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[Donkey] Gale

The-Jaded-Bug

By The-Jaded-Bug
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The-Jaded-Bug Crazy Oatmeal

The-Jaded-Bug

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Name: Gale

Sex: Female

Age: Mid-older filly

Species: Donkey

Pelt Color: Sorrel (Chestnut: #954535)

Mane/Tail/Markings Color & Style: Short dark brown mane and tail tuft (#3D352A), curly at the ends and a bit unkempt. Has a beige-colored muzzle, belly, eye rings and socks (#F5F5DC).

Eyes/Eye Color: Naples yellow (#FADA53)

Cutie Mark: None

Physique: As tall as the average miniature donkey filly her age, making Gale rather small even by her species' standards. Her strikingly compact size is quite deceiving however, as former life on her family’s farm has made her exceptionally stronger than she initially appears. Most of her strength lies in the legs.

Origin: Nimbusgait Lakes, takes current residence in Appleloosa with her older brother Finch.

Roleplay Type: FiM/Show Roleplay

Occupation: Assistant at her brother's repair shop, but will volunteer to help out almost anyone/take up odd-jobs on her own terms. She’s also beginning to form a vegetable garden in the backyard of the shop/Finch's house, with the intent of bringing in a wider variety of locally grown goods to the town as it hopefully takes off (not that she doesn't mind apples, of course).

Motivation: While Gale came to Appleloosa to help out at Finch's shop, the true reason she tagged along was so that she wouldn't be stuck alone at home with her caring though restrictive parents and relatives. That and, of course, to make a new and better start for herself by growing some of her family's vegetable crops there (and if she can, to absorb as much information as possible about dessert life with less intervention from others). While she may be young and 'stubborn as a mule' as neighsayers may call her, she's a small jenny with even bigger plans ahead of herself, and isn't at all willing to falter at them.

Likes: The Great Outdoors, adventure, independence, exploring the desert-scape of the Painted Pinto (when the opportunity arises, at least), reading, being useful, apples, rhubarb tarts (her favorite family recipe), her pet chicken Plucky, and while reluctant to admit it, she adores watching the setting sun.

Dislikes: Boredom, getting treated like a foal, restrictions, being unprepared for something, city life, others thinking of her as fragile or having 'soft hooves' due to her small size, 'lazy bums', and unnecessary prejudices.

Character Summary:

Born and raised on her family’s small vegetable farm, Gale has always been something of a nature enthusiast. Maybe it was the thrill of learning about the natural surroundings of her former home, or it could have been time spent reading various outdoor survival guides - rather than flipping through regular picture books - that helped encourage this mindset. But either way, in spite of because of this strong affinity, the little donkey had been known for being quite the hassle at times.

For starters, she was never particularly fond of school. In fact, the only classes she did like were science - or biology for the most part - and the occasional Equestrian History lesson. After all, why even bother when more than half of what you learn there will likely be useless for one’s occupational sake? It wasn’t that she was a slacker, or let alone an (almost) literal dumb-you-know-what, she just found it more practical to learn with a more ‘hooves on' approach, rather than to sit inside a dull, claustrophobic room all day along with every other pony in sight. It didn’t help that she could sometimes be a little too mouthy towards the other foals, especially if she thought they were making fun of her for her size, and had even gotten herself in a few fights as a result (or as her brother Finch would say, she would "turn into braypoleon"). Along with this, she was often caught gazing behind the classroom’s windowsill, daydreaming of exploring faraway ecosystems, discovering new plant life, all while becoming the bane of every other teacher who seemed unlucky enough to have her as a student.

Having gained a surprising reputation as being a so-called problem foal, her parents - along with other relatives in their modest household - ended up having to deal with providing her education at home, all while balancing out the rest of their harrowing work schedule. They weren't too happy about it, and the task was certainly harder than it looked, but homeschooling Gale turned out to be much more successful than having her stay in a normal classroom. At the very least, she became better focused on her studies, even if she could honestly care less about them.

But homeschooling or not, this wasn’t quite enough to manage the brunt of her behavior.

While she may have lived out in the country, her parents were not the type to let their little one run about the Lakes like a free-range foal (or at least, they didn’t want her to). While Finch was usually better about staying near the farm back in his colthood, Gale was a different story altogether. She may have worked as hard as anyone on her parent’s small plot of land, but it wasn’t uncommon for her to sneak off without permission to explore when she had free time, sometimes getting a few rough-’n-tumble ponies to tag along with her. On occasion she would manage to stray as far as the Whitetail Woods, in hopes of spotting a lone peryton roaming about. She had even set up a makeshift ‘camp’ there by taking advantage of the forest bedding and sturdy branches to make a shelter, using what knowledge she absorbed from her nature books and life on the farm as a mean for survival...but only for a few hours before getting sent straight home, as she was unwillingly discovered in the act.

