Flare Star background, cribbed from her game
Background: There's no telling how Flare foaled so big - teasing whispers of dalliances with a Trottish Shetland Earth Pony filled the gossip bars of Cloudsdale, but as far as the doctors expressed, she was simply a strange case of being built bigger than your average pony. Naturally, like any other 'unusual' pegasus in Flight Academy, she was harried constantly about it. However, where other misfits would end up fleeing from Cloudsdale or, worse yet, fall in with the griffons, Flare just swallowed her pride and took it on the chin all the way through her schooling, though there were the occasional outbursts of the larger filly bucking her classmates across the clouds after being particularly provoked. But Flare knew she had to keep on the straight and narrow - like any other pony, Flare had dreams and aspirations. Hers were to, one day, become one of Celestia's royal guards-ponies, the most elite of the elite.
Unfortunately, the royal guard is, much like many establishments in Canterlot, hand-groomed and trained from the day of their foaling with no room for outsiders. Before she could even get her wings off the clouds, Flare was doomed to fail - she had neither the discipline, nor the specially-bred crystal white coat that those guards had. Unfortunately, she had no idea that she simply wouldn't be accepted, so while she was busy getting mostly average marks in Flight Academy - raw power is nigh pointless for a pegasus, after all - she was meticulously bleaching her coat day in and day out, hoping to get it as pristine as those guardponies she hoped to join up with. She could never quite wash out those last tints of pink from her coat, however.
Eventually, of course, Flare would end up being faced with reality - the royal guardsponies were chosen in such a way that she just... didn't belong. The bleaching stopped after that day, but the damage was done - a once vibrant flame red coat was now ruined into a drab, sickly pink, and having been so focused on her dreams, she had never taken the time to make any friends in Cloudsdale, simply enemies. Having little to nothing left, she bid her parents a fond farewell and went off to where most fillies her age go when they've got nothing left -- the town of Fillydelphia.
Since then, Flare has put the training she undertook to a new goal, quickly settling herself in as a hard-working member of the town's personal guard, occasionally rounding up ne'er-do-wells and vandals - you wouldn't BELIEVE how many people try to defile the town! More importantly, though, Flare's more physically-oriented talents have earned her a special role - when monsters and unpleasant things come out of the Everfree Forest, it's her job to deal with them before they reach the city.
Unfortunately, the royal guard is, much like many establishments in Canterlot, hand-groomed and trained from the day of their foaling with no room for outsiders. Before she could even get her wings off the clouds, Flare was doomed to fail - she had neither the discipline, nor the specially-bred crystal white coat that those guards had. Unfortunately, she had no idea that she simply wouldn't be accepted, so while she was busy getting mostly average marks in Flight Academy - raw power is nigh pointless for a pegasus, after all - she was meticulously bleaching her coat day in and day out, hoping to get it as pristine as those guardponies she hoped to join up with. She could never quite wash out those last tints of pink from her coat, however.
Eventually, of course, Flare would end up being faced with reality - the royal guardsponies were chosen in such a way that she just... didn't belong. The bleaching stopped after that day, but the damage was done - a once vibrant flame red coat was now ruined into a drab, sickly pink, and having been so focused on her dreams, she had never taken the time to make any friends in Cloudsdale, simply enemies. Having little to nothing left, she bid her parents a fond farewell and went off to where most fillies her age go when they've got nothing left -- the town of Fillydelphia.
Since then, Flare has put the training she undertook to a new goal, quickly settling herself in as a hard-working member of the town's personal guard, occasionally rounding up ne'er-do-wells and vandals - you wouldn't BELIEVE how many people try to defile the town! More importantly, though, Flare's more physically-oriented talents have earned her a special role - when monsters and unpleasant things come out of the Everfree Forest, it's her job to deal with them before they reach the city.