My pony OC, Five of Cloves - 'Clover'

Finally got the OC done! Well, as done as I could get it within the span of a week. I’m tired. With each part it got tough, but I think I overcame it without having to say “screw it”. Everything so far seems to agree with me, but what I think can only go so far. I’ll check everything out tomorrow. I guess I’ll find out then if I made the equivalent to a black and red alicorn OC from you guys. (I’m kidding. I don’t think I botched this that badly.)

Submission 1/100 Woo, time to get cranking.

Sorry if everything is really long. English class was never my strongest subject, so I wouldn’t expect syntax and sentence flow to be off the hook. Looking through preview mode I must say everything seems not as tidy as I thought it did in Word. I got a lot to learn... Uhhh, where's the tab button for this? I think I can make this more bearable with some indentation.

If you want to see the pencil drawn sketch look here; stopshot.deviantart.com/art/Sn… | The Paint.Net curve tool usually isn’t my friend. It’s too bad I spent all that time finding a color scheme. Paint.Net takes 4 hours just to get the line-art done. Most of my submitted works of her are bound to be mostly pencil sketched. At least I won’t have to worry about a color scheme in the future.

(Note: There are parts of the bio written out on how my OC perceives herself. I wanted to get a better feel for the character and I find it easier to get information down better on some of the topics than others this way. Personality is still something in development, and I will be answering that part. Parts my OC talks about will be double ** starred. I apologize again for making this so weird and confusing, but I didn’t want to wait another two days revising it after taking so long to get everything else out.)

(Other Note: I don’t intend to start any romantic relationships with this OC, at least not yet. I want to bug out whatever major edits are needed so I can have a sturdy character before moving on. For right now my full intent is to have something I can sketch around with when I’m bored. Primarily that is the main focus of my OC, and I hope she can motivate me to drawing more and improving all the same.)

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** Current Name
“My name is Five of Cloves, but preferably I go by just ‘Clover’.”

“It’s funny though, since neither of the two was meant to be my real name. You see my father was a doctor who over worked himself to the bone. He would become so involved with whatever he did medically there was little time for anything else, but without my mother holding down the fort at home he had to multitask and that’s a skill the two of us are pretty bad at. On top of that his organization wasn’t too admirable either.

“The night I was born he had to write down a list for groceries. I believe he was preparing for spaghetti that night. Somehow he got that list and my birth certificate mixed in his rapid efforts. What was meant to be “Five Cloves of Garlic” ended up as “Five of Cloves” on my birth certificate, while whatever name I was meant to have ended up on the list.

“My mother laughed at the mistake of a name, and thought it had a nice ring to it. I remember my first day of school they gave me a choice between the two names. Whatever name my father had in mind was a mouthful. I’d jokingly call him a dork sometimes for that. If he hadn’t messed up I’d be some complex medical term for a certain kind of medicine that was difficult to pronounce. I liked the unintentional name better and stuck with the nickname “Clover” ever since then. I always thought clovers made you lucky and it made the name all the more special to me.”

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Gender
Female

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Birthday
July 30th (The day I first drew her)

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Age Group/Size
Late teens

She’s done growing and stands close in height with her father. She’s slightly taller than average pony height.

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Pony Type
Earth Pony

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** Birthplace
Duskside Valley

“While I was born in Duskside, I grew up mostly in Sunset Heights. Sunset was a small village a top the hill from Duskside. Since Sunset Heights didn’t have a hospital I was born in Duskside. The two towns themselves are within a mile long hike of each other, so Sunset Heights doesn’t exactly need a hospital of its own.

“As for Sunset Heights, the small village gets its name due to the beautiful sunsets off the clear horizon. I went to elementary school there and enjoyed exploring the hiking trails that would take me down the valley into the forest. I always found them the perfect place whenever you needed to escape from the stressors of the day.”

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** How he/she earned their cutie mark
Three playing cards being shuffled.

(The word wall below is the story on how Clover earned her cutie mark. I apologize for not being the greatest fan-fiction writer, and I couldn’t get anyone to proofread, so everything may be exceptionally lame. Feel free to skip it if you wish. By the way, the rough draft was twice as long.)

“At a young age my family went on camping trips through the woods. One of my favorite pass times spent during those was playing card games with them whenever we had to wait out the rain from inside our tent. The number of different games you could play with a universal deck amazed me and memories of the games we played were one of the greatest treasures I cherish to this day.

“I was taught new games by my friends and soon I wanted to be the best at any and every game I learned. Back then I yearned for being unbeatable and unmatched and remarkable all the same. I idolized my interest to the point I soon found myself in my first card competition. It was held at DSV Karts (Duskside Valley Go-Karts & Track) where the card players’ club usually met at, similar to that of a chess club. The competitors were nothing more than school-aged colts and fillies (I was the only one from Sunset Heights) with the prize being a cheap gold trophy with two coupons to the local ice cream restaurant.

