My Little Pony: Nine Elements
Written by Brandon Nell and Blake Hawkins
Additional suggestions by Rachel Ravens
Chapter 13: Winter Wrap Up
It had been months since Twilight and Spike had moved to Ponyville. In that time, Twilight had her 17th birthday and learned how Ponyville handled the four seasons. On this particular day, Twilight woke up before the sun. She seemed excited about something. Though, she tried to contain herself and gently wake the baby dragon in her embrace.
“Spike, wake up,” she excitedly whispered. “It’s Winter Wrap-Up Day.”
Spike stirred a bit. “Mommy?” he said, half-asleep.
“Not exactly~” Twilight said, still in a whisper. “Winter Wrap-Up.”
“You’re not mommy,” Spike grumbled. “Do you even know what time it is?”
“I know,” Twilight said as she got out of bed. “It’s early, but, today is an important day. Tomorrow is the vernal equinox!”
“You know, you can just say the first day of spring,” Spike said. “Now, can we go back to sleep?”
“No, Spike,” Twilight said as she turned on the lights. “We need to get ready to clean up winter.”
The little dragon was not pleased to be flooded with light when he'd been trying to go back to sleep. And perhaps because of that he grumpily replied. "No. I want to sleep," Then, he snorted. "Who in their right mind just cleans up winter? Why don't they just use magic to change the seasons? You know, like they always did in Canterlot. No mess, no wait, no fuss."
“That’s now how it works in Ponyville,” Twilight explained. “It was founded by earth ponies. So, ever since then, ponies have had to use their hooves to clean up winter. Over time, they allowed pegasi to help clear away the clouds and bring in birds and they also allow some unicorn magic when it comes to building nests and other tasks that can’t be accomplished without levitation spells. But, when it comes to clearing the snow, melting the ice, and waking the animals, it’s done the earth pony way.”
“I don’t see why I have to be involved,” Spike complained. “I’m not any kind of pony. Besides, I can breathe fire to melt some of the snow in the morning.”
“The last time you tried that,” Twilight said. “You accidentally set fire to a park bench.”
“Oh, yeah,” Spike said, his cheeks red with an embarrassed blush. “Still, I’d like to get back to sleep. You know that when I don’t get enough sleep, I get cranky.”
“Oh, alright,” Twilight said. “We’ll make sure to go a little later, okay? I don’t want to leave you here by yourself since the others will be busy cleaning up.”
Spike sluggishly looked at Twilight’s alarm clock. “Twilight, have you even checked your clock?” he asked.
Twilight looks and she had a look of surprise. “Four o’ clock?!” she said. “We overslept?!”
“No,” said the grumpy dragon. “It’s four in the MORNING! The sun’s not up yet.”
Twilight looked out the window to see that the sun indeed was not up yet. “Oh…” Twilight said sheepishly. “I guess I must have been too eager to start work.”
“Now, can we go back to sleep?” Spike asked. “I’m starting to get cold.”
“Yes, Spike,” Twilight said, going back into bed and cuddling up to Spike. “We’ll wake up again in three hours.”
She nuzzled the little dragon before falling asleep herself and waiting for the alarm clock.
Hours later, the alarm clock rang. Twilight woke easily, though, Spike was still drowsy from being woken up early and the cold weather. Twilight prepped some things to help him warm up. She even gave him a warm breakfast for good measure. Spike smelled the good food and he started to be a bit more awake. He saw hashbrowns, pancakes, toast, biscuits, and oatmeal.
“Thanks, Twilight!” Spike said excitedly.
“No problem, Spike,” Twilight said. “For a little extra insurance, I’ll let you ride on my back with a blanket wrapped around you.”
“That I can do,” Spike smiled. He then sat down and started eating.
As Spike ate breakfast, Twilight was getting ready. She then looked at her checklist on the wall.
“Okay, let’s see,” Twilight said, looking over her list. “Boots, check. Scarf, check. Saddle, check.” She then looked back to see Spike getting on his own red galoshes, fleece jacket, and the scarf Rarity gave him along with a new knit cap the fashionista made for him after his old one was burnt by Razer. “Spike prepping in winter clothes, check.”
“Hot chocolate with extra marshmallows,” Spike said, filling a thermos. “Check.”
Twilight smiled sweetly. “Looks like we’re all set, Spike,” she said before kneeling down so Spike could climb on. Spike did so and the two set off for Town Hall at once.
On the way there, they saw ponies wearing vests in three different colors: icy blue, forest green, and light brown. Each vest had a different symbol on it: the blue ones had a cloud, the green ones had a plant, and the browns had a bunny. “What’s with all the different vests?” Spike wondered.
“They’re the team vests that Rarity designed for Winter Wrap-Up.” Twilight explained. “Blue is for the weather team, green is for the plant team, and tan is for the animal team.”
Spike looked a bit confused after looking at the blue team. “Why does the blue team have so many earth ponies?” he asked. “How can they help with the weather? They can’t fly.”
“There are tasks for them on the ground.” Twilight said. “They help to shovel away snow or melt the ice on lakes and puddles.”
“Okay,” Spike said. “The shoveling, I get, but, how can they help with melting the ice? They can’t breathe fire or use magic. And I’m pretty sure the unicorns on the weather team aren’t even allowed to use magic.”
“I think I heard Pinkie mention something about ice skaters with sharper blades on their skates,” Twilight said. “Though, admittedly, I kind of tuned some of it out by thinking about which team I’d be assigned to.”
"You haven't figured that out yet?" Spike asked.
