A small beam of sunlight crept through the cracks of a boarded up window into the room where Smiley slept, illuminating a large lump laying upon a jacket. Smiley quickly flinched awake, the change in his surroundings being strange and somewhat hostile to him. The yellow pony slowly calmed as he couldn’t see any threat in the room. He cautiously moved himself to the door, wincing as his muscles contracted and pushed bruises gained rather recently. Pulling himself close to the door, he pressed his ear against the flimsy material, attempting to detect any signs of life on the other side. Not that it mattered, much. If his father wanted to jump him, Smiley wouldn’t be able to stop it.
He never could.
Brushing his black mane out of the way, Smiley slowly pushed the door open, leaning out into the hallway. He still could see neither hide nor hair of his father. Smiley couldn’t decide if it was good or bad. On one hoof, that meant he may not be here. On the other, Train may still be lying in wait.
Nevertheless, Smiley crept down the hallway, glancing from doorway to doorway. He searched the study first, then his father’s bedroom. Clearing them both, he leaned forward to check his room, too. He glanced at his miserable excuse for a bed; a small couch that definitely should have been thrown out ages ago. Springs stuck up from the thin fabric, protruding rather comically, had they not hurt to lie on. Still, Smiley found if he put his jacket in the center, and twisted it just right, just so the sleeve lay there instead of there, it was more comfortable than the floor. But even that was a stretch.
Bringing himself back to his senses, he shook his head slowly, cursing himself for letting his guard down. He crept forward, slowly checking the living room, wishing it had fewer spaces for a fully grown stallion to hide. He paused in the doorway, his mind nagging him to move on to the kitchen even though Smiley wanted to sweep behind the couch, just to be sure. In the end, his mind prevailed over his instincts, and Smiley slowly stole into the kitchen. This room Smiley liked. Simple. No hiding spots. It was perfect. A safe haven, of sorts. Smiley sighed as he knew his father had no way of dropping in on him unawares in here.
A slight breeze stole from the boarded window of the small room Smiley had slept in, a room he had come to call “The Shack.” It gently ruffled his mane, doing nothing to improve its style. A small paper ruffled on the table, making Smiley jump half a hoof. The Pegasi’s wings held him in the air, ready to bolt at a moments notice.
After a few seconds, Smiley finally settled back down to the floor, landing with four small soft clops as his hooves met wood. He smiled a subtle smile as he realised his father was gone, at least for now. He trotted over to the table glancing at the paper that was stuck to the table with a liquid that at a sniff, Smiley confirmed was cider. He scanned the note quickly, attempting to read the drunken-cipher.
Smylei, I’v calld yu at lest sevn teen time,s now, and I m’ sic of it.! oYud’ btetr mak it t skol, or I- wel, yoo’ll now wat’l happn.
Smiley quickly flipped the note over, grabbing a pencil out of the jar on the table.
At least I’m feathering going and passing my grades, you stupid, slack-jawed, flunk-out, alcoholic motherbucker! Learn how to spell, plot-hole!
Smiling smugly at the note, he paused to imagine the look on his father’s face when he read that note. The grin slowly faded, and the yellow pony crumpled the note up, throwing it in the garbage. He didn't need that. He wasn't masochistic.
Smiley glanced at the wall-hung clock in the kitchen, and his heart jumped to his throat. If the clock wasn't running late, he only had seven minutes to fly fifteen blocks to his school.
Galloping as fast as his hooves could carry him, Smiley launched into the Shack, clamping his teeth around his jacket. He hesitated momentarily in the hall, only long enough to flip the thin fabric on and pull out his key with a flick of his hoof. The yellow and black pony almost literally flew through the house’s door, stopping outside only to shut and lock the door.
As soon as the door’s latch flipped into place, Smiley launched himself into the air, propelling himself towards the school. He momentarily pondered launching himself higher, into the heavy-current, high-altitude winds, but quickly dismissed the thought as Manehattan’s business polluted skies were a thick black. The smog was already heavy, as high as he was flying, but to go any higher could possibly suffocate a pony. There were even warnings at school telling teenage Pegasi not to fly in the thick smoke.
Smiley resigned himself to straight flying, pushing himself to his max wing power in an attempt to arrive on time. The school finally slid into his line of sight, and the Pegasus spiralled downwards, landing smoothly a block away from the school. He started to slowly trot down the sidewalk, ears cautiously pricked for the sound of the bell.
An unnatural breeze caught the anxious pony’s attention, and Smiley rounded on the Pegasus that landed beside him. His posture relaxed as he placed a name to the face.
“Marshall! How’s it flapping?”
The brown pony smiled softly, shaking his head at the yellow colts’ cavalier attitude. “Not too bad.”
Something was definitely gnawing at his friend, so Smiley dug a little deeper. “Hey, you okay?”
Marshall shook his head. “Yeah, it’s nothing. Just... Babs got back yesterday.”
“So what’s wrong with that? Babs is cool. Wish Bark’d let off of her, but we can’t stop that.”
Marshall shook his black mane from side to side again. “Nah, that ain’t it. It’s… It's exactly the opposite, actually. She came back and promptly ripped a strip offa’ Bark. Broke his muzzle. Celestia, but there was blood bucking everywhere.”
Smiley paused for a second, his brain trying to make sense of what he heard. Finally, he glanced anxiously at his friend. “Well, Bark had it comin’ to him. Can’t say I feel bad.”
“Me neither, but…” Marshall’s expression darkened, and he glared daggers into the ground. “Then she turned on Krystal. Oh, I wish I had been there, Smiley. The moment she turned on Krystal, I woulda ripped her a new one.”
Smiley slowed to a stop. The school was in sight now, and he was definitely late, but right now that didn’t matter. The last thing he remembered about Babs was she was leaving Manehattan to visit some family she had down with in Ponyville. He remembered her being happy about getting away from Bark and his gang.
‘The hay happened? She would'a never gone at Bark, let alone Krystal.’
He shook his head. “Listen, Marshall, I’ll keep an eye on her. Sorry I wasn't here yesterday, but I had… family troubles.”
Marshall narrowed his eyes and poked his friend in one of the more sensitive bruises. “Uh-huh. Sure you did. Whatever, colt. See ya ‘round.”
“Yeah, you too.”
Marshall flung himself into the air, propelling himself towards one of the few cloud classes dotting the sky. Smiley turned, solemnly walking through the front doors of the school. He slowly pulled out his time-table, scanned it again, even though he had his classes memorized, and trotted down the hall.
‘Another day of this crud.’