Characters / Codex Equus Kerajaan Cahaya

Here is a list of characters from Kerajaan Cahaya, a kingdom in the Glimmering Isles.

To return to the main character index, click here.

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Kerajaan Cahaya

Territory: The Glimmering Isles and surrounding area.

Leadership: Dazzleglow, the Shining Queen

Structure: Divine Monarchy

Power: Ancient Precursor Kingdom (Former)/Resurgent power (present)

Ethnicity: Primary Sparkle Ponies of various tribes, but numerous other races.

Language: Variants of Equish, Roedinian (Multiple), ancient Pegasi language, various others etc.

Ideology: Unity and Progress [Classification pending]

Religion: Church of the Stars / Multi-Religious

Anthem/Motto: "Together, the stars."

"United, we reach towards the stars. The Cycle can be broken, and with it the Children of Equus's limitations."

Kerajaan Cahaya (its entry here) is a kingdom located in the Glimmering Isles, known for being a refuge for Sparkle Ponies who were either persecuted being hybrids or experimented on for having a mutation.

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General

• Advanced Ancient Acropolis: The original version was this, being one of the major kingdoms of the Second Age. The modern version is on par with the rest of the world, but shows many unique and interesting technologies. Despite its advancements and achievements, however, both incarnations of the kingdoms never became bloated with pride for them, largely thanks to the efforts of Queen Dazzleglow, who wanted to prevent Kerajaan Cahaya from falling into the same traps that doomed other kingdoms and civilizations.
• Boldly Coming: Most of Fourth-Age Kerajaan Cahaya's Sparkle Pony population are descendants of Ponies who mated with Celestial Ponies in the Second Age.
• Chainsaw Good: With the advent of Chainblade weapons developed by their allies in the Terran Empire, the nation's traditional weapons — the Leioman, the Shark-Toothed Club — is enhanced and modernized to turn the traditional shark-teeth that provides the clubs their deadly edges are motorized to further enhance their killing power.
• Energy Weapon: The Star Beam, a weapon utilizing Star Steel to collect light and turn it into a laser beam.
• Fantastic Racism: Defied and averted. While the majority of its population consist of Sparkle Ponies, it also welcomes those of different races, who are able to live and work together with the locals in harmony. Dazzleglow believes this is also part of the reason great civilizations perpetuate "The Cycle" — when one lets bigotry and hatred color their perceptions of others, they are doomed to failure. This also extends to the Church of the Stars' pantheon, whose members are diverse and consist of one Nightmarified Alicorn clone (Luminiferous), one divine dragon (Arcaniss), one divine Deer (Kúzelník), one Celestial Griffon (Grizelda II), and twelve Alicorns (Dazzleglow, Brightglow, Healing Song, Stitching Time, Twilight/Amicitia Sparkle, Jiniri, Merula, Sparkling Wing, Nete, Star Cut, Moon Ray Vaughoof, and Golden Scepter).
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: According to Kendell2, the original incarnation of Kerajaan Cahaya has Polynesian motifs in its culture.
• Fantasy Metals: Star Steel, or Kerajaan Adamantium, is a staple of the country, used in many of their weapons and armor. It's also a major export, though its source is staunchly kept a secret by Dazzleglow so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hooves.
• Fantasy Pantheon: Kerajaan Cahaya has two pantheons watching over it: One is the Kerajaan Pantheon, and the other is a famous sub-group called the Church of the Stars. The latter is dedicated to breaking Vicious Cycles that prevent progress and unification among divine/mortal sapientkind.
• Fortune Teller: Many self-styled soothsayers and clairvoyant carnies have taken residence in Kerajaan Cahaya, though practicing 'Pseudo-Divination' is extremely frowned upon there and warrants harsh punishment. Those who show signs of true precognitive sight are encouraged to break away from their criminal lifestyle and reform themselves so they can learn how to use their abilities for good.
• Godhood Seeker: A positive example. One of the Church's main tenants involves self-improvement, and helping others improve themselves. This includes helping people Ascend to godhood, an endeavor that the Church encourages among its mortal followers. However, anyone who seeks divine Ascension for selfish reasons is turned down, and those who practice heinous methods in the pursuit of godhood, like the Alicorn Ascendancy and most of its spinoff groups, are strictly forbidden and will result in heavy punishments.
• The Good Kingdom: The once-and-present kingdom of Queen Dazzleglow is a place dedicated to good and unity, and welcomes people of all races and standings into its territory. Because of Dazzleglow's desire to break the Cycle, Kerjaan Cahaya is a utopia where unsavory traits such as racism and pride are almost completely non-existent, since Dazzleglow sees those traits as being responsible for the constant rise and fall of great nations/civilizations. It's also welcoming of 'Constructive Evil' as it pushes people to grow by testing their morality, and wants 'Destructive Evil' to be eradicated.
• Gravity Master: One of the subgroups of Sparkle Ponies can manipulate personal gravity and that of anything they're holding. This is utilized in the Gravity Bazooka.
• Half-Breed Discrimination: Defied. Anti-hybrid discrimination is extremely frowned upon in Kerajaan Cahaya, as it's one of many things that perpetuate Vicious Cycles. This trope is why a majority of the local populace consist of Sparkle Ponies adn other racial hybrids, and why many hybrids choose to live in the kingdom.
• It Is Beyond Saving: Similarly to places that follow 'Constructive Evil' like the Erobreseg Deer Realms, Kerajaan Cahaya allows certain realms/kingdoms in the Glimmering Isles to be destroyed if they became too sinful and wicked to be saved. In their case, sisters Aldhika Moufette and Tahadiy Moufette serve as divine executors that destroy sinful kingdoms on the local pantheons' behalf, as while less destructive than the Four Terrors, they're Giant deities and thus are still terrifying when they cut loose.
• Look on My Works, Ye Mighty, and Despair: Subverted and defied. Despite being a very advanced kingdom both in the Second and Fourth Ages, the residents of Kerajaan Cahaya promote friendship and unity. Dazzleglow cites this trope as what partly perpetuates "The Cycle"; when a kingdom or race seeks to dominate others and/or prove itself superior to others, it is doomed to failure. According to her, it happened in the past where she came from, and she seeks to end it by preaching friendship and unity. Notably, Kerajaan Cahaya did fall during the Void Aeon, though it was thanks to the Void Sovereign, not its own failings.
• Matriarchy: Enlightened type. Both Kerajaan Cahaya and the Glimmering Isles are ruled by Queen Dazzleglow and her sisters (at least, those who decided to remain on Equus to guide its mortal population rather than "returning to their father" among the stars like Princess Brightglow). However, males are still treated with equal standing in both the kingdom and pantheon, with Star Echo, a Sparkle Pony unicorn stallion and Head Priest/Cleric of the Church of the Stars, serving as a stand-in for Dazzleglow and her sisters where his position and word are treated as equal to hers (unless overridden). Its local pantheon in the Church of the Stars mostly contains a gender-balance between male and female deities, and even though Dazzleglow is the leader of said pantheon, she treats her fellow gods and goddesses as equals. She also credits her "Visitor" father for the idea (which technically makes him the real Top God and founder of the Church of the Stars), and male members of the Church are given equal standing among their female peers by their worshipers.
• Meaningful Name: Kerajaan Cahaya translates to "kingdom of light" in both Malaysian and Indonesian languages.
• Phony Psychic: 'Pseudo-divination' is extremely frowned upon and forbidden by law, as Kerajaan Cahaya's intent is to 'pierce the heavens' and return to space, not mislead people for self-serving ends. Practitioners of 'pseudo-divination' are harshly punished, though as with the case of young Ruya Clearfeather, those who possess genuine talent have potential to be redeemed.
• Politically-Active Princess: Many of Kerajaan Cahaya's Princesses are involved in running the government and/or are part of the local pantheons making sure their subjects are well cared for. Among them, Princess Brightglow, sister of Queen Dazzleglow, is a skilled diplomat, and Princess Stitching Time works as the overseer of Time itself alongside Ourophion, the Time Primeval.
• Screw Destiny: The dogma of the Church of the Stars' religion preaches the idea of letting go of grudges and biases in order to unify as one and reach for the stars. This would ensure that their civilization would never be touched by the "rise and fall" cycle that has plagued so many other great nations.
• Seers: Practitioners of various forms of precognition, divination, and clairvoyance are welcomed and tolerated in Kerajaan Cahaya, as are astrologers and astronomers, since the kingdom places great emphasis in 'piercing the heavens' and returning to space. Phony Psychics, however, are not tolerated, with laws being very harsh against all forms of 'pseudo-divination'.
• Supernatural Elite: Kerajaan Cahaya is ruled by Queen Dazzleglow, an Alicorn goddess, though her younger sister, Brightglow, and Dazzleglow's student, Stitching Time, both share a similarly high degree of political power and affluence as Alicorn Princesses. The Church of the Stars is heralded by its Head Priest/Cleric, a magically powerful unicorn named Star Echo, and the Church's pantheon are regarded as its highest religious authorities. In addition, a few divine members of the Church's pantheon are legitimate rulers of their own realms/empires, and/or hail from royal backgrounds, such as Merula, Golden Scepter, Kúzelník, and Sparkling Wing.
• Sword Beam: One of their signature weapons are swords made out of Star Steel enchanted to be able to fire laser beams.
• We Have Become Complacent: Dazzleglow's secrecy regarding her real objectives causes Temnobog to assume that Kerajaan Cahaya will eventually stagnate and become arrogant and indulgent, based on personal experiences with the Elternteil Deer Pantheon, and the almost complete absence of Evil things in the kingdom that are necessary to motivate the people into being Good. However, to Temnobog's surprise, Dazzleglow reveals that the destruction of Evil itself is not her real goal — rather, she also seeks the destruction of "careless" Evil that Temnobog and his worshipers hate, and the breaking of the Cycle so everyone would be powerful enough to eventually fight the Void Sovereign when he breaks out of his cosmic prison and comes to try obliterate Equus a second time.

Queen Starcatcher, the Great Unifier

Character: Heroic

Alignment: Neutral Good

Type: Queen, Warrior, Unifier, Explorer, Chosen One

Faction: Kerajaan Cahaya, the Hidden Realms

Queen Starcatcher (her entry here) was the mother of Queen Dazzleglow and Princess Brightglow, and one of the most influential heroes of the Second Age, responsible for bringing the Hidden Realm tribes back together.

