//------------------------------// // Sarrarocco Stories I // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// Because the only things they were taking from the Heart of Azure was the Horn of Listening and their leftover money, they didn’t ride the tram up the street but instead merely walked up it. Senax carried the Horn in a bundled up cloth so no one could see what it actually was, not comfortable with leaving it behind in the sea cave for however long they were here. Docking in there wasn’t a problem at least and then they were led right back out to the blue buildings and the front gate that led to this street. The main entrance up and into the heart of Blue Coral Island. At the sides of the street there were numerous gift shops, selling all sorts of things like sea shell necklaces, candy, clothes, hats, paintings, and more. “You know this is reminding me a lot of the more tourist centric places of Malkonrik’s port,” Rainbow Dash said. “Yeah, me too,” Daylight Gleam nodded. “It’s not really a surprise. This is one of the more popular islands of the Archipelago to visit, and one that has the least to do with the Order, lots of normal ponies on vacation definitely come through here,” Breakwater said. “And normal ponies like to buy knick-knacks,” Rainbow Dash snorted. “I guess I was expecting something different from this place.” “It’ll be different when we get to the top of the street. And other islands are definitely going to be more unique,” Breakwater said. He was right about that, once they had finished walking up tourist lane and got to level ground they were able to look out across the rest of Blue Coral Island and see what it had to offer. The first thing Rainbow Dash noticed was how vibrant and colorful it was. Where there wasn’t green grass or flowing blue streams of water, there were beautiful maple trees and other soft looking trees with pink leaves. The majority of buildings were painted a clean white with either bright red or bright blue roofs to them. There were a lot of buildings just standing off on their own at various spots around the island, but the center of the island looked to be a big marketplace with many places to visit. The ponies out walking the streets looked as happy as could be—there was a very positive energy to the atmosphere of the island. A lot but not most here wore silken clothes in light pastel colors with sandals on their hooves. The street they were on now went straight to the marketplace but also branched off and went to several other spots on the island, towards open air parks, other buildings, and to the edges of the island. Rainbow Dash imagined there were other docks on the other sides of Blue Coral Island but she didn’t know for sure. Either way every street had a light covering of tree leaves to make it more colorful. Must’ve been the season for the leaves to fall. “Well I suppose now we just need to find our way to the Saffron Inn,” Gilbert said. “Yep,” Breakwater nodded. “Let’s head down towards that central area with all the buildings for now, we can ask ponies along the way for directions.” “Wonder if they have tour guides here,” Rainbow said. “Wouldn’t put it past them. Probably scammers too,” Daylight said as she shiftily looked around. Gilbert scoffed. “Oh, Daylight. Must you be so negative?” “I just don’t trust this place. Not after our encounters with those Order ponies,” the unicorn replied. “It looks like a friendly place to me...” Senax said. “Maybe this island, but I’m still not taking chances. We’re not on vacation here like most visitors.” “Even if we were I think you’d still find a way to not have fun,” Rainbow grinned at her. Daylight rolled her eyes. “Whatever, that’s not what anyone is here for.” Rainbow shrugged. “I dunno, from the sound of it we could be here for a while. That guy said the High Priestess will let us explore the islands, to me that means she practically wants us to go around and see the sights. Maybe she just wants to spy on us more, but I get the feeling we’re not getting another invitation from her if all we do is sit around in our room at the Saffron Inn.” “You think there’s really something more to her saying we can explore the Archipelago at our leisure?” Senax asked. “Yeah. Not saying it’s anything nefarious, but normally wouldn’t you think she’d tell us not to leave Blue Coral Island? Instead now we have an open invitation to go anywhere.” “Maybe she wants to separate us? Or draw us to a specific island more controlled by the Order?” Daylight suggested. “Well yeah—that’s the most pessimistic answer. But even though I don’t trust this High Priestess at all I think there are better ways to do stuff like that. She could’ve even told us to go right to an island like that and we wouldn’t have been able to do anything else. I seriously think she wants us to enjoy ourselves here. Whatever reason we can figure out later.” “So we can go around and just have fun?” Gilbert asked with a smile pulling up his beak. Rainbow Dash chuckled. “I mean, I don’t think we should be totally carefree, but yeah.” Daylight thought for a moment. “Well... we still need to get a room