TheCustodian

The caribou shakes his head still looking at the strange device. Was it a machine? Or did magic make it work... His confusion is then further increased when Pinoak's wagon began to move by itself. ~This world must be filled with magical wonders...~ he mused as he fell into a steady walk beside them. Snowdrift felt no need to hop aboard, his legs were fine and he was not tired in the least.

"How I came to these lands? Hmm." he paused for a moment to collect his thoughts before explaining "Many days ago..." Months? Weeks? A year? Snowdrift could not tell anymore "I decided to go exploring away from my tribe, that night a snowstorm appeared out of nowhere stranding me in a small copse for the night. The next morning when I tried to find my herd again they had moved on... The storm obliterating any traces of them" he paused there for a moment wondering how long they might have waiting for him before leaving. It wasnt the first time Snowdrift had wandered off. "After that I wandered the tundra in search of them until i was beset by a pack of wolves who chased me into a river. I don't know how long I difted in those icy waters but when I came to I was beside a warm fire created by my unknown savior. Since then I have been wandering." he finished before going silent to think about his situation. In one way it was like he had always dreamed and Snowdrift was able to explore the world, but at the same time he missed his tribe and family greatly.

Flying? There were ponies capable of flight? It seemed like these creatures had it all, strength, magic, flight. He was kinda jealous.

"No... My magic allows me to speak the words with my mouth even if i do not understand how it is doing it. Its rather strange" he replied to her first question. It was weird, to feel ones mouth move in ways alien to him and yet understand the words spoken using his voice.

"And our magic is limited to healing... My sister is thought to be a possible Healer within our tribe" the mention of her however caused Snowdrifts mood to darken a little, he really did hope she was alright and that his antics and stupidity didnt get her into trouble like he was.

The caribou's mood shifted yet again however when the watch came out. ~What.. Is tha?t~ it confused him more however when the unicorn declared it was getting late. Snowdrift had been having a difficult time following the movement of the sun in this forest but it felt right that the day was drawing to an end.

"If i may ask... How do you know how late it is?"

Teleportation? Illusion? These unicorns seemed much more versatile at utilising magic than his own species... "We do... Our magic is what allows me to speak with you right now, and there are others within our tribe capable of learning how to heal" Although now Snowdrift wondered if his they could perhaps learn more... Healing was the only magic ever truly needed.

"What about the earth ponies, pegasi or zebras? Do they have magic as well?"

"You... Can do magic?" he suddenly asked noticing the levitating objects for the first time. Again a new discovery for the caribou. His tribe did have magic in a sense but it was a rare thing which only a select few could use as healers, his sister for example was believed to have the necessary skills to become one.

Lookingat the seet offered by the newcomer unicorn Snowdrift shook his head. "I prefer to walk"

Snowdrift didnt reply right away lookings at the carvings with great curiosity...

"Ze-bra, Ponyville...Canterlot... THese are Towns?" he asked before the sound of Storybook pulling out his map attracted the caribous attention. His tribe did not have items such as these, all information was shared by word of mouth, no writing. In a way it made them very primitive but for Snowdrift there was no need to change.

The land on the map was unlike anything Snowdrift had seen before and he could not understand what any of it meant. The words themselves ere not something his abilities could translate for him to understand. Frowning he pulled himself away from the two unicorns silently to think. Should he go with them? They seemed friendly and having someone to help guide him would be helpful.

Snowdrift just stared at the two with a rather dumb look on his face ~What in the name of the ancestors is going on!?!~ One moment he and this unicorn were speaking then from nowhere another unicorn had emerged causing the caribou to back away in alarm. How many more of these unicorns were hiding out there? The forest itself seemed quiet and he could not pick anything out sighing he let the two converse as he reviewed what Synphony had told him...

~Griffons, pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies. Wait... He mentioned something called a buffallo also~ he wondered getting more excited at the thought of what else might be residing here. Smiling a bit the caribou turned to the newcomer and gave a slight bow.

"You may call me Snowdrift, and yes I come from the far north where the rest of my species reside. We call ourselves the caribou."

Town... That wasn’t a word he understood at all, actually snowdrift didn’t understand much of what Storybook was saying. Although from the way the unicorn spoke it sounded like these towns were places, although weather they were topographical features like mountains and plains or something else Snowdrift could not tell.

"Uh..." was all he said in reply, everything that was being said was only making him more confused. "Griffons..." he then muttered in understanding. He knew of them, creatures that would roam the tundra attacking and eating stragglers from the herd. The two species never had any reason to speak so Snowdrift never had reason to believe they might be intelligent. "They are here also? What else lives in these lands?"

Everfree, Canterlot, both were names the caribou was unfamiliar with. And what were ponies?

"Um... I came from... North. Very far north" was all Snowdrift could say really. He had no idea where his homeland was but if temperature meant anything he doubt this warm temperate climate was anywhere close to his home.out on the tundra...

