Post by boxfort on Aug 23, 2016 1:28:43 GMT
Age: Equivalent to very early twenties (flat 20 years, if need be)
Sex: Female
Gender: Female
Species: Seapony
Sub-species/race: Lesser (Reef Dwelling) Seapony
Physical Appearance: Her species is a peculiar meld of the widely recognizable front half of a pony with arms, barrel, mane and head all with relatively equine features, whereas her lower half transitions into something decidedly aquatic, resembling and elongated whale or eel tail lacking in scales. She is covered in a sleek coat not unlike that of a seals, colored a gentle light yellow (█████) which cools into a darker hued haze along her backside and tail. Broad stripes cover parts of her coat, a soft mustard (█████) and darkened version of her basic color palette.
Her shape is accented with sets of delicate fins, borrowing from her coat color up to the opaque edges and blotches, which adhere vibrant purples. One dorsal, two pectoral, two at each jawbone and a pair towards the fan tip of her tail. Diminutive, semi-transparent and with bumpy edges, they're rarely seen folded out fully unless adopting a casual "hovering" posture whilst in the water she so loves. She still possesses a mane and fetlocks, both of which are long and unruly, the former colored similarly to her stripes, the latter a show of deep purples, lavender and vibrant pinks (██████).
Bright magenta (█████) eyes take in her world cheerfully, though her smile full of pointed teeth might leave something to be desired to the average hay-fed pony...
Personality: In spite of her situation, Sunny's positive outlook to life hasn't seemed to change much. Upbeat, friendly and eager are what strangers can expect to experience at a first glance. Most of her social interaction is yet based off of her home culture, assuming a friendly and almost playful position for others, counting on them to return the behavior as soon as first impression. An innate desire for discovery has lead her to often wander in the hopes of witnessing something new or collecting a prize of sorts. These traits have sometimes seen her separated from companions after having wandered off on her own, apparently more eager to satisfy her own curiosity than mind her place in relation to a familiar face.
Repeat befrienders may eventually notice her generosity and eagerness, her efforts to be seen as helpful. This may actually be brought about partly from a lack of regard for material belongings and naivete by previously having little in the way of knowledge from foreign cultures beyond tales from home. Not being the type to be steeled against possible let-downs from assumed friends, Sunny may, on occasion, take the results harshly. Simultaneously, other acquaintances can find her redoubling efforts to spend time with them. Being alone is something she doesn't care for for very long periods of time. It might be seen as clingy, behavior, but it's the lifestyle she had been accustomed to before setting hoof on Equestria.
Her knack for getting lost pairs with her desire for exploration, as well as her habit of wandering off into places she oughtn't. Her regard for laws and more developed governments is a little underdeveloped. Her grasp on these can be simplistically equated to, "don't do harm", but sometimes that seems the extent of her understanding. Having little in the way to represent her, mostly thanks to her kind's isolationist habits, this will be something Sunny will need to adapt to lest it become a serious pitfall for her. Her good intentions aren't always taken as intended.
Sunny has mistakenly been taken for a savage, though few would suggest it to her directly. This isn't necessarily due to her being violent or explicitly tribalistic, but more to her lack of awareness to modern times, or even of the very existence of whole nations and species. Her own kind had their own distinct forms of writing, studies and arts which belie her otherwise uninformed expression, which she's proud to show off when the opportunity arises. As far as advanced technologies and magics are concerned however, they held little prowess in part due to a simple lack of needs and resources.
Sunny's species, obviously enough, have an affinity for water. She's rarely found far from it, if it can be helped, even if only in novelty fashions. If given the choice, she'd bathe several times a day and only ever travel in rainy weather, despite her appreciation for the sun. Still not entirely trusting of modern transportation, she prefers swimming by river when being hauled by a cart isn't an option. Strangely enough, if ever asked, she'll comment that she never cared for deep, open ocean.
Occasional sun-basking is still appreciable to her.
Special talent*: No Cutie Marks for her species. Penchant for exploring, socializing and finding trinkets in obscure (and usually submerged) places.
Family*:
- Two parents, many siblings
- Tight-knit home community, basically honored family
Goals, ambitions, aspirations*: Sunny has conflicting desires to explore the world at large and find a path back home. Beyond those, she currently lacks much in the way of clear goals.
Strengths:
- Outstanding swimmer.
- A keen eye helps her to ferret out curios and other objects of attraction, whether amidst a colorful backdrop or a dark abyss.
- Said to have an almost enchanting singing voice.
- Where she might be less capable on land, in open water she's quite agile and even trained in basic forms of aquatic combat. Although not really comparable to an average soldier's skillset and surely lacking in discipline, it was commonplace to be brought up as a member of the rudimentary militia in her home province for the sake of fending off aggressive wildlife. Maw and simplistic polearms (spears) suit her best.
- She can be rather resourceful in acquiring natural bounties from oceanic reefs. This ranges from potential foodstuffs, medicines, poisons and other precious objects such as pearls. These skills might not apply to freshwater environments or distinctly foreign oceans.
- Hoof-in-hoof with her affinity for the water, she makes a good navigator, provided she can keep track of where she is supposed to be going. Scouring for submerged paths and helping others avoid hazardous aquatic obstacles is well within her capabilities.
- Writes in her native pen, leaving whatever she jots down to remain relatively secret.
- She lacks gills, and can't actually breathe underwater. However, she is able to hold her breath for somewhere a little over an hour's time. Strenuous or excess physical activity may reduce this estimate.
