Characters / Soldier of the Night

Wind family

A blended upper-middle class family of Pegasi residing in suburban Cloudsdale, with kin spread out all across the country.

Stormfire

The main protagonist of the story, a rookie Lunar Guard from Cloudsdale with a dark past trying to make it in his chosen career path.

• Anti-Hero: Although well-intentioned and a decent enough guy overall, Storm is ultimately a flawed lead protagonist, and has numerous Jerkass moments throughout the story. Stubborn and rebellious with a sailor mouth to boot, he has an extremely complicated relationship with his stepfather and clashes with him frequently, holding a several-month-long grudge against him at one point and refusing to even entertain the possibility of seeing eye to eye with him. Storm is also impulsive to a fault, making oftentimes rash decisions that end up causing him a lot of trouble in both the short and long term, and costing him relationships with those closest to him.
• Bully Magnet: Is heavily bullied by his classmates for how he stands out in both Cloudsdale and the Griffon Empire.
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: Storm is generally blissfully unaware of it but he attracts a lot of female attention due to his physique and easygoing personality.
• Creator Cameo: Stormfire is based on several aspects of Skyfire Storm’s own personality and life.
• Daddy Issues: Stormfire has difficulty finding any common ground with his estranged stepfather and the two have a very complicated, fraught relationship despite the genuine love that exists between them. Having spent his childhood in a single-parent home Stormfire is also hugely defensive of his deceased biological father and struggles to move on from his death on the battlefields to the point where it begins to seriously complicate his already brittle bond with High Wind.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Stormfire was born and raised in an Equestrian expat community buffering a foreign warzone, witnessing several wartime atrocities including devastating and indiscriminate bombings and countless deaths in his early foalhood.
• Hidden Depths: Loves watching hoofball on TV and is highly knowledgeable and passionate about the sport. This proves to be a bonding moment for him and his stepfather when they go to assist Grandma Hail Storm in Detrot.

High: [while sitting down to watch a game on TV] You know, I used to play hoofball back in high school.

Storm: Seriously?

High: Yep. I was actually one of the top hoofballers in the entire county and was close to signing a contract to play for the Cloudsdale Cavaliers.

Storm: [in awe] That’s awesome.

• Lonely Together: Storm and Blue bond through their shared experiences of growing up friendless in suburban Cloudsdale.
• Metal Head: Storm is big into heavy metal music, especially that of the progressive variety. Lilli uses this as a way of connecting with him after he moves to Vanhoover.
• Military Brat: The son of a soldier in the Equestrian Army, Stormfire’s quest to know and understand his deceased father is what forms the basis of the story.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Stormfire struggles with socialization in no small part due to his “outsider” status, despite being an all-round nice guy. He finds that he barely fits in anywhere despite being an Equestrian like his peers all are due to both the circumstances of his birth and his shy, reserved nature; and although he claims that it doesn’t bother him much he still silently yearns for company.
• Nice Guy: Can be abrasive and brash at times but is still a pretty likable guy to be around, certainly a lot kinder than his stepdad and brother both are.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: For a kid character Stormfire has quite the potty mouth in the earlier chapters. Justified somewhat given that he spent the first ten years of his life in what was essentially a foreign warzone surrounded by Griffons who hated him simply because he "stood out". Despite mellowing out with age he remains quite profane into adulthood.

Equinox Moon

The wife of High Wind and the loving and supportive mother of Stormfire, Gust and Mist Wind. Equinox is hugely devoted to her children but can be fearsome when angered.

• Good Parents: Equinox is a loving and doting mother to Stormfire and stepmother to Gust and Mist and is always there for them whenever they might need her.
• Mama Bear: Equinox is hugely protective of her son while they are living in the Griffon Empire and tries to provide him with a foalhood that's as normal as possible even as war rages all around them - with High Wind's assistance they are able to eventually escape the country in the wake of it.

High Wind

A rough and tough, yet ultimately good-hearted and caring weather pony from Cloudsdale. One of Equinox's closest friends in high school, High Wind fell in love with her the moment she and Storm moved to Cloudsdale and married her almost a year later, despite still reeling from the sudden death of his wife in a tornado. Although it took a while for Storm to get used to High, he’d eventually accepted him as his stepfather after saving him from a gang of local bullies. Storm's relationship with his stepfather is complex from the start and full of ups and downs.

