Zaru

By Ashen Pathfinder

• February 26, 2016
No Not Cast Adult

Zaru's basic design doesn't stray too far from the look of other zebras. He is characterized by a light gray coat with darker gray stripes on his back, sides, and legs. He also has a coat of white on his underbelly. He has an average build with somewhat shortened tail and gold rings on one of his legs.

He also had shades of purple that mark his mane and tail along with the darker grey. Along with that both his eyes and his cutie mark have this same purple coloring in it.

Male Zebra His cutie mark is a purple quill surrounded by dots in a writing motion; as characterized by the circle under it. This indicates his love from the written word; as well as occasionally writing when he gets a chance.

If one were to meet Zaru for the first time they may notice that he doesn't show a lot of emotion. This is largely due to the fact that Zaru doesn't display emotion like others do. While he can be happy or sad, depending on the situation, he largely keeps his emotions in check as he values patience and thought over much else. As such it would appear to others that he has no emotions.

One of the things he enjoys is a good long stroll; and he generally enjoys them when he has to go out of town for new material to bring into the shop he runs with his friend Gideon. The time away allows him to think and just ponder on the sights around him. It also allows him extra to read some of the new books he brings in.

Zaru is also marked by his kindness, and is known to be more loose on prices than Gideon is. Sometimes if a pony can't afford a certain book he will oftentimes convince Gideon to be more lenient on the price. While he appreciates Gideon's talent with money, Zaru not being that interested in the money provides a counter point to Gideon that allows them to consider different ways of doing things.

Likes: Impatience, stress, too many loud noises, handling tough business affairs on his own

Born to a tribe of zebras outside of Equestria Zaru grew up largely seen as different from other zebras. Unlike others he didn't play all that much or participate in the various traditions practiced by the tribe. He also didn't converse much with the other zebras. As a young foal he just had little to no interest in the activities of his peers. What he really enjoyed was reading old scrolls and just thinking about the world around his. His lack of interaction with others helped to solidify him into some pony who was very patient; if also silent.

Even with these differences he was never ostracized by the others. On the contrary; he was respected for his patience and his interest in the written word. It was this love that eventually lead to him getting his cutie mark; a purple quill. At first it was thought that his talent was in writing, but while Zaru did write from time to time, he preferred reading moreso than anything else. As he grew from a foal into young adulthood this remained the same, but there was one problem. While he loved the reading material in the tribe, there wasn't much else besides that. He knew there was a world outside of the tribe; of ponies, dragons, and other races. As he wasn't intrinsically involved in the tribe he was able to leave on his own accord without much hassle.

Using the opportunity to explore he ventured into the lands of Equestria and used the time to get to know the countryside and what reading material was available. To his astonishment the variety of scrolls and books available was immense. With his tribe largely cut-off from Equestria the interaction between the zebras of his home and the ponies of the outside world was very limited. As such he found himself more enlightened with each library and bookstore he ventured into. It was during these travels that he found he wanted to involve himself more into books here, and to do that he had to involve himself with either a bookstore or library.

After thinking on what he thought would be the best move he considered the environment he was in. Noticing that ponies here had to make a living with currency he knew he was going to need some help. Deciding that he wanted to go the route of a book store, he had no idea on how to even start one up or how to acquire such books. After some research he came upon a listing of various small bookstores with the most interesting being one in Griffonstone. Knowing that griffons had a certain love and understanding of money he decided to seek out one called Gideon; who was the owner of this shop.

Before heading to the kingdom of griffons he wanted to see about potential sites where the bookstore would be best situated. Being in the scholarly town of Derbyshire at the time he noticed a couple of buildings that looked suitable; especially with an academy nearby. Deciding on the location, he arrived in Griffonstone not long after that, and was shocked at the state it was in. Putting that thought aside he found Gideon's bookstore and entered. He took a look around and noted the prices of each book. After speaking with Gideon he convinced him to move shop and become his partner.

After a while they setup their bookstore and using Gideon's business know-how and connections with book dealers he was pleasantly surprised at how well the bookstore was doing. Apparently there was a need for such a shop and this only made Zaru more comfortable in his decision to leave his tribe. Over time he also developed a close friendship with Gideon; who he found a good counterpoint with his experience with money and business. Along with Gideon he formed a close association with Sojourner's museum which allowed him access to historical sights he never imagined. It was in these situations that he realized in Derbyshire; he was home.

The book store is located in the business and residential section of Derbyshire.