The ship ended up at some docks the next late afternoon. It stationed itself away from most of the other boats and parked itself there. Behind the docks was a relatively big town made up of single-story buildings and houses. The six ponies got off their boat with their backpacks and walked on the wooden walkway. AppleJack carried both her's and Trailblazer's backpack on her back and walked along with her friends, where they met a few other workers in the docks.
"Well, ahoy there, mates! Welcome to Inyomaid!" the first one said. "Where did you all come from?"
"We came from Equestria. It's way out east from here," said Twilight Sparkle.
"Equestria? That's quite a ways from Rautsong here."
"Well, this isn't exactly a vacation we have here... One of the stallions that came with us fell overboard, and we need a rescue squad to go get him."
"Oh, well why didn't you speak up earlier?!" the sailor turned to his friend on his left. "We gotta get a rescue team to go after this colt. Get one assembled."
"Rodger." He pulled out a walkie-talkie, and started to speak into it. "This is Brad speaking. We need a rescue team to go find a colt that's lost at sea." He then turned to look at the six ponies. "Could you fill us in on the details?"
"Ah will." AppleJack stepped forward. "His name is Trailblazer. He has a light-brown coat with a shaggy brown mane."
"Brad to Captain Bridge, we have this mare that claims that this lost pony is a colt by the name of Trailblazer. He also has a brown mane and a light brown coat."
"Affirmative. But we still need a last known position," they all heard a voice radio back.
Brad turned to look back at the six. "Could you tell us where he was last?"
"We were coming straight from Ponyville. Also, we were fightin' some pirates last night that got right in our path. Ya might find him in the midst of floating scrap metal."
"Uh... Captain, she also said that they fought pirates that came straight from this area. Were you aware of any pirates coming from here?"
"Nnnnnno, sir," the same voice said back.
"Strange... Well, just to be safe, he should be somewhere directly between here and a town off in Equestria called Ponyville. She also said that the ship that the pirates had sunk, so some scrap metal should remain in the area he was in last they saw him."
"Okay, we got the details we need. We're going to head out as soon as we're ready."
Brad put away the walkie-talkie. "Okay, a rescue squad is getting prepped right now. They're going to head out once they can."
"Oh, thank ya so much for this!" AppleJack said to him.
"Don't mention it, ma'am. Just leave it to us professionals."
The three sailor ponies walked away, leaving the six on their own.
"They say that the pirates didn't come from here..." said Rarity. "Maybe they were working for someone else?"
"Beats me..." muttered Fluttershy.
The six heard a motor getting revved from inside the harbor. They all looked at it, which was several yards left of their ship. Shortly after hearing that, a speedboat was shooting across the water, with a bunch of ponies on it. All of them had life jackets and red caps. Their boat drove over the water much faster than their small cruise ship could travel.
"That must be them right now," said Rainbow Dash.
"So... Now what do we do?" wondered Twilight.
"Maybe we could be looking for some help and some answers about these Sacred Stars." Pinkie Pie pointed to a building just above the harbor that the rescue squad came out of. "You see that observation building?"
"Might as well," said Rainbow Dash.
All six of them took the winding concrete path and stairs up to the deck. They all walked inside the building to see a diner, a lot like a club room. Inside, they saw some other sailors sitting around some tables and a server behind a counter. They all walked up to him.
"Hello there!" he greeted them with. "What can I get for you all?"
"Oh, we're not hungry right now," said Twilight. "Actually, we came here looking for some answers. See, we're on an expedition to look for some rocks called Sacred Stars. Would you happen to know about them?"
"Sacred Stars? Sorry, I can't say that I've heard of them..."
"Well, do you know any other pony who might know about them?"
The server thought for a minute. "Well, I THINK that there is this one old wizard who lives in Rautsong here. He goes by the name of Merlow. Problem is, I don't know where exactly he lives here."
"So it looks like our first step to finding these Sacred Stars, is finding Merlow."
"Yeah, that seems about right," Rainbow Dash spoke.
"May I ask why you're looking for them?" the server said.
"Well, have you seen the hole in the sky?" Twilight asked.
"The one that showed up just a couple days ago? Yeah."
"Yeah, the thing is, we need to find them in order to stop that from destroying the world."
"What?? What are you trying to say? Are you all trying to play 'hero'?"
"Playing 'hero'?" Rainbow Dash got in his face. "I'll have you know that we were the ones that got rid of the black skies that we heard covered the whole planet! If THAT doesn't make us heroes..."
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight bit her tail and yanked her back. "Shame on you!"
"Wait, it was you six who put a stop to those black skies a couple months ago?"
"Yeah. That's what my brash friend was just saying..."
"Oh, I see now." The server leaned backwards. "But yeah, you'll want to find that mage. He should know what to do."
A rescue worker came in the diner. He noticed the six ponies and walked up to them.
"You're the ones who said that you were missing somepony named Trailblazer at sea?" he asked.
"Yeah...?" AppleJack bit her lip.
"Well, we found him."
"You did?? YES!" AppleJack became rampant. "You don't know how much that means to me."
"Yeah, well... He's not doing too well right now."
