twibooru.org · 3779646

The full version of my new banner art over on DA and FA!
And it doubles as the proper introduction of the friend group so far.
I've named them all in the conventional way, as well as the pony-ficated way. I always thought it was fascinating that the mane six (and everyone else) had actual names aside from their "nicknames" or relation to their professions.

I'm still deep in the process of making their backstories and the slice of the world they live in feel organic and interconnected. It has turned out to be quite the undertaking. *(I'm so sorry it's so long, it got a little out of hand 😭, if there's a hide/show-more function available somewhere please point me to it)* But despite being annoying to scroll through, I still feel like it should be available to those who do end up wanting to learn some more about these girls and what their lives look like, aside from the art.

I'm also still debating with myself whether I should tie the city they live in to a location on the mlp map, or if I should just make up something new entirely. I've already taken the liberty of making a few new locations and phenomena that doesn't exist in the mlp universe whatsoever. But if I were to stick with the map, Vanhoover is definitely in my crosshairs.

Lastly, I want to stress that I refrained from getting too saucy with describing any sexual fantasies, fetishes, and what parts of their feet they enjoy being touched the m- you get the gist. It wouldn't be fair to expect people to read through so much, only to be let down by the lack of juicy stories and descriptions. It's definitely coming as ~~dlc~~ somewhere down the line ;P, but I first and foremost wanted to establish their personalities. However, for full disclosure, just so we're all on the same page here:

They all got a thing for feet. To varying degrees. There's no saving them.

So without further ado.
Everyone named and described from left to right:
*Enjoy!*

**Melanie Riley, Shroud Piercer**

Exorcist and shroud hunter.

Unicorn.

She has pale, blue skin and faintly purple hair. Her tail is split, with the resemblance of a crescent moon or mermaid's tail. She has bright gold and amber eyes.

Age: 27

Height: 176 cm, 5.77 ft

Shoe size: 40, 7.5, 9.5

About:
Melanie comes from a family who belongs to an order deeply rooted in exorcism and shroud hunting. Being shroud hunter is not a profession for the feint of heart. It involves tracking, stabilizing and entering portals of sinister energy, called shroud tethers. Within, a twisted scape of shades and otherworldly creatures await to be bested or banished to let the place diseased by their presence rest once again. It is still an ongoing mystery what realm the shroud tethers originate from, and how they keep appearing. And the order hungers for knowledge as to how they can put a stop to this ancient threat.

During an exorcism near the Marble Canopy, Melanie met and joined forces with Delphi and her family in order to overcome an ancient foe. After the encounter, Melanie decided to stay a while with Delphi and her band of fellow spell dancers, with a desire to improve her understanding of their ways. Here she learned about both Rose and Delphi's families' endeavors to stop the shroud's presence from spreading, as well as the unfortunate fate of Rose's grandparents, who had taught Delphi's family how to combat the eerie nature of the shroud.

While on the fence about joining ponies wielding the occult in order to stop the occult, she saw the undeniable good in the deeds of Delphi's people. So against her order's wishes, she decided to take a chance and offered to help Delphi and Rose with uncovering the disappearance of Rose's grandparents, in hopes of learning more about the origins of the shroud tethers. She has since moved into Rose's apartment together with Kira and Leah, and has been quick to settle in quite nicely.

She still partakes in what her order calls contracts in- or near the city, alongside Delphi. But when she's home, she's eager to help with research or share what she has found, as well as lending educated suggestions on where to look next.

On the surface, Melanie assumes a serious and calculated persona, especially towards strangers and contractors. It fits her profession and reputation, so everyone respects her presence and trusts her capabilities whenever she's on duty. Her close friends, on the other hand, know a very different side of her when she's off duty. When home or hanging out, Melanie is a jester at heart and loves making everyone around her laugh. Even at the expense of herself. She finds it a welcome contrast to her unnerving working conditions, and it helps her stay grounded, connected and happy.

Melanie also enjoys teasing and having fun with her friends a lot, a bond she especially shares with Kira. She also dabbles in crafting costumes, and could never pass on a good horror movie. However, she has a bad habit of slipping out spoilers on the villains' weaknesses before they're revealed, due to her being well acquainted with their inspirations from her field. But most of all, she relishes observing her friends' reactions to the scary parts.

