Guard Tiara: The Grand Guard Games

"Now arriving at Ponyville station," the conductor called out as he headed through the train car. "Now arriving at Ponyville station. Prepare to disembark."

A small smile pulled at the edges of Diamond Tiara's mouth at the announcement. She was glad to be home. It was not a quiet place, but at least it was weirdness she was used to, weirdness she had grown up with. After all the new strangeness she had experienced in The Crystal Empire, she was glad to have some familiarity around her. Hopefully any creatures will be nice enough to give her a couple days before attacking so she could get some proper rest and relaxation.

As the train came to a stop, Diamond Tiara hurried to get up, stretching out. As nice as the ride back had been, between sitting there the entire ride and hospital bed, her butt was sore. She needed to get some movement going, move the muscles and work out the kinks. The walk around town sounded wonderful at the moment. The question was where should she go first? She could go to the apartment first, drop off her bag and check on Dinky and Rumble, but that would also mean risking walking in on the pair of them doing something (assuming they were there in the first place). She could also go to Barnyard Bargains or the house, see her father and talk about what had been bothering her since --

You are nothing but a disappointment.

-- the attack by Queen Insidious. Alternatively, she could go to Sweet Apple Acres, which would give her a long walk to stretch out her muscles, let her see Apple Bloom, and probably end up getting a nice hot meal from the family. Her stomach liked that last one.

"There she is!" a voice called out. "Diamond! Diamond!"

It turned out that the question was moot. Turning toward the sound of her name being called, Diamond Tiara found: Apple Bloom and the other crusaders, as well as Spike; her teammates Rumble and Dinky; and her father.

Before Diamond Tiara could do anything, she found herself caught up in the center of a group hug. Apple Bloom and Dinky Hooves were the closest, and most enthusiastic with their hugging. Scootaloo and Babs Seed stood back, just watching. Diamond's father also stood back, a faint smile tugging at the edge of his mouth.

"Welcome home," Apple Bloom said before pulling back.

"Thanks," Diamond said. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but what is everypony doing here?"

"Twilight sent word that you were coming back today," Spike explained. "She also mentioned that you might need some comfort and support, but didn't explain why."

"Are you okay?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Did you find out what was going on?" Rumble asked.

"And did you stop it?" Dinky added.

Diamond Tiara's gaze shifted from the ponies surrounding her to her father.

"Can we talk about this later?" she asked, pulling out of the hug. "I need to have a private conversation with my father."

There was a moment of silence as all the ponies let Diamond go. Several of them had looks of curiosity on their face. Spike opened his mouth, but the magic from Sweetie Belle's grabbed it, holding it shut.

"Sure, " Sweetie said with a smile. "We'll be at Sugarcube Corner when you're done. Just join us when the two of you are ready." She then started walking, giving Spike a gentle tug to have him follow her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Apple Bloom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll tell you all about it later," Diamond answered. "But... I need to know something important first." She glimpsed toward her father again.

"Okay." Apple Bloom leaned forward and gave Diamond on the cheek. "You know I'm here for you when you need me."

"Yeah," Diamond said. "And I --"

Love you for it.

"-- appreciate it."

Apple Bloom gave one more smile before turning and walking away. She quickly caught up with the rest of the group, leaving Diamond Tiara alone with Filthy Rich.

Well, not exactly alone. There were still a few ponies milling about as they were getting off and on the train, meeting others, or possibly waiting for another.

"Alright, sweetie," Filthy said as he walked up to her. "What is going on? I don't think you've ever asked to talk to me like that before. Although it does sound kind of like when you were about to butter me up for something... Normally starting with 'you love me, right?'"

"Close actually," Diamond Tiara answered. "Dad... am... am I disappointment?"

"What?" Filthy Rich shifted, turning to look at his daughter directly. "Diamond Tiara, why would you ever ask such a thing?"

"I've been through a lot recently. Just humor me and answer. Please."

"No," Filthy Rich finally said. "You are not a disappointment." He shifted. "I will admit there were some times when you were growing up where I should have stopped or punished you." Reaching up, he placed a hoof against his daughter's chin, bringing her face up to look him in the eye.

"Regardless, you have grown up to be a beautiful, smart, and brave mare. You are choosing to follow your own path, and one that is putting others ahead of yourself and protecting them. And while I am always going to be scared and worried for you, that is because I love you. But no matter what, I am proud of you, and look forward to see what you do in the future."

Tears filled the edges of Diamond Tiara's eyes as a small smile formed. Reaching up, she wiped at one of her cheeks.

"Thanks," Diamond said, her voice cracking. "You don't know how much that means to me."

"I should also thank you," Filthy said, grinning. "You recall your... last meeting with your mother?"

"How could I forget," Diamond answered, rolling her eyes. "She thought I was your marefriend at first for crying out loud."

That got a nervous chuckle from Filthy Rich as he reached a hoof up to smooth his hair. A gesture Diamond Tiara recognized, making her wonder what her father was nervous about.

"Yes," Filthy Rich continued. "Well it seems that you 'knocked some sense into her' as it were. She has decided not to contest the divorce or seek a share of the assets."

"Really?"

"Really. She asked for a single large payment of bits -- although not enough that I couldn't afford it -- signed the papers, and went back to Manehattan."

He ran a hoof along his tie, looking down at it. He then took a deep breath.

"She also gave me a new address, which she wanted me to give to you, in case you wanted to get back in touch with her." Filthy held up the hoof. "Before you answer, I just want to say something. I understand you're still hurt and mad at her, and it is your choice, but she is still your mother. I think it would be good for you if you at least tried to patch things up with her."

"...I'll think about it..." Diamond mumbled, looking down at the ground.

"That's all I can ask," Filthy said. "Now go join your friends and have fun."

"You're not coming?"

"They're here to spend time with you. Go enjoy yourself. You can come by the house tomorrow and we can have that lunch together you missed out on."

"Deal."