"You can't just pick which team you want to be on, Spike,” she explained. “This isn't a volunteer sort of thing. It's mandatory. Everypony in Ponyville has to help out. You get placed on a team based on what you're good at," Then, she glumly admitted, "I didn't get a whole lot of time to research what each team is supposed to do. I have only a few vague ideas."
“Don’t worry, Twi,” Spike said. “I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out. You can look for some tasks around here and try each one out.”
The unicorn brought up a hoof to shush the baby dragon on her back. "Mayor Mare is speaking," she whispered.
"Thank you, everypony, for being here bright and early. We need every single pony's help to wrap up winter and bring in spring," Mayor Mare paused as the crowd cheered, waiting for the applause to die down. "Now, all of you have your vests and have been assigned to your appropriate teams. So, let's do even better than last year and have the quickest Winter Wrap Up ever!"
Twilight saw how enthusiastic everypony seemed to be and could hardly believe her eyes. “This is so exciting! I can’t wait to take part!”
“But, we barely know what everypony does,” Spike pointed out.
“Oh, right,” Twilight said. “Sorry.” She set off. "Oh gosh, where should I go?" Then, she pondered as she brought a hoof to her chin. "What does everypony do?"
As if on cue, some of the ponies began to sing. “Huh?” Spike said in confusion. “Where’s that music coming from?”
“Three months of winter coolness and awesome holidays,” sang Rainbow before Pinkie joined in.
“We kept our hoofsies warm at home, time off from work to play~” the party mare sang before Applejack took her turn.
“But, the food we stored is runnin’ out, n’ we can’t grow in this cold~” she sang before Rarity chimed in.
“And, even though I love my boots, this fashion’s getting old~”
After that, Twilight began singing herself, much to Spike’s further confusion. “The time has come to welcome spring and all things warm and green
But, it’s also time to say goodbye; it’s winter we must clean
How can I help, I’m new you see. What does everypony do?
How do I fit in with my talent?
I haven’t got a clue~”
Fluttershy and Rarity then sang alongside Doctor Whooves.
“Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Let’s finish our holiday cheer~”
Miss Cheerilee then joined in with two more earth ponies, one stallion and one mare.
“Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up”
Applejack continued singing while trotting.
“‘Cause tomorrow, spring is here-”
Rainbow rather unceremoniously swooped by and interrupted.
“‘Cause tomorrow, spring is here!
Bringing home the southern birds, a pegasus’ job begins
And clearing all the gloomy skies to let the sunshine in
We move the clouds and we melt the white snow
When the sun comes up, its warmth and beauty will glow~”
Rarity, carrying a basket in her mouth, led a group of singing ponies to Carousel Boutique while they pulled carts of hay, ribbons, sticks, and anything else birds would use to make a nest.
“Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Let’s finish our holiday cheer
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here”
Other ponies ring bells near holes in the ground. Rarity and Fluttershy took turns singing the next part.
“Little critters hibernate beneath the snow and ice
We wake up all their sleepy heads so quietly and nice
We help them gather up their food, fix their homes below
We welcome back the southern birds
So their families can grow~”
More ponies sing while carrying animals on their backs.
“Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Let’s finish our holiday cheer
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here”
Applejack continued while overseeing the plant team.
“No easy task ta clear the ground, plant our tiny seeds
With proper care n’ sunshine, everyone it feeds
Apples, carrots, celery stalks, colorful flowers, too
We must work so very hard, it’s just so much ta do~”
Two unicorn fillies sang while hopping with rabbits.
“Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up~”
More ponies sang while shoveling snow off the roofs.
“Let’s finish our holiday cheer
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here~
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up”
Pinkie sang another verse while skating.
“‘Cause tomorrow spring is here~
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here!”
Twilight began singing while going over what she learned.
“Now that I know what they all do, I have to find my place
And help with all of my heart, tough task ahead I face
How will I do with little magic, help in my special way
I want to belong so I must do my best today~
Do my best today~”
With that, the whole town joined in one last time.
“Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Let’s finish our holiday cheer
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up~”
Twilight sang one last verse.
“‘Cause tomorrow spring is here
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here~”
After the song, Spike was even more confused. “Was there a town-wide rehearsal that I’m unaware of?” he asked.
“I did notice flyers advertising something like that,” Twilight said. “But, I wasn’t able to go to them because it would have meant leaving you home alone.”
“I know you couldn’t have been part of it,” Spike said. “If that were the case, you’d know what the teams do in advance.”
“Right.” Twilight said. “Well, I better figure out where I belong.”
At that moment, Rainbow flew past.
“Okay, teams!” Rainbow called. “We’ve got clouds to clear and move before we can head south to retrieve the southern birds. I don’t want somepony going the wrong direction for the third year in a row. Move out and be safe!”
“Ma’am, yes, ma’am!” Various pegasi replied. They set off to clear the clouds.
“Rainbow,” Twilight called.
Rainbow looked down to see Twilight and Spike.
“Hey, guys,” Rainbow said.
“What’s going on?” Spike asked.
“I was just sending some pegasi teams to clear the clouds,” Rainbow said. “After that, we need to head south to get the birds that flew south for the winter.”
“You mentioned somepony going the wrong direction for the third year in a row,” Twilight said.
“Yeah,” Rainbow said. “Derpy Hooves. Last year, she went west to get the southern birds. The year before, she went east.”
“This is a suggestion,” Twilight said. “But, perhaps she can follow behind a team who is heading south. This would give her an idea of where to go.”
