You come up with a fanfic, some original characters to go with it are inevitable. Here are the many original characters who play a role in the Quiververse, a long-running series of fanfics based upon My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
Mane Characters
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Quiver Quill
Debut: An Act Of Random Kindness
An Earth pony stallion with a talent for writing who hails from Indianapoloosa. He meets Twilight Sparkle at his workplace, a warehouse for Amazing Booksellers, and eventually moves to Ponyville in the hopes of having a better life.
- Accidental Misnaming: Tended to get confused with another pony by the name of Faithful Step at his old workplace, sometimes when the two were in close proximity. Quiver never took too kindly to this, and it was one of the reasons he transferred out.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: An aversion compared to most other ponies; his tan coat and brown mane and tail make him look more like a normal horse than most others.
- Amazon Chaser: His attraction to Sunrunner is partly this, partly because she was nice to him.
- Badass Bookworm: Shows shades of this as, when faced with an opponent, he tends to use his brains over his brawn to defeat them.
- Berserk Button: Don't call him a retard. Spoiled Rich used that word to describe him, and he very nearly strangled her to death.
- Also, don't try to mess with his head. Discord's attempts at doing this via brute force resulted in a No-Sell and Quiver pummeling him for a few moments. Granted, it had no lasting effects, but still.
- Broken Ace: Genuinely talented, but bogged down by a number of issues. Thankfully, he's showing signs of healing.
- Combat Pragmatist: Has the good sense to improvise weapons against his foes, such as a heavy canteen full of water as an Epic Flail or a flaming torch against a timberwolf to protect himself, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
- Curtains Match the Window: His eyes as well as his mane and tail are all an earthy shade of brown.
- Do Not Go Gentle: Gains this attitude thanks to his relationship with Sunrunner, though his adherence to it falters for a time due to stress on his life.
- Friend to All Children: Played with, in that he gets on great with kids in general but isn't afraid to show instances of Cruel to Be Kind towards them.
- Good Is Not Soft: A genuinely nice guy, but he's not afraid to get aggressive. Just ask Spoiled Milk.
- Guile Hero: Displays elements of this at his best.
- Guilt Complex: Suffers from one of these due to his past, though he's at least aware of how illogical it is. His younger brother died less than a day after, in a fit of rage, he'd screamed out in anger and wished that said brother would be gone. Couple this with his grandparents continuing to dote over the deceased sibling and his relationship with his father worsening afterwards, and Quiver felt that they blamed him for the death as well, which only made things worse.
- Logical Latecomer: While he quickly adjusts and accepts some of the eccentricities around him, Quiver does poke holes in some events in his surroundings. Doing so ends up forcing Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer to confront issues with Princess Celestia, but also brings up issues that help lead to the discovery of SMILE.
- The Outsider Befriends the Best: Quiver's story follows this, as a chance meeting with Twilight Sparkle eventually leads to him bumping hooves with national heroes, royalty, and prominent business figures within Ponyville.
- The Unfavorite: Feels he's this compared to his brother in the eyes of his grandmother.
- Waistcoat of Style: Expresses a fondness for these after receiving a custom suit from Rarity that includes one.
- Working-Class Hero: Sure, he's college-educated and hangs out with royalty, but he's blue collar at his core.
- Would Hit a Girl: Assuming he's sufficiently provoked, as his interactions with Spoiled Rich prove.
Edgar
Debut: New Horizon
A raven who initially starts off as part of Fluttershy's menagerie and ends up adopting Quiver. Quiver, in turn, takes him in.
- Clever Crows: Edgar is easily as smart as the pets of each of the Mane Six.
- Opposites Attract: Compared to his introverted caretaker, Edgar is gregarious and sociable from the get-go.
- Talking Animal: What sets him apart from the other pets. A justified example, as ravens can be taught to speak in real life, and Edgar's speech patterns are very simplistic.
Sunrunner
Debut: Six Nights (And A Day) With Sunset (chronologically), A Light in the Dark (in production order)
A pegasus mare and Sunset Shimmer's maternal cousin. She's currently a member of the Equestrian Royal Guard at the rank of First Lieutenant.
