WINTER WRAP UP
Written by Cindy Morrow
Produced by Sarah Wall
Story editing by Rob Renzetti
Supervising direction by Jayson Thiessen
Co-directed by James Wootton
Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)
Prologue
(Opening shot: fade in to Twilight Sparkle’s bedroom loft in the middle of the night. She and Spike are fast asleep in bed and basket, respectively, and the window curtains are closed. Slow zoom in as the little dragon snores noisily; suddenly Twilight sits up in bed with a happy gasp and leans excitedly over the footboard toward Spike.)
Twilight: Spike, wake up! (nudging him with her nose) Wake up, wake up! It’s Winter Wrap Up day! (She zips away; he starts to come around.)
Spike: Huh? Mommy?
(As he sits up, he finds himself nose to nose with a slightly irked, fully awake unicorn.)
Twilight: Winter Wrap Up! (She descends from the loft; Spike lies down.)
Spike: You’re not Mommy. (He dozes off.)
Twilight: (switching on lights, crossing to face him) Spike! The first day of spring is tomorrow— (straightening a picture on the wall) —so everypony in Ponyville needs to clean up winter. Now help me get ready!
(Zoom out on this line to show a clipboard and three striped pink scarves hanging by the picture, a fleece-lined saddle on a small table, and four winter boots are placed on the floor exactly where a pony can step into them. She jumps neatly into these, but Spike is less than enthusiastic—in fact, he has pulled his blanket over his head.)
Spike: Clean up winter? (He sits up.) Who cleans up winter? Don’t they just use magic to change the seasons like we do in Canterlot?
(As Twilight continues, she hoists the saddle with her nose and lifts her forelegs to work it into place, similar to the way a person would put on a T-shirt. Cut to Spike during the following line, then back to her, now lying on her back and pulling at the saddle’s straps.)
Twilight: No, Spike. Ponyville was started by earth ponies, so for hundreds of years, they’ve never used magic to clean up winter.
(Close-up; she stands up with the saddle in place.)
Twilight: It’s traditional.
(Zoom out slightly as the straps come loose and it falls off her back, causing her to sigh dejectedly.)
Spike: It’s ridiculous. (lying down, covering head, grumbling) No magic…pfuh!
(Now the eager-beaver pony gets the straps done the right way and pulls one scarf off the wall in her teeth. A second later it is securely wrapped around her neck.)
Twilight: Okay, let’s see.
(Close-up of the clipboard, tilting down from top to bottom. It holds a checklist, each item of which is magically marked off as she names it.)
Twilight: (from o.s.) Scarf, check. Saddle, check. Boots, check. Spike refusing to get up and going back to sleep… (Cut to him.) …check. (Back to her.) It’s a good thing I’m so organized. I’m ready!
(Dissolve to just outside the front door, both halves of which open to show her ready to go.)
Twilight: Bright and early!
(She stares ahead in sudden surprise; zoom out to show that it is still the dead of night, and not a single other pony is up and about. Oddly, there is also not a single flake of snow on the ground in this area. Back to her.)
Twilight: (sheepishly) Oh…maybe a little too early.
(Fade to black.)
OPENING THEME
Act One
(Opening shot: fade in to Twilight as she gallops over a hill toward the town square, which is packed with ponies. Spike is on her back, asleep, and she has removed all her accessories. The sun is up, its rays reflecting brightly off the snow that covers rooftops, trees, mountains, and various scattered areas of the ground.)
Twilight: Those must be the team vests Rarity designed! (Quick pan ahead to two pegasi; she continues o.s.) Blue for the weather team… (To an earth pony eating a plant.) …green for the plant team… (To two unicorns.) …and tan for the animal team!
(Each single/group pictured wears vests in the appropriate color. The blue ones have a patch marked with a sun, while one of the tan vests shows one with a rabbit silhouette. The green-vest pony and one of the tan-vest unicorns have stars on their vests and a matching starred band on one foreleg. Back to Twilight.)
Twilight: I wonder which team vest I’ll be wearing.
Spike: (half asleep) I’ll take a blue vest, the same color as my blankie—which I think I hear calling my name. “Spike! Spike! Come to bed!” (groaning) It’s too early.
(As he and Twilight reach the pavilion, the “regular” green vests are seen to carry a patch emblazoned with a leaf. Mayor Mare stands at the front doors; zoom in on her.)
Mayor Mare: Thank you, everypony, for being here bright and early. We need every single pony’s help to wrap up winter and bring in spring.
Crowd: Hooray! (General cheering as well.)
(Once the hubbub dies down, cut to some of the front-row ponies; Twilight jumps up and down behind them, trying to get a good view and waving for attention.)
Mayor Mare: (from o.s.) Now, all of you have your vests and have been assigned to your teams— (Back to her as she continues.) —so let’s do even better than last year and have the quickest Winter Wrap Up ever!
(More cheers from the crowd, then cut to Twilight.)
Twilight: Oh, this is so exciting!
Mayor Mare: All right, everypony.
(Quick pan to three ponies all wearing starred leg bands and waving: Applejack in green, Rainbow Dash in blue, and the previously seen unicorn in tan. Rainbow stands on a cloud.)
