Winter Wrap Up: Plant Team

[SteelEagle]

Another Winter had come and was about to go, and today was the day that the ponies of Ponyville took that last step needed to put it down. This winter had been easier than most, gentle snowstorms piling on packed snow at no greater speed than it could be removed from the fields. The weather teams had done a splendid job all season long of keeping the weather under control and on only a few occassions was Applejack caught off guard by developments above. They never amounted to much more than a wet mare or two out of the blue and only one work day had been cut short. The winds didn't bring down any of the mighty trees that dotted her farm and formed the barrier of Sweet Apple Acres and they stood proud and tall and ready for the spring. The top soil hadn't been frosted out of production and she had only went through a single ton of replacement, who might have seemed like a lot but when you bordered the Everfree that was a beautiful number. A manageable number. And that had been the byword all season long- manageable.

Food stores had held out without any need of ration out on the farms and in town the communal stores had likewise withstood the test of time stoicily and without complaint. No sooner had a problem arose than a solution appeared and sent it down to the boiling depths where imperfections on the town's facade died quick and terrible deaths. Ponies that suffered tragedies that took their supplies away were quickly foisted atop the town's gentle hooves. Sicknesses were isolated and given aid before they could spread. Festivals and events went off without nary a problem to be even rumored. The fields held as sturdy produce such as potatoes, pears, and beets rolled off of then all year. The cider was good, zap apples held, and in general it had been a perfect winter.

Now was time for the next page to turn and for Winter Wrap Up to bring them to Spring. Every year Winter Wrap Up got a little bit better and with Twilight running the whole show, no doubt it would do even better this year than last. Soon she figured that they would get done so soon they would have to push winter forward a day next year to make up! Now it was just up to the Plant team to do their part in the grand play. The other teams were just as important but Applejack couldn't worry about them. More importantly., she trusted them to do a bang-up job. She just had to keep her own head down and planted, pun intended, here on the ground, pun also intended. Helping lead the plant team was a great honor and Applejack wasn't going to mess it up this year. As the dawn hit and the rays of sun lay gently over Equestria, Applejack stood proud and rigid in front of a large field full of snow that was just now filling up with ponies. On one side of the field was a slew of very lonely plows, seed bags, and water bottles.

"Alright, thanks for comin' everypony. Today is Winter Wrap Up and Ah reckon we can have this thing licked 'fore the sun sets. In order ta do that though, we need ta follow tha plan. Everypony, yer in one of two platoons. Plow platoon, you will plow straight away one hundred yards. Seed platoon, you follow up. Water team, you follow up. Three of ya ta a plow. So get ta pickin'- we start in five minutes! Yeeehaw!"

[QuickLime]

Cashmere was the LEAST likely you would see wanting to help with farm work, but ever since the Changeling incident he wanted to be more involved, be more united..be more engaged! So there he was! Not strong enough to pull a plow, but fast enough to sprinkle seeds, so he quickly had one of the bags over his neck, it wasn't very fashionable, but today was not the time for that! In fact his mane wasn't even slicked back! Were it not for the tail tell cutie mark you wouldn't know this was Cashmere Needle!

"Yes ma'am!" He exclaimed with a salute! This was going to be hard without magic, but he was sure that he could do it, he wanted to be part of this community, and what better way to get involved then to help grow the food?

[DerpRavener]

'Spring Breeze' sat quietly, listening to the orange earth mare talk. She'd never been to a 'winter wrap up' before, and thus lacking any knowledge of how it was conducted, she had been expecting to be nervous. In truth, she'd really only shown her face at all because it was something the whole town participated in, and she didn't want to be seen as unusual. Neither did she want to seem anti-social for that matter, though that was for a different reason.

So far however, it had seemed...pleasant. The tasks didn't seem overly complicated, and it was nice to be part of a group, striving toward a single goal again. She'd missed that sense of purpose she was feeling now.

When Applejack finished her pep talk, she noticed another pony (who was a unicorn...huh) give a salute while replying. Unsure of the protocol in this situation, that seemed as good an idea as any and 'Spring Breeze' followed suit, giving a stiff soldier's salute and calling out “Yes ma'am!” before beginning to make her way toward the equipment-covered side of the field, heading in the direction of a convenient plow. She might have lacked the natural strength of an earth pony, but she expected her training and stamina would make up the difference.

