Wheels clattering against tracks were the only sound that carried through a train carriage bound for the Crystal Empire. Starlight's words were spent. Twilight's eyes were distant. Cadance's expression was deliberately neutral, and Rainbow's jaw was painfully slack.
She pointed a disbelieving blue hoof at Starlight. "Duaaah..."
Starlight got to her hooves, making for the exit to another car. "I need a moment."
The door clicked behind her, and that was Rainbow Dash's cue to start talking. "She... Seriously? But...!" She grabbed Twilight's shoulders and leaned face to face, hovering in place and still failing to put together proper sentences. "Starlight. Chrysalis! Valey! How?"
Twilight sighed, touching a wing to Rainbow's back and pulling her down. "She never pretended her story had a happily ever after, Rainbow."
"But Valey..." Rainbow's mane and tail drooped, and she turned to stare at Cadance. "Did you know about any of this?"
Cadance nodded, reclining and taking up her entire bench now that Starlight was gone. "We were aware of an incident in which huge quantities of batponies in the Empire and Mistvale's continent became feral changelings. Chrysalis herself was more of a rumor, and stories of her were easier to find after we had seen her for ourselves doing... other things."
Rainbow Dash winced. "Like the wedding?"
"That would be one example," Cadance admitted.
Rainbow rubbed her neck, thinking harder and finally starting to process the ending of Starlight's story. "Wow, though, this must have been really rough on Luna. Her coming back and finding out about something like this."
"How often did you see her in the first year or so after her return?" Cadance asked.
"Like..." Rainbow started counting on her feathers, lifted two... hesitated, and lowered one again. "Was she at the Gala? Uhhh..."
"This is why," Cadance sighed, and left it at that.
"Oh."
Cadance nodded. "In case you're wondering what we talked about at our meeting, it was mostly this. There were a lot of things Starlight's dream let us piece together we didn't previously know, especially concerning Chrysalis's past as a pony and what happened to her after that initial invasion. It's likely she hid somewhere after that or even had to be rescued, regaining her strength for several years."
Rainbow's ears fell. "So what happened to the Empire?"
"It was bad, but not so much as it could have been." Cadance stared out the window, the moon slowly making its way to the horizon. "Starlight's story confirmed something we had long suspected: Chrysalis and her hive were new to their abilities, and not fully able to utilize what they could do. There was no transformation magic, for one. And the storm that rolled in grounded the whole continent for long enough for the survivors to get a defense together. Thanks to Gazelle's machinations, the bulk of the Empire's military was stationed in Wilderwind and Goldoa, under threat of retaliation from Varsidel over the affair with their merchant airships. They were able to secure the Empire from within and establish a militarized border to defend it from the north, though it was hardly free from casualties."
Rainbow Dash sighed. "That stinks. Not gonna lie. And is awesome and terrifying at the same time. I can't tell whether Starlight fighting Chrysalis is the coolest or the uncoolest thing ever! I mean, we fight evil all the time, and when we win, we're usually able to fix things up afterward with a few rainbows and lasers and things. This is like... if we had to get Ponyville back to normal after Discord trashed the place using shovels and yard work."
"That's exactly what's bothering me," Twilight said, stare distant.
"Huh?" Rainbow looked up.
Twilight rose to her hooves, stepping into the aisle. "I need to talk with my student." She started for the door Starlight had left through. "I've been realizing some things I can't believe it took me this long to notice, and I desperately hope I'm wrong. But Starlight doesn't deserve for me to bank on that."
"Like what?" Rainbow asked with a frown. "Like how she's scarily strong and I'm glad we're no longer messing with her? Because that's what I got out of that ending. Though you should know better than me..."
"...I'll be back." Twilight took a breath and left.
Starlight was at the rear of the caboose, standing with her forehooves on the railing and her mane blowing forward in the wind, looking out at the passing night sky. Her ears rotated when Twilight stepped up behind her, but she didn't speak.
"You went easy on me," Twilight said. "When we were fighting in the time warp. You matched me and countered me perfectly when I was trying my best, but didn't lay a scratch on me. And after hearing you tell me about stabbing Chrysalis in the eye with your horn and trying to make it worse by coating it with jagged moon glass, I know you were doing less than what you were capable of."
Starlight didn't look back. "Twilight, my emotions are running a little bit strong right now, and if we talk about that battle before I spend some time getting them back under control, I'm going to spoil something by accident."
"Then let's not talk about Chrysalis." Twilight sat down beside her, facing the train track disappearing into the horizon. "Strong emotions. Which ones?"
"Lots."
"I'd ask if there's anything I can do to help," Twilight said. "But I have a feeling the answer is just letting you tell your story."
