//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Girls Night Out 
// by Mystic Sunrise 
//------------------------------//

The light tickle of sunlight on her cheek awoke Twilight the next morning. She groaned and turned away, wanting just a few more minutes of sleep. It had been so good. But the universe seemed to have it out for her.

A loving kiss on her cheek ruined any chance of getting back to sleep. "Good morning, beautiful," Sci Twi giggled.

The princess grumbled as she shot her counterpart a dirty look. "What's so good about it?" She groused, pulling a pillow over her head.

Sci Twi rolled her eyes. "So this is what it's like trying to get me out of bed in the morning. No wonder Spike doesn't like doing it. Not a morning pony, I take it?"

Twilight shook her head, giving up on trying to get back to sleep. "I haven't been a morning anything since before I moved to Ponyville. Unless I absolutely needed to be up for something. I used to get up to watch Princess Celestia raise the sun."

Sci Twi blinked, as the princess paused a moment. "What changed then?"

Twilight sighed. "I'm not really sure. Maybe it was after that first Summer Sun Celebration. I don't really know. And, honestly, I'm not sorry that I changed as I did. Spike used to complain all the time about having to get up so early. He hasn't done that for a while now."

Twi chuckled. "He used to just sit on my face and lick me to death if I didn't get up on time. It was super effective." She grinned as she all but pulled the princess off her bed. "But come on. Mom and dad have breakfast just about done downstairs. After that, there's nothing much else to do till tonight."

Twilight sighed as she finally got up for the day. "So can you at least tell me the name of whatever this place is?"

Twi nodded as she headed for the bathroom. "It's called Spectrum. I've known about it for a few years now. I know some of the girls know about it too. Fluttershy, I know, has been there. I'm not sure about the others. "

Twilight nodded, as she followed her twin to the bathroom. "So what am I supposed to do? I've never had this much free time in this world before. It's kinda weird if I'm being honest."

Twi giggled. "Don't worry. I've got that covered. There are several history books that I know you'd love that I've got. And if I can pry you away from them, I'll even show you my lab out back."

Twilight shot her a hurt look. "Hey! I am not that bad!"

Twi gave a knowing look. before giving her a quick peck on the lips. "Right. Those double-digit number of rooms in your castle that are book storage must've been a trick of the light. Or Discord was screwing with me. How could I have made that mistake?"

Twilight just crossed her arms and pouted, while Twi just giggled.

***

Oh no, Twilight thought as she looked around the well-stocked lab in the Sparkle family's backyard. She wasn't jealous at all. No, that would be silly of her. It wasn't like her twin had things that she couldn't even begin to dream of having in Equestria.

That would be silly and irrational.

Twi gave her a knowing look though, as she closed the door behind them. "You're totally jealous arent you?"

Twilight's eyes began twitching. Darnit. "Okay. Maybe a little. I don't even know what some of this stuff is? And I can buy most of this if I really want to. It's not like I'm going to run out of bits."

Twi giggled. "Some of this I made myself. Some I was able to get while I was still attending Crystal Prep. Cadance made sure I didn't have to give it back when I cleaned out my old lab. And mom and dad had some of it custom made in Japan for me."

Twilight watched as Twi removed her Necklace from around her neck and set it around a mannequin's neck that stood off to the side, but was still within reach of her main desk. "Why take your Pearl off?"

Twi shook her head. "I've had my machines go crazy just being near it, though I have no idea of why that is. But I was able to learn something about it, and you might like this. It doesn't just look like a piece of pearl, or feel like one. It is a pearl, through and through. Why I absorb it when I transform with it, I don't know. It's much easier than it floating or flying off on me that's for sure."

Twilight considered this. This was news to her, and while it wasn't much, it was still something. Still, she didn't want to mess anything in the lab up, so she too removed her Necklace and set it down next to Twi's. The two seemed drawn to each other, brushing up against each other, before settling back down. 

