Still so Far

It had been three days.

Three days of open sandy grassy emptiness stretching on for miles.

The grasses and brush were beginning to thin out, giving way to white sand and small dunes.

Amissa had guessed right, and she wished she hadn't.

The landscape was turning to a desert.

Over the last two days, there hadn't been any sign of water, of rain.

Shelter was also scarce. There hadn't even been a small tree for over a day. She had resorted to simply laying in the sand with her makeshift cloak stretched over her, during the day, to escape the sun.

The sand was still cool from the night, but the sun was beginning to impart it's full heat on the landscape below.

She couldn't sleep.

A light wind blew the sand about her, causing a scratching sound on the heavy canvas laying over her. She felt at though she were being buried alive.

A feeling of hunger came over her and she reached into her bag. She still had enough food for a few more days, so long as she rationed it carefully.

She ate a small amount of the bread, and grabbed her canteen.

There wasn't much left...

She would have to find water if she was to make it much further.

She took a sip.

Against her better judgment, she decided to do some scouting around while she had the sun to see where things were.

She stood up. The hot, dry desert air assaulted her.

She tied the cloak back around her neck, and took flight.

Making small circles, she surveyed the surrounding area.

The path she had been following up to this point was nearly invisible in the sand below her, and disappeared completely up ahead. Taking note of it's direction, she followed the missing path wither her eyes.

The dunes seemed to get bigger, and the grass seemed all but gone. The horizon was stained a yellowy white from sand and dust.

She looked north.

There was a line following where the grass stopped and the dunes rose. It stretched into infinity, an eternal windswept bed of pale sand and dead grass as far as the eye could see.

Finally she turned south.

Immediately something grabbed her attention.

Far in the distance, a small plume of smoke rose towards the sky. It looked to be from a campfire.

The though made her flinch. Yet if there was a campfire, then there must be ponies, and they must have water.

She wanted to head out right then, but knew better.

She took note of the direction, flew back down to the sand, and once again holed up to wait out the heat of the sun.