set up “Little one, how has the new weapon been treating ya?” he asked.

Diamond glanced at the rifle hanging off of her “It's great! Where do you get these guns made for ponies?” she asked.

The merchant shook his head “I can't share that information. That would only hurt my business.” he said.

Diamond frowned “Who else even buys from you? You only seem to follow us around.” she said.

The merchant chuckled “Trust me little one, I do very well.” he said.

Leon interrupted the two's conversation “Merchant, do you know of any boats nearby?” he asked.

The merchant turned and pointed to a door “Right through there is the dock.” he directed.

Leon gave him a nod before turning towards the door “Thanks.” he said before walking to the door. Diamond followed while still slightly stumbling around on two legs.

After a short hallway, they stopped at the dock. Sitting in the water was a lone speedboat with a familiar woman in a red dress in the driver's seat “Fancy meeting you two here. Care for a ride?” she asked.

Diamond scowled at her “Ada! As if we'd take any help from you!” she yelled.

Ada's grin never moved from her face “I guess you'd rather leave Ashley alone on that island.” she said.

Diamond glance up at Leon “we should just take the boat for ourselves. What do you say?” she asked.

Leon eyed Ada suspiciously. Ada only stared back with the same smile she had. Leon nodded “Fine.” he said to her.

Diamond raised an eyebrow at him “What? Did you forget that she threatened us?” she asked.

Leon turned to look at her “We don't have much choice. Without her we'd have no access to the island. Fighting her for it would also just be a waste of time.” he said.

Diamond sighed since she knew he was right “You are way too trusting sometimes.” she said.

Leon started walking towards the speedboat “It hasn't gotten me killed yet.” he said. Diamond followed and they both got settled in the boat. Ada turned forward and sped forward out of the dock.

As Ada drove towards the island in the distance, Diamond glared daggers into the back of her head. Ada glanced back at her “You don't have to be so tense. I have both of my hands busy driving, I couldn't hurt you if I wanted to.” she said before returning her gaze in front of her.

Leon got her attention “She's right. Besides, we should be taking this time to rest. I expect a lot of resistance once we arrive at the island.” he said.

Diamond decided to relax her muscles. She felt the aching from her overworked muscles start to return as well as the pain from her injuries. She winced from all of the pain rushing back. Leon noticed and gave her a worried glance “What's wrong Diamond?” he asked.

“I think that painkiller you gave me wore off. Got any more?” she asked.

Leon nodded “I do, one sec.” he said.

Ada raised an eyebrow at the exchange “When was the last time either of you ate something?” she asked.

As if in response to Ada's question, diamond's stomach growled loudly. Her face reddened slightly “It's been a while.” she said.

Leon nodded “I expected to be able to pick up some food around the village when my mission started. I didn't think everything was going to be at my neck at all times so I didn't bring any rations.” he explained.

Ada reached into a compartment near her and pulled out two sticks of beef jerky “Here, you'll need your strength.” she offered the food to them.

Leon snatched them from her and glared at her “Diamond is a pony, she's obviously a herbivore. You can't just offer her meat.” he scolded.

Ada shrugged “If you want to starve her then that's up to you.” she said.

Diamond stared at the sticks of meat with hunger in her eyes “I don't care what it is at this point, just give it here.” she said.

Leon thought for a few moments before tossing one of the sticks of jerky to her before handing over a painkiller as well.

Diamond took a bite of the jerky and smiled at the taste. She then wolfed it down in a way that would disappoint her father. Once it was gone, she took the painkiller.

Leon felt bad for feeding her meat but he guessed that there wasn't much choice. Diamond turned to Ada with a softer expression then earlier “Thanks. I guess you aren't a total j-” she was cut off when Ada took a sudden turn almost causing Diamond to fall overboard. The boat stopped near the rocky cliffs of the island.

Ada stood up and took out her grappling gun “I have some business to take care of, see you later.” she said. She shot the grapple which caught onto a high cliff. She was then pulled up and out of sight. Her exit caused the boat to lose control and Leon tried to get it under control.

It crashed it's side into one of the lower cliffs and stopped. Diamond glared in the direction that Ada disappeared “You jerk!” she yelled.

Leon took his communicator out when he started getting a call. He looked into it to see Saddler looking back at him “Saddler, what do you want?” he questioned.

Saddler seemed amused “I believe congratulations are in order. Salazar was a weakling but it is still an impressive feat for an American agent and an otherworldly filly.” he said.

“If you think that was impressive then you'll love what we have in store for you.” Leon shot back.

Saddler let out a chuckle “I'm sure it will be quite amusing. While I have you, would you mind if I spoke with Miss Tiara?” he requested.

“I do mind actually.” he said.

He was about to cut off the transmission but Diamond stopped him “I'll talk to him.” she said. Leon didn't understand why she wanted to talk to him but he handed the communicator over anyway. Diamond stood over the communicator and glared at Saddler “What is it?” she asked harshly.

Saddler gave a lazy smile “The more I see of you, the more you intrigue me. For someone so young you're smart, strong, skilled...and ruthless.” he said.

Diamond didn't seem amused “I know you didn't want to talk just so you can flatter me. Get to the point.” she said.

“I'm getting there. I have an deal that I'm prepared to offer you. I have many different types of parasites at my disposal, as you probably know. The one inside of you is the least remarkable. It will turn you into a mindless killing machine that will only do as I order. But I can do away with that parasite and give you one similar to the one I bestowed upon Salazar. You will keep your mind and gain powers beyond your wildest dreams. You will lose nothing, but gain everything. All I ask of you is that you kill your human friend and join our family.” he explained.

Diamond started laughing at the offer. After a few seconds she calmed down enough to speak “Do you really think I'd join you? After everything you did? I knew you were a monster but I didn't know you were stupid. Even if I did want your disgusting power I wouldn't join you because I wouldn't be able to shut your trap permanently. I'm going to make sure you pay for all the pain you caused me, Leon, Ashley, Luis, and everyone else you hurt.” she said.

Saddler didn't seem shaken by her words at all “I see that you need some time to think it over. If you decide to have some sense all you need to do is sink your knife into Mr. Kennedy's back. Do that and I'll accept you with open arms. The choice is yours, live or become a bloodstain on the underside of my boot.” he said before the transmission cut off.

Diamond offered the communicator back to Leon who took it back “Alright, let's find Ashley.” he said as he turned around to face a low cliff. He climbed up onto the cliff and turned around and reached down to offer Diamond help up.

Diamond just stood still for a second while she had a slightly worried expression on her face “Hey Leon? You know that I wouldn't even think about betraying you, right?” she asked.

Leon just smiled and continued to hold his hand out to her “Of course I do. You've proven yourself to be a good and trustworthy pony. I'd trust you with my life. Now hurry and take my hand.” he said.

Diamond smiled in relief and reached up to grab onto his hand. He then pulled her up to the cliff before standing back up. They were about to continue on but stopped as a jovial voice rang out from Diamond's saddle bag. Diamond recognized the energetic voice as Pinkie Pie “Hello? Is anypony home? Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring mirror phone. Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring mirror phoooone.” she sang.

Diamond frowned at the interruption but brought the mirror out in front of her. She saw Pinkie smiling widely at her while Fluttershy was behind her with a expression of fear and worry. Pinkie waved a hoof at her “Hiya Diamond, it's our turn to check in on you.” she said.

Fluttershy put a hoof to her chest and furrowed her brow in concern “Oh dear, are you hurt?” she asked.

“Very, thanks for the reminder.” she said sarcastically.

Fluttershy shrunk down “Oh, sorry. D-did you find anything to help with your p-parasite?” she asked.

Diamond was about to shake her head but her eyes widened in realization “Wait, we might have a lead actually. Saddler just said in his offer that he'd get rid of my parasite, so there has to be a way to do it.” she said.

Leon rubbed his chin and nodded “You're right. And if I had to guess, that kind of equipment would have to be on this island.” he said.

Fluttershy seemed lost as the two talked “I don't really understand, but it sound like good news.” she said.

Diamond smiled “It is. Now all we have to do is save Ashley, find the cure, and finish saddler for good.” she said.

Fluttershy seemed to take a step back at the mention of killing “Um, m-maybe we should g-go.” she said.

Pinkie stepped in front of her “Wait, tell the merchant I said hi.” she said.

Diamond and Leon stared at pinkie in disbelief. Diamond collected herself enough to speak “How do you know the merchant?” she asked.

“me and merchy meet up on sundays to play bridge.” she said simply.

Leon opened his mouth to speak but was too confused to actually say anything. Diamond turned to him “Just ignore Pinkie, she just says random things sometimes. It's probably just a coincidence.” she said. She the turned back to the mirror “We're gonna go.” she said before stuffing the mirror back into her bag. Leon shook off the strange encounter and they continued into the island.

Not the Ideal Island Vacation

Leon walked along the rocky cliff with Diamond walking on two legs again with slightly better balance then before. They walked until they saw a few stone structures in the distance. There wasn't any obvious route over, just the ocean blocking their way “That area seems like somewhere we should check out. Let's keep going and see if there's a path over there.” Leon said.

They continued on to the left until they came across a split in the path. Diamond eyed both the path ahead and to the right “Where to now?” she asked.

Before Leon could answer they heard a scream from the right path.

“Help!”

Diamond's eyes widened at the sound of the voice “I think that screeching is Ashley.” she said. Leon nodded and they took off down the right path. After turning a corner they saw the same stone buildings in front of them. They were obviously very old, as the stone was falling apart and had rusty rebar sticking out.

“Leon! Diamond! Please help!” Ashley screamed again in desperation from somewhere behind the buildings.

Diamond was ready to run it but was stopped by Leon “Wait, don't run straight in. Who knows how many of them are hiding just out of sight. I'll take point, watch my back.” he said.

Diamond wanted to argue with him but glanced down at her new rifle and smiled “Right, I'll cover you from here.” she said. Leon nodded and ran off towards the camp.

Once Leon entered the camp a searchlight that he hadn't noticed moved closer to him. He suddenly tried to get out of it's path but it caught him and an alarm went off “Damn, I guess they know we're here now.” he said while taking his handgun out. It wasn't long until three guards ran in to meet him. They wore military grade body armor and a few wore helmets as well. Two of them carried hatchets while the last one wielded an electric stun rod.

One of them charged Leon and swung the hatchet but he dodged to the side and fired a bullet into his head. The last two charged at the same time but the stun rod user's head exploded due to Diamond's rifle fire. Leon then caught the last soldier's wrist when he attacked and stabbed his knife into his temple.

Leon turned to Diamond and flashed her a thumbs up before continuing on. After taking a few more steps into the camp he heard rapid bullets being fired. He looked up to see a large black man on the top of a building firing a gatling gun into the sky. The large soldier then jumped off of the building and pointed the huge weapon at Leon.

Leon quickly jumped behind a wall before bullets started flying. He hid until the spray stopped. Peeking out of cover he saw the man trying to fix the jammed weapon. He fired a few shots at him which all hit his chest. The man just stood like nothing happened and continued spraying bullets. Once the bullets stopped again Leon fired another shot that connected with the man's jaw and he stumbled back while holding his bleeding jaw.

He recovered enough to be able to fire. This time he didn't stop shooting as he started walking up to Leon's cover. Before he reached him, Diamond fired a rifle bullet through his forehead. That shot finally finished him as he fell backwards to the ground.

Leon then ran out of cover and out of Diamond's sight. She didn't like not having eyes on him so she returned to all fours and ran into the camp. She entered one of the buildings and climbed a ladder to the roof. On the roof was one soldier that had his back to her and a tall pole that held a mirror at the end of it.

Diamond ignored the mirror and took her knife in her right hoof. She then threw it into the back of the soldier's neck. The soldier stayed standing as he started choking on his own blood. Diamond rammed into his leg to knock him onto his back causing the knife to be pushed further into his throat, killing him instantly.

She then used her new vantage point to search for Leon. She spotted him messing with a door, presumably trying to get it open. On either side of the door was a large stone slab that had a glowing red spot in the middle of them. The left spot started glowing brighter as it shot out a red laser. The laser connected with a mirror similar to the one near Diamond which reflected the laser into a rocky wall outside of the camp.

Leon stared at the laser few a few seconds before figuring out what needed to be done. He ran towards the other building that held the mirror as more soldiers came out of hiding to get in his way. He fired his handgun at them while he ran as a few of them were killed by Diamond's rifle. Once he got through them he climbed the ladder that led him to the mirror.

He grabbed it to see that it could be easily rotated. He quickly rotated it until the laser was being reflected by the next mirror. The laser was now being directed over the ocean. Leon was about to run over to that mirror but stopped when he saw that Diamond was on that roof. She was busy still trying to thin the soldier's numbers with her rifle.

Leon had to get her attention “Diamond! The mirror! Redirect the laser into that the glowing spot next to the door!” he shouted.

Diamond took her eyes off the soldiers and noticed the laser being reflected off of the mirror. She quickly got on two legs to rotate the mirror with her fore hooves. After a few seconds she got the laser to the glowing spot. The door then rose out of sight. Diamond assumed that they were heading though there so she climbed back down the ladder. Two soldier blocked her way but she quickly dispatched them before meeting up with Leon near the door.

They ran through the cave behind the doorway until they reached an area where a soldier pointed a crossbow at them. Leon ducked under the bolt before throwing his knife into the soldier's head. They then saw a ladder to their right which they quickly climbed.

When they emerged, they saw that they were on a high cliff overseeing the ocean. Unfortunately they had no time to admire the view since a soldier came from their left while waving a flail around. Leon tripped him causing him to fall onto his stomach in front of Diamond. She held the barrel of her handgun to his forehead before firing.

They then continued along the cliff until they saw another searchlight near them. Leon learned his lesson from last time and stopped Diamond with a hand. He then took out his rifle and shattered the searchlight with one bullet. They then continued into the area that the searchlight was watching. Ahead they saw a soldier carrying a rocket launcher and on a bridge above him was two soldier aiming crossbows at them.

They both jumped behind a rock structure as two arrows flew past them followed by an explosion that shook their cover slightly. Diamond peeked out of cover first to kill the now unarmed soldier with her handgun. Leon saw that the archers were standing next to a red barrel. After a few more bolts were fired their way, Leon shot the barrel which blew up the archers.

Diamond stepped out of cover only to see another soldier they didn't see before. Almost immediately a lit stick of dynamite was flying towards her. She had to quickly chose fight or flight. Her eyes narrowed as she chose. She caught the dynamite in her mouth and quickly tossed it back. Once it landed by the soldier's feet it exploded and took him with it.

With no more soldiers blocking their way they ran under the bridge to find a door with a red button next to it. Leon didn't see any other way to get the door open so he pressed the button. The door rose out of their way and Diamond walked through. Leon pressed the button again and slipped through before it closed.

They then found the merchant who had a shop set up “Welcome stranger, can I get you anything?” he asked.

Leon nodded “Yeah we'll take some extra ammo.” he said

The merchant started searching through his coat for the items. He found them and exchanged them with Leon for the right amount of money. Leon was about to walk off but stopped when something came to his mind. He turned back to the merchant and debated with himself whether to bring something up or not.

Finally he spoke up “Uh, Pinkie said hi.” he said.

The merchant let out a chuckle “Ah yes, Pinkie Pie. Quite the card player she is. Speaking of her, she asked me to deliver something to the little one here.” he said. He reached into his coat and pulled out something that looked like Pinkie's party cannon. It looked more like a toy since it was small enough to hold in one hand “The party cannon mini. It may seem small but the power it brings to the table is devastating. But be careful as it can only be used once.” he said.

Diamond seemed confused “I have so many questions but the most important is how did Pinkie even give you that? Does she have a way to get to this world?” she asked.

“Sorry little one but I Pinkie promised not to say anything.” he said.

Diamond sighed but she was expecting to not get an answer “Fine, just give me the cannon.” she said. The merchant smiled and handed it over. She took it and put it in her saddle bag.

Leon raised his eyebrow at the situation “Party cannon? What does that do?” he asked.

Diamond shrugged “I don't know. Pinkie uses hers to make parties but she has also used it as a weapon before I think,” she said.

Leon still seemed confused but nodded “Well the merchant made it seem powerful so I'm sure it will come in handy.” he said.

They then shrugged off the strange encounter before moving on. They arrived at a tight alley with an archer waiting for them on a higher ledge. At the end of the alley were two soldiers wielding stun rods. An arrow was shot at Diamond but she stepped aside to allow it to stick into the ground. She then fired her handgun at him causing him to fall over the railing and break his neck when he hit the ground.

The two other soldiers ran up to them but Leon took care of them with a single incendiary grenade. Leon and Diamond ran to the end of the alley to find the entrance to a building to their left. They entered to see dimly lit hallways. They followed the hallway that was lined with rusty and dripping pipes.

At the end of the hallway was a door that led to a storage room filled with rusty cans of food. An unarmed soldier came out from behind a food filled shelf and grabbed a hold of Leon's neck. Diamond fired a handgun bullet at the man's arm causing him to release Leon.

Leon recovered quickly and gave the soldier a hard roundhouse kick to the side. The man was knocked into the shelf and banged his head hard enough to kill him.

They walked into the next room which resembled a kitchen. They were about to pass a tall white rectangular container. Suddenly the container's door blow off and a man that was engulfed in flames ran out. He charged Leon and Diamond but they jumped out of his path. The man just fell to the floor and succumbed to the flames.

“What the hay? Do you think that was planned?” she asked.

Leon stared at the charred body “If it was then I give them points for creativity.” he said. After one more second of staring at the burning body, they moved on.

Past the kitchen was a door that led to another hallway. Diamond walked around a corner to come face to face with a large man. He wore metal plates with spikes as armor and also had the same metal covering half of his face. He walked towards her with a large hammer in his hands. He swung the hammer down at her to try and smash her like a watermelon. She rolled to the side and fired a bullet at his head but it just ricocheted off of his face armor.

He attempted another swing but she dodged and ran behind him as he followed him. Leon took the opportunity to jam his knife into the man's back. He grunted in pain but just turned around to deliver a powerful backhand to Leon's face. He was knocked onto his back and saw the man raise his hammer again. Before he could deliver the finishing blow, a bullet ripped through his throat from behind. He held his neck in an attempt to stop the blood loss but fell to the side limply.

Diamond ran to Leon's side “Are you alright?” she asked.

Leon got to his feet and wiped some blood from his mouth “Just fine, thanks for the assist.” he said. They then continued through another door to find a surveillance room. Leon's gaze drifted to some monitors and something caught his eye. He ran up to the screens and stared at one “Ashley.” he said.

“What? Where?” Diamond asked as she got on two legs to see her. The screen showed her in a room with two soldier. She was banging on the door and yelling for help. One of the soldiers grabbed her and threw her roughly to the ground. Diamond growled at their treatment of her “Those bastards.” she said.

The soldier looked up at the camera and saw that it was active. He commanded the other man and he flipped a switch that cut power to the camera. Leon shook his head in slight amusement “Amateurs.” he then turned to Diamond “She can't be far. Let's go.” he said and they left though another door.

Through the doorway was a hallway with a room to the right and one ahead. They decided to search the right room first but saw the merchant waiting for them with a shop set up “Stranger, little one! Good to see ya. I got something I'd like to show ya.” he said.

They walked up to him out of curiosity. He pulled out a tactical vest “Now this here is really something. It's tough enough to take a few strikes from a hatchet, but is also extremely light weight. It also adjusts to your body so it won't restrict movement. How about it?” he asked.

Leon inspected the vest and was impressed “Alright I'll take it.” he said.

Diamond raised an eyebrow “You wouldn't happen to have a vest for a filly, would you?” she asked.

The merchant chuckled before pulling out a smaller vest that was made for a pony's body “Of course, how could I forget about you little one.” he said.

Diamond smiled in excitement over the new gear as Leon paid for the vests. Leon helped Diamond into her vest before he got his own on. He was impressed by how the vest moved with him. By the look on Diamond's face, Leon could tell that she was thinking the same thing. They said their goodbyes to the merchant before walking off.

The next room was bare except for the automatic door. The door shot open when they got close to reveal two soldiers who Immediately threw lit dynamite at them. Their eyes widened and quickly jumped behind cover before they exploded. The door slammed closed again. It opened again for two seconds as the soldiers threw more sticks.

Diamond gritted her teeth in anger “That's cheating!” she yelled at them but the only response she got was another explosion.

Leon took a frag grenade in his hand “Two can play that game.” he said. He waited until the door opened again and chucked the grenade through before it closed. After the explosion the door stopped opening.

Diamond walked out of cover “That'll show them.” she said. Suddenly the door shot open to reveal two archers. Diamond yelped as the two arrows flew by her as she ran back behind cover. She glared back in their direction “That's it!” she yelled. When the door opened again she ran out. They fired but Diamond sidestepped one arrow and ducked under the other. She then fired a bullet from her handgun into one's head while throwing her knife into the other's heart.

Leon raised an Impressed eyebrow “Remind me never to piss you off.” he said. Diamond giggled slightly at that and they continued through the now open door.

They ended up in a fairly empty hallway with a staircase leading up. Since she didn't see any danger around, Diamond got to two hooves for more practice. She was getting much better on two hooves but the stairs still slowed her down slightly. Past the stairs was a split in the path. There was a gate to the right and another hallway to the left.

Diamond didn't want to waste time deciding so she just walked down the left hallway with Leon following after. The hallway eventually led to a lab to some kind. Leon saw a computer terminal on a desk and walked up to it. He started looking through the information on it for anything useful.

While he did that, Diamond walked up to a window to another room. It was a small room that held an operating table with a few machines around it. But the most eye catching thing was the creature on the table. It was tall with dry gray skin. It also wore no clothes but didn't have anything for the clothes to cover. It's face was held two small red eyes and no nose. Most of it's face's surface area was taken up by it's mouth which hung open to show off it's razor sharp teeth.

Even though the abomination seemed dead, it still sent a shiver down Diamond's spine. She turned to Leon who didn't seem happy about the information he was seeing “Leon, check this thing out.” she called.

Leon stepped away from the terminal and over to the window. He stared at the creature “That computer terminal had information on this creature.” he said.

Diamond seemed surprised “Really? So what is it?” she asked.

“They're called regenerators. Some creation of the Los Illuminados that has an accelerated metabolism. It says that they can quickly heal from pretty much any wound.” he said.

Diamond stared back at the creature “But they can be killed, right?” she asked.

Leon nodded “Apparently they have multiple parasites inside of their bodies. If they are all destroyed then the host will die. Sadly the parasites can only be located using thermal imaging.” he said.

Diamond raised an eyebrow at those last few words “Thermal imaging?” she asked.

Leon thought that he shouldn't have expected her to know anything about thermography “It basically allows people to see objects by heat instead of light. The parasites must be hotter than the host's body so they'd stick out easier. Either way we don't have anything with thermal technology so let's just hope we don't run into a live one.” he said.

Diamond turned away from the window and towards the door of another room. She tried to get the door open but she couldn't tell how to. Leon saw a panel next to it and started working on it “Give me a second.” he said. Shortly after, the door opened automatically.

Once inside they saw another operating table that held a gray humanoid body that had a full size parasite on it's back. They almost looked like they were stopped in time during an attack but they both looked dead. They tried to ignore the ghastly sight and searched the room.

Leon noticed the dead body of a soldier with a key card near his foot. He picked it up and saw that it had a red Los Illuminados insignia as well as the numbers 4821. He thought that it could come in handy so he put it away.

Suddenly they heard the sound of metal crashing outside of the room. Leon and Diamond glanced each other before running to the door. As soon as the door opened they saw the regenerator standing in front of them. It lumbered toward them while drooling and giving long, shaky breaths. It swung a long arm at Leon who held his arms up in a block.

The attack had a surprising amount of force and sent Leon into the wall. Diamond jumped back from the creature and fired two bullets from her revolver into it's chest and one to the head. The regenerator stumbled back from the attacks but the bullet holes were quickly mended like nothing happened.

Diamond turned to Leon who was getting off the floor “You were right! Bullets aren't doing anything to it! What now?” she asked.

Leon took his shotgun out and blasted the regenerator's leg off, causing it to fall to the floor “We have to run for it.” he said before running past the floored creature. Diamond followed fairly fast for still being on two legs. They left the lab and ran down the hallway.

They turned a corner to see another regenerator slowly approaching them. Leon was caught off guard and was grabbed by it. It tried to bite into his neck but he held it off. He then took out a frag grenade and pulled the pin before shoving it into the creature's mouth. He then kicked it away from it before the grenade blew it's head to smithereens. They then ran past it before it could recover.

They arrived back at the split in the path and Leon kicked open the gate. He saw a door to the left that had an icy mist flowing from under it. He also saw a card reader next to it so he thought he might as well try it. He inserted his new key card causing it to beep and unlocked. He held it open for Diamond and ran in after her.

He closed and locked the door behind them. They felt the chill as they looked around the freezer. There were multiple creatures stored in there. They were all frozen and unresponsive. Diamond stared uneasily at a few regenerators that were being hanged from the ceiling “Good thing these ones are frozen.” she said.

Leon walked into a side room and one machine caught his eye. He walked over to the key card rewriter and pulled out the freezer key card. He inserted it and activated it. The color was changed and the numbers were now 0356.

“Leon! Come here!” Diamond called.

Leon pocketed the new key card and left to where Diamond was. He entered another side room where Diamond was staring up at a cylindrical object behind a plate of glass “What's that?” she asked.

Leon stared at the object to inspect it “It looks like a rifle scope.” he said. He put his hands on the valve to open the glass door but he couldn't get the valve to budge “No good, it's frozen. I can't get it open.” he said.

A thought then crossed his mind. He left the side room and returned to the one with the card rewriter. He passed it and to another machine. After inspecting it he determined that it was a cryogenic device. He turned the machine off. The room quickly heated up and the ice started melting off of everything. He returned to Diamond who was still waiting by the glass door.

Leon was now able to turn the valve and open the door to the scope. He grabbed it and swapped it for his scope on his rifle. He took a look through it and smiled “It's an infrared scope. With this I think I could kill those regenerators.” he said.

The heard a slapping sound and they glanced outside of the room to see that one of the regenerators fell from it's claw and to the ground. It then slowly got to it's feet. Diamond backed up slightly “Would you mind testing that scope now?” she asked.