- Action Girl: As a Royal Guard, she's one, and was part of the last group of guards holding out against the Changelings when they invaded Canterlot.
- A Friend in Need: Was this to Quiver Quill when both were young. It led to a deep bond between them, and her becoming his first real friend.
- Beautiful Singing Voice: Numerous characters in the series, including Princess Luna, have complimented her voice.
- Clashing Cousins: She and Sunset Shimmer were a one-sided version of this, as Sunrunner never tried to be anything but welcoming to Sunset, but Sunset was less that receptive to the effort. Years down the line, that is one of the things she regrets, and the two of them make amends when they meet again.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Shows some signs of this after she and Quiver reunite, though is quick to restrain it.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting:
Word of God casts Myriam Sirois as her voice. - Do Not Go Gentle: Takes up this attitude and holds tight to it afterwards.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Is called "Warbler" by her classmates in the Academy, due to her fondness for singing. Downplayed in that she's fond of the name.
- Good Is Not Soft: Easily one of the nicest ponies around, but as a member of the Royal Guard, she can more than hold her own in a fight.
- Hero of Another Story: Took part in the defense of Canterlot when Queen Chrysalis invaded, and was decorated for it.
- Traumatic Haircut: Experienced one thanks to a bully in school. She opts to treat it as an Important Haircut instead, mostly to deny the bully victory.
- Uncanny Family Resemblance: Physically, she looks enough like Sunset Shimmer that one could almost mistake them for twins.
Antagonists Click To Expand
Luster Drain
Debut: New Horizon
A unicorn mare and a recent arrival to Ponyville, she's Quiver Quill's first housemate.
- Bad Samaritan: She only took Quiver in as a housemate in order to manipulate him and use him for her own benefit.
- Manipulative Bastard: Would rather take advantage of others than do any work herself, in order to get the most benefit for the least amount of work.
- Smug Snake: Woefully underestimates the general friendliness of Ponyville towards Quiver Quill, as well as Quiver Quill's capacity towards Good Is Not Soft.
Leading Rose
Debut: New Horizon
One of Quiver Quill's coworkers at the Amazing Booksellers facility near Ponyville. His human counterpart appears in A Shimmering New Year.
- Casanova Wannabe: Makes flirty passes at girls whenever possible, but none reciprocate.
- Cheshire Cat Grin: Sports one of these almost constantly, and fails to endear him to anyone.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Compared to the other ponies who show up in antagonistic roles in Quiver's life, he's relatively tame and more of an annoyance than anything.
- Downplayed with his human counterpart, who in addition to being an obnoxious annoyance, is scummy enough to post illicit footage of Sunset being beaten on My Stable without any care for how it will affect her or anyone else, not to mention breaks into the human Crusaders' lockers for the sake of playing pranks on them, and gets illicit footage of those too. As a result of what he did, he ends up being expelled from Canterlot High, which still may not be the worst of his problems considering that the police got involved in the matter.
- Troll: Comes across this way in both worlds.
Primrose Thorn
Debut: Six Nights (and a Day) With Sunset (Cameo), Scars of the Quill (properly)
A unicorn mare and a foalhood classmate of Quiver Quill and Sunrunner.
- Alpha Bitch: Fits this to a T.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Was able to pull it off as a filly in front of ponies unaware of her true nature, most notably her father and Principal Fairweather. Is less inclined to do this as an adult, but can still perform the act when it suits her.
- Crocodile Tears: Made use of them so she could come across as the victim in front of her father after she and her clique shore off Sunrunner's mane.
- Entitled Bastard: Became this as an adult.
- Evil Is Petty: Very much so, not only towards Quiver Quill and Sunrunner, but to pretty much any pony who wrongs her.
- Foil: To multiple characters.
- In comparison to Quiver Quill's humble lower-middle-class background with a loving mother, an abusive father, and a full awareness that his actions have consequences, Primrose comes from a wealthy background with a doting father, an absent mother, and a Never My Fault mentality.
- Sunrunner grew up to serve and help others. Primrose grew up expecting to be served and hurt others.
