My Little Refugi

Chapters

Introduction
Sylae
Everents
The Expedition
Stonewing
Contemplations
Tados

Introduction

It has been four hundred years since the Fall of Equestria.

Four hundred years for the past to fade away. Four hundred years since Harmony last fell upon the world.

We know so little about the past. So much has been lost, from war and fire and ruin. All that remains is what was passed down from the elders. Nopony even knows where Equestria once lay. All we have to believe in is the legends.

Once, the world was happy. Everypony lived under the joint rule of Princesses Celestia and Luna. There was Harmony throughout the land, from the great capital of Canterlot to the roaring metropolis of Manehattan. All was well across Equestria. Until they died.

Nopony knew how it happened, no records survive that mention a reason beyond speculation. All we know is that one day, Celestia and Luna were gone. How? How was it that these ponies who had ruled for millennia would suddenly die? To this day, that remains the great mystery of the Fall.

The Carriers of Harmony, six friends who were Celestia's closest advisers, were called upon by the people of Equestria to lead them. They formed the Council of Equestria, and became the new head of the Equestrian government. But their hoofsteps would be plagued with suffering and misfortune.

The Changelings, dark creatures who had been banished from the lands, had returned. This time, the forces that had prevailed against them failed, and darkness swept across Equestria. The Council ordered the pony Shining Armor to prepare the nation for war.

The war dragged on and on for decades. Cities were razed, ponies were displaced. It was a losing battle for the Equestrians; the Changelings did not seem to age, and soon the Council had grown old and weary, weakened from war and age. The Equestrian battle forces suffered as well, ponies who had never known war were suddenly fighting for their lives and homes, and with each city lost their morale plummeted. Soon the ponies were fighting at the very walls of Canterlot, the last remaining vestige of a once great Equestria.

Little knows what happened after the battle was lost. Pockets of survivors, some led by the surviving Councilponies, others leaderless and lost, spread across the world, escaping from the despair and suffering that had once been a great nation. They would go on to found cities, cities secluded and hidden from the Changelings. Years passed, and soon the ponies began to wonder if it was safe to return to their homeland. The last three surviving Councilponies led an expedition to return to their distant homeland.

To this day that expedition has not returned.

Generations have passed since the fateful events of the Fall, knowledge slipping away through the sieve of time. New nations, have sprung up, but little of the Harmony of old remains. War between these factions is common, each side fighting for preservation of their homes and families. The sun and moon raise and set themselves now. The Changelings have not shown since the Fall, and many ponies think of them as an old mare's tale.

But the elders, the wise ponies, the sages; they whisper silently that the Changelings are still out there. But it's not those Changelings we must worry about, it's the Changelings closer to home.

The Changelings in our hearts.

Sylae

Sylae sets down the screwdriver and stands, stretching her tired limbs. It's taken two hours, but now she is sure the condenser is fixed. Her hooves clop against the grated floor as she walks to the control panel and flips the lever with her mouth. With a groan, the condenser coils begin to rattle as steam forces its way into them, the floor shaking under her hooves as the machine whirs into action. Sylae breathes a sign of relief and activates the radio strapped to her side. "Glimpse, this is Sylae. How are the readings up there?"

"Looks like coil three is back online. Good work. Glimpse out."

Sylae nods to herself and turns off the transceiver. Over the years, the technology keeping Skyvale City in one piece had been falling apart, and the task had fallen to her to keep the whole thing running. And what did she get? Sylae snorts. Too little sleep and a crappy cloud right next to the power facilities.

Sylae always thought it ironic that she worked for the maintenance director of Skyvale City. While most ponies, especially those who worked doing repairs, had somber-colored feathers, hers are a bright green. Streaks of black in her tail and mane contrast against this green, a color someponies would describe as painful to their senses. Her reddish-violet eyes are always eager to stare down those ponies that always seemed to waste her time with inane requests. She is shorter and thinner than the average pony too, just under five hooves tall at the shoulder. Green dice rest on her flanks, a cutie mark she never understood receiving, or what it meant.

She steps down the metal grate stairway and out the doors of the condenser facility, nodding politely to the guard outside. The sun glows a brilliant red as she spreads her wings and launches into the chill air of the evening. Her green feathers ruffle softly as she catches the thermal up to the upper reaches of the city, lithely dodging two bulky ponies carrying some sort of cargo. Looks like the cloud-lifts are down again, she thinks to herself, sighing. If she was lucky, that'd be first thing in the morning, rather than an all-nighter that leaves her sleepless. Luck usually wasn't on her side, however. Ironic for a pony whose cutie mark was a die.

Around her the city passes by as she flies up the thermal that forms the core transportation route through the city, leading unbroken from the ground several miles below all the way up to the moist farmclouds far above her. In between, the city is home to hundreds of clouds, from modest puffs of a family's residence to the soaring arches of the Temple of Luna. All of Skyvale lies in a rift torn into a massive cloud, enchanted to retain its position and shape for generations to come. Wide airspaces seperate the induvidual clouds, none but the largest remaining static, the rest drifting slightly, yet still staying in the same general area. At the boundary of the sprawl, a mass of clouds extending over a mile in every direction, massive towers filled with Skyvale military protect the city from the dangers of the outside. In one sense, the city is chaotic and bustling, in another it is the ultimate sanctuary, a place completely isolated from the ground, hidden in its rift from all but those who knew where to look.

She gets off the thermal at the top, her wings guiding her to the City building. She lands in a puff of cloud, folding her wings and trotting up the stairs. The City building is a large imposing structure, built entirely out of hardened cloud-marble, a light yet resilient substance long used in Pegasus construction. The wide stairs rise up to a column-filled portico, guarded by several pair of Skyvale military.

Before she gets to the top, a familiar voice stops her, "Sylae! Hold up a minute." She turns to find Glimpse soaring up, landing right next to her on the stairs. If Sylae could describe the other pony in one word, it would be grey. Grey feathers, grey eyes, even his cutie mark was a grey wrench. In Sylae's opinion, his personality wasn't much more colorful. The pony was always leaving her stuck with doing the menial repair work around the city, with him always finding some excuse to get out of actually working instead of just sitting in the office watching guages and meters.

