History Characters / TriptychContinuumOriginals

* TeleportersAndTransporters: Can move himself within a range sufficient to at least cover most of the city, but keeps missing chances to take the escort test. He mainly utilizes the working to dispatch himself towards trouble spots, relying on Canterlot's gatehouses to provide safe arrival points.

* WeakButSkilled: Subverted; despite the initial impression one may get upon seeing him in action and learning he graduated from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, the reality is he got through his days at the School entirely through {{Nepotism}}, cheating, and using blackmail to scare the other students into helping him cheat. He's got a distinctly below-average field strength rating, and in fact his field tends to wink out entirely when he's stressed.
** Though this trope does apply to his political capabilities. Barring a major miracle, he will never have anything beyond petty power, and he knows it. But he is very adept at using what power he does have to inflict every last drop of torment, trauma, and denial possible.

* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Stallion]]: The events of [[Recap/TriptychContinuumTravapestry Trav(ap)est(r)y]] have left him convinced that he just might be this for the entire palace. Of course, given he's one of those ponies who actually think the tapestry being "art" somehow legitimately excuses the fact it's one of the most disgusting, ugly and unpleasant things ever produced, well, his sanity isn't ''entirely'' unquestionable.

* BarrierWarrior: Played with. Her trick begins its operation when she projects her green-grey field around two subjects. The colors of the field then separate: one pony is encased in green, the other in grey -- and then the two bubbles '''''repel''''' each other, with enough force to send stallions into walls. (While using that personal spell on Big Mac and Snowflake's combined mass required a double corona, just being able to pull it off at all indicates her field strength is well above average.) This allows her to break up fights ''very'' quickly.
** [[WordOfGod Word Of Fanfic Author]] is that she can also kick it into reverse, leaving ponies effectively glued together.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Zigzagged. [[Recap/TriptychContinuumSickLittlePoniesAndOneDragon Sick Little Ponies]] demonstrates that she's not exactly a fire-and-forget type, making sure she has as much information as possible regarding a situation before committing to a move. However, [[Recap/TriptychContinuumPermanentRecord Permanent Record]] suggests that the police department treats the Bearers with a little too much leniency, mostly from fear of having one or more leave Ponyville -- and this partial protection extends to the Crusaders, as two of them are direct relations. This policy gives the Mane Cast a touch more leeway in their actions, but it's also assisted the Crusade in continuing far longer than it should.
** Explored in [[Recap/TriptychContinuumADuetForLandAndSky A Duet For Land And Sky]]. As it turns out, she's more or less under orders to keep the Bearers out of prison, at least when it comes to minor offenses: the palace has told her that she can arrest for a felony, but misdemeanors are overlooked and moderate violations trigger lectures. However, she's fully aware of the strain this puts on both herself and Ponyville, and she's not exactly happy with it. Additionally, she does blame herself for a good part of the Crusade, and there are signs that continuing to enact this policy has her going against her own mark: she's in a constant struggle for whether ToBeLawfulOrGood.

* StrawmanNewsMedia: Oh, hells '''''Yes.''''' Like all of Murdocks' lackeys, she absolutely hates the Diarchy and does whatever she can in order to make their efforts look bad. The only reason she's kept a job is because Equestria, somehow, has yet to discover or implement anti-libel laws.

One of Luna's more prominent Guards: a dark-hued pegasus mare who can often be seen accompanying her Princess on trips outside the castle. Highly skilled with wind creation, to the point where the movements she uses to create the magic are minor and can often get past observation. Luna appears to use her for the occasional sounding board, and Celestia has been resisting the urge for cross-shift ''[[InsistentTerminology filching]]'' so she can do the same. She turns into more of a major player in the branch continuity of [[FanFic/DailyEquestriaLifeWithMonsterGirl]].

One of Luna's more prominent Guards: a dark-hued pegasus mare who can often be seen accompanying her Princess on trips outside the castle. Highly skilled with wind creation, to the point where the movements she uses to create the magic are minor and can often get past observation. Luna appears to use her for the occasional sounding board, and Celestia has been resisting the urge for cross-shift ''[[InsistentTerminology filching]]'' so she can do the same.

