The next couple moons where the most conflicting Twilight had ever experienced. Every day was a confrontation with the darkness. Each day a feeling she got a second chance she didn't deserve. Each day the views of ponies. She couldn't decide which where worse, the ones that didn't know her story, or those that did. Yet everyday so glad to be amongst those she cared for again. To be amongst friends who'd try to bring back normality, like they could truly rebuild. Who'd spend their time to honestly listen to all her struggles, from the big struggles to the smallest of niggles. There where times when she wanted to flee, go get away from the confrontations, where she almost wished for the simple anger to return. But with her friends this turned into travels. Away from the eyes of those that knew her, away from the confrontations. Just her and one or a couple of friends sharing in good times. These where the moments she knew she made the right decision to stay. On their travels they met plenty a pony who'd help them on their travel. Ponies who themselves got a damaged body and told of how they dealt with the looks they'd gotten. Ponies who had themselves fallen into the darkness who told of their paths out of it. Some of them having made it out, others still on the path happy to walk with her for a while. Some of them she knew, some of them she didn't.

Once Twilight finally found a way to get trough most days without a serious struggle she was ready for the next step: to return. Not just literally, but figuratively. And she saw but one way she could properly do that: literarity. So she started writing. Her tale, her full tale. The descend and fall into the darkness, and her current climb and struggle out of it. While the book was wildly successful, as would any book by the princess of friendship who had disappeared many moons ago, it was also a heavy book to write and publish. She couldn't forget about the past, instead she had to dive deep into it. Recollect all the darkness she now struggled to get away from and recall why she ended up with it. Ponies getting their hooves on it didn't make it any easier. Now everypony knew. everypony could read how deep she had fallen. How she had failed. Celestia made sure that she wouldn't be bothered against her will, and her friends made sure she wouldn't relapse. And yet, despite all that, it was an amazingly gratifying experience. Now everypony knew. everypony knew how even a princess could fall. How even with friends looking out for you darkness could still take hold. She also included some of the stories from the ponies she had met. Now everypony knew that it could be happening right next to them. Many ponies wrote to Twilight of how her openness about the darkness she fell into helped them open up about the darkness they struggled with.

When the buzz around the book had died down a little it was time for the last step for the foreseeable future: to once more become a princess. Her friends had suggested that Celestia could grow her new wings, or that magic could grow back the ones she lost. But Twilight rejected the ideas, explaining that this was part of her, that undoing it wouldn't be right, that it would be denying something she went trough. Instead she had prosthetics made. Wings that would never allow her to fly, but would aid in glide at most. To this day she rarely if ever takes them of. A symbol to all of the darkness she succame to and climbed out of. It was only many moons later while looking trough photo's that she saw that no day she was less grey then the day before, yet over many moons her colour had returned.

She only once more used the spell towards the other dimension to send a short letter: "thank you for giving me the opportunity to get my new wings". Attached to the letter was a picture of Twilight and all her friends in front of her castle, Celestia by her side.

Author's Note

probably sais something that i accidentally switched from third person to first person while writing this. i'm definitely writing partially from myself here, as there is a relatively clear mirror between this and the book written in the story.
the ponies she met on the road is kind of implied to have been characters like Fizzlepop Berrytwist, Kerfuffle, Luna, Stygian, and many more. some we know, many we don't.