She prefers dark, baggy and loose clothes for casual wear, as it lies in direct contrast to her shroud hunting outfit. Being a shroud hunter, Melanie is naturally taught in several schools of weaponry and combat. She enjoys archery and fencing the most.
She's also quite good at playing harp, but has no real avenue to practice after she moved.

**Kira Xavier, Stellar Riff**

Guitarist and musician.

Earthpony.

She has warm-tinted yellow skin and a flaming pink mane with orange accents. Her hair is long and unruly. She has dark green emerald eyes.

Age: 25

Height: 179 cm, 5.87 ft

Shoe size: 38, 6, 8

About:
Kira is a wandering ray of sunshine. She possesses a contageous happiness and fervor in everything she does, and is never shy of giving it everything she's got. A trait that has paved the way for her musical career- and style. Music has always been second nature for her from a very young age. Whether she banged on tins with wooden spoons, or wielded an electric guitar with proper sound boosting, she always knew how to make the most of it and attract a crowd.

Kira is also Rose's best friend. They grew up in the same neighborhood together, and quickly became inseparable at a very young age. They followed each other every step of the way in their school years, all the way to graduation and onwards.

Although she burned bright with no signs of stopping, her pursuits weren't without hardship along the way. Many of her teachers were bitter, either because they were jealous, or annoyed that she had trouble paying attention in the classes that didn't intrigue her. The bad attention she got ended up rubbing off on her peers, making Kira the black sheep among her fellow students. School was a turbulent time for her, to say the least. But Kira rolled with the punches, and ended up rather popular in the latter years of her student life. Nevertheless, Kira just about made it through her graduation with a passing grade, without having her flame extinguished. Shortly after she turned 18, she moved into the city together with Rose and Leah. From here, she managed to hitch a spot in the band she had aspired to be in for a long time. She is tightly knit with her band mates and loves writing lyrics, mixing and coming up with new experimental sequences for their albums. On the side, she works in retail at a clothing shop in order to make ends meet.

Kira is a social butterfly and has an extraordinary ability to get along with anyone. But her social mojo doesn't come without a price. If someone feels sad, Kira will, like a tuning fork, feel it too and proceed to work tirelessly to try and cheer them up. Failing to do so can cause her guilt to silently eat her up inside for days on end, until someone will notice and remind her that she's okay for having tried her best. It never takes long before she comes back around to shine as bright as she did before.

She loves reading and watching science fiction and has drawn a lot of inspiration from the sound they use in the genre's movies and scores.
She likes wearing long jeans. Denim, jogging or pyjamas. The longer, the merrier.
Her favorite instrument is her trusty six stringed guitar she affectionately calls: Astrum Ignis.
She's also great on drums and sfx.

**Jess, (Bellaphemeront) Blasphemy Rose**

Antiquary and spell singer.

Earthpony.

Her skin ranges from a dark magenta to a bright rosey color on her palms and soles. Her hair is platinum-rosa with a teal gradient that grows more dominant at the tips. It's swept like a tidal wave and flows down her back to her waist, with shapes that resembles the likeness of a thorny rosebush. Her eyes are a dark cyan with iridescent irises and pupils.

