Twilight Sparkle ran through the burning forest in a mad dash after Maud Pie, who was way ahead of her and almost out of sight. Rarity gasped and heaved as she tried desperately to keep up with Twilight. All around them trees were burning, and then they passed into an area where the trees were on fire, but not all of them, and the flames were quite calm- they were being controlled by magic. The lavender unicorn sensed the magic and knew they were real close, then she rounded the corner-

-just in time to see Maud Pie crush a 3-hoof wide boulder and hurl the entire pile of chunks at Sweetie Belle. Twilight saw the white filly’s head explode, and the rest of her burst into chunks, accompanied by a red cloud of blood mist.

Twilight halted so suddenly her hooves scraped the dirt. Her jaw dropped, her eyes bulged, and she gasped. completely stunned stupid by what she just saw. She stopped so suddenly that Rarity slammed right into her from behind. “Ooof! Twilight! What in the world-”

Then Rarity saw it. The mess everywhere. Applejack was still lying there, now covered in blood. And Rarity’s widened, increasingly bloodshot eyes saw what was left of Sweetie Belle’s pink and purple tail. And Maud Pie walking intently towards the mess. Rarity’s eyes moved to the bloodied rock fragment embedded in the bark of the nearby tree. And the white unicorn screamed bloody murder.

Maud Pie, about to say something to Applejack, heard the crazed shrieked, and turned to see Rarity running at her full speed, horn glowing, ready to fire off a spell at her.

”You monster! I’ll destroy you!” Rarity roared. Maud, hardly even blinking (okay, she was surprised enough she blinked once), saw the fury, the rage, the grief, the insanity in Rarity’s eyes. And she was ready.

Rarity screamed as she shot off a bright blue beam at Maud, who didn’t budge. Then when the beam of raw magic energy just about struck the gray mare, it split into two, and bounced off her, and the two beams struck nearby trees.

Rarity put all she had into that shot, in an insane attempt to blow Maud away, but seeing her daughter’s (*sister’s) murderer unscathed shocked Rarity into a full stop. Rarity gasped. Twilight Sparkle was too stunned to even act. She had been through way too much, and now overloaded with more magic than she was trained to safely magic, her mind really began to fray.

Rarity was terrified now. Maud looked at her and plainly said, “You’d be surprised. She isn't actually dead.”

”What do you mean she isn’t dead!!!” Rarity screamed at the top of her lungs. Tears streamed from her eyes. ”You killed her!! She’s she’s…..” Rarity’s voice broke up and trailed off when she gazed at what was left of Sweetie Belle.
“Just wait for it.” Maud replied, with no inkling of sympathy for the distraught mare.

Rarity screamed and charged at Maud, ready to pound the pulp out of her-
Maud jumped out of the way and dodged. Rarity, forehoof extended and meant for Maud’s face, flew past her and she hit the ground. Before she had time to get back up, Maud pounced on her and put her in a sleeper hold. Rarity’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, thinking she was about to die.

“Twi...light!” she managed to screech, before Maud bit down on a pressure point on her neck, instantly rendering her unconscious. Rarity went limp, and Maud gently eased her to the ground.
No sooner than she was done with Rarity was Maud assailed by a fireball, taking her by complete surprise.
But, just like last time, she was not burned or even harmed. Sure she felt the heat of it, but the fireball dissipated the instant it struck her.

She spun around and saw Twilight Sparkle, also seeing red, panting, sparks coming off her horn. Twilight gasped and her jaw dropped when she saw Maud completely unscathed by a 3600°F fireball.
“No...no way! What...you’re no unicorn...you’re not an earth pony...what the hell are you? And why did you kill them? Why?” Twilight cried out.

Maud still didn’t show any emotional reaction. “You’re friend isn’t dead, she’s just sleeping. I used a pressure point. She was out of control, so I stopped her. Attack me again, and I’ll put you out as well.”

Twilight could only stare at her new foe. The two ponies stood about seven trots apart.

