FiM Cast Coloratura (Tier 3)

[SteelEagle]

Roleplay Type: WoE

Name: Coloratura (stage names/nicknames: Countess Coloratura, The Countess, Rara)
Gender: Female
Age: Young Mare
Species: Earth pony
Eye color: Blue
Character Color: Light grey.
Mane/Tail: Well coiffed and curled indigo with teal and light grey highlights, light purple dyed streaks, though she can change both styling and color for her stage performance.
Physique: Fit and well-taken care of, a stage performers body with a country upbringing.
Residence: Manehattan, currently. Travels often.
Occupation: Leading Equestrian popstar and musician.
Cutie Mark: Clutch of bright musical notes.

History:

Coloratura was born into a humble Mustangia home, one member of a large family of poor farmhooves who made a living working the fields of nearby farms and other odd jobs. She was denied many things some of her peers had, but her home life was nonetheless warm and nourishing to the bright young filly. She did well in school and still found time to help her family however she could, whether that was helping in the fields, trying to sew quilts, helping repair broken axles on carriages to be sold to the fancy folk in Fillydelphia, and anything and everything else she could do to help. And things were good.

But there came a time when both parents were ill, and the family found itself edging towards ruin. The fillies and colts of the family did all they could, but without their parents, they were simply not good enough. In a last bit of desperation, they traveled to Fillydelphia to seek help. It was decided to try and perform for some bits and it was here, in the scary big city with their structures too close together and more ponies in one neighborhood than all of Mustangia put together, that her destiny was to be found. Her older brother strumming a guitar with lyrics Coloratura had written, she sang her heart out. Many passerbyers took notice of her clear, beautiful voice and even more seemed to take notice when she gained her cutie mark, singing with tears in her eyes. They made more bits in one day than they would have made in the fields for a year. They returned and saved the family from having to 'go mustang' as it was known, and she soon found herself helping the family in brand new ways. And things were good.

She would soon travel to Fillydelphia once or twice a month with a parent or older sibling for accompaniment and perform on the street. She got to keep a few bits out off the piles she'd make and used it to buy instruments, many of which she started to play with great skill. She became the main breadwinner for the family in short order, even making enough for her parents to send her siblings to bigger and better schools. They rewarded her with one of the few things she truly wanted- a summer at Camp Friendship. There she made many friends, a few of them which would stand the test of time. It was one of these friends of hers, a pony named Applejack, who stuck with her the longest. Rara as the Ponyville filly had named her taught Applejack how to play guitar, and together they wrote a song that they performed at camp. They would remain pals for some time afterwards, but distance and ambition would separate them. And things were good for a while.
 

Rara, for all of her love of Mustangia, had become enamored with the creative energy of big cities. And no city was bigger and more full of creative types than Manehattan. When her older sister was sent to an Academy in Manehattan, she agreed to take Rara with her so the performer of the family could seek bigger and better avenues of performance. For a while she lived with her sister and did what she could to try and make it big, but as a slightly older filly or young mare, some of the outrageous charm that came with a filly of her caliber had faded. Facing much tougher competition and without a great musical education to try and distance herself, she had to turn to other methods of using her talents to carry her weight. And things were starting to look not so good.

She did 'voice over' work for projector shows, where her voice was recorded magically and then applied to the images on the projector. She followed some new friends into the underground rap battle scene. She performed on stage (though as an actress she was terrible), on the street, in salt bars. She got work as a background singer but she outshone her employer. It was her work as a background dancer that changed her life, however. While dancing in a local band's projector video for their song, the lead singer suffered an acute case of losing her mind over not having untapped mineral water on hoof. She stormed off set. While her manager sought to calm her down, the other members of the band wanted to at least get some practice in. Never one to let an opportunity slide, Coloratura took the chance. She sang her heart out and blew everypony's expectations out of the water. So amazing was she that the band, already tired of the temperamental lead singer's constant bad attitude, kicked her and her overbearing manager out. And things were good.

She would sing during the local tour of the band, becoming a fan favorite. She would record a record for them and it was this record that the band used to go national. It was during this explosion of popularity that Svengallop approached her. He was charming at first, kind, and seemingly concerned with just her and not the band as a whole. The band was famous- but she could be so much more without them! She didn't really believe that or want to leave, but when she discovered that they had intentionally cut her out of many of the profits she was owed from the tour and record. They protested, saying it was a bald faced lie cooked up by Svengallop. She didn't believe them and she left the band. And things were bad for them.

