//------------------------------// // Chapter 77- Double Vision // Story: Of Flame and Shadow // by Garuda IV //------------------------------// Everyone was now sitting in the lounge. While their friends were talking to their counterparts, Dark sat beside Twilight on the love couch, nursing a regenerating bruise on his left cheek, while Sunset and Twi sat together on the other one across from them. "I can't believe you thought my Twilight was yours," Sunset grumbled. "I didn't know at the time," Dark defended himself. "Really?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow. "You didn't know that Twi's a unicorn with glasses, is wearing her mane back in a ponytail, and appears to be a few inches shorter than Twilight?" "I noticed the glasses, but I didn't really pay attention to the rest of that at the time before I kissed her." "Apparently," Twi muttered unhappily. Dark sighed. "I said I was sorry several times, Twi. I honestly didn't think that you were... well, you." "I know, but I still didn't like it. Besides, there's only one person who's allowed to kiss me, and you're not her." "Darn right he's not," Sunset smirked before leaning over to share a kiss with Twi. As he sat there watching the two mares kissing, Dark's mind began to wander. However, he immediately put those stray and hot thoughts out of his mind. Nope. Not gonna go there, he mentally chastised himself. Besides, she may look like Twilight, but she's not... then again, seeing them like this isn't exactly helping me. Gulping, Dark looked away for his sake as the two remained lip-locked. Several moments later, Sunset and Twi separated, both with a pleased look on their faces. "Heh, even as a pony, you haven't changed a bit," Sunset commented. "Neither have you," Twi giggled. Snuggling up against each other, Sunset and Twi looked across the coffee table between them and their hosts to see Dark looking away with a flushed face. "You doing alright there, Dark?" Sunset smirked. Dark coughed into his claw. "Uh, yeah, I'm okay." "You sure about that? You're face is looking a bit red there." Becoming more nervous from the two mares looking expectantly at him, Dark looked to his side to see Twilight smirking at him. "Um... a little help here, hon?" Dark asked her. "Hmm... I don't know," she mischievously said, tapping her chin with a hoof. "I'm actually finding this to be rather entertaining to watch." "Speaking of my counterpart," Twi began, her eyes glancing up at Twilight's horn, "I was wondering about something." "Yes?" "Why are you wearing that ring on your horn, Twilight?" Twilight glanced up to her engagement ring and blushed as she fidgeted with her hooves. "Oh. Well, you see, it's because this is my engagement ring." There was an immediate silence that followed, not just from Sunset and Twi, but also their friends. A split-second later, Dark and Twilight found themselves confronted by their human friends. "You're getting married?!" Rares exclaimed. "When did this happen?" Sunset asked. "A little over a month ago," Twilight answered. "Speaking of which, would you girls be able to come to our wedding? We've got an invitation for each of you if you want." "Y'all want us ta come ta your weddin'?" AJ asked in surprise. "Well... yeah. I mean, you're all my friends after all, so why wouldn't I invite you girls?" "And you're marrying Dark?" Dash asked, causing for Twilight to smile as she gave Dark a peck on the cheek and nuzzled him. "I am." "Nice. By the way, I'm liking your pony look, Dark." "Thanks," Dark thanked, not bothering to correct her that he was a kirin. "So, when is the wedding?" Shy asked. "Next month." "Goodness. You two don't waste much time, do you?" Rarity commented. "Kinda, but there's also a reason for that." "Like what?" Twi enquired. Sharing a look with each other, Twilight smiled at Dark before she leaned back and exposed the small bump on her belly. Hearing the collective gasp, Twilight giggled as she saw the gawking faces of her human friends. A few seconds later after they regained their senses, Twilight found herself surrounded by them as they carefully hugged her and her pregnant belly. That is, all except for Sunset and Twi, who were too stunned to do anything from the sudden and unexpected news. "This is so wonderful!" Shy squeed happily. "How far along are you, darling?" Rares asked. "I'm about ten weeks into my pregnancy