Winter Thorns is a female snow bat pony and is one of the main characters of the Colt Dudman comic series written and illustrated by Snogwritts. Winter reprises many roles in the Colt Dudman series, but in most cases she works as a child soldier who was forced into war by The Snow Bat Republic. Winter is part of a Whinnyapolis tribe known as the Shiva Tribe, they live in high altitudes such as mountains on below freezing temperatures. Her responsibilities consist of gathering food for the tribe and mandatory military training in case of war. She has a cotton plush named Hope and contains tiger like stripes on her forelegs and face. She’s a great friend and partner of Colt Dudman and often joins him in his adventures.
Character Development/Design[]
Winter Thorns was originally going to be a villain in The Frozen Scriptures but was cut out during development. Snogwritts later changed the character to be more of a partner to the protagonist rather than an enemy. During her design process, Winter changed from many color pallets and was planned to have a cutie mark. These ideas were also scrapped, examples include purple and brown colors, a thorn cutie mark, and a cut ear. Her design is also reminiscent of the real life Hondurian Snow Bat. She was given a personality and background that also resembles many lives of real children who were drafted into war during World War 1 and 2.
Personality[]
Aggressive[]
Many times throughout the series Winter can be aggressive when she wants too. She punches objects and people whenever she feels upset or angry, and often wants to impose fear on many who mess with her.
In The Frozen Scriptures she punches Colt Dudman after his various arguments against her on how she was useless and nothing more than a troublemaker due to her being a “bat pony.”
Another instance where in the chapter To who knows where many of her belongings got stolen by The Order Of The Night and later lashed out at her friends for not being there when she needed them the most. Despite Cookie and Dudman being fired with rocks by Elgeaties troops, she wasn’t appreciative with her friends by simply trying the best they could.
“YOU BITCHES! They stole all the memories I had in that little room, memories of my parents, my plans for my future life, and Hope is now gone! You know how much he means to me!? And now it’s all nothing! You could of helped me, but no! You chose to sit your flanks off and deal with bitchgirls troops, some partners you are!” - Winter Thorns, The Frozen Scriptures
Loving[]
Despite her shortcomings, Winter has her ways of showing affection. She may punch her friends or yell at them for no reason, but in the end she cares about them a lot and will do anything to make sure they are alive and well. Many years in military training has taught her that friends are only temporary and she wants to embrace and teach them as much as possible before she loses them again. Many of her actions are shortfire ways to communicate how she feels, rather than speaking them in words.
Despite her past of losing friends due to warfare, she believes loving others is the best way to make them enjoy living, and have a good life. She wants others to have a good life before their fate comes, just as many have had before her. She comes as far as to hide her own feelings and suffering in order to make others happy.
In The Frozen Scriptures Winters love was tested when she left Colt Dudman because of the way he was treating her. While it was justified on her part, she ultimately left him alone in the cold in which he had no experience in dealing with on his own. Winter actually comes back to look for him, even if it meant shifting her focus from what she was supposed to be doing.
She's also shown to have an affection for Colt Dudman throughout the series.
“*Shoves* Magic Boi I didn’t mean to do that I was upset okay? I just wanted to make sure you listened to me so… I didn’t have to lose another friend…. Again..” - Winter, The Frozen Scriptures
“*Giggles* shut up!! God sometimes it’s hard to be mad at you when your so cute~” - Winter, The Frozen Scriptures.
Love of Stars[]
In chapter 2 (Filly a friend) of The Frozen Scriptures, Colt Dudman finds Winter sitting down alone and watching the stars. After the events of Elgeaties attacks against the Friendship Express, the duo are left sitting on the edge of the rail until the morning. Winter describes the stars as “souls in the sky” and that every pony who dies becomes a star in the sky, living happily. Colt Dudman mentions how far fetched that ideology was despite not knowing what happens when ponies die. Winter knowledge of death comes from her tribe, as they “hardened” her to believe that any pony she has to forcefully kill will live in paradise in the afterlife. T’is why she's so eager many times to kill when she needs too because of the lies she was told.
