//------------------------------// // Setting the record straight // Story: At Face Value // by Doctor D //------------------------------// 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.