The snow storm blew, the whistling wind whipping through the night air.
Twilight and Spike were fast asleep inside the library, safe from the snow outside. They had worked hard all day, and they looked forward to a good night’s sl-
The alarm clock started ringing, as if the universe wanted to deny one handsome narrator’s claims. Twilight shot up in bed and smiled. “Today’s the day!” she yelled. She hopped out of bed and ran to Spike’s basket. “Wake up, Spike!” she said, shaking her assistant. “Today is a very important day!”
“Is it Leif Erikson Day?” asked Spike groggily.
“That’s not a real holiday, Spike.” said Twilight.
“My birthday?” asked Spike, hopefully.
“Spike.” said Twilight, patting his head. “I said it was an important day.”
“…Can I have a hint?” asked Spike.
Twilight groaned. “Winter Wrap Up, Spike. I-It’s Win-” She shook her head and walked away.
“What’s so important about this, again?” grumbled Spike as he rolled out of his basket.
“Because,” said Twilight as she went downstairs and turned on the lights, “Today is the last day of winter. All of Ponyville will be out clearing all the snow so spring can come.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier if we just let the sun melt all the snow?” asked Spike.
“Oh sure, Spike.” said Twilight, rolling her eyes. “And maybe the sun and moon can move themselves, ponies aren’t able to talk, and hairless pink apes can take over the planet!”
“…I miss Mr. Miggins.” said Spike sadly.
“I miss him too.” said Twilight. “He was quiet.” She looked meaningfully at Spike. “Hint hint.” she said helpfully.
“I don’t get it.” said Spike. “Why don’t they just use magic?”
“Because…because…” said Twilight slowly. She paused. “…Why don’t they just use magic?” She thought for a moment and shrugged. “I’ll just ask Applejack today.” Her eyes widened and she turned back to Spike. “By the way, what time is it? I don’t want to be late for the town meeting.”
Spike checked the clock on the wall and turned back to Twilight. “It’s 12:01 AM.”
“Hmm…” mused Twilight. “The town meeting’s not until 7...” She smiled. “I guess we’ll just have to wait!”
“I’m going back to bed.” said Spike, climbing the stairs and yawning.
Twilight used her magic to grab Spike and bring him to her. “I said,” she growled, “I guess we will have to wait.” She grabbed Spike and pulled him close to her, preventing him from running off.
“I have to pee.” said Spike, his speech muffled as his face was pressed against Twilight’s side.
“WE WAIT!” yelled Twilight.
Six Hours and Fifty Nine Minutes Later:
“Time to go!” said Twilight happily.
“No kidding…” moaned Spike as he ran for the bathroom.
One Whiz Later:
Twilight, with Spike on her back, ran to the Town Hall, where all the other citizens of Ponyville were gathered.
“Look Spike!” said Twilight excitedly. She pointed at a group of ponies that were wearing vests. “Those must be the vests that Rarity-”
“WHERE?!” asked Spike, looking around wildly.
“…Designed.” sighed Twilight. She looked closely at the vests. “Blue is for the Weather Team, green is for the Plant Team, and tan for the Animal Team.”
“So…” began Spike. “Let me get this straight. Pegasus and Earth ponies can use their natural abilities of flight, growing stuff, and dealing with animals, but Unicorns can’t use magic?”
“…Apparently?” answered Twilight. “I’m going to have to check with Applejack on that one.” She thought for a moment. “I wonder which one I’ll get?”
She and Spike joined the crowd in front of the Town Hall, where the Mayor was speaking.
“I want to thank all of you for coming here bright and early!” said the Mayor.
“You threw a rock through my window!” said Lemon Hearts.
“You’re holding the Cake family hostage!” yelled Pinkie Pie.
“Moving on,” said the Mayor, “We need all of your help to end winter and bring in spring. All of you have your vests…”
“I don’t!” Twilight yelled from the back of the crowd.
“And have been assigned to your teams.” continued the Mayor.
“I haven’t!” yelled an ignored Twilight.
“So let’s beat last year’s time and have the quickest Winter Wrap Up ever!” said the Mayor. “I mean, seriously. I’m sick of having to shovel my fucking driveway every morning. And why do we even have driveways? We don’t have cars.”
As the Mayor continued rambling, Twilight looked at Spike and said, “This is so exciting!”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “I got up at midnight for this shit?”
