At Face Value

Chapters

First Impressions
Proper Impressions
Horrible Impressions
Meeting Loyalty(and nearly dying)
Setting the record straight
Of Smiles and Fashion

First Impressions

To Twilight Sparkle it was a day amongst others. It felt like forever since she had moved into the peaceful, if a bit zany township of Ponyville. Long gone were the initial feelings of apprehension she harbored on her first arrival there.

Now Twilight had friends, something she had neglected to make before coming to Ponyville. It all felt so stupid in retrospect. Her friends were her everything now and she couldn’t imagine a day without Rainbow Dash’s bold brashness or even Pinkies unexplainable hijinxs.

She had come to love this town with all her heart, and she didn’t regret it in the least.

Twilight sighed happily and turned her head away from the window and back into the book she was reading. One of the benefits of living in a library was that you have as much reading material as you could possibly need.

But it felt a bit odd. Normally the library would not be so quiet but today was slow. Not many had come to get books in a few days. It didn’t help matters that Twilight’s assistant was out of town in Canterlot to do some errands for a week.

But in its own way the quiet was calming. Her nerves were fully up for the silence, and considering what the life in Ponyville entailed she most likely deserved it.

Twilight pulled her nose from the book again to re-read a letter she had gotten a few days ago. It was from her brother, Shining Armor. He was the captain of the royal guard, a feat their mother did not stop bringing up in conversation.

Twilight loved her brother very much. They had always been very close ever since they were young, but her time in ponyville had sadly limited their interaction. The letter he wrote was a nice surprise, although it’s contents were a bit odd.

So she read it for the upteenth time.

Hi,Twily! I hope you are doing well. Sorry I haven’t been in touch much. Duty calls, you know. Just wanted to tell you that I’m doing fine. The guys are obedient and on their top shape, as they should. Nothing that exciting has come up yet but it’s only a matter of time. Preparation never hurts.

Oh, but Iron Wall came by to see how things were doing! Funny, everypony keeps reminding him he’s retired but he just won’t have it. I bet he is just worried about me fitting into his admittedly big horseshoes.

Twilight was still amused by this news. Iron Wall was a very old stallion and a family friend. He was also the former captain of the royal guards before Shining inherited his spot. Though he was retired he still had that “spark” that only a royal guard can have, as Shining put it.

Twilight read on to the most intriguing part of the letter.

But I’m not only sending you this letter to let you know I’m fine. I’ve actually got a favor to ask of you, Twi.

An old friend of mine from school is moving to Ponyville but his housing isn’t quite ready yet. I’d very much appreciate it if you would provide him with a roof over his head until his housing gets cleared out.

Oh, and he’ll also be bringing his kid sister along, so be nice to her! They should be coming in by train in a few days. His name is Smiles and you’ll know him when you see him. Trust me.

If you’d do this, it’d mean a lot.

Love, Shiny

Ps. Just a warning. Smiles is… quite something. That’s all I’m going to say. Don’t want to ruin the surprise!

This request was a bit odd. Twilight knew Shining had a lot of friends in school but this name was not amongst the ones he had mentioned before. And the Ps was weird too, though the name Smiles made Twilight think of Pinkie Pie. Celestia knows one is quite enough.

For the most part Shining had just been so… vague about this whole thing.

Still, Twilight had accepted to house this friend of her brother. It was the right thing to do. Leaving somepony hanging like that would go against the things she had learned from her friends.

Twilight set the letter down and looked out the window again, thinking.

‘I wonder what kind of pony this Smiles is.’

I look out at the passing scenery. Everything moves by so fast it almost seems like a blur. The noise the wheels make when moving along the tracks fills the whole cabin. It’s not particularly loud, but sort of calming in fact.

Ponyville. I had heard the name a few times, but didn’t really know much about it. It really came to my attention when Shining brought it up during our previous discussion. Apparently it was a quiet little town in the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Shining though it would be a good place to move, so I took his word for it.

His sister also seemed to live there. Twilight Sparkle. The name was not unknown to me, even without Shining telling me about her. Element of Magic and a local hero. I had to admit I am a bit anxious that Shining set up temporary housing in her home. I hope I don’t intrude.

“Hey, are we there yet?” I break out of my thinking as I hear that small voice. I look down to the filly looking out the window.

“No, not yet. Shouldn’t be long though.” I reply to the question. She just puffs her cheeks cutely and pouts.

“That’s what you said ten minutes ago!” I could not help but feel happy. Even while trying to pout and act angry my little sister managed to be so cute.

“And it’s still true.” I smiled. “But we need to be patient. Remember, we will be guests. So try to behave, okay?”

The little filly just shot me a playful glare and murmured “Fine.”

A voice spoke through the intercom. “Next stop, Ponyville station. We will arrive in five minutes. I repeat...”

“Hey, did you hear that?” My sister asked excitedly.

I chuckle and nod. “Of course.”

A moment of silence passed, filled with nothing but the tracks under us. Then she spoke up most innocently. “What do you think our home’s like?”

I put my hoof on her head and ruffled her mane lightly. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

She brushed my hoof of and hopped in place all excited. “You think my room could be pink?”

I chuckle again. So adorable. “Well, we can always paint...”

“Yay!” She throws her hooves up in joy. I’m just glad to see her happy. My darling sister.

“Hey, the train’s stopping!”

I blink. Must’ve zoned out for a second. “Well, we better get our things ready. You got your bag?”

“Yessir!” She pulled a pink bag from under her seat with a salute. I just laughed softly and got up, grabbing my saddlebags.

Oh, how pleasant. The other ponies in the cart immediately give us room as we pass. How nice of them.

We wait for the train to stop and then step out to the station. Immediately most ponies turn to look at me. It’s kind of embarrassing, but I am kind of tall. I just look down to my sister. “Okay, remember where-”

“The house that looks like a tree. Got it!” She said automatically. I ruffled her mane again.

“Good girl.”

“This is officer Glimmer Badge, reporting suspicious activity.” I overhear a pony in uniform talking into a walkie-talkie. “Reporting a small filly with a suspicious stallion at the Ponyville station. May require back up.”

“... Huh?” There was something like that going on here? Oh my, I hope the officers have it under control.

“T-the suspicious stallion has noticed me! Need immediate backup!” The officer mare yelled into her walkie-talkie… Hold on, why is she looking at- “You, stop right there!”

“... Eh?” I tilt my head as the mare jumps me, followed by two more officer mares just seconds after.

“You have the right to remain silent!” One of the mare officers says in a commanding tone as she and one other of her coworkers drag the stallion away, a blank but somewhat confused look plastered on his face.

The third one stays behind and walks to the small filly. “Don’t worry, kiddo. We got things under control.” She said with a wink. “The name is Glimmer Badge. Let me know if I can help you out any further, m’kay?”

The filly looked at the officer mare with wide innocent eyes. “Well...”

Twilight Sparkle’s reading was interrupted by a knock at her door. She put her book aside and went to answer it. The knocking continued. “Yes, yes. Coming!” She called out.

She opened the door. There stood a cocoa brown coated earth pony mare with a short amber mane and matching eyes. Twilight noted that she wore the blue uniform of the Equestrian Police Force. Her cutie mark was a shiny gold and silver badge. “Pardon my intrusion, but are you Ms. Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight nodded, a bit confused as to why an officer of the EPF was on her door. “Yes, I am. What sort of… business do you have with me?”

“Oh, I have no business with you. She does.” The mare said, gesturing to her left side with her hoof. Twilight looked but saw nopony there. The mare pointed down.

Besides the mare was a small earth pony filly, her coat, mane and eyes all a different shade of pink, the mane a more dark shade than the rest. The mane in question was sort of poofy but obviously well taken care of. She had no cutie mark.

“Well, you think you can manage things from here, kiddo?” The officer mare asked. It was answered with a quick nod. “Then take care, little one. And stay out of trouble.” the mare trotted off with a wink.

Twilight was still looking at the filly,

“Hey, you’re miss Twilight, right? The filly asked, snapping Twilight out of her trance.

‘What… What just came over me?’, She thought before shaking it off to answer the filly. “Oh, yes. I am Twilight Sparkle. And who might you be?” She asked as nicely as possible.