• Abusive Parents: Downplayed. Forces Storm to follow in his shoes and bristles at the thought of his stepson having a mind of his own and wanting to sign up for a public service that benefits everyone.
• The Alcoholic: High struggled with alcohol in his youth, using it as an escape from the stresses of his day-to-day life even as a teenager. Though he is able to quit initially, he relapses in the wake of his wife’s tragic death, which almost costs him his job, family, and life. By the time of Soldier of the Night, he is completely sober once more, and this time is able to stay on the wagon for good.
• Anti-Hero: Though a stern, no-nonsense disciplinarian with a narcissistic personality and a fragile ego, High also has a good heart and genuinely loves his wife and kids.
• Anti-Villain: Decidedly becomes this over time. Although well-intentioned, High Wind is a corrupt and self-absorbed corporate executive who is so into his job he goes to immoral lengths to ensure his kids—namely his estranged stepson—follow in the same career path as him. Despite wanting his kids to be happy and live financially-secure lives all he succeeds in doing through his heavy-handedness is widening the chasmic rift that already exists between them.
• Broken Ace: A former star hoofball player, High had a bright future ahead of him in his youth, almost being scouted to play for the local team while not even being out of high school yet. Unfortunately, a serious injury costs him that opportunity, and he is forced to seriously reevaluate his life as a result. High continues to lament what could’ve been even decades later.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Downplayed. Over the course of the story High Wind rises through the ranks of the Cloudsdale weather factory, eventually taking up the post of transfer manager. Motivated by a desire to meet his transfer quota so as to get a promotion and hell-bent on seeing one of his kids follow in his hoof-steps High Wind invests particular time and effort into training Stormfire up to be the best weather pony he can be. Unfortunately for him, however, Stormfire has other plans regarding his future and so High Wind eventually uses his position and bargaining power within the factory to send Storm off to Vanhoover for a year-long internship despite the latter having not consented at all.
• Disappeared Dad: Also downplayed. High loves his kids and is present in each of their lives but is emotionally distant and has a hard time at forming any sort of connection with them for a number of reasons.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: When angered High Wind can be verbally abusive towards his children, but this backfires on him constantly and he is eventually forced to start keeping it under control.
• Good Parents: Genuinely loves and cares about his kids and is always ready to be there for them despite being an extremely distant jerkass towards them.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: High Wind fits this trope like a glove, being a prideful and egotistical Corrupt Corporate Executive with an insatiable desire to see his kids follow in the same career path as him and meddling in their lives to ensure they do so. Although motivated in part by genuine love and concern for his children all High succeeds in doing is driving them further away from him, Storm especially.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Lampshaded by High in Chapter 42, where he openly admits his belief that his recent physical and mental health problems and issues at work are the result of karma for what he did to Storm. Equinox dismisses this, however, and implores him to go on leave.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Has this realization upon finding out that Storm had a serious accident in Vanhoover that almost cost him his life. Although he attempts to apologize to his stepson for what he caused Storm is having none of it and finally cuts all ties with him.
• Papa Bear: Despite his gruff, no-nonsense demeanor and his questionable behavior as transfer manager High Wind is a loving, caring father and stepfather who only wants the best possible shot in life for each of his three children even though he goes completely the wrong way about it.
• Parental Neglect: High Wind is a victim of this trope, having been raised by a loving yet cold and emotionally-distant father who enforced his will onto both his sons with no consideration. His attitude towards Stormfire is partially a reflection of that.
• Parents as People: For all his faults High Wind is a genuinely loving father who only wants what’s best for his family and his children to carry on his legacy by working in the factory. Despite working increasingly long weeks and steadily drifting apart from his wife and kids as a result High is still adamant that he can provide his family with the life he and Equinox dreamt of when they were both young.

Gust Wind

Stormfire: [while arguing with Crash Cymbal, Gust’s former drummer friend] “My brother may be an asshole but he’s at least trying to get better.”

Storm's elder stepbrother, a struggling guitarist whose life is turned around and improved by Storm's actions. Later on in the story, he begins work at a music store and later takes ownership of it after its previous owner retires, marrying the owner’s daughter also.

