Jump to content

Ember Spark [Final]

Ginger Mint

By Ginger Mint
in Original Characters

 Share

Recommended Posts

Ginger Mint Wonderbolt

Ginger Mint

Posted
Posted

hi hi

((hopefully this character doesn't start arguments about technology in Equestria, she's supposed to be about other pony's special talents.))

It is difficult to weave a rich tapestry with only a single thread...

Roleplay Type: World of Equestria

Name: Ember Spark

Sex: Female

Age: Mare

Species: Earth Pony

Coat Color: Thistle

Mane/Tail Color and Style: Coral

Eye Color: Peach

Cutie Mark: A red star with orange sparks, representing the spark of inspiration. ember_spark_cm.png

Physique: Shorter than average, somewhat wiry. She is not the strongest or the fastest, but she is comfortable working for long periods of time.

Origin/Residence: Raised in Breakbeak City, currently lives in the suburbs of Manehattan.

Occupation: Magical Enchantment Craftspony.

Motivation: She was always a creator. She got her cutie mark when she realized how everypony has something they can't do on their own, and that she could help ponies share their talents with others in need.

Likes: Big words, new ideas, new places, new faces, and those rare times when all the pieces fit together on the first try.

Dislikes: Secrets, letting things go to waste, not having anything to do, and ponies who would rather act superior than lend a helping hoof.

Character Summary:

Both of Ember Spark's parents, Sundawn and Silver Lining are unicorns, so there was some confusion when she was born an Earth Pony. However, her great Auntie Merry Diem was an Earth Pony too, so it was not without precedent in the family. Her father works at the scrap yard, while her mother is an official records keeper and, busy as they were, it took some effort adjusting to the unique difficulties involved in raising an Earth Pony. Still, they loved and cared for her deeply, going out of their way to support her. They even built her a flower garden so she could have things to grow, no easy feat in crowded, dingy Beakbreak City. As much as she enjoyed gardening (and still does) she was more interested in other ponies (or non-ponies as the case may be) and learning about magic, just like the kind her parents used.

As a filly, she wasn't able to help out with her parent's work. While she did have a gift for making things out of scrap, the scrap yard was too dangerous for such a young pony. That didn't stop her from sneaking out on occasion and trying anyway, since officious record keeping just isn't the kind of thing that anyfilly is going to have the attention span for. Most times when she would sneak out of the house though, she'd go try to meet new people and explore. Her outgoing personality did earn her lots of friends amongst her peers, though its any pony's guess whether they helped keep her out of trouble or got her into more trouble. When playing games with her friends, she was the kind of pony who'd rather pass the ball rather than go for the goal herself.

She discovered her special talent when she slipped away from home one day to watch an airship being repaired, admiring all the pretty sparks and the skillful motions of the hard working maintenance pony. He made it all look so easy, but every time he got to a hard to reach spot, everything would grind to a halt for a while. She realized that her dad's extra fancy wrench that he'd gotten in Canterlot would work just right, so she rushed home to "borrow" it for the maintenance pony. The repairs went smoothly after that and the maintenance pony was so thankful, and she was so proud of herself, that she forgot to get it back from him. She didn't even notice her cutie mark had appeared until she got home and her father pointed it out. Thankfully, the celebratory mood helped soften the blow when he found out he was down an extra fancy wrench.

Not long after she earned her cutie mark, her parents convinced her to leave town and continue her studies in Canterlot, tagging along with some of her friends. While she didn't seem to mind Beakbreak's rough edges, she agreed that broadening her horizons would be good in the long run. She did however, mind the "better than you," attitude she encountered from a number of ponies in Canterlot. Focusing on her studies, her interest in magic that she'd had since she was little came to life. Even though she couldn't cast unicorn magic herself, she did well in magic theory and even managed to write a few spells for her friends to use.

Being able to understand how magic relates to the special talents of others, and how those special talents can in turn help others, inspired her to start her current line of work. She crafts things that can be enchanted with magic. Everything from scrolls to lightning rods, it doesn't matter what the purpose is. What matters is that her crafts fit with the magic they're intended to hold. First she has to find a pony who actually knows the right kind of magic and a pony who knows how to craft the right kind of material, then she has to study them at work until she understands how it works and how that pony's personality influences it. It is a long process that can take days or even months to fill a single order, and sometimes ponies don't want to cooperate, but as tight as her budget may get, she insists on making a quality product. Its her dream that some day, thousands of years from now, one of her creations will by worthy of mention alongside the ancient treasures from olden pony times she saw while studying in Canterlot.

Maybe its Earth Pony magic, maybe its just her friendly personality, but while she spends time studying other ponies in action, she is usually helping them to grow and improve their own work at the same time. Her broad field of study often provides new perspectives, and occasionally she's able to write a new spell that relates to a unicorn pony's special talent.

gallery_82_11_205579.png

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Trilobite 20% Cooler

Trilobite

Posted
Posted

I really like this character concept...the idea of a pony who wants to study other's magic and special talents has a load of potential for roleplaying.

The backstory is really well done to: it's concise and very descriptive, giving us an excellent picture of this young pony and why she is who she is today. The source of her fascination with magic is especially well done, in large part because you show it with a few simple sentences rather than belabor the point. Nicely done.

I might like to see her cutie mark tied in a bit more strongly; the connection is clear to me but I think it could do with a bit more narrative.