“Don’t you think we already tried that?” Rainbow said snidely.
“Have you tried a pegasus pushing her from behind?” Twilight asked.
“We even tried putting her on a leash,” Rainbow said. “Somehow, she still went the wrong way.”
“Hmm, I see,” Twilight said. “Hopefully, you’ll figure something out.”
“Same,” Rainbow said. “I’d ask for help from you two, but…” She gestured to her wings.
“Right,” Twilight said. “Spike and I don't have wings.”
“You could help Rarity,” Rainbow suggested. “She’s making bird nests.”
“We can try anyway,” Twilight said optimistically. “Thanks, Rainbow, and good luck with your weather teams.”
Twilight trotted off and she and Spike saw Rarity making nests alone.
“Hi, Rarity,” Twilight said.
“Ah, hello, Twilight.” Rarity said. “Hello, Spike. Are the scarf and hat I gave you keeping you nice and warm?”
“They sure are,” Spike said. “But, where’s everypony else?”
“I offered to do this myself,” Rarity said. “I may not be a bird myself, but, I can do as good a job at making nests as they can.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’re doing this alone,” Spike said. “I saw plenty of unicorns on the animal team that could help.”
“Maybe I can give you a helping hoof, Rarity,” Twilight said. “I haven’t figured out which team I’d be on exactly, but, maybe doing something like this can help me figure it out.”
Rarity nodded. “That would be appreciated,” she said. “Perhaps you can help, too, Spike. Your claws have more dexterity than hooves.”
“Sure, Rarity,” Spike smiled.
“I know how creative you are when you fashioned that sword out of Stephan’s scale,” Rarity said. “I might have an emerald in it for you if you do a good job.”
“You didn’t have to motivate me with an emerald,” Spike said. “But, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t help. Just give us instructions on what to do.”
“First,” Rarity said as she gathered the supplies together. “Take some of that straw and hay over there and a little bit of branch.” Twilight and Spike followed Rarity’s instructions. “Now, weave them through there.”
Spike did as he was told and somehow managed to make a pyramid. “Huh?” he said.
“How’d you do that?” Twilight asked in surprise and bewildered amazement.
“I don’t know,” Spike answered, equally surprised. “Maybe if I—“ He began disassembling his attempt and reworking it, only to end up with a cube. “What?!”
“Whoa!” Twilight said in further bewilderment.
Spike disassembled his second attempt and tried again, only to end up with a double helix. “This one doesn’t even make sense!” he said.
“Not to worry,” Rarity said encouragingly. “This is your first time trying this and mistakes are meant to be made. If you don’t make mistakes, you can’t learn from them.” She then gave him some more supplies. “Try going slower this time, darling.”
With Rarity’s instructions, Twilight and Spike worked hard on making their own bird's nests. Twilight managed to make a passable resemblance to the one Rarity made, but, Spike’s wasn’t nearly as good. “This nest should be condemned,” Spike said.
“Oh, Spike,” Rarity said comfortingly. “It isn’t so bad. This attempt looks more like a nest than the last few attempts. Perhaps the birds can use this.”
“As what?” Spike asked grumpily. “An outhouse?”
“Spike,” Rarity said. “I assure you, it’s just fine. It’s just a little rough around the edges and you did well for your fourth try. Let me see if I can fix it up.”
“Rarity,” Twilight said. “I don’t know if you should do that.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble,” Rarity insisted as she started getting into the zone.
“I think we lost her,” Spike said sulkingly. “Let’s go try to help somepony else.”
“Right, Spike,” Twilight said. “I wonder what Pinkie’s doing. We should check one of the lakes she mentioned before.”
They headed off and found Pinkie skating on a frozen lake. “Wheeeee~!” Exclaimed the pink pony with glee. “Hi, Twilight~ Hi, Spike~!”
“Nice skating, Pinkie,” Twilight said.
“Thanks, Twilight,” Pinkie smiled. “I’ve been doing this since I was an itty-bitty little-wittle Twinkie-Pinkie!”
“And how exactly does this help?” Spike asked.
“I’m an ice scorer,” Pinkie explained. “I cut lines in the ice with my skates so when the pegasi team clear the clouds and bring the sunshine, it should make melting the ice easier.”
Spike was genuinely surprised by how clever this was. “I think I must be going crazy,” he said. “Pinkie’s actually making sense.”
“You’ve got your work cut out for you, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “There are quite a few lakes and ponds in Ponyville.”
“Tell me about it,” Pinkie said. “It doesn’t help that not many other ponies know how to ice skate. That’s why the weather team has less earth ponies than the other teams.”
“I see,” Twilight said. “I haven’t tried ice skating before, but, maybe I could try if it means I can help you. Maybe Spike can help, too.”
“Say what?” Spike asked. “Twilight, are you sure about this?”
“I want to help my friends,” Twilight insisted.
“Well, alright.” Spike said. “Just be careful, okay?”
“Same to you,” Twilight said.
So, the two each put on skates. Spike wore a pair of black skates while Twilight wore a white ice skate on all four of her hooves. Both struggled to stand upright.
“Uh, on second thought…” Twilight said, feeling uneasy.
“We can’t really back out now,” Spike said before slipping and landing on his scaly backside, shivering intensely from the contact with the cold ice. Twilight struggled to help Spike onto his feet, using her muzzle and neck in place of actual magic.
However, Twilight started slipping herself. “Whoa~!” She exclaimed. She and Spike ended up crashing into Pinkie.
