Equestria Grads

by Toon4Thought

Chapter 5

Sunset Shimmer spent the night in one of Princess Twilight’s guest bedrooms. The bed was comfortable enough, certainly more so than her own accommodations, but if anything, she suffered more than ever to get a good sleep. It was late nightfall by the time the trio arrived back in Ponyville (the day/night cycles seem to be flipped between worlds), and while the alicorn felt the need to study and work on the portal as much as she could so everything could be over with as soon as possible, Sunset simply had to sleep on the real life nightmare that had just struck.

The fiery-maned unicorn constantly tossed and turned, lightly grunting as her mind only worsened the mood. In her dream, she was standing in a seemingly endless, white room, with the only sight being giant projections of Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity's heads, who were constantly throwing fierce words at her.

“It is your fault we have to worry about magic!” said Rarity.

“Our world and everything in it could perish because of you!” said Fluttershy.

“Our life was so much more carefree before you came in!” said Pinkie Pie.

“I knew we should’ve known better than to think you could ever change,” Rainbow Dash moped.

“Go ahead, stay in Equestria! You clearly don't care about us anymore,” Applejack declared.

They went on spewing more, similar statements all at once. Sunset blocked her ears with her front hooves, trying hard not to hear any of it. But the efforts were no good. Their voices were loud enough to pierce through any barrier.

She could also hear a rustling behind her. Princess Twilight was visibly sweating and tired, trying desperately to keep the magic under control but failing. “…I really wish Sunset wouldn't be so indecisive and would be willing to help me out with all this..."

Princess Celestia’s voice came next. She was never visible, but it echoed heavily through the void’s acoustics. “Imagine, a unicorn who would rather have magic over friends… Too bad it's too late to change her; unlike you, Twilight".

"No... no!" Sunset yelled. "I didn't ask for any of this! You know I didn't mean it that way!"

The projections were all gone by this point, but the voices continued while the ground started to crumble under her hooves. And just as she was running out of space and about to fall into the empty blackness beneath, she shut her eyes, dreading where this was going. "Agh, make it stop!"

Suddenly, at that very instant, everything became silent. Sunset opened her eyes, and she suddenly found herself in a mysterious, serene blue starscape. Sunset had zero idea what was going on, and simply looked around, wondering how this even came up in her own mind, let alone after everything that just happened. But then, before long, she heard the sound of large wings flapping and hooves landing directly behind her.

Sunset was surprised to see Princess Luna, whose reaction was blank, eyes shut and tranquil. Suddenly the unicorn recalled hearing about the night princess’s duties to look over dreams and help defeat nightmares. Even knowing this, it felt so surreal for her to actually be in this dreamscape herself.

“…Princess Luna?” was all she could say, hoping for a response.

“Sunset Shimmer, I can see that you’re troubled about your friendships.”

Sunset couldn’t say anything. All she did was tear up once more, and kept her head down. But a dark blue hoof lifted it back up.

“You’re worried about your choices making you lose everything you’ve had?” she said.

“Sure, rub it in why don’t you!” Sunset shouted out of impulse. Realizing what she had just said, she turned her back out of shame.

“Sunset, I’m only trying to help you," said Luna, not feeling at all hurt. "And to help you, we need to boil down the root of your nightmare.”

The unicorn said nothing, and only bobbed her head further toward the ground.

“Doesn’t that remind you of what once happened to you before?”

There was enough surprise and mysticism for Sunset to slowly turn her body to look at Princess Luna once more. “How-how do you know?” she quietly muttered.

“Because my sister has told me stories about how far you’ve come. How you’ve made up for your biggest mistakes and showed that no matter how bad things get, they can always get better.”

The unicorn tensed up once more. “But-but-but… this is more than just my friendships. This is… an entire world… an entire planet! They’re in danger, Princess Twilight might not be able to save them, and… it’s all my fault!”

Princess Luna took steps around the unicorn. “You could not have predicted the long-term effects of everything you’ve done. Knowledge of how the two dimensions interact has been nonexistent up to this point.”

Sunset’s spirits slightly lifted, enough for her to stop crying, but she still couldn’t quite muster a smile. “But, can I really save their dimension? And besides, after Princess Twilight closes the portal… I have no idea where I can go.”

“For both questions, my sole answer is that only you can decide. Just know that you are more powerful than you realize, and that you should have more confidence in yourself.”

“How can I decide if I don’t even know the answer?”

