The End of the Beginning

Twilight's POV

"Twilight Sparkle!" I heard Rarity scream, while running down the hall. "Twilight, please help! HELP!" I turned my head and saw her. I was so shocked to see her sobbing and out of breath. For Rarity to panic like that things had to be bad…well at least in this case.

"Rarity what's wrong?" I asked urgently. She held herself up on shaky hooves and didn't waste any time running back to the hospital room Sweetie Belle was in. The door was shut, and it sounded like there were several doctors crammed in there. "R-Rarity what's happened here?" I cautiously stepped closer to the fragile shell of my best friend.

"I-I just dispatched my sister in a fury based carnage," she pronounced with the most blank expression I'd ever seen on a pony's face.

"What are you talking about Rarity?" I protectively asked. She looked woozy and swayed back and forth. "Rarity?" The second those words left my mouth she tumbled to the tiled floor. "Rarity!" I quickly leaned down and tried to assist her.

"I didn't do anything! Put me down! Help, somepony help me!" I heard a voice shout behind me. I quickly glanced behind me. There were several police ponies behind me carrying away a struggling Scootaloo.

"Please, unhoof her! What did she do?" I asked trying to get to the bottom of all of this turmoil.

"We received a call about a murder," a police pony explained. "She will be escorted back to prison." He violently shoved Scootaloo towards the doors of the lobby.

"Please!" I pleaded. "As Princess Twilight Sparkle I demand you explain everything!"

"Well then," he started as he hoof-cuffed Scootaloo. "We may be here a moment or two." I took a look around, and saw nurses helping Rarity to a room of her own, and then I saw a doctor wheeling a covered body out of Sweetie Belle's room. "I-I have time."

"Well you see Scootaloo had been discovered with her drunken mother on her eighteenth Birthday. She had been knocked unconscious by a beer bottle and removed from the house. Since she was eighteen she could decide whether or not to go back, which for some reason she did. Her mother had been arrested and put into prison: where she still remains."

"Then why is Scootaloo in the situation of going BACK to jail?"

"I couldn't keep dealing with the stress of my alcoholic mother, but I didn't want to start partying alone so I tried to get Sweetie and Apple Bloom to come and try to keep me a little toned down, so I wouldn't go overboard…but when they said they wouldn't I ended up binging. Then one night I got caught drunk with my fake ID and then…the rest just was downhill." Scootaloo looked so shameful.

"Scootaloo, as a princess, I order you be sent to a rehabilitation center and helped at once. You're too young to stay in prison for the rest of your life." The ends of her lips curled up and she hugged me once the police stallion removed her handcuffs.

"Thank you Princess Twilight," she sighed. "I won't let you down."

Apple Bloom's POV

"Hurry up Apple Jack! We'll be late!"

"I'm comin' Apple Bloom! Don't be screamin' at me."

"Sorry, I just wanna see Sweetie Belle, I keep hearin' she's doin' worse and worse," I frowned.

"Hey, now don't you worry one little bit. She's gonna be fine, I mean she only just got put in the hospital."

"I know, but Apple Jack she looked bad last time I saw her. They said she was livin' without any nutrients for about four weeks. They don't know how she lasted."

"Well she did, and she still is," Apple Jack smiled back.

"Let's just hurry please," I begged.

"Alright, alright, Big Mac: you're watching the baby, right?"

"Eeyup."

"Ok, then let's get goin' Apple Bloom."

"Bout time!" I complained. We started for the door and then head off to the hospital. Half after seven O'clock at night is when we got there. We stepped in through the doors just as somepony was being wheeled out the front….somepony with a pink and purple mane. The most familiar mane I knew that wasn't kin to me. "Apple Jack?" I asked weakly.

"Y-yeah?" I could tell from her voice she saw it too.

"Please tell me they're just taking Sweetie Belle for a walk," I asked, with a breath barely escaping me.

"Uhh…Sugar cube come here," Apple Jack held me close: she knew I was about to crack. Next thing I knew my body was reacting to the news. My mind couldn't handle it, but my body was shivering and sobbing.

"She's not dead," I stomped my hoof in protest and yelled. "She can't be dead! She has twins! BABY twins!"

"Apple Bloom I am so sorry…" my sister responded. I could tell we were both hurtin', but her pain and mine combined couldn't relate to Rarity and the babies pain.

