"Later babe, don't wait up for me!" Rick said giving Twilight a kiss before he ran off to join his friends. Twilight watched him go and sighed deeply as the car pulled out of the driveway and watched him go until the taillights disappeared. She walked through the house that they bought, it was currently rather empty but Rick said they could fix it up. There wasn't much to see as they still lived in the basement even though the entire house was now theirs.
She made her way back to Equestria. If Rick was going out for a night with his friends then why couldn't she? Twilight trotted happily through the portal into the library just in time to see Spike about to walk through the door.
"Hey Spike! Wanna help me organize the shelves tonight? I've got a new system based on popularity of the books that I want to try out!"
"Oh hi Twilight! I wasn't expecting you back tonight so I was off to see Rarity. She wants me to help her organize her boutique and I kinda promised I'd help her, " the young dragon said a little sheepishly.
"That's okay Spike. I've got this, " Twilight said as Spike quickly ran out the door. She looked about the library, wondering where to start first when her stomach growled a bit and she realized that she hadn't had dinner yet. It had been a long time since she had actually made anything as Rick cooked them dinner just about every night and Spike would bring her lunch that she stopped giving any kind of thought to it. The kitchen in the library was bare and she wasn't really equipped to make something back on Earth so she thought that maybe she could visit Pinkie Pie.
A quick trip to Sugarcube Corner later and she found that they were closing for the night. Pinkie Pie had gone out in search of something called a "truffleberry" and had borrowed Fluttershy to help her look. Twilight was about to go see if Applejack had some apples to spare but noticed it was getting dark which meant the farm pony was most likely getting ready to go to bed assuming she wasn't already asleep. And as Rainbow Dash was still recovering from her accident that meant that all her close personal friends were either busy or unavailable. Her stomach growled again and she decided to go back to Earth and maybe rummage around the fridge. There had to be something there that she could have even if it meant turning herself human for a bit.
Twilight made her way back through the portal and as she passed his closet took down one of Rick's favorite shirts as she transformed herself into her human form. "One of these days I'm going to have to actually get my own clothes, " she said as she put it on. She admired herself in the mirror and posed a few times. Rick always said she looked extra sexy when she just wore one of his shirts and nothing else. A moment later she had put on the entire outfit but it hung loosely all over her and made her look disheveled. Girl wearing her boyfriend's shirt is cute, girl wearing the rest of his clothes typically isn't. Twilight got an idea and shifted things a bit, growing slightly and filling the clothes out until she did make them fit or at least as much as she could fit inside men's clothes. Another moment and she tried something new, this time she needed to change her look completely but from female to male. This wasn't as easy as it sounded and took some concentration but after several attempts what looked back at Twilight Sparkle from the mirror was a rather male looking version of herself.
"Perfect!" she said to herself in her regular voice. She concentrated and said, "how's that?" in a deeper and more masculine voice. "Okay, I've got 6 hours or so like this. Let's see what I can do." In a flash she disappeared from the bedroom and re-appeared in Rick's car just as he was pulling into the restaurant.
"GAH!" Rick yelled as a man appeared beside him. He nearly lost control of the car but managed to park safely and was about to ask where he came from when he was assaulted by what could only be described as a tackle hug. Struggling to free himself, Rick pushed the other guy away and shouted, "what the hell man!? Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my car?"
"It's me!" the strange man said. "Twilight Sparkle!"
"What?!? How?" Rick pointed at Twilight as he made unintelligible sounds because his brain had short circuited for a moment. The look was surprisingly similar to how Twilight looked when she was human down to the purple hair with the magenta streak through it but more... masculine. The term that came to Rick's mind was "prettyboy" and the fact that she... or in this form he was wearing some of the more colorful items from his closet didn't change that fact.
"I... sorry, " Twilight cleared her throat and came back with her normal voice, "Nopony was around Equestria, I got a little hungry, I missed you and wanted to see what one of these guys nights are all about. Please don't be mad, " she pouted in what could only be described as cutely.
Rick screwed his eyes shut and shook his head quickly as if to shake his thoughts back into place. "But I thought you didn't want to see this movie and you thought it would be stupid?"
"I probably will but I've never had the chance to meet your friends and thought we could do this. Is that okay?"
Just then there was a knock on the window and Rick noticed Herman and Pauly standing there. "Fine, just fix your hair and try to act like one of us will you?" he pleaded to his girlfriend... or boyfriend in this case. "I'm going to need a therapist when this night is over, " he mumbled to himself as he got out of the car to greet his friends. "Hey guys, what's up?"
"Not much, who's your friend?" Herman asked. Rick froze not knowing what to call... him as they hadn't decided on a name yet.
"You can call me Dusk. I'm the twin brother of Rick's girlfriend. I was in town and he invited me out tonight, " Twilight said in a rather convincing guy kind of way as she offered her hand to Rick's friends. Introductions were made and they made their way into the restaurant where some of the two other members of their little cabal were already waiting. Greetings were made and the two others introduced themselves as Dave and Bill.
