Pumpkin Spice

By Nom de Plume

• September 16, 2014

Age: 23 - 25

Gender: Female

Species: Pegasus

Appearance: A golden-brown pegasus mare with dancing green eyes and her scruffy, auburn-and-gold mane pulled into a ponytail just below her ear, Pumpkin Spice is thinner and taller than the average mare, with an almost scarecrow-like build.

Cutie Mark: A big, bright orange pumpkin, trailing a curling, leafy vine, over a reddish-brown maple leaf, indicating her knack for bringing fall weather about.

Personality: Pumpkin is loud and excitable, always all over the place. Incredibly expressive, there's nothing this mare holds back. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and wears it proudly.<br /><br />Overall, Pumpkin is a kind mare, and considers herself as such. However, she is prone to emotional outbursts that, when negative, hurt those around her. She is a generous and helpful person, mostly, but will snap back behind her walls when she feels overused, resorting to selfish behavior to push people away while she recovers.<br /><br />Pumpkin is always smiling or laughing at something. Puns, a song, a funny-looking bush... There is little this girl doesn't find amusing. She often imitates the faces she sees in tree bark, growls and yaps back at the dogs that warn her away from their yards, bounces across clouds, and generally just tries to have fun. Many ponies describe her as 'childlike,' and she takes it as a compliment.<br /><br />When she's upset, Pumpkin will typically go flying, settling on a high cloud and moping until she feels better. Or until it gets too cold and she drags herself back home for a cup of cocoa and a blanket. When she finds herself in one of these spells, however temporary, it's rare that her friends will see her outside of her house. After a day or two, usually someone will drop by and cheer her up, and she'll be back on her feet.<br /><br />Overall, Pumpkin Spice just wants to have a good time while she's here. She doesn't really see the point in planning for the long-term, because who knows what's gonna happen next, anyway? Instead, she prefers to live in the moment, squeezing as much joy out of each day as she can. Life is temporary, after all, so why not have fun while it lasts?

Backstory: Pumpkin Spice lost her father at an early age, and was brought up by her mother, Wheat Whisper, and aunt, Maple Mist, both of whom were seemingly always working. Her older brother, Cedar Smoke, followed their father into the Guard, and sends his little sister a letter every month.<br /><br />Pumpkin grew up in Cloudsdale, and took an apprenticeship at the weather factory as soon as she had the chance. It was there, creating the pigment used to color the autumn leaves, hauling sheets of rainclouds around, and pulling banks of mist from bodies of water, that she fell in love with the job and earned her mark.<br /><br />Fall was her season, it seemed, because as soon as spring or summer rolled around, Pumpkin just couldn't get the hang of cloudclearing or warming the breezes. Winter she was better at, but even her snowiest days had a mild edge. She was shifted to seasonal work, and made her money working in a little Cloudsdale coffeshop the rest of the year. There, she made several friends, and everything was going pretty well for the young mare, despite the fact that Pumpkin and her manager didn't get along too well. Eventually, a fight with that manager caused her to drop her apron and storm out of the shop. She lost contact with most of her friends, likely because they didn't want to risk being fired, too.<br /><br />After Ponyville's annual Running of the Leaves consistently proved to be unsuccessful, she was relocated to help it along. Now, having recently settled in, she can't wait to start over, make some new friends, and paint this town all kinds of red.