“Oof!” Pinkie exclaimed. The trio wound up inside three balls of snow stacked on top of each other. They managed to shake the snow off of each other. Twilight took off her ice skates and held Spike in a warm embrace. The little dragon’s scales had turned blue and he could barely move. Pinkie was concerned. “Is little Spikey okay?” she asked.
“He needs to be warmed up,” Twilight said. “I have a thermos of hot cocoa for him in my saddlebag. Will you get it please?”
“You got it, Twilight,” Pinkie saluted before removing one of her skates and pulling out the thermos. She then positioned Spike in a way that allowed her to pour the liquid into his mouth, which she proceeded to do. The dragon’s scales returned to their normal colors and he could finally move again.
“Thank you, Pinkie,” Twilight said.
“Yeah, thanks, Pinkie,” Spike said gratefully. “I needed that.”
“Here’s a little extra warmth for you, Spike,” Pinkie said before nuzzling the left side of Spike’s face. She then pulled a fresh, warm cinnamon bun seemingly out of nowhere. “And for extra EXTRA warmth.”
“Uh, where do you keep that thing?” Spike asked.
“I’ll never tell,” Pinkie said before feeding Spike the treat.
“So, it doesn't look like we’re adept at ice skating,” Twilight said. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay,” Pinkie said. “Maybe you can go help Fluttershy wake the hibernating critters instead.”
“I suppose that couldn’t hurt,” Twilight said. “I guess I did get a bit of a head start with helping another creature wake up.”
“At like four in the morning,” Spike grumbled. Twilight blushed sheepishly at the remark.
“We’ll give it a go,” Twilight said. “Where’s Fluttershy?”
“That-away, bucko,” Pinkie said, pointing a hoof in one direction.
“Thank you,” Twilight said.
And Twilight walked off with Spike cuddled up onto her back. “I think the cold’s getting to me a bit,” the dragon said. “I’m starting to feel a bit drowsy.”
“If you need me to take you home, I can,” Twilight said. “And I can stay home and look after you.”
“No, I can stay up a little longer,” Spike said. “Just wrap me up like you did when we were traveling to face Razer.” Twilight took a moment and did so.
“Better?” the unicorn asked.
“Much better,” Spike smiled. “Thanks.”
The duo soon reached their yellow pegasus friend. “Wake up, my little friends,” she said gently. “I hope you had some wonderful dreams during your restful hibernation. But, it’s time to wake up, because spring is coming.” From a little hovel emerged a pair of hedgehogs.
“Aww,” Twilight cooed. “That is so adorable~!”
“Aren’t they?” Fluttershy asked before noticing the bundled dragon. “Spike! Are you okay, sweetie?”
“I’ve been better,” Spike said. “Even if it’s the last day of winter, I still get cold. We tried helping Pinkie, but, I nearly got turned into a drake-sicle.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Fluttershy said. “If you need to cuddle up to me, you can.” She nuzzled the little dragon’s head. “I can still look after you while I help wake the animals from their hibernation. This is my favorite job of the whole season.”
“Because it has to do with animals?” Spike asked.
“Mm-hmm,” Fluttershy said, nodding her head. “Although, there are so many warrens and dens. Because I need to wake animals slowly, I’m worried I won’t be able to finish before the sun sets.”
“This is just a suggestion, but, why don’t you just have a bunch of ponies waking up the critters at once?” Spike asked.
“I’m the only Critter Whisperer in town,” Fluttershy said. “Dr. Fauna’s good at caring for animals, but, she can’t understand their languages.”
“I may not be a Critter Whisperer myself,” Twilight admitted. “But, maybe I can try helping you wake up your animal friends.”
“That would be very helpful, Twilight,” Fluttershy agreed. “While you’re doing that, I can help Spike warm up.”
“Thank you, Fluttershy.” Twilight said as she levitated the dragon into Fluttershy’s embrace. She then grabbed a silver bell and walked over to a nearby den. She rang the bell. “Hello~ wake up, little friends. Spring is coming~” And she rings the bell once more. “I wonder which cute little critter I’ve awoken.”
Unfortunately for Twilight, the creatures she roused were snakes. “AH!” Twilight gasped. She was one to admit that she was afraid of snakes, venomous or otherwise. “Snakes! Snakes~!”
“Is she okay?” Fluttershy asked.
“She’s afraid of snakes,” Spike said. “She conjured one in school that bit her on the–” He was interrupted by Twilight screaming after accidentally waking bats in their cave. She ran away fast trying to get away, but, she ended up slapping into the trunk of a tree.
Said tree had a beehive that ended up falling on Twilight’s head. Twilight exclaimed with fright and ran blindly into another burrow. From the burrow emerged a family of skunks. They used their defensive spray on Twilight and they waddled out of their burrow.
“Good morning, friends,” Fluttershy said. She was tolerant of the smell of skunk, although, she wouldn’t wear it as a perfume herself. “I think you should take Twilight to get a bath in tomato juice.”
“Sure,” Spike said, holding onto his nose. “I think I have a spare clothes peg that I can wear on my nose while I help her.”
Later at the library, Spike gave Twilight a tomato juice bath.
“All of this Winter Wrap Up stuff is harder than it looks,” Twilight said exasperated.
“Face it, Twilight,” Spike said. “Doing it the traditional way isn’t working for you.”
“Maybe I just haven’t found the right job yet,” Twilight said.
“Twilight, you tried three jobs the traditional way and look what it got you,” Spike said. “Frostbite, stings, and stink. Just use your magic and be done with this.”