The two of them shared a look. Strange. But for the moment, they put it aside, as Twilight saw a familiar-looking photo on Twi's desk, positioned so that she could look at it whenever she looked up from whatever she was working on. It was Twilight, in all of her beauty and glory as Rarity had put it, on the night of that fateful Fall Formal, taken shortly before she and Spike had returned to Equestria in fact, the Element of Magic back where it belonged. "Where did you get that?" She asked.

Twi smiled as she looked at it. "Rainbow Dash gave it to me. Said she didn't know anyone else that should have it." She smirked as she turned to the princess. "And speaking of the Fall Formal. Are you going to run again this year? You could still probably win again. Canterlot High still talks about you even now."

Twilight shook her head. "Oh, sweet Celestia. No. Last time, I didn't have much of a choice, and I was out of options. Thinking about it though, I probably could have just told Principal Celestia the truth. Or just grabbed the crown, and run back to Equestria. Who was going to stop me?"

Twi chuckled. "You don't regret not doing so, do you?"

Twilight shook her head, her smile growing. "No. I don't regret not doing that. Even without all of this." She tapped her chin. "Is Sunset going to run for princess though? She deserves it more than me, now."

Twi shrugged. "She hasn't said either way. I don't doubt that if she did run, she would be crowned Fall Formal Princess if you don't run against her. She's come a long way since then. Even if not everyone is convinced that she's good now."

She paused as she seemed to remember something, before going to a corner and pulling what looked like an odd-shaped rock out of a locker. Whatever it was, it was carved in a way that didn't look natural. "And speaking of people who still aren't happy with Sunset. Remember how I told you about a girl named Wallflower Blush a while back?"

Twilight nodded. The name still didn't mean much to her, even after asking Pinkie Pie if she knew anypony with that name, and coming up empty.

Twi handed the stone to her. "We found her using this on another student. He was fine, but this was using Equestrian Magic if I ever saw any. Sunset said the same thing. When we confronted her about it, she tried to use it on us. But Rainbow Dash was faster and took it away from her before she had the chance."

Twilight looked it over. She could feel the magic in it, so it was definitely not from Earth. But how had it gotten here? Just one more question she didn't have an answer to. "What was Wallflower trying to do with it?"

Twi shrugged. "We're not really sure. But the other student had a glazed look to his eyes. Like he couldn't even remember what had been going on before we showed up. He seemed to regain something though, because as soon as Rainbow touched it, what looked like his memories flowed out of the stone and back into him. I haven't had the chance to talk to him to find out more though. Wallflower was peeved beyond belief though, and fought us to get this thing back."

Twilight blinked. She hadn't expected that. Though the fact that she was holding this said as much as to how it had turned out. "What happened then? I'm holding it right now."

Twi nodded. "Vice Principal Luna found us at the right moment and put a stop to it. After we showed that this was indeed magic, Wallflower was in even more trouble than just for fighting. Principal Celestia said that any magic that we saw that was being used like this wasn't acceptable. We haven't seen Wallflower since. I've had so much going on with college and helping the girls with theirs that I kinda forgot about it till now."

Twilight frowned. She didn't like any of this, but it seemed to have been resolved. She hoped that Wallflower was okay, wherever she was. "Moving onto something less sad. What about tonight? You haven't said much about how we're all doing this."

Twi squeed a little. "Rarity managed to get us a limousine for the night. It'll take most of us to Spectrum. Sunset said she'll meet us there. Said she's bringing a friend with her, and hoped we didn't mind. She also said that you know this person rather well, Twily."

Twilight blushed at the use of her pet name. But she loved it all the same. She wondered who this mystery person could be though. Who did she know in this world that well? Besides her friends of course? "Well. I don't mind if Sunset brings someone with her. The more the merrier!"

Twi giggled as she sat down and pulled out her phone, typing out a quick text. "That'll put her in a better mood for sure. I just told her the good news. So as of now, we really don't have much to do." She gave the princess a hard look. "I hate having to say this. But can you please not touch anything? I've had several near explosions because my stuff reacted to my magic or because I touched something with it."