"What? Whadaya mean by that?" AppleJack immediately grew worried again.
"He's been in the sun for so long. He has burns and came down with sunstroke."
"Oh no..."
"Well, once we get him back here, we'll take him to the hospital and let him recover. I just received a radio message saying that they're bringing him back here to do just that."
"Okay..."
"C'mon, AppleJack. It'll be okay," Rainbow Dash said to her in a soothing voice. "Here, let's all go to this hospital and wait for him."
"Yeah, okay..."
All six of them walked outside and headed into town, looking for the hospital.
After 15 minutes of searching for the hospital, they found it. It was a long single-story building near the edge of the city limits away from the marina that they just came from. There, they saw the rescue squad bring in Trailblazer, taking him to a room to get treated.
"Hey, excuse me. Is it okay if we go in and see our friend, Trailblazer?" Dash asked the receptionist.
"Yes, it is. We just got our equippment deployed in there, so you can go see him," the receptionist told them. "You'll find him in Wing A in room A-105."
"Okay, thanks."
The six ponies walked out of the lobby area and through a brick hallway. At the first ajacent hallway was Wing A. They all walked down it until reaching room A-105, Trailblazer's room.
"Ah know he's hurt and sick..." AppleJack pondered. "But Ah'm afraid to see HOW hurt and sick he is..."
"Come now, dear," said Rarity. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you. You DO have that kind of bond after all."
AppleJack closed her eyes and lowered her head a little bit. She came back again. "Yeah, yer right..."
Rarity opened the door. Immediately, they felt a bunch of cool air circulating through the room. In the room, they saw Trailblazer lying on a hospital bed on his back. He had burns all over his body, clearly visible without a blanket over him. He seemed to be asleep.
"Trailblazer, hon'?" AppleJack asked.
"...AppleJack...?" Trailblazer opened his eyes a little bit to see the six ponies in the room. He didn't try to move at all, but his head and neck was still fine.
"Oh, would you look at that," AppleJack looked at his burns. "You've been out in that there sun for too long out at sea... You have burns all over your legs, your sides, your belly... Heck, Ah feel a bit hurt just by lookin' at them."
"Yeah... I can't exactly move too much, or else, it'll hurt..."
"Well, how else are ya feelin'?"
"Oh, jeez... I feel faint, tired, dizzy, got a headache, hurts to move, and my heart's pounding..."
"I can hear it from here," Rainbow Dash commented.
"In short, I feel like crap..."
"Awww, purr sugarcube..." AppleJack put a hoof on his side. Trailblazer's eyes widened and his teeth became clenched. He got hurt just by getting touched. "Ah'll be here for ya. Y'all don't need to worry now." She looked at where she put her hoof against, realizing that she put it right on a burnt part of his body. Trailblazer swatted her hoof off right as she let go, still hurting himself for even lifting his leg to do that. "Oops. Sorry."
"I don't want to sound like a wuss, but..." Trailblazer moaned. "I'm hurt badly..."
"Now, this begs the question..." Rainbow Dash started. "How DID you survive out there when the ship blew apart?"
"Well, when I ignited that gas and oil, I was setting the engine on fire. I ran back towards the bridge, looking for you, but couldn't. Once the ship blew up, I was thrown off it and into the water. A bunch of metal chunks rained down on me and sank. I was swimming around them all to keep myself from getting pinned underwater. Then, I saw the ship itself sinking, and it was directly above me. I almost got trapped under it, but I swam away just in time. I was losing my breath at that time, so I swam back up and found a floating metal chunk to catch it. Then, the ship you were all on floated right past me. I called out, but none of you came."
After hearing that sentence, the other six looked amongst each other, looking a bit guilty.
"So, earlier today, I tried padding out to you by myself, but the sun was getting to me. It was almost unbearable to be on that horribly hot piece of metal while having to rest on it the whole time with the sun beating down on me. That's how I got all these burns. I felt as if I was getting cooked on that thing, it was so hot."
"Oh, my..." Rarity said, cringing.
"So I was out there for several hours until that rescue squad came and brought me here."
"Oh, purr sugarcube..." AppleJack leaned up to his face. "It's good to see that ya made it, but ya didn't get off scott-free. You just take it easy now."
"Yeah, I will."
She planted a kiss on his cheek. Then, a nurse walked into the room.
"Excuse me. Friends or family?" she asked.
"Yeah, we're all his friends." Twilight told the nurse.
"Okay, well, I don't mean to kick you out of this room right now, but we're going to work on him so he can recover from his burns and sunstroke."
"Fair enough," said Rarity. The others walked out of the room to let the nurse and another doctor get in.
"So, who's up for finding this Merlow pony?" Pinkie Pie suggested.
"Ah, good thinking," said Twilight. They all walked towards the hospital doors that they came in, but AppleJack stayed behind. "Aren't you coming, AppleJack?"
"No. Ah'm goin' to wait here for Trailblazer."
"But, that won't be until tomorrow!"
"Ah don't care. Ah'm stayin' here for him."
Twilight sighed. "All right, if you insist..."
AppleJack stayed in the waiting room outside of Trailblazer's room. The other five walked back to the lobby that they first ended up in when they entered.
