Guidelines

Sojourner

August 23, 2014

She is a solid brown mare. Her overall coat is light-to-medium brown while her mane & tail are dark brown. She has green eyes & short eyelashes with a somewhat rough appearance.

Being an earth pony, she has strength on her side; however it is not overly apparent. Considering her athletic background in her younger years, she kept her physic lean so as to be quick on her hooves. While she of course has worked to strengthen herself, she didn't want to be bulky.

She wears her trusty fedora-ish hat at all times.

On the surface, she may seem brash and overly confident; sometimes bordering on cockiness.

To her, it's just a love of life, history, and her career. She is not afraid to show how proud she is of the path she has taken in her life as she wants ponies to embrace what they love in life. She believes if there is a goal to obtain that they should do their utmost to obtain it; and be proud of it.

As such, she is admittedly confident, and by her own admission, sometimes overly-confident. When she feels they have a lead on something like an ancient artifact, she tends to go for it. However, that isn't entirely the fault of overconfidence.

She is also proud of being a tomboy. She has no issues getting down and dirty in the sand, mud, or what have you if the job calls for it. In fact; she enjoys it!

She loves adventure. Her true love, in addition to history, is the feeling of going out and exploring; to visit ruined cities, ancient temples, and abandoned catacombs; to see history in front of her.

With her trademark grin, she see life ahead of her, and enjoys every minute of it.

Sojourner was born to her parents in Baltimare, but was raised only by her father. Her mother had simply left without a word; without a trace. While her father was heartbroken and had felt the loss through the years, he still raised and tended to the foal like a loving father should have. As she never knew her mother she grabbed onto a lot of her father's mannerisms and grew to be a bit of a tomboy. Indeed, she enjoyed playing in the dirt just as much as anything else.

Like other foals she attended school and learned the basics. She also ended up discovering her cutie mark fairly early. Being a constant visitor of the school's library, she often times found herself in the history section. One night, when it was near closing time, she was trying to reach for a book on a very high shelf. Determined to get it herself, she climbed to the top only for the added weight to shift the balance of the shelf and topple over. Luckily, part of the shelf landed on a railing; sparing her of injury. Even so, she found herself buried in books. Before any pony could get to her, she found herself reading a book that was wide open on the floor. Enthralled by the tale of adventure and exploration, she was holding onto that book for dear life when she was pulled out from the pile. As soon as she was freed; the cutie mark appeared on her flank, causing her, and every pony else, to jump for joy and relief. Getting a quick look at the subject of the book, she found her calling. She wanted to be an archeologist.

While in school she was very active in athletics and found enjoyment in simply running around and climbing anything she could get her hooves on. Never letting athletics get in the way of her education, she found a nice balance between the two and graduated foal school with decent grades. She; however, was not finished with her education.

Living in Baltimare she had plenty of academies she could choose from; and indeed she tried a few of them. They all had decent history programs, but they were lacking a certain personal and passionate touch. One of her professors suggested a small academy located in the town of Derbyshire; not far from Baltimare and along the railroad. Being very skeptical of that, her dad convinced her to give it a try, and that she did.

As it turned out, she was surprised by how much she enjoyed it. Derbyshire was a nice town, and the quiet nature of the town and the small size of the academy lent itself well her studies, her workout, and her passion. As years went on, she did very well in her classes. She also improved her lean figure and her agility; while working on her strength somewhat. She still had visions and dreams of adventure; even as she was maturing. Her main goal though was the spread of history, and she found a good way to do just that.

She noticed an old dilapidated building on a hill overlooking the town. Knowing that this was the site of an old racing course, she had the idea of turning it into a museum. She brought this idea up with her professors; but they weren't sold on the idea. They agreed initially with her idea, but they felt her somewhat brash personality wasn't the best when it came to starting and building a business. Suggesting that she find a partner; she was initially heartbroken.

That didn't last long thanks to a chance meeting with a stallion by the name of Pathfinder in a class they shared. Finding his kind and humble demeanor a nice fit to her own personality, she became friends with him. Noticing that he actually was still lacking a cutie mark, she helped him find his true calling in mapping & cartography. Finding his cutie mark, their friendship grew stronger. She again spoke with her professors, and they relented; giving the full support of the academy to Sojouner's goal of starting a museum.

After they graduated, they purchased the building and, with time and patience, turned it into a museum of ancient history. Due in part to the support of the academy, the museum's collection grew at a steady rate, but Sojourner knew that wouldn't be enough. Together with her friend & partner Pathfinder, they explore the world of Equestria & beyond for the cause of history.

Her main accessory is her hat; which she wears almost religiously. When she is out on an expedition or adventure, she has her saddle-bags which contain a variety of archeology tools like small shovels , brushes, & a notebook; as well as other tools that allow her to scale obstacles if need be.

Derbyshire: This is a fan-created town. I based the name on horse-racing (Kentucky Derby). Based in eastern Equestria, the town is laid out in three sections.

-Section 1, Residential: This is where the townsfolk themselves live at, as well as where the major markets are located at. As this is a small town, the houses are likewise small and simple. They're aligned close together which allows a close sense of community. Not far from them are the various markets where foodstuffs, clothing, and other small stuff can be purchased. Thanks to the towns close proximity to Baltimare and its location along the railroad; the townsfolk are rarely short on any essential goods they need.

-Section 2, Academy: You can also call this the education district. A small foal school sits here where the locals send their young ponies to school. The more well-known part of this area is the Academy of Histories and Antiquities; which, as its name suggests, specializes in various facets of history. Subjects taught include: History education, archeology, cartography, natural history, limited geography in relation to history, etc. Considering the town itself is small, the academy is likewise small. This might seem to be a disadvantage, but the small size of the academy allows more personal interaction between staff & students. As such, this is a preferred location for those wanting more personal help from their professors.

-Section 3, Museum: Originally referred to as the abandoned section, all that remained here was a dilapidated building that was used at the staging house for horse racing many years ago; as well as the remains of the dirt track itself, which runs into the old swamps. Before the formation of the academy, Derbyshire was known as a racing town. After an incident that left many ponies injured, the racing scene quickly died and the town was on the verge of death itself. By their good fortune, the town was seen as a good spot for the academy, so the town was thrown a life-line, but the racing area was left to ruin. That was the case until Sojourner and Pathfinder purchased the building, and used it as their Musuem of Pony History. The building itself is three stories in length with plenty of room for antiquity displays on the bottom floor with various rooms & offices above.