Twilight meeped and backed away from everything. "You know I wouldn't do that, right?"

Twi nodded, her look softening. "I know. And I know you would never do something like that on purpose. But I don't want to take that risk. I'm still young in terms of magic, even though it's nowhere near what it is in Equestria. I don't know what it could do with your's interacting with it. Frankly, I don't want to know either."

Twilight couldn't argue that, as she pulled up another chair. "Okay then. What are we going to do? We've got all afternoon I'm assuming? There has to be something we can do that won't potentially end with us getting blown back to the Stone Age."

Twi's smile grew seductive. "Well. I can think of one thing that we can do."

Twilight blushed furiously. "Woah, Woah, Woah. Slow down. I am all for experiencing new things. But not like this. I do not want my first time to be some quickie for the sake of passing the time! That's not how this works!"

Twi backed away, her eyes going down at the angry retort, as she held herself.

Twilight blinked, realizing what she sounded like. She quickly took Twi's hands in her own. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to shout. But I want our first time to be something special. Not just to pass the time with. I want this. Us. To work. We have all the time in the world. Let's not rush into it before we're ready."

Twi smiled as she lay her head on Twilight's shoulder. "You're right. And I'm sorry. I just couldn't help it. I let my brain run ahead of my heart. Again. You'd think I'd know better by now."

The two giggled and stood like that for a time. Twi finally sighed as she looked over at her workbench. "And there are things we can do. I'm not sure how much you can help. But there are several projects that I'm working on, and I could always use a second opinion."

Twilight nodded. It was better than nothing, and she was curious to see what was being worked on out here. But as she pulled up a chair and looked over what there was to see, her mind was on something else. A thought that had plagued her since the day before.

***

"You know?" Twilight grunted aa\s she adjusted the straps of her shirt. "You'd think I would know how to do this by now. I've been here long enough to know better. I put on my dress for the Fall Formal by myself."

Twi giggled as she set her hair back in just the way she wanted. "Well, you haven't grown up wearing clothes. So it does make sense." She smiled as she finished up. "You look beautiful. I never thought I'd have to use both of these at the same time."

Twilight blushed. "Not as beautiful as you," she smiled as she looked down. Her outfit for the evening was the match for Twi's own. A pair of jeans that bore their cutie mark, shoes that added at least an inch to their height, and a purple shirt that exposed much of their chests and arms. So much so that Twilight was feeling a little self-conscious about going out like this.

A knock at the door broke them out of their thoughts as Applejack poked her head into the room. "You two love birds ready or not?" She whistled as she got a look at the pair. "Dang, Twi. Y'all going out for just a club."

Twi giggled as they joined their friend in the hallway. "It is my first time going out like this, AJ. I want to make it special. For all of us."

Twilight nodded. "And I really couldn't argue with that. Have you heard from Sunset? Is she supposed to meet us there?"

AJ nodded. "That's what she told Pinkie. Haven't talked to her much since I got back. She's been real quiet. Ain't like her if ya ask me. Something ain't right. Doubt it's anything bad, but still."

Twilight frowned. She didn't like the sound of that. It wasn't like Sunset to keep to herself like this. Something wasn't right for sure. She hoped that whatever it was, it was just a minor thing.

Velvet and Night Light were waiting for them at the front door. "Now. You kids don't do anything we wouldn't do," Velvet said with a smile.

Twi groaned. "Mom. There's not much you haven't done."

Velvet just grinned. "Exactly."

Twi only groaned louder while Twilight and Applejack giggled. "Ya sure, ya don't mind us doing this?" Applejack asked.

Night Light chuckled. "You girls have helped our little girl so much, I think we can trust you to handle them for a night. Just remember that if you think your families will be mad if something happens, you still have to deal with us."

Applejack gulped but held her ground. "No need to worry, sir. We won't let anything happen to them. Promise."

Night Light smiled. "I'm holding you to that, Applejack. I know your family takes things like this seriously. So I won't question it too much."