"Hello again, what's up?" she asks politely.

"I just got a message over the Council channel, they'd like to speak to you."

"Okay, I'll head up there after I--"

"Right away, they said, Sylae."

Sylae tries to keep her irritation inside. "If they wanted me right away, why didn't you say that. And why didn't they contact me on the maintenance channel? Everypony knows I monitor that."

"How should I know why they didn't tell you directly? I'm just passing on the message. Oh, and the cloud-lifts aren't working, so can you take a look at that before you head home? I'm hitting the hay. 'night."

"Goodnight," Sylae says, imagining her coworker falling into a turbine.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Glimpse asks.

"Oh, nothing." Sylae nods and resumes walking up the stairs. As always, she feels a chill as she enters the rotunda of the City building, her eyes settling on the seal of Skyvale. A cloud with a blue, yellow, and red lightning bolt shooting out of it, surrounded by olive branches. The chill permeates her entire body, and she shivers softly, her feathered wings rustling. She has always felt a strange connection with that symbol. Perhaps that was why she'd stayed in Skyvale City so long, enduring the long days and thankless job she'd been stuck with. The symbol of Skyvale had kept her here. Ponyfolk said it was the cutie mark of the Councilpony who'd founded the city, so many years past during the Fall. She shakes her head and trots down the hall. Nopony wanted to deal with the Council, especially when they were late.

"You're late," Councilpony Crimsonhoof states matter-of-factly.

"My apologies, sir," Sylae says, sitting at the foot of the table the guard outside had told her to sit at. "My summons was misdelivered, somepony must've forgotten I'm on the maintenance channel." She kept her smile to herself as one of the Councilponies smirked across the table at another. At least one of the fools has a measure of sense.

"Citizen Sylae, do you know why you've been summoned?" Crimsonhoof asks.

"I can't say I've been told. I would assume some Councilpony's air chiller has failed again and I'm the only person able to fix it," she says, a note of sarcasm entering her tone. "Has the most honorable Council tried checking the intake filter?"

Crimsonhoof sighs, "Sylae, that was one time, and Councilpony Blueblood still feels deeply sorry about waking you at three in the morning. Can we let it go?"

"You were telling me why I'm here, Councilpony?"

"I...yes. We've received a message from our allies down in New Canterlot..." the Chief Councilpony pauses, expecting some form of response. When Sylae gives none, he continues. "They've discovered some sort of artifact, possibly dating back to the Fall. They asked us to send a mechanic down there to help them on an expedition. We thought you'd be a valuable asset down there."

"I see. So you volunteered me for this expedition?"

"We...ah, yes, you could say that. We assumed you would say yes, given your...ah..."

"Given you'd rather sit around and bitch at everyone for having to do your civic duty, and we'd rather not have to listen to constant complaints about how you're not a team player!" one of the other Councilponies yells.

"What Councilpony Br--"

"Excuse me?" Sylae says, standing up angrily, "Complaining about how I'm not a team player? That's what you're going with? There's a damn good reason I'm not a team player, and--"

"Sylae!" Crimsonhoof yells over her, "You are out of line!"

"No, sir! I work my ass off keeping this city afloat. In the last week I've had one night of sleep, and you're complaining that I'm not a team player? THAT is what you're telling me? Maybe it's because my team is a moron who couldn't tell a screwdriver from a lift module!" She takes a deep breath, her muscles shaking, and sits back down.

Crimsonhoof calms himself, shaking his head, "I will not stand for any more outbursts in this chamber, citizen. The Council expects you to perform your duties on this expedition in the best of manners. An artifact like this is no light matter. They asked for the best of the best, and even with your...temper, you are the best we've got. The ponies down in New Canterlot expect you by dawn."

"By dawn? I have to fly all night for this?"

"Er...well, we only received this message this morning, and our other duties were more pressing."

"Oh, okay. That's alright, I didn't want to sleep anyway," Sylae says, trying to keep calm.

"Thank you, Sylae. You may go. Just remember, the fate of Skyvale may rest in your hooves."

Sylae shakes her head and leaves, slamming the door to the Council chamber behind her.

Sylae lays a hoof against the seal set into the wall of the rotunda. "Whoever you were, give me strength on this journey." Her head comes forward and rests against the smooth marble of the wall. Thoughts of the wars, the wilderness, the dark unknowns beyond Skyvale. Everypony knew the story of the Expedition to Equestria, how the last three Carriers of Harmony had set off to find their home, set off and never returned. "And please let me come back alive from all this," she whispers, a tear slowly running down her cheek. The anger at being volunteered had been replaced by fear, terror at what lay beyond the clouds of her home. The only thing she'd heard about other lands was what the pensioned soldiers whispered about, pensioners often missing hooves, wings, even eyes. Outside Skyvale was war, pain, calamity, and death. The only thing she hated worse than being trapped in this city was why she had never left. That was why she'd stayed, that and the strangeness of the seal that noponyelse saw. More tears run down her cheeks, running down the grooves set into the multicolored lightning bolt.

"Sylae? Are you okay?" At the voice, she jumps, startled.

She hurriedly wipes the tears off with a hoof and turns, "Hi, Glimpse. Listen, you're going to have to fix those cloud-lifts, I can't."

"Oh...Why not?" he says, stepping forward, concerned.

"I...The Council..." she looks away hurriedly, blinking away tears that suddenly want to appear. "They're sending me to New Canterlot," she says, turning to him and trying to fake confidence, ignoring the pounding of her heart.

"Well I'm sure you'll do good there, Sylae. Even if they're earth ponies, you'll be fine."

"You...you think?" she asks, her voice quavering.

"Of course I do." Glimpse lifts a hoof and pats her on the shoulder. "Any pony who can upset the Council as much as you do is sure to be able to fend for herself," he says, laughing.

Sylae looks down at the floor, suddenly filled with shame. Here he was, trying to make her feel better, after she constantly treated him like shit? "Listen, Glimpse...I know I'm not always the nicest...if I don't...If I don't come back, you should know I'm sorry for being like that." She paws at the floor tiles lightly, afraid to look up. Glimpse says nothing.

