Earth Pony Gears

[Gears]

[ Pony Related Character ]

Name: Gears

Sex: Male

Age: Stallion (25)

Species: Earth pony

Pelt Color: Pale blue

Eye Color: Peach

Mane/Tail Color & Style: Both his mane and tail are light yellow with a few brownish streaks and are naturally straight. He likes to wear his mane short ending just below his ears and keeps his tail cropped short. This styling is mainly to avoid either from being tangled or caught into any machinery. It is not uncommon for there to be dirt, oil or small flecks of metal in his mane and tail while he is working.

Cutie Mark: A large brass gear interlocked with a smaller iron gear. Best way to describe it is the brass gear is in the lower right and the iron gear is in the upper left.

Physique: A slight build and a bit shorter than the average stallion. Due to a birth defect he only has a left forearm and both hind-legs which are toned and slightly muscular. When in public or working he wears a prosthetic that is slightly larger than his left forearm. Because of this his gait is slower than average and he tends to drift to the right.

Clothing: Gears can normally be seen wearing a white dress shirt with the left sleeve worn long and the right sleeve completely removed. Over the shirt is a maroon twill vest with a copper and brass pocket watch on a slender chain dangling from his neck. On his head he wears a black forage cap with a red band; on the band is an emblem of the Royal Engineering Corps. When away from his home he sometimes carries a set of worn brown canvas saddlebags filled with small tools, a pad and paper, and a few personal items.

When on reserve duty he often wears the standard servce uniform of the engineering corps. This is similar to the armor worn by the Royal Guards, except that it is colored flat black with a red collar/ascot. The helmet is also black and does not have the plume that can be seen on the guards. Royal Engineers also carry a set of black saddlebags filled with various tools, a reference book and standard issue gear (blankets, rations, fire starters, etc...).

Prosthetic Limb:The prosthetic is of his own design and constructed of a series of gears, springs and pulleys incased in a brass frame. A winding mechanism is protruding from the upper arm facing outwards, near a iron ring that is bolted into a malformed shoulder. The internal machinery can be seen in the back of the knee and ankles while the rest of the prosthetic is adorned with a layer of small brass plates riveted to each other. The top of the metal forearm has threads and essentially screws into the ring on his shoulder, this allows him to easily remove and reattach the limb if needed.

Inside the frame are two mechanisms, the movement mechanism and the control mechanism. The movement mechanism is entirely mechanical in nature (gears and springs only) and is used while walking, lifting or any other tasks that involve movement. It is powered by a series of springs that when wound for fifteen minutes can provide movement for about six to eight hours. This is achieved by two large weights that move back and forth while the leg is in motion, rewinding the springs (similar to an automatic watch).

The control mechanism is an experimental device that allows Gears to control limb as his own limb. It is powered a golf ball sized piece of quartz that has been imbued with magic. The enchantment was developed by a unicorn by the name of Talon, who was a friend of Gears' father. While the spell provides him with a way to control the prosthetic, its response is a bit sluggish at times and does not provide him with the tactile sensations (sense of feeling) of a real limb. The enchantment consumes the piece of quartz and eventually burns out after about nine months requiring a replacement.

Due to its mechanical construction the prosthetic is rather fragile and requires about one hour of maintenance every eight hours. Once every other week it needs to be field stripped (taken completely apart), cleaned, oiled, and any damaged or worn parts replaced, this takes about two to three hours. If it is not cleaned regularly or worn in a dirty or mucky environment there is a chance that the limb might gum up and stop working.

The prosthetic has a semi-full range of movement and can lift about fifty pounds. If struck, used as weapon, or carrying an excess of fifty pounds there is a chance one or more components could be knocked out of place. This could result in it to stop moving, freeze up, or become completely inoperable.

Residence: A quaint beige windmill with blaze orange stripes on the outskirts of Appleloosa. The stripes were added after complaints from several pegasus ponies who almost clipped the windmill's heavy blades.

Occupation: His primary occupation is that of repairpony/blacksmith. He has a workshop in the first floor of his windmill that contains a small forge and a variety of tools. In his spare time he tinkers with mechanical devices, clocks, and recently experimentation with steam power. He is also a Construction Mechanic Second Class in the Royal Corps of Engineers (reserve status).

Motivation: While growing up he felt like an outcast for his physical deformity and would prefer the company of a book as opposed to making friends. One year as a foal he spent the summer at his Grandfather's farm, and there he found a dusty old pocket watch that had long since stopped working. Intrigued by the device he carefully took it apart, noting where each piece went as he did. After a few minutes he could picture how the clocked worked in his head, in his mind's eye he could see every gear moving concert with others as the spring slowly wound down. Not only could he see how it worked he also could visualize what was wrong and why the watch stopped working. An hour later with his work complete he wound the main spring and a smile crept on his muzzle as the watch's hands began to move. It was at that moment the image of a pair of gears appeared on his hind flanks as he had found is calling in life.

