Rainbow Dash Around the World

by MagicS

Disputed Lands

While Early Riser and his children waved goodbye to her, Rainbow Dash flew away from the town of Clay Tower. She was fairly certain she heard a certain mare mutter “good riddance” as soon as she took to the air. It didn’t really bother Rainbow Dash. She didn’t intend to be a bad influence on any kids—and despite her thinking there was nothing wrong with adventuring she also knew it could be dangerous. And a mother had a right to want to keep her children around.

There wasn’t much else for her to think about as the decaying sentinel was left at her back. The shadow of the large tower stretched over the land for quite the distance, but Rainbow Dash could still cover that distance in a second. In the past that tower might’ve been something impressive, but not anymore. There used to be an empire here that ruled over these lands but apparently it would be a long while until she hit anything remotely approaching something like that now. Strange to compare it to Equestria, which had been around for thousands of years or whatever, while these other empires and kingdoms had been rising and falling in the meantime on the other side of the world.

Oh well, she had empty lands of clay and then eventually salt flats to look forward to for the next few days at the least. She’d just have to get through it as fast as she could.

---

Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure if she had ever heard of or been to any “salt flats” before but they were certainly living up to their name of being flat and salty. A white landscape of cracked ground spread below her, it was almost like another sort of desert or badlands. Was there a point to having a treaty to not settle these Disputed Lands? Maybe the salt and resources Early Riser had mentioned were a bigger deal than she thought.

You certainly weren’t going to make any cities out here.

At least that still unlike some other places the weather was alright. It wasn’t a problem for Rainbow Dash to fly through here, dry as it was, just boring again. She was taking the warning she had been given seriously enough and would keep her head out for anywhere she could get water, but that was about it. Right now she was just angling herself southwest to reach Malkonrik. Kingdom, Republic, whatever, it was her current destination.

There was still a big portion of the world ahead of her, she knew that for sure since she wasn’t even remotely close to reaching the south pole. She wasn’t sure how big that ocean might be though, the map Early Riser had didn’t really show it too much. There was the ocean separating Equestria from Griffonstone but that was more like a big sea wasn’t it? Then there was the ocean to the south that Mount Aris was in, she didn’t know exactly how huge that was either. An ocean either way did seem like a fun change of place compared to the other places she had traveled through on her journey. She was looking forward to it a lot.

That said, judging by the map and her own estimates, the Disputed Lands covered just as much area if not more than the swamp or Vissidia had. It was a big space. And then add to that however long her trip through Malkonrik took.

Rainbow Dash flapped her gums. “Whatever. Few days of flying and doing nothing? I’ll call it a break.”

As long as she found a place with water at some point it didn’t sound like a bad break either.

A welcome breeze blew through her mane and Rainbow Dash smiled, looking up into the sky while the bright sun shined down on her. A few white clouds dotted the blue and just the sight of such a nice sky lifted her spirits even more. Her flight soon became far more relaxed instead of her just shooting dead ahead at high-speed. The white ground below her also sparkled slightly in the sunlight, giving it a more pleasant appearance than if it was just dull white sand or something. She had to guess that was because of the salt.

Wonder if I can go lick the ground? She blinked in thought.

That was probably a really bad idea though. Least of all because of dehydration.

Yeah, better not chance it. Rainbow shook her head.

She idly looked to the east and the sun in the sky, it was starting to drop a bit, though she still would have hours of sunlight it didn’t look like she was going to find a watering hole or any of the scattered towns Early Riser mentioned before the day ended. At least she knew from experience she could go a couple of days without water or real food, and she just had a decent meal not long ago. Even if she didn’t find a town tomorrow she was still pretty sure she’d be fine.

Early Riser said the settlements in the Disputed Lands traded with Clay Tower, but Rainbow Dash had to assume that most probably existed closer to the borders of the Hundred Kingdoms anyways. The closer she made it to Malkonrik the more likely she was to find a place in these salt flats. And if she wasn’t that lucky she was sure she could push herself on until she made it to a more hospitable part of the world. She was still Rainbow Dash after all.

She did a loop in the air for no reason other than she could and ended it by flipping around and flying with her back facing the ground, folding her hooves behind her head and staring up at the blue sky while it was still there. Cloud gazing while she flew, until it turned dark, sounded better than gazing at white salt flats that stretched every direction.

“That one looks like an apple...” Rainbow whispered to herself.

