Valey quickly righted herself, ears perked at the panicked yelps coming from the hallway. No danger... and they didn't really sound all that endangered, either. She raised an eyebrow at Meyneth.
Meyneth didn't even return the glance, moving to the hallway in no hurry whatsoever. Everyone followed along, and the source of the disturbance quickly became evident: a batpony was laying on her side, waist strapped to a giant disc wide enough to reach the floor when she stood upright. Now, though, the wheel was facedown on the ground, inflexible shape making it impossible for her to right herself and leaving her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
"Meyneth?" she asked, ears flat against her skull. "I think I'm stuck..."
"I'll say you're stuck," Meyneth replied, moving in and snapping the clip that held the wheel to the fallen mare's waist. "I wonder whose fault that could be."
Valey blinked as she struggled to her hooves, realizing the reason the wheel had been there in the first place: her hind left leg was missing completely, a still-healing scar where the stump should have been that also extended across her belly, cutie mark and partway up her side. "Uhhh..." She gaped.
"You didn't see that!" the mare protested upon noticing their presence, hopping unevenly to try to block the wheel from sight and shooting a worried glance at Valey, Maple and Starlight. "That was... It was routine testing and maintenance! Ohh, this is why I waited for a holiday!" She shot Meyneth a reproachful look, ears still flat. "Meyneth! Why are... I-I... Nooo!"
"Why are your ideas for getting back on your hooves always falling apart?" Meyneth raised an eyebrow. "Or why is this bone bag and her friends here staring at you on a holiday when you thought the place would be empty?"
The mare covered her head with her forehooves, leaning against a wall and nearly falling back down. "Don't you ever read a newspaper!? Those three are famous!" She jabbed a hoof at the trio, eyes squeezed closed. "And now I've ruined my chance to make a good first impression! T-This could..."
"Famous, huh?" Meyneth gave a frown that suggested she was in the process of realizing she'd made a mistake, but wasn't nearly far enough along to admit it.
"Hah!" Valey exploded over to the cowering mare's side, putting a wing over her back like they were old friends and wearing her smuggest grin. "I told you we were big shots! Who's laughing now, old hag?"
The three-legged mare looked flabbergasted, and Meyneth shook her head in disapproval. "You are, which is exactly why I talked about being vindictive. I stand by everything I said. And Winry, don't be a stranger! You'll feel a hundred times less awkward if you introduce yourself. Watch out for the green one, though; she's horny."
Valey and Winry jumped away from each other, both reddening. "Hey!" Valey yelled, pointing an indignant hoof. "Speak for yourself about first impressions! What's the big idea!?"
"You're the one who went asking after my girls," Meyneth replied, and left it at that.
Maple couldn't help herself and started giggling, leaving an equally-mortified Winry trying over and over to compose herself and manage a professional greeting. "You know," Starlight interrupted, giving Meyneth a suspicious look, "everyone would probably have said hi and made friends by now if you didn't keep making this awkward."
Meyneth gave her a look in return and stumped out, muttering. "This hallway isn't big enough for the five of us..."
As the three friends watched her go, Winry finally got her act together. "H-Hello," she began with a shaky bow. "I'm-"
"All right in my book." Valey cut her off, grinning. "Listen, my standards are basically that you're not trying to take over the world or kill me or any of my friends. Seriously, no worries."
Maple managed to stop giggling, and Winry looked at them both. "What?"
"Really. Seriously. No worries." Valey nodded solemnly. "I'd say you need to take it easy, but if that was your boss..." She pointed a wing back down the hall at the kitchen, then raised an eyebrow. "Being maybe just a little high-strung is totally understandable."
Winry blinked, first in realization, then in relief, then in a second realization and finally in horror. "Oh no... Oh, what did she do!?"
"Relax!" Valey urged, frowning. "Not enough to make me kick her face through the wall or suplex her into a toilet or something. Pretty sure she means well. Pretty sure you do, too. Bananas, this is awkward..."
Winry just stared.