“I played game after game rising up the ladder until the semi-finals. My opponent, the three-year-straight champion, was different than the others. Despite my best efforts I lost terribly, but if that weren’t enough the champ rubbed it in real bad. I forget what he said, but I left the place in tears with a serious rift in the confidence of my capability for my one passionate hobby. His words stung, but I didn’t give up that night, nor the next night, or the one after that. I played more and more games and if no one was around I’d practice shuffling, a very difficult skill to master without the use of magic.

“When it got to the point my friends avoided me fearing the inevitable card game I joined the card players’ club at DSV Karts. The champ was never there, and no one recognized me from before, but I still felt discouraged all the same. The card games were more welcomed, competitive, and difficult, but I never let a loss get to me. Those card games were only practice for the one particular rematch that mattered to me the most. As for the ponies there, they would sometimes gloat, but they were much kinder than the never-present champ. I also improved the method in which I shuffled the cards thanks to the attendees. They were impressed with the level of progress I had made. As for my determination, it was always present in every game I played, and soon my peers stopped calling me Clover and started calling me “The Five of Cloves”. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I might have encouraged the title name a bit, but I always appreciated the games being played more than the victories.

“The year went by and the same competition restarted all over again, however; the colt in question did come back this time. Rumors came to my ears that bets had been placed between club members on who would win between the four-year champ and The Five of Cloves. The tensions built with each match until I made the finals against my greatest rival. The match began and I struggled to keep up with him. The whole time he would give snide commentary on my moves, but I couldn’t let him deter me. It was the last round and I came even by the skin of my teeth from the round before. This game couldn’t get anymore closer to a draw, but it didn’t. The champ’s know-it-all smirk was followed when he laid down his hand. The points were tallied and he had already known it was impossible for me to have had more points than him in my hand. After all, not all the cards were added to your total, only the diamonds were added, and I came a point short.

“A point short that is... not including the trump card in my hand. It was my favorite card and its effect would let me take a card from his hand and include it in my own. His face grew pale over seeing that card; it meant I had won the game and he had lost.

“When I tell this story most tend to think I got my cutie mark here, but they are wrong. Over the obnoxious cheers of the crowd, only I heard him mumble to himself that he would never play again. Out of all the things I might have done, gloating, giving him a hard time, rubbing that trophy in his face, all so I could stick it to him how much he ruined me, I didn’t. I never saw him, the overzealous braggart; leave the building. I merely saw someone depart with the look of being ripped open from the inside, and for all I knew it may have been a vision of myself leaving the very same way a year ago.

“I felt empty instead of victorious. I felt worse than the anticipated thought of glory, and for what? I never mocked him, but it made no difference to me. That’s why I left my own victory party early right as someone’s mom was giving away free pizza to everyone. I didn’t bother to take the trophy, only the ice cream restaurant coupons; because I had a good feeling I knew where a certain somepony was celebrating his defeat. It was common practice I thought for him to come here after every competition, and by the looks of it he was saying his final goodbyes in the corner with his tears melting his untouched ice cream.

“He was not thrilled to see me that’s for sure, but I told him I came to say good game, maybe even the best game I had ever played. It didn’t matter to him, but I said it did for me. I went on and told him exactly how I felt after my loss one year ago and the very things that went through my mind at that time. Part of me didn’t want to tell him about how I felt, fearing it would only make it easier for him to belittle me like he had before, but he only listened while he moped. When I finished I told him after all I went through to finally defeating him it didn’t matter anymore. Playing him mattered and it took me all this time to realize that ponies will appreciate you not for the victories you’ve won, but for the battles you’ve fought no matter the outcome so long as you gave it your best shot. I told him he was the reason for making me want to try harder, to be more determined and despite having lost to him this whole time during the entire course of a year it never made me any less of the competent player than who I am today. It was because of all this that I told him why he shouldn’t quit. To get across my point I asked if he’d partner up with me for the doubles competition next week. After all, I did mean it and I didn’t want a good player like him to go to waste even if he had problems running his mouth.

“He was quiet for the longest time, before he responded ‘maybe’ but on one condition. He pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket and asked if I would be willing to play him just one more game. That made me glad to hear, that he was willing to accept and I added, ‘Only if you’re okay with me buying us some fresh ice cream.’ He didn’t and I used the coupons so we ate as we played. This time he didn’t brag and we even got to talk to each other. Halfway through he actually told me he was sorry for giving me such a hard time during both the competitions, and I told him I was already over that but I accepted it anyway to show that I appreciated it. It was then that I found out his name was Double Hold and that he loved the taste of pistachio ice cream more than anything in the world. As for the game, it was short but fun without the pressures of the championship weighing down on both of us. In the end he won the game, but that didn’t matter. I made a joke about it and we both laughed. We played two more games that day talking and then he agreed to partner up with me on the doubles. What mattered was I didn’t earn my cutie mark by winning a competition; I won it by making a friend out of an enemy over a friendly game of cards and that’s what I’m proud of to this day.