Winter says that her mother is watching her right now due to dying from starvation because of the lack of resources The Order Of The Night had stolen. Many of the reasons why she has a huge grudge on Elgeaty. Her father abandoned the tribe due to not being able to stop the government from drafting his daughter into war. These events actually happened 3 months ago, and although later in The Frozen Scriptures Winter truly expresses her suffering of the loss of her parents, she states that she still has her tribe family and that they will take care of her. Though, she states that the stars will never be the same to the flesh, but at least they are there.
“I always watch the stars every night, it makes me happy to know someone out there is watching me.” - Winter Thorns, The Frozen Scriptures
“Don’t worry about it magic boi, it’s nothing... my mother is always watching us every night.” - Winter Thorns, The Frozen Scriptures
“MY MOTHER WILL CURSE YOU FOR SAYING THAT, YOU HEAR ME?! ENJOY NO COOKIES!!” - Winter Thorns, The Frozen Scriptures
Reliable[]
One of the biggest strengths of Winter is her reliability. Anypony can depend on her for anything as long as she cares. She truly fights long and hard for anyone she loves and always has his/her back. This trait was very apparent in The Frozen Scriptures, even when it took a little time for Colt Dudman to get used to her, she was always there for him. In chapter 3 (To Those Who Prove Worthy) of The Frozen Scriptures Winter states she promised Cookie to stick with Colt Dudman because it was one of the few people who she trusted. Winter took that to heart and continued with that until she reached her breaking point in chapter 4 (The End of the Line).
Despite that, Winter always came back because she had a promise to fulfill for Cookie, and she had no plan in not keeping it, unlike Colt Dudman who tried to quit. Something that her parents taught her was to forgive and forget when it comes to loved ones. Her mother set a good example for her by being there for her even in the absence of Winter’s father.
“Wait you knocked his skull out?! Wheres the body, I’ll help you bury it!” - Winter Thorns, The Frozen Scriptures
“Fighting for others is really my only purpose in life these days feathers, don’t worry about me. I’m not worth worrying about..” - Winter Thorns, The Frozen Scriptures
Brashness[]
Winter is well known for making many nicknames for ponies she knows. For instance, she often calls Elgeaty “bitchgirl” due to her bashful and cold-hearted nature towards her tribe. Another instance would be Colt Dudman himself, where she calls him “duds” for short, or the better one she came up with “Magic Boy.” Even Cookie wasn’t safe, Winter calls her “Feathers.”
Despite the nicknames she makes, Winter doesn’t actually have one herself. Although, every nickname she makes basically summarizes her opinion on them. It’s one of the rare moments in the entire story that she ever uses words to communicate her feelings.
“Your name is lame it sounds sooooooo boring… ah! I know, I’ll call you magic boy!” - Winter Thorns, The Frozen Scriptures
“Can you stop cluck clucking now feathers, god..” - Winter Thorns, The Frozen Scriptures
Low Self Esteem[]
Many events in The Frozen Scriptures, Winter often discredits herself from anything she does and doesn’t always feel like whatever she does actually matters. In chapter 2 (Filly a Friend) in The Frozen Scriptures Winter receives various insults from the general public at the Ponyville Train Station. One of them being “Pretend she doesn’t exist sweetie” and then Winter responding with “Shut up! It’s not like I matter anyway!”
In chapter 4 (The End Of The Line) in The Frozen Scriptures Winters states on many accounts how the death of her mother was all her fault and that everything she tried doing didn’t matter because she said it wasn’t “enough.”
Despite the actual events where her mother appreciated the help, Winter never took that to heart, and often blames herself for things she couldn’t do. Winters reasons to live are limited and she only describes her reasons as “temporary purposes” to somewhat impact the future of her tribe.
