Chapter 26: Black Beast
'Is she ok?' Twilight heard still being asleep but starting to wake. She could tell that it was Rarity speaking but she couldn't figure out how it was possible.
'Why does it matter, so she reversed the spell but that doesn't mean everything's ok so why she should be.' That was Rainbow Dash, she knew that for a fact and what she had just said hurt. "It doesn't bring back Scootaloo, her brother or Derpy. Derpy didn't deserve to die, so she was a bit klutzy, we loved her regardless, she didn't deserve it. None of them did. It's Twilights fault, she should have been here.' That didn't make Twilight feel any better.
'How dare you say such a thing, you're alive because of Princess Twilight.' That was Luna and Twilight was happy to know that someone still liked her or at least she assumed so.
'It may be but that doesn't bring back Scoots, her brother and any other pony that died. I don't care anymore, I'm outta here.' Rainbow Dash repeated herself. Twilight couldn't see it but she knew that Rainbow rushed off.
'Look, she's moving.' Good old Fluttershy, being the first one to notice something so small as a movement.
Twilight's eyes fluttered open as a bright light blinded her. "W-What's going on?" Twilight asked trying to block the light.
"Hey Twi, good to see ya…alive." Applejack said with a forced smile. "I better get goin." She walked off quickly before letting Twilight say anything.
"Twilight, you reversed the spell, well done." Luna said with a genuine smile. "Allow me to explain. In the spell that you cast, one specific line, to paraphrase, bring back those that transformed. It brought back all those that were walkers not those that died and stayed that way." Luna didn't get the chance to continue before Twilight spoke.
"Where is the book, is it gone?" Twilight asked but got her response not from Luna but from the voice in her head.
'Oh dear Twilight, I'm far from gone and now I may have my revenge on you and then I'll kill the princesses.' The book said in Twilight's head.
"Shut up, don't you dare talk to me." Luna was taken back by the sudden outburst. "Leave me, the princesses, my friends, and everypony else alone. Do you hear me?" Luna could tell that Bête Noire had Twilight under its control. Twilight just kept screaming and hollering for it to be quiet.
"Leave her be Bête Noire, I'm your pet remember. Come get me!" Luna challenged.
'Oh Luna, you're no longer my concern, I set you free.' Luna fell to the ground holding her head in pain.
Pinkie, Rarity and Spike all came into the room at hearing the screaming. "What's going on?" Spike asked beginning to panic seeing Luna on the ground in pain and Twilight twisting on her hospital bed.
"How should we know, I want nothing to do with this. I only came because Rarity asked me to." Fluttershy said walking away from the scene. Soon Twilight jumped off the bed screaming.
"Shut up shut up shut up, leave me alone!" Twilight ran over to the wall and slammed her side into it two times before facing it. Twilight banged the side of her head into the wall. Spike tried to stop her but she kicked him away as she continued slamming the side of her head into the wall. "Get away from me!" Twilight ran over to the window and slammed her head into it. Rarity tried to stop her but it was no use. Twilight kept banging her head against the glass until it finally broke. Sharp shards of glass now stick out of her head. Glass sticks out of an eye which blinded her. Rarity tried to grab a hold of Twilight but Twilight pushed her away and then jumped out the window.
"Twilight, don't!" Rarity tried to grab onto Twilight but she was too late. Rarity looked out the window hoping that Twilight would spread her wings and fly away. That didn't happen though. Twilight landed head first on the concrete and right in front of Fluttershy who jumped back in shock. The sound of her neck snapping and bones breaking could be heard on the second floor where Rarity looked out the window in horror. Rarity let a small tear slip and then saw something floating closer to the hospital. "Wretched book." Rarity became so angry that her horn began glowing brightly and then a beam shot out and aimed for the book. Rarity shocked herself but watched as the beam hit the book. It caused a giant explosion but the book floated out of the dust cloud unharmed. Without warning, Luna flew past and out the broken window.
"Bête Noire, how dare you show yourself here." Luna said stepping in front of Twilights dead body. All that was heard was a chuckle. "What is so funny?"
