application

[blueleader]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Player Name: Kex
Player Journal: shrike
Age: 26
Contact: AIM: scientifLc | Plurk: PoisonedKex
Characters Played: n/a

IN CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Slipstream**
Canon: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
OU/AU/OC: AU/OC(building off a teeny tiny au game that died about a week after I joined)
Canon Point: A few months after joining up with the Solar Empire/a few years into her military service

History:
The return of Princess Luna created a serious and unexpected divide between the ponies of Equestria. Rather than simply adjusting to having a second princess, the population became very anxious for a change in leadership, and when they didn't get it violent revolts broke out over the land. Celestia, used to being ruler, expected to quell the rebellions with her own personal guard, while Luna took a more defensive stance; after all, she had spent quite a bit of time imprisoned in the moon and could sympathize with those looking for change. Eventually she fled Canterlot, setting up her own base of operations and accepting contributors from all walks of life.

Embittered by the second loss of her sister, Celestia became hardened in a way the ponies had never seen before. She never became a tyrant as some had feared, but she became brusque, distant, and preoccupied with the workings of her military rather than, say, the magic of friendship and the personal tutelage of her pupils.

This is where Slipstream enters the picture. The royal navy never had much to do before the beginning of the Royals' War, mostly patrolling the coastline for foreign threats and providing information to cartographers. Slipstream had joined up years prior, largely out of simple duty to her country(as well as an outlet for her wanderlust and a solid use of her talent). Leading flocks of pegasi across the land and sea to explore and scout, she eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant commander, though in peacetime this didn't give her much else to do.

The Royals' War changed all that. She suddenly found herself in charge of active troops who were actually in danger, though once the surprise wore off she proved to be a competent leader. She viewed her duty as something to be properly loyal to, though she didn't pursue those who deserted. It did cause her to become more stern with the pegasi that did answer to her, not out of anger but out of necessity. Their forces had been slashed in half; everyone had to give their all or their duties wouldn't be enough to fulfill their position, and during active wartime that was just not an option.

Of course, she was still bound to the orders of her captain, who had gone rather soft during the long peace and was more than happy to shunt his duties off to his lesser officers. This, naturally, led to she and her colleagues being answerable to Princess Celestia directly, and in the Princess's current state this was not a desirable position. Slipstream's stress at having to deal with the ever-increasing responsibility spread to the rest of her crew, which led to unrest, then the idea of a possible and very ill-timed mutiny...

And then she was pulled to a very peaceful, very much not-at-war Ponyville. The whiplash alone may cause her panic enough without the thought of the disaster unfolding back home.

Personality:
Slipstream could initially be taken (and generally correctly identified) as being overly serious, critical, and disdainful, but this is a manifestation of her high standards for herself and others. There are things she expects of herself but not of her men - for example, she knows that she can lead a formation of pegasi longer than others with less endurance, and tends to take that role without offering others the option - but in general she expects the best from her colleagues and, in turn, from herself. The bottom line is always in mind, but the fallback of simply having reserves in case of a disaster almost never crosses her mind. Her soldiers are her soldiers, and ideally that produces a mutual respect. We do not have reserves, we don't leave our own behind, and we can always trust one another. Working as a team(one could say in harmony) is more important than complete and total victory. Strategic retreat, after all, is a valuable tactic when applied properly.

That's not to say she doesn't have a somewhat lighthearted side, though. When there's no task at hand, a more relaxed(though still quiet) version of her comes out to interact with the other ponies. She'll never be the one dancing on the table, but she will be the one hesitantly smiling, carrying on a quiet conversation and enjoying herself. She is typically not a buzzkill unless she knows that a soldier's nighttime antics will affect his daytime duties, but she does have a strict mental divide between "work" and "play" and becomes generally uncomfortable and unpleasant when the two mix.

That said, which she can't be called hotheaded she absolutely can and does make snap decisions, for better or worse. For this, she tries her best to keep others around her who know well enough to keep her in check and can prevent her from sending everyone to their doom, but as fortune favors the bold it's just as often that a risk is exactly what's needed. It all depends on the situation.

Strengths:
Her greatest strength is, naturally, her special talent: that is, her uncanny knack for navigation. When she can't read the stars or the position of the sun, she need only pause for a few moments to concentrate before heading off in the proper direction.