Mayor Mare: (from o.s.) Find your team leader… (Back to her and the crowd.) …and let’s get galloping!
(The crowd quickly disperses, leaving Twilight and Spike alone among the snowdrifts.)
Twilight: Oh, gosh. Where should I go? (She looks toward some of the animal team, including Rarity.) I’m not sure where I’d fit in.
(Quick tilt up to Rainbow and several of her weather team pegasi, then down to Applejack as the plant team begins to report in. On the start of the next line, cut to Twilight and zoom in slowly.)
Twilight: What exactly does everypony do?
(The background behind her worried face goes black as if someone had shut off all the lights at once, and she fades away as well.)
Piano/acoustic guitar ballad with backing synthesizer, slow 4 (D flat major)
(A spotlight comes on, illuminating Rainbow as she begins to sing.)
Rainbow: Three months of winter coolness and awesome holidays
(The light fades to leave her in silhouette; a second spot picks out Pinkie Pie, in a blue vest. She cavorts a bit during her line.)
Pinkie: We’ve kept our hoofsies warm at home, time off from work to play
(Lights down on her; now Applejack rises into view in a third spot.)
Applejack: But the food we’ve stored is runnin’ out and we can’t grow in this cold
(Lights down on her; a fourth spot brings Rarity into view. She has put on boots now.)
Rarity: And even though I love my boots, this fashion’s getting old
Bass/mandolin in, shaker marks time; faster tempo
(Dissolve to a close-up of Twilight’s trotting hooves and tilt up to frame her.)
Twilight: 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?
(She stops. Overhead shot; zoom out.)
How do I fit in without magic? I haven’t got a clue
Bass drum in
(Quick pan to Fluttershy—on the animal team—and Rarity as they trot up alongside a plant team stallion. Dark khaki earth pony; short, untidy dark brown mane/tail; vivid blue eyes; hourglass cutie mark—Doctor Whooves.)
Ponies: Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Fluttershy, Rarity, Whooves: Let’s finish our holiday cheer
(Rarity has taken off her boots. Another group moves off elsewhere.)
Ponies: Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Applejack: ’Cause tomorrow spring is here
(Rainbow buzzes past Applejack; she and some of her crew escort birds through the sky.)
Rainbow, Ponies: ’Cause tomorrow spring is here
Snare drum in
Rainbow: Bringing home the southern birds, a pegasus’ job begins
(Others fly past clouds to dissipate them, kick them apart, fan them away with wings; two trade a high five.)
And clearing all the gloomy skies to let the sunshine in
(Three more blow a cloud bank out of view, exposing Rainbow behind them.)
We move the clouds and we melt the white snow
(Sunbeams pour through a break in the clouds.)
Rainbow, Ponies: When the sun comes up, its warmth and beauty will glow
(Twilight enjoys the light as it falls on her. Quick pan to a basket of straw, twigs, and ribbons being carried in Rarity’s teeth; behind her, three ponies haul wagons loaded with these materials. This chorus is sung in two parts, with one part holding out the second “up” in each line as the other sings the second half of it.)
Ponies: Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up, let’s finish our holiday cheer
(The supplies are dumped in front of the Carousel Boutique, where Rarity has set up a table and empties her own basket.)
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up, ’cause tomorrow spring is here
(Plant team ponies pull plows in the snow-covered fields.)
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up, ’cause tomorrow spring is here
’Cause tomorrow spring is here
(Dissolve to a burrow in which two small white mice are waking up to the sound of a bell in a pony’s teeth. Pan across the meadow; many others are doing likewise, including Fluttershy.)
Rarity: Little critters hibernate under the snow and ice
Fluttershy: We wake up all the sleepyheads so quietly and nice
(Two raccoons are given a basket of vegetables; a mouse gets its burrow dusted.)
Rarity: We help them gather up their food, fix their homes below
(Birds roost in the trees and flutter past Twilight and Spike.)
Fluttershy: We welcome back the southern birds
Fluttershy, Rarity: So their families can grow
All instruments out; tambourine/handclap percussion, with bass drum/bongos joining in
(The vocals now split into three parts. First part sings only each “Winter” and holds it out; second part sings the first half of each line and holds out the second “up”; third part sings the second half. Quick pan to a Ponyville street; several animal team unicorn mares pace across, each with a hedgehog on her back.)
Ponies: Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up, let’s finish our holiday cheer
(Pegasi knock snow off branches and into waiting carts; two mares pop out of one to sing.)
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up, ’cause tomorrow spring is here
(A load buries Twilight and Spike; they glare up to find Rainbow on the giving end of this one.)
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up, ’cause tomorrow spring is here
’Cause tomorrow spring is here
Instruments in; stoptime
(In a field, the plant team is clearing the snow with plows, rakes, and shovels. Pan to Applejack, who oversees the labor from a hillock; a cart of vegetable seeds stands next to her.)
Applejack: No easy task to clear the ground, plant our tiny seeds
(She taps a container on the ground with her hoof, knocking a few seeds out, and scrapes earth over them.)
