Winter Wrap Up

Pony's Log Number 111: Sometimes we get so eager to help out that we often cause more problems for others...

The sound of crickets could heard in the very early morning just outside the Grand Oak Library as Twilight and Spike were fast asleep in their little sleeping quarters. Spike continued to snore in his basket when Twilight awoke with a gasp.

"Spike, wake up," Twilight said excitedly, "Wake up, wake up, wake up, it's Winter Wrap Up Day!"

"Huh? Mommy?" Spike mumbled as he opened some very sleepy eyes.

"Winter Wrap Up!" Twilight repeated as she got into the young dragon's face.

"You're not mommy," Spike replied before going back to sleep.

"Spike, the first day of spring is tomorrow," Twilight told him as she looked at her calendar that had a hand drawn tree on it, "so everypony in Ponyville needs to clean up winter. Now help me get ready." Twilight jumped into some yellow short boots, tried tying what appeared to be a fleece saddle on her back.

"Clean up winter?" Spike asked sleepily, "Who cleans up winter? Don't they just use magic to change the seasons like they do in Canterlot?"

"No Spike, Ponyville was started by Earth ponies," Twilight explained as she was struggling to get her saddle to stay in place, "so for hundreds of years they've never used magic to clean up winter. It's traditional." It was just then her saddle fell off and she gave a loud sigh.

"It's ridiculous," Spike remarked, "No magic...Fuh." Twilight then retied her saddle back into place, grabbed her pinkie and white scarf to put it on, and then went over to a checklist.

"Okay, let's see: scarf, check; saddle, check; boots, check; Spike refusing to get up and going back to sleep, check," said Twilight as she marked the items off on her list, "It's a good thing I'm so organized, I'm ready. Bright and Early." Twilight opened her door and found that it was still dark outside and no pony else was up. If one were to guess, it was probably around three in the morning.

"Oh...maybe a little too early," said Twilight sheepishly with a light chuckle.

(Theme Song)

After her little mishap, Twilight removed her gear and headed back to bed. She found it hard to fall back asleep since she was too excited about Winter Wrap Up and decided to do some reading. Twilight must have really gotten into her book because it felt like just minutes had passed when she heard a knock on the door. She put her book down to find Mario outside wearing just a winter hat in light blue on his head.

"Morning Twilight," said Mario, "Excited about your first Winter Wrap Up?"

"I sure am!" said Twilight and then looked outside, "Mario, it's still dark out."

"Not for long," said Mario as he leaned his head to show Twilight a golden light that was beginning to remove the darkness in the early winter sky from the horizon.

"Oh, it's time," said Twilight, "Let me get Spike and we can get going." Mario nodded as Twilight rushed upstairs.

"Sure you don't want me to carry mister sleepyhead for you?" Mario called out.

"I've got him," said Twilight as she came downstairs with a still snoozing dragon on her back, "Let's get going." Mario nodded as the two headed towards town hall. Despite running all the way there, the sun was already getting high in the sky as they found dozens of other ponies had already gathered around the town.

"Those must be the team vests Rarity designed," Twilight pointed out since most of the ponies were already wearing them, "Blue for the weather team, green for the plant team, and tan for the animal team. I wonder which team vest I'll be wearing."

"Good question," said Mario, "I haven't really thought about it. I was hoping we'd be in the same team."

"Oh Mario," said Twilight, "we do things together all the time. No harm in being on separate teams."

"I guess," said Mario with a brave smile, but the idea of working separately from Twilight made him feel a little sad.

"I'll take a blue vest, same color as my blanket," Spike remarked sleepily, "which I think I hear calling my name. "Spike! Spike! Come to bed!" Ugh, it's too early." Twilight and Mario just chuckled to each other as Mayor Mare appeared before all the ponies.

"Thank you, everypony, for being here bright and early," Mayor Mare said proudly, "We need every single pony's help to wrap up winter and bring in spring." The ponies cheered as Twilight hopped up and down amongst the crowd of ponies.

"Now, all of you have your vests, and have been assigned to your teams," Mayor Mare continued, "so let's do better than last year, and have the quickest Winter Wrap Up ever!" The ponies all cheered again.

"Oh, this is so exciting," said Twilight.

"It is," said Mario, "but why did Mayor Mare say everypony has their vests and assigned teams? I never got my notification or my vest for that matter."

"All right everypony, find your team leader, and let's get galloping," Mayor Mare finished. Mario looked worried.

"Now what we do?" said Mario, "I hope this won't be like magic school where I'm stuck having captains telling each other to pick me." While this had been before his days on the track team, it was still a memory that haunted him to this day. Twilight was rather overwhelmed.

