//------------------------------// // Sarrarocco Stories IX // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash sat on a rock underneath a waterfall as the cool water cascaded down onto her back. She was in the highlands of Black Sand Island, where the warriors of the Sarraroccon Order trained their bodies to the pinnacle of physical ability. As well as meditated to shed their earthly attachments and fully dedicate themselves to the High Priestess and the needs of the Order. Naturally, Rainbow Dash only joined them in one of those things. Thankfully the warriors were open to letting ponies like her join in the same kind of training and daily routine they took part in as long as they didn’t disrupt things and followed along with their ways. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t call them friendly (in fact none of them had ever smiled as far as she had seen) but they were stoic and welcoming. It was good that things had turned out so well when she first arrived here… Two weeks previously… She was the only one still on the Manta Ferry to get off here at Black Sand Island. Though she knew other tourists visited according to that mare at the Saffron Inn it seemed no others in this group had plans to tour it. Rainbow Dash hopped onto the dock and looked around, seeing no buildings or a welcome area like at Blue Coral Island. There was merely a large grassy path between two small mountains that led deeper into the island. Straining her eyes she saw a large pole erected in the middle of the road that reminded her of the ones they had seen on the outer islands of the Archipelago when first arriving. It had to signify something. She shrugged and started walking towards it. “For the island where all their warriors train and stay at, this place isn’t very secure,” Rainbow said as she looked around. It was green everywhere, even the mountains were completely covered in grass and shrubbery so much that she couldn’t see the rock beneath them. There were no fences, or guards, just grass and trees ahead. If it wasn’t for the sun out right now she’d find it to be an eerie sort of place. Once she got to the large pole in the middle of the road she looked past it to see that the road narrowed and was covered by a canopy of tree branches going over it, but in the distance she could see wide stone steps going up somewhere. At least she knew she couldn’t get lost. Taking her time as she walked to the steps (to make sure she wasn’t being spied on) Rainbow Dash looked around for anything else of note but there weren’t even statues. Black Sand Island kept things simple. The stone steps, once she got to them, were cracked in places and covered in moss. She looked up and saw them ascending for maybe more than a hundred steps. Rainbow Dash sighed. “Come on, here to strengthen the rest of my body anyways...” The slow walk up the steps took her out of the canopy of trees and brought her to a wide open plateau. From the steps a stone path led to a large temple complex with a building that had a red shingle roof that stretched in front of a series of green mountains. Golden statues of fish lined the stone path and two huge statues of ponies stood right in front of the great wooden doors that led into the temple. “Wow, nice place they’ve got here,” Rainbow Dash said. The rest of the plateau was kept clean and free of all but the shortest grass. There were no—almost no other ponies around. Rainbow Dash finally saw one. A single mare dressed in a white robe and carrying a broom was sweeping away in front of the doors leading into the temple. Rainbow considered herself lucky, now she could actually talk to someone who worked here instead of knocking or barging in without notice. Still keeping her wings tucked into her sides, Rainbow Dash walked down the stone path towards the door and the mare. Once the mare noticed the pegasus approaching she stopped sweeping and patiently waited for Rainbow Dash to come. Both of them had friendly smiles on their faces and the mare politely bowed in greeting. “Hello, welcome to the dojo of Black Sand Island. How may I help you?” The mare asked. She was young, younger than Rainbow Dash, with a snow white coat and a mane as black as coal. “Hi, I’m Rainbow Dash and um… wait, dojo? What’s a dojo?” Rainbow blinked. “It is a place for learning and meditation—the place where ponies of the Sarraroccon Order become the warriors of the Order,” the mare explained. “Oh. Makes sense. I just figured it was a normal temple,” Rainbow said as she looked up at the big pony statues. “Are you a warrior then?” The mare giggled. “No, no, not at all. I am a mere servant, one of many, tasked with the upkeep of the dojo and its grounds. My name is Willow Wisp.” “Right, nice to meet you then. So I heard that other ponies were welcome to come here and train, right?” Rainbow asked. “That’s correct. Any pony who is willing to train their body and open their mind is welcome to learn the ways of the Order’s warriors. We only ask that you keep to our practices while inside and follow the rules. Not many outsiders engage in the training though—we get many who simply want a tour and nothing more.” “Well I’m not like your typical outsider. I’ll tell you this right now—I came here to get stronger and become a better fighter. I can follow the rules, so if that’s alright with your Order then I’d like to come in,” Rainbow looked her strongly in the eyes as she spoke, letting the servant see the honesty in her words and the strength of her conviction. Willow Wisp regarded her coolly before her smile grew. “Very well, I believe the warriors will have no issue with you. Please go inside, Rainbow Dash, and enjoy your time on Black Sand Island.” “Thank you,” Rainbow grinned and started walking by before she stopped and raised an eyebrow at the mare. “Uh, is there anywhere I should go or anyone I should look for once I’m in there?” “You will find another servant inside named Lima, ask her to take you to Master Wasabi’s training room. He will take care of all you need from there,” Willow smiled. “Thanks,” Rainbow said once more and grasped her hoof around the heavy metal ringlet on one of the dojo’s doors, pulling it and opening the door up. She stepped inside the dojo, onto a soft wooden floor, and