“No, Spike!” Twilight said. “I’m going to find some other way to help if it kills me!”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Spike said sadly.
Twilight took a deep breath. “Spike,” Twilight said. “I’m sorry that I snapped and I know you’re looking out for me, but, I want to be able to help and I really want to feel like I’m a citizen of Ponyville. I want to do it the way they do it and not like a citizen of Canterlot. You know I don’t like showing off my talents for bragging rights.”
“The sad part is that I can’t argue with that,” Spike said.
“So, after I’m finished with my bath,” Twilight said. “And after you warm up a bit more, we’ll see what Applejack’s doing. She might have something for me.”
“Okay,” Spike agreed. “Who knows? Maybe the fourth time’s the charm.”
Later that day, Spike and a slightly pink-stained Twilight arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. They saw groups of earth ponies pushing around plows clearing away the snow. Applejack cheered them on.
“Keep pushin’, Caramel!” Applejack said with a smile. “That’s it, Bumpkin! Ah know it’s hard work, but, yer all doin’ great!”
Spike and Twilight approached. “Hey, Applejack,” Twilight smiled. “How’s everything going?”
“And what’s Apple Bumpkin doing here?” Spike asked. “I thought she didn’t live in Ponyville.”
“Mah second cousin’s farm is a might closer ta Ponyville,” Applejack explained. “She can visit more often.”
“Oh~” Spike said. “That makes sense.”
“Anyway,” Applejack said. “Things’re startin’ out slow at first, but, peachy all the same. There’s a lot o’ ground ta clear. We got seeds ta plant, but, we can’t get ‘em planted ‘til we clear this here heap o’ snow.”
“I’d offer to melt it with my fire breath,” Spike said. “But, I don’t want to burn another park bench accidentally.”
“Mighty respectable, Spike,” Applejack said.
“I’d like to help,” Twilight said eagerly.
“Are ya sure?” Applejack said. “Them plows’re purty heavy n’ unicorns ain’t exactly as strong as earth ponies.”
“That may be true,” Twilight admitted. “But, I still want to help wrap up winter. Please, give me a chance.”
“She’ll keep asking until you do, AJ,” Spike whispered. “You may as well let her.”
“Well,” Applejack said. “Alrighty then.” She pointed to a spare plow. “Usin’ them plows is purty straightforward. Even ah could figger it out.” She then realized what she said. “Wait…”
“Uh, can I ask a question, AJ?” Spike asked.
“Sure, Spike,” Applejack said. “What’s up?”
“You’re basically the strongest mare in town, right?” Spike said.
“Ah reckon ah might know at least one er two mares stronger n’ me,” Applejack said. “But, ah do purty well for mahself.”
“Well, why aren’t you using a plow?” Spike asked.
“Take a look at mah vest pocket, Spike,” Applejack said. “Tell me what ya see.”
Spike took a look at her vest pocket. Instead of a plant, there was a five-pointed star. “A star?” Spike said.
“That means ah’m team captain,” Applejack explained. “Ah have ta supervise the others on mah team.”
“Oh,” Spike said. “That makes sense.” He then remembered seeing such a star on Rainbow’s vest. “Is Rainbow a team captain, too?”
“That’s right,” Applejack said. “Captain o’ the weather team. Amethyst Star’s captain o’ the animal team.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense for Fluttershy to lead that team?” Spike asked.
“That’s what we kept tellin’ her,” Applejack said. “She just don’t like tellin’ others what ta do. Besides, the one time she did take the captain position, nopony could hear her orders.”
“That’s fair,” Spike said. “And since the captains only supervise, Fluttershy wouldn’t be able to do her favorite job of waking the animals from hibernation, so, there's that, too.”
“If only she wouldn’t take so long doin’ that,” Applejack muttered.
“What’s that?” Spike asked.
“Never y’all mind,” Applejack said. “There’s the plow, Twilight.”
“Thanks, Applejack.” Twilight smiled. So, she worked her way into the plow. She tried pushing with all her might, but, the plow barely budged. She panted, trying to catch her breath. When she did, she thought of what Spike said to her earlier. She looked around carefully to make sure nopony was looking before using her magic to make the plow move on its own. Spike and Applejack turned to see Twilight moving her plow.
“Huh,” Applejack said with surprise. “She sure is strong fer such a skinny pony. ‘Specially a unicorn.”
“Go, Twilight, go!” Spike cheered her on. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that Twilight’s horn had a faint aura. “What do you know? She’s taking my advice.”
“Advice?” Applejack asked curiously. “What advice?”
Before Spike had a chance to explain, Twilight started losing control of the plow. “Oh, no,” Twilight gasped in a panic. “Slow down, slow down!”
Alas, her words fell upon deaf ears as the plow picked up speed. “Help! HELP!” Twilight called out. As the plow got faster, the snow she was pushing rolled into a large ball.
Said ball kept getting bigger and bigger until it started approaching Applejack and Spike. “Not again!” Spike said. “Look out!”
Too late, the ball ran over the two and kept rolling. Applejack managed to have her head outside of the snowball.
“What’s goin’ on?!” Applejack called. “What’d ya do?! Ya used magic, didn’t ya?!”
Before Twilight could answer, the snowball crashed into a hillside. This time, Spike, being more bundled up than before, didn’t turn cold and stiff right away. However, an avalanche of snow made him worry that wouldn’t last for long. “This just isn’t my day,” the little dragon said in resignation.
