Gutsy
Gender: Male
Species: Earth Pony
Mane: Black
Tail: black
Eyes: Brown
Body: Grey
Cutie Mark: Anvil with a sword sticking into the top of it
Age (Baby,adult): Adult
Personality: Despite his often intimidating appearance and skills with a sword, Gutsy is a surprisingly optimistic and pleasant pony to be around. He is a bit on the quiet side for the most part, being a pony of few words and ultimately appears rather aloof. This isn't due to any issues with trust or a tragic past, but for one simple reason: He believes it's how heroes act. Driven by an almost obsessive desire to become a hero like the ones he has been told about in the stories of old, Gutsy has done all he can to try to look and act like a hero and sometimes has a tendency to overdo it or completely miss the point for why a hero would act a certain way. He also sometimes has a tendency to break out into over-dramatic poses and try his best to sound as awesome or heroic as possible, only to fail spectacularly and end up embarrassing himself.
Along with his overly dramatic tendencies, Gutsy's second issue is that he is rather headstrong and not too intelligent, being rather academically unintelligent. He has a tendency to often rush into situations despite of his heroic intent and is also known to be rather bad when it comes to understanding economics and even complicated phenomena such as the workings of magic (As far as he knows, it just happens and that's it). He's also got a very bad sense of direction, usually getting lost unless somebody shows him exactly where he needs to go.
However, in spite of his idiocy and his overly dramatic actions, Gutsy is genuinely motivated by his desire to help people. He is often willing to help out anybody provided they don't have an even intent: Even people he has only just met or barely knows he will jump to the aid of, no matter how trivial the task. He also is surprisingly rather brave, perhaps or in spite of his unintelligence in some simple aspects of life around him.
He is also incredibly skilled as a metal worker and black smith, having a very good understanding of how to forge metallic objects and also repair things provided they involve metal working. He was able to forge his own sword along with his armor and is incredibly keen when it comes to spotting faults or damages to metallic objects. He's also a very skilled fighter both with his sword and with his bare hooves, his years of forging having afforded him a great amount of strength and durability. However, he does tend to panic whenever he loses his sword, often losing his cool completely until it's found. He's also incredibly loyal to those he helps, and can become very offended whenever his loyalty is called into question. He also has issues with those that willingly manipulate or betray others, which is one of the few things that can make him truly angry.
Overall, Gutsy has a good heart and is skilled in his trade along with battle but his stupidity and flair for dramatics often make him a hard pony to deal with for some no matter how good his intentions.
Likes: Metal Working, smithing, being a blacksmith repairing things, his sword, sword fighting, success, card games, the prospect of being a hero and apple cider
Dislikes: Pears, betrayal, Charismatic leaders, Failing, losing his sword, seeing innocent people harmed, those who wish ill upon others.
History: Growing up is never easy for anyone, especially if you're born in the lower runs of society. Born to a pair of construction workers in the more run down parts of Manhatten, Gutsy spent most of his early life with the threat of constant foreclosure looming over the small flat that his parents chose to raise him in and the absence of his parents who struggled to make sure they still had a roof over their heads. This meant that despite how much he cared for his parents, he was often left on his own even from a young age.
Made worse for the already isolated foal, was the fact he was always rather tall for his age which made most of the other young ponies rather intimidated by him. His eyes and dark fur color only added to form a rather intimidating appearance even from an early age, with many in the city choosing to judge him for how he looked rather then how he acted. This all changed one day when he met a young pony called Lightwing: A pure white Pegasus that was Gutsy's polar opposite in every way. Where as Gutsy was silent, Lightwing was charismatic. Where Gutsy appeared intimidating and dangerous even at a young age, White hawk was often described as being beautiful. The only common ground the two foals shared was that they both came from poverty, which caused the two too bond fiercely and the young Gutsy to become pleased that he finally had a friend. The two were almost inseparable as they grew up, taking refuge in stories of old heroes and often playing make believe that they were both 'brave knights' that seeked to save the kingdom from whatever threat plagued the land that they made up in the alleys of their home. And, with Lightwings almost natural charisma the pair of friends soon became a small group of six. It was then that Gutsy and Lightwing promised one another that they would stay together and watch one anothers back for the rest of their lives, no matter what happened.
However, things started to change when the two discussed their dreams: Lightwing explained that he wanted to one day be someone of importance and to lead others, entertaining the notion that he would one day be “King of Equestria”. Gutsy supported this, knowing Lightwing was very good at co-coordinating and leading others. However, when it came to Gutsy was rather at a loss: He had no idea what to do with his life. This earned a bit of amusement from Lightwing, but aside from a bit of light mockery there was little conflict of interest. That was, until later.
As both Foals had grown older, Gutsy had started to notice Lightwing had gradually started to get more manipulative of others and begun using his 'silver Tongue' for selfish gains. While he had shrugged it off initially as his imagination, it wasn't until later that he finally saw Lightwings true colors.
When he was out shopping for supplies for his family, Gutsy spied Lightwing chatting to a more upper class girl that Lightwing had started to show interest in after it was shown how influential her family was. While he knew it was wrong, Gutsy still found it curious as he tried to woo the mare, telling her about his dream and of how she interested him. It was here he was shot down by her due to the belief that “He befriended the low”. Lightwing, without hesitation and skipping a beat, spoke the words that would mark the end of their friendship: “They are dedicated and have helped to make my dream real but, I wouldn't call any of them friends, merely acquaintances at best. See, friends don't rely on one anothers dreams and for me to have a friend they would need to have a dream of their own. But, above all, that pony needs to be my equal in every respect for me to even consider them a friend” The statement, combined with his earlier talk, ended up wooing the upper class mare whilst Gutsy left in disgust.
