FiM Cast [Tier-3, READY] Crescent Sparkle

[SteelEagle]

Roleplay type: World of Equestria

Name: Crescent Sparkle

Sex: Male

Age: Stallion

Species: Unicorn

Eyes: Light brown

Coat: Blue

Mane & Tail Styling and Markings: Well taken care and parted mane gives way to an equally well taken care of and short tail that rides a little higher than others, a distinctive Canterlot trait that he simply adopted over the decades.

Physique: Tall and extremely fit, if not musclebound. Age is not yet showing on him, though he can feel in his shortness of breath a small degree of fatigue.

Origin/Residence: Born and raised in Canterlot.

Occupation: Scholar of Astronomy, Minor.

Cutie Mark: A crescent moon facing left, a smaller crescent moon facing the opposite.

Cutie Mark Story: Crescent was working as an assistant to a low-level scholar, whose relatively inane theories and postulations had sent most professors searching elsewhere for information relating to astronomy. The scholar, and by association Crescent's, livelihoods hinged on proving one of the many theories right at the next conference. The conference approached and the two met increasing levels of difficulty. The night before the conference, all hope appeared lost. Determined not to give up, Crescent took a chance and climbed a rampart on the edge of the city, taking his telescope and notebook with him. With the wind whipping and almost sending the colt falling many dozens of yards, he found the perfect vantage point that was denied at the office. After a few hours of tinkering with the telescope, he saw the view of the constellation in question at the right angle for the first time. He spent the whole night taking notes.

He walked back, tired, tired, tired! But he made his way to the scholar and laid at his feet enough information to prove his theory right. As Crescent fell asleep in the scholar's bed, which was in a small room above the office, the scholar wrote his paper. Crescent didn't wake when the scholar came back and ecstatically told the little one that they were to be funded for the next year. The scholar noticed a new cutie mark, and left the colt to discover it when he woke up.

Character History:

Crescent Sparkle was born into a family whose social standing in the hoity toity world of Canterlot was matched only by the hard work and dedication it took to reach that level. Unlike the many nobles and high-society types who coasted on a stream of bits and respect given and not earned, the Sparkles attained their lofty position through an all-encompassing desire to produce not only for themselves, but Equestria. Other ponies may have had more bits, but when the chips were down, the Sparkles couldn't count on their collective hooves the amount of friends who would come to their aid.

Through many generations of work, the family had become one of Canterlot's leading families. Crescent was the first- and shockingly to much of the family in later years, the only- pony of his generation and expectations were high. He received an excellent education but more importantly, the love of his family and strong moral code that came from a family where hard-work and dedication were seemingly bred into you. He responded well, blossoming into a kind, attentative, hard-working, and intelligent young colt.

Of course, he wasn't the best at anything. He wasn't the smartest, most skilled, most attractive, or classiest amongst them all. The Sparkles had a long-standing tradition and agreement with a local university that scholars and professors would take under their wing a member of the family as a colt or filly and give the Sparkle a taste of what it meant to be a part of the very foundation of Equestrian learning. As Crescent, for all of his stock quality, was non-special in any category, he was passed over by all but a low-level scholar of astronomy. As a relatively young colt, he would spend many hours every work helping this aged and somewhat kooky astronomer prove his equally kooky theories. It was during a low point in this that he got his cutie mark.

After his triumph, he became a very efficient assistant, soon producing results that allowed the scholar to claim some manner of respect in a community that had shunned him previously. Crescent never took credit, even when it was due, for this work. In his mind, the greatest credit he claimed was seeing others benefit from his work. Everything else was gravy. The scholar sent him out on more and more trips throughout the city in an effort to collect more and more information and it was during one of these expeditions that, as an older colt on the verge of stallionhood, he met his wife and all-consuming love.

Their courtship was fast and excited as befit two young ponies. Marriage was proposed and almost before anypony in his family could object, the deed was done. Not that many objected, rather a sizable number just worried he was taking it too fast and was rushing into a commitment that was going to define his life. He didn't really listen to anypony but his uncle, who on the day of his wedding gave him the traditional family crest as a sign of his support.

He continued working for the scholar for a full year when he came home to his wife, who was beaming with joy and announced that she was pregnant with their first child. Crescent was excited to share the news the next morning with his boss who despite his kookiness was one of the most intelligent and caring ponies that Crescent had ever met. What he found upon arriving was terrible; the elderly stallion had passed away in the night. One life had just begun and another ended, but the legacy of the stallion who had helped shape Crescent into who he would become would would not end that night. Shining Sky lived on.

In a stunning turn of events, the week after Sky had passed on Crescent was offered the position over several highly trained and educated competitors. They had seen behind Shining Sky to the young colt whose hard work provided the foundation of his success, and whose joy at seeing others learn from his work was the only reward he wanted. This purity of spirit and ethic had been the lynchpin of Sparkle family success and so it was again. He took the position, which offered complete family financial security and the freedom of scheduling that would become a lifesaver in the days of foal-watching. He would take Shining and then later Twilight Sparkle to work with him, where they could nap and play in safety in the foal-proof room above his office. Shining could play around with the various sharp objects and armor pieces that laid around or read the books on the massive racks provided by the university that lined the walls, his sister tending to read more and play a little less until she grew old enough to be fascinated by the telescope he used for work. He had to hire a foalsitter on more than a few occasions and was more than happy to take the services a of a highly recommended foalsitter.

