The next day, Lightning headed off to Sweet Apple Acres, and Sketch headed off to Carousel Boutique. Sketch then remembered that Rarity had asked him to stay late at work because of increased deadlines, so now he's stuck discussing design choices with Rarity, which would've been fine if Sketch wasn't preoccupied with something that's been bothering him since he woke up.

“Okay, so for this design, I’m torn between making the sleeves stop just above the elbow, or just below,” Rarity said to Sketch.

"Well, I could bring both options to life and see which one looks better…" he said somewhat lazily, and the fashionista unicorn noticed it immediately.

"Something wrong, darling?" she asked. "You seem to be deep in thought."

"Huh?" he said, snapping out of his stupor. "Oh, no. I'm just a little out of it. You know how Mondays are."

"Oh, I see," she says. "You know, now that you've mentioned it, having you stay late on a Monday isn't such a good idea. You've already done your normal time, so if you want-"

"No, no, it's okay," the stallion said. "Don't worry about me."

In actuality, Sketch wasn't tired because it was Monday. In fact, he wasn't tired at all. Rarity was actually spot on with her first guess. He was deep in thought. Since he woke up this morning, all Sketch would think about was that dream he had two nights ago. Even if it was a dream, he had an opportunity to go home, but he didn't want to leave Applejack. Once he gave it more thought, he didn't want to leave any of the ponies he came to know in Equestria. Rarity, who'd given him a job; Twilight, who went out of her way to help him and Lightning Star learn about how they got to Equestria in the first place; he'd miss all of the new friend's he's made, and he wouldn't want to tear Lightning away from Pinkie Pie, either.

But Sketch also missed his family in the human dimension. While he didn't have nearly as many friends there, he did love his family, and he still felt some attachment to his home world. Plus, if he wanted to stay in Equestria, he'd have to tell Princess Celestia, who's been spending her time trying to find out who cast the Dimension Orb spell to take him and Lightning to this world. All that time would have gone to waste if he were to decide to stay in Equestria. Sketch just couldn't figure out whether or not he wanted to leav-

"Sketch, are you sure you're alright?" Rarity asked again. "While I do need to get these designs done, I don't want to make you feel like you're obligated to stay any longer than you need to."

"Yeah, I'm totally fine," he lied. "I was just thinking about which sleeve choice would look better. In fact, now that I think of it, I think that having the sleeves end just under the elbow would be a better option." Sketch lit up his horn and looked at the drawing Rarity made of the longer-sleeved design. In a flash, the design came to life.

“Hmm… I see what you mean, darling,” Rarity said. “You really have an eye for these things. Now let’s experiment with some color choices!”

“Sure, Rarity,” Sketch said unenthusiastically.

“You alright up there, sugarcube?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine, Applejack.”

“You sure, Lightnin’? You seem a little tuckered out. Ya know, you’ve been here longer than usual. Ah know the family an’ I could use some help gettin’ some more apples down fer the upcomin’ cider season, but Ah don’t want ya t’ feel like ya have t’ be here.”

“No, no, it’s fine, AJ. I want to be here.”

“If ya say so, but yer welcome t' leave whenever you like…”

"Don't worry. Like I said, I'm fine."

Despite what he said, Lightning was a little less than "fine". He was having a dilemma similar to Sketch's. While he was less anxious about going back to his universe when he and Sketch first came to this one, lately he's been thinking about the big picture. There was a possibility that Princess Celestia would be unable to figure out who sent them to this dimension, and while he was ready to accept that, he was worried that Sketch wouldn't be. Plus, if Celestia did figure it out and found a way to get them both back home, would he really want to leave? He was sure that Sketch would jump at the opportunity despite the friends he's made here, but Lightning was also sure that the decision wouldn't be as easy for him. Back home, all they had was each other, and they didn't really have much going for them, but in this world the possibilities were near endless. They could do things here that they never would have even dreamed of doing in their home world, and they had goals that they could work towards. Sure, there was the option of him staying and Sketch leaving, but despite his love for Equestria, the last thing Lightning wanted was to be separated from his best friend.

Then there was Pinkie Pie. Lightning just got over a hurdle in his relationship with her, and the last thing he needed was to add more strain. He imagined how he would feel in her position. Having the pony you're dating tell you that they're from another world and that they have to go back? That's one long-distance relationship that would never work out. Lightning shook his head. If he planned on staying at Sweet Apple Acres until seven in the evening, he needed to focus on the task at hand.

At five-thirty, Sketch left the Carousel Boutique to go home. “Goodbye, darling! Thanks for all your help!” Rarity called out as he left.

“No problem, Rarity.” he said back, wanting nothing more than to go home and relax. “I need something to get my mind off that stupid dream,” he thought to himself as he entered his house. He looked around the living room, his eyes finally focusing on his video games. “That should do it.” Sketch popped in a fighting game, the same one he was playing two days ago, and powered on the TV before plopping on the couch and finding a comfortable position.

“Maybe another King of the Hill match will entertain me,” he said before powering on his microphone. He searched for a quick match and was randomly put in a room with other players. As fate would have it, a familiar friend was in that very room, and that friend was the current King.