now," Twilight answered. "And you're showing this much already?" Twilight sighed. "Apparently I get it from my mom." "Um." They all stopped and looked back to see that Twi had snapped out of it and approached them. "Do... well..." "Yes, Twi?" Twilight patiently asked. "It's just that... do you think that'll happen to me?" Twilight shrugged. "Maybe. While we're more-or-less the same, there're still plenty of things different about us that still makes us unique." "Maybe, but I don't think that something like this could be one of them..." "Something wrong?" Twi nervously shuffled a hoof around. "Um... could I... feel it? Your stomach that is." Softly smiling, Twilight extender her hoof out. Taking Twi's hoof into her own, she guided over and gently placed it over her growing foal. Surprised by her willingness, Twi looked at Twilight to see her smiling back. With a gulp, Twi looked back down to where he hoof was touching and gently moved it along the little bulge and smiled. "This is kinda weird," she said with a giggle. "Yeah," Twilight giggled with her, "I suppose it kinda is." "Um, excuse me?" Shy softly spoke, gaining Twilight's attention. "Yes?" "Well... if it's okay with you... could I maybe have a turn?" she asked. "Sure you can. Anypony else?" "If you wouldn't mind it," Rares answered. "If it's alright with ya, then Ah wouldn't mind," AJ said. "You bet!" Pinkie exclaimed with a bounce. "Meh, I suppose," Dash shrugged, trying to hide her giddiness. "Thanks, Twilight," Sunset began, "but if it's alright, I think I'll pass." Twilight looked up to her in surprise. "Really?" "Yeah. I don't know, it's just kinda weird seeing you like that while also dating your human counterpart." "Come on, Sunny," Twi encouraged her. "If I can do it, I'm sure you can too." "Sorry, but I just don't think that I can without seeing you instead of Twilight." "Oh, lighten up, already," Rainbow said as she and the others came up and joined them. "Yeah," Dash agreed, hovering alongside her counterpart. "Besides, it's not like there's some magic spell that can give you the equipment to do that to Twi." A maddening blush crossed Sunset's face before she nervously gulped and glanced away. "... actually..." Dash's face paled. "Wait... you know that I was just kidding, right?" Sunset slowly nodded. "I know... but as it turns out, I actually do know of a spell like that." Everyone's attention was now solely on Sunset, especially Twi's. "Um... why would you know something like that?" she nervously yet curiously asked. "I wanted to know everything that there was about magic while growing up," Sunset embarrassingly explained. "Even the more... questionable spells." There was a silence in the room as everyone tried to wrap their minds around that piece of information that Sunset gave them. It wasn't until a few minutes had passed that it was finally broken by the pink ponies. "Well," Pinks slowly began, "I think this is the time where I say 'I've seen enough hen-" Pinks found herself cut off when Pinkie shoved her hoof into her mouth to silence her. "Nope," Pinkie said. "Sorry, me, but I don't think that that'll work here." Pinks calmly lowered Pinkie's hoof. "What would you say then?" She shrugged. "That I've read enough fan-" "Girls, please," Rarity chided. "Honestly," Rares agreed disapprovingly, "is now really the time to be making such comments as those?" Pinkie and Pinks shared a look before shrugging. "Seemed like it to me," they both answered simultaneously. "... anyway," AJ began to redirect, "we're all really happy for ya, Twilight, Dark." "Eeyup," Applejack nodded. "You two are gonna make fine parents." Dark and Twilight were gonna thank them, but the sound of the doors to the lounge opening caught their attention. Turning their gazes over to it, they and all of their friends saw Spike as he and the Crusaders all walked in. "Hey, Twilight, I was wondering if we... could..." Spike's words drifted off as he saw the duplicates of their friends. "Uhh, Twilight? Did Pinkie get into the mirror pool again?" Twilight looked sheepishly at him. "Ehh, not exactly, Spike." "Wait," Shy spoke up, "this is Spike?" "Yeah, I'm Spike," he answered confused. "As in the cute little puppy Spike?" Spike blinked. "How'd you know that I was turned into a dog?" "Because, it's us, Spike," Sunset answered, walking up to face him. It took him a moment, but Spike soon