"Where is your tribe then unicorn? Were you separated from them as well?"

Snowdrift flinched as the unicorn poked his side and took a couple of steps away. As for what he had said much of it was confusing to the poor caribou but he could feel that same tingle as The Speech worked on deciphering their meaning.

~Unicorn? Storybook Symphony?~ the words were rather alien but Snowdrift could tell that the latter was the creatures name.

"Yes, I am very lost" he muttered in reply, the accent noticably lessened , if he was given a few more phrases the caribou would be sounding like a native Equestrian "My name is Snowdrift"

~Odd..~ he thought... Snowdrift was not his true name but for some reason the magic inside him had converted his name as well.

"Um... Where... Are we exactly? What is this place?"

Snowdrift frowned as the white creature seemed to emerge from the forest. It didn't seem dangerous but he was rather disturbed that it had managed sneak up on him. Taking up a slightly alarmed stance Snowdrift was taken again by surprise when the creature seemed to speak. Not that the caribou could understand what it was saying. Narrowing his eyes the Snowdrift could feel a bit of tingling in his body as his ancestral magic tried to make sense of the strangers words. It was difficult though, this was not a simple case of a slightly changed dialects. What Snowdrift was encountering was a completely different and alien language.

As this occurred however the caribou took the time to examine the unicorn. His body type was slightly smaller than his own and judging from his coat Snowdrift figured he was not a native to the forest.

~Is it even male though?~ he then thought in curiosity, the voice sounded male and there were certain physical features to indicate that this was the case.

After a moment he finally felt the tingle stop which Snowdrift took to mean that the language had been learned, he still didnt know what the unicorn had said though.

"Uh... Hello?" he replied nervously, the words feeling alien on his tongue but somehow he understood what they meant. To Storybook though they were probably heavily accented, something his ability was unable to compensate for right now. Perhaps with more exposure to equestrian that accent would disappear.

"What.... Are you?"

~Hot...~

If there was one word that Snowdrift would use to describe this place it was that. For three days now the caribou had been making his way through the forest since leaving the badlands. He had yet to meet anything capable of sentient thought and frankly that was rather disappointing. Snowdrift had been hoping to meet others like him, others who could speak, who could think, others the caribou could learn from.

~Instead I get colorful plants and oppressive heat~ he thought silently to himself. The Everfree forest was nothing like the frigid tundra from which Snowdrift hailed. Where the tundra was cold this forest was much too hot. In the tundra life struggled to survive and here plants and animals seemed to thrive easily, Snowdrift could not begin to count the different kinds of plants and animals that he had seen (not for lack of trying, Snowdrift lost count at about 58.

"I hope she is ok," he muttered silently, it was the first words Snowdrift had spoken in days. He was refering to his sister, Glacial Eir. Back home to pair had been inseparable. He only hoped that she was safe and sound with the tribe and had not foolishly gone out to look for him. It was a miracle that Snowdrift was standing here now. By all accounts he should be dead after a fall into the frigid glacial waters that ran through his home. Instead something had decided his life was worth saving and Snowdrift had awoken some time later in this strange land far from home.

Stopping for a moment the caribou took look at his surroundings. In every direction trees seemed to spread giving the area a slightly menacing quality, but other than that it was quiet... Too quiet... Standing still the caribou listen carefully in the hopes of hearing the source of whatever had caused the forest to go silent. Of course to any idle observer Snowdrift appeared like any other animal within the forest with no obvious indicators to show that he was much more intelligent than any common deer one might find within these woods.

Well it finally happened and like I said i nthe chat im here to ask if you can do something up for Snowdrift. PRobably just an avatar. (Although if you could do a version of Snowdrift in his winter coat colors i would worship the ground you walk upon XD )

As for specifics of the avatar

I was hoping you could emulate the look of this pic. Its similar to the one you find on the Warcraft 3 box art

Anyway... Yeah ^^ Thx

Probably will stick to Caribou.

Anyway i guess its time to play the waiting game?

Observation: the "official" map appears to be very very loosely based on North America. Note that all the periphery cities are located in the approximate spots that their real-life namesakes would be on a real map. There's even a Vanhoover in the northwest corner! Assuming that the real world can serve as a somewhat reliable guide for placing Equestrian cities, then Hoofington/Washington would probably end up on the south shore of Horseshoe Bay (fittingly right next to a swamp), while poor ole' Trottingham would be on the other side of the Pond from Equestria-proper.

Nitpick alert: I think Los Pegasus should actually still be Las Pegasus, since Las Vegas seems to be the more obvious namesake for the place than Los Angeles.