Leon got some distance from the creature as it started walking toward him. Leon looked into the scope and saw that within it's relatively cold body was two spots that were red hot. He fired into the first one causing the regenerator's body to pulse slightly before returning to normal. Leon then destroyed the last one. The regenerator's body started pulsating violently before it's top half imploded. It's legs fell to the ground and the creature didn't regenerate.

Diamond seemed impressed “Wow. At least we can kill those freaks now.” she said.

Leon nodded and put his rifle away “By the way, I have a new key card. Let's find where this leads us.” he said. They exited the freezer and down the hallway. At the end of the hallway was a door with a card reader next to it. Leon wasted no time trying his key card and it was accepted.

They entered into the room that was fairly empty except for a control panel that was in front of a large window. Through the window was a room that held a few soldiers as well as some containers of garbage. Above the soldiers was a large crane that was suppose to be used for garbage. On the right side of the room was a large rectangular hole that was probably a trash chute.

Leon assumed that the levers on the control panel controlled the crane. He rubbed his chin while inspecting the room through the window. He took the crane controls. He moved the crane over two soldiers who seemed to be talking. He lowered the crane and grabbed both of them. The tried to struggle out of it's grasp but they weren't doing a great job as Leon held them over the trash chute. He then let them go and watched as they fell down the chute.

He turned to Diamond who had a slight amused smirk “You're a dork sometimes.” she said with a giggle. Leon chuckled as well but stopped when two others soldiers busted into the room with crossbows. They aimed at Leon who picked up a discarded chair to block the arrows. He then threw the chair at the two to knock them to the ground. Diamond walked over and executed them with her revolver.

They then exited the room and into the room with the trash chute. Diamond cringed in disgust as the strong garbage smell attacked her nostrils “What have they been throwing away that smells like that? I thought the rest of this place smelled bad but this is on a whole different level.” she said.

Leon spotted another door ahead “Then let's get out of here, I can't say I'm a fan of this smell either.” he said. They left the room and went up a few stairs which Diamond was getting better at scaling on two legs. They walked past a computer room that was devoid of life.

Past another door was a hallway. They turned a corner and saw two large armored men carrying hammers. One of the men charged Leon while swinging his hammer horizontally. Leon ducked under the hammer and used his momentum to toss the man behind him.

The other soldier tried to slam his hammer down at Diamond but she rolled to the side. He tried again but diamond took he knife in her teeth and run under his legs. While she passed him she cut through his achilles tendon causing him to fall to his knees. She then took her rifle out and shot a bullet through the back of his head.

She turned her gaze to Leon who was finishing off the other man with his shotgun. They then heard a familiar voice behind them “Leon! Diamond! I'm so happy to see you!” Ashley said. They looked to see her through the bars of a door window.

Leon ran up to the door with Diamond behind him “Ashley, are you okay?” he asked.

Ashley smiled and nodded “I'm just fine.” she said.

“Hurry and get her out of there.” Diamond said. Leon nodded and tried to get the door open. It was no use and he notice a card reader next to it. He tried the key car he had but nothing happened.

He shook his head “We need to find the key card for this door.” he said.

Diamond sighed “You've got to be kidding me.” she said.

Ashley gave them a understanding smile “It's okay, I'll be fine here. Go find the key.” she said.

Diamond nodded “Okay, just hold on. We'll be right back.” she said. Leon gave one more glance to Ashley before running with Diamond through the next door.

Through the next hallway was a room that held many different machines. Waiting for them was three soldiers wielding stun rods and one behind them with a crossbow. A soldier attack Leon with a stun rod but Leon caught him by the wrist and fired his handgun pointblank into his face. He noticed that the archer had him in his sight. He easily dodged the arrow and threw his knife into his heart.

The two other soldiers came at Diamond from different angles and attacked at the same time. She flipped backwards and landed perfectly on her hind legs. She threw he knife into one of their heads then shot the other in the temple with her revolver.

They then continued down stairs while glancing around the room for anything resembling a key card. After seeing nothing useful, they left the room to search another. They entered a large laboratory with many computer terminals and machines around. Leon and Diamond searched around the desks for the key with no luck.

They walked into another part of the lab to see something lumbering toward them. It resembled a regenerator but had no eyes, much more teeth, and spikes covering every inch of it's body. It twitched constantly as it just existing was painful for it.

Even Leon took a step back in surprise of the abomination “These experiments have gone much too far.” he said.

Diamond narrowed her eyes at it “What is it? It almost looks like a regenerator.” she observed. To test something she fired a revolver round into it's head. The bullet hole mended quickly as it continued approaching them “Yeah, this one is up to you.” she said.

The creature got close to them and the spikes over it's body extended towards them. They both jumped back before the spikes could pierce them. Leon aimed at it using his rifle and saw five parasites in it's body. He fired in to three of them causing it's body to pulse and the spikes extend and retract with each one.

It was close enough to try to grab Leon. He ducked under his arms and dove over a desk to get some more distance on it. The creature turned to Diamond and tried to swing it's arms down at her. She jumped over it's swinging arm and ran away from it. Leon took that chance to shoot the last two parasites.

It's body pulsated violently as well as it's spikes before it's top imploded. Diamond noticed something attached to one of it's spikes before it fell limply to the ground. She walked over to the pair of legs and saw a key card on it. She smiled and grabbed it “Leon, this has to be the card we need.” she said.

Leon walked over and examined it “Yeah, I think so. Either way, let's get back there and try it out.” he said. They turned and ran out of the room and returned back to the door to Ashley's prison. Leon inserted the key card into the reader and the door unlocked. He opened it to see Ashley standing there with a excited smile on her face.

She almost tackled him in a hug “Thank you so much Leon.” she let go of him and crouched to hug diamond “You too Diamond. When they brought me to this island, I thought that you two might not find me.” she said.

Diamond hugged her back tightly “There's nowhere they could take you where we couldn't find you.” she said.

Once they separated, Leon got Ashley's attention “Are you ready to get out of here?” he asked. Ashley gave an happy nod. They were about to leave but they saw a paper airplane fly through the prison window and gently land on the ground.

The three of them glanced at each other before Leon bent down to grab it. He unfolded it and read what it said “It's from Ada. She says that we might be able to escape using the waste disposal vent.” he said.

Ashley seemed uneasy “Waste disposal vent? Like garbage? I don't know about that.” she said.

Diamond didn't seem convinced “Why does Ada sometimes want to help us? What's she getting out of this?” she wondered.

Leon rubbed his chin in thought “I'm not sure but I have a few theories. Either way, we should check out the waste disposal vent.” he said.

In Canterlot castle after getting a few hours of rest, Twilight gathered everyone. The mane six, Filthy Rich, Silver Spoon, Spike, and the princesses all stood in the throne room. Twilight cleared her throat before speaking “Now that most of us have had some time to rest, I thought we should share any information we've gathered. Applejack, you and Rainbow took over the mirror after me and princess Luna right? Tell me what information you learned about Diamond's condition.” she said.

Rainbow floated in the air and crossed her fore legs “Well she didn't seem too injured. I don't think all that blood was hers. But apparently she wasn't even looking for a cure yet.” she said.

Filthy widened his eyes in surprise “What? What was she doing if she wasn't trying to cure herself?” he asked.

Applejack's ears flattened against her head “She said that they were too busy tryin' ta save that human named Ashley. That filly seems ta have gotten attached to those humans.” she said.

Twilight hung her head in thought “She hasn't even attempted to find a cure yet? How much time could she have left?” she wondered to herself.

Rainbow put a hoof to her chin as she recalled their talk “She got pretty heated about it actually. Said something about countless lives being lost if Ashley wasn't saved.” she said.

Luna raised her eyebrow at this “Countless lives? She is up against a group called the Los Illuminados correct? What information do we have on them?” she asked.

Twilight nodded “Leon told me what he knew about them. They are a religious cult headed by a human called Osmund Saddler. He uses the parasites to control humans to do his bidding. According to Leon he wants Ashley because she's the daughter of his country's leader. His plan is to gain control of her and send her back to her father so that she can weaken the country from the inside so he can take it over.” she said.

She gave Filthy and Silver a sad glance “Leon suspects that he wants to do something similar with Diamond.” she said.

Silver hung her head “He wants to make Diamond kill us?” she asked.

Twilight felt bad for saying something like that while a filly was present. Celestia hummed in thought “She chose to fight against terrorists rather than cure herself of a deadly parasite?” she asked.

Luna nodded “Very admirable of her.” she said.

Filthy gritted his teeth slightly “That world's affairs aren't her responsibility. What's gotten into her?” he asked.

Twilight tried to think of a way to calm him down “Hopefully she'll cure herself before she gets too involved in that world's problems. Who else contacted her?” she asked.

Fluttershy quietly raised her hoof “Um, me and Pinkie.” she said.

Twilight gave her a small smile “Did you learn anything new?” she asked.

Fluttershy hid behind her mane slightly as all eyes were on her “She d-did mention something about a way to remove her parasite.” she said.

Filthy lit up “She did? What is it?” he asked.

“I-i don't k-know. She only said that saddler offered her something a-and mentioned getting rid of the parasite.” she explained.

Twilight looked slightly uneasy “He offered her something? Like a deal? Do you you know if she accepted it?” she questioned. Fluttershy hung her head and shook her head. Twilight decided to forget about that for now “Anything else?” she asked.

Pinkie hopped in place while waving her hoof around “Diamond said that she had three goals. First is to save Ashley, the next is to find the cure, and lastly she wants to kill Saddler.” she said.

Filthy shook his head “She can't plan on staying in that world even after being cured. I can accept that she's doing what she is because she needs to cure herself but what filly would willingly put herself in more danger for no reason other than taking yet another life.” he said.

The room had a few moments of silence after that. Luna hummed in thought “This filly truly is an enigma.” she said.

An Old Comrade Appears

Leon and Diamond led Ashley out of the cell. Leon started turning left around a corner “If I remember correctly, the waste disposal room was-” he was cut off when he came face to face with an armored soldier brandishing his large hammer. He swung the hammer up toward his chin but he leaned back to let it pass by harmlessly. He countered by landing a hard kick to his stomach, knocking him onto his back.

Behind the armored soldier was three others carrying different weapons. Diamond turned to Ashley who was already shying away from the action “Stay back!” she ordered before running in to support Leon. The armored soldier was about to get to his feet when Diamond got to Leon “Take care of the rest of them, I'll handle the fatty.” she said.

Leon nodded and ran off to an archer who was aiming at him. The armored soldier growled in anger before raising his hammer up. Diamond jumped back in a flip, landing expertly on her hind legs with a smirk. She fired her handgun at him as he charged her again with the bullets barely slowing him down. He swung his hammer horizontally at her but she dove and rolled under his legs. Before he could turn to face her again, she took her rifle out and fired it into his head to finish him.

Diamond turned to see that Leon had killed the other soldiers already. Ashley caught up to them “Wow Diamond. You've become quite the warrior since the last time I saw you. And you're standing on two legs, you're becoming just like Leon.” she said.

Diamond blushed a bit with a smile. She wasn't sure why the idea of being compared to Leon made her so happy but it did. After another short moment, they all continued towards the waste disposal room. On their way there they walked into the computer room directly before it. Four soldiers waited for them in the room. When the soldiers saw them, one of them turned around and slammed his fist onto a button. The button caused the door forward to shut.

Diamond took out a frag grenade and tossed it into the crowd. Two of them got out of the blast radius before it exploded. The last two charged at Leon with their flails raised. He shot one with his handgun before ducking under the second one's flail, countering by stabbing his knife through his throat.

Ashley walked over to the control panel filled with buttons and switches. Her gaze drifted along the large panel until it stopped on a large green button “I think it was this one.” she said as she pressed it. To her relief, the door opened up again. Her relief was quickly replaced by fear as three more soldiers filed into the room and cornered her.

One of them grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder. The other two solider stood in front of him as if they were trying to protect him. Leon charged toward them and caught one of their wrists as he tried to attack with a stun rod. He was about to counter but had to back up to dodge a flail from the other.

While Leon was distracted the soldier holding Ashley ran past him and back toward her prison. Diamond fired a bullet into his calf causing him to trip and drop Ashley. She then jumped onto the fallen soldier's back and took her knife in her teeth before she slit his throat. She then walked over to Ashley who was getting herself off the floor “Are you alright?” she asked.

Ashley winced slightly as she got to her feet “Yeah, just hurt my leg a little. Thank you.” she said. They then ran back to Leon who stood over the bodies of the other two soldiers. After Leon made sure that Ashley was fine, they walked into the waste disposal room. As they walked over to the disposal vent Ashley held her nose and gave a disgusted noise “That smells horrible. What's down there?” she asked.

“I don't know, but we're gonna find out.” Leon said.

Ashley's eyes widened as she remembered why they were there “Do we really have to go down there?there has to be some other way out.” she said.

Leon leaned over the edge and saw the bottom “This is our best idea right now. If you want to stay then go ahead.” he said before jumping down.

Ashley frowned “Jerk.” she said before turning to Diamond “You're not going down there right?” she asked.

Diamond sighed “Leon hasn't steered me wrong yet.” she said. She pushed Ashley's leg with her fore hooves taking her off balance. She tried her best not to fall off the edge but eventually she went down. Diamond never thought she would see the day that she'd willingly jump into garbage, but here she was. She took a deep breath and jumped into the hole.

Down at the bottom of the hole, Leon landed on his back on a broken grate. He grunted in pain from the hard fall but was able to sit up. Shortly after, Ashley landed on a trash bag next to him. Then Diamond came down onto Leon's head causing him to fall to the floor again.

Ashley winced as she tried to get up “Ow, that hurts so much.” she said.

Leon got up again while holding a hand to his back “At least you didn't land on metal and have a pony land on you.” he said.

Diamond grunted as she held her aching head “You're not exactly a trampoline Leon.” she said.

Ashley noticed something slimy against her arm. She looked and saw one of the spike covered regenerators lying limply next to her. She yanked her arm away from it “Ew! What is that thing?” she exclaimed.

Leon noticed it and quickly pulled her away from it “Luckily for us, it seems dead.” he said.

Diamond eyed the thing with suspicion “That's what we thought with the first regenerator we saw. Remember how that turned out?” she asked.

Ashley hid behind Leon “W-we should get out of here.” she said.

Leon nodded “Right, no reason to sit here.” he said. He turned to a gate that led out of the room with a lever beside it. He walked over to it and pulled the lever to raise the gate. They walked through but stopped when they heard the sound of metal shifting behind them.

They turned to see the regenerator rising in the most unnatural way before it snapped it's gaze to them. Leon took his rifle out and and turned to Ashley “Run ahead while I handle this.” he then turned to Diamond “Keep her safe.” he ordered.

Diamond knew that she couldn't help here so she ran with Ashley. They came to another gate and Ashley opened it using the lever.

Leon aimed at the creature with his rifle as it lumbered towards him slowly. He fired at one of the parasites but missed an created a gaping hole in it's chest that mended quickly. He then fired again and destroyed a parasite. After the regenerator's body pulsated, it swung and arm at Leon. He rolled to the side and turned to shoot another parasite.

Meanwhile Diamond and Ashley arrived at a gap that blocked their way and held shallow sewer water. Ashley glanced around quickly “How can we get through this? I don't think I can jump that.” she said.

Diamond's eyes locked onto a large metal box next to the gap “Maybe this will do?” she wondered. She ran over to the box and started pushing on it but it wouldn't budge. She stopped and growled “Buck! Ashley, help me with this.” she ordered.

“Uh, okay.” she said as she walked over to the box. They then both started pushing with all of their strength, slowly moving the box towards the edge. Eventually the box fell over the edge with a small splash, creating a platform for them.

Diamond gave a satisfied smile “Come on.” she said before jumping onto the box and jumping to the other edge. Ashley quickly did the same and followed Diamond. They stopped as they turned a corner to see another spiked regenerator blocking their way.

Ashley backed up in fear “W-what are going to do?” she asked.

Diamond wracked her brain for a solution “Only Leon would be able to kill it. I'll just have to keep it busy until he gets here.” she said.

Ashley looked up at the twitchy monster with unease “Be careful.” she said. Diamond took out her revolver and emptied the cylinder into the creature. When she was finished, it had multiple holes in it's torso and had a hand blown off. Despite all of that damage, it continued advancing on her. It tried to slam both arms down on her but she dove through it's legs while taking an incendiary grenade out and tossing it up as she ran.

The grenade exploded and the regenerator's back caught fire. Sadly the creature just turned around and continued walking towards her as if nothing was happening. Diamond readied herself to dodge again but the regenerator started to pulsate as a bullet ripped through it from behind. Diamond glanced behind the regenerator to see Leon standing with Ashley and firing his rifle at the creature.

After a few more shots the regenerator's torso exploded and it's legs fell to the floor. Leon and Ashley jogged to meet up with Diamond. She smiled at Leon “I'm glad you got here when you did.” she said.

Leon nodded “Thanks for watching Ashley, and keeping her safe” he said. They then turned to the nearest door way which was being blocked by another large metal box. They were able to easily push it out of the way with Leon now helping. Once they passed the box they walked through a door to hallway that was surrounded by metal scrap and bags of trash. From the end of the hallway an armored soldier charged them with his hammer raised.

Diamond threw her knife into his shin to trip him up. The soldier landed on his face directly in front of Leon who finished him with a shotgun blast to his head. They then continued through the garbage filled hallway until they found a room that had a small pit of lava in the middle. Over the pit was a wrecking ball.

Leon glanced around the room “Where do we go from here?” he wondered to himself.

Ashley noticed a spot in the wall that was slightly broken. Through the concrete and rebar she could see a door “Look, there's a door behind that wall! Maybe we could get through?” she wondered.

Leon walked up to the crumbling wall and started pulling on some of the bits of concrete to no avail. As weak as the wall was, the rebar kept it all in place “We're not getting through this easily.” he said.

Diamond's gaze returned to the large wrecking ball “Maybe we could use this?” she suggested.

Leon thought about it and nodded “Yeah, that should work. There should be controls nearby.” he said. He noticed a small control room in the corner and they all walked into it. Leon was about to inspect the multiple buttons and switches but stopped when he heard a lot a footsteps. He turned to see a large group of soldiers pile into the room “Damn.” he turned to Ashley “Me and Diamond will handle them. Do you think you can break through that wall?” he asked.

Ashley nodded and turned to the controls, trying to make sense out of them. Leon and Diamond then left the control room to face the oncoming soldiers. A hatchet flew toward Leon from the group but he ducked and allowed it to pass over him. He then took out a flash grenade and tossed it into the group “Flash!” he warned right before it went off.

The soldiers all covered their eyes from the flash and Leon rushed in. He fired a handgun bullet into one soldier's head and sliced another's throat with his knife. Diamond jumped and kicked one in the back to knock him into the lava pit.

The wrecking ball started to back up slightly before ramming against the wall. The wall started to crumble more but was still standing.

An armored soldier swung his hammer at Leon who rolled behind him. He then rammed him with his shoulder to send him into the lava. Diamond sidestepped a flail attack and flipped out of the way of a stun rod before shooting both of her attackers with her revolver.

The wrecking ball slammed into the wall again with more concrete and rebar being broken off.

Three soldiers charged Leon with their weapons raised but he interrupted them with a shotgun blast. Diamond threw a frag grenade into a large part of the group. The explosion killed most of them and blew others into the lava.

Once again the wrecking ball reared up before crashing into the wall. This time the wall completely crumbled from the force and revealed the whole door. Leon finished the few surviving soldiers with his handgun before turning to Ashley “Great job Ashley! Let's go.” he called.

Ashley ran out of the control room and they all continued into the next room. They ended up in a hallway with a solid gate ahead. They walked up to the gate and Leon pulled the lever next to it. The gate rose out of their way but right behind it stood a regenerator. Leon's eyes widened in shock as the creature swung it's arm at him. Leon grabbed Ashley and dove out of the way of the attack.

While the two of them recovered, Diamond started to fire at the regenerator to stall it. Leon got to his feet and fired his rifle into the regenerator's parasite until it exploded. Once it was over he sighed in relief “That was a close one. We should watch out for more of them.” he said.

Right on cue they saw another regenerator approaching them from further down the hallway. Luckily there was a good amount of space between them so Leon was able to quickly and easily dispatch it. They walked past it's body and found another gate with a lever. Leon pulled it while being ready for another ambush but the gate didn't even open “It's not working.” he observed.

Diamond put a hoof to her chin in thought “Maybe there's some other way to get it open?” she said.

Leon saw another hallway that led to another room “I'll take a look around there. Stay here with Ashley, I won't be long.” he said before he walked into the room. He glanced around the abandoned room. Eventually he noticed a glowing red button on the wall. He pressed it and waited for something to happen but didn't see or hear anything.

He walked out of the room and returned to the others to see that the gate rose a bit. There was a small gap at the bottom. Diamond looked up at him “Whatever you did worked, kind of.” she said.

Leon knelt down and scanned the room past the gate “It's clear. Come on, we can just crawl under this.” he said. Leon and Ashley got onto the floor to crawl while Diamond just returned to all fours to walk through the gap. Once through they saw a door to their left with a switch on both sides of it. Leon walked up to the left switch and pulled it but nothing happened. He turned to Ashley “They must have to be pulled at the same time. Help me out Ashley.” he said.

Ashley walked up to the right switch and put her hand on it. They both looked at each other “Alright Ashley, on three. One, two, three.” Leon said as they both pulled the switch. There was a beep and the door opened.

The next room seemed to be a huge garage with most of the room being taken up by a giant bulldozer. The bulldozer had a large cargo area in the back that was empty. Diamond passed the vehicle and to the garage door. She looked around for some way to get it open but saw nothing “I don't know how we're supposed to get this open.” she said.

Leon eyed the bulldozer with a thoughtful expression “We might be able to break it down using the bulldozer.” he said.

Ashley stared at the driver's seat “I've never driven one of these before, but I do know how to drive so it can't be too different.” she said.

Leon looked to her with a raised eyebrow “Are you sure?” he asked.

Ashley smiled with confidence “I can do it.” she said.

He smiled at her before turning to Diamond “Let's get onto the cargo area and Ashley can drive us through the gate.” he said. Ashley got into the driver's seat and started familiarizing herself with the controls. Leon and Diamond jumped into the back and waited for Ashley.

After a few seconds Ashley was able to turn it on and she raised the bulldozer's blade. She drove the vehicle forward and broke through the gate. She then started driving through the tunnel ahead. Leon kept his eye to the front of the bulldozer and Ashley just in case. Diamond sat near the back, watching for anyone who might come after them.

After about a minute Diamond saw a group of soldiers come out of a door in the tunnel and started running after them “Leon, they found us!” she called to him before taking her rifle in her hooves. Leon ran to the back to join her and started firing into the crowd with his handgun.

Due to the bulldozer's lack of speed the soldiers were steadily gaining on them. Diamond shot two just as they were about to climb aboard but another got his hands on the platform and started to pull himself up. Diamond quickly bashed him in the face with the butt of her rifle to knock him off.

More soldiers joined the chase making the crowd much bigger. Diamond threw an incendiary grenade into the group which thinned the numbers. They then heard honking coming from somewhere behind the soldiers. Eventually a truck came into view and it was obvious that it's intention was to ram them. Diamond thought about shooting the driver but the windows were covered by metal planks.

She started firing at the truck out of desperation hoping that one of the bullets would stop it. Eventually one of her shots connected with the truck's grille which caused the front of the truck to catch fire. It slowed to a stop and it was out of sight when they turned a corner “I didn't think that would work.” Diamond said.

Before she could relax the flame covered truck drove back into view. She stared at it in disbelief “How can it still be working like that?” she wondered. Leon thought quickly and tossed a frag grenade in the truck's path.

The explosion tipped the truck over and it slide to a stop on it's side “I'd be surprised if it came back from that.” he said. Ashley then drove into a lift that was big enough to fit the whole bulldozer.

Diamond turned to Ashley “Where do we go from here? Does this platform move?” she asked.

Ashley glanced around the room until she saw a switch up by a bridge over them “Maybe that switch will do it.” she said.

Leon saw that there were some soldiers on the bridges leading to the switches “I'll throw it. Ashley, stay here and try to keep your head down. Diamond will stay to protect you in case they come for you.” he ordered before he jumped down from the bulldozer and started climbing up to the bridges.

Three soldiers on the other bridge jumped down and landed on the bulldozer with Diamond. One quickly tried to strike her with a stun rod but she jumped back and fired a rifle bullet into his head. Another swung his flail at her but she blocked with her rifle. She then got behind him and knocked him onto his back with a kick to his knee. Before he recovered Diamond stomped hard on his throat to break it. The last soldier pointed his crossbow at her and fired. Diamond somersaulted sideways to dodge then threw her knife into the man's heart.

She glanced up to the bridge to see Leon pulling the switch. The lift then started raising, bringing the bulldozer with it. As the lift passed by, Leon jumped back onto it and joined Diamond again. The two of them took a breather as the lift slowly brought them up.

Once they reached the top, they were in front of a gate which Ashley mowed down quickly. She then continued to drive down the road as Leon and Diamond stood guard. Ashley saw a few soldiers standing on a bridge that she was about to pass “Leon! Diamond!” she called while pointing.

They turned and saw Leon took his rifle out “I'll take out any in front of us. Keep watch behind us.” he said to Diamond. He then aimed at the two soldiers waiting for them and quickly killed them both. As he took out a few more that they came across, Diamond saw some soldiers starting to run after them.

She started to pick their heads off one by one with her rifle until one of the soldier's heads was replaced by a parasite. When Diamond saw this she quickly threw a flash grenade into the crowd. The flash killed the parasite and all the others stopped as they were blinded.

They then heard more honking but this time it was coming from up ahead. Diamond ran to the front to see a truck heading straight for them. The road was tight and there was nowhere to turn. Leon fired a few bullets into the truck's grille and it caught fire just like the last one and it started to slow down. Sadly it was still about to hit them. As a last ditch effort, Ashley raised the bulldozer's blade and turned to the left even through there was a building there.

The blade blocked the truck and they broke straight through the building's wall. The three of them were thrown from the vehicle and landed inside of the building. Once the rubble had settled, they started to stand up. They saw that the bulldozer was wedged in the concrete and they all knew that they weren't getting any more use out of it. Diamond sighed “Well, it was nice while it lasted.” she said.

Leon noticed a door leading further into the building “We'll continue through here. They're probably looking for us out there.” he said. Diamond and Ashley agreed and they all walked through the door.