recognized the pony before him. "Sunset Shimmer?" "Heh, about time you figured it out." "Spike?" Sweetie Belle spoke. "Who's she?" "Remember that world that Dark was sent to last year through the portal?" he reminded her. "Yes?" "Well, she's one of the people who helped look after Dark while he was over there." "Alright, but then why do they all look like everypony here?" Scootaloo asked. "Because," Sunset began to explain, "the world that I live in is a parallel to this one." Apple Bloom tilted her head in confusion. "Ah don't get it." "... okay, think of it like this then. Our world is just like this one, except instead of everypony being ponies, they're what are called humans." "Ya mean those things that Lyra likes ta talk about?" "You mean Lyra Heartstrings?" "She is," Twilight answered for her. "She's an old friend of mine who's got a thing for humans and hands." "Oh. Well, it's probably a good thing we're all ponies then, but yes." "Yeah," Spike agreed. "So, how've you been, Sunset?" "Pretty good," she smiled. "Schools out for summer vacation, I've got the best friends I could ask for, and I have the worlds smartest girl for a girlfriend." "That's nice." Sunset nodded before smirking at him. "So, what about you? You seem to be doing pretty good for yourself. You also look a bit bigger than the last time I saw you as a dragon." Spike puffed his chest out proudly. "You bet I am. Thanks to these three lovely fillies, not only have I grown up a bit, but I'm also the luckiest dragon alive to be with them." There were a collection of awws that were soon accompanied by a peck on his cheek from each of the Crusaders. However, while they were distracted by them, three certain sisters were slowly making their way over to them, each recognizing the voices of their younger sisters. "Sw-Sweetie Belle?" Rares cautiously called, catching her attention. "Yes, Rarity?" she asked, unaware that this wasn't actually her sister. "Sorry, Sweetie," Rarity spoke as she stepped in, "but I'm your sister, Rarity." Sweetie Belle's head darted between the two. "But aren't you both Rarity?" "Well, in a way," Rarity said before gesturing a hoof to her other self. "Sweetie Belle, this is... well, me from the world on the other side of the portal." Sweetie Belle looked between them. "... so does that mean that you're both my sister then?" Rarity and Rares both looked to each other before the latter of the two replied. "It's a bit more complicated than that, precious face." "In a way we are," Rarity began to explain, "but I'm your sister here. She's your sister from a parallel world." "So you are both my sisters then," Sweetie Belle concluded. "... well, in a way I suppose." Happy, Sweetie Belle ran up and threw her forelegs around the two in an attempt to hug them both at once. "This is so awesome!" she squeaked. "I get two Raritys to play with." "Just her now," Rares corrected. "While I indeed am Rarity, she's your actually sister. Besides, I have my own Sweetie Belle to look after back home. Although, I must admit that you are quite adorable as a little pony." "Ah don't know, Rares," AJ said as she walked up alongside them. "Ah mean, Ah'm still tryin' ta get used ta bein' a pony. Ta see our lil sisters like this is just... weird." "You alright, Applejack?" Apple Bloom asked AJ. "Y'all know that Ah'm not your Applejack, right, sugarcube?" "Ah know, but you're still an Apple, right?" "Yes." Apple Bloom walked up and hugged AJ while Applejack stood behind watching with a smile. "Then Ah don't care if ya come from some other world or not. You're an Apple, so that makes us kin, right?" Touched by her otherworldly sister's words, AJ smiled and let herself relax as she hugged Apple Bloom back. While they were busy, Dash hovered over to Scootaloo and landed in front of her and Spike. "So," Dash began, "this is what you look like as a pony, huh?" Scootaloo shuffled around nervously. "I guess so." "Huh. Neat." She looked up at her in mild surprise. "You're not weirded out by this?" Dash shrugged. "I've seen plenty of sci-fi shows and stuff back home to have an idea of what's going on here. Besides, with how often weird stuff happens around CHS, I'm not really too surprised by this." She paused as she looked over to Spike. "What I am surprised about, though, is that you're actually dating Spike." "It's not just me, though," Scootaloo said. "Yeah, I'm