- She's even a foil to Twilight Sparkle. Both applied to the School for Gifted Unicorns, but where Twilight initially believed that she had failed her test and sadly accepted her fate, Primrose angrily demanded a different test. Twilight ended up becoming Celestia's personal student, while Primrose was forced to rely upon private tutors.
- It Amused Me: Ultimately, this is her core motivation for being a heartless bully, both as a filly and as an adult.
- Karma Houdini: Got away with relentlessly bullying Quiver Quill and shearing off most of Sunrunner's mane.
- Begins to experience Karma Houdini Warranty after the events of Scars of the Quill, though it has yet to completely take hold.
- Malicious Misnaming: Practices this regularly against her targets, most notably Quiver Qull and Sunrunner.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Makes use of an Equestrian slur (ass*) without any remorse or hesitation.
- Schoolyard Bully All Grown Up: To an extreme. As a filly, she terrorized Quiver and Sunrunner both because she could and because she enjoyed it. And not only she kept enjoying it all the way into adulthood, but she became capable of doing far worse damage as an adult mare, due to having stronger and more developed magical skills, political connections, still having her childhood posse willing to help her in her endeavor, and having a hulking sadistic brute of a fiancé who leads a group of ponies cut from the same cloth.
- Shadow Archetype: To Sunset Shimmer. Both are unicorns who had high aptitude for magic since a young age, with parents that have high social status (Primrose's father as the Mayor of Indianapaloosa, Sunset's parents as researchers working directly with Princess Celestia), and who were antagonistic as fillies and had a high opinion of themselves. However, Sunset's antagonism started from anger at her parents' death, and while she eventually started not helping her case through her misdeeds, she still had some standards even at her worst, and eventually saw the error of her ways and changed for the better. Primrose, however, was antagonistic purely for her own amusement, only got worse as she grew, does not clearly show any sign of having any kind of limit to what she will or won't do, and even after being thwarted and arrested she's only sorry she got caught, and fully intends to pick up where she left off.
- Silver Spoon Troublemaker: Daughter of the mayor of Indianapoloosa and the heir to a political dynasty. Bullied others with the confidence that she'd get away with it well into adulthood, which she did.
- The Sociopath: A low-functioning version.
- Spoiled Brat: The major reason that she gets away with everything she does is because of her doting father, who spoils her rotten and refuses to believe any claims of her cruelty or malice. As said father happens to be the mayor of Indianapoloosa, most ponies aren't about to tell her no.
- One strong example is when she applied for Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns - she outright refused to attempt to hatch the dragon egg that would later become Spike, and demanded another test. Suffice it to say, there's a reason she attends public school.
- Strong and Skilled: Unfortunately for the victims of her mistreatment, she is this, as despite not having been accepted into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, private tutors were able to teach her magic more than well enough to compensate. The only silver lining to that is her still clearly being at a unicorn's level, as seen when Twilight Sparkle swiftly depowers her.
- Stupid Evil: Acts this way mostly because she's been able to get away with it for so long. Naturally, it eventually comes around to bite her in the flank.
- Would Hurt a Child: Very much so. Besides doing it by proxy when she orders her posse to brutally harm the colts and fillies alongside the adults in Many Happy Reunions, not to mention when she orders Brick Wall to kill Spike, she also does it herself when she restrains Diamond Tiara with her magic.
Hot Trail
Debut: Scars of the Sun
A pegasus mare and a foalhood classmate of Quiver Quill and Sunrunner.
- Beta Bitch: To Primrose Thorn.
- Karma Houdini: Took part in the incident where Sunrunner's mane was sheared off and never saw punishment for it.
- Valley Girl: Talks like this, both as a filly and a grown mare.
Hard "Roxy" Rock
Debut: Scars of the Sun
An earth pony mare and a foalhood classmate of Quiver Quill and Sunrunner.
- The Brute: Serves as muscle to Primrose Thorn, although to a lesser degree than Brick Wall.
- Only Known By Her Nickname: Her full name isn't given until the fourth chapter to Many Happy Reunions.
- Unknown Relative: All but stated outright to be Flash Sentry's biological paternal cousin.
Brick Wall
Debut: Many Happy Reunions
An earth pony stallion. Primrose Thorn's fiancé.