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• Badass Normal: Unlike her daughters, she was a normal Pegasus mare who never Ascended to godhood herself. Despite this, Starcatcher would become one of the single most important mortals of the Second Age by bringing the Flutterponies, Pegasi, and Sea Ponies back together in an epic adventure. Her actions had a ripple effect that radiated throughout the entire Second Age.
• Call to Adventure: A disguised Luminiferous nudged her in the right direction, but the real call was discovering the existence of the other Tribes and a prophecy predicting that if they remained separated, then the world would be doomed when Queen Dark Crystal escaped from her prison.
• The Chosen One: Listed as such in her entry. It's implied that Luminiferous chose her because he knew she had the potential to reunite the Tribes. This is important, as the Hidden Realms coming to the Isle of Pony's aid was vital to foiling Spring Heart/Chrysalis's Evil Plan and thus the rise of the Virtuous Seven, as well as the defeat of Queen Dark Crystal and several other major threats. King Leo later also chooses her after realizing Luminferous did.
• Mission from God: After hearing her out and realizing Luminferous chose her to reunite the tribes, King Leo divinely ordains her mission to do so, specifically doing it in the name her people know him as: Kanaloa, making it this trope. He also does it for the practical reasons: it will ensure she gets aid from gods who are allied with him.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: She was this when she was younger, being both the Pegasi's Crown Princess and trained as a warrior.

Star Echo

Character: Heroic

Alignment: Neutral Good

Type: Cleric/Priest/Mage

Faction: Church of the Stars

"Heed the stars, and know that the call is for us to be our best."

Star Echo (his entry here) is a Sparkle Pony unicorn who serves as Chief Priest for the Church of the Stars, and one of many champions for the kingdom of Kerajaan Cahaya.

Born the descendant of Sparkle Ponies who lived during the Second Age, Star Echo was a graduate from Canterlot's School for Gifted Unicorns whose special talent lay in starlight-based magic. While he was mostly an astrologer, his quest for spirituality motivated him to join the priesthood in a religion that worshiped Celestia as a goddess. He rose through the ranks and became next-in-line for Chief Priest after his predecessor decided to retire... when Star Echo realized that practicing a Celestia-based religion never really suited him.

After the ancient Queen Dazzleglow woke from a several-millennia-long sleep, Star Echo heard of the Church of the Stars and, with Celestia's blessings, left for Kerajaan Cahaya. Just like before, he became a priest of Dazzleglow and rose through the ranks as a cleric. His years of faithful service would pay off when he was eventually chosen to become Chief Priest, though he accompanied his position with the title of Chief Cleric as well.

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• The Archmage: He's currently working on being officially this for Kerajaan Cahaya, but despite it, he's a very powerful and gifted individual who is capable of various things that normal Sparkle Ponies cannot do. It was also because of his magical talent that he was accepted in Canterlot's School for Gifted Unicorns.
• Commonality Connection: He would end up befriending Prince Written Word, Golden Scepter's thirteenth demi-divine son, due to both of them being compassionate and gentle individuals and spiritual leaders who seek to help and guide people. This is despite Written Word having left the priesthood in the Terran Empire after Ascending to demi-Alicornhood.
• Psychic Link: Implied. His entry notes that he has a "direct link" to Queen Dazzleglow, making his political standing equal to hers and his words (unless contradicted by Dazzleglow herself) carrying as much power and weight as hers. He can also call upon Dazzleglow's magic and use the same abilities she uses, such as portal creation and meteor-summoning.
• Star Power: This type of magic tends to be common among Sparkle Ponies, but in Star Echo's case he's incredibly talented with it, as it is his special talent. Among his capabilities are using starlight for powerful arcane blasts and barriers, stardust-based constructs, as well as calling upon Queen Dazzleglow's power to make portals, and even call down meteors from space.
• There Are No Therapists: Subverted, as one of his duties as Head Priest/Cleric is essentially being a therapist for his people, listening to their woes and helping them deal with emotional and mental trauma so he could ensure good spiritual and psychological health.
• Thinking Up Portals: One of the things he can do. By calling on his direct link to Dazzleglow's power, he can create portals.

Church of the Stars

See its page here.

Kerajaan Pantheon

See its page here.

Shining Legions

Legate Stellar Scents

Character: Heroic

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Type: Perfume Pony/Soldier/Sparkle Pony

Faction: Kerajaan Cahayan/Shining Legions

"Got you good! Another masterpiece, courtesy of the Shining Legion's most good-smelling prankster!"

Legate Stellar Scents (her entry here) is a member of the Shining Legions and one of the most adept Perfume Ponies on the planet.

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• Alliterative Name:
  • Her name is Stellar Scents''.
  • Her pet Disskunk also has an alliterative name, which is Sulfur Star.
• Amazonian Beauty: She's described as a tall pony with an "Amazonian" build.
• Half-Breed Discrimination: Averted. She admits she was glad to be born in Mustangia, which is more tolerant and accepting of hybrids like her, as opposed to a place where hybrids are persecuted simply for existing.
• Meaningful Name: Her name is Stellar Scents, which refers to her being the daughter of a Sparkle Pony and having inherited part of her genes from her father.
• Mutants: She's a Perfume Pony due to inheriting the mutation from her mother, who is also a Perfume Pony.
• Uneven Hybrid: Her father is a Sparkle Pony with Celestial Pony blood, while her mother is an Equusian Pony mare with the Perfume Pony mutation, making her one-third Celestial Pony.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Averted. Despite having a white mane and tail, she is a very nice and friendly mare with a mischievous streak and loves playing pranks. But she's also a disciplined soldier who's loyal to her subordinates and will not hesitate to remind her enemies why she should be taken seriously in a fight.

Legate Anela

Character: Heroic

Alignment: Lawful Good

Type: Giant of Light/Nature Giant/Guardian

Faction: The Light Garrison/The Shining Legions

"I may be born of two worlds - one of nature and one of light - but I will protect them both and more with everything I got, even if I am not welcomed in all of them."

Legate Anela (her entry here) is an Equine Giantess whose mother is a Nature Giant and whose father is a Giant of Light, and is a notable Giant heroine of Equus. When her heritage became known to her fellow Nature Giants, she and her mother were banished from their Grove by their stringently isolationist brethren, and wandered Equus without a home until Lysats Far, founder of the Light Garrison of fellow Giants of Light, heard of their plight and took them in. Inspired by both the Light Garrison and what her mother told of her father, she eventually joined the Light Garrison on her own free will when she came of age, mastering her powers under Lysat Far's tutelage and training to become another heroic warrior.

When Queen Dazzleglow's kingdom returned to the world stage, she found herself sympathetic to the plight of the Sparkle Ponies who now migrate en-masse to live there and their persecution by the likes of the Autorists. This led to her requesting to garrison there and become part of the Shining Legions herself, which was granted. Now, Legate Anela fights to protect the island realm and the rest of the world from those who sought their ruin, even if some of those she saved would not be appreciative of who she is or what she did for them, like her fellow Nature Giants.

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• Disappeared Dad: Her father was a Giant of Light who crash-landed into her home-forest years ago and was nursed back to health by her mother, both of whom promptly fell in love. The Giants of Lights' non-intervention clauses and the Nature Giants' stringent isolationism meant that he eventually had to leave, though Anela's mother would remember him fondly and remarked that he was 'A good Giant'. Unfortunately, those same clauses meant that Anela's father was absent when her Grove wrongly exiled her and her mother and subjected them to racial distrust afterwards.
• Fantastic Racism: Was on the receiving end of this just for being born half-Nature Giant, half-Giant of Light. Anela's hybrid nature caused her Grove to wrongly assume that her mother had violated their isolationist policies by leaving to meet with an outsider in secret, so the Nature Giants kicked her out as well as her daughter for existing. While Anela's understandably bitter, especially when her mother's people hasn't changed their racial distrust of her after she saved them from a monster threatening their Grove, but Lysets Far's good influence kept her from acting on her darker urges.
• Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: On the receiving end. Her status as a hybrid Giant (half-Nature Giant, half-Giant of Light) is regarded as complete anathema to her mother's people, who saw her existence as proof that their mother violated their strict isolationist policies to interact with the outsiders they distrusted. This got both her and her mother wrongly kicked out of their Grove, something that Anela understandably feels deep resentment for, but only Lysets Far's good influence curbed her desires to act on that resentment.
• Gentle Giant: Size of a skyscraper but of a kind and compassionate disposition. Acts like a Cool Big Sis for Tinies children in Queen Dazzleglow's kingdom, letting them ride on her back, and her career as member of the Light Garrison/Shining Legions is motivated primarily by her desire to protect those smaller and weaker than herself.
• Good Is Not Soft: Do not let her gentle, life-loving character fool you; she may be a Gentle Giant, but she is still a 100 meters tall warrior/soldier trained for combat and possess magical might from two mighty races of Giants. Her heritage also makes her instinctively and fiercely protective of both nature and innocents, and damaging/hurting either is the quickest way to send her pummeling/blasting you into mush.
• Our Giants Are Bigger: She is Nature Giant on her mother's side and a Giant of Light on her father's side. Because of this, she's on the higher end of Giants on Equus at around/over 100 meters tall.
• Green Thumb: She inherited magical power over plants from her mother's side and can control the growth and movement of plants for offensive or defensive purposes. Can combine with her Giant of Light powers inherited from her father to create magical beams that could sprout vegetation.
• Light 'em Up: Has ability to manipulate light as part of the bread and butter of Giants of Light, which she got from her father's side. Often combined with her Nature Giant side's Green Thumb abilities to produce some very unique and powerful offenses and defenses.
• One-Man Army: More accurately a "One Mare Army" on account of being a Giant of Light, and she demonstrates this by singly battling and holding off whole ranks of Fire Jotunns, keeping them away from her comrades and mentor while they charged up an attack against Surtr during the 'Final Ragnarok' conflict.
• Sins of Our Fathers: She's a hybrid Giant whose mother had an affair with a Giant of Light. This got her wrongly exiled from her Grove along with her mother, as her mere existence is "proof" that her mother violated the Nature Giants' strict isolationist policies (when her mother didn't even leave).
• You Shall Not Pass!: During the battle against Surtr in the 'Final Ragnarok' conflict, she fought and held the line by herself against no less than a dozen Fire Jotunn warriors and champions to buy time for her Giant of Light leader/mentor Lysats Far, his son Tarou and his comrades-in-arms to charge up a powerful combined beam attack against Surtr which would break his nigh-impenetrable armour. Through clever use of her Green Thumb abilities and her own martial skills, not one enemy Jotunns got through.

