//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Girls Night Out 
// by Mystic Sunrise 
//------------------------------//

To call the car ride from Sugarcube Corner to the Sparkle Family's home awkward would be an understatement. Princess Twilight had never really given much thought to what it might be like to meet her counterpart's parents. And her nerves were paying for it.

Aside from the obvious differences, the native Twilight Velvet and Night Light were very much like the ponies the princess knew and loved in Equestria. They seemed to take seeing a double of their daughter rather well, all things considered.

As they turned another corner, Sci Twi placed a comforting hand on Twilight's shoulder. She gave her twin a loving look, one that helped put her mind at ease. Velvet and Night Light only just reacted to the movement and what it meant, but Twilight could see something growing in the older man's eyes.

Twilight had a feeling she would be having a very stern talking to coming from him later on.

The ride, though, was uneventful, the princess more than happy to tell all she knew about Equestria to Velvet and Night Light. Their eyes glazed over at several points but seemed to understand much of it.

As the van finally pulled onto what she had been told was the street the family lived on, Twilight finally asked the question that had been bugging her for a while now. "Shining isn't joining us?"

Velvet shook her head. "He was called into Canterlot City's Police Department yesterday. He didn't say why. But it sounded urgent. He called us earlier. Said that he would be tied up for some time."

Night Light looked back at the princess. "Does Equestria have its own police?"

Twilight nodded. "They handle everything that the Royal Guard can't or won't. My Shining Armor was going to join them at one time. But then he met Cadance and. Well..."

Velvet chuckled. "A girl will have that effect on a man. Or stallion I guess. And Captain of the Royal Guard as well. If he's anything like the man we know, then he's earned it."

Twilight nodded, as she turned to her twin. "I can't believe he hasn't made Captain here."

Sci Twi shrugged. "The police isn't the same as the Royal Guard. Shiny isn't at the bottom of the barrel. But he's a long way from making Captain. Though not many of his fellow officers would argue that he isn't a good fit for the role."

Twilight nodded, as the van pulled into the driveway of one of the larger houses on the street. As the family piled out, the princess couldn't help but be reminded of her family's home in Canterlot. If she didn't know any better, she would have said she was still in Equestria.

As Twilight stepped toward the house though, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking over, she found Night Light giving her a stern look, one that made her gulp. He smiled as he looked at the others. "You two go on ahead. The princess and I need to have a little talk."

Velvet seemed to take the hint, for she was quick to push Sci Twi toward the house. Sci Twi gave Twilight a concerned look, as she and her mother entered the house and closed the door behind them.

Twilight tried to stay calm, but it was a losing battle. "Um. Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?"

Night Light held his look for a moment, before chuckling. "No. You're fine. But this is something that needs to be said." He put his hand on her shoulder. "I've seen how you two look at each other. You don't need to be a genius to see how much you love each other. Have you told each other...?"

Twilight shook her head sadly, her body slumping. "No. I know we have that bond. But we've never said that to each other."

Night Light held up her head with a smile. "Don't let this go. You two have something very few have. I might not fully get it, but Velvet and I support it. There is no right time to say it. Just go with what your heart says."

Twilight smiled. Somethings never changed. There was the dad advice she had forgotten she missed when she had moved to Ponyville.

Night Light's gaze hardened. "I love my daughter. You know this, right?" Twilight nodded. "She talks about you all the time. As much as she does her friends at Canterlot High. Whatever the Dance did for her, has done far more good than I think either of you knows. Twily has never been this happy before."

His gaze grew harder if it was possible. "That said. If you even think about breaking my daughter's heart, I promise it will be the last thing you ever do. I don't care if you are a princess, or if you live in another world. Am I understood?"

Twilight shrunk under the glare she was getting, gulping down her fear. "Yes sir," she squeaked.

Night Light held her gaze a moment, making sure the point had been hammered home before his glaze melted away, and he smiled broadly. "Just needed to make sure you got the point." He laid his arms on Twilight's shoulders, steering her toward the front door. "But enough about all of that. You're here to have fun. Not listen to an old man ramble on. I don't care if you're from Equestria or not. You're still my daughter. You are family. This is your home as much as ours, for however long you stay."

Twilight smiled, relaxing finally as they came to the front door. But at the back of her mind, something stuck with her, as it would for some time to come yet.