- The Brute: Plays this role among Primrose Thorn's posse, being the most physically imposing among them.
- Dumb Muscle: Is a very big and brawny stallion, but isn't too bright. He doesn't hesitate to try and kill Spike, despite being in the direct presence of Twilight and Princess Celestia. That he only suffered a shattered knee before being arrested is a testament to Twilight's restaint.
- Unskilled, but Strong: When he's up against Quiver Quill, who is only of average constitution and doesn't have combat training, the sheer difference in their builds puts him at an advantage. Against Silver Bullet, however, who's as well-built as he is but trained in combat, Brick Wall fares considerably less well.
- Would Hurt a Child: Very much so, to the point he would actually kill a child, and tries to do just that to Spike, before being stopped by Twilight.
Colonel Stormfront
Debut: Tales from a Double Date
A pegasus stallion who's put in charge of an escort party for a diplomatic mission, but has his own ideas on where he wants it to go.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Word of God casts J. K. Simmons as his voice.
- Dark Is Evil: Has a dark-colored coat, and his actions during the escort mission of the Farasian party show him to be evil.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Proves to be incapable of understanding why a pony of the same race, who had negative experiences with non-pony creatures in his youth, would not share his prejudices when Silver Bullet stands up to him and defies his direct orders.
- Fantastic Racism: Actively practices this, not only towards other pony races, but also to other races of creatures. Despite that, he's still willing to work with ponies of other races to achieve a shared goal. Not that it helps him any.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Is described as having them. They turn out to be of the variety that indicates coldness of character.
- Insane Admiral: Proves to be this when he sabotages the diplomatic mission between Equestria and Farasi out of sheer racism.
- Meaningful Name: Stormfront is, in real life, the name of a magazine associated with far-right political movements and has been long associated with Neo-Nazis.
Basso Profundo
Debut: Legends of Magic (flashback)
An ancient threat to Equestria that came from the sea. Within the Quiververse's version of Stygian bringing together the Pillars of Old Equestria, he takes on the role of the Sirens.
- Decomposite Character: For Adagio Dazzle.
- Fallen Hero: Was meant to be a protector to his homeland of Coltlantis, but went mad with power and attacked Equestria.
- Faux Affably Evil: Acts in a polite manner, but is clearly menacing.
- Good Colors, Evil Colors: A zigzagged case, as he's described as having a light-orange torso (which by itself would make him a case of Light Is Not Good), but his fins and hooves are said to be darker, with his tail of a more medium shade. And he's shown to have the 'evil' part downpat when he hypnotizes Stygian's village with his singing.
Mane Family Members
Bitterhoof
Debut: New Horizon
An Earth pony stallion and Quiver Quill's father.
- Abusive Parents: Is emotionally abusive to Quiver Quill, and is more likely to make a joke at his expense than he is to be supportive.
- The Cynic: Bitterhoof has no problem believing the worst about anypony, especially if he's only met them once.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Lost his youngest of two sons in a tragic accident. He did not take it well.
- Supernatural-Proof Father: A rather extreme example, almost to the point of being a Flat-Earth Atheist, as he angrily dismisses things such as Nightmare Moon, Sonic Rainbooms and Windigoes as "horseshit", despite the first two being confirmed as real.
Constant Heart
Debut: New Horizon
An Earth pony mare and Quiver Quill's mother. She works as a librarian.
- Good Parents: In contrast to her husband, she's genuinely supportive and loving to her son.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Lost her youngest son in a tragic accident, and did her best to carry on afterwards.
Regal Grace
Debut: Scars of the Quill
Quiver's younger mentally handicapped brother, long dead by the time the series takes place.
- Hollywood Autism: Played with. He's specifically stated as being a low-functioning autistic, and while the disorder is elaborated upon, there's very little shown of his symptoms.
- Posthumous Character: Died years before the main events of the series.
Sour Sweet
Debut: Scars of the Quill
A unicorn mare. Quiver Quill and Regal Grace's cousin. Also a member of the Equestrian Royal Guard, and the pony counterpart of the human Sour Sweet.
- Action Girl: As a member of the Royal Guard, she is one by default, and like Sunrunner, was part of the last group of guards holding out against the Changelings when they invaded Canterlot.