Other Residents

Blossoming Village

Blossoming Village (first introduced here) is one of Ruya's classmates whom the latter would befriend, and a teenage Sparkle Pony filly with a troubled past.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Ruya introduces her to Velvet Heart as "Blossom".
• Big Sister Instinct: She became Small Village's primary caretaker after their father straight-up abandoned them and their grandfather (who was initially the one to look after them) suddenly died. After discovering why her father left them, she starts wanting to find a better place for her and Small Village to live in because she's afraid how her brother would react if he learned the truth.
• Dark and Troubled Past: She and her younger brother, Small Village, were abandoned by their father, who lied about becoming a fishermane as an excuse. Then their grandfather suddenly died; fearing separation from Small Village if she told anyone, she buried her grandfather in their backyard by herself.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She was intially a quiet and secretive classmate of Ruya's, but after the latter befriended her, she gradually opened up enough to reveal some of her darkest secrets.
• Despair Event Horizon: After discovering the real reason why her father left her and Small Village behind, she sank into despair and confided to Ruya Clearfather her intentions to run away with Small Village so she could protect her brother from the truth. It's made even worse as her grandfather died before this, and she buried him herself to avoid the possibility of being separated from her brother. This motivated Ruya to run away with them both out of sympathy.
• Don't Split Us Up: Part of the reason why she buried her dead grandfather by herself is because she feared being separated from her brother, Small Village, if she told anyone what happened or if they were to find out for themselves.
• Expy: Of Rio Suzumura from The Gods Lie.
• Happily Adopted: After all they've been through, she and Small Village would end up adopted by Prince Healing Song/Medela, who understood what it's like to go through terrible situations yet hide their pain out of fear.
• Huge Schoolgirl: She's a teenage schoolmate of Ruya Clearfeather, and the drabble she was introduced in described her as "tall".
• Ignorance Is Bliss: She believed her father left her and her brother, Small Village, to become a fishermane... until she learned for herself that her father just wanted an excuse to abandon them both. Part of the reason why she decided to run away is so she can protect Small Village from the truth.
• Interspecies Adoption: She's a Sparkle Pony who ends up being adopted by Prince Healing Song/Medela, an Alicorn, once her living situation is discovered.
• Interspecies Friendship: She's a Sparkle Pony who ends up befriending Ruya Clearfeather, a teenage Northern Griffon.
• Minor Living Alone: She initially lived alone with her younger brother, Small Village, because their father abandoned them and their grandfather is dead. Once her living situation is discovered thanks to the actions of Ruya Clearfeather, she and Small Village are adopted by Prince Healing Song/Medela.
• Parental Abandonment: Her father left her and Small Village to work as a fishermane, but she later discovered he lied about doing so as an excuse to abandon them. After dealing with the trauma of her grandfather dying and burying him by herself, as well as caring for Small Village by herself under false hopes, this revelation devastated her. It got to the point where she desired to run away to a better place and take her brother with her.
• Promotion to Parent: She became Small Village's primary caretaker after their father abandoned them and their grandfather died. This later gets averted when their situation is discovered, prompting Healing Song/Medela to adopt them.
• The Runaway: A variant that combines "Orphan Runaway" and "Abused Runaway". Her father lied to her and Small Village to provide an excuse for abandoning them, and her grandfather died suddenly while looking after them in their father's stead. After discovering for herself why her father left, she confesses to Ruya Clearfeather, a classmate and friend of hers, that she wants to find a better home for herself and Small Village to protect him from the Awful Truth. All three run away together, but they can only go so far before they are found at a seaside inn elsewhere in the Glimmering Isles.

Small Village

Small Village (first introduced here) is the younger brother of Blossoming Village.

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• Expy: Of Yuta Suzumura, Rio's younger brother, from The Gods Lie.
• Happily Adopted: After all they've been through, he and Blossoming Village would end up adopted by Healing Song/Medela, who understood what it's like to go through terrible situations yet hide their pain out of fear.

Ruya Clearfeather

Character: Anti-Heroic

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (formerly), Chaotic Good

Type: Northern Griffon/Seer/Ex-Carny/Student/Globe-trotter/Reformed Criminal

Faction: Kerajaan Cahaya, Church of the Stars

"I used to think the future was for idiots and flank-holes who exploited creatures like me. Then Dad showed me otherwise."

Ruya Clearfeather (her entry here) is a young Northern Griffoness and a reformed criminal who once worked as a soothsayer.

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• Animal Motifs:
  • Her upper body is that of a Saffron-cowled Blackbird, an endangered species threatened by habitat loss and illegal animal trafficking. Ruya was frequently exploited by others due to possessing precognitive sight, which deeply embittered her and made her see the future as something to profit from, while at the same time seeing those who sought out Seers like her as greedy, exploitative jerks.
  • Her lower body is that of a black cat, which are usually associated with evil and misfortune. Ruya is a fraudulent soothsayer who swindled her customers out of their money, but deep down she's also a deeply traumatized chick who wanted to leave her criminal life behind and harbored Survivor Guilt over 'abandoning' her birth family.
• Badass Family: Her adoptive father, Moon Ray/Canticum, is an Alicorn "prodigy" who later re-Ascended as a powerful eldritch god with three different forms and portfolios. Her adoptive mother, Velvet Heart, is an Angel working under her father. Her adoptive siblings, the Liberi Lunae, are all either Ascendant deities or mortal heroes. Many of her extended relatives, such as the Trimortidae and the Caerulidae, also consist of badass Ascendant deities.
• Big Eater: Justified. She lived in poverty for quite a while before being found by Moon Ray/Canticum, so she relished in eating good food whenever she could afford it. After her adoption, she developed a huge appetite where she scarfed down anything that's offered to her. Moon Ray/Canticum has been helping her develop good eating habits with the purpose of regulating this.
• Book Dumb: Justified. She wasn't able to get a formal education due to fleeing her home at a young age to avoid exploitation by the local Autorist government, and being forced to turn to crime for survival. She makes up for this by being Street Smart, giving her people-reading skills and a silver tongue. With her adoption by Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae, she finally gets the opportunity to go to school.
• Broken Bird: She lost her entire family when they helped her run away from home to avoid being exploited for her Seer powers by the local Autorist regime, leading to her parents' and grandfather's executions. Afterwards, she spent much of her chickhood on the run, forced to rely on crime to survive. Her experiences gradually turned her into a bitter Griffoness who swindled people out of their money under the guise of a fortune teller, believing those who sought her out for her fortunes only wanted to benefit themselves. This comes to a head when, after moving to Kerajaan Cahaya to perform more cons, she gets confronted by Healing Song/Medela and Moon Ray/Canticum and ends up breaking down in front of the two gods, revealing just how miserable she is. Then she learns the fates of her parents and grandfather, creating a second breakdown and causing her to believe that all life did was torment her with tragedy after tragedy. Fortunately for her, Moon Ray/Canticum ends up adopting her, and things finally turn up for her from then on.
• Dark and Troubled Past: She was born in a Northern Griffon Autorist kingdom whose rulers exploited Seers to keep themselves in power. When she was revealed to be a Seer herself, her parents and grandfather helped her run away from home to protect her, but it got them executed as 'traitors'. While living on the run, she ends up being exploited anyway by anyone who discovered her power. Her experiences deeply embittered her in regards to people's intentions for her and her foresight, yet deep down her criminal life made her miserable and desperate to get out. A precognitive dream about herself being chased and caught by a figure dressed in black made her fearful and paranoid, and a chance meeting with Princes Healing Song/Medela and Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae compounded her issues to the point of breaking down.
• Dark Is Evil:
  • She initially believed this was the case after having a precognitive dream where she was chased and later caught by a figure dressed in black. This made her fear Moon Ray/Canticum, who wore black and purple attire, but she warmed up to him later after he treated her kindly and informed her of his good intentions.
  • She herself is a downplayed example. Her upper avian half is a Saffron-cowled Blackbird, but while she was a criminal and fradulent soothsayer who swindled people out of their money, she hated bigots with a passion and abhorred some of the crimes that more monstrous criminals committed. Moon Ray/Canticum and Healing Song finding her brought out her inner goodness, allowing her to make a Heel–Face Turn.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She's withdrawn and aloof, and for a while, she was afraid of her mentor, Moon Ray Vaughoof/Canticum Lunae, because of a prophetic dream making her fear/distrust people who dressed in black. However, Moon Ray/Canticum's kindness caused her to slowly warm up to him. By the time he adopts her, there's little to no bad blood between them, barring incidents where she was disciplined by him for resuming her old criminal ways.
• Devious Daggers: She has used knives and daggers as her weapons, and before being found by Healing Song/Medela and Moon Ray/Canticum, she worked as a fradulent fortune-teller who swindled her customers out of their money.
• Discard and Draw: She had many useful magical artifacts and potions in her possession, but after she was found by Moon Ray/Canticum and Healing Song, much of said magical artifacts and potions were confiscated by the Church of the Stars because they were stolen. However, in return she's given access to various teachers who are willing to teach her genuine sorcery.
• Divine Parentage: She would later become the adoptive daughter of Moon Ray Vaughoof/Canticum Lunae Cahaya, after learning from Golden Scepter that her parents and grandfather were killed by their kingdom's Autorist government for not turning their young precognitive daughter over to them. This means that by adoption, she's a mortal great-granddaughter of Obitus Equus, the oldest Equuid Death god in existence.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: Justified, as she's a budding Seer with the ability to predict the future through dreams and visions. One such dream involved being chased and caught by a figure dressed in black, which initially made her afraid of Moon Ray Vaughoof/Prince Canticum Lunae, who wore black and purple clothes/regalia. She would gradually learn that Canticum had no malicious intent towards her.
• The Empath: After becoming a student of Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae (and learning under other psionic/sorcerous deities in the Church like Healing Song), she developed minor empathic abilities.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Even during her days as a criminal and fraudulent soothsayer, she saw bigots like Autorists and Tribalists as worse than scum, and always ensured they get their comeuppance no matter what.
• Feathered Fiend: She's a teenage Northern Griffoness, and she once lived as a fraudulent soothsayer who used cold readings to con people out of their money. She also stole things like food and magical artifacts/potions just to get by. It's later averted once she's discovered by Moon Ray/Canticum and Healing Song, and taken in by the former, which went a long way in reforming her (if a little rough around the edges).

Forced from Their Home: She ran away from home at a young age with help from her parents and grandfather, because she would have been taken away and exploited for her foresight by her kingdom's Autorist government if she stayed. This gave her Survivor Guilt once she learns her entire family was executed for their perceived "treachery" some years later.

