"...Hmm."
Shinespark bowed her head. "So you have no idea where Valey is, other than that she's not following you."
"Sort of," Maple corrected. "She could have gone back to the Defense Force, but only if Howe was telling the truth. And I'm... not sure if I trust him."
"Howe? The pegasus?" Gerardo interrupted, blinking. "He actually succeeded in tracking you down?"
Maple sighed, glancing up at Gerardo. "You did send him, then? Thanks... I guess. He never really did anything useful, though."
"Well, at least he did that much," Gerardo remarked, smoothing his headcrest. The map of Ironridge shimmered in the background, still cycling between normal and the flood simulation. "I must say, I found him rather annoying, though I did consider the possibility that he was sincere towards the end. It wasn't impossible that he was, in fact, trying to make it up to me."
"He did explain that," Maple offered, putting a hoof on the table. "He said there was something in your crates that he wanted, and he was initially trying to sabotage us to get the guards to open them. But he must have failed and gotten them confiscated instead..."
Gerardo's eyes widened. "You don't say..." he mused, running a talon down his neck. "You see, Selma told me that they were already expecting the crates, and he confiscated them deliberately to stop them from being properly delivered and falling into the hooves of the yaks. But if Howe professed to having something to do with that..."
"Hold on," Shinespark interrupted. "There's something important here."
Everyone looked at her, falling silent.
"These crates," she said, leaning forward. "You delivered them two days ago, and the Defense Force had no way of knowing they were coming, right?"
Gerardo nodded. "Not unless Arambai said as much in his letters, which were then intercepted by a Defense Force spy."
"Unlikely." Shinespark continued, "Up until now, things have been recently stable in Ironridge. A few months ago, one of Ironridge's primary trading partners became embroiled in a war, which tipped the balance of power on the economic council enough in Yakyakistan's favor that there aren't any big contention points to generate drama. Nothing was happening, basically." She thumped the table. "Now, all of a sudden, there's this. It could be a coincidence, but I think it's much more likely it was caused by something... and the biggest recent change around here has been you guys."
"Us," Gerardo said, pointing to himself, Starlight and Maple.
"Yeah. You." Shinespark nodded. "Maybe it's because they know, somehow, that this means a big break for us. But it also could be because of these crates. Gerardo filled me in on what happened, but here's an overview for everyone who hasn't heard: he got contracted by Yakyakistan to deliver two unmarked, unopened crates to Ironridge, without using air travel. It took him about a year to complete, but when he reached the Defense Force fort... and the crates were going to a warehouse in the Water District... he was effectively robbed by Selma."
"And we were foalnapped," Maple crossly added, laying a hoof on Starlight's shoulders.
"All this is very interesting," Gunga remarked. "If I'm following, we have a sudden delivery that appears to invoke drama within the Defense Force... coinciding with a bomb threat that may very well be factions of the Defense Force trying to frame each other. The pieces of the puzzle appear to be getting clearer!"
Gigavolt pointed two hooves at him. "So you're sayiiing one siiide of the force wants the crates, and the other siiide doesn't want them to have them, and one siiide is tryiiing to get us to iiinvade so they can blame iiit on the other to get them out of the piiicture?"
"That is what I am saying." Gunga bowed. "Since Selma appears responsible for the bombs, and also pilfered these crates, he is clearly a faction, and all these actions seem in character for him. According to Defense Force politics, that would mean the other side is Commander Valey."
"Admiral..." Maple whispered out of the side of her mouth.
Shinespark interrupted, tapping the table again. "Hey, hold up!" she announced. "I'm interested in knowing more about Howe, and the role he played in this. He obviously wanted the crates. Pretend he was their intended recipient, knew they were going to get stolen, and was trying to counter-steal them. What would that imply?"
"That wouldn't make sense." Maple shook her head. "We stole something important from one of the crates while me and Starlight were escaping from the Defense Force fort. When Howe found us, he said he had seen it on a security camera, and wanted what we stole very badly. He offered to help us if I would give it to him. I haven't done that yet."
Instantly, Shinespark's hoof was pointing to Maple. "When did Valey start helping you?" she pressed, insistent. "This could be important. Was it before or after you opened the crates?"
Maple swallowed. "She was always following us, but... very shortly after."
"Well, there you have it, it seems," Gunga sighed. "If Selma's goal was to keep the crates away from their intended recipient, and that recipient was Valey, and if she were to discover that you stole and possessed the most important thing in them, it would be only logical that she would follow and protect you until such time as she could recover the stolen object."
