Pinkie Pie was helping Ponyville with this year's Winter Wrap Up and skating on the ice to cut it, she did many graceful and complicated moves while Twilight Sparkle watched in awe, she jumped and spun around and began appearing on ice elsewhere, she cut all of the ice and finished,
"Wow, Pinkie, you never cease to amaze me." Twilight Sparkle said,
"Oh, it was nothing." Pinkie Pie replied,
"No need to be humble, Pinkie, you really were great out there." Twilight Sparkle reassured,
"Thank you, I'll be going now, got treats to bake for Ponyville's traditional spring welcoming parties and gatherings." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Okay, I'll let you get to it then, thanks for helping." Twilight Sparkle responded, and they parted ways. She arrived at Sugarcube Corner and began baking cupcakes, pies, and cakes and made flower decorations with the icing, her biggest cake was shaped like the sun and smiling, knocking was heard at her door while she decorated a cake,
"Come in." Pinkie Pie spoke, and the pony did, it was an earth pony stallion, he had a pale blue coat, long white mane and tail, blue eyes, and his cutie mark was a round paintbrush with blue paint on it. Pinkie Pie stopped working and realized it was Winter Blues, a pony she met shortly before settling in Ponyville,
"Winter Blues. What are you doing here?" Pinkie Pie inquired,
"I just wanted to see you again, remembering you brightened my mood." Winter Blues answered, Pinkie Pie smiled,
"I can see you're a lot better groomed and more in shape now." Pinkie Pie observed,
"Yeah, I'm going outside to see the foals more often now, too." Winter Blues added,
"Good, so were you able to rediscover your passion for your hobbies?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"A bit, yes, thanks to you, I'm starting to paint more often now, too." Winter Blues remarked,
"Good, you've come a long way since I first met you, Winter Blues." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Thanks, I was hoping to have a drink here if possible while catching up with you." Winter Blues said,
"Sure, this place offers coffee and tea, they go good with the sweets and snacks." Pinkie Pie spoke,
"I'll take tea." Winter Blues ordered, and she made it. Pinkie Pie worked on her baking while Winter Blues sat and drank his tea while smiling, her break came and she sat with Winter Blues and reminisced with him.
Pinkie Pie was trotting through Equestria and winter was approaching,
"Brrr." Pinkie Pie said as she walked through the cold, cloudy, foggy weather. She saw foals running outside up ahead and went over in hopes of selling baked goods, they ran to her and checked what she had, their parents came over to see what she was selling while their kids told them what they wanted,
"Now, now, she's new here, let's not overwhelm her." a unicorn father stated,
"It's fine, I'm always happy to sell my baked treats to anypony." Pinkie Pie responded,
"I wanna get Winter Blues something." a Pegasus filly spoke,
"That's a great idea, I wonder what he would like." a Pegasus mother remarked,
"Winter Blues?" Pinkie Pie inquired,
"Yeah, he's an artistic pony who has been locked up in his home for several months now, we and our parents have been delivering food to him and checking up on him weekly to make sure he's okay." an earth pony colt explained,
"Where does he live?" Pinkie Pie asked, the ponies pointed at an apartment that had closed curtains over its windows,
"I'll go ahead and greet him." Pinkie Pie said,
"Go on then, and don't worry, he's friendly, even though he doesn't really go out and interact with us anymore." a unicorn mare spoke,
"Did something happen?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"Well, we're not sure what it is, he just suddenly changed and began feeling down with no explanation." an earth pony stallion answered,
"Well, I'll go ahead and close the shop for today and go see him, I'll be open again tomorrow morning." Pinkie Pie stated, the ponies smiled and left while Pinkie Pie went to the apartment.