• Fortune Teller: She used to work as a self-proclaimed soothsayer, traveling around the world while using tarot cards and a silver tongue to swindle people out of their money. To look the part, she dressed herself in extravagant, exotic robes and jewelry. Ironically, her foresight was genuine, but she suppressed it to avoid exploitation. Many of her customers were members of nobility and royalty who were willing to pay her high prices for a few readings. She later stopped after Moon Ray/Canticum and Healing Song found and made her see the error of her ways, and she became more open with using her precognitive abilities often.
• Freudian Excuse: Many aspects of her personality came from extremely traumatizing events that occurred in her chickhood. It's deconstructed as while incredibly sympathetic, her reasons still don't excuse her criminal actions, hence why both Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae and the Church are dedicated to helping her improve herself.
  • Ruya's hatred of Autorists and Tribalists stem from how her kingdom's royal family tried to exploit her precognitive power, and how her family was given a traitor's execution just for helping her escape. Because of this, she sees bigots like them as worse than scum and always made sure they get their comeuppance. However, her hatred of bigots caused her to see herself as morally superior to them, which is noted In-Universe to be hypocritical considering her own crimes, and made it hard for her to accept that even bigots can change.
  • Ruya's stint as a fraudulent soothsayer stemmed from her experiences of being frequently exploited for her precognitive powers, making her believe that those who sought out Seers like herself are only trying to exploit them. However, as Healing Song and Moon Ray/Canticum pointed out, she herself became no different by exploiting people's curiosity about the future to swindle them out of their money. Ruya was also shaken upon learning that Healing Song and Moon Ray/Canticum are also Seers who suffered just like her, but refused to let their traumas define them or use their powers for self-serving ends.
  • Ruya feared being caught in general, which also stemmed from nearly seized by agents of her kingdom's Autorist government for her precognition. What worsened her fear was a prophetic dream where she was chased and led into the light by a figure dressed in black, which Ruya interpreted as either her death or her capture. This initially made her fearful of Moon Ray/Canticum, who happened to dress himself in black and purple. Fortunately for her, Moon Ray/Canticum treated her kindly and even let her know of his good intentions.
  • After being adopted by Moon Ray/Canticum as his daughter, Ruya became clingy out of fear of losing another family, which stemmed from grief and guilt over what happened to her birth family. Fortunately, Moon Ray/Canticum was able to help Ruya with her grief by summoning the spirits of her parents and grandfather so she could reconcile with them. Visiting Mentálne also helped Ruya with her trauma tremendously.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: As Princes Healing Song/Medela and Moon Ray/Canticum pointed out, what she went through was horrible. But by becoming a fraudulent soothsayer, she became little different from the Autorists and Tribalists she hated. Being confronted by the reality of her actions makes her break down sobbing, exposing herself as a scared, miserable, and traumatized chick she is deep down.
• Good Is Not Nice: While she performed a Heel–Face Turn, she's still a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who is Reformed, but Not Tamed. Moon Ray/Canticum, her mentor and later adoptive father, is working on helping her become a genuinely good person.
• Happily Adopted: She would be adopted by her mentor, Moon Ray/Canticum, following a Heroic BSoD she experienced after learning of her parents and grandfather's deaths from Golden Scepter. While it still wasn't without its rough spots, her life has become much happier compared to how it was when she lived as a criminal and fugitive. Moon Ray/Canticum, for his part, genuinely loves her and wants to see her grow up into a good person, and has been taking steps to ensure she does.
• Hates Being Alone: Justified; her parents and grandfather helped her run away from home to save her from being exploited by their kingdom's Autorist government, and were taken and killed as 'traitors' as punishment. She would learn of their fates from Golden Scepter a few years later, which was worsened by how part of her believed they survived. After being adopted by Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae as his daughter, she became clingy out of fear of losing her new adoptive family. Fortunately, Moon Ray/Canticum would help her deal with her grief, and visiting Mentálne also helped her trauma tremendously.
• Heel–Face Turn: After spending a few years living as a fraudulent soothsayer who swindled people out of their money, she would move to Kerajaan Cahaya, where Moon Ray/Canticum and Healing Song found her. Having her motives deconstructed and being shown mercy by Kerajaan Cahaya's divine authorities slowly warmed her heart until she began helping others because Good Feels Good. However, she's Reformed, but Not Tamed because she still feels urges to steal things, which Moon Ray/Canticum has been trying to steer her away from.
• Hell-Bent for Leather: After ditching the extravagant, exotic robes and jewelry she used to wear as a soothsaying carny, she now wears a yellow false leather jacket with black sleeves and a black underside.
• Heroic BSoD: After learning from Golden Scepter that her entire family was executed as 'traitors' by the same Autorist regime she fled from, she broke down and became extremely depressed, seeing no use in being good since life only tormented her. Fortunately, Moon Ray/Canticum would help her grieve her loss, and would later adopt her as his daughter to give her a more stable family life.
• Holier Than Thou: Her entry notes that her hatred of Autorists and other bigoted groups like them has caused her to act self-righteously at times. Since she never participated in hate crimes herself and always made sure those who did got punished for their crimes, she believed she's morally better than them. It's deconstructed due to her participating in fraudulent fortune-telling (and other things), making her a Hypocrite. As Prince Healing Song pointed out, it doesn't matter that she hates Autorists when she's exploiting others as they tried to do with her.
• Hypocrite: She hates racist/tribalist bigots and sees herself as morally superior compared to them. But as Healing Song pointed out, her hatred means nothing since she was exploiting others' curiosity and conning them for her own gain, just like the Griffon Autorists who once tried to exploit her precognitive power. This in part contributed to her first breakdown.
• Insult to Rocks: Because of her traumatizing chickhood experiences with Autorists in her home kingdom, she sees all racial bigots as worse than scum and has a hard time believing they can change for the better. This applies to tribalists as well.
• Intangibility: After becoming a student of Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae (and learning under other psionic/sorcerous deities in the Church like Healing Song), she developed what she called 'phasing', which allows her to walk through walls unimpeded.
• Interspecies Friendship: She ends up befriending two Sparkle Ponies, Blossoming Village and her younger brother Small Village. This not only causes the quiet and secretive Blossoming Village to open up more, but also kicks off a series of events that leads to the Village siblings' home life being discovered and them being adopted by Prince Healing Song/Medela and his wife Celestia.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's socially withdrawn, aloof, and distrusting due to previously living a hard life as a criminal, and she is pragmatic in ensuring the survival of herself and/or others. However, get past that and she's revealed to be a sweetheart who loves her adoptive family and has a lot of empathy for society's 'underdogs' like orphans and persecution victims.
• Kleptomaniac Hero: Deconstructed. While she left her criminal life behind and has mostly reformed, Ruya admits she still feels the urge to steal things, especially if she thinks they might prove useful later on. Both Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae and the Church of the Stars have made efforts in teaching her that stealing is wrong, with Moon Ray disciplining her whenever he catches her doing it.
  • One incident involved Ruya stealing a Magic Staff from a store. When Moon Ray/Canticum catches her doing it and tells her to put it back, she initially refuses to give the staff up and tries justifying her thievery. Predictably, Moon Ray/Canticum starts losing his patience and makes that pretty clear, which scares Ruya into obeying and returning the staff. Dissonant Tune also gets a Death Glare from Moon Ray/Canticum when he takes his sister's side.
  • Her entry notes that most of the magical artifacts and potions Ruya had in her possession were ill-gained, largely because she considered them to be extremely useful. However, after being discovered by Moon Ray/Canticum and Healing Song, she ends up having much of her stolen possessions confiscated by the Church of the Stars, though in return she's given access to various teachers willing to teach her genuine sorcery.
• Like Brother and Sister: She developed this kind of relationship with Muziki, one of Moon Ray/Canticum's students, over how they suffered a lot of tragedies and abuse that influenced them to become criminals.
• Meaningful Name: Her name translates to "vision" or "sight" in Arabic. She's a young Griffon teenager who was born with the gift of precognition, though it embittered her for a while until she was adopted by Moon Ray/ Canticum Lunae.
