"Calling a break?" Twilight asked, Starlight pausing in her narration on the other couch and taking a long breath.
"It's the best place we're going to get for a while," Starlight apologized, folding her ears. "I don't want to have to take a day off from overusing my voice, but that might be inevitable at this point. Are you two still following along?"
Rainbow Dash's eyes were glazed, but not because she hadn't been listening. "Heh heh... Puddles is sweet! Forget Valey, I know what I'm dreaming of tonight..."
Starlight flicked her with her tail. "Rainbow! These are my fillyhood friends you're talking about! And an ice monster, but still!"
"Well, you do seem to... umm..." Twilight raised a hoof, smiling gingerly. "Put a lot of emphasis on scenes involving snuggly things, so if Rainbow wants to think about them, you did leave an open invitation."
Starlight reddened slightly. "It's... That was always the way to make Maple feel better! I got conditioned to it! It's not my fault if I enjo-"
"Starlight!" Twilight leaned forward disarmingly. "No one ever said that was a bad thing..."
"Heh heh heh..." Rainbow chuckled to herself into a pillow, not paying too close of attention.
"Mmmmaybe we should change the subject," Starlight muttered, then perked up. "Chauncey! Who wants to make predictions about Chauncey? Ooor the Firefly Sisters? Or Crystal, or anything?"
Twilight shrugged, rolling with the request. "Chauncey? I don't really know. I've been trying to put together things in my head, but it just seems like there's too much, or what there is is too unrelated. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you told me it was like Ironridge and there were multiple sides in Izvaldi plotting against each other, because just keeping track of who's friends with who is wearing me out. Percival, well, we haven't seen much of him, but Chauncey, Meyneth, and Wallace and his friends all seem to be on Izvaldi's side. But then there's people like the sisters, or Crystal, who I just can't place."
Starlight nodded. "Anyone who seems familiar? Like you already know anything about them?"
"No," Twilight sighed. "Not even people like Gazelle or Meltdown who were important in Stormhoof. Starlight, I suppose it's time I ask, but... how long is this story going to be? Because I feel like we've been at it for nearly a week now."
Starlight gave you a careful look. "Well, the Griffon Empire is..." She started silently counting. "Maybe a sixth of the way done? And then there's more after that, but I'll let you guess how much when we get there."
"Whooo." Twilight leaned back, running a wingtip halfway through her mane and then leaving it there. "Starlight, your life is eventful. We might just have to take a full day's break at some time. Go into town, or Canterlot, or talk about magic or something unrelated to this, because that's a lot even for me, and I can read a book for three days solid without breaks."
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Even food and bathroom stuff? Like, staying up all night I get, but you read books in the shower?"
Twilight blushed. "I may have spent a day or two once perfecting a transparent telekinetic water shield that doesn't cause light refraction or hold droplets precisely so that I could read in the shower..."
"Tell me about it." Starlight shook her head. "My life being eventful, I mean. Showers are... well, you do you." She gave a lengthy exhale. "I can already tell you I'm taking things with the storytelling a lot faster than in Ironridge, too. That took... longer than I wanted it to, and I really need to pick up the pace. As much as I like remembering myself sitting and talking with Maple, there were... bigger things happening."
"I noticed that," Twilight murmured with a frown. "It's your story, but you keep leaving yourself out of it or telling it from your friends' perspectives, even when you were there. How come?"
"Lots of reasons." Starlight shrugged. "You asked about this before, didn't you? I don't remember what I said, but the only reason it's my story so far is that I'm the one telling it. If Valey or Shinespark were the ones narrating, do you think they'd stick to my perspective aside from the few times I did something major? There were times when I was our last hope, the only thing standing between us an annihilation, yes, like in the skyport, but that doesn't make it my story. If anything, I was one of the biggest bystanders there was. The people who were doing things were Gerardo, Maple, Shinespark... and Valey. Especially Valey. If anyone deserves to be the main character of the story, I would say it's her."
Rainbow belched, and Twilight shot her a glare. "Rainbow!"
"Oh, huh?" The pegasus blinked, looking up and flicking her ears. "Heh. Sorry, girls, was anyone talking to me? I might'a zoned out for a little bit there..."
"Speaking of Valey..." Starlight rubbed her eyes. "You really do remind me of her sometimes."
Twilight giggled and poked Rainbow with a wingtip. "Yeah, I wonder what you'd look like as the protagonist of a story this long."