Pinkie Pie entered the apartment and it got foggier outside and began sprinkling and snowing, she trotted to Winter Blues' apartment and saw his apartment's door was a dull gray color and the paint was chipping off, she knocked on the door and waited,
"Coming." a stallion's voice spoke on the other side, the door then opened,
"Yes?" a stallion asked as he came out. Pinkie Pie looked at him with surprise, he was covered in paint, dirt, and dust, his mane and tail were disheveled with split ends, he had a small pot belly and was slightly out of shape, he had bags under his eyes, and rough and uneven facial hair,
"Are you Winter Blues?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"Yes. How can I help you?" Winter Blues asked,
"I just came here a moment ago and wanted to say hello, I'm Pinkie Pie by the way." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Well, hello, I don't go out often, I'm usually in here trying to get on with my days peacefully." Winter Blues responded,
"Can I come in?" Pinkie Pie requested,
"Sure." Winter Blues answered, and she went into his apartment. Pinkie Pie looked around and a lot of leftovers on Winter Blues' table, a piano with sheet music on it, a violin beside the piano, unfinished stories scattered all over the floor, his bed was unmade with sheets and blankets scattered, his sink was filled with unwashed dishes, frying pans, cast irons, and silverware, books about fillies going from rich and noble to servants and being mistreated scattered all over the floor, and unfinished paintings everywhere where the colors blue, gray, and black were prominent in his art and he had a lot of paintings of snow, fog, and rain, some of his paintings also had ravens and black dogs in them,
"Wow, your home's a mess." Pinkie Pie remarked,
"Yeah, I haven't had the energy to do anything recently." Winter Blues replied,
"Did something happen?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"I just suddenly woke up one morning where all of my passion and desire to socialize suddenly disappeared, it hasn't come back ever since." Winter Blues responded,
"Hmm, sounds like you might need a bit of a break." Pinkie Pie suggested,
"I've been trying that, I haven't gotten any better." Winter Blues replied,
"Did you lose your job or something recently?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"No, um, I make pretty decent money outside by having ponies pay me to share my forms of art, so no, I don't have any financial problems." Winter Blues remarked,
"Hmm, I wonder what's making you feel down, but nevertheless, as long as I'm here, I'll try to see if I can turn your frown upside-down." Pinkie Pie declared,
"I'd appreciate that, well, I'm pretty tired, I'll go ahead and rest." Winter Blues responded,
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Pinkie Pie spoke, and she left and baked her confectioneries and desserts for tomorrow and slept.
The next day came and Pinkie Pie sold her baked goods to the foals in the morning before they went to school, the mares who stayed home came in the afternoon while the stallions who were at work came to her during their breaks, the foals came again after school ended and arrived with their parents,
"Where's Winter Blues?" Pinkie Pie asked as she looked for him, the others looked around,
"It seems Winter Blues is still locked up in his home." a Pegasus stallion commented,
"We can take one of your sweets to him if that's what you wanna do." a unicorn mare suggested,
"No, it's fine, I'll do it myself, thanks for the suggestion, though." Pinkie Pie replied, the ponies smiled and continued buying from her,
"Thank you, come again." Pinkie Pie said while the ponies went home, she picked up three cookies and headed to Winter Blues' home. Pinkie Pie arrived at Winter Blues' apartment and knocked on the door, there was no response,
"Winter Blues?" Pinkie Pie called out, there was no response, she opened the door and saw him lying in his bed. She walked to him and saw he was awake,
"I brought you cookies." Pinkie Pie said,
"I'm not hungry." Winter Blues replied,
"When did you last eat?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"Three days ago." Winter Blues responded,
"Come on, you have to eat something." Pinkie Pie spoke,
"I'm not hungry." Winter Blues repeated,
"Can you at least get out of bed?" Pinkie Pie requested,
"I don't have the energy to." Winter Blues remarked,
"I'll just leave the cookies here then, go ahead and help yourself when you feel like it." Pinkie Pie spoke, and she put them in front of him. She then proceeded to dash around and clean his home and Winter Blues looked on, he saw a pink blur moving across his room and tidying up everything, all of his things got sorted and well stacked while also put neatly,
"There, clean space, clean mind." Pinkie Pie spoke, Winter Blues looked at his home and laid back down,
"Can I fix your bed?" Pinkie Pie requested,
"I'm still not in the mood to get up." Winter Blues spoke,
"That's fine, I'll come fix it later, hope you feel better, Winter Blues." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Thanks." Winter Blues remarked and Pinkie Pie left. She began scrapping and repainting his apartment's door with a brighter gray color, she smiled and trotted away while Winter Blues opened the front door and looked at the new paint job. Pinkie Pie went outside and began making desserts and confectioneries for tomorrow and slept.
