Introducing “My Little Domerin” – A Fanfic

Last year, my computer ate two of my hard drives. Both were solid state drives that came from a trusted company and are generally considered to be of high quality. One of the drives was perfectly fine in my husband’s computer, but lasted only 4 months after being inserted into mine. Hence why we labeled my computer the ultimate culprit.

This left me with two choices: find another hard drive and risk continuing to feed the beast (less than ideal) or bite the bullet and replace my computer even though it wasn’t in the budget. My computer wasn’t that old; it should have had a few more years left in it. But the hubs and I both agreed that the best option for stability and not throwing money down the toilet was a new PC.

Luckily, we had some money in our emergency funds that could be devoted to the expense. Unfortunately, we just had to replace our AC unit not all that long ago, and we haven’t fully recovered our savings. In need of a way to cover the new PC, I turned to my streams – which I am still mostly in the process of developing, even though I’ve been doing it for a few years now.

I spent some time thinking about some fun activities my twitch chat might enjoy, and put together a fundraising campaign. The final reward was priced high enough I never imagined we’d reach it. But as always, the twitch community proved far more generous that I ever imagined, and the goal was reached.

That goal? I promised I would take Domerin, the main character in the Aruvalia Chronicles (who I often refer to as ‘my grumpy elf son’) and turn him into a pony for a My Little Pony Friendship is Magic fanfic.

So without further ado… here’s an intro to my next blog project.

Aruvalia

Located on a different continent from Equestria, across the Celestial Sea and on the far side of the Griffonstone Mountains (beyond bugbear territory) is the kingdom of Aruvalia. Like Equestria, the primary population of the kingdom is made up of ponies from all 3 tribes (earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns), as well as a rare smattering of other races from across the globe.

For much of Aruvalia’s history they have been an isolated kingdom, largely attempting to stay away from the problems in other parts of the world. This is especially true of the earlier and more chaotic portions of Equestria’s history. But since the return of the Crystal Empire and the disappearance of Nightmare Moon, Aruvalia has opened its borders in an attempt to become more involved and integrated into the modern world.

Princess Rose Draftmore

Aruvalia is ruled by Princess Rose, an alicorn roughly the same age as Celestia and Luna. Her fur is a rich, royal blue color – as are the feathers of her wings – and her hooves tend to be tinted red. Her hair and tail are quite long – long enough that both would drag on the floor if not for a magical wind that tends to accompany her, allowing her hair and tail to billow free of the path of anyone’s hooves. Due to her age, Rose’s horn is no longer rounded, but long and pointed. She also has the slit-pupil eyes usually associated with Thestral ponies (though it is unknown if she has Thestral in her ancestry).

Rose’s cutie mark is an intricate, ruby-colored crown.

As is typical of most unicorns, Rose is well versed in magic, having been raised at a time of wizardry and discovery and having had centuries to master her craft. Also, like most alicorns, she has a specialized area of study unique to her position.

Celestia and Luna, the princesses of Equestria, focus on the celestial bodies of the sun and the moon, with each having dominance over their given domains (light and dark). Cadence, ruler of the Crystal Empire, has a focus on charm and emotional magic.

Princess Rose’s focus lies in the area of chronomancy – aka time magic! With focus and control, she is able to stop time for brief periods. She can also manipulate the time of a specified object – such as speeding up or slowing down the rate of rainfall.

Rose is typically regarded as a fair and generous ruler. Though she also has a reputation for having a quick and hot temper when her kingdom or its people are threatened.

Domerin Lorehooves

One of the most important figures in Aruvalia, aside from its ruler, is Domerin – the captain of Rose’s royal guard.

Domerin is a unicorn. His fur is a rich, bronze-brown color and his hooves are so dark they look black. He also has long black hair, usually worn in a tight braid to keep it out of his face, and a black tail. His eyes are a storm blue color, darker on days when he is angry and brighter on days when he is in a good mood.

Since Domerin is considerably younger than the princess he protects, his horn is somewhat more rounded, though also fairly long to indicate his age. His cutie mark is a pair of crossed swords. One of the blades is wreathed by fire and the other by lightning.

Though Domerin possesses the same telekinetic power utilized by all unicorns – which is how he wields his swords in protection of his princess – he also has a unique ability not possessed by other unicorns. That is that he can draw raw magical power out of his surroundings and channel it through his swords (hence the delineation of his cutie mark), granting him further capabilities to protect his charge.

Domerin cannot wield magic like wizard ponies, however. His extra magic is limited to that which can be channeled through another object, most specifically his sword blades.

Crescent

Another important figure in Aruvalia is Crescent, the head of Princess Rose’s diplomatic team. Crescent is also Domerin’s boyfriend, so the two of them work very closely together and also spend a lot of time outside the palace hoof-in-hoof.

Crescent is an earth pony with golden yellow-amber fur and a light blond tail and mane. Both are cropped short, though his mane is much shorter than this tail. Crescent has jade green eyes. And like Rose, he has slitted pupils, suggesting there may be Thestral ancestry somewhere in his line.

Crescent’s cutie mark is a crescent moon. (It’s possibly also the origin of his name.)

Unlike Rose and Domerin, who grew up among the noble elite of Aruvalia, Crescent grew up as a street rat. He was raised by a single mother, whose profession largely revolved around theivery, but she abandoned him when he was a teenager. He thus spent his formative years on the street, under the guidance of the infamous thief Silkfoot Lightvolt.

