Rainbow Dash Around the World

by MagicS

Vision of the Future

“Okay so, the way you play Buckball is like this, let me draw it up for you,” Rainbow Dash said to Little Jackpot and Jade Jackpot as they sat at the breakfast table together the following morning.

Since the kids had shown an interest in sports and playing catch with each other, she figured she might as well teach them an awesome game to play with their friends. Give them something from Equestria in return for everything their parents were giving her. Since she didn’t have anything else she could offer them or pay them back with, this was kind of the least she could do. Especially after already getting food and a bedroom all to herself last night.

“So we need six ponies to play?” Little Jackpot asked her.

Rainbow nodded. “That’s right. You’ve got teams of three, a unicorn, a pegasus, and an earth pony on each one. It’s pretty easy to pick up and start a game since you don’t need much.” She finished up her crude drawing, showing the baskets, how the ponies were positioned, and what was supposed to be going on.

“You’ll have an all-new game to play with your friends,” Rainbow told them.

Jade Jackpot looked to her brother with a smile. “Everyone will be so jealous that we learned about a new game from a far away country! I bet they’ll all want to play!”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Hey, make a whole bunch of teams and start your own league.”

“Kids, Rainbow Dash, are you ready for breakfast?” Lucky Clover said from the kitchen. She was working over a skillet with a number of tasty looking flapjacks just finishing up on it.

“Yes!” All three replied at once.

Lucky smiled and started flipping three flapjacks apiece onto plates for the kids and Rainbow Dash. She levitated them over to the table and then got one for herself before sitting down with them. Naturally Rainbow Dash didn’t waste anytime in chowing down, some syrup poured on them and they were ready to eat. The kids scarfed their portions down too, only the mother at the table was eating with anything approaching decency. As she finished chewing a bite of flapjack and swallowing it down she looked across the table at Rainbow Dash.

“Are you leaving soon then? You were saying how you really wanted to get out to the ocean.”

Rainbow Dash had to gulp down a huge mouthful before she could respond. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be heading out soon. Gotta get back out on the road and all, or sky technically.”

“I’m going to miss your mane,” Little Jackpot said.

“Yeah…” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“Where’s dad?” Jade Jackpot asked.

“He’s just getting something together for our guest, he’ll be down shortly,” Lucky Clover said.

Rainbow still felt pretty bad about how much she had imposed on them, but it’s not like it was the first time on her trip. At least she had gotten to meet some nice ponies. There was clearly a lot going on in these various kingdoms but it was good to see that ponies were the same all over. Some probably wouldn’t be so good but she was optimistic enough to believe most would be just like the families she had seen here.

“My ears are burning,” a voice from the stairs said as Gold Jackpot walked down them. He had an easygoing smile on his face as he spotted his family and guest happily eating breakfast together. The stallion walked over to them while levitating a small pouch attached to a string beside his head. He put it down on the table right next to Rainbow Dash, where she heard an audible clink come from it.

“What’s that?” She asked, though really she already knew.

“Money. Just a bit, but it’ll last you a couple of days so long as you’re thrifty,” Gold Jackpot told her. “I’m sure you’ll love seeing the ocean when you get there, it’s quite the sight.”

Rainbow Dash sighed as she picked up the pouch of coins. “You still really didn’t need to do this…”

“Nonsense, take some generosity,” Gold Jackpot said and used his magic to loop the string around her neck so the pouch came resting against her chest.

“Well… I suppose I’m used to that,” Rainbow said.

---

Malkonrik was a wide open country of forests and rivers from top to bottom. While she had heard that some of the other kingdoms weren’t like that at all, she was grateful she could fly through one that was so similar to her favorite parts of Equestria. Early Riser was definitely right to send her in this direction. The largest city she saw when she flew through its skies wasn’t even comparable in size or style to Manehattan. There were plenty of settlements that had stone walls surrounding them, and a few forts that at one point looked like they had been garrisoned for defense, but for the most part it was all a peaceful and welcoming place. Aside from the capitol province it seemed the more militant look of some parts of it were mere holdovers from an older era.