They walked into the rusty and beat up room to see the merchant waiting to greet them “Stranger, I see that you've reclaimed the young lady.” he said while gesturing to Ashley.

Leon nodded “We're hoping to find a way off of the island now.” he said.

The merchant rubbed his chin in thought “I'm not sure if I can help with that but I can help with supplies.” he said.

Leon reached for his money “We do need more ammo along with some grenades.” he said. After the two did their business, they all walked through the next door.

At the end of the next room was Saddler standing in front of a small shrine “Hello my friends.” he said.

Diamond growled at him “We're no friends of yours!” she yelled.

Saddler let out a slow chuckle “You will be, soon. I feel them growing inside of you. They're close.” he said.

Leon took his knife in his hand “We'll see about that!” he yelled before rushing towards him. Saddler just held a hand out at Leon who immediately stopped and grabbed his chest in pain.

Diamond ran to his side when he fell to his knees. She glared up at Saddler “What are you doing to him?” she yelled.

Saddler gave a dark smile “I'm simply convincing him to obey.” he then pointed his hand towards Ashley “Now Ashley, if you'll just come this way.” he said.

Ashley's eyes turned a dark red and her face became blank. She started walking up to Saddler. Diamond ran after her “Oh no you don't!” she snapped.

Saddler just pointed his hand at her causing her to stop and she felt a burning pain in her chest. She let out a scream as the pain only got worse with time. Saddler lowered his hand and smiled at the two writhing in pain “I'll just take the girl for now. Once some more time has passed, I'll be back for you two.” he said as he started walking out of the room with Ashley.

Leon fought through the pain and managed to throw a small black disc with a blinking red light onto Ashley's back. As Saddler got further from them their pain started to lessen until they were able to stand again.

Diamond tried to catch her breath “D-damn. He got her again.” she said.

“It's fine, I managed to attached a tracking device to her. I'll be able to follow her using my communicator.” Leon said.

Diamond seemed slightly worried “What are we gonna do about saddler? How are we suppose to beat him when he can incapacitate us with a wave of his hand?” she wondered.

Leon shook his head “I don't know, but we have to try at least.” he said.

Diamond managed a small smile and nodded “You're right. At least we'll know what to expect now.” she said.

After a second to recover they walked through the same door that Saddler left through. They walked out onto the metal bridge with a stair case to their left. They walked down the stairs and entered through the next door to find themselves in a boiler room. There were boilers to their left and right while in front of them stood three guards waiting for them.

Leon quickly dodged an arrow that flew by him. He took his rifle out and shot the archer. A soldier charged Diamond with a stun rod but she quickly shot him in the shin to get him to kneel. She then threw her knife into his forehead. The last soldier threw his hatchet at Leon who deflected it with a swing from his knife before finishing the man with his handgun.

With them taken care of, Leon and Diamond continued out of the boiler room. They then saw a large room that was largely fenced off with a lift next to them. With no other option, they took the lift. The lift took them to a large metal bridge with a lot of space that looked like it would bring them across the room.

They started to cross the area but Leon slowed down when he heard a slight noise behind him. He took his knife out and turned around while taking a fighting stance only to see nothing. Diamond raised an eyebrow “Are you alright?” she asked.

Leon scanned around the room “Someone's here.” he said in a cautious tone. Suddenly they heard the sound of metal shifting above them. Leon looked up to see a man falling toward him with a knife. He quickly rolled out of the way. He survived but felt a slight pain on his cheek. He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand to see a bit of blood on it.

He looked up to see his attacker. A built man in a military type outfit. His face had multiple scars running across it. Leon's eye's widened in shock “Krauser!” he said.

Diamond looked between the two “Who the hay is Krauser?” she questioned.

Krauser ignored Diamond and started slowly walking around Leon while spinning his knife around his fingers “It's been too long comrade.” he said in a gruff voice

Leon kept his eyes narrowed on Krauser as he circled him “How are you here? You-”

“I died in the crash two years ago. Is that what they told you?” he said. Before Leon could answer, Krauser quickly swung his knife at Leon. Leon leaned out of the way and attacked back but it also easily dodged.

Diamond jumped towards him with her knife in her mouth. Krauser just caught her by her mane before kicking her away. She flew back and crashed into the railing before falling to the floor. The crash caused her saddlebags to open and her mirror flew out.

The mirror bounced it's way to Krauser's feet. He picked it up and hummed in thought as he didn't see his reflection. Diamond scowled at him and tried to get up “Give that back, you son of a- Ahh!” she screamed as she felt a sharp pain in her back from the railing.

Krauser slipped the mirror into one of his pockets “If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down. Once I'm finished with Leon, I'll deal with you.” he said.

Diamond tried to get to her hooves again but was obviously struggling. Leon stepped between them “Leave him to me Diamond! Just rest for now.” he ordered.

Krauser narrowed his eyes at Leon “You seem to actually care about that pony. Too bad I have a mission to complete that involves killing you and taking her with me.” he said. He tried three quick slashes with his knife.

Leon parried the first slash and dodged the others “Your mission is to kidnap her? Should I assume that you're also responsible for kidnapping Ashley?” he questioned.

Krauser gave a sick smirk “How observant of you. Just how I remember you.” he said. Leon tried to slash at Krauser's abdomen but he just somersaulted backwards to dodge.

Leon scowled at him “Why? Why kidnap Ashley? Why come after Diamond?” he questioned.

Krauser let out a flurry of knife strikes but Leon was able to parry them all “I needed Ashley to gain Saddler's trust. As an American, I knew he wouldn't trust me right off the bat.” he said.

Leon tried to land a kick to Krauser's face, but he caught the leg and punched him in the chest. Leon was send back but used the momentum to roll back onto his feet “And Saddler now wants you to get Diamond for him too, right?” he guessed.

Krauser rushed in and thrust his knife at Leon multiple times. Leon struggled to dodge and parry all the attacks but he managed. Krauser backed off to speak again “I'm not handing the pony over to Saddler. She's going to someone much more important.” he said.

Leon's eyes widened “Someone other then Saddler? Who a-” he was interrupted when Krauser rushed forward and slashed at him. Leon was caught off guard but still managed to parry it. Krauser then followed up by punching him in the face.

Before Leon could recover, Krauser stabbed him in the abdomen before kicking him to the floor. Diamond stared in fear and worry “No! Leon!” she called as she started trying to get up again.

Leon laid on his back and held his new wound “Leave Diamond alone, she has nothing to do with this.” he said.

“She had something to do with this when I was was told that umbrella wanted her.” he said.

Leon looked shocked at the mention of that name “Umbrella?” he said.

Krauser mentally cursed himself “Damn, I shouldn't have let that slip. Whatever, it won't matter when you're dead. Die comrade!” he yelled before jumping onto Leon, aiming his knife to his chest. Leon caught him by the wrists and tried to hold him off but the pain from his wound made it difficult.

Right before the knife was about to be plunged into Leon's chest, Krauser winced in pain and weakened his grip. He felt blood seep out of a slash in his back. He stood up and turned around to see diamond. She stood on her hind legs and held her knife in her right hoof.

Krauser kept a frown on his face “Either step back, or I'll bring you back in a body bag.” he said.

Leon tried to get to his feet but stopped due to the pain in his abdomen “Diamond! Run and find Ashley! I'll be fine here!” he said.

Diamond glared at Leon “Shut up! I'm not leaving you to die! Patch yourself up while I take care of the trash.” she said. Leon wanted to insist but he knew she was too stubborn to listen. He took his medical equipment and started working on himself.

Krauser narrowed his eyes at Diamond “If you want to play soldier, do it on your own time kid. You're in way over your head here.” he said.

Diamond copied Leon's fighting stance to the best of her ability and narrowed her eyes in focus “I'm tired of being underestimated. I've beaten bigger and scarier creatures then you.” she said.

Krauser raised an eyebrow “You don't want to be underestimated? Fine. You'll regret pretending to be so tough.” he said as he lowered into a stance.

Diamond acted first by running at him and slashing at him quickly. He parried the attacks like they were nothing. He then got behind her and kicked her. Diamond landed on her fore hooves and flipped herself back onto her hind legs “Who ordered you to foalnap me if it wasn't Saddler?” she questioned.

Krauser slashed down at her but she dodged and tried to slash at his legs. He just lifted his leg to avoid the attack “Do you think he wants you specifically? He just wants one of your kind. You just happen to be the only one in this world. You really think you're special? You aren't shit.” he insulted.

Diamond jumped and tried to kick him in the jaw only for her leg to be caught midair. He then threw her behind him. She landed on her back but rolled back onto her hooves to dodge Krauser trying to bring his knife down on her “You'll see just how special I am when I kill you.” she said.

She rushed forward and attempted a few slashes which he nimbly dodged “I hope you've been holding back, cause so far I'm not impressed.” he said. He then threw his knife towards her. She jumped back as it stuck into the metal floor in front of her. He then charged and caught her off guard when he grabbed her by the neck and forced her onto her back.

Diamond struggled against his grip as he crushed her trachea. Then a bullet lodged itself into his shoulder from higher up. Krauser let Diamond go and looked up to see Ada on a high ledge pointing her handgun at him with a smirk.

Krauser stood up and glared at her “Well, if it isn't the bitch in the red dress.” he said.

The insult didn't seem to effect Ada “It seems like we have the upper hand here.” she said.

Diamond held a hoof to her throat as she recovered “We?” she asked.

Krauser flipped an impossible height to land on a higher ledge. He stared down at Leon “Prolong your life as much as you want, but your death is inevitable.” he said before walking out of sight.

Ada jumped down to their level as Leon got up off the floor, his wound now bandaged. Ada gave a small chuckle “I never thought I'd see the day that you'd have to be saved by a pony.” she said.

Leon frowned at her “Save it Ada. It sounded like you and Krauser were familiar with each other. Want to explain?” he questioned.

Ada put a finger to her chin as if she were thinking about it “No, maybe another time.” she said before she hopped over the railing and disappeared from sight.

Diamond walked over to Leon “Are you okay? How's your wound?” she asked.

Leon gave her a reassuring smile “I'll live. The knife missed my organs and the vest stopped it from getting too deep.” he then put a hand to her shoulder “You did great out there.” he said.

Diamond avoided his gaze and frowned “What are you talking about? I lost. How is that great?” she asked.

“You survived. Against Krauser, that's not a loss.” Leon said.

“He also stole my mirror. I can't get home without it.” she said.

Leon nodded “Don't worry, I doubt we've seen the last of him. We'll fight together next time and take it back.” he said.

Krauser walked into a small room that had nothing but a table an a few chairs. He sat down and took out the mirror to see another pony and a small dragon.

Rarity gasped in surprise “Oh, I'm sorry. I expected to see Diamond Tiara, not...um who are you?” she asked.

“You can call me Krauser.” he said.

Rarity nodded “Well Krauser, my name is Rarity and this is Spike. Are you a friend of Diamond's?” she asked.

Krauser shook his head “The opposite. We just fought moments ago, that's when I took this mirror. I suspected that it was important, but I didn't expect this.” he said.

Rarity's eyes widened with a long gasp “You fought her? I-is she still alive?” she asked.

“Unfortunately she is. I was interrupted before I could finish choking the life out of her. But enough of that, I have some questions.” he said.

Spike glared at him “You choked a filly? You're a monster, we're not answering any of your questions.” he said.

Krauser frowned “If I don't get answers then I'll just smash this useless mirror and torture the answers out of that pink filly.” he said.

Rarity started to panic “Wait! Let's not be hasty. If you give us a few minutes then we'll allow you to talk to our rulers. They should be able to answer any question you might have.” she said.

Krauser seemed interested “You have ten minutes.” he said.

“Thank you.” Rarity said as she flipped the mirror face down.

Spike looked up at her with worry “What are we gonna do?” he asked.

“We're going to bring this matter to the others.” she said.

Putting on a Show

While Leon and Diamond were recovering from their encounter with Krauser, Leon got a call on his communicator. He answered it to once again see Saddler “I do hope you enjoyed your reunion with your old friend.” he said.

“I had a hell of a time.” Leon responded.

Saddler chuckled “Wonderful. I wouldn't want my guests to feel unattended to.” he said.

Diamond scoffed “Can we expect any more of your pleasant surprises?” she asked sarcastically.

Saddler rubbed his chin in mock thought “Now that you mention it, perhaps I can allow you to play with It for a while.” he said.

Leon raised an eyebrow “What, are we playing the pronoun game now?” he questioned.

“I'll leave the games to It.” saddler said before cutting off the transmission.

Leon put the communicator away and turned to Diamond “We should get moving. Are you good to go?” he asked.

“I am, are you? You were the one who got stabbed.” she reminded.

He chuckled and nodded “I've had worse.” he said before they started walking ahead. They climbed down a ladder and walked through a door. This room was much cleaner and taken care of then the last. Past another door was a white hallway that seemed empty. They started walking down the path but stopped as four small black objects came from the ceiling and arranged themselves on the walls and floor.

Red lasers then shot out of them creating a small blockade. Two vertical lasers slowly started moving towards the center of the room before retreating back towards the walls. A horizontal laser just moved up and down.

Diamond eyed the lasers warily “What are these? They look like magic.” she observed.

Leon held a hand up “Stay back.” he warned. He plucked a hair from his head and waved it through a laser. The hair was instantly cut in half “Just as I thought, these lasers will cut straight through us. Be sure not to touch them.” he said.

They watched the lasers until an opening was created before dashing though. Immediately five lasers activated in front of them and started quickly moving along the walls to create a more complicated blockade. Leon got ready as he waited for an opening “I should have known there would be more.” he said.

Diamond quickly rolled through a small opening that appeared. Once a bigger gap was created, Leon slipped past. They then continued making their way down the hall but five horizontal lasers appeared ahead of them. The lasers then started moving towards them. Leon's eye's widened but he was able to dive through two of them. Diamond followed after him and they both landed with a roll.

As they continued, a large amount of the small black objects covered the left and right walls in front of them. While they didn't activate, they did spark slightly. Diamond studied the objects with distrust “They look broken but somehow I doubt it.” she said.

“Same here.” Leon said as he slowly got closer to them.

Once he got between the closet ones they all started to glow brightly. Diamond noticed this “Leon! Get back!” she shouted. Leon somersaulted backwards right as the lasers activated. They then started moving towards the two. Leon preformed a back flip to dodge the first few and landed on his stomach as the last few went over his head.

Diamond jumped over the first, ducked under the next few, then preformed a sideways somersault to go between the last ones. Leon got to his feet to see that they were finally at the exit to the hallway. He walked over and pressed the button to activate the door.

They both turned around when they heard more lasers activating. They saw that all of the past laser gathered at the beginning of the hall to create an almost impassible wall. The only safe opening was above the wall which was almost 7 feet in the air. The laser wall then started making it's way towards them. Leon turned to Diamond and crouched down and interlocked his fingers in preparation “Diamond!” he called.

She knew what he wanted from her so she ran and jumped onto his hands. She then jumped as he threw her up. With a somersault in midair, she passed over the lasers. Leon then ran from the lasers and towards the door. When he got to the door he used the momentum to start running up the wall. When he got high enough, he backflipped over the lasers and landed on his feet.

Once the lasers hit the wall they shut off and the door opened. Diamond took a second to calm herself “Saddler makes much better traps then Salazar did, I'll give him that.” she said before they proceeded. The next room was fairly empty except for a vinyl throne sitting at the end of it.

Leon walked up to the throne and put a hand on it “Could this be Saddler's?” he wondered to himself.

While he was thinking, Diamond walked behind the throne and noticed a door. It opened automatically when she got near and revealed a small elevator “Over here Leon.” she said. Leon was brought out of his thought and entered the elevator with Diamond.

The elevator brought them down into a damp and rocky tunnel. Leon took out his communicator and checked Ashley's tracker “According to my tracker, Ashley should be just up ahead.” he said. Diamond smiled and the two ran through the tunnel. They pushed open a huge wooden door to see a large chasm ahead. Over the chasm was three massive compartments being held up by chains. Each of the compartments were filled with shipping containers.

Leon and Diamond ignored the chasm and followed the path leading to the tracker's signal. As they ran Leon looked down at his communicator and saw something that made him stop “It says she should be right here.” he said in confusion.

Diamond noticed a blinking red light in a puddle of water “Is this what we're looking for?” she asked.

Leon knelt down and picked up the discarded tracker “It is, damn it.” he said.

Before they could feel sorry for themselves they felt the ground rumble slightly. Diamond growled “What now?” she asked in aggravation.

Leon noticed that the rumbling was coming from a nearby wall that had slime running down it. Before he could say anything, something burst through the wall and knocked both of them off of the cliff. They busted through the ceiling of one of the huge hanging compartments.

As they were getting up, something landed in front of them. The creature stood on four legs and had an insect-like abdomen coming out the back. It's torso looked more human with it's right arm ending in a clawed hand and it's left being a long tentacle. It's head was split on the top, exposing it's brain and it had a huge tendril-like tongue coming from it's mouth. It roared at the two as they backed up.

Diamond cringed at the sight of the creature “That is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen.” she said.

“This must be the “It” that saddler mentioned.” Leon looked around to see two shipping containers to their immediate left and right “We shouldn't fight it here. Let's find a way out first.” he said. It tried to swing it's tentacle at Leon but he ducked under in and ran past it.

Diamond shot a few handgun bullets into It's chest to stun it before following after Leon. After turning a corner to the left they saw an opening that led into the deep chasm and a gate that had a glowing green light next to it. Leon knew that they wouldn't survive jumping into the chasm so he turned his attention to the gate. He elbowed the light to shatter it and the gate rose out of their way.

On the other side of the gate was red button. Leon had no time to think so he quickly pressed the button. A robotic voice rang out from a speaker system “You've activated one of the emergency switches.” it said.

Diamond gave a curious tilt of her head “Emergency switches? Should we find the other one?” she asked.

Leon nodded “If this isn't an emergency then I don't know what is.” he said. Before he could turn around he felt a tentacle wrap around his neck. He struggled as It attempted to pull him in. Diamond took her knife in hoof and jumped to slash at the tentacle. It let Leon go as it recoiled in pain. While It was recovering, they quickly ran past.

As they were running around the shipping containers, they saw another gate with a green light. Diamond took out her hand gun and shot it to raise the gate. Past the gate was a much larger red sliding door. Leon attempted to open it but it wouldn't budge “No good. Maybe the emergency switches unlock it.” he suggested.

Suddenly a tentacle broke through the ceiling and grabbed Diamond's hind leg. It started dragging her up but she quickly stabbed it with her knife to make it let go. She fell onto her back but got up quickly “Let's hurry up.” she said as they ran past the red door. After turning a corner they saw the second emergency switch.

Leon pressed it and the robotic voice spoke up again “You've activated both of the emergency switches. The door will be unlocked and the container will be dropped shortly.” it said.

Diamond gasped “Dropped!” she exclaimed in shock.

“Hurry to the exit!” Leon shouted. They ran to the door and pulled it open to reveal the next compartment. Once they stepped into it, the compartment behind them immediately fell into the chasm.

Diamond glanced back down at the chasm “Good riddance.” she said. They then continued through a gate that was already raised. Once they were through the gate snapped closed behind them. Then It crashed through the ceiling. Diamond sighed in anger “I am done assuming things are dead! From now on I need to see a body!” she exclaimed.

It swung it's tentacle around trying to hit one of them. Both of them were able to dodge and Leon started firing at It with his handgun “Diamond, open one of those gates.” he said.

Diamond nodded and ran past the creature. There was a gate right there and she saw the green light high above it. She quickly shot it to raise the gate. She turned the corner to see one of the emergency switches. With no other option she pushed it to hear the same robotic message as before. When she returned to Leon she saw that the other gate was open and It was gone “Where did It go?” she questioned.

Leon pointed up “It went up top. Watch out.” he warned. They then ran through the newly opened gate and turned left to see the second switch. Leon ran over to it while dodging a tentacle coming from the ceiling. He then pressed the button and the robotic voice warned them of the dropping again.

They started running and heard It land behind them and started to give chase. They shortly came across the red door and Leon threw it open as fast as he could. Once again as soon as they crossed the threshold of the new compartment, the last one dropped.

There was a small red gate in front of them and an emergency gate to the right. Since they were sure that the creature wasn't dead yet, they ran over to the red button and pressed it. While the robotic voice gave the same warning, It busted through the ceiling and landed behind them.

It lowered it's torso forward and something burst out of it's back. It was a large parasite that had a humongous pair of insect-like pincers at the end of it. Diamond gave a disgusted noise “I didn't think this thing could get worse but it proved me wrong.” she said.

It charged them with it's pincers open wide. Leon stepped to the side and ran past it. Diamond jumped over the pincers and onto It's back before jumping off. They saw that the red small red gate they saw earlier had been opened to revel a path through the shipping containers. The path seemed to small for It to fit so Leon and Diamond ran in. They were right about it not fitting since it didn't follow them.

They turned a corner and emerged back in another part of the compartment. It's pincers broke through the ceiling and tried to close itself over Leon's head. He quickly leaned back before firing a handgun bullet into it causing it to retreat back through the ceiling.

They then ran around a corner to see the exit to the compartment. It wasn't unlocked yet so they passed it by. They then stopped when they ran into some metal bars blocking off their path. On the other side of the bars was a gate with a green light next to it. There was also the second emergency switch.

Leon aimed at the green light “I think that's back through the tunnel.” he observed before her fired to open the gate. They then heard the loud crash of It landing behind them.

Diamond took out her handgun “Leon, I'll keep it busy. Hurry and press the button.” she ordered. Leon nodded and quickly started running past the creature. It attempted to decapitate him but was interrupted by Diamond unloading a magazine into it's body. It turned back toward her as she quickly reloaded.

It charged her with it's pincers open wide. She jumped as it was about to close onto her and landed on them. She then shot the parasite causing it to jerk back and flung her into the air. She landed on her hooves behind it before sinking a few bullets into it's back. She then heard the robotic voice give it's warning.

It roared as it charged her again but she took out an incendiary grenade and dropped it as she ran back towards the exit. The creature stumbled back as the fire erupted under it. Diamond waited at the exit for a few seconds before Leon showed up. He quickly threw the door open to see a railing in front of them with nothing but a cliff behind that.

Suddenly a hook attached to a chain lowered down to their level. They thought about whether to jump to it or not. Diamond turned to the left to see that the fire had died down and it was charging towards them “We have to jump!” she said before running forward.

Leon joined her and they both jumped toward the hook as It attempted to slice into them. Leon caught onto the chain as diamond grabbed hold of the hook. It roared at them before the compartment dropped into the chasm, bringing It down with it.

Leon gave a sigh of relief “I'm glad that's over.” he said.

Diamond shook her head “I told you that I'm done assuming. As long as I don't see a body, that thing is still alive.” she saw a cliff nearby “Come on let's swing over there, I'm tired of hanging here.” she said.

The two started swinging back and forth until they got close enough to jump to the cliff. Ahead of them was a large opening that had a gate raised over it that led to a circular area. Leon and Diamond decided to ignore that and walk towards the door to their left. They suddenly stopped when they heard quick steps coming from over the cliff.

They stared towards it in confusion until Diamond's eyes widened in realization “I knew it.” she said. They saw It emerge from the cliff and charge them with it's pincers ready. They turned and sprinted towards the opening to the circular area.

They dove through the opening right before It was able to cut into them. The gate closed behind them. Locking them in with It. Leon scanned the area they were now in to see two other gates that had levers next to them and a red barrel sitting near a cliff. He took his shotgun in his hands “I don't think we have a choice but to take it out.” he said.

Diamond nodded and grabbed her rifle “Fine by me.” she said. She took aim and fired two shots into it's side to get it's attention. It turned to her and tried to swipe at her with it's clawed hand. She stepped back to avoid it and ducked under it's pincer attack.

It prepared another attack but was interrupted when Leon landed a shotgun blast to the parasite's back causing it to roar in pain and turn around. Leon ran as it chased after him. It started to catch up and opened up it's pincers in preparation. Leon quickly dove behind the red barrel causing It to slice through the barrel on accident and covering it in gasoline.

Diamond quickly threw an incendiary grenade at It and ignited the gasoline. It started wildly flailing around in a desperate attempt to quell the flames. After a few seconds, It succeeded in putting itself out. Most of the left side of it's body was now black and the creature's torso hung limply in front. Despite the head's apparent death, the parasite was still alive and still controlling the body.

Leon hummed in thought “I think we killed the body but the parasite's still kicking.” he said. It charged him with increased speed from anger and tried to bite down on him. He was caught slightly off guard but was still able to dodge with a backwards somersault.

It was about to attack again but before it could it felt three bullets enter it's back. It looked back to see Diamond waiting for it with her rifle still lock onto it. It turned and sprinted after her. She stayed calm even with the nightmare creature heading towards her. She held her rifle out horizontally in front of her with a smirk.

Just as she planned, It bit down on the rifle but couldn't get through it. While it was having trouble with that, Diamond took out a frag grenade. She pulled the pin and threw it into the creature's mouth before taking her rifle back and running. The parasite then exploded from the inside causing the entire body to fall limply to the floor.

Diamond walked up to the corpse and inspected it. After a few seconds she turned to Leon and smiled “Now it's dead.” she said. Leon chuckled and patted Diamond's head. The gate that trapped them then raised again.

Leon turned to the raised gate “We don't have a tracker on Ashley anymore but she can't be far.” he said. Diamond nodded and they ran ahead.

In Canterlot Castle the princesses, mane six, as well as Spike, Filthy and Sliver stood together. Celestia laid the mirror down with a sigh “I wonder if answering his questions was the right thing to do.” she said to herself.

Applejack gave her a comforting smile “It's fine princess. He only asked about Diamond and how she ended up in their world, maybe he was just curious.” she said.

Rarity shook her head “I hardly doubt he attacked and stole from a filly just because he was curious. I think he wants to use that information to find a way to this world.” she said.

Twilight hummed in thought “Maybe that was his intention but luckily I don't think he could. As far as I know they don't have magic in that world, so we shouldn't have to worry about that.” she said.

Pinkie kept a smile on her face “I don't think he was that bad, and he told really good jokes. Remember that one he told about shoving my tail down my throat if I didn't shut up” she giggled “Classic.” she said.

Spike raised an eyebrow at her “I think that was a threat, not a joke.” he said.

Filthy ignored their banter “We had no choice but to tell him. Especially after he promised not to harm Diamond if we did.” he said.

