No matter how long she stared at the image before her, Sunset could not believe it to be true. And yet, in her heart, she knew that it was. The ultimate symbol of everything she had tried to avoid over the past few days, there, for all the world to see. Right now, she was standing outside of the Principal's office, but did not dare enter the place in earnest. Instead, she remained outside, simply looking through the small window on the door itself. Within, she saw them both. Derpy, sitting quietly on a chair opposite Celestia herself. The latter appeared to be speaking to the former, no doubt in that calm and motherly way she always did, all in an effort to comfort the youth before her. But it was Derpy who had Sunset's attention most of all, and for good reason.

The girl did not move, nor say a single word in the entire time Sunset had been watching her, and yet, the former unicorn knew that no words need be spoken. Instead, her attention was focused most of all on Derpy's eyes. They were tinted pink, and the area around them was slightly puffy. Sunset knew it to be the clear signs of having done a great deal of crying. The girl was devastated, and in this, Sunset could not blame her. At long last she turned, looking down at the ground and letting out a sigh that made it sound like she was on the verge of tears herself. But, before such drops came, she was halted by the sound of footsteps behind her. Turning once more, she was that it was Flash, hands in his pockets, approaching her with a neutral expression. His eyes darted from the door to her, and slowly, he started to speak.

"How...how are you doing?"

Sunset's expression was one of sadness, and right now, she couldn't bring herself to look the boy in the eye as she replied.

"Not good."

Flash nodded, needing no further input from the girl to understand what she meant by that. Instead, he walked beside her, looking through the same small window as her.

"How's she doing?"

Sunset sighed before answering.

"Celestia's probably doing her best to comfort her...but I think it's safe to say that that's a losing battle."

Again, Flash nodded, but this time, when he turned to her to speak, he was interrupted by a second set of approaching footsteps. Together, the two youths turned to see that it was none other than their spectacled friend, Twilight. The girl panted as she approached, and once close enough, Sunset looked to her with a surprised expression.

"Twilight? Where have you been? I haven't seen you since yesterday."

Standing tall, Twilight gave a nod to that before speaking up.

"Well, ever since you confirmed that we were in heat, I've been off making notes about our condition. I was hoping to be able to write a thesis on it at some point, given how unique our situation is."

To that, Sunset afforded herself a brief chuckle at such Twilight-like behaviour. Needless to say, it was a welcome reprieve from their current predicament. And speaking of which, Twilight's true motivations for being here were soon revealed, as she too peered inside the door, looking both surprised and confused by what she saw.

"So...it's true? What the other girls said?"

A glum look passed over Sunset's face, and she gave a grim nod. To that, Twilight again looked to Derpy through the door, before looking back to Sunset, adjusting her glasses somewhat before asking a question that had clearly been on her mind during all this.

"But...how? I mean, I know she'd have probably been scared about it after whatever dalliance she had, but there's no way she or her doctors would be able to know if she's pregnant at this early stage...right?"

Twilight looked right at Sunset, clearly hoping for some kind of clarification, and it wasn't long before Flash too was giving his ex-girlfriend a similar look, apparently sharing the former Crystal Prep student's curiosity in this matter. Sunset looked from one to the other, letting out a sigh before raising a hand and rubbing her temples.

"Well...Equestrians always developed faster at this early stage. And maybe that sort of thing passed on to our human physiology...or perhaps it's just something accelerated by the magic, or..."

She didn't continue, and instead, she placed her hand over her eyes, a grimace crossing the rest of her face. Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, looking to Flash for some kind of answer. Putting his hands back into his pockets, the boy let out a sigh of his own before speaking to Twilight in a soft and calm tone.

"No offense, Twilight...but I think we have more important things to think about than the how and why about all of this."

Twilight stared at them both for a moment, before then turning to the window. And here, it was as if she was seeing Derpy for the first time, especially when she saw the signs of crying and the still-crestfallen look on her face. Looking back to Sunset and Flash, Twilight nervously poked her fingers against one another before speaking up.

"Oh...right...sorry."

Flash's expression softened considerably, silently letting her know that the matter wasn't a problem. But his look became more steely as he turned to Derpy. As he did this, Sunset turned to him, raising an eyebrow and looking rather curious about something herself.

"What do you know about this?"

Looking to her once more, Flash shrugged his shoulders.

"Only what I've heard. Derpy went out to this cafe on the edge of town, a favourite spot of hers. She was feeling down because of this heat business and...she met someone."

Sunset continued to look at him, staying silent as he continued.

"From what I've gathered...they spoke to each other for a bit, then...then they left together."

Flash turned his attention towards the door of the office once more.

"The rest...well..."

