Diamond Tiara of The Royal Guard

Diamond Tiara let out a sigh of frustration and relief as she left the exam room. She had not enjoyed that. Being weighed and measured was not so bad (although it turned out she had a little extra fat). Having things stuck in her ears, eyes, nose, throat, vagina, and butt while being asked personal questions ("Are you sexually active?" "How many partners have you been with this year?" "Do you know their medical history?") had been awkward and embarrassing. Then there was having blood drawn and a round of vaccinations. That part was painful, but at least it was over quickly.

The whole thing was made worse by the fact that she was tired and irritable. It would all be a lot less annoying if she had gotten more sleep. Maybe it would have been better if she had-

No! she thought harshly. You are not going to think about that. Just forget it. Forget...

Diamond Tiara stopped, closing her eyes and taking a slow, deep breath to collect herself.

After the clinic and a quick check-up was what looked like a barber shop. Diamond Tiara had never been to a barber shop before. Normally when she wanted to get her mane or tail trimmed or styled, she would have it done at The Ponyville Spa. That way she could also have a facial and hooficure in the process.

"Ah," one of the barbers called out, "our next client. You're just in time. An opening just came up." He grinned and motioned to the spot.

Diamond Tiara tossed her mane as she moved to take a seat.

"I suppose I could use a new style," she said. "Maybe.. half it's current length? Something that can be kind of bouncy like-"

The rest of her suggestion was caught in her throat as a set of electric shears touched the front of her head and went straight back, cutting a thick streak of her mane away all the way down to the scalp. One of her eyes twitched as her brain shut down all other systems to process what the Discord was happening.

As she watched in a state of shock, the barber continued to cut away her mane. With each passing of the shears, more and more of what had once been long, beautiful locks was now just the length of her coat. It looked so weird seeing her head become a mane-less mass.

Just as she thought that it was all over and done, they did the exact same thing to her tail. Her tail!

In a state of shock, Diamond Tiara stumbled out of the barber shop and continued on. Why had no pony warned her she would have to go through something like that. She had thought she was prepared for whatever was going to happen to her. She was wrong. Nothing had prepared her for what had just happened to her mane. And her tail. Her poor, poor, precious tail.

Next came a stop by supply where she was given a single blanket, a pillow, and a shirt with cadet written across the front and back. Immediately after was the barracks, where Diamond Tiara was shown a cot for her to sleep in, and a foot locker for her personal affects (if she had any).

Standing by her cot, Diamond Tiara looked around at the other ponies she would be sharing the barracks with. As she did, something suddenly bumped into her.

"Watch it!" she snapped, turning to glare at cause.

Standing there was a pale purple-gray coated mare who -- if the stubble on her head was any indication -- had a blue-green mane. She was almost nose to nose with Diamond Tiara, glaring back.

"What's your problem?" Tiara asked.

"You!" the other mare growled, pointing a hoof. "You don't even remember me, do you?"

Diamond Tiara pursed her lip as she study the angry mare in front of her. The colors did not ring anything in her mind. Maybe if she still had a mane? Probably not though. The cutie mark did nothing either.

"No," Diamond Tiara said before giving a smirk. "Sorry."

"Aura."

Aura? Tiara thought. Aura...Aura... Doesn't really sound familiar to me.

She raised and eyebrow and tilted her head.

"Or what?" Diamond Tiara asked, feeling a thrill of joy when Aura let out an annoyed huff.

"Not 'or.' Aur-A! It's my name." She took a step closer. "You used to pick on me in elementary school."

Rolling her eyes, Diamond Tiara scoffed.

"Like that clears anything up. I picked on pretty much every pony back then."

She had to bite back a grin at the look she was being given.

"You don't belong here," Aura growled.

The statement made Diamond Tiara tense as anger flared inside her. She adjusted her stance and raised her head, looking down her nose.

"Excuse me?"

"You," Aura said as she poked Diamond Tiara in the chest, "don't belong here. You were a spoiled, stuck up, prissy little bitch then, and you are a spoiled, stuck up, prissy little bitch now. You're not guard material. You should be kicked out."

"Oh, yeah?" Diamond Tiara growled, pushing forward to butt heads with angry mare that was threatening her. "And what are you going to do about it.. Oral?"

Aura's ears pinned back as she bared her teeth.

"I'm going to make sure you quit. I'm going to be on you, making your life a living Tartarus until you realize how much you suck at this stuff and give up. Then, when you are defeated and leaving this place, I... will... laugh."

With that, she let out an bitter "ha!"

"Oh, yeah?" Diamond Tiara practically yelled. "Well don't hold your breath. Because I'm not going anywhere. And there is nothing a pony like you can do about it."

With that she locked eyes with Aura and glared right back. There were certain things she remembered from her time as a schoolyard bully and watching her father in some of his business dealings. Admittedly, some of them she did find useful from time to time, such as right now.

Aura blinked, her eyes looking away from Diamond Tiara. Taking a step back, Aura moved to walk around the other mare, letting her shoulder slam against Tiara.

The impact forced Diamond Tiara to take a step to keep from falling. She turned to glare at Aura who was walking away.

Nopony tells Diamond Tiara what she can and can't do.