Red Sand

'A sextant,' he thought. 'All that's left to get is a sextant.'

Meridian looked all across the bustling markets in Dodge Junction for one, and had yet to find it. Some say that this town was once just like any other, but now it has become a sort of caravansary. This is as far as any railroads go, and the closest to the South Frontier. If any aspired to become adventurers or pioneers of the desert, Dodge Junction was the place to begin.

After some time and nearly tripping (something no one wants to do with a heavy load on their back) he found a mapmaker's store. The clerk was fixing an astrolabe when his customer arrived.

"Do you have any sextants?" he asked.

"Came just in time, yeh did. Just one left. A minute late an' someone else woulda' had it."

Meridian had no doubt that this pony had seen some time on the sea, judging by several tattoos covering the length of his body and a missing eye. The mariner set his last available sextant on the table and was ready to haggle.

"Fifteen Bits, boy. This is an antique."

Surely this trader knew what he was talking about. It seemed old in particular, but nothing to brag about.

"Thirteen."

"Fourteen or I'm puttin' it back on the shelf, lad."

They shook on that, and fourteen Bits were left on the table. Meridian found an alley away from all the commotion of town to relax. Once he did, he put the sextant away and produced a light snack from his pocket. As he ate, he looked through a pocketbook titled 'An Explorer's Guide to the Palomine Desert.

"Scavenging birds of considerable size hang overhead, awaiting the fall of unprepared travellers..."

'Perhaps another page, then.' he thought.

"...These sands are accursed, and bear omens of certain death."

Meridian decided that he's had enough doubtful information for now. No matter how perilous his journey may be, it will all be worth it when a fortune awaits those like himself. After one last check of his supplies, he headed down the dusty road to the desert, saying his last goodbye to Equestria.