* {{Invisibility}: A non-magical variant. If she's nude and keeping her eyes narrowed, she's genuinely difficult to make out in the dark. Rarity has to dress her in bright colors for eveningwear just so everypony knows she's ''there''. However, this inverts under Sun: put her within daylight and she's impossible to miss.

Ponyville's chief of police: a unicorn mare, somewhat younger than most ponies would expect somepony in her position to be,
with a coat which naturally blends into Moon-shadows.

* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: His parents did... ''something'' to his sibling shortly after that birth. Since that foal is never mentioned in a present tense, it may involve OffingTheOffspring.]]

* BenevolentConspiracy: ''Maybe''. [[spoiler: He's a key member of the Great Work, and is likely bankrolling at least some part of it. Doctor Gentle refers to him as 'the most devoted,' and that devotion has to be present for a ''reason''. Right now, all we know is that he's the doctor's closest confidant and, if things were fully exposed, would run with him.]]

* PowerIncontinence: It's implied that his ability to "vanish" from the perception of others and even disappear from their memories isn't something he can entirely control.

* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:More so than Gentle Arrival. At the end of the day Quiet just wants to protect future foals from being ''sent on'' like his sister was. Unlike Gentle Arrival he's not a bigot either.]]

* FriendToAllChildren: Since his castle is several centuries beyond needing a barrier space to fight off invaders, it's surrounded by playgrounds and sports fields. (He also puts in some time as a referee.) Part of this may come from his current inability to have children of his own, [[spoiler: and the rest may stem from whatever happened to his younger sibling]].

* {{Invisibility}}: Not exactly. [[spoiler: From what Twilight and Rarity manage to mutually deduce, his talent allows him to project the emotional resonance of ''dismissal''. He's not so much unseen as overlooked, and it's also extremely easy to just ''forget'' about him.]]

* NotSoHarmlessVillain: He may be a very small and frail stallion, but that doesn't mean he's harmless. [[spoiler:He's able to give Twilight, an alicorn princess magical prodigy, a run for her money in chapter 50 thanks to his ability to become invisible to her senses. Twilight has to tap into her Earth Pony ability to listen to the earth to get a bead on him, and it's implied that only works because he isn't aware that Earth ponies can do that due to the Secret.]]

* WrongContextMagic: A trotting, occasionally flying sapient case of it. After ''[[Recap/TriptychContinuumASeriesOfEgotisticalEvents A Series Of Egotistical Events]]'' formally introduced ''[[{{Magitek}} wonders]]'' (items enchanted by pegasi), readers quickly realized that if wonders existed, then it naturally followed that there are marks suited to being a repairpony for them -- and Ratchette's shop isn't dealing with that category of malfunctioning magic. Instead, she focuses entirely on clockwork and unicorn devices, and her mark shows a typical flow pattern of power through a device.\\
\\
''[[Recap/TriptychContinuumABirdInTheDryer A Bird In The Dryer...]]'' then suggested that she ''can't'' work with wonders. Ratchette finally openly admitted it in her '''Elements Of Elements''' story.

* Expy: For a long time, she was a stealth one -- but between her occupation and the eventual reveal of her magic's true nature, it's become apparent that she's Equestria's blood-powered version of [[Literature/WildCards The Mechanic]].

* {{Invisibility}}: Not exactly. [[From what Twilight and Rarity manage to mutually deduce, his talent allows him to project the emotional resonance of ''dismissal''. He's not so much unseen as overlooked, and it's also extremely easy to just ''forget'' about him.]]

** In fact, the only facts Celestia knows for sure are how old he is, where he was born, and that he really is a stallion.

* MeaningfulName: He can be extremely quiet in word and deed. [[Recap/TriptychContinuumTriptych Triptych]] has heavily implied that his mark talent makes it hard for ponies to notice him ''and'' may interfere with their ability to retain memories of his actions: he spent a good part of his childhood sneaking around the castle, and after [[spoiler: his sibiling vanished]]...