• Big Brother Bully: Gust is initially resentful towards Stormfire for coming into his life and is also embarrassed by his stepbrother's lack of cutie mark - over time this progresses onto full-on bullying behavior and his abuse becomes physical. He does become better though in the end and eventually comes to regret his assholish ways.
• Big Brother Instinct:
  • On occasion Gust displays protective behavior towards his younger brother and eventually stands up for him before his equally-assholish friends, becoming one of his closest friends with time.
  • For his younger sister Mist Gust is a protective older brother who is always there for her wherever she needs him.
• Book Dumb: Gust isn’t the most academically-oriented stallion and focused mostly on charming mares and his band throughout high school rather than on any educational pursuits. Despite this he is highly intelligent and manipulative, using his charisma to fool others.
• Child Prodigy: Was taught to play guitar by his uncle at a young age and is very talented. In spite of this he only claims to know covers and hasn’t written any original material in his life.
• Cool Big Bro: Gust eventually becomes this towards Stormfire after the latter is able to get his band a gig at his high school prom; although he has his doubts about whether or not he can keep this going he resolves to be the best big brother he can possibly be.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Much like his father Gust has a fierce temper and can be easily angered by even the slightest provocation—it almost always backfires on him though and he eventually learns to keep it under control.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In spite of his uncouth behavior Gust is actually a cool guy who grows to genuinely care about and respect his younger brother despite their initial mutual animosity towards each other.
• Lazy Bum: Gust is a notorious slacker with no real goal in life besides playing music, considering it the one thing he is truly good at and using it as an excuse to not try out anything else. He gets a reality check from his family though which implores him to make something of his skill despite the utter failure of The Lightning Bolts.
• The Stoner: Implied. According to Stormfire Gust and his friends are all fond of recreational drugs and enjoy getting high together but Gust denies this.
• Troubled, but Cute: Popular amongst mares in high school for his looks, rebellious, anarchic streak and his involvement in numerous local bands, namely The Lightning Bolts, which he co-founded.

Mist Wind

Storm's younger stepsister, an excitable and ditzy, yet kind-hearted and wise weather mare who helps Storm stick to the right path.

• Cool Aunt: Mist is that towards her nieces and nephews, a cool, quirky aunt who basically treats them like her own kids.
• Genki Girl: Mist is a bubbly and excitable mare with a lust for life that’s unmatched by any of her family members and an uncanny knack for randomly appearing in places when least expected.
• Nice Girl: One of the nicest characters in the story. Mist has a heart of gold and is always ready to help anyone who needs her assistance.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Mist is a wise, sage-like presence in the story despite being two and four years younger than Storm and Gust respectively, always willing to offer her brothers advice and moral support.

Cyclone Shield

A doctor. High, Blossom and Fast’s deceased father, Hail Storm’s husband.

• Abusive Parents: Of the psychological kind. Cyclone was not a good father to his sons and was cold and distant, inflicting his will upon them as they both grew older instead of letting them carve their own path in life and leading to friction and both becoming withdrawn and estranged from him. High Wind’s eventual relationship with his stepson mirrors this to some extent.
• All in the Manual: His name is not revealed in the story itself but rather in the character reference sheet Skyfire constructed for it.
• Disappeared Dad: Is revealed to have been killed in a carriage accident in Canterlot in 1991, and his sons continue to mourn him even fifteen years later despite the acrimonious relationship between them.

Hail Storm

High, Blossom and Fast’s mother, Equinox’s mother-in-law and the grandmother to Gust, Storm and Mist.

• Scatterbrained Senior: Implied to be suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease owing to her absentmindedness and poor memory by the time Storm and High come to look after her in 2005.

Fast Wind

High Wind’s younger brother, a carriage salesman in Detrot and part-time musician.

• Big Fun: Is quite overweight from a poor diet and sitting behind a desk but is able to shed some pounds by the time his brother and nephew come to town.
• Cool Uncle: Fast is this to Gust Wind and Stormfire and Mist to a lesser extent, with High Wind acting as the uptight straight man a lot of the time.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Fast acts as the sensitive guy to High’s manly man.

Breeze family

Part-time flight coach and weather pony Star Night, her husband Solar Breeze, their son Lonestar and their daughter Blue Night.