“Yes,” said Twilight, nodding, “Yes you did.”
“Ok, everyone.” said the Mayor. “Find your team leaders. For the Weather Team, you have Rainbow Dash-”
Rainbow Dash flew up on stage and yelled, “DID SOMEBODY SAY ‘RAINBOW D-’”
The Mayor pushed her off stage and continued, “For the Animal Team, your team leader is Fluttershy-”
“ACHOO!” came a powerful sneeze. All eyes turned towards Fluttershy, who sniffed. “Sorry…I have a bit of a…a…ACHOO!”
The Mayor politely threw a box of tissues at Fluttershy, hitting her in the head. “And for our last team leader, we have…” The Mayor sighed dreamily. “Applejack.”
Applejack waved as ponies cheered.
The Mayor drooled slightly. “God, I’d love to get a taste of those apple Cutie Marks. I would-” The Mayor’s aide quietly whispered into her ear. “What do you mean, ‘The microphone is still on’?” Her eyes widened as she noticed the crowd staring at her. “I-I mean…get to your tasks! Now!” She blushed and quickly ran off stage.
The crowd started to disperse, and Twilight quickly ran over to Applejack.
“Hey Twilight!” greeted Applejack happily. “Ya comin’ to join the Plant Team?”
“Maybe.” said Twilight. “I want to help everyone!”
“You do?” asked both Applejack and Spike in surprise.
“Well…yeah.” said Twilight.
“That’s…a little out of character for you.” said Spike slowly.
“I know.” said Twilight. She sighed. “Look, ever since I came to Ponyville, I’ve been unhappy and wanting to go back to Canterlot. But you guys,” she pointed to Applejack, “Have been my friends regardless.” She blushed slightly. “I just figured, maybe I should be a good friend and help you guys without you asking me to.”
“Aw.” said Applejack. She pulled Twilight in for a hug. “That’s sweet of ya, Sugarcube. Ah’m proud of ya.”
“Thanks.” said Twilight with a smile. She frowned slightly. “Hey, Applejack? I wanted to ask you something.”
“Shoot.” said Applejack.
“Why do you guys not use magic to clear up winter?” asked Twilight. “I mean, you let Pegasus and Earth ponies use their natural abilities. Why not Unicorns?”
Applejack’s friendly demeanor vanished. She glared at Twilight and growled, “Do ya really want to know why?”
“Um…” said Twilight, backing away. She hit something and turned around, coming face-to-face with every Earth and Pegasus pony in Ponyville. They all looked very unhappy. “…Sure?” she replied, turning back towards Applejack.
Rainbow Dash flew close to Twilight and flicked her horn. “It’s because you Unicorns use your magic for everything! And rub it in the face of everyone else!”
“What?!” came a voice. Everyone looked to see Rarity and the other Unicorns of Ponyville glaring at the crowd.
Rarity walked up and said, “I assure you, we definitely do not use our magic for everything.”
“Yeah!” said the other Unicorns.
“Really?” asked Rainbow Dash. She flew off and came back a few seconds later. She set down a jar of pickles in front of Rarity. “Prove it. Open that jar with just your hooves.”
“Please,” said Rarity, rolling her eyes, “Give me something challenging.” She wrapped her hooves around the jar and attempted to pry the lid off. “Hold on.” she said as she struggled. Her hooves slipped, throwing her off balance and falling face-first into the snow. She got up and stared at her hooves. “How do you use these things?!” she exclaimed.
“I’ve got this.” said Lyra. She attempted to use both hooves to lift the lid, but failed. "This never would have happened if I had hands..." she said sadly.
“Out of my way!” said Vinyl Scratch as she adjusted her sunglasses. She rubbed her hoof in a circle on the lid, which did nothing. “Weird.” She said as she looked at the jar. “That always works when I’m using records.” She frowned and tapped her chin. “Come to think of it, I always use magic to put them on…”
Twilight grabbed the jar and dropped it onto a rock. The glass shattered and pickles went everywhere. “Ha!” she said, pointing at the pickles. “The jar is open and I didn’t even use magic!”
The Unicorns cheered while the Pegasus and Earth ponies shook their heads in disbelief.
“This is gonna be a long day…” muttered Rainbow Dash.