Unicorn [Zebra/Unicorn] Gallow (Final)

[Gallow]

Name: Gallow. Personality-quirk related name. "Gallows humor is the type of humor that still manages to be funny in the face of, and in response to, a perfectly hopeless situation."

Sex: Male

Age: Young Stallion

Species: Zebra/Unicorn mix

Pelt Color: Soft green, fades to slightly more yellow on the legs.

Mane/Tail/Markings Color & Style: Tail is zebroid, but with much longer hair on the tuft. The mane is almost normal for a pony, but stands up in a few spots. Both are white-based with grey-purple sections. His legs have grey-purple stripes above the hooves, and a stripe running down the center of his back and tail. Ears are mildly striped and white-tipped.

Eye Color: Extremely pale grey.

Cutie Mark: Thorned vines curling in the shape of a heart, due to him coming from Everfree, and his slightly prickly but still often good-humored disposition. Gallow thinks the best way to help someone with their problems is to be realistic with them, even if it might hurt them at first. Cutting honesty be very useful in a pony, who isn't going to waste time missing the point in order to spare somepony's feelings. However, he has to learn that not everypony responds well to that kind of method.

Ponies have a habit of wandering into places they don't belong, and when he was a very young colt, Gallow heard screams in the forest. He followed the sounds and found a terrified, young pony dangling off a cliff, alone, with no one to help him. The fall was a very short one that wouldn't hurt the pony much, and they were in the territory of a Manticore, which was fast approaching. Gallow, not wanting the pony to get hurt, leaned over the edge and tried to tell them to let go, but the colt was too scared to budge. Exasperated, Gallow simply pried his hooves from the edge and let him fall into the shallow ravine below, jumping in after him. Now safe from the Manticore, Gallow checked to make sure the pony was alright, surprised at the gratitude and lack of fear of him that the colt expressed. Gallow was happy that he was able to help someone through tough love and reason, causing his cutie mark to appear.

Physique: Larger, curved, and somewhat stocky torso - more bulky than an average pony's. His legs, in contrast, are very long, with distinct hooves. He would look noticibly different from, say, Dr Whooves. He's tall, but not as much as Big Macintosh.

Origin: Everfree Forest, originally. At this point, he mostly moves from cave to cave as far as dwellings go.

Roleplay Type: Mane Roleplay?

Occupation: Drifter. When he comes across things of value while exploring, he will often sell them to support himself. (occupation will be updated when he acquires one during RP)

Motivation: Loves to explore and learn and discover new things. He's still young, and has really only just begun. Being from the Everfree Forest, places like Ponyville are entirely new and strange to him - a new place to learn about.

Likes: Succulent plants, shadowy places like Everfree, sweets and fruits, competition, exploration and learning, doing as he pleases.

Dislikes: Hay and dry grass, bright sunlight (sunglasses help), having to use magic, ponies who are overly bubbly, being told what and what not to do, being cooped up.

Character Summary: Due to coming from Everfree, he's very desensitized to the scary things within, and Ponyville would be a culture shock for him, where everypony is jarringly friendly and nice. He's unused to it, and can come off as sarcastic or even aloof if caught off guard by friendliness and openness. He's usually comparatively eloquent, but combined with his slightly biting sense of humor, ponies usually aren't easily endeared to him. All of this aside, he's far from being evil or bad and would never attack or harm someone for no reason. He's also fully capable of being nice and helpful, if a bit awkward. He's very private and almost never talks about his background or his very different parents, feeling that it's unnecessary, and being pushed about it causes him to either clam up or get irritated. He can be arrogant, and loves a chance to show up others in competitions.

Gallow wasn't born into the mollycoddling most ponies are accustomed to. Though his mother was always gentle with him, both of his parents expected him to learn things for himself, through experience. Book smarts weren't practical in a place like the Everfree forest. He was allowed to explore outside their small home, and if he wanted to go further, one or both parents would shadow him, sometimes without his knowledge. They saved him numerous times from dangerous creatures, and every encounter and rescue was a new learning experience for him. After a while, he learned how to more easily tell when creatures were near, and how to avoid them most of the time.

When he was a foal, his mother made a trek into the forest for food, and never returned. Without her kindness, knowledge, and magic, life was made much more difficult for the remaining two. While his father loved him, the zebra was very stern and his lessons on surviving Everfree were more harsh. He wasn't cruel, only wanting to ensure that his son was self-sufficient. Gallow continued to learn and eventually began exploring on his own. Over time, he picked up his father's brutal honesty and sternness, but retained humor from his mother. The few ponies he saw in the forest ran from him, already frightened by the forest itself and set off by his slightly unusual appearance, leaving him somewhat bitter.

Gallow detests using his magic, and dislikes large displays of magical power unless it's beneficial. Zebras were never meant to have unicorn abilities, and his magic is incredibly unpredictable, having accidentally started a mild forest fire with it as a colt when trying to move a small fallen tree out of his path, causing the tree to burst into flames instead. Every attempt at telekinesis has failed spectacularly, and when startled or frightened, accidental magic will cause him to teleport out of danger - and sometimes directly into another dangerous situation, or bad environment. He'll never be capable of using it as smoothly as most other unicorns do, and his magic is not particularly powerful save for the occasional accidental teleportation.