The book opened it's pages and then used it's magic and blasted Luna in the chest. Luna was sent flying through the air. "Now for you my new and improved pet." The book said looking in Twilights direction and then opened it's pages and shot it's soul into Twilight's dead body. Many ponies from around town came to see what was going on. Twilight's body began shaking violently as it began to stand. The glass shot from her body and the wounds healed. Foreign markings appeared all over her body. Her coat, mane and tail became pitch black. Her eyes became blood red and her horn grew and twisted into a corkscrew. Her tail and mane became spiked and sharp like a porcupine. "I am the Bête Noire or for those less competent, Black Beast. I'm the new ruler of Equestria thanks to Twilight Sparkle. She may have saved you from the walkers but she failed to see my ultimate goal. None can oppose me."
"Want to bet?" Rick and the others fired shot after shot at Bête Noire but every bullet disappeared before hitting their mark. "That's impossible." Maggie said shocked.
"Bête Noire, you will fall." Luna said with Twilight's guards behind her. "Attack!" Luna and the guards attacked but could do nothing.
"Where am I, who am I?" A purple Alicorn asked looking around a blue white plane.
"Twily, it's good to see you. Are you ready to head home?" A white unicorn stallion with a shield for a cutie mark asked.
"I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" The purple Alicorn asked.
"You're Twilight Sparkle and my sister. My name is Shining Armor. I suppose that heading home now would be a mistake. I suppose you have some unfinished business to take care of. What do you remember of your living life?" Shining asked.
She thought for a moment and then nodded. "I remember a book." Her eyes widened in shock. "The book, I have to destroy the book. I don't remember who I am but I know that it was my job to destroy the book." Shining Armor nodded and then waved his hoof as if to move a curtain out of the way. Right in front of the two was a scene of Luna and some others fighting a pony. "Is that me?"
"Your body, good luck Twily." With that said, Shining vanished. "I'll be waiting for you."
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, I guess that sounds familiar." Twilight took a few steps forward when a blue pony with a cape bumped into her.
"Twilight Sparkle, I'm sorry. This was my fault, can you forgive me?" The blue pony asked.
"Who are you?" Twilight asked
"You don't recognize me?" Twilight shook her head. "I am Trixie or better known as the Great and Powerful Trixie. Great and Powerful indeed, I helped destroy everypony's lives."
"I'm sure that if I could remember you that I would forgive you." Twilight looked toward the fight going on. "I really must go though, nice to meet you." With that said, Twilight continued on her way toward the battle. Twilight stepped into the world of the living and through a small veil just as Luna went flying through her. "That pony looked familiar. All well, I have to deal with myself I suppose." Twilight moved forward and came within ten feet of herself. "Hey you!"
Bête Noire turned around at hearing a voice and her eyes widened. "How are you here, your dead. I have your body."
"I don't remember much but I know that I must destroy you." The two rushed each other and clashed horns. All the pony's around looked on in confusion seeing the Black Beast wrestling with something invisible. Twilight pushed her body back and then shot forward into her body.
Outside the tortured body of Twilight, Luna noticed the book just lying on the ground. She then looked at Twilights body which began to speak. "Luna, destroy the book now!" Luna and everpony else heard it, it was Twilight. As instructed Luna set the book aflame and as she had hoped. It burned as fast as dry grass. Twilight's body then began speaking again but this time it was an argument between the beast and Twilight. "It's over, that was the only thing keeping you alive."
"You fool, you make me leave you will die." The beast said struggling within the body.
"Then so be it." Twilight pushed the beast out of her body. Twilight followed letting her body die. The two became visible but appeared as holographic images in the air. Twilight looked like herself but the Black Beast changed. It's body grew and looked similar to that of Twilight's body when he was using it. The differences were clear though, no cutie mark, just a giant beast with a lot of muscle. The beast stands high above all the ponies. It has four eyes instead of two.
"Your body will be mine. I'm far stronger then you will ever be." The Black Beast charged up its horn with black magic and Twilight charged up her horn with white magic. The two clashed but the beast began gaining ground. "I told you, I'm stronger." The black beam shot through Twilights' and hit her in the head.
Twilight flew backward, went right through the library and landed next to the bookcase where a book landed in front of her. "What the?" Twilight said and then looked up and saw Rainbow Dash with tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Twilight, we can, one last time as friends, use the elements and beat down the beast." Rainbow said holding out Twilights crown.
