Rainbow Dash Around the World

by MagicS

An Ignored Warning

The lighting inside the large hut was pretty low, which made sense as they obviously had no electricity and had to be very careful when it came to fire. But there were enough candles inside of glass bulbs to at least let Rainbow Dash look around. Most of the interior of the hut was one large central room that she was now in but she saw doors on all three walls besides the one she just came in, but those might have even led to the other smaller buildings on the platform. Directly in front of her, the floor space of the hut was taken up a large sunken square section with a wooden bench running the interior for ponies to all sit and face each other on if they were sitting there. Behind that, was…

A very old, and very overweight pony.

She sat on a couch with no back to it, her corpulent rolls practically pouring off the sides. A light-brown earth pony with a graying mane and tail, wrinkles covering her, and a wide hat of leaves on her head. To the side of the couch sat a wooden staff of gnarled wood with feathers tied to the top. And next to that was a bowl on top of a tiny table that looked like it was there exclusively for the bowl to be placed on, the bowl itself was full of some sort of green food.

A couple of other ponies were standing by the couch too, some dressed in elaborate clothes of leaves and reeds all tied together while some just looked the same as Belle.

Once Rainbow Dash and Belle had stepped forward, the overweight pony on the couch looked up. And despite her great age, a warm smile appeared on her lips and recognition lit up her face.

“Ah, Belle, good to see you. I was not expecting you today,” the old pony said.

“Elder,” Belle bowed low to the floor.

“Rise, child, rise,” the Elder let out a hearty laugh.

Belle rose back up and smiled to the Elder. “I also didn’t plan to come here today but fortune had me meet this pony instead.” She pointed a hoof to Rainbow Dash. “This is Rainbow Dash, a visitor who travels here from far away. She has never been to the swamp or Mile Moss Crannog before and so I thought it was only right to bring her here to you.”

The Elder’s eyes drifted to Rainbow Dash. “I hope that was your own choice, dear? You didn’t feel like you were being forced to come say hello to me, did you?”

“Whoa, whoa, definitely not,” Rainbow Dash waved her hooves around. “Belle didn’t do anything like that. I didn’t have any real plans for what I was going to do in Mile Moss Crannog either, when I heard about you I wanted to come by.”

“That is quite good to hear. I simply know Belle from when she was a baby, she was always an enthusiastic one,” the Elder chuckled.

Belle blushed. “Eheh… I may have gotten into a few arguments with others from the crannog when I was younger…”

“Heh, I don’t have any complaints about a pony who takes their ways and traditions seriously,” Rainbow Dash lightly elbow-bumped Belle.

“Well with that out of the way then, hurry up and come a little closer, dear. Where are you from if not the swamp or Vissidia?” The Elder beckoned her on.

Rainbow grinned and stepped around the sunken part of the hut, coming over to stand in front of the Elder along with Belle. She nodded to the other ponies who were there, first the ones in the strange outfits and then the others. “Heya, so are you the shaman I’ve heard about?”

“Bahahaha!” The Elder laughed, she grabbed her staff and pointed at the ponies wearing the reedy clothes. “These fellas are our shaman.” She pointed at the others. “These ones are here to make sure I don’t accidentally roll off the couch!”

Rainbow Dash snorted and bit back some laughter. “Well nice to meet all of you then—sounds like you both got important jobs.”

“Hah, I like you!” The Elder said. “Rainbow Dash was it? Certainly not like any name I’ve heard before in my life—and it’s been a long one! I take you’re from farther away than just another country or two?”

“Oh yeah, really far away,” Rainbow Dash nodded.

The Elder smiled. “Then let this be a momentous occasion for both Mile Moss Crannog and your home. Please, share with us all you want, and we will share with you.” Her eyes twinkled and she leaned in to Rainbow Dash and whispered. “That includes food in case you were wondering.”

“As long as it’s fruit or vegetables,” Rainbow said.

“Ahah, no problem there, have a stuffed grape leaf if you’re hungry right now,” the Elder said and pointed at her bowl.