(picture is unfinished, but still applicable)

[Davroth]

I could be wrong, but I'm quite sure that gallows aren't really a thing in Equestria. And death references in general are usually ill received from all I've seen until now.

The rest looks fine.

[RCTwilightSparkle]

I like this app, he seems like a very interesting character with a lot of room for growth! Unfortunately I do think that his being a hybrid will be a problem, I can see what the rest of the staff thinks but right now pony/zebra hybrids are not on the accepted race list for mane RP. You can find the current list of approved races here.

Crossover RP allows all races, so in the case that he cannot remain a hybrid for mane RP and you do not want to change him he would still be playable there.

[Gallow]

Thank you. Regarding his species..

I personally don't find it implausible that a pony and a zebra would pair up. Zecora came to Ponyville, so it doesn't seem too much of a stretch that ponies have been to where Zecora is from and vice versa, and it also seems much more unlikely that a pairing of the two would never happen. I had my hopes up that this wouldn't be an inexcusable idea, and I'd rather not be limited to Crossover RP. :C I wanted to interact in the Mane RP, and truly hope you'll give the hybrid status serious consideration as a possible addition to the accepted species list, since, at least to me, it seems like a very likely sort of hybrid to exist in Equestria. Plus, mules (horse or pony + donkey) are canon in the show itself, and a zebra is very, very similar to a donkey. I do remember seeing it mentioned somewhere that non-approved races could be asked about.

I'm truly not trying to be argumentive, I promise!

[flutterscotch]

I could be wrong, but I'm quite sure that gallows aren't really a thing in Equestria. And death references in general are usually ill received from all I've seen until now.

The rest looks fine.

If it's a noose, though, it would be more recognizable to the laypony. I'd think that the death penalty in Equestria would lean more towards quartering, personally.

I do have to put in my two cents about a lot of the darker ponies tend to be homeless wanderers. There are currently more homeless wandering ponies, with dark pasts living a catch-as-catch can life, in Equestria for some reason or another than there are bakers. Why can't he build a stick hut out in the Everfree Forest or Whitetail woods just on the outskirts of town... Maybe find a cave or something? Or are you planning on having his first RP a residence location?

MAYBE, since Pony_Sage and I will be working on a RP to repair a boardwalk over in Hoofington, he could build and run a classic FUNHOUSE.

[RCTwilightSparkle]

I understand! personally I think he's a cool hybrid and I could see this being acceptable in mane RP, I'm just not sure yet so I wanted to warn you that it might not be alright.

A few comments about the app itself:

Cutie mark story - I would love to hear an expanded version of how he actually got his cutie mark. What was the dangerous situation and how exactly did he save himself? I'm also not entirely sure that Equestria has gallows, it is a land of friendship and kindness. Maybe there is a more FiM appropriate symbol that could work equally well as his cutie mark?

[Gallow]

Flutterscotch: Oh goodness, I didn't realize about the drifter thing - although he doesn't have a dark past at all, aside from having come from Everfree. Loving parents, no particular emotional scarring or trauma. I could definitely see him moving around from cave to cave, and I'll definitely keep the funhouse thing in mind. Thank you!

RCT: Thank you. And I appreciate the warning, as well.

I'll have to sit and think up the details regarding the cutie mark - and possibly also change the mark itself. I need a bit to figure it out, I'll post again when I've got it worked out completely.

[RCTwilightSparkle]

I'm looking forward to your revisions, like I said I think this character is awesome and has lots of fun potential for RP

As much as I totally hate to admit it Scotchie and Pony_Sage are a lot of fun to RP with, Gallow running a funhouse sounds like it could be a great idea!

[flutterscotch]

As much as I totally hate to admit it Scotchie and Pony_Sage are a lot of fun to RP with, Gallow running a funhouse sounds like it could be a great idea!

She just has to take the cheap shot, doesn't she?

[Tempest Rime]

Just because they don't have the gallows or the death penalty under Celestia's enlightened rule doesn't mean it never existed under Discord, or in other lands. And as it's a reference to gallows humor, I don't see any problem with it. Other forms of execution wouldn't really carry the same meaning.

[Pony_Sage]

Hey there! I just wanted to pop in and give you my two bits. The idea of the pony running an old style fun-house I find really interesting! That way he isn't a lonely wanderer. As for the Zebra Unicorn mix, I don't feel that it is strictly necessary to the character. He could achieve the same look with some pelt dye and a little bit of sap to make his hair stand up. Just giving you some options there. Now I don't personally like the gallows, it seems out of place in this universe, even with our expanded board cannon. These ponies would just not hang one another. The gallows humor I understand however, but why would his parents name him that before he achieved his cutie-mark, or before his personality developed? Maybe that is his "Stage name", and his parents named him something else? Maybe the cutie-mark could be something other than a gallows. A laughing skull and crossbones maybe? Seeing as the CMC had skull and crossbones on their bandannas. Just throwing out ideas here. Or a Smiley face with a sinister smile? Just something referencing the act of being hanged a little less would be more appropriate.

