“Wake up, it’s winter wrap up time,” Twilight said.
Winter had come and was now getting kicked out today. As soon as Twilight brought up the subject of the day, Aurora sprung from her bed, excited to start wrapping up winter. A week ago, Rainbow Dash promised to let Aurora try out with the weather team. After landing on the ground with a thud, Aurora put on her disguise… which has a cutie mark now.
After Aurora and Twilight got back to Ponyville, the other crusaders called a meeting to help Aurora figure out what cutie mark Aurora should have. They knew she’d have to give herself a cutie mark, and, as a trio dedicated to helping others get their cutie marks, they each drew up some designs for Aurora based around her special talent in making amazing food. While the designs were all poorly drawn, Aurora was able to figure them out and find the one that she felt fit her best: a bowl of soup with three hearts floating above. It took her a few tries, but she eventually got the hang of putting up her disguise with her cutie mark on it perfectly. The crusaders wouldn’t let her go home till she got the hang of it, mostly because they were afraid of what would happen if she got it wrong and Diamond Tiara managed to take notice.
“So, you excited for today?” Twilight asked.
“Of course!” Aurora exclaimed, “Not only do I get to fly practically all day, but I get to learn how to handle the weather”.
“Just remember not to push yourself,” Twilight said, “If you start to feel tired, just let Rainbow know. She won’t give you a hard time about it because she still sees you as a filly”.
“Don’t worry, I don’t want to risk revealing myself again,” Aurora said.
“Good, now go get some breakfast and then head on out,” Twilight said.
There was so much snow to clear, so many tasks that needed to be done. As Aurora flew above the snow towards town hall, she began to wonder how all this could be done in a single day. As she got closer, Rainbow Dash came into view, and Aurora flew right down to her side.
“Hey there, kiddo,” Rainbow Dash said, “You ready for this?”.
“I was born ready,” Aurora said.
“That’s just the attitude I’m looking for,” Rainbow Dash said, “Just follow my lead, kid, and you’ll do fine”.
“Alright everypony, listen up,” Twilight called out, catching everypony’s attention, “Last year, we wrapped up winter with amazing efficiency. This year, however, let’s see if we can bring in spring early. You all know what you’re supposed to do, now get with your team leaders and head out!”.
“Come on, kid, let’s go,” Rainbow Dash said before taking off.
Aurora took off, excited to get started. As she flew alongside Rainbow, she was shown how to kick the clouds so they’d evaporate instantly. Kicking clouds like Rainbow was a difficult thing to learn, but she eventually got the hang of it and was soon getting rid of clouds left and right with ease. Next up was transporting snow up to Cloudsdale. It was slow, and kind of boring, but it had to be done. Because she had the body of a filly, Aurora had to stay in Ponyville… oh how she hated that. She wanted to help, but Rainbow wasn’t going to risk letting her get hospitalized… or worse. She was tasked with loading snow into the carts as they approached.
“Wouldn’t it be faster if you had another helper?” Aurora asked.
“I appreciate you wanting to help like this, but I am NOT going to explain to Twilight why you’re having to be moved up to Pony general,” Rainbow Dash said, “Now, just help with loading these carts”.
“Who says I’d even get hurt?” Aurora asked while loading up one of the carts.
“You’re a filly,” Rainbow Dash said while loading up the same cart, “No offence, but you’re just not strong enough to make it even halfway to Cloudsdale”.
“It’s just not fair,” Aurora mumbled under her breath.
“Say, you like the Wonderbolts?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I’ve heard of them,” Aurora said, “But I don’t really know anything about them”.
“Boy, are you in for a treat, then,” Rainbow Dash said while loading up another cart, “If you can finish this up without complaining anymore, I’ll talk to Twilight about taking you to their next airshow up in Canterlot”.
“Well… alright then,” Aurora said after finishing loading the current cart.
Aurora kept to her word, and not a single complaint or argument was heard the rest of the day. Though she didn’t look at all like she was having as much fun as earlier, she wanted to go see that airshow.
The day was coming to a close, as was winter. As each group finished their assigned task, they made their way to town hall. Twilight made her way up to the podium as the final group merged in.
“Well everypony, I have to say, great job this year. Each and every single one of you performed with speed and intensity and completed your tasks with amazing efficiency. You all worked together as a team, and offered a helping hoof when somepony needed a little help. We may have to wait till tomorrow to say hello to spring, but that’s alright,” Twilight said, “Now, all of you, go home and get some rest. When spring hits, we need to be ready to make it the best spring ever!”.
With that, the ponies started to disperse and head home. Rainbow and Aurora stayed behind to wait for Twilight. They didn’t have to wait long, though.
“She didn’t give you any trouble, did she?” Twilight asked.
“Well, for starters, she about made us late with getting rid of the clouds, refused to help with snow transportation, got argumentative when I asked for help with guiding in the southern birds,” Rainbow Dash said, “Honestly, I don’t see how you get her to do anything”.
“Well then… what happened to-“ Twilight said before being cut off.
“And to top it all off, she doesn’t know the Wonderbolts,” Rainbow Dash said, “So, because she was such a great help and didn’t complain or argue even once, I figured I’d take her to see the next airshow in Canterlot next month… if that’s ok with you”.
“Wait, what?” Twilight asked, “I thought you said she was an awful helper… where’d this come from?”.
“It’s called sarcasm, Twi,” Rainbow Dash said.
Twilight just turned her head and blushed a little, embarrassed at the missing the obvious.
“So, can I go?” Aurora asked, “Please?”.
“Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt,” Twilight said, “So long as you stay out of trouble between now and then”.
“Yes!” Aurora yelled, “Thank you!”.