kinda confused about that part. What's up with you, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle kissing him like that?" "They're in what's called a herd," Sunset explained to them. AJ's head shot up. "Wait, you mean like how some animals live in herds?" Each of the Equestrians frowned, including Sunset who addressed it. "We would prefer that you not call us animals, AJ. Considering that we're not like the ones from over in the other world." "Oops. Sorry, y'all." Sunset sighed. "It's fine. But to answer your question, yes, it's basically the same thing." AJ sat down on her rump as she looked down at Apple Bloom. "So..." Apple Bloom nodded. "Ah'm in a herd with Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo." "... you are?" Seeing her reaction, Applejack sighed and walked up to AJ before placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Ah understand how ya feel, sugarcube," she said understandably. "It took us a while ta get over this news too." While Rares looked at them dumbfounded, Dash turned her attention back towards Dark. "Hey," she spoke, "when you were stuck over on our side, you say something about Spike having three girlfriends and how you didn't want to tell us who they were. This is why, isn't it?" "Pretty much," he answered her. "I didn't know how you, AJ, and Rares would react to your sisters' parallels being in a relationship with Spike all at once. From what I remember of your world's culture, this sort of a relationship is rather uncommon and sorta frowned upon in some areas." Dash shrugged. "Meh, I'm fine with it." AJ and Rares both looked over to Dash. "Really?" "Yeah. I mean, why shouldn't we be okay with it? Spike's a dragon, so who in their right mind is gonna try stealing a dragon's girlfriends, or even attempt anything with them?" "Last month, actually," Spike idly answered. "Huh?" "He's right," Dark began telling them. "Last month, a dragon with a grudge with Spike came to Ponyville and foalnapped Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, just so that he could get Spike to come out and fight him." Sunset looked over the Crusaders and Spike. "So, since Spike and the girls are here, I take it that this other dragon lost?" "Yeah. He's currently rotting away in the Canterlot dungeons." Taking another look of Spike, Sunset began to notice the somewhat fresh scars on his body and frowned. "I see you didn't get away clean." "Yeah," Spike sighed, looking over himself. "He got me pretty good. But in the end, he got it worse." "How so?" "Spike blew his left wing and arm off," Dark replied with a small glare. "What?! How?!" "By using a spell that he really shouldn't have been using," he said while looking at a guilty looking Spike. "You're lucky you were aiming upwards, Spike. You probably could've destroyed half of Ponyville had that hit the ground." "I know, I know," Spike said with a hint of annoyance. "Really, you've already grilled me about it after I got out of the hospital. Do you really need to hold it against me after this long?" "He is kinda right, Spike," Twilight agreed. "Although, I believe that you've been lectured enough on the subject, so we'll let it drop." "Wait, Spike used magic?" Sunset asked, getting a nod from each of the Equestrians. "But how? He's a dragon." Spike held up his let claw and began channeling it with his magic. "Turns out that my species of dragon can use magic to make up for the lack of wings." "Huh... so, how's everypony taking it? I'm sure that something like that didn't just go without spooking a few ponies." "It didn't," Spike answered with a headshake. "Turned out that almost half of Ponyville saw what happened." "Includin' Cheerilee and most of our classmates," Apple Bloom added. "Yeah. They were pretty worried when they saw Apple Bloom and the others being held captive like that, and then again when I was fighting Garble." Spike paused when he saw the confused looks on their faces. "He's the guy who had the Crusaders foalnapped and fought me. Anyways, later the next day after I woke up in the hospital from a nap, I saw that a bunch of the Crusaders' classmates had come to visit when I was asleep. It was nice, though, that they left those flowers and get-well cards. It was also surprising to wake up and find out that Princess Celestia had assigned some of the guards here in Ponyville to guard me and the girls." "Wow, sounds