“What do you want?” Twilight shrieked, fully crying now. She lost it and was crying like a burnt out filly needing sleep. Of course she was horribly sleep deprived.

“I want you to be quiet,” Maud said plainly, despite raising her voice over the roar of the nearby flames. “And keep your eye on Sweetie Belle.”

“What the buck are you talking about! She’s dead, Light damn it!” Twilight screamed. “She...she’s…”

Then Twilight’s eyes widened when she realized what was about to happen. Sweetie Belle was killed, and so her- the cap on the ‘volcano’ of magic from the magic plane was off, and any minute now, there’d be a massive explosion.

“Oh shit...oh shit!” Twilight turned to run the other way, completely panicked. Maud bolted after, galloping almost twice as fast, and she caught up to her, pounced, and took the panicked lavender unicorn down.

Maud gently but firmly pinned Twilight’s head to the ground, then spoke in her ear, “I have no patience for this. Now turn around and watch Sweetie Belle. You’ll see what I’m talking about.”

Twilight did so when Maud let her go, and she saw nothing, but she heard loud electrical snapping sounds coming from all that remained of Sweetie Belle. The noise grew more frequent and the two mares saw blue sparks shooting all around the bloody mess. While Twilight Sparkle just stared, Maud went over, dragged Rarity back away from the mess, and bit her in a pressure point to wake her up. Rarity shrieked as she woke up, but Maud put a hoof over her mouth.

“Shh, calm down, everything will be fine.”

Completely dazed and dumbstruck, Rarity nodded. She turned to look at the source of sparkling and flashing and her eyes widened.

“Sweetie Belle will be back.”

Rarity, still out of it just nodded. And she remembered that Maud just ended her little sister minutes ago, but she was mesmerized by what she was witnessing.

Over a period of several minutes, as sparks flew, the blood and gore began moving. Everything began collecting into a lump, and for all descriptive purposes, the corpse, now glowing with blue magic, began to rebuild itself. First the legs began to appear, beginning with bone, tendons, muscles, nerves, skin, and fur, followed by the hips, torso and finally head. The thing began squirming and convulsing as this grisly reconstruction process continued. And very slowly, the skull began to form, and the rest of the head came together. Both Twilight and Rarity stared in awe and horror at what they were witnessing. Even Maud appeared to be taken aback by what was going on...even though she was well aware of this process. As soon as the vocal cords re-formed, this thing began screeching unnaturally, giving off the hint it was in pain. Then, the body was fully formed, and the red of blood began to disappear from the filly’s white coat, and her mane and tail grew back at astonishing rates. With a loud flash and a bang, this...resurrection was complete, and Sweetie Belle screamed in agony then began sucking in air and started crying. She struggled to stand on her hooves, much like a newborn goat.

Twilight and Rarity could only stare at her. Maud allowed herself a slight smile. “I told you she would be back.”

Sweetie Belle, looking terrified, turned to face them, and she made eye contact with Rarity...who just gasped and fainted, fell over, and hit the ground.

“She’s….she’s alive…” Twilight breathed. Nothing in her years of study, research, and training would have prepared her for this. She had no idea this was even possible.
“Of course, no go tend to her,” Maud instructed, “Don’t worry, it’s safe,”

“Hold on,” Twilight protested, “Why did you kill her to begin with?”

Maud looked at her with that annoying trademark bored look on her face. “She was possessed by a spirit. A spirit of a long dead pony. I did what I did to rid her of that supernatural fiend. There was no other way. She’s linked to the magic plane, so she was haunted and it was necessary to do so.”

Twilight just looked even more puzzled, and frustrated that this earth pony wasn’t explaining anything well enough to her satisfaction; who knew more about magic than she did, apparently. “How the hay do you know so much about magic? Are you a unicorn too? You got a horn under that mane of yours?”