Likes:

• 
  [*:7ac352cv] His mother's pumpkin pie
  [*:7ac352cv] Tinkering with device, either to figure out how it works or get it to perform a function
  [*:7ac352cv] Reading a good book
  [*:7ac352cv] Solving a complicated problem
  [*:7ac352cv] Hot sauce
  [*:7ac352cv] Friendly game of cards
  

Dislikes:

• 
  [*:7ac352cv] Nobles/courtiers #the stuck up ones mostly, hates to deal with them#
  [*:7ac352cv] Being interrupted while working
  [*:7ac352cv] Bullies, especially the ones those that make fun of another ponies disability or appearance
  [*:7ac352cv] Structures not up to code #pet-peeve#
  [*:7ac352cv] Waiting in line #queuing#
  [*:7ac352cv] Ponies that take a game of cards to seriously
  

Character Summary: Gears is the youngest offspring of an unusual pairing of ponies. His father, Baron Konstantin the II, was an aristocratic gentlecolt from the city of Manehatten. When the Baron was a young stallion in the Royal Guard he met a charming country mare named Pumpkin Spice. She was the only daughter of a pumpkin farmer in the outskirts of the city, a baker at heart; she often worked a small stand selling various pies and breads. The pair courted briefly, much to the chagrin of their parents and were soon wed #it is rumored that their eldest daughter, Camomile was born prior to their marriage#.

During Konstantin and Pumpkin's marriage, she give birth to three foals, two fillies (Ladies Camomile and Arnica) and one colt (Konstantin the III/Gears). Camomile and Arnica take after their father and enjoy the cosmopolitan lifestyle of the big city. Gears on the other hoof, takes after his mother and is a simpler pony at heart. He hated the politics, the rumors and the protocol that his sisters and father enjoyed.

As a colt he was often teased from the other colt's that picked on him because of his birth defect, often calling him "tripod". This, combined with his general dislike of city life, slowly started to wear away at the young colt's self esteem. His mother, seeing the problems the young colt was having, decided to let him spend his summers on his grandfather's farm in the country. It was here that Gears found his calling in life and began his love of tinkering.

Years past and when he was old enough he decided that he wanted to join the Royal Guard like his father. His father, a Baron and former member of the Guard attempted to pull some strings for Gears to enter one of the prestigious military academies in Equestria. However due to his birth defect he was not allowed to join the Royal Guard and would be delegated to an administrative role. This did not sit well with the young stallion, and he quickly retracted his application. Distraught and frustrated he decided to go back to his grandfather's farm to calm down.

When he arrived at the farm, he saw his grandfather talking to a slightly graying mare dressed in black armor wearing a black and red forage cap. As approached the mare turned to him and introduced herself as Lt. Sapper, a member of the Royal Engineering Corps. She explained that she was a friend of his grandfather, and he had told her about Gears tinkering and skill with machinery. That was a skill that the Engineering Corps. was looking for and asked if he would be interested in enlisting. The offer peaked his curiosity and so a month later he left the farm, to report for basic training as a Royal Engineer.

Basic training was hard on the young stallion, however despite his disability he pushed himself through eventually graduating in the top 10% of his class. For the next six years he served with the 302nd Fighting Engineers based in the outskirts of Fillydelpha, charged with maintaining the roads and bridges of the Saddleveil plains. Gears and the 302nd saw little action during this time period due to the relative peacefulness of the region.

He recently completed his six years of active duty and was transferred out to the 108th Reserve Engineering unit based near Appleloosa. Here he decided to setup a small repair shop in a windmill at the end of town, as a way to earn a modest living while he continued to tinker with mechanical devices.

Royal Engineering Corps

The Royal Engineering Corps was formed with two purposes in mind, the first was provide to combat engineering support (clearing paths, building forward bases, sabotaging enemy infrastructure, etc) to the Royal Defense Forces and the Royal Guard. Their second purpose was to construct and maintain the infrastructure (roads, bridges, dams, etc.) that was vital to Equestria.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Clothing: Over this he has a maroon twill vest with several pockets containing a pocket watch, several small tools, a small pad and pencil. I'm not sure this is going to work. Since ponies normally work on all fours, it would be difficult to reach a pocket. Not to mention, I'd image stuff would be prone to falling out. Maybe you could switch this to some sort of saddle bag(s)?

Other than that, this application looks great! It definitely shows that you've put a ton of thought into this character.

[Gears]

Good point on the vest, I suppose could add either buttons or snaps to secure the items in place. Saddlebags could work, I'll work on updating the description. I hope to add a bit more of his history and personality tonight and then it should be ready for review. I figure the things I could possibly be dinged on are the prosthetic forearm (which I hopefully nerf'd enough), his lineage, and the concept of a Royal Corp of Engineers.

[Thunder Boomer]

This is really well written. It'll probably be approved as soon as Tales can double-check the parts you changed.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Looks good! Approved.

[Gears]

Update: Was working on a post for the gala and found a few spelling errors. Changed his rank as I am thinking of the Royal Engineers adopting a rating system for NCOs similar to the US Navy.