A sort of Exposition...
Greetings, to all just joining. What you are reading now is the solitary biography of Wasteland survivor and sanguine shadow who stalks between the light, to persevere in a blasted, destitute shithole, and to give those who are in need a chance to pursue a goal, and dream such as his, that one day it might all change at last for the better, but until then... the obscuring mask, the darkened hood, the leathery wings of night's veil, and the guiding hoof to a better Equestria are all the scavengers and dwellers know.
However, you are granted the privilege of knowing the more mundane truth behind this so called "hero", who you may call... Ashen Crest.
Alright. Here we go.
The Who...
What needs to be said first and foremost is that Ashen measures himself in a very specific way. His
self worth. His
strengths. His
weaknesses. These numbers will mean nothing to you, nor should they be taken as anything more than a bizarre concept of letters and numbers intelligible only to him. As for why you are being shown this information, despite it being all but worthless to you, it still holds a deeper connection to Ashen than anything else. For this is what could be considered his very being.
S - 6
P - 8
E - 4
C - 6
I - 7
A - 8
L - 7
With this knowledge in mind, it is important to keep in mind that the world Ashen hails from is an
alternate version of Equestria, where everypony is measured in such a way, as such is the simplest means of doing so when there is nothing else from the time before everything fell into ruin. Ashen has endured persisting banes, evaded ever lingering misfortunes, and suffered many hardships that have left his heart and soul broken, only to get back up stronger than ever again and again. It is from years of experience he has learned to survive and thrive all on his own, despite however, his one biggest flaw.
The fact that Ashen Crest is a Bat Pony. To you, reader, a Bat Pony is merely a pegasus but with fluffier ear tips, glowing eyes adorned with predators pupil slits, pointy fangs, and of course the trademark wings of a bat. Where Ashen is from, the truth of what a Bat Pony is could not be foggier. What little that IS known of them is mostly speculation, and due to this their very nature is an existential enigma. There are however,
specific issues that surround the enigmatic race that have lived underground for centuries after Princess Luna, and Nightmare Moon, fell from grace. Let us go through them, one by one.
The Challenges...
1. One of the more infamous aspects of Bat Ponies that everypony who has ever come across one discovered very quickly, is that they are either far too loud and speak in an eardrum demolishing volume, or rather cannot be understood or heard at all as their natural language has evolved into a frequency that is not possible for any normal pony to catch, instead hearing only squeaks, chirps, and other such considerably adorable yet unintelligible noises. Ashen is no different and he unfortunately has no special talisman to lower his pitch, like some Bat Ponies do.
2. Being born in a cavern, and inheriting the result of centuries of a race spent underground and the evolutionary consequences of such, Ashen has bad experiences with the sun. It is not as if he is a vampire, and will turn to dust should he wander into its rays, but merely that his sensitive, darkness attuned eyes are hurt by the intensity of its brightness, an issue mostly solved by his deep cowl that is sewn into his armor. He is also unable to use his special magic that all Bat Ponies naturally have known only as Shadow Magic, while in direct light unless it is a spell that attracts light and creates shadows in its place.
3. The Genetic Death of his species is nigh, and because of the traditions his home follows as well as the few numbers remaining of pure and genetically untainted Bat Ponies, inbreeding is a very real danger that is inevitable. This leads to many Bat Ponies developing awful birth defects, but Ashen, as guilty as he feels because of it, was born a perfectly healthy foal while his mother and father, the mare being the mother to the father, both suffer from various afflictions. Ashen has left his home in search of a cure for this, but that is only one of his many goals.
4. There are other, smaller issues that come with being a Bat Pony. The mistrust that follows their undocumented past. The Zebra's that fear the stars and the night, and of course anything born from or in servitude to or in the worship of. And the danger of being labeled a mutant or monster by those ignorant of their existence. Such things however, are to be expected by any Bat that leaves their home. They are aware that they are remnants of a hard past, and that they may never catch up to the present. Ashen, bless his hopeful little heart, has adapted quite thoroughly to his new home. And what he hopes to accomplish is nothing short of fool's ambition.
The Demeanor...
Now that you are aware of his, and his species existence, their problems, and the core of WHAT Ashen is, it is time to learn WHO Ashen is. Ashen is no more complicated than you or I, a young stallion with a hopeful spark in his eyes, the kind that looks danger in the face and using fear to fuel his drive to carry forth. Ashen feels a deep sense of sympathy and compassion for the Wasteland's many victims, hating how unfair it is that the ponies of the past that brought them to ruin would never get to know what they've done to the ponies, and many other races of today. What kinds of painful scars were left in the wake of ignorance and hatred. But that's getting too dramatic, so on we go to how Ashen behaves.
Steady on his nerves, this Bat is usually pretty chill. Only ever terribly cautious as is to be expected of any Wastelander worth their salt. Quick to the draw but not to the trigger, he suffers from something that gets you killed out there. The ironic Merciful counter-piece to his survival instincts. He, much like everypony else at least who isn't one of the many kinds of trouble out there, just wants to get along without trouble. Too much to ask for, he is gruelingly aware yet it won't stop him from sharing his hopefulness with those who have yet to point a gun at his head.
