Rio Rio Russell
Solar House
20| Female | Geokapi
Biography
Birth and Childhood
Rio-Rio Russell is a third-generation Geokapi born within the icy caverns of the massive Mount Gelid on December 5th, 1845 at 12:01am, three minutes after her brother Rexis. Her mother Vanni traveled around Gelid, delivering gut-busting stand-up comedy to many audiences, while her father Anderson, worked as a music professor at Galaxus University.
Rio’s throat and chest was constricted and slowly compressed by the umbilical chord, thus slightly crushing her lungs, resulting in an asthmatic condition which would last her entire life. Being evolved from the okapi, Geokapi unicorns will have two long and sharp horns, yet have a 100% male birth rate. Due to Rio being born with a single stubby horn, the flabbergasted doctors concluded that it was too insufficient to conduct magic due to its pathetic size and her lack of a ‘Y’ chromosome.
Rio’s odd birth and appearance would lead to two full decades of ostracism and even unwanted attention alike that would make Rio extremely uncomfortable. In understanding the possibility of this, Vanni paid for the twins to undergo martial arts training. It would take the foals a little over ten years to master multiple fighting styles.
Throughout her filly years, Rio finds many inspirations for becoming an illusionist. She practiced bringing her classroom doodles ‘to life’, but they would fizzle and fade out within seconds. Her teacher and classmates took notice and were a mix of amazed and confused. Some were even appalled. When her classmates told their parents about the strange unicorn filly, they refused to believe it until the first parent-teacher conference.
Mothers and fathers in Gelid used every brainwashing tactic possible to scare their foals away from befriending Rio. The foals were threatened with confiscation and forgoing of suppers if caught near the tiny unicorn. However, that didn’t stop a few geokapi foals from seeking a friendship with Rio. They would often pretend not to notice her when around their parents and others. They knew word would spread quickly about their friendship, and so would schedule brief hangout times with the twins, in the lowest level of Mt. Gelid, by the lava pools.
Following her completion of elementary and middle school, Anderson and Vanni realized that their daughter could succeed in Primera High, an all-colt institution for magic beginners. The twins faced many chauvinist peers in Primera, along with some the most difficult lessons known to unicorn kind. Rexis’ mane began to fade to grey on the left side, influencing Rio to have eighty-five percent of her mane turned silver with the help of a magically powerful hairdresser. This change eventually killed off the students’ urges to mock Rexis with their usual elderly jokes.
Rio also found herself becoming drawn to the bright and colorful gems growing out from the cavern walls. It wouldn’t be until the twins graduated from Primera High at fifteen, that she would learn that the jagged, gems she collected have the ability to enhance base power.
Short But Scholarly
Rio and her brother both enrolled in Galaxus University where she would focus less on magic, and more on acting, art and music. Meanwhile, Rexis focused on potion making and fashion, which he fused into his own fashion brand called “Magi-SLAY!”. While Rio may have hated the rumors and unwanted media attention her family received on her behalf, she couldn’t help but to be drawn to the act of transforming oneself into a character, and telling a story purely for entertainment and informative purposes.
In addition to the mandatory theater history and literature based classes, Rio took up combat and stunts for the actor, swordplay for the actor and clowning, where she learned to walk and run upright, as well as to ride bicycles and unicycles amongst other fun tricks. Two yoga classes helped her increase in flexibility and breathing practices. She also took her father’s voice for musical theater class, along with his piano class.
Rio put much pride and concentration into her works as she practiced diligently for upcoming auditions. For a while she struggled to receive callbacks from her university due to the fact that she was the only unicorn mare that existed in Gelid. Her appearance made it difficult for directors to find a role for her to fit. Every audition showed greater improvement than the last, but it took her two full years at Galaxus before she was accepted for a lead role in a comedy sketch. With Rexis’ talents, he was paid handsomely for creating works for the shows.
Knowledge is Power
After the twins obtained their Bachelor’s degrees at nineteen, Rio focused on convincing the rest of her community to cease cutting and smashing their gems for vanity. Geokapis were notorious for cutting their gems into pretty shapes, or smashing them into glitter dusts to sprinkle on their manes and coats. Any cut or smashed Gelidian gem would be void of all magic and rendered barren. Rio made jewelry with the jagged gems and metal wires made in the lowest level of Mt. Gelid, by the lava pools. She hoped that she could inspire the others to purchase them, or at least make proper uncut gem jewelry as well.