''[[Recap/TriptychContinuumABirdInTheDryer A Bird In The Dryer...]]'' then establishes that she ''can't'' work with wonders.

* CarnivoreConfusion: Herbivore Confusion: Averted. Regardless of what the rumors might claim, Sizzler doesn't eat or even really taste-test his creations. One aspect of his mark magic is to grant him a highly specialized sense of smell: he can identify the source of raw meat at a sniff, and finding out if something is currently medium rare or just medium requires a simple inhale. He ''enjoys'' all the scents at his station, but he still believes he's like just about everypony when it comes to consuming meat: he could force down a small quantity, but a full meal would make him ill.

* StrawmanNewsMedia: Oh, hells '''''Yes.''''' Like all of Murdocks' lackies, she absolutely hates the Diarchy and does whatever she can in order to make their efforts look bad. The only reason she's kept a job is because Equestria, somehow, has yet to discover or implement anti-libel laws.

* AmbiguousGender: Surprisingly, despite the secretive nature of the character making it questionable if he is or isn't a stallion, it's averted: Celestia confirms in chapter 3 of A Total Eclipse Of The Fun That he really is a stallion.

!!'''Gentle Arrival'''

One of the apparent core figures in [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/101769/triptych Triptych]]: a stallion midwife (with an honorary doctorate from the Equestrian Magic Society) who's been active in his profession for about one generation, delivering an impressively large number of foals during that time. Notably, he has two connections to the Bearers: Fluttershy as his very first foal brought to Sun, with Pinkie coming about a year later. [[spoiler: Reading between the lines indicates he also delivered Snowflake and Ratchette.]] He's a stocky unicorn stallion in very late middle age: mauve coat, orange eyes, with a soft red tail and mane. [[spoiler: He also appears to be the central conspirator in The Great Work: the attempt to find a way of turning a regular pony into an alicorn.]]

