Making sure that no one was around, Starlight, Trixie, and Discord hid behind the bushes on the outskirts of Ponyville. The town was quiet for now. Some ponies were chattering outside, while others remained in their homes.
But once they were spotted, Ponyville is going to be filled with nothing but terror, instant distrust and hostility, and Twilight and her friends ready to fight them.
"We're actually doing this." Trixie whispered in fright. "At this point are we just going to prove that we hadn't changed? If we are resorting to actual violence after all."
"If Zecora says that this is the only way things will get back to normal, then yes." Starlight answered her. "And we need to make it quick."
"If only I had a hammock so I could just watch you two fight." Discord muttered. "I wish I had my powers back."
"So you can put things back to normal?" Trixie asked him.
"No. So I can rule this town with chaos and disorder!" Discord raised his voice, but was immediately shut down by Starlight.
"Idiot! You'll give us away before we can even discuss a plan!" she scolded him.
"So how do we do it?" Trixie asked her friend.
"Find the source of the stupid spell." Starlight stated. "If a unicorn can cast it by accident, then there is a high chance that this charade will happen again. And I for one have enough memory loss situations for one lifetime."
She now looked at the ponies that were outside. "Plus, there has to be another way to stop this."
"And where exactly do you think it is?" Discord asked her, skeptical.
"Well, thats the thing. I have no idea." Starlight rubbed her neck nervously. "But my guesses are either in Twilight's castle, since her library is filled with millions of books. Or the Canterlot library. And Canterlot is the last place I would rather be right now."
But Discord didn't like the sound of that. "So all we have to do just waltz into Twilight's castle and scan through millions of books? Who knows how many books that pony has."
"And Twilight will hear us." Trixie added.
"Then we'll stay quiet as long as possible." Starlight reassured them.
With a glow of her horn, they teleported inside Twilight's castle, praying that the teleportation didn't alert the princess. Or hoped that she wasn't around at all.
But when they entered inside the castle, they saw thousands and thousands of books in the bookshelves. And Starlight knew that there plenty of more in this place.
We have to read all of this? Trixie thought in dismay. This looked like it could take hours!
And Discord felt the same way. "There is no way we have to read all of this." he grumbled.
"Just grab a book or two and scroll them through." Starlight immediately ran up to a bookshelf and grabbed three books. She skimmed each and every one of them, and tossed them aside.
The two of them eventually caught on and did the same thing, albeit much slower. Trixie grabbed a few books, but read through it slowly in case she somehow missed it. Meanwhile Discord just grabbed one book and flipped through the pages like a normal pony would.
Starlight looked at what they were doing and sighed in annoyance. "Seriously, are you guys snails?"
"Well, excuse us!" Trixie said hotly.
Just then they heard a noise outside the door. And all of their ears immediately perked up.
"What was that?" Trixie whispered.
Starlight immediately started walking ominously towards the door. And her horn lit up brightly and threateningly. "Stay close."
With Trixie and Discord right behind their tail, she followed her outside. And suddenly, Starlight leaped outside while scanning the hallways wildly.
"Show yourselves!" Starlight commanded.
"Wow. What a way to get Twilight's attention." Discord rolled his eyes.
"Be quiet." Starlight snapped.
When she looked around again, she noticed that no one was around.
"Ok..." Starlight said when her magic grew dim. "I think we're secure."
Suddenly, a loud tiny roar was heard. They all turned their heads and saw a figure leap from the shadows and immediately tackled Starlight.
She rolled on the floor, clearly unprepared for the attack. She looked to see Spike scratching her with his claws. And immediately went to her hind leg and bit it hard.
"Starlight!" Trixie and Discord screamed for her. And this same wimpy dragon can do this?
Starlight, who was in pain, immediately grabbed Spike and slammed him on the wall.
Trixie went up to assess her friend. Some scratches on her were starting to bleed, but her hind leg was bleeding more.
Trixie was about to ask questions to her friend, but she noticed that she was crying.
"I'm sorry, Spike!" she whimpered.
But he immediately snarled at her. "No you're not. You didn't seem sorry when you hurt my closet friend!"
And after he whistled loudly, more ponies appeared from the corridors. And they all tensed when they recognized them again.
"Missed us?" Rainbow said confidently as she flew in front of Starlight. And she immediately tackled her to the ground.
Trixie came in and rushed to help, but she was interrupted by Pinkie Pie with her cannon.
"Surprise attack!" Pinkie screamed as the cannon exploded confetti onto her, which made Trixie cough a lot.
Trixie, after finally getting rid of the confetti, searched around for Discord, but she caught him trying to talk to Fluttershy, to which the pegasus was crying by the sight of him.
"It's me!" Discord protested. "I'm your big loveable goofball!"
But she cried harder.
"Leave her alone!" Applejack yelled as she took out a lasso, and tied a rope around his snount.