The filly raised a hoof up into the air. “I’m Coral!” The filly grabbed her hoof suddenly and began pulling her. “Come on, let’s go!”

“H-hey, what-” Twilight stuttered in surprise as the filly dragged her off.

The filly just flashed her a bright smile.

“... How did I get here?” was Twilight’s first question when she next became aware of her surroundings. For whatever reason she was now standing in front of the RPF HQ, a new addition to ponyville.

“What, you don’t remember walking here?” The filly asked. Twilight became aware that she was still holding onto her hoof.

“Uh, well… Wait, why did you drag me here in the first place?!” Twilight shot a question back, remembering the initial issue. The filly, Coral, as she introduced herself just smiled.

“Well, to help out big bro of course!” Coral said. This got Twilights gears turning a bit.

“Wait… Is your brother named Smiles by any chance?” The filly just nodded. “... Then why are we-”

“Less talk, more action!” Coral interrupted and pulled Twilight inside before she could retaliate.

Inside was a waiting room with a lone stallion officer standing in as reception. He looked up at the filly and mare that just barged in. “Yes, can I help you?” He asked, lacking any motivation for his job.

Twilight was confused and did not manage to say a word before Coral answered the officer’s question. “Miss Twilight is here to bail out my big bro!”

“... What?” Twilight said flatly as her mind processed that phrase.

The officer stallion just sighed and spoke as unmotivated as before. “Description or name, please.”

“Well, he’s got a black mane and his coat is dark grey. Big bro’s name is Smiles.”

Twilight saw the stallion’s eyes shrink into tiny pinpricks at the description and some nervous sweat appearing on his face. “I- uhh… I mean… You sure you got the… right pony, little miss?”

“Eeyup!” Coral said with a weighty nod and a million bit smile.

The officer gulped. “Uhm… You- I mean… Just take the key! Take the left, second door on the right!” He placed the key on the table and quickly hid behind his desk area. Twilight raised a brow at this very strange behaviour. The stallion almost seemed scared.

Coral jumped up and snagged the key and hopped ahead. “H-hey, wait!” Twilight called out and followed the filly, if only to make sure that she didn’t get into trouble.

Left and second door to the right. Coral stopped in front of it and jumped to unlock the door, swing it open and jumped inside with an upbeat demeanor. Twilight followed but stopped at the doorway.

The room was dark and inside were two cells with metal bars. This had to be a holding area for those caught committing crimes. One of the cells was vacant. The one beside it on the other hoof…

Twilight could see a shape. A tall figure she could not make out in the dark. But what she could make out were the eyes. Like lights in darkness she was immediately drawn into them. Wide open with extremely small specks for pupils. Those eyes seemed to stare into the depths of her soul. Then the figure flashes a wide and eerie smile that sent chills down Twilight’s spine.

“Aaaand… Open!” Coral shouted cheerily as she unlocked the cell door with the figure in it. It stepped forward slowly and Twilight could hear heavy heaving, something that made her back away into the hallway.

She could not understand it, but the mere sound of hooves slowly clopping on the floor sent signals in her brain. An order to get away, even if she did not know why.

Then the figure stepped into the light, and what Twilight saw made her breath get trapped in her throat and her body froze.

In front of her was a stallion with a lanky frame and great height, somewhere between Princess Celestia and Luna. His coat was grey and his messy black mane covered its face a bit. And that was what made Twilight so uneasy.

This stallion’s eyes were wide open with its extremely small pupils. The dark bags under his eyes added to the unnerving effect of their piercing gaze. And his mouth seemed stuck in a near psychotic smile nearly going from ear to ear.

But most of all, and Twilight did not know if it was just her mind playing tricks on her, the stallion seemed to be covered in a dark, ominous aura. Then he spoke in the most creepy and unnerving voice resembling a shaky whisper.

“Hello there...”

Twilight fainted.

Author's Note

Wow. It's been long since I've written something.

But here you go, the first chapter to what I hope is a long journey!

Special thanks to my good pal Fordregha for pre-viewing my junk and to Forevermore for cleaning up the grammar mess. You guys are the best!

-Doctor Downfall

Ps. Enjoy.

Proper Impressions

“Hello there...”

Twilight Sparkle sprung up with a gasp. She blinked and saw she was in her bed, in her home. A feeling of ease swept over her as she sank back into her bed.

‘Was… that just a dream? Funny, it felt so real.’ Twilight thought with a sigh. It was a strange dream, if it really was such. But what else could it be? She woke up in her bed for Celestia’s sake.

‘... Wait, isn’t the sun up high? Why am I in bed at-’

“Hi! You’re awake?”

“Gah!” Twilight yelped as she fell off her bed. Then she got a face full of pink.

“Gosh, you sure gave us a scare, miss Twilight.” Said a filly so pink it should be criminal. Kind of like in her dream. Exactly like in her dream.

“... Coral?” Twilight asked from the floor.

“Eeyup! That’s my name. Glad you remembered.” Coral said with a bright smile as Twilight got her bearings and stood up to face the filly standing on her bed.

“Don’t sneak up on ponies like that!” Twilight berated the filly as she got her heart rate under control. Coral just giggled and blew a playful raspberry at Twilight. Then steps came from downstairs.

“Come now, Coral. Don’t bother our host like that.” Twilight’s hairs stood up as a chill ran all over her body. That was the voice! The shaky whisper from her dream.

“Aww, but it’s funny.” Coral shouted back as the steps got closer to the door. Twilight felt herself grow more tense.

“That’s no excuse to play pranks on others.” The voice said as the door slowly creaked open. Halfway in stepped an exceptionally tall stallion with a grey coat and black mane. And that wide psychotic smirk and those eerie eyes. Just like in Twilight’s “dream”, this made Twilight’s blood run cold. “Oh, you are awake… Good.” The Stallion spoke and laughed unnervingly.

Coral jumped off the bed and looked at the stallion. “Big bro, you took too long.” She said with a pouty look on her face.

“Sorry, sorry.” The stallion said with another unnerving laugh. Then he looked at Twilight. “I apologise for the intrusion, but the door was unlocked so we just helped ourselves in… Umm...” He paused for a moment. “Why are you hiding behind the bed?”

“No reason! Nope, none.” Twilight said quickly, indeed quivering behind the bed with only the top half of her head visible.

“Hey, you still got a towel on your head!” Coral exclaimed

“Oh? Sorry, I didn’t notice.” The stallion said, a bit surprised as he reached to take it off. “I hope you don’t mind that I helped myself to your shower.”

Twilight was confused. This stallion was acting so polite and yet he looked so… so…

Then something clicked in Twilight’s head. ‘Oh by Celestia, Twilight, you are reliving the Zecora scenario again.’ Twilight though as she composed herself.

She stood up and walked a bit closer to the stallion.

“Big bro, isn’t now the time for, you know...” Coral nudged her big brother with her hoof. He briefly looked down and then back at Twilight.

“Oh, yes. Right.” He coughed into his hoof softly. “Sorry, I’ve forgotten to introduce ourselves properly. First, this is Coral, my baby sister.” He gestured at the filly by his side.

“Hey, I’m not a baby!” Coral exclaimed and bucked the stallion’s foreleg a bit. He just laughed.

“Sorry, sorry.” He coughed again and places his hoof on his chest. “And I am Grimdark Smiles, her older brother.” Her extended his slender hoof in Twilight’s direction. “It’s a… pleasure to meet you, miss Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight remembered the words in Shining Armor’s letter as she reached for Smiles’ hoof.

You will know him when you see him.

Smiles is… quite something. That’s all I’m going to say. Don’t want to ruin the surprise!

‘He knew! Why didn’the tell me?’ Twilight thought as her shaking hoof grabbed Smiles’. She was trying her hardest to look him in the face with a forced smile. He just kept smiling unnervingly. ‘Why couldn’t he tell me he was this scary!?’

Smiles just… smiled and shook Twilight’s hoof most politely. “No need to be so timid. I promise,” He laughed unnervingly. “I won’t bite.”

Twilight did not scream, thank Celestia for that. She’d swear that sounded more like a threat than was most likely intended.