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:To all appearances, he's one of the nicest, kindest ponies on the continent, and he seems to truly care about those he's brought into the world. But at the same time, he's kept the Great Work hidden, seems willing to do some dubious things to keep it that way, and has at least one decidedly unfriendly pony potentially working dark angles for the coverup. For now, we just don't know.]]
** [[spoiler: He truly believes he's doing the right thing. Such stallions are dangerous...]]
* AffectionateNickname: He introduces himself to newborns as their "first friend," and they generally feel the same way.
* BadPowersGoodPeople: [[spoiler:It's revealed in chapter 40 of ''Triptych'' that he's been using a form of ''{{necromancy}}'' to save the lives of foals who were dying in the womb, infusing them with the ''essence'' of a dead pony of another tribe, diminishing their own inherent magic but granting them special magical affinities based on their integrated ''essence''.]]
* BenevolentConspiracy: One possibility for his involvement in [[spoiler:the Great Work]]...
* BreakingSpeech:[[spoiler: Delivers an exceptionally nasty one to Pinkie because he knows her abilities are based in her emotional state and sending her into full depression will shut her down: he's clearly aware of her autophobia and jumps onto that button with all four hooves.]]
* BrokenPedestal:[[spoiler: Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy's faith in him is irreparably shattered when they learn of his involvement in the "Great Work".]]
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: On a national scale. In chapter 42 of ''Triptych'', he opposes Clear Coordinator's suggestion that [[spoiler:they kill the Bearers. He points out that, even if the Bearers do not wish to assist the Great Work, they have still saved Equestria from disaster multiple times. Furthermore, not only has Equestria seen more use for them in the last few years than it had previously seen in the last few ''centuries'', but, contrary to popular belief, an Element of Harmony will ''not'' simply find a new pony worthy of being its Bearer straight away. This means that killing the Bearers could doom Equestria, as it might be centuries before new Bearers arise]].
* TheClan: In a way. The majority of those he's delivered seem to consider him part of their families, especially with those foals who would have been lost without his assistance. Those ponies are often referred to as ''his'', and also tend to think of themselves that way.
* CondescendingCompassion: [[spoiler:His particular flavor of FantasticRacism, which in many ways makes him the ''most'' racist of the group we've seen so far. Unlike Coordinator, he seems to believe that it is possible to discover a cure for being an earth pony, essentially comparing an entire tribe of ponies to suffering some terrible disease. However, it's later expanded upon in chapter 40 that he's not so much anti-earth pony as pro-racial purity; he talks a lot about ponies not sharing their parents' tribe as being "broken" for their inability to live up to the family heritage.]]
* DeadlyEuphemism: In chapter 40 of ''Triptych'', he talks about "sending on" foals. Which, as Applejack quickly susses out, may be a euphemism for killing them at birth; the term could come from "sending on to the Shadowlands" - aka {{Mercy Kill}}ing.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: In chapter 41, it's shown that he is genuinely offended by the abuse that Pinkie Pie's father directed at her. [[spoiler:Of course, that abuse came about due to Pinkie's lack of earth pony magic -- and who was responsible for that?]]
* FantasticRacism: [[spoiler: He refers to any newborn who emerges as a race other than their parents as "broken", and has described interracial unions as a ''sin''. (He also doesn't seem to think much of earth ponies: they have no great magic as a race, no special abilities, no miraculous talents... clearly inferior to unicorns and pegasi.) On the whole, he appears to be a 'stay on your side of the fence' racist: everything is fine as long as everypony remains ''in their place''.]]
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Being able to ignore the unicorn rule of "differentiation"[[note]]a unicorn cannot move an object if it is inside of another object[[/note]] seems like a fairly gimmicky power, especially when he can only use it on unborn foals. In fact, it's allowed him to become the greatest midwife in all of Equestria, as no other pony can hope to intervene if something has gone wrong during the birth. [[spoiler:Then chapter 41 reveals that he actually ignores differentiation ''entirely'', which among other things makes him an incredibly dangerous foe to fight, as he can telekinetically squeeze hearts or brains as easily as another unicorn could grab a pony's leg.]]
* HonoraryUncle: To what seems to be a significant portion of Equestria. [[spoiler:A pity it turns out he's an honorary ''EvilUncle''.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler:He denounces ponies who have the misfortune of being born a different Tribe to their parents, calling them not only "broken" but also "sinful" for how they damage family legacies due to being unable to share in their parents magic. At the same time, he has shamelessly carried out his ''essence''-fusing experiments for years, creating dozens, maybe ''hundreds'' of ponies who can't use the magic of their physical tribe, essentially creating even-more "broken" ponies than would have been naturally born.]]
* IAmNotLeftHanded: [[spoiler: The public believes that the Exception ''only'' lets him move an unborn foal inside the mother. In Chapter 41 of ''Triptych'', he demonstrates that it actually lets him ignore differentiation altogether -- which he demonstrates by projecting his field into a member of the Great Work who's starting to have second thoughts, and very lightly squeezing his heart.]]
* MadScientist: [[spoiler:For all his good traits, this is a pony who has willingly performed dangerous experiments (with at least one disastrous result) on other ponies and covers them all up. Chapter 30 of Triptych confirms that he experiments on at least some of the unborn ponies he helps deliver, and this is all but called out as the reason why so many of them display strangely "swapped" magical traits or talents. Chapter 40 explains just ''why'' he's doing this, and clarifies that he experiments on any foal whom he believes won't survive without an other-race essence infusion and its resulting 'hybrid vigor'.]]
* MagneticHero: When he was reported missing, just about every pony he'd delivered (at least, for those old enough to travel alone) put their lives on hold and converged on Trotter's Falls. (Fluttershy and Pinkie were getting ready to head there when the mission came calling, Snowflake only stayed behind because he could do more good in watching the cottage, and Ratchette, who's more socially isolated, wound up a day behind on the gossip.)
* StartOfDarkness: Revealed in chapter 40 of ''Triptych'': [[spoiler:his pregnant wife went into a premature labor and died from the strain of it, his Talent ignited in freeing his own daughter from her dead womb... and his daughter was born an earth pony, which meant he wouldn't even be able to use magic as a way to help her connect to her dead mother. He basically snapped and became determined to change her into a unicorn: when he could find no path which led towards such a transformation, he "settled" for making her into an alicorn.]]
* SuperDoc: Averted. While he has at least a smattering of general medical knowledge, he's explicitly a midwife and is reluctant to work outside his field.
* TautologicalTemplar: [[spoiler:His reaction to finding out his experiments on ''Her'' have GoneHorriblyRight? To eagerly look forward to showing her off to the rest of the conspiracy and to happily start planning on '''repeating the experiment on a new foal'''.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Because of how often he's seen family lineages "ruined" when a foal is not the same species as its parents, and the documented likelihood of death if a pegasi gives birth to a non-pegasus foal on a cloud, Gentle Arrival is ''convinced'' that transforming such ponies into alicorns is the race's best hope to end such tragedies. (His original ideal would have been finding a way of changing a foal to the race of its parents: he's half-joked that the alicorn transformation is his idea of settling.]]
* WrongContextMagic: Unicorns in the Continuum can't use their fields to move any object which is fully inside another, with the universal inability known as ''differentiation''. Doctor Gentle is the exception, but his trick only allows a single violation of that rule: he can move an unborn foal inside a mother. As such, he can reposition breech births, unwrap umbilical cords which have looped around newborn anatomy, sort out multiple birth tangles, and pull from his side when an exhausted mother can no longer push from hers. This trick has, over what appears to be at least one full generation, saved ''hundreds'' of foals -- especially since as his reputation spread, ponies whose families had a history of problem births began to seek him out in advance. This is because all attempts to teach his trick to others have failed, making him into not just the last resort, but the only one. He's regarded as Equestria's father of modern obstetrics.
** [[spoiler: In Chapter 41 of ''Triptych'', it's revealed that his ''trick'' actually lets him ignore differentiation altogether -- which he demonstrates by projecting his field into a newly-recruited sponsor of the Great Work (who's starting to have second thoughts), and very lightly squeezing his heart. However, this appears to take more energy than using the Exception for a birth: the effect visibly places him at the double corona level.]]