"Oh gosh, where should I go?" she wondered, "I'm not sure where I fit in. What exactly does everypony do?"

It was then the screen goes dark and a single spot light appeared around Rainbow Dash. It appears it is time for another song. And it's not a Pinkie Pie one. (phew)

[Rainbow]

Three months of winter coolness
And awesome holidays

[Pinkie Pie-spotlight moves to her and does so with each new pony solo]

We've kept our hoovsies warm at home
Time off from work to play

[Applejack]

But the food we've stored is runnin' out
And we can't grow in this cold

[Rarity]

And even though I love my boots
This Fashion's getting old

[Twilight- she and Mario as they are walking about]

The time has to welcome spring
and all things warm and green

[Mario]

But it's also time to say goodbye
It's winter we must clean

[Twilight and Mario]

How can I help? I'm new you see
What does everypony do?
How do I fit in without magic?
I haven't got a clue!

[chorus-several ponies began to dance and start joining their teams]

Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap up!
Let's finish our holiday cheer
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap up!

[Applejack]

'Cause tomorrow spring-

[Rainbow]

-is here!

[Chorus]

'Cause tomorrow spring is here!

[Rainbow-now with several Pegasi in the air clearing and moving unwanted clouds from the sky and helping birds return from the south]

Being 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

[Rainbow and Pinkie]

When the sun comes up
It's warmth and beauty glow!

[Chorus-some ponies began collecting items and materials for Rarity while doing some more snow removal.]

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!

[Rarity-working on some nests and baskets]

Little critters hibernate
Under the snow and ice

[Fluttershy-she and several ponies help to wake up some of the hibernating animals, give them food, and clean their sleeping spaces. Some birds circle Twilight, Mario, and Spike.]

We wake up all their sleepy heads
So quietly and nice

[Rarity]

We help them gather up their food
Fix their homes below

[Fluttershy]

We welcome back the southern birds

[Fluttershy and Rarity]

So their families can grow!

[Chorus-ponies now removing the snow from trees. Twilight, Mario and Spike get a load of snow dumped on them. Only find Rainbow was the one who dropped the snow on them.]

Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up! ([Rarity] Winter, Winter])
Let's finish our holiday cheer
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up! ([Rarity] Winter, Winter])
'Cause tomorrow spring is here
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up! ([Rarity] Winter, Winter])
'Cause tomorrow spring is here
'Cause tomorrow spring is here!

[Applejack-some ponies now clearing snow from the farming grounds and tilling the land]

No easy task to clear the ground
Plant our tiny seeds
With proper care and sunshine
Everyone it feeds
Apples, carrots, celery stalks
Colorful flowers too
We must work so very hard

[Applejack, Cherry Berry, and Golden Harvest]

It's just so much to do!

[Chorus-ponies clearing their rooftops of excess snow]

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!

[Pinkie]

'Cause tomorrow spring is here

[Chorus]

'Cause tomorrow spring is here!

[Twilight]

Now that I know what they all do
I have to find my place

[Mario]

And help with all of my heart
Tough task ahead I face

[Twilight]

Help the Earth pony way
I wanna bring so I must
Do my best today,

[Twilight and Mario at they overlook a cliff]

Do my best today!

[Chorus]

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 and Mario]

'Cause tomorrow spring is here
'Cause tomorrow spring is here
'Cause tomorrow spring is here!

In three perfect seconds, each team disappears, leaving Mario and Twilight alone to decide where they will go.

"Everypony belongs to a team," said Twilight as she looked at Spike and Mario, "What should I do? Where should I go?"

"I'm just as unsure as you are Twilight," said Mario, "Maybe..."

ZOOM!

Just then Rainbow flew by at high speed to some other Pegasi who were waiting for her in the town. She was the captain of the weather team.

"All right team, you're clear for takeoff," said Rainbow as the Pegasi took flight into the air.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called out as she and the others caught up with the blue Pegasus.

"Oh, hey, Twilight, Mario, what's up?" Rainbow asked.

"What are you doing?" Twilight asked curiously.

"Sending off one of my flight crews to retrieve the birds that flew south for the winter," Rainbow answered.

"Oh, can I help?" Twilight asked eagerly, "How about if I help clear out the clouds?"

"Umm..." Rainbow then raised and flapped her wings to remind Twilight about a huge flaw in her idea.

"Right. No wings," Twilight remembered.

"Luckily I had a plan for that," said Mario. On their way back into town, he had picked up a saddle bag and pulled out what appeared to be some white wings. He then clipped them into his backside and they allowed him to hover into the air.