However, Coral caught onto her nervous demeanor. “Big bro, she thinks you’re creepy.” She stated casually.

Smiles immediately recoiled backwards in shock. “Y-you do? I- was it the bite joke? I’m sorry, so terribly sorry!” He muttered quickly while bowing his head down apologetically again and again.

Twilight was just confused. One moment this stallion was the most scary thing she had ever seen and now he was more apologetic than Fluttershy.

While Smile’s kept chanting ‘I’m sorry’, Coral spoke to Twilight. “Say it’s fine or he’ll miss dinner.”

Twilight blinked and shook her head to clear her mind. “Uhh, yes. It’s okay… Smiles.”

Smiles stopped chanting with his head lowered. He then looked up, his still wet mane hanging over his face, making him look even scarier than before. “Really?” He asked almost maliciously.

Twilight gulped, doing all she could to mask how much in fear she was in. She put on the most horribly disguised fake grin. “Y-yes. All is perfectly fine!”

Smiles stood up straight and sighed in relief. “Thank goodness! For a moment I thought I had done something improper.” He laughed a bit. “Shining would have my head if I did.”

Twilight snapped out of her panic for a moment. “Oh yeah, Shiny mentioned you two were friends.” She said to herself.

“Oh, yes. Shining and me go way back.” Smiles said. “We first met when we were first years in Canterlot High School.” He chuckled ominously. “Whenever I tried to say hi to him he had to go to the bathroom suddenly.”

‘Gee, I wonder why.’ Twilight snarked internally.

“Shining was so funny back then.” Smiles said with a short laugh before turning to Coral. “Stay here with miss Twilight, okay? I’ll have to go tidy up a bit.”

Coral saluted with a serious look. With a nod Smiles headed back downstairs.

Twilight let out a breath she had been holding for a bit. Coral hopped up to her and looked up “Don’t worry. This happens all the time.”

“I’m willing to believe that.” Twilight sighed before thinking out loud. “Can’t believe the first time I meet my brother’s friend was in jail.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of a bummer to deal with.” Coral said casually and before Twilight could ask what she meant by that the filly just continued. “So, where do we sleep?”

“... What?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

Coral frowned. “Big bro said we’d stay here for a bit.”

Twilight blinked as her gears turned, her expression turning into a panicked one. “... Oh gosh, I totally forgot! I haven’t organized the guest room, because I didn’t know when you were coming and kept putting it off!” She started pacing about rapidly around the room like a panicked rabbit. Coral just watched Twilight’s neurotics with a neutral expression. Twilight darted through the door. “I need to go, need to make some room and then clean up- oof!”

Twilight crashed into something, sending both her and whatever she crashed into barreling down the stairs. She instinctively shut her eyes tight, but she noted how oddly painless the way down was. Finally hitting the floor of the lower floor, Twilight could feel her fall being cushioned.

She opened her eyes as they were met with two wide open ones. The familiar eyes that sent shivers down her spine.

“Hello.” Smiles said casually despite being under Twilight in a very embarrassing position, with both of their faces almost touching. Twilight in response quickly hopped off of him and backed off a few paces, just a bit too scared to blush.

“I-I’m sorry, are y-you-” Twilight stuttered, partly flustered and partly frightened but was cut off.

“I’m fine, miss Twilight.” Smiles stated. He stood up and dusted himself, looking none the worse for wear. “I’m sorry for bumping into you like that. I wasn’t really paying attention. My apologies.”

Twilight raised a brow. Why was he apologizing when it was she that crashed into him? He seemed very sincere about it, even if his face never changed from that unbelievably frightening look.

Smiles continued. “I also couldn’t help but overhear that the guest room isn’t tidied up, yes?” Twilight tried not to look at his face too much to keep a normal composure.

“Well, yes. I… had neglected to do that because...” It did not help. Twilight could feel those eyes drilling into her, unblinking.

“Because you didn’t know exactly when we would arrive. I heard.” Smiles cut in with a chuckle. “Shining never was one for specifics. Now, where is the guest room?”

Twilight tensed up at the question and straightened her posture hastily. “Oh, uh, yes. I’ll go clear that out for you immediat-” She stopped suddenly as Smiles chuckled grimly.

“You don’t need to fret so much, miss Twilight.” Smiles said, walking closer to the purple unicorn and placing a hoof on her shoulder, something that made her even tenser than before. But all that began to face as Smiles spoke up again. “I simply wished to know where it was so I could help you clean up. I mean, if you don’t mind.”

The librarian could not help but think, and this time really think. She looked at Smiles’ face. Despite how unnaturally frightening he seemed and despite how creepy his way of speech was, behind those words he said were something she recognized. Kindness, something that made her think of her friend Fluttershy.

She had noticed it before but only now was her brain really drawing parallels between this stallion and Fluttershy. It sort of made him look a bit less frightening in her eyes.

‘This pony really is nice, isn’t he?’ She though… Still, that face was just surreal.

“Uhh… miss Twilight?” Smiles said sounding a bit embarrassed.

“Why’re you looking at my big bro so intently? Do you like him?” Coral commented innocently, at some time walking between the two.

Twilight, broken out of her thoughts, blushed a bit at the filly’s implication. She must have spaced out while thinking. “Huh? Umm, no!” She spoke before coughing into her hoof to change the subject. “The, uhh, guest room is over there.” She pointed at the door on the other side of the lower floor.

“Alright. Thank you.” Smiles walked to the door and began to open it. It was then when Twilight remembered one important detail.

“Wait, don’t open-”

A loud crash ensued as all sorts of trash poured out from the door, completely engulfing Smiles. Twilight gasped loudly while Coral just looked at the whole thing with peculiar calm and neutrality. Twilight soon let out a sigh of relief as Smiles’ head popped out of the mess.

“Hmm… I see what you meant by it needing to be tidied up.” He said calmly as if getting drowned in trash wasn’t a big deal. Smiles then casually dredged out of the trash heap easily and turned back to look at it. “There’s a lot here.”

Twilight groaned internally about having forgotten that the guest room was where he stored all his useless things. Still, she was glad Smiles seemed okay.

“Well, this isn’t going to clean itself.” Smiles said as he began sifting through the trash. “Miss Twilight, help me with this, please? Oh, and you too Coral.”

“Yes, sir!” Coral saluted and got to work. Twilight just looked at the two siblings, so unnervingly different yet so close working together. She smiled before helping out herself. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as she had feared.

Twilight collapsed on her bed. The trio had spent the entire day clearing the guest room from junk. Twilight was actually a bit shocked to find a few of some books of hers that went missing ages ago. She was going to have a word with her assistant about this!

The room was… smaller than Twilight had remembered. The only guest bed was small. Smiles had been very insistent that Coral take it. He slept on the floor. Twilight would expect that sort of minimal martyrdom from Fluttershy. The more she thought about, the more Smiles reminded her of her friend.

It was like that cleaning was a good bonding moment, in a way. Twilight had gotten a better grasp with the two siblings. Coral was a filly full of energy and seemed really mature for her age. Smiles was, despite Twilight’s initial reaction, a really nice pony when you got over the fact he looks like a psychopath killer.

‘... Wow, this really is the Zecora scenario all over again… only a hundred times worse.’ Twilight confirmed her realization.

She sighed, leaving the thinking for tomorrow.

She pulled up the covers and thought of happy things.

…

“Hello there...”

Twilight half whimpered, half groaned. How could she possibly sleep when images of his face keep popping up!?

… This was going to be a long night.

Author's Note

I dare someone to guess the inspiration for this story's existance.

Thanks again to Forevermore for a grammar check and some more or less helpful pointers.

-Doctor DrillThat will pierce the heavens!

Horrible Impressions

The next morning. As Twilight walked down to the main floor she was greeted by the always cheery Coral.

“Hiya! How’d you sleep, miss Twilight?” The pink filly asked, chipper as a bird in spring.

“I’m… fine.” Twilight was, on the contrary, not fine at all. She had gotten a minimal amount of sleep last night and it was pretty obvious, making her a big fat liar.

Coral hopped quickly somewhere and came back with a tray of cookies. She offered Twilight one with a wide smile on her face. “Take one. It’ll wake you up right.”