“Even though his family moved away three months after he taught me one important thing; always carry a deck of cards with you wherever you go.”

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Occupation and Residence
Duskside Valley/Ponyville

Clover’s main job is working at DSV Karts. While she’s in charge of reporting go-kart problems and working the cash register in the snack department, she’s the head of organizing events for the card player’s club and the competitions for young and old ponies alike. She still plays card games with anypony who is willing to play with her and enjoys every chance she gets at it. On the rare occasion she may have a familiar face call her by her old card name, “The Five of Cloves”, but she will never bring up the name herself these days.

Working at DSV Karts is Clover’s summer time job. In the autumn school starts up, and she moves back to her family’s current residence in Ponyville to resume her last school years. (Clover’s father was reassigned to the hospital just outside of Ponyville, and the family moved to a house relatively close by.) Even away from DSV Karts she still promotes the business that hosts the card players’ club by sporting her favorite visor.

During the school season Clover works part time card dealing at the local Ponyville Bar and partial bartending. At school Clover aspires to work for a company that designs and creates products such as custom playing cards, board games, and the general like. She hopes to bring something new to the card players club back in Duskside no matter how far away she is.

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Abilities

-Earth Pony Benefits

As an earth pony she naturally is given the bonus stamina, but her strength isn’t too noteworthy. She enjoys going on long hiking trails while staying active and fit as she takes in the scenery.

-Dexterity

Given her talent, Clover has amazing dexterity over playing cards than the average earth pony. (Other objects may vary.)

-Inabilities and Fears

It should be obvious Clover can’t fly or cast magic. To add to this she has a fear of heights and the levitation of objects can sometimes unnerve her. If somepony offers to shuffle a deck using magic she WILL always turn them down or refuse to play.

-Basic Knowledge of Mechanics

Working at DSV Karts she has a bit of background knowledge on the basics of general mechanics. If something is broken she may be able to fix it, and if not the results may be somewhat explosive.

-Fast Healer

Unnaturally Clover has a tendency to recover from bruises, sicknesses and injuries much faster than most ponies. She thinks having a father as a doctor makes her lucky when it comes to recovery even if he’s not the one operating on her.

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Interests

-Card Playing

Any and all card games are Clover’s favorite card games even if she hasn’t played it before. Learning new card games brings just as much enjoyment to her as playing ones she has mastered. She has said anytime is the best time for a card game, even when she was dragged to the highest floor of a building by her parents she was able to calm down when one of them offered to play her a quick game of crazy 8’s.

-Exploring/Nature-Seeking

Clover has a fondness for nature, exploring, and hiking. Sometimes her curiosity can lead her to getting lost if she’s not careful. If ever she’s stressed out or upset she can always count on the beautiful scenery to help ease her mind. Besides hiking she also enjoys train-rides watching the world change before her.

-Spicy Food

Eating any food Clover is fine with, but her favorite kinds are the spicy foods. The heat to Clover only makes the food more delicious and she’s not afraid to chomp down on a hot pepper even if it’s too much for her. Sometimes Clover can be a bad influence daring others to join in with her and making a game out of who could take the most bites before giving up. On the contrary, Clover doesn’t like wasabi because she thinks spicy food is meant to light your tongue on fire and not to gag you.

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** Dislikes

-Gambling Money

Clover is absolutely disgusted by gambling, and would never take another pony’s money over a game’s sake (much less take anypony’s money in the first place.) She can be competitive sure, but you ruin the purpose of having a game in the first place if you gamble.

“Games should bring ponies together for a good time; I can’t even stomach the idea of ruining another pony’s day by robbing them over the thing I enjoy the most. Money isn’t even worth anything to me. I’d do away with money if I could, but it’s necessary to get a long in life. I’d be spending the excess money on that brush I really want when that pony could be spending it on the food needed to feed his family. There’s nothing more heartless than that!”

(As an exception, gambling snacks is perfectly acceptable with Clover.)

“Hey, that was only once and I shared after I won. I’d always share if it’s just snacks! You can’t feed a family with a chocolate bar! I would have even shared my lollipop at the time if I could without a card game.”

