Rainbow Dash Around the World

by MagicS

In Short, Camels are Jerks

Rainbow Dash sat outside a tent with a pitched wagon behind it while a number of ponies carried boxes out and stacked them up on the side of the street. It was just one of many such tents at this part of One Hump Oasis, close to the center of the settlement where not even a hundred feet away grass, plants, and palm trees grew out of the fertile ground. A watering hole that fed it all reflected the sun on its perfect mirror-like surface while Rainbow Dash guzzled down water collected from a well elsewhere at the oasis.

Her benefactor eyed her with a raised eyebrow from his seat on a small bench brought out from the wagon.

“You sure are thirsty. Just how long were you alone out in the desert? And why’d you go to the camel’s bazaar if you were looking for water? Don’t you know anything?” He asked her.

Rainbow Dash finished her gulp and put the skin of water down. She looked over at him. “Nope.”

“Could figure that much. What’s your name?”

“Rainbow Dash. You?”

“Cart D’Evron,” the earth pony stallion said. He was wearing a brown robe to shield himself from the hot sun, as were the other ponies here, and he pulled back his hood to better speak with her. His face was wrinkled and beaten from years of living in the desert, with his rusty red mane and stubble of a beard looking like a ragged mess over his faded green coat. “I’m a merchant with the Aux-Lemm Corporation.”

Rainbow Dash blankly stared back at him. “Ooookay?”

He frowned at her but there was an amused twinkle in his eyes. “You’re not from around here are you? The Aux-Lemm Corporation is the only merchant corporation in the desert not owned and operated by camels. We own this part of One Hump Oasis, it’s where traders and travelers who aren’t camels can come and do business or rest here until they’re ready to move on. Whether you’re from Great Camel Desert or not, I’m sure you noticed how unhelpful all those camels were to you?”

“Uh, yeah,” Rainbow Dash nodded. “I had heard about them before coming here.”

“Yep, welcome to the desert,” Cart snorted. He walked over and picked up his water skin. “Might I ask what brings you out here? And what in the world you were thinking flying out into the desert alone? I can tell you came from up north. I’m not personally familiar with what’s up there but I know there’s a number of forests and mountains and towns scattered about them.”

“Well you’re half right. I came down from the north but I’m from a little farther away than any of those villages. That’s not super important right now though,” Rainbow said. “And really I’m kind of just... traveling through? I’m on an adventure, just looking for fun and now I’m here.” She shrugged.

He stared back at her. “And your idea of fun was flying through the desert without any food, water, or supplies of your own? Or even a map that shows you where to go next?”

“Uhhh... yes?”

“You an idiot?”

Rainbow Dash glared at him and folded her hooves over her chest. “No! Look, I do reckless things sometimes, but that’s part of what being on an adventure means! Sometimes you gotta do something tough and dangerous.”

He laughed. “Well I guess it turned out decently for you thanks to me anyways. So we can’t exactly say you’re unlucky.”

“That’s pretty much how it always goes,” Rainbow said, standing up and cracking her neck. “So you seem like you really know a lot about this desert, what’s the best way for me to travel through it? Cause I’m still going south.”

“First off I’d recommend you screw your head on straight and don’t try and just fly through on your own with nothing on your back but that blue coat of yours,” Cart said.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Look I-”

“I’m serious, and I’m trying to help, so how about listening for a second?” Cart defiantly stared at her.

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Fine. Go on then.”

“Alright,” Cart nodded. “Look, nobody goes through the desert alone unless they’ve traveled it extensively for years already. It aint a safe place to travel if you don’t know what you’re doing and where you’re going. If you were traveling alone you’d at least want some clothes to protect you from the sun and probably a wagon to pull behind you to carry a month or two worth of supplies that you can replenish at each new stop. I know how much faster flying would be for a pegasus like you, but you just can’t fly and carry what you need by yourself at the same time.”

“Okay,” Rainbow Dash bit her lip and thought about what he was saying. “Then what’s your suggestion? What’s the best way to travel through the desert?”

“By caravan. You should attach yourself to a group like mine or somebody else and ask for transport. You’ll have to pull your own weight and work for your keep, but there’s always caravans traveling through the desert that could use another capable pony working on them,” Cart said. He then raised a hoof and looked at her more seriously. “Just don’t get involved with any camels or waste time trying to work with them.”

“I’ve heard they won’t help a pony or do business with us,” Rainbow said.

“It’s worse than that,” Cart shook his head. “In short, camels are jerks. And swindlers. The only camels that will give you the time of day are criminals who will try and steal and squeeze everything of value out of you, they’ll get you into bad deals and throw you under the rug as soon as they can. Don’t trust a word a camel says. If any of them offer something to you, don’t give them money first, you make sure you get what you’re paying for.

“Well I don’t have any money to be swindled out of me anyways,” Rainbow Dash shrugged.

“That’s... good...” Cart sighed.

“I don’t mind working a little while to make some cash and get on out of here. I didn’t want to stop for long but I kind of figured I’d have to. Or at least take a day to relax and build up my strength again,” Rainbow said.

“I’d say you should find a traveler’s tent in the non-camel quarter then. Rest up there and ask around for some charity to get a meal and some supplies. Kind as I was to save you back there, I’m still a businesspony and it’s not exactly good business to hoof out too much free stuff,” Cart said.

