Crystal Pony [Ready] Valour Bound

[RegalSteel]

Roleplay Type: WoE

Name: Valour Bound

Sex: Female

Age: Young Mare

Species: Crystal Pony

Eye colour: Dark Purple

Coat: Pristine White

Mane/Tail: Made up of four shades of pale blue. Her mane is short, choppy, and often kept in a ponytail. Her tail is also short and choppy.

Physique: Val is very tall and leggy. Her lithe figure belies the strength of her wiry muscle.

Residence: The Crystal Empire. Valour lives in a small apartment near the palace.

Occupation: Freshly enlisted into Royal Equestrian Army.

Cutie Mark: A shield made of crystal wreathed in blue flames. The shield symbolizing her protective instincts and the flames her burning devotion to those she cares for.

Valour got her cutie mark on a beautiful sunny day in the fields outside the Crystal Empire where many of the fillies and colts liked to frolic and play games. She and a group of classmates were enjoying the sunshine. They decided to play some games, teams were being picked and Val was chosen early but one of the older fillies refused to pick a friend of Valour's despite the fact that he was the last pony left. Val stood up for her friend and got the mean filly to stop picking on him. Afterward her friend jubilantly exclaimed that her cutie mark had appeared and in the excitement everypony forgot the squabble.

History: Valour had a rather normal childhood, with good friends, colt and filly alike, and was rather fun loving and cheerful. She loved to play in the fields around the kingdom with the sheep. She struggled to find her place as a Filly though, not getting her cutie mark until she was quite a bit older than most her age. When she finally did earn her cutie mark, then began the quest to find what job was perfect for her to apply herself to. She tried lots of jobs, first was being a shepherd herself. She found herself getting bored of standing around with nothing interesting happening. Then came a string of jobs where she thought her talents would come in handy, but none of them ever felt right. She knew there was a particular job that would make use of her skills, and give her a feeling of accomplishment and pride that nothing else could.

Since the return of the Crystal Empire Valour has been acclimating to her new life quite well. She loves this bright new world living under the rule of the Princesses. She was jubilant when Princess Cadance was named the ruler of the Crystal Empire. As soon as she heard about the Royal Equestrian Army she began training day and night. She constantly worked out, drilled, and trained her mind, body, and spirit. She found herself to be quite a skilled swordsmare. She was certain this was what she had been meant for all along. A job protecting and serving for the sake of peace and the ponies of Equestria!

She enlisted very recently and was ranked in the upper portion of her class in training. She; having found her purpose, has now been taking time to enjoy her new career. Finally taking some time to relax during her time off from work. Something she hasn't done much of since she set out to join the REA.

Character Summary: Valour is quite the dreamer. She loves to stare up into the night sky at the stars(or sky crystals as she likes to think of them) and think about all the wonders the universe must hold. She dreams of someday standing vigil at the side of her new Princess as one of the elite Crystal Guard, and in efforts to reach that lofty goal she strives her hardest. She has a no surrender mentality and never stops trying! When it comes to her dreams she is willing to put in the long hard hours to make it a reality. Quitters never accomplish anything is her motto.

Val is a cheerful and upbeat mare, a big smile often stuck on her face as she happily does things most would rather not. She works hard, and plays harder. Always up for a challenge, Val can sometimes get herself into mischief despite her good intentions. Above all else Valour feels an immense sense of duty and honor. She wants to serve her new rulers as best she can, and wants to earn the respect of those she encounters. She doesn't believe in the easy route and will purposely take special "short cuts" when travelling or making her way around the Empire.

One of Valour's favorite things to do outside of work is to spend her days out in the fields where she spent much of her childhood, mingling with other ponies that enjoy the serenity, as well as shepherds and their flocks. She often visits the train station to see what kind of visitors and tourists the Empire is getting and loves to meet these ponies. Her most favorite place in all of the Empire is where the crystal spires burst from the ground at the borders of the Empire. She loves to climb upon the wider spires and stargaze from them at night. She also enjoys sports and playing with the local fillies and colts on her off time. She secretly dreams of meeting her special somepony and having foals of her own.

[RegalSteel]

A character I had from a FFA RP that I've sort of fallen in love with and am adapting to WoE Thank you to SparkleFire for the lovely art.

Change Log (Times are in American Eastern Standard Time)

6/18 04:45 PM: Very rough draft posted as [WIP]

6/24 6:15 PM: Added to History & Character Summary. Added Cutie Mark origin.

6/26 3:43 PM: Added to History.

6/28 4:40 PM: Added to Summary and marked as Ready!

7/1 3:40 PM: Changed Cutie Mark story.

[Armony]

How is this application coming along?

[RegalSteel]

How is this application coming along?

Well! I just had a busy weekend.

[RegalSteel]

Marked as Ready

[Jane]

Yay, ready to go I see!

You really have a great character here my friend; an REA pony who is also a unique individual with an excellently defined personality and good dreams and aspirations.

Unfortunately, her cutie mark story is walking a very fine line so I'm iffy about it. While she didn't save the day or anything by coming out with a whole bunch of impromptu swords moves - she just threw a rock and ultimately another, more skilled pony saved the day, it's still the "fight monsters, obtain cutie mark" trope that we'd like to avoid if possible. And I'm really not sure about Timberwolves in the crystal empire 1000 years ago, since we have only ever seen them in the Everfree Forest, and while it's not impossible as wolves do favour colder climates, it does feel a little bit lore-buildy to put creatures in an area where we've never seen them before. I'm just not too comfortable with the whole story teetering so carefully on the edge of what is WoE acceptable and what isn't. If you could come up with a creative way to re-work it (and I trust that you can because I know you to be a very creatively-gifted person) that would be appreciated.

Also, what does her cutie mark mean specifically? What is its symbolism and what is her special talent? You told the story of how she got it, but could you go into more depth in explaining what it actually means?

Everything else is wonderful - it's just the cutie mark section that needs some polish, and then I'm sure Valour Bound will be a wonderful addition to your collection of WoE OCs.

[RegalSteel]

Unfortunately, her cutie mark story is walking a very fine line so I'm iffy about it. While she didn't save the day or anything by coming out with a whole bunch of impromptu swords moves - she just threw a rock and ultimately another, more skilled pony saved the day, it's still the "fight monsters, obtain cutie mark" trope that we'd like to avoid if possible. And I'm really not sure about Timberwolves in the crystal empire 1000 years ago, since we have only ever seen them in the Everfree Forest, and while it's not impossible as wolves do favour colder climates, it does feel a little bit lore-buildy to put creatures in an area where we've never seen them before. I'm just not too comfortable with the whole story teetering so carefully on the edge of what is WoE acceptable and what isn't.

Also, what does her cutie mark mean specifically? What is its symbolism and what is her special talent? You told the story of how she got it, but could you go into more depth in explaining what it actually means?

I knew going in that this was very trope-ish but tried to manage it in a way that wasn't "I am uber suddenly". The idea was that she was brave enough to face something she knew she shouldn't have for the sake of others(in this case adorable sheep). That said I perfectly understand why it's a no-go. I've dropped it entirely and went a different direction. It's still a little confrontational but I'm hopeful it's okay. beyond that I very simply added the symbolism of her cutie mark.

[Jane]

I understand, Regal. I could tell you were trying to avoid the trope, and part of me wanted to let you keep it, but ultimately upon consulting the other staff we decided a change needed to be made.

On that note, the cutie mark story seems fine to me now, and as everything is in order, I shall be passing this along for review! Great work!

[Armony]