[PyroBlaze]

Flora Bloom walked nervously towards the farm that she was supposed to be helping at. It had been a hard decision, between the animal and plant teams, but her love of plants had won out in the end. She was trying to hide behind her wild mane as she walked, wondering how she was supposed to do this. Sure, she was an earth pony, same as the mare that ran the farm, but she had never done farm work before. Flora wasn't sure she could, and that uncertainty was eating away at her confidence, what little she had about this excursion.

Honestly, what was she thinking? Closing up her nursery for the day and taking a train all the way to Ponyville just to experience their Winter Wrap Up? But she had wanted to experience it how they did here, and she was already here besides. Flora resigned herself to this task with a quiet sigh as she kept walking. It was taking longer than she had thought to reach the farm, mostly due to her getting distracted repeatedly. Really, it shouldnt have been this bad, snow still covered the ground after all, but she kept finding herself distracted. That was mostly why she was hiding her face in her mane, to help block out distractions.

She finally came upon Sweet Apple Acres, and walked towards the crowd that had formed. It seemed she was one of the last to arrive, and she stopped on the outside of the group. It seemed she had arrived just in time, as an orange earth pony mare in a cowpony hat began speaking, giving instructions. Flora breathed out a sigh of relief when she learned that she didn't have to pull one of the plows. Flora could handle planting seeds for sure, she did plenty of planting before. The mare finished with a cry that made Flora smile. She looked over at two of the others as they both saluted and said the same thing before she moved over to one of the sets of equipment and grabbing the water. There was a unicorn planting the seeds and a Pegasus pulling the plow, so she figured she might as well complete the set.

[RarityDash]

Lyra Heartstrings liked winter. She liked the snow. She liked the cold. She liked Hearth's Warming Eve and the festivities centred all around it. She liked getting wrapped up cozy and warm with a certain somepony very special in front of a fire. She liked it all. Which is why, when time for the Wrap Up came each year she was always kind of sad. Winter Wrap Up kinda sucked. Seriously. Not only did it put an end to the most magical season of the year, but it was also such a chore. The town had a tendency to sing about it and stuff, which made it seem like fun for a little while, but really it was just so much work. Lyra hated work. It didn't interest her and Lyra didn't like most things that didn't interest her.

What's more, she was forbidden to even use her magic. She didn't really get that. Why the needless rules to make it more difficult? While their at it, why not bind all of the pegasi's wings, and make everypony do everything with just three hooves and blindfolded? It made about as much sense to her. Seriously. It was all a bunch of silliness. Who cared about tradition? Wasn't it more important they just got it all over with as quickly as possible. Some ponies had more important things they could be doing with their time... like strumming their lyres and slowly eating their way through a sack for freshly made bonbons as they gazed upward into a starry night sky.

But no, Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up. Let's finish our holiday cheer. Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up. 'Cause tomorrow Spring is here. She got it. She'd go along with it as always and do what she could to help. It was practically mandatory in this town. This year she was gonna help the plant team, because, well, because. She supposed it wasn't super logical, but what was? Her best things were her music and her magic, neither of which was going to get her very far anywhere. So planting vegetables and stuff it was gonna have to be. Couldn't be too tough, she figured.

Lyra listened as team leader Applejack described the plan of attack. The division of labor didn't exactly seem completely fair. Lyra really couldn't see herself in a hurry to attempt to pull a heavy plow along without any magic. Even the planting was bound to be messy and more deceptively labor intensive than it seemed. Since Lyra was a lazy silly, that left her with the watering can. There was no way that could be hard at all.

"I call dibs on water team!" Lyra said loudly with a bounce. She wasn't gonna have it any other way.

​

[Lux]

This was going to be a big task for Carrot Top as she surveyed the fields she volunteered to help seed. Compared to other farmers, her acreage paled in comparison and work. Yet she didn't want to let Ponyville down on such an important event, so off she went with some saddlebags filled with gardening tools.

The rousing speech from Applejack didn't dull the fact that this was to be a long hard day, but Carrot knew that anything worth doing required some effort. And thankfully there were other ponies there who were help. Many hooves did indeed make work light.

"Hiya Applejack. I'm going to help out with the seeding. Just show me where those seeds are and I can get right to it once the fields are plowed!"

[Bellosh]

For as long as he has been old enough to participate in Winter Wrap Up, Filthy Rich had volunteered for the Plant Team. A farmer this stallion wasn’t, but since much of his wares came in the form of fruits and vegetables, Plant Team had always been the one group that Filthy felt closest aligned to. Even though the stallion’s wealth meant that he could probably hire a whole bunch of out-of-town workers if he wanted to, Mr. Rich always insisted on partaking in Winter Wrap Up himself, despite objections from a very tiny minority.

