Earth Pony Ardent Fate [Final]

[RarityDash]

I was just about to begin writing the first chapter of my Dawn and Darkness story, and I thought I'd submit another character from it as an RP app. I actually have quite a few fully realized characters written up for this thing already, some of which I'll probably bring over to the RP here eventually, but this little filly stood out to me as one who would be fun to RP as. As a note, a lot of ideas and themes in this app draw from Diomedes' Holy Order of Destriers.

And if it seems like the character summary here belongs to another pony, just keep reading. It will make sense eventually.

Name: Ardent Fate (shortens typically to Fate.)

Post colour: 330099

Sex: female

Age: young filly (13-14 year equivalent)

Species: earth pony

Pelt colour: pale pink

Mane/Tail/Markings colour & Style: dark indigo in colour. Mane is moderately short and worn fairly messy. Tail is worn long and also messy.

Eye colour: dark blue

Cutie Mark: none yet

Physique: About average for her young age. Maybe a little more fit, due to her "training".

RP Type: Mane RP

Origin: Born in Solstice Heights. Currently traveling.

Occupation: Self proclaimed "Destrier knight in training"

Motivation: To become the greatest knight Equestria has ever seen.

Likes: her father's sword, the Destrier order, The Librum Dextrarius, food, adventure.

Dislikes: being told she can't do something, having her things stolen, being hungry, insects.

Character Summary: Zealous Glint grew up in an orphanage in a poor section of Solstice Heights. Determined to make something of his meager beginning, he trained his body and mind rigorously from the time he was a foal, his eyes on but one illustrious prize, membership in the prestigious Holy Order of Destriers, the stories of whom fascinated him.

As a young colt, he happened upon an aged knight of the Destriers in the streets of Canterlot and entreated him to take him on as a squire. The knight initially scoffed at the common youth's demands, but as Zealous persisted, soon the knight became impressed with his resolve. He told young Zealous he would be a squire if he could pass a certain test of strength and character on the sworn oath that he would abandon the dream of becoming a knight should he fail. In a remarkable show of bravery, Zealous accepted without a second's hesitation.

To the amazement of the knight, who had expected the colt to fail, Zealous succeeded in the face of everything that was thrown at him. And so Zealous became a squire. By the time he was a stallion, he was on the road to becoming a full fledged knight himself. Zealous spent many years as a courageous and valued member of the knightly order. Those who knew him were impressed by his passion, strength and dedication to the Librum Dextrarius.

A number of years after making a name for himself in the order, Zealous was reacquainted with one of the orphans he had grown up with. She was a mare named Winter Blossom who worked as a dancer, still living in the same poor corner of the Heights he had once called home. Though Zealous now had the prestige of a knight and the acceptance of the nobles who filled the ranks of the rest of the order, as they became better reacquainted, he could not help but come to love Blossom.

It was soon after this that Zealous began to feel his favour with the order was falling. He heard whispers questioning his integrity, decency and dedication to the Librum. From some within the order, he could hear far crueler things being whispered at the expense of him and his new lover. The duties he was assigned became increasingly arduous and often he was denied by the order his opportunities to return home.

This culminated in a deployment to far away lands that lasted twice as long as an average deployment, where not a single chance to visit his love was presented. After three years apart, Zealous finally returned home to his beloved only to be greeted with news most devastating. Sudden illness had taken Blossom in his absence. All that was there for him to return to was a young foal he had never seen before. This was Ardent Fate.

Zealous and Blossom were both orphans, without any favorable familial connections. In finding his place in the order, Zealous had abandoned forging bonds outside of it. Within the order he felt there were few he could truly trust. He had no friends to turn to to help raise the foal long term. Zealous just couldn't stand the thought of giving up his child though. She was all that was left of his love for Blossom. Zealous knew a foal her age would never make do on her own either.

Zealous knew from the onset it could never fully work. It was foolish to bring her along and he knew it. Zealous just couldn't let go. Not of Fate and not of his position as a knight. It was silly of him, and he was convinced it went against the Librum's call for justice to endanger his child so, but he saw no other option but to take the child with him on deployment.