"But she..." Maple swallowed. "She definitely cared about us," she protested weakly. "Even if she loved to deny it. She couldn't have been in that for a mission alone."
"An important detail, if I may." Gerardo raised a talon. "During a confidential talk with Selma, he professed that the true recipient of the crates that he was intending to thwart was, in fact, Ambassador Herman."
"Never trust a yak," Gigavolt remarked brightly, causing Maple to flinch.
"Well..." Maple fumbled for words. "Valey hates Herman, doesn't she? She spent forever telling me about how bad he was!"
Gunga shrugged. "There could always be three sides in play. Or perhaps she was playing you? She is the most infamous trickster in Ironridge, after all."
"...I," Shinespark said slowly, "am curious what was in the crates. They were opened, weren't they? At the very least, knowing what was inside could give us insight on what the side that wants the crates is planning. Maple?"
Maple swallowed, glancing around the room nervously. A forest of eyes stared back at her, unblinking... and she managed, "There was a lot of black glass. We didn't recognize it, but from what we know now, it sounds like moon glass. What we took was a crystal orb Howe said was a windigo heart."
Gerardo's eyes widened, and Shinespark sucked in a breath. Gunga scoffed, Gigavolt said nothing, and Grenada remained as stunned and ashen as she had been for the entire conversation.
"A windigo heart?" Gunga slapped the table, nearly laughing. "Everyone knows those aren't real!"
"...No," Shinespark whispered, "they're very much real. And that isn't good at all."
For a few seconds, the room blinked.
"Say what?" Gunga leaned forward, brows furrowed. "Lady Shinespark, what don't we know?"
"...This is technically information above your classification level," Shinespark said, somber. "But I'll tell you anyway because we need to make the right decision here about what to do. Windigoes do exist. Their hearts are extremely rare, and we've seen exactly one in Sosa before. It was used for the procedure to remove and seal away my brand."
Gunga's ears folded. "Oh my."
"Then..." Maple sagged. "So Howe was telling the truth..."
"Please tell me I'm interpreting this incorrectly," Gerardo demanded, "but do you mean to say Yakyakistan was importing an object usable to systematically remove brands as well as a large quantity of the contraband material used for storing them? Because that would be most alarming."
"It's incorrect," Shinespark sighed, "but only partly. The procedure we used seven years ago destroyed the windigo heart in the process. However, that was less than a year after obsidian first appeared, and... it's been seven times that long now. There's someone I'll need to speak to first, but we have no idea what Yakyakistan's research facilities have done during that time, or what they're capable of."
"Lady Shinespark, if this is true, then this is all extremely sinister!" Gunga insisted. "The windigoes were the mythical incarnation of hatred sung of in Yakyakistani lore! If this is involved with the recipient of these crates, and the possibility of stealing brands..."
"And it appears it is," Gerardo continued for him. "Alas. Everyone? Are you thinking along the same course of action that I am?"
Shinespark nodded. "If the Defense Force is fractured into sides, and we know one is working with this much destructive potential and the other has openly invited us to cooperate with them..."
Gerardo nodded. "Then it follows we should do as Selma wishes and assault the fortress."
Gunga nodded as well. "The enemy of our enemy, as it would be. Additionally, I feel it may be wise to mention that if Selma set these bombs, cooperating with him could be the best way to avoid seeing them go off. When a pony holds a sword to your throat, after all, the best thing to do is exactly what they say."
"Then iiit's settled?" Gigavolt perked up. "As the best-equiiipped to deal with energy weapons, III volunteer to lead the charge!"
"No." Shinespark brought her hoof down. "It sounds like we need to invade, but that's not the only thing we have to decide. There's also the question of whether to take pre-emptive action and evacuate. If we did, we'd clear the factories... and sandbag the towns at the very least."
"What did Selma say on the matter?" Gunga asked. "If we're going to follow his instructions precisely, it would be best to defer to him here, as well."
"Truthfully, I can't remember," Gerardo admitted. "Evacuating does seem like an easy choice, given how much easier it is to prevent deaths than to cure them. What kinds of drawbacks would be involved?"
"To evacuating?" Shinespark shook her head. "Many. Financially, it wouldn't be a concern, but first and foremost it would cause ponies to panic, no matter what happened in the end. Gnarlbough is a quiet town whose residents are more involved with Karma Industries than Sosa, and if we convinced them to move for a false alarm, they'd see it as an inconvenience... getting drawn into Sosan politics. We don't need any rifts with the Earth District. The Stone District already distrusts us enough. Copsewood, meanwhile, is a town with a large number of Sosans... A large number. It's where about seventy percent of our workers live, and their families. If we tried moving them, rumors and panic would spread faster even than floodwater. In fact, it's entirely possible and likely Selma's plan factors in the massive destabilization such an operation would cause. The moment this flood becomes anything more than a closely-guarded secret, everything will be chaos."