***

Sci Twi was laid out on her bed, her head pointing toward its foot, by the time Twilight made her way up to it. She smirked as Twilight came in and slipped her backpack off and set it next to her own. "You got the Dad Talk, didn't you?"

Twilight sighed as she sat down next to her twin. "Eeyup. Never thought I'd get it from my own dad though. He promised that if I did anything to break your heart, the Magic of Friendship won't be saving me."

Twi giggled. "I don't think we need to worry about that. He said the same thing to Cadance when she and Shinny started dating, and they've worked out so far."

The two giggled, as Twilight lay down with Twi and looked over the stack of papers she held. "What are all of these?"

Twi leaned her head on Twilight's shoulder. "Applications from all the colleges and universities I applied to. I didn't think they would all say yes."

Twilight looked over the names. None of them rang a bell. "I don't know any of these names."

Twi nodded. "You won't. Equestria doesn't have near these many. And even the ones that do crossover don't have the same names. This is just from those here in the United States and in Canada. I didn't apply to any overseas, even though I could have."

Twilight rested her head against Twi's. "What about Everton? You wanted to attend there before the Friendship Games."

Twi slipped an arm around the princess's shoulders. "They said yes too. It'd be the easiest to go there since they're closer than any others except for Canterlot Community College. Who also said yes by the way. But I don't know yet. It's taking me away from you, and none of the girls applied to Everton."

Twilight pulled Twi close. "Please don't tell me you think that distance will do anything to your friendship? That's a load of horseapples if I ever heard any."

Twi giggled, as she booped Twilight. "Of course not. Distance doesn't mean a thing for true friends. It makes things harder. But we will find a way. Plus we have magic, so that should help."

The two giggled before falling silent for a while. Twilight didn't understand enough of how education worked in this world to provide any help for her love. But she quickly noticed a pattern in Twi's letters. "You're going for robotics or astronomy?"

Twi nodded. "It was what got me interested in going to Everton. They have the best department in the state. My spectrometer from the Friendship Games was meant to be my ticket in." She rolled her eyes. "We all know how well that went."

Twilight nodded. "And astronomy?"

Twi sighed as she looked out a nearby window. The sun was getting low in the sky now. "I've been stargazing since I was a little girl. I always wondered what was out there, in the stars. Never even thought about ponies being one of them." She bumped Twilight's shoulder. "No offense.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "None was taken. I used to wonder the same thing when I was a filly. And then I became Princess Celestia's Personal Student, and I sorta forgot about it. Meeting the girls before the Fall Formal changed that. Now I wonder what else is out there, beyond the skies of Equus. I hope one day we'll find out."

Twi nodded, as they again fell silent. Neither seemed to mind though. With how crazy the last few times they had seen each other had been, both were more than happy for some quiet time together. 

Eventually though, Twilight had a question that she couldn't put off any longer. "Um. Not to make this weird. But what exactly am I supposed to wear?" She pointed at her current clothes. "I can't wear this all the time. Even I know that."

Twi smirked as she hopped up and ran over to her pack. "Leave that to me. I asked Rarity about this same thing. She said your measurements from the Fall Formal hadn't changed much the last time you were at Carousel Boutique. So," she said as she pulled out another bag from her own. "She made you some custom clothes." She blushed. "Even some bras and a few pairs of panties. Why she knew that I don't think I want to know. And using mine just feels... A little too weird for my tastes. Even though our measurements are identical in all but that my breasts are a little larger than yours."

Twilight tried not to think about that as she took the bag with her new clothes. "Thanks. I don't know why the Portal keeps giving me this same outfit every time. Just another on the long list of questions I have about the darn thing."

Twi chuckled as she rejoined her on the bed. "Mom and dad can take care of washing and drying your clothes before you go back to Equestria. We run on city water, so we can do laundry as much as we need to." Her smile grew as she pulled Twilight close, and whispered in her ear. "And I've got a special set for when we all go out tomorrow night. We are going to make your birthday special, and I know just the place."

Twilight put on her best pout face. "You're not gonna tell me, are you?"

Twi giggled, as she placed a finger on the princess's lips. "Nope. It's a surprise. And I already know for sure that Equestria doesn't have this."

Twilight's pout grew. But she could see that Twi meant it, so for now she would just have to wait and see. She was already looking forward to whatever it might be.

And later that night, as the two of them snuggled closely together as they shared Twi's bed, Princess Twilight couldn't wait to see what tomorrow might bring.