Obvious weaknesses or vulnerabilities:
- Slow on land, at best she'll move at just over half the speed of a regular four-legged pony. Her sea-faring body's awkward gait leaves her lacking in dexterity, resulting in tasks other ponies would consider mundane to be potential challenges for her. Sunny can be relatively helpless at times in this environment, without assistance.
- When stuck in hot and sunny weather, she can't help but smell vaguely reminiscent of the ocean. It isn't always the most pleasant of smells, to land dwelling ponies, as she's found.
- Despite her youthful appearance and inviting expressions, she has razor sharp teeth for catching fish and gladly eats non-sapient aquatic creatures that give her the opportunity. Take that how you will.
- Fishbreath. Enough said.
- Able to spend considerable time on land, but not without soon missing water.
- Her gullibility and distinct lack of know-how amidst Equestrian society (and others) leaves her socially disadvantaged, and her abnormal presence in this places makes it hard not to stand out in and even out of a crowd.
- Currently cannot read Equestrian/foreign writing.
History: Sunny Shallows hails from her native unmarked isles of seaponies making home throughout the reefs and lagoons permeating a collection of atolls and post-volcanic desert islands seemingly lost far out past the eastern seas of Equestria. The reefs themselves are isolated from any mainlands, sporting little in the way of natural land-based resources and not directly on any main oceanic trade routes leaving them to be seldom happened upon by any outsiders. Fewer still stay long enough to make contact with her race, and her home has seen little in the way of development from outside influences. A culture that reinforces advancement based on necessity has encouraged that her kind stick to the bare essentials.
Sunny herself was brought up in the lagoon of the southern-most atoll, a calm and reclusive pit housing a seagrass and kelp forest, much like the surrounding sea plains between her native island chain. Most of the populace would center their daily activities around here, harvesting and gathering from the reefs for fish and other casual bounties. Sunny was no different, being taught to scavenge, trap and hunt with the rest of her kin, later growing and being taught to fend off the local predators to stalked too closely.
Being the ever-curious one at home, she would often wander further than was the norm, out to the edges of the reefs and take in the seemingly infinite abyss beyond. Only deep and dark waters lied beyond, and in the past venturing out there rarely proved fruitful for supplies or anything interesting. Fish were frequent, too far down and the depths were too dark to see very well it, and it was also where some of the larger predators were said to lurk.
Sunny was still enraptured, though. The writings and drawings of many decades past mention rare visits from large floating objects houses ponies and other beings that walked entirely on land and even flew like sea birds. They brought tales of worlds existing above the ocean, much like the skimpy islands she was used to, but far bigger, with ocean bordering them as well. Growing bored with the relatively same routines and scenery day by day, her fantasies of experiencing the far off places from the stories she'd heard growing up eventually caught hold of her better judgement and she wandered out into the open ocean one day, away from notice of friends and family.
To her, she knew what she was doing. They'd all been taught basics on how to navigate around their home using the sun. So long as she kept in a single direction, she wouldn't get lost.
Embarrassingly, she hadn't accounted for the occasional storms which struck the region. On her second day, a small one had come to pass over the region of her travels, which worried her. Obscuring her vision and sense of direction, she found herself lost by her lonesome at sea. The irony of a sea pony being lost in the ocean was lost on her and she had more pressing matters. Her species were unique to the set of tiny isles they hailed from, being accustomed to an abundance of convenient food and calm waters via the protection of the reefs. The heavier currents and bad fortune finding frequent fish to catch were eventually taking their toll on her, but by the fifth day's morning her luck had changed for the better.
Finally spotting an object on the horizon, she at first thought it to be a isolated rock or large piece of debris to offer some respite from continuously swimming without direction for so long. When she came closer she realized she'd stumbled on one of the vessels from her stories, unbeknownst to her a cargo ship ferrying various trade goods and even part of a circus crew. Grabbing the ship crew's attentions, she was eventually hauled aboard after some extensive confusion. Becoming the talk of the passengers, the exotic newcomer quickly found herself the center of attention aboard the ship. After everypony had had enough of socializing for the day, Sunny was scrapped together a bed by the crew down in the hull where a pen of sea lions were kept, insisting that she wanted to be near something familiar. Though she was in good enough spirits after her spot of luck finding the ship, she couldn't help but lament about her decision to have left her home in the first place, leading her return path becoming too mentally distorted to travel back to her home reliably. The crew and passengers caught onto this, and Sunny was offered free passage on the ship, as well as a possible act in the small circus the ship was transporting. Graciously, Sunny accepted both for the time being, not really knowing what else to do with herself then.
She'd learned that the ship was en-route to a land known as Equestria, said to be a large countryside home to more of the four-legged ponies like those who had granted her passage about their vessel. The thought made her nervous and excited at the same time, getting the chance to see so many different ponies and places, yet being alien to all of them. It would be only a matter of days or weeks yet until they reached the shores of what would become her new home for some time...
Place of Residence: Equestria [Current, Travels Frequently]
Other*: Sunny is blank-slate new to Equestria. Currently, she carries no possessions and has no familiar faces to speak of.
- In case the hints weren't enough, her species is primarily carnivorous, floral foods usually acting more as supplements.
- This biography presumes that her species (though not necessarily all seaponies) are largely a myth or distinctly rare sighting in Equestria, or much anywhere else for that matter.
- Because of great variation in the portrayals of seaponies by both canon and fanon, this bio assumes non-descriptively that there are potentially just as many variants, and will go largely unmentioned outside of Sunny's own race. This is for the sake of not unfairly limiting or clashing with other seapony interpretations.
