The ponies charged forward to their enemies. Their eyes narrowed in a fierce gaze, all of their horns were lit and ready. The only difference was that Celestia and Luna were smiling, Twilight and her friends were not.
When they met in battle, lasers and shields popped up everywhere. Twilight shot a laser beam to Celestia, but the princess blocked it with a magical shield. She tried to retaliate by shooting another laser beam to Twilight, but the purple alicorn dodged it skillfully.
Starlight and Trixie were facing Luna. Trixie was distracting Luna by throwing smoke bombs, which were teleported to the battle, into Luna's face, blocking her vision. While Starlight kept shooting lasers while she had the advantage. She was careful to not shoot out lethal ones. She didn't want to kill the real Princess Luna, who was probably watching the fight in utter horror.
But despite the disadvantage, Luna got hold of Trixie with her magic, and had thrown her to the other side of the tower, causing her to skid hard on the ground. Starlight, however, was harder to handle. The lilac unicorn is more talented than her friend when it came to magic, but that doesn't mean that she was impossible to hit. She had hit Starlight a few times with her magic: one next to her cutie mark, and a mark next to her left ear. Unfortunately for her, the attacks didn't even faze Starlight even by a little, despite her race being weaker than an alicorn. Realizing this, Luna decided to make her lasers more deadly, and Starlight realized it too when Luna's laser hit one of her hooves.
Starlight winced by the attack, and she even limped a little, but she still kept on fighting strong. Not long afterwards, Trixie finally got back up from the attack, and due to her smoke bombs not available, she decided to try out the next battle move: biting. Trixie pounced on Luna and bit one of her ears hard, which made Luna screech in pain. Starlight used a magic lasso to grab onto one of her hooves, but unlike the harmless lassos she had used before, this one had heat. Luna cried out in pain when Starlight's lasso had grabbed one her hind hooves, causing her to fall. Starlight and Trixie smirked by the sight.
Luna noticed their smiles too, which made her angry. "I'll wipe those stupid smiles off of your face once I kill the both of you!" she snarled, enraged.
She sent a magical wave that knocked back Starlight and Trixie. Far enough that they have almost fell out of the tower. Luna charged forward in high speeds, her long, sharp horn forward and ready.
"Look out!" Starlight warned as they both jumped out of the way in time. Before Luna could react, she hit her head onto the tiny wall. She was dizzy and had birds around her head. Starlight and Trixie looked satisfied in the sides.
"Starlight!" Starlight's ear twitched when she heard Spike call her name. She looked to see Spike struggling with the chains.
Starlight turned to face her friend. "You think you can handle Luna?"
Trixie whipped her head to see an unconscious Luna, then back at Starlight with a determined nod. "I'm sure."
Nodding back, Starlight raced towards the chained dragon. But before she could, she checked on Twilight with her fight with Celestia. The two were eveningly matched; not one of them looked tired from the fight.
Deciding that she will be fine, Starlight headed towards Spike. He looked up and saw his eyes beam with gratitude. "Starlight! You're coming to save me?"
Starlight smiled warmly as she teleported Spike out of the chains. "Of course I am. Why would I leave you to suffer?"
Then the two hugged each other. Starlight noticed that Spike was starting to cry. She faced the dragon and wiped a tear off of his face. "Everything will be ok, Spike. After this night, all of us will go back to our—"
Slash!
"Ah!" Starlight was caught off-guard by a scratch that cut her left cheek. She rubbed her brand new wound and her eyes narrowed in fear by the sight of her own blood that stained her hoof. Horrified, she turned to face Spike, but before she could even react, he pounced on her, biting the side of her neck hard.
Screaming in pain, she knocked Spike away with her hooves and quickly got to her feet. Her neck was also dripping with blood from the bite marks. Starlight looked up to see Spike grinning at her evilly, much to Starlight's utter horror.
"Luna was no use to me, so I decided to do some transitioning!" Spike said giddily.
Her heart beating fast, and her ears downward, Starlight slowly backed away from the dragon.
"What's wrong? Where's that little smile of yours?" Spike taunted the unicorn.
Normally Starlight would be angry when someone taunted her, but the only emotion that she felt was fear.
Not again, not again, not again. Starlight repeated in her mind while she backed away. This was the moment she was most fearful about. Flashbacks dreaded in her mind as she remembered the first memory of her attacking Spike back at the castle. But now she had to do it again? Am I mentally strong enough?
Spike continued to grin wider. "You can fight powerful princesses, but not a harmless little dragon?" he taunted again. Once again, while she was caught off-guard, Starlight pounced her again, causing the two of them to roll around with Spike managing to get a grip onto Starlight's skin. After the tustle, Spike managed to push Starlight's body to the ground, and slashed her again, leaving blood marks onto her chest, which slowly started to bleed too.
Starlight knows she has the power to overpower Spike, but her initial fears kept replaying in her mind. Over and over again.