Rainbow hovered in the air and crossed her fore legs “Do you really think he meant that? He almost choked a filly to death! I wouldn't trust a word out of his mouth!” she exclaimed.

Silver hung her head at the thought of her best friend being viciously choked “D-don't remind me of that.” she said sadly.

Rainbow mentally face hoofed for bringing that up in front of her “S-sorry kid.” she apologized.

After a few moments of silence, Luna spoke up “What worries us most was his last order. Why would he want us all to stay near the mirror. What does this fiend have planned?” she wondered.

Celestia turned back to the mirror and pondered for a few moments “I suppose we have no choice but to wait.” she said.

Leon and Diamond exited a door to find themselves back on the surface near a cliff leading to the ocean. They walked to a cliff to their left to see a tent set up with soldiers standing guard around the area. Leon noticed a few red barrels scattered around the tent. He smirked as he took a incendiary grenade in his hand.

He tossed it near one of the barrels and watched as the chain reaction occurred. All of the barrels exploded and killed the soldiers while luckily not catching the tent on fire.

Diamond chuckled “Nice one.” she complimented. She then started climbing down the nearby ladder with Leon not far behind. They passed the tent and followed a path that led to a dead end. A fence blocked their way.

Leon stared up at the barbed wire that topped the fence “We shouldn't risk climbing over.” he said. He then looked at the other side to see a ladder coming up from a hole in the ground and a large metal door “There should be an underground path that leads here. Let's head back and look for it.” he suggested.

With no arguments, Diamond followed Leon back to the area with the large tent. After searching the area for a few seconds, Diamond decided to look inside of the tent. Other then a few boxes of supplies, she saw a hole with a ladder. She smiled and turned back to call to Leon “Found it! It's in the tent!” she called.

Leon joined her and they descended the ladder to end up in a small underground path. They walked down the path while scanning for any soldiers but didn't find any. At the end of the path was the merchant standing near a ladder leading back to the surface.

The merchant smiled as they approached “Greetings stranger.” he said.

Diamond looked up at Leon “We should buy more supplies while we can.” she said.

Leon nodded in agreement. The merchant swung open his coat to show his wares “Smart choice. What would you like?” he asked. After their purchases they climbed up the ladder to end up on the other side of the fence. They quickly walked through the large door.

They walked along a tight path next to a cliff that led to some ruins. They entered the ruins and glanced around as they walked. Suddenly they heard a voice to their right “I thought that you and your noble steed would be here a lot faster.” the voice said.

They turned to see Krauser walking into sight on a higher ledge. He had taken his shirt off and only wore his tactical vest. He was also sporting some red camo paint on his face. Leon glared at him “Krauser! Where's Ashley!” he demanded.

Krauser crossed his arms and frowned “One track mind huh? Fine.” he nodded his head to his right “She's beyond that gate, but you'll need three insignias to open it.” he said. He started pacing slowly “There's one in the north. And another in the east.” he said.

“And let me guess, you have the last one.” Leon said.

Krauser stopped pacing and faced them “In other words, you're not reaching Ashley.” he said.

Diamond growled “Where's my mirror!” she yelled.

Krauser glanced off to the side “It's here.” he said. Suddenly a drone flew up into sight. Strapped to the underside of it was the mirror. Diamond could tell that everypony was on the other side of the mirror. Krauser smirked and gestured to the drone “I thought that your friends and family would like to witness your death.” he said with a sadistic smile.

They heard Filthy Rich's voice ring out from the mirror “We had a deal! You said you wouldn't hurt her!” he accused.

Krauser scoffed “If you actually believed that, then you're stupider than I expected.” he said.

Leon frowned at Krauser's cruel plan “You're forcing them to watch this? What happened to you?” he questioned.

Krauser just smirked “Just trying to make things interesting.” he said as he pulled out a SMG.

Diamond lowered into a ready stance “You'll regret pissing me off.” she said.

Krauser started firing at them, causing them run and dive into cover. The drone followed them as they moved. Diamond turned to Leon as they hid from the hail of bullets “What's the plan?” she asked.

Leon thought for a few seconds “Taking Krauser down will take some doing. We should avoid him for now and grab the other two first.” he said.

Diamond nodded and once Krauser stopped to reload, they ran out of cover and toward a small stone building. In the building was a door that was made out of metal bars and had a small blue light on it. Leon attempted to push the door open but the light turned red and the door refused to budge “What the hell?” he said.

They heard footsteps behind them and turned to see Krauser with his knife drawn “That door was made to unlock after sixty seconds. Do you think you can last that long?” he asked.

Diamond took her knife in hoof “Can you?” she shot back.

Krauser seemed amused by her confidence. He swung his knife down towards her. She ducked under it and swung her own knife towards his legs but he just jumped over it. Leon slashed towards his face but he leaned away from the attack and tried to counter with a kick. Leon used his arms to block the attack and pushed him back.

Krauser used the momentum to somersault backwards. Leon fired a few handgun bullets at him but he was able to dodge them easily. While he was distracted, Diamond threw her knife towards his head. He held his hand out and the knife dug into his palm. He barely reacted before he took it out and threw it back. Diamond stepped aside to allow the knife to stick itself in the ground before taking it back.

Krauser pulled his SMG put and fired and Leon who dove out of the way. Diamond jumped and kicked the gun out of his hand. Krauser growled and tossed a flash grenade on the ground before covering his eyes. The flash blinded Leon and Diamond for a few seconds. Once their vision cleared, Krauser and his SMG were nowhere to be seen.

The door beeped and the light switched back to blue. Leon opened the door “It seems like Krauser's giving us a break.” he said.

Diamond smirked “Or he realized that he can't beat us.” she said cockily.

Rainbow laughed with a wide smile “Did you see that? She totally embarrassed him!” she exclaimed.

Twilight glared at her “Rainbow! How could you laugh at something like this?” she questioned.

Rainbow's smile fell “Come on Twi, you have to admit that it's entertaining at least.” she said.

Rarity nudged her shoulder to get her attention “Can you please try to read the room darling. Some of us are far from entertained.” she said while subtly glancing over to Filthy and Silver.

With a sigh, Rainbow hung her head “Fine, I'll be quiet.” she said.

The princesses both watched the events in the mirror closely. One in concern and the other in analysis.

Leon and Diamond ran to an area that held another stone building. Instead of entering it, Leon noticed another gate blocking a ladder leading down. Next to the door was a lever that was blocked off by metal bars “I don't think we're getting through here.” he said.

Diamond ran to a path to the right of the building “This way Leon!” she called before running. Leon ran after her to end up in a large stone structure with some stairs leading up. After the stairs they were on the roof of the structure. Leon saw a small slab of stone that depicted the head of a panther.

He picked it up and pocketed it. Diamond turned around and saw the doorway the entered though blocked off by a gate and Krauser approaching them “Leon!” she called to get his attention.

They all drew their respected knives and started circling each other. Leon spoke up first “So, you're helping restore umbrella?” he questioned.

“It's the only way to restore order and balance to this insane world.” he answered.

Diamond scoffed “I don't know what this umbrella is, but the only insanity I see is in front of me.” she said.

Krauser chuckled “You'll see how insane I am when umbrella fixes this broken world!” he exclaimed. He then tossed a frag grenade toward them. They quickly dove out of the blast radius and Diamond fired a few revolver shots at him. He dodged a few and deflected the last one with his knife.

Leon charged him and slashed twice with his knife. Krauser parried the attacks and threw in two slashes of his own. Leon parried one and ducked the other before landing a kick to his jaw. He was knocked to the ground and before he could get up, Diamond jumped at him with her knife out. He leaned away from the blade but still got a cut along his cheek.

He flipped back to his feet and jumped up to a higher ledge. He then stared down at Leon with his arms crossed “Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna come face me like a man?” he taunted.

“Do you think I'd really fall for that?” he shot back.

Krauser chuckled in amusement “Can't blame a guy for trying.” he said before tossing another frag grenade. Diamond kicked it away from them before firing her revolver at him. The bullet caught his shoulder causing him to grunt in pain. He jumped down toward her in an attempt to stomp her. She somersaulted backwards to dodge and before he could follow up, Leon slashed at his back.

Krauser growled a bit before his expression changed to smirk “Maybe this will be fun.” he said before blinding them with another flash grenade. They quickly tried to regain their vision to see that Krauser disappeared again.

They heard the sound of stone scraping behind them. They turned to see a statue of a headless griffon emerge from the ground. Diamond raised an eyebrow “What's with the statue?” she wondered.

Leon spotted a pressure plate nearby “Let's push it over here.” he said. The two quickly pushed the statue onto the pressure plate causing bars blocking a nearby lever to recede. Leon pulled the lever to open the way back down from the roof.

Diamond smiled “One down, two to go.” she said.

Applejack seemed shocked at what she was seeing “Where in Equestria did she learn ta fight like that?” she turned to Filthy “Did ya teach her that?” she asked.

Filthy seemed offended “Of course not. Why would I?” he said.

Twilight hummed in thought “She's fighting like a biped. It's likely that Leon taught her that.” he said.

That seemed to get Luna's attention “Is thou implying that this filly has less than a day of combat training?” she asked.

Twilight nodded “Unless she got training from somepony else, yes.” she said.

Rainbow narrowed her eyes in suspicion “There's no way she learned all of that in one day. She's able to do all kinds of acrobatics, on two legs too.” she said.

Silver seemed to have a spark of hope in her eyes “Come on DT, you can do it.” she muttered to herself.

Diamond and Leon returned to the gate with the lever that was no longer blocked off. Leon unblocked the opening with a pull of the lever before they climbed down the ladder. Once down there they saw two small spider-like robots. One of them saw Leon and charged towards him. Leon kicked it, knocking it into the other causing them both to explode “Explosive huh? Don't let them get too close.” he warned.

They continued through the ruins until Diamond heard a beep from behind her. She turned to see a robot crawling after her. She gave it a hard roundhouse kick to send it into a wall before it exploded. They turned a corner to see a drone flying in front of them. Bullets started flying from a gun attached to it. Leon and Diamond dove behind the corner again to wait or the bullets to stop. Once they did, Leon leaned out of cover to shoot the drone.

They then walked into a tunnel to see two more robots waiting for them. Leon and Diamond each shot one before continuing through. Once they came out of the tunnel, they heard Krauser's voice above them “Hey pony!” he called to get her attention. She looked up at him standing on a ledge “Why do you fight?” he asked.

Diamond rolled her eyes “I fight because I have to. All of you didn't give me much of a choice.” she said with an edge to her tone.

Krauser didn't seem happy about her answer “Necessity? Is that your whole reason for fighting?” he pressed.

“Well, ridding this world of scum like you is a bonus.” Diamond said.

Krauser seemed happier with that answer “So you think yourself a hero do you? Then I'll give you a hero's death. Consider yourself lucky.” he said before he walked out of sight.

Diamond turned to the opening to a new staircase “We'll see about that.” she said before they ran up the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a gated doorway and a ladder leading to the structure's roof. They didn't see any way of getting the gate open so they climbed up the ladder.

The roof was a two circular stone roofs with a stone bridge connecting them. One the outside of the roofs was wooden planks that acted as an extension of the roof. They walked onto the wood planks and saw a stone slab in the shape of an eagle. Diamond stuffed it into her saddlebag “Two down, one to go.” she said.

Leon nodded in agreement “Now we just need to find Krauser.” he said.

“No need, I'm already here.” Krauser said from on a stone pillar.

Diamond gave him a cocky grin “I thought this would be harder. This has been so underwhelming.” she said.

Krauser discarded his SMG the the side “If you're not impressed then I'll end the warm up here. Time to kick it up a notch.” he said. He clenched his left fist and his arm started shaking violently. His arm skin then started to tear as it grew. His hand mutated into a large blade, which he held up with an insane grin “Witness the power!” he yelled.

Leon shook is head “You've really gone off the deep end Krauser.” he said.

Krauser let out a fit of manic laughter “Come on comrade! Come on pony! Kill me and take the last insignia if you think you can! But do it quickly, this building is rigged to blow in three minutes!” he yelled.

Diamond's eyes widened “Three minutes? Damn!” she said. Kruaser smirked before he jumped down towards her, his mutated armed aimed at her. She dove out of the way and fired a few handgun bullets at him. He dodged with a backwards somersault. Leon came from his right side and aimed his shotgun to his chest. Before he could fire, Krauser's mutated blade arm opened up like a folding fan to create a shield which blocked the entire shotgun blast.

All of the ponies watching had shocked faces except for Rarity and Fluttershy, who fainted when Krauser transformed. Twilight turned to Filthy who looked extremely concerned. She put a comforting hoof on his back “She'll be alright. Leon's watching out for her.” she reassured.

Filthy seemed like he was taken out of deep thought “I can't help but be worried. She's fighting a monster and I can't do anything to help.” he said. Suddenly he saw something that caught his attention “Wait, what was...” he said.

Twilight turned back to the mirror “Did you see something?” she asked.

Filthy shook his head as if to rid his mind of something “For a second I thought I saw Diamond smiling.” he said.

Twilight was caught off guard from that statement “I'm sure you were mistaken, I can't imagine smiling in a situation like that.” she said.

Filthy hummed in thought as he continued watching the fight.

Krauser kicked Leon into a stone wall and tried to skewer him with his blade arm. Leon reacted quickly and rolled behind him. He took advantage of the confusion to fire a few handgun shots into his back. Krauser saw Diamond aiming her rifle at him out of the corner of his eye.

She fired but he split the bullet with his bladed arm. He then charged her and stabbed down toward her. She sidestepped the blade and grabbed her rifle by the barrel the swing the back into the side of his knee.

He grunted in pain and fell to a knee. She then fired a rifle bullet into his ribs. He growled and grabbed her by the neck. He drove his knee hard into her stomach before tossing her away. Leon charged him and slashed at him with his knife. Krauser caught his wrist and backhanded him with his mutated arm.

He watched the two as they got up from the floor with amusement “Let's see some hustle, these bombs won't wait forever.” he taunted.

Leon got to his feet first and spit out some blood “What's wrong with you? If those bombs go off, you'll die too!” he yelled.

Krauser narrowed his eyes and smirked “I'm ready for hell comrade, are you?” he challenged.

Instead of responding, Leon just charged him with his knife ready. Krauser blocked his slashes with his mutated arm then tried to counter with a high kick. Leon ducked under it and slashed up his torso. Kruaser held his chest in pain before jumping over Leon and kicking him in the back. He fell over the edge of the building but was able barely grab the edge.

He was about to pull himself up but Krauser stomped on his hand while laughing. Diamond jumped and grabbed a hold of his neck and pulled him away from the edge. He threw her off of him but she was able to land on her hooves. He then tried to slash at her neck. She dodged with a backwards somersault and countered with an uppercut to his jaw.

The attack made him stumble back and Leon, who pulled himself back up, gave his legs a hard kick. Krauser fell onto his back and before he could get up, Diamond jumped into the air with a flip. She drove her knife into his heart when she landed. She stepped off of him and smiled “How's...that?” she said through her pants.

Krauser clutched his wound in a desperate attempt to slow the bleeding. He chuckled which eventually turned to coughing up blood “I guess this is the end.” he said to himself.

Leon looked down at the dying man with pity “It didn't have to be like this. Why did you change?” he asked.

Krauser stared up calmly at the stars “Change is inevitable comrade. Maybe all of this was.” he said. His vision started to blur as he turned his head to Diamond “Hey po...Diamond.” he called. He felt himself start to fade “N-not bad, kid.” he said before he turned back to the sky with blank, lifeless eyes.

Leon knelt down and closed Krauser's eyelids. He then searched his pockets before pulling out the final stone slab that depicted the head of a snake. He stood and turned to Diamond “Come on let's get out of here before we're blown to smithereens.” he said.

Diamond stopped him and pointed up at the drone flying over them “Wait, the mirror.” she said.

Leon glanced up at it and knew that he wouldn't be able to reach it “Alright, I'll give you a boost.” he said. He walked under it and interlocked his fingers in preparation. Diamond ran and jumped onto his hands so he could throw her into the air. She grabbed the mirror in her teeth and landed back on the ground with a roll.

She then heard her father's voice ring out from it “Honey, are you alright? Do you-”

“No time.” Diamond cut him off and put the mirror in her saddlebag. They then quickly climbed down the ladder. Once down they saw the doorway was no longer blocked off. They ran through it and ended up in a small area with a stone picture on the wall. It seemed to depict a serpent, panther and eagle but the heads were missing.

Leon put his two pieces in place as Diamond did the same with her piece. Once they were all in place the wall slid out of their way to reveal a door. They ran through the door and Leon slammed it shut behind them. Once he did, they heard an explosion from the other side of the wall “We cut that close.” he commented.

Diamond breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out her mirror again to see the concerned face of her father “Diamond! Don't just cut me off like that!” he scolded.

Diamond rolled her eyes “I had to. We barely escaped that explosion.” she said.

Filthy sighed “Fine. But about what happened back there-” he was cut off once again.

“Sorry, but I have to get going. Save whatever you wanted to say for later.” she said quickly before putting the mirror away.

Leon gave her a questioning glance “Is something wrong?” he asked.

Diamond sighed “My dad just watched me kill someone. I know he had something to say about that, but I just didn't want to hear it. Right now I just want to focus on saving Ashley and getting cured.” she said.

Leon nodded in understanding “Alright, Ashley can't be far. Let's hurry.” he said before they ran forward.

Mission Accomplished

Leon and Diamond followed a narrow path until Leon got a call on his communicator. He was far from surprised to see Saddler on the other end “What do you want?” he questioned.

Saddler gave a chuckled and grinned “I heard that Krauser has been cut down.” he said.

Diamond smirked “Are you surprised?” she said.

“Slightly, but more than that I'm thankful.” Saddler said.

Leon narrowed his eyes at him “What do you mean you're thankful?” he asked.

“He was American, I never trusted him. He was just a means to an end. My only concern was how to be rid of him, but you took care of that for me. Both of you have shown great promise. Once you've both assimilated, you'll be my bodyguards.” he said.

Diamond looked disgusted at the thought “Thanks for the offer, but I'd rather die.” she said.

Saddler smiled and gave a shrug “You said it, not me.” he said before hanging up.

Leon put the communicator away with a skeptical look on his face “No matter how bad things get for him, he doesn't seem shaken. He must still have something up his sleeves.” he said.

Diamond sighed “He always has something up his sleeves, they have to be close to empty now.” she said.

Leon rubbed his chin in thought “That means that he'll throw everything he has at us. Be ready for anything.” he said.

Diamond nodded and they continued up the path. They turned a corner to see the path start to open up. They could see tents set up and buildings around. Leon suddenly stopped and and jumped behind a crate. Diamond didn't understand what he saw “What's wrong? Did you see something?” she asked.

Without waiting for an answer she poked her head out of cover and her jaw hung open at the sight. Blocking their way was an army of soldiers. She could only see about thirty, but she assumed that there were more that she couldn't see. They were armed with all sorts of weapons and she even saw one manning a mounted machine gun on top of one of the buildings. She started feeling intimidated by their sheer numbers.

She got back behind cover before they could spot her “I think you were right about saddler throwing everything he has at us.” she said.

Leon had a grim expression “I don't like our chances of getting through that many soldiers alive. We'll have to play this smart to survive.” he said.

Then they heard the sound of helicopter blades as one flew onto the scene. Diamond raised an eyebrow at the new arrival “What is that?” she asked.

Leon studied it and smiled “It's a helicopter, and it's American. It's on our side.” he said. A beep came from Leon's belt and he saw that it came from an earpiece. He took it in his hand and pulled out a spare to hand it to Diamond “Put this in your ear.” he said. She did as he said “You're late.” he said.

A male voice came over the earpieces “Sorry, I got held up in traffic. I'll make it up by covering you.” he said. The helicopter flew over to the army of soldiers and started firing it's machine guns at them. They started to scramble from the surprise but their numbers were falling quickly. One soldier ran to the mounted machine gun that was attached to a building. The helicopter turned to it and fired a missile. The building blew up, killing all near it and after a few seconds the blockade was finished.

Leon chuckled in relief “Now that's what I call backup.” he said.

The pilot laughed “The name's Mike and I'll be your savior this evening. Hey, is that the pony Hunnigan mentioned?” he asked.

Diamond frowned at that “That pony's name is Diamond Tiara.” she said.

Mike seemed shocked “She really does talk, I thought Hunnigan was pulling my leg. Well it's nice to meet you, your majesty.” he said jokingly.

Diamond was about to scold him but decided against it “Normally I'd be angry at that kind of tone, but I think I can over look it since you just saved our flanks.” she said.

“Oh you're so benevolent.” he said. He then noticed more soldiers making their way over “More of them. Get your asses moving, I'll keep doing my thing.” he said.

“Right.” Leon said before running out of cover with Diamond behind him. Three soldiers charged at them. Two of them were carrying flails while the last held a large wooden shield. Leon fired two handgun bullets into a soldier's chest to distract him. He then landed a roundhouse kick to his jaw to knock him to the floor before jamming his knife into his neck.

He then glance behind him to see another soldier swinging a flail at him. The soldier was cut off when Diamond jumped and kicked him in the chin. He fell onto his back and tried to get beck to his feet. Diamond quickly stomped on his neck to keep him down. She then fired her revolver point blank into his forehead.

The shield wielder charged Leon, planning on bashing into him. Leon brought out his shotgun and shattered the shield in one blast. Once the soldier was unprotected, Diamond threw her knife into his throat.

They then heard an impressed whistle over the earpieces “That's pretty good Tiara. Did you learn that in karate class?” Mike said with a laugh.

Diamond gave an unamused frown “Don't you have something to be doing right now?” she questioned.

Suddenly bullets started raining down near them. They quickly dove behind a metal crate for cover. Once the bullets paused, Leon took a peek to see a soldier manning a mounted machine gun on a high building. He quickly got back behind cover before he could start firing again “Mike, we're pinned down. Can you handle the machine gun?” he asked.

The helicopter turned to the building “I'm almost hurt that you had to ask.” he said. He then fired a missile to destroy the building along with the machine gun “He'll feel that in the morning, oh wait no he won't.” he said with a laugh.

Diamond and Leon ran out of cover and down a hill leading to a metal gate. Two soldiers jumped down from a higher cliff to block their path. Leon just shot them both with his handgun and ran past them. When they arrived at the gate, Leon saw a huge, solid metal lock on it. Diamond stared at the lock “Is there any chance that you can break that?” she asked.

Leon took his shotgun out “I can try.” he said. He fired at the lock only for it to stay in place “I think it's weakening. It should only take a few more.” he said.

Diamond turned around when she heard footsteps approaching. She took her rifle in her hooves when she saw the small group of soldiers “Hurry up with that, I'll hold them off.” she said. Leon started working on the lock as Diamond fired into the crowd. After a few moments, the soldiers were closing in on them “Mike? Where are you? I could use some help here.” she said.

Suddenly Mike came over and started firing into the soldiers “Sorry, I was off kicking ass elsewhere.” he said.

Leon gave the lock one final blast causing it to break and fall to the floor. He then kicked the gate wide open “We're good to go!” he said. They ran through the gate but was stopped when machine gun fire started to rain down from above. They dove under a bridge that shielded them.

Diamond saw a tunnel to her right “Over here!” she called before running towards it with Leon. Waiting for the in the tunnel was a shield bearer and two archers behind him. Diamond fired a revolver bullet at the shield to break a piece of it, exposing the soldier's head. She then threw her knife through the hole and between the soldier's eyes.

The archers fired their bolts at Leon but he nimbly dodge them both before tossing an incendiary grenade at them. The archer went up in flames and when the flames died down, Leon and Diamond ran past.

They then heard Mike through their earpieces “He shoots...” they heard an explosion “And he scores! Ten points!” he exclaimed.

On the other side of the tunnel was a ladder that brought them to the outside of a building. From inside they saw a metal door with a button next to it. After thinking for a moment, Leon spoke up “Mike, do you see an exit to this battle field anywhere?” he asked.

Mike hummed in thought “If you follow the path through that door, there's a few gates that seem like the only exit.” he said.

“Thanks, good to have an eye in the sky.” he said. He then pressed the button to open the door. Once the door opened, they saw an archer waiting for them a good distance away. There was also a shield bearer approaching them. Leon took a step out of the door with his rifle ready but bullets started spraying from his left. He quickly rolled back into the safety of the building. He then peeked out of cover to see a man using a gatling gun “Mike, we have a gatling gun on us. Do you have eyes on him?” he asked.

After a few seconds Mike spoke up “Negative. I don't have a good visual on him. Can you handle him yourself?” he asked back.

Diamond answered for him “Of course we can.” she said. She took her rifle in her hooves and aimed it at the archer. She took his head off and killed the shield bearer with another shot. She made sure that there were no more soldiers ahead “Alright, I'll distract him so that you can take him out with your rifle.” she said.

Leon nodded “Be careful.” he said. Diamond gave him a grin before dashing out of the door. The spray of bullets followed right behind her as she tried to pick up the pace. She saw a nook in the rocky wall ahead. She dove into the nook which protected her. She heard a rifle fire and she peeked out to see the gatling gun user on his back.

Leon joined her and they continued to the solid metal gate ahead. Leon checked around the gate for some way to get it open but saw nothing. Diamond then nudged his leg and pointed to a switch up on a high ledge “That has to open the gate. Boost me up there.” she said. Leon nodded and grabbed her. He then ran to the cliff and threw her up. She caught onto the edge and pulled herself up.

After getting up, she jumped to pulled the switch down. The gate rose out of sight. Diamond jumped off of the cliff and into Leon's arms. Through the gate was a compact area filled with stacked sandbags for cover. Along the sides were high pathways along two buildings. At the end of the area was a solid metal gate just like the one they entered through.

Leon saw two switches at the end of the pathways “Looks like we're gonna have to pull both of those switches to proceed.” he said.

Diamond was about to respond but stopped when she saw soldiers started to enter into the area. They started to operate three mounted machine guns. They noticed this and dove behind a stack of sandbags. Leon glance up at Mike's helicopter “Mind lending a hand here?” he asked.

“On it.” he said as he started firing at one of the machine guns. The two others started firing up at him. He tried his best to dodge the bullets and to fire back “Be careful! You might hurt someone doing that!” he said to the soldiers.

While Mike distracted the machine gunners, Leon laid out a plan “Since there are two switches, we should split up.” he said.

Diamond stared at the mounted machine guns that were on the paths to the switches “We have to take out the machine guns first. I don't think Mike can last much longer.” she said.

