//------------------------------// // Rainbow Dash Keeps Moving // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash flew down into the canyon but stayed near the top of its walls instead of gliding down closer to the road. Since it was impossible to get lost or go the wrong direction she might as well stay up where she had a better view over everything. Following the canyon didn’t last particularly long though as it widened up while the road dipped down steeper until the canyon ended completely and opened up into the wider valley Rainbow had seen from above. Now tall cliff faces stretched east and west, the canyon like a wound that stabbed into them and the road continuing on south. The road now paralleled a small river as well that must’ve come from a reservoir or something to the west. It first hugged the cliff face and then turned south with the road built right beside it. Whatever stream once came from or into the canyon had to have dried up ages ago. Rainbow Dash took a quick dive to the river and swallowed a few mouthfuls of water before zooming back up into the sky. Much better. Now Rainbow flew along both road and river towards the huge buttes in the distance that shot out of the ground like unhammered nails. By the looks of it, the road and river led directly to one while just a little further south was a wide mesa and then a bunch of rocky hills beyond that. Still no civilization or anything she suspected was Hoofica. That little pioneer settlement came first anyways, and it had to be close by. Rainbow Dash swiftly flew towards the one large orange butte that the road went to, the huge landmark swiftly getting bigger in her vision. She noticed that the road straightened out and started directly going towards the butte while the river started curving and flowing around to the south side of it. Rainbow stuck with the road and still stayed at a height where she could see them both. Once the road hit the steep, steep hills that made up the bottom of the butte, it curved around it to the south as well. And shortly after following it to the south side of the butte, she found what she was looking for. Something too small to be even called a village. It was built right by the steep hills and rock walls of the butte, a settlement made up of tee-pees, one or two wooden cabins, and then a smattering of clay abodes and hovels. There were a few small farms, more like gardens, built around and between the buildings, probably providing just enough sustenance for these ponies to get by. A few ponies were out tilling the soil of their gardens, while she saw a mare carrying a basket of sheets or something back from the river. The road eventually went back south, where a small bridge was built over the river, while the river now flowed east. Rainbow Dash shrugged and flew down to the cabin she saw a stallion in the garden outside of, breaking the ground and fixing things up with a plow. “Hey!” She called out to announce her arrival. The stallion looked up at her, stubble on his face, he had a hard-set frown and a rough look. Probably the norm for any ponies that chose to live the hard life out here. Still, he didn’t exactly look mean or annoyed to see some pegasus come down and interrupt him. A few other ponies in the small settlement noticed Rainbow Dash and watched her, wondering what was up. “Can I help you, miss?” The stallion asked her, resting up against his plow while they talked. Rainbow Dash stopped right in front of his face and gave as much of a friendly smile as she could. “Dunno, maybe. Name’s Rainbow Dash by the way.” She stuck out her hoof. He took it and gave her a shake. “Big Red. Came from up north?” “Yep,” Rainbow nodded. “I heard from a griffon who works for the Aux-Lemm corporation about your place here and wanted to stop by.” “Aux-Lemm huh? Haven’t had a caravan from them come through here in near a year. Even before the business… so why’d you want to stop by? There aint nothing around here or anything,” he asked her. “I heard that this was the last stop before Hoofica,” Rainbow said. He raised an eyebrow at her and his frown became more worried. “Hoofica? Don’t tell me you’re actually trying to go there? You know what’s happened to it, right? “I am and I do. I heard about it a while ago,” Rainbow said, briefly looking south. “Miss Rainbow Dash, I really have to recommend not doing that. We had a front row seat to everything, one day we woke up, and it was all gone,” he pointed out to the mesa and the hills beyond. “You used to be able to stand up on that mesa and see into the northern reaches of the kingdom. Forests, lakes, rivers, farms, small villages, you could see it all. Then it vanished. Gone without a trace. All that’s there now is a rocky wasteland. And worse… any pony that tried to go there to see what happened has disappeared and never come back. Ponies from our home. Friends and family, all of them gone. It’s a no pony’s land now, Rainbow Dash. Please, just don’t go there, I’m telling you. I don’t want anymore ponies to up and vanish.” The whole time he was trying to convince her and scare her off, her smile grew wider. “Sorry, pal, but you just gave me even more reason to go there. Now I can find and save your friends too.” She winked. Big Red’s jaw dropped. “Miss, you don’t know what you’re getting into out there...” “Believe me,” Rainbow said and looked deep into his eyes, her ruby eyes sparkling with determination and excitement. “You don’t know how awesome I am. Don’t lose hope, I promise those ponies will be back some day. First though, I need to get to Hoofica.” She flapped her wings and went up, ready to blast off to the south and to Hoofica again. Before stopping and blinking. “Oh yeah,” Rainbow Dash looked down at Big Red. “So uh, do you have a snack or any spare food you can lend me? I haven’t eaten all day.” Big Red blinked, still partially in shock, before reaching down to his garden and yanking a turnip out of the soil. “Here.” He tossed it to Rainbow Dash. “Thanks! You’re pretty awesome too, dude!” Rainbow said before shooting off with turnip in hoof, leaving nothing more than an after-imge behind that slowly blurred away. A second later, the mare carrying a basket of sheets on her back came up to Big Red after getting back from the river. “Red? Who was that? Why’s she going south?” “She’s going to Hoofica,” Big Red answered simply. “What?!” The mare shouted. “Why didn’t you stop her?!” Big Red shook his head. “You didn’t see the look in her eyes. Nothing was going to stop her.” “B-But...” the mare stammered. “I know. I’m worried for her,” Big Red said, leaning on his plow and looking south. Rainbow Dash flew above the wide mesa and looked south, seeing nothing but the dry and rocky wasteland Big Red had mentioned. The turnip was already devoured in three quick bites and she dropped the stem to the ground below her. In a minute she’d be at the hills, the last sentry. And then—Hoofica. She couldn’t stop smiling if she tried. Ten minutes later, back in the Great Camel Desert... Pink hooves walking over the sand suddenly stopped and Heartless’s head snapped up, looking stiffly to the south. The small smile that normally adorned her face slowly vanished and her eyes showed a reflection of confusion and even… fear? “What just happened?” Heartless whispered. This was wrong, something was missing. The light. The brilliant light that always called out to her. “Gone. Where? Rainbow Dash… where did you go?”