Starlight was lying on the carpet, with a few cushions tucked around her and under her chest. She was smiling softly, hearing the bat out and recalling years spent in Baltimare with serene clarity. Best times of her life, as she once said to Trixie — cocky respected cult leader, timid paroled criminal or assertive star student of the Princess no more, she simply was there, a good pony among good ponies, in the quiet corner of Equestria hidden far away from any hustle and still big enough to be enjoyed by the city and avoid boredom. Her being the seventh of the six, adventures were finding Starlight even there, and word of mouth eventually praised her for being an excellent tutor in magic disciplines, so recently she took a hint from destiny, and returned closer to the hearts of the realm.
In two years that have passed since her return, she made a few notable achievements.
First, she made peace with Twilight. Not like they were at odds before that, but there had been a reason to move out of Twilight's direct reach and sever communications, for a time. Romantically coloured reason, Starlight noted for the sake of honesty; but it was not shaming her anymore, and rivalry between them — one they acknowledged and agreed to support — was healthy and driving.
Second, as it was predicted for years in advance, she faced her nemesis, Queen Chrysalis, and while not winning the battle despite exhaustive training and meticulous preparations, had won a delaying action. Starlight managed to capture the Queen along with herself in the bubble of frozen time, thus greatly hindering the Terrible Trio’s advance to Canterlot. Not long after the battle, with Canterlot not even fully rebuilt yet, she raised her voice and passion for Queen's release, and took a part in making terms and conditions for said release, as well as in coding these in intricate vow that Chrysalis managed to avoid after all.
That was the most complex, fragile and nonetheless immutable spell Starlight — and, likely, anypony else ever — has woven. It would, by design, keep its hold on Chrysalis against all known dispelling methods, not excluding Silent’s directed effort, until the Queen’s death, when the main power source for it would be depleted. Despite that she was happy — now, not then, as then she was furious — that her vow, her perfect foal, was, after all, declined thanks to Beatrix Lulamoon’s petition which was unexpectedly granted by Twilight and Luna. The vow was not breaking the ‘true, long-term, mind control is impossible’ general rule of the cosmos; still, it was approaching the limit so intimately that the cosmos, at least for a few esoteric theories, might have retaliated. In the months after, Starlight has calmed down and agreed that Off-season in itself makes a problem big enough to avoid unnecessary complications.
Third, and most important, she became involved in Littlehorn's birth — at the very final stages of building, but still not too late to point out a misaligned arc in the prosperity rune drawn by the citadel's towers and buildings. More than that, she got to be a Dean of a faculty created in accord with her own proposal.
One who learned nothing from history would argue that faculty of counter-manipulation is unnecessary, and trust could be eroded by the very examples of deceit. Thankfully, Princesses knew better. Not even counting Chrysalis and her success in Battle of the Bell, and discarding Flim and Flam, there were Discords's offsprings and Starlight Glimmer herself, and who would say there is no, for example, Aurora Spark somewhere in the frozen north, to make a most dangerous army of all — one which believes their corrupted leader?
That was why, trusting the bat in her unlikely story, Starlight was sometimes asking questions with a purpose anyway. Number of the house in which Piercing Strike lived? Fading Rose street — is it to the right or to the left on the shortest way from the home to the ocean? Where do ponies usually meet at Nightmare's Night? Shops, except fish ones, in the vicinity? Where is the library?
She was not straightforward at that; not enabling the full interrogation mode. Otherwise the bat could close up and refuse to speak further. Instead, Starlight gladly took her chance to recall Baltimare through the story — but she was making background notes in her mind, and, with Silent's help to keep track of them all, made a concise and final decision to trust Piercing Strike. The bat was making mistakes but only in true agreement with the spirit of her legend, as a young, well-read but closed-in filly would slip, and did not miss anything that she should remember with her supposed profile.
