//------------------------------// // Steven Magnet - Character Background // Story: Canterlot.com - The Experience // by ping111 //------------------------------// Steven was hatched in the murky depths of the Manebrush River under the name "Mur-Okhra'i", meaning unknown, but the language is presumed to be that spoken amongst the sea serpents. There, his parents and instincts taught him to hunt. However, this little sea serpent was never one to kill cute little innocent creatures, and so painstakingly disciplined himself to eat nothing but plant life. This, among other things such as his feminine behaviour, caused him much ridicule amongst the other reptilians, whom considered "manliness" a virture. However, this never affected him - he simply stuck his chin up and went on his merry way, past the bullies. That is, until things got physical. The other serpents began to beat him up fairly often, until he could finally take no more. He swam home as quickly as possible, and informed his parents he was leaving the cove for an indefinite time. Of course, they were very reluctant to let their little son go, but eventually deliberated that it was worth it and waved a tearful goodbye. But, ever the parent, they set one definite rule, which was not to be broken under any circumstance: "Don't interact with the ponies." After obliging, the young serpent set off towards the surface, and wasn't to return for a long time, not until long after the following events of this story. However, Steven is always very happy to see his parents, and the feeling is mutual. They're so proud of what he's become! Then again, they don't know that their son hasn't kept to his word. Soon after emerging to the surface of the river, he came across some zebras travelling through the Everfree forest, and asked them for directions to anywhere that wasn't where he had come from. Note that Steven did not know the difference between zebras and ponies, and assumed that all ponies looked and acted this way until he actually met a pony. Soon enough, though, Steven had struck up a conversation with the zebras, and noted one of them had some fine facial hair, and inquired him about that. Steven was instantly enthralled with the concept of a moustache, and decided to grow one himself. But even better than the idea of facial hair is what to do with the long mess of the stuff on his head! The striped conversationalists suggested a comb, but they were obviously far too small. Using the hands equine creatures lack, he fashioned a rudimentary comb out of sticks and leaves and cemented with river mud, and swept it back. What a fabulous feeling! The serpent repeated this motion over and over until the entirety of his mane was coiffed to his liking. He obsessively checked his reflection in a pool of water on the bank, just to make sure it was perfect. Next, the craggy, dirty, disgusting nails the amphibian had grown on his fingers over the course of a lifetime were ground to a nice, round taper with a rough stone, courtesy of a suggestion regarding a 'hooficure'. "These ponies sure know a lot about fashion!" Steven had said to himself. The conversation went on for (what seemed like) hours, and the zebras noted this sea serpent had a very "magnetic" personality. He had almost forgot - he needed a new name - a pony name! Mur-Okhre'i just wouldn't do if he wanted to fit in with these delightful creatures! At first he suggested just Magnet, but the zebras agreed it just didn't sound right. Steven is a very sentimental serpent, and so decided to include one of the zebra's names in his pseudonym, as a memento of his gratitude. The one he picked, out of a possible three? Steven. Steven Magnet. Of course, the newly-named Steven knew it was his duty to return to the deep and share his tales and skills with his fellows, but couldn't bring himself to meet his former bullies just yet. And so, he continued his journey forward, exploring the unknown and hopefully meeting some more ponies. Eventually, the Manebrush River cut through the heart of the Everfree Forest, and Steven obligingly followed. By the time he got there, it was midnight, and the reptilian was positively starving. The moon was high in the sky, surrounded by peacefully twinkling stars. However, despite the serenity of it all, there was something that didn't feel right - almost as if the moon was too large or something... Suddenly, four of those stars slowly began spiralling into the moon, something which obviously wasn't supposed to happen. And as soon as the stars gave one final flash and disappeared behind the cratered ball, a whirlwind suddenly swept through the air, rustling all the leaves upon the trees, and teasing Steven's mane out of perfection, with unfortunate, jagged, and impossibly difficult to undo, curls at the back. "Nightmare Moon's first crime against fashion", reminisces the serpent. Unsure of exactly what happened, Steven confusedly continued looking around the area for some food. The venture seemed nearly fruitless, with all the edible vegetation nonexistent or just out of reach. Oh, how he wished he had legs, to walk amongst the fashionable, kind ponies! But, he was to be forever jailed in this abominably scaly form. Finally, survival and instinct overtook fashion, and Steven plunged his head underwater, further ruining the coif. After several minutes of grabbing at the murky stones and sands that lay beneath, Steven was about to give up. Finally, out of the corner of his eye, a perfectly green, deliciously edible bushel of seaweed glimmered, like a ray of hope in the gloom of the night! The sea serpent clawed ravenously at the food, his mouth watering (as if it weren't wet already) at the prospect of a meal after hours of travel... As quickly as Steven's mane was ruined, the tides rammed higher and higher above the banks, flooding far over its usual stream. The moon, closer to Equestria than ever before, must have affected the tides! The placid water suddenly became a rushing torrent, and the seaweed was ripped out of the ground, mere inches from Steven's grasp! The