“Hey! I take offense to that!” Mike said.

Diamond rolled her eyes “So you don't want us to help you?” she questioned.

“Do what you want, I won't stop you.” he said.

Diamond shook her head with a sigh as she took her rifle out. She peeked out of cover and aimed at the right machine gunner as Leon did the same for the left. They both shot at the same time at the soldiers fell to the floor.

Mike shot a missile at the last and blew it up “You couldn't touch this in a hundred years!” he taunted.

Leon stood up and scanned the area “Alright, I'll pull the right switch. Take care of the left.” he said.

Diamond nodded and ran forward toward a ladder that would bring her up to the pathway leading to the switch. In her way was a shield bearer with a flail. He swung the flail at her but she ducked under it and fired at his exposed feet. The soldier fell forward onto his shield and Diamond fired one last bullet into the back of his head.

She then climbed up the ladder and saw soldier with a gatling gun between her and the switch. He pointed the barrel at her and started firing with a yell. She dove behind the wall of the building as the bullets barely missed her. Once the bullets stopped flying she jumped out of cover with her revolver in her mouth and knife in her hoof.

She shot his hand to make him drop the huge weapon and his leg to get him to his knees. She then jumped and plunged her knife into his skull to finish him. She put her weapons away and stood before a gate that separated her from the switch. She thought about how Leon would kick open a gate. She smirked and got into position.

She gave a quick spin before shooting her left hind leg into the gate, knocking it off it's rusty hinges. She then jumped up and pulled the switch. Afterwards she glance to the right to see Leon pulling his switch as well. The gate then rose out of their way. Diamond saw Leon jump to the ground, so she did the same and broke her fall with a roll.

Behind the gate was a door that they quickly entered. They then climbed some stone stairs to reach a area near a cliff. The area had old stone pillars scattered throughout. But most importantly, there were a small army of soldiers waiting for them. They all raised their weapons menacingly at the sight of them.

Leon took his shotgun out “I thought we were thinning their numbers out. How could Saddler still have so many?” he wondered.

Diamond stared at the army with a mix of anger and uncertainty “We can do this, right?” she asked without much confidence.

Then Mike's helicopter rose up from under the cliff “Get down!” he warned. Leon and Diamond quickly ran behind a stone pillar and Mike started firing into the crowd. The soldiers all started to panic and scramble to escape the machine gun fire but they were being mowed down too quickly.

After a few seconds, all of the soldiers were finished. Leon walked out from cover and smiled at Mike “I owe you one. How about when we get out of here, drinks are on me.” he offered.

“Yeah I'm down. I know a great bar.” he said.

Diamond walked out of cover as well “Can I come too?” she asked.

Mike chuckled in amusement “Yeah sure kid, we'll get you a milk.” he said. While he laughed a rocket came from somewhere and struck the helicopter in the side. Mike screamed in pain as he was caught in the fiery explosion. The helicopter quickly fell apart and descended under the cliff.

“Mike!” Leon and Diamond called in shock as they ran to the cliff. They looked over the edge to see the burning wreckage. They both knew that he couldn't have survived that.

Leon looked towards where he saw the rocket come from to see Saddler and a soldier holding an empty rocket launcher. They were standing on top of some kind of small temple. Saddler smiled before walking off with the soldier.

Leon clenched his fists in anger “You're next Saddler.” he said.

Diamond gritted her teeth and growled “Every time we get some help, they're killed almost instantly! I'm so sick of it!” she yelled.

Leon suddenly got a call on his communicator and answered it to see Saddler again “My apologies Leon, was that a friend of yours?” he taunted.

Leon's frown deepened “You signed your own death warrant with that.” he said.

“There's no need for such hostility. I just swatted a bothersome fly. Sometime you have to step on those who are beneath you. I'm sure Diamond understands that.” Saddler said.

That got Diamond's attention “Leon! Give me that thing!” she demanded. Leon did as she said and she glared daggers at Saddler “What's that supposed to mean? You don't know anything about me!” she said.

Saddler chuckled “Of course I know about you, because I know that look in your eye. That look of anger and superiority. I once had that look in my eye. I can tell that you know you're above others, and you make sure they know it. You have no qualms with stomping on those beneath you if it teaches them their place. Am I correct?” he asked, but he was sure he already knew the answer.

Diamond was at a loss for words “What? No, I... I mean...” she tried to say.

Saddler found her floundering amusing “I knew it. That is why you will make a fine addition to my army. I await your assimilation with bated breath.” he said before cutting the transmission.

Diamond was still feeling the effects of his words “I'm not the same as him, I'm not! It's not true!” she yelled to herself.

Leon knelt down to her level “Whatever you did in the past is in the past. You are whoever you chose to be in the future. Don't let his words make you doubt yourself.” he said.

Diamond thought about what he said and took a calming breath. The images of the cutie mark crusaders flashed in her mind “I can be better. He's wrong, I won't ever be anything like him.” she said.

Leon patted her on the back “Now let's hurry and get rid of these parasites.” he said. She smiled up at him and they continued on. Inside the temple they found a ladder that led them underground. They passed a small room that only held a stone coffin.

They entered a small room lit by one small light bulb. Leon suddenly stopped and clutched his in pain and started to stumble forward. Diamond stared at him with worry “Are you okay Leon?” she asked.

Leon let go of his chest as if the pain was gone. He waved away her worries with his hand “I'm fin-ack!” he suddenly clutched his chest again and doubled over in pain.

Diamond ran to his side “Is it the parasite? Talk to me!” she demanded. Leon slowly stood straight again and Diamond sighed in relief. Her eyes widened in fear when Leon turned to her with blood red eyes and a blank expression “L-leon, no.” she said.

Leon viciously grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up to his eye level as he started choking her. She tried to struggle out of his grip but he held onto her tight. Her vision started to blur but she focused and kicked Leon in the jaw. He dropped her and she used the chance to give him and uppercut to the crotch. He fell to his knees from the pain before she punched him in the temple to knock him onto his back.

Leon lifted his head to look at her to see her aiming her handgun at him while her eyes were starting to tear up. She then noticed that his eyes had returned to their normal color. She dropped her gun and jumped onto him with a hug “You terrified me, you jerk! I thought you were gone!” she scolded.

Leon returned to hug to comfort her “It's gonna okay. I'm sorry for attacking you.” he said.

Once Diamond calmed down she smiled at him “It's fine, I attacked you back anyway.” she said.

“And I'm proud of you for defending yourself without letting your feelings get in the way.” he felt the aching pain in his balls “Although, I wish you had hit me somewhere else.” he said.

Diamond got off of him “Sorry.” she said with a giggle.

Leon got to his feet and took out the bottle of pills he got from Luis. He poured two into his hand before swallowing them “Hopefully that will keep it at bay until we can get cured.” he said.

“Let's hurry. We don't even know where the cure is yet.” she said. Leon nodded and walked out of the room with Diamond behind. They exited the temple and entered another building that resembled a jail. The room was dimly lit and had a long hallway with cells on both sides. The cell bars were rusted and bent as if they weren't used in years.

Diamond glanced around as they walked down the hall “What a creepy place. I guess Saddler needed some place as creepy as him.” she said. They neared the end of the hall when they passed a cell with it's bars bent as if something pulled them apart. Suddenly two gray arms shot out of the cell and grabbed Leon by the shoulders. He was pulled into the cell to come face to face with a regenerator. It tried it's best to sink it's teeth into his neck but Diamond shot a revolver bullet to blow it's jaw off.

Leon took the opportunity to kick the Regenerator away from him. It's jaw quickly grew back as Leon took his rifle out. He identified the five parasites hidden in it's disgusting body. He quickly killed the first four as it approached him. Once it got close enough, it swung it's arm at him. He rolled under the arm and ended up behind the creature to shoot the final parasite.

The regenerator's torso exploded and legs fell forward. Leon turned to the exit of the jail “Let's get out of here before we're attacked by anything else.” he said. They climbed up some broken stairs to the door.

They found themselves back outside with concrete walls surrounding them. They walked down the only path which opened up to an area with sandbags stacked for cover and a few soldiers scattered around. There was also a few rooms up high, connected by metal paths. Diamond and Leon dove behind the sandbags as crossbow bolts flew past them.

Diamond poked her head out to take account of all the threats “Two archers up in that room. Three soldiers with flails. One with a stun rod. One with a gatling gun.” she said.

Leon nodded as he took in the information “Take the archers while I keep the others busy. Join me when you're done.” he said. Diamond took her rifle out and stepped back until she had a good view of the archers.

Leon vaulted over the sandbags and ran towards the other soldiers. One of them attacked with his flail but Leon leaned back to avoid it before landing a kick to his head. He then shot the floored soldier with his handgun. He then dove out of the way of gatling gun fire. He then fired three shots into his chest which seemed to only stun him.

Another soldier came from his side with his flail raised. Leon quickly threw his knife into the man's heart. Then the soldier with the stun rod came from behind him. Before he could strike, Diamond fired a rifle bullet into his head. The man with the gatling gun grunted in anger and aimed at Diamond. She jumped behind the sandbags for cover as the bullets started flying.

Leon turned his attention to the last flail wielding soldier. He ducked under a horizontal swing before stabbing his knife up through his jaw. He then turned his attention to the gatling gun guy who had his back to him. He fired a few handgun shots into his back to make him cease fire. Diamond used that chance to shoot at his legs and knock him to his knees. Leon then finished him with a shotgun blast to the back of his head.

Diamond came out from cover and scanned the area “Where to now?” she asked.

Leon turned his gaze upward “There should be a ladder that leads to those metal bridges. From there we can search those buildings.” he pointed out.

Quickly, Diamond spotted a ladder that seemed to lead into one of the buildings “I see one over there!” she said.

He gave a nod before proceeding towards it “Good eye.” he complemented. They climbed the ladder and looked around the room. There was an empty table in the middle and there was some sort of machine near the wall. Leon immediately checked the machine.

Diamond walked up behind him “What is it? Something useful?” she asked.

Shaking his head, he stepped away from it “Not likely. It's a button of some sort that's not active, but I can't tell what it would activate.” he explained.

Diamond pondered this for a moment but couldn't come up with anything useful “Well there's no use in standing here, let's check the other buildings.” she said.

They walked out onto the metal bridges to come to a split. A ladder let to two higher building while a path to the right led to another. Leon rubbed his chin in thought “Let's split up and search to save time.” he suggested.

Diamond nodded and walked over to the ladder “I'll take a look at these two.” she offered.

“Alright, keep your guard up. There might still be some soldiers around.” he said. With that they went their separate ways and met up at the same spot a minute afterward.

Diamond shook her head “I got nothing. The only interesting thing I found was a machine that needed a key card. Sadly I didn't find the card for it.” she said.

“I just found another button just like the last one. It didn't do anything, so maybe it has a connection to the key card reader that you found. I think that the buttons might be some kind of locking mechanism.” he said.

Diamond gave a frustrated sigh “So we have to find the key card?” she asked.

He shook his head “Luckily no. It's deactivated at the moment, so whatever its connected to is already unlocked.” he said.

She shrugged “Alright I guess that's fine, but we still wasted precious time with all of this. Let's just hurry and find the way forward.” she said.

Leon nodded and led the way back to the ground. They walked forward under the metal bridges to see a solid metal door ahead. There was two lights next to the door that were both green. As soon as they approached the door, the lights both turned red with a loud beep. Leon tried the door only to find it locked “Damn it! Someone must have activated the lock behind our backs.” he guessed.

With a groan of anger, Diamond turned around to see soldiers pour into the tight path leading to them “We've got company, and lots of it. This must have been a trap.” she said. She used her rifle to pick off as many as she could while they struggled to fit into such a small space.

Leon didn't like the position they were in “We have to create a break in them and get through.” he took out a frag grenade “This should do the trick. Be ready to run as soon as it goes off.” he said. He then threw it into the crowd and the explosion created a gap in the soldiers. The two then dashed through them and used the new advantage to shoot more of them.

Their numbers were starting to thin when diamond noticed something among the bodies “There's a key card on that one! That should be what we need for the door!” she said.

“Hurry and grab it. Go and get the door unlocked while I clean thing up down here.” he said.

Diamond quickly ran in to snatch the card while Leon kept her covered. She then retreated back to the ladder leading to the metal bridges. She first went to the card reader and inserted the key card. Once it was in place she dashed off to activate the two buttons. When they were pressed, a loud beep rang out signifying the door's unlocking.

When she came back down the ladder, Leon was done with the soldiers and was waiting by the door “Good job. Now let's get going.” he said as she approached. He then turned and kicked the door open. They walked through a small hallway that led to a large metal door. Leon was about to enter but stopped when he heard pained grunting.

He turned to see Diamond with her eyes shut tight and clutching her chest. He instantly knew what was happening and ran to her to kneel down “Diamond! Focus and fight it!” he yelled.

Diamond eventually calmed down and hung her head while keeping her eyes closed. She then started up at him with red, dull eyes. His own eyes widened with shock, allowing her to pounce at him. She got her hooves around his neck with surprising strength and started choking him. He quickly grabbed her hoof and slammed her back onto the floor.

She let out a loud scream in pain and her red eyes melted back to her regular blue. She slowly got to her hooves while wincing at the pain in her back “D-damn that hurt.” she said.

Leon felt instant relief at seeing her back to normal “Sorry for being so hard on you.” he said.

Diamond stretched herself out “That's alright, I guess we're even now.” she said.

With a slight chuckle, Leon brought out Luis' pills “Looks like we're down to the last two. Here, take them.” he offered.

Diamond gratefully took the offer and downed the pills “I'm good to go now.” she said. They then entered through the door together. They found themselves in a large lab with lots of machines around. What caught their attention was a large capsule in the center that held an unconscious Ashley “Ashley!” Diamond said happily as they approached.

Before they could reach her, they heard a familiar but unpleasant voice behind them “I offer you power and status, but still you defy me. To what ends?” Saddler asked.

They turned to glared at him “Ashley's coming home with us, whether you like it or not.” Leon countered.

Saddler shook his head in defeat “You leave me no choice but to kill you. And you two would've made such useful subordinates. Oh well, I guess we can't have everything we want.” he said. Before either of them could react, he dashed forward at superhuman speeds and send Leon flying with a devastating palm strike. The capsule's hard glass broke his flight as he slid to the floor.

Diamond tried to reach for her knife but Saddler grabbed her by the face. With a twirl, he tossed her into the capsule and she fell on top of Leon. Saddler slowly walked towards his floored opponents. He stopped when he started getting shot rapidly from behind.

Leon and Diamond looked up to see Ada on a metal platform with a SMG “Leon, Diamond! Now's your chance!” she exclaimed.

Leon quickly got to his feet and pressed the button to open the capsule. Ashley daintily fell into Leon's arms as he shook her awake. She opened her eyes sleepily “Wha...what happened? Where am I?” she asked.

“Save the questions for later! We have to move now!” he exclaimed.

Saddler didn't seem very effected by the bullets. He just grunted and the bullets fell from his fingertips as if nothing happened. Ashley looked frightened at the sight of him but Leon and Diamond quickly led her to a nearby exit.

Saddler followed after them but Ada tried to think of some way to slow him down. She then spotted some red barrels over the exit that Leon and the others just passed. She shot at the barrels to fall and explode, creating a wall of fire between Saddler and the others.

Leon, Diamond, and Ashley made it through the door. Diamond glanced back at the door “Ada just helped us again. What's her game?” she wondered.

Leon got her attention “No time to wonder that at the moment. My guess is she won't be able to hold him back for long. Let's make sure her help isn't for nothing.” he said.

Ashley smiled at them “Thanks for saving me for, hopefully the last time.” she said.

Diamond returned the smile “Of course we did, we'd do it even if it wasn't our job.” she said.

Leon gave her a strange look “It's my job, not yours.” he said.

Diamond chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment “Right, I forgot. I guess after all of this it just feels like it's my job. Let's just get going.” she said.

After taking a few steps they saw the merchant waving them over “Stranger, do ya have the need for some supplies?” he asked.

Leon nodded and walked over “Yeah, we're running low on ammo. Better to be safe than sorry, right?” he said.

The merchant started going through his coat for the right wares “I get the feeling that this will be the last time we meet here. I just wanted to say that I appreciate your continued patronage. I also wish you luck on your future endeavors.” he said.

Diamond gave him a nod and smile “Thanks. I thought that you were creepy at first but you're actually very nice. I almost feel bad for not learning your name. What is it?” she asked.

The merchant shook his head with a laugh “Let's stick with the merchant, it's much simpler that way.” he said. After the ammo was supplied, Leon reached for his money but was stopped by the merchant “let's call this one on the house.” he said.

Leon nodded gratefully “It's appreciated.” he held a hand out to him “It was nice meeting you, merchant.” he said.

The merchant shook his hand “The feeling's mutual. Make sure to get the young lady home safe.” he said. He then turned to Diamond “And you little one, keep watching over the stranger. He'll need it.” he said with a wink.

Diamond nodded “Of course, no one's dying on my watch. Goodbye.” she said. With that, they turned around and entered the next building.

They found themselves in a hallway. When they turned a corner, they saw two armored soldiers guarding a door. Once the guards saw them, they charged with hammers raised. Leon and Diamond took ready stances as Ashley hid behind the corner in fright.

Leon ducked under a hammer swing and slipped behind him. He gave him multiple slashes to the back before shooting him in the back of the head. Diamond jumped back as the hammer slammed into the ground in front of her. She then ran up the handle to land a powerful jump kick to his chin. He fell onto his back and she plunged her knife into his forehead. He still seemed to be holding onto life so she punched the knife's handle to drive it deeper.

With that the two were finished. Ashley came out of hiding with a happy smile “You both are so strong and skilled. I really don't think I could've asked for better heroes.” she said.

Leon grinned lightly “Don't call us heroes until you're safely back home.” he said.

“I'll call you what I want, so you're my heroes. My knights in shining armor.” she said.

Diamond gave an amused roll of her eyes at her goofiness “Come on, we can't even think about going home until we get cured. Let's do that first.” she said.

The other two agreed and they continued through another door. They walked into the small lab that had a large control panel connected to a screen. There was also a leaned back chair that had two apparatuses hanging over it.

Diamond walked over to the chair to inspect it “What's all this for? It looks important.” she said.

Leon walked over to the control panel and pressed a few buttons. He smiled when he saw who this lab belonged to “Diamond? I think you'll like to hear who this lab belongs to.” he said. Diamond gave him a questioning look but waited for the name “Luis Sera. And that's not all, this is also what we need to destroy the parasites.” he said.

Diamond gasped in happiness and shock “Finally! And Luis was the one to save us in the end, how poetic.” she said.

Ashley glanced at the chair with suspicion “Are you sure this is safe? I don't like the look of it.” she said.

Leon turned to face her “I'm not sure if it's safe or not. That's why I'm going first.” he said.

Diamond's eyes widened “Wait, what if it kills you?” she asked.

Leon gave her a smirk “Then I'll be able to rest easy knowing that I left Ashley in capable hooves.” he said before sitting down in the chair “Ashley, activate it. It should be simple enough.” he said.

Ashley still felt worried “If you feel like this will work then, I trust you.” she said as she walked to the controls to familiarize herself with them.

Diamond walked up to Leon “I'll never forgive you if you die like this.” she said.

Leon chuckled “I'll try not to disappoint you.” he relaxed his body with a breath “Do it Ashley.” he ordered. She pressed the button to activate the machine while whispering a quiet prayer. The apparatuses started moving over a certain spot on his chest. The screen showed the large parasite moving about his chest.

Electricity shot out of each apparatus and into his chest. Leon gripped the armrests tight and grunted in pain. Diamond started to feel scared “Ashley, turn it off! It's hurting him!” she commanded in a panic.

Ashley turned to do as she said but stopped when Leon spoke up “No! I-it's fine. I'll l-live.” he managed to get out. Ashley thought for another second before deciding to respect his wishes. Leon's grunts turned to screams as the pain before more severe. Ashley gasped at the screen “Diamond! Look at the screen!” she said.

Diamond turned to see the parasite disintegrate to nothing “Holy Celestia, it actually works.” she said.

The machine turned off and Leon took a second to catch his breath. The girls ran to his side to check his condition. Ashley got his attention “Are you alright?” she asked.

Leon sat up and got off of the chair “Considering I don't have a life threatening parasite living inside me anymore, I'm feeling pretty damn good.” he said. He then gestured to the chair “Alright. Who's next?” he asked.

Diamond looked up at Ashley “You should go now that we know it's safe. You were infected before us so you might turn at any moment.” she said.

Ashley swallowed a lump in her throat “G-good point. Okay, I can do this.” she said as she sat in the chair.

Leon activated the machine and it got to work on her. She instantly started screaming as the electricity started coursing though her. Tears started to form in her eyes as the process came to a close. Leon helped her down from the chair as her legs were a bit wobbly from the pain “Feel good?” he asked.

She pouted at his joke “Yeah, best massage of my life.” she said sarcastically.

Leon glanced to Diamond “Are you ready? 'Cause you're next.” he said.

Diamond took a calming breath before climbing onto the chair “As ready as I'll ever be. Let's get this over with.” she said.

Leon nodded and fired up the machine. She started screaming out in pain as the burning pain only intensified with time. Once it was almost unbearable, the electricity cut out. She slowly got to her hooves and to the floor “So? Am I parasite free?” she asked.

Leon gave her a nod “You are, and do you know what that means?” he asked.

Diamond wonder what he was getting at “It means that I won't become a mindless slave to a crazy cult leader?” she guessed.

Leon chuckled “Yes but you can also go home now. Can't they bring you home with a spell now that you're no longer infected?” he asked.

Diamond gasped in realization “You're right! I can finally go home! I can see my father and Silvy again. I can actually sleep in my own bed again!” she happily exclaimed.

Leon and Ashley smiled down at her “Go on and tell them the good news.” he said.

Diamond quickly pulled her mirror out and held it in front of her. She saw her father and Twilight on the other side “Twilight! Dad! I'm...I'm...” she stopped and lost her smile.

Filthy raised an eyebrow “You're what, honey?” he asked.

Diamond glanced up at Leon and Ashley again. Her heart started to hurt. For some reason the thought of leaving this hell was almost unpleasant. She cleared her throat as she looked back to the mirror “I'm just checking in. I wanted to let you know I'm still hanging in there.” she said.

Twilight smiled when she heard that it wasn't bad news “That's good to know. Have you found the cure for your parasites yet?” she asked.

Diamond shook her head “Not yet, but I think we're close. I still feel alright so I think I still have lots of time.” she said.

Filthy sighed in relief “Thank you for letting us know. Tell us right when you get cured so that we can bring you home.” he said.

Diamond gave a nervous smile “I will, I promise.” she said before slipping the mirror back into her saddlebag.

Leon stared at her with a frown “Want to explain why you lied to them? Do you not want to go home?” he asked.

“I do want to go home. I desperately want to go home but...the mission isn't over. Saddler is still alive, and Ashley isn't safe yet.” she said.

Leon crossed his arms “I told you that all of that is my mission, not yours.” he said.

Diamond wasn't backing down “You told me that I was your partner! That make this just as much my mission as it is yours!” she pointed out.

Ashley knelt down to her with a gentle smile on her face “I know that you want to see the mission to the end but your family is missing you. They need you.” she said.

“But you're my family too and I want to help! I don't know what I'd do if I left and you two died. Please, let me stay just a little longer?” she pleaded.

Leon closed his eye to ponder her words for a few moments. Finally he opened his eyes and looked down at her “Fine but when Ashley is safely at home, you gotta go got it?” he asked.

Diamond smiled and jumped for joy “Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you so much! I won't let you down!” she exclaimed.

Ashley leaned toward Leon to whisper in his ear “Does this count as kidnapping?” she asked.

Leon nodded and whispered back “I think so but what can I say, the filly knows how to get what she wants.” he said. He then got Diamond's attention “Alright, let's move out partner.” he commanded.

Diamond gave a salute “Yes sir.” she said before they continued out of the building. They walked out into a construction zone. They walked up to a lift that would take them up to a large construction platform.

Leon seemed slightly uneasy which Ashley noticed “Is something wrong?” she asked.

He gave it some thought “I'm just getting a bad feeling is all.” he said.

Diamond gave Ashley a worried look “Maybe you should stay back and hide. Leon's gut usually isn't wrong.” she said.

Ashley nodded “Alright, I'll trust you two to come back safely.” she said. Leon and diamond looked to each other and nodded before walking onto the lift. Leon activated it and they were taken up.

The first thing they saw when they reached the top was Ada bounded and hanging from a rope attached to a crane. “Ada!” Leon called. Before he could help her, he saw saddler standing in front of him. Saddler pointed his palm at the two in an attempt to control them. He then frowned as nothing happened.

Diamond pulled her smuggest grin “Sorry Saddler, but consider your gift rejected.” she said.

Leon pulled out his knife “That little trick is old hat now.” he said before throwing his knife up toward Ada. The knife sliced through the rope like butter and Ada fell on some boxes that broke her fall. “I think this makes us even Ada.” he said.

Ada got to her feet and dusted off her dress “You'd better check your math.” she said.

Saddler chuckled darkly. Diamond glared at him “What do you have to laugh about? You can't control us, you're outnumbered, and you're on you last leg. You're as good as done.” she said.

His chuckles quickly evolved into full blown laughter “Do you really think you've seen all of my power? You're all ants to me! I will crush you with the same power that you willingly gave up! You will be the first to see my true form, a god!” he yelled out.

Leon whipped his head back to Ada “Get out of here! We'll handle things here!” he said.

“Have fun.” she said before running off.

Saddler opened his mouth wider than what should be possible to reveal a huge orange eyeball. His right arm then mutated into a long tentacle with a pointed end. His neck extended and bulged out with muscles. Four huge crab-like legs grew from his neck and lifted the rest of his body off the ground. Three blade-like horns grew from his face in a triangle. Out of his back sprouted four tails that had blades at the ends that were constantly whipping about. Lastly, one eyeball sprouted in the joints in each leg.

Leon steeled himself for the fight ahead of him “What do you think Diamond?” he asked.

She narrowed her eyes in focus “I think this ugly mother bucker has too many eyeballs.” she said.

Leon smirked “You're right. Let's get rid of a few.” he said.