"C-can we go inside please?" I sniffled.

"Yeah Apple Bloom…we can go inside." She opened the door for me and we began our endless walk. Every face we passed looked like they were on a different planet. They looked like they hadn't just had their heart ripped out. Time slowed down, and so did we as we kept walking. It was like a tunnel of thoughts ripping through.

"Twilight, have you seen Rarity?" Apple Jack asked. We looked and saw all my sister's friends already in the waiting room. Fluttershy was sobbing, Rainbow Dash was looking at the ground, and Twilight was pacing back and forth.

"They just took her to her own room: she's in terrible condition." She admitted.

"Did she get sick too?" I asked wiping my eyes.

"No, but she's in a serious state of shock. She thinks she killed Sweetie Belle."

"Why would she blame herself for Sweetie's disease?" Apple Jack asked.

"Well there was a little…incident." Fluttershy chimed in.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well you see…Rarity was fighting with Scootaloo, and then things got violent. Violent enough to knock over flowers…"

"Flowers?" Apple Jack looked skeptical. "Are yall tryin' to tell me Rarity killed Sweetie in a fit of rage over some flowers?"

"No!" Rainbow Dash corrected. "Rarity knocked over the flowers and the water got all over the machines keeping Sweetie alive. She died a tragic death because of Rarity."

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight scolded. "This was a tragic accident that only put Sweetie Belle out of her misery. If anything it's a blessing in disguise. I mean I don't think we should be happy she's gone, but we should be very glad she's not suffering anymore, right?"

"I see it that way, you see it that way, but Rarity's blaming herself. She sees it as her and Scootaloo "murdering" her. I am sick and tired of ponies giving Scootaloo a bad rap! She's a great kid!"

"Rainbow Dash she's taken a tough turn." Twilight defended.

"Yeah, trying to get a pregnant seventeen year old filly into a club isn't the BEST way to prove you're a model citizen." I sighed. "Wait, why are we wasting our time talkin' about Scootaloo? What's going to happen now?" I asked.

"Well we called Rarity's parents. They'll be here shortly, and we'll be discussing where the foals are going to go."

"They should go with Rarity!" I reminded.

"Well in a perfect world they would be going with Rarity, but Rarity can't remember them. Spike's coming home from college tomorrow on leave for grieving purposes and he's going to help me figure out how to get her memory back, but until then those twins don't have a loving home. Rarity resents them, and Sweetie's parents wish they were never born. It's not a very good situation."

"Excuse me," a nurse interrupted. "We have Rarity asking for somepony named "Apple Jack.""

"That'd be me," my sister stepped in. The nurse smiled and escorted Apple Jack into the back room.

Apple Jack's POV

I have seen Rarity in her share of down days, but this takes the cake.

"R-Rarity, how you holding up?" I asked. She looked up at me with this look of gloom and mourning.

"I feel like I've rid the world of its most precious gemstone…" She wasn't crying. RARITY wasn't crying over something awful. Something so despicable it couldn't be processed. I could tell it was too much for her to talk about.

"Rarity, there was nothing you coulda done. She was miserable, and she was suffering. You saved her." I comforted.

"Apple Jack I had ONE sister," she started. "One sister, no brothers, no close parents, no nieces I could remember, and I've never had a close relationship since Opal passed on."

"Rarity, you may not remember this last year and a half but-"

"That's just it Apple Jack. I can't remember this last year: THE last year I had with my baby sister. I can't remember the birth of my nieces or raising them, or growing with my sister. I don't remember the hard times I helped her through, and I need to." She still wasn't crying. She was just lying there like a broken shell.

"Rarity you might not remember them, but they sure do remember you," I promised. "They need you now more than ever, because if they don't have you they're going straight to the orphanage."

"Apple Jack, may I ask you something?"

"Sure thing sugarcube," I sighed.

"If you were in my position, what would do? If something horribly unspeakable happened to Apple Bloom and you had to make a choice with Little Macintosh, what would you do?"

"H-honestly?"

"I wouldn't ask for a lie…"

"I-I would find him a good home, and a family that would love him. I would want to keep my sister's son, but with Big Macintosh and Granny Smith: he just wouldn't be in the right place."