Going by this then i wouldnt be surprised if there are pony settlements across the ocean nearby the griffons. If we placed the griffons in europe I could see Trottingham being in an island country like England and places like Stalliongrab being a russianlike country. THe world just got much bigger... XD

THen again the griffons could be anything east of 'america'. Hmmm. LEts say all europe has a pony analogue them maybe the griffons are middle east in a sense? Turkey wouldnt even need a name change XD

Did more editing. expanding a bit on personality and motivations and adding in some family including a yet unnamed sister (suggestions would be welcome) that he left behind.

EDIT: Got one. Thanks Starswirl

EDIT2: Added a pic of Glacial Eir and modified the colors slightly. Just so people get an idea of what a female looks like (Yes Caribou females do have antlers. THe odd exception to the rule in the deer family )but if someone wants to make her at some point in the future I have no issues with that I have a tendency to go all out when making things. I even have plans for a calf/fawn.

On another note would things be eiser if i called them reindeer instead of caribou? Its the same species more or less just different names

True... I like to play by Laurens initial vision where hooves are barely used (Or at least i think thats what it was.)

As for the Peryton Caribou comparison... I never actual did a 1-1 look... LEts see.

Perytons: Good at hiding, have the ability to glide, good woodland survivalists, have one magical talent

Caribou: Extreme cold survivalists, earth pony resilience, the speach, rare individuals with healing abilities

I guess looking at things like this there is room to buff the caribou. Ah well. Ill wait for more feedback before i decide anything

On the last part regarding the hooves i only added it when i remembered just how dextrous Kuzcos hooves were in the Emperors new groove (Which is not really helpfull. Disney could have easily have just done that for the sake of ease and story telling.). Cloven hooves seem like they would be capable of more than hooves on any regular pony but since im guessing Perytons have no such advantage im gonna remove that addition from my app.

About Myself: Varied. I tend to be interested in many things from art to sciences

How I found Canterlot.com: From the EQD IRC

How I became a fan of MLP:FiM: Started with watching random MLP videos i found amusing on youtube and things escalated from there. Been a brony since last March

My favourite main cast pony/s: Miss Rarity
Well. That was a rather... Thourough sheet to fill out. DUnno what else to say. Yes im new here but not new to RP. I have a tendency to do allot of lore building when given a blank slate and inspiration so i hope that wont be a problem. Other than that hope to stick around here for awhile.

~The Custodian

1, 2, 3... So now it should work? XD Sorry is this appears spammy

App is complete. I would have modified the title but im having technical troubles which are preventing me from doing so (Trying to figure it out. And yes i have tried to full editor. The option to edit the title simply isnt there.)

Roleplay Type:World of Equestria RP

Name:Snowdrift

Sex:Bull (Male)

Age: Young Adult

Species:Deer (Caribou)

Eye Color:Amber

Coat Color:Brown (Summer), White/Grey (Winter)

Mane/Tail/Markings Color & Style:N/A

Physique:Muscular/large. Unlike Perytons caribou are not small in comparison to ponies. The majority of them are taller by a couple inches. Snowdrift is no different.

Cutie Mark:N/A

Origin/Residence: Snow drift is from the lands north of the badlands. Even he isnt too sure where he is from. As for where he is now Snow Drift tends to travel as he explores the world.

Occupation:Explorer?

Motivation:No longer part of the herd Snowdrift simply wishes to see everything the world has to offer (Miles upon miles of frozen tundra tends to be rather dull). He hopes to one day try and make the trip back home but because he is so

Likes: Meeting new creatures, learning new things... Snow drift is rather naive and optimistic despite his past.

Dislikes: Being reminded of home, insects (especially the blood sucking kind), loud noises (background noise is fine), hot weather, physical contact

Personality:Hes rather innocent and can be too trusting at times however once you lose it it is near impossible to regain it in Snow Drift's eyes. In the end Snowdrift is generaly a nice guy to be around and its rare to find him without a smile or cheery disposition. Eager to explore his wanderlust does have a tendency to get him into awkward positions and his lack of cultural knowledge outside the herd can cause awkward moments when meeting other creatures. Besides exploring Snowdrift is an eager learner and would jump on any oportunity to learn more about this land he now finds himself in and tell others about his home.

Character Summary:Far north of equestria, in lands that no pony has ever truly explored, the caribou roam the tundra in great herds feeding from the land. Like thier cousins to the south, the buffalo, these herds are quite intelligent and have a strong family bond and tradition stretching back aeons. Snowdrift was once a member of these herds, galloping across the frozen land with his family, and he would still be one today if it were not for his wanderlust. From a young age Snow had a tendency to stray from the herd (much to his parents annoyance) and explore his suroundings. Despite multiple punishments and lectures against such actions Snow Drift would never really get the message. "Stick together". In the frozen north predators were quite plentiful and the herd knew to stick together in order to fight them off.