"Alright, let's bust some clouds!" said Mario as he tried to take off, but alas, his magic wings were still in their development stages. They could only help keep Mario in the air, but flying quickly wasn't possible just yet as he moved forwards at a very slow speed. Rainbow laughed.

"Good try Mario," Rainbow chuckled, "but being fast on the ground and being fast in the air are two very different things."

"Besides, you're not supposed to use magic," Twilight added, "and that includes magic items." Mario gave them an unamused look when his wings suddenly disappeared. Apparently the wings didn't last very long either.

"Oh great..." Mario replied as he tried to flutter jump to stay in the air. He gave them both a shrug before dropping like a rock back the ground with a thud.

"UGH!" he grunted as he landed on his back. Ouch.

"Sorry, Twilight and Mario," said Rainbow and took off at high speed, startling Twilight a bit as she watched Rainbow disappear.

"Great, now what do we do?" Twilight asked out of the blue as Mario just wobbled over to her, still hurting a bit from the landing. Spike just let himself tumble into some nearby bushes.

"I don't know about you," Spike said with a yawn, "but I'm gonna be nappin'." Spike was soon snoring as Twilight poked his cheek with a fore-hoof.

"Come on Spike," Twilight retorted, "this is serious business. Winter needs to be wrapped up, and we're determined to do our part. Somehow." Twilight looked worried until Mario walked beside her.

"Let's keep looking around," he proposed, "I'm sure there's plenty to do on the ground." Twilight smiled and continued their search. They soon found themselves in front of the Carousel Boutique where Rarity was busy working on a project.

"Rarity, please tell me there's something, anything that we can do to help," Twilight asked, nearly pleading as Spike stood between the two girls. Mario was behind Twilight.

"Well, how would you like to help create Ponyville's finest birds' nests?" Rarity suggested.

"Birds' nests?" Twilight asked puzzled.

"Why yes," Rarity replied, "When the weather team guides the birds back north for the spring, they'll need a place to lay their eggs." Rarity showed them a nicely made birds nest made from scratch.

"Wow, Rarity, that's one really beautiful," said Twilight.

"It's amazing," Mario added.

"Oh why, thank you most sincerely," said Rarity kindly, "Would you two like to try your hoof at a nest?"

"Would I?" Twilight exclaimed excitedly, "Yes! Where do I begin?" Mario simply nodded.

"Okay. Now...uh, take some of the straw and hay over there," said Rarity as she handed Twilight the materials. Twilight continued to work as she listened to Rarity's instructions, or at least tried to, "Now, weave them through there, yes. Uh, take some ribbon, yes, oh uh, n...not there, yes, uh, tuck it over there, uh but be careful not to...I don't know I guess that would do...oh dear."

"There!" said Twilight, feeling pleased with herself, "It looks just like...yours. Oh my." Twilight then noticed that compared to Rarity's work that her nest looked like something a foal might have done for their preschool project.

"That nest needs to be condemned," Spike told Rarity.

"Oh, Spa-ha-hike," Rarity chuckled, "It's not so bad, ah, maybe birds can use it as a..." Rarity was doing her best to not hurt Twilight's feelings.

"An outhouse?" Spike proposed, not afraid to be directly honest.

"Spike," Rarity said firmly especially seeing Twilight look rather upset and hurt, "It's just fine." Twilight just gave an embarassed smile.

"Yeah, Spike, it was her first try," Mario add, "I'd like to see you do better."

"Well, what about you?" Spike proposed, "You are the artistic one." Mario snorted.

"Fine," said Mario as he smugly approached Rarity's example.

"Hmm...let's see," said Mario as he looked at the nest up close, "a little of that...that goes there...and this ties to...uh-huh, uh-huh. Got it!" Mario then took some materials and then with a quickly shifting of his hooves made a perfect copy of Rarity's nest in just seconds. Then he made another, then another, and then another...until he had made a good dozen perfect nests.

"It gets easier once you do it again and...oh..." Mario's excitement soon disappeared as Twilight just gave him an irritated glare, "I...think I'll stop for now."

"Yours is just fine," said Rarity to Twilight, "It's just a little rough around the edges. Let me lend you a hoof." Rarity pushed Twilight aside and tried to tweak it.

"Let's just untie this ribbon, and let me take out these sticks here, we'll shave this..." Rarity continued to mumble as Twilight sunk her head lower and lower in defeat.

"Hw..." she groaned. Soon she, Spike, and Mario were right behind Rarity as her mumbling continued.

"I think we lost her," said Spike. Twilight just lowered her head and walked sadly away.

"Ah, and we need to weave the string..." Rarity continued to mumble, not knowing the two ponies and dragon had disappeared. Soon the three friends found themselves in the Ponyville outskirts where they found a familiar pink pony on some ice.