Applejack saw the situation and grabbed Spike before the snow could envelope him. The rest of the plant team saw the snow approaching and undoing a portion of their work. “Oh, come on!” one stallion said. “We just cleared all that snow!”
“Sorry~!” Twilight called out to the other ponies.
Applejack and a still shivering Spike popped their heads out of the snow after Twilight. Applejack was less than pleased with what happened. “Nuts, Twilight!” She exclaimed. “Ya used more magic than ya should’ve!”
“C-c-c-could I have s-s-some c-c-c-cocoa?” Spike shivered before making a slight yawn. However, Applejack was in no mood to listen at that moment.
“This is why we don’t go in fer magic when we clean up winter!” Applejack said. “A little bit is fine if it’s ta help with creatin’, but, if it’s bein’ used fer buildup like this, then, it can cause problems fer us n’ yerself!” Twilight felt bad as Applejack continued yelling at her. “We don’t use magic ta clean up winter like the rest o’ y’all stuck-up Canterlot unicorns ‘round these here parts! ‘Specially not on mah farm!”
Hearing Applejack’s words broke Twilight’s heart. It seemed that everything she did that day turned into a disaster and tears welled up in her eyes. “It’s just… I just wanted to…” She stammered, but, she couldn’t find the words. She grabbed Spike and she ran off sadly, leaving the disgruntled plant team ponies to replow.
However, Spike stopped shivering and ran up to Applejack. “What the heck was that?!” Spike said in a state of anger Applejack hadn’t seen since the Zecora incident. The fire from his anger thoroughly warmed him up and Twilight looked on, tears still present in her eyes. “Twilight was just trying to help and you yell at her like that?!”
“She knew about the ‘no magic ta clear the snow’ rule,” Applejack said. “That just made me upset is all.”
“Twilight also tried helping the traditional way three times before,” Spike said. “They didn’t work out for her, either. What if I told you it was my idea for her to use magic, huh? Are you going to yell at me, too?!”
“N-no,” Applejack said. She now started to regret where she directed her anger.
“Well, I’m not going to give you the chance,” Spike said. “I’m going to Twilight.” The little dragon turned away from her.
“Wait, Spike!” Applejack said and she gave him the warmest hug that she had ever given someone. “Ah’m sorry. Ya were right. Ah shouldn’t’ve gotten angry at her fer tryin’ ta help.”
Spike broke free. “Don’t expect me to forgive you that easily,” Spike said.
“Ah can understand that,” Applejack said. “N' ya don’t have ta.”
“You have a whole team of ponies to yell at,” Spike said bitterly. “We’ll just be in your way.” And Spike went after Twilight, leaving Applejack with much to think about.
Soon, Spike found Twilight wallowing with self-pity in a bush by Town Hall. Spike had some tears in his eyes.
“Twilight?” Spike said. “I’m sorry. I should have never given you that idea to use your magic to clean up winter.” The little dragon sniffled.
“It’s not your fault, Spike,” Twilight said. “You were just trying to help and I appreciate that.”
“It is my fault, Twilight,” Spike said. “You got yelled at because of my idea and that’s not fair. I wasn’t just mad at Applejack. I was also mad at myself.”
Twilight climbed out of the bush and she gave Spike a comforting hug. “Maybe we’re both not meant to do Winter Wrap Up. Maybe we should have stayed home. None of us would have to deal with the hardships of the cold temperature or hot-blooded tempers.”
“But, you have to help,” Spike said. “You said yourself that it’s mandatory for everypony to help. I’m not a pony, so, I have a choice. I chose to help you.”
Twilight smiled warmly. “I’m glad you did choose that,” Twilight said. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“There has to be something you can do to help,” Spike said. “We just need to figure it out.” He then made a thoughtful expression.
As he thought, though, he could make out the sounds of various ponies complaining to Mayor Mare.
“That’s enough, everypony!” Mayor Mare exclaimed. “This sort of silliness is why we were late for spring last year and every year prior! You’d think that welcoming non-earth ponies would make spring come sooner! In comparison, that’s indeed the case, but, it’s still not on time!”
“It’d get here faster,” Applejack said before glaring at Fluttershy. “If somepony didn’t dillydally wakin’ critters ta keep the weather team from movin’ the clouds ta melt the snow so we can get plantin’!”
“You know I need to wake up animals slowly,” Fluttershy explained.
“That’s yer excuse every year,” Applejack said. “Why can’t ya consider the needs o’ yer fellow ponies over some critters fer once?”
“I am,” Fluttershy said. “If I wake them up too fast or too loudly, they’ll get grumpy and it could possibly risk a stampede through Ponyville.”
“So?” Applejack said before gesturing to all the snow. “There ain’t nothin’ fer the critters ta eat in all this here snow, so, it ain’t like we’ll have a shortage. Can’t run out o’ somethin’ that ain’t grown yet.”
Big McIntosh approached with a sheepish looking Caramel. “Uh, AJ?”
Applejack grew more annoyed. “Don’t tell me,” she said. “Caramel lost the grass seeds again, didn’t he?”
“Eeyup,” Big McIntosh simply said.
“Sorry, honeycrisp.” Caramel said, hanging his head with shame.
A pegasus mare with a wisteria coat and a fluffy pink lace mane and tail flew close to Mayor Mare and voiced her gripe. Rainbow was within earshot. “What now, Rainbowshine?” the athletic pegasus asked.
“Derpy accidentally went north to get the southern birds!” The pegasus, whose name was Rainbowshine, said.