Sunset nodded, frowning at what she'd just heard.

"Yeah. You don't need to tell me anything more. I've heard this story before. Some guy, looking for some action, finds a lonely, upset-looking girl. He goes to her, says all the right things...and she listens."

The former unicorn shut her eyes tight at this point.

"Derpy...she wasn't in her right state of mind. Her body demanded affection. She...she was vulnerable."

Flash and Twilight could hear the outrage in Sunset's voice, and while the former stayed silent, the latter adjusted her glasses again before speaking up, albeit in a somewhat meek manner.

"But...but the pheromones..."

She didn't finish, but then, she didn't need to, as both knew what she was going to say. And to this, it was not Sunset, but Flash, who gave her an answer, looking to her with narrowed eyes.

"The pheromones don't excuse him! I've been around you girls during this mess long enough to know that they didn't make me as...as interested as Sunset feared they might. The same is probably true of the father in all of this."

Twilight was, needless to say, taken aback by the aggressiveness in Flash's voice, but the boy soon composed himself, taking a calming breath before looking to her with an apologetic look. She looked back to him, offering him a small smile, letting him know she wasn't upset by his outburst, to which Flash seemed thankful. But, in the silence that followed, the boy looked to Sunset again.

"You should know...I've been asking around. Derpy wasn't the only student there, and if we can identify the guy..."

But he didn't finish, as Sunset raised a hand to stop him.

"I appreciate that, Flash...but don't bother. I know his type. He'll be long gone by now, and even if Derpy remembered his name...I very much doubt that he would have given her his real one."

Flash opened his mouth to speak, only to shut it again and let out a grunt of frustration, realising that his ex was right. The three stood there, in total silence, and it was here that a new sound was being heard. It took a while, but all of them soon recognised it as the clear sound of crying. Looking through the window, Sunset saw, to her horror, that Derpy had broken down once more. Celestia had got up from her desk, moved around and got on one knee, holding one of Derpy's hands and doing everything in her power to calm the girl down. But that damage had clearly already been done, as minute after minute passed of the girl simply weeping for all to see. Here, Sunset's own eyes began to well up, and she looked away from the window, unable to bear the sight any longer.

"This...this is my fault!"

But Flash, looking to her, shook his head.

"No, it isn't. It's that...that guy's fault! You never intended for this to happen!"

However, his words did little to comfort her, as she looked to him with sadness plastered all over her face.

"No, Flash...it is my fault! This never would have happened if I hadn't brought Equestrian magic to this world in the first place! Derpy...her life is ruined because of me!"

In an instant, Sunset placed both hands upon her face, as if shielding herself from view. Both of her friends heard her pained sobs, looking to each other as if having no idea how to deal with this. But, in the end, and after much thinking, Flash turned to her, with a soft look, placing a hand upon her shoulder.

"Sunset...Derpy may come out of this okay. I know she's devastated right now. I mean, heck, who wouldn't be? But...nobody's blaming her for this. Nobody's going to give her a hard time. Her parents haven't thrown her out, or made her feel bad, and nobody here is going to look down on her."

Slowly, Sunset looked to the boy from behind her fingers as he continued.

"She has friends and family that can help her through this, and will help her. It'll take time, and her life will be hugely affected, but...I think, in the end...she'll be okay."

Sunset stared at him, seeing the honesty in his face as he'd spoken. He truly believed what he said to her, and while she herself had grave doubts about the optimistic future he'd painted for her, just hearing it did at least offer her some sense of comfort. But, that moment faded yet again when she turned, seeing through the window that Derpy had once more stopped crying. Instead, she was simply staring blankly at Celestia. As her eyes focused on the girl beyond the door, Sunset whispered the only thing she could think to ask.

"What...what do we do?"

Again, Flash and Twilight looked to one another, and again, Flash let out a sigh before offering perhaps the only wisdom he had to offer.

"I guess...you just go and talk to her."

Sunset looked over her shoulder to the boy, seeing him look back to her, before turning to the door and letting out a sigh of her own. Reaching for the knob of the door, she took a deep breath, then turned it. At the sound of the thing opening, both Derpy and Celestia turned to see her. There was a long and uncomfortable silence, but, in the end, Sunset took a step inside, closing the door behind her. As the former unicorn approached, Celestia looked from her, to Derpy and then back again. No words passed between them but the Principal nevertheless knew was about to happen, and so, she stepped to one side. Sunset was soon standing before her; Derpy, the girl whose life would never be the same after today. She still blamed herself, that much anyone could see, but right now, all Sunset could think to do was drop to her knees, look Derpy right in the eye, and say the only thing she'd been thinking of during this entire moment.

"I'm...I'm so...so sorry."