//------------------------------//
// An Unexpected Welcome 
// Story: Summer Sunset 
// by RobRoyale 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 2	

It had been a long time since Sunset had gone through the portal, and she now understood why she had a fear of roller coasters in the human world. She spun through the portal, up and down. There was no direction, only spinning lights and a highway of colors. She felt her body stretch through the particles of light and change. Her muzzle shot outward and her legs caved and snapped in. A point on her head extended and every point in her body changed. All of this happened in a single instance, and the next thing she knew, she was briefly standing on two legs. She then lost balance and her chin made contact with the ground and everything went black. 
She opened her eyes and saw two light brilliant amber hooves jutting out in front of her. She felt a little sick and disorientated. But she had made it; she was back in her home. However, instead of a large dark storage room in the Crystal Empire Palace she expected to land in, she found her inside a massive library. Towers of books lined the walls with beautiful crystal windows at the end of the room. Her mind started to cycle through worse case scenarios. What if she came out of the wrong portal? What if she was in another universe! What if she came out in the future or—
Her thoughts were interrupted by something poking the side of her head. “Um, Sunset? Are you okay?” Said a voice that put Sunset’s mind at ease. She looked to the source and saw a lavender alicorn looking at her with sterling purple eyes. She had a concerned look on her face. 
Sunset struggled to find her balance but managed to stand up and adjust herself on her hooves. “Just never really got used to that after the first time.” She gave Twilight an awkward smile trying to play it cool. Twilight giggled. 
“I know what you mean, after coming back through the portal both times the room wouldn’t stop spinning.” Twilight wrapped a foreleg around Sunset pulling her into a warm embrace. “It’s so good to see you again.”
Sunset smiled and hugged her back. “Wow, you hugged me this time.”
“Hey before I was just hesitant because—”
“I’m just teasing Twilight.” Sunset pulled away from the embrace. Twilight scrunched up her nose, which Sunset found oddly adorable. “It’s really good to see you again.”
Twilight smiled. “Likewise. I had Spike prepare a room for you in the palace.”	
“Oh so this is your castle and—” Sunset stopped. “Wait, what?”
“When you said you were coming, I had Spike get a room ready for you to stay in.” Twilight said. She didn’t break her smile.
Sunset’s jaw slackened a little. “You-you mean you’re letting me stay here with you?”	
Twilight’s smile faltered and she tilted her head to the side. “Well yeah, it’s what friends do right? Plus,” She levitated a book off one shelf. “I can finally use my new copy of Slumber 101: All You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties but Were Afraid to Ask!” She said with a giddy smile, clopping her front hooves together excitedly. 
Sunset smiled and hugged Twilight again. “Thanks Twilight. I’ll make this up to you somehow.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble at all.” Twilight returned the embrace then drew away with a slight nervous chuckle in her voice. “Consider it an early apology.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Apology for what?”
Twilight smiled awkwardly and motioned her to the library’s exit. “Apology for this.” They exited the library and entered a dark room. The door closed behind them and the lights flicked on in an explosion of noise and confetti.
“Surprise!” A pink mare swung down from a crystal chandelier on the ceiling with ribbons streaming behind her. She did a flip and landed on her back hooves in front of Sunset. Sunset stumbled and fell back in shock with her back hitting the door. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie, and I’m so happy to meet you! Well, technically you have met me, but not me me, the one you met is a human. What’s she like? Is she exactly like me? You're the pony version of you so what’s it like going from human to pony pony to human?” 
Sunset was used to Pinkie’s antics in the human world, but this felt like it was on a completely different level. She flashed Twilight a nervous grin, but all she did was smile apologetically. “What’s all this?” She looked past Pinkie and there were dozens of ponies all around the room. Streamers lined the windows and ceiling with an innumerable amount of balloons scattered through the air. 
Pinkie Pie pointed to a banner hanging at the center of the room. “Duh it’s your welcome to Ponyville party! When Twilight said you were coming I had to get this party together because since it's your first time in Ponyville that means you’re new here and if you’re new here then you haven’t met anyone yet and if you haven’t met anyone yet that means you must not have any friends and if you don’t have any friends aside from Twilight then that means you must be lonely and that made me sad to think about so I threw this super duper welcome to Ponyville surprise party just for you so now you can make lots of friends!” Pinkie was lightly bouncing up and down while staring at Sunset. 
Yeah… it's probably best human Pinkie and pony Pinkie never… Ever meet. Sunset shuddered at the thought. She stood up slowly and cleared her throat. “Thank you, Pinkie Pie. This is very… well… you.” Sunset brought her hoof to her mouth chuckling lightly.
