Name: Merrilee

Race: Earth Pony

Gender: Mare

Age: 23

Physical Description:
Average height and chubby, Merrilee sports a snow white coat of fur, with a red mane and tail with lighter pink streaks throughout, putting one in mind vaguely of a peppermint stick or candy cane.  Her eyes match her hair and twinkle with mirth.  Around her neck she wears a green striped scarf and a branch of mistletoe adorns her head.

Special Talent: Singing; No longer available

Likes: Candy; Kissing; Cuddles; Laughing; Strawberries; Social Gatherings
 
Dislikes: Being Still; Sour Cream; Cheese; Cold; Burned Marshmallows

Strengths: Overwhelmingly Optimistic; Much stronger than she looks; Boundless energy

Weaknesses: Dyslexic; Naive; Mute; Unfocused

Fears: Snowstorms; Enclosed spaces

Bio:
Merrilee was born on Hearthswarming to a dirt-poor farmer in some little-known Earth Pony settlement.  Her body was exceptionally strong and well-suited to farm life, but her mind was never on her work and chores assigned to her would often go undone, which was a problem with the financial state of the family.  Until, that is, she discovered her talent for singing at a young age, caroling with her family at a Hearthswarming celebration.  From then on, she volunteered at charities and fundraisers for a portion of the proceeds to go to her family.  Never much, mind you, but enough for her to pull her weight.

One winter, though, a snowstorm blew through their home.  They were holed in for weeks with only food enough for days.  When the snow was cleared by a rescue party from a nearby village, she was the only one alive, and she'd cried herself hoarse in the cold.  Her voice never recovered.  She was taken in by another family that was quite a bit better off than previously, but she fell into a funk, kept to herself and didn't bother trying to learn to speak or anything like it.  Shy and reserved, she grew skinny and pretty, destined to be a wallflower at best, crazy cat lady at worst.

'Twas love that broke her out of her rut...or infatuation, at least.  She caught the eye of a growing colt in their teen years, and he eventually gathered the courage to drag her under the mistletoe at a Hearthswarming Feast hosted by her new family.  With his lips pressed hesitantly against hers, she felt warmth and jubilation like she used to feel in her younger days, and very quickly regained her old exuberance.  It seemed like the two would be together.  It wasn't love, however, and Merrilee's re-kindled personality was a bit too much for the colt to handle.  He broke up with her a couple weeks later, but the healing had been done and she started spreading joy everywhere she walked.

However, she also needed to learn to speak, or communicate in some way.  She'd never learned when she was younger because she was dyslexic and besides which it didn't seem terribly important with her line of work, but she threw herself into learning the art of the written language.  She never really gained a comprehensive grasp of it, but it was good enough for her to get her ideas across, and that was enough for her.

Once she reached adulthood, she built herself a wagon and took herself on the road, excited to see the world and what kind of good she could do in it.

Extra Details:
Uses the mistletoe she wears in her hair as an excuse to kiss whomever she wants
Carries chalk and an erasable board with her at all times
Not especially fat, but chubby enough that she jiggles a little bit when laughing, shaking, and bouncing around, which is her main mode of transport