With proper care and sunshine, everyone it feeds
Apples, carrots, celery stalks, colorful flowers too
We must work so very hard
Applejack, Ponies: It’s just so much to do
Normal rhythm resumes
(The two-part chorus resumes as unicorn fillies hop along with rabbits in the park.)
Ponies: Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up, let’s finish our holiday cheer
(Pegasi use snow shovels to throw and push snow off the roofs.)
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up, ’cause tomorrow spring is here
(Others move the clouds away from a frozen lake as Pinkie—with ice skates on all four hooves—glides out to the center.)
Ponies: Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Pinkie: ’Cause tomorrow spring is here
Pinkie, Ponies: ’Cause tomorrow spring is here
Slower tempo; all instruments out except for piano/acoustic guitar/synth
(Cut to Twilight, who walks against a backdrop under a spotlight as vests in all three colors float past her. Spike is still on her back.)
Twilight: 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
(She trots up a snowy slope.)
How will I do without my magic, help the earth pony way?
(reaching the outcropping at the top)
I want to belong, so I must do my best today
Do my best today
Faster tempo; all instruments in
(The chorus, in three parts, comes back in as she holds out this last word; Rainbow and several pegasi spiral up into the sky.)
Ponies: Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Rainbow, Ponies: Let’s finish our holiday cheer
Applejack, Ponies: Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up, ’cause tomorrow spring is here
Ponies: Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Drums stop
Twilight: ’Cause tomorrow spring is here
’Cause tomorrow spring is here
’Cause tomorrow spring is here
(As she holds out the last note, the camera zooms out in a long overhead shot to frame her in a spotlight, with the three teams arranged around her in a circle. She looks from one to the next, only to see them disappear from view one by one so that she and Spike are left alone in the spot against a black screen.)
Song ends
(Close-up of the pair; the winter backdrop re-establishes itself.)
Twilight: Everypony belongs to a team. What should I do? Where should I go?
(The vivid streak of Rainbow’s mane/tail flashes by; the weather team leader addresses several airborne members.)
Rainbow: All right, team, you’re cleared for takeoff!
(They fly off; she drops to ground level. Close-up of her.)
Twilight: (from “o.s.”) Rainbow Dash!
(Camera rotates slightly; she is standing behind Rainbow, but does not notice that Spike is no longer on her back.)
Rainbow: Oh! Hey, Twilight. What’s up?
Twilight: What are you doing?
Rainbow: Sending up one of my flight crews to retrieve the birds that have flown south for the winter.
Twilight: Oh! Can I help? How about if I help clear out the clouds?
Rainbow: (a bit perplexed) Um… (She finishes the thought by flapping her wings.)
Twilight: Right. No wings.
Rainbow: Sorry, Twilight.
(Her sudden takeoff prompts a little gasp from the grounded unicorn, and she zooms off after the departing crew.)
Twilight: (angrily) Great. Now what do we do?
(Only now does she realize that Spike has taken his leave. Close-up of him, nestled in a bush.)
Spike: I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna be napping. (He starts snoring; Twilight pokes his cheek.)
Twilight: (from o.s.) Come on, Spike! (Longer shot, framing her.) This is serious business! Winter needs to be wrapped up, and I’m determined to do my part… (softly) …somehow.
(Fade to black.)
Act Two
(Opening shot: fade in to Rarity at her table outside the Carousel Boutique. Zoom in and cut to a close-up; she is putting the final touches on a bird’s nest assembled from the supplies that were delivered to her earlier. It has ribbons in several colors woven through it, along with a red bow. Twilight and Spike walk up.)
Twilight: Rarity, please tell me there’s something, anything I can help you with.
Rarity: Well, how would you like to help create Ponyville’s finest bird’s nests?
Twilight: Bird’s nests?
Rarity: Why, yes. When the weather team guides the birds back north for the spring, they’ll need a place to live and lay their eggs.
Twilight: Wow, Rarity, that one’s really beautiful.
Rarity: Oh, why, thank you most sincerely. Would you like to try your hoof at a nest?
Twilight: Would I! Yes! Where do I begin?
(Close-up of a basket of materials being levitated by Rarity; it is dumped out in front of Spike.)
Rarity: (from o.s.) Okay now, uh… (stepping into view; zoom in) …take some of that straw and hay over there, and a little bit of branch…
(Pan to Twilight, who has laid the pieces neatly out on the table and is ready to get to it as Spike looks on, then cut back to Rarity. Sounds of the novice’s work are heard o.s.; her face steadily falls throughout the following.)
Rarity: Now, weave them through there…yes!…uh, take some ribbon…yes!…ooh, uh, n-n-not there…ooh…yes, uh…
(Close-up of the little dragon, who has a hard time believing whatever is going on just out of frame.)
Rarity: (from o.s.) …uh, tuck it in over there, uh, but be careful not to… (Back to her.) …oh, no, no, I-I guess that will do… (turning face away) …oh, dear.
(Close-up of the original, well-made nest.)
Twilight: (from o.s.) There!
(Pan to her, kneading a few bits into place, then zoom out to frame both nests side by side.)
Twilight: It looks just like… (Her face falls.) …yours.
(It actually looks as if someone dropped a bowling ball on it from five stories or so. Cut to Rarity and Spike.)
Twilight: (from o.s.) Oh, my.