Twilight sighed. Saying no to that sort of face was impossible. Also, she was hungry and hadn’t gotten to breakfast yet. “... Okay.” She took one of the cookies in her hoof and looked at it. It looked like an ordinary chocolate chip cookie. What was notable was that it was still warm, almost freshly baked.

Shrugging she took a bite and, for reasons she could not explain, felt a surge of energy jolt all over her body. Instantly she felt wide awake and refreshed. “How-”

“You like ‘em?” Coral asked, excited. “They’re big bro’s special recipe. Always wakes you up in the morning!”

“I… Yes. Yes I do.” Twilight admitted and took another bite. She could easily tell there was a lot of sugar in it, as well as the chocolate, but nothing that indicated it should have this kind of effect on her. “Where is your big brother anyway?”

Coral shrugged. “I’unno. Big bro said something about taking care of real estate and something about a mayor. I wasn’t listening that hard.”

Twilight just groaned a bit, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle with her hoof. “When did he leave?”

“I’unno. Couple of minutes ago?” Coral said and witnessed Twilight running straight out the front door… before she quickly ran back in seconds later, smiling gingerly

“Umm, mind if I take some cookies for the way?”

Meanwhile at the Ponyville Town Hall, Mayor Mare was shuffling through paperwork. It was like any other day. One bill after next. Document after document that needed to be attended to. In a way it was just like kindergarten, only with paperwork in place of a mound of whining foals.

Still, if a job is to be done it is to be done well!

“U-umm, Mayor Mare?” Came the voice of her accountant from the intercom recently installed into her office. Mayor Mare pressed a button on her desk and responded.

“Yes, what is it, Golden Week?”

“Th-there’s somepony to s-see you.”

How odd. The poor stallion sounded almost frightened… Must be the nerves.

“Do they have an appointment?”

“...” For a moment there was silence. “Y-yes.”

“Then by all means, send them in.”

“A-alright, Mayor Mare.”

Mayor Mare sighted. She swore, this job was giving her too many new gray hairs. The new help didn’t help too much.

Not to sound mean, Golden Week was an honest and earnest worker but that stallion was just way too tense. He needed to learn to relax a bit and stop trying so hard.

The door to the office got knocked a few times.

“Yes, come on in!” Mayor Mare called out as the door slowly creaked open. One of the first things the mayor heard was a bone chilling voice.

“Hello there...” The moment Mayor Mare looked at the one on the other side of the door she was assaulted by an unblinking stare that sent shivers all across her body. “Sorry to barge in like this, but I have some… business to attend to.”

That phrase made Mayor mare feel threatened. “I-err, yes. W-what might that be?” She asked shakily while trying to get as far from this pony as possible.

The stallion just stared at her with those wide round eyes and that disturbing smile. “I’m here to discuss a document I mailed a few weeks ago. Surely you have it?”

Again Mayor Mare felt a threat within those words and hurriedly began looking over the numerous papers splayed on her desk. “Umm, yes! It’s s-somewhere here...”

The stallion just cocked his head to the side and took some slow steps towards the desk. Mayor Mare in response got a whole lot more threatened and tried to get even further away but was stopped by the wall.

Suddenly the stallion slammed his hoof onto the desk, causing a lot of the papers to actually jump, as well as Mayor Mare to shriek. A few seconds passed in silence. Then the stallion chuckled darkly, causing Mayor Mare to flinch and wish she could sink into the wall.

“Why… here it is.” He said and raised his hoof. Under it was now a singled out document. Then he backed away.

Mayor Mare stepped back onto her desk and picked up the document with shaky hooves. The sender was written in neat cursive as ’Grimdark Smiles’. “O-oh, yes it is, hehe...” Mayor Mare laughed nervously. That name was a little too fitting. She was afraid that if she spoke out of turn he’d attack her!

“Now, this document should prove that I bought a house at the edge of town. However, before I can properly move in I’ll need the deed for the property from… you, miss Mayor.” He said bone chillingly.

Mayor Mare gulped. “W-well, that’ll take time to set up. Lot’s of p-paperwork.” She said, trying to keep up a forced nervous smile.

Smiles chuckled darkly. “Oh, lucky for you I have time to wait.” The mayor gulped again, begging that this stallion just left already. “However, there is another matter I need to discuss with you.”

“And… w-what is that?” Mayor Mare asked, now having to force her composure from shattering.

“It is about applying my younger sister to Ponyville elementary school.” He said calmly but a bit shakily. This made the mayor even more nervous. “I don’t suppose you could do that as soon as possible?”

“Yes!” Mayor Mare exclaimed a bit too quickly. “I-I just need a name for th-the application.”

“Coral.” Smiles said. “Now, if that is all underway, I think we are done here.” With that he turned to leave, but not before looking back for a brief moment. “I’ll be seeing you at a later time. Have a nice day, miss Mayor.” He said darkly and closed the door behind him.

Mayor Mare nearly collapsed,coated in nervous sweat.

Meanwhile, outside.

Smiles walked out of the town hall and let out a huge sigh. “Whew, glad that’s over with… Now what was I going to do next?” He scratched his head a bit before hearing a familiar voice call out to him.

“Smiles!” He heard Twilight yell as she ran up to him and stopped to catch her breath. “Finally… caught up with you.”

“Oh, hello miss Twilight.” Smiles greeted her politely. “What are you doing here?

Twilight held up a hoof to signal that she needed a moment to stabilize her breath. After a few seconds of calm breaths, she answered. ”Well, you were gone in the morning and I wondered where you went to.” She might have bended the truth a little, but it should be fine.

Smiles gasped a little, placing a hoof over his smiling mouth. “Oh, that’s my bad I suppose. I really should have left a note behind. Apologies.”

Twilight tried to look him dead in the eye… it was still a daunting task, but she was adapting. Slowly. “So… what were you doing in the town hall?” Twilight asked, acting ignorant. Badly.

Smiles did not seem to notice though. “Well, I-” His sentence got cut off by a growling stomach.

“...” Twilight blushed in embarrassment and laughed nervously “Hah, I might have not eaten much.”

Smiles just looked at her and sniffed the air. “Oh, I see. Coral gave you some cookies?” His question was answered by a nod, Twilight wondering how he could tell. “That explains it. They give you energy but are not that filling. In fact, I think they make you more hungry.”

The tall stallion tapped his chin with his hoof, thinking. His smile seemed to grow a bit wider, terrifying as it was. “How about we go and get something to eat? My treat.”

Twilight gave him a questioning look. “Is that okay?”

“Yes. I mean, it’ll give us a chance to get more acquainted. I am going to be in your hair for a while, after all.” Smiles explained.

Twilight flashed a smile. “Sounds good.” The two got walking, but Twilight added something before she could forget about it. “By the way, what were you doing in the Town Hall?”

Smiles chuckled. “Oh, right. I was just taking care of some issues with our new home here. Paperwork and all that, though the Mayor was nice enough to take care of it for me. Then I enrolled Coral to the local school.”

“Well, I hope Coral has a good time. Two of my friends little sisters also go there.” Twilight said.

Smiles chuckled again, this time more lightly. “I hope so too.”

“How did it go with the mayor? She wasn’t… umm...” Twilight thought of how to phrase this. “... distressed, at all, was she?”

Smiles tilted his head and looked at her. “Why’d she be distressed, miss Twilight?” He asked, sounding slightly confused.

“N-no reason.” Twilight muttered.

Smiles seemed to not think about it too much. “Well, the Mayor was nice. But I must say I was really nervous.”

‘YOU were the nervous one?’ Twilight exclaimed internally with a disbelieving look at the stallion, but did her best not to bring it up.

For some reason she had a bad feeling about this.

“Golden Week, I need you to mail a letter to the EPF Headquarters that instructs them to keep a keen eye out for one Grimdark Smiles. A picture is included in the envelope.” Mayor Mare spoke to the intercom before muttering to herself. “There is no way I will allow a...a ruffian like that to walk freely in Ponyville.”

“That’s… nice?” Twilight remarked, unsure of how to properly respond. The feeling of dread still lingered.

Smiles merely sighed. “I hope I did not make a bad impression. That’d be sad.” Twilight just responded with an uncertain laugh.