"Hellooooooo, Twilight! Mario! Wheeeeeeee!" Pinkie called out from the ice as she continued to skate about gracefully on the ice.

"Wow, Pinkie Pie, you're quite the skater," said Twilight as she made her way down to the lake, "Probably the best skater I've ever seen."

"I didn't know you were skilled in figure skating," Mario added, quite impressed himself.

"Thanks, Twilight and Mario," Pinkie answered, "I've been doing this since I was an itty-bitty, little-whittle, Twinkie-Pinkie. Just comes natural. Which is probably why they designated me the lake scorer. I cut lines in the lake with my skates. That way, when the rest of the weather team comes here to break the ice, it will be as easy as pie." Pinkie continued to skate about to demonstrate her point.

"How clever," said Twilight, "When the thick ice begins to melt, it will break along those lines."

"Well, you sure have alot of work ahead of you," Mario added, "There's quite a few lakes in Ponyville."

"Ha, tell me about it," said Pinkie wearily until she got an idea, "Hey, Twilight and Mario, wanna help me out?"

"Would I?" Twilight replied excitedly for the both of them.

"Come on, put on those skates over there," said Pinkie, "I bet you'll be a natural too."

"Okay," said Twilight and rushed over to Pinkie's spare skates. Mario then reached into his bag.

"Good thing I packed my old pair," said Mario, "There a bit rusty..."

"You shouldn't go ice skating on rusty skates," said Pinkie, "I think I've got another pair..."

"I mean, my skills are rusty," said Mario as he put on some light blue skates on his hooves, "I haven't skated in years." Mario wobbled a bit before getting his balance and was soon skating about as gracefully as Pinkie was. Pinkie skating along side of him.

"You are a natural," said Pinkie, "Come and dance with me." Mario rolled his eyes before he got an idea.

"If we skate side by side, we can make twice as many lines while we dance," Mario proposed.

"What a great idea!" Pinkie replied, "let's dance." Soon the two were enjoying themselves, doing steps, flips, balancing poses, and more together in sync, but poor Twilight was having trouble just trying to stand up with her skates.

"Uh...maybe on second thought..." said Twilight barely keeping her stomach from hitting the ice.

"What are you talking about?" Spike protested, "You said you wanted to be helpful."

"Yippie!" "HA-HA!" Mario and Pinkie chortled as they skated by.

"Now get out there," said Spike as he pushed Twilight forward, but he pushed her so hard that she was soon going too fast to have any control over her momentum.

"Oh no, whoa, wow..." Twilight retorted as she tried to gain control of her momentum on the ice. Pinkie stopped skating while Mario went after her.

"Twilight, steer! Steer!" Pinkie shouted. Mario managed to keep her from going off the ice but Twilight was moving too frantically as he was soon holding onto her with his back hooves off of the ground.

"Yaaaaa!" Twilight screamed. Mario tried to get his back hooves on the ice, but it was no good.

"Oh boy..." said Pinkie as Twilight collided with her. The three all screamed. Spike was too busy laughing until they collided with him and crashed into the snow. Their collision had created a snowpony made out of three snowballs. Spike at the top, followed by Pinkie in the middle, and Twilight as the bottom ball. Where was Mario? He was the platform underneath the snowpony.

"Pwuh!" Spike spluttered, poking his eyes out of his snowball. Pinkie and Twilight just blipped as they poked their eyes out of their snowballs.

"Mmmmmmm-Mmmmmmm!" Mario said muffled from underneath the snow. Spike rolled off of Pinkie and Twilight laughing as the two ponies moved over so Mario could poke his head out of the snow.

"Ha, ha, you are a natural, Twilight," Spike laughed, "A natural disaster."

"Twilight, you did a great job your first time around," said Pinkie cheerfully, "I'm sure my first time was just as wobbly and bobbly and crasheriffic as yours."

"Really?" said Twilight hopefully. But then Pinkie's usual smile went straight.

"No," said Pinkie point blank. Spike just chuckled, Mario gave him a death glare, and Twilight felt rather discouraged.

"But did I make you feel better?" Pinkie asked.

"Mm-hmm, yeah, I guess," Twilight answered, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"I think you'll be super awesome at something that keeps your hooves on the ground," Pinkie suggested, "I know Fluttershy could probably use your help with the critters."

"Well...I'm pretty good with little animals," said Twilight, "Yeah, I'll go help her." Twilight then tried to skate away.

"Uh...it's, ah, that a-way," said Pinkie, pointing in the opposite direction.