* PowerLimiter: Her entire body. Ratchette's mark gives her a ''[[BizarreAlienSenses feel]]'' for devices and occasionally allows her to diagnose problems on contact, but her ability to express that talent is ''partial''. Lacking any capacity to cast or tweak the actual spells, she can only repair items when adjustments to the physical elements does the job.

* WrongContextMagic: A trotting, occasionally flying sapient case of it. After [[Recap/TriptychContinuumASeriesOfEgotisticalEvents A Series Of Egotistical Events]] formally introduced ''[[{{Magitek}} wonders]]'' (items enchanted by pegasi), readers quickly realized that if wonders existed, then it naturally followed that there are marks suited to being a repairpony for them -- and Ratchette's shop isn't dealing with that category of malfunctioning magic. Instead, she focuses entirely on clockwork and unicorn devices, and her mark shows a typical flow pattern of power through a device.
** [[Recap/TriptychContinuumABirdInTheDryer A Bird In The Dryer...]] then establishes that she ''can't'' work with wonders.

* BewareTheSillyOnes: After going through the Solar/Lunar Kitchen Wars, he's more magically capable than most ponies suspect. Among other things, he has the potential to break shields.

* [[CarnivoreConfusion Herbivore Confusion]]: Averted. Regardless of what the rumors might claim, Sizzler doesn't eat or even really taste-test his creations. One aspect of his mark magic is to grant him a highly specialized sense of smell: he can identify the source of raw meat at a sniff, and finding out if something is currently medium rare or just medium requires a simple inhale. He ''enjoys'' all the scents at his station, but he still believes he's like just about everypony when it comes to consuming meat: he could force down a small quantity, but a full meal would make him ill.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: In chapter 41, it's shown that he is genuinely offended by the abuse that Pinkie Pie's father directed at her. [[Of course, that abuse came about due to Pinkie's lack of earth pony magic -- and who was responsible for that?]]