Age: 25

Height: 198 cm, 6.5 ft

Shoe size: 43, 10, 12

About:
Jess, or Rose, as she's most commonly referred to, is an artisan and artifact collector. In her youth, Rose's parents noticed signs of her being extraordinarily gifted as a spell singer. Something she's believed to have inherited from her grandparents. She has always been dilligent in her studies and her work, and is not adverse to taking risks when it comes to impactful life choices. Not long after she graduated and got her permit for practicing spell singing, her grandparents seemingly vanished without a trace. In their sudden absence, the antique shop they had run for decades now stood empty without an owner to manage it. Rose's parents were bereaved, and asked her if she would be up to the task of inheriting the shop and its business going forward, as they were both too busy balancing their own careers. Disheartened and in disbelief by the fact that her beloved grandparents had disappeared in such an unceremonious fashion, Rose decided to take up the mantle of their trade. She swore to search every last artifact, fragment or parchment she could get her hands on for any clues about what could have caused their fate. Together with the help of her friends, she got the shop back up and running, and quickly became well acquainted with the art of peddling and acquiring all sorts of antiques and goods. Be it from exotic buyers, mystical and eccentric traders, or from various places and sites she and her friends would visit in the pursuit of uncovering the reason behind her grandparents' disappearance. One day when Rose was in the shop's storage sorting through the remaining inventory, she stumbled upon a tome unlike anything she had ever seen. Hovering her hand over the thick, dusty cover sent chills down her spine. She recognized it to be a dangerous remnant of the shroud war, and promptly sealed it away, livid over the thought of her grandparents tampering with such a thing. Artifacts like these were strictly forbidden to possess in any shape or form, due to their connection to the shroud, as well as their volatile and unpredictable magic. But she had an ominous feeling she would need it, if she wanted to figure out what had happened to her poor grandparents.

Rose was born in a family, who had passed down the practice of an ancient art capable of letting anyone, be it earthpony, pegasi or ungulate, to evoke magic from written words. These words, or runes known as hymn locks, is an alphabet that can be spoken, sung or shouted, in order to unleash magic that can rival that of a skilled unicorn. This practice is called spell singing. This version of magic is viewed as deeply controversial, and even heretical in some circles, as its origins are largely unknown. But its history is not. The free and manipulative nature of hymn locks make their limits and applications far more open than any other magic school. A trait which attracted a lot of bad actors hungry for power during its conception. What followed was a wave of nefarious summoners and worshippers, who had twisted the words into phrases of malignant destruction. By welding them together with the occult font of an ancient shroud herald they worshipped, their spells gained immense strength, at the cost of their will and sanity. Aided and commanded by the monstrosity from the shroud, the summoners unleashed unimaginable horrors from a world that wasn't supposed to coexist with theirs, for the sole purpose of causing slaughter and suffering. The grievous fight for peace was long, arduous and full of loss. But through several acts of selfless sacrifice and perseverance shown by the royal guard- and magicians, the summoners and the shroud herald's legions were stopped and banished. Ever since then, the use of hymn locks was seen as blasphemous and strictly forbidden. But the ruling did not comprehend how the hymn locks weren't inherently related to the influence of the shroud herald. Many generations of hermits, herbalists and healers, among travellers and nomads, knew of all the good the hymn locks had previously been capable of. So in spite of the ruling's warnings, many lineages and communities continued the practice of spell singing in secret. Its use was heavily monitored and legislated by the most talented and trustworthy individuals of the craft, who together founded an underground council for its stewardship and mastery.

The council's actions did not go undetected, and an opposition for the use of hymn locks swiftly followed, promising that those who would bring about the influence of the shroud to their world would be brought to justice. An order of vigilantes known as the shroud hunters. Mistaken by the council's intentions at first, many shroud hunters soon came to realize that they shared a common goal with each other. Extinguishing any trace of the shroud from this world seemed to be in both parties' interest. Although the hunters remained skeptical and rather distrustful, many slowly began working together with both spell singers and their offshoot, the spell dancers, in order to track and vanquish the remnants of the shroud tethers left from the conflict.

In modern times, the practice of spell singing is largely kept hidden, and has long been forgotten by most in the public eye. The stigma behind it persists, but the punishment for practicing it has since been relaxed due to it being viewed as nothing more than a myth of old.

Rose is the custodian of the friend group. She's gentle, caring, selfless and generous, and picks everyone up whenever they're feeling down on their luck. She has a big heart and has always had a desire to share her abilities with others. Had she not been so abnormally tall, and hadn't had such a good friend in Kira, her kindness would've assuredly been taken advantage of when she was younger. Luckily, her shy and agreeable shell from her formative years were fast to shed, and she swiftly grew the confidence required to understand her worth and set proper boundaries.