As a stallion of moderate strength, Filthy Rich usually ended up pulling plows on this occasion. And it looked like there was an unattended plow right next to Lyra Heartstrings and Carrot Top. Seems like those two mares would be his partners for this Winter Wrap Up. “Miss Heartstrings, Miss Top!” greeted Mr. Rich, wearing a Plant Team vest instead of his standard vest; “How do you do?” Friendly small talk was always a good way to start any day, especially Winter Wrap Up.

[SteelEagle]

Applejack looked on in approval as the plant team came together. Dozens of ponies across the land, but a few in particular drew her eye. First was Cashmere. Applejack had never met him but felt nothing but the greatest loyalty and respect for him. During the dark days of the changeling attack, he had helped stop it- and saved Apple Bloom from a fate worse than the one she had received. He had bled for the Apples and for Applejack's money that made him as right as rain. He would get on by just fine as long as he played by the rules. Second was a cyan pegasus who Applejack had never seen before, but nonetheless had shown up. That was always good. One of her best friends had only recently introduced herself to this custom after all. What better way to make friends than by sweating together and earning one another's respect? He and Cashmere shot on over to one set. Completing that set was an earth pony mare with a wild mane, another stranger. In any case it was good to see that new ponies were willing to go the less than fantastic route to get everything up and running.

"Thanks, y'all. We're almost ready to get this show on the road!" Applejack said, trotting next to them and dipping her hoof in a pale of purple paint. Next to every set of equipment was a sign detailing three pieces of equipment- water pale, seed bag, and plow- indicating the three stations. Applejack then stamped each one, indicating the station was filled. Her assistants did likewise across the field and it looked like they were making good progress.

This included the next team she noticed. Lyra Heartstrings was a good natured pony with a streak of laziness that was matched by her lover's intense business negotiations. She was a fine enough pony, but she was quick to head to watering. Well, somepony needed to water the seeds and it may as well have been somepony who intentionally sought the role out. She was joined by Carrot Top, a veteran player and friend in the farming game. That team would certainly have a good set of eyes and ears to help them out as Carrot's field was a fine example of crop rotation. The real non-shocker was the one on the plow, Filthy Rich. Now he was a fine enough stallion and a fair businesspony to boot, but Applejack also knew that he was a stallion of his word with a strong back to boot who was always willing to get down and dirty to help the town. Of course he had done so in the previous Wrap Ups so she didn't doubt his commitment or his strength. All in all, a fine team as well- and a good sart to the session.

"Heya Top! Tha seeds are right next ta tha plow. Which is also where you'll find yer water, Lyra," Applejack smiled and chuckled, Lyra's infectious bouncing causing her own tale to bob up and down in rhythm. She then nodded to Filthy Rich, "Mornin', Mister Rich. 'Nother year, 'nother Wrap Up, eh?" She asked as she stamped the three stations here. She then turned and trotted over to the Apple family's set.

It made her a bit glum. Normally she would have plowed somewhere and led her own team, but just a few days ago she had suffered the greatest defeat in her life. A game of straws had ended with her brother on the plows! She had thrown what she would admit later was an out of character little harumph, but it didn't do any good. She was still grump about it but what was she going to do, leave? Leave and let that lovable lughead win? Nah. Instead, she was going to plant, her brother would plow, and her little sis would water. All in all, a good team. She grabbed her seed bag- this one in particular was for carrots- and prepped behind the plow where her big brother was currently stationed, Apple Bloom stationed behind with a water pale in mouth.

"Alright everypony! It is important that everypony on teams stay on the same time. Plows, make sure to keep the pace consistent. Ya can't stop-start 'cause you might cause an accident with the two behind you. Don't go too slow, don't go too fast. We do this right and it ain't a race. Now, when Ah say go, we're off! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!...GO!"

[RedCedar]

Red Cedar

In his native Stalliongrad, Winter Wrap-Up took a great deal longer. The days were shorter, the nights colder, longer into the season, so even with the benefit of magic, the northern reaches of Equestria were the last to see Spring arrive.

So, with at least a couple of weeks to spare before he could return to working in the forests around that city, Red Cedar had decided instead to watch Spring arrive somewhere else as a quick cure for his winter blues. He had woken before Celestia had lifted the sun, and set himself up, forest green scarf around his neck, to watch the clouds part and the warmth of the light take hold, revealing the town gradually over the day from underneath its frosty blanket.