Suddenly, Maple had a beret pressed against her chest. "Here, hold this," Valey ordered. "I'm gonna go step outside and stick my head in the river for a bit. This stuff is more your suit anyway, so try to be hanging out when I get back, or something."
She was gone in a flash of green, leaving Winry, Maple, and the not-very-talkative Starlight. Maple took a few seconds to stare at the hat, then sat down, relaxed, and waited so Winry could do the same.
"...Sorry," Winry began after a while, awkwardly hopeful and apologetic. "I-I have a few issues with panicking... Have ever since I lost my leg." She offered a trusting smile. "It's easy to forget in the heat of the moment that people here are a lot nicer in general than in Gyre."
Maple instantly returned it with a reassuring look. "Don't worry about it. We've had plenty of experience with the bad things ponies can do, and I'm sure neither of you meant anything worth being mad about. Valey will be back soon. I'm Maple, by the way, and this is Starlight."
Winry curtsied, though it was slightly thrown off by her balance. "And I'm Winry. Please don't be mad at Meyneth. She's gone a long time without anyone correcting her or telling her if she's being overbearing, but there's no one else willing to spend so much time or effort on some of us, or even hire ponies like me..." She gave a forlorn look at her missing leg, then smiled at Maple. "I'm not the Empire's most productive maid..."
Maple giggled and shook her head. "I don't know enough about this to know if how she treats ponies works, but she was at least right when she said Valey would be able to take what she gave. It was almost funny."
Winry hopefully giggled back. "G-Good..."
Maple thought for a moment. "What do you do for fun?" she asked. "Or for a living? Or with that wheel over there?"
"Oh, that old thing?" Winry reddened, starting to stammer more. "It's nothing. Just a... well..." She glanced at her leg, then at Maple again, clearly hoping the mare would understand.
"Trying to help yourself get around?" Maple smiled in approval. "I wouldn't say that's any old thing, then. It sounds admirable! Would you mind if I asked what happened?"
"To my leg?" Winry glanced sadly at it. "Not really. I was scavenging for scrap metal in Gyre. It was a wreck from a crashed airship that no one really wanted to go near because it was on some contested land. You know, the previous lord's family had their retirement mansion, and they didn't want anyone going around it because they thought there was a conspiracy and things... I got a big sheet off the side and was trying to carry it out on my back since it was too heavy to fly, and I stepped on a land mine."
As Maple pursed her lips, Winry spread her left wing, unfolding it delicately and showing numerous breaks and tears in the membrane. "I can't really fly any more, and it's hard to turn in place, move backward, climb stairs or carry things on my back. A lot of places just wouldn't hire someone like me, so I really am fortunate to be here."
Maple gritted her teeth. "Does it still hurt?"
"Everything in general? Not if I'm careful," Winry sighed. "My leg hurts sometimes. Not the one I lost, the other one. It got hit a little too, and has to carry twice as much weight now. And my skin here and here and here..." She touched her side and nosed at a few other areas the scar extended to. "Washing is hard, and I can't wear a uniform because it hurts when it rubs against it too much. Fortunately Meyneth says I just don't have to wear one. I'm trying to find some sort of fabric or padding that's better, but that strap isn't all that comfortable either..." She glanced forlornly at the fallen wheel. "Can we talk about you instead, though?" She blinked hopefully. "I'm not very interesting, but you're from Ironridge! I saw a picture in the news from Stormhoof! What's it like on the western continent?"
"I'm not sure I'm the best storyteller," Maple admitted with a disarming laugh. "But Valey would probably love to-"
"What's that about me?" Valey asked, zipping back into the hallway with a spray of water from her dripping mane. "Uh, oops," she added, glancing at where she had doused the walls. "Hope nobody notices that. Anyway, what?"
Winry looked slightly shy, but Maple gave her an encouraging push. "Go on and ask her about how we saved Ironridge!"
"Oh, really?" Valey raised an eyebrow, still dripping and waiting for a request.
"I..." Winry swallowed, then stood and faced her. "Did you really kill a yak with your bare hooves?"
Valey winked. "With an icicle longer than both of us put together and a giant spear of falling glass, but yeah. It's a really long story."