Luna fluttered into the air with a certain grace that Sunset couldn’t help but admire. “The answer will come to you in time.” the princess said reassuringly.

“…But I don’t have time! The portal will be closed really soon and the dimension could be in danger as we speak!” Sunset shouted.

“Sometimes the answer is closer than you may think. But I can't resolve everything on my own; you will only feel satisfied upon discovering for yourself.”

Sunset paused and blinked. She wasn’t quite sure what this meant. She saw Luna was about to leave the dreamscape, so she knew she had to get her last question out. “How do I know when I have it?”

“You’ll know when you do…” Princess Luna’s voice trailed as it disappeared.

Before another thought could enter her mind, Sunset Shimmer found herself awake in the guest bed. It was quite a shocking sensation, as it felt like her awakening was almost forced on her.

Suddenly, the door knocked. “…Hello?” she said groggily.

It slowly opened, revealing a familiar purple unicorn, wearing a distinct set of glasses marking her as the human-turned-pony Twilight Sparkle. “…I overheard you making all these noises. Are-are you still upset about what happened yesterday?”

“…Yes,” Sunset sighed, “But, I’ve… thought about it overnight, and... I think I’ll just let everything play out and decide what to do later.”

“…Okay,” Twilight said, still with concern. After a few seconds of silence, she went, “I’ve heard the Princess needs at least a few more hours to get everything together.”

“Well, I suppose I could use a little trot outside,” said Sunset, stepping out of her bed. She forgot how much more simple getting up in the morning is as a pony, when she doesn’t have to worry about clothes. “It’d be nice to have a friend with me.”

Twilight smiled, and it lifted Sunset’s spirits. She was secretly wanting to run away from her problems, as she was overwhelmed in how it stressed her, but she obviously didn’t want her friend to know. Besides, she assumed everyone can figure out how to deal with the problem on their own.

Outside the castle, they slowly walked side by side toward the center of Ponyville. Sunset wasn’t very familiar with the town, barely having ever been there, but she already kind of felt at home just from how intimate and compact everything felt.

“So, where would you want to relax?” Sunset Shimmer asked.

“How about a library?” Twilight suggested.

“...We were just at one,” said Sunset, “Remember where the portal is?”

“Oh… yeah… that…” Twilight was a little disappointed at the realization.

“Well…” Sunset thought out loud, recalling her favorite places from her possibly-former home, only to catch sight of a large, standalone building - which she soon recognized by the golden sign just above the door as the local spa. “Would a spa trip work for you?”

Twilight was a little unsure at first, but after a few seconds nodded at Sunset for approval. “Though it’ll be a little weird to get treated like…” She took another look at her equine form. “...this.”

Sunset couldn’t help but giggle at her friend still being in an unfamiliar form that was oh so commonplace for her. “Don’t worry, you’ll find it’s not as different as you may think.”

***

The two unicorns were sitting on separate spa benches, backs of their heads laid on the soft pillows with mud on their faces and cucumbers over their eyes. Sunset Shimmer was getting a massage from Aloe while Twilight Sparkle received a hooficure from Lotus.

It felt really odd to Twilight at first, having flat, seemingly solid hooves be treated as opposed to hands and feet. Twilight thought at first the sensation would seem rough and firm, as there weren’t as many bones to move around, but it was surprising just how much the spa pony was able to press into her appendages and straighten out her legs. There were a lot of rough joints and stiff parts that she didn’t even know she had. Did they translate into her pony body from her human form? How are hooves supposed to remain comfortable if she had to constantly walk around town on them?

A relieving filing on her rear-right leg reminded her not to ask questions.

Sunset, however, was not as strongly at ease. To be sure, she forgot how relaxing it was to have pressure applied to equine legs. But she got the impression that even the most relieving treatment couldn’t get her to forget her worries, considering how high the stakes were here and how much she stood to lose.

At that instant, she was asked to turn over and allow her back to be massaged. True, this sensation was closer than the spa treatments she received in the other world the few times Rarity took her to Canterlot City’s spa, but a rose by any other name…

“This feels so nice…” Twilight said, as Lotus placed the file on her horn.

Sunset turned her head to face Twilight. She was pleased to see her friend look so relaxed and comfortable, and she became just as relaxed too.

***

The two excited looking as tranquil as they’ve ever been. Sunset carefully closed the door with her horn. Twilight Sparkle could notice of this and, upon having the clear enough mind to be curious of anything she observed, found it fascinating.