Eyes slitted in rage, he lifted a lion's paw and he slashed Applejack on the head, and had enough force to knock her backwards and hit her head on the wall. Thankfully, his claws were not fully unsheathed, but Trixie noticed a few clawmarks on her cheek.
He eventually tore the rope off of his mouth and looked at an unconscious Applejack, and stuck a tongue out on her.
"Ow!" Trixie heard Starlight scream. She whipped her head and saw Starlight now covered with scratches and bruises from Spike and Rainbow Dash combined.
Despite being covered by so many injuries, she looked at the two with a hostile glare. "That all you got?"
"Want more?" Rainbow retorted back as she was about to punch her again.
This spell is making them more hostile than ever! She felt horrible that her friends were suffering while she stood around doing nothing. She immediately raced over to Rainbow and tackled her and pinned her to the ground. Startled, Rainbow tried to kick her off, but Trixie, much to her own surprise, kept holding her down.
"You hurt Trixie's friends?" Trixie said to the blue pegasus. "Trixie hurts you!"
She said as she quickly punched Rainbow on the cheek before the pegasus had time to react. It didn't bleed, but it did make her unconscious.
"Rainbow Dash-" Trixie heard Spike wail, but was interrupted when Starlight grabbed him with her magic, which made him not move.
Starlight watched as Spike kept trying to break through her magic aura, but kept failing. While sputtering a few inappropriate comments.
Starlight closed her eyes tight and kept crying.
"This is not the real him." Trixie tried to comfort her. "The real Spike is trapped under this stupid spell, and you're the only one that could save him."
"But I don't want to hurt him!" Starlight whipped her head to face Trixie.
"But he clearly hurt you!" Trixie said as she pointed to her scratches, and to her left hind leg, which was still bleeding.
But that still didn't help Starlight calm down.
Unfortunately, Starlight was weak enough to hold Spike now. And when he was free, and using Starlight's own sadness as a distraction, he immediately walked towards Trixie. She was about to attack him, but Spike was quicker, as he slashed her leg.
Alarmed, Trixie screamed in pain. She never knew that Spike's claws were this sharp. She assessed her hoof. It was slowly starting to bleed.
Suddenly, with Starlight still crying, Spike slowly opened his mouth, while green fire was starting to ignite.
"Starlight?" Trixie called out to her friend, but was too busy keeping her emotions in check.
"Discord?" Trixie whipped her head to find the creature, but he was distracted by Pinkie Pie's antics, by shooting millions of cannons everywhere, and throwing him pieces of cake.
"Damn it! " Trixie screamed.
Spike now opened his mouth, and breathing in deep for the flame. And for a second, Trixie could see his eyes glow blood red, similar to the color that she saw from Zecora's cauldron.
Trixie would normally fight back, but Spike was a distance away from her. So even if she did try to fight back, she would have to get closer to him.
Trixie immediately braced herself for the attack. She looked at two of her friends one last time before closing her eyes, expecting the fire to incinerate her.
But when Spike was about to breathe out, he was suddenly stopped. Trixie opened her eyes slightly to see Starlight levitate Spike, and immediately punch him on the cheek, and dropped his unconscious body.
"I'm so sorry..." Starlight whispered after a few moments of silence. With her tears now touching his scales. "I'm truly sorry..." and she immediately rested her head onto his chest. And wept silently.
Seeing that Starlight needed to be left alone, and it seemed that all the rest of the controlled gang were targeting Discord, she went to him instead.
Rarity was knocked unconscious, although she saw no claw marks on her head so maybe she took it lighter than the other, and even Pinkie was knocked out, but like Rarity, had no scratch marks.
The only one left was Fluttershy...
Discord was still towering over her. Trixie noticed that there was only bits on blood on his lion paw, but nothing too gruesome like Starlight's.
"You killed them!" Fluttershy whimpered.
"Not killed, saved." Trixie corrected her.
"From... what?" Fluttershy whimpered.
Trixie looked at Discord, and heard a tiny cracking sound coming from his clenched lion paw.
"To save you from this!" Discord roared. And with that, he punched her hard. And thus Fluttershy was down.
Discord got to his knees, and grabbed carried Fluttershy to his chest. "Why?!" he screamed in sorrow.
Trixie looked around her surroundings. Discord was wailing, Starlight was still crying over Spike's body, and the rest of her friends were unconscious still. All because of one spell cast by accident.
She now immediately hated the pony who created this spell in the first place. If the book says who did it anyway.
And Trixie felt useless in this battle. She watched her friends suffer while all she did was stare around and do nothing. She suddenly felt horrible.
I could've helped more. Trixie thought, angry at herself. But instead I watch my friends, or at least one of my friends, almost get killed.
It was as if this whole ordeal was her fault. And maybe it was.
My own fault.
She was about to start doubting herself more, but before she could, she could hear a groan besides her. Trixie turned and saw Applejack finally open her eyes.