at the Saffron Inn before we decide on anything else.” “So let’s get moving then,” Breakwater said. He didn’t have to say it twice. The group of five made their way down the leafy road towards the marketplace. While there were other ponies using the road, they were trying to keep their eyes open for ponies that were obviously locals. That meant the ones who were dressed up nicely in what was obviously the traditional garb of the Sarrarocco Archipelago. Shortly, they passed by a small pond on the side of the road that had a number of stone benches for ponies to sit at. One bench was occupied by a pair of mares in flowing silk garments, one a lime-green and the other a very light blue. Breakwater glanced over at everyone else and raised a questioning eyebrow. Daylight shrugged. “They look like locals to me.” And so Breakwater walked up to them and cleared his throat while the rest stood back. “Excuse me, ladies? Would either of you happen to know where we can find the Saffron Inn?” Both mares turned to him with a smile before the one in the green spoke. “Of course! Is this your first time visiting Blue Coral Island?” “Yes, yes it is,” Breakwater smiled back. “Well the Saffron Inn is an easy place to find, it’s the oldest inn on the island,” the mare in blue said and pointed down the road. “What you want to do is go down to the marketplace and then take the Saffron Road leading away from it. Just follow that and you’ll reach the Saffron Inn on the western side of the island.” “Thank you,” Breakwater nodded. “The two of you have been a big help.” “Don’t mention it,” the green one waved at him. “That’s part of Sarraroccon hospitality!” The blue one said. “Indeed...” Breakwater said and walked away to rejoin the others. “Well you heard them, shouldn’t be a tough place to find.” “Yeah, hopefully they have open rooms too,” Daylight said. After that it was mostly more of the same as they traveled down the road, looking at the idyllic scenery and waving hello to any ponies that were kind enough to wave and say hi as well. Blue Coral Island not only looked beautiful but it was much friendlier than the average Kingdom, that was for sure. As they got to the marketplace they looked around and saw many more buildings that looked like genuine business and not just trinket and souvenir shops for tourists. This was the heart of the island and it contained a vast number of fancy restaurants, lodgings, travel planners, and high-end versions of what they saw before, like luxurious clothing stores and furniture stores. Rainbow Dash frowned as she looked around at the busy marketplace and the ponies walking through it. Her eyes picking out the few hotels she saw. “I don’t get it, there are hotels right here so why are we supposed to go all the way to the Saffron Inn?” “There must be something special about it, those other ponies did say it was the oldest one on the island,” Daylight said. “Maybe it has something to do with the Order?” Gilbert suggested. “Could even be run by them,” Breakwater said. “I guess,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “So where’s Saffron Road?” “From how those mares put it it shouldn’t be hard to find. Let’s keep our eyes peeled for anything else that might look interesting while we’re here too. We’ll probably be right back here at some point anyways,” Breakwater said. “Yeah, might also want to look for a bank so we don’t get stuck with the wrong money this time,” Rainbow grinned. Breakwater coughed. “That’s a... that’s a good point.” “They said the Saffron Inn is on the west side of the island so I think we should just keep walking that direction through the marketplace,” Senax pointed. “Yeah, right on,” Rainbow patted her back and the group renewed their trip. Saffron Road was pretty easy to find after that, it was one of only two roads that left the western edge of the marketplace. It led up through a hillier part of the island, surrounded by trees and nature, the few buildings they saw on the way were things like windmills and private homes. At one point they walked by a grassy hill that had a number of young kids flying kites on top of it. The further they walked from the marketplace the quieter and less crowded things got as well until they once again reached a more level part of the island and walked through a row of trees to find their destination. The Saffron Inn was a large, three-story, building that sat in a clearing at the end of the Saffron Road. A few other roads that went north and south led away from it to other parts of the island but for the most part the inn was fairly secluded. The walls were painted a bright white and the roof and overhangs a cherry red. Circular windows dotted the exterior regularly to show where the rooms inside were. The front of the inn also had its own patio and a rocky pond covered in flowers and full of fish. Meanwhile the front door itself was a sliding door made of wood. “Let’s just walk on in,” Rainbow Dash said and swiftly walked towards the front door. In truth her wings were agitated and she wanted to fly right now, but she was doing her best to overcome that urge for the duration