"So Dusk, what brings you around?" Pauly asked once they had ordered their drinks.
"Well, I missed my sister and she's always talking about the world outside the commune so I thought I'd give it a try."
"Oh right, the commune. I keep forgetting that your sister grew up with a bunch of hippies, " Dave mentioned.
"Yeah, it's a bit of a quieter life but hearing so much from her I thought I'd at least come out and see it and experience it first hand. So when Rick mentioned a boys night he and my sister thought it would be fun."
"Just wondering, you a vegetarian like your sister?" Pauly asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Kinda. I'll eat fish if I have to but I really don't like eating something with a face you know? Is that a problem?"
"For me? Hell no. I just think it's funny that you decide to come to a guy's night when we go out to a steakhouse and you're an herbivore. Or did Rick not mention this to you?" The server came by with their drinks and they asked him back in a few minutes while they made their decisions on what to have.
"Pauly, stop being such a dick to Dusk. I'm sure he's aware of the menu choices, they have fish on the menu and he's probably not going to get all freaked out if you order a steak. Besides it's only his first time with us. If this becomes a regular thing then you can pick on him, " Herman said with mock severity.
"Guys c'mon. Can we wait for the trash talk until at least I've finished my first glass?" Rick added wanting to steer the conversation away from Dusk as much as possible.
"It's okay Rick, I realise there might be some hazing for my first time out. I read about it in a book once, " Twilight answered. She wanted to reach over and hold Rick's hand and give him a smile to show she was okay but didn't know how well that would go over with the rest of his friends so she tried to imitate his laissez-faire attitude instead.
"Good attitude, salud!" Pauly raised his glass indicating that Twilight had passed some kind of test.
The server came by again, they all ordered and again the conversation around the table turned with occasional pot shots taken at one of their members. More than once Rick and Pauly would throw things back and forth and then all of a sudden turn on Herman for a double barreled assault that would have the rest of the table roaring in laughter. Twilight had to admit this was a side of Rick she had never seen before. It wasn't unpleasant or anything, it just showed that with his friends he could be a bit of a different person. She also had to admit that one of these "guy nights" could be a little bit of fun. Rick and his friends were cutting loose as it was, just being themselves and while there was some good natured ribbing she could tell they didn't mean any of it in a nasty way. These were friends and this was obviously how they liked to play with each other.
Dinner was served and Twilight did feel a little green seeing the rest of the table eating steak, she did have to admit that the smell from her fish was excellent and while this might be a place that specialized in meat, they grilled a mean swordfish.
"Are we done?" Dave asked once all the food had been consumed and a few of them checked their watches to find out what time it was.
"Yeah, I think we need to leave soon, " Herman replied while trying to flag down the waiter.
The bill was received, the tip was worked out and everybody pulled out a credit card. When the waiter came over to get them, Herman explained to him how things would be done. "It's really simple. Charge these four cards $45.00 each. Charge this one, " he said pointing to Rick's, "$90.00." The waiter did some quick math in his head and agreed with a smile. He usually didn't like serving the younger crowd but these guys had been good and were giving him a good tip so he wasn't going to argue over doing a little more work.
The credit cards returned and everybody had signed their slips so it was now time to leave. Herman and Pauly did razz Rick a couple times about him paying for Dusk and how he'd have to "work it off". The added "bow chicka wow wow" and Herman swinging his hips left his meaning totally clear.
"Guys, please. This is Twilight's brother. Besides she said she'd make it up to me later, " Rick said with a leer. There were assorted agreements and cat calls as they all piled into their cars to drive to the theater.
Twilight sat in Rick's car, a little worried about what she had just heard. "Sorry to cause you so much trouble."
"Hey hey hey, none of that now. You're seeing what a guy's night is all about. It's food, alcohol, a movie and trash talk. Besides, I'm totally going to take advantage of you later and by that I mean female you. So don't worry about it."
"Okay, " Twilight wanted to reach over and take his hand or even kiss him but felt it wasn't right. As they pulled out of the parking lot she felt Rick place a reassuring hand on her thigh. Twilight couldn't help but smile at the man she loved as she placed one of her masculine hands over his.
"Don't worry babe, we'll make it through the night. Gotta wonder though, how much time do you have in that body?"
"I'm usually good for six hours so I figure unless the movie goes on for more than four hours we should be okay."
"Good to know. I don't think it's longer than two and a half hours and we still have thirty minutes before it starts. So we'll probably have beer or something first. I will just ask one thing, when we're alone it's okay if you touch me but when we're in public and this includes in the theater I need you to keep your hands to yourself. It'll just raise too many questions and considering that so far only Herman has actually met the female you, I don't want the rest of the guys to think badly of you. Okay?"