Saddler charged towards them with his heavy legs crashing to the ground with every step. Leon shot at his right fore leg but the bullets only bounced off. He then landed a hit to the leg's eye, causing Saddler to trip to the ground. His head fell on the ground and he opened him mouth to expose his mouth eyeball. Thinking quickly, Leon ran towards the eye and plunged his knife into it. The head recoiled in pain and knocked Leon away in retribution.

Leon got back to his feet to see that Saddler had done the same “The main body is bullet proof, the eyeballs seem weak through. Try to do as much to the eyeball in his mouth as possible.” he said.

Diamond saw him start approaching and looked around to see no easy method of escape “If we let him corner us here then we're dead meat. We'll have plenty of space if we can get behind him though. Distract him by firing at him while I run past. Then I'll distract him so you can too.” she said.

Leon nodded “It's a solid plan. Alright.” he agreed and started to fire at Saddler's unarmored torso. It wasn't doing much but it certainly got his attention. Diamond then took the opportunity to run under his legs. When she got behind him, the bladed tails started waving around even faster. Diamond slipped through most of them and even managed to sever one with her knife.

Once she got a safe distance, she looked back to see Leon dodging Saddler's attempts at trampling him. She took aim at the eyeball located on his left fore leg and fired. Saddler grunted in pain and once again fell to the floor. Leon jammed his knife into the exposed main eye again and rolled away before he could retaliate. He then ran to join up with Diamond while Saddler recovered.

Saddler used his three horns to grab a hold of a large metal girder and lifted it. It was then thrown in the two's direction. Diamond ducked under it while Leon jumped over it, causing it to crash behind them. Leon turned to his left to see a bridge that led to another platform “Diamond, get across that bridge and give me some long range cover.” he ordered.

“On it.” she said as she quickly dashed off across the bridge. Once she made it to the other side, the bridge split down the middle and both sides fell limply to their sides. After a few seconds it returned to normal “I guess these bridges will give way sometimes? I should make note of that.” she said to herself before getting back on track.

She ran to the edge and took her rifle out. Saddler turned from Leon to her. He used his long legs to jump across the gap to and on the platform with Diamond “Well there goes that plan.” she said as she switched her rifle for her revolver.

Leon didn't like the thought of Diamond being alone with Saddler but her decided to roll with it. He took out his rifle to assume the supporting role.

Saddler protected his face with his horns before trying to ram his head into Diamond. She cartwheeled out of the way of his attack. He then tried to ram her from above but she rolled out of they of that too. Before saddler could attack again, Leon fired a shot into one of his small eyeballs to floor him again. Diamond jumped onto his head before plunging her knife into the main eye. Saddler's head shot up to send her flying in the air. She landed behind him with a roll to break her fall.

She then decided that she should return to Leon. She took an incendiary grenade out and tossed it at Saddler's feet before rushing across the bridge. The bridge gave out from under her but she caught onto the edge and pulled herself up. Once Diamond had made it back to Leon, Saddler wasn't far behind. He jumped across the gap again and tried to land on the two. Diamond backed up far enough to be unaffected while Leon was tripped up from the shaking of the platform.

Saddler grabbed Leon in his horns and tried to squeeze the life out of him. Diamond quickly took her rifle out and shot out one of his small eyes. Saddler dropped Leon and fell the the floor. Leon landed sloppily due to the pain he was put through but didn't injure himself. Diamond ran towards the main eye again and stabbed her knife through it. While Saddler was recovering, Leon and Diamond heard a loud whistle coming from the other platform.

The looked to see Ada standing on a higher platform with a rocket launcher in her hands. They could tell that it was different then the others since the rocket itself was red “Use this!” she called before tossing it down on the other platform.

Leon nodded “There's no way he could survive something like that, but I doubt he'll just let us waltz over and grab it.” he said.

Diamond took a deep breath before suggesting something “I'll keep him distracted while you grab it.” she said.

Leon pondered her plan “Fine but remember that I won't be able to take the shot if you're too close to him. Keep your distance.” he said.

Diamond smiled and rolled her eyes “I know, I know. Just get going before he figures out our plan. Trust me, I've got this in the bag.” she assured.

Leon nodded and ran off toward the bridge. Diamond faced Saddler as her charged her. She dodged a few attempts to hit her with his head. When that didn't work, he turned around and tried to slash at her with his three remaining tails.

She took her knife out and parried what she could while dodging what she couldn't. One of the blades connected with her chest and she suffered a shallow cut. Saddler then turned around and grabbed a hold of her with his horns. He raised his head high before slamming her down hard on the metal floor.

He stood and watched as she laid motionless in front of him. He started to turn around but stopped hen her heard her speak up “Wait!” she called as loud as she could, which was fairly quiet due to her pain.

Saddler turned to see her slowly trying to get to her hooves as blood trickled from a new wound on her forehead “I'm still breathing. We're not done here. You crazy bastard.” she said weakly as she finally managed to stand on two legs again.

Saddler narrowed his eye at her. He wrapped his tentacle around her neck and lifted her up to his face “Every time I decide to show you mercy, you throw my good will back in my face.” he said with a voice that was distorted by his transformation.

Diamond futilely struggled against his grip “You call any of this good will? Stop trying to feed me that misunderstood manure.” she said.

“Fine, I'll just kill you now and be done with it. Any last words before I snap your neck like a twig?” he asked.

Diamond managed a smirk “Yeah, I have two. Party time.” she said. Saddler seemed confused before Diamond summoned the strength to kick him in the throat. The attack didn't do much damage but surprised him enough to make him release her. She landed and pulled out the party cannon mini and aimed it up at Saddler “Don't let me down Pinkie.” she said before firing it.

The cannon fired with enough strength to knock Saddler off his legs and send him into the railings. His head was heavily covered in cake batter and confetti. He shook the batter off so that he could see again and saw Leon aiming the rocket launcher at him “That's all she wrote.” Leon said before firing.

Saddler had no time to react as the rocket exploded with intense power. After the fiery explosion passed, all that was left was a completely charred body. Something near the body caught Diamond's eye. She walked up to the item to identify it as the Las Plagas sample “This is the sample that Luis wanted us to retrieve.” she took it in her hoof the get a better look at it “A sample of Las Plagas huh?” she wondered.

She heard the sound of a gun being cocked behind her. She turned to see Ada pointing her handgun down at her “That is nothing that a child should be touching. Now give it here like a good kid.” she said.

Diamond glared at her “We just saved your life! This is how you repay us?” she said.

Ada nodded “Consider this a lesson. Life isn't fair. Now hand it over before I have to grab it from your corpse.” she threatened.

Leon came up behind Ada and pushed the barrel of his handgun into her back “You've done some bad things but threatening a kid is a new low.” he said.

Ada frowned at him “Trust me Leon, the sample is best left in my hands. Now put your gun down before I kill your partner.” she said.

Diamond chuckled “You won't kill me.” she said.

Ada raised an eyebrow “What makes you so sure?” she asked.

“Because you're not stupid. If you kill me then Leon will kill you and take the sample. I'm sure you know this, so stop bluffing.” she challenged.

Ada sighed in defeat and holstered her handgun “Fine, take it and go. You should hurry though...” she pulled out a small device and pressed a button on it “This island will go up in flames in three minutes.” she said.

Leon and Diamond was stunned in shock. Ada took the chance to sprint towards the edge of the platform near the ocean. She swan dived off the edge without hesitation. Diamond shook off the surprise “What the buck?” she asked.

Then a helicopter emerged from where Ada fell and she was sat comfortably in it. She held up a key on a key ring “Here, catch!” she warned before tossing it toward Leon.

He caught it and saw that it had a cute little teddy bear key chain on it “Adorable.” he said dryly.

Ada gave a short laugh “Near the lift is a tunnel. It leads to a vehicle that you can use to escape. Have fun.” she said before the helicopter started flying towards the orange horizon.

Leon turned to Diamond “Are you in any condition to run?” he asked.

She stuffed the sample into her bag for now “I don't think so.” she said. With no more discussion, Leon scooped her up in his arms and ran towards the lift.

They reached the bottom and Ashley came out of hiding to greet them. Before she could, Leon dumped Diamond into her arms “Carry her and follow me, fast.” he said.

Leon ran into a nearby tunnel and Ashley tried her best to keep up “Wait! Leon, whats with the hurry?” she asked.

Diamond decided to answer for him “This place is a few minutes from being blown up.” she said.

Ashley's eyes widened and she tried to run faster. Eventually they came across a water filled tunnel with a single jet ski waiting for them. Ashley seemed concerned “Are we really escaping on a jet ski?” she asked.

Leon mounted the vehicle and waved Ashley over “We don't have much choice, hop on or stay behind.” he said.

Ashley got on behind him with Diamond. While Ashley wrapped her arms around Leon's midsection, Diamond held onto his neck. Leon blasted off and started making his way through the winding path. They heard some explosions behind them. Ashley looked back and saw a huge wave gaining on them “Leon! Go faster!” she said in a panic.

“You got it.” Leon said before increasing to top speed. More explosions rocked the island causing large rocks to start falling in front of them.

Diamond sighed “I swear it hasn't even been three minute yet.” she said. Leon swerved between the falling rocks while trying to keep his speed up. He then saw a literal light at the end of the tunnel. There was a ramp like rock in the way so he decided that he would have to go over it. They flew out of the cave and landed roughly in the ocean.

The island behind them continued to explode but they were out of range of any danger. Ashley sighed in relief but gasped when she saw that Diamond was unconscious on Leon's back. She tried to shake her awake “Diamond! Are you okay?” she asked.

Leon stopped her “Wait, listen.” He said. They quieted down and listened. They heard soft snores coming from Diamond. Leon chuckled “She's probably exhausted. Let her sleep, she's been through a lot.” he said.

Leon then got a call on his communicator. He smiled when he saw the familiar face of Hunnigan “I finally got a hold of you. Someone was intercepting the signal.” she said.

Leon nodded “Yeah, I know.” he said.

“It's been awhile, what's the status of your mission?” she asked.

“Complete. The subject's secure and we're on our way home.” he said.

“And what about the pony, Diamond Tiara?” she asked.

Leon glanced at the sleeping pony before returning his gaze to Hunnigan “She's getting some well deserved rest, but she's alive as well. We all are no longer carriers of Las Plagas.” he said.

Hunnigan smiled and breathed a sigh of relief “That's all great news. I have a lock on your location. I'll send a chopper to intercept and pick you up.” she said before hanging up.

Ashley got Leon's attention “Now that the mission is complete, do you think we should tell the ponies that Diamond can be brought home?” she asked.

Leon thought about that for a moment “Let's hold off on that. I think President Graham should meet the pony that brought his daughter home safe, don't you?” he asked.

Ashley giggled and nodded “Definitely.” she said. Leon then sped off toward the horizon that had the sun peeking up from behind it.

Welcome Home

Leon, Diamond, and Ashley were being led through a long hallway by a man in a suit. The sunlight shined brightly though the windows as they passed them. Ashley glanced down at Diamond “So when do you think you'll talk to your friends and family about going home?” she asked.

“I already told Twilight that I'm cured. She said that she'll start casting the spell when I stop moving around. After that it should only take a few minutes.” Diamond explained.

Ashley nodded “At least you'll still have enough time to meet my father. Are you nervous?” she asked.

Diamond thought about that for a few seconds “Kind of. I mean, I am meeting the leader of a country in a whole other world.” she said.

Their guide stopped in front of a pair of wooden double doors and stepped out of their way. Leon turned to Diamond “This is it. Are you ready?” he asked.

She took a quick calming breath before nodding. Leon pushed through the doors with Ashley and Diamond following behind. The oval office had multiple men and women standing along the walls. Diamond's gaze fell onto a man sitting behind a large wooden desk. He was an older man with short blonde hair. She assumed that he was president Graham.

He glance up from his work and his eyes locked onto Ashley. His expression was a mix of relief and joy “Ashley!” he called as he shot up from his chair. Ashley smiled as her father hurried out from behind his desk to reach her. He embraced her tightly and she reciprocated the affection “Honey, I'm so glad you're okay! You're not hurt, are you?” he asked with clear concern.

She giggled “I'm just fine. I was in very good hands.” she said.

Graham nodded and let go of her “Speaking of good hands...” he turned to Leon “Agent Kennedy, I just finished reading Hunnigan's report of your mission. Not only did you bring my daughter back to me, you also stopped a terrorism attempt before it could even get off the ground. You have done a great service to not only me, but America as a whole. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” he said with slight bow of respect.

Leon accepted the praise with a nod “Thank you for the praise, but I didn't do it alone.” he gestured down at Diamond “I'm sure you've heard of her.” he said.

Graham glance down at the filly with an unreadable expression “I have. Diamond Tiara, correct?” he asked.

Diamond nodded nervously “Y-yes sir.” she said.

“The juvenile creature from another world that inserted herself into your mission.” he said. Diamond frowned and hung her head slightly. Graham continued “You came to this world and decided to get involved in a mission that had nothing to do with you.” he said.

Leon stopped him “Excuse me for speaking out of turn but Diamond can't be blamed for any of that. She was brought to this world on accident and the only reason that she was involved with the mission was because I decided to bring her. I take full responsibility for her actions.” he said.

Graham was about to speak but Ashley beat him to it “Don't be mad at either of them. Leon took Diamond in because her had no other choice. He wasn't just gonna leave her alone. You understand right?” she asked.

Graham held his hands up defensively “Calm down, I never said anything about being angry. I was just about to thank her.” he cleared up.

Diamond raised an eyebrow “Thank me? So your not mad about me getting involved with the mission?” she asked.

He nodded at her “Of course not. Hunnigan's report stated that you're involvement was integral in the mission's success. Without you, I might have never seen my little girl again. You have my gratitude.” he said. He then frowned when he saw all of the bloody bandages on her and the rifle strapped to her “I wish that your first experience in this world wasn't so horrific. I would like to make it up to you somehow.” he said.

Diamond shook her head with a giggle “That's fine, you don't have to do anything for me. I'm just glad that the three of us made it out of there alive.” she said.

Graham rubbed his chin in thought “I can't just leave you without a reward of some kind.” he snapped his fingers as an idea came to his mind “How about this? I'll owe you a favor. If you need anything at all, just ask me and I'll do my best to help.” he offered.

Diamond smiled and nodded “That sounds fine. I'll be sure to keep that in mind.” she said.

Graham's expression turned grim “Onto a more serious topic. We have been advancing our technology at a rapid rate, but we are nowhere near travel between worlds. I don't know if we can help you return. I'm sorry.” he said.

Diamond just chuckled slightly “Don't worry about that. Somepony is casting a teleportation spell for me as we speak. She said it would take a few minutes so I'll be gone any moment now.” she explained.

He turned to her with a surprised expression before seemingly remembering something “Ah yes, I forgot that magic caused your trip here in the first place. It's still hard to believe that magic is real in another world.” he said.

Ashley knelt down to Diamond “I have to hurry and say my goodbyes before you disappear.” she wrapped her up in a gentle hug which she readily accepted “As scary as all of this was, I'm glad that I met you.” she said.

“I could say the same about you.” Diamond said.

Ashley glanced up at Leon who was staring at the two “Leon, get in here! You know that you'll regret it if you don't.” she said.

A few agents in the room snickered to themselves. Leon returned his gaze to Ashley and Diamond who were waiting for him to join them. He sighed before he knelt down to join in the group hug “Diamond, if I was told that I would join up with a filly to take out terrorists while on my mission to save Ashley, I would have had them admitted to a mental hospital. But now, I wouldn't have had it any other way.” he said.

She smiled at his words “Leon-” she was cut off as the three of them disappeared in a flash of light.

They looked around to see that their surroundings had changed drastically. Diamond turned to see her father and Sliver staring at her in shock along with the other ponies. They were all staring at the two humans that were standing in front of them.

Filthy and Silver recovered first and ran to Diamond. She smiled as they both hugged her. She then grunted in pain as they hugged too tight “Ahh, not so hard.” she said.

As they enjoyed their reunion, Twilight started to panic “I'm so sorry, I should have warned Diamond not to be in contact with anyone during the teleportation.” she said.

Ashley glanced around at her surroundings and the ponies watching her “So this is Diamond's world?” she asked in wonder.

Twilight lit her horn up “D-don't worry, I should be able to send you back. Just give me a second.” she said.

Ashley put her hands up to stop her “Wait! Do we have to leave so suddenly?” she asked. Twilight stopped casting in confusion.

Leon put his hand on Ashley's shoulder “We do have to go. We disappeared right in front of your father after you just returned. Just imagine what's going through his head right now.” he said.

She hung her head guiltily “He's probably freaking out.” she admitted.

Celestia walked up to Leon and cleared her throat. He was slightly caught off guard at the pony that was significantly taller then the rest. She gave him a calm smile “I don't think we have been acquainted yet. I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestia.” she then turned to Luna who also walked up “This is my sister, Princess Luna.” she introduced.

Leon felt like he had time for a proper introduction “Leon Kennedy, and this is Ashley Graham.” he said.

Celestia gave them each a nod in greeting “It's nice to meet the humans who help one of my little ponies when I couldn't.” she said.

Ashley turned away as she blushed “It was all leon. I didn't do anything.” she said.

“I'm sure you're just being modest. If you two can spare some time then I'd love to reward you for your efforts.” Celestia said. Leon was about to refuse but was cut off by his stomach growling. Celestia giggled slightly “If you're hungry, then perhaps a meal will suffice as a reward.” she offered.

Leon held a hand up and shook his head “I appreciate the offer but there are some people who are wondering where we are.” he said. He then got a call on his communicator “That's probably Hunnigan now.” he said. He looked into the device to see and hear nothing but static “Damn, I should have known that she wouldn't be able to reach me here.” he said.

Twilight stared at the communicator “Is that some kind of communication device? Maybe I can help?” she suggested. She lit up her horn as well as the communicator.

To Leon's surprise, the picture cleared up and he saw Hunnigan “I finally got though to you. What the hell happened Leon? I've got calls saying that you, Ashley, and Diamond disappeared without a trace. Where are you?” she asked.

Leon rubbed the back of his neck as he thought of some way to explain it “The teleportation spell that was supposed to take Diamond home apparently brings along anyone in contact to the subject.” he said.

Hunnigan gasped “Are you saying...” she asked.

He nodded to confirm her suspicions “That's right, we're in another world.” he said.

“Are you in any danger? Is there any way back?” she asked.

“We're safe. The inhabitants are friendly. One of them says that she's confident that she can send us back.” he said.

Ashley walked over Leon's shoulder so that she could speak to Hunnigan “The princesses here offered us a meal as a reward for Diamond's safe return, so we might be a bit late coming back. Please let my father know that I'm safe and will be back later.” she said.

Leon sighed and shook his head “I told you that we shouldn't stay.” he said.

Hunnigan got his attention “Maybe you should take their offer.” she suggested.

Leon stared at her with a surprised expression “What? You can't be serious.” he said.

“Being able to experience another world is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Plus you might be able to learn something that might improve our world.” she said.

Leon turned to Ashley who had a pleading look on her face. He finally nodded “Alright, we'll stay for a meal. Hunnigan, be sure that President Graham understands the situation.” he said.

She nodded at him “I'll contact him immediately.” she said before cutting out the transmission.

Leon glanced back to the ponies “I guess we'll accept your offer.” he said to the princesses.

While they talked, Filthy and Silver let go of Diamond. Sliver looked down at herself to see all kinds of filth that rubbed off onto her “Gross, what is all of this?” she asked.

Diamond thought for a second “Probably blood. But it could be dirt and sewer water too. Most likely all three.” she said.

Sliver was shocked at how causally she had said that “That doesn't bother you? Last week you fainted when you stepped in a puddle of mud.” she said.

Diamond shrugged “I guess I just learned that it doesn't really matter.” she said.

Filthy smiled at the two “I don't care what you're covered in, I'm just so relieved to see you safe.” he said.

Rarity watched the reunion with a smile “It does do my heart good to see them finally reunite.” she said.

Fluttershy nodded. Feeling the happiness in the room, she decided to walk up behind Diamond. She reached out to put a comforting hoof on her back. As soon as her hoof made contact, Diamond tensed up. She grabbed her knife quickly and slashed it back towards Fluttershy.

Luckily she stumbled back in fright, avoiding the blade. Diamond growled at her “Get back!” she yelled.

Fluttershy apologized profusely and everyone stared in shock. Two of the royal guards jumped in to protect the princesses. Leon quickly got between the guards and Diamond “Wait!” he said to stop them.

Once they stopped, he knelt down to Diamond and made her look at him “Diamond, the mission is over. You're safe, remember?” he asked.

Diamond blinked a few times and shook her head as if to rid it of something “R-right. I...don't know what came over me.” he said.

Leon gave her an understanding look “Unfortunately this is fairly normal. It can be difficult to separate yourself from the mission. Why don't you take off all of that equipment? It might help.” he said.

Diamond nodded and started taking her saddle bags off. Next she took off her tactical vest. Lastly she took her knife holster off of her leg. Leon separated her from the discarded equipment “How do you feel?” he asked.

She shifted with a frown “Uncomfortable.” she said.

He patted her on the back “That's fine. Just take a deep breath and remind yourself that you're safe.” he said. While she did that, Leon stood up and glanced at the ponies that were still shocked “She'll be alright, just don't sneak up on her. She's been through a lot.” he said.

They all stood around, not knowing how to act. Celestia walked up to the guilty looking filly. She took note of all the filth covering her “Perhaps you would like to get clean. I'll have a guard escort you to a bath.” she said.

She then turned to a guard “Please show Diamond Tiara to the baths. Also get her some clean bandages to replace her old ones.” she said.

The guard gave a salute before turning to Diamond “Right this way.” he said. She nodded and followed the guard out of the room.

Ashley walked over to Fluttershy who was still cowering on the floor “Are you okay?” she asked.

Fluttershy shakily got to her hooves and nodded with a gulp “I t-think so.” she said.

Rainbow flew to Fluttershy's side and frowned “What the hay is wrong with that filly? She almost took poor Fluttershy's head off!” she shouted.

Ashley crossed her arms and pouted “It's not her fault, she's just a bit jumpy.” she said.

Rainbow glared at her “Jumpy? That's not jumpy. If she was just slightly faster flutters could have died!” she argued.

“If Diamond was slightly slower she would have died back in our world!” she countered with tears threatening to fall.

Even Leon was surprised by her outburst “Ashley...” he said. Ashley tied her best to wipe the tears from her face. Leon put a hand on her shoulder before addressing Rainbow “Ashley has a point. Diamond's just used to reacting as fast as she could to save her own life. It takes time to get out of that head space.” he said.

Rainbow's expression softened. She rubbed the back of her neck and averted her gaze “Damn, I guess that makes sense. Poor kid.” she said.

Filthy Rich hung his head “Look what that world did to my little girl.” he muttered to himself.

Celestia sensed the somber mood in the room so she spoke up “Me and Luna shall alert the kitchen staff of the meal I promised. A guard will escort you all to the dining room. Please wait for us there.” she said before walking out of the room with Luna following behind.

When they were out of the room, Celestia turned to her sister “Well?” she asked.

Luna raised an eyebrow at her “Are you expecting something of us?” she asked.

“I seem to recall that you had an idea that I wouldn't like. You said that you would tell me what it was if Diamond Tiara came back safely yet you haven't said a word.” she said.

Luna took a moment to think “It is hardly a topic to bring up during a meal. We shall hold off on that until after.” she said. She then continued walking toward the kitchen. Celestia sighed sadly before joining her.

In the dining room Leon and Ashley sat at the long table while getting acquainted with the ponies. After Leon told them a story, Rainbow's mouth hung open in disbelief “No way! You're saying that you and Diamond took out a giant that could easily hold you in it's hand?” she asked.

Leon nodded “We had to take on a few on our journey but they weren't the worst thing we faced.” he said.

Applejack seemed shocked by that “Ah can't imagine somethin' like that not being the worst. What would be the worst thing y'all faced then?” she asked.

He thought for a moment “Krauser is definitely a close second. He was already a skilled soldier but with the power of Las Plagas, he was almost insurmountable. If Diamond wasn't there to back me up, I don't know if I could have beat him. I think Saddler was the worst though.” he said.

That name got Twilight's attention “Saddler? That's the name of the leader of Los Illuminados right? I thought you described him as an old man.” she said.

“He was. But he had the strongest variant of Las Plagas on his side. He was also able to slightly control us since we had the parasites inside us.” he said.

“How did you win if he had control over you?” she wondered.

Ashley decided to answer for him “They beat him after we all got cured.” she said.

The ponies all stared at them with shocked expressions. Ashley wondered what caused that kind of reaction. After a second she realized what slipped out and she covered her mouth. Filthy Rich glared at the humans “Diamond said that she was only just cured. She also said that she contacted us right after so she wouldn't have had time for a battle with anything. What exactly is going on here?” he demanded.

Leon hung his head “Fine, we were actually all cured a few hours ago. We urged her to go home right away but she refused. She wanted to see the mission to it's conclusion. We finished it up and she came with us back to meet the president of our country since she had a hoof in Ashley's rescue.” he explained.

Filthy scowled at them “Do you really expect me to believe that she wanted to stay in that world after what she went through? You forced her didn't you? Did you threaten her?” he questioned in anger.

Before Leon could defend himself, they heard Diamond's voice “They didn't do anything wrong.” she said. They turned to see her standing in the doorway to the dining room. She was now perfectly clean and had new bandages wrapped around her wounds “They tried to get me to leave but I wanted to stay and finish the mission. And Leon wouldn't even think of threatening me.” she said.

Behind her, the princesses walked in. Luna glanced down at her “So thou had a chance to return home but thou decided to stay to assure the safety of another?” she asked.

Diamond nodded at her “That was most of it but I also wanted to end saddler. For everyone who was hurt, controlled, or killed by him.” she said.

Luna nodded in understanding and Celestia stepped up to address the others “Lunch shall be served in a few moments.” she said.

Diamond and the princesses took their places at the table. Diamond was between Leon and Sliver spoon. Silver smiled at her “It's good to see you...relatively back to normal. Although...” she stared up at the top of her head “Where's your tiara?” she asked.

Diamond touched the top of her head to confirm that her usual head wear wasn't there “I forgot all about that.” she admitted. Suddenly she felt something being placed on her head from behind. She felt that it was her tiara and she turned to see Leon and Ashley smiling at her “You kept it safe all this time?” she asked in excitement.

Leon chuckled “Of course. I wouldn't be able to replace it anyway since it costs more than my life.” he said in a joking manner.

