Author's Notes:

Before reading this, it's required that you at least have read or have minimal knowledge on Evowizard25's fic, A Different Sunset since this story is based on that fic.

Any and all constructive criticism is accepted.

Sunset Shimmer groaned as she tried to pull herself off of the bed. Last night had been crazy, especially after Pinkie Pie brought out the cider. So much for Rarity’s brilliant idea for a sleepover study group session. That plan was doomed to fail from the start.

‘Really, she should’ve known that studying and Rainbow Dash do not mix well at all’ Sunset thought to herself, letting out a small sigh

She tossed and turned on the bed, trying to find the edge to no avail. After minutes of failed attempts, Sunset just pushed herself off, falling face first onto the floor with a loud groan. She tried to get back on her feet but found it surprising when her legs failed her making her fall onto the ground with a soft ‘Oomph!’.

“I must be drunker than I thought...” Sunset muttered to herself “Applejack needs to make those things with less alcohol...”

Knowing that her attempt at standing up was a failure in the making, Sunset Shimmer tried to open her eyes instead. The world was a little blurry, and she swore that Fluttershy’s room suddenly got a huge makeover in a single night. Did Rarity go on one of her decorating sprees again? No, there are way too many books and too little gems for this to be Rarity’s doing.

Trying to shake the grogginess out of her head, Sunset Shimmer rubbed her eyes with her... hooves?

“Wha...?”

Now fully awake, Sunset Shimmer gazed at her former hand, praying that this was just one of her drunken fantasies. A sudden thought came to mind, and Sunset quickly turned to look at her back. Just as she had feared, there was a beautiful red tail with yellow streaks, just like the one she used to have. She can even see her dual coloured sun Cutie Mark again.

In this kind of situation, there’s only one thing that any sane person should do.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!”

Panic.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” Sunset Shimmer started heaving, standing on all four of her hooves.

This was obviously just a dream. Yes, a dream! All she needed was to do something to wake up, and everything would be all fine. She’ll be back in Fluttershy’s house and everyone would be piled up in one huge drunken pile that the guys in class would obviously say looks “hot”. Now, what’s the best way to wake up from a dream?!

In the corner of her eyes, Sunset noticed a staircase that spiralled downwards. Instantly, her mind thought up of a plan. A plan so crazy it just had to work! Without any second thoughts, or any first thoughts for that matter, Sunset ran towards the staircase and jumped off of it.

THUMP

CRACK

GROAN

The former human quickly rolled down the staircase, probably cracking several of her ribs and leaving obvious marks on the stairs. The moment she landed on the hard wooden floor with a might CRASH, Sunset Shimmer let out a pained groan. Okay, maybe that was a terrible plan. Maybe she should have started with something safer, like splashing cold water on her face.

“Oh, Sunset, you’re awake?” a rather mature, dapper voice called out to her. She didn’t know why, but it sounded very familiar “How many times do I need to tell you that you shouldn’t run down the stairs. Shade wouldn’t like it if your pretty face is scarred on your wedding day.”

“W-Wedding?!”

In an instant, Sunset Shimmer jumped up and teleported back onto her hooves. The yellow mare the slowly blinked, slowly touching her forehead. No doubt about it, she had a horn once more, just like back when she was a unicorn. No, not like back when she was a unicorn. She literally was a unicorn now!

“M-Mirror?!” Sunset cried out, her mind far too panicked to actually form coherent words “Mirror!!”

“You don’t have to shout, Your Gracefulness,” the gentleman-like voice cooed again, and she heard footsteps coming her way that forced her to turn and look at the foreign voice.

It was a dragon. A purple-scaled, green-spiked, pony sized dragon walking over to her with a mirror. At this point, Sunset Shimmer’s mind was already too far gone to actually panic anymore. Instead, she felt a part of her mind break, not believing what she was seeing anymore. After everything that she’s been through, nothing could destroy her sanity any more than it already has.

Oh, how wrong she was.

Sunset took one look into the mirror and saw her unicorn form gazing back at her. Her pure yellow coat was filled with bruises from falling off the staircase, and her mane was frizzled to the point of looking like Pinkie Pie’s hair. Acting like the sane girl that she was, Sunset Shimmer did the only thing her mind could still process.

“Ugh...”

*Thud*

/

Stress wasn’t a foreign concept to Sunset Shimmer. In fact, you could even say that she faces stress every day thanks to past Sunset Shimmer acting like a pompous prick and giving present Sunset Shimmer a hard time. However, today’s stress was something different. That’s because, for one thing, Sunset couldn’t actually explain today’s cause of stress or the way for her to counter it.

