//------------------------------//
// Multiple Headaches 
// Story: A Draconic Sparkle Love 
// by Mystic Sunrise 
//------------------------------//

Twilight sighed as she relaxed in the hot spring as Pearl dived off a cliff into the water next to her. "I had no idea such a place was this close to Fluttershy's cottage. She's never mentioned it before."

Pearl giggled as she surfaced and allowed herself to float serenely. "Tell me about it. Kohaku took me here before I left Sweet Apple Acres. I'm sure you know that story." She shivered. "I still didn't need to see what I did that day, thank you very much."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I had nothing to do with that, Pearl. Kohaku knew what I had asked of him. How he did it was all up to him. But why did you not say something sooner? I wish I had known about this place years ago."

Pearl shrugged. "I don't know. Fluttershy knows about here. Maybe I just wanted this to be a special place for just the two of us. I was young and dumb at the time."

"You've dropped the dumb part at least. For all of our benefits," an acidic voice added.

Twilight blinked, as Pearl sighed. That wasn't Pearl's voice coming from the alicorn. "Pearl? Is that you?"

"Not quite," a venomous voice replied. "But it's time you met us properly."

Twilight frowned. She was not liking any of this. "Who are you? What have you done with Pearl?''

A new voice giggled as an icy blast escaped Pearl's mouth. "Oh come on, Twily. You know who we are. You were there when we were born."

Twilight's jaw dropped as she began to understand just who these were. "You're Pearl's other heads. Since when could she do this?"

Pearl giggled. "For as long as she has had us," the acidic voice replied. "Now you know. If we are going to be more than just girlfriends, then we deserve to know each oher's secrets."

Twilight blushed as Pearl swam over, before smiling and taking her hooves in her own. Perhaps it was the steam from the hot spring, but she could see images of each of Pearl's heads smiling at her. "You're right. And this explains so much now."

Pearl grumbled. "I am not that bad, Twily."

Twilight booped her nose. "Yes, you are, Rosie. That goes for all of you." She squeezed Pearl's hooves as she looked deep into her eyes. "Don't ruin this for us by rushing into things. I don't want to spend my eternity alone." She caressed Pearl's cheeks. "I want to know all of you individually and as a whole. Love me not because you are all part of the same whole. But because you genuinely do love me, and I you."

For a moment, Pearl didn't say anything, before smirking. "Then get ready for all kinds of insanity. You asked for it now," a thunderous voice giggled, with echoes of all five heads behind her.

Twilight smirked. "I deal with Discord on a daily basis. I think I can handle the six of you, Rosie."

They all giggled as Pearl blinked rapidly, feeling her other minds retreating for the moment and smiling sheepishly. "Oh, I hate it when they do that. Sorry, Twilight. I can't control when they do that."

Twilight nodded, unsurprised. "Did you hear everything that was said then, Pearl?"

The alicorn nodded. "Yeah. All of it. Benefit of us all sharing the same body I guess. Very little we can hide from each other, and it's just easier not to after a while."

Twilight chuckled. Interesting. "So is there anything else I should know about today? Any more dragon-related surprises?"

Pearl giggled as she ignited her horn. Twilight watched in surprise as a rock off to the side shimmered before opening revealing a refrigerator stocked with all kinds of various things. "Nope. But there is this. A little surprise I had in mind."

Twilight blinked as a drink was handed over to her. Taking a sip, she was surprised that it was in fact her favorite drink. Judging by Pearl's sigh of contentment, hers was the same. "Where did all of this come from? What is that rock?"

Pearl giggled. "It's not a rock. It's a closet shaped like a rock. Kohaku keeps a supply of drinks, snacks (vegetarian and vegan), towels, and," she smirked knowingly, "will-o-wisp lanterns if we're ever out here after dark. Like anything would go after him. But me? Well..."

Twilight nodded. "So this explains why you sometimes come back late. This would also explain the lights Fluttershy occasionally sees from her home in the forest."

Pearl nodded as she took a sip of her drink. "And judging by these? Kohaku's been here recently. These weren't here the last time I was here. Go figure. Even wherever that furball is, he still knows about us. Why am I not surprised?"

Twilight giggled as she leaned into Pearl with a sigh, Pearl wrapping her wings around the elder mare and kissing her forehead. "Then I say we stay out for however long we want to. Neither of us needs to be anywhere else today. Why waste this chance?"

Pearl smirked as she stroked Twilight's mane. "Sounds like a plan to me."





Pearl sighed as she flopped onto her bed. As much as she wanted to be spending the night in Twilight's bed, feeling that beautiful body against her own, Luna had arrived and carted Twilight off to Canterlot for something. That she hadn't asked for Pearl as well meant that it wasn't something to worry about.

"Interfering busybody," came the voice of her Black head in her mind.

Pearl's eyes twitched. "Oh. Quiet you. You all just had to come out today didn't you?"

"It was going to happen no matter what. Deal with it," came her Green head.

Pearl groaned. She hated when this started up. "Well. Try not to ruin this for me. Any of you. I can't lose this. Lose Twilight. Eternity is too long to be alone. I can't get rid of you. But I can cut you all out."

That shut her heads up. "Do you really think that little of us that we would ever do that?" her Blue head asked. "Whatever else we are, we are still you."

"And I don't know about the rest of you. But I wanna spend more time with Twilight," her White head giggled helplessly, earning a giggle from everyone as well.

Pearl rolled her eyes as she pulled her blanket over her. "We can start figuring it all out in the morning. Right now? It's been a long day, and I need my sleep."

Her other minds nodded, retreating into their own spaces in her mind, giving her peace at last. Sleep was not long in coming after that.





The next morning, Pearl awoke with a groan as Celestia's sun showed through the window. "That's the last time I stay out so late," she grumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "When do I get this 'alicorns don't need to sleep' thing?"

As usual, the universe refused to give her an answer. Snorting, Pearl thought back to last night. Hopefully, Twilight was back from Canterlot by now. She was curious as to why Luna had called her away as she had. Stretching, Pearl went to set her hoof down.

And stopped as she felt something furry underneath it. She frowned.  She didn't have anything below her bed. Just a solid cloud. So what the hay was that supposed to be? Looking down, she soon smiled.

Curled up next to her bed, his four tails laid up over him like a blanket, lay Kohaku. He didn't even move as she removed her hoof from his back. A contented smile was on his face as he dozed.

She blinked. Wait. Four tails? When the hell did Kohaku get his fourth tail? And why did he seem to look different? Maybe it was too early, but Pearl swore her friend looked different in more than one way.

Shaking her head, Pearl rolled her eyes. This wasn't the first time she had caught her best friend curled up next to her bed, and she had long ago grown used to it. Fortunately, her parents had also grown used to the sight, and no longer threatened unholy retribution on the boy if he so much as touched their daughter.

Giggling softly, Pearl silently glided over to her door, opening the door as quietly as she could. "Sleep well, you oversized furball," she whispered with a smirk, before closing the door behind her and heading for the Castle of Friendship.

Once he was sure she was gone, Kohaku opened his eyes and smirked knowingly.