Other than that I find him interesting!

~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings

[Gallow]

I was thinking his name is not his birth name, yes, which I forgot to mention.

I'm going to hold off tweaking anything until I find out definitively about his species, then work from there.

[CurvyPony]

I personally have to agree with Tempest. Discord is pretty much anti-everything Equestria is usually all about, and was able to turn the main cast against each other and make their personalities complete opposites of what they'd normally be. It doesn't seem outlandish to think that if he could do that to the main cast, that the other ponies of Equestria could become downright violent. Let's also not forget that, to this point, no humans exist in this setting, and yet the CMC had clothing with human skulls on them. I think it's safe to say that even human symbolism isn't always something to be considered non-canon.

[Davroth]

The act of punishment is a tool of order, not so much of chaos. And gallows as an execution tool for ponies makes little sense to me.

As for the "CMCs human skulls on headband"-thing, I argued with that before, but honestly, I think that's a case of us (the fans) overthinking something that the artists on the show didn't think about at all. With that logic, I can argue that ponies are indestructible, based on all the physical abuse Rainbow Dash takes over the cause of the show, and therefore can't be executed.

[BlindJester]

Hello there!

I notice your new here! Welcome to Canterlot!

Anyway down to business this is a nice application you have here, very interesting elements that will most likely need to be discussed with Manestream. I see no issue with him being a hybrid between a unicorn and a zebra since we've accepted a Kelpie/Earth pony hybrid into the mane rp as long as it's not terrible over powering there shouldn't be an issue here. As for the gallow cutie-mark I get the reference that you're trying to establish here but unfortunately this is Equestria and I highly doubt they would need such a thing even when they were under the control of Discord. As Davroth has pointed out that the gallow was mostly used as a punishment to keep the law in order and that is practically the opposite of our mischievous little spirit. We will have to have a discussion with Manestream about the cutie-mark, but everything else is fine he can stay a hybrid as long as there is a balance between what he can and cannot do with his half unicorn power.

[Gallow]

Thank you so much!

No need to worry about the cutie mark - I'll change it, actually, since you all raised very good points regarding it. I think I'll make it into a bit of thorn-covered vine, to represent Everfree and his slightly prickly personality.

Is his name still alright? I can't imagine him being called anything else, but I'll change it if I really must.

[BlindJester]

I think his name can stay for now.

Thanks for putting up with our rambling we haven't come across much apps like this so it's nice to get more creative ponies in here to give us stuff to think about. Maybe his cutie-mark could be a heart made of thorns? I'm sure you'll come up with something creative

[RCTwilightSparkle]

could you please change the tag on this app to WIP until he's ready to be evaluated? Thanks!

[Gallow]

Changed it, and changed it back again, due to updating his information.

[BlindJester]

Give me a bit more information about what made him this way. Was it the fact that he grew up in the Everfree forest or something that happened to him as a foal? Also with this revision I'd like to know how he came about his new cutie-mark.

[Pony_Sage]

Well if there is no problem with the Zebra Unicorn mix then that sticking point is abolished! The cutie-mark revision looks great too! Some last pointers I would like to make though. You may want to add a cutie-mark story, as in how he came to receive his cutie-mark! That always helps develop a character. Also you have more than enough in the way of personality, but very little back story. Maybe some hints at his origin and how he came to be who he is would help the app become more dynamic. Maybe a little information on how he grew up in the forest. Was he abandoned? Did he have loving parents? Does he ever question why he is different from every other pony? As I see the Zebra race, I do play one of the few on the boards, they are strong and proud with a very interesting heritage. I am currently working on a load out of their society for the boards, to be honest. Anywho, if he knew his Zebra parent, they would have been sure to pass on the "Zebra Torch" as it were to their son! These are just some points to mull over. Also you might want to change his eyes, they are a bit over the top from my view, sclera coloration is just a bit much. They just are kinda, out there, is all. If you check here they might border on the "Not normal eyes". Just trying to help you get your application through!

~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings

[CurvyPony]

Since staffers haven't said anything about his eyes being unacceptable, I don't think changing them is necessary. I love Gallow's eyes, personally. I think once he does as the staff have already asked, and expands on his history, I don't see any reason his app wouldn't be accepted. People are encouraged to be creative, and I think this character, as far as looks go, is definitely that in a hand basket.

[RCTwilightSparkle]

Sorry Gallow, Freddie did bring up a good point about this character's eyes. They'll have to be reversed so that the sclera is white, personally I still think his eyes will look cool with white sclera and gray iris

Once that is changed everything looks good, but I'd LOVE to see an expanded cutie mark story for this character!

[Gallow]

Updated the application as you requested.

edit: err woops, will fix his eyes when I get a chance - I'll remove the grey sclera.

[Gallow]

The reason why he had grey scleras is because it's actually possible, I really wasn't trying to be far out. XD However, eyes updated!