Finally, after several seconds she glances up. Glimpse is staring at her, wide-eyed. "Sylae, you just apologized to me. Are you sure you're okay?"

Everents

The cool wetness against Sylae's cheeks fades away as she dips below the final layer of cloud and into the crisp night air. She soars on, navigating the currents of the unknown skies. Below her lies a thick forest, unbroken except by an occasional lake with a thin crust of ice around its shore. She has flown without stop all night, following the air currents down from Skyvale City and the surrounding mountainous territory. If her calculations are correct, she is in New Canterlot lands now.

The air is not chill for a pony used to the sky, still she is glad when the lights of the city appear ahead. New Canterlot is smaller than Skyvale, nestled next to a large lake. Farmland surrounds the city proper, and an apple orchard encroaches upon the native conifers in one area. Sylae lands before the closed gates of the city wall and approaches one of the guards standing watch outside it. The Canterlot ponies wear armor of a deep blue, a yellow sun emblazoned on their chests. As she nears, one of them, an officer of some sort, steps forward and meets her. "Halt, pegasus. What brings you here at this time of night?"

Sylae clears her throat, "My name is Sylae. I was sent here on behalf of the Skyvale Council," she says, offering no expression.

"Oh, a Vale pony. We haven't heard anything about your Council sending anypony," the officer states, snorting.

"Well, I didn't find out until recently, so maybe it hasn't gotten down the chain of command yet."

The other pony squints. "I would've heard if we were expecting a pegasus to arrive like this," he says. "Head back to wherever you came from."

"You...you aren't even going to check if I'm telling the truth or not?" Sylae asks incredulously.

"Off with you."

Sylae rolls her eyes and steps back. Unsurprisingly, yet another moron has made her life more difficult than it needs to be. She looks up at the wall, then snorts and launches into the air. Why the earth ponies thought such a wall was effective in any way astonished her as she flies over the battlements. Suddenly, she feels a tingling and a purple flash blinds her. Another flash appears, and she is feels a bolt of something strike her. She screams as her wings spasm and she falls from the sky. The last thing she sees is the hard ground coming up to meet her.

Everents yawns as he walks down the hallway of Canterlot Castle. He'd spent all night down in the musty basement archives, searching for more information on the peculiar artifact. Sadly, like everything else relating to the past, the archives were terribly spare of information.

He steps out through a doorway and clops across the grey stone courtyard, the buildings of the castle rising around him. If only the senior researchers would let him see the artifact himself, maybe he could direct his learning! All he had were the snippets of information they accidentally voiced. The expedition will leave in two days, and he knows next to nothing about anything. Not to mention, the mechanic Skyvale had said they were sending three days ago still hasn't arrived.

His thoughts are interrupted by the sounds of several ponies trotting into the courtyard from outside. He looks over to see a squad of guards rushing towards the infirmary, carrying something between them. All he sees is a flash of green before they are gone. Curious, he follows them into the infirmary, a squat, greyish building set in a back corner of the courtyard.

The squad captain, a squat fellow Everents doesn't recognize, calls for a nurse urgently. Everents looks at what the other guardsponies are carrying, and is shocked to see a badly-injured pegasus pony. "What happened?" he asks one of the guards.

"She tried to go over the wall, and the dome spell got 'er, fell a hundred hooves to the ground. Lucky to be alive," he replies gruffly.

A nurse appears, and looks at the pegasus. "She'll need more luck if she's to see the morning. You two, take her to room three, and someone find Scarflank," the nurse says to the guards. Everents follows the two silently to a dull and dimly-lit room, where they let down the injured pony on one of the six beds. A doctor comes in and starts checking her over, frowning and describing various injuries to himself. After about a minute, another doctor, with a large scar running across his cutie mark, comes in. "What was worth waking me up over?" He asks gruffly.

"Pegasus, reportedly fell a hundred hooves after trying to over the city walls," the first doctor replies. As they talk, Everents quietly walks over to the two guards who carried her in.

"Why did she try to cross the wall? Everypony knows about the dome spell," he says.

"Well, first she tried going through the gate, but the captain turned her back. Said he hadn't heard anything about a Skyvale pegasus coming in," the guard snorts, "So she tried going over. Captain was too lazy to open the gates, now we're all gonna be stuck here for hours."

"I see," Everents says, then sits in the corner, trying to stay out of the way.

"This is a lost cause," one of the doctors states. "This pony shouldn't even be alive. I'm going back to sleep." The other doctor nods, and the two clop out of the room, shortly followed by the guards.

Everents looks around at the room, just him, five empty beds, and the injured pegasus. He stands and walks over, standing next to the bed and listening to her strained breathing. I can't just leave her here to die, he thinks to himself, nerviously clopping a hoof against the floor. Next to him, the pony lays on the bed, blood staining the green of her feathers and dripping onto the sheets. Scorch marks cover her body and her entire left side appears to have been crushed by the fall. He closes his eyes, thinking, trying to remember any spell that comes in handy. The injured pony's breathing gets shallower and shallower with each passing moment.

Finally, he nods to himself, summoning his energy. A spark appears at the tip of his horn, a green glow permeating the room. he lowers his head and touches her with his horn. He feels the energy transfer into her, magic seeping from his body into hers. It feels like an eternity passes before he raises his head dizzily, the room spinning around him.

A faint glow surrounds the pony, but as Everents watches it fades away. His vision doubles and blurs, and he closes his eyes tiredly. He barely has enough energy to lay down on the stone floor as fatigue takes him. He's done all he can, the pony is on her own now.

The Expedition

A dull pain shoots through Sylae's body as she returns to consciousness. Her eyes slowly open, and she blinks, trying to eliminate the blur in them. Where am I? she thinks to herself, unable to comprehend the dim blurry greyness. She shifts slightly, then immediately regrets it as her left side explodes in agony. Clamping her eyes shut, she groans loudly at the pain. What happened?