Pinkie Pie woke up early and it began to get cold while the rain, snow, and fog arrived, no one was outside so she went to go visit Winter Blues, she opened the door and saw him sitting at the piano,
"Morning, Winter Blues." Pinkie Pie said,
"Morning." Winter Blues replied, and she went to go make and fix his bed. She walked over to Winter Blues and watched him try to play the piano, he pressed a few keys but stopped afterwards,
"What's the matter?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"I'm not feeling it." Winter Blues remarked,
"You wanna try something else?" Pinkie Pie suggested,
"Sure." Winter Blues responded, and he went to one of his unfinished paintings. He picked up a paintbrush and dipped it in blue paint, he began painting a blue background and then painted a black landscape and gray rain, he then began painting ravens flying in the sky and then added snow onto the landscape,
"Why is your painting sad for?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"It's how I've been feeling for some time now, I've always felt down when painting a picture." Winter Blues answered,
"And the piano?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"Same, I feel like composing sad music most of the time." Winter Blues replied,
"Did something happen in your life to make you like this?" Pinkie Pie inquired,
"Actually, yes, I was very passionate about art of all kinds growing up and my parents supported me greatly, I lost some of that passion after they passed away since I no longer have anypony to support me, I continued making art of different kinds for years because the ponies living around here like my stuff, and then suddenly, a few weeks ago, all of my passion and drive suddenly disappeared after close to ten years of making different kinds of arts almost daily, I haven't felt any passion, drive, or desire to do anything ever since." Winter Blues explained,
"Not even take care of your home or yourself?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"Nope." Winter Blues responded,
"Well, you should, the ponies outside around here are worried about you." Pinkie Pie said,
"I know, and I appreciate that, but I don't feel like socializing, sorry if I'm annoying you." Winter Blues spoke,
"It's fine, my sisters aren't very big socializers either." Pinkie Pie responded,
"Really?" Winter Blues questioned,
"Hmm-mm, my oldest sister is abrasive and most don't get along with her, my other older sister is really quiet, doesn't show much feeling, and is into things most ponies find boring, and my younger twin sister very rarely talks at all." Pinkie Pie responded,
"Oh, I guess you're used to ponies like me then." Winter Blues commented,
"Kind of, but I'm seeing signs I can help you regain your passion and joys again." Pinkie Pie spoke,
"Okay, I appreciate that." Winter Blues spoke while smiling,
"See, you're smiling right now, come on, let's see if we can find something you still like doing." Pinkie Pie stated, and they went around Winter Blues' home. Winter Blues went to the piano and played a few keys, he tried to play more but stopped, he then tried to play music on the violin but quit after a minute, he then tried reading one of his books but could not get into it, he then tried writing a story but could not think of anything, Winter Blues then went to his stove and got out a book on recipes and culinary arts, he tried to find something to make but could not, he looked down and laid back down.
Winter Blues looked up at the ceiling with a wistful face while Pinkie Pie watched him for a few seconds, she looked at his stories and noticed they were about fillies being poor or homeless and struggling to make money, she read them and noticed a lot of them had talking animals and magic in them,
"These sound interesting, Winter Blues." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Thanks, I stopped working on them before I lost my passion because of writer's block." Winter Blues replied,
"Give it time, you'll probably have something pop in your head suddenly one day." Pinkie Pie said,
"I doubt it." Winter Blues remarked, Pinkie Pie then looked at the recipe books and gasped when she saw they were advanced dishes,
"Wow, you could be a professional chef making stuff like this." Pinkie Pie chirped,
"The stuff's hard to make, I'm still making mistakes when I make the food in those cookbooks." Winter Blues responded, Pinkie Pie looked for sweets in the cookbooks and made them easily while Winter Blues was speechless, he looked on with a more disappointed look watching her,
"Ta-da! A perfect and freshly made brownies baked to perfection!" Pinkie Pie announced, Winter Blues got out of bed and walked to her and tried a piece,
"What? This is... perfect, I could never get brownies right no matter how much I try." Winter Blues lamented,
"I can teach you." Pinkie Pie suggested, and he went to the oven. Pinkie Pie began instructing Winter Blues on how to make the brownies and it was ready to bake,
"I'm not having the energy to do this." Winter Blues stated,
"Come on now, let's keep going, you'll probably be happy when you finish." Pinkie Pie responded, and she helped him put the brownies in the oven. They waited and Pinkie Pie decided to start playing the piano, she played a fast tempo and lively song while Winter Blues watched with confusion, she continued playing the fast and lively tune and began dancing while playing, Winter Blues then heard drums and trumpets being played even though he did not have any, he did not feel better from the music and Pinkie Pie soon finished. Winter Blues did not smile and she took notice,
"You don't feel happy or like dancing?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"Not really." Winter Blues replied,
"Huh, you really do have the blues." Pinkie Pie remarked, the oven dinged and she dashed to it. She took the brownies out and shared them with him,
"Mm-mm! Now that is what I call perfect brownie goodness!" Pinkie Pie hollered, Winter Blues tried a little and smiled,
"Look, Winter Blues, you're smiling! I think I may be able to make you happy again after all." Pinkie Pie boasted, Winter Blues smiled more and finished the brownie, he and Pinkie Pie bid one another farewell and she went back to her stand, she made sweets and desserts during the night and then went to sleep.