Under Svengallop's guidance, she redefined her musical career under the Countess Coloratura brand. A glamorous pop star. She wasn't entirely comfortable with it, but the production was amazing and she respected all the work that went into. After a few hard months of getting her creative vision and his branding to coalesce, she was able to devote herself to the idea entirely. An Equestrian pop star of intensity and passion overlayed with best in class production, underlined by her natural, instinctual musical virtuosity allowed her hit the scene like a meteor. Her success was international and intense, and she loved her time on stage. She didn't really see Svengallop's control as a negative and looked at his demanding personality as a byproduct of all the hard work he did. And since Svengallop controlled her personal life- all part of the brand, of course- she was kept separated from those who would say otherwise. She didn't realize it, but she had become known as a demanding diva, impossible to please. And things were gilded.

Of course this was untrue. Based in large part on her early life, she loved to meet with local schoolponies and held a contest everywhere she went to get some lucky winners to sing on stage. She played benefits as a way of repaying the charity she had been shown when she was younger. It was during one benefit that she reconnected with her old friend Applejack, who helped her see that Svengallop was not only controlling, but using his position to benefit himself at the expense of well-meaning ponies new and old alike. And he didn't like little schoolponies, and that was just too much! They had an argument and Svengallop left her. She panicked, but after assurances from Applejack she was able to perform in a style more befitting her natural skills. And things were good. So good in fact that she made sure to keep in close co tact with Applejack, and who knows what will come out of that partnership?

Now she returns to Manehattan, her musical career a mess. But a beautiful mess. One she wants. Now she looks at herself in a new light, knowing she can do anything and everything she puts her mind to, as long as she remains herself- the most beautiful star that some ponies have ever seen shine.


Character Summary:

Coloratura is an incredibly talented singer. Her voice is passionate by nature and dripping with emotion and color, all of which is emphasized by her booming cords and clearness of her singing. But that is not all that passes for her talent. She is a consummate musician, being a talented pianist, composer, lyricist, and guitarist (acoustic and otherwise). She is a performer almost without compare in the realm of music, an accomplished dancer, and has an understanding of what goes into large stage shows. All of these things tickle her. Many different genres of music strum her creative chords. She has been a rocker, a rapper, a concert pianist, pop star, and will likely be all of these things again.

What is important to her is not the style but the substance. Whatever she chooses to do, as long as she can be herself and be the best she can be and make ponies happy while doing so, she is pleased. Her passion is clear in whatever she does, on stage and off, as she wasnts so desperately to reward all the faith and trust that has been placed in her by her siblings, her family, and others who have allowed her to get to this point. She is always aware that while she has taken advantage of opportunities, those opportunities have been provided by others.

She is a very kind and generous pony, never forgetting the core values she learned as a filly. She uses her talents where she can to help ponies, and goes out of her way to meet local school ponies. In many ways she considers it her favorite and most important part of any tour date, of any visit, of any one thing she does. She sees a little bit of herself in every little colt and filly and hopes that just as all those older ponies in Fillydelphia showed her that Equestria was a kind and loving place to all, that her taking time to meet with them, reward them, talk with them, and learn about them, will do the same for them.

Being as kind as she is and with such a good experience shaping her younger years, Coloratura is in many ways very trusting and somewhat naive as to the rougher edges of Equestria. She was taken advantage of by Svengallop and while she has learned from this, she naturally defaults to trusting the pony she is talking with. Few ponies would be willing to take advantage of her- the passion and friendliness' infectiousness is otherwordly- but it exists. And once she trusts somepony she has a hard time not making excuses for them, and tends to believe what they say. This combination of factors can cause her to become blind to those close to her that aren't doing the right things, or are taking advantage of her. Svengallop used his position to create a brand that benefited him and his ego at the expense of others who had to deal with such an outrageous diva.

She has a deep and abidding respect for those who create and have passion for what they create, no matter what style that is. The farmer creates as much as an artist does. The mother and father create in their own fashion to a more stark extent than a singer ever could. When creation meets passion, and passion meets devotion, Coloratura believes you have something special. And it is this special quality that she finds so enthralling about creation and other ponies! She faces the future of her career and friendships more excited than ever to experiment, share, and delight everypony else as much as they have excited and delighted her.

[RarityDash]

*rarajacks*