“That one’s a kite...”

“Butterflies...”

“A cake...”

“A dress...”

“Bookshelf...”

“Looks like fire...”

Rainbow Dash blinked a couple of times. “Nice clouds.”

She turned back around and looked down at the cracked salt flats. Animals certainly didn’t live out here either, did they? She couldn’t think of any that could. Everything needed to drink water, didn’t it? Maybe there was some kind of bug that could live off salt. Or some kind of plant. But Rainbow Dash didn’t see any of those either. There must be some kind of moss or fungus or something though, even deserts had cacti and other stuff.

“I’m bored,” Rainbow Dash suddenly said. “I’m so bored I’m thinking about mold and fungus. Crud, am I gonna go crazy out here before I even find another town?”

She vaguely remembered her time in the True North, on this side of the world, when she had momentarily created a snowpony of Twilight and started to talk to it…

As long as she didn’t try and make a Twilight out of salt down here she was probably okay.

There used to be—and maybe still were—mines in the Disputed Lands according to Early Riser. Minerals and precious metals taken from them or whatever. But she didn’t see any sort of rocks or any big hole in the ground that would signify such a thing, much less any mountain. She was in what might as well have been another wasteland.

Hours later and the sparkling on the ground started to die down as the sun descended towards the horizon, instead rays of orange light pierced out across the salt flats. Dusk, evening, night, they were all approaching shortly. How cold did it get out in a place like this in the middle of the night?

Couldn’t be worse than the desert at night.

Couldn’t be.

She at least wasn’t going to have to sleep on the ground or anything like that. There were plenty of clouds she could use to make a bed and temporary shelter for herself. So long as they didn’t thin out or disappear anytime before she needed to sleep. No matter what it looked like she was in for a long, boring, and cold night. And a thirsty one. She could already now feel the dryness of the salt flats starting to parch her mouth.

Was dryness like this better than it being really humid? Rainbow had experienced both now, several times.

She hated them both.

When the dying light from the sun finally disappeared, Rainbow Dash sighed and decided she might as well end things for the evening. She definitely wasn’t going to find anything in this darkness and for now it was probably better to rest herself instead of pushing her body harder. Let that come tomorrow and the day after if necessary. For now she rose up higher into the sky and went to gather up the clouds that were indeed still there, score one for her, to make a quick bed. It wasn’t much when she was finished with it but it was enough. And as soon as she curled up on it it took no time at all for her to drift off to sleep.

---

Rainbow Dash gulped down an entire bucket of water with wild abandon as half of its contents spilled out across her face and onto her mane. She couldn’t care less, she was thirsty enough where she could’ve easily drank down a second bucket. Once she was finished and the bucket was empty, she lowered it from her face and sighed in relief.

“Thanks a lot, I seriously needed that,” Rainbow said.

“No problem, happy to help,” the shawl-wearing mare said to her. Her head was currently wrapped up in a light cloth as well that hid everything but her face. “You just came out of nowhere, you doing better now?”

Rainbow had dropped out of the sky just a few minutes ago, after seeing this small town in the salt flats. Even small town was being generous. It was a few buildings of white clay and bricks centered around a well. From what she could tell, this part of the salt flats was actually more of a dried out riverbed or something, the important part was there was actual ground and dirt. She had been flying for over an entire day now without any food or water or any vision of green on the horizon that would signify her nearing approach to the Hundred Kingdoms. It was pure luck that she had picked this place out.

“Yeah, I’m doing a lot better,” Rainbow nodded. “Sorry for just coming in and pigging out on your water like this.”

The mare shrugged. “It’s alright, just like I said, we have a duty to help out any travelers in need. We rely on those willing to travel the salt flats to survive.”

“Seems like you’d need to. I didn’t catch your name earlier either? Er—and I didn’t give my own. I’m Rainbow Dash.”

“Alabaster Blush, pleased to meet you, Rainbow Dash.” She nodded.

“Likewise. So what’s your little town called? And… uh… are you the only pony who lives here?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked around. Unlike Clay Tower there weren’t any other ponies around, and none had come out of the buildings since she had stopped here and started to talk with Alabaster.