The next day came and it was getting colder, the foals and adult ponies ordered hot sweets and Pinkie Pie also put hot cocoa on sale and the ponies had to pay an extra bit for each marshmallow in their drinks, the ponies went home and drank them happily while Pinkie Pie closed her shop for the day and went to go see Winter Blues. She walked through the apartment and it was freezing cold,
"Brrr, somepony forgot to turn on the heater." Pinkie Pie commented, and she arrived at Winter Blues' apartment. She opened it and saw him sitting at a table and trying to continue writing one of his stories, he looked at her and smiled, she smiled back while he continued writing in cursive on an expensive high quality paper with a quill. She went over to see what he was writing, she read about a filly who was once nobility and was now a servant after losing her fortune due to her father's passing, she worked at a boarding school and is treated badly while the other ponies and talking animals tried to console and help her, her animal friends were a cat, a dog, a mouse, a goldfish, and a hummingbird,
"Ooh, I'm liking this." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Thanks." Winter Blues responded,
"Um... can we turn on the heater?" Pinkie Pie requested,
"Why? I'm comfortable in the cold." Winter Blues spoke,
"Seriously? How can you like this cloudy and gloomy weather and temperature?" Pinkie Pie inquired,
"I don't find the cold and clouds to be gloomy, if anything, I find it relaxing." Winter Blues responded,
"But how?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"Things are quiet, slow, and it makes me feel a lot at ease, same with the dark, I feel more at ease in a dark room, too." Winter Blues explained,
"Huh, that's pretty interesting, even though I prefer the summer and bright sun, so many vibrant and happy ponies in that weather." Pinkie Pie said while smiling,
"I don't like hot weather, drains my energy faster, same with a lively environment, wears me out." Winter Blues commented,
"So you're the kind of pony who likes to take things slow." Pinkie Pie said,
"Yes." Winter Blues replied,
"Nothing wrong with that, as long as it's fun." Pinkie Pie stated, Winter Blues chuckled and continued writing. She watched him write a story and the filly getting through hard times with the help of her friends and animal companions while being mistreated at the boarding school, she is provided food and comfort in secret while the headmistress is asleep at night, Winter Blues then suddenly stopped writing,
"Not interested anymore?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"No, writer's block." Winter Blues responded,
"Oh." Pinkie Pie said, Winter Blues then got another one of his unfinished stories but could not write,
"On second thought, I'm not feeling motivated anymore." Winter Blues remarked, and he laid in his bed, the room got colder and Pinkie Pie shivered while Winter Blues put extra blankets on, he picked up a book and tried to read it, he put it down a minute later and then tried to sleep. Pinkie Pie trotted to the book and saw it was another fairy tale and it was written over a century ago,
"Ooh, is this a book from your childhood?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"Yeah, I like these century old fantasy stories better than newer stuff, I find them more engaging and creative, they also serve as inspiration in making my own stuff." Winter Blues answered, Pinkie Pie decided to read it and saw the story was about a mare who lived in the woods and was asleep after eating a poisoned apple, she read it for hours and forgot about the cold room, she finished after a while and saw it was dark,
"Oh, shoot, I lost track of the time, I gotta prepare for tomorrow's stuff to sell." Pinkie Pie said, and she dashed out while Winter Blues chuckled, Pinkie Pie worked all night and baked confectioneries for tomorrow and slept.
The next day came and the foals and adult ponies bought confectioneries from Pinkie Pie and then went on with their days, everybody began decorating the homes and buildings, Pinkie Pie realized Hearth's Warming was around the corner and she decorated her wagon with Hearth's Warming decorations, she then made new confectioneries with Hearth's Warming decorations on them as icing, she finished after a while and decided to go check on Winter Blues. She went to his apartment and noticed there were no decorations up, she opened the door and noticed him baking cookies, she smiled and went over. She saw him baking chocolate and vanilla cookies with Hearth's Warming art on them,
"Come on, Winter Blues, everypony's decorating outside." Pinkie Pie remarked while jumping,
"I appreciate it, but I'm not in the mood for it." Winter Blues replied,
"Can I do it then?" Pinkie Pie requested,
"If you want to, then go ahead." Winter Blues answered, and she did. She dashed quickly and put up many colorful Hearth's Warming decorations inside and outside the apartment and then turned on the lights while putting the switch to turn them on or off by Winter Blues' bed. He looked at the decorations and had a blank expression,
"Don't you like them?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"I apparently don't see beauty in bright colors anymore." Winter Blues remarked,
"Give it time, it'll probably come back." Pinkie Pie suggested,
"I hope so." Winter Blues responded,
"What do you feel like doing today?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"Nothing, I feel worn out today." Winter Blues replied,
"Okay, I'll check on you later." Pinkie Pie spoke, Winter Blues smiled and laid in his bed while Pinkie Pie left. She began baking special Hearth's Warming confectioneries and desserts and worked all night, she finished late and then went to sleep.