like quite the event." Spike groaned and rubbed his scarred shoulder with a claw. "One that I wouldn't mind not ever have to do again." "True, but I believe that we're getting a bit sidetracked," Twilight redirected, addressing Spike and the Crusaders. "Spike, you and the girls came for something?" "Huh? Oh, yeah," he remembered. "We were wondering if we could bring the projection gem you guys got last week over to my room for us to watch?" "I suppose you could for tonight," she replied before raising a hoof. "However, if you four are going to be up watching it, then I'll have to ask that you try to keep the volume on it down. We may be having a sleepover, but that doesn't mean we should all be loud and disturb each other... or the neighbors... again." "Got it, Twilight. Thanks." "Thank you, Twilight," the Crusaders each thanked. Waving to them, Spike and the Crusaders grabbed the projection gem and left the lounge to go grab some snacks for their shows. "So, what's this thing you were talking about?" Dash wondered. Twilight thought to herself for a moment before answering. "I suppose it would be best to compare it to would be your world's television, but we use a crystal instead of a heavy hunk of... whatever televisions are made of." "Definitely sounds more convenient," Sunset commented. "Yeah. Anyway, I believe that we have a sleepover to begin." With a round of cheers, both Pinkie and Pinks reached into their mane. While Pinkie pulled out an assortment of games for them to play, Pinks pulled out a bunch of snacks and non-alcoholic drinks for them to enjoy. With the food and entertainment, Dark walked over to the fireplace and used his fire breath to start a fire for them. Having everything they needed to begin their night, they each sat down in front of the fire and began to play a variety of games that they all could play together, such as pictionary, charades, and twister with several mats set out for them. After a few hours of playing, they each began to share stories about the adventures from each of their worlds. While things on their side were going rather smoothly without any major magical events going on, there were plenty of things to talk about over on the Equestria side, one of them being Dark's Championship match in the Coliseum that Twilight was able to get a recording of after she heard that Luna had requested one. She made a mental note to show them if they wanted to the next night when Spike and the Crusaders weren't hogging the projection gem. While they continued to talk about their lives, as she said, Twilight allowed for her human friends to have a turn at touching her pregnant belly. Once they each had their turn, she offered Sunset a turn again, but had politely turned it down, still feeling somewhat uncomfortable about it. Understanding, Twilight didn't press it and instead opted to lay down against Dark while Shy took Sunset's turn and fonded over the growing foal. "How have you been feeling, Twilight?" Shy asked. "With the pregnancy I mean." "I've been doing fine, Shy," Twilight smiled "I still can't believe that you've been pregnant for over two months now and haven't told us," Sunset said. "That, and about Dark proposing to you." "I wanted for them to be a surprise for when you girls came over to visit," she defended. "Well, you can be sure that it was a surprise," Pinks confirmed. "And a good one too. Kinda surprised my Pinkie Sense didn't go off about it sooner." "Guess it doesn't work between worlds," Pinkie figured, earning her a shrug from Pinks. "Either way," Rares redirected, "we're all really happy for you both." Everypony nodded while voicing their own words of agreement. "Thank you, everypony," Twilight thanked with a smile. "We're both really happy and excited for this, right, Dark?" Dark chuckled and shared a quick kiss with Twilight before nuzzling her. "That we are." "Um, if it's alright to ask," Shy slowly began, "how are you doing with the symptoms?" Twilight's smile fell a little bit. "Well, it should go without saying that I've been having morning sickness, but it varies on how bad it is each morning. As for the food cravings, they're actually not that bad." "What kind of food cravings?" Twi asked curiously. "It's not like ice-cream and onions or something like that, is it?" Twilight blanched. "Eww, no! That sounds horrible!" "Okay, so what kind of cravings have you been