Sylae looks around at the spartanly-furnished room she has been assigned to until the expedition is ready to depart. The room follows the grey motif of New Canterlot to the letter, from the hard-looking grey bed to the grey dust resting on the windowsill. Her gear lays in the corner, thankfully intact for the most part. She sits on the floor next to the pile and fishes out her radio. flipping it on, she carefully places the earpiece in and hoofs through the display. Unlike Skyvale, New Canterlot only has one public channel, and it only broadcast unintelligible garbage into her ear. She listens for about a minute before powering it off, but leaves it on her side. For about the hundredth time she wonders why the ponies here rely more on magic than on technology.
She jumps, startled, as somepony knocks on the door. Standing and stretching her still-sore limbs, she opens the door to see Everents standing there. "Hey Sylae," he says.
"Oh, hi," Sylae replies, "What's up?"
"Um...well, Senior Researcher Arbu wants to meet you." Just from his tone, Sylae could tell that this was not a good thing. "He's waiting upstairs," Everents continues.
Sylae sighs. "All right then, lets go meet him." She steps out of her room, closing the door behind her carefully. As the two walk down the hallway, she inquires, "So, about this Arbu fellow, you don't seem to enthused about me meeting him. What's his deal?"
"You'll see in a bit...He's...hard to describe?" Everents says slowly.
"What, is he mental or something?" Sylae presses.
"He's, um, different."
"Fine," She states flatly as they continue through the twisting passageways of the fortress. Everents leads her higher and higher, up narrow stairwells and ramps until they reach a much wider and brighter hallway. Everything is still the ubiquitous New Canterlot grey, but wide windows let in plenty of light and allow a view of the surrounding forest. The window is situated almost at the top of the fortress, the courtyard about a hundred hooves below. She notes Everents shying away from the windows as they walk down the hall. A height like that is nothing for me, but certain death for a pony without wings, she realizes sadly. Life on the ground was very different, in Skyvale the average filly was perfectly comfortable with thousand-hoof dives, and being afraid of falling was ludicrous. Suddenly the bandages binding her wings to her sides begin to feel uncomfortable and itchy.
Presently, Everents stops at a wide set of double doors with twin suns carved into the wood. "We're here," he says needlessly before stepping forward and knocking a hoof on one of the doors. A moment later, a red glow envelops the door and it opens. Everents steps in silently, followed by Sylae. They enter a long room dominated by towering bookcases, shelves sagging from the weight of countless volumes. Magical illumination and spotless windows provide ample illumination. Before the pair, seated at a low table piled with stacks of books, is an elderly stallion wearing an equally-elderly purple lab coat. His red eyes twinkle as he rises to meet his visitors.
"Ah, it's been sometime since I've had the privilege of seeing a Pegasus in my library!" he says cheerfully. "Sorry to hear that you had trouble getting into the city, though. I've talked to the King and he told me to send his apologies for the behavior of his officer. You are quite lucky to survive colliding the wall spell, I must say. Why, the last time I'd heard of somepony deliberately flying into it, much less surviving..." his eyes wander to one area of the shelves, presumably containing records of the sort, before snapping back to her. "But forgive my rambling, I haven't even introduced myself. I am Arbu, Senior Researcher of New Canterlot, Chief Adviser to King Holly Wreath, and Guardian of Knowledge." A hint of sarcasm enters his voice near the end of his titles.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm...Sylae?" she replies, feeling rather subpar without her own titles.
"Well, I must insist you take a seat. We have much to talk about," He raises a hoof towards the book-laden table and magicks pony-high piles of books off of a pair of chairs. Sylae and Everents sit, followed shortly by Arbu, who sits across from them, magicking books out of the way so they can talk. "I trust you've been receiving proper medical care and are well on your way to being back on your wings, so to speak?"
"Yes," Sylae responds. "Everents here has been most kind in helping me regain my health." She glances over at him and he blushes slightly.
"Everents here is one of my top students. He learns remarkably quick and since he's delved into magic he has surpassed all expectations," Arbu says. Everents looks down at the table, avoiding eye contact. "I'm not sure you heard, but he's the only reason you're here today. He was the one who cast the spell to stop you from bleeding out after you fell."
"Oh really? He didn't mention that," she replies, looking pointedly at Everents, who tries to sink into the chair.
"Of course he wouldn't. He isn't one to boast or brag, a feat too rare these days. More importantly, though, he's quick on his hooves, which is why I selected him to go on this Expedition. You are probably wondering why I requested the best technician Skyvale had. Has that thought crossed your mind?"
"It has once or twice," Sylae says. Only until after she'd discovered that New Canterlot has next to no technology, but still.