- Big Brother Bully: While she is Quiver's younger cousin, her relationship with him early on had traces of this trope, as she didn't particularly care about being nice to him and sometimes scared him. It ended when she comforted him on the first Hearth's Warming after Regal's death, and they have been Like Brother and Sister since.
- Child Hater: Very much downplayed, but she does not feel comfortable when the Cake twins start paying attention to her, and she's shown to not like the idea of having children.
- Disappeared Dad: Her father is this, although she knows nothing about him other than that he walked out on her and her mother, he's rich, and he keeps sending money to both of them.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Is specifically identified as a member of the Royal Guard Special Forces.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Was given the nickname of "Two-Face" at the Academy.
- Fantastic Racism: Not the most extreme case in the Quiververse, but she's shown to not be fond of changelings, to the point of calling them cockroaches. Downplayed in that she does acknowledge it's wrong of her, even as she emotionally has more trouble processing that.
- Mood-Swinger: Used to be this as a filly, to the point she sometimes scared Quiver, but learned to manage it as she grew older and joined the Academy, at least in part thanks to therapy (though if her Embarrassing Nickname is anything to go by, she retains some traces of it).
- Stepford Smiler: Was an enforced example when she visited her grandparents and cousins as a filly, due to her mother forcing a smile onto her face with her magic.
Surely Sweet
Debut: Scars of the Quill (flashback), Legends of Magic (properly)
An earth pony mare. Mother to Bitterhoof, grandmother to Quiver Quill, Sour Sweet, and Regal Grace.
- Grandparent Favoritism: Focuses her attention and energy upon Regal Grace, to the point that her other grandchildren are practically an afterthought.
- Scatterbrained Senior: Getting on in years, and not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Solar Flare
Debut: Six Nights (And A Day) With Sunset
A pegasus mare, mother to Sunrunner and aunt to Sunset Shimmer. She becomes one of Sunset's legal guardians after the deaths of Sunset's parents.
- Fiery Redhead: A downplayed case, but she shows shades of being one, as she openly conveys her disapproval of the segregation in schools imposed by the EEA, is not shy about showing how incensed she is at Principal Fairweather after he dismisses Primrose's bullying of Sunrunner, and demands Celestia give her a concrete explanation about Sunset's whereabouts when she goes missing.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: Downplayed, as she's not shown to be particularly feminine or non-feminine, but she's the one cooking in her household, and explicitly doesn't want her husband in the kitchen.
- Good Parents: Clearly loves and cares for Sunrunner, and was supportive of Sunset after taking her in.
- Happily Married: By all appearances, she and Blue Streak have a happy marriage.
- Mama Bear: Does not take it well when something terrible happens to her kids, and certainly isn't above holding a grudge.
Blue Streak
Debut: Six Nights (And A Day) With Sunset
A pegasus stallion, father to Sunrunner and uncle to Sunset Shimmer.
- Dads Can't Cook: Claims to be a lousy cook in Scars of the Sun; after his wife says she doesn't want him in the kitchen, no less.
- Good Parents: A supportive and loving parent to his daughter.
- Happily Married: By all appearances, he and Solar Flare have a happy marriage.
- Meaningful Name: Is something of a chatterbox.
- Papa Wolf: While he's more subdued than his wife, he also doesn't take it well when something bad happens to his children, and one of the actions he took after Primose Thorn bullied his daughter and the school's principal and Primrose's father let it slide was to write an op-ed piece on the matter for the paper he works at.
- Secret-Keeper: Downplayed overall, but he is this to his wife regarding what caused her falling out with her sister, as he specifically tells Sunrunner that he'll leave it to Solar Flare to talk about that.
Sunrise Glint
Debut: Six Nights (and a Day) With Sunset (flashback)
A unicorn mare, mother to Sunset Shimmer and aunt to Sunrunner. Died some years before the series started.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: She died many years before the present day, and Sunset has nothing but fond memories of her.
- Fantastic Science: She worked as a researcher alongside her husband, the two of them trying to figure out a way to harness the Sun's energy as a power source.