“Well I would hope so! If you know me in another universe then she must exactly be like me! If she wasn’t like me the there would be a problem with the universes and we would have to call the Doctor!” Pinkie Pie continued bouncing.
Sunset stared at her. “Doctor who?”
“No silly, just the Doctor, he’s a time traveling pony who lives in a blue box and—”
She was cut off by Applejack sticking a cupcake in her mouth. “Settle down there, sugarcube. Ya’ll scaring the poor gal.” Pinkie Pie tried to talk through the cupcake, but gave up and just ate it. 
Sunset nodded a thank you to Applejack, who was joined by the rest of the main six behind her. “Hi I’m—“
“Sunset Shimmer, we know. Twilight has told us all about you.” Applejack said.
“Ah. How much has she told you?” Sunset shot Twilight a look, but she looked away innocently, staring off into space.
“‘Bout everythin’ from the she-demon to the band competition. Don’t worry ‘bout nothing, if Twilight trusts you so do we. Right, everypony?” She looked around getting affirming nods. “Right, Dash?”
Rainbow Dash was midair dancing to the beats of the music in the background then snapped out of it. “Huh, what? Oh yeah, if you take so much as one step in the wrong direction or hurt Twilight, I’ll be the first to clobber yah!”
There were a few face hooves from the group. Sunset, however, wasn’t phased and just let out a small giggle. “Same Rainbow as back in the human world, I see.” 
“Enough chit chat!” Pinkie interjected. One moment she dropped down out of sight and appeared up on stage with Vinyl Scratch. “Lets party!” Vinyl flipped a track on the mix table and the speakers erupted into a drone of heavy base. 
Throughout the night Sunset got to know a few ponies from around the town, including a wall-eyed mare name Derpy Hooves who was close by a brown stallion who she addressed as Doctor. Sunset decided not to think about what Pinkie Pie said in order to keep her sanity at ease. Life was easier that way. She also got to talk to Vinyl when she was in between tracks and her roommate Octavia. It was scary how much these ponies were like the ones at Canterlot High. Not scary that they were the same as their human counterparts, but they were acting the same way she found the ones at Canterlot high before she... 
When these thoughts entered her mind, she drew away from the party and walked out onto one of the castle balconies. The moon had risen in the night sky. Unlike the human world there was a certain magical air in the sky as the moon rose. However, right now it didn’t help her. A feeling of guilt filled her gut, a feeling she had not had since she was reformed. Seeing these ponies reminded her of what Canterlot High had been like before she ruled their lives. Even though her friends back there accepted her mistakes, it hurt her now to know their lives would have been much better if she had never been apart of it. 
She charged her horn and closed the doors to the balcony to hide away from the party. It felt weird using magic again, but she still managed. Now she wanted to be alone. There were too many conflicting thoughts in her head now. The first of fresh tears flowed from her eyes. The last time she remembered crying was after she had been defeated by Twilight at the fall formal. It was the lowest part of her life and here she was again. Regretting and unable to forget about what she had done. 
“Sunset?” A voice called as the balcony doors opened. “Why aren’t you inside at the party?” 
She knew it was Twilight. Of course it was Twilight. A lump formed in her throat, and she took a few shallow breaths before speaking. “I just needed some fresh air! Still a little woozy from the trip here.” She didn’t turn or make eye contact. The tears wouldn’t go away. She heard the sound of magic and the balcony door closing. Before she thought she was in the clear, she felt a hoof touch her shoulder. 
“If you’re still feel sick, I have a few potions that may help.” Twilight had a touch of concern in her voice. 
Sunset strained her head away from Twilight; she didn’t want her to see the tears. She didn’t want sympathy now. “I-it’s fine Twilight, I’ll be alright.”
Twilight, however, did not retract her hoof. “This could be serious though. Here, let me check your temperature.” She moved her hoof around and touched Sunset’s forehead. Her eyes widened slightly. “Sunset, you’re burning up! 
Sunset tried to pull away, but Twilight kept insisting. She gritted her teeth holding back a combination of stress and tears. Finally she turned and glared at Twilight with tear filled eyes and stained cheeks. “I’m fine!” 
Twilight stared at her, and her ears drooped slightly. “Sunset… why are you crying?”	
“I’m not crying.” She looked away.
“Yes, you are… Sunset, what’s wrong?”	
“Nothing…”
“No, no, don’t give me that.” Twilight said with a touch of authority in her voice. “If it were nothing, you wouldn’t be crying. What’s gotten you upset?” There was a beat of silence between them. Music could still be heard from inside muffled by the closed doors. The stars came out as the moon reached its peak in the sky. The sun was completely gone from the horizon and a beautiful dark blue filled the sky compliments of Princess Luna.