His children grew, his wife continued being amazing, and life rolled on. They left to pursue the mammoth dreams that were the seeming end result of Sparkle family planning. Now, Crescent Sparkle continues his work, charting the sky and writing papers for use by professors and organizations alike. He has a high measure of respect in his field and has had more than a few chances to take positions of more public respect and pay, but has denied them always. He doesn't tell them that as he charts the sky above he doesn't see far away stars and patterns of definitive shape, but the endless and evolving future of his family. As bright as it is he can see it only getting brighter, bigger, better, and he has charted his own course to it and sees no reason to change it now.

Character Summary:

Crescent Sparkle is a very kind and upbeat soul, who seeks and finds within each and every pony a definitive core of greatness. This ability or desire to see the good in others can and sometimes has been used against him, but his natural affinity for planning and charting means he is rarely caught in an untenable position. More than a few scammers have found their seemingly guaranteed victory undone not by suspicion, but by quick thinking and the fact he never trusts some stranger so completely as to be silly enough to entrust them with something that cannot be undone. He is trusting, not stupid.

He has a sincere interest in the astronomy, something he has been happy to share with family and friends. He finds it a relaxing and interesting pursuit and considers the fact that he gets paid for it to be almost robbery. He works hard, make no case against that- he just considers it less as work and more as a a hobby some silly ponies pay him for. The free time he has at work is often his only private time and he uses it for all manner of increasingly dumb hobbies. The best way to fill the void in your life left by children leaving the nest is with model ships and sneaking out to play hoofball with students and professors alike.

He is a very fit pony and always has been. He was never a star, but he was a solid hoofball player as a colt and still finds time to play some games every week with other likeminded ponies. He jogs on a daily basis, which has been a lifelong habit. As a colt, these jogs had bounce and speed and were more like gallops. After he met his wife, these gallops started to become walks, where they would take and trade their unique insights on the world around them. These walks turned into glorified sightseeing tours with Twilight Sparkle, where he would indulge her unyielding curiosity by taking her to each and every place her mind told her was required. For Shining Armor, these jogs once again became jogs as he helped his son prepare to fulfill his dream and needed to maintain his elite physical form. Now he and his wife still take walks, but he now finds himself alone more than ever since he was a little colt. Alone physically, mind you, as he can attach a powerful memory to almost every inch of Canterlot. He is never truly alone and will never be alone again.

His love for his wife Velvet is intense, but by this stage of his life is not the sort of sickly overwhelming love that is the forte of the romance novels that he secretly enjoyed as colt. Instead, there is a sense of wonderful familiarity as they recognize even the very pattern that their common spats play. Argue a bit, be a bit terse over breakfast, have a nice walk, be reminded of how silly you were that morning and stew over it while you were away, then come home and everything is smoothed over.

He is absolutely and almost frighteningly proud of his children, who have surpassed his wildest fantasies and fulfilled his dearest hopes. He almost fails to bring to words the joy he feels at their every success. He is happy that they have both inherited a deep love of Equestria and strong moral codes, and their parallel senses of hard work and dedication are also badges of honor on a proud father's chest. He was more than happy to give Twilight Sparkle her telescope when she left to become Celestia's student. Even though it meant he had to buy a new one for work, he knew of no better pony in history to use a family heirloom than one who was destined for such lofty position. He never doubted her for a second. A moment. A thought. He was happy to provide the research that she needed when she prepared herself, happy to attend her test. Not so happy and a little freaked out by the whole being turned into a plant thing, but he understood that magic was at times unpredictable. With such a display of power, he wasn't shocked when Celestia took her in as her personal student. It hurt a little to send her off, but any parent worth his or her salt cares for the child's future. Besides, he worked with a kooky old madstallion. Celestia was such an improvement that any negative side effect was insignificant!

He is equally impressed and happy with his son Shining Armor, whose passion to protect Equestria and the Princesses' is something that Crescent admires about his son. From the moment Shining stated his intention, Crescent supported him and did what he could to help. he talked the ears off scores of former REA members who studied or taught at schools in the city, found volumes of books for Shining to read, and did what he could to help his son training physically. Seeing Shining Armor ascend to the rank of Captain of perhaps the most important unit in all of Equestria.

His marriage to Cadance was a long time coming; it didn't shock him in the slightest. Colts were never sneaky with their endless flirtations and even as a stallion the overtures could be seen across the whole darn sky. He was pleased to give Shining the family crest that belonged to Crescent's uncle, a sign of his own support to this union. The wedding itself was mostly a disaster thanks to the Changelings, but Crescent prefers to think about what a lovely groom his son made when he wasn't being drained by a Changeling queen. Now his son is a prince and a playful family debate is who is more important, the Prince of an Empire who moonlights as Celestia's top guardspony, or the Element of Magic herself?

That debate is silly to him. Crescent considers them equally important. He considers his wife equally important, Shining Sky important, the long lineage of Sparkle family members important. They all came together to formulate the stallion that Crescent Sparkle became, who in turn helped his children became the Equestrians they are now. His wife asks the stars for stories to share. He asks the stars for help.

They always do.

[RCTwilightSparkle]