Starlight nodded, still facing away. "It's not going to be fun for me to tell, especially the last part. Which is close. But having someone who knows will be much better than still holding it all to myself. That's why I started telling it in the first place, even though I knew it would take weeks. So just let me deal with myself a little longer. We can talk more openly when it's over."
"Starlight..." Twilight's ears fell. "I know I don't want spoilers, but what I want less is for you to hurt yourself keeping secrets on my behalf. If you need to talk-"
"What I need to do is tell everything," Starlight interrupted. "And if I don't stick to the story, I won't be able to do it at all."
Twilight sighed. "That confirms one thing I was wondering. At the tree, beneath Grandbell... where the flame showed you what was missing in your life, and you wished for your parents back. I am nopony's parent, but I am a good listener, and I'm guessing this is the first time you've ever told even a part of this story to someone who doesn't owe you anything whatsoever."
"Yes," Starlight said stiffly. "It is."
Twilight slowly nodded. "Your village was the first place the map table sent us. It sent us immediately after we activated it, and it was the only time it sent us all. At the time, I thought our mission had been to save the village... no offense. But now, I'm thinking it's more likely the map wanted us to help you."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Starlight replied, her voice wavering slightly. "There's been a map table near the tree in every crystal palace I've visited. The tables are linked to the flames, the flames are linked to each other, and at least some of them knew about me."
Twilight bit her lip, then took a deep breath. "I think I know what happened to your friends, and how Our Town got the way it was, and why you came after me and my friendships the way you did. And why you didn't like the idea of going back over the mountains. And... everything else, really."
Starlight tilted her ears back toward Twilight.
"It has nothing to do with Chrysalis," Twilight continued. "It's about Glimmer... and some of the things you said to me in the time warp about me and my own friendships. I'm not going to say it. I hope I'm wrong, and I'm holding out that I am, because there's one last piece that refuses to make sense no matter how I twist it. Either way, I'm sorry your life wound up like this. It's wrong that that can happen."
"Is it my cutie mark?" Starlight asked. "You're trying to figure out what it does?"
The star stood silently on Starlight's flanks, a wispy tail rising above it, and Twilight stared for several seconds before blinking and shaking her head. "Um, no, actually. I completely forgot about that. Wasn't it what started this whole story?"
"Me telling it?" Starlight shrugged. "It was."
"You said in your village you needed it to remove cutie marks, so I assumed that was what it did." Twilight scratched her head. "But now it's sounding more like you used that one Nightmare Module to do the job. The seventh. So I have no idea what this does."
"What's been my most defining trait for this whole adventure?" Starlight kept staring at the sky. "What's the one thing that completely breaks me when I even think about not doing it?"
Twilight didn't even hesitate. "Protecting your friends, of course." She blinked. "No, but that doesn't make sense. It's... It's not being alone, isn't it?" She squinted at Starlight's flanks again, and leaned in close. "But why this? It looks like a mark in magic. Stars, wisps... Even my cutie mark is a star. If it was in one of those subjects, it would be more descriptive, and I have no idea what yours even does." She sat down again. "I don't get it."
"You don't need to," Starlight assured, shaking her head. "I'll tell you when it's relevant."
Twilight slowly nodded and closed her eyes. "If you say so."
For a moment, Starlight let the conversation drop. "...So are you just out here for some fresh air to process your thoughts, too?"
"Partly," Twilight replied. "And the bigger part because I know you don't like being alone."
Starlight shrugged. "You get used to it after a while."
"Which is the point of me checking on you," Twilight remarked with a wry grin. "If you're too used to it, you're not going to help yourself."
Starlight finally turned around, getting off the railing onto all fours again. Her eyes were watery, and looked like they had been lost in distant memories. "Thanks," she said, voice still even.
Twilight leaned against the railing. "Well... it's a few more hours to the Crystal Empire, still. I'll stay here helping however I can help, even if that's just sitting here and keeping quiet."
"Thank you," Starlight repeated. "But I just need a bit to pull myself together. I shouldn't leave you hanging on how my friends and I fared, badly injured and out of harmonic flames in the Equestrian foothills of the Aldenfold."
Twilight shook her head. "Just don't push yourself. And besides, we all need a bit to wrap our heads around that last bit. I think Rainbow Dash is mourning Valey, and I'm thinking about your friend Lyn..."
"I was thinking about both of them too, and didn't have time not to push myself back then," Starlight answered. "And besides, I need to push myself now. I'm so close to being done, and when I am..." She hesitated. "I don't actually know what it will feel like, but I need it."
Twilight nodded, giving her student a reassuring smile.