Sunset Shimmer had lost track of how long she’d been in Equestria. Her time was occupied with attempting to cast spells, studying, and sleep racked with recurring nightmares. And yet, even after all this time, all she ever saw from her magic was sparks. The nightmares grew worse and worse.
Each night she saw her counterpart torturing someone she used to know. She seemed to increase in size and cruelty time after time, and the dreams were becoming more vivid with each passing night. She was tired, depressed, her appetite was lacking, and her concentration fleeting. So much so that today, Celestia practically ordered her back to bed after seeing the dark rings under her eyes.
She was stumbling down the corridor to her room, her eyelids drooping. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor, her muzzle throbbing. In front of her was a wall. The hallway had turned a corner without her noticing. She groaned and stood up. This was not the first time this had happened.
“Oh, Sunset. Again?” She looked behind her. It was her counterpart. Sunset wasn’t surprised by this - this illusion had followed her from her nightmares into her sleep-deprived life. It walked behind her, flaunting its human body and criticizing Sunset’s every failure.
This left her irritable and irrational. During her lesson earlier this day, she became so frustrated with herself and her mentor that she tried to cast a dish washing spell on the latter. Of course, all she managed to do was produce two or three sparks from her horn. But Celestia understood her intent, and as she tripped up the stairs, she hoped her angry tutor didn’t haunt her nightmares, too.
Sunset walked into another wall. She shook her head, her mane falling in her eyes. When she looked around again, she realized she had no clue where she was.
"So, can't even find your room, huh?” Her counterpart was leaning against a wall, sneering down at her. “How pathetic. I bet you wish you were safe in your old bedroom." She walked around to Sunset’s side and glared into her eyes. “But I’m afraid it’s being used by me and your old boyfriend right now.”
Sunset’s ears pricked, and she rushed past her other, attempting to escape the delusions of her current mental state. Finally she found her room, and she slammed the door behind her. Of course, this didn’t protect her.
“Congratulations. You finally succeeded at something.” The other Sunset Shimmer stood in the middle of her room, clapping her hands.
Sunset’s eyes bursted, and she ground her teeth together as tears stormed down her cheeks.
"Go away!" she cried at the figment of her other before galloping to her room.
"’Go away’, is that all you've got?" Her human self now stood in front of her, leaning down with her hands on her hips. Her face almost inches from her own. "Well, too bad. I really like hanging around. It’s fun torturing you, Sunset!"
She straightened up. "What should I do next?"
"I said leave!" Sunset yelled once again, her horn starting to glow.
"Make me." The figment leered back.
Sunset’s stomach turned, her breathing stopped, all her strength went to her horn, and she fired a blue beam of energy at her figment. She dodged, and the wall behind her was scorched by the beam.
“Get out!” Sunset repeated, and her figment scrambled out of the room, leaving Sunset alone at last. She stared at wall as her heart rate returned to normal. Her breathing steadied, and she could see clearly.
“Oh no, the wall!” She ran to the burned wallpaper, washing it over with the light still glowing from her horn. Then she realized what she had done. She glanced upward as her aura faded. Her heart started beating quicker again, and she turned her attention to one of her dusty shelves. She concentrated for a moment, charging her horn once again. In a whirlwind, the dust disappeared, leaving a perfectly clean shelf.
"I...I did magic. I just did magic!" she cried, squealing and wrapping her hooves around herself. Then exhaustion hit her like a train; but her horn sparked again. "I can't go to sleep yet. There's still something I have to do."
She trotted out to her main room and found her figment hiding in a corner behind the couch.
"There you are!" she growled. The other Sunset shrank to the size of a doll.
"No! No! Please, mercy! I didn't mean too!" the figment pleaded, backing away. But soon she was submerged in Sunset's aura.
Sunset smirked. "Now it's my turn, and I know exactly how to get revenge."
"No, you can't mean you're going to-"
"Oh yes! That is exactly what I mean." She smirked even wider as she climbed onto her bed and laid down.
"No!" The figment screamed as she was pulled in close. The two massive noodles that formed Sunset's forelegs wrapped around the struggling figure and clutched her to her chest. Sunset lay there, cuddling her former tormentor, unperturbed by the kicks and bites she was receiving.
And so, for the first time in she didn’t know long, Sunset was able to sleep peacefully.