Our Journey

Warmth. The sun shone upon us, our laughter filled the air, the taste of wheat bread in my mouth. All eight of us sat upon a red and white striped blanket in the glorious northern fields of Ponyville. My eyes always drawn to the horizon, and a smile on my face. What lies at that point is a place I have not been, and I want to go there. "Hey, Sven", one of my pony friends called out. "Huh, oh, yeah Dash?", I responded. "You've just been...zoned out this whole time. Is something up?", she asked in her usual tone. That tone only Rainbow Dash can speak in. I looked out toward the northern horizon once more. I sighed, "Have any of you ever been up north, past this field?" They all turned, their eyes contacting the kiss of blue and green at the edge of the earth. "Of course", Pinkie said in her gleeful tone, "We've been to the Crystal Empire in the arctic!" They all nodded. Spike stood up, his fist in the air, his head high, his foot in the potato salad. "I am know to all as a hero in the Crystal Empire!", he shouted stoically. "Spike, sit down, you're ruining the potato salad", Twilight said in an very monotone voice. The young dragon looked down at his feet, and an heavy shade of red washed over his face. Luckily for him there was a small stream nearby, of which he choose to wash is potato cover foot. None of us could help but laugh a little, and at that moment we knew it didn't help his embarrassment, but I caught him laughing just as much. "What is it about the north that draws your attention, darling?", Rarity asked as she pushed her rather small plate of potato salad away, disgusted with the recent event. "I've never been beyond Ponyville, or anywhere else in Equestria for that matter", I said. I looked out at the horizon once more, and it was then that i knew what this summer held for me. "Girls, tomorrow I'm heading north", I announced. They all gave me an awkward glance, well, all except Pinkie. "Ooh!, I wanna go! Can I go?! Please!!", she shouted loudly as she bounced up and down. "I'll go", Dash said, "There's nothing to do around here anyway". Twilight's ears perked up. "Hmm...perhaps spike and I can tag along. This can make for a great report to Princess Celestia". "Ah reckon ah can come along. Applebuckin' season's already come an' gon anyways", said Applejack. We all looked toward Fluttershy and Rarity. "Oh, no. I have a boutique to look after", said Rarity as she fixed her mane. "I have to take care of my animals", Fluttershy added. I feel bad that they cannot come as well, but perhaps they're right. They have very important responsibilities, and the six of us that are going our leaving ours behind.

Tomorrow is today and I wait. It's noon, and soft fur presses against my cheek as I find myself caught in another one of Pinkie's famous hugs. She releases me, and the pack on my back weighs me down for a second. I packed some clothes, and my grooming tools, they shouldn't feel this heavy. Then again, I did pack quite a bit. My thoughts are broken, by the hand of another pony upon my shoulder. It's Applejack. She smiles at us and we smile back. We our soon joined by Twilight and Spike. The poor dragon carries a huge pack, containing both his and Twilight's belongings. I chuckle to myself a bit and look to the sky, and as I expected, the cyan blur with the spectrum trail of light fell from the sky and landed before us. "Hey, Dash", I said kindly as she stood up from her landing. "Hey", she answered back. "Well, we're all here", Twilight said. "Yep", Applejack agreed. We almost began our departure, but the voice of the mare we almost left behind ceased our movement. "You seriously don't plan to go without me, do you?", Rarity shouts as she walks toward us down the hill that separates the fields from Ponyville. Fluttershy follows just behind her. "I though, you said you had a boutique to run", Dash said as she hovered over the group. The white mare sighed. "As many bits that I know I'll loose from this decision, I've closed the shop until we return and sent Sweetie Belle to stay with your family, Applejack. As for Fluttershy, I helped her convince Zecora to look after her animals. The pale yellow pegasus nodded as she and Rarity completed the group. I was overjoyed. I turned and looked to the place where the sky touched the earth, and took the first step.