Other things she's known for are her particularly long wingspan and her mostly self-directed endurance training. She noticed the potential of her inborn trait rather quickly into young adulthood and began setting "marathons" for herself, never particularly concerned with speed but more with distance and consistency. This ability has served her well in her career.

Less prominent but still very much there is her willingness to take charge when no one else is available to do the job. Her duty is important to her, and she doesn't quite trust others to take care of it for her.

Weaknesses:
Said unwillingness to trust others to properly handle leadership positions puts her at odds with her message to her squad, and due to this she has a bad habit of biting off more than she can chew. She sometimes steps into situations that she's unable to shoulder by herself, but she's too stubborn to admit it.

As mentioned in her personality section, she also has a rather bad habit of making quick decisions and then seeing them through to the end, not wanting to break her word and genuinely believing that she's made the right choice and that things will eventually work out in her favor because of it. As with such things, many times they don't, and her backup plans are similarly hasty. It's important for her to have a cautious adviser around to keep her out of panicked messes.

Biologically, as a pegasus she has a bit less natural strength than other ponies, though her trained endurance sometimes gives her an edge. She can arm-wrestle all day, but at the end she'll probably lose.

Possessions: Her military uniform, which I will have a picture of... soon.

Pony/Animal Type: Pegasus

Cutie Mark: A spiral of matter descending into a single bright point. Kind of a vague image of "space thingy."

Pony Picture: http://oi47.tinypic.com/11m6qki.jpg

SAMPLES

First Person:
I require a status report.

The peace here is too well maintained to be self-enforced; I suspect the work of a tyrant is involved. I am asking all with knowledge of the situation at hand to reply at once. I assure all involved that this information will remain confidential and that anypony who contacts me will remain anonymous. I will also accept anonymous information, though it will be scrutinized more closely than information coming from known sources. Information from those with connections to Canterlot would also be very much appreciated. I am wary of any intel coming directly from the Princess herself, though I am doubtful that any will be provided.

-Lieutenant Commander Slipstream of the armored cruiser Manticore, Equestrian Royal Navy

Third Person:
Even as it became less and less necessary, Slipstream had become accustomed to daily land and sky patrols around Ponyville. The influx of citizens from other world, apparently including herself, merited enough suspicion to keep her on her toes, as well as on the wing though those observations tended to be faster. She had been officially been put on the weather team, something of a downgrade from her previous duties but still a useful position both for the maintenance of the town as well as independent observation. Old habits had a tendency to die hard, however, and she often found herself irked by the apparent lack of rigid structure among the pegasi she was working with.

"Hey! That was my cloud!"

Slipstream turned her head slightly, placing the cloud she had gathered aside for the moment.

"This cloud is to be used in tomorrow's rainstorm; your placement of it was less than ideal." Simple correction of an error; she herself hadn't considered it worth bringing up, only quiet organization. Clearly this had proved unacceptable, as the cream-colored pegasus looked quite annoyed.

"Well, yeah, but that's tomorrow. We don't even have to start until morning; the schedule says it's not due until midafternoon!"

This was roughly the sort of situation where Slipstream found her lack of authority to be rather irritating. Her ears laid back, but otherwise she did her best to keep her temper in check. "Collecting the clouds now will prevent disorganization in the future and ensure that things proceed according to schedule. I have moved the majority away from the town in order to--"

"Well, you shouldn't be butting in to other peoples' business! They're not dangerous; let the breeze carry them like it's supposed to and we'll bring them together when we're supposed to. It's not like they need to be hidden away like something poisonous. They're just clouds."

Slipstream closed her eyes for a moment, breathing slowly. The other pegasus was right. This was not her duty. Her disagreement on how it should be carried out may or may not have been relevant, and she absolutely didn't appreciate the tone, but she knew enough to pick her battles and this was not worth engaging. When she opened her eyes again, her expression was cool, restrained, polite, and certainly not pleased.

"I will report back in the morning." With that, she turned and flew away, making note of the pegasus's face, mark, and temperament. It was something she would have to keep in mind for the future.

**: I was only made aware that Slipstream was also a character in Transformers after I'd done the application; any overlap is unintentional, as I'm rather unfamiliar with the canon. I apologize if this causes any misunderstandings. ^^;