Princess Skyla

By Fractured

• August 20, 2015

Age: 12 (5/10)

Gender: Female

Species: Alicorn

Appearance: Eyes: Usually bright, open, focused, and radiating positivity. That's just the mask she likes to give to others, however, or the face she uses when she's in the moment; when she's alone, her eyes are usually heavy with stress and worry.<br /><br />Voice: "Do you think I chose this?! To have a mom who's a Princess of Equestria! To have a father who's whose captain of the royal guard? To be related to royalty?!... Because I didn't. I didn't choose any of this...I never got to choose."<br /><br />Very light and feminine; lacks the high pitched, squeaky voice of most fillies her age, but doesn't quite possess a fully grown tone yet. Puts heavy emphasis at the beginning of every word, but almost none at its end, as if she hadn't quite finished her statement yet. At the same time, puts emphasis on every syllable in a sentence, without dragging or halting, giving the perception of someone who's perfectly articulate in their speech.<br /><br />Body: She's still a little soft-bodied, although walking around the Crystal Empire day in and out has given Skyla very good endurance, and she's physically fit for a pony her age. She has a decent endurance, but she gets tired from strenuous activity fairly quickly, in particular the prolonged use of magic and excessive bouts of flying. Keeps herself looking neat and tidy whenever she can, both out of courtesy and as a product of proper grooming. Does not like to wear anything expensive and gaudy, if she can help it.

Cutie Mark: Doesn't have a cutie mark yet, and doesn't quite know what her special talent is.

Personality: At surface value, a sweet filly. She likes to do things for others, and she loves to help out. When it comes to those close to her, if she sees they're in a bad mood, she'll try to help them out. She'll tell jokes, maybe try a game... she goes out of her way in order to make others happy, even when she's not always feeling the best herself.<br /><br />Likes to avoid conflict whenever it starts, and hates fighting between others. When it comes to others being angry at her, however, she doesn't run; she'll stand up and do whatever she has to in order to solve the problem, even if it means going through great lengths in order to make up to that pony.<br /><br />When it comes to strangers, her attitude barely differs. She's not one to actively approach those who she doesn't know, but if she sees a problem, she'll jump in and try to help if she can. It's a double-edged sword, as her feelings are easily hurt by those she doesn't know, especially when it comes to comments about the princesses or other ponies she knows.<br /><br />When it comes to herself, she's generally not very happy, despite how she may look. The forknowledge that the crown is always waiting for her despite what she does tends to leave her feeling internally stressed and miserable, even though she's gotten very good at hiding that fact from others, usually by switching to other topics or pretending she's fine.<br /><br />She's intelligent for a filly her age, having been schooled by the highest ranked tutors over the whole of Equestria. However, has little to no outside experience and practical knowledge, and so can be incredibly genre blind and oblivious to the outside world. She knows of the concepts, but she's so far removed from them they may as well be a fantasy to her, and she understands them only in their most black and white values, and nothing further. How could smiling faces be dangerous?<br /><br />Strengths: Is very open and has no trouble talking to ponies. Has a strong sense of what's good and bad(when she can tell the difference), and isn't easily swayed into doing the wrong thing. Has a strong sense of responsibility, and tries very hard to make up for her mistakes. Is very good at recognizing the feelings of others (from all the time spent hiding hers).<br /><br />Weaknesses: Is very emotionally sensitive, and doesn't take insults well. Is easy to manipulate when the difference between right and wrong isn't obvious. She has low self-esteem, and doubts herself and her own abilities heavily.<br /><br />Likes:<br />Daytime<br />Fall, because of the beautiful colors of the changing leaves.<br />The color blue, because it calms her down.<br />Hearth's Warming Eve, because of the snow and the warm, happy feelings it leaves in her.<br />Sweetbread (her favorite food). Likes sweet things in general.<br />Sour foods<br />Cold temperatures<br /><br />Dislikes:<br />Evil<br />Nighttime<br />Rain<br />Winter, when everything's dark and dead.<br />Drab, unimpressive colors.<br />Bitter things<br />Hot temperatures<br />Having her family insulted<br />Having alicorns insulted in general<br />being teased<br />Fate<br />Destiny<br />Ponies who try to cheer her up with talking about either of the two above.

Backstory: Growing up in the Crystal Empire and around the care of alicorns all of her life, one could easily assume Skyla's life was perfect. And, in many respects, that's true. As a daughter of royalty, she's never had to struggle; she's had practically everything she could ever want handed to her. She's also had no problems outside the castle; she's never left the Crystal Empire, courtesy of overprotective parents, and everypony treats her excessively well. The end result is, naturally, a perfect life, and one that anypony should be glad to have. She should be happy.<br /><br />But she's not. Growing up under royalty carries its own unique set of problems that Skyla has had to deal with all of her life. She struggles with the weight of a crown given to her without merit or purpose, and all of the expectations that had been set on her long before she was even old enough to understand them, let alone accept them. This in itself would be hard enough, but she has ponies who look up to her, expecting her to be the next great ruler of Equestria... and she has no clue how to give them what they want, leading to pressure that's sometimes impossible to stand under, and stress that's in general hard to take. Although she loves her family, and wants to make them happy, she sometimes wishes she really could be doing anything else...