Power Trip

By Hardway Bet

• August 15, 2013

Age: 36

Gender: Male

Species: Unicorn

Appearance: Power Trip is an electric blue pony with a rough coat of fur and a stark white, straggled mane. His eyes constantly shift back and forth in search for treachery, and his nose twitches with paranoid aggression. The strain of his furtive life as a virtual fugitive has taken its toll on his appearance as well as his psyche, and his tired features are contorted in a perpetual scowl as a result.<br /><br />Haggard and emaciated, he is far from imposing in any physical sense. Even at his best, Power Trip is short and thin even for a unicorn, with a prominent horn and large eyes being his most noticeable features. While his years of difficult and dangerous work has left him more fit than he seems, he prefers to leave physical combat to others.<br /><br />To offset his somewhat jarring and unfortunately recognizable colour scheme, he prefers drab and earthy clothes, heavy outfits that muddy body types. If he can pass himself off as a peasant beneath notice, so much the better.

Cutie Mark: Power Trip's cutie mark is a white bolt of forked lightning, signifying his talent for destructive, energy-based magics. That it suits his bright colours and twitchy disposition is probably just a coincidence.

Personality: A product of the persecution and suspicion received by the inquisition, Power Trip is as paranoid and secretive as they come. Not known to be particularly gentle in his methods, he does not fully trust even his own organisation - they've sold ponies out before, and Power Trip is nobody's fool. Still, the inquisition is all he's ever known, and he could never imagine a life without it.<br /><br />Years of service in the inquisition have turned him jaded and cold, used to losing friends and used to the horrors perpetrated by heretics - and sometimes by fellow inquisitors. He never approved of the crude methods many radicals used to obtain confessions without proof (part of the reason he still has his head attached, no doubt), but he is also firmly against the new ruler of Equestria, unafraid as she is to simply remove inconvenient elements from her kingdom. After what the inquisition has been through, he feels no loyalty toward the princess, and in his mind fights for good rather than law.<br /><br />Though he may seem grim and dour, Power Trip considers himself an optimist of the highest order. After all, without the ability to hope against hope for a better tomorrow, who in their right mind would cling to the ideals of the inquisition rather than give up and start a new life as a dirt farmer or something. He doesn't believe in mercy for heretics or monsters, but he hasn't yet forgotten that there is still such a thing as innocents. After all, who else would he be fighting for?

Backstory: Born to a family of poor commoners in the shadier parts of Manehatten, Power Trip grew up amidst street gangs and criminals. He did whatever work was available to support his family, and quickly got caught up in a world of sordid affairs and violence. Life in the slums wasn't easy for anyone, and things were even worse when you were a short, weak unicorn with no chance for a proper magical education. Most of their kind used their horns as cheap shivs more than anything, and Power Trip's parents weren't much better. It was a better life than starving in the street as an orphan or beggar, however, and Power Trip eventually found a venue for advancement.<br /><br />The event that saw Power Trip's magical talents awaken was a short and bloody one, and the traumatized young colt soon found himself working for a local crime boss, against the promise that the situation would be covered up. Life didn't get much easier after that, but the gang wars and running from the guard was ultimately a price worth paying for a chance to earn real money. His parents looked on with silent disapproval, but they too had little choice. They wanted their son to be happy, they would never risk going up against his new employer, and they found it hard to argue with three square meals a day.<br /><br />However, Power Trip's life soon turned around. Not a year after his joining with the gang, his boss ran afoul of the inquisition, and there was nothing his goons could do to save him then. Most of the gangsters surrendered or fled before the slaughter, and the inquisitors only took pity on a few of them. Among these were Power Trip himself, still young enough that he might turn his life around, and willing to lend his talents to the inquisition for a hot meal and a place to stay. <br /><br />He was apprenticed to one of the inquisitorial interrogators and, as small minds are easily filled with faith, he grew to become a skilled and devoted member of the inquisition. Aside from a pay raise and nicer clothes, it wasn't too far from being in a gang. Power Trip quickly found his place, and learned well the ways of rooting out devilry and monsters. When Celestia came to power and tried to takes his life and pride away, he went into hiding and continued his work - for righteousness is its own reward.<br /><br />He continued sending letters and money home until long after they had stopped responding.