Twilight grabbed onto the crown and put it on. She looked up and then saw the other five with their elements on. The five now look like holograms. "When I entered my body, I remembered everything and I forgive you, can you five forgive me?" The five nodded. "Then lets kill this beast." The others nodded and they exited the library. "Hey Bête Noire, that's right, I know who you are."
Once again the Black Beast attacked but this time Twilight had help. The six used the elements and fried Bête Noire to a crisp or so it looked. The elements then cracked and shattered into pieces. "Did you really think that six former friends could use the elements against me?" Bête Noire said with smoke coming off of him.
"No, I didn't think so but I thought that I could weaken you long enough to end you." Twilight said firing a beam of magic at the beast. It tried to block but failed. The beam hit the beast directly and went right through. The beast hollered and screamed in pain as the beam pierced it.
"This isn't possible, the elements are dead!" In a final explosion, Bête Noire shattered and turned to dust.
"Never underestimate the power of friendship even if it is dead." Twilight said and then disappeared.
The five friends had walked over to Luna with questions in mind. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are all or at least were affected by images, why didn't we go nuts like Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Twilight had been affected by it more then you five or even me. Bête Noire wanted revenge and that's what it got, to an extent. Twilight died because of the greater force driving her mad." Luna went onto explain things for the next three hours.
After the very long explanation, Luna left sadly being unable to see her sister again. Once Luna was gone, the five plus Spike started talking. "So this is it then, no more elements of harmony?" Pinkie asked
"That's right Pinkie, no more elements of harmony and no more of us. The effect of this experience, it doesn't matter. The only ones that will still see each other on occasion are Fluttershy and I." Rarity said, saddened by this whole ordeal.
"What about me then, the only family I had was Twilight?" Nopony said anything which gave Spike his answer. "Fine then, I'll just leave then." Spike left sadly.
"I think it's time to go our separate ways, see you all later or maybe not. It doesn't matter anymore." The group then went their separate ways.
As the years went by Rainbow Dash left the Wonderbolts and went into demolition to easily release her anger which had been a lot.
Fluttershy took on monster hunting but still met up with Rarity for their weekly spa sessions though they didn't talk much.
Rarity stopped making dresses and started selling them instead that was until she found a note from Spike. She had kept it a secret but Spike lost his mind and committed suicide. She hadn't thought about it when Spike said something the last time she saw him but she cared for the little dragon. Now Rarity lives as a hermit in the Everfree Forest in Zecora's old hut.
Pinkie stopped making others happy and simply worked her life away.
Applejack worked harder then ever and traveled the world with Apple Bloom. She became the over protective big sister.
The five of them did see each other on special occasions five times a year when they each visited the graves of their friends and families. They didn't speak to each other though.
Apple Bloom followed her sister everywhere mainly because Applejack wouldn't let her out of her sight.
Sweetie Belle left Rarity and never returned to her. She became a singer but every song was either sad or full of hate. Despite that, she had become famous.
Luna continued her life as normal except at night when she would visit her sister and cry.
Twilight's parents were depressed at first as they should have been. Their biggest complaint was that their bloodline ended until they realized that Cadance had become pregnant before the apocalypse happened. They now live with Cadance at the Crystal Empire. They missed their children and it did have its affect. Neither were the same.
Cadance tried to be the same for the sake of her foal but it wasn't any use. She had become irritable and angry with others even her mother and father in law. The love she had vanished almost completely.
Rick and his group separated. Maggie and Glenn got married. Daryl became a loner. Rick took Judith and raised her by himself. The others didn't get the pleasure of returning.
As for Twilight, she got to be with her brother but was saddened to see where her friends had ended up. Twilight wasn't so happy with Spike and what he did but she forgave him considering the circumstances.
Spike stayed with Twilight and though there was nothing else to do for her, he had his family back.
Trixie made up with Twilight and they actually became good friends.
Carol got to be with her daughter again.
Andrea got to see her sister and couldn't be happier.
Michonne may not have her Katana but she is with the people she loves.
Carl is with his mother as they watched Rick and Judith. Carl at this point couldn't help but believe in heaven now.
Hershel is with his wife and daughter Beth. They happily watched Maggie and Glenn live peacefully.
Merle well, he is lonely and could only watch his brother but at least his hand is back.
Bête Noire is where you would expect him to be, down below right where he belongs.
The End
A/N: I hope you enjoyed, please review and thank you.