And it’s because of this exact reason that the yellow former Unicorn turned human turned Unicorn again didn’t want to get off of her bed. Well, what she assumed was her bed, anyway.

“Come on, Sunset, you can’t sleep in the entire day,” the purple dragon nudged her again, but Sunset was adamant with her resolve “Listen, I apologise for making that joke about Shade. I know how sensitive you are about that topic, and I promise that I won’t do it anymore… for the rest of the week.”

…

“Mm mmrrt,”

“Excuse me?”

“Mm mmrt,”

“I can’t quite make out what you’re saying. But if you want me to get Shade to translate, then I’ll be happy to-”

“I’m hurt!”

She didn’t know why, but the mere mention of Shade’s name sent the mare into a panicked frenzy. Maybe the dragon’s joke left that much of a lasting impression on her. Was there anyone called Shade back in Canterlot High? Actually, there probably is. And knowing how much of a tyrant she used to be, that guy must hate her guts as well.

At least she had the fact that she could summon a giant spectral Alicorn that shot a tactical rainbow beam to cheer herself up.

“Big sis, you survived a fall from a staircase with only minor injuries. You don’t really have any excuse to stay bedridden.”

Hearing the dragon call her ‘big sis’ caused Sunset Shimmer to wince in horror. What kind of world is this?! A unicorn and a dragon; siblings?! Whoever her parents were, they must have had a very kinky sex life. The mere thought of it sent shivers down her spine.

The dragon released a heavy sigh as he walked away from the bed knowing that his attempts at coercing his sister to wake up would be fruitless. As he walked down the staircase, ready to start his librarian duties since Sunset was being uncooperative, the purple-scaled dragon remembered something he had forgotten to tell his sister.

“I sent a letter to Nurse Redheart to come over, by the way!” he called out from the bottom of the stairs “Even if you don’t look that injured, it’s best if you get checked just in case. Don’t want any internal bleeding now, do we?”

Redheart? Sunset wondered where she had heard that name before. Was there someone in school that had that name? Oh yes, the school nurse’s helper. She was quite popular among the students, although she suspected it was because she had, as most boys called it, ‘a nice rack’. In fact, it’s a mystery why she hasn’t been sexually assaulted yet.

Obviously, they asked for her whenever they visited the nurse’s office.

Before Sunset Shimmer could contemplate meeting the pony version of the school medic, a Pegasus crashed right through the window with a loud CRASH, sending glass scattering everywhere. Thanks to constantly getting bombarded by trash on a daily basis, Sunset’s evasion skills kicked into overdrive as she rolled off the bed and used her blanket to shield herself from any of the oncoming glass shards.

“Hey, you could’ve hurt someone!” Sunset Shimmer shouted after throwing the blanket aside

“Pfft! I’ve crashed through that window way too many times to count,” the Pegasus scoffed, shrugging off the unicorn’s fury “You should be used to it by now, you know.”

The unicorn raised an eyebrow as she heard the Pegasus’ remark. Whoever this is, she seemed to know her personally. Also, she breaks windows on a casual basis and she’s used to that. That was… unsettling. However, there was something about the turquoise mare that felt familiar to Sunset. Somebody at school, maybe? In fact, she could even say that this pony was sort of like Rainbow Dash.

But how to react? Should she come clean and tell her that she doesn’t know her? Or maybe she should lie and watch the scene play out so she could get a better grasp on the situation?

“Hellooooo” the Pegasus waved a hoof in front of Sunset’s face “Anypony in there?”

Lying it is.

“I hope you have the money to replace that,” scoffed Sunset in an attempt to hide the fact that she had no idea who this Pegasus was “What if it starts raining?”

“Okay, two things. One; the Pegasi aren’t planning any rain for the next three days. Two; you’re the freakin’ Element of Magic! Just magic this baby up and we’ll be on our way! Unless, of course, setting things on fire is the only magic you could do.”

Element… of… Magic…?

Sunset did not expect that. She did not expect that at all.

“I… Well…”

How long has it been since Sunset had even practised her magic? While she was a tyrant, she mostly kept her thoughts back on Equestria so the moment she returned, she could still access her magic. But after she reformed from her evil ways, she started to focus more on her high school life instead. That meant cramming for tests and studying like there’s no tomorrow. That left her with the magical knowledge equivalent to someone on their first year of Magic School.

“What were you even doing to merit crashing through a window?!” she finally screamed, wanting to divert from the original topic as quickly as possible

“Oh, well I asked Bulk Biceps if he can launch me from a catapult, I wanted to see if I could break my top speed!” the Pegasus answered nonchalantly, almost as if she was used to answering that question she then perked up, slapping her forehead with her hoof “Speaking of which, I finished the last Wizarding World book I borrowed from you. Can I borrow the next? I’ll bring ‘em back by tomorrow, tops!”

