Birthday Bios: March Redwood · 7:35am Mar 3rd, 2016
The most frustrating thing about this family is that in real life American Society, March and Honeysuckle’s arrangement of the husband in the military and the wife running an inn wouldn’t work, thanks to those frequent relocations that happen to military families.
I like to think that Equestria has much less need for their soldiers to do that. Probably because Friendship is Equestria’s greatest weapon and disrupting it is a bad idea for Equestrian society. Or maybe ponies don’t see as much reason in it as humans do. Or maybe I just didn’t think it through and I’m running around in circles, mentally sobbing, and—ahem.
I still apologize in advance. 
Anyway, let’s see what the the backstory of the big, strong father of Flora Peace is, shall we?
Born in Salt Lick City to Ace Conifer and Autumn Leaf, March Redwood was greeted by his three older brothers Blue Spruce, Oakey Dokey, and Elmer. While his parents were initially disappointed that he wasn’t a filly, they loved him anyway, especially since he brought endless energy and charm to their home as a baby.
He came from a long line of ponies who worked with wood, whether they be lumberjacks from North Central Equestria, or carpenters from just about anywhere. Either way, he was surround by multiple wood crafts, carved by his talented father and brothers, who taught him a few things about the art.
Growing up near the mountains, March was frequently mischievous, always looking for trouble in order to prove that he was brave and should be taken seriously, since as the baby of the family his brothers always patronized him. He always envisioned himself as a proud warrior, ready to take on dragons, Changelings, or evil alicorns from the sky planning to usurp Celestia. In real life, however, his tendency to pick fights with deer always left him with scrapes, broken bones, and his family’s trust in him waning.
It wasn’t until when he was twelve, during an innocent hike in a canyon with his colt scout troop gone wrong, that he got that courage didn’t equal recklessly looking for trouble without fear. With most of his troop finding themselves hanging on for dear life on roots and rocks on a cliff that had suddenly given way on them, March was terrified to leave them to go get help, since they would die by the time help came.
He had an idea; though it brought the risk of him making things worse and having him be in danger as well, he took the chance to help them. Defying the orders of his troop leader, he used a lot of sticks and roots to create a ladder, and used all his might to first pull his fellow scouts up, and then they worked together to pull the leaders up.
He was admonished for taking such a risk and not listening, but the troop leaders couldn’t help but be impressed with his determination, strength, and courage during an emergency. March didn’t think he was that brave, since he was terrified the whole time, but he was reassured that bravery didn’t equal the absence of fear—it was doing all he could to make things better in spite of his fears.
Once he understood that, his cutie mark appeared.
After getting his cutie mark, he took a vow to protect the innocent, and after an adolescence of standing up to bullies, watching his nieces and nephews, and shooing away critters that got into his mother’s garden, his entry into adulthood had him joining his lifelong dream of being in the EUP Guard.
He spent the next few years in training, and he was thankful that his strength and resourcefulness got him through those tough tests under harsh barks of drill sergeants. However, he was more thankful for the companions that were by his side, helping him with trails that he couldn’t do on his own. He had been used to working alone, so working with a team was a strange change of pace for him; but, nevertheless, he made a few friends that he still kept in touch with as he grew older.
After boot camp, he decided to go and get a college education. While he felt a little awkward being older than the other freshman, he still went ahead and kept going, even though he hated how much homework he had to put up with. He went to a few dances to make friends, though he wasn’t much of a dancer.
One of those dances had him meeting a bookish little mare named Honeysuckle, who was being as much of a wallflower as he for the same reason. He randomly struck up a conversation with her out of boredom, and they ended up talking about silly adventures they had while hiking, their favorite foods, and what subjects they were studying (March was just General Studies, while Honeysuckle was for Home Economics with a minor in Business). They parted as friends, and kept on going to future dances to see each other.
They soon arranged meetings outside of those dances, where they’d go to downtown Salt Lick to eat at a restaurant, go to the park, visit the Salt Spires, or go to Tabernicker Choir concerts or any events at the local arena. They considered each other best friends, playfully teasing each other and developing in-jokes throughout each of their meetings. In going for a new semester, they would always make sure to have at least one class together.
It took them a couple of years to realize they were in love with each other, and after a few more get-togethers to call dates and meeting each other’s families, March proposed to her, and they soon got married.
