//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Reaper Wrap-up // Story: Of Archon Toilets and Bioballs // by MiniPsyker //------------------------------// "Spike, wake up!" Twilight said with excitement upon waking up. "Wake up, wake up, it's Winter Wrap Up day!" "Huh... Mommy?" Spike answered half asleep. "Winter Wrap up!" "You're not mommy..." "'Sup?" Mike questioned, leaning out of the bathroom door with a toothbrush in his mouth. He had no idea what Winter Wrap Up meant. "The first day of spring is tomorrow, so every pony in Ponyville needs to clean up winter. Now help me get ready." "Clean up winter? Who cleans up winter?" Both Spike and Mike asked at the same time. "Don't they just use magic to change the seasons like they do in Canterlot?" Spike added. "No Spike, Ponyville was started by Earth ponies, so for hundreds of years they've never used magic to clean up winter. It's traditional." "It's ridiculous. No magic... Fuh." Spike ranted before going back to sleep. Mike just scratched his cheek and kept on brushing his teeth. "Okay, let's see: scarf, check; saddle, check; boots, check; Spike refusing to get up and going back to sleep, check; Mike doing something illogical like brushing his teeth in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, check. It's a good thing I'm so organized, I'm ready! Bright and early!" She flamboyantly boasted as she opened the door. It was the middle of the night. "Oh... maybe a little too early." [ThemeSong+Intro.wmv] "Thank you everypony, for being here bright and early." Mayor Mare said in front of everyone. "We need every single pony's help to wrap up winter, and bring in spring." At this, the ponies started cheering. "Now, all of you have your vests, and have been assigned to your teams, so let's do even better than last year, and have the quickest Winter Wrap Up ever! Any questions before we start?" "Yeah, one question." Mike said as he raised his hand. "What am I supposed to do?" Everyone was silent. "...Well... We don't really have a vest big enough for you, and it'd be too difficult to find you a proper job so... I don't know, just rest?" "Alright, fantastic." He answered tremendously straightforward before leaving. Meanwhile, a few minutes later at the Hall of Justice, AKA Twilight's house. "Alright, where's my gear..." Mike asked himself while looking around. Just as he was crouched opening a drawer a noise came to his attention from outside. He closed the drawer quickly, stood up, ran up to the window with his power armor clanking, and looked outside so see earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi moving around. 'Winter Wrap-up, Winter Wrap-up...!' They were singing. Mike quickly closed the visor of his helmet and began listening to music of his own. Even though pastel-coloured ponies with the mental capability to engage in a song out of the blue with perfect synchronization was a sight to behold, he had more important priorities. Like finding his gear. Time later he found what he looked for in his base behind Twilight's house. He had no idea why he was searching in there to begin with. Meanwhile, in the frozen lake... "OH BOY--" Pinkie just managed to say before Twilight, who lost control of her iceskates, impacted against her and send them both screaming all the way to the edge, where they crashed against the snow. "Ha ha, you are a natural, Twilight. A natural disaster!" Spike laughed after removing the snow that covered him. "Twilight, you did a great job your first time around. I'm sure my first time was just as wobbly and bobbly and crasheriffic as yours." Pinkie reassured her. "Really?" Twilight asked. "No." Spike chuckled. Twilight lowered her vision, but once she raised it again she noticed something weird in a hill covered by snow. She'd have shrugged it off as another pony, seeing as the sun behind it clouded her vision, but the figure was too tall. She, with Spike and Pinkie, focused their eyes upon it, until they clearly saw what it looked like. It had Ghost armor like what Mike used before, but instead of the usual helmet, it had a gasmask. And a dark brown hooded cloak. "Is that... Another of Mike's boys?" Spike asked. "I think so..." Twilight answered. The figure stomped on the surface where he stood, revealing that he was actually standing on something. The back of the object grew brighter and brighter until flames escaped from it, propelling the object and him downhill, right at their direction at a considerable speed. Pinkie, Twilight and Spike gave a sudden yell as they threw themselves aside, dodging the figure who appeared to be a Terran. Once they came to their senses, they looked back at the frozen lake and saw the figure standing upon the ice. Right on top of a crack, with what appeared to be the jetpack which he was standing on still functioning and warming the ice. "'Sup?" The Terran greeted them as he turned around. "Mike?!" Twilight asked. "The one and only!!" He boasted. "What are you doing here?!" "What, you expect miss the opportunity to entertain myself?" "Agh..." "What's that thing?" Spike asked upon seeing what Mike stood on top on. "This thing?" He asked as he raised a leg and looked below. "It's a jetpack. Reapers are supposed to use them on their backs, but I gave it a little tweak and now I have a rocket-propelled snowboard. Cool, huh?" "Sweet!" "Anyways, what were you guys doi--" He was cut short by being immediately sunk into the frozen water, the ice broken. Pinkie, Spike and Twilight were speechless. "So... Who's going to get him out of there?" Twilight asked. 