Rainbow Dash shrugged, clearly having missed the context of the question. "What, if I was writing a story with me as the protagonist? Hey, that stuff's harder than it sounds. I got kicked out of a publishing house once. Granted, I entered through a window, thought it was a free library and didn't get why the ink was still wet, but..."
Twilight's eyes widened in horror. "You did what!?"
"Bwaaah ha ha ha!" Rainbow keeled over, slapping Twilight's back with a wing and chortling. "Knew that would get you. Like seriously, though, what were we talking about?"
Starlight smiled at the duo's antics as Twilight tried to explain what she had been talking about to her friend and Rainbow alternated between joking around, talking about Valey or Puddles, and being legitimately confused. It was nice, really. It had taken her life long enough to reach it, but she was finally somewhere stable, safe, with friends who could take care of themselves and no underlying intrigue or drama. She certainly could have used that so many years ago... Before she knew it, she had allowed the relaxation to get to her a little too far, and slipped into a light nap.
"I'm just saying, if I could beat her..."
"Puddles would clean your clock, Rainbow! Valey has years of experience with combat training!"
"Hey, that's not the point. Besides, how much more is there to fighting than going fast and hitting stuff? But anyway, hey Starlight, do you think if I could beat Puddles, Valey would be-"
"This is not the thing to wake her up over, Rainbow! Look how peacefully she's napping! Starlight's been talking day in and day out, and we should let her rest."
"Wow, you're the one who's yelling. Come on, Twilight, this is important to me!"
"You'd get turned into an even more helpless mess than she was the first time Puddles hugged you, Rainbow Dash. Really, you're enjoying certain parts of the story too much."
"Would not! Prove it! And the story's there to be enjoyed, right, Twi?"
"Prove it!? I-I... Rainbow!"
"Oh. Uhh, sorry if I made you uncomfortable..."
Starlight grumbled to herself, enjoying her nap and secretly enjoying the antics but wanting to make it look like she'd been begrudgingly woken. "I'll prove it if you get over here..." she mumbled, rolling over and lifting a hoof.
"Eh heh heh... Wow, hey, would you look at the time? I've gotta, uhh, make sure those clods at weather control don't accidentally dump a triple portion of snow on Sweet Apple Acres again! Really, who does things like that? See ya!"
Rainbow bolted in a flash Starlight saw with her eyes closed, leaving her to curl back up on the couch. "We didn't wake you, did we?" Twilight asked apologetically from somewhere nearby.
"Yes, but I don't mind." Starlight shifted again. "Think I might be talked out for tonight, though."
Twilight chuckled. "Well, enjoy the rest. Sorry I don't have more questions or predictions, and that Rainbow's being a bad audience."
"No, I really don't mind," Starlight murmured. "I have been telling the story that way, and Puddles... I met her later, and I'm actually underexaggerating her. The windigo her really had a thing for cute things..."
Twilight shook her head, the swish of her mane sounding in Starlight's ears. "It's so weird to think of a windigo as... actually a creature with wants and feelings, the way you tell her, even if they're completely chaotic. Like Discord. I don't know what you eventually did with her, but if it were me, I'd have trouble not seeing her as a real person. I guess there's not a way the windigo can learn a lesson and still have things end happily for it and Puddles, is there?"
"Doubting your own magic of friendship?" Starlight smirked, still snuggled into a pillow. "I guess you'll have to wait and see."
"Heh." Twilight chuckled. "I still think I'm going to be imagining for a while if something like that rampage happened in Ponyville."
"With Puddles in Izvaldi?"
"Yes..." Twilight gave a wistful, almost silly sigh. "We've had enemies shroud the town in chaos and eternal night before, but I don't think we've ever had anyone who just grossly violates personal space and makes romantic sculptures of themselves and others as their primary crimes. It might make for a good change of pace if that happened some day!"
Starlight felt herself slightly redden. "I did enjoy telling that part a little too much, didn't I? Guess it's no surprise how I'd answer that question Jamjars kept bothering me with today..."
"Shhhhh," Twilight whispered conspiratorially. "Don't get too carried away, but Rainbow clearly likes it and between you and me, I, erm... well... Eheheh. Never mind. I'm looking forward to whatever happens tomorrow."
"Sure you are," Starlight mumbled back. "I might wait until the afternoon to start, but I'll see if we can at least get through this next immediate arc next time. Sleep well, Twilight."
Twilight chuckled. "It's early evening. I'm not going to bed for a few hours at least. Sleep well, Starlight."