“No,” Maud said plainly, spreading her mane hair to reveal no horn. “I grew up in the presence of magic and unicorns. I adapted and learned how to sense things. Not uncommon among earth ponies with my background. Now go tend to her. She’s frightened.”

“B-but...HOW??? You turned her to...mush! How the hell did she=”

“Ok, seriously, shut the hell up and go tend to her,” Maud snapped back, that bucking annoying blank look on her face staring Twilight down. “Now.”

Twilight nodded and saw Sweetie Belle approach Rarity.

“Rarity? Rarity?” Sweetie cried, poking her. Rarity didn’t budge. Twilight walked up to her. Sweetie turned around and looked at Twilight. “Wha...what’s going on? Where are we? And why is everything on fire? Is...she gonna be okay? I’m scared...I wanna go home.”

Twilight embraced her by wrapping a foreleg around her. She still couldn’t believe all this herself. “It’s...she’s...she’ll be fine, she just...fainted. Don’t worry, you’re safe now.”

“What’s going on? I can’t remember anything,” Sweetie wept.

“Shhh…” Twilight tried to console her while Maud tended to Rarity. Twilight wondered how much of that greusome death Sweetie actually felt...or if she knew she had been shredded to pieces then magically put back together?

“Who is she?” the traumatized filly asked.

“That’s...Maud. Pinkie Pie’s...sister,”

Maud nodded to confirm that. “Nice to meet you. Give me a minute.”

Maud gently nudged Rarity this time, and Rarity slowly came to. When Rarity opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was-

-that unnatural resurrected ghostly abomination that imitated her dead Sweetie Belle!

“You get away from me you monster!” Rarity shouted at the filly as she sprang from her feet. Sweetie Belle jumped back, tripped and Twilight caught her. “Rarity! What are you talking about? She’s fine!” Twilight tried to sound convincing.

“No she isn’t!” Rarity shouted “She’s not my Sweetie Belle! My precious, adorable Sweetie Belle is dead! And you killed her!” Rarity lashed out and lunged for Maud, hooves up, ready to fight like a savage.
“You killed her! You killed her! What is that...thing you brought back?!” Rarity completely lost it.

Sweetie broke into tears, and Twilight held her back.

“And you’re in on it, aren’t you?!” Rarity shouted at Twilight, “Trying to trick me, you…!”

Rarity lunged repeatedly at Maud, desperately swinging blows, and missing as Maud dodged every hit. She was screaming non-stop.
Twilight put her hooves over Sweetie’s tears as Rarity continued her profanity-laced ragefit.
Soon Maud grew tired of this, and struck back, getting the white unicorn right in the neck, hitting that same nerve that knocked Rarity unconscious. All went silent, and Rarity hit the ground again.

“Pay her no mind,” Maud said to Twilight and Sweetie, “She’s in need of her beauty sleep. Twilight, you should make a spell to erase her memory of this. Last thing both of them need.”

Twilight nodded. Sweetie Belle just continued to cry. The lavender unicorn looked around and saw Applejack lying on the ground, still breathing. Maud saw the hick mare and remembered too.
“Heal her up, and let’s go.”

“R-right,” Twilight said, “But I’m still sensing the magic-”

Bright blinding flash. Violent blast. Boom!

Twilight, Maud, and Rarity (out cold) were all violently thrown back two trots, each of them hitting the parched dirt and tumbling about.

Before either mare could comprehend what just happened, an ear splitting scream echoed through the woods, forcing both Twi and Maud to throw their forehooves to their ears. They both looked at Sweetie Belle, who was glowing,, and realized she was the one screaming. But it was no filly’s scream; it was an unnatural screech, much like screeching metal and rock. Another flash burst out from Sweetie Belle, and the two mares, both scared out of their minds, not that Maud showed it, saw ghostly apparitions shooting around the filly. They ran and flew around in a sheer panic, totally ignoring Twilight and Maud. All of them screaming, barking, and crying now, they were converging on Sweetie Belle, then they, too, were blown away, and just vanished in the second blast.