of their stay here at the Archipelago. “It’s bigger than the hotels at the marketplace so hopefully it has plenty of room,” Daylight said. “I don’t think that pony from the Order would’ve told us to come here if he wasn’t sure there was an available room,” Gilbert said. “Maybe they even have a room reserved for us...” Senax said. Daylight snorted. “Considering the welcome we got? I doubt that.” “Won’t know until we ask,” Rainbow Dash shrugged and pulled the door open. The interior of the hotel had hardwood floors and walls as white as the exterior, potted plants sat in the corners and large tapestries hung across the walls showing forests, lakes, and islands. Almost immediately to their right was a horseshoe shaped desk where a mare clad in a flowing orange robe made of silk sat. “Welcome to the Saffron Inn, how may we be of service to you?” The mare asked. “Uhh... got a room for five?” Breakwater asked. “And, uh, do you take Malkonrik coins as payment?” “We do indeed accept Malkonrik and most other Kingdoms’ currency. And yes, we have rooms that can accommodate five lodgers, but they are our more luxurious suites on the top floor. If you would like, it would be less expensive for you to book two smaller rooms,” the mare said. The group shared a look with each other before Rainbow Dash spoke to the matron. “Actually, we’d prefer one room, thanks.” Even if they got two rooms right next to each other, they figured it would be safer for all of them to stay and sleep in the same place. The mare smiled and nodded. “Very well, allow me to get you the keys to our Cinnamon Suite.” Daylight wrinkled her nose at the name and Gilbert and Senax both shot each other rather confused looks. Breakwater just shrugged at them. “Thank you,” Rainbow Dash said. There were actually a ton of questions going through her head, things she wanted to ask the Inn’s matron, but she stayed her tongue for now. They had traveled far and walked a lot today, it was time to get to their room and rest, think about what would come next once they were all settled in. The Saffron Inn, this mare, they weren’t going anywhere. Tomorrow Rainbow Dash could ask everything she needed to about the Sarraroccon Order and the High Priestess. Since they were going to have some free time here at the Archipelago there were also some... personal matters she thought about getting to. The matron retrieved a set of five keys in exchange for the room’s payment from Breakwater and then directed them down the hall to the stairs. While walking up the stairs they didn’t see any other ponies currently staying in the hotel, but there were a few maids cleaning. At the third floor they walked down the hall all the way to the very last door and found their room. The mahogany door had a golden “C” nailed to it and when they opened it up they discovered a large sitting room with a window peering out to the middle of Blue Coral Island. Not only that but they had their own kitchen, a den, a private bathroom, and multiple bedrooms. “I guess mares in one bedroom and stallions and male griffons in the other?” Daylight said. “Works for me,” Gilbert shrugged. “Me too,” Senax said. She walked into the sitting room and placed the bundled up Horn of Listening onto the couch. “I suppose we can figure out what to do next tomorrow, but before that I did want to say this: I really think at least one of us should stay here, in this room, or at the very least still on Blue Coral Island, at all times.” “Yeah, probably,” Daylight nodded. “We’re meant to be contacted here after all, aren’t we?” “And someone needs to stay close to my people’s treasure so it isn’t stolen. I wonder if they have safes here,” Senax said. “This doesn’t exactly seem like a high-crime sort of place but I get your point. Especially since that High Priestess probably has ponies watching us, and we still have no idea what she wants,” Rainbow Dash said. “I don’t think we have much to worry about but... yeah, I understand why you might be worried, Senax,” Breakwater said as he looked around the kitchen. “Hmm, I wonder if there’s food here at the inn or if we’ll need to go out and buy some?” “I wouldn’t mind exploring our new accommodations,” Gilbert said. “If you’re up for walking around the inn for a bit.” Breakwater nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine with me.” He raised an eyebrow at the three mares. “You’ll be fine here while we’re gone?” Rainbow Dash grinned and saluted to him. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll stay here until you’re back, the five of us can relax for the night... and tomorrow morning we’ll start to figure this whole Archipelago out.” Breakwater and Gilbert saluted back to her and left the room, Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to stretch her wings, rolling them around in their sockets, but staying on the floor. Senax carefully picked the Horn of Listening back up before venturing into one of the bedrooms, and Daylight Gleam walked over to the bathroom to check it out. All in all, Rainbow Dash figured the day could’ve gone a lot worse. At least the Saffron Inn was a nice place to stay.