//------------------------------//
// Unexpected Arrival 
// Story: Reconciliation 
// by DigitalPhoenix 
//------------------------------//

Sunset emerged from the portal into a dark room, the faint light that slipped through the curtains just barely outlining the bookshelves along the walls. She carefully took a few steps forward, trying her best not to trip from the lack of visibility.

"Strange that Princess Twilight has the curtains drawn. I know she can be a bit of a shut-in, but cooping herself up in a dark castle doesn't really seem like her."

Her solo conversation was interrupted by a thud behind her. She turned to find her Twilight dazed on the floor, her eyes comically spinning in her head. It was hard to make her out in the faint light, but something about her seemed... different.

"You okay down there?" she asked as she extended her hoof to her marefriend. Twilight attempted to take it, though it took her a few tries to correctly wrap her own hoof around it.

"I'm fine, just still haven't gotten used to traveling through that thing." Twilight took a glance around the room. "Why is it so dark?"

"Beats me," Sunset replied as she turned towards the door of the room. "I figured Princess Twilight would've been here to greet us, but I'm guessing she's either busy with her duties or she lost track of time." Sunset cast a small light from her horn to illuminate the path in front of them. "Let's see if we can find her somewhere."

As Sunset and Twilight made their way through the crystalline corridors, they found that every room they came across had their curtains drawn tight to the windows surface, letting in as little light as possible. It gave the castle an overall more foreboding presence than it ought to have had. It's like walking through a dungeon or something.

They reached a grand door that scaled the entire height of the hallway that contained it, decorated with green stained glass and a black lattice web strewn throughout.

"I think we've reached either the foyer or the throne room, though I'm not sure which." Sunset glanced around at their other surroundings, searching for any other indication of where they might be. "Really wishing Princess Twilight gave me a map of this place before we arrived."

She slowly used to her magic to open one of the large doors, revealing a room that somehow had even more light drawn out of it, the only luminescence coming from Sunset's own horn. Upon their entry into the room, the massive door behind them slowly creaked shut, sounding a large boom when it fell into place.

"I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this." Twilight slowly moved behind Sunset.

Sunset made sure to stay close to Twilight, in case something was amiss. "Hello?" Her voice echoed across the room.
At least we know we're in a large area. "Is anyone there?"

Both Sunset and Twilight were suddenly startled by a flash of light, a loud bang and a chorus of voices shouting "surprise!!"

After rubbing the momentary blindness from her eyes, Sunset observed the now illuminated room around her. Princess Twilight and her five friends were there, along with Spike and a mare she didn't quite recognize, though Sunset took a guess that she was the pupil Twilight had recently taken under her wing. The entire room was decorated in traditional Pinkie Pie manner for a celebration, and strung across a higher portion of the room was a banner emblazoned with the words "Welcome Home!"

Home.

Her attention was brought to Princess Twilight as she stepped forward. "Sorry about the lights in the castle, Pinkie went a little overboard when I told her we wanted to throw you a surprise party."

"Oh, it's no big deal, it's not like you nearly scared the living daylights out of us or anything," Sunset replied sarcastically.

Pinkie popped down from the ceiling in her usual manner. "Sorry! I just really, really, really wanted to make it a surprise. That and I've been really busy with, like, super duper big parties as of late. I'm still in an over-the-top mindset I guess."

Princess Twilight simply rolled her eyes. "Well, aside from that, I do believe some introductions are in order."

"Princess, I already know who most of the guests are."

"But they are still different ponies anyway, so I will still introduce you." Princess Twilight gestured to each of her friends in turn. "This is Spike, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and my student, Starlight Glimmer."

"Starlight, huh? Guess our naming conventions are quite popular." Sunset remarked.

"And this"- Twilight gestured to her counterpart -"is Midnight."

"Wait, what do you..." Sunset turned to her companion, taking note of her altered appearance for the first time now that some light was cast on her. "What happened to you?"

Midnight gave a small smile. "Surprise."

Sunset turned back to Twilight. "Before you ask, I don't know why it happens either, I had no idea who she was the first time until she spoke to me." Twilight stated before Sunset could ask.

"Alright then, so we're calling her Midnight then?" Sunset smirked as she pulled her marefriend next to her. "I think I'll call her Middy."

Midnight's face immediately turned crimson.

Both Rainbow and Applejack looked on with confused looks. "Is there something we're missing here?" Rainbow inquired.

"Right, this is actually Twilight from human world." Sunset explained.

Rainbow leaned in towards Applejack. "Great, now there are two of them." she remarked, to which Applejack responded by elbowing Rainbow's gut. "Ow!"

"Anyway," Sunset interjected, ignoring Rainbow's glib remark, "we are... in a relationship now."

The room fell so quiet one might hear a feather drop. All eyes fell on Princess Twilight, wondering how she would take the news of one of her best friends dating her inter-dimensional counterpart.