"Yaaaaaa!" Twilight screamed as Spike continued to laugh. Mario angrily dumped a pile of snow on Spike before skating off to go catch Twilight. Spike just popped out of the snow pile indignantly before catching up with the two ponies. Finding Fluttershy was easier than they thought since they found her near a large collection of holes in the ground. The yellow Pegasus had just used her bell and was now halfway inside a nearby hole.

"Wake up, little sleepy heads," said Fluttershy gently, "Hope you had some wonderful dreams and restful hibernation, but it's time to get up now, spring is coming." Two little hedgehogs yawned and came crawling out of their holes.

"Aww, how cute," said Twilight as the two hedgehog walked away.

"Hey, there!" Mario waved to them. They began to say something in their language to him, but Mario understood what they were saying.

"Oh, ok, just this once," said Mario as he did a few spin jumps for them and rolled around in a ball. The two hedgehogs applauded him.

"Hey, it's thank to you guys I can do that," said Mario as he waved them good bye.

"They are cute, aren't they?" Fluttershy replied once Mario was finished, "This is my favorite task the whole season, when I get to see my little animal friends again."

"Uh, what's "hibernation"?" Spike asked, saying the last word slowly.

"It's like a long sleep," Fluttershy answered.

"Long sleep?" Spike repeated.

"Yes," said Fluttershy as she rang her bell again at another animal hole, "Wake up, little porcupines. Animals often hibernate through the winter to save their energy and eat less food."

"I definitely like the idea of hibernation, uh, except for the "eat less food" part," said Spike as two porcupines exited the hole. They yawned as they went to give each other a hug, but then yelped as they ended up sticking each other with their quills.

"Oh, would you just look at all these warrens and dens," said Fluttershy as they all surveyed the dozens of holes filled with animals, "I'm worried that I won't be able to wake up every animal before spring comes."

"Well, Mario and I can help, Fluttershy," Twilight suggested.

"You will?" said Fluttershy happily, "Oh that would be wonderful." Fluttershy then handed Twilight a bell. Mario pulled out a spare from his saddle bag and followed Fluttershy towards the other dens. Twilight looked around to decide which hole she wanted to try first.

"Okay, let's start there," said Twilight as she made her choice. She gave the bell in her mouth a light ring.

"Hello?" said Twilight as she peeked inside, "Wake up little friends, wherever you are. Spring is coming." Twilight gave her bell another ring.

"I wonder which cute little furry creatures I've awoken," Twilight said excitedly. She soon got her answer as three creatures gave her a loud hiss.

"Waaa! Snakes! Snakes!" Twilight yelped and backed away. She walked right past Fluttershy and Mario, who had just taken care of a couple of dens when Twilight went by and right into a large cave. Twilight then ran out screaming as some bats came flying out. She was so focused on running away that she ran into a tree.

"Ugh!" Twilight grunted. Mario and Fluttershy just looked up at a nearby beehive fell from its branches and landed right into her head. Twilight screamed again and ran from the chasing bees into another hole.

"Ugh!" Twilight groaned, but this time because the hole she had run into belong to a couple of skunks. Spike held his nose and Mario covered his own as the two skunks walked out, stink and all.

"Good morning, friends," said Fluttershy sweetly. Twilight just groaned from inside the cave.

"I'll get her," said Mario, his voice nasal from trying to keep the smell out. He then equipped a beehive suit with a gas mask. He couldn't help but do the "Darth Vader" breathing as he went to retrieve his best friend. It didn't help that Twilight screamed when he saw him either. Once she realized it was Mario, she let him carry her back to the library.

As Mario waited in the main library area, Spike was with Twilight in the pantry room since the only cure for skunk smell was bathing in tomato sauce (or paste I don't remember which it is). Spike was busy washing Twilight as she just sat in the tub groaning. Not only was she stinky, but her face was covered in bee stings.

"All this Winter Wrap Up stuff is a lot harder than it looks," Twilight sighed before adding bitterly, "For most of us..." Twilight glared outside the door where Mario was waiting for them, but Spike didn't seem to notice.

"Right, because there's no magic," Spike replied, his voice nasal since he had a pin over his nose to reduce the smell from entering his nostrils, "Why don't you just use magic, Twilight, and get it done the right way?"

"No, no, no!" Twilight retorted, "I'm gonna find some other way even if it kills me."

"Twilight don't say things like that," Mario replied outside the door since the door didn't block out any of the conversation.

"You stay out of this!" Twilight yelled angrily as Spike dumped another can of tomato sauce on her head. Mario was hurt and just kept quiet until Twilight came out so he could give her the cream that would heal the bee stings.