Spike: That nest needs to be condemned. (Disapproving glare from Rarity.)
Rarity: (dismissive laugh) Oh, Spike. It’s not so bad, uh…maybe the birds can use it as a…
Spike: (deadpan) An outhouse?
Rarity: (sternly, approaching Twilight) Spike. (to her) It’s just fine. It’s just a little rough around the edges. (Twilight backs off with a nervous grin; Rarity takes her place.) Let me lend you a hoof. Let’s just untie this ribbon…
(She pulls a ribbon loose on this last; cut to the dismayed unicorn and her assistant as more bits are thrown loose.)
Rarity: (from o.s.) …and if we take out these sticks here… (Twilight moans and hangs her head.) …and we shape this…
(Back to her on the end of this line, mumbling inarticulately to herself. Twilight and Spike have retreated to a point several paces behind her and are watching her overhaul the nest.)
Spike: (whispering) I think we lost her.
(In silent agreement, the violet unicorn slinks away with her head hung low; he backs away with a very uneasy look.)
Rarity: (laughing) …oh, and we need to weave the string in…
(Wipe to the pair on a snowy slope; Spike is riding on Twilight’s back again. Zoom out quickly to frame them near the shore of the lake Pinkie was skating on. She is still at it.)
Pinkie: Helloooooo, Twilight! (spinning in place) Whee!
Twilight: (zipping to shore) Wow, Pinkie Pie! You’re quite the skater—probably the best skater I’ve ever seen! (Pinkie glides to her.)
Pinkie: Thanks, Twilight! I’ve been doing this since I was an itty-bitty, little-little, twinkie Pinkie! Just comes naturally.
(As Spike hops down, she skates away, does a very respectable high jump, and comes down going backwards. She crosses the screen several times during the following line, in a variety of additional poses: two legs in the air, lying on her back with one skate on the ice, balanced on her head with the help of a fifth skate.)
Pinkie: 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’ll be easy as pie.
Twilight: How clever! When the thick ice begins to melt, it’ll break along the lines. Well, you sure have a lot of work ahead of you. There’s quite a few lakes in Ponyville.
Pinkie: (skating to her) Huh! Tell me about it. Hey, Twilight! Want to help me out?
Twilight: Would I!
Pinkie: Come on. (pointing o.s.) Put on those skates over there. I bet you’ll be a natural too.
Twilight: Okay.
(Wipe to an empty stretch of ice, where one of Twilight’s skate-clad hooves makes tentative contact. A longer shot reveals that she is very unsteady on the blades, but Pinkie does not notice, being in the middle of a one-hoof headstand. Spike watches from snowy terra firma.)
Pinkie: Yaaaay! (Her o.s. cheers float back.)
Twilight: Uh, maybe on second thought… (Face first to the ice, knocking herself silly.)
Spike: What are you talking about? You said you wanted to be helpful.
Pinkie: (somersaulting across) Yippee!
Spike: (pushing Twilight out) Now get out there!
(A good hard shove sends the inexperienced skater onto the ice but dumps him flat in the process. She skids crazily along.)
Twilight: Whoa…whoa…whoa…
(Cut briefly to Spike during this; he does his best to stifle a laugh. Next she zooms past a stationary, upright Pinkie while spinning hopelessly out of control.)
Pinkie: Twilight! Steer! Steer! (She comes back screaming on a collision course.) Oh, boy.
(The pink rink master tries to bail out, but not fast enough; both end up sliding ahead and giving their lungs a good workout as they hurtle toward Spike. All three go sailing across the ice and o.s.; there is a thud and a splatter of snow, and the camera cuts to a loaded treetop and tilts down. At its base is a very strange snowman, with Spike’s head spines and ears poking from the top, two of Pinkie’s legs sticking from the middle, and two of Twilight’s legs protruding from the bottom. The three pairs of eyes attached to these body parts open, bottom to top, and their owners shake themselves clean. They have fetched up in a spread-eagle stack and knocked snow loose from the tree to cover them.)
Spike: (laughing) You are a natural, Twilight… (falling off) …a natural disaster! (Pinkie gets up.)
Pinkie: (as Twilight struggles up) Twilight, you did a great job your first time around! I’m sure my first time was just as wobbly and bobbly and crash-errific as yours! (Close-up of Twilight.)
Twilight: Really? (Pan to Pinkie; uneasy aside look.)
Pinkie: No.
(The dragon snickers a little more as Twilight stands dejectedly.)
Pinkie: But did I make you feel better?
Twilight: (nervous chuckle) Yeah, I guess.
Pinkie: I bet you’ll be super-awesome at something that keeps your hooves on the ground. I know! Fluttershy could probably use your help with the critters.
Twilight: Well, I’m pretty good with little animals. (wobbling on skates, sliding away) Yeah! I’ll go help her!
Pinkie: (pointing opposite direction) Uh…it’s, uh, that-a-way.
(The hapless unicorn scrambles across with a yell; loud thud from o.s. after she has passed out of view. More laughs from Spike.)
(Dissolve to the pair heading in a new direction, with Spike on Twilight’s back; she has taken off her skates. The sound of a bell draws their attention—it is Fluttershy, her head stuck into a burrow and ringing to wake the occupants. Zoom in as Spike jumps down for a better look.)