“Nopony can defeat Midnight Mistress!” the pony boasted. Several players that were beaten had left the room, fed up with losing countless times. Sketch, however, was willing to step up. He heard Luna chuckle as she accepted his challenge. “I was wondering when you’d be online. I’ve been awaiting this bout since you postponed our last one two days ago.”

“Work was late today,” he replied. “But enough of that, let’s play.”

“I like the sound of that, friend,” she said as the game started. The minute the game announcer yelled “FIGHT!” the two ponies went at it, both proving to be a match for the other. There were random comments from other players like “Wow!” or “Look at ‘em go!” or “Who do you think’s gonna win?” Sketch and Luna were so evenly matched that the timer ran out before either of them could lose all of their health. All eyes were on the health bars, and by a fraction of a centimeter…

“I lost!? But how!?” Luna yelled into her mic as the announcer declared the winner.

“THE WINNER IS GR@PHIK_002!” it said, and all the spectating players gasped into their mics.

“Good game, Mistress,” Sketch said.

The princess gave a conceding sigh. “Good game, indeed.”

Just then, one player said. “Wait, if this guy beat Midnight Mistress, there’s no way any of us can beat him!” Almost instantly, all the other players left the room, leaving Sketch and Luna alone.

“Spoilsports,” the princess remarked. “Well, would you like to leave and just have a private chat?”

“Sounds good,” the unicorn replied, albeit a little unenthusiastically. Luna picked up on it almost immediately.

“Is there something wrong, friend?” she asked.

“It’s nothing,” he denied.

“It’s about the dream you had two nights ago, isn’t it?” the princess asked, catching Sketch off- guard.

“Wha-? How did you know?” he asked in shock.

“Sometimes dreams can have a psychological effect on the pony that has them,” Luna explained. “Care to talk about it?”

“No, it’s fine, Princess Luna,” the stallion said. “I wouldn’t want to bother you with my problems.”

“Nonsense! As Princess of the Night, it is my duty to help my subjects with problems brought about by their dreams,” she insisted, “and there’s no need to be formal with me. I consider you my friend, so just ‘Luna’ is fine.”

“Well, if you insist…” Sketch said with a sigh, “I don’t know if I want to stay in Equestria or not. I miss my family back in my dimension, but I really like the ponies I’ve met here, plus there’s Applejack… I really like her and I know she likes me back, so I don’t want to break her heart by just leaving.”

“I see. Go on,” Luna said, sensing that there was more on Sketch’s mind.

“I know Lightning loves it here, and I don’t want to force him to go with me back to our own world, especially since he’s got a marefriend… And then there’s your sister…”

“Celestia?” Luna asks in disbelief. “What about her?”

“She said she’d help to find out who cast the spell to take us to this world,” the unicorn explained. “If I decided to stay, all the time she put into helping me and Lightning would go to waste.”

“My sister is an understanding mare, Sketch,” the Princess of the Night assured.
“I’m sure that she wouldn’t be mad at you if you decide to stay. Also, if Applejack really loves you, she’ll understand as well. As for Lightning, you two are the best of friends, so I’m sure that he’ll understand if you want to go.”

Sketch stayed silent and thought for a moment before Luna chimed in again. “I’m not saying that you have to leave, however, for it’s not my decision to make. I am just saying that you should do what’s best for yourself. Just take some time to think about it, and you should come to a decision.”

“Thanks, Luna,” Sketch said.

“My pleasure, friend,” Luna replied. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Definitely,” said the stallion.

Once the two ponies said their goodbyes, Sketch powered off the game system and started to head off to the kitchen and get something to snack on. Deciding on a bag of pretzels, the unicorn went up to his room and got to drawing, as usual. After about an hour, Lightning Star arrived home and made his way upstairs.

“Hey, Sketch…” he said.

“Hey, Lightning. You sound tired,” the unicorn said back.

“Nah, I just have some stuff on my mind.”

“You and me both, man.”

“Really? Like what?” the pegasus asked as he took a seat at the kitchen table.

Sketch sighed. Was he really about to tell the same story twice? On a whim, he decided to give Lightning the short version. “Well, I’m starting to feel really unsure of whether or not I want to go home because of all the friends I made here, but I don’t want all the time Princess Celestia’s put into helping us get home to waste. I also don’t want to separate you from Pinkie Pie, either.”

Lightning’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s almost exactly what was on my mind,” he said.

“Really?” asked Sketch.

“Yeah,” Lightning said, “only I didn’t want you to feel like you had to stay here just because I want to, and I don’t want Celestia’s time to go to waste either.”

“Well, Luna told me that Celestia wouldn’t be mad at us if we decided to stay,” the unicorn explained. “She also said that I should only think about my happiness.”

“That’s some pretty sound advice,” Lightning says. “So, is the answer any clearer to you?”

Sketch sat silently in thought as Lightning sat patiently waiting for a response. The unicorn thought about the consequences of both staying in this universe and going back to his own, and then it dawned on him. Earlier, when he explained the multiverse theory to Lightning, he said that technically nothing bad happened to them, only that their minds were now aware of their lives in this universe. With that being the case, then that meant that he and Lightning never really left their own universe, so remaining in this one wouldn’t cause any repercussions. On top of that, if he Lightning exist in this universe, then their families must exist here as well!

With these realizations in mind, Sketch came to a decision. He raised his head to Lightning and said with a smile:

“I’m staying.”