Friction

Friction is a Primary Character. A lot of the plot involves him in some way.

Appearance
Friction is a grey-blue-azure unicorn stallion with a long, layered red-and-blue mane and tail. He has fire-orange eyes to match with Tantazi, his dragon. His cutie mark is an active fire-pit.

He is unusually stocky for a mostly pure-blood unicorn.

Identity
Friction at the time of Broken Down is approximately 24 years old.

He is a cis-male and a heterosexual.

Talent
Unknown

Personality
Friction is a responsible and generally trustworthy character in most cases. He never half-asses his jobs and really cares for those around him. He's a rather anxious and withdrawn character, and tries to act funny when he's nervous. He gets aggressive when confronted or when he is reminded of things he doesn't like.

Profession(s)
He is a general nurse and an obstetrician. Plainly calls himself a surgeon when meeting new ponies. Like with most, he has been trained to work with magic and without it, in the case of restrictions with magic or consent (as in some cases things may lead to a difficulty with performing magic, and some ponies may refuse treatment that involves magic).

Relations & Friendships
- Light (fiancee, best friend and love of his life)

- Heatwave (little sister)

- Furnace (disliked big brother - deceased)

- Apatite Bud (disliked father)

- Featherdust (mother)

- Tantazi (his dragon, best friend)

- Kethiraz (Light's dragon, best friend)

- Lichen (best friend)

- Lime Pop (best friend)

- Mint Lollipop (Light's aunt)

History & Creation
Friction was born to a particularly rich unicorn family in Manehattan, as a younger brother to Furnace and later an older brother to Heatwave. He was not a very interactive colt, being uninterested in speaking to others, and mostly lost in his own mind. On a school camp, Friction got lost in the woods, and spent some time trying to light a fire with his magic. Light, who was in a separate camping group, came across him and that's when they met for the first time. After only staring at her for a few moments, Friction remembered how to get back and hurried off.

Friction was bullied a lot by his older brother and his brother's friends. There came a time when he came across Tantazi's egg while exploring at a beach. He went further than he was supposed to and found the golden stone lying in one of the rock pools. He kept it in his satchel, telling his mother he had collected a bunch of shells and rocks. When Tantazi hatched, Friction finally had a friend to talk to. Furnace didn't like his brother having a dragon, though. To him and his dad, they were brutal and impure creatures, and Friction having a non-pony friend was disgusting. Furnace and his friends decided to mess with young Tantazi, which lead to Friction and Light's second meeting, and the introduction of Kethiraz. Kethiraz and Light attacked the older ponies, the purple dragon already being as big as the largest of them, allowing Friction to take Tantazi back. Friction left with Tantazi almost immediately, giving Light a simple "thanks," before leaving.

Light and Friction didn't speak again until high school, which they went to in Canterlot. Friction still struggled to find friends, but came across a pale green earth-colt called Lime Pop, who wore glasses, and also seemed a little uncomfortable with others. Friction needed a seat at the cafeteria, and Lime Pop was alone, so they sat together and learnt about each other. Lime Pop was quite excited by the idea of Tantazi, and quickly opened up to Friction, who did the same. Friction tried on the other colt's glasses, finding them funny. A young she-griffin called Lichen sat down at their table one lunchtime, took some of Lime Pop's grapes and contentedly ate them. Shocked, Friction and Lime Pop stared at her, and after making a few jokes, Lichen introduced herself and apologised for taking Lime Pop's food, saying she would give him food back sometime (which she never did). Slowly, she became a close friend of theirs.

Friction soon ran into Light after that, passing her a few times on his way to class. Lime Pop and Lichen noticed how he reacted when seeing her, and forcefully encouraged him to explain. Lime Pop and Lichen managed to get a hold of her, introducing themselves and letting her sit with them and Friction. They decided to start a small school-based band, called Fire & Featherdust. Friction sang and occasionally played guitar (he tried to convince his brother he was playing cello), Lichen played guitar and Lime Pop learnt the drums. Friction paid little attention to the music compared to his best friends, focusing a lot more on Light, who had decided not to have any part in it. Lime Pop and Lichen, at a band meeting Friction was supposed to attend, decided that he must be in love with her, and so they got to work trying to get them together. Light was seemingly oblivious to everything, but then it came time for one of the formals, and Friction didn't have a partner yet. Lichen calmly approached Light and asked her if she had a date yet, and at the confirmation that she did not, got Friction to ask her. After the formal, the two began dating.

Furnace was not liking his little brother getting further than he was. He was daddy's favourite, and he wasn't going to let little smarty-pants Friction get in the way. Furnace repeatedly slandered the young couple, only stopping when he was hospitalised from a mysterious attack and perished. Friction, frightened his father would blame him and scared to live any longer with them, ran away. He and Light, now old enough to live on their own, moved away with Mint Lollipop's blessings to the outskirts of Ponyville, taking their dragons with them of course. A year later, Friction proposed to Light and they became engaged.

Trivia
- For two years after Furnace's death, Friction suffered from waking nightmares and night terrors.

- Friction, Lime Pop and Lichen's band name, Fire & Featherdust, is a reference to the heat-themed names of Friction's family members, and his mother, Featherdust. It was actually Lichen that came up with the name.

- Out of all of StormClawPonyRises' characters, Friction probably has the most detailed backstory. Unlike even Fluro, Friction's whole life has basically been played out and written.

- When they were first created, well before Broken Down was even considered a concept, Light and Friction originally met as young adults, when Kethiraz was caught in a trap and Light needed help getting him to safety.

Individual Themes
- I Ran (So Far Away) --- Flock of Seagulls

- The Suburbs --- Arcade Fire

Shared Themes
- Reflektor - Arcade Fire --- Shared with Light

- Brother - Stuck in the Sound --- Shared with Light and Furnace

- Tyson vs Douglas - The Killers --- Shared with Furnace and Heatwave

Credits
Friction was designed, developed and created individually by StormClawPonyRises. All of his relatives and friends as mentioned above were all developed by Storm as well.