"Excuse me, do you know a pony by the name of Merlow around here?" Twilight wondered.
"Merlow? Yeah, I do. You'll have to go east from here and into the retail store area of Rautsong. He has a blue house with a spinning roof," she informed them.
"A spinning roof?" Pinkie was a bit confused. "That's the first time I'VE heard of one!"
"It's kind of strange. I hear that he rarely leaves his house. I don't really know why... Come to think of it, none of the ponies that live here know why either."
"Reealllly... That IS strange." Twilight commented. "Well, I guess his place shouldn't be hard to find. Thanks for telling us!"
"You're welcome. Oh, and just am FYI..." the receptionist continued. "I just got a memo from one of our doctors. Trailblazer is getting adequate treatment and should be feeling better and ready to check out tommorow afternoon."
"All right! Thanks for letting us know." Twilight turned around. "Okay, let's go."
The five ponies walked out of the hospital to see the sunset. They walked eastbound to the retail area of the city of Rautsong they were in. It was a 10 minute walk there. Rainbow Dash flew into the air to get a better look.
"I see it!" she said.
"I'm not surprised," said Rarity. "A house with a spinning roof WOULD stand out in a place like this."
As Rainbow Dash was airborne, she gave directions to the other four. "Okay, take a left, now, keep going straight for a couple blocks... No, you went too far. Sorry. Take a right, now, another right at that next intersection... And there you are!"
Rainbow Dash swooped down back to them. They all saw the house that matched the description provided by the receptionist, spinning roof and all. Pinkie knocked on the door.
"Come on in!" they heard somepony say.
The door opened, and they all went inside. There were a lot of shelves in the room they entered, lined with a bunch of beakers and vials filled with some liquids bearing various colors, from plain ones to oily resemblances. There was a table with a crystal ball on it. Behind it was a hooded unicorn, with the hood covering his mane rather than the upper part of his face, keeping his eyes visible. The hood extended to a cape that was worn across his back as well. What could be seen of his mane was a gray one with multiple split ends. He also had a mustache that covered most of his mouth. His coat was a navy blue color, and his eyes were gold. Behind him were two pots of burning incense.
"Are you Merlow?" asked Fluttershy.
"Yes, that would be me," he said. "I am the Mage of this town. What can I do for you five tonight?"
"We have two others with us, but, we can tell them about this later. The thing is, we've been brought over here to Inyomaid to search for these, um, things called Sacred Stars..." Fluttershy continued. "Would you happen to know about them?"
"Oh!" Merlow suddenly got excited. "I knew this day would come. You've seen that Sario Hole in the sky, haven't you?"
"But of course," Rarity stepped in. "It's the very reason we're here in this region. We need to find the Sacred Stars to stop whomever has the Sinister Star and prevent that Sario Jole from destroying the world."
"Yes, I thought so. Well, ever since that Sario Hole appeared, a strange gray stallion unicorn with a white cape and indigo mane came here proclaiming that he is the one responsible for making it appear."
"Did you get a name?"
"He called himself 'Steel Sword', from what I gathered. He was apparently proud of getting it to show up, and then told us that it was too late to stop him. After he disappeared, I went to do some research on these stars. There are six in total: one Sinister, the rest, Sacred. According to what I've looked up, when a Sacred Star is found, it'll lead the way to the next one. Once all five of the Sacred Stars have been collected, the way to the Sinister Star and it's weilder will materialize."
"So, it looks like our first step is finding the first one," said Fluttershy. "But..." She looked down, a bit upset. "We don't know know where that first one is at..."
Merlow let out a laugh. "Don't fret, my dear! I have it right here!"
Fluttershy looked up, surprised. "What? You do?"
"Yes, indeed!" He used his magic to open a chest below one of his shelves. A glittering red star-shaped gem with many facets spun above the crystal ball.
"That must be it!" said Twilight.
"Correct! Now..." With the Sacred Star spinning and levitating over the crystal ball, he gazed at it. An image of the entire region of Inyomaid showed up. To the east of Rautsong was a city that surrounded a big arena. The crystal ball image focused on that city. "I see... The second Sacred Star is located somewhere in Sagastrome."
"Sagastrome?" Twilight wondered.
"Yes. It's east of here. In Sagastrome is a big arena where a bunch of Inyomaid's best fighters battle each other to be the Sagastrome Arena champion."
"Heh, sounds like a place where Trailblazer belongs," Rainbow Dash noted. The others spoke in agreement and smiled.
"So, that place is where you'll have to go."
"Great! Thank you for your help, Merlow!" Pinkie Pie jumped.
"Hey, by the by, do you have a place to spend the night?" Merlow asked them.
They looked amongst each other, without answering.
"I'll take that as a 'no'. Well, there's a hotel behind my place called the Plaza Hotel. You can check in there."
"Sounds good." Twilight nodded. "Thanks again for your help."
"Happy to do it! Good night, everypony!"
They all waved good-bye and went to the Plaza Hotel. They checked in into separate rooms and laid down to sleep through the night. They had a big day ahead of them tommorow, with a new adventure unfolding.