“This is Dry Basin, wouldn’t really call it a town though to be honest,” Alabaster wryly smirked. “I’m not the only one who lives here but I am the only one here right now. The stallions are out in the pits further east in the riverbed digging up gold to trade with the Hundred Kingdoms. And the other mares are on a long trip to the Democracy of Ullsorth to the east to barter for food and supplies for the next season. I’m here to watch over Dry Basin in the meantime. Not like we worry about bandits or anything like that, but you still need to have someone watching over your home.”

Rainbow Dash stared east for a moment, but she couldn’t really see anything, it was basically all still a white blur. “Well that fits with what I heard in Clay Tower. I stopped there for a minute, heard that there were other places in these “Disputed Lands” where ponies mined salt and other stuff.”

“That’s right. We’re not a salt mining town though. There are much larger salt mines to the east and west of here,” Alabaster told her.

“I’ll take your word for that since I don’t plan on visiting them, heh,” Rainbow Dash chuckled.

Alabaster Blush raised an eyebrow at her. “Where are you going then if you don’t mind me asking? And if you just stopped in Clay Tower… where did you come from first of all?”

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. “Well if you’ve got some time, and it sounds like you do, wanna go inside and hear a long story? I, uh, could use some food too if that’s okay...”

“Of course. I can’t spare too much food though.”

“That’s fine, just a bite or two would be good for me,” Rainbow smiled.

The next few hours after they entered Alabaster’s small home were almost a copy of what she had been through at Clay Tower when telling Early Riser and his family about her adventure. Though there was only one mare this time and she was quite enraptured instead of bothered. Rainbow Dash never got tired of telling her story to ponies willing to hear. Or those unwilling to hear but too polite to say no. Thankfully Alabaster Blush was in the former category.

“You’ve led quite the storied life… I had no idea the world was such a big place,” Alabaster said as Rainbow Dash finished up the tale.

“Neither did I until I started this trip to be honest,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “But yeah, all in all it’s been pretty awesome seeing the places I’ve seen.”

“And that stallion—Early Riser—he said you should go to Malkonrik now?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah. Why? Do you think that Democracy of Ulthar county is a better place to go to?”

“Ullsorth,” Alabaster smiled. “And no, while the Democracy of Ullsorth is better suited for our needs when it comes to getting food, I think your other friend is right that Malkonrik is the best of the Hundred Kingdoms to travel to if you’re looking to get through it to the Grand Ocean. Ullsorth is a newer kingdom that is currently going through… problems when it comes to its borders. They might not let you travel through at all, unlike Malkonrik.”

“Cool, how far away from here is it?” Rainbow asked.

Alabaster brought a hoof to her chin in thought. “Hmm… for a pony who flies it might take you less than a full day before you reach its borders. And you’ll know you’re there when you finally start seeing green grass and hills.”

“That’ll be a treat...”

“Yes, now I wouldn’t expect a friendly welcome from them exactly but I wouldn’t expect an unfriendly one either. Their soldiers are always abrupt with outsiders but I doubt they’d pick a fight with you either, and the further south you go in the kingdom the more things will loosen up. I’ve been through Malkonrik before and there are some nice towns after you get past the capitol in the north.”

Rainbow Dash nodded along a few more times. “Okay, okay, that’s all good to know.”

“And if you’d like you’re welcome to stay the night here. I know it’s not close to sundown just yet but I think you might want some good rest and another drink before you head off again. You won’t find another watering hole in the Disputed Lands between here and Malkonrik. The ones that used to exist dried up or the ponies moved on elsewhere.”

“Seriously? That’s awesome, thanks!” Rainbow smiled.

“Least I can do after you turning what would’ve been a boring day into a fun story. I’ll have something to tell my friends when they get back too. There’s plenty of room here too, find a bed you like and enjoy your evening.”

“Thanks. If you want I have more stories to tell?” Rainbow offered.

Alabaster leaned back and grinned. “I wonder if you just plan on staying up all night then. Cause it sounds like you have a lot to tell.”

“I’ll just stick to the awesome bits this time.”

By the time she was finished, sundown had already passed. After that, just like last night, it took only a few minutes for her to fall asleep after finding a nice bed. There was excitement on the horizon but it didn’t beat the exhaustion she felt.

Comments

[redmar]

It seems that Malkonrik will be Rainbow's next stop.

[RoboRed]

These Hundred Kingdoms sure sound like an interesting place.

Wonder if I can go lick the ground? She blinked in thought.

Man, I cringed when I read that. Eugh.

[TheCommunistDog]

Well here we go again!