"Well, what would make them any better off with a fashionista Auntie that doesn't even know how to make a proper bottle, and likes to sleep in, and is ALWAYS working with dangerous tools."

"Rarity, please listen to me," I begged. "You LOVE those girls, and they love you. You can't just rip everything away from them: everything they know."

"I just had everything ripped away from me, so it's better they start now than when they're my age."

"Rarity, have some compassion!"

"Excuse me," Twilight interrupted, entering the room. "I think I have an idea."

Fluttershy's POV

Princess Celestia called me into the palace this morning. I had no idea the reason she wanted to see me, but I always was obedient to her. I walked through the gorgeous doors and into Celestia's private room. She was patiently waiting for my arrival.

"Fluttershy, please sit down," she started. I did as I was told and she stared at me. She was very deep in thought, but she was determined to discuss something: I could tell. "Recently I have been on leave, and during that small time frame there was a revolt of some sort with my guards. Now, royal guards don't just revolt for no good reason, so I demanded explanation as to WHY they did what they did, and how they could let Shadow Strings escape, and my answer was a little bit shocking to say the absolute least."

"W-well what was it?" I felt so sheepish.

"Well they told me they were taken over by a spell of some sort. Twilight then explained to me that Shining Armor had had a run in with Trixie. I assumed she had something to do with it, but Twilight told me that she had been there when Trixie confronted Shining Armor and she had no intentions of telling them why she had placed mind control on the guards. All I know now is that Shadow has been used as a pawn for Trixie for a long time."

"A-a pawn?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

"Please take a moment to gather yourself, because this information is a little unsettling."

"I can handle it…" I promised.

"Shadow Strings had just found out that Sweetie Belle was pregnant. He was so mortified that he was ruining her life, and Rarity's outburst didn't help him. He was under so much stress that Shadow killed himself."

"Wh-what?! What are you talking about? He's not dead!"

"Correct. He's not dead: anymore." I was utterly confused. "Trixie was searching for a puppet to use for a plan that she'd been planning for a very long time. She'd been so humiliated by Twilight from their last run-in. So she ran far away and started practicing to become a better wizard. She worked very hard and learned a re-animation spell. I'm not one hundred percent sure why, but she used your cousin to try to get to Twilight. She possessed him, and not only did she animate him, but she also reanimated Scootaloo who died from an alcohol overdose on her eighteenth birthday. I don't know if she got anypony else, but I do know that Shadow's plans to get rid of Sweetie Belle was a riff in the spell."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean that while Trixie set up the spell for Shadow to slowly go after Twilight while torturing and slowly killing her, the spell created an alternate self and targeted Sweetie Belle." She explained.

"So Shadow didn't turn evil?" I asked. "He's still the old Shadow deep down inside?"

"Not exactly," she replied. "You see, Shadow is dead. The only thing left of him is his body and the thoughts Trixie plugged into his mind. That's the reason he didn't die when he was stabbed. How could you kill a dead stallion?"

"I-is there any way we can get him back?" I pleaded with teary eyes.

"I'm afraid not Fluttershy. His body's deceased, and once we destroy the spell I'm afraid so will the rest of him."

"Princess, Sweetie Belle's dead, and Rarity and her parents don't want the foals! You're the princess! Can't you please do something?" I pleaded. I just started to cry and beg. I could see Celestia's face turn sad.

"Fluttershy…there is something I can do," she admitted. "I can try to use the reanimation spell with different motives, but to do that we'll have to make SURE that the other spell is completely erased from the body."

"So he won't be the same stallion?" I asked with puppy-dog eyes.

"He will still be your cousin, since I'm the one who gave him his original life. He will be himself again."

"The real him? Not the monster he became?"

"He will be just as he was the day he committed suicide," she promised. "Scootaloo on the other hoof is going to jail for what happened to Sweetie Belle, and for escaping in the first place."

"But…but Twilight sent her to rehab."

"Twilight had contact with the reanimated Scootaloo? Oh no…we need to go find them both. Quickly Fluttershy, lead the way."

"A-alright princess."

Twilight's POV

Rarity was sleeping on my guest bed and Spike was sitting in the cage so he wouldn't disturb her while I worked.

"Rarity needs me Twilight!" Spike whined from the cage. "Can't I just sniff her mane?"

