Heroes of Atria

"What the hell just happened?" Solar asked his friend.

"I don't know, but is she okay?" Darim replied. He hurried around the griffon's body to get to the mare.

"The griffon didn't attack her, so I don't know why she blacked out."

Darim put his ear to the mare's chest. "She's still breathing."

"How well is she doing?"

"She seems stable, but all this blacking out has to be taxing on her body."

"What do we do?"

Darim looked around the lab. The encounter had surprisingly thrown everything out of order, despite how short it was. "I'm going to take her to my bedroom for a more comfortable rest. Would you mind cleaning up my lab, or removing the griffon?"

"Uh, sure."

Darim used his magic to gently pick up the mare and carried her up the stairs. He opened the door to his bedroom with his hoof and gently set her down on the bed. Using his magic, he opened the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a flashlight. He then clicked it on and shone it in the mare's face to test for a reaction. She scrunched her face and made a gentle moan in protest.

"How is she doc?" Solar asked from the doorway.

Darim jumped, nearly dropping the flashlight. "Geez, don't do that to me. Anyways, she seems to be okay. Just exhausted, we should give her some time to rest."

"Okay."

Darim walked over to his kitchen, filled his coffee maker, and turned it on. "You want some coffee while we wait?"

"Sure."

"It'll cost you though."

"Ugg, nevermind then."

"All I was going to say is help me hang the pots and pans back on the rack."

Solar sighed. "In that case I might as well." he walked over to his friend and started helping.

After about 5 minutes of setting up, Darim poured them each a cup of coffee. "You want any milk or cream in yours?"

"Do you have any of the little cream cups from the coffee shop? You know, the half and half ones?"

"Yeah, I always take some when I stop there. How many do you want?"

"Three please."

Darim opened the cups and poured two into his coffee and three into Solar's.

"Thanks."

"Your welcome."

"So, what do you think of, all this?"

"It's pretty bizarre."

Solar nodded. "Do you think she came here because of the griffons?"

"Probably just a coincidence. Speaking of which, did you get the body out of my lab?"

"No, that thing is heavy. I never realized how big those things were before."

"Yes, they are quite big," a voice said from the doorway, "but they're big pushovers."

Both of the stallions looked over at the source of the voice, surprised. There was the dark blue Pegasus standing there. She had removed her cloak, revealing her entirely. She had a slim yet muscular frame, she was clearly athletic. Her face was smooth, with large ice-blue eyes and long, full eyelashes.

"You're, better already?" Darim asked in amazement.

The mare smiled. "Yes, thanks for taking care of me doc." her voice was gentle and calming.

"Woah! Where's your cloak?" Solar asked.

"I took it off. It got really hot under those covers, and I figured concealing my identity wasn't worth it. Anyways, can I have some coffee too? " She let out a huge yawn before continuing. "I hate mornings."

"Oh, uh sure." Darim pulled out another cup and filled it for her with coffee. "Do you want any cream or milk?"

She shook her head. "I prefer it black, wakes me up better." She hopped up on one of the stools by the table and spun around in it a couple of times like a filly. "Anyways, I suppose you guys got a lot of questions, so let's not waste any time." she stopped spinning and took a sip of her coffee.

Darim opened his mouth, but Solar cut him off before he even started. "What was that sword magic thing?!" he blurted out, nearly shouting.

"Ehh, I'm not allowed to talk about it."

"What? Why not?"

She shrugged. "Boss wouldn't like it."

"Boss? Who's your boss?"

She laughed to herself, and shot Solar a smirk. "Can't tell you that either."

"Aw."

Darim cleared his throat. "So, what's your name?"

She paused for a moment, debating whether or not she should give her name. "Ancero." she said.

"Ancero?"

"Mhm. Make sure to roll the R though, sounds cooler."

"Ok, Ancero, my name is Darim, and this here is my friend Solar Rain."

"Darim and Solar Rain?"

"Yes."

Ancero broke out laughing. "I'm sorry, but you guys have ridiculous names."

"Anyways," Darim continued bitterly, "Do you have any connection to the reverted griffons?"

"In a way, yes."

Darim nodded, showing he understood. "Does your appearance have any connection to theirs?"

"In a way, yes."

Darim sighed. "Can you be more specific?"

"Of course I can."

There were several moments of silence. "Will you?"

"Since you asked." she cleared her throat. "I was always in the kingdom, living my life as everypony else. However, when I heard of the griffon attack, I just had to investigate. Since then, I went everywhere I had heard of another griffon attack."

"So, why were you at the lake by Solar's house?"

"There was a nearby griffon attack. I saw the thing's shadow and ran. The reason I blacked out was because, as I'm sure you saw, I was attacked myself. I saw the lake and figured somepony was there, so I managed my best to get there."

"Why are you chasing these griffon attacks?"

"I need information."

"What kind of information?"

"Information for my boss."

"And you can't tell us who your boss is?"

"Nope!" she smiled then spun herself around again.

Darim sighed in exasperation. "This barely helped at all."

Ancero drank the rest of her coffee in one sip. "Ahh. Anyways, I should probably get going. I think I have all the information I need."

"Wait, are you going to fight the griffons?" Solar asked.

She snorted. "Hell no, I'm going to look for my friend, Nawir."

"You are aware how dangerous it is, right?" Darim asked, a hint of fear in his voice. "You barely came to after hours of being out cold!"

"I'm fine." she hopped down off the stool and headed for the door.

"What if you're attacked by a griffon?"

Ancero stopped in her tracks. She thought back to when the griffon attacked her, before she met Solar. "I can manage." she stated plainly, trying very hard to seem brave.

"One swipe from the griffon's claws will knock you out again. What if nopony is nearby when this happens?"

"Thanks for your concern Darim, but you two would just slow me down."

Solar stepped toward her and put his hoof on her shoulder. "I cannot allow you to go forward on this journey alone. It's far too dangerous for a lone mare to wander around alone. Allow me, a royal guard, to pledge his life to keeping you safe on your journey."

Ancero let out a sigh. "Fine. You can come with, both of you. I don't care. But I will not slow down if you start to fall behind." she turned around and stared Solar in the face. Her expression instantly turned angry. "And let's get this straight. I am not alone."

"What?"

She turned back around. "Let's go then." Without hesitation, she immediately headed for the front door of the house and left. Darim and Solar followed close behind.