She laughed before giving him a warm smile “Whoever told you that has no idea what they're talking about.” she said.

After another moment, Silver got Diamond's attention again “Can you tell us a story of your adventure? I mean, you did go to another world so I'm interested in what it's like. As long as you're comfortable talking about it.” she asked.

Diamond chuckled before nodding “Yeah it's fine. I've got to tell you about Salazar.” she said. She told them about her experiences in Salazar's castle and was finishing when servers walked in to serve them their food. Diamond continued to detail Salazar's transformation.

Rarity frowned at the details and felt a bit sick “Can you not talk about something so revolting while we are trying to eat?” she asked.

Rainbow seemed invested in the story “Hold on a second rarity, I need to know how they beat something like that.” she said.

Leon chuckled “It wasn't as hard as it would seem. I'm sure Diamond could have handled it without me.” he said.

Luna raised an eyebrow at that “Thou dost seem to be singing her praises in her combat ability often Mr. Kennedy. Be honest, how would thou describe her abilities.” she asked.

He held his chin as he thought “She's a fast learner. She was a complete amateur when I first met her which was expected since she's a kid. But with every minute that passed, I could tell that she was improving. She surpassed the skill level of many government agents that I know within the span of a day. She would do well in any career involving law enforcement.” he said.

Filthy got his attention by clearing his throat “I appreciate that you're impressed with my daughter, but she will not be having any career as dangerous as that. She will be a business pony, we have already discussed it.” he said.

Diamond's mood seemed to sour when she heard that. Ashley narrowed her eyes at Filthy “Me and Diamond also talked about that.” she turned to Diamond with a soft smile “Don't you have something you wanted to talk to your dad about?” she reminded.

She took a deep breath for confidence before turning to her father “I...I don't want to run your company.” she said.

He gasped in surprise “Where is this coming from? You were always so excited to inherent my company.” he said.

“No I wasn't, I just didn't think I had a choice. I'm sorry but I just don't have any interest in business. I only figured that out when I noticed that I really enjoyed what I was doing with Leon.” she said.

Filthy opened his mouth to argue back but his gaze fell on the other ponies that were staring at him. He cleared his throat “We will talk about this later. We'll finish this discussion back home.” he said simply. Diamond turned to Ashley who smiled back in pride.

They continued to eat in relative silence until they had finished. Leon turned to Princess Celestia “I do appreciate your hospitality but we do have to get back.” he said.

Celestia nodded in understanding “Of course. It was a pleasure meeting you two. Allow me to extend my thanks to you once more.” she said with a slight bow.

Leon bowed in response before turning to Twilight “Do you think you can send us back?” he asked.

Twilight nodded and lit her horn up “Give me a few minutes.” she said.

Leon turned to Diamond who's expression was a mix of happiness and sadness “We've already said our goodbyes before so I'm not sure what's left to say.” he said.

Ashley quickly pulled her into another hug “I really wish there was some way for us to visit each other.” she said.

Twilight raised an eyebrow as an idea crossed her mind “Well since we have found a way to access that world, it is theoretically possible to create a portal between that world and this one.” she said. She then shook her head when she saw the hopeful look on Ashley's face “I don't mean to give any false hope. It's only a theory. I wouldn't even know where to start creating something like that.” she said.

Leon nodded as he took in the information before he turned back to Diamond “Well I've always been the optimistic type so instead of saying goodbye, I'll just say until next time.” he said. He held his fist out to her. She bumped it with her hoof with a happy giggle.

After a moment, Twilight got their attention “The spells almost ready. Please don't be in contact with anypony when I cast it.” she said. Leon and Ashley nodded and made sure that they had good distance from the others. She cast the spell and the two were gone in a flash. Diamond let out a bittersweet sigh.

Filthy walked up beside her “We should get home now. This whole situation has been exhausting.” he said. Diamond nodded and started to follow her father.

They stopped when a unicorn guard walking into the room. He was levitating all of Diamond's discarded gear in his magic. The guard walked over to Celestia “I noticed all of this in another room, where should I put it?”

“Just leave them in the armory. We'll take a look at them later.” she answered.

Diamond's eyes widened “Wait! You can't take those! Those are mine!” she said.

Celestia raised an eyebrow “Are these not almost all weapons?” she asked.

“Besides the tactical vest, yeah. But they still belong to me.” she argued.

Filthy tried to calm her down “You have no more need for those. Even if you did, it's illegal for anypony to own weapons like that unless they are part of the royal guard.” he explained.

Luna thought for a moment before speaking up “Perhaps that can be remedied.” she said.

They all stared at her in surprise and Celestia had a sudden realization “This is it, isn't it? The idea that I wouldn't approve of.” she asked.

Luna gave her a nod before walking closer to Diamond “We shall allow thee to keep thine weapons on two conditions.” she said.

Diamond was shocked but nodded “What conditions exactly?” she asked.

“First, allow us to examine the weapons so that we might create similar ones for our guard.” she said.

Diamond didn't see any harm in that so she nodded “That's fine. What about the other condition?” she asked.

Luna paused as if she was considering whether what she was about to say was a good idea. Eventually she seemed to have chosen “The final condition is the most important. Agree to training for the night guard.” she said.

The entire room was stunned silent by the request. Diamond blinked hard as if to wake herself up if she were dreaming “A-are asking me to join your royal guard?” she asked.

“We are asking thee to agree to training. After thou undergoes our training, we will decide if we will add you to our ranks or not.” she said.

Before Diamond could even think about her answer, Celestia came up beside her sister “You were correct sister, I do not approve. She is only a filly. A filly who has been through a traumatic experience.” she argued.

Luna held a hoof up to silence her sister “We are not forcing her. If she wants nothing to do with it, then we shall drop it immediately. But think about it sister, most of our guards have little to no real combat experience. Training can only take somepony so far when faced against a deadly force. This filly has shown that she is not only capable of fighting, but willing.” she explained.

Filthy Rich walked up and worked up the courage to disagree with royalty “Princess Luna please forgive me for speaking out of turn but...Diamond Tiara is my daughter and I will not allow her to pursue something so dangerous. So thank you for the offer but no th-”

“We extended this offer to Diamond Tiara, not thou. We shall hear her answer and her answer alone.” she said in a stern tone. Filthy quickly backed away and Luna turned back to Diamond with a gentle expression “Know that this is not a decision to take lightly. If you need some time to think it over, then I understand.” she said.

Diamond looked up at her but couldn't bring herself to answer. It felt like there was something in her mind holding her back from accepting. Her eyes widened as she recognized what it was. She smiled and gave Luna a small bow “I will need some time. There is something I need to do before I can answer.” she said.

Luna nodded “Please take your time. We do not want you to answer before thou art fully prepared.” she said.

“I'll have an answer for you tomorrow.” she turned and walked back to her father and Silver “Let's go home. I have something to do in ponyville.” she said.

“Hold on!” Luna called after her.

Diamond turned around to see Luna levitating her tactical vest and other gear over to her “we shall allow thee to hold onto them until thou can answer us.” she said.

Diamond smiled but then looked up at the princess with confusion “R-really?” she asked.

Luna gave her a smile and a nod “We hope thou understands that if we hear of those being used, thou will be prosecuted.” she said.

Diamond chuckled before she opened her saddlebags to make sure everything was accounted for. After a few seconds she saw something that made her blood run cold “D-damn it! How did I forget about that?” she questioned herself.

The princesses glanced at each other in concern. Celestia took a step towards the filly “What has you so worried? What did you forget?” she asked.

Diamond reached into the bag and carefully pulled out a purple vial “The sample! I accidentally left the sample in my bag! I brought it to Equestria!” she yelled in a panic.

Twilight walked up to get a closer look at the vial “The sample? What is it a sample of?” she asked.

“Las Plagas. Saddler had it on him and I grabbed it off of his corpse. I then put it in my bag and forgot about it since there was more important things going on.” she explained.

Rainbow's eyes widened “Las Plagas, as in the parasite thing that almost killed you multiple times? How could you forget about something like that being in your bag?” she questioned.

“Because the island I was on was about to explode. In the moment, that felt more important than the sample” diamond said.

Luna stared at the sample “May we see it?” she asked. Diamond nodded and allowed her to levitate it over. She started to examine it “To think something so small could be so dangerous.” she muttered to herself.

Diamond still seemed nervous “We have to keep that safe. Who knows what could happen if it fell into the wrong hooves.” she said.

“This needs to be locked up. We shall make sure that the security of this sample is made a top priority. Thou can trust us with this.” Luna said.

Diamond chuckled nervously “Thanks, it's probably better off here then being hidden at my house.” she said.

“We shall see to it's security measures personally immediately. Then we will await thine answer tomorrow.” she said before giving a bow and walking off with the sample. Diamond the donned her tactical vest and other gear before exiting the castle with Silver and her father.

Diamond and Silver walked together through a tree covered path. Silver glanced at her friend with a questioning expression “I know that you said you had something you wanted to do before answering the princess, but what are we doing in Sweet Apple Acres?” she asked.

Diamond had a look of determination on her face “We're going to the CMC clubhouse.” she said.

Silver wondered what business she could have with then but her eyes widened in fright when a thought crossed her mind “Wait! Are you sure this is a good idea? I know that they're annoying blank flanks but I think that's going too far.” she said.

Diamond was about to ask what she was talking about but stopped when she saw Silver staring at her rifle. She sighed and face-hoofed “I'm not going to kill them! Why was that the first thing your mind went to?” she questioned.

Silver blushed and averted her eyes “I wasn't thinking that.” she muttered.

“Oh please, you were eyeing my rifle as if it would bite your head off any second now.” she said.

With a shake of her head, silver tried to get back on track “So what are we here for then?” she asked.

Diamond hung her head with a sigh “I...I need to apologize to them.” she said.

“For what?” Silver asked.

Diamond turned to her friend with a surprised expression “For what? For everything. We've been bullying them for so long that it's almost became second nature. All because I saw myself as better than everypony else. Well now I know where thinking like that will lead.” she said solemnly.

Sensing the more serious tone, sliver gave her a gentle smile “If you're sure about this then, I'm with you.” she said.

They shared a quick hug before they saw the clubhouse in the distance. Once they got close they heard muffled talking coming from inside, confirming that they were in there. Once they arrived at the door, Diamond took a deep breath before knocking.

After a short moment the door opened to reveal Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They frowned when they realization who it was but their expressions changed to confusion when they noticed Diamond's condition. Scootaloo finally spoke up first “I was gonna ask what you're doing here but I think there are more important questions to ask. Like, what the hay happened to you?” she asked.

Diamond rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to figure out where to start “What happened doesn't really matter right now. What does matter is what I have to say.” she bowed her head low “I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything.” she said genuinely.

Apple Bloom was waiting for some kind of insult to follow but it never did “Wait, really?” she asked.

Before Diamond could answer, Scootaloo stepped up and glared at her “I don't buy that for a second! You were a jerk to us just two days ago! You really want me to believe that you changed from then to now?” she stared at all of the bandages on the filly “I bet these aren't even real injuries.” she said skeptically.

She poked the bandage on her chest hard causing her to wince. Silver gasped and pushed Scootaloo away “Don't touch her, chicken!” she scolded.

Before the two could fight, Diamond held her friend back “Calm down Silver, it's fine. And don't call her a chicken.” she said.

Sweetie seemed shocked at Diamond's actions “Did she just defend Scootaloo?” she asked.

Scootaloo still didn't seem convinced “Fine, maybe you did get hurt. But what's in those bags? There has to be something in there that you'll use to humiliate us.” she said. She then opened Diamond's bags and started rifling through it.

Diamond started to panic and tried to get away from her “Don't touch any of that.” she warned.

Scootaloo grabbed a flash grenade in her mouth by the pin “What's this thing?” she wondered.

“Be careful with that.” she warned as she tried to grab it back. The grenade fell to the floor while the pin remained in Scootaloo's mouth. Before Diamond could warn anyone, the grenade went off and blinded them all. They all let out a cry as their eyes stung from the bright light.

Sweetie sat on the floor as tears started to fall down her cheeks “I can't open my eyes.” she cried.

Diamond tried to focus on getting her eyes open “It only last for a few seconds.” she told them.

After a few seconds they were all able to open their eyes again. Scootaloo glared at Diamond “See? I knew she was up to something.” she said.

Diamond managed a small chuckle to herself “You're lucky that you only grabbed a flash.” she muttered.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Scootaloo questioned.

Diamond shook the thought away and got back on track “Never mind. Listen, I swear that I didn't come here to do anything to you girls. I only came to apologize.” she said.

Apple Bloom hummed as she thought “Ah think ah believe her.” she said.

“What?” Scootaloo asked.

“She just doesn't look like she's lyin'.” she said.

Sweetie nodded “I agree. Plus she hasn't insulted up at all this whole time. She even defended scoots. We should at least hear her out.” she said.

Diamond gave them a grateful smile “Thank you.” she then gain a more serious expression “I met someone last night. Someone evil. I thought that me and him couldn't be more different but he pointed out that we were more alike than I thought. And that terrified me. I realized that I had to change, and I couldn't think of a better way to start that change than making it up to you. If there's something I can do to make it up to you, please tell me.” she said.

To her surprise, Apple Bloom pulled her into a hug “Ya don't gotta do nothin', ah forgive ya.” she said. Diamond shook off the surprise and embraced her back.

Sweetie joined in while also pulling Silver into the group hug “She's right, I'm willing to give you two a chance.” she said.

Scootaloo still had a frown on her face “I don't feel the same.” she said. The others all frowned at her. Scootaloo then chuckled “You will have to make it up to me. Buy me dinner, then I'll forgive you.” she said.

Diamond giggled “That sounds fair. I'll treat you all to dinner.” she said. Scootaloo then joined in on the group hug with a smile. While being surrounded by her new friends, Diamond looked up at the sky with a smile “With that off of my conscience, I can tell Princess Luna that I'll gladly join the night guard.” she said.

The crusader's eyes widened in shock “What?” they asked simultaneously.

Diamond was amused by their reaction “I should probably explain what happened over the last day.” she said.

Apple Bloom gestured to the clubhouse “Come on in, ah have to hear what all of this is about.” she said. Diamond nodded and walked inside with the others.

Author's Note

And that's all folks, at least for now. I do plan on writing a sequel to this at some point. I'm not sure when but I still have some planing to do first.

Also, sorry if this chapter was a bit all over the place. I just have no idea how to write an ending.

If you actually read this to the end, I appreciate it. I hope you got at least some enjoyment out of it.

Cabin a Lot of Trouble

The group walked out of the side shed into the rain again. They saw a slight glow around the cemetery. Diamond took a closer to see a group of villagers waiting while holding torches “That's a lot to get through.” she said.

Leon walked up and scanned the mob. He then saw a wagon loaded with barrels at the top of the hill “We won't have to fight all of them.” he said.

He walked up behind the wagon and pushed it. It quickly picked up speed and started running through most of the mob. The wagon then crashed into a cabin and broke apart. The two villagers that were left charged them with their torches.

One villager tried to attack Leon but he was able to block it and grab the torch. He then used the torch to light the villager on fire. He writhed in the pain before falling to the floor.

Diamond took her knife in her teeth and ran under the other villager's legs as he attacked. She then stabbed him in the leg causing him to fall to his knees. She rammed into his back making him fall onto his stomach. She then finished him by stabbing him through the head.

Ashley caught up to the two when she saw that the villagers were wiped out. She walked up to Diamond who was still standing on the corpse of the villager “I still think you should leave the fighting to Leon.” she said with worry.

Diamond glared at her “What? Didn't you see what I just did. I can take care of myself.” she said.

Leon got between the two “We don't have time for this. We already have a evac coming, we have to hurry.” he said.

The two agreed and they all continued on. They left the cemetery and entered the cave again. Once they entered the room with the blue torch they saw the merchant waiting for them “Ah, welcome stranger.” he greeted.

Ashley hid behind Leon at the sight of him “Leon, who is that?” she asked.

Leon just casually walked up to the man “Don't worry, he's just a merchant. He provided a lot to us on our mission.” he said.

The merchant nodded “Indeed. I mean you no harm young lady.” he then turned to Leon “will you be making a purchase this time?” he asked.

Leon shook his head “No, our time here is almost done.” he said.

The merchant chuckled “No harm in playing it safe though.” he said.

Leon held a hand up “No, thanks for the offer.” he then turned to Diamond and Ashley “Come on let's go.” he said.

They made it through the cave quickly and climbed up the ladder back into the house. They walked towards the door to the village but Diamond suddenly stopped. She then started coughing into her hoof. Leon turned towards her and his eye's widened. He knelt down next to her. He watched as she coughed some blood onto her hoof.

She stared at her hoof in fear “Does...does this mean that what that saddler guy said was true? Is this a symptom?” she asked.

Leon put a hand to her shoulder “We don't know that. But even if it is true then we'll find a way to stop it. Okay?” he said.

Diamond nodded slowly “Y-yeah. I definitely won't turn into one of them.” she said.

They then continued into the village. They immediately saw many villagers waiting for them. Leon started running “To the ranch! Hurry!” he said. Ashley and Diamond ran after him.

Leon shot a few villagers who were in his way as he neared the door to the ranch. Suddenly he was stopped as he felt a sharp pain in his leg. He grunted in pain and looked down to see it in a bear trap. Diamond gasped and ran to him. She helped him open it back up. Without missing a beat Leon continued running towards the door with Diamond and Ashley following.

They made it through the door and Leon jammed the door with a large tree branch. He then sat down next to the door and took a few deep breaths.

Ashley knelt down next to him “Oh my god! Leon are you going to be alright?” she asked.

Leon nodded and rolled his pant leg up to reveal the wound. Diamond cringed at the sight “How can you say that you'll be alright. That looks like it hurts.” she said.

Leon took out his first aid spray and bandages “It does hurt but it's not unmanageable.” he quickly sprayed his leg and bandaged it up before standing back up “I won't let something like this stop me.” he said.

He then started scanning the area and saw some more villagers that were waiting for them “We might have to take these ones out.” he turned to Ashley “Find somewhere to hide while me and Diamond take care of this. I'll whistle for you when it's safe to come out.” he said.

Ashley nodded “Right.” she said then started looking for a good hiding spot. She saw a red metal box. She climbed in and lowered the lid.

Leon then turned to Diamond “Ready?” he asked.

Diamond nodded and took her handgun out. Leon walked into the barn to see one villager. He quickly took care of him and scanned the nearby area for anyone else. When he saw none he headed to the other building.

He saw that Diamond had already taken out two in there. They climbed up the ladder and jumped out of the open window to see two villagers on the raised platform.

The female villager charged Leon with a kitchen knife. Diamond ran past her and towards the male village wielding a hatchet. He threw the hatchet at her but she sidestepped it and jumped towards him with her knife ready. She plunged the knife into his chest to kill him.

She then turned back to see Leon finish the other villager with his knife. Another villager climbed up a ladder but was quickly shot by Leon. They then climbed down that ladder and saw a path filled with bear traps leading to a tall door.

Leon started moving the traps aside with his foot “I'm starting to get tired of these.” he said. Once they were out of the way they walked up to the large door and tried to open it. It wasn't budging.

Diamond growled “Is this locked too?” she asked.

Leon shook his head “No, there's no lock. It must be barred from the other side.” he said.

“What are we gonna do about that?” she asked.

After thinking for a few seconds, he turned around and whistled loudly. After a few seconds Ashley made her way over to them “I'm glad you two are okay.” she said.

Leon nodded then turned to the door “I'm gonna need your help. This door is barred from the other side. If I help you up, can you get over and open it?” he asked.

Ashley seemed unsure “I don't know. I wouldn't want to be alone.” she said.

Diamond rolled her eyes “It would just be for a few seconds. Just do it.” she said.

Ashley sighed and nodded. Leon knelt down in front of the door “Stand on my shoulders.” he said. Ashley did as he said and Leon slowly stood up. Ashley then climbed over the door. After a few seconds the door opened.

Leon gave her a nod as he walked past “See? I knew you could do it.” he said.

Diamond scoffed as she walked past “Didn't have to be such a foal about it.” she muttered under her breath.

While walking on the path they saw the merchant with his signature blue fire near him “Greeting stranger.” he said.

Diamond raised an eyebrow “How do you keep ending up in front of us? There is no way you could have gotten here before us.” she said.

The merchant laughed “I know my way around. I know a good few shortcuts.” he said.

Diamond didn't seem convinced but decided to let it go. Leon walked up to him “Well as you might remember we won't need anything since we're leaving soon.” he said.

Then he got a call from his communicator “Leon, I have some bad news.” Hunnigan said.

Leon sighed “I'd rather not hear it.” he said.

“Well I'm afraid I have to tell you anyway. We've lost contact with the chopper. Somebody must have shot it down, though we can determine who.” she said.

“Great...” Leon said sarcastically.

“We're prepping another chopper for you. Meanwhile I want you to continue to the extraction point.” she said.

Leon nodded “Got it.” he said before putting the communicator away. He then looked back to the merchant “We'll take some more ammo, just in case.” he said.

While Leon was making the purchase, Ashley walked up beside him “What was that about the chopper going down?” she asked.

Leon finished the purchase before answering “Nothing to worry about. They'll just send another one.” he said.

They then continued and started crossing a bridge. Once the reached the other side they saw a large amount of villager walking out of a gate wielding different weapons. Leon turned around towards the bridge to see just as many villager coming from that direction.

Diamond started to look nervous “Where are they all coming from anyway?” she asked.

Ashley tried her best to hide behind Leon “What are we gonna do?” she asked.

Leon saw a two story cabin nearby “I hate to say it but we're sandwiched alright. Quick, into that cabin!” he shouted and they all hurried inside.

Once inside Leon shut the door and looked for something to jam it

“Leon.”

Leon turned around and caught a plank of wood that was thrown to him. He then saw that it was Luis who had thrown it. He then quickly jammed the door with the plank.

Luis chuckled “Small world eh?” he then glanced over to Diamond “and nice to see you too filly.” he said.

Diamond glared at him “I still don't trust you.” she said.

Luis then turned his gaze to Ashley and looked over her “Well, I see the the president equipped his daughter with ballistics too.” he said with a grin.

Ashley put her hands on her hips and glared at him “How rude! And I don't believe there's any relevance with my figure and my standing. Who are you?” she asked.

Luis held his hands up defensively “Ho ho, excuse me your highness. Perhaps the young lady might want to introduce herself before asking someone his name?” he asked.

“Her name's Ashley graham, the president's daughter.” she said with some attitude.

Luis turned to Leon “Is she...ya know...” he asked.

“Don't worry, she's cool.” he answered.

Luis sighed “Ehh, never mind. There's suppose to be some obvious symptom before you turn into one of them anyway.” he said.

Ashley then looked out one of the boarded up windows to see the large group of villagers approaching “Look!” she said while pointing.

Leon ran to look out the window before turning back to the others “Ashley, upstairs! Hide!” he ordered quickly.

Diamond took out her handgun. Luis smirked at the sight “Do you...know how to use that thing?” he asked in amusement.

“I'm sure I could use it better than you.” she shot back.

Luis had a quick laugh “You talk a big game, I like that. Alright, let's see how well you play.” he said as he took out his handgun.

Leon pointed to the two other boarded up windows “Diamond, Luis, I want each of you on a window. We'll pick off as many as we can before they reach us.” he ordered.

With no arguments, everyone ran to a window. Diamond had to stand on her hind legs to be able to aim out the window.

They all started firing into the seemingly endless horde. After a few seconds Luis glanced to Diamond “How ya holding up kiddo?” he asked.

Diamond shot a quick glare toward him “Call me kiddo again and one of these bullets will be coming your way.” she said.

Luis chuckled “Great, keep that fire. You'll need it.” he said.

Leon kept his eyes on the horde closing in on them “Focus you two! They'll be on top of us in seconds!” he warned.

Soon they all backed up from their windows. Then the villagers started breaking in with their hatchets. Once they broke through Leon's window, he pulled the pin out of a frag grenade and threw it out. It exploded and took out a large chunk of them.

The villagers then started getting through the windows. Leon dodged a swing by a hatchet then slit one's throat and shot another. A few started cornering Luis but he was able to shoot them all before they could get too close. A villager tried to hit Diamond with his torch but she dodged and got behind him. She then fired a shot into the back of his head before turning around and stabbing another through the heart.

They then heard the sound of windows shattering upstairs. Leon turned towards the stairs “That's probably ladders. Ashley's in danger.” he started running towards the stairs “I'll take care of it. You two handle things here.” he said.

Luis dodged another attack and fired a shot into the villagers head before turning his head towards Diamond “Of course Leon would stick me with the babysitting job.” he said with a smirk.

Diamond was backing up while shooting a few villagers closing in on her “If anyone's babysitting, it's me.” she said.

Luis was about to reply but was grabbed by one of the villagers. Diamond ran past a few of them to ram into the back of the villager choking Luis causing him to drop him. She then shot him in the head.

Luis recovered quickly and killed the closest villagers “I guess I owe you one.” he said.

Diamond took out an incendiary grenade and threw it into a group of villagers to take a good number out.

Luis noticed that there were significantly less entering the cabin “Their numbers are thinning. Keep this up and we'll be done in no time.” he said.

The two continued fighting for a few minutes. Diamond fired a shot a a villager's head causing it to explode. After a few seconds a fleshy mass emerged from it's neck. Diamond backed up slightly “It's one of those again!” she said.

She fired more bullets into it but it stayed up. It's sharp tentacle came towards her. Luis stepped in front of her and blocked the tentacle with his arm. He winced from the pain but fired a shot point blank and killed it.

Diamond gasped “Are you hurt?” she asked.

Luis held his wound but smiled “Now we're even.” he said.

They heard a voice from outside “Vomanos!” they shouted. Suddenly all of the villagers stopped attacking and left.

Diamond watched on with confusion as the villagers retreated “Why are they just leaving? After all that?” she wondered.

Luis shrugged “We probably shouldn't question it and just celebrate the victory.” he said.

Leon walked down the stairs with Ashley behind him “Good to see you two still standing. Are either of you hurt?” he asked.

Luis looked down at his bleeding arm “Just a few scratches.” he said.

Ashley knelt down in front of Diamond “How are you? Not bleeding or anything?” she asked while checking her for any injuries.

Diamond rolled her eyes “No, mom.” she said sarcastically.

Ashley nodded and stood up “What should we do now?” she asked while turning to Leon.