-Letting somepony else down

“You know how I got my cutie mark. You could be absolutely the worst of bullies to me, and even though I might hold something against you, I’d feel absolutely terrible if I ever put you down. Sure I may be competitive, but I would never put it at a level that would upset anypony. Even if I was angry and vengeful there’s always a degree of restraint I put on what I say and what I do, because deep down I know it will end up biting me in the end. To me regret is just as distressing as shame, but with shame the hurt is all in your head. When it comes to regret the hurt rests in your heart and for me it never goes away until I can make amends.

“I think the word ‘sorry’ is possibly the greatest word ever invented in the history of ponykind. I take apologies very seriously whenever I’m giving or receiving one. Some ponies would think I’m too forgiving, and I dislike it when they think this makes me more of a push-over, but I think a little forgiveness would go a long way for the both of us. Even if the fault isn’t entirely mine I’m still left with some guilt and I’m always fearing that I might get stomped out if I ever apologize. To me that can take a toll on your heart, but sorrys weren’t meant to be easy. That’s why I appreciate it when others put the care with all their heart into saying it, because I do just the same when it’s hurting me.
“And if anything, do NOT use what I just said against me when we’re playing cards. I can handle the common gloating, but that personal stuff isn’t worth repeating!”

-Socks

This is an interesting topic all together. If there is one thing Clover can’t stand, its socks. Ponies will wear dresses, shoes, saddles, glasses, hats, shirts, watches, and even pants, but a rarity among them is socks. Clover will openly criticize anypony wearing socks negatively and her mood whatever it may be is instantly ruined by the sight of them. As she states you’d have to be out of your mind to wear something so degrading. They’re unoriginal, sleazy, and hideous that they’re a plague of the common day pony that must be put to an end. “I could write a song about it.”

Of course, somepony like Clover can be excused for her rude behavior and insults. She fears socks themselves, true, but what she fears more than anything is letting other ponies know that she- “STOP!!!

“No, no please… don’t tell them that. Anything but that! I couldn’t live with myself if you told them that. I swear I didn’t mean it when I did it! It never happened, he’s lying! Socks have nothing to do with me. Get that trash away from me! I’m not corrupted!

…

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Personality

Clover has a lot of spunk. She can be very laid back with anyone, but she can be very enthusiastic not just when it comes to playing card games, but even during the activities her friends wish to do. (So long as it doesn’t leave her uncomfortable in any way mentioned above.) She’s not overly cheery, but she tends to be optimistic if everyone else isn’t. Upon meeting someone new Clover will offer them a card game, especially if she has time to kill.

To everyone Clover wants to be seen as confident in character and for what she does. A favorite motto of hers is “If there is a will, there is a way!” especially if the moment seems difficult and the “competition” as she puts it is not up to it. Her hopes to challenge herself are not for her own gain, but in the hopes that it will inspire others to put more heart into what they do best.

Clover isn’t one to be looking for conflict. She’s only competitive because she feels it brings ponies to do their absolute best making the experience and fun all the better. That’s why she prefers to have the competition heated to give it their all.

There are some aspects that Clover can be very secretive about. Whenever Clover’s left in an uncomfortable position she best tends to hide it until the feeling is completely overwhelming her. While you’ll never see this aspect of her when she plays cards, if she’s unnerved her attitude may grow somewhat detached from her usual self. A nervous tick of hers is to shuffle her deck of cards absent-mindedly and become less attentive to those around her and more on what’s troubling her. This can leave her a prime target to getting pranked or startled unexpectedly. Usually at this point she begins putting more will power in remaining somewhat stable while unable to put words together, and will choose to leave immediately after if she knows she’s not fooling anyone.

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This OC, Five of Cloves – “Clover” is from the My Little Pony; Friendship is Magic universe. As of the time this work has been submitted I’ve only had a full week to fully plan, draft and finalize this OC along with her bio. I can expect there can be much room for improvement and a lot more to add as well. As such she may change over time to meet those standards. I believe that makes her a dynamic OC?

Permission from me must be granted if you’d like to draw her. If I know you well there should be no problem. Please no NSFW art. I devised this character to be straight out of the show, and I would like to keep her as such.

I don’t intend on ever making a second OC. This kicked my butt enough as it was, and I know my lack of organizational skills and carelessness for sentence/paragraph structure a long with being somewhat of a perfectionist in the visual itself has made this pretty challenging, but I do want to thank the support for those motivating me all the way. Thank you guys, you’re the best!

(P.S. If it comes down to curiosity, under Clover’s bed, is an old bed sheet covered over a shoe box. Inside you’ll find two specimens that rarely see the day of light. Two socks identical in a red and black striped pattern once a gift from her aunt hoof-stitched in fine quality sent two birthdays back. What dark and ominous history lies behind them? She won’t let me tell, but I can verify she has yet to throw them away. Keep it a secret or else she’ll destroy me.)