Fluttershy: (voice reverberating slightly) Wake up, little sleepyheads. Hope you had some wonderful dreams and restful hibernation— (Twilight and Spike approach.) —but it’s time to get up now. Spring is coming.
(She backs away, allowing the animals—a pair of hedgehogs—to emerge and stretch, rubbing their eyes. Twilight watches them scurry across the snow.)
Twilight: Awww, how cute!
Fluttershy: Aren’t they? This is my favorite task of the whole season, when I get to see all my little animal friends again.
Spike: Uh, what’s hibernation?
Fluttershy: (trotting past him, bell under wing) It’s like a long sleep.
Spike: (to Twilight) Long sleep? (Cut to another burrow.)
Fluttershy: (from o.s.) Yes.
(She leans into view with bell in teeth, rings, and sets it down.)
Fluttershy: Wake up, little porcupines. (Bell tucked away, she addresses the pair.) Animals often hibernate through the winter to save their energy and eat less food.
Spike: I definitely like the idea of hibernation—except for the “eat less food” part.
(Out come two porcupines, who stretch and embrace—and then realize too late that the second of those actions was a very, very bad idea. They pull apart, jabbed full of each other’s quills.)
Fluttershy: (concerned) Oh…but just look at all these warrens and dens. (Cut to a stretch of them; zoom out as she continues o.s.) I’m worried that I won’t be able to wake up every animal before spring comes. (Back to the three.)
Twilight: Well, I’ll help, Fluttershy.
Fluttershy: Oh, you will? Oh, that would be wonderful. (She passes her bell to Spike.)
Twilight: Okay. (eyeing a burrow) Let’s start there.
(Wipe to a close-up of its entrance as she walks up, bell in teeth. After a careful look inside, she rings and sets it aside.)
Twilight: Helloooo? Wake up, little friends, wherever you are. Spring is coming! (Another ring; she pulls her head out.) I wonder which cute little furry creatures I’ve awoken.
(Close-up of the entrance on the end of this. The “cute little furry creatures” turn out to be a trio of hissing snakes, the sight of which instantly sparks a freaked-out yell from Twilight.)
Twilight: (backing away hurriedly) Snakes! SNAKES!
(She ends up in a second den, but bugs out screaming from it an instant later with a swarm of bats in hot pursuit. Not looking where she is going, she runs flat into a tree and knocks a beehive loose; as Fluttershy and Spike watch, it lands squarely on her head. Another panicked yell, and she starts a blind rush across the meadow, chased by far too many bees for her comfort. This flight puts her into a third den, from which her loud grunt floats out—followed by a family of malodorous skunks that walk past Fluttershy and Spike, the latter holding his nose.)
Fluttershy: Good morning, friends.
(A weak moan from Twilight floats follows the fumes out. Dissolve to a close-up of her, sitting in a tub of tomato juice—long held to be a countermeasure against skunk musk—and covered in bee stings. She is in an understandably poor frame of mind, and she moans while being scrubbed with a long-handled brush.)
Twilight: All this Winter Wrap Up stuff is a lot harder than it looks.
(Cut to several empty juice cans on a table.)
Spike: (from o.s., nasally) Right, because there’s no magic.
(On the end of this line, pan to frame him and Twilight; the tub is set up in the library’s kitchen, and he wears a clothespin on his nose as he scrubs. More empty cans stand on a table.)
Spike: Why don’t you just use magic, Twilight, and get it done the right way?
Twilight: No, Spike. I have to do it the traditional way. Ponyville has never needed magic to wrap up winter.
Spike: But they’ve never had you here before, either. Think of how much quicker they could wrap up winter with your magic.
Twilight: No, no, no! I’m gonna find some other way that I can help out if it kills me!
(She grunts angrily as he pours a fresh can of tomato juice over her head. Dissolve to a stretch of farmland, with plant team ponies pushing snowplows to clear the fields. Each rig has two rear wheels, a blade in front, and an open space within the frame for the pony to walk and push, with a canopy reaching overhead. It is now sometime in the afternoon.)
Applejack: (from o.s., distant) Keep pushin’, Caramel! (Pan to her on an elevated ridge.) That’s it, Bumpkin! (Close-up.) I know it’s hard work, but you guys are doin’ great! (rearing) Yee-haa!
Twilight: (from o.s.) Hey, Applejack.
(She and Spike walk up; she is now clean of the juice, the stings, and the fumes, and he has taken the clothespin off his nose.)
Twilight: How’s everything going?
Applejack: Oh, just dandy. A little slow startin’, but peachy all the same. (Back to the fields; she continues o.s.) There’s a lot of ground to clear, you hear? We can’t even start the plantin’ and the waterin’ until we get all this heap o’ snow hightailed outta here.
(Back to her on the second half of this line.)
Twilight: Well, I’d like to help. (This suggestion hits Applejack very strangely.)
Applejack: Well, I…I don’t know, Twilight.
Twilight: Just give me a chance.