"Oh good, you're awake," somepony says from around her. She opens her eyes again, blinking away the tears. She tries to ask what happened and where she is but all she can manage is a moan. "You shouldn't move until you get better," the voice states. Well, no shit, Sylae thinks acidly as she hears the unknown pony stand. A blurry face appears into her field of view, a unicorn. "How are you feeling?" he asks.

Sylae tries to talk again, struggling. "...eyes...blurry...happen?" she finally manages to wheeze.

"Blurry eyes? That's not good," the head says, "Maybe you need more sleep." A green glow surrounds his horn and suddenly Sylae feels sleepier. Her eyes drift closed and she falls back under.

Falling! Sylae jerks awake abruptly, ignoring the pain as the rocky ground rushes up to meet her, unable to fly due to the magically-induced spasms. Her heart is pounding as she reaches out her hooves, only to stop when she sees the grey of the room. She holds a hoof against her heart, trying to will it to slow down. She looks around, observing the spare furnishings of the room. Cold and grey are the first words that come to Sylae's mind, grey walls, grey floors, grey ceiling, a greyish chair on the wall, a unicorn snoring softly on it. She peers suspiciously at the stallion, but he doesn't seem to have been disturbed by her alarm in coming to.

Suddenly, she is overcome with fatigue again, falling back on the bed. It's nothing like the clouds back home, even her modest home in Skyvale had a plush cloud for sleeping on, it seemed her current accomodations were made of some sort of spring. She lays there for a minute, trying to remember what had happened. A moron guard turning her away from the gates, her trying to reason with him, then giving up and flying over the walls... "Sylae, you're a moron," she says to herself. Of course they'd have an enchantment preventing ponies from just flying over.

The pony on the chair yawns, placing a hoof over his mouth tiredly. She freezes, watching him cautiously as his eyes dart open, scanning the room, stopping at her. He mumbles something, but it is lost through the yawn. "I didn't catch that," Sylae says.

He finishes his yawn, "I said, Are you feeling better?" the strange unicorn asks.

"Oh, um...yeah, I guess. How long have I been...here? And where is here?"

He hides a smile, "You've been here just over three days. You're in the New Canterlot Infirmary. I'm Everents, by the way."

"That long?" she blurts out, before realizing that three days wasn't too bad for being blown out of the sky by a spell, "I mean, um...Pleased to meet you, I'm Sylae." she sticks out a hoof, wincing slightly as it pulls at her side. Everents stands and lightly taps her hoof with his. "So, um...I'm not sure if the imbeciles at the gates told you, but I was sent by Skyvale, for--"

"For the Expedition, I know. They thought it was relevant to bring up after dragging you up here to get healed. And Sylae, we shoudn't talk about that unless we are somewhere more secure," Everents looks around for listeners that don't exist. "There are those who would stop this expedition before it begins."

"Oh...okay," Sylae replies dumbly, thinking of nothing to say. "Well, I'm doing nothing by laying here," she states, throwing back the covers and shakily climbing out of the uncomfortable bed. "So what did you do to get stuck waiting for me to wake up?" Her steps are unsteady as she slowly walks around, testing her legs. She notices her wings are tightly bound against her body, preventing flying for the time being.

"I..I helped out with your healing some," Everents says shyly, walking over to help steady her.

She leans against him gratefully, ignoring the warmth of his body. Shut up, Sylae, she thinks to herself, Not only is he a unicorn, he's a stallion at that. "Thanks, I guess. Care to fill me in on the Exp--the thing?"

"Uh, sure. Let's head to the library, we'll be able to talk there," he states, guiding her out of the room and into a similarly-grey hallway. At the end of the hall a pony in armor (similar to that worn by the gate morons) stands.

"Excuse me," the guard states, "You are not authorized to release the prisoner." He steps forward, blocking the hallway.

Everents clears his throat, "Um, she can barely walk so I don't think she'll be a--"

"The prisoner? What is this shit? You dumbasses send for me and nearly get me killed and now I'm the prisoner?" Sylae yells angrily. She pushes away from Everents and gets up in the guard's face, "And do I fucking look like I am going to run off and be a problem?"

"...yes..." the guard says weakly, stepping back.

"Oh," she says, somehow satisfied. She looks back at Everents, "Well I suppose I have you to thank for healing me up so well." She nods and tries to walk around the guard, and is stopped by his raised hoof. "If you do not move I will put my forehoof so far up your ass the Goddess Luna will have to pry it out with Her horn," Sylae says to the guard, staring him down. After an awkwardly long exchange of glares between Sylae and the guard, Everents pipes up, "Um, I have permission from Senior Researcher Arbu to allow her the leave of the city, so if it's all right..."

The guard looks back at Everents and nods, stepping to the side silently. "Thank you," Sylae says sarcastically as she walks past him.

As they step outside into a large courtyard, Everents stops her, "Sylae...maybe you should let me do the talking..."

"Why?" Sylae asks, "I had that situation well in hand. Another minute of glaring and he would've moved."

"Yes, but it would be easier if we just tell them Arbu has given us permission."

"Has he?"

"Well," Everents says as he leads them across the courtyard and into an imposing grey structure, "Is 'make sure that green winged thing those pegasus bastards sent doesn't get herself killed' close enough?"

Later, the two are sitting in the dim recesses of a large library. Sylae was having trouble with the low-hanging basement chamber, a lifetime in Skyvale tended to make a pony claustrophobic. "You haven't happened to see my saddlebags, have you?" She asks, half-assuming they'd become part of her side when she'd fallen.

"Oh, right. They're in my bedroom," Everents states as he magics several volumes off of the shelves. Noting her awkward and slightly angry-seeming silence, he turns from the books and stares at her, "It was that or have them in the guard's barracks. I haven't looked in them or anything, don't worry."

"Okay..." Sylae says, trailing off. "Need any help looking for anything?"

"Nope!" He says, setting a last volume on the table and sitting across from her. "Everything I need is right here. How much do you know about the land of Equestria?"

Sylae shrugs. "As much as everypony else, I guess." Everents magicks several volumes back to the shelves at her words.

"And what about the Councilponies?"

"Um...not much...There were three, but more before the Fall...one of them founded Skyvale?" Everents magicks another book back to the shelves, but stops at her added comment.