Once Twilight was stink free and healed, the three friends quietly made their way towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"Keep pushin', Caramel," said Applejack from the distance, "That's it, Bumpkin. I know it's hard work, but you guys are doing great. Yee-haw!"

"Hey Applejack," said Twilight as she, Mario, and Spike arrived, "How's everything going?"

"Oh just dandy," Applejack replied, "A little slow startin', but peachy all the same. There's alot of ground to clear, ya hear? We can't even start the plantin' and the waterin' until we git all this heap of snow hightailed outta here."

"Okie Dokie!" said Mario, "Just watch this!" Mario then jumped into the air, curled into a ball, rolled himself about to dig into the snow and then sped away, while his trail was thinner than the other colts pushing the snow plows. He was still clearing the land at a much faster pace. Twilight just rolled her eyes at him before remembering why she was there.

"Well, I'd like to help," Twilight offered.

"Well, I...I dunno Twilight," said Applejack, not sure about Twilight's offer.

"Just give me a chance," Twilight proposed, giving the orange pony a toothy smile.

"Well, I never turn down a hard worker, but..." Applejack didn't get to finish as Twilight walked over to the snowplow and climbed into it.

"Ugh...Ugh," Twilight struggled and gasped as she tried to move the snowplow, but she couldn't get it to budge. She stopped for a second and looked back. Both Spike and Applejack just shook their heads. She then remembered that Spike had said:

Think of how much quicker they could wrap up winter with your magic.

Twilight still wasn't sure until Mario zoomed by next to her at high speed. Her hesitancy seemed to disappear one she saw the colt easily clearing the snow without a snowplow.

"I could use a come-to-life spell," said Twilight and then made her horn glow, "Hwww...here goes..." Soon the snowplow began to move on its own at a steady pace. Twilight then moved at the same speed to avoid any suspicion. The other colts thought something was off and it wasn't because she was a mare. But Applejack was no dummy either.

"Hmm. She's awful strong for such a little pony," she remarked suspiciously. Spike then noticed the faint glow and smiled.

"That's my girl, following my advice," said Spike.

"And what in tarnation does that mean?" Applejack asked, glaring at him. Before Spike could answer, Twilight suddenly realized that her snow plow was picking up its pace. Soon it was pushing her forward and she couldn't control it anymore.

"Uh-oh," Twilight gasped, "Slow down. Slow down!" But it was no good, her snowplow was running out of control. She barely avoided the other colts and soon found herself creating a large snowball in front of her plow. She tried hard to regain control, but because she couldn't see, she ended up colliding with Spike and Applejack. Spike yelped.

"Whoa-oa-oa!" Spike and Applejack cried out as they went round and round inside the snowball.

"What's going on?" Applejack demanded, speaking each sentence when her head rolled above the plow, "Wha'd'ya do? You used magic, didn't you?" Before Twilight could reply, they collided into a dirt wall barrier near a nearby hill. Since the hill was loaded with snow, it caused a large avalanche. The snow covered a large portion of the land the colts had been spending most of the day clearing. They all gave Twilight a distant glare as the two ponies and Spike popped themselves out of the snow. Mario had just arrived to get them out.

"Nuts, Twilight," said Applejack sternly, "you used magic."

"The nerve," Spike added in disapproval, "Can you believe her?" Applejack just glared.

"It was your idea, genius!" Mario retorted, not letting Spike dump all the blame on Twilight. Spike just chuckled sheepishly.

"That's not how we do it 'round here, Twilight," Applejack scolded severely, "and especially not around MY FARM!" Poor Twilight was on the verge of tears.

"Well, see, I just wanted to..." Twilight couldn't say anymore and just let out a whine before taking off at fast as she could. Applejack soon regretting being so harsh to Twilight as Mario went after her.

"Twilight, Twilight wait!" Mario called as he caught up with her and got in front of her, "I know it was an accident and Applejack just lost her..."

"Just leave me alone!" Twilight yelled as her voice cracked, "I don't need you showing me that you can do anything while I can't seem to do anything at all!" Twilight then took off again but this time Mario just sat in the snow as she disappeared. As he watched her leave, a few tears left his eyes.

It was late afternoon by the time both Mario and Spike had found Twilight hiding inside of a bush just outside the town hall building.

"Come on, Twilight," said Spike, "Come on out." Mario said nothing. He was still hurt over being yelled at and wasn't sure of how he could help.

"I'm a winter mess up," said Twilight sadly, her voice muffled by the bush.

"Well, you're good at a lot of things," Spike pointed out, "Just not nest-making, ice-skating, animal-waking, and snow clearing.

"Thank a lot for making me feel so much better," Twilight remarked with a small whine.