"Ponies today aren't much for using technology, but before the Fall their very society ran on it. We don't know much about their technology, in fact only one page of one volume in this library talks of it, but it was the only thing that allowed them to last as long as they did. The changelings had found a way to nullify unicorn magic, rendering most of Equestria's defenses obsolete. Speaking of defenses," Arbu says, presumably having said enough about why she had left her life behind, "I'm afraid I've had to cut short the amount of troops we can send with you. With the Lunars gaining strength in the southlands, the King has decided to just send one squad of soldiers instead of a half-company. A travesty those damned rebels took now of all times to try and take over, a damned travesty."
Rebellion? Lunars? Sylae wishes she had gone on some of the ground trading runs, she was painfully short on knowledge of anything happening under the clouds. Maybe if more ponies spent time and money on educating the Vale instead of whining about broken air chillers, this wouldn't have been a problem, she thinks balefully. "So, how many ponies are going on this Expedition anyway? Besides the soldiers, I mean."
"There are eight other than you two. Three other than Sylae here are from outside New Canterlot. A charming young stallion from the countryside, a peculiar mare, from Violet Rush's gang of mercenaries, no less, and a griffon from the Heartfelt Mountains. A griffon, for Celestia's sake!" Sylae had never heard of the Heartfelt Mountains before, and she doubted the horrid creatures who fought against Skyvale soldiers would send a representative to a known Skyvale ally. "The Heartfelt Mountains are on the opposite side of New Canterlot's territory, Sylae. And they have nothing to do with the griffons your valiant nation is fighting. The King made it quite clear I was not to cause any political nightmares when I sent for Expedition members."
"Oh, okay," she replies dumbly.
"Yes, and on that note, I'll let you get back to your recovery. It was a pleasure meeting you, Sylae. Harmony be with you on your journey. Everents, if I could have a word?" Sylae stands and nods to the two unicorns before turning and departing, Arbu's red glowing aura opening the door for her. She can't help but smile at the old stallion's politeness as she steps into the hallway, hooves clicking against the floor tiles softly. Still, she wonders why Everents was so wary of the meeting. Maybe he just sees him in a different way, being his student and all.
As she walks down the hall and towards the stairs where she came in, she feels a breeze and hears a familiar rustling of feathers. She stops and turns, then freezes in place. Before her stands a griffon. Absurdly tall, dark feathers rippling, razor-sharp talons, a beak that looks designed for tearing into pegasus flesh...
"Ha! You look like you're about to piss yourself!" The griffon says, laughing. Sylae is too busy scanning the hallway for a makeshift weapon or a way around the giant creature. Finding none, her trembling legs pull her back until suddenly she feels the cold stone wall behind her. She lets out a terrified squeak as she realizes she is trapped. The griffon is still laughing as he (definitely a he, her brain somehow decides to interject) advanced upon her, reaching out a taloned paw. Suddenly she can't stand anymore, and collapses to the ground, clamping her eyes shut, a low moan escaping her. I haven't even left yet and I'm already dead! she screams inside, praying it will at least be quick. Her heart pounds as she feels the laughing griffon step closer. She folds her forehooves over her head, crying. Killed by a fucking griffon.
"Hey!" someone yells. "Stonewing, knock it off! She's the new pony from Skyvale!" The griffon's laughing cuts off abruptly, another set of clicking across the tiles, lighter, coming closer. "You know, the pegasus nation warring with the Talon?" Sylae is crying uncontrollably now, unable to even comprehend what is happening. A clicking step of the griffon coming closer, a pause. Something touching her shoulder. She flinches back instinctively, but it stays, pressing softly against her as she helplessly tries to twitch away.
"Are you okay?" The griffon asks, closer now. Sylae works up the courage to crack an eyelid open, and sees him above her, yellow eyes staring at her. Concerned, worried. Suddenly what Arbu had said not a minute earlier strikes her. Not fighting Skyvale. More tears spill from her eyes, this time from relief. I'm not going to die after all. She shakily tries to get up, her legs trembling. She blinks away the tears, staring up at him. "I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to." Sylae, unable to speak, just nods. "You have to admit though, it was pretty funny," he says, stifling a chuckle.
"Funny?" Sylae's voice abruptly returns, bearing a sharp edge. "You think that was funny? Who the fuck do you think you are, huh? How would you like it if I tried to eat you?"
"Eat? Wh--"
"No!" She screams at him, the terror she had just felt returning as rage. "It. Is. Not. Funny!" She spins around, launching her rear hooves at the monstrous fuck. Her shot is horribly misaimed and weak, but she smirks as she hears him grunt as she hits him in the stomach. She turns back to face him, throwing herself at the immobile mass and pummeling with her hooves as hard as she can, a wordless scream coming from her mouth was she bashes at the griffon. She carries on, beating at him until she can no more, dropping back to all fours, gulping air through tired lungs, sweat soaking the bindings around her wings.
The hallway is completely silent. They are all staring at her as she sucks in air, rasping. The griffon, two random guards brought by the noise, a random brown-maned pony she has never seen, and Everents and Arbu, standing at the doors to the library. Staring in complete silence. Judging her. Unable to bear it, she flees to the stairs, hiding her face as their eyes gaze into her.