Sunset mumbled something inaudible to Twilight. Twilight scratched her ear. “Come again?”
“Myself…”
“What?”
“Myself”
“Sunset, please speak up?” Twilight insisted.
Sunset whirled around on Twilight, glaring at her again. “Myself!” She shouted, then drew her head back with more tears flowing.
“What do you mean? You’re crying because of yourself?” Twilight tilted her head. “Please explain.”
“Everyone here is happy! Just like their counterparts in the human world!” She threw her hooves up and rested them on the balcony railing. “They were this happy when I went to the human world, and what did I do? I screwed their lives up and took control!” She rested her head on the railing. “You fixed it… twice… you probably brought sunshine and smiles to this place when you first came here too…” 
Twilight pondered for a moment then spoke. “Actually, when I first came to Ponyville, I didn’t want to make friends.” She rested her hooves on the railing next to Sunset’s. “I had no interest, they had an impact on me, the girls, they helped me to become a better pony. When I went to the other world, I only did what they taught me here.” 
Sunset looked over with surprise. “Really? I… wow… and here I thought you were Miss Perfect…” 
Twilight giggled. “No one is perfect, Sunset. Not me or you.” She moved close and draped a hoof around her. “We’ve all made mistakes, and we all stray from the right path.” 
“Yeah… except I strayed farther.”
“You want to hear about the time I almost doomed an entire empire, plus my brother and new sister in law, because I was so determined to save it on my own?” Twilight gave a little chuckle and coughed. 
Sunset’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “You… wait, what?!”
“Ehehe, that’s a story for another time.” Twilight smiled looking away. “My point is, you don’t need to feel ashamed of your past or grieve over it. You’re a different pony now, and that’s what matters.” She wiped away some of Sunset’s tears with her hoof and gave her best smile. Sunset couldn’t help but smile back. 
“Thanks, Twilight.” 
“That’s Princess Twilight to you.”
“Hey wait, I thought you—” She noticed Twilight was sticking her tongue out playfully. There was a moment of silence then they both broke out into a fit of laughter. Sunset dried the rest of her tears and the pair went back into the party. She still felt bad about what she had done, but she was happy to have ponies that didn’t hold it against her. She had worried Twilight's friends wouldn’t accept her. Hearing about someone's reformation was different from witnessing it, but they joked and laughed with her throughout the party. 
The night closed out with everypony leaving. Pinkie Pie, however, had protested to the party ending, which resulted in Rainbow and Applejack having to chase her around the room until they could lasso the hyperactive party pony. The rest of the main six said their goodbyes to Sunset and Twilight. The room was a complete mess, however. Spike entered with a mop and sighed at the sight. He muttered something about getting paid for this. Twilight giggled and whistled for Owlowiscious to fly over. 
“Could you help Spike with the cleaning?” Twilight asked.
“Who.”
“Spike.”
“Who.”
“Spi— oh.” Twilight giggled. “Right, thank you.” Owlowiscious flew off to help the young dragon. Twilight motioned for Sunset Shimmer to follow. They walked down a long hallway and stopped at a door to the side. “My room is up ahead. Here’s yours.” Using her magic she opened the door to a decent sized room with a huge bed on the side, a couple dressers lining the walls as well as two windows with the curtains drawn. The room was simple, but immaculate. 
Sunset smiled and felt her cheeks heat up a bit. “You know this isn’t necessary, Twilight.”	
Twilight smiled at her. “Well, these will be your living arrangements for the duration of your stay. But for now,” She shut the door and grabbed Sunset’s hoof pulling her into her room at the end of the hall. “Slumber party!” 
Sunset was caught of guard and dragged across the floor into the Princess’s chambers. “Erm, really Twilight? It's kind of late.” 
Twilight’s look deflated. “Oh…”
Sunset mentally face hooved and caught herself “But it's summer vacation! We can stay up!”  The joyous look on Twilight’s face returned and her horn lit up materializing her Slumber 101 book in front of her. “Alright, let's get started!”  She shot a spark of magic at the fireplace in her room lighting it and a dresser on the far end opened up with blankets and cozy looking pajamas floating out. 
Sunset gulped wondering what in the name of Luna she had just gotten herself into. But the cute look on Twilight’s face as her eyes lit up while reading the book, made her fear dissipate a little bit. She fitted herself into the pair of blue pajamas and sat next to Twilight in front of the fireplace. The pair made s'mores and told ghost stories until they fell asleep in the early hours of the morning.