It was a calm winter day when the events changing Snowdrifts life occured. Like always Snowdrift had decided to do some exploring in a nearby patch of trees. For hours the caribou wandered about looking in every nook in cranny searching for something interesting. Sadly he found nothing and beganto return to the herd when from seemingly nowhere a snowstorm blew in. Taking refuge back in the small forest Snowdrift hunkered down for the night. The next morning he rushed back to the herd only to find nothing. THey had moved on without him...Snowdrift wandered the tundra for awhile but couldnt find a trace of his herd. The snowstorm had erased all signs of their passage. For awhile he panicked, he was alone, abandoned out here in the harsh landscape where predators could easily pick him off. Snow Drift could understand though why they did it, the snow storm had been fierce and the herd could not risk sending anyone to search for them, even in small groups caribou were vulnerable if set upon by a pack of wolves, wolves such as the ones that began tracking the lone Snowdrift.

He ran. As fast as he could Snowdrift ran as the howls of wolves grew ever closer. This deep into winter food tended to be scarce for predators and a lone caribou was a goldmine for a pack. Finally they managed to corner the young stag with his back to a canyon.The predators of course thought they had him; it was at least a 200 foot drop into the churning river below. Never mind the fact that the waters we're absolutely frigid. What they didnt expect was the only option left for Snowdrift: Jump.

If Snowdrift was expecting himself to be saved by some divine intervention, or to suddenly sprout wings he was very mistaken.Through the air he fell into the frigid glacial waters in which he was carried away. The wolves of course didnt follow, they thought the animal dead and thier chance for a meal denied. (Of course they were wrong, I wouldnt be making this app if he was dead after all.)

Snowdrift didnt know how long he spent in the churning waters. Moments after hitting the water he was knocked unconcious. For all intents and purposes he should have been dead right there and then but this is not the case. The caribou would wake up im dry ground, a small fire burning beside him and a blanket covering him. He was far south from the tundra, in the forests of the badlands nearby Tartarus. As for his savior there was not a single sing however it was obvious magic was at work; the fire by his side continued to burn without requiring wood. After inspecting his surroundings Snow Drift was unable to find anything to help explain how he had got here. He had absolutely nothing aside from the blanket draped over him.

For a time he wandered. With no idea as to the location of his homeland Snowdrift continued to wander eventually leaving the badlands (Not easily i would like to add) and entering Equestria proper. He has long since come to terms with the loss of his herd (Although he does wonder how long they stuck around before moving on without him) and now focusses on learning more about this new land he has entered hoping to one day return and tell them what he has seen.

Because of the way he was brought up Snowdrift is very unfamiliar with even the most basic technology. Life in the tribe was mostly spent grazing or learning legends and myths of thier species. On the flip side the caribou is very capable of surviving in the wilderness and making do with almost nothing.

Family: While Snowdrift does have a mother and father he was never particularly close to them. Within the tribe families mingled together so much that it was not uncommon for calves to have multiple parent figures in their lives. That said Snowdrift does have a sister named Glacial Eir that he cared for deeply. The two were often insepperable with Snowdrift often coaxing her to join him whenever he wandered off exploring. Eir was not with Snowdrift the day he was separated permanently from the tribe. She is believed to be a potential healer and showed some promise.

Notes on the Caribou: Unlike normal deer Caribou are very self aware and sentient. They have more in common with the buffalo herds of the south than thier wild cousins that live in the forests of equestria. Caribou culture is mostly a nomadic lifestyle as the herd move from place to the next to forage for food with strong family bonds formed between each member of the herd, together the tribe is strong, alone they are easy meals for the myriad of predators stalking the frozen north.

Individually a caribou is about as strong as any earth pony, and as expected they are very capable of surviving in frigid conditions most ponies would perish in. Thier true strength however comes from being with each other where memories and thoughts can be shared and the herd can grow as a whole.

Caribou have no real magical abilities like unicorns or Perytons with the exception of a certain few individuals who serve as healers within the tribe. What they lack in that department is made up for in the ability to survive and adapt to extreme conditions. Collectively however all caribou have an ability called The Speech. All knowledge collected by the herd is passed down from generation to generation orally which has led to special magic adaptations to prevent the distortion of information over time. This of course means little to outsiders with one exception that Snow Drift has recently learned in his interaction with other sentient creatures: Language is not a barrier. Snow drift is perfectly capable of speaking and understanding equestrian despite never learning it. Why this is possible is unknown however some theorize it may have manifested to help deal with differences that arose whenever two herds would meet. Because of the large distances covered herds can go decades if not centuries at a time wthout meeting one another. As time goes on language may change somewhat into differing dialects. The Speech appears to be a cultural method of dealing with these differences so that as a whole the Caribou are stronger.

Img: (Summer coat, pony for size comparison. The female is his sister Glacial Eir. I added her just so show some things about sex differences. MOstly its just a smaller set of antlers and a more feminine shape.)