She’s a hopeless romantic of a sweetheart mom-friend with a penchant for taking care of others’ needs. The gal’s always been a little colt-crazy, just enough that you might see it in her eyes.

Tenderheart is a doting and affectionate unicorn who spends almost all of her time thinking about others, either romantically or in ways to solve others’ problems. Attending others’ needs is a need of her own, and she will fight somepony (metaphorically; she’s a lover, not a fighter) if they won’t let her do something nice for them. Beyond that, she’s about as girly-girl as it gets while still being able to handle work and the gross parts of life. (She comes from a long line of nurse ponies and works with young and baby foals; she’s pretty immune to ick.) In her free time, she enjoys dolling up manes, dressing up, sweets, spa trips, gardening, and getting lost in yet another romance novel.

She bears umpteen unrequited crushes at any given time, though she rarely pursues them, pining over who to pick, who might be her true love, trying to subtly orchestrate a story-perfect romance, and taking it a little too seriously. When a crush boils over and she works up the nerve to flirt with somepony, she does so with all the subtlety of a trumpet against one’s ear, though hopefully a little more welcome.

Though most-obviously a unicorn, Tenderheart sports various tattles of her half-kirin heritage, from her hooves to her ears. Those she noticed as a filly became rather tender insecurities as she most wanted to be just like her earth pony family. She spent every viable moment with them, never particularly bonding with other foals beyond school-related hangouts. A bit spoiled by her similarly-loving family and furthered by her half-kirin blood, she was something of a well-intentioned but headstrong foal, always seeking adult approval and her cutie mark.

Around when most of her class was getting their cutie marks, her family became particularly tied up with work as most other nurses were called away to deal with an illness colloquially known as the Baltimare Barfs. With only limited availability from her family, and the realization that being on friendly terms with her classmates did not equate to being friends with them, she became rather attention-starved and began acting out despite her better judgement.

When a new filly arrived in town, in need of a big-sister figure and relatably odd and insecure in her appearance, Tenderheart’s teacher introduced them, and she became fast friends with Sunny Side. From there, Tenderheart and Sunny were inseparable, and at Tenderheart’s insistence, they sought and began to assimilate an older outcast foal into their group, Berry Biscuits. Though she butted heads when the similarly strong-willed Chrysanthemum also moved into town, they too became good friends over girly-girl interests and, once discovered, kirin co-heritage.

Further on, when Tenderheart’s unrelenting insistence to befriend the socially prickly Berry Biscuits finally got her to open up, Tenderheart received her cutie mark in caregiving. Though initially over the moon, it soon caused quite some distress as she realized it wasn’t in nursing like her family’s, who were her perpetual role models. With the support of her family and new friends, her distress began to ease, and with her family vouching for her natural talent’s proximity to nursing, she began studying to apprentice as a nurse alongside her sisters.

In short, there’s no easy comparison from the show, but Tenderheart is kinda like if Applebloom was a lot more girly and endlessly pining. Add a dash of being a little miss model student, and a pinch of yaoi- and guy-obsessed girlfailure, and you’re pretty close.

Art by the lovely “https://www.furaffinity.net/user/bananitryi":https://www.furaffinity.net/user/bananitryi (NSFW at link)

imported from https://derpibooru.org/images/3836826