“Couldn’t I just work for you?” Rainbow asked.

Cart shook his head. “Not if you’re going south. Aux-Lemm only has caravans going east to Dry Hole for the next two months. If you want to go south you’ll need to find a smaller family-owned business or a personal caravan. Lucky enough for you, there are lots like that here in One Hump Oasis. Just make sure you stick to the non-camel quarter.”

“You mentioned that, what is it?”

“It’s the part of One Hump Oasis owned by the Aux-Lemm Corporation, and we rent out space to other businesses and travelers that aren’t camels. Other ponies, griffons, foxes, antelope, what have you. Any creature that camels don’t work with,” Cart explained. He took a deep breath and looked in the direction of the bazaar he had found Rainbow Dash in. “You see, those camels aint just the most populous group of creatures out in this desert. They really own and control pretty much everything. It’s their home so I wouldn’t have much of a problem if they weren’t such jerks but... yeah.”

“Yeah...” Rainbow Dash nodded.

“You see, camels don’t just not do business or help other creatures. They have their own cities in the desert that only they’re allowed entrance into, and oases and wells that no other creatures can use either. Some camels have even let slip that they have their own special maps of the desert—maps far more detailed than any we have and that show hidden settlements and locations known only to camels. So there’s quite a lot of bad blood between camels and non-camels in this desert. Especially when it comes to merchants and those who make a living traveling and trading through the desert and beyond.”

Rainbow Dash sat back and whistled, looking up at the sky. “I guess traveling through here aint gonna be the most fun.” She blinked and looked back at Cart. “Beyond, huh? Do you know what’s south of the desert?”

“I know more than most I would say. I’ve traveled extensively over the years,” Cart nodded. “Of course when it comes to traveling south... I would have to tell you to just not do that. At least not directly.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Why not?”

“Strange things have been happening in the world lately,” Cart shrugged. “South of the Great Camel Desert there was a kingdom called Hoofica. A pony country in and past the bad lands and rocky plains beyond the desert, huge, with dozens of cities and towns forming it, big lakes and forests of its own in parts, and millions of ponies that lived there. I’d traveled to it many times myself, trading goods from the desert and other places.”

“What happened to it?” An unsettling feeling was forming in Rainbow’s stomach.

Cart wiped his hooves together. “Poof. It vanished.”

“Vanished?”

“Just like that. The cities, the ponies, it all vanished into thin air. Now you can stand at the edge of where the kingdom used to be and you’ll see nothing but empty mountains and wastes. Furthermore, anyone who tried traveling to where it used to be has never returned. They just up and vanished too. Hoofica and all the ponies in it are gone without a trace. That was less than a year ago, I haven’t been back anywhere near that south in a long time.”

“Well that sounds great. So what would you recommend I do?” Rainbow asked. In truth she was very curious about what had supposedly happened to this Hoofica place, but she didn’t want to worry Cart.

Cart rubbed his chin for a second. “Between the Great Camel Desert and Hoofica there’s a small savanna populated by giraffes. They’re decent company, just a little weird.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by weird?”

“Just... weird. It’s hard to describe really. You gotta meet them for yourself,” he shrugged. “Anyways, what I’d say you should do is get to that savanna, then take a big turn east or west. Eventually you’ll hit mountains regardless of which direction you choose. Mountains box in the whole dang continent, you’ll hit them if you travel to either side of the desert too.” He made a slicing gesture with his hoof. “But whatever, I’m getting off-topic again. Once you’ve gone far enough to reach those mountains, you’ll be past where the borders of Hoofica reached. Then I’d say go south and keep going until you hit the Green Divide. That’s a long but thin stretch of forest that goes east to west across the whole continent. Course at that point the continent’s a bit thinner, but anyways, beyond the Green Divide is Vissidia.”

“Vissidia?”

Cart smiled fondly. “Ah yes, Vissidia. Beautiful country. Nothing but green fields and farms as far as the eye can see. Just about the most peaceful and idyllic place anyone could dream of. Haven’t been there in a long while but I’d sure like to go back someday. Maybe even just retire there.” He coughed. “Uh, so anyways, the ponies of Vissidia say that to the south of their country is a big swamp, but I haven’t ever been that far south myself. So that’s about all I know of the world, hope it helps you out.”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Dude, you’ve known more about the rest of the world than like, any pony or creature I’ve met in a long time. Thanks for telling me all that. I just wanted to know about the desert and stuff.”

“Heh, well it’s not often I get to tell all this stuff to a pony who doesn’t know nothing about this part of the world,” Cart rubbed the back of his neck. “And you know... if you’d be up for helping us out, manning the tent, moving supplies, just doing whatever, I’d be willing to give you enough coin for you to get yourself a meal and a bed for the night. How’s that sound?”

Rainbow smiled. “That sounds awesome.”

Comments

[TheCommunistDog]

Well i think we know where Rainbow going next.

In today’s chapter: Rainbow meets some new ponies and gets some info about the desert.

[redmar]

The situation with Hoofica sounds just like the kind of adventure that Rainbow Dash has been looking for. She will definitely go in that direction to try and solve the mystery and resturn the kingdom.