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// Chapter 3: Winter Days 
// Story: My Equine Adventure 
// by YoungQuillMaster 
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Chapter 3: Winter Days

The snow soon drifted down from the thick grey clouds that had gathered in the sky. I was rather happy at the sight of the white flakes as they floated down to the ground around my house. It was only the eighth time I had seen a snowfall, back at my home it never snow because of the tropical conditions. I might have gone outside and thrown a snowball in the air towards Ponyville, but I knew work was waiting to be done. I had fashioned a bed out of some of the better waste wood, and made a mattress out of an old curtain, that I had found, that I stuffed with cotton. My house only had one window, but that window had no glass to keep heat in. For the most part, my house would be rather cold, but warm enough to improve on outside conditions. You might ask why I had a window if it only lost my house’s heating. Simple, it had a view. I looked over a special flower bed, whose flowers, never wilted in the winter and stayed bloomed all year around. On the outside, I had to say, my house looked rather rustic. The boards were curved on the walls and only the corners were straight in any way, but in my eyes, it was very pretty. The chimney came up from the farthest wall from the door and always was to be seen with smoke coming out the top. The stairs I had made were completely stone, making it so I didn’t have to worry about fixing splintering wood, or having to ward of pesky termites, which still might be a concern from my walls and flooring. Inside my abode, on the far right side of the wall by the fireplace, was my bed; while to the left was a closed room that contained the bathroom. To the immediate right from the door, was where I had my kitchen, to the left was nothing of great importance accept a painting had made during construction. The window I had mentioned before was between my bed and kitchen. It was a simple set up, but effective for the purposes of living and having a chance of prospering. 

It had been three days of winter, and already my food was running low. I made the walk to Ponyville, only to find it relatively deserted. Had their fear of Zecora come upon me simply because I had a house in the forest, or was it because they decided that outside conditions were not pleasant enough to have them come outside? Every store I passed was rather empty of wares, and the usually packed shops were empty as a poor man’s pocket. Eventually I headed towards Twilight’s library. If anypony still was here, it would be her. I reached the tree library, and knocked on the door. With the last strike of my hoof on the door, it creaked open. The inside of the library still had books, if anything it was a sign that either she left in a hurry or that she was still around. I called out as I walked the desolate room of the library, but no answer was made. By this time I had genuine concern that something terrible had happened while I was building my house. I had searched the entire library for any signs of Twilight or Spike, but I had no such luck of finding either of the two or any signs of a note that would explain their absence. Remembering the episode from the show of when Zecora first came, I instinctively trotted off towards Sugar Cube Corner. When I arrived, I found the door swaying in the wind. Either Pinkie had left in such a hurry that she didn’t close it, or somepony forgot to close it on the way in. I walked in and called out several times for Pinkie, but again I was met only by the sounds of the howling wind from outside. I had searched all of Ponyville’s main area, but no ponies were around, and no hoof prints showing their departure. I headed towards Sweet Apple Acers, hoping to find somepony still around. I soon was in sight of the snow covered apple tree fields. The barn beyond already had icicles forming from the roof. I arrived at the front door of the house, hoping that Applejack and the rest of her family were still in bed or getting up to do some chores. No such luck, their beds were made neatly, and their night clothes hung on their bed posts. At least the night clothes were a good sign, well, depending on how you viewed it. It could mean they are still here because they would probably want to grab the nightly garb, or it meant that they were scared away from their home so terribly that they had no time to grab them. I hoped the optimistically view was the correct one, that they were not gone from their home, just up and about. The next place to look would be the barn. As I went down the stairs, certain things began to fall into a rather weird picture. First, all of Ponyville was deserted, only leaving signs of their departure by open doors and empty shops. Second, The Apple family was not here in their house, yet I saw no signs of life in the barn. Usually when I was here working and they were doing something in the barn, they usually would light a lamp. I knew they would have to be in the barn because the trees were barren of any fruit, and they would never permit any animals wander outside of the barn during the winter excusing their absence in any way. These drops of information were starting to seep through my mind into the part that usually put information together to form a complete picture of logical reasoning, or at least slightly logical reasoning. I could imagine the whole of Ponyville in the barn, waiting for me. Probably another party arranged by Pinkie Pie. But what was the occasion? House warming for my new abode? Was it for my first winter season in the Ponyville area? What could it be that Pinkie was going to celebrate? I came to the barn at last. If anything, this barn would be the last place for them to be hiding, and it would be the place where Pinkie would throw a party if she at all would. I slowly walked around the barn. I confirmed that it was large enough to hold all of Ponyville inside. I also noticed that there were two doors. Oh how much fun this would be!