Skills[]
Strength[]
Winter has an abnormal amount of strength compared to the average bat pony. Being as where she lives there isn’t any technology to help lift heavy objects to build structures, the Shiva Tribe literally have to pick things up in groups in order to get them somewhere. She’s also lifting heavy boulders during her training and has since been doing so in order to keep her body in shape. Winter describes this as “her hobby” since she often likes to play catch with her fellow friends. She’s show to have a somewhat muscular body in her design, which was actually intentional on the authors part.
Resourceful[]
Winter can be able to create many weapons with her hooves. The Shiva Tribe has a resourceful type of weaponry, so they use their environment to their fullest advantage in order to make weapons. Winter is no different, learning how to make spears, blow darts, guns, bombs, and even hoof made cannons.
Winter has a gun made from wood, woven rope, hound tooth, and solid boulders that she chizeled. The gun uses rocks as bullets, as do many of the weapons of her tribe. Although, her signature weapon is a bow and arrow that she constantly carries around with her.
These techniques are a newer level of gorilla warfare, and these are the same exact ways that the tribe has a slight edge over The Order Of The Night. The disadvantage the tribe has is that their weapons break after enough uses.
Flight[]
Winter being bat pony has the ability to fly. In chapter 1 (Ambushed) of The Frozen Scriptures Winter is seen dodging many attacks in the air from Elgeaties troops. Her reflexes also help her quite a lot in dodging attacks from multiple directions.
Reflexes[]
Winter reflexes are up to snuff during her training. She can dodge many attacks with her fast movement speed and be quick to act when an enemy appears. Many of the times in The Frozen Scriptures Winter notices potential attacks a lot faster compared to Colt Dudman, especially considering Dudman went to military school because of misconduct with his parents.
Stealthy[]
Winter being a bat pony, she has perks of being able to see in the dark. Since the majority of her tribe is nocturnals, they often do their responsibilities at night. The Shiva Tribe lives in the mountains and because of constant snow, the sun never usually shines and when it does, it’s rare. Therefore, nightime is apparently all day as long as the sunlight doesn’t go past the cloudy sky. Winter being a filly, her size is an advantage to not be spotted by enemy guards easily, and her quick actions can give her an edge on her enemies.
Hearing[]
Much like Colt Dudman, Winter can be able to hear from much larger distances compared to the average pony. It’s a common trait among many of the bat pony species. She often uses echolocation as well to help her get around the caves of her home.
Weaknesses []
Intelligence []
Winters intelligence is not the very best. She can figure out some things on her own, but lacks the critical thinking skills to think far ahead. For instance, during their trip to the black towers, Winter often gets impatient with her stealthing and takes the enemies head on way too often. She often gets into situations where she gets more than she can chew. This also resulted in her getting injured many times in the story.
Communication[]
Since Winter often likes to hide her suffering, she has trouble communicating her feelings in a healthy way. She uses her actions instead of her words to communicate to others. Bottling up her feelings is a huge flaw Winter has in The Frozen Scriptures.
Overconfidence[]
Winters ability to fight causes her to be overconfident in many cases. For instance, taking enemies head on when it wasn’t the smartest things to do. Believing that others will listen to her if she uses her actions instead of words. Colt Dudman often says that she needs to “think twice” before doing anything risky.
Honesty[]
Winters honesty is much more a weakness than it is a strength. She often calls many people names because she feels like it and never accounts for what kind of trouble that can get herself into. She almost got shot by Elgeaty in chapter 1 (Ambushed) in The Frozen Scriptures because she called her “bitchgirl” to her face. Her daredevil nature causes her to take injuries that could have been avoided if she learns to shut up. Cookie even comments on this in chapter 1.
Problem solving[]
Winters belief is to always solve situations using violence instead of thinking alternatives. Colt Dudman mentions how there are many ways to solve problems than just using violence, talking from experience since Dudman himself used to believe the same thing. Winter does it because it’s the only way anypony “listens” to her since she’s been ignored most of her life.
