Taciturn Grace

By Scribblegroove

• September 9, 2015
No Not Cast Adult

Taciturn Grace is a rather small-looking minotaur. Even though he’s still rather huge for most ponies, if one were to compare him to the average of his race, he would be considered tiny. He stands at the same height as most of the tallest ponies in Equestria, and even though his chest is still rather big, it is nowhere as muscular as most minotaur’s.

 

What he lacks in strength and brawn he makes up for in agility and a form of charismatic subtlety. His body seems more balanced and properly proportioned, and he’s quite quick on his hooves. Especially his fingers seem rather finicky and dextrous, as they are quite long and slender. At the same time, they are covered callus, making them look a lot less refined and sophisticated and standing in strong contrast with the rest of his body.

 

His upper body fur is made up of a deep blue hue, covering his chest, shoulders and arms. Only around his wrists the colour changes to a dark black hue, the same colour as his hair and the small tuft of fur at the end of his long tail. His tail is otherwise only covered in a short coat of blue fur, reminiscent to the tails of most bulls. His horns are, like his entire body, rather small, but they still sprout proudly out of the side of his head, their roots shrouded by his thick and long black hair. Although some of it still encases his face, most of it is tucked in a ponytail behind his head as to make sure his face isn’t totally covered.

 

His entire face seems to consist out of strong lines. He has a sharp jawline, and his eyes and eyebrows always seem to frown just a little. When he smiles however, this frown disappears quickly to reveal a set of perfectly straight and white teeth. His muzzle is uncovered and bare pink, except for a small goatee underneath his chin, and of course the metal ring hanging from his nose. His eyes are a bright yellow-orange, much like a setting sun.

male Minotaur

As the name suggests, Taciturn Grace doesn’t speak much, but when he does he speaks in graceful poetry and well formulated lines. He likes to be a bit of a charmer, and often endeavours to make mares fall in love with him. He tries to impress, charm and seduce, and it often works, since despite his rugged appearance and the reputation of his race, he is a rather sensitive soul, and a very good listener.

 

Taciturn is very brave, having stood up against his own family and friends in the past, who are considerably larger than him, and still valiantly protects his beliefs and opinions. He can be extremely blunt and to the point when he is annoyed or agitated, and will sometimes even frighten ponies when his innate anger takes a hold of him. Thankfully, Taciturn has a lot of willpower, and can contain himself in almost any situation.

 

Although he has never followed any education, and thus doesn’t know much about theoretical subjects, Taciturn is very wise and knows a lot about ponies, history and the world in general. He doesn’t value raw knowledge too much because he believes that the more you learn about things you don’t want to know about, the more you chain yourself to the world and it’s deficiencies. Knowledge can be a burden, and Taciturn has experienced this first hand. Because of his simplicity, Taciturn knows how he can be underestimated at times, and he doesn’t mind it too much. He knows he’ll simply have to prove otherwise.

 

Taciturn is any mare’s best friend, and would boldly state that he can make any mare fall in love with him given time. However, he also picks quite a few fights with other males. He’s a bit of a macho figure, and seems to uphold values of a different culture. His reasoning can therefore be a bit strange at times according to the general Equestrian citizens. Combined with his innate minotaur stubbornness, Taciturn can end up infuriating ponies and start serious discussions and quarrels, sometimes even resulting in scuffles or outright brawls. In the end however, Taciturn is a lover, not a fighter, and will try to solve most disputes after things have settled. He does believe that a fight can help de escalate things, and will sometimes even propose to start one simply to have things calm down.

 

The most difficult part about Taciturn might be his heritage. He comes from entirely different culture in a land far away. The usual values and traditions of Equestria are very foreign to him. Although he is eager to learn, he can sometimes feel distraught with how his old culture and this new culture conflict. In some situations Taciturn could become very confused and even angered by the to him strange Equestrian ways. Usually though, Taciturn is very reasonable and will enjoy getting to know Equestria and it’s inhabitants’ culture, even if it does conflict with his own.