Applejack: Well, I never turn down a hard worker, but…
(The eager plow operator does not stick around to hear anything after this point. She hops into an idle rig, eyes the push-bar attached to the rear face of the blade, and gathers herself. When she puts her weight on the bar, though, the wheels barely wobble in the snow that has built up around them. A second try gets her no better results, and Applejack and Spike drop their heads disappointedly. The little dragon’s words play in Twilight’s mind as the camera cuts to the other ponies clearing the snow.)
Spike: (memory) Think of how much quicker they could wrap up winter with your magic.
(The last two words of this line echo and die away; she bites her lip, deep in thought for a moment.)
Twilight: I could use a come-to-life spell.
(She glances around, sees the unsuspecting Applejack and Spike, and moans quietly.)
Twilight: Here goes…
(Her horn glows, putting the plow under its influence, and the wheels begin to roll. Realizing that it is starting to get away from her, she matches her walking pace to its speed so that she can keep contact with the push-bar. It soon builds up enough momentum to make her trot; in short order, she begins to pass stallions much larger and bulkier than she is.)
Applejack: Hmmm…she’s awful strong for such a little pony.
(The team leader watches through narrowed eyes as Twilight continues plowing.)
Spike: That’s my girl, following my advice!
Applejack: And what in tarnation does that mean?
(Now the plow starts to get away, rolling so fast that Twilight cannot keep up and the axle pushes her from behind. Her rear hooves are lifted clear of the ground and dangle in the air.)
Twilight: Uh-oh…slow down… (charging past other plows) …slow down!
(The snow she is moving starts to form into a steadily growing ball, and she passes so close to another plow—twice—that its operator ends up with the stuff all over his head. Finally she races straight toward Applejack and Spike, both of whom give a wide-eyed start, and the impact of Twilight’s monster snowball fills the screen. When the view clears, their yelling heads protrude from the massive sphere that is still being driven along.)
Applejack: What’s goin’ on? What’d you do? You used magic, didn’t you?
(One final screen-filling smash leaves all three buried up to their necks and the plow finally sitting motionless. A rumble from o.s. draws their eyes upward; cut to an overlooking ridge, whose layer of snow tumbles loose due to the impact. The avalanche buries all three; in the fields, the ponies have nearly finished their work, but the slide undoes almost all of it in seconds. There is a round of angry glares toward the source, where Twilight, Spike, and Applejack pop their heads up in that order. The last is plenty sore.)
Applejack: Nuts, Twilight! You used magic!
Spike: The nerve! Can you believe her? (Applejack glares at him, then turns back to Twilight.)
Applejack: That’s not how we do it ’round here, Twilight—
(Cut to a close-up of the crushed unicorn, tears forming in her eyes.)
Applejack: (from o.s.) —and especially not on my farm!
Twilight: (voice breaking) Well, see…I just wanted to…
(She pulls herself free with a piteous little whine and gallops away, barely avoiding being run over by one of the disgruntled stallions who have begun re-plowing the fields. Snap to black.)
Act Three
(Opening shot: fade in to a few midair pegasi at work. As two fly across the screen, two others bounce into and out of view; tilt down to show them jumping on treetops to dislodge their freight of snow. Some of this falls into a cart and is pulled away by a stallion. Cut to Spike, standing at a distance from the pavilion, and zoom out slowly as he speaks.)
Spike: Come on, Twilight, come on out. (He is addressing a nearby bush.)
Twilight: (from inside it, miserably) I’m a Winter Mess-Up.
Spike: Well, you’re good at a lot of things—just not nest-making, ice skating, animal waking, snow clearing…hmmm…
Twilight: (from inside, sarcastically) Thanks a lot for making me feel sooo much better.
Spike: That’s what I’m here for, sister.
Applejack: (from o.s.) Rainbow Dash! (Cut to her in the town square.) Y’all on the weather team need to melt the rest of this snow here on the ground and the trees, pronto! (Longer shot; Rainbow is right in front of her.)
Rainbow: Got it!
(She turns to zip away, but finds herself stopped by Fluttershy.)
Fluttershy: You can’t! My poor little animals’ homes will get flooded if the snow melts too fast.
Rainbow: Got it! (She turns around and nearly hits Applejack.)
Applejack: I’m tellin’ you, Rainbow, you gotta melt that snow now! (Rainbow lifts off.)
Fluttershy: No! You simply must wait!
(Overhead, many weather team members idle near the pavilion roof and are not happy about it.)
Rainbow: Ooo-kay.
Applejack: Go!
Fluttershy: Stop!
Applejack: Go!
Fluttershy: Stop! (Close-up of a properly peeved Rainbow.)
Applejack: (from o.s.) Go!
Fluttershy: (from o.s.) Stop! (Cut/zoom out to frame all of them and Spike, watching.)
Rainbow: (groaning) Make up your minds!
(A second groan joins in, this one from the o.s. Mayor Mare, who promptly walks into the square to confront the trio; Rainbow is now back on the ground.)
Mayor Mare: What in Equestria are all you arguing about? This sort of silliness is why we were late for spring last year— (Cut to Spike; she continues o.s.) —and the year before that, and the year before that! (Twilight puts her head out from the bush.)
Twilight: (whispering) Did she say…“late”? (Back to Mayor Mare and the trio.)
