The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

At Last, Reunion

"...She's already asleep. Imagine that."

Shinespark gently lifted Valey, floating her in her aura through a door leading to an adjacent suite with more beds, returning a moment later with a thin smile on her lips. "I'll take that as a good sign!"

"I wonder what she's been through," Maple murmured, watching the doorway to the darker room and standing with Starlight at her side. "It was a whole day and a half ago we lost her..."

"I just hope she's not as angry with us as she has a right to be." Shinespark hung her head. "We should have realized earlier that she was missing, or used you to bring the ship back above the clouds, or...!"

Gerardo cut her off with a waggled talon. "You observed yourself that she is comfortable enough in our presence to return to slumber, and I believe I've reprimanded you already for being too harsh on yourself. That said, it does my heart good as well to see her safe and sound. Miss Meltdown?" He turned to the infernal mare standing in the doorway. "Might you be able to shed any light onto the state of our companion's tribulations?"

Meltdown answered stoically, without twitching a muscle. "She was the reason for the alarms earlier. It looks right now like High Prince Gazelle baited her into causing a scene here as a prank to make fun of the castle security, and I found them with Wallace Whitewing as well. I'll be investigating this matter privately, and inform you if there's anything you need to know. Until then, your friend is safe and unharmed, if extremely frustrated. I trust you'll take care of her and inform her of everything she needs to know about your situation?"

"We will," Shinespark promised. "You can count on it."

"I wonder whether it will be us explaining things to her, or the other way around," Maple mused, fur still bent backwards in places from laying in the bed. "There's so much about the Griffon Empire she probably experienced we never got a chance to, and I'm sure I don't remember half of what's been explained to me."

"If I might ask..." Gerardo piped up, stopping Meltdown from leaving. "Now that our party is reunited once more, what are your plans for releasing us to travel at will? At the very least, our boat is moored at one of the castle wharfs, and we will need to pay our dues to prevent it from impoundment."

Meltdown nodded. "This lockdown will delay things by several hours at best, but that largely depends on whether Valey has the method of communication with Ironridge you described. Someone she trusts, search her bags."

Shinespark ducked back into the other room before Maple could even respond, emerging a minute later with the sound stone held in her teeth to prevent it from becoming charged. "Here," she mouthed around it.

Meltdown eyed the artifact suspiciously. "Tomorrow, I'll have Lord Stormhoof call a war council. You will all be present, and we'll expect to be able to make contact with the leadership of Ironridge. Ensure that it can happen. Once that concludes, there will be an hourlong press conference for Lord Stormhoof, and after that you will be free to stay or go as you please. But, once you leave the castle, you'll be at the mercy of the reporters and paparazzi, and you are aware Stormhoof as a province isn't the most friendly to sarosians. Take care."

With a hiss of steaming metal, she clanked away, taking her guards with her and locking the door from the outside. Everyone turned to each other, blinking.

"All's well that ends well?" Slipstream hopefully offered, giving a happy shrug.

"We're back together again," Maple declared, "even if... even if Valey's sleeping and we haven't even gotten to see how she feels about this or what she went through or if she still trusts us after we left her behind... but I think we'll be fine. All of us, including her. I hope."

"She didn't attack anyone before falling asleep," Slipstream pointed out.

Maple frowned. "Unless everything out there was so bad she was willing to put everything aside and just be happy she was back somewhere familiar. Knowing our luck, it could happen..."

Shinespark sighed heavily. "As long as she didn't worry too long about why we had left, or whether we abandoned her because she thought we'd think she'd be a burden in this city. I know I worried she'd worry that..."

"Yes, and you didn't stop worrying it for our entire sequestration here!" Gerardo huffed, pointing a wing at her. "Despite all of our efforts to cheer you up!"

"I was worried too," Maple volunteered with a shamefully-raised hoof.

Starlight, who had been silent for the entire conversation, spoke up, nodding at the sound stone set near Shinespark. "If you want to find out before she wakes up, turn that on. She was talking to Amber, wasn't she?"

Everyone looked at her as if she had just opened a locked door by turning the handle, and Gerardo bonked his head against a nearby desk. "I can't believe I didn't think of that..." Shinespark grumbled, taking the sound stone and charging it in her aura.