“We should continue towards the extraction point.” he answered.

Luis chuckled “You three go ahead. I forgot something.” he said before walking out of the cabin.

Diamond narrowed her eyes at the retreating Luis “Forgot something? What does that mean? Now that I think about it, what is he even doing here?” she asked.

Leon snapped her out of her thought “We don't have time for questioning Luis. We have to get to the evac point as soon as possible.” he said.

Diamond nodded “Right.” she said. They all then exited the cabin and walked towards three gates. The two gates to the left and right were both closed. The middle gate was open and held a lever in the middle.

Leon walked up to the lever and noticed that it could be pulled to the right or left “This is probably used to open the gates.” he said.

Ashley glanced between the two gates “Which one will lead us to the evacuation point?” she asked.

Leon rubbed his chin in thought “I'm not sure. But we'll never get anywhere without moving forward.” he said.

Diamond raised an eyebrow “So you want us to guess on which one is right?” she asked.

Leon nodded “It's a fifty-fifty chance. Unless you have a better idea?” he asked.

Diamond sighed “Fair enough. But which gate should we choose?” she asked.

Ashley turned her head to the right gate “Let's go right. I have a good feeling about it.” she said.

Leon nodded then pulled the lever to the right. A few gears started turning and the gate raised. They all walked through and entered a door. When they emerged they saw a path with tall cliffs on both sides. There were some wooden structures around and a wooden blockade ahead.

Diamond smiled when she noticed there were no signs of villagers around “At least it seems deserted...So far.” she said.

They started walking to the wooden blockade. When they got half way there they heard the sound of something large crashing into the ground. They looked back to see a giant in front of the door they entered through. Leon took out his handgun and took a few steps back “You may have spoke too soon.” he said.

Diamond facehoofed “We just can't catch a break.” she said. They both opened fire on the approaching giant, doing minimal damage.

Ashley scanned the area frantically for anything that could help. She then looked up and saw a weak wooden platform on the cliff with a large boulder on it. She quickly pointed at it “Maybe that could help?” she asked.

Leon looked up at it and quickly came up with a plan. He looked down at Diamond “get the door on that blockade open. I'll keep the giant busy.” he said.

Diamond nodded and ran off the the blockade. Leon fired a few more shots at the giant as it drew closer. Once it was in position Leon aimed at the wooden platform. He broke it with a single shot and the boulder came down towards the giant.

It smashed down on the giant causing it to stumble back and roar in pain. It then fell to it's knee and a fleshy mass emerged from it's back just like the last one. Leon wasted no time climbing onto it's back and slashing at it.

While he was doing that, Diamond quickly broke the chains on the door with a few shots from her gun. She then knocked the door down with a buck.

Once the giant started getting back up Leon jumped off of it. He then grabbed Ashley by the wrist and ran through the blockade with her to meet up with Diamond.

They then turned around just in time to see the giant break through the blockade as if it were made of paper. Diamond reached into her saddle bag and pulled out a frag grenade. She pulled the pin and threw it at the giant's feet.

Once it blew up the giant was almost knocked onto it's back but it caught itself. They backed up as it started moving towards them again.

It closed in on them but Diamond spotted another high wooden platform with another boulder. She quickly shot it and the boulder crashed into the giant again. While it was stunned Leon took out his shotgun and gave it a few blasts to the chest.

Those brought the giant to it's knee again and the fleshy mass emerged. Leon and Diamond both climbed onto it and got on opposite sides of the mass. She both started viciously attacking it with their knives. Eventually the mass fell limply against the giant's back. They jumped off and watched as the giant roared in pain before falling over motionless.

Leon wiped some sweat from his forehead “I wonder how many of these things they have.” he said.

“I hope they only had two.” Diamond said.

Ashley smiled and clapped “Great job you two.” she complimented.

Leon stopped her “You can compliment us when you're safe at home.” he then walked over to the next blockade “Now let's get moving.” he said. He started kicking at the door until the chains snapped and the door fell open. They then continued down the path until they found a door at the end.

Leon tried the door and sighed when it wouldn't open “Locked.” he then turned to Diamond “They probably keep the key nearby.” he said.

Diamond nodded “I wouldn't doubt it, these freaks aren't known for their smarts. I'll go back and search along the path.” she said.

Leon agreed and started searching near the door when Diamond walked off. Diamond walked past the wooden barricade and stopped when she saw the body of the giant that she killed. She stared at it with indifference. She found it strange how desensitized she had become to the sight of death. She started to wonder how her life would change when she returned home...if she returned home.

She shook off the thought and walked past the corpse in search of the key. She eventually found in a small shack on the path.

She returned to Leon who gave a small smile when he saw the key in her mouth “Thanks.” he said as he took the key and used it to unlock the door. They then walked through the doorway.

Severing the Right Hand

Leon and Diamond exited a door to find themselves outside. Ahead was a bridge that led to a tower. They took a few steps towards the bridge but stopped when Leon received a call on his communicator. He took it out to see Salazar “Greetings Mr. Kennedy, it seems that you've lost someone. But don't worry, I'll make sure she's taken care of.” he said.

Leon growled at him “If you hurt her I promise you'll regret it.” he threatened.

“That's assuming that you'll make it this far, which isn't very likely.” Salazar said.

Leon quickly took out his binoculars and started scanning the tower ahead. He didn't see him so he turned his attention to a building to the right. He saw Salazar and his body guards leading a bound Ashley into the building.

He lowered the binoculars “Dammit!” he cursed.

“What is it?” diamond asked.

“Salazar already has Ashley, come on we have to save her.” he said before they started crossing the bridge.

Once they got halfway across someone saw them from the outside of the tower. He turned and yelled something. Leon turned to the right and saw a few catapults on a high cliff. Suddenly flaming boulders were launched at them.

They rolled out of the way causing the boulder to shatter against the bridge. Leon took one more glance at the catapults before turning to diamond “I can't get a good shot from here. We have to get higher.” he said. Diamond nodded and they hurried to the tower. The door was barred shut so instead they ran up a staircase around the side of the tower.

Once they were up they saw three guards in front of them and one to the right. Leon was about to reach for his handgun but Diamond stopped him “Stop those catapults, I'll handle these ones.” she said.

Leon nodded before running to the left. He took his knife out and slit the guard's throat on his way past. Diamond faced the three men wielding scythes. One ran up to her and tried an attack but she put a bullet into his head before he could. The other two attacked from two different angles. She jumped over the first attack and ducked under the next.

She ran behind one of them and punched him in the leg to get him to kneel. She then tackled him onto his stomach before she stabbed her knife into his head. The other guard raised his scythe for another attempt but Diamond quickly switched for her revolver and shot him in the head.

She then ran after Leon to check on him. Once she caught up to him she saw that he was waiting for her “They're taken care of.” he said. They then walked to the edge towards the next building. The noticed the lack of a bridge connecting to the tower.

Diamond sighed “If only I was born a pegasus, or even a unicorn.” she said.

Leon turned around and noticed a door to the inside of the tower “Let's investigate the tower. There might be a way to activate a bridge.” he said.

Diamond agreed and they entered the tower. Once inside they saw a mess of gears in the middle of the tower. Leon scanned the gears for a second “These gears have to do something. We need to find a way to activate them.” he said before turning to a ladder and starting to climb it.

Diamond spotted something among the gears “Wait, look!” she pointed at a wooden plank that was jammed between two gears “Why is that in there?” she asked.

Leon saw the wood and got off the ladder “That would stop the gears from turning. Whatever these gears activate, it's something Salazar doesn't want.” he said before shooting a bullet at the wood to shatter it “We should make sure that there are no more.” he said.

They headed up to the next floor and scanned for wood in the gears. Diamond smiled when she saw one. She took out her handgun and shattered it in one shot. They climbed another ladder to find themselves on the top floor. As they walked around the gears Leon found another wooden block and shot it out.

They then found a lever at the end of the path. Leon guessed that it would activate the gears and grabbed it “Let's hope we found all the blocks.” he said as he pulled it. To their relief the gears all started turning. The whole tower started shaking for a few seconds.

They looked over the edge to see guards entering from the bottom floor “I think we made them angry.” Leon said. He then spotted a few guards aiming crossbows at them. Leon and Diamond leaned away from edge as a few arrows flew past them.

“Keep your eyes on them.” leon warned.

Diamond glanced down at her bandaged leg “Trust me, I do not want to be hit by another one of those.” she said.

Leon peeked over the edge with his rifle. He shot a bullet into the head of one of the archers before backing into cover again. One the archers climbed the ladder to the top floor and aimed at them. He fired two bolts at them but luckily he missed.

Diamond shot him in the leg causing him to lose balance and fall down to the bottom floor. Leon leaned over the edge again and killed another archer. He then scanned the area but didn't see any more archers “We should be clear now. Let's get down to the bottom floor.” he said.

Diamond agreed and they climbed down to the bottom without any interruptions. They started walking down the path but Leon stopped them when a stick of dynamite fell in their path from above. They both jumped backwards and allowed the dynamite to explode from a safe distance.

Leon looked up to see a guard on a higher floor take another stick of dynamite and start to light it. When he threw it down toward them Leon caught it and threw it back up at him to blow him to smithereens.

They ran down the path to the door but a group of three guards blocked their way. Leon took his shotgun out to blast two guards in one shot. Diamond then fired three revolver rounds into the last guard's chest.

They then ran out of the door to see a bridge leading to the building Salazar entered. Three guards approached them from the bridge carrying spiked shields and flails. Before they could even get close Leon tossed a frag grenade at them. The explosion blew them all off of the bridge.

Diamond gave a smirk “Almost too easy.” she said. After a couple steps forward, two doors on the building opened up four guards came out of each. Another came out of the main door carrying a rocket launcher. They heard the doors behind them slam open and turned around to see three more guards.

Leon readied himself “Hard enough for you?” he asked.

Diamond rolled her eyes “Oh ha ha. Just come up with a plan to get us out of this.” she said.

Leon saw the guard with the rocket launcher ready himself to fire “Watch out!” he warned. The rocket flew towards them but they both stepped to the side to let it fly past. It exploded and killed the three guards behind them.

Leon then eyed the large amount of guards enter the bridge “We shouldn't fight in such a narrow space. We should just run past them.” he said. Diamond was about to ask how but stopped when Leon pulled out a flash grenade since she then understood the plan.

Leon tossed the flash grenade into the crowd and they covered their eyes as it went off. Diamond and Leon then ran through the crowd while pushing anyone in their way aside. They then opened the door to run in before closing and locking it behind them.

They then turned to look into the room and they sighed in annoyance at what they saw. Two blind prisoners waited and listened for any intruders. Diamond got Leon's attention and held up a hoof to communicate that she had a plan.

She sneaked past the two as quietly as she could and luckily they weren't able to hear her. After she got some distance behind them she waved to Leon to get his attention. She then stood on her hind legs to pretend to hold an imaginary rifle. Leon nodded in understanding and took his rifle in his hands.

Diamond lowered back down on four legs and smiled. She then took a deep breath “Hey, I thought you two were blind not deaf!” she taunted the the prisoners.

The prisoners extended their claws and turned around to charge the noise with muffled screams. As they got close to her Leon shot a bullet into one of their weak points causing him to fall limply to the floor. The other tripped over the body and fell onto the ground. Diamond decided to jump onto his back and stab her knife into his weak point.

The prisoner writhed in pain while trying to shake her off but she held on and finished him with one last stab. She then stepped off of him while Leon jogged up to her “That was pretty bold of you.” he said.

Diamond smiled up at him “I knew I was safe with you watching over me.” she said. They then continued through the next short hallway. They walked into the next room to see a throne room. Salazar was sitting on his throne while Ashley was on her knees to his left. On each side of her was one of Salazar's bodyguards holding a spear up to her throat.

When Leon saw this he started running up to her with diamond “Ashley!” he called. They stopped when Salazar spoke up “Ah ah ah.” he said while waving a finger in the air “I wouldn't come any closer if I were you. The girl might just get hurt.” he said.

Leon and Diamond stood on a rug in the middle of the room. Leon glared at him “Let Ashley go and we won't hurt you.” he offered.

Salazar scoffed at the offer “I don't know what gave you the idea that you are in a position to be making demands.” he said.

Diamond took a step forward “It's only a matter of time before we get her back. How about we just skip to the part where we kill you, it'll save a lot of time.” she said.

Salazar raised a hand “I don't think so miss Tiara, but I do like the idea of skipping to the end. Your end to be exact. Good bye.” he said before he slapped a button on his arm rest.

Suddenly the floor under Leon and Diamond opened up and they fell. Ashley gasped “Leon! Diamond! No!” she screamed.

As Leon fell he thought quickly. He threw out a grappling hook from his belt hoping it would catch onto the wall. He then reached a hand out to Diamond. Unluckily she was too far for him to reach as his grappling hook stopped his fall.

Diamond quickly took her knife in her teeth and jammed it into the wall as hard as she could. It stopped her descent and she just dangled from it. Leon looked down and saw that she was able to save herself. He breathed a sigh of relief and lowered himself to her so he could take her into his arms.

Back in the throne room Salazar was listening with a device but after a few seconds he raised an eyebrow “Hmm...where is the satisfying sound of one's impalement?” he wondered.

Back in the hole Leon spotted a mega-phone looking device and assumed Salazar was listening through that. He took his handgun out and shot at it.

Salazar winced as the loud noise caused his ears to ring. He growled in anger as he stood and stomped “That insolent little...” he turned to one of his bodyguards “I'm through playing games! Kill them! I want them dead!” he ordered.

The bodyguard nodded before leaving. Salazar started to leave as well “Come quickly! We shall prepare for the ritual right away!” he ordered.

The bodyguard stood Ashley up and pushed her to follow Salazar. Ashley smiled to herself “They're alive...thank god.” she said.

Leon slowly lowered himself and Diamond to the bottom. They found themselves in a dank cave with giant spikes in the middle. Once they were safely on the ground Leon got a call from Salazar “My patience with you grows thin. I've sent my right hand to dispose of you once and for all.” he said.

“Your right hand comes off?” he asked in a joking tone.

Salazar didn't look amused “Jokes won't be able to save you. You're as good as dead. You and the brat. I'm only sad I won't be able to do it myself.” he said before cutting the transmission.

Diamond glanced up and Leon “What do you think he meant by his right hand?” she asked.

Leon shrugged “I'm not sure but we're probably about to find out.” he said.

They then walked around to find a way out. After a few seconds they found the merchant standing next to a ladder “Ah welcome stranger, you too little one.” he greeted.

Leon raised an eyebrow “Did you somehow know that we would fall down here?” he asked.

“Coincidence.” he answered simply.

Diamond seemed convinced by that or she just didn't care “Well as long as you're here we should buy some more ammo and supplies.” she said.

The merchant smiled wide “Music to my ears.” he said.

Twilight and Luna stood together and talked as they watched over the mirror. Eventually Twilight covered her mouth with a hoof and yawned “I think I should rest, I wouldn't want to be too tired to teleport Diamond home. Should I get some of my friends to take over watching the mirror?” she asked.

Luna shook her head “We have no need to take a break, inform them that we only need one.” she said.

Before Twilight could do as she asked, Celestia walked into the room “Actually, maybe you should get a replacement for Luna as well. I would like to have a talk with her in private.” she said.

Luna raised an eyebrow at her sister but Twilight walked off with the mirror to inform her friends. Celestia started walking with Luna following behind. Once they were away from everyone else Celestia turned to Luna “Sister, I couldn't help but notice that you've taken quite an interest in this situation regarding Diamond Tiara. Is there a reason for it?” she asked.

Luna eyed Celestia suspiciously “Is there a reason that we should not have an interest? Is it not our job to assure the well being of our ponies?” she questioned.

Celestia tried to calm her down with a gentle smile “Luna, I've known you for far too long to not know when you're trying to hide something.” she said.

Luna seemed caught off guard by that but collected herself quickly “I see...so thou hast noticed.” she said.

Celestia walked to her sister's side and pulled her into a side hug “You know that I trust you, so why would you try to keep something from me? What is it that you felt you needed to keep to yourself?” she asked. Luna glanced down at the floor in thought. After a few seconds of silence Celestia spoke up again “Does it have to do with Diamond Tiara?” she asked.

Luna pondered for a moment before nodded “It does.” she said simply.

“Is it an idea of how we could bring her home safe?” Celestia guessed.

“No. We just have had an idea that we know thou wouldn't approve of.” Luna said.

“How do you know that I wouldn't approve if you don't tell me?” she questioned.

Luna thought for a moment before shaking her head “It won't matter unless Diamond Tiara survives, there might not be a reason for you to know.” she said.

Celestia seemed a bit worried about that “Then...will you tell me when she comes back?” she asked.

Luna turned to look at her sister before nodding “We shall inform all, if she survives.” she said.

Celestia nodded and was about to speak up again until one of her guards walked up to them “Please excuse me for interrupting princesses, but we caught somepony trying to get inside the castle.” he said.

The princesses looked at each other with questioning looks before turning back to the guard “Who is this pony? Are they a threat?” Celestia asked.

The guard rubbed the back of his neck “Uh that's what I wanted to talk to you about. She's a filly. She said that her name is Silver Spoon and that she wanted to see Diamond Tiara. Me and the others don't know what to do with her.” he said.

Celestia and Luna shared shocked expressions until Celestia collected herself and cleared her throat “Just bring her here, we shall talk to her.” she said.

The guard seemed confused as to why they would want to talk to a filly but he didn't question it “Right away.” he said before walking off.

After about a minute he came back with a small gray filly following behind him. Celestia turned to look at the guard “Give us some privacy, I will call for you if I need you.” she said. The guard saluted before walking away.

Celestia then turned to look at the filly who seemed slightly scared. Silver backed away from the alicorn's gaze slightly “I'm sorry about trying to sneak in. I won't do it again I promise.” she apologized.

Celestia giggled and tried to calm the filly with a soft smile “I'm not angry with you my little pony.” she said.

Silver seemed to relax a bit “Y-you're not? Then why did you have your guards bring me to you?” she asked.

“I was curious as to why a filly who lived in Ponyville would be in Canterlot at this time of night.” Celestia said.

Luna nodded “And we heard that thou had mentioned Diamond Tiara to the guards. Why would you assume she was here?” she asked.

Silver touched her fore hooves together nervously “I overheard her father, Filthy Rich mention something about news about Diamond Tiara at Canterlot castle. I asked my parents to bring me but they wouldn't, so I waited for them to fall asleep so I could sneak out.” her face reddened slightly “I didn't really have a plan for when I got here.” she admitted.

Celestia took a step closer to her “What do you know about Diamond's situation?” she asked.

Silver hung her head “N-not much. I was with her when Twilight hit her with that spell, but I haven't heard anything about her since.” she said.

Luna turned to whisper into her sister's ear “Perhaps we should just send her home.” she suggested.

Unfortunately Silver was able to hear her “Wait, don't do that! Diamond Tiara is my best friend, I need to know if she's okay. Please tell me if you have any information.” she pleaded.

Celestia pondered for a few moments before turning her head to the guard who was standing across the room “Come here for a second.” she said.

The guard nodded and walked over to them “Did you have need of me?” he asked. Silver hung her head as she knew what Celestia was going to say.

Celestia used her magic to grab a quill and piece of paper and started to write “I would like you to fly to Ponyville to put this note on the door of the Spoon residence.” she said as she held the note out to the guard. He took it in his mouth and quickly left the room.

Silver Spoon seemed shocked that she didn't order him to take her home “Uh, what was on that note?” she asked.

“It's just to let them know that you will be safely in our care for tonight.” she said.

Silver smiled “So you will tell me about Diamond?” she asked.

Celestia nodded “I will, but I will warn you that her situation is not pretty.” she said.

Silver's smiled faded quickly “I-is she okay?” she asked.

Celestia thought of the best way to answer “She...she's alive. It'll be easier to explain the full story from the beginning. Afterwards you could even see her if you wanted.” she said.

Silver took a calming breath before sitting down to listen to the story.

After their encounter with the merchant Leon and Diamond climbed up a ladder to end up in a sewer-like path. As they walked through the filthy water they started to hear quick footsteps behind them. They quickly turned and took out their handguns but they saw nothing and the footsteps seemed to stop abruptly.

Leon lowered his gun but continued to scan the area “It's trying to mess with us, keep your guard up.” he said. They then continued forward while listening for anymore strange noises. Eventually they reached the end of the pathway and entered through the door.

They found themselves in another long hallway. There were grates under and over them. Along some of the walls were rusty pipes. After walked for a few seconds they saw that the path split ahead. The path to the left led to a door while ahead just continued on.

They suddenly heard the door behind them slam open. They turned around but couldn't see the door anymore due to the hall's curvy nature. They waited for a moment but nothing came for them. Leon glance to the nearby door then to Diamond “In here, quickly.” he ordered.

They ran into the door to find a small room with a few uninteresting electronics and an elevator shaft. Leon walked up to the controls for the elevator and tried to call it. After a few seconds of nothing happening Leon sighed “Damn it, no power.” he said.

Diamond frowned at the news “Is there anything we can do about that?” she asked.

Leon thought about that for a second “Maybe there's a way to get the power back on. Let's check some of the other rooms.” he said. They left the room and started walking down the winding path again.

Leon stopped when he started hearing scraping noises in the grate ceiling. Once the noises were directly above him his eyes shot open wide “Get down!” he warned and he crouched. Right at that moment a tail-like thing with a bladed end came down to swipe at him. Once it missed it retreated back into the ceiling.

Diamond frantically searched for it in the ceiling but it was too dark to see anything “Where the hay did it go?” she asked.

Leon stood up and saw another split in the path ahead “We're sitting ducks here, come on!” he said.

They ran and entered the next room to see a relatively empty room with the only notable thing being a large red canister in the corner. Leon looked up to see that the grate ceiling continued into that room. Once he heard the creature above him he dodged as the tail shot down towards him again.

They then ran back out of the room and down the path until the hit the end to see one last room. Once they entered Leon dodged another attack from the creature's tail before continuing into the room.

In the middle room was a square fence protecting some kind of machine. They ran past it to the back of the room where they saw a white metal box on the wall with a lever. Leon stopped by it “Looks like a power unit, this is what we're looking for.” he said before pulling the lever.

The doorway to the room they were in suddenly blocked by a shutter door “Please wait approximately four minutes for the elevator to arrive.” said a robotic voice over some kind of speaker system.

“Four minutes?” Diamond complained. They then ran back to the door to see the shutter door blocking their way. Leon tried using a control panel next to it to get it open but nothing was working “What's the problem?” Diamond questioned.

Leon growled in frustration “It must be closed for safety, hopefully it doesn't stay closed for too long.” he said.

Diamond scoffed “Safety? I can't think of anything less safe then being trapped in this room right now.” she said.

Suddenly something dropped from the ceiling near them. They turned to see Salazar's right hand. It was a insect-like creature with long claws and an exoskeleton that resembled steel. It stared at them with glowing orange eyes.

It had them cornered so Leon tried to think of a way past him. Suddenly Diamond jumped onto it and climbed onto it's head. She started attacking it which seemed to be pissing it off more then hurting it “What are you doing Leon? Get past it!” she shouted.

Leon snapped himself out of his shock and ran past the distracted right hand. It then wrapped it's tail around Diamond's body and tossed her off of it's head. Luckily Leon was in position to catch her. He set her down before taking his handgun out. Diamond did the same and they opened fire on it.

The bullets didn't seem to be penetrating it's hard exoskeleton and it continued walking towards them. Diamond turned to Leon with a worried expression “It doesn't seem to care that we're shooting it. What now?” she asked.

“Run!” he shouted before they both turned and ran back into the room. The right hand ran after them and Leon tried to think of some way to slow it down. He gained an idea when he saw a large red canister that they were about to pass.

Once they were a fair distance away from the canister, Leon turned and fired a bullet at it. It connected right when the right hand ran past it. Suddenly liquid nitrogen started spraying all over the creature. It writhed in pain as the extreme cold started to quickly cover it in a layer of ice.

Once the liquid nitrogen ran empty the right hand was left trying to fight through the extreme cold to purse Leon and Diamond. Leon fired a bullet at it and the bullet was able to pierce the exoskeleton. It stumbled back a bit from the pain.

Leon glanced at Diamond “The cold seemed to of weakened it. Let him have it!” he said. They both sunk as many bullets into it as they could. Eventually the right hand was able to break out of all of the ice and it's exoskeleton's strength returned. Leon's and Diamond's were doing little to nothing to it once again.

Then they heard a beep and the shutter door open. Leon and Diamond turned to each other and smiled. The right hand charged them and tried to take a swipe at Leon with it's claws while also trying to stab Diamond with it's tail.

Leon rolled to the left and ran past it while Diamond just sidestepped the tail before running under it's legs. They sprinted out of the door and continued towards the room with the elevator shaft. As they ran they heard the scraping sound from above them. Leon saw the tail shoot out towards him and he stopped to dodge with a back flip.

The right hand then broke through the grate and landed in front of them. Leon noticed that it just happened to land next to another large red canister. He quickly shot it to douse the right hand in more liquid nitrogen. It was quickly once again covered ice. Leon and Diamond started firing on it again but it wasn't very long before it shook off the ice and returned to normal.

Diamond growled at it “This thing is durable.” she said in anger.

“It shouldn't be able to take much more, try to find more canisters.” Leon said. He then ran towards the right hand. It throw a claw at him but he ducked under the attack before Leon shoulder checked it. He struggled the move the heavy creature but was able to push it against the wall. Diamond used that to run past the creature. Leon took off after her before the right hand could retaliate.

They ran until they reached the elevator room and saw that the elevator hadn't arrived yet. Diamond glared at it “How has four minutes not passed yet?” she asked in an angry tone.

Leon turned to see another canister next to the door “We can still buy more time.” he said while pointing to it. The door then was broken off it's hinges and the right hand stood menacingly behind it. When it took a step into the room Leon shot the canister to give it another dose of liquid nitrogen.

Once ice covered it's body again, Leon decided to swap his handgun for his rifle. Diamond continued firing at the creature to keep it at bay. Leon aimed between it's eyes and fired. The bullet pierced straight through it's head. With that the right hand fell to it's knees before limply falling forward.

Leon and Diamond took a moment to take a calming breath while they could. They then heard a ding behind them. They turned to see that the elevator had just arrived. Diamond face hoofed “Great timing.” she said sarcastically. They then walked into the elevator and it took them down.