Curly Reference (2021) by Fr0stburne on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Full name: Arie/Monty
Nicknames: Curly
Age: 24
Species: hippogriff and Earth pony hybrid
Sexuality: pansexual
Gender Identity: genderfluid and gender neutral
Pronouns: she/her, he/him, or they/them
Parents: Princess Skystar
Siblings: none
Residency: Canterlot Castle
Cutie Mark/Talent: no Cutie Mark. Likes acrobatics and dancing.
Job/profession: Princess, trapeze artist
Character traits: extroverted, excitable, athletic, peppy, nosey, gossipy, independent, sassy, quirky, enthusiastic, bold, hedonistic

Background/Personality:

Arie is the adopted daughter of the single mother, Princess Skystar. Since Arie is half hippogriff and half pony, she was born without wings and earned no Cutie Mark. Still, this hasn’t stopped her from dancing in the air as a skilled acrobat. She may not have become what others expected, but the peppy, quirky, and enthusiastic young princess is quite happy with her life thus far.

During Arie’s early years, she was a troubled orphan that spent a lot of time picking fights with other kids and arguing with adults that didn’t tolerate her bullying. Her frequent delinquency made the adults in her life think she would never be adopted. Fortunately for Arie, she got lucky enough to be adopted by a princess, of all people. Skystar saw potential in the odd wingless hippogriff and took Arie in as her own. With much patience and dedication, Skystar raised her daughter to be the next potential Queen to Hippogriffia.... Or so she thought.

Arie has certainly developed into a healthy adult, but she is very uninterested in being a princess and living in Hippogriffia and Seaquestria. She wants to seek thrills, fame, and attention, things that, she felt, her home was lacking. Though this upset her mother, Skystar supported Arie’s dreams and allowed her daughter to move to Canterlot with their extended family.

Since then, Arie discovered many things about herself. For one, many Canterlot ponies are jerks that hate her voice, the weaklings. Secondly, she’s found success as a performer thanks to her cousin Driftwind. Thirdly and lastly, Arie is genderfluid. When he’s feeling masculine, he’ll refer to himself as Monty.

Curly may have a bubbly personality, but she is no pushover. What she lacks in strength she makes up for in smarts and speed, and when she does need muscle, Curly will not hesitate to sic her guards on anyone who threatens her. Looks like all that time spent bullying kids worked in her favor! (don’t take that out of context)

Relationships:

Arie loves her mama, but Skystar has conflicting feelings about her daughter’s departure. She didn’t want to be too restrictive to Arie as an adult, but she couldn’t help but feel disappointed that she didn’t want to be a ruler for Hippogriffia and Seaquestria. As of now, Skystar remains supportive of Arie, but hopes she will change her mind and come back home to be a princess.

Luna is fully aware of Skystar’s feelings on Arie, but she wants to remain supportive of Arie’s interests and let her be her own pony. Luna was very glad to learn that Arie has cheered up her son, Driftwind, since she moved in.

Novo and Celestia love their granddaughter dearly. They nearly spoiled the girl rotten with all the luxurious gifts they gave her over the years. Most importantly to Arie, they are nonjudgmental of her and are more than happy to lend an ear when she needs to vent about her problems.

At first, Driftwind was conflicted about the odd addition to the castle. He found her to be a bit of an immature nuisance when she moved in, but after she settled, he realized that she is quite unique. Arie is more responsible and skilled than he initially thought, so when he invited her to be his assistant during one of his acts, she was more than happy to join. They’ve been an inseparable duo since that day.

Arie has bad blood with her uncle, Prince Blueblood. The conceited and malicious prince often chides Arie for being born wingless, which led to a minor insecurity that she mostly grew out of when she met Driftwind. This, unfortunately, often roped Gilded Scroll into the mix, since they are both half pony and hippogriff and were blessed with wings. Arie have little ill will for them, but nonetheless has an uncomfortable and envious relationship with Gilded Scroll.

☆ Bonus ☆

-Arie can eat whatever she likes and barely gain a pound. Lucky.
-When she’s a stallion, Arie tends to be a lot sweeter and tender, but a lot less risky.
-“Arie” is a close spelling of Aris, while “Monty” is a reference to “mont,” which can mean “mount” or “mountain.” They are fine with being called “Curly” when they’re feminine or masculine.
-She is fine with being called either “Arie” or “Curly.” Most of the ponies in Canterlot tend to call her “Curly,” likely because it sounds a lot closer to a pony name.
-Since her fillyhood, Arie always loved dancing and doing daring tricks, or at least tricks that are risky for a child. She was definitely one of those kids that would swing as high as she could to jump off at the highest point. Skystar, of course, never enrolled Arie into any acrobatics courses until she was older, but she was more than happy to support her passion for dancing.
-Arie is very forgetful of other ponies names, so if she vaguely remembers them, she’ll grant them a strange nickname or a dozen. For example, Bubbling Brew was given the names Prissy, Toil n’ Boil, Twinkle Sprinkle, Periwinkle, and Sugar Plum Princess. Bubbling Brew resents Arie. Eventually Arie did learn BB’s name, she just likes seeing such an uptight princess become so fussy.
-Of all the characters in the cast, Arie has dated more than anyone else. Unfortunately for all of her potential partners, Arie has very high standards and will dump someone within a week of their relationship.
-Arie prefers being a hippogriff over a seapony. If she could swim as a hippogriff she would, but alas, it seems her luxuriously curly feathers don’t tolerate water very well.
-Design Trivia! Arie was one of the most difficult characters for me to design, but I ended up with a fun character I liked more as I finalized her design and personality. I took a lot of inspiration from pigeons with curly feathers, feather sprays, and Columbia from Rocky Horror Picture Show.