Sunset Shimmer didn't know whether to be ecstatic or furious. She'd just spent an hour attempting to stand up on all fours without assistance and had only just succeeded. She kept her legs stiff, knowing that if just one of them relaxed she'd topple over into a heap on the floor. She wasn't ready to do that for the sixteenth time - the last time she accidentally bit her tongue. The only thing she could be glad about was that no one was laughing; in fact, the therapist, the doctor, and the nurses were actually quite reserved at the moment, though she could swear that at least one of them held back a giggle when her legs gave out again.
From the floor, the only thing keeping her from screaming in frustration was the fact that she could almost see her parallel being just as infuriated as she was. Sunset kept imagining her parallel struggling to maintain her balance on two legs, fumbling to hold silverware, smelling ripe because she didn't know how to change her clothes. "Good luck with your bra," she muttered under her breath, chuckling slightly.
Then Sunset had a realization: her parallel wouldn't have the aid of medical professionals, a benevolent princess, and two parents who knew just what the problem was. Her parallel had to attempt to keep it all a complete secret and hope to master her body quickly so no one would come to suspect something was up. She'd also have to put up a façade until she could make the necessary tweaks to Sunset’s personality. She’d have a while to wait before she could even begin to do whatever it was she planned. She also remembered that a certain time was coming up that her parallel would undoubtedly have trouble dealing with.
Sunset would have felt bad for her parallel, except that it was she that got her stuck here in the first place. It took every ounce of concentration she could muster to keep herself from shouting “Vengeance is mine!!”
"Alright! Good job, Sunset! Now I think we should try a short walk," the therapist, a stallion named Quick Reflex, said. This jarred her out of her thoughts and filled her with a chilly fear. Sunset looked up at him, but didn’t stand again.
"First I'll demonstrate, then I want you to try," he said.
She was glad that he was wearing a doctor’s coat. It startled her that for the most part, these ponies didn't wear anything. She'd seen a few just wearing what she figured was a shirt, some in dresses, and there was even one who was in a full-blown tux - pants and all - walking around outside the hospital windows. She figured they felt comfortable just being covered by their fur, but still she felt completely exposed, and was sure her face was stuck permanently blushing.
"Pay attention, now. So, first we move the right foreleg, then back left, then front left, then back right. Leg one, leg two, leg three, leg four. One, two, three, four." He kept walking for a bit, then turned to her and stopped. "Alright, your turn. If you need to count as you walk, go ahead." He spoke with enthusiasm, but Sunset heard everything with terror.
"Oh no," she whispered to herself, but stood up, wobbled, and started walking anyway. "One. Two. Three. Four." She counted to herself slowly, moving each corresponding leg, and found herself a full step in front of her previous position. She continued counting to herself, walking slowly forward, her confidence rising. She decided to try without counting, but this mistake found her quickly on the floor once again. She groaned in embarrassment, wishing something would hide her from the watching world.
"That was really good Sunset! You made it a good six feet! That’s quite an accomplishment," Quick said as he trotted up. "Do you feel like standing up and trying again, or would you like to break for lunch? It's almost noon and your m-magi-magic t-teacher is-" He droned off in somewhat panicky laughter. "Your magic teacher is here!" he exclaimed as the Princess approached.
Celestia seemed to glide toward them, nimble on her long legs. "Hello Sunset, how is your therapy going?"
"Hello, Princess. It's going well, I guess," Sunset said with a genuine smile on her face, thinking to herself that the whole thing had actually gone terribly. "I thought I was going to learn magic later though."
"Well, when I select a student I do teach them about magic, but I also teach them a few other things." Celestia smiled. She thought through her plan once more. She was certain that this Sunset Shimmer would turn out differently, and she was also certain that sending Twilight to Ponyville would work out. Of course, Twilight's move to Ponyville was still about a year and a half away, the timing had to coincide with Nightmare Moons return, only then would Twilight make true friends. "What I want to teach you during your therapy is just the basics of magic. Just things like telekinesis. I think that would make things a bit easier on you." She turned to Quick Reflex. “I'll take over from here."
"Of-of course Princess," Quick stuttered and turned to Sunset. "I'll see you after lunch, Miss Shimmer." With that he walked off, nearly bouncing off a wall as he turned the corner.
"Sunset, we'll be heading back to your room. I want you to walk as far as you can. Don't worry, because I'll be right here to help you." Celestia smiled again, though her worry was evident on her face.
"Okay," Sunset agreed nervously, and started to walk in the direction Celestia had pointed. The physical therapy room was only down the hall from Sunset’s room, so they didn’t have far to walk. Earlier that day, Sunset had been brought out of her room in a wheel chair. It surprised her to see ponies using things that were similar to things from her world. Some things, like door knobs, she pondered why ponies even have. They would be quite the opposite of convenient. As Sunset thought about this, she stumbled along the hall, every so often feeling a feathered wing on one of her sides, helping her to stay standing up.
In the short but excruciating time, Sunset needed a total of twelve assists from Princess Celestia. She was utterly embarrassed, but Celestia assured her that she was not only doing well, but the therapy might only go on for another few days rather than the planned week, what with the progress she was making. Sunset was relieved to hear this, but then she saw her next challenge.
Lunch.