Rainbow was exasperated. “That featherbrain!” she said. “She’s living proof of reincarnation. Nopony could possibly be that stupid in one lifetime! You’d think she would’ve learned her lesson last year when she went west or the year before when she went east!”
“Ugh!” Mayor Mare exclaimed. “I was hoping my amazingly inspirational speech would motivate you all to do better, but, now it seems we’re going to be later than ever! The ice scorers made the ice too thick to melt and the nest builder is horrendously behind! Not to mention all the snow on the ground, clouds in the sky, or icicles in the trees! It’s nearly sundown and it looks like spring is going to be late again! If only we were more organized!”
Twilight and Spike had been listening the whole time. “Hey,” said Spike. “Maybe that’s how you can help!”
“Spike,” Twilight said, suddenly feeling a newfound sense of motivation. “Please grab my clipboard and checklist, stat!”
“Oh, I already put them in your saddlebag before we left this morning,” Spike said. “Though, I think we should stop the argument right now. And I have a little way to do it without magic.” He stepped up, cleared his throat, and took a deep breath before shouting, “QUIET!!!”
This stopped the arguing right away and the ponies turned their attention towards Spike and Twilight. “Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said before she gave him his thermos of hot cocoa for his throat. She then turned her attention to the crowd. “I know you want to complete your jobs, but, arguing is not the way to go about it. What you need is organization and I’m just the pony for the job.” Spike pulled out the clipboard. “Now, I noticed problems with each team and I think I know how to fix them. Firstly, Rarity’s making nests all on her own. To fix this, I want every unicorn on the animal team pitching in to make nests to save a lot of time in the long run.”
The unicorn members of the animal team nodded with comprehension and immediately set to work making nests with their levitation magic. Within minutes, the nest quota was met.
After the nests were made, Twilight rallied the ice scorers. “Now, the ice scorers went wrong because they make too many different shapes of different sizes,” Twilight said. “To fix this, I want half the scorers skating left and right while the other half skates up and down to make perfect grids of square ice chunks.”
The earth ponies and unicorns on the weather team saluted, put on skates, and set off to do so. They all made perfectly square chunks with the lines they made.
With the ice cut, Twilight rallied the entire plant team. “Now, the plant team was all over the place,” Twilight said. “I have a plan to fix this. The ponies operating the snowplows all go in the same direction in different rows. While they’re clearing the snow, the ponies pulling the plows to till the soil follow the cleared path set for them. This leaves a path for the ponies sowing the seeds to follow.”
The plant team understood and set off to do this task. As they worked, Applejack not only supervised the teams, but, she also managed to give a warm-hearted apology to Twilight.
“Ah’m powerful sorry ah snapped at ya, Twilight,” the farm mare said, holding her hat over her chest. “N’ ah didn’t mean ta call ya out on bein’ from Canterlot n’ all. It weren’t fair ya got yelled at when it wasn’t yer idea ta use magic like that.”
“It’s okay, Applejack.” Twilight said. “It’s been a long day for all of us and sometimes, tempers get frayed. We’d all try just about anything at this point if things get hard.”
Applejack looked at how much progress was being made. “Well, ah’ll be,” Applejack said. “It’s quicker, but, still traditional.”
The two hoof-bumped each other happily over their progress.
After the seeds were planted, Twilight was setting up silver bells connected by ropes with Fluttershy near the burrows. “Now, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “Where you went wrong is waking animals one den at a time and that takes too long. With this pulley system, you can wake up all the hibernating animals at once.”
Fluttershy gently tugged on the pulley rope and multiple bells rang. Sure enough, all the hibernating critters were woken at the same time. Twilight smiled at them, but, she panicked when she saw the snakes slithering out of their den. “I’m going to need to work on that,” she admitted.
Spike climbed up Fluttershy. “Okay, Rainbow,” he called out. “All the critters are up! You know what to do!”
“On it!” Rainbow called back. She then rallied her pegasi weather team squadron. “Alright, weather team,” she said. “Remember what Twilight told us and we can clear the clouds in the sky and icicles and snow in the trees all at once.”
The pegasi saluted, and with Rainbow leading the way, they charged through the clouds clearing them and the aforementioned snow and icicles. With the weather cleared, the plant team was freed to begin sowing more seeds. Since the snow and ice was starting to melt, the snowplows were no longer necessary.
Soon, the weather team sent to fetch the southern birds set off to fetch them. Twilight and Rainbow wisely had Derpy taken off that job and had her assigned to cloud-clearing for next Winter Wrap Up. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that before,” Rainbow said.
“Think of what?” Derpy asked curiously.
“Taking you off bird fetching,” Rainbow said. “You go the wrong direction every year.”
“Oh,” Derpy said sadly. “Sorry.” She then pulled out a pocket watch. “I just don’t know what went wrong. I have a compass.”
Rainbow looked at the situation. At last, she realized why Derpy went the wrong direction every year. “That’s a pocket watch, Derpy.”
“Oh,” Derpy said. “That explains why it keeps ticking.”
Rainbow gently put a hoof to her face. Twilight comforted Derpy kindly. “You can have one of my compasses,” she offered. “I’ll even teach you how to use it.”
“Really?” Derpy asked happily as she hugged the unicorn. “Thank you, Twilight!”
The plant team continued sowing seeds late into the night. Even Spike helped out by planting some seeds himself.
The next morning, the southern birds were brought back and the plant team went about watering the seeds they sowed. It wasn’t long before every job was done and it was a beautiful spring day. All the ponies in town looked at what Twilight’s organization accomplished.
