Diamond Tiara of The Royal Guard

Diamond Tiara stood in the street, staring at Barnyard Bargains. Her tongue stuck to the inside of her mouth, her throat clenched tight, making it hard to breathe, and her heart pounded against the inside of her ribs.

This was not something she was ready for. In fact, it was something she really did not want to do. Not quite the last thing she wanted to do, but it was pretty close to it. Just above having a cheese grater ran across her plot.

There was no need to actually do this, was there? It was just a friendly request, not a royal order. There was no actual need for her to go in at all, and certainly not today. She could wait until... Hearth's Warming. Hearth's Warming was a good time to wait for, right?

No! Diamond Tiara gave herself a mental smack. She had asked a princess for a favor.

*****

Diamond Tiara stood before Princess Twilight Sparkle in a small study. After asking to speak with her privately, Diamond Tiara told Twilight a brief summary of what had happened between her and Aura while in training.

As Diamond Tiara spoke, Princess Twilight Sparkle sat behind a desk and listened. She never interrupted, but her emotions were pretty clear on her face most of the time. There was a burst of guilt when Tiara admitted not remembering Aura, or what she did, and Twilight looked disappointed. It was probably more because not everything could be answered instead of any sort of personal disappointment, right?

"Very well," Princess Twilight said after Diamond Tiara had finished her story. "I'll see what I can do to help this Aura." Getting up, she moved around the desk and toward Tiara. "In the meantime, I have something I would like you to do."

Diamond Tiara straightened up, ears perked.

"What is it, ma'am?"

"Go talk to your dad."

The statement made Tiara's jaw drop and her eyes go wide. Talk to her dad? Last time she had talked to him, his last words were to not come home until she was willing to take over Rich Industries. That was something she had no interest in doing. If he especially saw her now -- with her face stitched up -- he would possibly be even more adamant against her being in the guard. She did want to see her dad again, but not to just have a bigger argument with him.

"P...Princess..." Diamond Tiara started, but stopped when Princess Twilight held up a hoof.

"I'm not giving you an order as a princess," she stated. "I am asking you to do this favor as a friend."

Diamond Tiara's ears pinned back as she looked down at the floor.

"But... he doesn't want to see me..."

Princess Twilight moved closer, placing her hoof gently on Tiara's shoulder.

"I don't believe that," the princess said. "A big change was happening, and he was scared. He said something he didn't mean in the hope of somehow getting you to stay."

She took a step back.

"I can't say it will go the way you want. He may still try to get you to come back, and you might fight again. But if you at least try, if you let him know you still want to see him and talk, then the two of you will be able to get back in touch with each other and patch things up.

"At least think about it?"

Diamond Tiara gave a nod.

"Good," Princess Twilight said with a smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some other matters to tend to. I'll let Apple Bloom know if anything happens with Aura."

"Thank you," Diamond Tiara said with a bow, then turned and headed for the door.

*****

After talking the matter over with multiple ponies, and having a sleepless night of contemplation while being cuddled, Diamond Tiara had decided to go through with it. It was not really a price to pay for the princess helping since (as it was explained to her) Twilight was willing to help any pony. Still, this was something she was asked to do in return, and a part of being an adult is paying debts (her father had told her, repeatedly).

There was also a general consensus that her father did miss her, and it was better to start working things out now than to wait and have it get harder to do.

Taking a deep breath to gather herself, Diamond Tiara moved forward and entered Barnyard Bargains. She made her way through the store easily, having been there more times than she could count. None of the ponies that worked there bothered her since they had seen her there and knew who she was. Walking to the back, she made her way toward her father's waiting room.

"Is my dad in his office?" Diamond Tiara asked the secretary as she stepped inside.

The secretary looked up from her desk, seeing Diamond Tiara.

"Yes," she answered. "He should be just working on some paperwork, so you can go right on in."

Diamond Tiara started walking toward the office doors, then stopped.