Again the bright flash forced Twilight and Maud to both look away, and when it passed, they looked and saw one ghostly apparition of an old, scarred, partly decayed mare, bearing the same white fur and same pink-purple mane and green eyes as Sweetie, glaring at them.

Twilight’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t comprehend this. Maud, on the other hoof, looked bored. Twilight had grown frustrated and really wanted to bash the earth pony upside the head just for her expressionless. Not that the normal Twilight Sparkle would do such a thing, it was just that Twilight had been driven to the edge of her sanity.

“You…” the ghost mare howled. “Stay away! This filly belongs to me.”

Both Maud and Twilight stood up.

“Who are you?” Twilight asked dumbly, then aggressively, “What the hell are you? And why are you-”

“That is no concern of yours, now begone! This is not your fight!”

“Hell no, that filly is ours, and what fight are you talking about?” Twilight retorted.

“Of course, you would be ignorant, Twilight Sparkle,” the apparition said.

Twilight’s face read surprise again. “How the hell do you know my name- oh, you got her memories….and what is it you plan to do?”

“I have no obligation to speak to you,” the ghostly mare spoke in her raspy voice, “You’re a coward, and a traitor. Consider yourself lucky I don’t drag you and your rock friend both into the pits of hell!”

“Coward?” Twilight responded, “so says the angry ghost who attacks and controls a living filly and uses her to wreak your havoc in a time and place where you don’t belong. What gives you the right to do what you did? Just because you exist in another form, doesn’t excuse you from what Celestia will do to you and your kin for your crimes!”

“Silence! Your ignorance whittles away my patience!”

Twilight used a trump card: “Patience? Let’s see how ‘patient’ you are since I just sent a telepathic message to Celestia right now. She’ll be on her way. And she’ll inflict a punishment not you or any of your friends from wherever, or whenever, will be able to comprehend! Right now, you are in direct violation of the laws of the afterlife. Illegally entering another place and time where you don’t belong, using your magic, and utilizing the magic plane to do so, and using a filly as a vassal and committing mass murder!”

“Enough!” the ghostly mare, “I will be cowed by no one!”

Then the lavender unicorn played another card: “You won’t be able to run from your crimes. Celestia will punish all of you for this. If you want any hope of mercy, stand down, and explain yourself!”

The ghostly mare looked surprised, then much to Twilight’s surprise, she didn’t call her bluff.

“Very well, Twilight Sparkle, understudy of the Princess. I will tell. But I cannot deviate from my path of action, I have superiors to whom I must answer.”

“Well, they forget who’s really in charge,” Twilight insinuated. “Like I said, release that girl. Do it now.”

“I cannot, she is my gateway to your time,” the ghost mare responded, “But be thankful I will give you the courtesy, since you failed, no, refused to read about us yourself,”

“Read? What the hell are you talking about?” Twilight demanded, noticing out of the corner of her eye, Maud Pie taking a defensive stance infront of Rarity and Applejack.

“The spellbook, Twilight Sparkle.”

Memories flashed through her mind. That spellbook she found in the Everfree Forest during a routine gathering excursion. The one she had to handle carefully to avoid being attacked by its spells. The book she had to seal in a package and mail to Canterlot. The book she lost on the way. The book Sweetie Belle got into…

Guilt and shame hit her like a bomb. And she remembered she was the cause of all this.

“Go on,” Twilight said, in a not so aggressive voice now. She tried to hold back tears.

“Why did you refuse to take the magic from our book? It was a tool, a weapon, a message from the mages of my time. We sought help, we sought revenge, we wanted to make sure the cruelty of the earth ponies and the Pegasi never again befalls the unicorns.”

“That’s what this is about? Your lust for revenge?” Twilight demanded. “These ponies you murdered today had nothing to do with those who you faced in the past.”

“Not true, Twilight Sparkle. The earth ponies who died had committed acts of cruelty against unicorns. The one you call Applejack sought to dehorn this filly, in a city of the likes who tried to slaughter us all! Along with the rest of them.”