- Happily Married: From the little that is shown of their marriage, she and her husband were this.
- Posthumous Character: She died some time before the series started.
- Riddle for the Ages: She and Solar Flare are known to have had a falling out, but what precipitated it is unknown to anyone but the two of them and Blue Streak.
- Supreme Chef: According to Sunset, she was one.
Midday Glare
Debut: Six Nights (and a Day) With Sunset (flashback)
A unicorn stallion, father to Sunset Shimmer and aunt to Sunrunner. Like his wife, he died some years before the series started.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: He died many years before the present day, and like with her mother, Sunset has nothing but fond memories of him.
- Fantastic Science: He worked as a researcher alongside his wife, the two of them trying to figure out a way to harness the Sun's energy as a power source.
- Happily Married: From the little that is shown of their marriage, he and his wife were this.
- Posthumous Character: Like his wife, he died some time before the series started.
Miscellaneous Original Characters
Gilded Lily
Debut: New Horizon
An Earth pony mare and Quiver Quill's landlady. She handles a great deal of real estate in Ponyville, and is Scootaloo's primary caregiver.
- Cool Aunt: Tries her best to be this for Scootaloo.
- Parental Neglect: A downplayed example; she works to provide a good life for her niece, and regrets not spending more time with her.
- Parental Substitute: Serves as the primary caregiver for her niece, Scootaloo.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: When presented with evidence of Luster Drain's schemes, she swiftly acts to shut them down. She even allows Quiver to continue living in his new home (as his rent had already been paid), and later helps him to find a more suitable housemate.
Legalhawke
Debut: Scars of the Quill
An earth pony mare. She's Ponyville's district attorney, and Flash Sentry's and Pop Fly's mother.
- Canon Immigrant: Of a sort. She's the creation of another author and used with their permission.
- Conflicting Loyalty: Invoked in Many Happy Reunions, where she declines to take the case against Primrose Thorn and her party, fearing it could be dismissed due to one of the accused being her abusive first husband's niece.
- Domestic Abuse: Suffered this from her first husband, Smooth Rock. Still limps because of a beating he gave her.
- Good Parents: Is a good mother to both her sons.
- Happily Married: To her second husband, Curt Marshall.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Very much Played for Drama. Her first husband, Smooth Rock, beat her regularly, but a beating of notice happened after she gave birth to Flash Sentry, who was born a pegasus. Rather than consider that either he or his wife (both of them earth ponies) could have a pegasus in their respective family trees, Smooth Rock jumped to the conclusion Legalhawke had cheated on him.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: While she is firm when explaining to Diamond Tiara why it's important to tell her the truth about how Spoiled Rich treats her and to clear up the Malicious Slander Spoiled Rich initiated towards Quiver, she also is gentle in doing so. And when Spoiled Rich starts running her mouth while being arrested, Legalhawke still maintains a grip on her temper and doesn't abuse her power to get her to stop, only issuing a threat once Spoiled Rich starts going too far.
Allegra Soprana and Mezzo Spinto
Debut: Legends of Magic (flashback)
Two individuals who came from the sea and are natives of Coltlantis. They intervened in the Pillars' battle against Basso Profundo on the side of the Pillars.
- Church Militant: Claim that they were charged with protecting their home by their holy rulers.
- Good Is Not Nice: Mezzo might be a good guy, but his attitude leaves much to be desired.
- Only Sane Man: Allegra is decidedly more polite than Mezzo.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Were forbidden from pursuing Basso Profundo, but did so regardless to stop him from hurting anyone living on land.
Members of the Royal Guard
Pixie Dust
Debut: The Last of the Elements
A thestral mare. She's an officer in the Royal Guard with the rank of First Lieutenant.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Word of God casts Venus Terzo as her voice.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: Her eyes are stated to be Robin's Egg Blue, indicative of her playful nature.
- Non-Indicative Name: With a name like Pixie Dust, you'd think she was a unicorn. Instead, she's a thestral (a pony with bat-like traits).
- Perky Goth: A thestral with an energetic, friendly nature.
Silver Bullet
Debut: The Last of the Elements
A pegasus stallion. He's an officer in the Royal Guard with the rank of First Lieutenant.