rumbling of the rushing rapids (not to mention a particular river monster's stomach) was a mere drone over the shrill wails of a crying Steven. A ruined mane, and a stolen meal? How could this day get any worse?! As it turns out, there was a way! Eventually, Steven came to grips with his strife and wiped away his tears. But, just as the last sniffle issued away from his nose, a whirring noise came whistling through the ghastly branches of the Forest's trees. Before he could even blink, an evil, jarringly purple, downright tacky puff of smoke whipped by at breakneck speed - and evidently, moustache-break speed. It came right up to Steven's face and... and... TORE THE RIGHT HALF OF HIS MOUSTACHE CLEAN OFF! All that was left was an ugly little sprout of hair erupting jaggedly, ruining the symmetry of it all! Steven began to wail and scream even louder now, and his tail thrashed through the white waters. Burying his hands in his face, he screamed, "Oh, what a world, what a world!" Two balled fists dove down into the river, more water splashing into the air. "Umm, excuse me sir?" A voice suddenly rang out. A sweet, calm, voice. Another pony, perhaps? What if she was here to make fun of him? Ugly, old Steven? Still, this serpent had quite a fondness for ponies, and wasn't prejudiced, if not a little self-conscious. Turning around, Steven found six ponies, brightly coloured and staring at him inquisitively - quite unlike the striped ones before, who simply looked upon him as they would anypony else. "Why are you crying?" Aha - so she wasn't pointing it out! Still, Steven could use some pity right about now. "Oh, I don't know - I was just sitting here, minding my own business when this -" Steven hesitated, unprepared to recollect this traumatizing events. "-tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whizzed past me-" He added a hand gesture for emphasis. "and tore half of my..." Steven swallowed, taking the moment of silence to bend closer to the ponies and point to the object of his sorrows. "...beloved moustache clean off!" His face contorting with tears, body following suit, he continued, a catch in his voice, "And now, I look simply horrid!" Steven resumed howling, and fainted into the water. Unfortunately, all the water displaced by his massive figure drenched the ponies in river water, and put quite the scowl on their faces. Although the sad serpent could only see this when he returned to the surface, resting his chin glumly on the water's edge. "Oh, gimme a break!" A spectral pegasus scoffed. "That's what all the fuss is about?" An orange pony in a hat drawled. "Why, of course it is!" An ivory unicorn with a very stylized mane, the same colour as Steven's body, stepped forward, a very eloquent note to her voice. "How could you be so insensitive!" It was quite true - how would they react if they lost their most valuable possession? "Oh, look at him!" A babyish tone, but cutesy if anything. Now, the pony was right up to Steven's face. She rubbed his chin comfortingly. "Such lovely, luminescent scales!" Steven sniffed. "I know...!" "Your expertly coiffed mane!" The serpent sprung up and ran his hair through his mane. It squeaked from all the dirty lake water it had been exposed to, but it shone nonetheless. "Oh, I know, I know!" "Your fabulous manicure!" The unicorn looked tiny from up there, but her words had equal impact. That comment struck a chord with Steven. Gesturing theatrically, he replied, "It's so true!" and squished his face in a cutesy-wutesy manner. It didn't have much effect when you're a river monster, but it worked for the moment. "All ruined without your fabulous moustache!" Oh, why must she bring it up? Steven shielded his face from what must surely be their aghast expressions. "Oh, it's true, I'm hideous!" "I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!" Suddenly, the white pony dug her teeth into one of Steven's scales, and yanked. Steven shrieked out in pain, "Ow! What'd you do that for?" Yet, wordlessly, the violet-maned unicorn carried on. The raised scale in her mouth glinted like a dagger in the moonlight. "Rarity," the first pony to Steven called out, "What're you-" and before anypony could react - SHE CHOPPED HER TAIL CLEAN OFF! Steven could not stand for the catastrophe of it all, and fainted onto the riverbank once again. "Rarity", or so her friend called her, tossed the scale aside and surrounded the severed lock of hair with a magical aura. It slowly floated over to Steven's face, and fused to his right nostril! His moustache was whole once again! He couldn't help but let out a yelp of joy, proudly showing off his new fabulous appendage. "My moustache! How wonderful!" The serpent was so distracted with his new moustache he didn't even hear the ponies converse amongst themselves behind his back. Besides, what could they say but compliments? Though "smashing" was definitely in there somewhere. It seemed that everything had turned out perfectly, as the river had stopped rushing, and was placid once again. Then again - maybe Steven's uncontrollable thrashing prolonged it just a teensy bit... "We can cross now!" The lavender unicorn exclaimed, and began to canter across the river. "Let's go!" Anypony, especially a friend of Rarity, was a friend of Steven, and it was time to show them some gratitude. Besides, who would want to risk pruning their hooves in the water? Steven allowed his humpbacked body to erupt from the water, lifting Twilight Sparkle into the air. "Allow me!" said the serpent, and created an overwater pathway for the ponies to cross the river. Steven still has Rarity's tail today, although not on his face. The two ends of the moustache evenly coloured just seemed better. But, he's always kept it in a box, just for memories. Besides, he is incredibly thankful to that generous pony. He remembers that salvation from his darkest moment, and it inspires him to do his best to beautify the underwater world. Today, he's been searching for other aquatic creatures who share his zest for fashion. He also hopes to meet some more ponies soon!