"Okay."
They drove on for another few minutes until they reached the theater and Twilight really started to get excited. This was the first time she was actually going to see a movie in the theater. Usually they just watched one at home but this was going to be a whole new experience. They all met up inside and purchased the tickets before heading to the bar for a quick drink before making their way to their seats. Twilight commented eagerly on this as they sat down.
"You've never been to a movie theater before?" Bill asked incredulously.
"No, " Twilight said with a big smile. "I've seen them on TV and on a small screen but we don't have anything like this back home! There's so many people here too, " she marveled at everything. Rick couldn't help but smile at this. He loved it when Twilight got excited over things and this time he had to resist leaning over to kiss her.
The house lights went down, the previews started and soon the feature presentation was on screen. It was loud, exciting and while it wasn't what Twilight would have thought she'd enjoy the fact that she was here with all these people who were enjoying the movie actually made her enjoy it more. When everything was done the boys exited the movie theater and said their goodbyes before heading home. Twilight gushed about the entire experience on the drive all the way back.
"Oh that was fun!" Twilight said once they had gotten back home. She threw her arms around Rick and went in for a kiss but he pulled back a bit. Hurt a little bit by this she took a step back and clasped her hands nervously in front of her.
"Sorry babe, " Rick said a little uncomfortably. "I'm just not really comfortable kissing another guy. It's not you, I mean I know it's you in there but 25 years of heterosexuality can get in your way sometimes."
"Prove it, " she said a little defiantly.
"What do you mean?"
"Prove to me you know it's me inside. Kiss me, " Twilight answered with resolve.
"Can you turn back into a girl or a pony first and by that I mean a girl pony."
"No. If you truly love me, you can do this."
"Fine. But you're turning back into a girl when this is done, " Rick sighed in defeat. He took a step forward, grabbed Twilight by her arms and kissed her rather mechanically on the lips. When he opened his eyes he winced slightly as Twilight didn't appear amused by this.
"I mean a real kiss. With real passion. Kiss me like you did when we first kissed. I was a pony and it didn't stop you from expressing your feelings."
"You're right. Here goes, " and with those words he took Twilight in his arms and gave her what he hoped was the best kiss of her life. Twilight melted against him and hugged him tightly, not wanting to let him go. Rick had to admit that although it felt a little strange, it really wasn't all that different than when he kissed Twilight normally. Her mouth was a little different and the body felt strange in his arms. It definitely didn't have the softness that he liked but underneath it all this was the same person regardless of the form she wore. Luckily she didn't have five o'clock shadow which would have made this really strange.
When they broke, he noticed the blush on her cheeks and the dreamy smile on her face. "Now that was a kiss...." her face clouded over for a moment as if she had discovered something new. Rick felt something stir in his pants only to realize it wasn't his pants he felt the stirring in. They both looked down, Rick in horror and Twilight in amusement. "So that's how it feels..."
Rick broke the contact with a little bit of a shudder. "Sorry, but that just got to be a little too real for me. Do you mind?"
"Alright, " she said before turning back into her female form. "Better?" she said standing there in clothes that were suddenly too big for her. It was at this point that her pants fell down revealing her shapely legs. A moment later, the rest of her clothes fell to the floor and Twilight went from two legs back to four as she turned back into a pony.
"Oh yeah. Much better, " Rick replied while kneeling down to take her head in his hands and draw her in for another kiss before leading on to other things.
As they lay in bed, Twilight giggled a bit before saying, "we really ought to do this again."
"What you mean you coming on a guy's night?"
"No not that that. Don't get me wrong, it was fun but I don't want to do this on a regular basis. No, I was thinking I could be a stallion again. And maybe you could be a mare, " she said with a large grin.
"Yeah, I don't think so."
"Oh it would be fun. Besides I think you'd make a cute mare, " Twilight said while imagining Rick as a girl.
"Thanks, " Rick said dryly, "but I'm not into dudes. Babe even if you happen to be in there. I just can't get hot for somebody that has male equipment. I know Equestrians are... naturally bisexual but that doesn't mean it's the same for everypony just like it's not the same for a lot of people on Earth."
Twilight thought about this for a moment. "Sooo, how about if you're a mare and so am I?"
Now it was Rick's turn to think about this for a moment before asking, "human or pony?"
"Either, " Twilight said with a bit of a shrug. "Or maybe one of each. We could try different combinations, " Twilight said with a wide grin. She still wasn't sure she would or could go through with this but after what she saw tonight she did know that teasing her coltfriend a bit and making him squirm could be fun.
Rick sighed. He wasn't convinced of this but maybe was a little intrigued. "I'm not completely against that but we'll really talk about this some other time. Right now I think it's late."
"Agreed. G'night" Twilight leaned in for a kiss and they hugged tight before finally settling down to sleep.