Mayor Mare: I was hoping my amazingly inspirational speech would urge everyone to do better than last year—but now it looks like we’re going to be later than ever! I mean, just look at this catastrophe!
(Quick pan to the lake on which Pinkie was skating. She watches worriedly from the shore as other skaters move about on the ice, which has cracked into large slabs.)
Mayor Mare: (from o.s.) The ice scorers made the ice chunks too big to melt!
(Their boss directs a shrug to the camera. Quick pan to Rarity’s table, where she is still trying to fix up Twilight’s mangled nest.)
Mayor Mare: (from o.s.) The nest designer’s horrendously behind. We need several hundred, and she’s only made one!
(Said designer sobs loudly and goes face first into the wreck. Quick pan back to Mayor Mare; as she continues, pan to the cloud-filled sky, then to a tree branch loaded with icicles underneath which a slightly embarrassed pegasus hovers.)
Mayor Mare: And don’t get me started on all the clouds still in the sky, the icicles on the trees… (Back to her.) …oh, this isn’t good! Not at all!
Applejack: And it’s gonna be all-to-pieces disastrous if we can’t get our seeds all planted.
(During this line, pan quickly to the carts of seeds, which stand uselessly amid the snowy farmlands. Back to a close-up of Rainbow after she finishes.)
Rainbow: Chillax, Applejack! We’re busting our chops as fast as we can!
Fluttershy: (from o.s.) No! Not fast! (Longer shot, framing her.) You have to wake animals slowly.
(Here come Big Macintosh and a second earth pony stallion, this one with a caramel-colored coat, dark blue eyes, and a dark brown mane/tail. His cutie mark cannot be seen at the moment due to the saddlebags he wears, but the contrition written across his face is all too clear.)
Big Macintosh: Uh, Applejack?
Applejack: (hoof to face) Oh, good gravy! Caramel lost the grass seeds again, didn’t he? (The second, Caramel, drops his head with a whimper.)
Macintosh: Ee-yup.
(Now a weather team pegasus mare flies onto the scene in a tizzy, joining two others.)
Mare: Ditzy Doo accidentally went north to get the southern birds! (Cut to Rainbow as she finishes.)
Rainbow: Oh, that featherbrain! Didn’t she learn her lesson last year when she went west?
(There follow several seconds of arguing among all the ponies.)
Mayor Mare: Stop this at once! (All silent.) We don’t have time to argue!
(Cut to Spike, still standing by the bush in which Twilight is hiding, and zoom in.)
Mayor Mare: (from o.s.) It’s almost sundown. Spring is going to be late again!
(Cut to just behind the bush; Twilight has emerged from it, but is still using it for cover to watch the group at the pavilion.)
Mayor Mare: Another year of scandal and shame! (Head-on view; Twilight peeks up as she continues o.s.) If only we could be more organized!
(Now the town’s unluckiest unicorn lifts her head clear with a huge smile and jumps out, all business.)
Twilight: Spike! Get my checklist and clipboard—stat!
Spike: (flustered, saluting) Yes, ma’am.
(They zip off in opposite directions, with Twilight moving to the newly-quarreling crowd.)
Twilight: Stop, everypony! (No effect; a bird perches on the bush.) Stop!
(Back to the group. A shrill, whistle-like note from the bird brings the squabble to a screeching halt, and a close-up reveals that Twilight has hit it with a spell to make it sound off. Zoom out; she ends the effect and gets an annoyed glare from the bird.)
Twilight: (whispering, to it) Sorry.
(Cut to her perspective of the group, then back to her during the following line.)
Twilight: I know you all want to complete your jobs on time.
(Her perspective again; now Caramel’s cutie mark can be seen as three blue horseshoes.)
Twilight: But arguing is no way to go about it. (Back to her.) What you need is… (Spike zips up, clipboard and quill in hand.) …organization! (Her perspective.) And I’m just the pony for the job!
(The ponies smile at each other, as do Twilight and Spike. Around these two, the background dissolves to put her at the front doors of the pavilion; zoom out as all others spread out to get back to work. Macintosh stacks hay bales alongside other nest parts, and the camera pans across the piles to Rarity’s table. She and a second unicorn are working steadily, having built up a sizable pile, and others are placing them in trees. Spike ticks off this item on his checklist.)
(Wipe to a lake that is still completely frozen over, with several ice skaters standing ready at the edges, and pan to Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie looking on. A map is spread out on the ground; a spot is tapped out, and Pinkie zips down to join the others, instantly getting her own skates on. The ponies began to move in formation, criss-crossing the ice with their skate tracks, and Spike checks off another item.)
(Wipe to a pennant being waved, showing the apple design seen on the banner hoisted in Applejack’s honor during “Applebuck Season.” Tilt down; she is waving it, with Twilight and Spike looking on, and the plant team swings into action. One stallion plows the snow away, a second follows to pull a plow and cut a furrow in the earth, and a third brings up the rear to plant seeds. The entire team has been set up in three-pony crews, and Applejack trades a high five with Twilight; Spike checks off the third item.)