• Mind over Matter: After becoming a student of Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae (and learning under other psionic/sorcerous deities in the Church like Healing Song), she developed minor telekinetic abilities.
• Never Be Hurt Again:
  • Her entire stint as a fraudulent soothsayer stems from how she was exploited as a Seer for much of her early life — she was nearly taken away as a chick by government agents to ensure the prosperity of their kingdom's Autorist regime, and while living in the streets, she would end up interacting with other unsavory individuals who exploited her foresight for their own gain. It's later deconstructed by Healing Song and Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae, who pointed out that her actions actually made her little different from those who used and wronged her.
  • After learning the deaths of her birth family, and then being adopted by Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae, she became clingy out of fear of losing another family. Fortunately, Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae would help her come to terms with her grief and gain closure by summoning the spirits of her birth family.
• Not a Morning Person: Justified. When she was still a criminal and on the run, she had to sleep in less ideal places, so being adopted by Moon Ray/Canticum gave her access to a good bed and more time to sleep. Moon Ray/Canticum has been helping her develop good sleeping habits with the purpose of regulating this.
• Oh, Crap!: Despite her attempts to keep herself calm, Moon Ray/Canticum arriving before she could con Healing Song set her on edge because at the time she was scared of people who dressed in black, and Moon Ray/Canticum happened to fit the criteria.
• Oppose What You Suffered: She hates bigots and racial/tribal supremacists because her entire family was killed by Griffon Autorists for not letting them exploit her precognitive power. Even at her worst, she deems them as worse than scum and will always make sure they get their comeuppance; if she somehow ends up working with them, she'll betray them and make off with their ill-gained treasures. It's deconstructed as this made her believe she's morally superior to them, when she's really no better due to her own criminal actions. It also led to some rash decisions on her part and made her distrusting of those who were genuinely repentant. Moon Ray/Canticum is in part helping her come to terms with her pain and bitterness so she can finally forgive those who wronged her, and truly break free from those who abused and exploited her.
• Parental Abandonment: Her birth parents, along with her grandfather, were executed as 'traitors' by their kingdom's Autorist government for helping her escape, thus depriving the Autorists of another Seer to exploit to keep themselves in power. Learning of her family's fate from Golden Scepter caused her to undergo an emotional breakdown. She feared this happening again after Moon Ray/Canticum adopted her into his family, which caused her to become clingy so she wouldn't lose them. Fortuantely, Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae would help her come to terms with her grief and gain closure by summoning the spirits of her birth family.
• Le Parkour: She's adept at parkour, and she can climb, maneuver, and jump across pretty much any structure available. This made her quite an escape artist, which saved her life in situations where she's unable to fly.
• Phony Psychic: Subverted. Because of her cynical, nihilistic view that people only want to know the future so they could benefit themselves, she poses as a soothsayer that uses tarot cards and a silver tongue to deliver cold readings, which she charges high prices for. Ironically, she was born with genuine precognitive abilities, but because she suffered trauma from being nearly seized by her kingdom's Autorist government and exploited by anyone who discovered her power, she repressed her foresight so she wouldn't be exploited anymore. Then it's averted when Prince Healing Song and Moon Ray Vaughoof/Canticum Lunae find her and help her out, allowing her to be open with her foresight and influencing her to leave her life of crime behind.
• Practically Different Generations: She's a mortal teenage Northern Griffon. Her older adoptive brother, Dissonant Tune, is an Alicorn god who is tens of thousands of years old.
• Psychic Powers: She was born with genuine precognition, but she initially repressed it for a time to avoid being exploited by others. After becoming a student and, later, an adoptive daughter of Moon Ray Vaughoof/Canticum Lunae, she developed other minor psychic abilities such as telekinesis, empathy, and another ability she calls 'phasing'.
• Really Fond of Sleeping: She's fond of sleeping in good beds, and claims she's "not a morning person". It's justified as she slept in less ideal places in the past, and being adopted by Moon Ray/Canticum has allowed her to sleep in a good bed more often. Moon Ray/Canticum has been helping her develop good sleeping habits for the purpose of regulating this.
• Reformed, but Not Tamed: Justified. Even after reforming and becoming a student (and later adoptive daughter) of Moon Ray Vaughoof/Canticum Lunae, whatever habits she developed as a criminal and fugitive are hard to let go. Because of this, she still feels urges to steal things and has used her powers selfishly at times. Moon Ray/Canticum is working on steering her away from bad habits and helping her overcome her traumas so she can become a genuinely good person.
• The Runaway: After befriending Blossoming Village and her brother Small Village and learning of their darkest secret, she runs away with them out of sympathy, using the money she secretly stole from her adoptive parents to keep herself and her two friends afloat. All three of them are quickly located and found at a seaside inn far away from Kerajaan Cahaya; while Blossoming Village and Small Village end up adopted, she is grounded by her adoptive parents for a few months for running away even though they understand her reasons for doing so.
• Satisfied Street Rat: Deconstructed. While her hard life made her quite scrappy and resourceful, and she can fend for herself, deep down she's an incredibly fearful and traumatized chick who felt deeply miserable with her life, yet assumed there was no way out of it. She also developed certain bad behaviors that ultimately proved to be detrimental for her outside of her criminal life. Being adopted by Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae as his daughter and visiting Mentálne for psychiatric appointments helped her tremendously.
• A Shared Suffering:
  • She has sympathized with Prince Golden Ash, one of Prince Healing Song's students, over their shared experiences with fleeing toxic societies that sought to use their potential to benefit their own harmful beliefs, and generally being afraid to go back home.
  • She developed a Like Brother and Sister relationship with Muziki, one of her adoptive father's students, over how they suffered a lot of tragedies and abuse that influenced them to become criminals.
• Sour Outside, Sad Inside: When she was a criminal, she posed as a fortune teller who performed cold readings and swindled customers out of their money, and also stole various magical artifacts/potions that she deemed useful. Deep down, she was a deeply miserable person who was scared and traumatized by what she went through, yet saw no way out of her criminal life.
• Trapped in Villainy: She felt deeply miserable over having to become a criminal to survive, and is scared and traumatized by what she went through, yet she believed there was no way out. Fortunately, she would meet Healing Song and Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae, which led to her pulling a Heel–Face Turn with their help, though old habits die hard.
• Troubled Teen: She suffered a lot since chickhood — the Autorist government in her kingdom wanted to exploit her precognitive powers, and both her parents and grandfather were executed for helping her escape, effectively leaving her an orphan. She's forced to turn to crime just to survive, and being exploited by unsavory types turned her into a bitter, nihilistic person who believed that people who want to know the future are just selfish, exploitative Jerkasses who exploit Seers just like her. Deep down, however, she desperately wanted out, but felt there's no way for her to break away from her criminal lifestyle. Learning of her family's deaths also traumatized her and left her pretty clingy. And all this happened by the time she's in her teens. Fortunately,
• Underestimating Badassery: She assumed Healing Song, an Alicorn, to be easy pickings for her cons based on the fact that he's blind. That gets thrown out the window the moment both Healing Song's friend, Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae joins in, and they reveal themselves to be powerful psychics and genuine Seers by seeing through her cold reading easily.
• Villainous Breakdown: While calling her a villain might be pushing it, she was still working as a fraudulent soothsayer by the time Healing Song and Moon Ray/Canticum Lunae found her. After having her arguments and self-justifications deconstructed by the two gods, she broke down in tears, revealing herself to be nothing more than a scared, miserable little chick suffering from tremendous guilt, fear, and trauma. This is what started her Heel–Face Turn, as Healing Song and Moon Ray/Canticum took pity on her and took her to the Church of the Stars, giving her the opportunity to finally break free from her life of crime.
• With Great Power Comes Great Perks: She has used her powers selfishly at times, especially when it comes to stealing things. Moon Ray/Canticum has disciplined her whenever he catches her doing such things, which is often thanks to his Psychic Powers.
• You Are Grounded!: She ends up being grounded for a few months by Velvet Heart and Moon Ray/Canticum for running away with two foals with no adult supervision, even though her adoptive parents understood why she did so.

