After swirling and whirling through a glittering vortex - her body stretching and curling in ways she never thought possible - Sunset was spat out onto rough pavement. Opening her eyes, she was blinded by blurry sunlight from above her. As she groaned and rubbed her throbbing forehead, her vision gradually cleared, allowing her to make sense of the bright new world. The first thing she discovered was a great brick building standing in front of her, seeming to glow in the strong sunlight.

She looked behind her and was confronted by a mass of smooth stone, which upon further inspection proved to be the pedestal of a statue of a horse. The flat wall of the pedestal which faced Sunset wavered suddenly, and she realized that this was the portal she had just fallen through.

As she continued to look at it, she slowly realized what her hoof was doing to her forehead. Her stomach dropped when she felt how her hoof split and contracted and even scratched her face. With growing anxiety, she lowered her hoof so she could examine it. Her pupils dilated in front of the wriggling worms she found attached to her hoof, despite the gleaming sun.

She was soon covered in sweat, agonizing over how long and thin and hairless each of her legs were, how strangely they bent, and how quickly her heart seemed to be beating. The heat of the sun drenched her thoroughly, and she tried desperately to remove a thick, black jacket from her torso; however, finding that she could not use her magic, she grew dizzy as she attempted to manipulate her new appendages in order to free herself. Unsuccessful, she fell onto her side, the cool pavement providing some relief. It wasn’t enough, though, and soon Sunset’s frightened eyes closed, and she lost consciousness.

An unknown amount of time passed, and Sunset awoke to someone eagerly shaking her. She propped herself up on her new forelegs, becoming aware that her huge mane was covering her face.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re awake!” Sunset heard a voice say, muffled through her hair. “Hey are you-” the voice continued, then halted as Sunset lifted her mane off her face and looked at her waker. The bright sunlight flooded her eyes again, but she could tell with sharp confusion that the strange creature in front of her was some distorted version of herself - a mirror image of what she now looked like. What’s more, Sunset could see that the other her was noticing the same thing.

The other Sunset gasped and dropped something out of her hand, and it clattered noisily onto the ground. Sunset watched her quickly retrieve the object, then turn from her. Unsure what her doppelganger was doing, though certain it wouldn’t help her situation, Sunset felt the muscles in her chest tighten, and before she could stop herself, her hoof thrashed out and struck the girl in the back of her head. She watched with wide eyes as her face collided with the pavement.

With a moan, the other Sunset tried to lift herself back up, but she was stopped by another strike. A third prevented her from moving again, and she whimpered softly as Sunset clumsily grasped and picked her up by the hair; she saw that a thin streak of blood dripped down her face. Carefully standing on her hind legs, Sunset got a better grip on her hair, then wrapped a hoof around the back of her jacket. She continued crying, though almost inaudibly. Finally, Sunset rooted herself and hurled the girl into the statue. She disappeared through the portal, leaving nothing behind but a ripple in the stone and the strange object Sunset saw her drop earlier.

"Well, that was interesting,” Sunset murmured, gently wiggling her forelegs. “Another me." As she explored her new hooves some more, the object began playing a metallic sounding song from somewhere inside of it. She glanced at the noisy device, then slowly picked it up, accidentally pressing one or two buttons in the process. The song stopped and suddenly a voice came from the object.

"Sunset! Are you okay? You said you'd be here forty minutes ago!"

She recognized the voice immediately. Without needing much thought, the manipulation that Sunset had mastered using back home flowed from her mouth.

"Sorry, Mom. Something hit my head and I don't feel so good. Do you think you could come get me?"

She stood tense for a moment, curling and uncurling her hoof worms.

"Oh my, of course! I'll be there in a minute. Hold on!" Sunset couldn’t help but think it funny that her other mother had no idea she wasn’t the daughter with the aching head.

“Thanks. I'm by the...the horse statue." She wondered what her real parents would think of her first act after being banished.

"You haven't even left the school yet? Oh dear, I’m coming!" A low beep seemed to indicate that the connection had been severed. Sunset put the device in the pocket of her jacket and wobbled to the side of the statue, which was shrouded in shade. There she examined and practiced moving her new body, until another voice addressed her.

It wasn’t one she recognized, however. “Sunny! I’m so sorry I kept you waiting.”

She turned her head toward the big building and saw another creature with thin, long limbs clambering toward her. On its strange head was a short, blue mane, and on his back was a satchel and a red guitar.

The creature stopped at the statue and caught his breath before saying, “Vice Principal Luna took my guitar at the beginning of the day, and she made me wait until she finished her work before she gave it back. She says it’s ‘a cumbersome distraction’ and not to bring it to school anymore.” Sunset cringed as he put his foreleg around her shoulders. He leaned his face close to hers and whispered, “But I’m gonna bring it, anyway.”

He laughed and tried to walk forward, but Sunset’s legs weren’t moving. The two stumbled a little, and the funny-looking stallion turned to her. “Something wrong, Sunny?”

Her shoulders felt heavy and tingly where he had touched them. She spoke quietly. “Where are we going?”

“To the café, right?” The stallion looked confused. When she saw his crinkled eyes and furrowed brow, Sunset realized that this was another role she apparently had to play - though she wasn’t sure what kind of role it was, exactly.

Hiding her apprehension, Sunset stepped toward him and smiled. “Oh yes! That’s right. The café. Shall we go?”

He grinned back at her, holding out his foreleg. “Give me your arm.”

“My arm?” He shook his leg; she looked at it, then slowly stretched out her own toward it. When she touched his, he wrapped his worms around her arm and locked it around his own. With a little laugh, he began walking forward again. Sunset hurried to keep up with him, careful not to trip. Next Chapter: Just Another Date Estimated time remaining: 18 Minutes