Gunga nodded. "We would also need to carry word to Riverfall, so that they might safeguard the riverbanks as well. The town is built right up to the river's edges, and it would likely overflow for several days trying to drain away the floodwater."
"The second problem," Shinespark continued, "is that leaving Sosa empty could be the perfect opportunity for thieves to strike. Remember that Sosa has very few pegasi, while the Defense Force is comprised entirely of them. We wouldn't be able to safely leave anyone here who could get clear if there was a flood... and the Defense Force could easily come in and out while we were gone. I don't know what their target would be, especially since this airship is far from the main factories. But it would be very easy."
"Of note," Gerardo cut in, "it is Selma who wants us to react to this threat, and also Selma who declared that the Defense Force must be comprised of pegasi."
"How hard would iiit be to conviiince the other chiiiefs to move out?" Gigavolt asked. "We don't exactly own even one of the factoriiies, here."
"Easy." Shinespark nodded. "That isn't an obstacle. Gerardo, Maple..." Her eyes wandered. "I'm not sure if you've been brought up to speed on the situation with Sosa's leadership, but there are three factories. One is led by my biological father, Mobius. He used to be very resistant to the idea of hereditary rule, and disowned both me and my half-sister, Elise. But as he's aged and been ruined by political scandals, and as I've grown to have an impressive skillset and leadership ability, he's... changed his mind. Mobius is obsessed with me to the point where he does anything I ask. I might as well be the chief of his factory. Then there's Dorable... and the last factory has no chief, but is currently overseen by an interim candidate called Nimwick. Everyone outranks him. As for Dorable, leave him to me."
Maple didn't respond, sitting stunned just like Grenada. "Valey couldn't be working with the yaks to do something to everyone's cutie marks, Starlight... could she?" she whispered, shaking her head. "Not after how long we watched her, and how much she helped us. There must be another way..."
"Hey!"
Starlight seized everyone's attention, climbing onto the table and staring at Shinespark. "Say more about how your cutie mark thing with the windigo heart worked," she demanded.
"Cutie mark?" Gunga's mustache twitched.
"That what you call brands?" Gigavolt grinned. "Hey, that's adorable!"
"It..." Shinespark looked away. "Why do you need to know?"
"Because something doesn't make sense," Starlight said, standing stiffly. "You said it broke the heart to do it? But you also figured out how really fast, since you didn't get your mark immediately after the moon glass appeared. How did you know it would work, and get it first try? And where did you get the first heart from?"
"...That's classified," Shinespark said. "Though I did promise to let you know anything you needed. Can I tell you later, when these three aren't...?"
Gunga shot her a dirty look.
"Two, techniiically," Gigavolt remarked, nodding at Grenada. "Liiittle miiissy here seems a liiittle out of thiiings! Probably too much meat broth!"
"Does the magic have anything to do with emotions?" Starlight pressed, walking down the table closer to Shinespark. "Cutie marks are supposed to be made of a pony's hopes and dreams, right? And windigoes are supposed to be made of anger and hatred? Those sound sort of related, right?"
Shinespark's jaw slackened... and her lips pursed. "Where are you going with this?"
Starlight waved a hoof at the map. "If they did blow up those bombs, it would wreck half of Ironridge. It wouldn't kill many ponies, especially if you evacuated. But it would take away where a bunch of ponies worked... ponies who are already sad about what they do, since they lost their old jobs a long time ago!"
Slowly, worry settled over Shinespark's features.
"If they blew it up," Starlight continued, "they'd be hurting all the ponies who are already hurt most. But when the airships came, or when Project Aslan died, they had no one to blame! This time, they would. They'd blame the Defense Force for making the bombs. But if you evacuate them, and then go up there, you'd be working with Selma, and you wouldn't want them to blame you. So who's working against him that everyone already hates?"
Maple paled. "Starlight, no..."
"Yeah." Starlight swallowed. "Shinespark, you know how the magic works. If somepony had that much hatred focused at a single point... at themselves... what bad magical stuff could they do?"
Shinespark hit the back of her chair, eyes wide. "Then they could be intending to blow it up no matter what we do. We have to evacuate."