The next day came and it was Hearth's Warming, everyone was in a celebratory mood and Pinkie Pie listened and danced to the carols the foals sang, she gave them chocolate when they finished, the foals sang to the other adult ponies and gave them candy when they finished. Night time came and all of the lights were brightly lit, everybody got in the center of the town around the biggest tree and were ready to sing,
"Wait a minute, somepony's missing." a unicorn mare stated, everybody saw Winter Blues was not present,
"I'll go get him." Pinkie Pie said, and she dashed to his apartment. Pinkie Pie arrived at the door and noticed the lights were off, she opened it and saw Winter Blues laying in his bed,
"Winter Blues, everypony's waiting for you outside." Pinkie Pie said,
"Go ahead and do Hearth's Warming without me." Winter Blues replied,
"It's not gonna continue unless you come." Pinkie Pie remarked,
"What are you doing now?" Winter Blues asked,
"We're around this big tree in the center of town and about to sing." Pinkie Pie answered while jumping around with Hearth's Warming light trails following her,
"Oh, the Hearth's Warming Welcoming Song, it's the same every year, I've grown bored of that years ago." Winter Blues spoke,
"You can at least show up to make the others happy, Winter Blues." Pinkie Pie suggested,
"Well, when you put it that way, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to participate a little." Winter Blues spoke, Pinkie Pie smiled while he stood up on his bed, knocking was heard at the door,
"Are you awake, Winter Blues?" a filly asked, he trotted over and opened the door. He saw everypony from the town has come to meet him,
"We're all waiting for you, Winter Blues?" an earth pony colt said,
"Yeah, we're about to sing and greet Hearth's Warming." a unicorn filly added,
"I heard, I initially didn't have the energy to attend until Pinkie Pie mentioned making you all happy by going." Winter Blues spoke,
"Please do, Winter Blues, it would be a much better experience for us all if everypony attended." an earth pony stallion stated,
"Well..." Winter Blues said,
"Pretty please, Winter Blues?" the foals begged,
"I'm coming, Pinkie Pie already convinced me earlier." Winter Blues spoke,
"Yay!" the foals hollered,
"Come on now, Winter Blues, let's get you groomed, you can't attend looking like that." a Pegasus mare spoke, and she took him inside. She cleaned the dirt, dust, and paint off of him, she then combed his mane and tail and cut off the split ends and then shaved his uneven facial hair off,
"There, you look much better and healthier, Winter Blues, if only we could do something about your belly, though." the mare spoke,
"I haven't been in the mood to exercise and eat recently." Winter Blues answered,
"It's fine, come on, let's go welcome Hearth's Warming." the mare said, and everybody went outside. Everybody gathered around the biggest tree in the center of town and held hoofs, they sang a tune about welcoming Hearth's Warming and Pinkie Pie watched Winter Blues, he frowned at first but began to smile while singing, Pinkie Pie smiled bigger and continued singing, everybody finished and went home, the foals opened their presents while Pinkie Pie baked confectioneries to sell tomorrow and slept.
The next day came and it was still snowing, the foals showed off their presents and played with them in the snow while Pinkie Pie gave a big discount on all of her baked goods and confectioneries, she played Hearth's Warming music at her cart while the foals ran to her and bought her items, she watched everybody having a good time but noticed Winter Blues was not present, the ponies finished buying things from her for the moment and she went to go check on him. She arrived at his apartment and entered and she got caught by surprise to see him exercising, he was doing lunges when she entered,
"Hey, Pinkie Pie." Winter Blues called out,
"I didn't think you would exercise." Pinkie Pie commented,
"The mare's comment yesterday made me realize I'm a lot more out of shape than I thought I was, so I decided let's get back in shape and healthy." Winter Blues explained,
"Oh, that's good, I'm here to help and support you all the way." Pinkie Pie said, Winter Blues chuckled and continued exercising, she watched him and he finished after doing ten lunges with each leg. Winter Blues then began doing push-ups and got tired after doing twenty of them, he then laid down in his bed and rested, he grabbed a glass of water beside his bed and drank it. Pinkie Pie looked and noticed Winter Blues has also worked more on his paintings and stories but has not done much, he rested while she smiled and decided to read what he wrote. She saw that he worked on the same story from before and written that the filly and her friends and animal companions helped her sneak out of the boarding school to get her new and clean work clothes and food while the headmistress and her bullies were asleep at night, they all had a secret party in the attic and used their imagination to imagine themselves as dancers in a grand hall full of royals, they all daydreamed and had fun all night and then slept. The filly woke up the next day and continued working as a maid by serving food to her bullies and cleaning their clothes, they gave her impossible demands and the filly got scolded by the headmistress and denied meals as punishment,
"Alright, so... oh, it stops here." Pinkie Pie spoke,
"I hit another writer's block." Winter Blues responded, she looked at his other stories and saw he has not worked on them, she then looked around more and saw Winter Blues did also try to cook and write new music,
"Are you finding your passion again, Winter Blues?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"No." Winter Blues answered,
"Hmm, tell you what, the next time you're out of bed and I'm here, let's try socializing." Pinkie Pie suggested,
"S... Socializing?" Winter Blues quivered,
"Hmm-mm, I noticed you smiling during Hearth's Warming, maybe spending time with others will make you feel better and reignite your passions." Pinkie Pie explained,
"I don't feel like it." Winter Blues remarked,
"That's fine, Winter Blues, we'll start slow and build it up." Pinkie Pie responded,
"I'm not in the mood to see people at all." Winter Blues spoke,
"I get that, but at this rate, you're not making much progress in recovering, if you make friends and socialize, maybe you will feel better." Pinkie Pie stated,
"It doesn't feel like that's the case though." Winter Blues said,
"You never know until you try." Pinkie Pie reminded,
"True, I guess one time wouldn't hurt." Winter Blues replied,
"Great! We'll try tomorrow." Pinkie Pie said, and she trotted out. She went outside and called for everybody, she talked about her plans for tomorrow in helping Winter Blues get better and all of the foals agreed to help her, she smiled and thanked them while the ponies went home, she then baked confectioneries for tomorrow and slept.
