Oleander

Oleander is one of the seven playable characters of the indie fighting game Them's Fightin' Herds. A part of a culture that worships light magic, she was shunned by her fellow unicorns for her study of the dark arts. When she learns about the Predators return, she knows that the rest of the unicorns won't do anything about it, so she takes matters into her own hooves to seek The Prophet's key, the only thing that can re-contain the Predators. her best friend is the malevolent sprit that resides withing her book, forming a pact with him so that he may teach her dark magic.
She is voiced by Alexa Kahn and speaks with a British accent.
== Biography ==
=== Book of Lore ===
13 years before the events of the game, a young Oleander stumbles upon a book of dark magic known as the Unicornomicon, meeting the demon within it that she nicknames "Fred". He agrees to teach her dark magic, something that is forbidden in unicorn society.
One day, the previously white-and-blue unicorn wakes up to find that the dark powers of the book have turned her gray and black. She nervously attends a meeting held in The Sacred Grove by the unicorn's leader - the High Priestess of the Order of the Horn. She tries not to be noticed, but the priestess quickly notices her corrupted appearance. The leader demands to know why Oleander looks so different, to which she lies that she doesn't know. The priestess retorts that she does know, as her darkened coat could only be caused by dark magic.
Oleander, finding her courage, argues that light magic isn't the only good thing in the world, and that darkness can do just as much good in the right hooves. The crowd is shocked, and the priestess responds that Oleander had wasted her potential, telling her to go home and think about what she'd done. The rest of the gathered unicorns then turn their backs on her, and Oleander leaves the temple in shame.
When she returns home, Oleander pulls the Unicornomicon out from under her bed and somberly brings it to the fireplace, intending to burn it. before she can however, the book flies open and Fred comes out, with her yelling at him for corrupting her colours. Fred apologizes, saying that he forgot to mention it. Oleander asks why she should still keep him around, and the demon sheepishly replies that they're friends, adding on that she's going to save the world. When the unicorn asks for elaboration, Fred explains that in 13 years, the Predators will escape from The Hold and attack Foenum. 
Oleander states that the Order of the Horn won't do anything about it, let alone have her do anything, as they believe the light will decide Foenum's fate. Fred says that all she needs is to save the land is to keep studying the book's dark arts, forming a pact with her. As she goes to bed, Fred tells her to rest up, as they have 13 years of training ahead of them.
=== Story Mode ===
==== Chapter 1 ====
Oleander appears at the end of Chapter 1, serving as it's final boss. Arizona encounters her in the Temple of Gloom, the two both intending to search the monoliths for clues on where to find The Prophet's Key. Believing herself to be the only worth Champion, Oleander initiates a fight with the young cow. From here, two different endings can be achieved. If Oleander wins, she'll take pride in her skills and reaffirm that she's the only one worthy of saving Foenum. If she loses however, Fred will fly into a rage for Arizona interfering with his plans, knocking her out. When the unicorn awakes, he tells her that she won the fight and had passed out from over-exertion. In both scenarios, Oleander then continues with her research while Fred looks to see if Arizona had been carrying anything useful. If the player had picked up a longma orb, he shows it to Oleander and tells her that they need to go to the longma's capital - Huoshan. If they hadn't picked up a longma orb, the two of them conclude that there's nothing more to be found in the temple and depart.
== Appearance ==
Oleander is a slender gray unicorn with a black mane and blue eyes. She has a lion-like tail and her hair is tipped with the same magenta that her hooves are, as well as her horn being light gray and curving slightly. She has long fetlocks and large ears that are pink on the inside. When using some of her stronger spells, her eyes glow white, occasionally also gaining a second pair of white eyes.
Before her corruption, she had a white coat, a light pink horn, light gray hooves and light gray hair with light blue tips. During the tutorials, she wears a pair of purple reading glasses.
== Personality ==
Oleander is very stern and irritable, especially when Fred messes with her. She's impatient and arrogant, insistent that her dark magic will save Foenum. She also dislikes her fellow unicorns for their hatred of any magic other than light and refusal to do anything about the Predator's return. She does have a soft side however, as seen when she briefly fawns over Pom's sheepdog puppies.
== Trivia ==
* Like the other initial main characters, she was designed by Lauren Faust as a replacement for the Mane 6 from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic after the fangame Fighting is Magic was taken down by Hasbro for copyright infringement. Oleander herself is based off of Twilight Sparkle.
* Both her and Fred love donuts, with her favorite being deep-fried with strawberry icing and sprinkles.
* Her saying "BAMF!" while teleporting is a reference to Nightcrawler from X-Men.
* While all other unicorns drink tea, she prefers coffee with a lot of sugar in it.
==External Links==
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