'Research complete.' They could hear echoing in the distance, right before Mike bursted through the ice with his snowboard-jetpack ejecting yet more flames than before, then landing right next to them with the snow melting below him. "Good ol' fashioned nitro pack." "Mike, we're not supposed to use magic today!!" "Magic? You think this is magic?" He asked while kicking the jetpack. "This is science!!" As soon as he finished, he drifted through the snow, sliding away at a tremendous speed. "Mike... One of these days..." She sighed, covered in charcoal. Time later, after several of Twilight's failed attempts to help. "Go!" Applejack urged Rainbow Dash. "Stop!" Fluttershy said. "Go!" "Stop!" "GO!" "STOP!" "Oh! What in Equestria are all you arguing about? This sort of silliness is why we were late for spring last year, and the year before that, and the year before that!" Mayor Mare ranted. "Did she say... Late?" Twilight asked herself out of a bush. "I was hoping my amazingly inspirational speech would urge everyone to do better than last year, but now it looks like we're going to be later than ever. I mean just look at this catastrophe. The ice scorers made the ice chunks too big to melt; the nest designer is horrendously behind, we need several hundred, and she's only made one. And don't get me started on all the clouds in the sky, the icicles on the trees... This isn't good, not at all!" "And it's gonna be all to pieces disastrous if we can't get our seeds all planted." Applejack said. "Chillax Applejack, we're bustin' our chops as fast as we can." Rainbow Dash reassured her. "No, not fast, we have to wake animals slowly." Fluttershy warned them. "Uh, AJ?" Big Mac asked. "Oh good gravy, Caramel lost the grass seeds again, didn't he?" "Eeyup." "Ditzy Doo accidentally went north to get the southern birds!" A pegasus told Rainbow Dash. "Oh that featherbrain. Didn't she learn her lesson last year when she went west?" "Stop this at once. We don't have time to argue. It's almost sundown. Spring is going to be late again. Another year of scandal and shame. If only we could be more organized." Mayor Mare ranted. "Spike! Get my checklist and clipbo--" Twilight urged Spike, just before being interrupted by another event. "Where's Mike? I think we'll need his help after all." Mayor Mare added. "What?!" Twilight ranted to herself. "Someone called?" Mike, with 7 other reapers asked from the roof of the town hall. Everyone was speechless for a second. "...What were you doing up there?" Mayor Mare asked. "Well..." Mike turned his sight back, seeing another 7 reapers with reflectors sunbathing behind him. Hell knows why, since they had their armor on and absolutely no skin showing. Then, he turned his sight back at the Mayor. "...Anyways, you need me for something?" "Yes. I was told you are the leader of those... Creatures, Terrans I think they're called. Are you willing to help us with Winter Wrap Up?" "I don't know..." He said as he thought so himself while staring at the scenery around, figuring he'd have to apply a considerable amount of effort. "Say, what if--" He spoke as he leaned further towards the edge, only to lose balance and desperately try clinging to the parapet, unsuccessfully. "--MAYDAY--" He yelled as he fell below before impacting against the floor. "...Agh... Thank God for no collision damage..." Soon enough, the reapers descended below, their fall slowed by their jetpacks. The ponies started arguing among themselves, seeing as most would not trust Mike and his Terrans with this, but others figuring there was no other solution. They all remember that the town was almost destroyed several times, and a dragon nest completely obliterated, just by Mike's intervention. "Stop everypony." Twilight said, walking into the group. They didn't stop. "Stop!" They still didn't stop. Then she had the brilliant idea to use a bird as a whistle. They stopped. "Sorry." She apologized to the bird. "I know you all want to complete your jobs on time, but arguing is no way to go about it. What you need is organization, and I'm just the pony for the job." "Why don't we use fire? There's snow everywhere anyways!" A reaper yelled from the roof. Then they began arguing again, this time about the