He tried to hide Fate whenever he could, both from the dangers of any given battlefield and from the Order, but it was pretty clear they knew about her and hardly approved. He became convinced that it was only because he refused to let himself make a mistake in battle that the order hadn't disciplined him for his terrible foolishness.

Though Zealous was shattered and desperate in the years he spent with her, Fate treasured her years with her father. The young foal truly believed him to be some sort of shining hero, fighting valiantly against wrongdoers with his beautiful sword. She idolized him and enjoyed every second of their travels together. Even after she became old enough to take care of herself to some small extent, she insisted on accompanying him when he deployed. It was fun to her.

Fate wasn't even quite a filly when it happened. Her father was called to deployment, and like always she went along with him. Well before they were to reach the destination for a meet up with other knights, before Zealous could even find a good place for his daughter to hide, they were ambushed by unknown assailants.

As excellent as Zealous was in battle, he was severely outnumbered and was forced to hold the safety of his foal over his own in that fight. He fought with every ounce of his strength to keep Fate unharmed, but from the start he knew he was destined to lose. In the end he fought the assailants back, but it would be his last fight. Tears streaming from her eyes, Fate strapped her father's sword to her back, it's weight almost crushing her, and left that place knowing she was now completely on her own.

It didn't take long for Fate to come to a resounding decision. She was going to be a knight of the Destriers just like her father! She was going to wield his sword valiantly, just as he did before her. This became her ultimate goal and dream.

So what if she had never heard about any female knights in the Destriers and didn't know if they were even allowed? So what if she couldn't even lift the sword with her hooves as it was now? So what if the words in her father's Librum made no sense to her? She could do it if she tried! Fate began to roam the lands offering her services as a knight in training. Of course, everypony assumes she's just playing around, much to the filly's chagrin, and on the few instances she's ever found the courage to approach anypony from the Destriers, they've just tried to take her father's things from her.

Still, a few years passed, and Fate became a young filly. She trained hard in her own little ways. She can now recite passages from the Librum by memory, though she might get some of the words wrong sometimes and she's still a little sketchy on what it all actually means. She can lift her father's sword, even if it wobbles a whole lot and kind of really terrifies her. She's even learned how to pretend to be a colt, though it really doesn't seem to work on most ponies for reasons she's not too clear on. She still travels, trying to be a heroic champion of justice too all in need, though she's still usually ignored or simply called "cute".

Though at first glance she's nothing more than a silly filly with a sad past chasing an unreachable pipe dream, there's perhaps more to Fate than just that. If nothing else, she has inherited all of her father's resolve and maybe some extra. There's no such thing as impossible for this filly, no matter how remarkably dim the odds may look. Foolish as it all may be, the young pony's determination in the face of the odds is enough to inspire.

Her dream is to be a knight, though in most the important ways she is not so different from any other filly her age. She's playful, surprisingly well spirited considering her history, stubborn and more than a little precocious. She's disgusted by insects and has no greater pleasure than stuffing her face with food. Above all, she has a great sense of adventure, something which takes the young filly all across Equestria, a smile usually on her face.

Long backstory, I know...

Cute Sketch by Jewel:

And here's a cute close up portrait shot of her by SonicRainboomGirl!:

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Please add a [WIP] or [FINAL] tag. Thanks!

[RarityDash]

Done.

I thought that part was optional though? I think it says as much on the Application Form page.

[brianblackberry]

That was a rather impressive story; I'll be curious to see how she does in the RP when you introduce her. We always need more adventure stories

To answer your question, we strongly recommend a WIP or a Final tag so we know wither or not to review the application for approval. We rather not assume and guess, especially if it turns out that the application wasn't yet ready.

For Great Justice!

[RarityDash]

Okay. I just asked as I hadn't been tagging my applications previous to this one, and nopony ever said anything.

But yeah, thanks for the assessment. I'm glad you liked Fate's story. :smile:

[Skye]

It's well written. I'd actually prefer to see the fic portion of this written elsewhere and not in apps, but I can't stop people from including it like that. It's been a trend that's taken everyone by storm, but I encourage the writing.