• Published 8th Mar 2013
  • 7,784 Views, 720 Comments

I'm Afraid of Changeling (and other short stories) - Cold in Gardez



Short sketches about being human. Except, you know, with ponies.

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Six More Weeks

“Congratulations, everypony! Another Winter Wrap-Up well done!”

Twilight Sparkle barely finished the sentence before being drowned out by a roaring cheer from the hundreds of Ponyville ponies who had spent all day hard at work cleaning up from the winter snows. As usual, she had opted not to participate in the heavy-labor portions of the event, preferring instead to make checklists and tell other ponies what to do. For one day out of the year, her organizational skills were celebrated by the entire town.

She took a deep breath, her chest swelling as she rode the emotional high of their cheers. All around, her friends were hugging and slapping each other on the back or exchanging nuzzles with their neighbors. High above, the bright spring sun shone down with its golden rays, warming the green grass and filling their hearts with joy.

We should do this more often. Twilight closed her eyes and basked in the celebration.

“Great job, girl!” Applejack pounded her on the back, nearly knocking her to the ground. “Ah swear, every year you git better and better at organizin’ this thing!”

Twilight recovered her footing and turned to smile at her friend. “Oh, it was nothing, AJ. You ponies did all the work! Why, you and Big Macintosh must’ve spent hours hauling away all that snow.”

“Eyyup,” Big Macintosh said. “Darn near forty wagon loads of snow. More than ah’ve ever seen.”

"I had to haul sixty," Caramel said. "I can't feel the left side of my body."

“Well, it’s worth it now that the fields are clear,” Applejack said. “Ah can’t wait to taste those new veggies.”

“Yeah, it’s about time!” A scratchy voice intruded from above. Twilight tilted her head to see Rainbow Dash reclining on the Town Hall’s gabled roof. “Man, I thought those clouds would never burst. All the pegasi are going to be sore tomorrow.”

“Well, it will be worth it,” Twilight said. “Now that those winter clouds are gone, the warm spring weather can finally move in.”

“And all the animals can start their new families,” Fluttershy said.

“And the birds will have fantastic new nests to lay their eggs in!” Rarity added.

“And we can go swimming in the pond now that the ice is gone!” Pinkie shouted, somehow appearing between Twilight and Applejack. “You know, in four months when it warms up.”

“All because of Twilight!” Applejack pounded her on the back again, though with only enough force to stun her this time.

“Yeah! Way to go, Twilight!” Pinkie smothered her in a hug.

“Fantastic job, as always, darling.”

“Radical!”

“Um, it was nice.”

"Oh, girls,” Twilight’s blush was so fierce she feared her face might catch on fire. Again. “You keep acting like I’m responsible for all this, but that’s no magic in what I do. I just sit down and ask myself how to best use all the wonderful talents of my wonderful friends, and the rest happens like magic. Like the magic of friendship!”

“Yeah, friendship!” Rainbow Dash floated the air, pumping her hoof.

“Why, you know where we all should go to celebrate. The spa! A good spring cleaning deserves a little spring pampering, don’t you think?”

“You know what this calls for? A party!”

Twilight let the conversation drift on without her. Her part was done, and everypony was happy, Spring was here, and for at least one day, she was the hero. Not many librarians could say that, could they? The whole day really was like magic, and she let her thoughts meander back through the happy memories of the celebration, until an odd snippet of conversation caught her ear.

“Heh, yeah, I knew we could count on that groundhog. He sees his shadow every time,” Rainbow Dash said in her scratchy voice, like she had spent too much of her day yelling.

Twilight blinked, suddenly back in the present. “Wait, what’d you say, Dash?”

“Huh?” Dash turned to her. “Oh, you know, groundhog day? He saw his shadow, so spring came early.”

“Wait, I thought if he saw his shadow, it meant six more weeks of winter,” Rarity said. “Isn’t that how it goes?”

“What? That’s silly.” Dash waved a hoof dismissively. “If he sees his shadow then it means the sun is out, and spring is coming early. Cuz the sun is warm? Come on, Rarity. This is simple stuff.”

“Darling, please, I think I know how groundhogs work. If the sun is out he sees his shadow and runs back in his burrow, and that makes winter last longer.”

“I’m not sure that’s how it goes,” Twilight began. “I mean, why would a groundhog determine how long winter lasts?”

“Uhm, maybe it’s a magical groundhog?” Fluttershy said.

“Pssh, there ain’t no magical groundhogs,” Applejack said. “Everypony knows the groundhog hates the warm weather, so he hides from the sun, and that means spring is coming.”

“See, Rarity? I told you.”

“Oh, you’ll forgive me if I don’t trust the word of a farmpony—”

“Girls!” Twilight shouted. “Calm down. There’s an easy way to solve this...”

* * *

Twenty minutes later...

“Ha! See? I told you!” Rarity gave Rainbow Dash a smile that was empty of humor and full of triumph. “If he sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter!”

The girls, along with much of the town, crowded around Twilight’s desk as she poured through a tome of seasonal law propped open to the entry on groundhogs. It was plain, black and white.

“Huh, I guess you’re right,” Dash said. “So, uh, what’s that mean?”

“It means winter’s not over, I guess,” Twilight said. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“A problem? Yes it’s a problem!” the mayor shrieked. “We can’t be the only town that’s started spring already! We’ll be laughing stocks!”

“But, we already hauled all the snow away!”

“And brought back all the birds!”

“And cleared the clouds!”

“And woke the animals!”

“And de-iced the pond!”

“It doesn’t matter,” the mayor said. “Winter’s not over until the groundhog says its over. That’s the law.”

“But—”

“No buts!” She turned to Twilight. “Twilight, I hate to impose, but you’re the only pony I know with the organizational skills necessary for this emergency. We need to undo Winter Wrap-Up. Can you help?”

An odd feeling flooded over Twilight. It started at her hooves, and tingled, like warm water after a cold day. It slowly rose up her legs, over her barrel and chest, and finally up her neck and head, until at last the tip of her horn filled with energy.

Joy. It was joy.

“Yes. Yes, I can.”

* * *

The next day

“Congratulations, everypony! Another Winter... uh... un-Wrap-Up done!”

Twilight Sparkle’s happy announcement was met with stony silence. A hundred ponies stared at her. She could have heard a pin drop.

All the snow was back in the fields.

All the clouds were back in the sky.

All the birds were gone.

The animals, asleep.

The pond, frozen.

And for the second day in a row, Twilight Sparkle’s organization skills had saved the day.

“Just remember, we’ll get to do this all over again in six wee–” She was interrupted by the first of many snowballs to hit her in the face. She barely felt it.

She was too happy.

Author's Note:

Written for prompt #308: How ponies spend the day after Winter Wrap-Up.