“Wizarding World?”

Now Sunset was starting to panic. This wasn’t her house. In fact, she didn’t even know about any book series called Wizarding World! It must have a counterpart back in the human world, but what?! How were the books even arranged here? The circular structure of the building made it almost impossible for her to start looking. The Pegasus started tapping her hooves impatiently, making Sunset panic even more.

Maybe lying wasn’t the best idea.

“Yo, Sunset, you all right?” the Pegasus scanned her over, circling the terrified unicorn “You don’t sound as proud or princess-y like you always do. In fact, you haven’t even tried to burn me yet! No, wait, you haven’t used any magic at all. Don’t you normally let out this huge aura of magic just to show off?”

The Pegasus kept circling Sunset, eyes full of questions and distrust. On the other hand, Sunset was starting to form a rather unsavoury picture of her counterpart in this world, and boy was she an asshole. Before Sunset could even speak up, the turquoise mare slammed her hoof on the ground.

“Are you the real Sunset, or are you a spy?!”

“Spy?!” Sunset retaliated in shock “How did you even come up with that? What, do people get replaced by spies that often?!”

The Pegasus cocked an eyebrow at that question. Okay, so ponies get replaced by spies commonly as well. This didn’t help Sunset with her rising panic meter, not at all. Just what kind of mess did she get herself into this time?!

“Fine then,” the turquoise mare said in determination as she walked towards Sunset, slowly pushing her towards a corner “If you are the Sunset Shimmer I know, then you won’t have any problems answering these simple questions!”

Gulp

“Who does Coco work with?”

“Wha-? I…” Sunset stammered

“How many cookies does Pizzelle cook every day?”

“Uh…”

“What does Quickfix use to stick things together when she’s in a rush and ran out of screws?!”

“Umm…”

“What. Is. My. Name?”

Sunset Shimmer sighed and admitted defeat, knowing that it was futile to resist any longer. If only she gave her a multiple choice question instead. Sunset was great at guessing the answer to those! In fact, she passed most of her tests just by guessing!

‘Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later,’ she thought to herself, sitting on the wooden library floor in defeat

“I don’t know…” the Unicorn admitted

“So you ARE a spy!” the Pegasus poked Sunset’s muzzle, effectively terrifying her even more “Tell me the truth! Who are you and what did you do to Sunset?! You don’t want to mess with me. I’m a Wonderbolt in the making!”

“I’mSunsetShimmerbutfromadifferentuniverseandthenIwassenttothisweirdworldwhereeverybodywasahumanandonedaymeandmyfriendsdrankwaytoomuchciderandwhenIwokeupIwasalreadyhereinthisworldIdon’tknowwhathappenedtoyourSunsetohpleasedon’thurtme!”

Silence then overtook the room, bathing it in a pregnant pause that hung over the two mares like a heavy curtain. Finally, after a few moments of nothingness, the Pegasus spoke.

“Whoa, didn’t expect you to give up so easily,” she looked rather confused and slightly disappointed. She was really hoping for an epic fight. Looks like she’ll have to find one somewhere else.

It was true, and Sunset knew it. If she was anything like the person she used to be, she would have fought on to the bitter end to try and get this mare to believe her lie, or literally just punch the living daylights out of her. If all else fails, she could always use her cunning to one up her and probably get some blackmail material to hang over her head as well. However, that was the old Sunset. She’s come a long way from that.

“So lemme get this straight,” the Pegasus walked back towards the bed, letting Sunset calm down from her outburst “You’re from some kind of… alternate world and you switched places with our Sunset Shimmer?”

A shrug. Hey, she didn’t know the answer either.

“Wait, you believe me?” Sunset gasped, wondering just how gullible this pony really was “What if I’m a Changeling? Or, maybe I really am spy! I could be lulling you to a false sense of security and take you out with a surprise sleep spell!”

“Meh, I could take you on,” the Pegasus mocked with a snarky grin. Sadly, Sunset believed her “Name’s Lightning Dust, by the way. And seriously, you have a lot of explaining to do.”

“I suppose she does.”

The two mares turned towards the staircase where two figures had suddenly appeared. One was a dragon with purple scales and green spikes. The other was an Earth pony with a sterile white coat and faded pink mane. Neither of them looked too pleased with the situation.

“Redheart!” shouted Lightning “How long did you- What are you-”

“Carousel Boutique, one hundred and seventeen, and peanut butter,” Redheart answered, leaving the two mares stunned “Spike sent me a letter saying that Sunset Shimmer here fell down the stairs and knocked herself unconscious, both surprisingly on separate occasions. But now it looks like we have more problems to take care of as well.”