Rexis was more than happy to support his twin baby sister the whole way, and was even asked to showcase his magic-fashion line. But when the twins conducted their gem-preserving seminars, they were perceived to be insane and on the brink of villainy. The twins became even more hated and feared by their own community.
Exodus
Soon they realized that they would have no choice but to leave their cavernous home, but not before bringing two large sacs of uncut gems with them. Their parents, pained to see them leave, were still supportive of their offsprings’ decision. They felt that their twins could be under less stress once they removed themselves from their toxic community. It wouldn’t be long before the start of their journey, that Rio and Rexis would discover recordings on Equestria’s history and current events. They decided that the best thing to do would is use the gadgets Rexis made for Rio, to fly to Equestria.
Slavery to Salvation
Rio and her twin brother Rexis moved to Fillydelphia early in the year 1864. Upon studying Equestrian history, they found out about the suffering zebras, okapis, giraffes and rhinos used in the Equestrian slave trade. Though slavery had been banned across Equestria- enforcement was lax depending on the territory. Many of the rhinoceroses, okapis and giraffes would have their horns snatched off before they were chained up and dragged out of their homes and onto ships. The twins first came to Fillydelphia, a free land, before meeting and gaining shelter from their newly made friend, an oddly tall dancer unicorn named Maylinn. They would live with her as they traveled back and forth through the ‘Underground Railroad’.
Maylinn The Monumental Mare
Born in an Equestrian plantation to a giraffe that was kidnapped from her tribe as a teen. Maylinn’s father was the head master. When she was a teenager, her mother told her to run away from the plantation and never come back. She now lives in Fillydelphia where she works as an attraction for the circus, due to her mysterious height of seven feet. Maylinn told the twins her story, and that she wanted to see her mother again, so the twins made sure to keep a lookout for the giraffe, whom they eventually found and rescued.
The twins continued to rush back and forth between the north and south, seeking out and rescuing the enslaved. They even met and join forces with a very valiant zebra who persisted in saving her fellow slaves by any means necessary. Rexis used his color manipulation to camouflage, and Rio, her illusions to make herself and the escaped seem invisible to others. She overworks herself from keeping the magic running for too long and the outer layer of her stony flesh began to crackle. Pieces of her exterior fell off, leaving mahogany crystalline markings on her face, and body. She also skipped many meals during the rescues, causing her to grow thin and weak.
Rock the Boat
They moved a bunch of slaves from the south to the north, then hijacked a docked slave ship that the owners got too drunk to unload. Rexis steered the ship while Rio communicated with, and took care of those that were captured. They had to dock the ship in the Caribbean island of Sunsettle soon after Rio got sick from unchaining and treating the wounds of the captured ones. She and the hundreds of Zebrafricans were admitted into the hospital.
Unite!
King Frederick the Third visited the hospital as he would do almost daily, and wound up meeting Rio. After they explained what happened leading up to Rio’s hospitalization, he praised the twins for their bravery. After Rio’s health is restored, the king gives the twins a tour of the entire island, before allowing them to stay at the castle where they would have their energy replenished, while a manor was being constructed for them.
The king told the twins about having the Zebrafricans’ situation almost happen in Sunsettle just a few years back. According to Frederick, nearly a hundred southern Equestrians arrived to the island, carrying weapons and chains, with the intent to terrorize and claim their kingdom. However, it wasn’t long before a single tattered Equestrian was spared, and forced to return to whence they came, warning the others against attempting to conquer Sunsettle.
Inspired by the tiny mare, the young king held very long meetings with his knights and guards that took a few days to conclude. His plan was to promote half of his knights to spies, who will travel to southern Equestria undetected, and rescue as many slaves as possible. They will be escorted northbound to a free state, another country, Sunsettle, or back to Zebrafrica, depending on the decisions of the rescued.
The rest of the knights were ordered to work with the civilians to construct proper homes, along with more comfortable ships loaded with fresh foods and pampering products, so when the Zebrafricans recovered from the hospital, they could either choose to continue their dwelling in Sunsettle, or return to the motherland. Many knights would board the ships with those who chose to return to Zebrafrica in order to pamper and protect them from possible recapture.