Apart from that this looks really good. I think you've got everything you need--best of luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ginger Mint Wonderbolt

Ginger Mint

Posted
  • Author
Posted

hi hi

Thanks. :) I do have more of an explanation for her cutie mark symbolism, though I cut it out when I was trying to trim the application down for the sake of the helpstaff. In retrospect, I guess that should have made the cut... and now that I think about it, my original explanation was a little lame anyway.

Anyway, the idea was that she was watching this mechanic repairing the airship and enjoying watching all the pretty sparks as he went, but every time he got to a hard to reach spot, he had to stop and struggle for a while, and the entire mood would change. One minute he'd be cruising along like it was nothing, the next minute everything would come grinding to a halt. Thats when she remembered the fancy wrench her dad liked so much because it always turned smoothly. It was a lot more fun to watch work when it was going smoothly.

Some other things that didn't make the cut were a little bit about how her parents had to remind her a lot to ask permission before following someone around and seeing what they were up to. (in a "Pinkie Pie, haven't you ever heard of personal space!?" kind of way.) because even though it foreshadowed her future studies, it was mostly just fluff. Also, I left out the description of her workshop and residence, and about how she travels around far and wide sometimes to find the right ponies for the job, since it was mostly stuff that would happen in a thread anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Trilobite 20% Cooler

Trilobite

Posted
Posted

May I suggest adding something, a single line perhaps, about the atmosphere and mood she felt before she fetched the wrench? What you wrote above seems like it would provide a good base for that. And then perhaps another single sentence about how the feeling changed and the actual appearance of her cutie mark--maybe in a surge of joy at helping restore that proper flow of delight and enabling somepony to follow their special talent? Those particulars are just what came into my mind as I wrote, but I really feel like a short, descriptive explanation would tie that all together and make that cutie mark moment 'pop'.

Did I mention I love the story potential this character has? Cuz I do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Trilobite 20% Cooler

Trilobite

Posted
Posted

Oh goodness, I hadn't thought of that. One moment while I check.

Okay. I don't see anything specifically against it, and I would suspect that very minor changes such as adding a clarifying sentence to a piece of background would be okay, but I can't speak for anyone official. I think the 'final' category is intended to show the helpstaff that your character is ready to be assessed as well as to limit the flow of character applications, but again I can't speak with any authority.

My advice would be to leave it until you know for sure.

Regardless, good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
8bitIcecube Blank Flank

8bitIcecube

Posted
Posted

Really love the concept. And the application shows a clear writing style that brings enough details.

I think that the application is being assessed when a privileged person replies with an "application assessed" stamp.

But I share the advice with Trilobite. Hope to join you soon in RP-manehatten. Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ginger Mint Wonderbolt

Ginger Mint

Posted
  • Author
Posted

hi hi

Well, I guess if I could, I might change her cutie-mark story paragraph to this:

"She discovered her special talent when she slipped away from home one day to watch an airship being repaired, admiring all the pretty sparks and the skillful motions of the hard working maintenance pony. He made it all look so easy, but every time he got to a hard to reach spot, everything would grind to a halt for a while. She realized that her dad's extra fancy wrench that he'd gotten in Canterlot would work just right, so she rushed home to "borrow" it for the maintenance pony. The repairs went smoothly after that and the maintenance pony was so thankful, and she was so proud of herself, that she forgot to get it back from him. She didn't even notice her cutie mark had appeared until she got home and her father pointed it out. Thankfully, the celebratory mood helped soften the blow when he found out he was down an extra fancy wrench."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Trilobite 20% Cooler

Trilobite

Posted
Posted

Nice! A small, barely noticeable change, and we have what feels, to me at least, like the full story. Very nicely written, too--which goes for the application overall. I just know Ember Spark would be loads of fun to play and roleplay with. Hope it goes smoothly!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Armony Alicorn

Armony

Posted
Posted

That sounds like a good idea, but I'm not sure... Am I allowed to make changes after I've already marked the application as final? I don't want to make anyone have to go over it again or something. (I'm sure the helpstaff has enough on their plates as it is.)

Until a member of helpstaff has made a comment, it is very likely that we haven't given your application a thorough read, so changes like what you wanted can definitely still be made until it gets sent up for approval.

Well, I guess if I could, I might change her cutie-mark story paragraph to this:

"She discovered her special talent when she slipped away from home one day to watch an airship being repaired, admiring all the pretty sparks and the skillful motions of the hard working maintenance pony. He made it all look so easy, but every time he got to a hard to reach spot, everything would grind to a halt for a while. She realized that her dad's extra fancy wrench that he'd gotten in Canterlot would work just right, so she rushed home to "borrow" it for the maintenance pony. The repairs went smoothly after that and the maintenance pony was so thankful, and she was so proud of herself, that she forgot to get it back from him. She didn't even notice her cutie mark had appeared until she got home and her father pointed it out. Thankfully, the celebratory mood helped soften the blow when he found out he was down an extra fancy wrench."

You most certainly can make this change, if you still want to. Either way, this application is amazing, and I'm sending it up to get approved! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SteelEagle Alicorn

SteelEagle

Posted
Posted

The rules aren't strict and thoughtless, so changes are often made after the Final tag is applied. I know I have done so. You re-read it and find a glaring error or a new idea pops into your head that clarifies something and you add it- as long as Helpstaff/Mods haven't said they are assessing it, feel free to shoot it in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...