having?" Twilight glanced at Sunset for a moment before answering. "Well... it may sound rather unnatural and disturbing, but for some time now, my food cravings have revolved mostly around meat." As Twilight had suspected, Sunset's eyes bulged at her answer. "No way!" she said in disbelief. "You've been eating meat?! Like real meat?!" Twilight sheepishly nodded. "We think that it's because the foal is part dragon like Dark is, so she's causing for me to have these meat cravings." "Really?" Dash said with a smirk. "What kind of meat?" "Mostly beef, pork, fish lately, and chicken." "... so what about Dark meat?" "Yes, I eat dark meat too," Twilight answered obliviously. "I believe that would go under chicken." Dash snickered at her joke having gone straight over Twilight's head, but there were a few who did catch it. While Pinkie, Pinks, and Sunset were laughing together, Applejack and AJ snorted, and Rainbow snickered along with Dash before sharing a hoof bump with her. While they were enjoying the joke that the others didn't seem to get, the doors suddenly opened. "What's with all the racket?" Pyre asked in an annoyed huff before pausing for a moment when he saw all of the duplicates. "... what's going on here?" Seeing as their human friends were all too stunned by the dragon that had just barged into the room, Dark cleared his throat before he began explaining. "Sorry, Pyre," he apologized. "We were just having a bit of fun before Dash made some comment that's apparently meant to be funny." "I see," Pyre slowly said. "Anyway, why are there almost two of each of you?" "Remember that other world that I was sent to?" Dark asked, waiting until Pyre nodded in understanding and for him to continue. "Well, as it turns out, that other world I went to had duplicates of our friends there. They're all here to visit for the next few days to a week from my understanding." Pyre looked them over and shrugged. "Alright." "Uh, what's that exactly?" Dash asked as she hovered around Pyre inspecting him. "He looks like a dragon, but where are his scales?" "I'm a unique species of dragons who don't have scales," he answered her. "Cool. So, how many of you guys are there?" "Not counting Dark, there are only five of us. One of whom is an egg." There was a gasp, and before Pyre knew it, his vision was obscured by yellow and pink. "A cute little egg?!" Shy said excitingly. "Can I see it? Please?" Guess she's not afraid of dragons like our Fluttershy is, Twilight mused in slight amusement. Slowly, Pyre pushed Shy back to give himself some room. "Sorry, but Aurora shouldn't be disturbed right now. Even if she's an egg, she wouldn't want to be bothered considering the time of night." Shy's excitement fell. "Oh... okay." Seeing her like that, Pyre sighed, "You can see her in the morning." "Really?" she asked, her mood having been lifted. "Yes. You'll also be meeting my brother and other two sisters as well." "Okay." "Hey, Ah have a question," AJ spoke, gaining Pyres attention. "If you're a dragon, then why aren't ya bigger? Ah mean, Ah figured that a fully-grown dragon would be a lot bigger than you are... you are fully-grown, right?" Pyre snorted. "Yes, I am. I'm just like this because if I were at my full height, then it would send you ponies in a panic." "That, and Dark would probably punch him out of the sky again," Rainbow cackled, earning her a look from Pyre. "Are you ever gonna let that go?" "Nope." "... anyway, I'm heading off to bed with the others. Oh, and Aero put Soul to bed earlier tonight for you guys." "Alright, thanks, Pyre," Twilight thanked, getting a wave from Pyre in acknowledgement. "So," Pinks began, bouncing up alongside her, "who's Soul?" "Oh," Pinkie began answering with a bounce, "he's Twilight's and Dark's adopted kid." Each of their guest friends' eyes were instantly locked onto Dark and Twilight. "WHAT?!" "When did this happen?!" Sunset exclaimed. "Just after Hearts and Hooves Day," Dark answered. "After when?" Dash asked. "It's this world's version of Valentine's Day," Sunset clarified. "Oh." "Anyway," Dark continued, "I found him being chased by a small group of timberwolves in the Everfree Forest. After I saved him and found out that he'd been living on his own for a few years, I decided to take him home... with his permission of course. The next day, Twilight and I offered to adopt him, to which he eagerly agreed