"...the grass is literally greener here. It's greener, it's softer, it smells nicer, it's just... better in every way. This place is amazing. I'm real glad I ended up here. It's so different, but it's good. Peaceful."
— Gabriel
What a Strange Little Colt
is a My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfiction by Lynwood. It has a complete Chinese translation by forgivenlove.
Rainbow Dash, flying at the edge of Ponyville, finds a seriously injured, unconscious colt, and rushes him to the hospital. The colt, Gabriel, survives, but nobody knows where he's from or who his parents are. The story follows Rainbow and other ponies Gabriel meets, as the colt adjusts to life in Ponyville, and everyone else wonders what kind of past could produce such a strange foal.
What a Strange Little Colt contains examples of:
- Accidental Misnaming: Almost nobody pronounces "Gabriel" right the first time.
- Action Prologue: The story begins with Rainbow Dash frantically rushing Gabriel to the hospital after she finds him near-dead in a field, before it settles down for the more Slice of Life bulk of it.
- Aerith and Bob: The name "Gabriel" doesn't fit the naming scheme of most ponies.
- Arboreal Abode: Like in Friendship Is Magic, Twilight lives in a library made out of a hollowed-out tree. Gabriel asks her how it stays alive: the walls are too thin to transport the nutrients and water the tree needs, so spells are used to keep it healthy.
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Sandy Hills asks Twilight whether she would as eager to sacrifice Spike if it was his life on the line, Twilight is stunned into silence. Reflecting on it later, she finds herself still not quite able to come up with an answer.
- Bloody Horror: Rainbow finds Gabriel drenched in his own blood. A lot of it gets on her as she takes him to the hospital.
- Fakeout Escape: Implied to be how Gabriel escaped from Twilight and Looking Glass's attempt to bring him to the princesses.Gabriel: Would you believe that when someone who thinks they locked you in a room sees a broken window, they think you climbed out of it?
- Foster Kid: In the third chapter, Rainbow Dash decides to start fostering Gabriel.
- Gasp of Life: Gabriel upon being revived, after he sacrifices himself.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the end, Gabriel decides on his own to return his piece of Luna's soul, sacrificing himself to save her.
- Hold Your Hippogriffs: As usual for My Little Pony. There are also a few times where characters notice Gabriel not using the pony-themed terminology.
- I Meant to Do That: After her conversation with Gabriel in "Truth", Rainbow says this when she stumbles and lands in a heap.Gabriel: Yeah, I could tell you rehearsed.
Rainbow Dash: [smirks] Whatever. - Instantly Proven Wrong: In the eleventh chapter, Thunderlane reassures Rainbow that Gabriel will be alright. This is directly followed by Cloudchaser frantically bursting in to tell Rainbow he isn’t.Rainbow whipped her head around to look at Thunderlane. "Or, uh, maybe he's not alright?" He offered up the most pathetic, awkward grin she had seen on a stallion in a long time, which was really saying something. "Oops?"
- Motor Mouth: Pinkie Pie, unsurprisingly, when she explains how she figured there was a new foal and came to deliver a cupcake.Pinkie Pie: I knew that somepony new was in town because my back left hoof was itchy-twitchy and I knew it was a foal because it was just itchy-twitchy and not itchy-witchy like the way it is with grown-ups and I just knew that I had to give you the warmest, huggiest, most superlicious Pinkie Pie welcome ever so I made a big batch of super-yummy cupcakes but then my tail got wiggly and I knew somepony in the hospital would need more than just a normal cupcake so I made a brand-new batch of extra super-yummy cupcakes to make somepony who was having an terrible horrible no-good very bad day into somepony who was having an extra special new friend day so then I brought one up to the hospital but the SUPER nice mare at the front said that I had to wait for the doctor to come back but I just couldn't stand by while a foal was so horribly cupcake-less so I got super sneakey and sneaked so fast that the mare couldn't stop me from getting all the way to your room and then I saw that Dashie was already here and I was like "whaaaaaat" but that's okay because now it's a party and at a party you're always supposed to introduce yourself to people you don't know even if they have super-duper weird and scary eyes so hi my name's Pinkie Pie what's yours?
- Non-Indicative Name: Rainbow notices the irony of Gabriel's northern hometown being named Westfield.
- Non P.O.V. Protagonist: The story never takes Gabriel's Point of View, despite his prominent role.
- Not His Blood: When Thunderlane asks Rainbow how bad Gabriel's injuries are, she says the blood on her isn't from herself. (It's Gabriel's.)
- Profanity Police: Sandy admonishes Gabriel when he says "shit, why not?" She has a bit of a grin, though.
- Pronouncing My Name for You: Gabriel explains his name's pronounciation to Fluttershy when she gets it wrong.Gabriel: Most of you say "Gab Real," but it's all one word. Gab-ree-ul.
- The Shrink: Sandy Hills, a foal counselor assigned to Gabriel.
- Switching P.O.V.: Rainbow Dash is the main Point of View, but there are many sections told from other characters' perspectives.
- Title Drop: Princess Celestia murmurs “What a strange little colt...” upon first meeting Gabriel.
- Vagueness Is Coming: Chapter 2 has a stinger where Princess Luna only says she “brings terrible news” before the chapter ends.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: When she learns Gabriel's name, Rainbow finds it rather strange.The name felt so strange coming out of her mouth. What did it mean? What kinda mean-spirited parent would give their kid a name like that? It's practically asking to be bullied.
