"Sweet Celestia I need a haircut.." Silver Lining grumbled to himself, blowing a stray lock of his mane from in front of his eyes. It had been a long few weeks since he recieved his mission from Celestia and he still wasn't fully adjusted to his new job - being a parent. He adjusted his prosthetic to rest a bit more comfortably against his chest as he reflected on his orders, "Protect her huh? How the hay am I supposed to protect a kid that doesn't want anything to do with me?" He sighed, shaking his head and glaring at the lock of hair that shook loose and back into his face with the motion. It was true, the past few weeks it had been hard to keep the young mare from running off let alone to get her to trust him. He read so many books leading up to the official 'adoption' but it's not like they had a manual on raising a alicorn kid.
Silver was so lost in his thoughts he didn't hear the tiniest hoofsteps coming up behind him, the stallion only coming back to reality when he felt the motion of a small form coming up to lay beside him. She looked nervous, her mane still wild and unbrushed as it always was and as much as that bothered him he didn't feel he should mention it now, "Oh hey sugar, didn't see ya there." He welcomed softly, offering a small smile- a smile she didn't return.
"...Hi." She mumbled, fiddling with her hooves as her eyes slowly scanned over his scars then up to the stallion's mane. She still wasn't sure about this pastel horse that had adopted her but he seemed nice enough, despite her constant running away he never seemed angry or upset with her about it. 'I guess he's not so bad..' she reflected for a moment before gathering up the confidence she had been trying to build all day, "..Ya know." she started, "..if you let your mane grow out I could.. braid it or something for you.. If ya want."
Silver watched her in surprise, contemplating her offer before offering her a big smile, "Okay sure. I think that'd be fun but uh.." he turned to her, tilting his head a bit, "On one condition, okay?" The mare furrowed her brow, unsure where this was going, "You gotta let me brush your mane out. Who knows what could be hiding in that. "
Sketch frowned at him, her nervousness disappearing, "No." she said firmly, looking away from him and back at her hooves, "I don't want to. It'll show my horn."
Silver's smile faded as he looked where her horn was just barely poking out of the tangled mess of a mane, "Sleepy Sketch, sweetie, why do you wanna hide your horn?"
"It's all crooked and ponies look at me funny and they always ask me stupid questions I don't know the answer to and I just don't want to!" the young mare's wings fluffed up around her shoulders, the fur on her chest doing the same and it took everything in Silver not to 'awww' at the distressed little thing.
"Sugar, it's okay. It's because you're.. different. You're special." He started slowly, turning more to look at her, his prosthetic scraping aganist itself under the weight, "Ya see... When I got this mechanical monstrostity, ponies stared and asked all kinds of questions. And they still stare today at all my scars, But ya know what? I don't let them bother me. If I don't want to answer questions I tell them firmly but politely to stop. If they don't... Then I get less polite and more firm." He winked at her with a small chuckle, "Usually by the second time they take the hint."
Sleepy Sketch looked at his scars then back up at his mane, "...It's okay to be different?"
"Of course, sugar! Being different means you stand out. You're your own pony, you can be whatever you wanna be and if anypony doesn't like it they can buzz off. But remember, being different is a responsibility, handle yourself with respect. Be kind but know when you need to put your hoof down with ponies."
"...Okay." Sketch took a deep breath and nodded, "..You can brush it."
Sketch wasn't an easy kid to deal with at first when Silver adopted her and she knows nothing about Silver's orders to watch over her. Despite it being a mission, Silver genuinely cares for his adopted daughter and when she was having self-esteem issues, boy problems, or just needed someone to talk to he'd always put her first. He's kinda the reason Sketch has the confidence to do the things she puts her mind to and while he doesn't necessarily approve of what she does for half of her living, he makes sure she's safe and happy in all her adventures (and goes to the boxing gym everyday after his shift)