Rainbow shook her head. “Naw, thanks for the offer but I’m fine for now, I ate not that long ago. I’d just want another meal depending on how long I stay here.”

“More for me then, hah!” The Elder said and grabbed one of the grape leaves before shoveling it into her mouth. After a few moments of chewing she swallowed it all down. “So tell me about your home, what’s it called?”

“It’s called Equestria. It’s a huge country of ponies all the way on the other side of the world,” Rainbow Dash proudly stated. “If you want the full history I can totally get into that, but it’s gonna take a loooong time to tell.”

“Well missy Rainbow Dash, if you’d take a good hard look at me I think you’d be able to tell that I don’t have much else to do around here,” the Elder laughed. “So talk away! Let it drag on into the evening if you want!”

“And then we can tell you everything about Mile Moss Crannog and the swamp!” Belle enthusiastically nodded with a big smile.

Rainbow Dash shrugged and chuckled briefly amusement. “Alright, that works for me too. Now… where to start?”

As Rainbow Dash had done many times on her journey now, she related pretty much everything she knew about Equestria to these ponies. It never got old doing it though, even though Twilight could’ve given a more detailed account, Rainbow was pretty sure she gave the most awesome account. It was fun telling others about her home and it was especially fun when it got to the parts revolving around her. Everyone always seemed pretty wowed by how grandiose and amazing Equestria was too, it filled Rainbow Dash with no small measure of pride.

“And you’ve traveled so far from your home. What could possibly be the reason why?” The curious Elder asked after Rainbow Dash had gotten done with her history lesson.

“Well it’s pretty simple actually. I’m flying around the world,” Rainbow Dash shrugged.

“Flying around the entire world?” The Elder repeated.

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck. “Yep. One day I just… felt like going on an adventure. The further I flew the more awesome stuff I did but I was never really satisfied. Never had a real goal. Until eventually someone I met gave me the idea to do this. To be the first pony ever to fly completely around the world. That’s what all this is for and why once I’m done here I’m heading south of Mile Moss Crannog too.”

“South is it?” A mild look of dismay crossed over the Elder’s face, she glanced at both her shaman and Belle. “I take it Belle or another pony has already told you about our problems here in the swamp?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded. “I’ve heard about the monster.”

“Then as much as it pains me to say, I believe you should try staying up and out of our swamp while you travel south. It is a shame that you won’t get to meet other ponies or see our home… but it is for your own safety, Rainbow Dash,” the Elder glumly said.

“Mile Moss Crannog has plenty of history to it and ponies for you to meet anyways,” Belle said.

Rainbow Dash frowned. “You know, I was going to ask this anyways since I’ve dealt with a lot of dangerous stuff on my journey, but what is the story with that monster? Where’d it come from? Is anyone in the swamp trying to actually do anything about it? I know you just want me to be safe and I appreciate that, but if there’s a problem here then I’d like to try fixing it too. Taking care of monsters is something I have experience with.”

“Well it is still our problem and we couldn’t possibly ask an outsider—a guest—to help us with it,” the Elder said. “Please dear, I’d like to ask you to just spend a day or two here, eat and have some fun, and then be off to safety. Fly until you get to the southern edges of the swamp, past where the monster resides.”

“But if you’re still having trouble with it then I want to help,” Rainbow Dash pressed a hoof against her chest.

“It’s a dangerous monster, not some normal alligator with a chip on its shoulder. I don’t want you to see such a vicious thing in here,” the Elder shook her head.

Rainbow Dash smiled. “It’s not going to make me think negatively about the swamp or your home or anything. Believe me, you’ve been good hosts already and you barely know me. I’ve had some terrible receptions at some of the places I’ve been to, anyplace like this is already good in my book. I don’t see having to deal with a monster as a bad thing. I see having to deal with it and help some ponies in need as a fun thing.”

“Well it’s not like we can keep you from going there if you’re so dead set on it. That would be against our ways as well,” the Elder said, seeming to give in to Rainbow Dash.