However, soon after they graduated from college, March reenlisted for the EUP, much to Honey’s aggravation. As they moved to an EUP base in the Salt Lick Valley’s Neighton (there are multiple Neightons in Equestria, unfortunately), he reassured her that he wouldn’t be gone much, since Equestria was peaceful.
Naturally, a dispute between ponies and griffons elsewhere broke into violence, and March had to be sent to quell it, leaving behind a then-pregnant Honeysuckle. It took longer to settle than initially thought, and March barely made it home in time to witness the birth of their daughter, who Honeysuckle didn’t hesitate to name ‘Flora’. Shaken by how brutal the fighting had gotten in that dispute, March added ‘Peace’ to the name, as a little wish to himself that Equestria would never be at full-scale war while his daughter was alive.
Between working at the base and being sent on assignments all over Equestria, March didn’t get to spend as much time with Honey and Flora as he’d like. Whenever he was home, he made up the time as much as he could to both girls, with outings with both of them, playtimes with Flora, and a certain kind of alone time with Honeysuckle. Much of that alone time resulted in a sibling for Flora… or rather, seven siblings born within seventeen years.
March loved all his kids, sometimes to the point of being overprotective when he was home. He regrets not being there to yank his oldest son, Bananas, out of harm’s way when a derailing at the nearby railroad occurred, injuring and traumatizing the colt. He got bitten by a snake to protect toddler Ash Tree and baby Olive from it, treated rashes from Alfalfa messing with the wrong plant, kept Amber Waves from falling from whatever perch she sat, had to scan Willow carefully due to her underreaction to any injuries, and always had to look for Kernel Grin whenever he wandered off.
After dealing with a skirmish with some naughty teenage dragons in Southern Equestria, he came home to find that Honeysuckle had enlisted nearly all of her brothers-in-law to help her convert the house into an inn. Seeing as they had five kids at that time—Flora being eleven—he questioned whether or not it was a good idea. They had a spat about it for some time, with March going off to work steaming.
The disagreement went on for a few months, which had the couple not talking to each other. March was harsher on new recruits than he usually was and punishing them for minor infractions. It was when he lost his temper with Flora and Bananas voicing their concerns, making them cry, that he realized that he was taking it too far. So, he swallowed his pride and apologized to Honeysuckle for not being supportive of her endeavor; she in turn apologized for not telling him about her project.
He let Honeysuckle build and run the inn, and she proved herself an adept multitasker, a shrewd businessmare, and another source of income for the family. March felt like he was falling in love with her all over again, and ignored their children’s disgusted protests whenever they showed affection.
March has noted how time has flown by since he married Honeysuckle. All he had to do was look at his eldest daughter, who had grown up into a beautiful mare that turned the heads of many stallions. While most Equestrians are relatively peaceful and friendly, March still trained Flora in combat in case she met any scumbags that wouldn’t give one iota of her personal values and emotional state. He trained Bananas as well, though he expected him to do something weird with it, given that the younger stallion was a party pony.
Since Flora went off to college in Manehattan, he and the rest of the family enjoy hearing from her. There’s always speculation on if she’d fall for one of her male college friends (Tomato, Bluejinx, or Nimbus), or if she’d stick with a colt from somewhere in the Salt Lick Valley. Time will tell, and March hopes that said colt would treat his daughter well.
Though he hasn’t gone into combat for a few years, he still trains new recruits. After all, there’s no telling when there’s a threat to Equestria, and he wants the EUP to be in tip-top shape when it happens.
Frankly, any of the recruits will tell you that March is terrifying. You don’t want him angry at you.
Depends on the military branch of service and the specific military needs of the era. I suspect that a lot of the Equestrian military is on routine garrison and doesn't need to be redeployed very much. In my version of Equestrian military history there was a big rebellion in the southern provinces about a half century before Luna's Return (of which the Formless siege of Canterlot was one battle), and a short sharp foreign war with the Caballerans around a decade and a half before Luna's Return. Only the former really involved many large-scale long-term troop movements; the latter had a quick redeployment, some battles and then a return to the status quo with a few new places having small garrisons.