As time went by she tried her hoof at more trips to test her nature-related knowledge, including a few attempts to explore the Everfree Forest (though she was always caught before she’d actually enter it, to her dismay). She ventured off just as much as she got in trouble for it, and most everypony who knew of her was fully aware of this. Due to her former behavior in school and bold outdoor explorations, the adults in the area became wary of the little donkey, and even the more troublesome and mischievous fillies and colts began to avoid her due to her often exceedingly brash behavior. While the little donkey did her best to brush this off, her headstrong demeanor and lack of any permanent friends beyond her own flesh and blood had and finally caught up to her.

Feeling brushed off and alienated by almost everypony she knew, and knowing all too well that her own parents were reluctant to trust her, Gale knew that something had to change. Maybe she needed to be more compliant around others, or it could just be that she needed to go away for a while, to start anew and find a place where her love for all things nature would be appreciated. After all, it wasn't like anyone would think different of her in the next few years, and she once overheard Finch talking about setting up his soon-to-be repair shop within a certain homesteading town...

She then came up with an idea. It seemed like a one in a lifetime chance. She just had to go to Appleloosa with him.

His initial response? A flat no. And as for why, it was simply because their parents were already nervous about having Finch live so far away, despite him already being a fully-grown jack. To even think about bringing his little sister along would risk the possibility of their parents forcing him to call off the entire thing. He’d spent quite some time raising the bits for it, through various odd-jobs and selling his family’s crops, all to attain tools, supplies, and to eventually buy off a vacant building for his business and train tickets to make a living in that quaint little town. He didn’t want his plans to be stopped just because a certain little jenny couldn't be trusted by them.

But Gale would be persistent. Not willing to give up, she did all she could to convince him and her parents that yes, she was more than ready to travel abroad, and that no, she wouldn’t run off into the wilderness without permission like at home (that is, for the most part). As much as she absolutely hated it, she spent the next few months resisting the urge to explore as she normally did, or at least enough to avoid the constant, ongoing lectures about her usual trouble-making antics. She also, at least whenever she finished up her chores, took up some odd-jobs of her own to raise bits for a train ticket for herself, which mostly involved helping out neighbors who were spread out along the Nimbusgait Lakes. In her mind, it seemed like every day she was swallowing yet another ounce of her pride, as though she were restricting herself of what little freedom she thought she had, but it payed off in the end.

Though her parents still had their concerns, they at least got the impression that she was taking up responsibility outside of farm work and schooling, which was enough for her brother to consider taking her along with him. After all, while Gale only made these efforts because she refused to take ‘no’ for an answer, he noticed that, while she was still pretty hardheaded, his sister began showing a little more flexibility through her actions. Once they both agreed on going, which was sometime after the town’s conflict with the buffalo natives, their parents also approved of decision, but under one condition: Because Gale had been taking up responsibilities back at home, she would have to do the same thing in Appleloosa. This would be easy of course, because she already had something in mind. The little jenny wanted to extend her family’s line of farming to the town, and since most of the food there - other than apples - was imported, she would already be doing plenty of good for the Appleloosans. The brother-sister duo soon packed their belongings, and are currently at their new home after a long train ride...

((Note: Welp, there's not much else that I can say here, other than this is my shortest application as of yet (which really isn't saying much xD). And yes, what you have here in a nutshell is a tough, headstrong little donkey who just so happens to be walking along the path of starting anew in a growing, prospering little town. She also happens to be an ad'awwwwwrable widdle filly willy, but that might be something you want to refrain from calling her. She might be growing through her donkey years (pun intended), but she still has a thing or two to learn.

And yes, she has a pet chicken. Because everything's better with flightless birds.))

Also, an equally AD'AWWWrable sketch of her that Cat Napper Drew:

Gale.png

And an illustration I drew of her after watching Friend Indeed:

Gale.png

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brianblackberry Alicorn

brianblackberry

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:lol: No application needs to be long, so the fact this is "your shortest yet" doesn't count against you in the slightest; you have already gone well above and beyond what we would expect in an app anyway. :)

For Great Justice! :D

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The-Jaded-Bug Crazy Oatmeal

The-Jaded-Bug

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:lol: No application needs to be long, so the fact this is "your shortest yet" doesn't count against you in the slightest; you have already gone well above and beyond what we would expect in an app anyway. :)

For Great Justice! :D

Yes, I know that x] I was just pointing out that, well, I tend to make long apps anyway even if they're not expected of me. It's a habit I guess, on this site and others in the past.

But on a different note, you SO much Brian! :D

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