The two were nearly by the local diner, only a few steps away from it’s premises. Twilight stepped on a small rock and fumbled forward a bit.

Smiles instinctively reached his hoof out to support her. “Miss Twi-” His words were cut short as something collided with him extremely hard and extremely fast, crashing and driving his form across the ground, leaving behind a line of dirt.

When Twilight turned to look almost all of Smile’s upper half had sunk into the ground, his rear legs flailing in the air slowly. Twilight groaned and slapped her hoof into her face, but not because of Smile’s predicament.

“What’d you think you’re trying to do to Twilight, buster!” Rainbow Dash yelled at the half submerged stallion.

Author's Note

No grammar checking here, so all mistakes are on me. Yaaaaay!

-Doctor Dumbbell

Ps. NO MISTAKES FOE YOOOOOOU!

Meeting Loyalty(and nearly dying)

“Rainbow!” Twilight called out to her multicolored friend.

Rainbow Dash looked back at Twilight. “Don’t worry Twi, I got this covered.” She said with a confident grin.

Twilight sighed. She would have wondered how it came to this, if the answer wasn’t so obvious. “Rainbow, what do you think you are doing?”

Rainbow Dash raised a brow in a confused manner. “Uhh, duh! Saving you from a total creep creepily creeping on you.”

“I- You...” Twilight uttered, annoyed. She took a deep breath. “Why did you decide the best course of action was to ram into this ‘creep’ at full speed?”

“What? I wasn’t going full speed.” Rainbow retorted, completely missing Twilights point.

The unicorn just gestured at the half submerged body of Smiles, being unnervingly still.

Rainbow Dash followed the gesture before looking back at Twilight with a sheepish grin. “Umm, okay, so maybe I overdid it a bit.” She immediately went back to her serious face. “But that creep was still creepily creeping up on you!”

“Okay, first off, stop doing that!” Twilight commanded.

“... Doing what?” Rainbow asked, confused.

“The alliteration!”

“... Allite-what?” Rainbow said, continuing being confused.

“Creep creepily creeping.” Twilight said flatly. “Really?”

“... Okay, fine. I get it. No nerd word things.”

“Great. Now listen Rainbow Dash, that stallion-”

“Was a real creep, I know! I mean, you should’ve seen that expression on his face-”

“Rainbow.” Twilight tried to interrupt, but Rainbow kept speaking over her.

“-he was, like, totally going to do something weird to you-”

“Rainbow!” Twilight tried interrupting, now louder. Still no effect.

“-I know those new police ponies are around but come on, what good are those guys for if they can’t even keep obvious creeps off the-”

Twilight had already drawn breath to scream at Rainbow Dash, but was interrupted as she was beat to the punch.

“Silence!” A voice said from the outdoor dining area. It was not a yell, heck it wasn’t even that loud of a sentence, but it held such firm commanding tones that it shut both Rainbow and Twilight up.

Both turned their heads to the source of the voice.

At the furthest corner of the dining area, which was near their position, was a table for two. But only one sat there. The source of the voice was a griffon. Not an unheard sight in Ponyville, but definitely rare.

This griffon possessed dark colored feathers and had his eyes closed. On his head was a black fedora with crow feathers on it’s right side. He sat on his chair in an upright manner not usually used by quadrupeds. On his left talon he held a cup full of steaming hot coffee.

The griffon blew into his beverage and spoke. “Please, do try to remain quiet. Many come here to peacefully prepare for the endeavors of the day, or just to relax. You are causing quite a bit a ruckus, and thus leading to discomfort of the patrons.”

Both ponies stood and just stared at the griffon. His tone was polite, elegant and a bit cryptic, never raising in volume above casual speech and just oozing with mysterious charm, it’s impact was only intensified by his deep voice. His voice was, in simple and blunt terms, sexy.

The griffon sipped his coffee and opened his eyes, showing them piercing yellow. He look directly at Twilight and Rainbow Dash.”Miss pegasus, I suggest you listen to what your friend has to say.” He said coolly. “Ignorance leads to the bitter roots of misunderstanding.”

Rainbow dash simply nodded, showing she understood but did say a word. Twilight glanced at her friend and saw that she had an odd wide eyed look on her face.

“And you, miss Twilight Sparkle,” The griffon spoke again, getting Twilight’s attention. He drank his coffee shortly before continuing. “I suggest you help your acquaintance. Heavens know it is a challenge to breath through solid ground.”

Twilight found herself nodding, not even questioning how the griffon knew her by name.

The griffon finished his coffee and set the cup down. He got off his seat and looked over his shoulder at the two. “Now play nice. I have a train to catch.” He gave the two claw salute and walked off.

Twilight blinked when the griffon was out of sight. Her previous experience with a griffon had not ended nicely. This one however… ‘Wait… Smiles is still- oh no!’

“... Oh. My. Gosh!” Rainbow spoke, as if in a trance. “Did you see how cool that griffon was, Twi?”

Twilight was not listening and trotted over to where Smiles sunk into the ground. He was eerily motionless. “Not now, Rainbow! Come help me get him out!”

“Huh?” Rainbow said dumbly, still in a minor trance. “Oh, yeah, okay.” She trotted to Twilight and the two grabbed hold of the ground submerged stallion’s hindquarters. And they pulled.

Nothing happened. They pulled harder, but Smiles refused to budge.

“Rainbow, how fast did you ram into him?” Twilight asked while trying to lift Smiles up with her magic.

“I dunno! Not too fast, I guess.” Rainbow Dash grunted replied, trying to pull Smiles out via flying.

Their combined attempts did not seem to fare too well. Smiles was embedded pretty hard.

“Rainbow, pull harder!”

“I am! He just… won’t… budge!”

All of a sudden Smile’s limbs moved, causing Rainbow and Twilight to back off from the surprise. His hind quarters planted his hind legs onto the ground and pulled. Smiles’s torso popped out of the ground like a vegetable, accompanied by a huge gasp for air.

Twilight reacted and ran to his side after a brief blank out. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?”

Smiles just heaved in air, trying to answer between breaths. “I’m… Fine… Just… Whew...”

Twilight gave him a concerned look and patted him on the back. Then Rainbow spoke up.

“... Twi, what are you doing?”

Twilight’s expression turned to slight annoyance as she looked at Rainbow Dash. “As I tried to explain earlier, this stallion is not a creep...” She paused to take a brief look at Smiles’ heaving, grinning face. “... Okay, he is sort of creepy, but he isn’t a creep!”

Rainbow let that sink in a bit. “... Oh. So you mean-”

“Yes, Rainbow. You almost accidentally suffocated a pony in dirt for no reason whatsoever.” Twilight said in a deadpan fashion.

Rainbow just looked at Twilight weird. “But Twi, that cre-” Twilight glared at her “-pony, that pony tried to sneak up on you!”

Twilight rolled her eyes.“I stumbled on a rock, he reached out to help.” She stated.

“... Well, but he-”

“Just because he looks scary does not make him a bad pony.” Twilight said preemptively to null Rainbow’s argument.

Smiles had gotten his bearings back and stood straight, cracking his neck in the process“... Ow.”

Twilight turned back to look at Smiles. “You sure you are okay?” The stallion just nodded, moving his neck about to release some tension.

“... Wait, if he could pull himself out that easily, why didn’t he do it in the first place?” Rainbow asked out of the blue.

“You know, I was starting to wonder that myself.” Twilight added with a curious look.

Smiles just blinked and looked at the two. He then chuckled, embarrassed even if it did sound creepy as hell, scratching the back of his head. “Well… I sort of passed out, I think.” Rainbow and Twilight shared a mild disbelieving look. “I think I got my senses back when something pulled me. Can’t remember.”

“... Right...” Twilight said, wanting to change the subject. She put on a half-strained smile. “So, Rainbow, this is Smiles. Smiles, this is Rainbow Dash. My friend.” and before Rainbow could say anything stupid Twilight shot her a warning look.

Smiles remained oblivious this exchange happened and just… smiled like a creepy homicidal maniac and extended his hoof. “Hello there… miss Rainbow.” He greeted with a hoarse tone that could be easily read as ill intent.