"Interesting," he says, magicking a quill and jotting down a note, "Do you know which Councilpony?"

"I can't say I do," Sylae says.

"Okay," Everents continues, returning to the books. "The three Councilponies, as you may know, were not the only ponies to lead groups out of the war zone that Equestria had become. Military leaders, businessponies, all sorts lead their own seperate groups, some even took their chances solo. Most of these groups were either captured by Changelings or were lost and never heard from again. That's the level of detail you'll find in most histories. The passing of time has not treated out knowledge well."

"And how does this artifact fit in?" Sylae asks, trying to get him to cut to the chase before it became a history lecture.

Everents nods and opens the remaining book, flipping it open to a page in the middle. He lifts the book and shows it to her. It's a pencil-drawn landscape of ominous-looking mountains, clouds hiding the peaks. In the foreground, a single pony stands, staring at the mountains. "The Shutterpeak Mountains," Everents states. "We've discovered an artifact, a map in fact, that leads us to a location deep within these mountains."

"So?"

"Analysis of the magic-energy decay of the map places it at just over 400 years. This map was made by someone who lived during the Fall. The goal of the expedition is to travel to the location given on the map, find anything of interest, and follow the clues until, Celestia willing, we find a way back to Equestria. Then we will act as the scouts, to see how much military force will be needed to retake Equestria"

Oh, okay. Follow an ancient map to the harshest mountains Sylae had ever seen, somehow discover a way back to a land nopony has laid eyes on since the Fall, and then travel back. Sylae opens her mouth to give this pony a piece of her mind, but before she does, he stands. "So, Sylae. Are you in?"

She paused for a minute, thinking. On one hoof, she faced near-certain death, possible starvation, and braving the fierce elements. On the other, the comfort and home of Skyvale. The Council. Her coworker, Glimpse.

"I'm in."

Stonewing

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.

Contemplations

Everents steps up to Sylae's door cautiously. "Sylae?" He knocks a hoof against the door. "Are you in here?" No answer. Something is going on with her and I need to find out. The door latch glows with his magic as he telekinetically opens it. Stepping inside, he finds the room empty of a certain green pony. The only sign of her presence is the pack sitting on the bed, its contents no longer piled on the floor as they were earlier but packed away neatly. He sighs, Of course she wouldn't be here. I shouldve talked to her right away rather than wait for her to calm down. He sighs and casts a Finding spell. His horn snaps up, pointing into the ceiling. On the roof, his mind tells him.

Five minutes later his head pops out of a hatchway, opening up to the sloped roof. He pulls himself out of the hatchway, stepping gingerly onto the roof tiles. A light rain is falling, making the glazed tiles slippery. Several hooves away Sylae sits, her mane soaked, water running down her face unnoticed. She turns her head and stares at him. "You shouldn't be up here. You could slip and slide off," she says, a strange tone in her voice.

"So could you," he replies, gesturing to the bandages around her wings as he sits next to her.

"It'd sure save this Expedition the effort," she says, snorting.

"Sylae...I would've told you about Stonewing...but I didn't know about Skyvale's war until today." he says soothingly, wishing he had spent more time learning about foreign politics.

"No, not that. That wasn't..." Everents raises an eyebrow at her. "Well, not just that," she corrects herself, staring out into the distance. "I..." she sighs.

"Hey, I get it," he says.

"Everents, why are you here? On the Expedition, I mean?"

"Well...there's what Arbu told you, I guess. And I guess I just want to discover what's out there."

She snorts again. There is silence for a time as she stares out into the clouds. Suddenly she asks, "You know why I was sent?"

"Because you are th--"

"Because they wanted to get rid of me," she says over him. A tone of bleakness enters her voice as she continues. "You're here to learn. You want to see the past. All...all I can see is my death."

"Syl--"

"I don't want to be here, Everents. I want to be back in Skyvale fixing the cloud-lifts and dealing with the morons. Not getting blown out of the sky and going insane," she says over him.

"Sylae--"

"They sent me here to die. Don't you get that?" she nearly screams at him.

"Sylae!" Everents finally gets his voice in. "Knock it off! You're not here to die. You're here for the Expedition."

"I almost died getting here, in case you forgot!" she yells back, pointing at her wings.

"So you got it out of the way. Now you don't have to worry about almost dying."

"...that's the stupidest fucking thing I have ever heard." but it shuts her up long enough for him to continue.

"Sylae. However you got here, whatever the reason, you're here. And I need you. Equestria had ridiculously advanced technology, and none of us can work with it. Without you with us none of us will make it."

She sighs, staring at him, obviously conflicted. Finally, she states, "You and your damn Expedition are going to kill me, you know that?"

"Not my Expedition. Our Expedition," he says, standing and holding out his hoof for her. "Now let's get off this roof. Those of us without wings still aren't comfortable being a slippery tile away from becoming a splat on the courtyard."

"Now," Sylae says after they come down from the roof and are walking down the wider upstairs hallways. "That griffon. Stonewing, was it?"

"Yes, why?" Everents replies?

"I owe him an apology," she states simply.

"Um...are you sure that's a good idea, after...?"

"No, but it's something I have to do," she states in a determined tone.

"Allright." Everents takes them down several stairways and halls, eventually stopping at a simple doorway. Far larger than those in other parts of the fortress. "Here it is," he says, nodding toward the door.

"Okay," she says nervously, stepping up to the door and gingerly knocking a hoof against it. It opens, and out Stonewing steps, a section of his stomach bruised. Everents contains his wince as Sylae's legs immediately start shaking. Then again, if I'd spent years living at war with them, I'd probably have a similar reaction. The griffon is clearly surprised to see her, his eyes widening as he takes a step back. Everents wants to applaud as she steps forward bravely and looks up at him. "Stonewing...I'm...I'm Sylae. I just...wanted to say I'm sorry about earlier."

"I...er, don't worry about it. My fault, really," The griffon replies. He pauses, then adds, "Would you like to come in? They brought up a bushel of apples, and I'm certainly not going to eat them all."