The Bard of Hearts
Frederick soon learns of Rio’s artistic talents, and swoons deeply as he offers her a job as his bard and confidante. She would travel everywhere with her king, and sing, dance, freestyle, monologue, or perform any other artistic acts for the king and his entourage. During her time off, Rio would trot the streets of Sunsettle, practicing her illusions, allowing others to observe.
Over the course of a few weeks, the young king found himself adoring the tiny brave mare evermore. While he didn’t want to frighten or creep Rio out, he still wished upon every star he would see, for the perfect opportunity to seek a relationship with her. Even after the twin’s manor was fully constructed, Frederick would invite Rio to his castle once in a while, just to see her. She would receive at least two letters a day from her king, and in turn she would eagerly send the sweetest responses she could think of. He was concerned for her health but also highly tickled by her personality and eccentricities. He desperately wanted to know everything about her, and to make her smile as much as she’s made him smile.
Sacrifice
A bleach gorgon, who came to Sunsettle disguised as an innocent beautician, infected the colorful civilians of Sunsettle with her crude color eliminating magic through her seemingly harmless procedures. Once clients noticed the loss of pigment and diverse textures in their manes, they took their business elsewhere.
The dwindle in sales prompted the strange creature to infect the waters with her bleaching curse. All who were infected, including vegetation and animals, began to lose their pigmentation, weight, and mane, fur, scales or feathers. Eventually, the gorgon was able to sneak into the castle and attack the king who became too weak to defend himself. Rio intervenes, and gets spat in her right eye just before she delivers a swift kick to Gretchen, sending her rolling off a cliff, thus gaining victory over the gorgon.
Rio loses the pigment in her right eye, causing her confidence to plummet and leaving her to wallow in self loathsomeness. However, she is celebrated by Sunsettle’s civilians and hailed as a hero once again. Frederick and Rexis grew more concerned for Rio when she straightened her pompadour curl to cover her right eye, which prompted the king to have a three day long celebration conducted in her honor. After the third and final evening, Frederick led Rio away to a private setting where he proposed to her.
Rio was highly shocked and frightened by this. On one hoof, she would have accepted his proposal simply for the love of the beautiful and affectionate soul alone. However, on the other hoof, Rio was more than aware of her minor disabilities, which granted more unsureness towards her overall worth and usefulness. After staying frozen in place for an long and awkward two minutes, she decided that she just couldn’t cast him away. That boon personality that stood by her side, and those hypnotic eyes that would set her heart ablaze, gave her more vigor than any confectionery imaginable, for he was just too sweet. She accepted his proposal, ignoring all of her fears, and finally settling his.
Death to Inhibitions
Rio’s worries about her weaknesses and currently scarce magical abilities began to vex her repeatedly. She thought about the thousands of captured Zebrafricans, whose bodies, dead and alive yet diseased, were pressed against one another. Approximately one thousand were still clinging to life when the twins stole the ship, but after they were admitted in Sunsettle’s hospital, less than two hundred survived.
Rio did not want to step into a possible queendom without advancing in magic knowledge and abilities. In the time she spent with the king, she met many loving ponies and mythical jungle creatures of the Caribbean. They, along with the travesties she witnessed inspired her to pursue becoming the ultimate bastion for others.
Back in Fillydelphia, Maylinn found a few flyers about Starswirl's School for Gifted Unicorns, which she soon made aware to Rio through a letter. Therefore, with her king’s permission, the strange little geokapi moves back in with her new best friend Maylinn and her mother in Fillydelphia, Equestria where she makes her application to Starswirl's!
Additional Information
-She has a pet pit bull
Abilities
Levitation- Rio can levitate small objects as most unicorns can.
Illusion- She has intermediate skill in illusion magic, and will pick up spells in that subject easier.
Martial Arts- She is physically fit and flexible, and knows how to use her opponents strengths against them.
Geokapi Traits- Rio has massive satellite ears for hearing the quietest of predators.
She has bright red eyes with white pupils to help her see in the dark and through the harshest weather conditions. Her long tail can grab, whip or coil into a spring, enabling her to make huge bounds. She has an eighteen inch black tongue that can grab things as well. If she hunted for food or was in serious danger, then she can use her tongue to choke when necessary. Rio has strong, thick legs for mountain climbing and jumping, which contributes to her swiftness. Her tiny statute allows for easy access to tight hiding spaces- above all, stealthiness is her best quality.
✦Secrets Approved for Use in RP✦
Character belongs to: Rio-Rio ID #77636