That had been the plan, anyway. Upon being spotted by several other vested ponies hurriedly making their way around town, he'd been asked what team he was on, why he wasn't with his team leader, and why he wasn't ready to go, yet. Trying to plead ignorance didn't help, and when one of the other ponies noticed Red Cedar's cutie mark of trees on his flank, they immediately hustled him in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres and decked him out in a bright green vest, effectively drafting him into the Plant Team.

And so, after this quickest of introductions to Ponyville's custom of a completely non-magical Winter Wrap-Up, he found his tree-pulling experience put to use on a plough, pulling it across the farm's fields steadily. It wasn't exactly what he had been expecting, but if Spring came by sundown, it would be worth it.

[Mojo]

Granny Smith, emerging from the main barn at Sweet Apple Acres, walked over to her granddaughter AppleJack.

"Lands sakes, AppleJack, looks like we gotta big crew of workers here this year, ain't we? I best git started now a fixin'm some lunch fer later on. Even the strongest ponies in Equestria's gotta eat or they ain't gonna be worth a plug nickel come afternoon. Ya think we kin git me some ponies ta help out in the kitchen? If'n we got some fillies and colts, I could put'm ta work with me! Ya may find this a shockin' fact, AppleJack, but I ain't as young as I used ta be. Any help y'all kin git me outta this here group would be mighty appreciated. Lunchtime's gonna be here before ya know it!"

Looking out among the mass of ponies, Granny Smith spotted a familiar face, calling out and waving at the stallion.

"HAY FILTHY RICH! HOW YA DOIN'? DIDN'T EXPECT TA SEE YOU OUT HERE, BUT I'M SURE GLAD YA CAME!"

[Blueblood]

The key to happiness is, as any philosopher would tell you, contrast. Very nearly any task, no matter how arduous or tedious, can be a source of joy as long as it is a change from some other state which has grown intolerable. Wordsworth Psmith fancied himself a philosopher, so that was one reason why the young gentlecolt had put himself into an environment which at first glance he was much ill-suited. As much as manual labor was foreign to Psmith, after spending a long winter cooped up in a Manehattan boarding school, working the fields in a small town in the open air was just the ticket.

And if this was true for the lanky lavender unicorn, it went double for the bulky, chocolate-coated earth pony Might Batsman, who'd come down with him and was drinking in the cold, clean air with relish. "I say, it was jolly good of you to haul me down here. I was about to start knocking down walls if I had to stay in that blasted city a day longer!" His accent proclaimed him a native son of Trottingham, which though a larger town than Ponyville, had similar sensibilities. He felt quite at home here as he strapped himself into the plow.

"Not at all, dear comrade Batsman; it is simply monstrous of you to suspect that I should leave you out of my vacation plans. When stone and brick grow grimy and bleak, go to where you'll find clean air, as said the convict before tunneling out of his cell." Psmith was in fine form, his burbling prose almost soaring into poetry as he critically inspected the selection of watering cans, turning them this way and that. "One must not neglect the proper selection of tools, if one is to get the most out of work. Work! The sluggard's bane, the millionaire's foundation. It is high time we had some of the good stuff, comrade, high time. Oh, if only our teachers could see us now; they would realize how slanderous the charge of laziness against us was! The Prench language is only a frivolity, not work; one never got anything practical as potatoes out of it. No, but give us real work, and you shall say, 'there goes a pair of young stallions who shall get on!'"

Mercifully for all surrounding upon whom this soliloquy was forced, Psmith finally selected a suitable can of water, turning to his fellow-unicorn with a nod. "Do you not think so, anyhow?"

[RarityDash]

“Miss Heartstrings, Miss Top! How do you do?”

"How do you do what?" Lyra started blankly, tilting her head as she stared at the stallion who had approached her. After a good fifteen seconds of silence, she then gave a very sudden forward bounce and smiled. "Just kidding! Lyra's doing fine, Richy my pal, thanks for asking!" She patted the back of the successful stallion with her hoof then and smiled some more.

"You give any more thoughts to my idea to stock gourmet, locally produced chocolates at Barnyard Bargains? It could be big!" she added with an opportunistic grin.

Before she got a response, a pair of older colts came up to grab some watering cans. One of them said a whole bunch of words. It was kind of unexpected, but it wasn't a bad thing. Lyra liked words. He seemed to be after an opinion too, so Lyra looked at him and gave a nod.

"I thought it was pretty good," she said. "Worth at least a 6.5!" she added. She loved judging things. "Free verse is tricky, I've always thought. Much harder to set to music. A good rhyme scheme helps lull everypony along and really punches it all up."

Lyra gave a firm nod as she then grabbed up her own watering can.

