“Get out of my face. You’re scaring my birds.”
Parents: Double Diamond and Night Glider
Species: Pegasus/Female
Special Talents: Ornithologist, studying and caring for corvids
Nicknames: Ophelia, Ophi, Moony (by her parents only) Moon-Moon (by Mel only)
Significant Other: (to be continued…)
Voice Actor: Jennifer Connelly
Bio:
Ophelia fills the role as the third link in the little leader circle of the Athenaverse. Daughter of Mane Seven family friends Double Diamond and Night Glider, she moved to Ponyville shortly after entering her last year of pony high when Our Town burned to the ground in a freak accident. The majority of residents, Ophelia and her parents included, took refuge in Ponyville, and the rest is history. Somehow, she got roped into the group of famous kids from famous parents and can’t seem to shake them. Not that she is trying too terribly hard. But don’t let her short appearance fool you. This little mare is stalwart, sarcastic, and as tough as marble. Her tongue is as sharp as ice and makes it very clear, very early on that she is not to be messed with.
This little pony is a little ball of complicated emotions. She has a rather prickly, quiet personality, and wears her spiked jewelry with pride. Her dark eyeshadow, pointy bracelets, weird crystal necklaces, and stone-faced glare have kept ponies away from her for a long time. Just as she prefers. Now, Ophelia isn’t exactly mean. Or she usually doesn’t make an effort to be. The short mare merely prefers to be left completely alone. She much prefers the company of her birds to chattering, judgmental ponies/various other creatures.
Ophelia’s special talent, and current field of study, is ornithology. She’s always been fascinated by birds, specifically corvids (crows, ravens, magpies, blue jays). These birds are highly misunderstood and Ophelia finds comfort with them. She runs a secret sanctuary in a small glen along the fringes of the Everfree Forest. She finds injured or abandoned birds, nurses them back to health, and releases the healthy ones back into the Everfree. Ones that are permanently injured or cannot survive in the wild stay in the aviary Ophelia built with the help of her best friends: Mel, Dawn, and Athena. She poured most of her preteens into learning all she could about caring for birds, and is amazed by the intelligence of her feathered friends. She doesn’t consider the birds at her sanctuary pets - merely friends - except for her magpie Jade.
There are several reasons Ophelia prefers to be alone. Throughout her life, she has been made fun of because she has achondroplasia - or dwarfism. She is barely taller than an eight-year old filly, and has a stocky stature. Her wings are small, so she can only fly slowly or for short periods of time, as she gets tired rather easily. Weak as a filly, Ophelia was determined not to let the bullies get to her. Nopony wanted to be friends with the little mare who liked weird birds? Fine. So she reserved herself to the deserts around her home, climbing cliffs and scaling dunes, building her strength. When she moved to Ponyville, the forest around her new home gave her ample opportunity to race through the rocks and trees and rivers. She is highly athletic and swift, easily able to avoid anyone’s grasps. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she learned to flee rather than fight. However, Ophelia will defend herself if need be.
However, things took a drastic change when she moved and was noticed by the strange, white-haired creature everypony called “Annie.” While trying to find someplace to clear her thoughts after all that’s happened, she is followed by the noodleface herself Athena and Princess Dawn Star. From there, the three ladies become inseparable. It took awhile for them to work their way into Ophelia’s heart, but she loves her dorky friends. She often stands as the rock for the group, often stoic in the face of emotional situations. However, she is not without a serious and fierce temper, and her outbursts can often turn vicious. Nevertheless, Ophelia is deeply devoted and protective over her little hodgepodge family.
Relationships:
Ophelia generally gets along with her parents. They were so incredibly busy when they first moved to Ponyville, trying to restart their lives, they didn’t notice how often their daughter dissappears. Night Glider was heartbroken when they learned of Ophelia’s condition. She had done everything right when she was pregnant! However, it being genetic, there was nothing she could do. Nevertheless, they treat Ophelia mostly like a normal filly, but she can get snappish with them when they become overbearing.
Besides Dawn and Athena, Ophelia’s best friend is Mellow Vibes, Annie’s cousin. They met when Mel stumbled upon Ophelia’s (not-quite) sanctuary, and spent several minutes watching the birds with fascination before the little mare nearly beat him into a pulp. After reassuring her he meant no harm (plus Jade seemed immediately fond of him), Ophelia reluctantly agreed to let Mel return if he wanted. The return became a few more returns, then a few more after that, and eventually they visited nearly eve day. Ophelia is intrigued by Mel’s kindness and serene personality. He never treats her any differently - he just treats her like a regular pony. He’s very easy to be around (and doesn’t drag her along on crazy adventures like Athena). As they get older, Ophelia finds herself feeling…weird things around the blue pegasus. And she doesn’t exactly understand them, but doesn’t refute them either…
She generally gets along with the rest of the gang, deeply enjoying the music Jetstream and Tourmaline Quartz make. Prism Storm can get on her nerves at times, and she is annoyed with Connie and C.C. most of the time. She and Juniper have an amicable relationship, finding comfort in their disabilities. The farm mare isn’t judgmental. Splendor often begs her to do her makeup (to which she always refuses). She is instantly suspicious of Jupiter Sky when they meet, and is downright sick of the jokes everypony makes (since Ophelia, her namesake, is Jupiter’s smallest moon).
While off-putting to most of her friend’s parents, they are always kind to her. Fluttershy and Twilight are, of course, deeply welcoming of the mare. Treehugger often ropes her into trying some of her special, thrown-together concoctions. Zehpyr tries to do her hair. Zephyr quickly learns nopony touches Ophelia’s hair. Ever.