Rose is very open, and does not shy away from mentioning the uncomfortable, or sharing the good she sees in her peers. She believes that truth and compliments are best served fresh, and spoil faster the longer you keep them to yourself. But she also understands their limits and diminishing returns when shared in rapid succession or large dosages. Moderation and sincerity is key.

Rose has quite the way with words, and knows how to charm and sway both her customers and assailants with only a few alluring sentences. This also works well to entice her friends when in the right mood.

She takes her responsibilities as a spell singer very seriously, and always has countermeasures and fail-safes prepared if something were to go awry.

Rose is easily distracted or infatuated by beauty, bright colors or anything that's caught moving in the corner of her eye. She also has a tendency to get carried away or go on tangents in her conversations, while forgetting what topic sparked the whole ordeal to begin with.

Rose has quite a few interests she enjoys when she isn't peddling and haggling wares in her antique shop. She is quite the artist, and has always enjoyed drawing and painting to express herself and capture the world around her. Her favorite art form is croquis, and she often participates as the model for classes in the local art academy. She's quite popular over there, due to her elegance in the way she gestures and carries herself despite her size. She also has quite the skill for poetry, and has a hidden singing talent. She keeps those mostly to herself. As far as intstruments go, she plays the cello, and prefers to play by ear.

**Delphi, Lupinia Moonshade**

Exorcist and spell dancer.

Earthpony.

Her skin is a deep, dark blue, and can seem almost unfathomably stygian when under the right conditions. The pigment along her palms and soles gradually turn lighter and blush. The pattern on her muzzle and forehead is a muted silver, and strangely doesn't appear anywhere else on her body. Her ears are a tad bit pointier than most other ponies'. Her hair is platinum, and is swept to one side, covering the side of her head like a talon. The rest is tied and partially braided into a long pony tail. Her eyes are dark purple with piercing icy pupils.

Age: 28

Height: 191 cm, 6.26 ft

Shoe size: 41, 8.5, 10.5

About:
Delphi is Rose's cousin, and the oldest of the friend group. She grew up in the windswept peaks of the Marble Canopy, where her people work tirelessly to heal the land and stop any intrusive trace of the shroud, or ancient evils from gathering a foothold. When news about the disappearance of Rose's grandparents came to their parts, her family was struck by grief. Their efforts had previously been greatly aided by the knowlegde and blessings the now vanished couple had provided. Learning they were gone moved them to seek answers beyond the ruins they had been safeguarding for so long. Delphi took it upon herself to leave her family and seek out Rose's whereabouts together with Melanie, in order to help her find and reconnect them. Their fate and their foes seemed to be connected in some way.

Delphi is much like a vigilant gargoyle. Tall, resilient, silent and observant, if a bit intimidating. But that's where the similarities end. Her trained nimbleness and agility is what enables her to exercise her magic. It also makes her capable of scaling most structures effortlessly, and move swiftly in relative silence. Gifted with true sight and hearing, she prefers to stay perched up high where she can keep an eye on everything that moves, and brood in peace. In spite of her reclusive nature, Delphi has quite a curious soul, and pays very close attention to the small things in those she observes.

Although she resides in the shadows, she does not shy away from moments of conflict, and will appear by the side of her friends long before danger has a chance to strike first. In certain occasions, her sudden presence can sometimes be viewed as quite the omen. But Delphi is never ill equipped to deal with whatever shapes of evil that comes her way, and often joins Melanie on her contracts to ensure her safety. She secretly enjoys the thrill and the feeling of protecting someone.

Delphi is a mare of very few words, and is very picky about who she talks to. She greatly dislikes offending anyone with something she might say, so she much prefers to remain silent and listen instead.

She can easily be mistaken for royalty when viewing her from the waist up, but she has the etiquette reminiscent of a kid raised in the wild.

Delphi rarely wears anything aside from her spell dancing garments. Although Delphi doesn't fancy wearing footwear, the real reason why she is always barefoot is, it enables her to perform her magic without hindrance or delay.

Delphi tries to put up a front about her issues. But to her friends, it's hardly a secret that she struggles with turning her guard down, even when she has little to no reason to stay alert. She repeatedly scans every possible exit or blind spot, in fear that the moment she slips up, her loved ones