During his return home, he came across a blacksmith that was leaving town who was going to try to start his trade elsewhere. Making note that he needed assistance, and that the young Gutsy looked able enough to do some “Heavy lifting”, he offered the unemployed young pony a chance to earn a living. Delighted at the offer of work and that he would be able to see the world, the young pony agreed without hesitation. Saying his farewell to his parents, who were glad their son had found security and would be able to see “The brighter parts of the world”. It was a tearful farewell, even for Gutsy, but all agreed it was for the best.
However, as Gutsy left the next day, he came across his friends that were waiting for him. Having heard from his parents that he was leaving, all of them chose to see him off and he was surprised when Lightwing approached. Gone was the confident and carefree pony he had once befriended, and instead lay an almost emotionless and determined one that used almost every trick in the book to get the earth pony to stay. However, Gutsy would have none of it and, in desperation, he challenged Gutsy to a “Duel”. He reminded Gutsy of the promise they had made to one another all those years ago and that, because of that, he was forbidden to leave but still Gutsy was determined and accepted the duel. However, instead of weapons or magic the two used wooden broom handles due both to the desire to not gravely injure each other and also because there was little else for them to use. Unfortunately, due to picking a poor handle, Lightwing found his stick broken in two after just one strike, earning a himself an injury to his face by accident. In defeat, Lightwing collapsed to the ground in, for the first time in his life, utter horror and shock whilst Gutsy said a simple “Bye” before going to join his new found employer, leaving his former “Friend” behind.
Despite things not working out well with Lightwing, Gutsy didn't let it color his perception of the world too much and remained optimistic about the rest of the world. Under the tutelage of his new mentor along with inspiration from both his stories and from his former friends revelation of his true colors, Gutsy decided to do his best to become a hero like the ones from the legends. His employers laughed at this, but ultimately didn't complain after he had seen Gutsy's potential in smithing. Despite his bare bones academic education, Gutsy proved to be a natural at metal working and smithing. He applied himself enough to earn himself his cutie mark, realizing he had a talent for metal working.
However, despite finding his talent and enjoying what he did Gutsy still felt his desire to be a hero and ended up forging his own sword and set of armor. His employer was surprised by this but, realizing he couldn't sway his pupil, decided instead to instruct him on how to fight properly with the hunk of metal he had forged for himself. Once he had learned how though, he explained he had nothing left to teach Gutsy and allowed him to head off into the horizon to follow his calling.
Since then, Gutsy has wandered Equestria and offered his services as both a blacksmith as well as a sword-pony, still overwhelmed by his desire to become a hero despite the still very long road that lies ahead of him.
Example RP segment: 1. A foal has lost its mother and is sobbing inconsolably in the street . Given your OC’s personality, compose a brief narrative in which your OC identifies and addresses the situation.
This town was so confusing! All those roads and winding streets, not to mention the crowds of ponies lining the roads, made the whole thing so much harder to navigate then it normally would have been. At this rate, he figured it would have been easier to just go ahead to the next town but, he always made it a point to try to avoid skipping towns if he had too.
As he stopped to try, and fail, to get his bearings near a fountain he heard the sound of crying. Looking around frantically, he eventually came across the sight of a young filly sobbing uncontrollable, muttering incomprehensibly in between her sobs. It was a sight that tugged on the colts heartstrings, and the fact that few seemed to be doing anything about it made Gutsy change priorities immediately.
Walking over to the crying foal, the male looked down at her with a concerned look.
“Hey, what's wrong?” He ended up saying this as more of a growl, suddenly regretting that he hadn't drank any water until he found a hotel due to the sore throat he was starting to get.
The filly however looked up at the sword-pony with wide, scared eyes, obviously rather intimidated by him despite being a sobbing wreck. She soon backed away a bit, continuing to cry.
“G-g-go away!” She said In between sobs, soon returning to crying albeit at a much stronger volume.
Gutsy sighed, kneeling down in-front of her, determined not to move until he helped.
“It's OK, I'm here to aid you!” He declared loudly as he struck a surprisingly over the top pose, pointing down at her.”Tell me what troubles you and....I’ll help” He trailed off slightly, looking less intimidating and more silly, raising a hoof up into the air with surprising flair.”No matter how dangerous the task, no matter what...bad stuff....happens...I'll help!” He floundered about at the end, trailing off as he lost momentum with the speech, which caused a few locals to look at him with quizzical expressions.
The filly, despite how sad she looked seemed to giggle at this, however slightly in the midst of her cries.
“I lost my mommy!” Her sobs soon returned in full force, making Gutsy tap his chin as he wracked his brain for a solution. How would the heroes of old solve this.
“Hmm....”He soon smiled, looking down at her.”I was always told when you lose something, it's usually in the last place you look. So all we gotta do is go where we last saw her. Just tell me where you last saw her, even a basic direction where you did will help and we'll head that way!”
The filly begun wiping her eyes, taking a shaky sniff before pointing to a street to her left.
“There..”
“Alright! That way it is!” Turning in a complete circle, Gutsy eventually found himself situated exactly where she had said.”Now, hop on my back and we'll be off!”
“Umm...why?”
“See, I'm very tall compared to you so I can see a lot. You can't see much because you're short. So...if you get on my back, you'll be able to see more then me and you. Just like that old saying: There's no such thing as Overkill!” He nodded sagely.”Now, come on, let's go find your mother!” He said loudly, the young filly nodding before leaping onto his back causing Gutsy immediately take off in the direction without another word.
[Acceptance]
Subject: Gutsy 
Sun Jan 06, 2013 4:42 pm