"...Thank you..." she said. It felt kind of weird to say. Thanking ponies was not something she normally did (if ever), especially a pony that she thought of as beneath her, such as her father's employees. She never really got to know anything about them, did she. One of the previous secretaries had worked for him for years, Diamond Tiara had met her pretty regularly, and now she could not for the life of her remember the mare's name.

The secretary gave a small smile before returning to her work, and Diamond Tiara made her way into her father's office.

Filthy Rich sat behind his desk, staring at a pile of papers in front of him.

"What is it?" he asked, not looking up.

"You have a visitor," Diamond Tiara said, moving closer.

The familiar voice made Filthy Rich stop, looking up from his papers. He smiled at the sight of his daughter.

"Diamond Tiara," he said as he got up, moving toward her. He wrapped his front legs around her.

"Hi, dad." She returned the hug, smiling as she felt the familiar touch.

"I'm so glad to see you," he said, before pulling back. "What happened?"

Your daughter finally got what she deserved for being mean to other ponies for so many years.

"Just an accident during training," Diamond Tiara replied. "Nothing for you to worry about. I have something for you."

She pulled out a pink pastry box and held it out to her father.

"They're carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting," she announced.

Filthy Rich took the box and opened it. He looked from the cupcakes to Tiara, raising an eyebrow.

"You made these?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "Pinkie did when she found out that I was coming to see you." In point, Pinkie had insisted on making them. She claimed it always helped to patch things up to bring a gift, as well as having something to eat together. There was also twenty minutes where Pinkie kept repeating "cup-carrot-cakes or carrot cupcakes" because she could not decide which was better to call them. Although there was no reason to share any of that.

"Thank you," Filthy Rich said before placing the box on the desk. "And don't you worry about that cut. with the finest surgeons and healing magic, and there won't even be a scar. Can't have you taking over the company looking like that, can we?"

"Dad," Diamond Tiara said in a calm but firm tone, "I'm not taking over Rich Industries. I'm becoming a member of The Royal Guard."

She could see her father tense at her statement. Bracing herself, she straightened up to be as tall as possible, and waited.

"But..." He turned around to face her. "Sweetie, you're not a fighter. Look at what's happened to you just in training. If something like that can happen there, just imagine what could possibly happen to you when you're actually out on duty."

"Dad-"

"No," Filthy Rich said to cut her off. "No child of mine is putting herself in danger -- not even for a princess -- and that is final."

"I'm sorry, Dad, but no it's not." She moved to face him. "This is happening. I'm becoming a member of the guard."

"But..." he sighed and looked at her. "You're my daughter. My only daughter." He reached up, placing a hoof against her chin. "You are the most important thing in my life, the one thing I am proudest of having a part in. I don't want to see you get hurt, to say nothing about..."

This time, it was Diamond Tiara who initiated the hug. Moving close, she gripped her father tightly. She said nothing, holding him.

"I can't lose you," she heard her father whisper.

Finally she pulled away.

"I can't promise I'll be safe," she told him. "It's going to be dangerous. I might get hurt..." she looked away "...or worse..."

Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"But this is something that I have to do."

"You don't-" Filthy Rich started, but stopped when his daughter held a hoof up.

"Yes," she insisted. "I do. I've done some pretty bad things, Dad. Things I'm not proud of. Things" -- she touched the stitches -- "I never should have. Even despite your best efforts to have me be a well behaved young lady, I was pretty nasty.

"When I joined, it was because I wanted to do something brave and heroic. Now, there's more to it. I can't change what I've done, but if I help other ponies -- protect other ponies -- then maybe I can make some amends. Maybe I can deserve that forgiveness that I've already been given, and starting earning the forgiveness of others."

Including my own.

She watched as her father let out a huff, sagging slightly.

"I guess I can't talk you out of this," Filthy Rich said. "Just... promise me you'll try to be careful."

With a grin, Diamond Tiara walked over to the desk, pulled a cupcake out of the box, and shoved it in her eye.

"I promise."

Filthy Rich stared at his daughter in shock a moment, before bursting into laughter. Grabbing a handkerchief from his pocket, he began to wipe the cream cheese frosting from her face.