Blue Night

Storm's marefriend and eventual wife, a music teacher at the local high school originally from Mareami and the daughter of Storm's flight coach in Cloudsdale.

• Betty and Veronica: Blue is the Betty to Lilli’s Veronica, a sweet, friendly mare with a shy demeanor and a kind heart.
• Broken Bird: Starts off as this prior to befriending Storm and gradually starts to come out of her shell the more she spends more time with him.
• Bully Magnet: Was heavily bullied as a filly upon moving to Cloudsdale and has suffered from depression and self-doubt as a result.
• Child Prodigy: A skilled musician who has been playing piano since she turned 5. She also plays the guitar and sings.
• Elegant Classical Musician: Blue is a highly skilled and classically-trained pianist, and has been playing for most of her life. Storm notes her style of playing to be very elegant and refined, and she has taken part in many recitals throughout her childhood and teenage years.
• Lonely Together: She and Stormfire are both kindred spirits owing to their shared experience of growing up essentially friendless in suburbia.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Blue is one of the kindest and sweetest characters in the story despite being rather withdrawn and socially isolated—her isolation and immense anxiety stems from being bullied as a filly for her musical skill and lack of cutie mark.
• Nice Girl: Blue is a kind and warm-hearted mare with an immense passion for music that prompts her to pursue it as a career path.

Hurricane Force

Hurricane was, prior to becoming Storm's best friend, a cruel, heartless and sadistic bully who continuously tormented Storm and his friends; his aloof and violent exterior however masks the a broken stallion who was left orphaned after the deaths of his parents and raised by a neglectful grandmother.

• The Atoner: Comes to regret his actions sorely upon entering high school and eventually sincerely apologizes to Stormfire for the way he treated him.
• Bully Turned Buddy:

Lilli

A female lifeguard and weather pony from Vanhoover whom Storm befriends in Chapter 27. For a short while soon after they become a couple and Storm is left guilt-stricken knowing that he was actively cheating on Blue.

• Amicable Exes: Storm and Lilli eventually drift apart and split on mutual terms, pledging to remain friends even in spite of their breakup. Although Storm doesn’t see her for years afterwards he thinks about her constantly even after getting back together with Blue, before eventually meeting her once again in a Cloudsdale shopping mall. They’re both married to their respective spouses, with Stormfire now being a proud father and Lilli expecting a foal of her own, but make good on their years-old promise to remain friends. Stormfire even introduces her to his young daughter Sky as a special friend of his.
• Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Blue’s Betty, a kindhearted, yet vivacious and flirty mare with a fiery spirit and a rebellious streak.
• Nice Girl: Much like Blue, Lilli is a friendly and warm-hearted mare, albeit a far more outgoing one. Skyfire Storm deliberately characterized her as such to subvert expectations of her being a conniving love interest.

Clear Skies

Lilli's mother and the transfer manager at the Vanhoover Weather Factory, a kind and motherly mare who takes it upon herself to help Storm in any way she can.

• Good Counterpart: Downplayed. While High Wind is by no means evil and isn’t a ‘villain’ per se Clear is still his much kinder and more empathetic and understanding counterpart, and a much better parent overall, going out of her way to ensure Storm’s safety and wellbeing during his time in Vanhoover and respecting his life choices and decisions.
• Good Parents: Clear is a devoted mother to her two children and is the primary breadwinner for her family.
• Mama Bear: Is one towards her son and daughter and becomes a surrogate one to Storm throughout his time in Vanhoover, going so far as offering to pay for his medical expenses after he suffers a debilitating injury during training and trying to convince him to sue when the factory bristles at the thought of providing him injury compensation. When Storm finally questions her assistance she insists that is the right thing to do and that she’s simply doing it out of the goodness of her heart.
• Parents as People: Clear works long hours at the factory, mirroring High Wind as his Vanhoover counterpart. Although she loves her children dearly and spends every moment she can with them she still has a lot of things on her plate, which might make her seem distant at first. In addition to attending conferences and assisting in the day-to-day management of the factory she also has to look after her husband, a PTSD-stricken war veteran who works long nights as a Lunar Guard.

Windward

Lilli's father and a Lunar Guard in the Vanhoover Royal Guard. A PTSD-stricken combat veteran, Ward is jovial and full of humor despite his personal issues and forms a friendly relationship with Stormfire, encouraging him to reconsider life in the Guard.