to." "Oh, that poor kid," Shy said sympathetically. "When will we get to see him?" "Tomorrow morning at breakfast probably," Twilight answered her. "So, what kind of a pony is he?" Sunset wondered. "Now that's the thing with Soul," Dark began answering. "You see, Soul's actually half-pony, and half-changeling. And before you say anything, his changeling parent broke away from her hive long ago when she was young, so they have no connections to any of the changelings." "... if you're sure about that," Sunset said unsurely. "Excuse me, darlings, but would you mind telling us what exactly a changeling is?" Rares asked. "Basically, they're creatures that can shapeshift and absorb love and other positive emotions, and can covert it into power." "So in other words-" "They're like a parasite, and I'm not just saying that because they're more bug-like than pony." "... that's a little harsh, don't you think?" Shy asked, causing Sunset to shrug. "I'm just going by what I read in the archives and libraries in Canterlot." "Well either way, we'd like it if you would be a little careful saying stuff like that around Soul," Dark told her. "Remember that he's not like that, and besides, his mom didn't teach him about changelings since she didn't want him living a life like they do." Sunset gave a small sigh. "Alright. I promise that I'll be careful talking around Soul." "Thanks." Nodding to them, Sunset then felt a hoof on each of her shoulders. Looking around, she saw that they belonged to Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity. "We understand what you're going through, darling," Rarity said. "Yeah," Applejack agreed. "We were all worried about our sisters havin' the same classes as him, but he turned out ta be an alright kid." "Especially after how he helped save the Crystal Empire," Rainbow added. "So you're all alright with him then?" Sunset asked. "Eeyup," Applejack answered her. "He might be part changeling, but he's done nothin' wrong ta anypony." Sunset nodded. "Alright then. In that case, if you're all vouching for him, then I'll give him a fair try." Twilight walked up to her and pulled her into a thankful hug. "Thank you, Sunset." With a small smile, Sunset hugged her back. A moment later, she broke their hug and brought a hoof to her mouth to try hiding her yawn. "Wow, what time is it?" she groggily asked. Dark glanced up at the clock hanging up on the wall. "Almost midnight." "Aww, but we've got the whole night ahead of us to party," Pinks argued before yawning herself. "It's alright, girls," Twilight said assuredly. "Besides, you'll all be staying here for the entire week, so we'll have plenty of time to hang around and have more night-filled fun." "Just as long as nopony tries to do anything to me," Dark joked. "Like what, darling?" Rarity asked. Dark chuckled. "Considering that I'm the only guy here, I thought that you girls would try and do my mane while putting makeup on me." Hearing them laughing at the idea, Dark joined them, completely unaware of the two Pinkies who subtly slid a makeup kit behind one of the couches. "Anyway," Twi began, "how're we gonna do this?" "What do you mean?" Twilight asked. "The sleeping arrangements. Will we all be sleeping here in sleeping bags and on the couches or what?" "Oh. Well, if you girls want, I've got plenty of spare guest rooms for each of you that you could all use. Otherwise, if you'd prefer, we could all just sleep here." "Um, is it okay if we can sleep in a bed tonight?" Shy asked. "While I would like to spend more time with everybody-" "Pony," Sunset corrected, causing Shy to blink. "Sorry?" "While here, we say 'everypony', instead of 'everybody'." "Oh, okay. Anyway, while I would like to spend more time with every... pony, I think that I would prefer a bed for tonight." "Me too," Dash agreed. "Besides, we can all sleep here tomorrow night when we're all more awake and ready for an all-nighter of gaming and stuff." "Sounds good to me," Pinkie bounced. "That'll allow for me and me to get some more games." "Ooh! Do I get to see where you live?" Pinks asked Pinkie. "Of course you do." Quietly, Sunset walked over to Twilight's side. "Are you still sure this was a good idea with two Pinkie Pies here?" she whispered. "Better here than back in your world," she replied before speaking up for everypony to hear here. "Okay, everypony. