Rainbow Dash Around the World

by MagicS

One Hump Oasis

Having a goal in sight always made the trip much easier. It was true in the snow and it was true now as Rainbow Dash flew over the sand to One Hump Oasis. Her flying wasn’t exactly fast thanks to how out of energy she was, but she was able to pull enough from her reserves to keep going without trouble. That shimmering oasis in the distance was still far away and it was impossible to tell how far it actually was thanks to the warped nature of the air. It was almost like how something could look distorted if you were trying to look at it underwater. And there was still the possibility it was a mirage but Rainbow was pretty sure that wasn’t the case.

That would be way too cruel.

“I already hate deserts. There is no way what I’m seeing is just some dumb mirage. I’m making it through this stupid heat and I’m getting a drink of some stupid water,” Rainbow Dash told herself. “I hate deserts. I can’t believe I’m wishing I was back in the snow.”

Sand that was clinging to her hooves from when she dropped down earlier was still steadily falling off as she flew over the dunes. A couple of times she thought of taking rest in the shade again but she kept deciding otherwise, just wanting to get to the oasis quickly even if she ended up very tired out. Rainbow was used to pushing herself anyways. She was probably going to look like a total mess to the camels and other creatures at the oasis, her mane and tail faded from the sun, her hooves and lips dry and cracked, her voice raspier than normal thanks to dehydration. Didn’t matter. She couldn’t bring herself to care much about her appearance.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and flew on, the sun overhead now practically dead center and making it as hot as it possibly could be. The one real benefit of heading south was that she was never flying directly into the sun. Of course it was never directly behind her either. She was still thankful to never have its rays pouring into her eyes. She didn’t need that. At the moment she wouldn’t be surprised right now if her back was red and burnt from the sun, her belly might actually be the same way too. Much as she hated thinking about it, she probably should stop to find some stuff at One Hump Oasis to make her trip through the desert easier.

Except she had no money.

And no friends there.

And no idea of how things in this desert worked or what she could do.

“Well... I’ve always managed just fine,” Rainbow shrugged to herself. “Something will come up.”

Planning ahead wasn’t really her thing. Once she got to the oasis she could figure things out, opportunity and fortune were always right around the corner. She liked to think she had a knack for making things work and coming out ahead. Or at the least being fortunate enough for someone to help her out. She had been pretty lucky on her journey when it came to finding the right ponies or other creatures who were willing to lend a hoof. Or foot. Or claw.

She squinted her eyes to see if she had gotten much closer to the oasis and she was happy to see that it seemed like it indeed was getting closer on the horizon. The patches of green around an island of blue in the middle were getting bigger and more distinct and she was fairly sure she could make out trees and some of the larger buildings. Maybe buildings wasn’t the right word as even the biggest ones seemed to just be big tents.

It all covered quite a large area though, sprawling out from the oasis and into the sands of the desert. She understood what Wood Chips meant when he said he couldn’t really call it a town, since despite the large area it certainly covered it was all just tents and canvas covered shacks. The definition of a stopover and the last place to get food, water, and other supplies before you either left the desert or journeyed deeper into it.

Closer as she was now, it invigorated Rainbow Dash with more energy and she shot faster towards One Hump Oasis while lowering herself closer to the sand. There were probably “streets” of some kind at least that navigated through the tents. Rainbow was planning on coming in low and arriving like any traveler from the desert. She could stop off at the end and walk on in to One Hump Oasis. So long as there wasn’t anybody who would try and bar her entrance. What with Rainbow had heard about the camels, she wasn’t expecting a friendly reception from them, but considering the nature of One Hump Oasis she doubted there was anyone keeping watch on who came and who left. It seemed like a place that anyone would be allowed to travel to without issue.

“And if it’s not, then I beat up some jerks and go take a swim anyways,” Rainbow nodded to herself.

Not exactly the most heroic proclamation, but she couldn’t find fault with it either.

Water was a life and death sort of thing. Especially in the desert. If camels tried to keep her from getting a drink, Rainbow figured she was allowed to get a little bit rough. But it was also possible she wasn’t entirely thinking clearly after traveling through the desert with the sun beating down on her. Her mind was a little bit frazzled. Fried, more accurately.

It only took another few minutes for her to actually get to the point where One Hump Oasis wasn’t hidden behind a shimmering veil of air. Now she could make it out more clearly and also see all of the creatures that were currently there as well. It seemed like a busy place, she could see dozens, maybe hundreds out walking through the tents.

Rainbow Dash came down and stopped right at the edge of the settlement. She then looked down at her hooves resting atop the burning sand. “Ow.”

She quickly shuffled along into One Hump Oasis where she could walk among the others and look for some water to drink. It was a pretty dirty and dusty place now that she was here and most of the creatures she could see were shawl and turban wearing camels who paid her no notice whatsoever. More than just tents and shacks set up, a lot of wagons sat at the edge of the oasis, with their backs open and camels bringing out what was inside them to show off and sell to others. Rainbow narrowed her eyes, this wasn’t just a stopover, it was a true trade outpost. The air was busy with hundreds of conversations between camels all bartering and trading with each other and the more she ventured in the busier it got right up until she entered a full on marketplace.

The largest tents she had seen at the oasis had numerous smaller tents and shacks set up outside and around them, every last one operated by a camel selling something. Camels pulling carts full of goods went from place to place, either buying or trading more. And still none seemed to notice the weirdly out of place pegasus dying of thirst walking through it all. Maybe she just came off as any other street urchin.

She didn’t even know where to begin or who to ask for something now. More than just camels were supposed to be here, right? Or had she only just assumed that?

She passed by a tent that was selling rugs, another selling pillows, another some kind of silky scarf. The closest any camel got to talking with her was when she got shooed away by the female camel selling scarves for coming to close to them.

“Well if you want me to go then how about telling me where I can get some water to drink, huh?” Rainbow Dash said to the camel.

The camel spat at her hooves and went back to ignoring her.

Rainbow’s eye twitched. “Oh, okay.”

At least her mind was off the heat now. Rainbow Dash did surprisingly manage to maintain her cool and just left the scarf-selling camel behind. She really just wanted some water to drink and to get her bearings around here. She didn’t know where to go from here, if she should just keep flying directly south, or if there was something else to look for in the desert. After all, she still wanted to find plenty of fun and adventure and this desert was a big place. She didn’t want to miss any possibilities. Of course she still needed water first of all and she wasn’t any closer to getting some.

Rainbow Dash walked through the streets of tents and crowds of camels, looking from side to side, hoping to see a place selling water or at least bump into some camel that would acknowledge her. She was getting a little wobbly and she didn’t even notice it yet.

A camel suddenly bumped into her, whether on accident or on purpose she couldn’t tell, either way it sent her falling to the sand. She went face first into it and collapsed, spitting up hot sand and struggling to get back up. It was so hot, she was so exhausted, and she just wanted some water. Unfortunately Rainbow Dash found she could no longer move with the sun pouring on her from above. It was too much.

“Here,” a voice said and put a moist pouch to her lips.

Rainbow Dash felt water streaming past her lips and into her throat. Lukewarm, but water nonetheless. She almost coughed but managed to keep drinking, blinking and trying to look up at her savior. The sun obscured their features and Rainbow quickly gave up to just go back to drinking.

“I don’t know what you’re doing in the bazaar all alone like this, but let’s get you cleaned up, come along with me.” The pony said and reached out a hoof to pull Rainbow Dash up.

Comments

[TheCommunistDog]

In today’s chapter: Rainbow finally finds the camp and gets some water from an unknown savior.

[redmar]

She really needs to get some equipment to help with traveling through the rest of the desert.