No one had any need to worry. "That's wonderful! I'm glad to hear that you two were able to work things out in the end. Speaking of which, though, if you have the time, Sunset, I would like to discuss your burgeoning abilities sometime during your stay."

Sunset gave a simple nod.

"Great! Well, then, let's celebrate!"





For the most part, the affair was very similar to those Sunset experienced in the human world; just a small gathering with friends, everybody enjoying themselves in one form or another. Pinkie was currently out on the dance floor with Twilight and Midnight, Fluttershy and Rarity were sitting at a table holding a casual conversation, and Rainbow and Applejack were having some form of contest with Spike as a referee; Sunset didn't really care to pay attention to what the challenge was. Instead, she found herself conversing with Twilight's student.

"So, protege to the princess of friendship. What does someone have to do to get a position like that?"

Starlight shifted uncomfortably against the wall. "It's something I still prefer not to talk about. Let's just say I took a dark road, and reality had to beat me into the ground for me to change."

"Trust me, I can relate. A magical artifact turning me into a she-demon, then having to be blasted into the ground by a rainbow laser just to knock some common sense into me." Sunset chuckled softly. "A tale I've recounted so many times to so many people, it's become rather mundane."

"No transformation for me. No rainbow laser, either, just a brief glimpse of a very dim future."

Sunset turned to Starlight. "And what have you done since then?"

"Reunited with an old friend, made some new ones, and saved Equestria and its most powerful from an evil changeling queen." The last accomplishment brought a small smile to Starlight's face.

It almost hurt Sunset to one up her. Almost. "Pffft, that's it?"

Starlight suddenly turned with an incredulous look. "What do you mean 'that's it'? What have you done since you turned around?"

"Let's see here, helped stop three evil sirens from brainwashing an entire school, making five new friends in the process, stopped a power-crazed human Twilight from literally ripping the boundaries of the two worlds apart, and helped that same Twilight overcome her past trauma to aid us in stopping another power-crazed human from trapping us in a camp for eternity." Sunset smirked at Starlight's dropped jaw. "Oh, and I got a girlfriend."

Starlight slowly regained her senses. "That last one doesn't count."

"Sure it does, I got a girlfriend and you got a mentor, it's not my fault you got the bad end of the stick."

Starlight simply raised an eyebrow. "I don't know how she could possibly stand to be around you, you seem insufferable."

"Well, when you've become a literal demon, there's not much worse you can get."

Starlight put a drink down on the table, turning towards Sunset as she did. "Okay, honest question. How can you talk so casually about that? From what I understand, that was the darkest point in your life, and yet its suddenly material for casual banter? What gives?"

Sunset sighed as she thought of how to explain herself. "I suppose the main reason is circumstance. In the human world, Twilight's friends are... not very subtle. When we were trying to figure out about the sirens, my past constantly came up in conversation, even from her Royal Highness herself, and not in a very positive way. They weren't lambasting me for my actions, but the last thing I needed at the time was to be reminded of what a terrible person I was before, especially since I was trying so desperately to be better."

"Then, we won. We saved the day, I became an actual part of the group, and I guess I felt so proud of who I had finally become that I didn't care who I had been before. I had righted myself for all those who I had wronged in the human world, and while some took a little more convincing, there was absolutely no doubt of the kind of person I was after the third time I helped save the day. The more good I did, the less the bad mattered. That's not to say I'm completely over it. I still have a lot to make up for here, but I'm hoping that I'll make that milestone, someday."

Sunset sat down in a nearby chair. "The other thing is, the more I think back on it, that demon wasn't me. I never dreamed of conquest. My dream, and my ambition, was to prove myself in Celestia's eyes and become an alicorn princess just like her. I let that get ahead of me, and did some terrible things to try and make that happen, all culminating in stealing Twilight's crown. When I put it on that night, something strange happened. I felt its power, but there was something else, something that frightened me. That one moment, more than any friendship beam, proved to me that my path was the wrong one."

"Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if it had been worse, if I somehow had the potential to succeed in that conquest, or even just surpass Twilight and her friends. In hindsight, the whole thing was a stupid plan, but my mind was warped so much that it didn't matter. It felt like I was there, but not in control of my thoughts and action; a spectator in my body. It still scares me to this day, because I'm not the only one it's happened to, and I can only imagine how many more innocent lives will be twisted by the rogue magic."

Starlight couldn't think of how to respond. Sunset's fall and redemption hardly echoed her own, but it far surpassed what she had been through and, frankly, made her own scruples seem absolutely petty in comparison. She had to be shown exactly what her actions would result in, rather than the fear of the consequences convincing her to change course. She honestly couldn't tell if Sunset's story made her feel better or worse than before, but she knew for sure that she'd be looking to Sunset for advice in the future.

"You've done so much for the human world. I wouldn't be surprised if after all this time, Princes Celestia finally deems you worthy of your dream."

Sunset lowered her gaze to the floor beneath her. "Honestly, I don't think I could ever accept it."