• Deadpan Snarker: Ward uses his wry, dry sense of humor as a coping mechanism for his mental health issues stemming from past service and is well aware of how awful his cooking is.
• Good Parents: Strives to spend as much time with his children as possible despite working long night shifts in the Guard and sleeping for much of the day as such, and is utterly terrified of the thought of losing them should he be drafted once more.
• Fantastic Racism:
• Hidden Depths: Lived in Central Equestria for a while as a kid in a small town named Horseshoe Falls, about 30 miles away from Cloudsdale. It’s how he’s able to determine Storm’s accent so quickly.
• Lethal Chef: Ward is terrible at cooking but has a sense of humor about it and takes it in stride. Lilli even admits to Storm that one time he burned a manticore steak so badly while trying to make it spicy by basting it in a homemade hot sauce, the fire department actually thought it was a gas leak and sealed off half their street.

Ward: [having food with Storm while on patrol together] “Hey Storm.”

Storm: “What?”

Ward: “Did you like your lettuce and tomato sandwich?”

Storm: [nods] “Yep.”

Ward: [smirks wryly] “Good to know someone appreciates my…culinary skills.” [a beat] “Want something to drink?”

• Parents as People: Ward loves and lives for his wife and children and due to his PTSD is absolutely terrified by the exceedingly-remote possibility of being re-enlisted in the event of a hypothetical second Great Griffon War as that would mean he would lose them both again. As traumatizing and horrific as the war was for him it most definitely left him with a much deeper appreciation of the small, simple things in life, and he now strives to live each day to the fullest with the ones closest to him.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: He likes to hide it and put up a normal-seeming facade but having fought in the Equestrian Army during the Great Griffon War and witnessed horrific acts of violence against both ponies and Griffons alike, Ward is deeply psychologically scarred by what he went through. Suffering from severe PTSD, vivid, recurring nightmares and intrusive thoughts of a future second war between Equestria and the Griffon Empire, even a news report on TV is enough to trigger feelings of intense dread and anxiety within him. Luckily though, Ward’s family and friends are all there to be by his side and he is also well aware of the fact that he is one of the “lucky ones.”

Rainwynd

Am old friend of Storm from the Griffon Empire now living in Detrot, MI. Implied to have moved to Equestria several years after Storm and his mother moved there themselves, she becomes a famous actress almost overnight after auditioning for a blockbuster film which earns millions at the box office.

• Precocious Crush: Rain admits that she had a foalhood crush on Stormfire when they were both kids, and Storm is positively taken aback despite already being taken by Blue.
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: An inversion of this trope. Rain is of average height but when Storm meets her again she is happily dating a burly, bulky, absolutely giant stallion fittingly nicknamed “Behemoth” who dwarfs even Storm himself but is by all accounts a Bruiser with a Soft Center.

Summer Blossom

Hurricane's marefriend and eventual wife, a mare from Baltimare who briefly dated Stormfire in freshman year before abruptly breaking up with him for Hurricane.

Cloudsdale Weather Factory

Tornado

High Wind’s superior and Stormfire’s former boss at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory, a former guard and soldier now trying to lead a peaceful life in the weather industry.

• Ambiguous Disorder: Tornado is prone to extreme outbursts of rage that he targets at “new recruits,” as he calls them, though whether or not these are the result of him pressing his trainees to do their best or a genuine mental disorder is left unclear. What is clear is his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder following the several years he spent serving Equestria in the army.
• Anti-Villain: For all his faults and abuse Tornado is ultimately a PTSD-stricken former army captain who at times seems to believe that he’s still fighting the war he left behind. It’s what drives his initial mistreatment of Stormfire during his training stage, and he is hugely remorseful for it by the end.
• Expy: Is at times very similar to the character of Terence Fletcher from Whiplash, but is presented much more sympathetically. Ironically Skyfire claims to not have seen that film until long after his chapters were written.
• Odd Friendship: His eventual relationship with Stormfire has shades of this but is played straight, with the two genuinely seeming to like each other by the end of Storm’s training.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: His inability to let go of the war and him being haunted by his brother’s death in combat is the result of PTSD.