​

[SteelEagle]

Across the whole field, ponies of all stripes took to the action with gusto. It was good to see such an active turnout of ponies this year and such a wide range full of new faces. That meant that future wrap ups would continue to be fully staffed and on time. Heck, she might even invest in a few new plows. All the farmers of Ponyville contributed a few pieces of equipment but it seemed as though going forward they'd need even more! Of course, that was then. This was now and teams were moving them one step closer to spring. Some moved faster than others. The older ponies ran with all their strength which amounted to about a mile an hour. Others were starting to beat an outrageous pace as every piece in the farming machine worked in wondrous unison. Why, it could bring an tear to the eye of a particularly teary-eyed mare. And it almost did to Applejack except her oaf of a brother was moving slow. That did at least allow her to be conscious of what was going on around her.

More arrivals trickled in, taking up positions. One dark red pony with a black and green mane and tail seemed to take up his plow without any real excitement. Applejack chuckled- his fillyfriend either forced this event on him or he was drafted by a few of the more aggressively Ponyvillian types that couldn't pass up the chance at free labor. He was a bit far for Applejack to talk to, but she waved to him and tipped her hat. It never hurt to be kind. Then came a pair of colts who were closer by. Applejack listened in- she wasn't a gossip hound or nothin' but heck, she couldn't help but overhear things- for all over fifteen seconds before her brain was tied in knots. She was happy for their help- the less talkative and stronger looking guy strapped himself in while the fancy talker took the water- but felt like pulling her mane out. She had a few friends outside Ponyville who spoke like that sometimes and it was more annoying that one cow cowtipping another cow. Speak normal so people understood what you were saying! Ahh, ohh well. Youth. She nodded towards them too and smiled- good luck to them.

Then there was Granny! Applejack hugged her Granny and then went back to planting seeds, speaking as she went. She was nothing if not a wonderful taskmaster and multitasker. She was a multitaskmaster.

"That sounds like a great idea Granny! Ah bet 'fore long we'll have a lineup of tuckered out ponies who need one of your famous beet and barley sandwiches. Why, Ah'm gettin' hungry just thinking about it!" Applejack licked her lips, imagining th delicious beet melting in her mouth after a long stew for the sandwiches. Yum. "I'll make sure ta send you yer help. Next new pony Ah see is comin' yer way and if ya need more help, come an' get me!" Applejack finished, planting more seeds. Seeds everywhere. Endless row of seeds. Crops coming. Greatness! Winter, your number is UP!

[Lux]

“Miss Heartstrings, Miss Top!” greeted Mr. Rich, wearing a Plant Team vest instead of his standard vest; “How do you do?”

"Oh I'm doing great Mr. Rich," Carrot said to the business pony, "I can't wait until spring arrives then I can start planting. How about you? How's business at your Barnyard Bargains? Oh and hello Lyra, how are you?"

She had to admit that Mr. Rich didn't seem like the type of pony that could pull a plow, but the mare knew never to judge a pony until she really got to know them. Besides that Carrot knew that while she could do a little light plowing for her garden, plowing several fields was best left to a stronger team of ponies.

"Heya Top! Tha seeds are right next ta tha plow. Which is also where you'll find yer water, Lyra,"

"Thanks Applejack," Carrot said to her fellow farming pony. The golden manned mare was a model of efficient farming along with her close family. As she looked to where the seed area, she marveled at how organized the apple pony was, right down to each seed bag labeled and organized. There were seeds of every fruit, veggie, and grain, and even a little map showing where things should go. Being a farmer Carrot Top instinctively imagined the rolling hills and flat fields as a grid with each area designated for a certain type of seed.

She grabbed her first seed bag, this one corn, and waited until the plows moved.

"Alright seed sowing ponies," she said to those joining her, "Just follow the map and we'll do fine. I don't want to have an apple tree growing in a hay field after all."

She charged down the hill, quickly depositing a few hoof-fulls of seeds in the plowed areas while covering them with dirt.

[QuickLime]

Aw, his team was entirely mares! Ugh, ah well... He gave AppleJack a small smile, before shifting his bag, starting after the one pulling the plow in his section, moving in step, and using a head flick to sprinkle seeds where they belonged. He was a team player and wasn't using a lick of magic to help, sure it felt off, and he could do this way more efficiently, but tradition was tradition, even if it was a silly, ridiculous, prideful tradition..

Cashmere kept his mind on his task, he was probably not as social as the most of them here (odd considering he was a former canterlot pony and therefore stereotype dictates that he be snobby and a socialite) but he wanted to get the job done, he did glance around to see who was all there, and it was literally nobody that he recognized, so why bother?

