Providence [Ready]

[DerpRavener]

Roleplay Type: Canterlot Chronicles

Name: Providence

Sex: Female

Age: Middle aged

Species: Earth Pony

Eye colour: Yellow

Coat: Purple

Mane/tail: Maroon.  She keeps her mane short, and her tail tied, to ensure they don’t get in her way in combat.

Physique: Imposingly large compared to the average pony, and very fit.

Residence: Providence is known to have a warehouse in Hipposton which is the headquarters of her mercenary outfit.  She is believed to have a number of encampments in the wilderness as well.

Occupation: Mercenary Company Leader

 

Cutie Mark: A heavy shield, with a lance laying across it.  More than just an affinity for combat, it represents Providence’s personal philosophy toward it: namely, to protect by having the will to strike.

 

Once upon a time, there was a filly who lived in a quiet Equestrian suburb, who just came of age to go to school.  She was very excited, looking forward to learning new things but more than that meeting new ponies.  And meet them she did, making several friends on her very first day.

However, she soon discovered a problem.  Not all of her friends agreed with each other.  In fact, it seemed several of her new friends didn’t like her other new friends.

 

The filly discovered this as she was walking home from school that very day, alongside a few schoolmates.  The filly saw another foal she’d met, and went over to say hello.  But the ‘friends’ with her didn’t.  They started harassing the foal, and calling him names!  The filly was stunned.  They were all supposed to be learning together riight?  So why would anypony treat others this way?

 

She didn’t remain stunned for long, it took her only a moment to make up her mind.  She immediately called the bullies on their actions, which caused them to turn their attentions on her.  A scuffle broke out, which the outnumbered filly was on the losing end of, until the noise attracted an adult who broke up the fight and chastised everypony involved.  The filly felt bad for disappointed her elder like that, but it was greatly overshadowed from the thanks and feelings she gained from protecting a friend.  It had ignited a fire in her heart, and although she would need to find a new the idea of protecting others drove her from them on.

 

Unique Traits: Providence carries a large broadsword as her primary weapon, which she has had extensive practice with, though she is quite capable unarmed as well.  She also carries a pair of bandoliers, which hold a number of potions should she run into a situation which her sword and hooves alone cannot overcome.  She’s spent decades training herself in a variety of ways.  Between her training, her nature as an Earth Pony and raw grit, she has impressive strength and a truly frightening amount of endurance.

 

History:

It’s believed that as a young mare Providence was once a part of an REA combat group conducting operations outside Equestria some time in the past, though the specifics have since been largely lost to time.  Naturally such expeditions are fraught with danger.  A chance occurrence ended up separating a number of guardsponies from the group, this mare included.  They ended up in the relative safety of Kastrot.  Unfortunately for them, it was at a time when the the place was far less interested in welcoming new ponies than it was now.  Though the group was initially tolerated, it wasn’t long before conflicts arose between the fragment of the REA group and the leadership of the city in which they had arrived.  The mare, being one of the more vocal and aggressive agitators of these conflicts, earned the ire of the local guards, and after a few incidents ended up being sent off to the mines as a form of punishment, and means to make up for her actions.

 

The mare didn’t take this action sitting down.  It was only a few weeks before she attempted to stage a rebellion, which was quickly quelled.  The mare was further punished, given the most guelling work in the deepest, most lonely and dangerous parts of the mine, and kept from talking to her fellow workers for much of the time.  The thought was that the isolation would wear the mare down, and bring her into line with the rest.  Instead, unbeknownst to the mine overseers, it only made her patient.  Though acting cowed to reduce the attention on her, the mare plotted in secret, gathering supplies and allies, and scouting weaknesses.  When she acted again, six total months after she had first arrived, the mine guards were completely unprepared for the speed and brutality of the attack.  The mare set the compound ablaze, before gathering the surviving sympathizers to her cause and escaping into the wilderness.  A few weeks later, the mare made an appearance in Hipposton, having taken the name Providence for herself and leading a mercenary company.

Despite everything, Providence never truly gave up on her Equestrian ideals, but her time in Maretonia radically changed her approach to them.  No longer did she think a foreign policy of cooperation and appeasement was sufficient: Equestria’s enemies would take advantage of their gentleness and ultimately destroy them.  The only way to ensure the Equestrian way of life, was to have the capacity to threaten other nations into submission should they become aggressive, and to make good on those threats should the enemy refuse to back down.

 

To this end, she continued what she had initially done in the mines, planning, gathering supplies, and expanding her battlegroup and headquarters.  The mercenary company she began to use as her source of income and a vehicle for any actions she needed to openly make, while she began to conduct strange research in secret.

 

One way or another, Equestrians would learn to fight for their own cause.  Even if Providence had to beat it into them.

 

Personality:

Though not incapable of subtlety, Providence is a very straightforward combatant, preferring to use overwhelming force or lightning blows to stagger her enemies, and this is true both when in command of a group or entering the fray herself.  In fact, she tends toward an aggressive approach to all sorts of problems.

 

This is not to say she rushes into things.  Perhaps more than anyone else, Providence knows that timing is at least as important to delivering an effective blow as the raw strength behind it.  Her experiences in the mines in particular have taught her the value of patience, and the importance of finding the right time to strike.

 

Contrary to what most ponies will see of her, when Providence is not in combat she is surprisingly relaxed and easy-going.  Whether this is simply a byproduct of her learned patience, or a hint of something gentle buried under her combative nature is something only she could answer, but whatever the reason she is surprisingly approachable when she isn’t in a potential combat situation.

[DerpRavener]

Other Notes: My goal with this character was to create a villain, representing a similar scope of threat to one of the major villains from the show, though less powerful than one of them.  As a result I made this character more capable than most of the characters I create.  I also intend to follow the rules special for cast villains for this character, wherever that's appropriate.

Basically my goal is: Providence is to show villains (Chrysalis, Tirek, etc.) as an ordinary OC is to one of the mane 6.

 

Also, I took some educated guesses with regards to the parts in Maretonia.  So if I got something blatantly wrong, and it can't just be edited to fit, I have an alternate idea I could try.

[RedCedar]

Interesting concept. Moving forward for review.

[RainbowFoxxy]