The next day came and Pinkie Pie sold her desserts and baked goods in the morning and afternoon to the ponies, she and the foals then walked together to Winter Blues' apartment and knocked on the door, he opened it and saw everybody,
"Hello, Winter Blues, take a look, every foal in town wants to spend time with you." Pinkie Pie said,
"Uh... I'm feeling overwhelmed already." Winter Blues commented,
"Come on, Winter Blues, we'll cheer you up." an earth pony filly stated, the other foals agreed,
"Come on now, Winter Blues, playing with kids will probably cheer you up like how it does with me." Pinkie Pie suggested, and she grabbed his hoof and guided him outside while following the foals. Winter Blues tried to play games outside with the foals and was slow at first, but he began to smile after several minutes and engaged in more activities with them, the foals cheered while Pinkie Pie played in the snow with them and Winter Blues began helping the foals build snowmen and participated in snowball fights, everybody had fun and went home when it began to get dark, Pinkie Pie baked more confectioneries when everyone was asleep and slept much later.
Pinkie Pie got startled awake the next morning by foals calling out to her and she yawned, she moved slowly while giving the baked goods to the foals and they paid her, she counted while tired and managed to count every bit, she then stretched and yawned and felt better. She and the foals went to go see Winter Blues again and saw him doing sit-ups when they entered his apartment,
"In a minute." Winter Blues said, and he exercised a little more and then stood up,
"What are you all here for today?" Winter Blues asked,
"We wanted to hang out with you some more." an earth pony filly answered,
"Really? I really don't know what else you foals like to do for fun." Winter Blues said,
"Foals like artistic stuff, Winter Blues, maybe you can show them your stuff." Pinkie Pie advised,
"Well, okay, I guess that wouldn't hurt." Winter Blues spoke, and he walked around. The foals went to the piano first and tried to play it, they only played one or two notes at a time and Winter Blues sat and played a song, the foals cheered and one of them tried to play the violin but got it wrong, Winter Blues showed them how and played a tune, the foals clapped and then went to go look at his paintings. The foals looked on in bewilderment and murmured about them,
"They don't look happy." a unicorn filly commented,
"They're not, I've been trying to capture a nostalgic, melancholic feel with them." Winter Blues responded,
"No wonder why you use so much blue paint." a Pegasus colt spoke,
"Well, that, and it's my favorite color." Winter Blues replied,
"I'm finding the ravens and black dogs more scary than nostalgic." an earth pony filly stated,
"They're meant to symbolize sadness and depression, but I can see why they would scare somepony." Winter Blues responded,
"What's with all of the gray rain and fog?" a Pegasus filly questioned,
"More visuals, also meant to capture a melancholic feeling." Winter Blues answered,
"I think rain is more associated with depression than sadness." another unicorn filly commented,
"Everypony interprets art differently, that is my own interpretation." Winter Blues spoke, the foals continued admiring his art and Winter Blues began to smile, the foals began voicing their opinions on what they liked and laughed with one another,
"Anything else you all wanna see?" Winter Blues asked, the foals agreed and he showed them his cookbooks. The foals looked on in awe and Winter Blues tried to cook the recipes but messed up, Pinkie Pie trotted over and helped him make the sweets and desserts, the foals cheered while they handed them out to them. The foals then read Winter Blues' fairy tale books and they got very engaged while Pinkie Pie smiled,
"What are these over here?" another Pegasus colt asked,
"My own stories, I've been hitting writer's block on them a lot, so none of them are done yet." Winter Blues responded,
"Can we read what you wrote?" the first unicorn filly requested,
"Sure." Winter Blues replied, and they did. The foals really enjoyed his stories and noticed the one with the filly being a servant in the boarding school with the bullies and cruel headmistress was his longest and most developed story,
"Wow, these are good, Winter Blues." the second Pegasus colt reported,
"Really?" Winter Blues questioned, the foals nodded,
"See, they like your stuff, I think that's enough reason for you to try to finish them." Pinkie Pie said,
"I'll see what I can do." Winter Blues stated, the foals cheered,
"It's getting late, everypony, we should head on home." Pinkie Pie stated, the foals agreed and they left while Winter Blues smiled, Pinkie Pie baked tomorrow's confectioneries and desserts and slept.