Though he did step hoof deep in a buncha mud and cringed, his coat was all dirty now!...Ah well....

Ugh, glancing over he noticed who AppleJack was walking behind..Oooh baby.."Ah hey AppleJack?" He called out "Would you..mind ever so much if perhaps we switched?" He asked, blushing a little sheepishly, ears drooping...

I mean not that the mare pulling the plow wasn't..nice but she was a mare and well..

[RedCedar]

Red Cedar

Red was starting to get a good pace through the fields going, pulling the plough behind him. All in all, it was not much different from pulling felled trees and, he had to admit, this working vacation to stretch his legs and use his muscles again after a winter of less strenuous work was feeling pretty good. Now that he had the hang of it, he was able to take in a good look at his surroundings, the fields cleared of snow against the backdrop of the apple trees. It was quite the sight.

A couple teams over, he noticed an orange mare wave at him, and he paused the ploughing just long enough to wave a hoof and smile back at her.

As he continued plodding along, he noticed the pony pulling the next plough over, and had to take a second look. Sure enough, the team beside him was being led by a maroon pegasus with a blue mane. She was doing a fairly quick and steady pace at it, too.

As he caught up to the pegasus' plough, he looked over and smiled. "'Morning!" he said cheerfully. "Did you get drafted, too?"

[Bellosh]

"HAY FILTHY RICH! HOW YA DOIN'? DIDN'T EXPECT TA SEE YOU OUT HERE, BUT I'M SURE GLAD YA CAME!"

Mrs. Smith sounded as lively as ever, but had she momentarily forgotten how Filthy Rich helped out with Winter Wrap Up practically every year for the last couple decades? Yet judging by Smith’s ability to regale everypony with stories of the old days, Filthy simply concluded that Granny’s mind worked in mysterious ways sometimes. “You know me!” the stallion waved back; “I always do what I can for this community!”

".....Just kidding! Lyra's doing fine, Richy my pal, thanks for asking! You give any more thoughts to my idea to stock gourmet, locally produced chocolates at Barnyard Bargains? It could be big!"

Thankfully, Lyra’s awkwardness was nothing more than a fake out, which encouraged chuckling from Mr. Rich. There were a few things to hash out about the unicorn’s proposal; namely, who’d supply the gourmet chocolate and for what price Filthy would have to pay for them. Knowing Lyra, she’ll undoubtedly be harping for her fillyfriend Bon Bon, which only left the second question unanswered. But an interruption from two colts prevented the stallion from talking further to Miss Heartstrings, for now.

"...How's business at your Barnyard Bargains?"

“Good, very good,” Filthy Rich answered. Once Applejack instructed the plow pullers to being tugging their plows in sync, the stallion continued his conversation with the undistracted Carrot Top; “Lead up to Winter Wrap meant a 33% increase in sales from last month. I’m sure as a farmer, you can’t wait for the growing season to finally begin.”

[PyroBlaze]

Flora walked quietly along behind the unicorn stallion on her team as he put the seeds into the ground. She just followed and watered the seeds, still trying to hide amongst her mane. This time it was more out of shyness than anything else, as she almost never got distracted once she started working, especially when she was working on plants. She was aware of the large amount of strangers and nopony she knew, and it was scaring her somewhat. She tried not to let that stop her from working, and she was successful for now.

She glanced up at the unicorn stallion just in time to see him cringe from getting his hoof muddy. Flora just looked back down, inwardly shaking her head at his reaction. She knew full well that you should expect to get dirty when working with plants, especially when you plant them. She walked straight through the mud with no reaction to the brown on her light green coat. She just kept on watering the seeds that were put in the ground.

Then the stallion was asking somepony else to switch with him. That caused Flora's spirits to drop slightly. Was it something she did? Was that why he wanted to leave the team? Flora sniffed once before continuing on with her watering. She was being almost casual about her watering, though she was still pouring the correct amount onto each seed. She knew what these plants needed, even if she hadn't done farm work before. She had worked on plenty of gardens that grew vegetables, so this was more like a giant garden to her.

[DerpRavener]

'Spring Breeze' was enjoying herself more than she had been in at least recent memory, if not longer. Though she had gotten off to the bit of a rough start, having not ever used a plow before it took her a couple tries to get it moving, and she'd worried about what her teammates might think. Once she got it moving however, she developed a rhythm fairly quickly. She had initially tried some tentative social interaction with her teammates, however neither the unicorn nor the earth pony seemed particularly eager to talk and 'Spring Breeze' didn't feel like pressing the issue. She was enjoying herself well enough and she presumed they were too (otherwise they'd say something...right?), and she had no good reason to jeopardize that. Turning back forward, she had soon enough lost herself in the regular rhythm of the work.