Prince Golden Ash, the Protector of Communities

Classification: Ascendant

Portfolio: Protection, Renewal, Community

Rank: Demigod

"I will do everything I can to protect and strengthen my communities, even if it does go against tradition."

Prince Golden Ash (his entry here) is the Deer demigod of Protection, Renewal, and Community, and is a former Alvslog Deer who moved and became a beloved local in the communities of Kerajaan Cahaya.

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• Afraid of Their Own Strength: Justified and deconstructed. Despite everyone being interested in his potential to become a full-fledged god, he refused to become one because of his fears of becoming a toxic person, or, worse, being found by the Elternteil Deer Pantheon and separated from his family. Fortunately, the Church of the Stars took him under their protection, and Prince Healing Song, who saw a lot of himself in him, proved to be a much more open-minded and accepting teacher than High King Irminsul.
• Always Identical Twins: Subverted. He and his older brother Rowan are fraternal twins, so they look nothing alike aside from the fact that they're both demigods.
• Anthropomorphic Personification: He's a Deer demigod who embodies Protection, Renewal, and Community.
• Bad Powers, Good People: His Community domain gives him Psychic Powers that allow him to demand obedience from those living in his communities, and even outright mind-control them. However, he doesn't like abusing his powers in that way.
• Barrier Warrior: As a demigod of Protection, he can produce nigh-unbreakable barriers to shield himself and his allies.
• Big Little Brother: Because he Ascended to demi-godhood before Rowan did, he's now "older" than Rowan by divine standards, even though biologically he's the younger twin.
• Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: His parents were not abusive to him or his brother Rowan, but they still held the toxic beliefs shared by the larger Alvslog Deer Herds, and were disappointed with his choice to become a mage instead of a warrior like Rowan even if they later came around. Years later, after settling down in Kerajaan Cahaya and marrying Victory Road, he would become a loving father to his adoptive son, a young orphaned Pegasus colt, and raise him away from everything he grew up with as a fawn.
• Broken Pedestal: He really doesn't take it well when High Queen Arvan tells him of some of the nastier things the Elternteil Deer Pantheon did in the name of "good", including High King Irminsul's act of mutilating his unborn son in-utero trying to make him "perfect" and abusing Temnobog just for being born evil. However, he chose to flee the Alvslog Deer Realms with Arvan's help instead of confronting his mentors on their sins because he realized doing the latter would end badly for him due to the sheer age and power gap between them. This led to him fearing that he'll become as toxic as the Elternteil Deer Pantheon if he were to Ascend to true godhood.
• Defector from Decadence: After learning from High Queen Arvan the worst atrocities the Elternteil Deer Pantheon committed in the name of "good", he chose to leave the Alvslog Deer Realms in secret because he realized even a verbal confrontation with his mentors would end poorly for him.
• Determinator: During his and his brother's fight against a former Elternteil Deer champion, he tried to counter the corruption spell that was cast on his home realm Orofarnë and other neighboring realms with his team of druids and mages. Even as his team fell one by one, he absolutely refused to give up. His efforts were what triggered his Ascension to demi-godhood, creating a surge of holy power that cleansed the corruption easily and quickly.
• The Empath: Being a god of Community gives him psychic empathy, allowing him to sense the opinions and needs of people living in his communities.
• Family Theme Naming: He and his older twin brother, Prince Rowan, are named after trees. In his case, he's named after the 'Golden Ash' tree.
• Freudian Excuse: His refusal to Ascend to true godhood stemmed from his fears of becoming as bad as both the Alvslog Deer Herds and the Elternteil Deer Pantheon, whose members became so corrupt that they did horrible things in the name of "good". Discovering their darkest secrets pushed him to flee his home in secret, and he's been living in Kerajaan Cahaya ever since, fearing the day the Elternteil Deer Pantheon would find him and separate him from the family he created for himself. Fortunately, the Church of the Stars is a much nicer and more benevolent pantheon, and as soon as they learn of his backstory and existence, they're willing to take him in and protect his family.
• Good Parents: Despite being raised on the Alvslog Deer Herds' puristic and xenophobic policies in his youth, he's a loving father to his adoptive son, a young orphaned Pegasus colt. This is because he realized how harmful his people's beliefs were in practice and never wanted to expose his son to them.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He's described as having a gold pelt, and he's a heroic demigod as well as a loving husband and father. And unlike his former Alvslog Deer kindrid and Elternteil Deer mentors, he's more tolerant and openminded overall. Moon Ray/Canticum also sees him in a prophetic dream as a true god with radiant golden fur.
• Happily Married: He's presently married to Victory Road, a psychic Vampire Prince/Scion of a noble House. He met Victory Road after moving to Kerajaan Cahaya, and they bonded over their shared upbringing as Prices in toxic communities that they eventually ran away from, and they gradually fell in love. Following their marriage, they became co-owners of a local bookstore and loving parents to their adoptive son, a young pegasus colt whose birth parents died escaping a tyrannical underground kingdom.
• Healing Hands: As a god of Renewal, he has powerful healing magic as a side-effect of being able to fix things. This is what made him beloved among the Alvslog Deer Herds, as his domain can restore damaaged forest realms and heal injuries inflicted by what they see as "interlopers".
• Holy Hand Grenade: As a mortal, he possessed druidic magic, which included purification powers. Becoming a demigod of Renewal increased his powers, allowing him to counter and erase corruption caused by dark magic on much wider scales. This allows him to cleanse and restore desolated environments. However, being a demigod means that his purification powers won't be as effective on dark magic spells wielded by older, full-blooded deities. Irminsul used to teach him regarding this, but after he left the Alvslog Deer Realms, both Emperor Golden Scepter and his thirteenth son, Prince Written Word, became his teachers instead.
• Humble Goal: After hearing of the atrocities the Elternteil Deer Pantheon committed from High Queen Arvan, he flees the Alvslog Deer Realms and moves to Kerajaan Cahaya, where he settles down with the goal of raising a family with his husband, Victory Road, and looking after the bookstore they own together. This stems from his belief that he'll become as bad as his former mentors if he Ascends to true godhood. He later changes his mind after Prince Healing Song approaches him and he accepts becoming the latter's student, but his new goal is still rather humble as it consists of supporting communities and not leading them.
• Identical Twin ID Tag: Averted; he and his older brother Rowan are fraternal twins, so they look nothing alike. The only thing they share is that they're both demigods, with him being slightly older than Rowan by divine standards.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: He had no desire to Ascend to full godhood after learning of the Elternteil Deer Pantheon's moral hypocrisy and corruption, and feared the potential consequences of doing it. But despite trying to live a normal life with his husband and adoptive son, he ends up being put in the spotlight anyway when Moon Ray Vaughoof foresaw him becoming the ruler of a forest realm in the Glimmering Isles, gaining the Church of the Stars' interest. He initially refuses Prince Healing Song's offer to teach him, but later relents when he learns a group of Alvslog Deer followed him out of loyalty. His family being put under the Church's protection helped, too.
• Internalized Categorism: Justified. Witnessing the worst aspects of Alvslog Deer society and learning the atrocities committed by his mentor, High King Irminsul, made him fear he'll become just as bad if he Ascended to true godhood. But despite his efforts to live a mortal life, the Church of the Stars becomes interested in him anyway when Moon Ray predicts him becoming the ruler/founder of a tolerant, diverse forest realm. While he refuses their offer to help him Ascend to true godhood at first, he eventually agrees after finding some Alvslog Deer followed him out of loyalty and appreciation for his deeds back home. The Church of the Stars is noted to be helping him overcome the toxic teachings both Irminsul and the Elternteil Deer Pantheon gave him.
• King Incognito: He was an Alvslog Deer Prince of the realm Orofarnë, but after learning of the Elternteil Deer Pantheon's horrible actions from High Queen Arvan, he ran away from home and settled down in Kerajaan Cahaya. At first, he was content to live as a mere 'mortal', raising a family and co-running a local bookstore with his husband, and was utterly disinterested in pursuing true godhood... until Moon Ray Vaughoof had a prophetic dream about him, causing the Church of the Stars to gain interest. After Prince Healing Song reached out to him and he found a group of Alvslog Deer willing to follow him, he relented and began training in Ascending to true godhood. That being said, he still wants to stay in Kerajaan Cahaya and be a supporter of communities, rather than a leader as his former Elternteil Deer mentors intended.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Despite being horrified and angered by the atrocities the Elternteil Deer deities have committed in the name of "good" and "purity", he realized a verbal confrontation with his divine mentors wouldn't end well for him because his mentors are much more powerful and older than him. This factored into his decision to leave the Alvslog Deer Realms in secret, with High Queen Arvan's help.
• The Marvelous Deer: He's a Deer demigod, but unlike his peers in both the Alvslog Deer Herds and the Elternteil Deer Pantheon, he's undeniably heroic, reasonable, and open-minded. Learning the extent of the Elternteil Deer Pantheon's corruption and hypocrisy from High Queen Arvan spurred him to flee since calling out his divine peers/mentors on their behavior would likely end badly for him.
• Mistaken Identity: Because of his plant-like appearance and his antlers now bearing the ability to occasionally grow fruit (which are a few eldritch traits he gained upon Ascending to demi-godhood), he was mistaken for the mysterious Great Seedling by Princess Veritas/Applejack V, who tried to capture the Great Seedling as a filly.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Zigzagged. He was hailed as a hero for stopping the fallen Deer champion's corruption of the Alvsog forest realms and Ascending to godhood in the process, and was rewarded with a place in the Elternteil Deer Pantheon. However, his more tolerant views and unorthodox means in helping his communities often got him lectured for not being a "proper" divine sovereign. This is partially why he was initially disinterested in moving past his demigod status, as he believed the Church of the Stars will have the same expectations of him. His past deeds eventually net him a a Karmic Jackpot when a group of mortal Alvslog Deer follow him into Kerajaan Cahaya out of loyalty and gratitude, and he earns another mentor in Prince Healing Song, who is genuinely benevolent and openminded like he is.
• One-Steve Limit: Averted. There are a few people who share his name, such as villainous conqueror/immortal Golden City, and famed Alicorn Emperor Golden Scepter.
• Parental Substitute: He and his husband Victory Road became this for their adoptive son, a Pegasus colt who lost his birth parents when they tried escaping a tyrannical underground kingdom.
• Planimal: After becoming a demigod, he gained a few eldritch traits based around plants, such as leaf-like shoulders and legs, and tree branch-like antlers that sprout leaves and the occasional fruit. Moon Ray's prophetic dream of him implies what he might look like as a true god — a magnificent Deer stag with radiant golden fur and antlers filled to the brim with fruit. His plant-like appearance caused Princess Veritas/Applejack V to mistake him for the 'Great Seedling' she tried to capture when she was a mortal filly.
• Psychic Powers: As a demigod of Community, he has telepathy and empathy, and Stealthy Teleportation that only works in areas he turned into his communities. His domain of Community also gives him a supernatural intuition that keeps track of everything within his communities, such as supplies and quality of buildings/equipment. He can also psychically demand obedience and outright mind-control people in a community, but he doesn't like abusing his powers in such a manner.
• Rage Against the Mentor: Double-subverted. He was furious when he learned from Arvan the horrible things Irminsul did, including the defilement/murder of his unborn son and the abuse of his children. However, he realized a verbal confrontation would not go well since Irminsul is vastly older and more powerful than he is, so he elected to leave the Alvslog Deer Realms in secret. That being said, he has pretty much lost all faith in Irminsul and hates him for being a huge Hypocrite. He even considers Prince Healing Song, who is blind, to be a much better teacher and role model than Irminsul.
  "I find it ironic that a blind Alicorn knows far more than that hypocritical Deer god who once called himself my 'mentor'," Golden Ash deadpanned.
  
  The response was immediate. A few snickers escaped Jade Shell as she scribbled down her notes, despite trying to control herself. As a result, the Tortoise’s writing became a little shaky. It wasn't until they heard Prince Healing Song laughing in the background that both Jade Shell and Golden Ash exploded into laughter themselves.
• Rebel Prince: Even before he left the Alvslog Deer Realms, he defied his society's traditions to give what his communities truly needed. He also didn't buy into his people's xenophobic behavior, believing that not all non-Deer races should be judged for the actions of a few bad ones. This annoyed both his fellow royals and his divine mentors, who would often lecture him for not being a 'proper' divine sovereign. After learning of the Elternteil Deer Pantheon's moral hypocrisy and corruption, he chose to leave home rather than continue interacting with toxic people.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: While he badly wanted to call out his divine mentors, especially Irminsul, for how corrupt, toxic, and hypocritical they've become, he realized that a verbal confrontation would end badly since he's just a demigod against a pantheon of ancient, powerful, and experienced true gods. He instead opted to flee the Alvslog Deer Realms instead, with Arvan lending her help by guiding her through secret forest paths she created.
• Semi-Divine: He became a demigod by trying to counter a powerful corruption spell that was cast by a former Elternteil Deer champion, by himself. Because he's a demigod, the Elternteil Deer Pantheon were very interested in helping him Ascend to true godhood, with intent to mold him into a 'proper' divine sovereign of mortal Deerkind. This later caused him to be disinterested in moving past his demigod status, especially after discovering the full extent of the Elternteil Deer Pantheon's hypocrisy — if he does move on, he'll be pressured into being something his people want and, consequently, become as bad as his former divine mentors. Fortunately, the Church of the Stars has no such designs for him, and only want to teach him how to become a true god so he can be the best he can be.
• A Shared Suffering:
  • What allowed him to bond with this then-future husband, Victory Road, was their shared experiences as Princes who were raised by toxic people who wanted them to fit their standards, but eventually ran away from home to escape their close-minded environment. It wasn't long until they married and settled down with a son.
  • What allowed Prince Healing Song to reach out to him was their shared experiences with certain people who left a greatly negative impact on them, causing them to avoid becoming something much more out of fear of becoming as bad as his former Alvslog Herds. This is part of the reason why he likes Healing Song more than he does Irminsul.
• Squishy Wizard: For all his great magical power and skill, he's piss-poor at physical combat, to the point where he had to rely on his brother Rowan to protect him whenever they went out to battle together. His parents, while supportive of his pursuits in magic and the upholding of communities, were noted to be disappointed in his inability to become a heroic warrior like Rowan. After he left the Alvslog Deer Realms and settled down in Kerajaan Cahaya, the Church of the Stars has been trying to teach him physical combat, but it's still an uphill battle.
• Stealthy Teleportation: Being a god of Community gives him the ability to teleport anywhere he wishes to within a community.
• Straight Gay: Despite being the husband of Victory Road, a Vampire Pony stallion and runaway Prince of a noble House, he never shows any stereotypical gay behavior at all.
• Telepathy: Being a god of Community gives him telepathy, allowing him to sense the opinions and needs of people living within his communities.
• Token Good Teammate: He was the only member of the Elternteil Deer Pantheon who wasn't deeply racist, corrupt, arrogant, puristic, self-righteous, and/or hypocritical. Learning of his pantheon's atrocities spurred him to jump ship, since choosing the other option (openly calling Irminsul out on his behavior) would end badly for him.
• The Un-Favourite: Subverted. While his parents were disappointed with both his combat weakness and choice to study magic and communities instead of becoming a heroic warrior like his older twin brother, Prince Rowan, they nonetheless accepted and encouraged his pursuits since they're still in line with local Alvslog traditions.
• Warrior Prince: Subverted. While he's a beloved war hero himself, he is actually a Squishy Wizard — he specializes in White Magic, but is piss-poor in physical combat, which sets him apart from his older twin brother, Prince Rowan. Whenever they fight together, he relies on Rowan and his forces to protect him while he flings magic. His parents were disappointed in his choice to study magic and uphold communities instead of becoming a warrior, but they nonetheless accepted his pursuits since they're still in line with Alvslog traditions.