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to where the guest rooms are." Motioning with a hoof, Twilight led them out of the lounge and through the halls. As she did, she and Dark would point out to them where the kitchen, dining room, and the bathrooms where. Going up the stairs, she led them down to the hallway where the guest rooms were located. "Alright, here you go, girls," she said. "Just pick out a room and make yourselves at home." Listening to her, they each picked out their own individual rooms... except for two. While each of them had given their goodnights and thanks before heading into their room to retire for the night, Sunset and Twi blushed as they both stood before one of the guest room doors, looking back at Twilight and Dark. "Umm..." Sunset stammered. "We..." Twi faltered. "Don't worry, it's fine," Twilight waved off. "Yeah," Dark said before giving them a smirk. "Just make sure to not be too loud. Wouldn't want for them to hear now, would you?" Both Sunset's and Twi's faces were almost glowing red with how embarrassed they were, which only fueled Dark's mirth from seeing them like that. That was, until Sunset recovered enough to give a smirk of her own. "Hey, Dark. Remember that little talk we had back when we were having breakfast that one morning?" Dark paused as he tried to remember. "Uh... which one?" Sunset's smirk widened into a mischievous grin. "Oh, you know, the one where you first ate meat and I asked if you've ever eaten meat before." Now recalling what morning she as talking about, Dark's eyes widened in worry. She hasn't forgotten about that yet?! "... you wouldn't." "Well, I did say that I would tell Twilight at some point, right?" "You also said that you wouldn't say anything about it in front of Twi." "Tell me what?" Twilight asked confused. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough," Sunset said knowingly. "Until then, I think that we'll be calling it a night." "Okay... but..." "Something wrong?" Twi asked her counterpart. "... if you two are gonna be doing... you know, just make sure you've got a soundproof spell up, and clean the sheets in the morning." Though both Sunset and Twi were blushing brightly again and unable to verbally answer, they both gave a small understanding nod. "Okay then. In that case, you both have a good sleep and we'll see you girls in the morning." With a wave, Twilight and Dark turned around and made their way back to their room. Once they were out of sight, Sunset and Twi went into their room and closed the door. Locking it behind them, they both let out a huge sigh before making their way over to the large bed sitting before them. Crawling in, Sunset let out a satisfying groan before she yelped when Twi rolled on top of her. "You know," she slowly and seductively began, "she did give us her permission." "I know," Sunset replied with a gulp, "but are you sure we should?" "Do you know a soundproofing spell like Twilight said?" "Yes, I remember." "Then what are you waiting for? Go ahead and cast it." With a smirk, Twi leaned down to whisper into Sunset's ear. "Plus, I'm also curious about that spell you mentioned to the others. You know, the one about giving you the... extra equipment." Her cheeks darkening at what her girlfriend was suggesting, Sunset lit her horn and was about to cast a soundproof spell, but stopped when an idea came to mind. "Hey, why don't you cast it?" she suggested. "Me?!" Twi yelped in surprise. "Yeah. I mean, with all of the new magic that we've been getting back home, it would probably be a good idea for you to try learning some spells just incase." Figuring that that would be a good idea, Twi nodded before she lit her horn. Following Sunset's instructions, Twi soon enough casted the room in a purple glow before it faded into the walls. "Nice job," Sunset complimented. "Did I do it?" Twi asked, looking around to see if there was anything different. "Yep, you just casted a soundproof spell." Happy with herself, Twi planted her lips against Sunset's and started to make out with her. Several minutes later, Twi found herself on her back, panting for breath with Sunset standing over her. "So," Sunset cooed, "are you ready?" "Mhmm." With a half-lidded gaze, Sunset leaned down and nipped at Twi's neck, causing her to gasp from the sense of pleasure she felt. "You better be, because for the next few hours, things are gonna get... magical."