March Redwood could easily be so good at training troops that he's pretty much permanently assigned to a major training base and only has to redeploy on short-term assignments, during which there's not much point in moving his whole family.
Remember that the US military has, through the Cold War and Terrorist Wars, been unusually active for a long time by the standards of overall American history.
In the Shadow Wars Story Verse things are a lot more chaotic during the period from Luna's Return to a quarter century later, especially the period from twelve years to twenty-four years after (Windvane's Rebellion, the Great Changeling War, the Draconic and Cruel Sea Wars, and the Defense of Earth). Your Equestria is probably a lot more stable.
Elmer? Elmer. Elmer. Did you seriously name a horse after a brand of glue?
In any case, another interesting biography, with one of the best cutie mark stories I've ever heard. Also, the idea of a combat-trained party pony both intrigues and horrifies me.
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I literally got a headache in trying to figure out how Equestria's military worked and how many similarities to real life military would be okay to put in. In any case, March is good at his job, both in training and actual fighting.
One of the questions on my mind was how long America had been doing that moving around thing. Because I could have sworn I've seen movies and read books set before the 20th century where soldiers chilled on their established farms before being called for duty.
In any case, yeah, Equestria's pretty stable, with the occasion nonsense that requires military intervention. No full-scale war yet (imagine poor March in the Crystal War timeline, with not only him on the front lines, but his eldest daughter and son fighting as well!).
3789216 Oh hey, you got the joke! A very cruel joke...
To be honest, two of March's older brothers' names are jokes partially based on trees (Oakey Dokey, Elmer). The oldest brother, Blue Spruce, is a reference to the state tree of the real life counterpart of where he lives, and "March Redwood" is based on his birth month, military march, and the fact that he has red hair.
Using my YOH 1500 = Luna's Return and Season Five around YOH 1505, and doing some math on this and assuming marriages in early twenties, and spacing children at least 2-3 years apart (remember 11-month pregnancies, and mares don't necessarily like being continually pregnant, though store-bought milk enables them to have their foals closer together), I have Ace Timber and Autumn Leaf being born ~ 1425.
Their children are Blue Spruce born ~ 1448, Oakey Doakey born ~ 1450, Elmer born ~1452, and March Redwood born ~ 1460. Honeysuckle Flower's born around the same time; then Flora Peace is born ~ 1483 (she's going on 21-22 now), Bananas ~1485, Ash Tree ~1487, Olive ~1490 (interestingly or horrifyingly, she's about the exact same age as the Cutie Mark Crusaders!), Amber Waves ~ 1497, Willow ~ 1500 and Kernel Grin ~ 1503. The assumption that the later ones get spaced out more is reasonable in various ways, both biological and emotional.
I can't estimate Flower Power's year of birth very well because though I know Honeysuckle had five sisters, I don't know if she's one of the older or younger ones. We also don't know the circumstances in which she met Blue Raspberry, which might hint at their ages at the time.
So, um, there's my maths.
3792100 Nice estimates for their birth years... except for a few things.
First off, you forgot Alfalfa. That's kind of important.
Second, I checked to see if it matches Tomato's birth year... which you've said is 1484. I should have mentioned this earlier, but Flora's actually younger than Tomato by about three months (Tommy B-Day--March 5; Flora B-Day--June 15).
Third, Flora was seventeen when her youngest brother was born. I may have confused you with the terms in the Birthday Bio.
And finally, March is a few years older than Honeysuckle. That'd place him in mid-twenties and her in early twenties when Flora is born, and Honey just hitting her forties when Kernel is born.
So, going by the assumption that Flora's 21, the ages they'd be according to how I've spaced their births would be 19 (Bananas), 17 (Ash Tree), 14 (Olive), 11 (Alfalfa), 8 (Amber Waves), 6 (Willow), and 4 (Kernel Grin). Numbers may vary according to whether they've had their birthday or not (so Kernel would've still been three on Flora's 21st birthday, since his birthday's in October). So, you might just be a little off.
As for the Flower Sisters, Honeysuckle's the third foal in her family. And I'm still working out on how Flower Power and Blue Raspberry met. I'd probably have it by the time Flower Power's Birthday Bio is out.
(Note to self: Draw Blue Raspberry and Honey's sisters sometime; for that matter, draw March's parents and brothers as well.)