"That's what I'm here for, sister," said Spike proudly and Mario face-hoofed himself.

"I don't know if it is the lack of sleep or not, Spike," he said sternly, "but you're sensitivity to Twilight's problems has really been off today."

"Oh, and like yours?" Twilight snapped, "Always acting like everything is so easy, making me look like a big goof off?" Mario looked away.

"Ease off on the guy, Twilight," said Spike, "he's not doing that on purpose."

"I can't help it if these jobs come easy for me," said Mario, "I didn't expect you to hate me for it." Twilight just let out a long and loud sigh.

"I don't hate you, Mario," said Twilight softly, "It's just I..."

"Rainbow Dash, y'all on the weather team need to melt the rest of the snow here on the ground and in the trees, pronto," Applejack ordered a few feet away. Apparently, something was up as she, Rainbow, and Fluttershy were just outside town hall.

"Got it," Rainbow replied and went to take off, but was then stopped.

"Wait," said Fluttershy, "My poor little animals' homes will get flooded if the snow melts too fast."

"Got it," said Rainbow and went to leave, but was stopped again.

"I'm tellin' you, Rainbow," Applejack said, losing her patience, "you gotta melt that snow now."

"No, you simply must wait," said Fluttershy.

"Okay," said Rainbow, unsure about what to do.

"Go" said Applejack.

"Stop" Fluttershy said after.

"Go"

"Stop"

"GO"

"STOP"

"Ugh! Make up your minds!" Rainbow snapped loudly.

"Oh! What in Equestria are all you arguing about?" Mayor Mare demanded as she arrived to stop the noise, "This sort of silliness is why we were late for spring last year, and the year before that, and the year before that."

"Did she say late?" Twilight and Mario said together, rather surprised as Twilight poked her head out of the bush.

"I was hoping my amazingly inspirational speech would urge everyone to do better than last year," Mayor Mare continued, "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 chucks too big to melt..."

Pinkie just shrugged her shoulders sadly, not understanding what went wrong.

"...The nest designer is horrendously behind, we need several hundred, and she's only made one...oh wait...thirteen...but still not enough..."

Poor Rarity had spent so much time trying to fix Twilight's poorly made nest that she neglected to make the rest. Rarity began to sob loudly before planting her face into the nest.

"...And don't get me started on all the clouds in the sky, the icicles on the trees..." Mayor Mare said worriedly, "This isn't good, not at all."

"And it's gonna be to pieces disastrous if we can't get our seeds planted," Applejack added.

"Chillax Applejack," Rainbow replied, "We're bustin' our chops as fast as we can."

"No, not fast," Fluttershy warned, "we have to wake animals slowly." It was then Big Macintosh arrived with Caramel by his side, looking glum and nervous.

"Uh AJ?" Big Mac spoke up. Applejack looked at Caramel's face and knew what had happened.

"Oh good gravy," Applejack retorted, "Caramel lost the grass seeds again, didn't he?" Caramel just gave an apologetic look.

"Eeyup." Big Mac answered for him.

"Ditzy Doo accidentally went north to get the southern birds," a Pegasus named Rainbowshine said next with a grunt.

"Oh that featherbrain," Rainbow replied, very annoyed, "Didn't she learn her lesson last year when she went west?" Soon pony after pony appeared and began to grumble and complain to each other. But not for long.

"Stop this at once," Mayor Mare said sternly, "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." It was then Twilight got a brilliant idea.

"Spike! Get my checklist and clipboard, STAT," said Twilight.

"Eh, yes, ma'am," said Spike.

"Mario, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Twilight asked and Mario smiled.

"Let's do this!" Mario replied confidently. Twilight gave him a quickly hug, making him blush a little before Twilight addressed the arguing ponies.

"Stop, everypony!" she called out, but could not be heard with all the arguing.

"Stop!" Twilight tried again as a bird chirped next to her. The ponies were still arguing when...

CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRP!

Twilight used her magic to enhance the bird's chirping to make it louder and stronger. Everyone stopped arguing and turned to face her. The bird didn't take fondly of being used as a whistle.

"Sorry," Twilight said quickly to the bird before addressing the crowd, "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." With a clipboard in one hand and a quill in the other, Spike was ready for action.

"So...what do I do?" Mario asked.

"Well, since you seem to be good at alot of the jobs," said Twilight, "I'll need someone to help supervise and manage each job so they get done quickly and correctly." Mario just smiled.

The first step was gathering all the materials needed to create the nests for the southern birds. Rarity had the help of Mario and several other ponies in making sure that the nest were made and put in their proper places in the trees.