Rainbow Dash did not make a move, just eyeing Smiles suspiciously. Twilight shot her a look that said ‘Do it!’. Rainbow rolled her eyes and half-heartedly, and cautiously, shook Smiles’ hoof.

A faint whine left Smiles, causing both Twilight and Rainbow to give him an odd look. “... Sorry. Nervous.” He explained himself in that intimidating hoarse tone. “Umm, no offence miss Twilight, but your friend looks just a bit... scary.”

“WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash snapped angrily, making Smiles visibly flinch at her volume and tone.

Rainbow, to be fair you are giving him nasty looks.” Twilight commented, finding it just a tad ironically amusing that Smiles was finding Rainbow intimidating.

“... Whatever!.” Rainbow said, obviously miffed. Before zooming off she gave Smiles a look and gestured at her eyes, then him. She was gone in an instant before Twilight could say anything in rebuttal.

Smiles just looked at Rainbow go, his expression never changing. “You have weird friends.” He said maybe a bit too bluntly.

Twilight, still very conscious of how backwards that sounded coming from him, sighed as she admitted the truth. “Yeah… I suppose they kind of are.” She put on a smile as she thought of her friends, flaws and all. “But that is what makes them so fun to be around.”

Smiles chuckled at that. “I understand that.” He said while seemingly immersed in some old memories. “The best friends are the ones who are kind of weird, aren’t they.”

He shook his head. “Anyway, let’s proceed.” He said and gestured at the diner.

Twilight nodded with a smile, starting to really think Smiles’ wasn’t so bad at all.

“...”

“... Uhh...” Twilight said as she squirmed in place. Not because of present company, at least directly, but because of all the ponies looking their, or rather his way. The dining area had a large radius of empty tables around them since ponies were too afraid of Smiles’ to sit closer.

Smiles, for his part seemed oblivious or ignorant to the whole thing and acted as if everything was normal. Or that’s what Twilight thought anyway.

Smiles looked up from his meal, a daffodil sandwich and the very second everypony around them started acting like they weren’t looking at him. “Something wrong, miss Twilight?”

“Uhh… Nothing.” Twilight lied. “Umm, also, you don’t have to call me miss Twilight. Just Twilight will do.” She added.

The eerily smiling stallion blinked his extremely wide eyes. “But that’d be rude, and I wouldn’t want that.” He said earnestly.

“It’s not rude to refer to me by name.” Twilight rebutted. “You are a guest at my home, yes. But that shouldn’t stop you from calling me by my name.”

Smiles thinked, or at least that’s what Twilight read that mile-long silent stare. “Oh, I see. I’ll keep that in mind, miss Twilight.”

Twilight groaned lightly, and facehooved since only a part of her point seemed to go across.

“Hey bro, whacha doing?” A little voice asked, startling Twilight only to see that, at some point, Coral had sneaked her way to the table and looked up at the two of her elders.

“Oh, hi Coral.” Twilight greeted the filly.

“Hi, miss Twilight!” Coral responded cheerfully.

‘Argh, not her too!’ Twilight mentally groaned at all the politeness.

“Hello, Coral.” Smiles greeted his little sister with a pat on the head.

“Hi, big bro.” Coral said as she looked at the two grown ups and the diner table. “You two on a date?”

“What?!” Twilight yelled out in shock, going a bit red while Smiles just chuckled at the idea.

“No, no we’re not.” Smiles said calmly, ruffling the filly’s head. “It’s rude to assume such things for no reason, Coral.” Twilight wholeheartedly agreed with silence. “Besides, we’ve just met yesterday.”

“Kay! I’ll be more observant and considerate next time.” Coral said with a cute salute.

Smiles chuckled and gave the filly a hug. “That’s bette-”

“This is officer Gleaming Badge, I’ve located suspicious activity.” A mare a small distance away said to a radio.

Twilight groaned and buried her face into her hooves. ‘Here we go.’

Author's Note

In this chapter, Rainbow Dash is a jerk, we meet a griffon(from now on called Fedora Griffon) who'se role in the story you will not see in a loooong time.

Oh, and Smiles is in trouble again. Fate is a cruel B*bleep*

-Doctor Drastic

Setting the record straight

Equestria was has always known to be a peaceful place. But no matter how peaceful a land is, it always bears it’s rotten eggs. To fend off any dangers that may come along, the Royal Guards are the stalwart protectors on the lands.

However, to become a Royal Guard one must be at the peak of their condition, mentally and physically. The process of training new guards is tasking and drops many who don’t have what it takes. As such, their numbers are limited and they cannot do everything.

Fend off a threat, a dangerous beast perhaps? An invading force? That they could do, but their numbers were too low for the smaller problems. Thievery, blackmail, common indecency and in rare cases even murder were things they were not capable of handling on their own.

For this purpose, just fifteen years ago, the Equestrian Police Force was formed. EPF for short, they would be an spin-off of the guard, handling the problems of the people while they focused on protecting the land.

The requirements for joining the EPF were far lower than that of the guard, so it’s numbers were greater. Majority of the EPF forces consist of civilian volunteers. Now almost every city or town has an EPF Headquarters, ready to serve the people, to protect them and weed out the bad from the good.

But just what kick started the idea of it?

-EPF HQ, Ponyville branch-

“You should be ashamed of yourselves!” Twilight Sparkle berated the Chief Inspector and two EPF Officers.

The Chief Inspector, who served as the head of the Ponyville branch of the EPF, was confused, flustered and a bit frightened to be yelled at by the Element of Magic and Princess Celestia’s personal student. The whole event seemed so surreal at the moment.

On his either side were Officers Gleaming Badge and Coal Carbine, both in more or less similar state of mind.

“I’m… well, sorry, miss Sparkle, but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say.” Chief Inspector said while trying to keep himself calm and collected.

“Well, an apology is a start. I can already see this is a pattern so I’d like to clear it up before it get’s worse.” Twilight said, now calmer but clearly upset.

Gleaming Badge bowed her head so low her officer’s hat fell of and her forehead almost smashed into the marble floor. “I am so sorry!” She apologized profusely, sounding very panicked.

Twilight just looked at the bowing officer mare oddly when the other spoke up.

“Gleaming Badge is a big fan of yours, miss Sparkle.” Coal Carbine said, much more composed than her partner, or her superior.

She was an ash grey pegasus with a mane as black as coal. What made her stand out was a natural circular spot of white fur on her forehead, reaching the space in the middle of her green eyes.

“I... see?” Twilight said. Having a fan felt… weird. “Uhh, why are you apologizing?”

“Because this was not the first time I have done this, Ma’am!” Gleaming Badge answered hurriedly, forehead still touching the floor. “I apprehended the sus… your acquaintance yesterday as well!”

At the moment she was knocked upside the head by Chief Inspector. “Get a hold of yourself, officer!” He ordered his underling gruffly.

The mare shot up straight like a soldier would after being told to stand attention. “Sorry, sir!”

Satisfied, Chief Inspector turned to Twilight Sparkle. “I, and my underlings apologize for our failure in judgement. We will try to not let this happen again. Officer Coal Carbine, go fetch miss Sparkle’s acquaintance!”

Coal Carbine nodded, saluted and walked towards the holding cells.

Twilight sighed. “Thank you, Chief. This means a lot.” She thanked the stallion in charge. He coughed gruffly and stood proudly.

“It is my pleasure to be of assistance. It might have been fifteen years, but our system is still fairly young, as are the officers under me.” He said in a professional tone, glancing at Gleaming Badge. “Mistakes like this are bound to happen, but without them we could not improve ourselves.”

Gleaming Shield stepped forward. “I apologize again for my actions. I was simply doing my job.”

“By locking up a stallion just because he was close to his sister?” Twilight asked with a frown, pointing at Coral who was sitting in the lobby, minding her own business. Gleaming shield gulped audibly.

“Well… how was I supposed to know? For all I knew, he could’ve been-”

“If you mean to say he is a child molester simply based on his appearance, stop right there!” Twilight objected sternly. “Just because he looks intimidating does not automatically make him bad pony! I mean, that was my first reaction, but now I know him a bit better.” She still felt embarrassed at how she had fainted when they first met.