* JerkAss: It made very, ''very'' clear what an absolute ''prick'' he is over the course of A Total Eclipse Of The Fun. Incredibly arrogant, aggressive, controlling, stupid, and (in Celestia's opinion) adept only at taking all the credit for other ponies' work.

* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler:Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy's faith in him is irreparably shattered when they learn of his involvement in the "Great Work".]]

* CondescendingCompassion: [[spoiler:His particular flavor of FantasticRacism, which in many ways makes him the ''most'' racist of the group we've seen so far. Unlike Coordinator, he believes that it is possible to discover a cure for being an earth pony, essentially comparing an entire tribe of ponies to suffering some terrible disease. It's later expanded upon in chapter 40 that he's not so much anti-Earth Pony as pro-racial purity; he talks a lot about ponies not sharing their parents' tribe as being "broken" for their inability to live up to the family heritage.]]
* DeadlyEuphemism: In chapter 40 of ''Triptych'', he talks about "sending on" foals. Which, as Applejack quickly susses out, is a euphemism for killing them at birth; the term clearly comes from "sending on to the Shadowlands" - aka {{Mercy Kill}}ing.
* EvenEvilhasStandards: In chapter 41, it's shown that he is genuinely offended by the abuse that Pinkie Pie's father directed at her, in particular how he accused her of having stolen money from him to throw her first party.
* FantasticRacism: [[spoiler:He thinks of Earth Ponies as being fundamentally "broken"; they have no great magic as a race, no special abilities, no miraculous talents, so they are, in his eyes, clearly inferior to unicorns and pegasi.]]

* IAmNotLeftHanded: [[spoiler: The public believes that the Exception ''only'' lets him move an unborn foal inside the mother. In Chapter 41 of ''Triptych'', he demonstrates that it actually lets him ignore differentiation altogether. Which he demonstrates by projecting his field into a member of the Great Work who's starting to have second thoughts, and very lightly squeezing his heart.]]
* MadScientist: [[spoiler:For all his good traits, this is a pony who has willingly performed dangerous experiments (with at least one disastrous result) on other ponies and covers them all up. Chapter 30 of Triptych confirms that he experiments on at least some of the unborn ponies he helps deliver, and this is all but called out as the reason why so many of them display strangely "swapped" magical traits or talents. Chapter 40 explains just ''why'' he's doing this, and clarifies that he experiments on ''all'' of his midwifed ponies.]]
* MagneticHero: When he was reported missing, just about every pony he'd delivered (at least, those old enough to travel alone) put their lives on hold and converged on Trotter's Falls.
* PragmaticVillainy: In chapter 42 of ''Triptych'', he opposes Clear Coordinator's suggestion that [[spoiler:they kill the Bearers. He points out that, even if the Bearers do not wish to assist the Great Work, they have still saved Equestria from disaster multiple times. Furthermore, not only has Equestria seen more use for them in the last few years than it had previously seen in the last few ''centuries'', but, contrary to popular belief, an Element of Harmony will ''not'' simply find a new pony worthy of being its Bearer straight away. This means that killing the Bearers could doom Equestria, as it might be centuries before new Bearers arise]].
* StartOfDarkness: Revealed in chapter 40 of ''Triptych'': [[spoiler:his pregnant wife went into a premature labor and died from the strain of it, his Talent ignited in freeing his own daughter from her dead womb... and his daughter was born an Earth Pony, which meant he wouldn't even be able to use magic as a way to help her connect to her dead mother. He basically snapped and became determined to turn every pony into an alicorn so no more "broken" ponies would ever be born.]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Because of how often he's seen family lineages "ruined" when a foal is not the same species as its parents, and the documented likelihood of death if a pegasi gives birth to a non-pegasus foal on a cloud, Gentle Arrival is ''convinced'' that transforming all ponies into alicorns is the race's best hope to end such tragedies.]]

** [[spoiler: In Chapter 41 of ''Triptych'', it's revealed that his ''trick'' actually lets him ignore differentiation altogether. Which he demonstrates by projecting his field into a member of the Great Work who's starting to have second thoughts, and very lightly squeezing his heart.]]