Victory Road

A former Prince of a Vampire House, and Prince Golden Ash's husband.

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• Happily Married: To Golden Ash, a demigod and ex-Alvslog Deer Prince. Victory Road met Golden Ash shortly after the latter settled down in Kerajaan Cahaya, and what allowed them to bond was their shared royal upbringing as Princes in toxic communities that they eventually ran away from. Despite being raised on puristic and xenophobic policies, Golden Ash became tolerant enough that he learned to accept Victory Road for who he is. After marrying, they became co-owners of a local bookstore and loving parents to their adoptive son, a young pegasus colt whose birth parents died escaping a tyrannical underground kingdom.
• Meaningful Name: His name is 'Victory Road', and despite being a Prince of a Vampire House, he ran away from home because he grew tired of living in a toxic community. He eventually found his 'victory' when he met Golden Ash in Kerajaan Cahaya, fell in love, and married him, becoming co-owners of a local bookstore and loving fathers of their adoptive Pegasus son.
• Parental Substitute: He and his husband Golden Ash became this for their adoptive son, a Pegasus colt who lost his birth parents when they tried escaping a tyrannical underground kingdom.
• A Shared Suffering: What allowed him to bond with this then-future husband, Golden Ash, was their shared experiences as Princes who were raised by toxic people who wanted them to fit their standards, but eventually ran away from home to escape their close-minded environment. It wasn't long until they married and settled down with a son.
• Straight Gay: Despite being the husband of Golden Ash, a demigod and former Alvslog Deer Prince who fled his forest home after discovering the more unsavory aspects of his people and divine mentors, Victory Road never shows any stereotypical gay behavior at all, being a well-rounded character with his own personality.

Shalom

Character: Heroic

Alignment: Lawful Good

Type: Griffon/Student/Aspiring Diplomat/Ascendant-In-Training

Faction: Kerajaan Cahaya

Shalom (his entry here) is a young Northern Griffon living in Kerajaan Cahaya, and a young student with huge aspirations.

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• Animal Motifs: Doves and cats. Specifically, his upper body is a white Barbary dove and his lower body is a Scottish Fold cat. White Barbary doves are universally seen as icons of peace, while Scottish Fold cats are known for being very affectionate to humans. This is rather appropriate, as he is a Griffon who despises Fantastic Racism and wants to encourage international friendships.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of Hard Work Hardly Works. Shalom is a good and diligent student, but he's inadequate compared to his more talented classmates, who breeze through their own studies as if doing a mere chore. This, combined with hearing complaints about "special" people having everything, caused him to become deeply insecure about his future and his academic performance suffers as a result. It also made him a potential target for factions like the Abominable Alignment, whose agents use vulnerable youths as test subjects. However, as Healing Song points out, even talented people are likely to fail if they never learn or practice using their talents. After he helps foil the Abominable Alignment's plans, both Healing Song and Prince Sparkling Wing are helping him overcome his insecurities and encouraging him not to let people's opinions get to him.
• Fantastic Racism: Defied. The main reason he wanted to become a diplomat is because he wanted to reverse the damage done by Griffon Autorist factions, and believed Ascending to godhood would help him do this. His parents' positive influence also protected him from the xenophobia that was gripping his home kingdom at the time.
• Forgiveness: Despite nearly joining the Abominable Alignment out of envy and inadequacy, he was forgiven by his parents because he ultimately chose to do the right thing by notifying Prince Healing Song.
• Godhood Seeker: A positive example. He wants to become a demigod or true god so he can fulfill his dreams of becoming a diplomat and encouraging international friendships. He eventually gets his wish when he warns his teacher, Prince Healing Song, about the presence of Abominable Alignment members in Kerajaan Cahaya, leading to him becoming a student of Prince Sparkling Wing.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Defied. His envy nearly drove him to join the Abominable Alignment in hopes of receiving boosts in magic and intelligence that'll allow him to match his smarter and more talented classmates. However, his morals, combined with the guilt he felt afterward, eventually won out and he warned Healing Song about the Abominable Alignment's presence. For his courage, he is rewarded by being taken in by Prince Sparkling Wing as his student, and is being trained to Ascend to demi-godhood. While he felt ashamed for letting his envy and inadequacy get to him, his parents forgave him, and they are very proud of him for speaking up and becoming a student of a god.
• Hard Work Hardly Works: Deconstructed. While a good and diligent student, he was unfortunately surrounded by talented classmates who breezed through their classes, making him feel insecure and envious. Overhearing disgruntled neighbors and less talented classmates complain about only 'special' people being allowed to become heroes and gods caused him to think that no matter how hard he worked, he'll never be great compared to those with genuine talent. This nearly drove him to accept the Abominable Alignment's offers of unmatched power and intellect... but fortunately, he decides to warn Prince Healing Song about the Abominable Alignment instead, and is subsequently rewarded by becoming Prince Sparkling Wing's student. Both Healing Song and Sparkling Wing have been helping him overcome this mentality as of late, since no matter how talented someone is, that talent will be rendered moot if they don't learn how to use it correctly or practice with it frequently.
  Prince Healing Song: (to Shalom) There are people who are truly and genuinely 'better' at things than most, and that is a sad yet true fact. But for all their skill, experience, and talent, those people still had to learn and practice what they do in order to STAY good. If they don’t, then eventually they'll start falling behind.
• I Should Have Been Better: Despite helping save his classmates and many other youths from being experimented on by the Abominable Alignment, he feels ashamed for letting his own feelings of envy and inadequacy get to him. His parents forgave him because he still chose to do the right thing by telling his teachers.
• Karmic Jackpot: Despite nearly accepting the Abominable Alignment's offers of unmatched power and intelligence out of feelings of envy and inadequacy, his morals ultimately win out and he warns his teacher, Prince Healing Song. His act of bravery not only saves many lives from the Abominable Alignment (which includes young dissatisfied students like him), but also leads to him becoming a student of Prince Sparkling Wing, the Alicorn god of Peace and Unity. His actions also earn him the approval of his parents, who forgave him for his shortcomings.
• Keeping Secrets Sucks: He initially kept his meeting with Abominable Alignment agents a secret, but the guilt and stress slowly ate away at him. It wasn't until he saw signs of other classmates joining that he decided to tell Prince Healing Song, knowing full well the possibility of getting in trouble himself.
• Meaningful Name: His name is a Hebrew word that means various things like "peace", "harmony", and "tranquility". It also comes from a Hebrew greeting, Shalom aleichem ("peace be upon you"). It's rather fitting since he's a dove-headed Griffon who despises Fantastic Racism and wants to become a diplomat.
• Oh, Crap!: While talking with Healing Song, he realizes that, to his horror, he would have ended up losing his future and, potentially, his life if he had really taken the Abominable Alignment's offers. Healing Song's grim response all but confirms it.
  Prince Healing Song: Yes. The Abominable Alignment is one such shortcut. You did the right thing, coming to me. Thanks to you, your classmates and even more lives will be saved from that awful group.
• Oppose What You Suffered: He despises racism because such beliefs led to the Autorists tarnishing Griffonkind's international relationships with other nations and races. Not only that, he himself grew up in an Autorist Griffon kingdom and while he was never bullied himself, he saw even fellow Griffons being bullied and persecuted for being "different". It's the main reason why he wanted to become a divine diplomat — he wanted the power and resources to encourage friendships all over the world.
• The Resenter: Deconstructed. Being surrounded by talented classmates who effortlessly breezed through their classes, and overhearing people complain about 'special' people being only allowed to become heroes and gods, made him feel insecure about his own self-worth. His envy nearly drove him to join the Abominable Alignment, tempted by their offers of unmatched power and intelligence, but his morals and guilt instead spurred him to warn Healing Song about what's going on. For his courage, he is rewarded by being taken in by Prince Sparkling Wing as a student, and is being trained to Ascend to demi-godhood.
• Spanner in the Works: He foils a local Abominable Alignment plot to acquire young test subjects by telling Healing Song of what's going on. Thanks to him, the Church of the Stars was able to rescue said test subjects and give them proper medical treatment, and prevent many more students from being experimented on.
• Tall Poppy Syndrome: Part of the reason why he became so depressed is that he overheard his neighbors and less-talented complaining about how only 'special' people are allowed to become heroes and deities. Considering how he wished he was as successful as his more talented classmates, hearing that did a number on his already low self-esteem. Fortunately, both Healing Song and Sparkling Wing are encouraging him not to let others' opinions get to him, as even 'normal' people have the potential to becoem great themselves.
• Too Good to Be True: When he meets a female Sparkle Pony agent of the Abominable Alignment who offers a way to help him get enough power and intellect to equal/exceed those of his more talented classmates, he gets suspicious, quoting the trope verbatim. True to form, he later learns from Prince Healing Song that the Abominable Alignment experiments on vulnerable youths like him in their unfettered quest for godhood.
• Upbringing Makes the Hero: Despite hailing from a Northern Griffon kingdom with extremely Autorist leadership, he grew up with strong morals and compassion because his parents was disgusted by the staunch racism their homelands promoted. This later helped the Church of the Stars in rooting out members of the Abominable Alignment who secretly set up operations in Kerajaan Cahaya, as he warned Prince Healing Song despite being personally tempted by them.
• Weather Manipulation: As a Griffon, he has stronger versions of the Pegasi's weather magic, though it's noted to be unwieldy in comparison.

Dragon Knight

Character: Heroic

Alignment: Lawful Good

Type: Kirin/Empowered Mortal/Faustian Rebel

Faction: Church of the Stars

"I finally made my decision... I want to seal that monster away forever so he can never harm anyone ever again. That is my wish, as the Warrior of Dragon Fire."

Dragon Knight (his entry here) is a Kirin champion of Prince Arcaniss and a former pawn of 'Ajnihat Mudhhab that rebelled against the Fallen god's control.

