Carla's home world is Edolas, kingdom of Extalia, and she's one of the Exceed. While in her egg, Carla's power of precognition activated. She mistakenly believed she had a mission to go to Earth Land to kill a Dragon Slayer. In actuality, the discussion she heard was a lie to the people of Edolas, to cover up the Queen's plan to save the Exceed race, as she knew Extalia would be destroyed. Sometime before the start of the series before Carla was born, she was sent by her mother, Queen Shagotte, through the Anima to escape a future disaster. One day Wendy found her egg, and when she was born she saw visions involving the Royal Army of Edolas. Since her birth, she kept believing she was sent to kill Wendy.
Back in her home, Lucy shared a good relationship with the staff in the estate as well as, presumably, her mother, until she passed away when Lucy was around the age of ten in the year X777. However, because her father was overly obsessed with his business and money, he had neglected his daughter, which eventually led her to run away from home just over a year before the beginning of the story.
In X778, Natsu found Happy's egg in the East Forest of Magnolia Town. Natsu then took it back to the guild where he and Lisanna raised it together every day. One night, Elfman took it to keep it warm and the next day when he brought it back, it began to hatch and out popped a kitten with a pair of wings. Happy's first word was "Aye". Natsu gave him the name "Happy" after Lisanna pointed out the change of the atmosphere from anger to happiness after Happy hatched from the egg. Despite everyone else seeing him as a cat, Natsu thought he was a Dragon.