Then Mario and Twilight worked together to create a routine to help Pinkie and her group cut the ice into properly sized chunks. Of course Pinkie asked Mario to skating alongside her and for once, he conceded. This got the ice cutting done in just a couple of trips across the ice.

Back at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack began to coordinate the colts pulling to snow plows so they were clearing the snow side by side. As the snow was cleared, another group of ponies began to drop the seeds into the fresh soil behind them. Mario was able to use his spin move to clear the land and then plant the seeds in his own way. Applejack was very satisfied with the work as she and Twilight shared a high hoof together.

Twilight than had Mario tied together multiple bells over each underground den. That way when Fluttershy pulled the rope. She was able to wake up all her little animal friends at the same time. Twilight then gasped as a set of familiar snakes slithered by. Mario, Fluttershy, and Spike just smiled at the snakes. Then they noticed that Twilight had disappeared until they looked up and found her trembling as she held a tree branch for dear life. She just smiled sheepishly until Mario stood on his hind legs and held out his fore-hoofs so she could jump down. Mario caught her and gave her a warm smile. While Twilight rolled her eyes and tried to look annoyed at Mario, the blush on her cheeks said otherwise.

Spike then gave off a loud whistle. That was the signal for Rainbow to summon her team of weather ponies. By working together, they created a horizontal cyclone that sucked up all the surrounding snow off the ground, the trees, and even far away hills and mountain tops. It also helped clear away the winter clouds to allow the late afternoon sun to shine brightly in the sky. Just in time too, since the sun was able to successfully break the ice on all the lakes as well.

Even after the sun had set and nighttime fell, all the ponies were hard at work farming and tilling to land so all the crops were planted and ready for growing. Even Mayor Mare and Twilight pitched in to bring additional supplies that were needed. Of course, Mario's freight cars and his personal freight train made transporting the needed supplies much faster. And it ensured that everything would be ready to go by the time the sun returned to the sky.

By next morning, the Pegasi in charge of bringing all the southern birds had arrived. The birds happily made their way towards the finished nests and settled into their new homes. Other spring time animals like frogs and turtles and lots of beautiful butterflies had also made their return to Ponyville. Back at Sweet Apple Acres, the ponies were busy watering the grounds to the plants had what they needed to start producing a new crop of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Twilight stood just outside the outskirts of Ponyville as Mario walked beside her. It was a long and hard effort, but at last, their work was done. Mayor Mare approached the two ponies.

"I can't believe it. Spring is here!" said Mayor Mare, "On time! And we have you to thank for it. If it weren't for your organizing skills and Mario's supervising skills, we would still be arguing."

"Eeyup," Big Mac said in agreement and all the ponies laughed.

"It was a team effort," said Twilight.

"Yeah, we were happy we could do our part," said Mario as Twilight nodded in agreement.

"And since you two helped every team, we have an official vest for each of you," said Mayor Mare, "We give Twilight the title: "All-Team Organizer" and for Mario "All-team Supervisor"." Rarity then used her magic to equip each vest on the two ponies. Twilight's was blue and green with golden yellow edging around the neck and button line. Mario's was a similar design, but in shades of blue and grey with a golden yellow edging. The two ponies smiled at their new vests.

"Gosh, I don't even know what to say," said Twilight surprised.

"Thank you, everypony," said Mario in amazement.

"And hereby I declare that winter is...wrapped up on time," said Mayor Mare and everyone cheered. It was then Applejack noticed that Spike had disappeared and she soon found out where he was. He had apparently fallen asleep on top of a lone ice block.

"Spike's sure gonna be in for a hog-sized surprise when that last piece of ice melts," Applejack chuckled and everyone else laughed.

Later that day, Twilight and Mario were back at the library. Like Applejack had predicted, Spike soon realized his mistake, but ended up getting a cold from sleeping on the ice flow and falling into the water. He was now sitting by Twilight's fireplace, bundled up in a robe, as he wrote their letter to the Princess. He was also doing his best to make sure his sneezing didn't accidentally burn up or send the note he was writing.

"Dear Princess Celestia," Twilight recited to Spike,

"Winter Wrap Up was one of the most special things Mario and I have ever been a part of here in Ponyville. It helped us learn that 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.

"How's that sound Spike? Spike?" Twilight then turned to see that Spike had fallen asleep again and was just snoring with the letter still in his hand.

"Oh Spike," said Twilight and Mario together and shared a good laugh. Spring was here. Thanks to two very special ponies and their friends.

Phew. Trying to write out a long song isn't easy. I hope my first try wasn't too bad. I'm no good at lyrics so I hope just sticking Mario in where he could fit works for everypony.

Peace Pony Fans