Friends[]
Colt Dudman[]
Winter is known to be Colt Dudman's partner in The Frozen Scriptures. They weren’t truly friends/partners until much later in the comics. She constantly fights for Dudman a lot as he does the same for her. In some cases she uses Dudman for advice whenever she is open to receive it. Winter expresses affection for her pony friend in many events of the comics and states how he can have the potential to be “somepony who will stick around for her.”
Cookie[]
Cookie is another one of Winters partners. They were partners before the events of The Frozen Scriptures and the Shiva Tribe are actually fond allies of Cookies tribe, Zirc. Although, while Cookie is a grown female griffin, Winter is much younger as she is just a filly. However, they have their moments where they get along just fine. Cookie states that winter is “a child of steel stupidity.”
Hope[]
Winter has a cotton plush named Hope. She often communicates with the plushie about her feelings of certain events. It’s her way of venting when nopony is around to be there for it. Winter describes Hope as the only person who actually listens to her.
Enemies[]
Elgeaty[]
Elgeaty is a lieutenant and mercenary of The Order Of The Night. She’s is often called “bitchgirl” by Winter in many cases. Winters grudge on Elgeaty comes from her cold hearted nature towards her tribe. She often blames her for the death of her mother because of the resources her group had stolen. Winter punches her multiple times in the last chapter of The Frozen Scriptures to express her hatred and anger towards what she did.
Three Knives[]
Three Knives is the leader leading The Order Of The Night. It’s natural to assume Winter considers him an enemy since he’s the one leading the entire group in the first place. Three Knives is doing this in search for power and dominace so he can potentially overrule the monarchs that are currently in Equestria. Winter often describes him as “snake eyes” due to his distinct nature of his angry stares.
Night Troopers[]
Soldiers who work for The Order Of The Night Winter is ordered to kill during wartime. Despite them being enemies, Winter compliments their armor as “pretty sick” and even wears them in one chapter.
Flower Breeze[]
Flower Breeze, Winters aunt, which Colt Dudman meets in chapter 4 (The End Of The Line) in The Frozen Scriptures she’s often authoritative towards her niece. Winter describes her as she can’t really do anything if she's around because she would just tell her to stay inside. She’s afraid Winter might get hurt when playing with her friends, in which she states she has to take care of her so she’s in good shape for war.
Parents[]
Winter’s parents, who aren’t named in The Frozen Scriptures are not seen in any of the events that occur. Winters mother died due to starvation and her father abandoned her after Winter was forcefully drafted into war. They are also part of the Shiva Tribe. Winter's mother responsibilities consist of taking care of children and gathering resources, similar to Winter's past responsibilities. Her father was responsible for hunting food, which later Winter started to like.
There isn’t much info about them in The Frozen Scriptures but there could possibly be some in Winters diary entries.
Trivia[]
Winters friend, Cookie, was actually named after the authors pet guinea pig.
Winters tiger like stripes was an intentional decision by the author to resemble her “bold nature.”
Winters name was actually inspired from the authors favorite season, Winter.
Winter originally was going to be a villain to the protagonist in The Frozen Scriptures. She was going to ditch him and steal The Spell Book Of Iris. However, this was cut during development and the author made her a partner instead.
The leader of The Order Of The Night, and Winters enemy was actually given Elgeaties cut name during development, Three Knives.
In one scene in The Frozen Scriptures, Winter is shown to speak Mandarin Chinese. However, in the spanish translation of the comic, she just speaks regular English.
During one scene in The Frozen Scriptures, Winter has a radio playing lyrics that resemble the song Borders by M.I.A. Winter states how much shes loves M.I.A and she went as far to steal the radio from the cities in Whinnyapolis. M.I.A is also seen in pony form as a poster in Winters room.
Colt Dudman: “What the heck is that? Oh! I know, your casting missle strikes to hit me behind my back aren’t you??”
Winter Thorns: “..... IT’S A RADIO!!” (The Frozen Scriptures)
Winter Thorns makes various cameos in the author, Snogwritts, youtube videos. However, she has yet to actually speak.