Pinkie and the others indeed were in the barn, and indeed it was a celebration intended for none other than Johann Webster.

“Hey, Twi, why do you think he is circling the barn like that?”
“Well, Rainbow, I would think he was checking to see if anypony was inside, but I don’t think he can see us in the dark.” Pinkie was giddy with excitement. This would be the best surprise ‘home warming, first winter season in the Ponyville area’ party EVER! She had to force herself not to laugh, bounce, giggle, or basically anything she would do under these circumstances. Applejack was growing impatient. They had been in that barn for at least two days, and only now had he showed up, and now he was just walking around the barn. Suddenly they heard a shuffling noise outside the door. Johann was coming closer! 

“Well, why don’t he just come in and get it over with!” Applejack said with her patience nearly worn out. The shuffling slowly stopped, and the barn was plunged in silence once more.

“Do you think he left?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“I don’t hope so! If he did it would ruin the party!” Pinkie Pie said in a mock shout. Everypony inside strained their ears to hear if he was coming in, or if he had left. Slowly the door creaked open. The faint red glow of Johann’s magic wrapped around its frame. When the door was open completely, it revealed the form of Johann standing still as a post. Pinkie pulled the cord on her party cannon, and quickly made sure that it was aiming at Johann. The sound of blast of confetti blasted around the room. Suddenly a pony by the door lit the lamp as the whole of Ponyville yelled ‘SURPRISE’! But the laughter and shouting ended quickly, for as the confetti settled, they only saw his winter coat and bow tie lay in the snow. Pinkie Pie rushed forward to see what had happened, what she found could’ve brought a tear to a ponies eye. There in the snow, laid the twisted, snow covered body of Mr. Johann Webster. Had the confetti blast really done that to a pony? Pinkie lifted the body in her front hooves. His face and body were already chilled. It was undeniable, he was dead, and this wasn’t a terrible dream that they all would wake up from. Twilight was the first by Pinkie. She gazed at the limp face in shock. Applejack came next, then Fluttershy, followed by Rainbow, and the rest then crowded behind them all. A few sniffles were heard amongst the crowd, while others were simply too shocked to do anything but let their jaw hang wide open. Slowly, the snow in front of them shifted. From it, came the ghostly form of Johann, wearing his lab coat and red bowtie. He had a smile on his face, as he ascended upwards. Pinkie put down the dead corpse and looked at the ghostly entity the floated upwards into the sky.

“Mr. Webster?”

“Yes, Pinkie Pie, it is I.”

“W… what happened to you?” A tear dripped down his snout as he continued to float upward into the heavens.

“Don’t worry, Pinkie, I don’t blame you for this, nor do I blame any of you.” Pinkie began to cry as the shape slowly faded into the clouds above. They saw no more of him, Mr. Webster was gone. He was dead, and it was their fault. No matter if he said that he didn’t blame them or not, they still had done the deed. He was dead, and they would never see him again. Pinkie grasped the dead form of Mr. Webster and began to cry on it. She hadn’t intended any of this to happen. For Mr. Webster to die or for it to be them who caused it. 

I slowly trotted up beside Pinkie, who still was holding my dead form tightly.

“What’s wrong, Pinkie?” She didn’t look up at me; instead, she continued to sob upon my cold, dead coat.

“I killed Mr. Webster!” She said with a very trembling voice. It was a wail, not a simple response. I had to keep myself from chuckling a little at the antics of the crowd, who only now, looked up to me. Twilight, still looking at me, pocked Pinkie on the shoulder. 