Gleaming Badge frowned sadly and lowered her head in shame. “I… I understand. This… will not happen again, I swear.”

There was laughter coming from behind the door leading to the holding cells. “Really?” They could faintly hear Coal Carbine say.

“Yes. It hurt a little, and I blacked out trying to hold my breath. It was scary.” A stallion’s shaky whispery voice answered. “Then I woke up and pulled myself out.”

“Haha, classic Rainbow Dash. Always quick to jump the gun.” Coal Carbine said and opened the door. She walked into the room, followed by the lanky figure with wide eyes, messy mane and a chilling smile. She saluted to her superior officer.

“... My... I can see how… Officer Badge jumped to conclusions.” Chief Inspector said with a gulp. The stallions appearance was most certainly jarring to see for the first time. However, he was a stallion of his word and placed his trust in what Twilight Sparkle had told him.

That being said, he could not help but get a bit nervous as the smiling stallion approached him and stopped right in front of him. He then held out a foreleg. “Sorry to be a nuisance.” He said a bit hoarsely, which was a tad malicious sounding.

“Smiles, try to talk normally.” Twilight said to the creepy stallion.

Hehe… sorry. I just get really nervous sometimes and my throat goes dry.” He explained with a dark chuckle.

With a bit of hesitation Chief shook the stallion’s hoof. It is said that a stallion can tell what another pony is like only from a hoofshake, and Chief Inspector believed this wholeheartedly. And what he saw surprised him thoroughly.

For a pony name as uniquely named as Grimdark Smiles, his hoofshake was the most unique one Chief Inspector had ever felt. It had incredible strength hidden behind it, but also a touch more gentle than any mares. All his hesitation disappeared in an instant.

Chief Inspector pulled his hoof away, stood attention and saluted the stallion known as Smiles. “Alright, I’ll tell my guys to stop hassling you. So keep your nose clean, kiddo!”

Much to his surprise Smiles stood attention and saluted back. For a moment Chief Inspector could have sworn he saw a spirit of a soldier in him. “I’ll try my best, sir.” Smiles replied, his hoarse voice back to his normal whispery tone.

Chief Inspector smiled and then nodded in approval. “You’d better.” He then walked off to the second floor where his office was located, leaving the officers, Twilight, Smiles and Coral downstairs.

”Uhh,” Officer Gleaming Badge started, scratching the back of her head nervously “so… I’m sorry about today… and earlier, I guess.”

Smiles did not respond, simply walking closer to the mare. For a moment Gleaming Badge got really nervous, but then he simply picked up the officer’s hat she had dropped earlier, then offered it to her. “You dropped this.”

“... Oh.” Gleaming Badge said dumbly, not really sure what to say to that and accepted the hat, placing it back onto her head. “Thanks...”

Smiles chuckled. “It’s no problem. I just picked it up, that’s all.” He said modestly as Coral hopped over and climbed onto her big brother’s back.

Officer Badge just tried to mutter a bunch of “uhh”s and “err”s in a flustered state. She was not trained to react to this kind of situation! Coal Carbine just laughed.

“Well, I think we should get going back now.” Twilight said. Smiles nodded and the trio walked out of the EPF bulding, Coral and Smiles waving at the two officers who had arrested the stallion twice now.

The officers just waved back, Gleaming Badge confused and Carbine just amused.

“Never a dull moment in ponyville, right?” Coal Carbine asked her partner.

“Yeah… but this day is just… weird.” Gleaming Badge replied, weighing her options and chances of getting moved to another branch. Maybe Manehattan?

Coal Carbine glanced at her partner with a mischievous look. “Officer Badge, you realize who will have to write a report about this, right?”

Gleaming Badge tensed up as her form slumped onto the ground and she started throwing a hissy fit. “Noooo! I don’t wanna do the paperwork! I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it!”

Coal Carbine just snorted at how immature her co-worker could be sometimes and dragged her off to their post by her tail.

Author's Note

Twilight is smart enough to know what's up. Might as well fix the problem.

-Doctor Dalmatian

Of Smiles and Fashion

“Uhh...” Smiles started uncertainly. It was after the little talk at the EPF base and now the dark stallion was being walked around town with little Coral on his back. “Miss Twilight, you have not said where we are going.” He told the unicorn leading the way.

A lot of ponies who they passed stared at the trio, most gazes being aimed at Smiles’ intimidating mug. Twilight did not seem to notice, or mind the attention they were drawing.

“Well, since you will be living here I thought I’d introduce you to my friends.” She said with a smile. “You already met Rainbow Dash yesterday and… while that didn’t go too well, I’d still like to at least… inform them of your presence.”

Twilight obviously had Smiles’ best interests in mind. It was better for her to personally introduce Smiles to her friends rather than them finding out for themselves. In the case of the intimidating stallion Twilight was taking the pre-emptive approach

That, and forming some form of social safety net for Smiles seemed like a good idea for the future.

“Yay! New ponies!” Coral chimed from her place on the back of her big brother. Smiles himself chuckled.

“Ahh, I see.” He said in thought, followed by a moment of silence. “... But you have not told me where we are going.”

Twilight grinned knowingly. “To take care of the easiest one on my list.”

“... That does not answer my question.” Smiles noted, a bit confused.

“Well, this does.” Twilight said, stopping and gesturing at the building ahead of them. A building very much like a gingerbread house. “Coral, Smiles. This is Sugarcube Corner, Ponyville’s finest bakery.”

Coral’s reaction was like that of a kid in a candy store, which was appropriate. Smiles for his part… was not really showing much of anything but his creepy namesake. Twilight made a mental note to ask about that later.

“From here you can get all the baked goods you need. It’s run by a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Cake and my friend works here.” Twilight explained further.

Coral was noticeably salivating at this point at the sheer look of the house. “... This is awesome.”

“I do have to admit, the image for this bakery is very appealing.” Smiles noted in his usual calm and reserved way.

“Yeah, too bad it’s not really gingerbread. Just concrete and other nasty stuff.” Pinkie Pie added wistfully, making Twilight jump in surprise as the pink menace had appeared right next to her.

“Pinkie, when did you get there?” Twilight asked.

The pink bubbly mare giggled in response, playfully jabbing Twilight’s side. “I was here since now, silly! It’s pretty obvious it’s the writer’s excuse- hey, new ponies!” Pinkie Pie got easily distracted and looked up and down the tall stallion and the pink filly.

“Uhh… Yes, Pinkie.” Twilight began awkwardly. She cleared her throat and gestured at the siblings. “These are Smiles and Coral. They are moving to Ponyville and are staying at my place for a few days.”

“Smiles? I like smiles!” Pinkie gasped and grabbed Smiles’ hoof and shook it vigorously with a large grin plastered on her face. “Hey there, I’m Pinkie Pie, but friends call me Pinkie! I’ll have to throw a Welcome to Ponyville party for two now, oh this’ll be exciting!”

Twilight just stood there a bit awkwardly. “So, you’re not… scared of him, or anything?” She asked her hyper and odd friend, who looked dismayed for a second.

“Scared? Of this guy? P’shaa!” She replied with a laugh, then standing on her hind legs and grabbing Smiles’ head in a playful headlock with no resistance from the stallion’s part. “Look at this face, Twilight. How can anypony with a smile like that be scary? A smile means you’re happy!”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. Just as she predicted, only Pinkie Pie could be so unaffected by something like that with that odd mind of hers. That was one problem off the list.

Smiles seemed too confused to do or say anything, even after Pinkie Pie gasped loudly and let go of his head. “Oh my gosh, a party for two! A double party, all the way! I will need to go plan this, pronto!” She spoke before disappearing somewhere in a flash.

Coral frowned. “What was that?” She questioned what had just happened.

Twilight just replied with an amused laugh. “Well, that’s Pinkie Pie. She’s a bit odd, but a really great pony.” She began to trot ahead. “Okay, the next one will be...” She noticed Smiles’ wasn’t following and looked back, only to see Smiles standing perfectly still. “... Smiles?”

He blinked and shook his head. ”Hmm? I’m sorry, what was that, miss Sparkle? I think I blacked out for a second.”