It was now the second day since she had left Gold Jackpot and his family behind and she was expecting to reach the ocean well before the sun went down. She didn’t have a map to know how close she was but she had a feeling. That was usually more than good enough for her. From what she had been told too it must be close, though she couldn’t see it yet on the horizon either. She might feel the breeze or smell the saltwater before she saw it depending on things.

As she flew, the pouch gifted to her by Gold Jackpot rubbed against her chest. There was one gold coin left inside—enough for a small meal. And then she’d be back to not having any money to her name. She’d probably have to do something about that at the port or just wander about and stumble into some adventure anyways. Since that was pretty common for her.

Below her right now was a large cherry orchard that must’ve covered at least a couple hundred acres. She was low enough in the sky where she could look down and see the various ponies walking through the rows of trees, picking the cherries that were ripe. Most of the farms and crops she had seen in Malkonrik were used for more vital foods, but she wasn’t surprised to see at least one place like this. Everybody needed their treats. Couldn’t just eat bread baked from wheat everyday or you’d go crazy. At least Rainbow Dash would.

Rainbow Dash lifted her head back up and looked straight south before taking a big stretch and yawning. “I’ll be there soon...”

Beyond the cherry orchard was a large grape vineyard and past it was a small town. It might be the last place before she reached the ocean, she wasn’t sure. She reached down and rubbed her stomach as she flew, it was probably for the best that she should get something to eat now. Better safe than sorry. One coin wouldn’t help much when she reached the port city and what was there, so she at least wanted to have a full stomach and be full of energy when she got to the ocean. She might need to do some work or just fly for a while looking for something.

As boring of an option as it was—and she had just gotten done with thinking that—Rainbow Dash eventually only had a freshly baked loaf of bread from the small town. It tasted good, so there was that, but she really wanted something sweeter too. That would just have to wait until she had more money or came upon the generosity of some others again though.

Now she held that half-eaten loaf of bread in her hoof as she continued her flight over Malkonrik, taking a bite every few flaps of her wings. Looking to her right she saw the green hills of Malkonrik extend onwards for quite a bit until they morphed into larger, rockier, mountains with a sandy color to them. A different Kingdom maybe? It was the same to her left except it was a forest that covered most of the land before it tapered off into a wide open plain and beyond that what looked to be wheat fields that stretched to the horizon. Maybe there was a wall or other checkpoints out there that decided where the border of each Kingdom was, but Rainbow Dash couldn’t see any.

As she chewed on the last quarter of her bread, she looked down below at the ground to see a lake with a boathouse and dock built on its northern shore. Nothing big or anything, it looked like just a bunch of rowboats out there with families or couples enjoying them. Just a place for ponies to vacation or have fun for the day. There was a river leading away from the lake that winded into a nearby forest, she could see ponies rafting and swimming in it. Would’ve been a nice and lazy way for her to spend an afternoon too. She could see herself doing that.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes briefly and just imagined. Just imagined hanging out down there with her friends. Swimming contest with Applejack, Rarity sunning on the side of the river, Fluttershy talking with fish, Pinkie Pie hoofing out treats to everyone around, and Twilight probably reading a book or something instead of having fun. It had been a long time since she had seen them. Once she made it back to Equestria she was going to make sure to do a whole bunch of stuff together with them just to make up. And then they’d finish it off by just finding a nice and quiet place and chillaxing.

Yeah, that couldn’t be beat.

She finished the bread and sped up her flight.

Another hour of an easygoing flight through the skies of Malkonrik and the air started to get slightly cooler. It wasn’t because of the time of day, since it was still perfectly sunny out, the air had simply cooled down as she made it further south. Rainbow Dash knew one of the causes for that: the breeze coming from the ocean. She still couldn’t see the ocean itself just yet but she knew that it was partially to blame for the cold.

She took a deep breath through her nose but at the moment she couldn’t smell the ocean yet either. The salt and water should reach her on the breeze at some point. She liked to think all of her senses were top-notch, not just her eyes.

Rainbow Dash hummed to herself with the pleasant sun still over her head, that humming turned into whistling as she tried to spruce up the flight with a tune. Some movement below and to her right caught her attention, a flock of birds coming up from the forest and heading west. She grinned as they flied off on their own bird adventure.

