The Gingerbread Colt: a Hearth's Warming Tale
Author's Note
I do not own My Little Pony.
This is a story I made up for my daughter one night and I thought it would make a nice fanfic. My daughter pushed me and helped proofread it, so she deserves thanks for this tale you are about to read.
The Gingerbread Colt
"There!" Pinkie Pie, the pink party pony, grinned proudly as she dabbed the last bit of snowy white icing on her masterpiece.
"Wow!" cried Mrs. Cake, her eyes wide in amazement. "A replica of Ponyville made of cookies! You made this all by yourself?"
"Yep-a-rooney," replied Pinkie proudly. "I used sugar cookies for the buildings, chocolate for the roofs, buttercream icing for the snow, and brown sugar for the streets!"
"Whew!" whistled Mr. Cake, who had joined them from the kitchen. "You got every detail right. Even Twilight's castle!"
"That was a real challenge, but I just used glitter candy and and crystal icing to make the effect."
"Wow!" said Mrs. Cake again. "Do you need any help moving it to the display window?"
"Oh, no. It's not finished yet," said Pinkie. "I have one more itty-bitty detail to add before it's finished." She checked the clock. "It should be finished baking in a few minutes."
"All right, dear." Mrs. Cake picked up her saddlebag and laid it across her back. "Mr. Cake and I are taking the twins shopping for Hearth's Warming. We'll help you move it when we get back."
"Okay! Have fun!"
"Don't worry, she will," said Mr. Cake smiling ruefully. "She's not the one who has to lug all those packages around. Coming, Cupcake!" he added as Mrs. Cake shot him a frown. "See you later, Pinkie!"
"Bye!"
Once she was alone, Pinkie trotted happily to the kitchen to check on her last "itty-bitty detail". Carefully, she opened the oven. There on a cookie sheet lay a little pony made of gingerbread. He had raisins for eyes and blue sugar crystals for his hooves. Pinkie breathed in the hot, sweet smell of baking gingerbread and sighed deeply.
"Mmmmm! Soooooo yummy!" She quickly shook her head. "But this gingerbread isn't for eating," she reminded herself. "This is for the Hearth's Warming display."
She took him out and let him cool a few minutes before adding some details. She made him a mane and tail from blue cotton candy. Using the buttercream, she gave him little dappled spots down his flanks and trim around his hooves. With a little brush of chocolate, she painted on eyebrows and a sweet, smiling mouth.
"There." Pinkie Pie admired her work and let out a little squee of excitement. "You're so cute! I can't believe it's finished!"
"Well, it's about time!"
Pinkie looked around quickly. "Who said that?"
"I did!"
Pinkie looked down. The gingerbread pony looked up at her with his raisin eyes and shook his cotton candy mane and tail.
"All that fancy icing you put on me, not to mention how long it took you to get my mane and tail glued on! I thought you were never gonna finish!"
"YOU CAN TALK?" Pinkie screamed, her fluffy mane standing straight on end.
"Well, duh," said the gingerbread pony, rolling his eyes. "I'm doing it, aren't I? I would have talked sooner, but I didn't have a mouth. Thanks for that, by the way," he added with a smile.
Pinkie put her hooves to her mouth and hopped up and down excitedly. "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! This has never happened to me before! My gingerbread pony coming to life! This is AWESOME! How did it happen? Do you know? How, how, how, how, HOW?"
"I dunno," he answered with a shrug. "I was asleep. Why don't you ask him?"
"Him? Him who?"
"I believe he is referring to me," a voice purred behind her.
Pinkie squeaked in surprise, then spun around, coming face to face with Discord.
"Boo!" he said, grinning broadly.
"Ooooh, wrong holiday!" chided Pinkie. "But, forget that. Are you responsible for this?" She waved a hoof towards the gingerbread pony, who was trotting in circles trying to get a better look at his tail.
"Of, course I did," huffed the draconequess, crossing his mismatched arms across his chest. "Who else do you know could bring a cookie to life?"
"Um...Twilight? Starlight Glimmer? Maybe Sunburst?"
"No, no and no," growled Discord, in disgust. "Honestly, do you really think Twilight would bring a cookie to life just for the heck of it?"
Pinkie tapped her chin in thought. "Hmmm. I guess not. But I'm glad you did! This will be so exciting! My window display with a real, living, gingerbread pony! I love it! I love it! I love it!"
Discord winced as Pinkie's squeal reached decibels only a dog could hear. "Glad you do."
Suddenly the bell over the door tinkled and in walked Spike, Twilight Sparkle's young dragon assistant.