Likes: Anything with a strong smell<br />Discussions that have no real purpose<br />Being pushed into working, especially in the afternoon<br />Very big cities<br />Ponies showing off while they don’t really have anything to deliver. (He likes putting those ponies in their place)<br />Other Minotaurs

Taciturn was born in a land far to the south. A very vast but rather dangerous and uninhabitable savanna, where a minotaur community had settled. They were left alone and could live in peace and solitude. The small town mostly consisted out of hunters and farmers, and their civilisation was rather primitive. They were aware that the world was evolving around them, but they were happy with the way they lived, so for many generations the small community had stayed the way it was.

 

However, once in a while young Minotaurs expressed their desires to explore the world. Usually these dangerous thoughts were suppressed by their peers and the elders of the community, but some Minotaurs found their curiosity too strong and would leave anyway. Taciturn was one of these bravehearted and bold individuals, however his curiosity wasn’t the only reason he decided to leave his family behind.

 

Taciturn was always very small and strange in comparison to his fellow Minotaurs, and as much as he tried he was never perceived as an equal. In his efforts to prove himself he caused quite a few problems, and this caused even his own mother to mistrust him, afraid that he’d never be able to fulfill his duties as a part of the community. He wasn’t fit for the environment, and he was far too sensitive and frail, although those adjectives would never be attributed to him by the ponies of Equestria. His mother blamed his father for passing on these attributes to him, because his father had been very much like him, but he had left shortly after the birth of his son, causing the rest of the community to curse and exile him. No one had ever seen him again.

 

Despite his physique, Taciturn was usually the one to act first in dangerous situations. His foolheartedness often got him in difficult situations that more able-bodied friends had to save him from. This usually made him feel rather worthless, but it turned out his bravery in combination with his more developed charisma and reasoning made him quite a good leader. As he tried to rank up in the social layers of the small community, he did keep running into the problem that he was at least a foot shorter than most Minotaurs. His only noticeable skill was that he was rather exceptionally skilled at playing their traditional instrument, the guitar. No one respected him as a fully grown minotaur, and that infuriated him.

 

Although he gained the support of a few friends who claimed he would make a good chief, in the end Taciturn reached nothing. For a few years he stayed with his mother, working on the farms and trying to keep his cool, but eventually he decided to leave, feeling that he had nothing left to do here. His friends and family respected his decision, which was unusual, and Taciturn left to roam the vast stretches of Equestria alone. Hardened by one of the most volatile environments, he was confident he’d be able to take care of himself easily in the rest of the world. And that turned out to be true, because Taciturn travelled far, and he’s still alive and well.

 

In his travels he met many individuals of a great variety of races. He learned how to surpass the initial fright most ponies had when they first met him, and how to socialise with strangers of completely different cultures and backgrounds. He grew respectful and wise over the years, and being on the road gave him plenty of time to think about what he had learned or come up with fun and interesting phrases and poems. He loved playing with words, and when he went from place to place he always tried to think of a new way to introduce himself. As he walked he always tended to noodle on his guitar a bit, one of the few things he’d taken along with him. Endless practice and experience turned him into a very versatile and exceptionally skilled instrumentalist, and he even learned to sing.

 

Deciding to embrace the talents he had developed, he started to introduce himself as a bard and started gathering stories. Real stories, fictional stories, ideas about the future or assumptions on history. His repertoire became greater every day as he met new individuals and made new friends, or sometimes enemies. Over the years word began to spread about him, and he acquired a strange folklorish kind of fame, as if he himself had become one of the sages he used to tell. One grand legend had even sprung from his adventures, the tale of the ‘dragonsinger’.

 

He had a few ponies he had been travelling with for a couple of months had run into a small pack of dragons that had been resting. Once he and his friends had been spotted, the dragons insisted on taking all of their shiny valuables. With some simple diplomacy and friendly conversation Taciturn had managed to convince them to have a feast together instead. This story had apparently been dramatised to the point where it now described him singing the dragons into an enchanted trance, turning them into his pets. In truth he’d only played a bit for them, and the dragons had simply loved it, but nothing more.

 

Taciturn has travelled for a very long time, but he’s now finally arrived in Equestria, and he hasn’t seen much of it yet. He’s hoping to find the grand paradise that he’s always heard of, but he has no expectations as of yet. One can expect him to arrive in Appleoosa, and eventually in Ponyville on hoof, making his way towards the grand metropole that is Canterlot.

Image is not my own. Will be taken down upon request.