- Canon Immigrant: Of a sort. Like Legalhawke above, he's the creation of another author and used with their permission.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Of a different sort compared to those of other characters, but he still has it. He was born in a remote village too small to even be on the map, and the sheriff and deputy who served as its only law enforcement couldn't defend it from a raid it suffered. And even when the miraculous rescue that the village prayed for arrived, one of the invaders seized Silver Bullet's mother with clear intentions of doing something unspecified but clearly conveyed as horrible to her. To the relief of all but the invader, Celestia stopped him.
- Ironic Nickname: Doesn't smile or laugh much, and in fact was never seen doing either during his time at the Academy. The other recruits nicknamed him "Chuckles".
- The Stoic: Is shown to be the silent and serious type more than once.
- Strong and Skilled: Built in a similar manner to Big Mac, but with actual combat training. When he gets into a fight with another stallion of similar build with equal strength but no combat training and plenty of arrogance, the other guy goes down hard.
SMILE Click To Expand
The latest iteration in a long line of organizations within the Equestrian government, officially meant to operate outside of the jurisdiction of the Royal Guard. By the modern day, however, they've become a state secret known only to a select few, and have gone beyond the pale to accomplish their goal of maintaining harmony.
In General
- Full-Name Basis: Refer to one another by such when they meet.
- Fun with Acronyms: Their name is one such example, and they also use another organization to refer to the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony - FROWN*.
- Government Conspiracy: Operates in the shadows, ostensibly to protect Equestria and maintain Harmony. Their methods, however, are dubious at best.
- Insistent Terminology: Its members use quite a bit of this when discussing individuals outside of their organization.
- Bearers of the Elements of Harmony are referred to not by name, but by a combination of the collective name FROWN and their respective element.
- Quiver Quill and Sunrunner are specifically referred to as 'anomalies' rather than by name.
- Other ponies are referred to as Subjects, including Celestia and Luna.
- Knight Templar: The organization is willing to go to criminal lengths in pursuit of its goals.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: This is part of their repertoire, and has been used on multiple characters.
- Manchurian Agent: Employs a number of them, including Sweetie Drops aka Bon-Bon.
- Our Founder: Star Swirl the Bearded is treated in this manner by the organization.
Furlong
Debut: A Mad Pony in a Box
The head of SMILE in the modern day, imported from the books by G. M. Berrow.
- The Stoic: Displays no emotions, regardless of the situation.
White Flower
Debut: Legends of Magic
A unicorn mare and a high-placed operative of SMILE.
- Expy: Of Fleur aka Blanchefleur from Western Animation/Gargoyles.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Treats Sterling Aide with contempt.
Auric
Debut: Legends of Magic
A stallion and a high-placed operative of SMILE, involved in their medical efforts.
- Expy: Of the Gold-Toothed Doctor from Fullmetal Alchemist.
- Mad Doctor: Referred to as a doctor, though he has yet to act in any sort of medical or scientific capacity.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: Sports these.
- Slasher Smile: Constantly sports one.
- Twinkle Smile: Courtesy of his gold tooth.
Ivory Tower
Debut: Legends of Magic
The Deputy-Chancellor of the Equestrian Education Association, as well as one of SMILE's highest ranking operatives.
- Meaningful Name: Is the Deputy-Chancellor of the Equestria Education Assosciation, named after an idiom reflecting someone out of touch with the wider world which is primarily applied to academics.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Does not make the search for Mage Meadowbrook's true race plain sailing once Twilight starts engaging in it.
Sterling Aide
Debut: Tales from a Double Date (flashback), Legends of Magic (properly)
A unicorn stallion and a high-ranking operative who works with Ivory Tower.
- Chess Motifs: Has a bishop for a cutie mark.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Word of God casts Mark Sheppard as his voice.
- Knight Templar: Is willing to go to literally criminal lengths to ensure his agency's goal of "maintaining Harmony".
- Smug Smiler: Tends to wear this as his default expression, save when he is addressing his superiors in SMILE.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Draws this card against Colonel Stormfront as he kills him, the other reason being that he can't have Colonel Stormfront sharing what he knows about him and his organization.