Pinkie Pie sold her baked goods the next morning and afternoon and went to go check on Winter Blues, she saw him lifting weights and finished a few minutes after she arrived, he drank a cup of water and then began working on one of his stories. She watched him write and saw him working on the same story with the filly being a servant in the boarding school, he wrote about the filly beginning to perform worse at her duties due to lack of meals and sleep, she got sick and a doctor had to be called in, the doctor examined the filly and discovered the abuse she was suffering at the boarding school, he reported the boarding school to the authorities and the headmistress got investigated and arrested with her bullies getting punished, her friends then used their families' money to pay for the medical bills and give the filly a new home, they and the animal companions lived together happily ever after with new and loving guardians,
"There, I think that might be good for this story." Winter Blues commented,
"No climactic fight or showdown at the end?" Pinkie Pie inquired,
"It's not that kind of story." Winter Blues answered,
"What about your other stories?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"I'll think about it." Winter Blues responded,
"Oh, well, I'll be leaving now so you can work in peace." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Alright, thanks." Winter Blues replied, and she left, she made baked goods and then slept.
Pinkie Pie sold her confectioneries the next morning and her eyes popped out of their sockets when she saw Winter Blues walking around outside, he sat at a chair and was holding several papers, the foals walked to him and he began reading the story he finished yesterday while foals paid him bits to listen to him, he finished after reading for about four hours,
"Not bad, but it's a bit slow paced." a Pegasus colt commented, the other foals agreed,
"Well, it's not an action filled story, maybe my other ones will be." Winter Blues said,
"That'd be great." a unicorn filly commented, the other foals agreed,
"Well, thanks for listening and paying, I'm beginning to feel more desire to finish my stuff because of you guys' feedback." Winter Blues commented,
"Yay!" the foals hollered while cheering, Winter Blues chuckled and went home, Pinkie Pie smiled and then baked more confectioneries and slept early.
Pinkie Pie did her usual morning routine and then went to go check on Winter Blues, she saw him working on another story, she looked and saw it was about a princess being captured by an evil dragon and a stallion had taken up her father's request to slay the dragon and rescue her,
"Oh, a bit different from a typical fairy tail where it's the mare who rescues the stallion and they try to talk things out and convince the monster to change their ways and let the captive go." Pinkie Pie commented,
"I just wanted to try to make something different." Winter Blues stated, and he continued writing. Pinkie Pie read what he wrote and he wrote about the stallion wearing magical armor and wielding a magical sword and shield, he traversed to the dragon's cave and fought and slain it, he rescued the princess and married her at the end,
"There, done, something different from most of Equestria's fairy tales." Winter Blues commented,
"I don't think the foals are going to like it, though." Pinkie Pie remarked,
"We'll see tomorrow." Winter Blues stated, and Pinkie Pie went back to her cart, baked, and slept.
Pinkie Pie sold little confectioneries the next morning and saw Winter Blues reading his newly finished story to the foals while letting them listen to him for free,
"Um, I'm not liking the violent parts." an earth pony filly reported, the others agreed,
"Figured, I just wanted to try something different." Winter Blues responded,
"Are you just going to do stories, Winter Blues?" a Pegasus colt asked,
"You want something else?" Winter Blues questioned,
"Well, if possible, I'd like for you to read your old Equestrian stories, too, and show off your paintings or play music." the Pegasus colt spoke, the other foals agreed excitedly,
"I'll see what I can make." Winter Blues said,
"Oh, if possible, can you be more emotive in telling your stories? Your monotone is kind of boring to listen to." a unicorn filly suggested,
"Sorry about that, my former passion still hasn't been reignited yet." Winter Blues stated,
"Oh, really?" the unicorn filly asked, Winter Blues shook his head,
"Well, back to work, I'll see if I can make something good." Winter Blues said, and he went back home while the foals said bye to him. Pinkie Pie decided to let Winter Blues focus and looked at his apartment's window while baking, she saw he was painting, she smiled and baked and then slept.