So when the unicorn requested to switch teams when Applejack came by, it caught 'Spring Breeze' by surprise, after hearing mostly silence from him for so long. The false pegasus almost lost her pace, the plow slowing a little before she caught herself. Fortunately she was able to get back on track before it got out of hoof. She turned her head back as far as she easily could, and with only curiosity on her face asked “Something wrong?” Idly she worried if it was something she did as, if she were inadvertently doing something to drive ponies away she'd have a problem...

[QuickLime]

Ooh he had not expected someone to ask why, so the blush on his face darkened "Ah um, no no, nothing wrong just that I um" He swallowed a little bit, rubbing the back of his neck, how did he word this in a way that didn't sound weird "I think I'm just going to slow you ladies down! I think it would be best if I walked behind Big Mac at his slower pace, and AppleJack with her brisker pace kept with you so you didn't fumble"

And 100% not because he wanted to enjoy the sight of a strong, handsome workhorse tugging a plow, nope..

[SteelEagle]

Everything was going according to plan. Big Mac wasn't lighting the world on fire with his speed but the soil was being tilled good and deep, and she dropped her seeds in without feeling as if any would be wasted. Carrots and beets needed good coverage to really show off their stuff in the end anyway. And speaking of coverage, they were making good on their progress so far. Most ponies seemed to have a bit of a leap to their step today and they were making some fine time pushing forward. Plow after plow tore up the cold top soil as beyond row after row of seed planters and waterers took to action. It wouldn't be long before this field brimmed with the successes of their collective work and Ponyville as a whole enjoyed the production of their fertile fields made possible by the sweat and good nature of the ponies who called it home. It was all going according to Twilight's plan.

Well, mostly. It was bound to happen, somepony wanting to switch teams. Nothing too shocking about it and she knew that nopony was mean enough to cause a big ol' stink about it. What did shock her a bit was who it was who called her over to switch. Cashmere didn't seem the type to cause a fuss- well, actually, he was exactly the type to cause a fuss. Made perfect sense. But why? That took a few seconds longer to answer as she stared back at her former position. Her big, buff older brother, sweat glistening off of his toned form as his blonde mane waved majestically in the light winds. And Cashmere was blushing like a filly caught with a- ahh! Okay. That made sense. A bit silly that he needed that much of a stallion at all times of the day apparently, but heck, he bled for the Apples so if he wanted to ogle some flank while doing some work then who the hay was she to stop him? Besides, Big Mac would be oblivious and telling him at the end of the day would work out just fine for Applejack.

Applejack let out a conspiratorial chuckle, her eyebrows waggling accusatory as she placed a hoof pointedly on Cashmere's chest.

"Ahh, well, Ah'll be- hehe, Big Mac'll get a kick out of it. Sure, Ah'll switch with ya," She did as she said, hoofing over her seed bag and taking Cashmere's, "just make sure to keep pace with him. He's real big and strong but likes ta take things nice and slow. Make sure that as you work with him ta plant yer seed that ya don't put it in incorrectly as his soil is pretty dang deep and fertile," Applejack waved cashmere over with a smile, happy to play a part in making Big Mac's day slightly more vexing in hindsight. Hehe, he'll rue the day he beat her at drawing straws! But now, she had a new team.

"Howdy. Name's Applejack. Y'all keeping up a good pace, so don't worry- we'll have this licked by lunch! Yeehaww!" Applejack rared up in excitement...before immediately going back to seeding.

[Blueblood]

OK; I'm trying to keep who's in what team straight here, just so I don't mess up things. From what I gather right now, it's:

1 - Filthy Rich (plow), Carrot Top (seeds), Lyra Heartstrings (water)

2 - Spring Breeze (plow), Applejack (seeds), Flora Bloom (water)

3 - Might Batsman (plow), ??? (seeds), Wordsworth Psmith (water)

4 - Red Cedar (plow), ???, ???

5 - Big Mac (plow), Cashmere (seeds), ???

Never let it be said that Psmith took an appreciative audience for granted. True, the unicorn mare seemed to be more impressed at the extent rather than the content of the colt's oration, but that didn't matter particularly to him. "I am most grateful for your appreciation! The artist is only there to serve and entertain the public." He suited the action to the word; depositing a gentle shower upon each planted seed in graceful attitudes, as if he were part of a grand ceremonial dance. "You remind me, in fact, of someone I knew once at school. A real artist in words; not only was she a wonder in impromptu poetry, but she inspired it in others, not excepting myself. 'Freestyle rap,' I believe she called it."