“How do you work your unicorn magic like that?” Twilight asked, in a relaxed voice.

“Oh, it’s… uh…” Sunset struggled to explain. It was a weird scenario for her; magic was such a fundamental thing to unicorns. She even rigorously studied it for a while. And yet, she couldn’t figure out a way to put it into words for an outsider. She then recalled the little experience Twilight had with magic through her hand levitation.

“...Well, you just kind of think about doing something that you are physically able to do…” she said, making up the description as she went along. “It’s kind of like anything else in the body, your brain just sort of wills it, and if it’s within your power… you do it.”

“Really that easy to describe?” Twilight said, a little skeptical.

“Look, just because I know about magic doesn’t mean I can lecture about it…” Sunset sighed. Clearly she was a much better student than a teacher.

Just the same, Twilight took what Sunset said to mind and looked around and anything she could levitate. She centered on a rock about the size of her hoof near the corner of the building. She wanted to lift it, so she basically thought about lifting it. She shut her eyes, and strained as her mind thought hard. Before long, her horn started buzzing sparks.

Sunset stepped back in case something bad happened, but was still delighted to see someone like her get a taste of true unicorn magic.

Twilight thought harder, and after putting in as much effort as she could, a purple aura fully encompassed her horn and the rock. She could feel the pressure of the rock inside her mind, which caught her off guard at first, but quickly shook it off as to not let it disturb her thought process. Slowly, inch by inch, the rock lifted off the ground, and once she thought it hit a good enough point, she opened her eyes to find her staring at the floating rock with a purple glow around it.

The resulting delight caused her to immediately lose her grip, with the rock falling flat on the ground. However, this slip did nothing to undermine Twilight's excitement.

“That was so cool!” she said excitedly.

“I know, that was really good for a first-timer!” said Sunset, patting Twilight on the back with a hoof.

“I wonder what else I could lift…” Twilight thought.

***

As they trotted through the town, they soon found some relatively thick sticks on the ground, likely small tree branches that were recently sawed off. They playfully slammed them at each other like swords, and felt like little fillies as they did so.

By the time they grew tired of that, they suddenly realized that they have found their way into the outskirts of town. The buildings were long behind them, though still within sight, and in front of them was something that was strangely familiar to them but… not.

It was a big farm area, with hills upon hills of healthy-looking trees in the distance, a large corn field to the left, some lovely if rustic decor all around, and a huge barn that seemed to double as a house.

The apple symbol across the entrance they were quickly approaching marked it as...j

“Sweet Apple Acres!” Sunset Shimmer exlaimed.

Twilight glanced at Sunset, unsure where she was going with this. “...So, do you want to…”

"Nope, let's go," Sunset hastily replied. She was just about to start trotting back when...

“Yee-haw!” came a familiar voice from the farm. “I see we got us some visitors!”

Wanting to be polite, Sunset nervously smiled and waved her hoof. “He-hello.”

The pony trotted through the entrance, and as the visage became more clear, Sunset was impressed by just how much the mare resembled the Applejack she saw last night... for better and for worse.

Applejack stopped in front of the two girls on the top of the hill. She was clearly caught a little off guard, but quickly regained her composure.

“Well, howdy there Twilight! I didn’t know you decided to switch to glasses! I must say, those look really good on you.”

Twilight used a hoof to adjust her glasses. “Thanks,” she said modestly, “but, uh… I… uh…”

“I’m Sunset Shimmer,” the other pony said, knowing Twilight was at a loss to understand the situation. “This Twilight is… not the one you’re familiar with.”

Applejack’s smile fell into a more blank expression. The two unicorns could almost see her processing the information she was given. “...Sunset Shimmer?” she asked.

Sunset blinked. “She knows me?” she thought.

“You’re that pony Twilight Sparkle communicates with from that other world! Oh, it’s so great to properly meet you!” She held out her hoof to shake, with Sunset accepted.

“And…” Applejack said, remembering what her Twilight Sparkle once said, “...If you’re not our Twilight, then… you’re the Twilight from that world!”

“Y-y-yes…” Twilight said sheepishly.

“Hoo boy, what brings you two here?” Applejack cheerfully asked.

“Well, we just kind of wanted to explore and Princess Twilight invited us over,” Sunset simply replied, not wanting to disclose the full details.

Twilight was a little skeptical of this decision at first, but knew to respect it.

“Well, while you’re here, how ‘bout I offer you some apples?”