Trixie was uncharacteristically quiet, and by the look of a stranger could appear feeding on Starlight's sweet nostalgia, her eyes wide open and tongue stuck out a little. Starlight was not a stranger, so she knew it was a fact rather than appearance; she did not mind sharing her joy with her wife. Being, in effect, sub-Queen of changelings was, after all, making a mark on Trixie.
The bat avoided everything that could lead to the Mark’s acquisition story like sentient snow would keep clear from the night fire — like it was a literal death threat; and Silent’s direct and honest question turned her into a coiled and disheveled ball of purple fur which was in a sore need of empathy and excuse cocoa. Starlight and Trixie made a few cups of their joint secret recipe, and took their time with the delicacy too; thanks to Trixie's special ingredients acquired from the enclave it was bonding in more ways than one, and they diluted the bat's fear together.
Still, they were curious, and willing to help Piercing Strike, so Silent thought the next obvious question, “Do you want to return your body?”
The bat shook her head in definite ‘No’. Starlight shrugged; she would never give away her magic, but as long as the pony would be happy…
“Oh, Trixie is interested, could you look through others’ eyes now? It would be helpful at Trixie’s shows… if she would make them, of course!” Trixie glanced at Starlight, and Starlight made sure to frown at her; Trixie knew that her present lifestyle barely allows her to ride with her shows all over Equestria — that wagon had been long departed. Trixie had been taken captive more than once at these shows, as a valuable and mostly defenseless hostage. In fact, Starlight and Chrysalis were using her as bait to lure out suspected wrongdoers. Still, Trixie dropping her teasing would not be Trixie.
“No...” that was actually said out loud, “I can’t anymore. That power belongs to ‘Lunar’, the unicorn.”
That was actually comforting for Starlight if disappointing for Trixie. Who could say which secrets of Littlehorn might Piercing Strike pick up, or have already picked up for that matter?
“So, you agree with the exchange, no turning it back. Honest deal?” Silent thought.
“Yup,” the bat said.
“When you got the body, had there been the Mark already? It is important, speaking of its exchange or revocation,” Silent was curious, and helpful. Apparently, the bat’s — or the unicorn’s — love for books was appealing to him.
“No! It appeared not even a month ago!” the bat was panicking again, and Trixie, wincing, came closer to hug her.
“I have two pieces of news for you. Do you want to hear the bad one first?”
“Yes...” Piercing Strike whispered.
“Children of the Night know the Mark is a mere reflection of a spark on the body. To remove the mark is to fight the rain by draining the puddles. The pain and disappointment await the foal on this road. The spark will stay, and it will call for a mark.”
“Good one, then?” Piercing Strike looked at Silent, her despair mixed with a weak hope.
“Not the worst of the dark signs you have. The body affects the Mark too. Puddles in the forest and on paving stones are different,” Silent tilted his head, “The foal needs training to become one with their sign and spark, and to find harmony inside. Just remember, every road has two sides. Your stiletto can kill and it can heal.”
Starlight whistled and looked at Trixie. It was rare, and somewhat funny, that Silent was dabbling into poetry and philosophy. She did not laugh; the idea was correct, and actually included into one of Starlight’s own lessons.
“So you suggest I should find a teacher,” it was not a question, “I had a few— I mean, my past body had a few. They were mean.”
“You can say so. Although the path of self-knowledge is considered more honorable and more difficult. It hardens and often opens new roads that were hidden before, but it is thorny and full of pain and disappointment. It is difficult to keep the dark spark pure by yourself. It's easier with a teacher, but with teachers you go the way they lead you on… and my teachers were mean too,” Silent smiled at that.
“Could you at least tell us how you did the body exchange? It’s not truly impossible, changelings, in a sense, do that constantly, but I did not hear of anything like that before,” Starlight asked.
Piercing Strike looked at her, took a pause, sighed and said, “Maybe. I have a promise to keep, but I can tell something… that does not directly break it. This past summer, four teenagers came to Baltimare. I looked at them — they were without adults, and they were… reminding me of edgers I have read about...”