Besides being a great talker, Psmith was an observer of life as well, and being a part of the watering team gave him a view of the equine drama, or perhaps comedy, beginning to unfold before him. He raised an eyebrow at a fellow social butterfly requesting a change in teams. This promised interest. Pitching his voice so that it would carry, Psmith asked in delighted tones, "I say, that wouldn't happen to be the Cashmere gracing our presence ahead of us? There had been worries that fame and heroism had gone to his head; the cry went round the castle walls, 'Cashmere shall soon need a shoehorn to put on his hats, so severe is the swelling!' Some ponies delight in slander, and it is always gratifying to see them proved wrong, comrade." Yes, this promised to be a very entertaining situation, provided it was stirred up a bit.

Might Batsman, meanwhile, was not paying attention to any of this. Over the course of his friendship with Wordsworth Psmith, the earth pony had learned just to let him talk, and allow the words to become a pleasant buzz in the background while he concentrated on whatever needed to be done. Still, plough-pulling wasn't exactly mentally strenuous work, and he began to want some conversation. He turned to the stallion on his left, a rather silent looking individual done up in maroon and green.

"What-ho! Lovely last day to have for winter, what?" He smiled, a little weakly; he was still unused to initiating conversation, though Psmith had done some work to treat his native shyness and diffidence. "My name's Might Batsman, what's yours?"

[RedCedar]

Red Cedar

The pegasus was pre-occupied with the rest of her team, it seemed, as far as ponies wanting to switch lines and all, so Red went back to ploughing, at least until he heard another pony beside him strike up conversation.

"What-ho! Lovely last day to have for winter, what?" He smiled, a little weakly; he was still unused to initiating conversation, though Psmith had done some work to treat his native shyness and diffidence. "My name's Might Batsman, what's yours?"

He looked over at the cricketing pony, and smiled. "Red Cedar. Pleased to meet you. And, I think it will be a lovely day for the last day of winter once we've got it wrapped up!" he said cheerfully. The hint of an accent might tip off a well-travelled pony that he wasn't from Ponyville, either.

Yeah, I just picked up a plough and started trudging because that would have been Red's strength. I'm just assuming there's two other background ponies behind him at this point.

[PyroBlaze]

Flora listened as the Pegasus mare in front asked the stallion why he wanted to switch. He sounded quite flustered as he answered, causing Flora to look up at him. She saw how he looked embarrassed, then looked over at the other team he was trying to join, and saw the stallion pulling the plow. After a couple of glances back and forth, it clicked, and Flora looked back down, chuckling slightly. So that stallion was interested in other stallions. Fine by her, she wasn't about to tell him how to live his life. She was just relieved that she hadn't done anything to drive him away.

She watched as the stallion switched bags with the farm mare, who was giving him directions about making sure to put the seeds in correctly. From what she'd been seeing, he'd been doing perfectly fine on that front. The farm mare introduced herself as Applejack, gave them encouragement about their progress, then went to seeding. Flora smiled despite herself as she watched Applejack for a couple seconds.

"H-hi. I-I'm Flora Bloom. N-nice to meet you." Flora said before going back to her watering. Applejack had introduced herself, so Flora figured she should return the favor and introduce herself to Applejack and that Pegasus mare pulling the plow.

[Smartbrony]

Soft Paw wandered out of the Ponyville train station, observing the town. A friend of Golden Compass' had asked if Golden Compass would be helping to wrap up winter, but Gold was going to Staliongrad, so he volunteered Soft Paw in his stead. Soft Paw didn't mind it that much. From what Golden Compass had told him, he'd get to be out in the fresh air helping ponies clean up winter. He had been told that he should go to Sweet Apple Acres and find the plant team leader, but since Soft Paw didn't know his way around Ponyville Golden Compass had written him some directions.

A few lefts and rights later, Soft Paw came upon a field with a bunch of ponies wearing green vests, using plows, planting seeds, and watering the ground. He scanned the area, but he had no idea how to tell which pony was the team leader, assuming this was even the right place. He hesitated asking anypony, they all looked so busy, but he eventually started to walk alongside a light green mare that was watering the ground. "Uhm, excuse me, but I don't suppose you could point me towards the plant team leader, could you? This is Sweet Apple Acres, correct?"