***

The two were sitting on a table outside the barn, having eaten a couple slices of apple pie and drank a bottle of fizzy apple cider.

Sunset couldn’t remember the last time she treated herself to some of Applejack’s homemade apple products, but she was truly won over by what she saw at this Sweet Apple Acres. They were extremely filling to her stomach and made to perfection, just like how organic food should be.

“Thanks very much, Applejack,” Sunset said, “but we really must get going.”

“...Yeah,” Twilight said, getting out of her chair, “the Princess needs us back…”

“Oh, of course!” Applejack said excitedly. “I need to make a delivery in town anyway, so I’ll come with you!”

Sunset gulped. She didn’t want to really be around a counterpart of the girl that caused her own circle of friends to turn against her. But she really didn’t want to be rude either, so with a little reluctance, she agreed.

***

“...And that’s how I learned the value of seeking help from my friends,” said Applejack. She clearly had a hint of embarrassment in her voice, but she had really come to enjoy making conversation with the other two so she didn’t really care. She loved hearing a couple of Sunset’s stories about what she went through in the other world, and hearing a little bit about another Applejack was something she couldn’t help but find amusing.

“Hey, it’s Sugarcube Corner!” she said suddenly, as the trio passed by the titular establishment, a bakery that looked quite literally looked good enough to eat, with s’more-like frosting adorning the main roof and with a couple little cupcakes and candles on top.

This announcement caught Sunset and Twilight a little off guard, but as they took a better look at the front of the bakery, they realized why. At the front of the steps were four additional ponies - they both knew that they were Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy - but they were unsure of exactly which versions they were. Twilight seemed indifferent, while Sunset slowed herself down, not certain if she wanted to interact with them, regardless if they weren’t the same ones she turned away.

It was only a few seconds before Applejack and Twilight stopped as well, and look behind them to see a shrinking Sunset Shimmer, pawing the ground with her hoof.

She glanced at Applejack, and recalled the last 15 minutes they spent. Sunset sighed, then plucked up enough courage to continue stepping toward the smaller group of ponies waiting for them.

“Hey, Applejack, darling!” Rarity waved.

“Mornin’, girls!” Applejack greeted. “What are you doing here anyhow?”

“Oh, Pinkie Pie tipped us off that your only delivery of the day was here,” said Rainbow.

“So we thought, why not have a little treat together?” Fluttershy added on.

Rainbow caught notice of the purple pony. “Hey, Twilight! I thought you said you were too busy with mechanical stuff to hang with us today!”

Sunset slightly stiffened. Was what the Princess had to do really that much of an intrusion?

“...And when did you get glasses?” Fluttershy asked.

Applejack chuckled, then gave a nervous smile. “Well, actually, funny story…”

“Oh, and that’s Sunset Shimmer!” said Pinkie Pie gleefully, rushing up to the amber unicorn. She then began forcefully and rigorously shaking her hoof. “It’s such a pleasant surprise to see you! We’ve heard so much about what you’ve done!”

“...You have?” Sunset asked nervously. I guess it figured, since stuff like her joining Princess Twilight to defeat a group of Sirens isn’t exactly something she’d be silent about.

“Well, c’mon, join us! My treat!” said Pinkie, as she ushered the group inside the bakery.

Sunset remained modest about the warm welcome. Sure, what just happened with their counterparts was still on her mind, but… maybe she could start fresh with the pony versions. Maybe saying goodbye to her current friendships wouldn't be so bad after all…

She happily trotted indoors.

Author's Note:

That "day/night cycles are flipped" thing is actually something I noticed in the first film that not many people seemed to, so I decided to roll with it here.

But yeah, this is definitely more a breather chapter than anything. Next time, we'll go back to the human girls and see how they're doing. And, in case you haven't figured it out, I've pretty much settled on a "new chapter every 4 days" schedule at this point.

Comments

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

I hope everything goes well for sunset. In my opinion I think she should stay in the human world . Look I know she isn't from there but she's has a great life there and prefers to be there. Sure her real home is in equestria but if she wants to continue being in the human world I'd say she should go for it and hopefully continue to make more great memories and making new friends

[SadisticFluttershy]

*Sunset remained modest about the warm welcome. Sure, what just happened with their counterparts was still on her mind, but… maybe she could start fresh with the pony versions. Maybe saying goodbye to her current friendships wouldn't be so bad after all…*
****

Famous last words Sunset...