Things changed for Crescent when he reached adulthood, however. He spent a lot of time moving among the noble circles, convincing them to accept him as part of various jobs he hoped to complete. This was how he met Domerin. When it was clear the two of them were falling for each other, Crescent changed his ways, using his silver tongue and thievery skills for the benefit of both the princess and her Royal Guard captain.

As a result, Crescent has become the head of Rose’s diplomatic team. And since Aruvalia is now striking out among the rest of the world, attempting to establish new relationships and a new place, he spends a lot of his time traveling with Domerin as the head of his security team.

Like most earth ponies, Crescent has no magical skills, but he is gifted with one of Aruvalia’s silverest tongues.

Sesha Neightos

Sesha, also known as Doctor Neightos, is the chief medical officer of Queen’s Hospital, the foremost medical care facility in Aruvalia’s capital, Silvergarden.

Sesha is a pegasus pony with light, silver-white fur and wings. His mane and tail are of medium length and black. The hair is particular straight, without curl or wave. His cutie mark is the Caduceus – the staff with two snakes coiled around it – which is the common symbol of modern medicine.

Sesha’s eyes are a warm amber color, and he also wears silver-rimmed glasses. The fur around his hooves is ruffled (like a traditional unicorn or goat’s might be), and his hooves are black.

Sesha is a skilled physician and, as such, is often called to attend to Princess Rose and other members of her court and staff (such as Domerin and Crescent). He also serves as Domerin’s personal physician whenever the captain of the Royal Guard is in need of medical care.

Since Sesha is a pegasus and thus possesses no innate magical ability, he has spent much time studying with Zebra enchanters (similar to Zecora) in order to master the art of potion making. His potions are as good as healing magic and are highly sought after in Aruvalia and beyond.

Mainframe

Head of cyber security for Aruvalia and also an infamous hacker by the name of “Phage,” Mainframe’s real name is “Lilianna,” but she prefers to go by one of her chosen monikers. (Mainframe when she’s working officially, Phage if she’s on the dark web.)

Mainframe has lime green fur. Her main and tail are both short-cropped and perfectly straight (much like Sesha’s). Her cutie mark is machine code that glimmers slightly depending on the angle at which it is viewed.

Mainframe was born a pegasus pony but, due to unfortunate circumstances in her youth, her wings were lost. Luckily for her, they have been replaced by artificial wings. Though they look quite different from traditional pegasi wings, they are fully functional and do allow her to fly.

Mainframe was stolen from her parents at a young age and experimented upon by a ruthless gang of individuals hoping to create new technology. She was rescued by Domerin. Her wings were restored by the efforts of Sesha and a group of tinkerers, and she was hired by Princess Rose to serve as the head of the kingdom’s cyber security division shortly after.

She has built a companion for herself in the form of an artificial intelligence. He occupies a small sphere that often floats beside Mainframe. His name is Argus.

Silkfoot and Kestrel

Not all the ponies who live in Aruvalia are upstanding citizens, and not all the prominent figures of the kingdom can be found inside the princess’s court.

Silkfoot is an old friend of Crescent’s. They grew up on the streets together, and Silkfoot served as something of a mentor for Crescent after he was abandoned by his mother. No one is entirely sure how Silkfoot ended up on the streets – the stories he tells vary wildly. But since coming of age, Silkfoot has become one of the most notorious criminals in Aruvalia.

Several years ago, Silkfoot stole an airship, known as the Twin Moons, and has used it to create a band of pirates. Kestrel is his loyal first mate. Their knowledge of the criminal underbelly sometimes comes in handy for Domerin and Crescent, and so Crescent and Silkfoot still maintain close ties.

Silkfoot is an earth pony with light, tan-colored fur. His mane and tail are both wavy (similar to Pinkie Pie’s), of medium length and ruddy brown in color. His eyes are emerald green, and his cutie mark is a pair of crescent moons (hence where the name of his airship came from).

Kestrel is also an earth pony. He has dark grey fur and black hooves with the same ruffles of the fur at the base as Sesha. His main and tail are black and both styled in dreadlocks. He has a thin, scruffy goatee on his muzzle. His cutie mark is the skull and crossbones.

Though Kestrel has no specifically magical abilities, he does appear to have an innate sense of the weather that lets him sense when storms are about to start. This sometimes allows him to steer the Twin Moons away from inclement weather.

Honorable Mentions

That’s the extent of the ponies from my design archives. (We won’t talk about how long those images have been sitting on my hard drive!) But there are a few other characters who will be key to telling our story.

First is Gregory Barrow (Greg for short), who will be the chief of police for Silvergarden. He is an earth pony, and a grumpy old one at that. He and Domerin used to be partners on the force before Domerin took the position as head of the Royal Guard and Greg was promoted to chief of police. He is instrumental in keeping the peace in Aruvalia’s capital.

Next are Rilan Moore and Valia Stormcrow. Both worked closely with Domerin when he was on the force and continue to split their time between local and kingdom-wide crises that demand their attention.

Rilan is an earth pony, and Greg’s polar opposite in many ways. Where Greg is grumpy and sarcastic, Rilan is often joyful and energetic. He always looks for the silver lining in every situation and encourages others to do the same.

Valia, on the other hand, is a unicorn and quite a powerful wizard. She has spent several years studying magic and how it applies to both crime solving and prevention. Her abilities are in quite high demand, and she is one of the most powerful tools in Greg’s arsenal for keeping the peace.

That’s it for the core cast of characters slated to appear in the fic. But keep an eye out for some epic cameos as well. Several members of my chat redeemed the ability to add guest ponies into the story. I’ll be sure to post a roundup of them at the end – but for now, I don’t want to spoil any surprises!