"Hi, Pinkie! Hi, Discord!" he called as he stepped behind the counter. "Hi, little gingerbread pony! I just came to get--WHOA! Wait a minute!" The little dragon stared wide-eyed at the gingerbread pony prancing across the table.
"Surprise!" said Discord with a flourish.
"I made him for my display," Pinkie explained. "Discord brought him to life."
"Yeah, I figured that," said Spike, tearing his eyes away from the living cookie to address Pinkie. "I came to pick up those cookies for the children's hospital. Are they ready?"
"Yipper-kipper! Three dozen pony-shaped sugar cookies coming right up!"
Cheerfully, she bounced into the storage room to get a box, leaving Spike and Discord alone with the gingerbread pony.
"I gotta admit, this is pretty cool," said Spike, watching the little pony run and leap over some obstacles on the table. "Kinda reminds me of a story Twilight read to me when I was little. I mean YOUNGER," he added when Discord smirked at him.
"A story?" asked the pony excitedly. "About a gingerbread pony? What happens? Does the hero marry a princess and live happily ever after?"
"Uh, no," said Spike, hesitantly. "He kinda gets... eaten."
"EATEN!" The gingerbread pony's raisin eyes swelled to the size of grapes.
"That's the fate of most cookies," Discord shrugged. "Either that, or they go stale and end up in the trash. Doesn't matter to me. I'll eat them either way. With a tall glass of chocolate milk or--"
"AAAAARGH!"
Spike and Discord watched in surprise as the gingerbread pony took a flying leap off the table, landed on a sack of flour, then ran out the door.
"Wait! Stop!" cried Spike.
"Way to go, genius," snapped Discord. "You just had to leave the door ajar, didn't you?"
"I'll catch him," Spike promised and took off after the runaway cookie.
The gingerbread pony just laughed and shouted over his shoulder. "Watch me gallop, watch me bolt! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Colt!"
"Hey! What's going on?" asked Pinkie, returning with a baker's box full of cookies. "Where's Spike? And where's the gingerbread pony?"
Discord shrugged. "Oh, he ran away."
"WHAT!"
"It was something Spike said about eating cookies," said the draconequess, rolling his eyes. "But don't worry. The intrepid dragon is giving chase as we speak. In the meantime," he leaned in close to Pinkie and grinned into her face. "You got anymore of that gingerbread dough left?"
Spike ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, but the Gingerbread Colt was much faster. The little cookie galloped through Ponyville; weaving between the hooves of the holiday shoppers and dodging past obstacles in his path.
"Sorry!" cried the dragon as he upset ponies and knocked over boxes in his hurry to keep up.
The Gingerbread Colt turned a corner and ran right into Fluttershy, who was leading a chorus of winter songbirds in a Hearth's Warming song. She eeped in surprise as the little pony galloped around her.
"Oh, my!" she said, fluttering up a little. "Who--who are you?"
"Ha! Watch me gallop! Watch me bolt! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Colt!" he answered. "I ran away from Pinkie Pie, Discord, and Spike too! And I bet I can outrun you!"
"Most likely," said Fluttershy, kindly. "You look like a good runner. And I'm not very fast."
"Thank you," said the Gingerbread Colt with a quick bow. "Now I must be off!"
Spike chugged around the corner, and resumed the chase. Fluttershy ran after them both as best she could. They followed him past the flower shop and the spa to the Carousel Boutique. Rarity was just stepping out the door wearing her best red velvet cloak and hood, when the Gingerbread Colt shot between her hooves.
"Goodness!" she cried, losing her balance and falling into a patch of slushy snow. "Oh! My cloak! Watch where you are going, you ruffian!"
The Gingerbread Colt just laughed. "Watch me gallop! Watch me bolt! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Colt! I ran away from Pinkie Pie, Discord, Spike and Fluttershy. And I can outrun you, too. Bye-bye!"
"We'll see about that!" growled the unicorn fashionista. She got to her hooves and joined the chase. "I'm going to give that bad cookie a piece of my mind!"
The three friends followed the colt out of town towards Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight Sparkle was just returning from the farm with a jug of apple cider for her and Spike to drink around the fire that evening. She froze in her tracks, her eyes wide as a little pony that seemed to be made of gingerbread raced past.
"What on earth?" she exclaimed.
"Watch me gallop! Watch me bolt! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Colt! I ran away from Pinkie Pie, Discord, Spike and Fluttershy. I ran away from Rarity, too. And I'll bet I can outrun you!"
"SPIKE!" Twilight bellowed as her assistant appeared, huffing and puffing in front of her. "What have you done, now? Have you been messing some of my spells again?"
"No, I promise," he gasped. "It was Discord. Can't--can't talk now. We need to catch him and bring him back to Sugarcube Corners for Pinkie's window display."