This is not admittance to pacifism. Far from it. The blood on his hooves has unfortunately turned him just the slightest bit jaded. That is to say, he is not depressed or views the world in a negative light, it is simply that he cannot bring himself to care for the many who try to take his life, once it is all said and over with. Adopting instead the regretful, yet necessary distancing from such things in order to stay sane, and preserve the positive mental attitude he tries so hard to keep intact. This anecdote of his personality has conflictions with his own thoughts, leaving him confused many-a-night as he wonders what is really the right way to handle things.
Though he may seem almost... blank at first glace, this is only because he prefers to adapt to whoever it is speaking to him at the moment. Finding it best to forego his own uniqueness to instead be whatever anypony wants him to be, he has no issue switching up his vocal patterns, his ticks, and demeanor. Situations change on the fly and so can he, though typically while he is alone, Ashen takes on a much more quiet and distanced persona that makes him seem almost stoic, like the "silent and strong" type... when that couldn't be further from the truth. He just doesn't have much to say.
Ashen left his home and people behind when he realized that staying there would only lead to an undesirable future, in which he would be forcefully married to somepony that he had no interest in, in order to stave off the encroaching genetic stagnation, and then live out his days breeding and adhering to tradition. Dreadfully dull tradition. Life in the Wasteland is dangerous and almost always guaranteed to end painfully, but Ashen would take his chances while he searched for what he truly wanted out of life. It was difficult to adapt, but eventually he became adeptly skilled at worming his way through adversity, finding a hoof-hold in the vigilante business... as incidental as it always was.
This is where the quotations around "hero" earlier come from. Ashen has always been a soft-hearted colt. His sympathy a rare kind, strong as it is. He can't help but see himself in others shoes. And despite the unrealistic want to step in and be a hero, help others and make them smile, Ashen still tries his best. But at the end of the day, it's just all one big accident.
Ashen is just a kid barking up all the wrong trees. Without ever barking. Funny how that works out. Always stepping in where he is needed, though almost never intentionally. No, he never actively seeks out trouble. It always just so happened to find him. As it just turns out he has always just been lucky to be the better shot, the quicker reflex, and the stronger hoof. One day and he knows this too, his luck will run dry. But until that day, Ashen is just going to keep going until he finds that higher calling in life. Whatever that could be. Maybe, nothing at all.
The Tools of the Trade...
And so, to top off our little getting to know with Ashen Crest it's time to learn about the tools he uses to make his way through encounter after encounter. Being from a land time forgot, technology had a certain stopping point for the Bat's. It was all because of, well, the untimely end of the world. Mostly however it is also attributed to the fact that for a lot of their history they have been underground. It's only to be expected that they still have a few... obsolete ticks in their designs, ticks that Ashen has more or less taken care of at this point. Still, he refuses to abandon it for the sake of something that would fit better in the Wasteland. His standard line-up is as follows, with details on each.
Old World Night Guard Elite Jacket (Modified): Well that's a mouthful isn't it? Of course, what other names could be given to Ashen's attire as it is quite literally a gift to him from his family's military lineage that Ashen spruced up with his own little touch. A hood, plenty of kevlar, and a few more belts for good measure. It once was worn with honor and fierce loyalty to her Majesty Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon, but these days the Lunar Military insignia on the back of the jacket barely means a thing. The crescent moon base, the wings on either side, the star in the center. All but a distant memory.
Now, to actually describe what it is, it is an armored jacket long enough to cover the body from neck to tail, with the ends of it splitting into two coattails, it is made of a thick cloth woven layers within layers within a thin outer layer of smooth, polished leather, all dyed the colors of the night, deep shades of midnight blue. There are few decorative pieces left to adorn it, most of it stripped away, as it is unnecessary. On the inside everything has a ballistic weaving of kevlar, causing it to be heavier and just a bit harder to move in, but overall a much more reliably protective piece of clothing. As well, Ashen had a hood stitched into the neck with all the same materials, kevlar and all, to make it as seamless as possible. Does it look alright? Well, I suppose imagine Corvo's outfit from Dishonored. It's as close as I can imagine.
Leifthrasir: Considering I know next to nothing about guns, instead I will simply show you an image so that it at least makes sense in some context what exactly I had in mind.
Well now, wasn't that just educational? No? Not really? I didn't even tell you what he looked like? Well, that's fine. I mean, he's pretty much covered head to hoof by the outfit, so if details must arise then I'll make them up as I go. Easy as that. I'm done making this CS. I swear, it's fine. I always sucked at this, but believe me, Ashen's a great character. Seriously. Just the best. You'll see. You'll all see. Is it better than the Robot? Probably not. I really don't care, I just want to freaking roleplay... Okay. So. There it is. Ashen Crest. I know, yeah, whatever not the best CS, I'd rather just get him in and have you guys learn about his stuff there, I mean, there's no point in seriously working out everything here.
Peace out.
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