"Um...I uh..." Sylae clearly tries to find a way to say no politely but fails.

"Oh...well that's okay, I get it," Stonewing says, his shoulders dropping a little.

Sylae looks up at him, mixed emotions filling her face. Everents just stares, wondering what was going through her mind. Suddenly she says overly loudly, "No. I'd love to come in, thank you." she nearly clops a hoof over her mouth after saying it.

"Really? Cool!" he says, a smile forming on his face.

Everents steps back. "Well, I'll just leave you two--" he stops as Sylae turns and gives him a look that screams DO NOT LEAVE ME ALONE WITH HIM. "On second thought, I'm not a pony to say no to fresh apples." he follows Sylae into the room as the griffon steps back.

The quarters are much the same as they were the last time Everents had visited him, to discuss the Expedition. For about the hundredth time, He wonders why the griffon had been put in the late Heartfelt ambassador's quarters. Everything was oversized, scaled to griffon bodies rather than ponies. A red-and-gold carpet covers the floor, adding comfort and color. Several matching wall hangings add color as well. Even though they are aged and fading, they're almost vivid after the greyness of the rest of the fortress. As Stonewing gestures to the ornate table upon which a basket full of apples rests, Everents says to Sylae, "You and Stonewing are the only two flyers in the city. We don't get many griffons or Pegasi, especially not in recent years."

"Yes," Stonewing pipes in as the three sit at the table. "I heard there was another Pegasi in the lower section of the town somewhere, but I couldn't find a trace of them. It's been quite lonely being the only flyer here." As Stonewing is talking, Everents takes an apple and tosses another to Sylae, smiling reassuringly and taking a bite. Her return smile is weak, but gives him hope. "What about you, Sylae? How are you finding the city?"

Sylae swallows her bite of apple before replying. "I can't say for sure. I haven't been anywhere but the fortress. It's certainly a lot different than Skyvale City, though."

"How so?" Everents pipes in, hoping to hear more about the city he hasn't seen.

"Oh, well...The entire city is in a rift in the clouds. Like all Pegasus structures, everything is built on clouds. Before I...came here, I was in charge of keeping all the machinery in the city running. Things like condensers and cloudlifts."

"Cloudlifts?" Everents asks.

"Large, flat clouds with lifter mechanisms that move stuff throughout the city," she replies. Interesting, the Pegasi have built commonplace technology that can replace telekinesis, Everents thinks to himself. Sylae continues, "Only problem is, the propellant tubes like to jam and muck up the whole system. Have to take the entire lift assembly apart to get at it."

"That seems silly," he says, "Why wouldn't they put it where it's accessible?"

Sylae snorts. "Because it would cost more to build it the right way. Not that I'm complaining, every time one broke it meant I had something to do, I guess."

"Something to do?" Stonewing says incredulously. "Surely in a city like Skyvale there's plenty to do. Were your friends all too busy to do anything with you?"

Sylae looks down at the table, staring at a know intensely. "I never had any friends," she says quietly, not looking up.

"Well what about your clan? Surely they would make time, right?" Everents winces internally. Sometimes Stonewing didn't know when to shut up.

"Clan?" Sylae asks, looking up slightly.

"Yeah...wait, Pegasi don't have those, do they? A clan is a group of griffons who share the same heritage, like a...a...Everents, help me out here?"

"Like a family, but larger." Everents says reluctantly, his fears confirmed as Sylae abruptly renews interest in the table's knot.

The griffon starts up again, "Are they--"

"Stonewing," Everents finally cuts in.

Sylae raises a hoof, "No, Everents. It's okay. Not like it makes a difference now, does it?" She laughs, "Stonewing, I don't have a 'clan'. Or if I do, I've never met them, and they don't seem to care. And that's fine with me. I don't think I'd be exactly rosy with the ponies who left me in the care of the Skyvale orphanage."

"I'm sorry, Sylae." Everents reaches over and pats her on the back gently.

"Don't be," she replies. "Unless it's your fault, that is," she adds laughingly. "Like I said, it's fine, just a little...awkward, I guess. It's not something you would talk about in Skyvale. I've been plenty fine without them. Anywho," she reaches to the apple basket, continuing. "Besides this fortress, what is there in the city?"

"Well, there's the markets, where the farmers come in and sell to the town. And you have shops and, um...there's lots of houses." Everents says. "Come to think of it, there's really not that much besides the fortress. Nothing here besides war," he snorts. Yet another reason for the Expedition...

"Always going to be war," Sylae sighs. "Ponies will be ponies."

"Not always," Everents states. "There will be a time when we won't have war, just like before the Fall."

Sylae snorts and shakes her head. "Four hundred years say otherwise, Everents."

"And the thousand years before that agree with me."

She sighs, "Too bad the past isn't the future. You really think everypony is just going to throw down their arms and agree to peace?"

"No but...it's a process...it'll take time, but it is possible."

"Sylae, I think you're being a little pessimistic about this," Stonewing says. Everents nods in agreement, And half the reason there's still so much war is because nopony realizes there's no alternative.

"It's not pessimism if it's the way the world is!" She exclaims, a hint of anger entering her voice.

"Sylae...I think you just have a bit of, um, a biased view. It's a bit crazy to think there's no chance for peace," Everents says softly, trying to calm her down. He winces internally as the pegasus scowls and opens her mouth to give a retort.

Suddenly, deep within the fortress, a bell begins ringing frantically. "That's...that's the militia alarm!" Everents yells, and the three run to the nearest window, Stonewing tearing open the shutters. The rain has stopped, but the clouds remain, casting the scene below in a dreary grey.

"Well, who's crazy now," Sylae states flatly.

Tados

"Dammit, dammit! Why now?" Everents mutters, his horn aglow, magically bringing the landscape into greater detail.

"Lunars?" Stongwing hesitantly asks. Everents simply nods.

"Lunars?" Sylae questions, "Didn't Arbu mention them or whatever?"