(Wipe to a close-up of a bell suspended from a horizontally strung rope over an animal burrow, then cut to Fluttershy with a free end hanging in front of her. She gets it in her teeth and pulls, ringing both this bell and others that are attached to the same rope while Twilight and Spike watch. Several baby rabbits come out of one spot; Twilight smiles warmly at them, but grimaces upon looking off in another direction. Pan to Fluttershy, smiling serenely, then zoom out to frame the newly awakened critters: the same three snakes Twilight tried to rouse earlier. This time, though, they slither happily across in front of Fluttershy and Spike; a bird has even perched on the former’s head to watch. Leaves fall into view from above, prompting both to look up, and a cut to one branch shows the reason: Twilight has taken cover up here to get away from the snakes. She gives them an embarrassed grin while shivering with fright, Fluttershy and Spike trade a smile, and Fluttershy tips a wink up to the bird on her head.)
(It gives a shrill, whistle-like call that wakes Rainbow up from her nap atop a cloud, and she leads a squad of pegasi on a fast dive through the thick gray layer that still covers Ponyville. The turbulence of their passage is strong enough to blow all the clouds away in a single pass and strip snow off trees and hills, allowing the bright afternoon sun to shine through. Dissolve to a stream now swollen with runoff water, the cut to a long shot of the lake Pinkie and company skated on and zoom out. As the ice starts to melt, it fractures neatly along the lines they cut.)
(In the fields, now clear of snow, the plowing and planting work continues; up in the sky, a couple of pegasi deal with the last few clouds. A dissolve turns the sun into the moon and darkens the sky into nighttime, while the plant team makes a return pass. Close-up of a patch of ground; Spike reaches down to dig up a handful, drop some seeds in, and cover them over. A longer shot reveals that he has a basket of his own and is joining in. Even Mayor Mare and Twilight are on the job, the former hauling baskets of apples on her back as she follows a hay wagon, the latter toting loaded saddlebags.)
(Tilt up to the moonlit sky, which dissolves into the following morning as flocks of birds make their way across in a cacophony of chirping and singing with a pegasus escort. One passes very close to the camera; behind its wings, the view wipes to a tree in which new—and newly occupied—nests have been placed. Tilt down to ground level, where ponies haul wheeled tubs filled with water from the melted snow; each is fitted with a showerhead dispenser on its rear to sprinkle the grass and thus irrigate it. Spike ticks off this activity on the checklist and watches butterflies flit past as Applejack walks through behind him.)
(Butterflies, rabbits, turtles, raccoons, fish, bees—all are settling back into their normal behavior for the beginning of spring. As cartloads of rakes are hauled away, Twilight casts a satisfied eye over the vista: the snow is gone from Ponyville and the surrounding lands, the animals are properly awake and active, and no trace of winter remains. Standing on a ridge, she does not immediately notice the approach of Mayor Mare or the other workers from behind her.)
Mayor Mare: I can’t believe it! Spring is here—on time! And we have you to thank for it. If it weren’t for your organizing skills, we would still be arguing.
Macintosh: Ee-yup. (The crowd laughs; Pinkie has taken off her ice skates.)
Twilight: It was a team effort.
Mayor Mare: And since you helped every team, we have an official vest for you.
(Rarity steps up, levitating a vest. Seen from the front, it is green, with blue panels wrapping around from the back and tan trim.)
Mayor Mare: We give you the title “All-Team Organizer”!
(A flash, and the beaming unicorn is now wearing the vest. Close-up of it, tilting up to her face.)
Twilight: Gosh…I don’t even know what to say. Thank you, everypony!
Mayor Mare: And hereby I declare that winter is… (Cut to the other four ponies and the crowd; she continues o.s.) …wrapped up on time!
Crowd: Hooray! (Miscellaneous other cheering.)
Applejack: (to Pinkie, both looking to one side) Spike’s sure gonna be in for a hog-size surprise when that last piece of ice melts.
(Loud snoring asserts itself under her words. Quick pan to a close-up of Spike on the end of the line—out like a light, sawing branches, the clipboard underneath him. A long overhead shot and zoom out reveals that he is on a tiny floe in the middle of the otherwise-thawed lake. Laughter from all the o.s. ponies, then cut back the group and tilt up into the sky.)
(Dissolve to the exterior of the library, tilting down slightly toward ground level.)
Twilight: (from inside, dictating) “Dear Princess Celestia: Winter Wrap Up was one of the most special things I’ve ever been a part of here in Ponyville.”
(Cut to Spike, dressed in a robe and slippers and sitting in a rocking chair by a fire in the kitchen fireplace. He is writing this report on his clipboard rather than a scroll, but has to stop for a flaming sneeze while doing so on the next line—he has come down with a cold.)
Twilight: (from o.s.) “It helped me to learn that we all have hidden talents, and if we’re patient and diligent, we’re sure to find them.”
(Longer shot. She stands in the kitchen and has removed her tri-color vest; zoom in to a close-up during the next line.)
Twilight: “And as always, with good friendship and teamwork, ponies can accomplish anything.” How’s that, Spike?…Spike?
(He has dozed off in the chair.)
Twilight: (laughing gently) Oh, Spike…
(Her laughter continues as the view fades to black.)