Less than a minute later, it swirled in response. "Hello?" Amber's voice whispered. "Is it safe for me to talk loudly?"

"It's me, Amber. Maple," Maple replied, taking two steps closer to the levitating stone. "Valey just made it back to us, and immediately fell asleep."

"You're all right!" Amber cheered from the other end, cut off by a tremendous crash and the sounds of objects rolling. "Oof! Oww... Got a little too excited there, hee. Maple! Maple, I'm hugging this rock like it was you right now! What happened? How are you? How's Valey? Did you-?"

"One question at a time," Shinespark interrupted, standing on the opposite side of the sound stone. "And don't worry; we've got all night. Though now that we know she's okay, it'll be a lot easier to get to sleep..."

Maple yawned. "I'm getting back in bed. I'll tell you everything that happened until I get too drowsy, and then you can wake me up or maybe I'll fall asleep... Mmm. It started when the windigo heart in the ship ran out of power and we fell towards the sea..."

---

"Nngh... nyup nyup..." Valey ran her tongue around her mouth and smacked her lips, eyelids fluttering but not slipping open. Around her, Maple and Shinespark stood, peering close to see if she was waking, Slipstream and Gerardo in the other room and Jamjars brooding somewhere nearby.

One fluffy ear perked, then the other, and Maple drew a breath. Valey's tail flicked once... and she went back to sleep.

Sighing, Maple stepped away. "I guess noon is still too early to wake her? We have no idea what happened," she whispered. "She could be completely exhausted..."

Shinespark stayed next to Valey's bed, glancing at the covered window that let only a thin bar of sunlight into the room. Silently, she nodded, but made no motion to move.

"Hey, Sparky," Valey muttered under her breath, indistinctly enough that it could have been sleep-talking. "C'mere..."

"Valey?" Shinespark immediately leaned in close. "Are... are you awake? Listen, Valey, about the boat, I'm-"

"Nyaaaaaugh!" Valey cried, springing from her bed like a fuzzy torpedo and launching herself into Shinespark before immediately locking up, limbs freezing. They collided, hit the floor and tumbled, stuck together, all the way until they hit the far wall with a thud. "Ow ow ow cramps cramps owowowwwww!" Valey hissed as they rolled. "Bananas. Gonna need more than a day to walk that off..."

Shinespark sat up, eyes unfocused, not even making the effort to clear her head.

"Ow. I might need someone to help me up," Valey complained, laying in a tangled heap. "I was gonna say, that's for ditching me at sea, and give you a really nasty hug since I crawled through a bunch of old tunnels that might have been sewers on my way here, but... oww. Bananas, my head hurts. What time is it?"

"Noon," Maple said, offering her a hoof. "Valey, I'm so sorry about the ship. We were-"

"Important part first: did you guys get harpooned down by Kero, and did I just walk into a baited trap?" Valey glanced at her, eyes wide and serious. "'Cuz I was thinking of seeing if you needed saving, but might have gotten a little roughed up on the way and had my show stolen by some dudes way out of my weight class, and got tired enough to figure I'd rather be stuck with you."

Maple shook her head. "The ship ran out of power and we fell. Kero is here, but we've said we don't want to meet with him and so far they've listened to our requests. Is...? Are you...?"

"Do I forgive you for something that probably wasn't your fault but still royally stank for me and nearly killed me like four or five times?" Valey raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, sure. Just get me a bath, someone to listen to me complain about how bonkers this place is, and maybe tell me a bit about what's going on? I also might need someone to carry me, because there's fifty-fifty odds I either feel entitled to it or legit can't move."

"Oh, Valey..." Maple smiled thankfully, then helped the batpony up, checking to make sure Shinespark was also okay. "We talked to Amber last night while you were sleeping, and she said you spent the night in a tiny cave on the cliff with the storm right nearby and rain on your coat, then flew for hours and hours to reach land..."

Valey stuck out her tongue. "Yeah, well, tell Amber not to steal my thunder. That's my story! Anyway, I dunno about you guys, but I'm pretty sure everyone in this continent is insane."

Maple beamed. "Well, I'm glad to hear we're still your friends."

"Are you kidding?" Valey sighed, defeated, leaning entirely on Maple and letting her walk for her. "After just a day on my own in this place, I'm pretty sure I'm never doing a solo mission again..."