“Okay, first off, what is your name?”

“I am Aura Belle, a distant ancestor of this little...Sweetie Belle, as you call her. And no, I didn’t attack her. She opened the book, and she found us.”

“‘Us?’” Twilight asked, “Who the hell is ‘us’?”

“Everypony. Shut up and I will explain it to you. And you can therefore explain it to the Queen, who ignored our cries for help, who allowed the Pegasi to slaughter millions!”

“Queen?”

“Celestia, you fool! You may call her the princess, but back in my time, everypony called her the Queen. Those who failed to address her properly were punished with death.”

“Okay,” Twilight said, glad she was getting somewhere, but surprised to hear these things. Celestia a mass murderer? Unthinkable! Celestia was the light and love of the world! The supreme mother of ponies everywhere.

“I see you don’t believe me. Naturally, she would have you not believe such things, but 'tis truth I tell you! I can see even your...earth pony subordinate over there, believes me.”

Twilight scoffed, “Like hell you’d know what she thinks,”

“I can see it in her eyes. Be sure to ask her about the memories of the rocks. The rocks absorb the memories of every life form to have existed on this planet.”

Twilight shot Maud a surprised glance, and Maud simply nodded. “Don’t look at me, look at her...or it, or whatever,” Maud said.

“Okay, fine, whatever! Just tell me what happened in your time, and why you waited until however many years after your death to take revenge on ponies who had nothing to do with their ancestors’ crimes,” Twilight demanded.

Aura Belle sighed, “As if you could comprehend the life I lived. “Very well, I will tell you, and you will see for yourself-”

“No, don’t you even think about hacking into our brains!” Twilight threatened.

"You want to know the truth? Allow me to show it to you!" Aura Belle released a bright white flash, forcing Twilight to look away. She heard a scream from Maud that was cut short. Twilight felt the hostile magic encroach upon her but she deflected it.

Twilight opened her eyes and saw Maud on the ground, writing in agony, along with Rarity. Aura Belle shot two lines of bright violet magic to each of their heads.

Twilight felt the rage surge up within her. She was pissed, and she was out of patience. She felt the power surging through her, and the painful sensations of the magic zapping throughout her body. Enough was enough, she was sick and tired of being the one not in control of the situation, and now she furious, and now the lavender unicorn was going to do something about all this shit.

Twilight threw up a white hot ball of energy and fired it at Aura Belle, striking the pony ghost head on, cutting off her magic to Maud and Rarity. Loud bolts of magic crackled around them. Aura Belle looked at her in shock. The ugly ancient ghostly bitch didn't expect that dumb unicorn to interrupt her all powerful magic. Then it quickly dawned on her that Twilight Sparkle was surging with a colossal amount of magic.

"You...you dare to attack me?" Aura Belle snarled. "I won't hesitate to send you to the depths of our hell!"

"You murdered ponies. You destroyed this farm. You tried to mess with me. It is on," Twilight seethed with a deadly icy air in her voice. Before the ghostly mare could respond, Twilight roared as she summed up another blast of magic, converted it into a shock wave and hurled it at Aura Belle. It actually worked as Aura, connected to Sweetie Belle, had a semi-physical presence here. She was hurled back several trots into the flaming woods.

Aura Belle shrieked as she flew back into the clearing, speeding right at Twilight. "I'll kill you!"

Twilight stared head on at her new enemy. "Oh, it is ON!"

And everything went into hell.

Author's Notes:

Told you she'd survive...but i don't know how. Ask Twilight, she's the one who should have studied like a maniac and know this shit. Poor Rarity. Anyways I'll make somepony explain this when I can.

Oh, and angry head cannon douche bags who hate this story:

Everyone else who still likes this and who's put up with me, you're all still awesome, I told you she wouldn't be dead. I actually kind of wish I wrote the last chapter differently, I failed to realize I'd have upset some people.