let the door close back behind her. Inside the dojo was well lit by numerous paper lanterns along the walls and standing in the corners. The room Rainbow was in was small, like a greeting room, but directly ahead was an open hallway that looked like it went to the right and left, down the length of the building. Strangely, another servant was sitting in the middle of the room on a soft pillow, no desk or anything else with her. “Greetings. How may I help you?” The servant, who must have been Lima, bowed until her head almost touched the floor. “Uh, hi, are you Lima? I was told that you could take me to Master Wasabi?” Rainbow said. “You the secretary or something?” The servant giggled and raised her head, smiling at Rainbow Dash. She was just as young as Willow but her red-orange mane was done in a tight bun behind her head. “I suppose you could say that. I am indeed Lima, I help direct visitors, either to tours or to personal meetings with the warriors. If you wish to meet Master Wasabi I assume it’s because you would like to undergo training?” “That’s right,” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Then please, come right this way,” Lima said and stood up, turning about and walking to the hallway behind the greeting room. She made a sharp turn down the hall to the right and Rainbow Dash followed her along. “You’re the first outsider to come here seeking training in a long while, I hope you have a good time.” “Me too—but well, it’s not a good time I’m looking for. I don’t care how rough or tough things gets, I want to get stronger,” Rainbow said, her eyes narrowing. “If you take the training routine the Master gives you seriously, and throw your all into it, I guarantee you will get what you desire,” Lima said. “Good,” Rainbow Dash grinned. Lima led Rainbow Dash down the long hallway, past many closed sliding doors that led to rooms Rainbow Dash could only guess about. After a long while the servant stopped in front of one of the sliding doors. Rainbow briefly looked past her and saw the hallway continue on for ages—this dojo was a huge building. Lima put her hoof on the door and pulled it open, sliding away with it so as not to block Rainbow Dash’s way, and beckoned her to walk on through. Rainbow Dash did so and looked around at the large room she was now in. It was nearly devoid of any furniture aside from a simple wooden bench at the front of the room, the floor was not wood like the rest of the dojo had been so far either, but some kind of tightly woven mat. And of course there were about twenty stallions meditating in the middle of the room while an older stallion on the bench watched over them. None of the stallions meditating had so much as looked up when the door opened and Rainbow walked in, but the one on the bench turned his head and bowed it down slightly in acknowledgment of her. Rainbow hesitantly lifted a hoof and waved it at him with an awkward grin on her face, behind her the door slid back shut. “Hey, what’s up? Master Wasabi?” “That is who I am,” the stallion said as he stepped down from the bench. He was tall, lanky without an ounce of fat on him, and the way he walked he seemed to practically glide across the floor. Wasabi was green, with a violet mane pulled back into a short ponytail. “You are no tourist, have you come for training?” “That’s right,” Rainbow Dash nodded. “And I’m serious about it too. Give me the hardest, roughest, training you put your warriors through. I can take it. I’m not like any other pony who’s come here, and that’s not me bragging. I want you to show me the best you’ve got.” Master Wasabi stoically regarded her, perhaps evaluating her himself. “Very well. But before your body can be tested—your mind must be centered. Please take a seat with the others.” Rainbow Dash grimaced. “I’m probably going to have more trouble with that part than anything else...” The next two weeks had been filled with the most grueling endurance and strength training Rainbow Dash had gone through in her life. The entire time she kept her wings folded, not relying on them once. The training she went through ranged from tying rocks to her hooves and onto her back and running through forests and climbing up mountains with them, to lifting up huge logs of wood again and again, to being forced to swim while weighed down by heavy clothes, to balancing upside-down on one hoof and staying that way for hours, and of course to meditating under a waterfall like this with the oppressively powerful stream of water constantly bearing down on her. Not only that. She was getting fighting practice and combat training with the Order’s warriors as well. It was like when she was up in Nogt at the North Pole and getting ready for the fighting tournament there, her encounters with Godfrey had taught her that just relying on her natural speed and reflexes weren’t going to cut it. She had to know how to fight for real and use it to augment her natural abilities even more. Rainbow wanted to be able to fight with the kind of skill Sia’Lorna did and then some. If she could, then she knew she’d be unstoppable. Together the muscle-building and martial arts training would allow her to get on Godfrey’s level. It really hurt admitting she wasn’t able to beat him fairly the previous times they had fought, but it was true. He was too strong. Now though—with what she was doing on Black Sand Island and what she’d keep doing after—she would become strong enough to match him. Already there was a slight change in her musculature after the two weeks of intense workout here, the muscles in her legs and her back were becoming more defined. She’d be a changed pegasus the next time they crossed paths. It wouldn’t just be her wings and speed that were world class. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath as she continued to sit beneath the waterfall, she had been here for well over an hour now. When she heard the sound of hooves walking towards her from beyond the waterfall’s pool she opened her eyes. One of the many warrior’s of the Order was standing at the edge of it, staring at her with the same blank face every warrior had. “Rainbow Dash, there is sparring being held at the dojo this evening, would you like to partake?” A grin spread across her face. “Would I?”