course of action: Whether to use fire, or to use organization. Then a filly with brown straight hair stepped into the center of the argument. "Why not both?" They all cheered as they lifted hair into the air, with mexican music now blasting full volume. After a while... The mexican music kept on playing as everyone did their part in Winter Wrap Up. The ponies, now organized, piled up the material needed for the nests near those who would construct them. Then, handed to those who were going to place them in the trees. Of course, Mike's Reapers didn't take part in this one because they'd inevitably set everything on fire by sheer accident. Twilight, Mike with his new, and permanent outfit, and Pinkie Pie stood behind a rock with a map laid on it, with a frozen lake in front of them, where Reapers and Ponies stood on both sides. Twilight pointed at one part of the map, then Pinkie and Mike signalled their respective subordinates to start. The ponies skated over the ice, drawing lines around, while the Reapers followed them with their jetpack-snowboards, breaking the ice with the scorching heat of their propulsors. Needless to say, several crashes were more than expected. Then, Twilight and Applejack stood on a hill overlooking the ponies and Reapers. Applejack waved the flag, signalling the ponies to begin clearing the snow for the seeds to be planted. However, a group of five Reapers, with Mike in the wheelbarrow-like vehicle, with a seat installed, tinkered with it. They duct-taped their jetpacks to the vehicle and scattered, whit Mike giving a warcry and pointing forward as he activated them. A slight miscalculation in the angle of the propulsors made his vehicle literally dig itself into the earth. The Reapers didn't take part in the plans to wake up the animals. Again, for obvious reasons. The Terrans, with their ever-surprising mindset, decided to duct tape further jetpacks to the Vikings, who had so much weight now they couldn't even take off. Mike, who got out of the hole God knows how, entered the cockpit of a Viking with the modifications, closed it, and signalled his men. They began carrying it until they reached a catapult, on which they placed the viking. Then they launched it to the air, with the viking starting its engine and activating the jetpacks. One accidentally got out of its hold and flew right into a supply depot, making it explode as if it was filled with fireworks. Once stabilized, Mike and the other Vikings that were catapulted into the air met up with Rainbow Dash and the pegasi under her command. They flew in formation and circled eachother until they formed a tornado, which sucked in the clouds all around to where they went. "Valhalla!! Here I cooooome!!" A viking yelled, being shot out of the tornado and striking against a tree. The frozen lakes melted, with the blocks of ice now being formed thanks to the ponies that skated over the ice. The reapers with their modified wheelbarrows charged the landscape again digging the trenches for the plants, but this time taking care of not driving straight into the ground. Or it was mere luck and they didn't care at all. Night arrived, everyone began planting the seeds. And once the night passed and day arrived, Marauders, with their strength, carried literal ice blocks half their size on top of them, with firebats sitting on top of them too. The firebats threw their flames at the blocks, making them melt and water the planted seeds. Soon enough, everything was completed, and the town shined with beauty, contrasting with what the last day was. "I can't believe it." Mayor Mare said next to Twilight and Mike. "Spring is here! On time! And we have you to thank for it. If it weren't for your organizing skills and your... Volunteers... we would still be arguing." "Eeyup." Big Mac added, with everyone laughing afterwards. "It was a team effort." Twilight stated. "And since you helped every team, we have an official vest for you. We give you the title, 'All-Team Organizer'." "Gosh, I don't even know what to say. Thank you everypony." "What do I get then?" Mike asked. "You... Well..." "...?" "...You did a good job." Mike sighed in defeat. "And hereby I declare that winter is... wrapped up on time!" Mayor Mare declared. Everyone cheered. "Spike's sure gonna be in for a hog-sized surprised when that last piece a' ice melts." Applejack joked, seeing as Spike fell asleep on the only block of ice that remained unmelted in the lake. 'Dear Princess Celestia, Winter Wrap Up was one of the most special things I've ever been a part of here in Ponyville. It helped me to learn we all have hidden talents, and if we're patient and diligent, we're sure to find them, and as always, with good friendship and teamwork, ponies can accomplish anything, and even more if at least SOMEONE actually takes care of placing those Terrans where they can actually help and not destroy everything...'