Pinkie Pie sold more sweets and saw Winter Blues outside again and showing off a newly finished painting, it was a blue painting with gray rain and fog, white snow, and ravens and black dogs in it,
"I don't get it." an earth pony colt stated,
"It's a symbolism painting, you need to know what the weather, animals, and color mean in order to understand it." Winter Blues explained,
"Say, um..., Winter Blues, do you always paint symbols into your paintings?" a unicorn filly asked,
"I've been doing it ever since I was a foal, when I was your age and in school, it was the only form of painting and art we were allowed to make." Winter Blues responded,
"Well, maybe if you make something you like visually instead of being symbolic, maybe you'll enjoy art more." the unicorn filly suggested,
"I'll think about it." Winter Blues said, the foals smiled,
"Well, that's all I have today, hope you all liked it." Winter Blues spoke, and he went home while the foals left. Pinkie Pie baked more and saw Winter Blues painting in his apartment, she smiled and then sold more baked goods and slept.
Pinkie Pie worked the next day and saw Winter Blues showing off another finished painting that had a blue sky, a light blue ocean, black mountains with white snow on it, black plants and trees in the background growing on the mountains, black birds flying in the sky in the background, and gray fog and clouds around the mountain,
"Here you all go, turns out these colors are still the ones I like the most." Winter Blues remarked,
"It's a nice mountain, Winter Blues." a Pegasus filly spoke, the others agreed,
"Thanks, that's not the only reason why I'm here, I've also finished writing a song, come to my apartment and I'll play it." Winter Blues said,
"Yay!" the foals hollered and they followed him, Pinkie Pie finished selling for now and went with them. Pinkie Pie entered and watched Winter Blues play somber tunes on his piano and violin, she smiled and listened while the foals saw her,
"Ooh, I know, Winter Blues, why don't you and Pinkie Pie play a tune together?" an earth pony filly suggested, the other foals agreed,
"Wait, about that, Pinkie Pie plays lively music, I don't think it would mix well with my slower and more somber tunes." Winter Blues spoke,
"Maybe things can balance out." an earth pony colt stated, the other foals agreed,
"Come on, Winter Blues, let's give it a try." Pinkie Pie said, and she dashed out and came back with her ten instruments while everybody looked on in surprise,
"Well, here goes." Winter Blues stated, and he played the piano while Pinkie Pie played her ten instruments, the tune ended up being a chaotic mess and they stopped while the foals laughed, Pinkie Pie also laughed while Winter Blues smiled,
"Well, that's all I have today, I'll see if I can make something new." Winter Blues spoke, the foals smiled and left while Pinkie Pie looked at him,
"You still need me?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"I think I'm fine, I'm more driven to get stuff done now, but not like before." Winter Blues replied,
"That's good, I'll be at my cart if you need me." Pinkie Pie stated, Winter Blues smiled and she left, she baked and then slept.
Pinkie Pie sold more confectioneries the next morning and saw Winter Blues reading a fairy tale to the foals and they left when it was time for school, she walked over to him and he smiled,
"I'll be fine, Pinkie Pie, I can handle everything from here." Winter Blues spoke,
"Good, my work here is done then, I'll be taking my leave now." Pinkie Pie replied, the foals and adult ponies ran to her and begged her to stay,
"Sorry, everypony, but I got other places I have to sell at and throw parties, tell you what, I'll throw a party to celebrate Winter Blues' recovery and give you all recipes on my baked goods so you all can make them yourselves." Pinkie Pie suggested, everybody cheered and Pinkie Pie threw the party and gave the ponies recipes to her confectioneries, she left and everybody said bye to her.
Pinkie Pie was standing in Sugarcube Corner with Winter Blues across from her and helped her decorate the cake,
"I got back in shape after you left, I never recovered my original passion and drive, but I still have enough to finish stuff I create." Winter Blues spoke,
"That's good, if you made any new music or stories, I'd be happy to read and play them." Pinkie Pie replied,
"Sure, I'll try to mail them tomorrow." Winter Blues said,
"Thanks, looking forward to it." Pinkie Pie stated, and they finished decorating the cake and Winter Blues left and Pinkie Pie slept. The next day came and Derpy crashed into Sugarcube Corner with a lot of mail for Pinkie Pie, she saw it was new stories and music for the piano and violin written by Winter Blues, she read them in her free time and enjoyed them, she then read them to Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle and Fluttershy and her pets and Rarity joined them when Pinkie Pie played music on the piano and violin, she smiled widely at what Winter Blues made and began to look forward to whatever he would send her next.