“Uh, Pinkie, you might want to look at who just said that.” Pinkie looked at Twilight with a slightly angry glare, but then turned to look at me. Her eyes widened with shock and amazement.

“M… m… m… Mr. Webster, but how are you there if you are here?” I couldn’t help but laugh. I struggled to stop my laughing fit that had so suddenly seized me.

“Snow and magic, Pinkie, snow and magic are all that it was!” With that I lit my horn, and my dead body turned to snow in Pinkie’s hooves. She gazed at the snow turned corpse of what she thought was me. “The shuffling noise, you undoubtedly heard, was me forming a snow pony and dressing it with my things.” I said as I reclaimed my coat and bowtie, “I then simply proceeded to make it into me with metamorphic magic. What was supposed to be my ghost was simply just a blob of magic with good shading and coloring.” I said as once again summoned my ghost, who laughed alongside me at my joke. I leaned against my ghost, and was sent falling to the ground, rolling around in uncontrollable laughter. Pinkie was angry now, not to mention serious, which is an extremely rare quality for her. She stepped over me, looming like a hawk that was looking at a bunny that had just kicked it. I could help but smile, after all, I only had just come out of a laughing fit. Her eyes looked like fire, sort of what she appeared like in the episode were Applejack didn’t win first place in the rodeo just after Applejack supposedly didn’t keep her promise. Pinkie Pie snapped me out of my thoughts with an angry snort.

“HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME THINK YOU ARE DEAD WHEN YOU ARE JUST FINE?!” I forced my way up to my hooves and put my dead up against hers, locking our eyes together. A smirk broke across my face,

“Where you get the nerve to pull every pony from Ponyville and frighten the wits out of me only for a party?” Pinkie and I wherein a stalemate. Neither one of us was going to back down to the other, but both knew that we both had some fault in the matter. Twilight came between us and pulled us from our staring contest.

“I think we can all agree that you both got each other back. Now can we set all this aside, go inside, and enjoy the party that we intended to do in the first place?” With that, Pinkie perked up and bounced inside the barn. I, on the other hoof, stifled a laugh, as I reflected on how well played my joke was.

The party was as blurred as the first. I received several house warming gifts, which included a pan, a whisk, a paddle, a comforter, a rocking chair, and a lamp. All the gifts were accepted with many smiles and thank you. I also acquired a few baskets of apples and many other food items, although they were not house warming gifts. After the party was over, I went back to my house. I was trotting back to the cobblestone walkway, when I saw a hooded figure, Zecora. She was returning from her trip to town. I smiled to myself, she probably thought that the ponies in Ponyville still had their doubts about her, and therefore had shut her quite out of their company.

“Ho, ho, stay until I come up to you!” Zecora turned to me and removed her hood. “Stay until I have come up to you!” I repeated. She stood her ground and waited for me to arrive, with my cart of goods. The words I had chosen made me feel as if I was an actor for a play of ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’. Ah, the good memories of reading the inspiring book filled m heart with warmth as I walked up to the lonely zebra. “Are you not the one they call Zecora?” she nodded. “My name is Johann Webster. I am relatively new here, that is, to the Ponyville area. I also live in the forest, as I have heard you do.” she smiled slightly. She wasn’t acting right in my mind. She should be uttering phrases that rhyme and that might throw me off for a few seconds. “I assure you that the ponies of Ponyville did not shut their windows and doors because of your presence. In fact, it was not because of you at all. See, Pinkie decided she would throw me a house warming party, and so, everypony in Ponyville left to Sweet Apple Acres. It is there where they attempted to surprise me with the intended party, but it did backfire slightly.” I chuckled lightly as I remembered how surprised they were when they thought I was dead and even more so surprised when I walked up beside them.

“You make it sound as if Pinkie failed. Tell me, how did her plan turn tail?” I found it easier to understand her then I thought it would be.

“Truly, she did not recant her party. Nor did she give up on the notion of surprising me. But after looking around all of Ponyville for them, their plan became rather apparent t me, and so I set up a plan of retaliation.”

