Name: Heather (Tart) Reed
Species: Earth Pony
Gender: Female
Family: Florina Tart (mother), unnamed stallion (father), Applejack (cousin however-times-removed), Sawyer Reed (husband)
Occupation/Talent: Co-Owner of Reed Enterprise/Socialite
INFO
Heather Tart was born into the Apple family and originally lived on the outskirts of Manehattan where her mother Florina Tart stationed her berry farm. In her earliest days, Heather happily lived on her mother's farm, adoring the many farm animals and the berry fields. She would even help with harvesting berries since it meant her mother would get to bake her world-famous berry tarts.
As a young filly, Heather was a big admirer of the princesses. She was absolutely obsessed, collecting every toy, dress, poster, and fake crown that had any sort of theme related to the four alicorns. Even princess-themed birthday parties were quite a trend back then. When it was finally time for Heather to enroll at a school, she practically begged her parents day in and day out to let her attend Princess Twilight's friendship school in Ponyville. Her doting parents gave in and managed an arrangement with Applejack, who was more than happy to accommodate one of her youngest cousin.
The very thought of attending a princess's school and getting to meet and talk to Princess Twilight left little Heather thrilled. During her first day of school she met another filly, Eventide Twister , who she discovered was the daughter of one of Princess Twilight's best friends. A simple-minded child like Heather couldn't help but be interested in the filly - a kid who had really cool connections - and eagerly worked to become friends with her. In time they grew to become best friends, enjoying playdates and fun games.
The summer following her first year in Ponyville, Heather was given the chance to spend a whole month visiting her father's side of the family in Canterlot. As it turned out, her father's family were rather well-off and wealthy, living what one would consider "the good life" in the grand city. It was a life her father had left behind to marry her mother and work on her farm, and luckily there were no hard feelings between her father and her aunts and uncles. Heather blissfully tagged along with her older cousins as they showed her around the upper class quarters. There, Heather was completely enraptured by the gorgeous sights, the regal ponies and their elegant outfits and poise. The earth filly was excited, especially once she got to meet the friends of her cousins. She was eager to befriend and impress everyone, and at first, she got along with them well, being rather social and articulate for her age.
The attitudes of her cousin's friends changed the moment she happily shared stories of her farm life outside of Canterlot. Their smiles became too amused, and the way they eyed her became patronizing. As they hung out the kids would find reasons to make small jokes and comments directed at Heather and her farm life; how farm tasks were filthy and the life uncultured. Her cousins would join in laughing with them, and every time, Heather wouldn't understand why she was left feeling ashamed and horrible. Desperate to be accepted, Heather began laughing and agreeing with them. Farm life really was dirty, and sweaty, and gross, and was nothing compared to the wonders of Canterlot. It didn't take long for her to actually believe this. The more time she spent trying to blend in with her friends, and the more she tasted their way of life, the more she began loathing her humiliating upbringing.
Heather secretly hated her cousins from then on for the way they belittled her, only pretending to get along when their friends were around. While in her relatives' home, she began spending more time with her aunts, who pampered her. They got her out of her "drab old-fashioned clothes" and cheerfully bought her new dresses. A filly like her needed to learn how to be a "proper lady", they would say. A proper lady should respect her appearance, be dignified, keep up with the latest trends and conversations in society. Heather drank up their every word. From then on, over the years, Heather developed a materialistic mindset and obsession with self-image, which was fed with every visit to her Canterlot family.
Spurning her roots, Heather began dreaming of making a name for herself and living it up in high society. That'd show her stupid, mocking cousins. Not only that, but she'd finally stand out. She wouldn't be just another apple in the herd, some simple, forgettable, dirty farmhand like 80% of their family. She refused to be a joke, or someone to make fun of. She was going to stand on top. But on her path, Heather subconsciously began showcasing the very behavior that had hurt her. With shy Eventide, it was so easy to shoot jabs and belittling jokes. It became a habit that just made Heather feel good. Poking at Eve made her feel better about herself, maybe even superior in the face of somepony who already had the luck of being close to a royal family. Because hey, at least Heather knew what her purpose was in life, and she didn't have some weird problem talking to ponies, and she could...talk normally.
Over the years, as Heather stuck to her plan to develop her social skills and connections, Eventide's personal connections soon became irrelevant as Eve herself "failed to grow up" no matter how much time passed. While Heather felt some attachment to Eve for all the years they had spent as friends, she gradually found herself looking down on Eventide for being unable to keep up with her own growth. This would eventually escalate to a horrid fall out, one Heather to this day feels no regret over. Heather likes to believe that letting go of Eventide was like dropping dead weight.
Graduating at the top of her class, Heather wasted no time moving to Canterlot to find her true calling. While she struggled to figure out just where to begin, she eventually befriended one Sawyer Reed, a meek stallion from one of Canterlot's noble families. Discovering that he was struggling with building his company, Heather was quick to assist and help develop business plans and transform Sawyer's "Reed Enterprise". While Mr. Reed served as the foundation for the company, Heather became the steel backbone, crunching numbers and managing finances. She also became the social face of their business, charming others with her elegance and friendly chats. It's thanks to her that Reed Enterprise formed many company affiliations, joint business plans, and overall attention. As the two ponies worked together, they grew fonder and fonder of one another until it lead to their marriage. Reed Enterprise has been growing in success ever since.
A socialite and lover of the limelight by heart, Lady Heather Reed often holds parties to strengthen her and her family's connections and associations. It elates her every time she catches the attention of any celebrity or aristocrat. She's a friendly, welcomed face just about anywhere in the upper class district of Canterlot (though she makes an effort to avoid her irritating cousins). No matter where she goes, Heather makes sure to keep all of her personal business close to the chest while keeping an ear open for any juicy details.
Though her dream has been achieved, she still craves to earn recognition and attention from Equestria's royalty. Thus, Heather continues to build up her name however she can.
