Diamond's Evil Journey

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.