“What did you do to my sister?!” Spike got into a fighting stance, teeth bared as he prepared to lunge at the fake Sunset “Tell me where she is right now or I will personally rip you a new hole!”

In the blink of an eye, Lightning Dust had suddenly appeared in front of Spike with her body spread out in an attempt to protect Sunset from the dragon’s rage. She knew just how protective Spike could get of Sunset, even if she did abuse him daily. Call it sibling love, if you will. She just called him a masochist.

“Don’t you dare, Spike!” Lightning scoffed haughtily “In these kinds of stories, the two ponies usually just swapped places! And if what she’s been saying is credible, then you bet your flank that your sister’s safe!”

“Spike, if you attack her now, we might never know where your sister is,” Redheart reminded the dragon “Just calm down. The two of us could handle things here.”

The rage had slowly started to cool down inside Spike and he reluctantly backed down, getting back into his usual formal self. Nurse Redheart was, after all, the eldest of the group and had the most life experience from her life on the field. With his sister out of the picture, she was the most likely to take over leadership and call the shots.

“Pizzelle is good with illusions and such, if I’m not mistaken,” Redheart walked over to Sunset and gently pushed her towards the bed “Could you please send her a letter asking her to come over?”

“Anything for you, my dear maiden. Would you three ladies require any refreshments? Maybe some tea and crumpets?” he then flashed the mares a winning smile “I wouldn’t want you three to starve! After all, young ladies such as you need to take care of your physiques.”

“I’d like that, sure!” said Lightning as she glided back towards Sunset “And seriously, Spike, could you please stop trying to flirt with us all at the same time? It gets weird.”

She then realised that her wings were erect.

“Really weird,”

With all that said and done, Spike left the room to find some parchment and ink. It was a good thing he learnt how to control where his flames sent the letters. It makes contacting the other ponies much easier in times like this.

“Now then, when Pizzelle comes, I’d like you to tell us your story from the start, Sunset Shimmer,” Redheart used her tail to take out some towels from her saddle (which was new to Sunset. Were Earth pony tails that versatile?) and asked Lightning Dust to get some ice “Don’t omit any information. You’ll only make things harder on yourself if you do,”

“Why are you helping me?” Sunset meekly allowed the nurse to take heal her despite the fact that her injuries were basically non-existent at this point “Like I said, I could be a spy!”

“I am a leading member of Order Hospitaller, and the Element of Benevolence. However, above all else, I am a nurse. Therefore, it is my duty to care for the injured and listen to their needs. Now please, rest your head on this pillow. Lightning, could you get me that bottle of aspirin? Thank you.”

Seeing that arguing with the elder mare wasn’t worthwhile, Sunset decided to keep quiet and watch the two mares tend to her needs. Surprisingly, despite her rather rough nature, Lightning Dust was an amazing assistant to Nurse Redheart. Sunset wondered if the two had any history together, but thought against it. She just needed to get home right now. Then she could forget about all this and never speak of it ever again no matter how many times Rarity begs her.

“I still can’t believe this, you know,” Lightning Dust broke the monotony in the room, not liking the long silence “I mean, we’re taking care of Sunset, but she isn’t trying to roast us! And she’s just so… so… nice! Man, alternate universes are weird.”

“You never could wrap your head around those kinds of stories, did you?” Redheart chuckled as she remembered the times Lightning Dust tried to read a Time Riders book “Oh, I think I see Pizzelle right now!”

Sunset looked out the window that Lightning had unceremoniously crashed through and noticed a Pegasus bobbing her head happily to an unknown beat as she flew towards the library. Lightning poked her head out of the window as well and called her friend. Not being one who would pass up on a convenient entrance, Pizzelle flew towards it and gently landed inside Sunset’s room.

“Hey there, Redheart! Lightning! Did you two get Spike’s letter too? I was really surprised when I got mine! I mean, I was with Coco over at Carousel Boutique when suddenly this green burst of flame exploded right in front of us! We were so scared and Rarity even ran over with a bucket of water! But then it turned out that it was just Spike’s letter so we told Rarity ‘Oh, it’s just a letter from Spike! No need to worry!’ And then the letter asked if I could come to the library, so of course I’ll come! I mean, why wouldn’t I? Coco wanted to come, but she had some work to do back at the boutique. And since I was coming over, Aki asked if he could come as well so I thought ‘Why not?’ and-”

“Pizzelle!” Lightning Dust shouted, covering the mare’s mouth with her hoof “Breathe!”