Twilight looked at him oddly. She decided that she didn’t want more problems to think about right now and just gave a resigned sigh and said “Nothing. Come on, my other friend’s home is nearby.”

Smiles nodded and followed.

“Well, that pink one was weird, but she seemed nice.” Coral said from her spot. Smiles glanced back at his sister shortly.

“What pink one?” He asked sounding slightly confused. Twilight also looked back at hearing that.

“My friend, Pinkie Pie. You just met.” Twilight reminded Smiles, who seemed to try to remember said event.

“... Oh. Yeah.” He said after a moments consideration. “Sorry, my mind blanked for a second there.”

“You sure you are alright?” Twilight asked with a hint of concern. Smiles shook his head in response.

“No need to worry. Your friend just sort of reminded me of somepony I used to know. I guess I was just caught by surprise.”

Twilight was about to question more about this, but ultimately chose against it. That could wait.

Twilight knocked on the door of the fancy building known as Carousel Boutique, home of the local fashion pony. Coral and Smiles were right behind her, taking in the very… unique appearance of the building.

“This place looks posh.” Coral said what both were thinking. Smiles just nodded in response.

“Yes, Rarity is a bit on the refined side of life.” Twilight said, knocking again.

“Coming~!” The voice of Rarity came and the door was soon opened.”Oh Twilight! I was just about to come see you. I was going to ask if your lovely assistant could- WA-AAH!” Rarity gasped dramatically and caught side of Smiles towering behind Twilight. The unicorn just sighed and began to say what she needed to.

“Now Rarity, I know there is a stallion behind me and that he may look a bit scary, but-” Then she was interrupted.

“What? Oh, no no. It’s just…” Rarity said, trying to find words for what she was seeing. “That… That mane is utterly criminal!” She screamed, pointing at the mess of a mane on Smiles’ head. The stallion himself looked up at his mane with a confused grunt before finding himself pushed inside the boutique.

Twilight looked as Rarity pushed a stallion much larger than herself inside, along with a small filly on the side, with a confused expression. She followed. “Rarity, what are you doing?”

“Not now Twilight. I need to do something about this… this rat’s nest!” She said, facing Smiles quickly with a polite smile. “No offence of course.”

Smiles just blinked in a confused manner and laughed nervously. “Eh heh… it’s okay. Umm...”

“... Wait, his appearance doesn’t faze you, but his mane is the thing driving you crazy?” Twilight asked in a disbelieving tone.

Rarity turned to Twilight while her magic brought in a comb. “Twilight, dear. I am a lady, and a lady knows not to judge based on outward appearance. It’s what’s inside that counts.” She then turned to look at the mess of hair with a pony attached to it, glaring at it furiously. “But a mane like that… it’s inexcusable! A crime to hairdressers everywhere! How can you be so negligent of it?”

“... Umm,” Smiles started, getting nervous again “W-well… combs do not really like my mane, so… I just leave it be.”

Rarity shook her head with a disapproving look. “No no no. This won’t do! Stay still now. Miss Rarity will fix your mane up in no time.” She proclaimed proudly.

“Uhh… Okay?” Was Smiles’ meek response. “I warned you though.”

With a gentle smile Rarity brought her comb to the stallion’s dark mess of a mane. “So, who might you be? My name is Rarity, a fashionista by trade.” Rarity started some small talk as she tried to get the stallion’s mane to look presentable.

“Smiles.” He responded, seeming a bit nervous to have Rarity in such close proximity. “Grimdark Smiles. I am moving here but stay in miss Twilight’s house until the paperwork for my house here are done.”

Rarity’s brow raised a tad, partly at his name and partly at how stuck the comb had gotten in just a few strokes. “Grimdark Smiles? That is a rather unusual name and, if I dare say so, surprisingly fitting.”

Smiles chuckled, relaxing a bit. “Yes, that’s what dad always said… oh yeah!” He said gesturing at his back. “That iss my little sister, Coral.”

Rarity looked surprised at the filly’s presence. “Oh, pardon me. I didn’t even notice.”

“What am I, a ghost?” Coral yelled in mock frustration, throwing her hooves in the air in a clearly joking manner.

This caused Rarity to giggle a bit at the cute filly’s action. “I’m so sorry, dearie. I suppose I was just so occupied with this atrocious mane you slipped my eye.” She then looked back and forth between Coral and her big brother. “However I seem to have a hard time to see the familial similarities.”

“Yes, a lot of ponies do not.” Smiles admitted.

Rarity shrugged and glared intently at his mane, in which her comb was now firmly lodged in. “Anyhow, how do you know Twilight? An old friend from Canterlot, perhaps?” She asked and tried to pull the comb out with her magic, but it was stuck real good.

“Not exactly.” Was Smiles’ reply as his head was tugged with the comb, though he didn’t seem to notice or mind. “While I am from Canterlot we have never met until a day ago. I just know her through a good friend of mine. He was the one who suggested me to move here in the first place.”

“I see...” Rarity said before letting out a defeated sigh and stepping away from the stallion, the comb still stuck in his mane. “Well, you were not lying. Your mane is the most knot filled mess I have ever seen.”

Smiles chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “Sorry, I did try to warn you.”

“Oh, it isn’t your fault, dear.” Rarity assured him. “I should have taken your warning with more credit.” She then got a good look at the stallion’s physique, which surprised her. “My, aren’t you a tall one! I mostly make dresses but not even the largest suits I’ve made would fit you.”

Smiles laughed. “Yes, my size has always been a bit of an issue with clothing. Thankfully I had a friend I knew who would custom make any suits I needed for special events.”

Twilight had been silent this whole time, just watching as things went on. She honestly had not expected Rarity to take this so well. That only left Applejack and… Twilight already mentally expected the worst, Fluttershy.

“Really? And who might this pony be?” Rarity asked, her interest growing since it was her specialty as a topic.

“A friend I met while I was in school.” Smiles said, thinking back to his school times. “We were both pretty weird back then, so we sort of sticked together.” He then tapped his chin and thought out loud. “Should probably write to Rosa soon now that I think about it.”

Rarity, much to Twilight surprise, almost seemed to choke on her own breath as her eyes grew wide as saucers. “Wait a minute! Rosa… as in Rosa Flamenco?!” She asked, getting a gleam in her eye.

Smiles blinked at the unexpected reaction. “Uhh… Yes.”

Then Rarity let out a squeal of an excited grade school filly and her eyes practically glimmered with a strong emotion as she turned into a jittery fangirl, much to the shock of everypony, most of all Twilight.

“Rarity, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked, a bit concerned for her fashionable friend.

“Wrong? How could anything be wrong, Twilight?” Rarity said through her temporary condition, quickly zooming close to Smiles. “You know THE Rosa Flamenco? Please tell me you are not just joking!”

Smiles seemed to hesitate at the sudden outburst. “Uhh, no I am not joking. As I said we went to school together.”

Twilight frowned. “Rarity, why is this such a big deal?”

“A big deal- Twilight, do you even know of who you speak?” Rarity asked in utter shock.

“... No?” Twilight said, really having no clue what Rarity was on about.

“Twilight, I know you aren’t that big on fashion but this… this is just inexcusable!” The purple maned unicorn said, glowing with admiration. “Rosa Flamenco is THE most famous and talented fashion designer in Equestria. I’ve admired the Flamenco line ever since I started this business.”

Rarity then turned to Smiles with a huge happy grin. “And you say you not only know them but are also their friend? Oh, you simply must put in a good word for me, I simply must meet them!” Rarity almost pleaded in excitement.

Smiles was not sure how to process this, but again not once did it come off in his smiling expression. “Well… I could always try, but I really can not promise anything. Rosa is a busy pony...”

But apparently all Rarity could hear was “I could try” and she squealed in utter joy and started rambling praises and fashion talk, seemingly going into her own little world leaving everypony else to just stare at her awkwardly.

“... We should go now.” Twilight suggested.

“Way ahead of ya!” Coral said, already trotting out the door.

Smiles looked at Rarity, chuckled a bit and left to follow Twilight to their next destination.

Author's Note

I don't personally like how this came out. Then again this is the phase of my writing where I begin feeling that everything is wrong.

Also, fangirl Rarity.

-Doctor Detox