New Dawn, New Year, New Life, New Age

“Alright Marrie, today’s the day!” Flurry proclaimed. “I’ve made all the preparations, now all I need is somecreature to come with us.”

Marrie tilted her head quizzically.

“Well, I was hoping that uncle Spike would join us, and he’s not a pony.”

Marrie nodded in understanding.

“All I have to do is ask him tonight. And don’t you start about leaving things for the last minute,” Flurry preempted. “I wanted to ask him face to face, so it had to be today. In case he says no I’ve already asked Yona, and she agreed to travel with us once I get to Yakyakistan if I need help.”

Marrie stared blankly at her.

“Well I want this to be just between family, or I would have invited her.”

Marrie stepped back.

“Not… Look, you’re different. I know Spike won’t mind you, and you always stay out of the way when things get personal. But Yona… She’s nice, but she’s also loud.”

Marrie nodded.

“I’m glad you understand. Thanks for listening. And remember not to stay up too late tonight!” Flurry giggled at her joke, then walked out of the room, leaving her life-sized puppet alone to ponder… whatever it is that puppets ponder.

“Uncle Spike! Wake up!”

Spike grumbled, pulling his pillow over his head. “Five more minutes Twilight.”

“Silly, I’m not Auntie Twilight, I’m Flurry!”

“Okay, five more minutes, Flurry.”

“Okay, but no more. I want to get started at dawn, and that only gives us half an hour to get ready.”

Spike finally sat up at that. “Ready for what?”

“To go on our trip, of course. Don’t you remember?”

Spike groggily shook his head. “No. I thought we were staying until tomorrow. And when did you decide to head home with us?”

“No no, I’m not going home with you, you agreed to take me on a New Year’s trip last night.”

Spike thought back to the previous night. He remembered they had a party from dusk till midnight, but any memories about the party itself were shrouded in the familiar party haze of excitement, exhaustion, and mild intoxication. “Alright.” He interrupted himself with a yawn. “I’ll meet you… Where are we setting off from?”

“The Yakyakistan trail!”

“We’re going to Yakyakistan?”

“Nope, We’re going through Yakyakistan. We’re gonna head all the way North to the very top of the world. Now come on, we don’t want to be late!” Flurry cantered off, humming a cheerful ditty, leaving Spike to process what she’d just said.

About half an hour later Spike found Flurry standing in front of the line where grass turned to snow at the edge of the Empire. A small wagon stood beside her, hitched to her pony-sized doll. Merry? Yeah, that sounded right.

“Hey Flurry,” he said, waving to her as he walked up.

She turned around. “Hi Spike! You’re just on time. Look.” She faced right and pointed at the horizon, which was already a deep gold. “We’re going to set off when the sun comes fully over the horizon.”

Spike stretched his arms and sat in the grass beside her. “Not that I mind waiting, but why then? We’re already here and it’s already light, and if you weren’t in a hurry then why did we get up so early?”

“I wanted to set off at the first dawn of the new day. That’s kind of the whole point of our trip. We’re going to be the first creatures to ever see the first sun of the year at the North Pole! The first sun that it will have seen in months. So we’re going to set off at dawn each day until we reach the pole.”

Soon, the sun was revealed in its fullness, and they started up the trail to Yakyakistan.

That afternoon they reached Yakyakistan, where they stayed until morning. Yona was happy to let them stay with her for the night, and they shared stories of the holidays with each other. The next morning they hit the trail at dawn, heading North, towards the Freezing Sea.

“So, we’re gonna be the first creatures to reach the North Pole by hoof, right?” Spike asked.

“Actually, that honor goes to Henson, a Yak who made the trip in the middle of summer eight years ago. We’re going to be the first ones to reach it at New Years, regardless of the method of transport.”

Spike nodded. They walked in silence for a bit, the only noises being the crunching of their hoofsteps, the whistling of the wind, and the creaking of Marie’s wagon.

“Alright, why this particular trip?” Spike asked. “It can’t be just to set a record at something, you’ve already got at least three more impressive records.”

“Okay, first of all ‘Being born an alicorn’ and ‘Shattering the Crystal Heart’ hardly seem like accomplishments to be proud of,” Flurry rebuffed. “But no, that’s not why I wanted to do this. I felt like… Like this was a beginning, both for me and for Equestria, and I wanted to do something to commemorate it. That’s why the whole trip revolves around beginnings.”

“How so?”

“Well, for Equestria I’m a little late, but I’m thinking of Aunt Twilight’s coronation. I didn’t understand it at the time, but looking back it feels like a fine point of beginning. And for me, I’m ready to start looking for how I can help Equestria.”

On their journey there were many beautiful sunrises. Really, except for the one they spent huddled in the tent in a blizzard they were all wonderful. But on New Year’s Day itself, Flurry felt cheated. Yes, they had a lovely sunrise, with the sun slowly painting its golden hues upon the horizon before revealing itself just for them. But she felt like there should have been something more. This felt exactly like every other sunrise on their hike.

“Well? Is it everything you were hoping for?” Spike asked.

“No. I thought… I thought that maybe, when I got here… That maybe I would understand what to do next.”

“Flurry.” Spike put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. “You can’t force this kind of revelation. It’s like finding your cutie mark. Don’t stop looking, but don’t fret too hard over it either. You’ll find it when you find it.”

Flurry sighed, then snuggled into Spike’s embrace. “I guess.”

“If it makes you feel better, Twilight felt this way too.”

Flurry poked her head back up. “Really? I thought she always knew what she wanted, even if she was wrong sometimes. Like how she went straight from studying magic in Canterlot to studying friendship in Ponyville?”

“Well, she didn’t feel like this when she was first stepping out into the world, but let me tell you the story of her ascension. You see…”

And so, Spike and Flurry sat at the top of the world, under the first sun it had seen in months, and spoke of the years gone by, and of those yet to come.

Fin.

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