"Oh, I wondered why you were chasing him," said Fluttershy. "I'll be glad to help catch him."
"So will I," said Rarity.
"Well, if we're going to catch him, we better hurry," said Twilight, her eyes following the direction the Gingerbread Colt had taken. "If he gets into the Everfree Forest, we may never find him again."
The friends raced down the slush covered road until they came to Sweet Apple Acres. There they saw the Gingerbread Colt running circles around Big Macintosh. The big red stallion watched and listened as the colt taunted him.
"Watch me gallop! Watch me bolt! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Colt! I ran away from Pinkie Pie, Discord, Spike and Fluttershy. I outran Rarity and Twilight, too. I bet I can outrun you!"
Big Mac's face broke into a slow grin. "I'm not the fastest, that much is true," he told the colt. "But I bet mah sister is faster than you!"
"Yeeehah!" Applejack yelled, leaping over a cider barrel to land beside her brother. The Gingerbread Colt took off like a shot, with the orange cowpony in hot pursuit.
"Finally, somepony who knows how to run!" laughed the Gingerbread Colt in delight. He ran to the end of the orchard, where the dark Everfree Forest grew.
"Stop him!" cried Spike. "Applejack! Stop him!"
"I'm on it!" Without breaking her stride, the farm pony pulled out her lasso and began to twirl it over her head.
"Hey! No fair!" cried the Gingerbread Colt, looking back at her. He put on an extra burst of speed and headed straight for the protection of the forest.
"Oh, no!" cried Fluttershy. "Stop! Don't go in there! It's too dangerous for a little cookie like you!"
The Gingerbread Colt paid her no mind, but dove right into the bushes along the edge of the woods. At that same moment, Applejack threw her lasso.
"Did you get him?" asked Twilight, running up to her.
"No, dangnabbit!" said Applejack, reeling in her rope. The only thing she had managed to catch were some holly branches. "That is one quick little varmint. "
"Oh, no," cried Spike, burying his face in his hands. "This is awful and it's all my fault! I shouldn't have told him about that story with the Gingerbread Pony. He ran away because he didn't want to be eaten!"
"Spike," said Twilight. "The Gingerbread Pony in the story ended up being eaten by a fox because he ran away from home."
All four ponies and Spike froze as an all too familiar howl rose from the forest.
"Sounds like this one's gonna get his from a timberwolf," said Applejack gulping.
"Oh, dear," Rarity lamented, forgetting her earlier anger. "What are we going to do, now?"
Fluttershy looked up at the sky and noticed a rainbow colored streak pushing a snow cloud. She smiled.
"I think I know," she said quietly.
The little Gingerbread Colt ran through the undergrowth, putting as much distance as he could between him and his pursuers. After a while, he slowed down, confident they would not be able to follow him into the jungle-like forest.
"I made it!" he told himself. "I'm free. No one's going to make a snack out of me!"
He walked a little further until he came to a clearing. Far above him, he could see the cold blue sky and icy clouds being pushed across it by Pegasi. It was getting colder. He would need to find a place to rest soon. Someplace dry, where the wet wouldn't make his cookie body soggy.
Suddenly he froze. A horrible smell wafted into the clearing. What was it? It smelled like rotting vegetables. A low growl made him turn. There he saw a frightening sight; a great wolf made of old logs and sticks with fangs and claws like sharpened stakes. The creature sniffed the air, then slowly approached the terrified colt.
"W-w-watch me g-g-gallop. W-watch me b-bolt! You c-can't c-catch me, I'm the Gingerbread YIPE!" He jumped back just in time to avoid the timberwolf's snapping jaws.
The Gingerbread Colt took off running, but the timberwolf was close behind. Unlike the ponies, the wolf did not get tired. It just kept coming, and coming, and coming. Suddenly, the clearing ended and the colt found himself against a sheer rock face.
He glanced behind him at the wolf. The wooden creature had stopped running, and was slowly stalking him. It knew it's prey was trapped. The Gingerbread Colt desperately studied the rock wall. There were tiny ledges here and there. They were too small for a regular pony, but just the right size for him! He leaped onto the nearest ledge, then the next higher one. The timberwolf, realizing what he was doing, gave a roar and rushed forwards to stop him from getting away.
The Gingerbread Colt kept leaping ledge to ledge until he was halfway up the rock wall. Then there were no more. He looked down and saw the timberwolf rear up on its hind legs, its jaws just inches from his crystal candy hooves.
"Aaaargh! Somepony help!" he screamed, covering his raisin eyes.
"Gotcha!"
The Gingerbread Colt felt a pair of hooves snatch him from the ledge. He opened his eyes and saw he was being held by a cyan-colored pegasus filly with a rainbow mane. The pegasus grinned at him cockily.