The cool breeze coming from the south was starting to transform as well into a colder wind. Her mane and tail were whipping about, not just because of her own speedy flying. The weather was nice but she was expecting the port to still be naturally fairly cool. She was lucky to get here in a season that was as nice as this and not winter. Otherwise the port, not to mention the ocean itself, would be as troublesome to travel as the True North had been.

Ahead of her, a few hills rose up from the green ground. Below she saw only a scant few cottages but also a number of different roads going through the hills, through fields, and to each cardinal direction. Wagons were becoming a more common sight. Did that mean something? These weren’t just simple family wagons either from what she could tell. Well—maybe some were—but most were pretty big and looked loaded up with cargo and goods. Yeah, that had to be a sign she was getting closer to the ocean. All that stuff must’ve been coming to and from the ports.

A wide smile spread on her face and Rainbow Dash shot towards the hills. All the while the breeze increased and the faintest bit of dampness started to enchant the air. Down below, a lot of the ponies could probably see the rainbow lightning bolt flashing overhead, so great was her haste. She didn’t pay any attention to the lands of Malkonrik below her anymore though. Clouds covered the sky above the hills, Rainbow needed to push past those final landmarks to see beyond.

She really wanted to see it.

With that smile still stuck on her she flew past the hills and it was almost like the entire world had opened up for her. Like the moment she left the True North, she was looking upon the avenue for a grand new adventure.

Buildings clustered together and stretched east to west far into the distance while wide roads led to and from their northern edge. Right beyond them, a long, long boardwalk and road ran parallel, and past that it was nothing but docks and harbors with dozens—hundreds—of ships of all sizes docked and tied to port.

And of course, to the horizon and beyond, was a blue ocean of water.

Rainbow Dash calmly floated in the sky as she took her first glimpse of the ocean in. Huge. Majestic. Powerful. Full of adventure. She could feel all these things from it.

Almost straight ahead a piece of land jutted out into the water, it was practically the only part of land there that didn’t have a dock built out of it. That was because it was fulfilling another purpose; there was a lighthouse built right on the edge of it. Useless now in the daytime but it was still the building that stuck out to her the most. And it was the furthest anyone could go before sailing out into or flying above the ocean.

Rainbow Dash flew to it to get a closer look at the ocean she knew she’d soon be traversing. She went over the roads, over the buildings, the boardwalk, and went straight to that lighthouse. When she reached it she gently floated down to the ground. There was a cement path leading to the door leading inside the lighthouse, but Rainbow Dash ignored that door and simply walked around the building until she could stand at the edge of the rock it was all built on. The tip of the continent.

This land the lighthouse was built on ended at a cliff. Rainbow Dash was standing twenty feet over the surface of the water, watching as small waves broke along the rocks below. The water was so blue, even here right at the shore. And when she raised her eyes to look out as far as she could, all that was reflected back was an even grander and deeper blue. A true ocean, the first she had seen on her journey.

A few ships were out there but for the most part it was a blank blue canvas with the occasional white from some breaking waves. Just so wide open it almost looked like she could see the curve of the world the further she looked.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath as the sea breeze rolled across her face, mane, wings, and tail. The salt water had its own unique smell that you didn’t get anywhere else in the world.

After enjoying the sight of the ocean for a good few minutes, Rainbow Dash turned her head to the left and looked out at the massive docks and all the ships sitting there. Some of them were huge, three or even four masts, with tons of sails, while yet others were only single-masted and even just some rowboats and much smaller family boats were docked. Rainbow didn’t really know much about sea ships like these at all, but there were a lot of differently designed ones in there, some with multiple decks rising high out of the water and others more low-swung. And a lot of ponies at the docks carrying out or lifting in huge pallets of crates and barrels.

Rainbow Dash brought a hoof up to the empty bag hanging by her neck. She idly rubbed it and frowned. “Guess I better get moving again.”

She shrugged and walked back around the front of the lighthouse, heading towards the boardwalk to see what this port really had to offer her.

Author's Note:

Comments

[redmar]

I wonder what adventure Rainbow will find in the port.

[RoboRed]

Nothing like a good sea breeze.

The winds of adventure await.

[TheCommunistDog]

Water