But as the trio passed through the door, Velvet giving Twi one last hug, he had one last thing to say, as he placed a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "And Twilight. Remember what I asked you last night?"

Twilight nodded, watching as Pinkie all but pulled Twi into the limo. "Yeah. I remember."

Light's smile grew. "Then don't waste the perfect chance."

Twilight smiled slightly before she joined her friends.

***

"So what did dad say?" Twi asked, as Twilight joined the girls and the limo pulled away.

She just shrugged. "Only that if I break your heart, he'll break my spine. And I rather like my spine, thank you!"

That got a chuckle out of the group. "So are you the only one who's been to Spectrum, Fluttershy?" Pinkie asked.

Fluttershy nodded. "Rainbow's taken me when my parents or brother couldn't."

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. I don't swing that way. But Spectrum is the best club in town! How could I not go?"

"Doesn't it make it weird though? I mean. If you don't like other people in that way?" Twi asked, holding hands with Twilight.

Rainbow shrugged. "Yeah, it does. But the staff doesn't care if you're straight or not. Just don't do or say anything to discriminate against everybody else there and their. Um..."

"Sexual orientation, darling?" Rarity asked with a smile.

Rainbow smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, that. Past that, they don't mind. Business is business is how the owner told me."

Fluttershy nodded. "And their bouncer is scary when he's mad. I've seen him manhandle three very not people out the door before. But he's really sweet once you get to know him."

Pinkie popped between the two Twilights. "Not to ruin the moment or anything. But how are we going to explain you two? Twins?"

Twilight nodded. "It seems the easiest way to explain it, Pinkie. And if push comes to shove, we can just say we're keeping each other company and lending each other support."

Pinkie wiped her brow as she reappeared between Fluttershy and Rainbow. "Phew! Then I won't need Plan B after all!"

"What was Plan B?" Applejack asked.

Pinkie whistled innocently, as the limo began to slow down. "You don't want to know."

The girls shared a look as the limo finally came to a stop. A moment later, the driver opened the door with a smile. "We have arrived ladies. I will wait for you nearby. You only need to ring."

With that, the tension broke as Rainbow and Applejack fought to be first out, Applejack eventually winning. The girls groaned as they exited at a slower pace.

Twi gave Twilight a knowing smile as she stepped out before offering her hand. Twilight smiled as she took it, and was helped gracefully out. She took a moment to readjust to all the bright lights, but what she saw surprised her.

Spectrum seemed to take up an entire building, its neon sign flashing every few seconds. People seemed drawn to it as a steady stream entered the front door. As the group made their through it themselves, Twilight's ears were assaulted with a wall of sound before they even hit the Dance Floor.

The floor itself was filled with people, all dancing and having a good time. None of them Twilight recognized, as most of the girls now split up for the time being. But as she looked, Twilight's eyes were drawn to one particular red-headed young girl. She couldn't have been much younger than the princess herself, maybe even the same age in fact.

Dancing in front of her was a boy, no older than thirteen, with forest green hair, a cap covering most of it with fox ears. Twilight had to rub her eyes several times as it appeared he had three tails, each one swinging to the beat of the music.

The young girl looked rather annoyed with her friend about something. But Twilight also couldn't mistake the look that she did care for him, the boy returning the look with one mixed with joy and mischievousness.

For some strange reason, Twilight felt that she should know who they were. Rather well in fact. But she didn't know those faces. Here or in Equestria.

Twi seemed to catch on. "Do you know them?"

Twilight shook her head, as she watched the duo dance with who appeared to be their friends. "No. But I've got the strangest feeling that I should know them."

"How do you think I feel? I've had that feeling since I got here," a voice behind the two said. One that Twilight knew rather well in fact.

Her eye began twitching. Ohohoh, no. That was not who she thought it was. No. She was just hearing things. That was all. But as she turned around, Twilight came face to face with someone who was most assuredly not supposed to be there. 

"Starlight Lenin I Swear I'm not a Cult Leader, Glimmer. What are you doing here?!"