“Could I have mine with extra oats?” The small café was bustling with two-legged creatures like Sunset. She figured this was the form all ponies would take on upon entering through the portal, and therefore the dominant species in this area. She spoke to the warped mare in front of her, behind a counter lined with bottles boasting different flavored syrups, like cherry and chocolate. In response to her question, the blue barista froze to look at her, cocking an eyebrow. It was apparent to Sunset that oats were not on the menu.

“Ah, never mind!” she laughed, putting a hand on her hip and turning out a foot, the way she’d seen several other creatures standing on her way here. She had observed many fascinating spectacles along the short distance. There were things she’d never seen before - huge and colorful chariots that moved all on their own, and creatures everywhere walked with their tiny ears to those rectangular devices, like the one Sunset’s counterpart had dropped.

She also noticed that none of the creatures she saw had wings or horns. Even her own horn was missing from her forehead - a fact she noticed surprisingly late. It seemed that nopony had anything really distinguishing about them except for their clothing. Everyone here wore clothing. Along with her black jacket, she herself wore a white shirt tucked into a pale orange skirt with her cutie mark printed on the pocket, and big black boots which covered up whatever was at the end of those skinny legs.

The creature behind the counter still looked concerned, so Sunset shook her head. “However you usually make it is fine.”

Sunset carefully took her drink and walked back to the table. She had managed to see herself in the windows of stores that they had passed by, but the orange stallion had insisted on holding Sunset’s arm the entire walk, so she didn’t have a chance to get a good look at her new form. From what she could see, her face looked fairly the same; however, her muzzle was much smaller. She was extremely yet silently unnerved by this discovery, and she dreaded trying to fit anything more than the straw she held into her new and tiny mouth.

She sat down across from the stallion, setting her drink on the table. He looked at her with a funny smile on his face, and Sunset’s eyes shifted around uncomfortably while she patted her skirt and mane. Finally she turned to him.

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” she asked, trying to sound light-hearted - masking her anxiety by occupying herself with the task of removing her straw from its wrapper. She briefly realized that little chores like this were surely to be numerous from now on, seeing as she had lost her ability to use magic.

He hung his arm over the back of his chair and chuckled. “Sorry. You just seem really cute today.”

“Cute?” Sunset repeated, an eyebrow arching. Nopony had called her cute in years, and certainly not any boy. She wasn’t sure how she should feel about what he said, but her stomach still churned, as though it understood it for her.

She stuck the straw into her drink and took the ceramic mug in her hands. Leaning against her own chair, she gazed out the window. Outside, another creature was holding a rope, which was tied around the neck of a dog. Upon seeing this, Sunset felt a tiny smile creep across her cheeks; if dogs existed in this world, maybe other creatures she was familiar with did, too. After thinking this, she saw several small birds alight themselves on top of the awning of a shop across the street. Already she felt more at home.

“No, I’m sorry,” she told the stallion. “I just don’t feel like myself today-”

“I completely understand,” he interrupted. “With it being the first day of high school and all, I think we’re all feeling like something big is starting. Like we’re becoming different people.”

Sunset looked at him with confusion, but when he tilted his head back to her, she quickly smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, that must be it,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll feel better tomorrow.”

The stallion smiled back. “I’m sure, too. But I hope high school won’t change us too much.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll still be the same old Sunset Shimmer,” she said, striving to keep from laughing at the irony of her statement.

She was successful, and he reached across the table for her arm again. “And I’ll be the same Flash Sentry.”

His hand felt cold from holding his frozen drink - and slightly slimy from the condensation - but Sunset let him touch her anyway. Then that song began playing again, from inside her pocket.

“One second, Flash.” She retracted her arm and reached for the device. This time, she looked at it closely before pressing any buttons. Guessing that green meant go, she answered the call. “Hello?”

Her mother’s worried voice rang out from the small rectangle, and Sunset’s back straightened as she remembered that she was supposed to be waiting at the statue. After explaining where she was, however, her mother calmed down.

“You really must have hit your head hard if you forgot this,” she said to Sunset. “Make sure Flash Sentry gets you home soon.”

“I will, Mom. Sorry again.” Sunset pressed the red button for stop, though she thought she heard her mother start to say “I love you” just before she hung up.

She tried to brush this off and turned back to Flash. He was looking at her with that goofy face again.

“You really do look cute, though.”

“So, have you finished your drink?” she asked, having barely touched her own. “I think it’s time to go home.” Next Chapter: New Life in an Old Life Estimated time remaining: 14 Minutes