Pizzelle quickly nodded her head, prompting Lightning to pull her hoof back. She then noticed Sunset and cocked her head to the side. Her expression slowly turned to one of confusion.

“Uh, girls?” she said, making sure that she didn’t let herself get carried away “I know this might sound a little crazy, but that isn’t our Sunset Shimmer.”

“Wait, you could tell that I’m someone else?” Sunset pulled her head back. She didn’t expect her to figure it out so fast. A Unicorn, maybe, but a Pegasus? “But how?”

“It’s simple,” Pizzelle stated matter-of-factly “You see, I worked with the Great and Powerful Presto when I was a little filly, and he said that I was really good at looking past illusions! But then again, this isn’t really an illusion. I should know; Aki and I practise every morning. I guess you could say that after practising so many times, I’m just good at looking through magic. And I could tell that your magic is sorta different than anypony else’s magic. Sorta like how a cupcake from one shop tastes different than a cupcake from a different store. But I guess two shops could – Oops!”

Realising that she had started going on a tangent, Pizzelle covered her mouth. The other three ponies, on the other hand, only let their jaws fall down onto the ground. Could a Pegasus really be this adept at magic even if she didn’t have any of her own?

“So you’re saying that, somehow, you could tell that she’s somepony else just by looking at her magic?” Redheart asked for confirmation. Oh, Quickfix is going to have a field day with this!

“Well, that, and the fact that she doesn’t have her usual princess-y smirk, and she isn’t boasting or anything” Pizzelle admitted “Seriously, that’s the one thing people think of when they hear Sunset’s name. But then again, Shade thinks of firm flanks when he hears your name…”

A wave of déjà vu came over Sunset as she remembered how she was like back before she was humbled by the magic of friendship (saying that still left a bad taste in her mouth). This Sunset must really have a lot to learn if this was any indication. And seriously, who the heck is Shade?! It’s starting to drive her up a wall!

“I have returned with snacks, ladies” a masculine, magnificent voice called out from the staircase. Out came Spike, holding a plate of snacks on hand and a warm smile on his face “And I see that Pizzelle is kind enough to grace us with her presence. It is a pleasure to meet somepony so honest and kind. If only she were honest with her feelings of love…”

“Spike, we have a minor in the room!” Redheart reminded. If there was one thing she didn’t like, it was adults being terrible role models to children.

“Wait, we have a kid here?” Sunset asked, looking around for someone she missed “I don’t see anyone.”

As if answering Sunset’s question, a golden ball of energy suddenly bolted from Pizzelle’s back and landed on the plate Spike was holding. It was a golden fox with bright blue eyes, and it stared at the group of ponies as it chewed on a crumpet. The little fox then cocked its head at Sunset with a questioning look.

Sunset had to force herself from squee-ing at the adorable little scene.

“Oh, Aki!” Pizzelle giggled, picking up the little bundle of joy and hugged him “You should have introduced yourself sooner! You can’t keep hiding every time you’re scared. What if I’m not there to take care of you?”

“I’m sorry, Pizzelle…”

Sunset clutched her chest, terrified that the concentrated cuteness could prove fatal and give her diabetes. No, she would not falter right now! She was best friends with Fluttershy, for goodness sake! She was supposed to be used to these things!

“So… you’re not Miss Sunset?” Aki asked, looking up at the Unicorn with glistening eyes “I’m Aki Hikaru, nice to meet you!”

HNNNNNNGGH!

Why must this world be so cruel?!

“Nice to meet you too, Aki!” Sunset Shimmer quickly replied, hoping that she wasn’t making a fool out of herself “I’m Sunset Shimmer, but since you already call this world’s me Miss Sunset, I guess you could call me Shimmer.”

“Okay, Miss Shimmer!”

HNNNNNNGGH!

As soon as Aki returned to his snack, Sunset turned to look at the group surrounding her. She slowly hugged her body, trying to make herself as small as possible. Thanks to past experience, having people other than her friends look at her caused her to shy away even if they didn’t mean her any harm. It was just a habit of hers that she’s slowly losing as people started to accept her.

“A-Anyway,” Sunset got up and sat on her bed “You wanted me to tell you my story, Nurse Redheart?”

“Please, just call me Redheart,”

“And remember, there’s five of us and one of you,” Lightning Dust gave a smug smirk “So don’t you dare try to do any funny business!”

The three ponies, dragon and Kitsune all gathered around her, waiting for her to begin her story. Sunset couldn’t help but be reminded of her own friends, supplying her with the love and friendship she so desperately needed. The thought of that gave Sunset the courage to speak, and so she began telling her alternate self’s friends her story.