"Yes, Lunars, and not a shy amount. I have no idea how they managed to sneak by all the way here in such a mass. This is not good." Noting Sylae's expression, Everents quickly realizes her lack of knowledge. "The Lunars are a radical group of organized rebels, conspiring to overthrow the government and bring it back under Luna, but goddess knows how that could be if we don't even know if they still even exist..." Everents sighs, "In any case, we have to get out of here. New Canterlot is very well defended, but seeing as how they managed to get this far, that the front army is days away at best, and their recent trickiness, I'd say we get our supplies and the rest of the Expedition and get the fuck out of here."

"What?" Sylae exclaims. "What are we, just going to run away while everyone else is fighting for their lives? Just abandon New Canterlot?"

"No. Well yes, but what other choice do we have? Do you want to end up in their hooves? I don't like this anymore than you do, but it will not help to allow ourselves to be taken."

"Uh, guys?" Stonewing attempts to interrupt.

"Ok. Yeah. Let's just run right past the Lunars, politely letting them know we're escaping, venturing out with no protection and only the little supplies we can gather. Great plan."

"Guys!" Stonewing exclaims.

"It's not the best plan to escape with no guards, but we haven't much choice. As for escape, the front gate is not the only way out, fun fact. And as for supplies, we already have some things ready for the Expedition, in case of an emergency. Now--"

Everents is interrupted as an explosion from outside rocks the foundations. Sylae and Everents quit their argument to look outside to see the Lunars swarming through a brand-new front gate and into the city.

"Yeah, while you were taking your sweet time to argue, they have been fighting off the guards to get in and we have been wasting time." Stonewing says, irritated.

"Alright, sorry. Stonewing, you know where the supplies are and can fetch them quickly. Sylae, follow me. We'll get the others." Stongwing nods to that and flies out the window. Sylae follows Everents as he heads out of the room. He leads her down the winding hallways, deep into the heart of the fortress. The cool air fills his lungs as he rushes down the halls, eerily silent, the sounds of fighting reduced to the occasional dim thump of an explosion. He turns a corner to find am amcient-seeming wooden door with "Armory" stenciled on it.

"Weapons aren't included in our emergency supply bags," Everents explains as he opens the doors, making sure to dispel the safety and anti-theft measures barring them. "But it'd be silly of us to travel with none."

"Why wouldn't they be?" Sylae questions.

"Well, they're supposed to be in position of the guards that would escort us. Except we'll be on our own. I'm sure they won't mind us tapping into the stash here. Say, have you ever handled one?"

Sylae shakes her head. "I was never drafted. I've seen them on the soldiers returning home and some demonstrations, but that's about it."

The doors open, the two look into the armory. It's somewhat of a pitiful sight. An entire shelf is devoted to broken weapons and equipment (aptly labeled "Broke"). While there is a decent stash, the number of intact weapons is surprisingly small for such a large fortress.

"Nice to see how well stocked the capital of the best army in this land is. Amazing. I could see this lasting a seige for years," Sylae states dryly.

They would always boast about how we're the most resourceful force in the land. I suppose they just wanted to keep morale up, Everents thinks as he levitates a few weapons, moving a scoped rifle towards Sylae. "I hope that works for you. Seeing as you are a pegasus, you may be shooting at longer distances due to flying. That is, if you had to. I'm hoping we don't."

Everents draws a small pistol for himself and packs a sufficient amount of bullets for the two of them. Then, remembering the others minus Stonewing, as he recalled he had a weapon of his own, he packs three other weapons--two pistols and a submachine gun. Sylae then walks up to the shelf of broken equipment and pulls a few gun parts into her pack.

"Umm..." Everents says in confusion.

"What? They won't miss them, seeing as they're broken and they're probably too damn incompetent to figure out how to fix them. I figure I could make use of the parts myself."

Everents simply shrugs. Outfitted, the pair rush out through the halls. Everents notes eerily as everything seems to a little too quiet. Footsteps suddenly sound forth in the direction of the front doors. Fearing the worst, Everents leads Sylae to a back passage. More footsteps are heard and shouts, a mix of those unfamiliar and those of the castle residents, begin. Soon they find themselves out on the streets.

An armed pony with armor much unlike the New Canterlot guards, clearly a Lunar, walks around the corner, surprised to see the two just as they see him. Dammit, I was hoping to avoid a confrontation. At least he's alone, Everents thinks as a soft green glow eminates from his horn and around the Lunar. The pony is whisked up and thrown against the wall before he could aim towards the pair, knocked out cold.

"What are you doing?" Sylae asks as Everents walks up to the unconcious Lunar.

"I'm making sure he's alive," Everents replies.

"Are you crazy? they are attacking us and I'm pretty sure he would have killed us given the chance," Sylae says angrily.

"There is no sense in this needless killing of ponies from ponies. I refuse to add to the count if I can avoid it," Everents defends.

"Oh, so he can come back and add one of us to 'the count'? Brilliant," Sylae notes Everents also pulling the gun off the unconcious pony, placing it into his pack. "At least you have some sense..."

Suddenly, two other Lunars jump out from another corner, likely attracted by the noise from before. "No sudden moves!" they shout. Unfortunately for the Lunar pair, a certain griffon surprise attacks them. One clutches his throat as it gushes blood, causing him to pass out. The other falls unconcious, perhaps dead, from a hard blow to the head. Everents grimaces from the violence, and Sylae edges back insinctively at the greusome sight caused by Stonewing.

"Stonewing!" Everents exclaims.

"Come on, we have to get out of here. Our defense failed, and this place is beginning to swarm with Lunar rebels," Stonewing says quickly.

"What about the others from the expedition? We have to get them out!" Everents says.

"There's no time. If we stay too long, they'll capture us for sure, and that won't do anyone any good. Now let's get out of here. You know a hidden way, don't you?" Stonewing firmly states.

Everents, defeated, replies, "Yes, umm, follow me."

"What happened to this being hidden?" Sylae yells angrily, edging away from Stonewing's bloodstained talons as Everents searched the recently-deceased ponies for ammo. She throws her pack off and holds it open for Everents, who levitates the loot in. Around the three, slime-covered walls rise and the smell of decay assaults their noses. Everents's hidden way--what appeared to be an abandoned sewer tunnel--had turned out to be not-so-hidden, as they had found out when they turned the corner and found three Lunars strolling along. Sylae's wings itch under the bandages, and she raises a hoof to scratch at them, "And when can I take these changeling-damned things off and fly again?"