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Pepper Cook Vaughoof-Manes, the Motherly Angel

Character: Heroic

Alignment: Neutral Good/Lawful Good

Type: Sweetheart Sister Pony, Atoner, Mother, Wife, Classical Anti-Hero, Angel

Faction: Ponyland (formerly), Kerajaan Cahaya

"Ah may have messed up as a parent, but Ah'll be darned if Ah didn't try ta be a good mother ta mah sons."

Pepper Cook Vaughoof-Manes (her entry here) is the mother of Sunny Field Vaughoof and Moon Ray Vaughoof, as well as the wife of Gavisus Manes, the youngest of the Three Deaths.

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• Angelic Abomination: Like all Angels, she has an eldritch alternative form, but she is too polite to reveal it to anyone.
• Angelic Transformation: She became the Angel of Motherhood after meeting Princess Carnation, a member of the Amaredae, and being empowered by her. However, in the process, her transformation triggered her long-dormant Sweetheart Sister mutation, making her more powerful than she normally would have been as an Angel.
• Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Her Cutie Mark is a pepper shaker seasoning a full roasted chicken, which fits a Supreme Chef like her. However, her parents also interpreted her Cutie Mark as her being destined to be a Housewife, since in her time, mares were supposed to Stay in the Kitchen.
• Calling the Old Man Out: She is later chewed out for her enablement of Sunny Mane's abuse by her youngest son, Moon Ray, who bitterly resented her over how she let their father hurt him and his older brother because she was more concerned about following "some dusty ol' book" than protecting her sons. This forced her to realize that she had been a bad mother, and work on redeeming herself in her sons' eyes.
  Moon Ray Vaughoof: If Ah ever become a father, Ah'm gonna make sure mah kids are loved, safe, n' cared for, instead o' sittin' on mah flank an' lettin' some dusty ol' book tell me how ta live mah fuckin' life!
• Calling the Young Man Out: When she learned postmortem that Sunny Field became an abusive stallion in the years following their estrangement as family, she confronted him over it after he died and was ushered, too. Sadly, Sunny Field refused to listen until Moon Ray punched him for Velvet Heart's abuse and estranged himself from him.
• Divine Parentage: Inverted. She's the mortal mother of Sunny Field and Moon Ray, both who would eventually become Ascendant eldritch gods.
• Domestic Abuse: This occurred in Pepper's first marriage to Sunny Mane Vaughoof. While they started off happy, a combination of untreated war trauma, the stresses of married life, and a deeply toxic society slowly turned Sunny Mane to drink. The birth of Moon Ray was the final straw that turned Sunny Mane into an abusive monster, as he resented raising another child on top of their existing one, Sunny Field. According to Pepper, she tried to help him with his nightmares one night by suggesting he see a doctor and go to church with her, only for Sunny Mane to threaten to kill her if she suggested it again. While she tried to protect her sons from Sunny Mane, Pepper couldn't do much due to her own religious indoctrination influencing her views on marriage, leading to said sons hating her and running away. Pepper came to deeply regret how she handled the whole situation, so much that even after overcoming her religious indoctrination and finding love again with Gavisus Manes, she believed she failed as a wife.
• The Empath: As an Angel of Motherhood, she has empathic powers that sense what people, especially children and mothers, need and if they're in danger.
• Forgiveness: Her oldest son, Sunny Field, eventually forgives her for not protecting him and Moon Ray from their father enough, because even if she did try kicking Sunny Mane Vaughoof out of the house, the deeply misogynistic societal standards at the time meant no one would've taken her Domestic Abuse seriously.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion: She and Sunny Mane planned to raise only one foal (Sunny Field), but a series of unplanned circumstances led to her becoming pregnant with Moon Ray. However, she refused to abort him due to it going against her religious faith, and once Moon Ray was born, she fell in love with her infant son and decided to raise him.
• Guilt Complex: One of her flaws is that she suffers from a guilt complex, blaming herself for enabling Sunny Mane's abuse of their sons due to her own passivity and adherence to toxic, misogynistic religious teachings. She also sees Moon Ray's early death as her fault as in her eyes, it wouldn't have happened if she was truly a good mother.
• Heavenly Blue: She's heavily associated with blue; she has a blue-violet mane and tail and a light blue pelt, and she gained blue wings after becoming an Angel of Motherhood. She's also closely associated with divinity; she worships King Equus, she's presently the wife of a Death god, and she's the mother of the Vaughoof brothers, who both became eldritch gods at different points in time.
• Karmic Jackpot: Her efforts in protecting her sons from her bad-tempered, alcoholic husband led to Moon Ray having a closer relationship with her than he does his father. When he was still alive, Moon Ray would do things for her like mow the lawn or buy groceries whenever he visits her in Gallas. And when she dies of old age, Moon Ray would personally show up to usher her into the appropriate Heaven-Realm.
• The Little Detecto: As an Angel of Motherhood, she can psychically locate and find family members, including her own.
• The Magnificent: Known as "the Motherly Angel", due to being an Angel of Motherhood who fosters positive motherhood.
• Mama Bear: She tried protecting her sons, Moon Ray and Sunny Field, from Sunny Mane's abuse, but because Domestic Abuse wasn't taken very seriously at the time, she could never get rid of her abusive husband permanently. This leads to Sunny Field resenting her for not putting more effort in protecting him and Moon Ray, but later gains a better understanding of the circumstances involved postmortem and eventually forgives her. Moon Ray, on the other hand, is much closer to her because of her protectiveness even though he acknowledges that she isn't perfect.
• Mutants: She is a Sweetheart Sister Pony, the Distaff Counterpart of the First Age's Big Brother Ponies, and thus has the same abilities as the latter, such as enhanced strength, speed, and endurance. It turns out she is a biological descendant of one of the Big Brother Ponies, Tayshan Border, aka Tex, meaning that her sons, Sunny Field and Moon Ray, inherited the same mutation.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Twice; during a bitter argument, Pepper realizes how much she harmed her family when Moon Ray called her out for enabling Sunny Mane's abuse with her staunch adherence to flawed religious teachings. It got even worse when, after Moon Ray died, Pepper met King Equus himself and realized her son had been right the whole time, rendering her family's suffering all for naught. She vowed to follow King Equus' actual lessons and atone for her actions ever since.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Pepper is based on Martha Jean Vaughan (nee Cook), the mother of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Like Martha, Pepper got married to an abusive, ill-tempered alcoholic who she later outlived, and became the mother of famous Blues musicians. She also lost her youngest son to a helicopter accident. But because afterlife-realms exist here, she Took a Level in Badass when Princess Carnation turned her into an Angel of Motherhood, and she found love again with Gavisus Manes.
• Oppose What You Suffered: She despises Abusive Parents, owing to her fillyhood religious indoctrination and being married to an abusive, alcoholic stallion who hurt her sons. It's noted she is merciful to genuinely repentant ones.
• Our Angels Are Different: She was the spirit of a mortal Pony mare who was divinely empowered by Princess Amaredae, turning her into the Angel of Motherhood. She also has a more eldritch form, but is too polite to show it.
• Outliving One's Offspring: She would end up outliving her youngest son, Moon Ray Vaughoof, who died in a helicopter accident following a concert in Wiscoltson as a result of factors like bad weather and Moon Ray's own impulsiveness. Her grief would be alleviated once she dies of old age and Moon Ray arrives to personally usher her into the appropriate Heaven-Realm.
• Parents as People: She loved her two sons dearly and did her best to protect them from their violent drunkard father. Despite her efforts, she could never keep her husband away from the house or divorce him. Understandably, her oldest son, Sunny Field, resented her for it, but eventually came to forgive her after learning of the circumstances postmortem. Moon Ray also acknowledges that she isn't perfect, but has a better relationship with her and did things for her like mowing the lawn and buying her groceries.
• Playing with Fire: Like her oldest son, Sunny Field, she can use pyrokinesis, though in her case, her flames are powered by how much maternal love she feels.
• Point of Divergence: Had she chosen to abort Moon Ray or give him up for adoption, history would have occurred very differently. And had she prioritized being a good mother to her sons growing up, Sunny Field and Moon Ray wouldn't have been affected as badly by Sunny Mane's abuse.
• The Power of Love: Her being turned into an Angel by a Love Goddess — specifically, Princess Carnation — means that much of her powers are fueled by maternal love. Her pyrokinetic abilities grow stronger the more maternal love she feels, and when protecting others, she enters a state of maternal rage that increases her power on top of what her Sweetheart Sister mutation gives her.
• Psychic Powers: As an Angel of Motherhood, she has both telepathy and empathy, the ability to psychically locate family members (including her own), and love-powered pyrokinesis. However, she is very weak compared to Sunny Field and Moon Ray; according to her, her sons inherited their great psychic potential from their birth father.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: She believes that being a good parent to one's children matters more than following the rules, especially if said rules are toxic and sexist like the ones she grew up with. This stems from seeing and experiencing firsthand how societal and religious indoctrination, mixed with toxic gender roles, negatively impacted her two sons growing up.
• Small Parent, Huge Child: She's the "Small Parent" to Moon Ray's "Huge Child". Despite being her youngest son, Moon Ray towered over her once he Ascended to godhood. This is later exaggerated once he re-Ascends, turning into an eldritch Alicorn that utterly dwarfed his mother.
• Super-Speed: As a Sweetheart Sister Pony, she has enhanced speed.
• Super-Strength: As a Sweetheart Sister Pony, she has enhanced strength, making her capable of pulling feats like pulling houses barehooved and landing devastating strikes that a normal Earth Pony could only do while empowered by magic.
• Super-Toughness: As a Sweetheart Sister Pony, she has enhanced endurance.
• Surprise Pregnancy: A series of unplanned circumstances led to her getting pregnant with Moon Ray. Despite Sunny Mane's displeasure with taking care of a second foal, she refused to abort or give Moon Ray up for adoption. The rest was history.
• Tears of Joy: She cried these when Moon Ray finally and genuinely forgave her, having let go of his feelings of resentment towards her completely.
• Telepathy: As an Angel of Motherhood, she has telepathic powers that sense what people, especially children and mothers, need and if they're in danger.

Kumi

A Zebra and Fret Pick's wife.

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• Awful Wedded Life: She married Fret Pick during a time when he relapsed and fell back into drug addiction. By Fret Pick's own admission, he wasn't "the nicest husband" to her and they argued a lot. Fret Pick eventually got clean after Moon Ray collapsed from drug abuse and made amends with his wife. They are now Happily Married.
• Interspecies Romance: She's a Zebra mare who fell in love with Fret Pick and married him. However, their marriage was initially on the rocks because of her husband's drug abuse. Once Fret Pick got sober, they repaired their relationship and are presently Happily Married.

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