"Go back to sleep Spike," I sighed rolling my eyes. I grabbed my spell book and continued looking for something to heal Rarity. Anything to get her memory back before the custody had to be chosen. "Oh my goodness! I found something! Rarity! Rarity get up I have a solution!" I hopped up and down with excitement.

"Y-you've done what?" She whined. "Why must you wake me from my only escape?" she asked with a frown.

"Sorry, but Rarity I can give you your memories back!"

"You must be joking," she gasped. "Do it quickly! Right now! Immediately!" she demanded.

"Alright, alright Rarity, calm down." she made me giggle just at her reaction.

"Twilight, you're going to cure me! There's no time to be peaceful!" it was nice to see a glimmer of happiness from Rarity. I looked back at the book and started to recite the spell. Spike and I watched intently as Rarity looked around the room.

"T-Twilight I remember," she stated in shock. "I remember my nieces." She began to cry from happiness and relief. "I remember my little Minnie and Pearl! I remember their birth! I remember their first words! I remember them bothering me while I sewed! I remember the most precious beings in the world!"

"Twilight!" princess Celestia shouted with a burst through the door. Fluttershy was standing beside her with a confused looking Shadow Strings. "Where's Scootaloo?" she demanded.

"I remember their father!" Rarity's happiness turned to rage and she jumped onto Shadow trying to strangle him.

"Rarity!" gasped Fluttershy. "Please, let Princess Celestia explain!" Celestia and I both removed her from Shadow.

"Rarity Shadow Strings isn't who you think he is," Celestia started. "In fact, he's not what you think at all. The Shadow Strings that hurt Sweetie Belle all of those times was a creation of Trixie."

"W-what?" asked Rarity. Celestia went into this detailed story about what Trixie had admitted to me. "So…this is the real Shadow? The one who's worst crime was impregnating my sister?" Celestia nodded in response. "I never thought I would be so alright with that." Rarity approached Shadow with a hug, and he looked stunned, as did we all I'm sure.

"Miss Rarity…I don't remember what I did to Sweetie, but I know that I can't-"

"Stop right there," she started. "Now you listened to me. I love my nieces very much, and they don't have a mother anymore. I will give you no strikes, no second chances, and NO lenience: but if you can help me with these girls, and prove you can be a good father, I will let you." Shadow looked at her, and she looked at him.

"Thank you so much…" he smiled and looked over at his girls sleeping in the corner. "Is that them?" he asked. Rarity nodded in appeasement.

"H-hi Minnie, hi Pearl." Both the girls stared up at him and smiled pleasantly accepting his greeting. They probably didn't recognize him too much, but that was more than likely a good thing.

"Hello?" I looked back and saw Celestia on her cell phone. "Yes, well…thank you," she sighed. Celestia looked back up at me. "If you knew Scootaloo was re-animated, then why in the world did you get that close?"

"Princess Celestia, if that Scootaloo would have known I knew she might have killed me! I had to be careful, why?"

"That was the royal guard. They've got the body and they're putting it back in the ground, where it belongs." She smiled a bit after saying that, which confused me.

"W-wait," I pleaded. "Can't you do the reanimation spell on Scootaloo? What about Sweetie Belle!"

"Then after that I can reanimate the Apple family's parents, and then when Granny Smith's time is up I'll reanimate her too."

"I…I get it. Shadow's a special case."

"Precisely, and as far as everypony else is concerned he never committed suicide." I nodded with a frown. It wasn't an easy choice, but it was the right one. The rules of death had to apply, but Shadow needed to be here.

"Princess I know that we can't do this with everypony, but what if we just made an exception for the reanimated ponies…both of them?" She looked back at me and sighed.

"I suppose that would be the fair thing to do," she admitted. "I will cast the spell on Scootaloo and then it will be destroyed, alright?"

"Yes, Princess Celestia," I smiled. "Thank you so much and I know Rainbow Dash would thank you too."

"Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go dig up a grave." With those words, Celestia was gone. I looked over at Rarity with Shadow on the ground. They were happy, with the girls. Just this morning they were doomed to be orphans with a deadbeat dad, and now they've got their loving aunt back, and they've got a father that really loves them. I guess the rest is all in the future's hoofs.

Author's Note

:D It's over! Over! Spin-off time! :D