"Oh, um...you can take them off. They were only there to hold your wings in place while the magic healed you. You shouldn't need them anymore. Maybe," Everents says carefully, ignoring her first comment.

"Your confidence does nothing but inspire me," she growls sarcastically, but eagerly tears the bandages off nonetheless. She flaps her wings and rises into the dank air of the tunnel, sighing blissfully. "Oh, it feels good to be in the air again," she states, soaring down the tunnel, easily dodging the plentiful cobwebs that filled its dim confines as she flies around corners and . Up ahead, the end of the tunnel appears, a ladder leading to a hatch at the ceiling. As she flies towards it, the hatch opens and a pony wearing Lunar armor drops down. "Not tonight," she says to herself as she grabs the sniper rifle from her back and slows to a stop, her wings keeping her aloft and steady. She raises the weapon and gazes through the scope, centering the crosshairs just over the unsuspecting rebel's eyes. A second later the tunnel rings with the sound of her gunshot, and the Lunar's head explodes. And Skyvale spends how long training soldiers to use these? she thinks smugly as she resumes flying, on the lookout for any other Lunars.

Everents sighs as he trots along, Stonewing flying beside him. "Are you sure you don't want me to--" the griffon begins to say

"No," Everents interrupts him. "It's not like she could have gotten lost in a tunnel with only two ways in. Besides, it doesn't hurt to have someone scout ahead." Stonewing reluctantly nods, and the pair continue down the confines of the tunnel.

Suddenly, the pair hear an echoing gunshot from up ahead. "Shit!" Everents swears, "Stonewing, go!" He accelerates to a gallop, levitating out his pistol as Stonewing's powerful wings carry him ahead rapidly, quickly disappearing around a corner. She couldn't be too far ahead, he thinks to himself as he gallops, careful not to slip on the slime that covers the floor, now alone in the darkness. She's never fired a weapon before, and we only heard one shot. He hurries around another corner, and breates a sigh of relief as he spots the bright green pegasus next to the exit ladder. "Sylae..." he says, gulping in the dank tunnel air, "let's...not run...off like that..."

"Yeah, sorry," she says, glaring at Stonewing.

Everents glances over and notices Stonewing with a strange facial expression. "Is there...am I missing something?" he asks cautiously.

"No, it's fine." the pegasi says harshly, rising up into the air. "Let's go." She flies up and opens the hatch. Just then Everents notices the blood splattered everywhere and the headless Lunar's corpse at the base of the ladder. Looking back, he sees the shine of an empty casing a hundred hooves away.

"Huh," he says to himself as he climbs the ladder, careful to avoid the reddish marks glistening dimly. Up top, he glances around at the surroundings. The hatch, a rotting mass of wood stuck in the ground, is surrounded by the collapsed remains of a farmhouse. His hooves clink against the bits of stone floor as he moves out of the way for Stonewing. He spots Sylae up above, flying around with her rifle out, looking for Lunars. Around the ruined farmhouse, the forest rises, the pines of the area eagerly rising out of soil that hasn't been tilled in a hundred years. Everents sighs and looks to Stonewing, "We might as well wait unt--" he is interrupted by a cracking from the forest. He spins towards the sound, his horning lighting up with the glow of magic, and suddenly his vision becomes brighter and clearer, magic allowing him to see the blue earth pony trying to sneak away. "Oh no you don't," he says as the telekinetically grabs the pony and drags him towards the ruins.

The mysterious pony vainly paws at the ground, trying to get away, but Everents's magic holds, bringing him into the ruins and pinning him to the remains of a wall. "Who are you?" Everents yells, levitating his pistol as Stonewing cracks his talons menacingly.

"I didn't see anything, I swear! I'm just trying to get away from the city!" The pony yells, terrified.

"Oh? And how am I going to know you're not some southlands rebel, huh?" Everents asks, fatigue entering his voice from the strain of using magic to hold the stallion in place.

"I...I was just looking for my brother! He was sent here on a mission, and my parents told me to bring him back!"

"Wait," Everents says, lowering the pistol. "A mission? Who's your brother?"

"He..." The blue pony slowly stops his struggling, "Red Dawn."

"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" Everents says in relief, releasing his magical hold on the pony. "We're part of the Expedition too. You must be Tados, then. Red's had nothing but good words about you. Is he meeting us here?"

"He..." Tados's voice catches. "I found him in the city. He told me to take this tunnel and head home...he didn't make it out," he says quietly, looking down.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Everents says sadly, patting the blue pony reassuringly.

Just then, Sylae flies down, "The city is on fire and I saw New Canterlot guards fleeing. I think we'd best get moving if--hey, who is this?"

"Oh, Sylae, this is Tados. His brother i--was an Expedition member. Tados, this is Sylae."

"Hi. Sorry for being abrupt, but there are a fuckload of Lunars swarming over that city and it would probably be a really good idea if we got our asses in the sky before they decide to see what the deal is over here."

"Asses in the sky?" Everents asks.

"Metaphorically. My wings still seem to be rather weak, and I doubt Stonewing could carry both of you," the pegasus says tiredly.

"Both of us?"

"I'm sorry, I thought the presense of the new guy meant he was coming with us. Do you want to just leave him here for the Lunars so he can tell them all about us? Besides, another set of hooves could be handy."

"Point taken," Everents says. Sylae nods like that was painfully obvious, and he resists the urge to telekinetically punch her.

Sylae opens her pack and tosses a pistol and some ammo at Tados. "Don't worry about the previous owner asking for it back. Just point and shoot, these things are a lot simpler than all those soldiers make them out to be. Which way, Everents?"

"Um..." his horn lights up as he pulls a map out and checks it, even though he already has it memorized "North, we just follow the trail to Hoofmark until we hit the foothills to the Shutterpeaks."

"North it is. I'll scout ahead and make sure there isn't anypony waiting to surprise us," Sylae states, and with that she flies into the air.