“I can’t believe it,” Mayor Mare said happily. “Spring is here, on time! And we have you to thank for it, Twilight. If it weren’t for your organizing skills, we’d still be arguing.”
“It was a team effort,” Twilight said modestly.
“Since you helped every team,” Mayor Mare said. “We have an official vest for you. Rarity, if you please.”
Rarity stepped up, levitating a vest with the colors of all three teams. “I would’ve used a different color altogether,” the fashionista admitted. “But, I feel this represents unity better.”
Rarity slipped the vest onto Twilight as Mayor Mare announced. “We give you the title of ‘All-Team Organizer!’”
“I don’t know what to say,” the humbled unicorn said. “Thank you everypony.”
“And thus,” Mayor Mare continued. “I hereby declare winter… wrapped up on time!”
The townsponies all cheered until Applejack suddenly gasped. “Uh, Twilight?”
“Yes, Applejack,” Twilight answered. “Is something wrong?”
“Spike can’t handle the cold too good, right?” Applejack asked, concern growing in her voice.
“No,” Twilight said. “What’s going on?”
“Well,” Applejack said, pointing ahead of her. “Ah reckon Spike’s in a real fix.”
Twilight followed the direction Applejack pointed and saw Spike sleeping on an unmelted chunk of ice. Twilight gasped and she used her magic to teleport him directly onto her back.
The teleportation woke the sleeping dragon. “Whoa, what happened?” Spike asked, discombobulated. “How’d I get here?”
“You were sleeping on a chunk of ice that was still melting,” Twilight answered. “I teleported you onto my back.”
“Whoa,” Spike said. “Sounds like that was a really close call. I do NOT need to be turned into a drake-sicle again.”
“We better get home,” Twilight said. “All of that work in the cold was tiring. After we rest, there’s a letter regarding my friendship lesson that needs to be written.”
“I can write it on the way back,” Spike offered.
“Don’t think I don’t appreciate that, Spike,” Twilight said. “I do, but, I would also appreciate you saving your strength so you can warm up. I don’t want you getting run down and sick.”
“Yeah,” Spike said. “Okay.”
At the library later, Twilight gave Spike some cocoa to warm him up again. “Ready, Spike?”
Spike took a sip of his cocoa. “Yep,” he answered. “I’m ready.” He readied a quill and scroll and Twilight told Spike what to write.
“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.”
After Spike finished writing, he sent the letter with his magic fire breath. He then picked up his mug of hot cocoa and continued enjoying its contents. “Thanks for the cocoa, Twilight,” Spike said.
“And how about one more night in my bed with me, Spike?” Twilight offered. “I want to be extra sure that you’re kept warm before we adjust to the seasonal transition.”
“Thanks, Twilight,” Spike said. “Just like old times.”
Twilight had a nostalgic smile as she offered a hug to Spike.
Epilogue
The very next day, Rarity brought Spike into Carousel Boutique. “Now, to give you that emerald I promised,” the fashionista said.
“Really, Rarity,” Spike said. “You don’t have to give me one. I didn’t really do that good a job. The first three tries didn’t even look like a nest.”
“True,” Rarity said. “But, being able to make those shapes at all is still an impressive feat.” Rarity dug into the chest she used for storing gems only to come to a sudden realization. “Oh dear,” she said. “I’m so terribly sorry, Spike. It seems I’ve run out of emeralds.”
“It’s okay, Rarity, really,” Spike said, only for his stomach to make a loud rumble. Embarrassed, the young dragon quickly covered it.
“I would say this is a far cry from being alright,” Rarity said. “I promised you an emerald and it’s clear that your stomach insists on having one.” She then levitated her saddlebags and a wagon over. “We’re going on an emerald hunt!”
Rarity led Spike to an emerald mine just outside of town. Both stepped into the lift in the mineshaft and rode it to the lower levels. Once they were down, Spike was amazed at the sight of the beautiful green gems. “I’ve never seen so many emeralds in one place before!” Spike exclaimed. His stomach gave a slight growl again.
Hearing this, Rarity used her magic to extract an emerald roughly the size of a chicken egg and levitate it to Spike. “Here,” she offered. “This should hold you for a bit.”
Spike ate the emerald, doing his best to mind his manners. “Thanks, Rarity.” Soon, the two were unearthing more emeralds, filling Rarity’s saddlebags and the wagon.
“Say, Spike,” Rarity said. “Out of curiosity, do you enjoy ice cream?”
“Who doesn’t?” Spike answered with a question. “Well, aside from those who are lactose intolerant.”
“Fair point,” Rarity said. “I’m quite fond of vanilla oat swirl, myself.” She then saw some tiny emerald shards that looked like a fine powder. “Say, would you be willing to try an ice cream sundae with emerald sprinkles?”
“Like, sprinkles the color of emeralds?” Spike asked.
“Actually, I found some emerald shards in a fine powder,” Rarity explained. “Would you like to try them on a sundae?”
“Sure, why not?” agreed Spike. Suddenly, he noticed a wet patch of dirt. “Huh?” He dug at the patch, revealing what looked like solid ice. Rarity looked with him.
“Ice underground?” Rarity said.
“Must be permafrost,” Spike said. “Twilight said that it’s ground that’s been kept at 0 degrees celsius for at least two years.” He dug a little more, revealing that there was a stallion frozen inside. That stallion appeared to be moving slightly.
“Sweet Celestia!” Rarity exclaimed.
“We better get Twilight,” Spike suggested.
End of chapter.