“Your words have me trapped. Tell me what you did act.” I began explaining my contrivance that was the blunt retaliation of Pinkie Pie’s surprise party. We exchanged laughs as we walked, but eventually, the trail split and we had to go our separate ways. I soon came to my beautified lain that lead farther into the Everfree forest’s looming overgrowth. As I walked down my snow covered path, I resolved I would clear the snow from it when I could, so that anypony that wished to visit would find the distinctive trail with ease. I reached my house at last. I swung open the door and brought in my small, two-wheeled cart. I began unloading its articles into their respective areas. Since the first build of the house, I had made the left side of the room closest to the door my pantry, which became well stocked with all the supplies I had purchased or had been given. I then towed my cart into my outdoor shed, which I made at the same time as my pantry. I shoveled the snow that covered my cobblestone lain, which activity only occupied me for a few minutes. Afterwards, I went back inside, and stacked up the fire, making sure it burned high and bright.  I went into the kitchen, and began making chocolate covered apple slices. I sat down in my new chair and began to chomp on my delicacies while rocking back and forth. One thing bothered me though. My meal was missing something, something that could make it more substantial and something that could wash it down. Two things came to mind, and soon enough they both were present, in the grasp of my magic. I dipped my chocolate covered apple slices in my jar of peanut butter, and sipped at my cool glass of sparkling cider (the nonalcoholic kind). It was nice to relax, after so many weeks of hard labor. But as I sat rocking happily in my comfy chair, I heard a knock on my door. Quickly putting down my things on a stool, made from a stump, I called out,

“Come in, the door is unlocked.” At that I heard the door creak open, revealing three little fillies. “Why, hello my little crusaders! What can I help you with?” The three wiped their hooves on the mat I had fashioned from moss that had been covered in carpenter’s specialty glue from one of my building projects. The three scurried up to me. 

“Well, we remembered that we hadn’t really introduced ourselves, and we thought that we should. I’m…”

“Applebloom, I know, remember? I worked at the farm for a while? Also, you are Scootaloo and you are Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were slightly shocked to have a strange pony recognize them and know their names, while as Applebloom looked quite cheery. I smiled at all of them; this especially seemed to lighten the mood. We spend a few hours together, enjoying my treats and playing a few odd ball games. When they left, it was getting dark out. I made sure the fire was well stocked, and then went into my bed, and enjoyed a dream of having a cake eating contest with Pinkie. 

The months of winter passed by slowly, and surprisingly, without any mayor catastrophe of starvation or danger, of which I had fully expected at the start of it. I always was well stocked in food and wood. Winter Wrap up went through without so many songs as the episode had, which was a relief for my ears being as I couldn’t simply skip to the part without the song in real life. During the activities of Winter Wrap up, I simply cleared the snow from my roof and walkway. I made everything ready for spring as best as I could in my current knowledge. Slowly, the birds began returning from their southerly abodes to live once again in their loved home. The flowers that had been along my fence now grew back. They all were red, very beautiful thing to have on the walkway to your house. A though came to mind that I might redecorate my house back on Earth to be more like this one. I shook my head at this; it had been three months and a half. If Baedeker hadn’t come for me yet, I might as well give up all hope for an earth bound return. I might as well live content with what life had given me and accept this as my new home, my new planet, my new body, and my new life. These thoughts might have made me depressed, but the fact my dark and dismal prison was a world of butterflies, rainbows, and friendship, it wasn’t all that bad. My life would have to continue, no matter in what world I was in. Earth or Equestria, it might as well be the same place, except one thing. Back on earth I had a wife and a six year old son, both probably waiting hopefully for my return. I sighed at these thoughts. My wife would have to continue the road of life without a partner, and my son would have to learn chemistry by another’s banks of ‘infinite’ knowledge. These thoughts tormented me. Family and friends that I had left behind, work unfinished, goals unaccomplished. No, I would return to Earth, it was too important to live my life in a strange world when I had a family to provide and protect. My Webster natured ambition and will would see me through, even if Equestria had to be shoved through the course of what might take years in natural processes. I would do it, one way or another.