The time for the council rapidly rolled around, Valey and the others swapping more detailed accounts of what they had been through. Maple in particular was relieved to know the injured pegasus from the colosseum was alive once they realized she was the same one as in Grandpapa and Kouskous's group, and they finished with minutes to spare before a rap sounded on the door and a guard announced their summons.
A heavily-armed posse escorted them even further up the armored stone keep, which Starlight found counterintuitive. A war room was where emergency plans were made for battle, right? Wouldn't something like that be built securely underground, in case cannonfire or some flying weapon destroyed the top of the keep? Maybe there was a more secret backup, and this one was just for show.
They entered into a chamber that had to be the circumference of the entire tower, shaped like a metal egg with grated platforms separating it into multiple layers. The bottom layer held a number of important-looking chairs arranged in circles descending toward a podium at the base of the pit, each one thick and plush with apparatuses at the sides that looked like retracted restraints. The purpose of putting restraints on chairs that were populated by a hoofful of uniformed generals and officials, she couldn't even begin to guess.
Quietly, they were escorted to an emptier section of the seating. Gerardo's eyes widened in recognition of a nearby pegasus and unicorn Starlight didn't think she recognized, but Shinespark noticed them too, leaning across her to call a greeting. "Sharpie! Brightcoil!"
The mares both looked astonished to see them, the unicorn, a blue mare with a short, swirly green mane, breaking into a smile of delighted confusion. "Shinespark? Gerardo!? What are you doing in the Empire?"
The pegasus, gray with pink eyes and a long black mane, looked slightly more downcast. "Even you abandoned Ironridge, did you? Well, I hope you find what you're looking for."
"Who are these?" Starlight asked, glancing up at Maple in confusion.
Maple shrugged, having no answer, but Gerardo cut in. "Allies of mine from the time we became separated in Ironridge," he described, pointing at each in turn. "The pegasus, Sharpie, if my mind serves me well, was a disgruntled inspector looking into some wrongdoing of the Defense Force or other, and was completely at her wits' end. Brightcoil, on the other hand, was a welcome friendly face, though I can't recall her standing out for any other reasons."
Sharpie looked cross at the description, and Starlight suddenly realized Valey was hiding behind Slipstream, but Brightcoil nodded. "That's more or less how it is! Sharpie's the one who does things; I'm the emotional support."
"Don't worry. You're good at it." Sharpie sighed, slumping and putting a wing on Brightcoil's back. "I suppose it's good to see you alive. I've been... recovering after Ironridge, but the last two years I spent in that city have been so much stress, I don't know if I'll ever unwind. Listening to Kero, it sounds like you failed to stop the bombs. In exile, now?" She looked more closely at Shinespark. "You got a brand? Congratulations. Unless it's for running away."
Shinespark heavily winced. "I really should wear something to cover this up..."
"Quite a lot transpired, as a matter of fact," Gerardo proclaimed, proudly waving a talon as he narrated. "At the end of the day, it turns out Ambassador Herman was a villain with dreams of yak world domination, ancient sealed evil was involved, and through many heroic efforts the city and all its populace were spared with only the minor collateral annihilation of half the economy."
"The whole economy, actually," Shinespark told Sharpie and Brightcoil's incredulous, stricken faces. "You could call it exile, but the skyport is gone along with all of Sosa and the city's power infrastructure, so we're primarily here to warn others not to go to Ironridge unless they have enough distance capacity on their ship to make it back without refueling, and after that ask for aid in rebuilding."
"All that on top of the dam?" Brightcoil's smile had disappeared. "That's... wow..."
"I wish I could feel sorry, but I don't," Sharpie said. "They deserved it. Sorry."
Gerardo's crest drooped, and he watched as Shinespark slunk back to her seat. "Much as I sympathize with your plight and agree that Ironridge was far too populated by schemes for its own good, do recognize that she just had her entire home destroyed in one fell stroke."
Sharpie wilted too. "Right. Sorry. I'll just... take a while to get over it, is all."
"Sharpie and Brightcoil?" Maple asked, stepping up to take Shinespark's place. "I'm Maple. I don't think we met, but it's a pleasure."
"And I'm Slipstream!" Slipstream good-naturedly added, wearing a professional smile that had been honed for years disarming angry airline travelers.
"Maple?" Brightcoil tapped her chin. "That sounds like a Riverfall name. My mother was from there, you know!"
"You're not the first pony I've heard say that," Maple admitted, putting her ears back in reminiscence. "I suppose you were from Sosa, then?"
Brightcoil grinned. "I was! Funny, isn't it? A Sosan mare ending up with an upper-district detective? Nopony says that's something you see every day! Except me. And Sharpie. Heehee."
Sharpie gently elbowed her. "Everybody in the empire. Careful."
"Oh. Right." Brightcoil blushed in embarrassment. "Ask me how we got together some time; it's a good story. Anyway, what have you been doing here so far? We've been-"
She was interrupted by the crackling of speakers, and Starlight looked up to see that the doors were closed and the center was occupied by an older sphinx in a powerful military coat and commanding military beret, both with subdued touches of regal flair. Lord Stormhoof, she supposed, interested to see one of the catlike ponies up close for the first time. It seemed the council was about to begin.
"Let us draw this meeting to order," Stormhoof began, silencing the room instantly with a wise, authoritative voice that was not used to being talked over. "Glory to Garsheeva."
"Glory to Garsheeva!" the crowd echoed as one, voices blending together in unison. "May her love, as deep as the Aldenfold, and her virtue, as pure as the moon, be revealed to the entire world!"
"Let it be so," Stormhoof finished, leaving Starlight blinking and unable to follow along. The Aldenfold? Was that a river, or something? Glancing at Maple, she seemed to have the same question.
Lord Stormhoof cleared his throat. "Today, we have two orders of business. First, as you're all aware, we made the emergency decision to confiscate every Varsidelian ship in the province in the name of military defense and launched an advanced scouting and defensive incursion to Ironridge following two separate reports that Yakyakistan may be breaking its long-held non-intervention pact. Kero of Izvaldi and Sharpie and Brightcoil of Ironridge are present to retestify their parts. However, a third ship arrived yesterday claiming to have departed Ironridge at a later date than either of them, and Meltdown has assessed them and determined their claims to be legitimate. Admiral Valey of Yakyakistan, Shinespark of Ironridge and Gerardo Guillaume of the late Giovanni Goldfeather's house will testify as well, and a new decision must be reached. The six I named, take the floor!"
Starlight glanced behind her chair to see Valey unhappily looking at the way to the central podium. Across the room, descending from the chairs at the far side, a short, bottle-green griffon in a top hat, bow tie and pin-striped suit was making his way to the floor.
At last, for better or worse, they were going to meet Kero.