"Good thing I was here to snatch your biscuits out of the fire," she said.
She flew him over the trees and back to the orchard where Spike and the others were waiting.
"Oh, thank goodness!" cried Spike in relief as they landed. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash. Now, we need to get this little guy back to Pinkie Pie."
"NO!" cried the Gingerbread Colt, trying to squirm out of Rainbow's grip. "You're going to eat me! I don't want to be eaten!"
"Oh, no! You misunderstood, little fellow," said Fluttershy kindly. "No pony is going to eat you. Pinkie made you to go in her Hearth's Warming display. That's all."
"That's right," added Twilight. "Besides, we can't eat you! You're alive! That would be...eww!"
"So," said the colt, eyeing them dubiously. "You're really not going to eat me?"
"Nope," said Applejack. "And that's the truth."
"Well, I could have bitten your head off earlier for knocking me down," admitted Rarity. "But, I suppose being chased by a timberwolf is punishment enough."
"So, you ready to go, kid?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I can have you there in no time."
"Oh, I can get you there faster than that," said a voice.
They all turned to see Discord grinning mischievously.
"I see you caught the little devil," he said. "Good work. Pinkie would be so disappointed if he didn't get to see the surprise she made for him."
"What surprise?" asked the colt.
"Well, if I tell you, it won't be a surprise," Discord teased. "But, I can definitely show you!"
Discord snapped his fingers and in a flash, the gang found themselves inside Sugarcube Corners.
"Yay! You're back!" cried Pinkie, running from behind the counter to hug them all. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You don't know how worried I've been! I'm so glad he's okay!"
"Yeah," said the Gingerbread Colt, rubbing his neck in embarrassment. "I'm sorry about that. It was a misunderstanding."
"Oh, that's okay. I'm just glad you're back! I've got a surprise for you." Pinkie went behind the counter and returned grinning, holding something in her hooves. "I made this not long after you left. I hope you like it!"
"Well, what is--WHOA!"
The Gingerbread Colt's mouth dropped open. There is Pinkie's outstretched hooves was the prettiest little Gingerbread pony any of them had ever seen. She had pink crystal candy hooves, a long pink cotton candy mane and tail, and a pair of dark chocolate chip eyes framed by long chocolate lashes. Her soft pink lips smiled at him shyly.
"Hello," she said in a soft sweet voice.
"H-h-hi," the colt stammered. "I-I'm the Gingerbread Colt."
"Well, I'm the Gingerbread Mare," she replied. "Pinkie told me all about you."
"Really?" he grinned. "Say, you care to hang out and ...talk awhile?"
The Gingerbread Mare blushed. "Uh huh," she giggled.
"Awwww!" cried Spike and the girls as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie placed the two gingerbread ponies in the window display.
"Mushy," muttered the cyan pegasus. "But, I gotta admit, they make a nice couple."
The Cookie Village was a big hit over the weeks leading up to Hearth's Warming. Ponies gathered from all over to gaze at the pretty display and it's two little inhabitants. The foals' eyes lit up with joy as they watched the gingerbread ponies prance around their cookie neighborhood. The two were so devoted to each other, it came as no surprise that the Gingerbread Colt popped the question and the Gingerbread Mare eagerly accepted.
They were married on Hearth's Warming Eve. Twilight heard their vows. Spike was the grooms-dragon. Rainbow Dash was the Best Mare. Fluttershy and Applejack were bridesmaids. Rarity designed the bride's gown from a white lace hoof-kerchief and studded it with the tiniest pearls she could find. Discord gave the bride away while Pinkie wept from the sidelines. The rest of the ponies watched and cheered from the window.
After Hearth's Warming, Pinkie had to remove the village from the display. The cookies were getting stale and the icing was starting to mold. Everyone was sad to see it go, but Pinkie promised another even better one for next year. The Gingerbread Couple moved into a little house Applejack made for them. Discord gave them furniture and lights, while Fluttershy and Rarity made them curtains and bedspreads. The house was kept on the counter and the couple often greeted the customers who came in.
It was several months later, Pinkie Pie was awakened in the middle of night. She ran downstairs and when she saw what had awakened her, she squealed in excitement. She ran out of the bakery, still in her pajamas, to get her friends.
"What is this about?" asked Twilight as the five sleepy mares plus Spike and Discord gathered in the bakery.
Pinkie grinned broadly. "I just wanted you guys to be the first see this!" She opened the door to the Gingerbread's house and they all stared in amazement.
"Pinkie, is that...?"
"Yup!" Pinkie squealed. "Gingerbread Foals!"