“Sweet!” Rainbow said.

“So if you are going to be heading deeper into the swamp I suppose it is for the best that I tell you what I can,” the Elder said, now looking at Rainbow Dash with tired and half-lidded eyes. “A while back, after we realized that this monster wasn’t simply going away and would continue to attack and cause problems for those living in the swamp, some of the best and bravest stallions from Mile Moss Crannog left to stop it. They joined up with ponies from other settlements and elsewhere in the swamp and created a large hunting party to go after the monster. Every now and then a pony from the group will come back here to tell us how things are going… so far they still haven’t managed to catch or kill it. It isn’t just that it’s big, it’s smarter than any normal animal, and fearsome.”

“A lot of ponies who lived deeper in the swamp have disappeared. And many on the hunting party have never returned either,” Belle said.

“Sorry… has it ever tried to swim all the way here? I’m just wondering if you’re in danger. Like, what does the monster even do in the swamp?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s never come close to this far out of the swamp’s heart. If it’s tried then the hunters have been keeping that secret from us but I doubt it. And the monster’s origins and what it wants? Feh—who knows? It’s been eating and attacking everything in sight when it isn’t lurking in the water. Maybe that’s all it cares about. Maybe that’s all there is to it,” the Elder shrugged.

“How tough do you think it’ll be for me to find these hunters if I stick with flying through the swamp?” Rainbow asked again. “I want to join up with them as soon as I can.”

“They’d probably find you before you find them, and there are other ponies living out there south of here, on the edge of the monster’s territory, who can direct you on the further you go. I’m sure a pony with your energy can find them before long, hah!” The Elder laughed.

“The pony who first gathered everyone from Mile Moss Crannog is an old stallion by the name of Claude,” Belle said. “He’s still leading them, you’ll want to greet him as soon as you’re able to.”

“SHAMAN!” The Elder suddenly banged her staff on the floor a few times. “Bring me my sacred mud!”

“Yes, Elder,” the Shaman collectively bowed and walked away into the door on the wall behind the Elder.

“Uhhh, now what?” Rainbow asked.

The Elder smiled to Rainbow Dash. “Consider it a gift we’re sharing with you. Something deeply important to us.”

The Shaman came back out carrying a clay pot and bowed down before the Elder, holding it up for her. The Elder set her staff back down and reached forward, taking the lid off and placing it beside her before gently dipping her hoof into the sacred mud and scooping out a small bit of it. Her warm smile widened and she beckoned Rainbow Dash to come forward. Though Rainbow Dash was fairly apprehensive—since she knew what that mud was and what was about to happen—she still stepped forward and silently allowed the Elder to do what she needed.

“With this-” the Elder said as she placed the edge of her hoof on Rainbow Dash’s forehead. The slightly wet mud already seeping a bit into Rainbow’s coat. “You become a friend of Mile Moss Crannog. The hunters you meet will see you as one and know that you have met with me. You’ll get along well with Claude and the others.”

And she dragged her hoof down between Rainbow Dash’s eyes and stopping at her nose, giving Rainbow a single line of mud in the middle of her face.

“Alright then,” Rainbow said, blinking and trying to avoid the strange feeling of the mud on her face. It wasn’t quite the same as that facial cream at the spa. “Not the same lines under the eyes as the rest of you?”

“Different meaning,” the Elder shook her head. “But no less important.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Thank you… I guess I’ll keep this on until I meet the hunting party.”

“I’ll give you another dab before you go. But will you be staying the night now since you’ve spent so much time here?” The Elder asked.

“I think so,” Rainbow said. “I could probably use a bed and another meal again, since I don’t know when my next time with either will be.”

“Heh! Well then-” the Elder reached over and grabbed a stuffed grape leaf. “Ready for one of these now?”

Comments

[redmar]

The Elder is a good pony at least and the monster seems to a strange case. I hope it's not another attempt of Harlequin Grey to get rid of Rainbow Dash.

[TheCommunistDog]

Eat some dirt