"I always knew you were weak. It just took me a while to find your weak spot: having to hurt the one creature that you care the most." Spike smiled even wider, showing his fangs. "Any last words before you die a horrible death to your dear, closest friend?"
Tears streaming from her eyes, she shut them tight, trying to get the fears out of her mind. She felt Spike's claws dig deep into her chest, which had tiny streaks of blood from the cut.
Come on, Starlight! You're stronger than this!
Fight the curse!
Who are you? A weakling? Fight!
But for some strange, stupid reason, she couldn't bring herself to attack Spike...
"The fear is relishing! I just love to see the fear in your eyes. Right before I kill you." Starlight heard Spike proclaim. During that moment, she heard Trixie call her name, but she didn't dare to open her eyes, fearful of seeing Spike preparing to kill her.
But... during that moment, Trixie's words from the other day ringed into her head, and it seemed to overtake her fears.
Always remember that you're not fighting Spike. You are simply fighting the curse controlling Spike. Would you like to give mercy to the curse that caused us misery? The curse that caused Twilight, Spike, and their friends complete misery?"
Breathing hard, Starlight slightly opened one of her eyes. But instead of seeing Spike, she hallucinated and saw another creature on top of her. It was black, misty, and had blood-red eyes that stared into her soul. It smiled widely, showing it's white fangs.
If you give mercy to a possessed Spike, then you are giving mercy to the curse. Are you willing to let the curse control your friend? Are you giving mercy to the curse when the curse wouldn't do the same for Spike and his friends?
No!
When her eyes darted open, she saw Spike opening his mouth wide, ready to bite into her neck again. Her teeth bared into a snarl, Starlight finally gained the willpower to kick Spike off with her hind leg. When he recovered from the blow, Starlight got up as quickly as she can and kicked Spike with her hind leg again, this time adding more force.
Spike rolled onto the ground. He was clearly unprepared for the attack. When he got back up, he was face to face with Starlight again. She was breathing hard, the blood from her cheek and chest were dripping on the floor. The two enemies started circling each other, both of their gazes resting on the other intensely.
"It took you that long to finally defend yourself. What kind of pathetic hero are you?" Spike smirked. "What? Are you scared about hurting your little friend?" he ended with his tone dipped in mockery.
Still panting, Starlight wiped the blood off of her chest, not taking her eyes off of the dragon. "Your tricks and your taunts will not affect me any longer."
Spike's eyes widened a little in surprise. Then he growled. "You fool! You're fighting your friend! Who else do you think?"
Starlight shook her head. "It doesn't matter the body. All that matters is that I fight you. I have waited all this time to have my revenge, and you possessing one of my closest friends makes me angrier, and stronger."
Spike scoffed and rolled his eyes. "How does that make you stronger?"
Starlight smirked while she wiped the blood off of her cheek. "Step one foot closer and you'll find out."
Angry that he wasn't getting to her anymore, Spike let out low snarl and jumped onto all fours and rushed towards Starlight, his teeth bared and his claws out and ready. He leapt for Starlight, but this time, she was prepared. She immediately jumped out of the way, causing Spike to stumble sideways. But he quickly regained his position and he managed to leap to Starlight's hoof, and bit it with his sharp teeth.
With pain searing through her body, Starlight grabbed Spike's body with her teeth and, ignoring the scales that pricked through her mouth, she threw him to the side. Angrier than ever, Spike got to his feet and breathed out a big fireball from his mouth. Even though she did not expect that kind of attack, she still blocked it with her shield. But when the shield deactivated, Spike was already racing towards her in high speeds. But in the nick of time, before he could make the leap, Starlight quickly stepped aside, and put one of her hind legs outward, causing Spike to trip. When he stumbled from the fall, Starlight quickly stomped her hoof onto his scaly back, making him unable to move.
"Release me at once!" Spike demanded while he flailed his claws.
But that made Starlight push her hoof down harder, while careful to not break Spike's back.
Twilight and Celestia were facing each other in the distance, both panting from the fight. Each of them were covered in bruises and burns, and they also bled from some cuts. Their manes were jagged and ruined, their wings looked ruffled and unkept. But they never lost the intensity in their glares.
"You know, it's really hard to control two bodies when I have one being pinned by a pathetic excuse of a hero." Celesia told her bitterly.
Twilight looked besides Celestia to see what she was talking about. She saw Luna near a wall, not moving at all, but breathing; and she saw Spike, which she assumed he was controlled again, had been pinned down by Starlight, who had her cheek and chest dripping with blood. In the background, Trixie stared at Starlight and Spike in astonishment.
"It means that your losing!" Twilight told her proudly. "You have underestimated us for far too long."
Celestia stomped her hoof in annoyance. "So I have..." she muttered. Then her head perked up and gave Twilight another evil look. "But now that I know about your friend's true potential..."
At that moment, black mist streamed out of Celestia's mouth, which made Twilight horrified. Not long after, Luna and Spike had black mist streamed out of those strange areas. Starlight, who had her hoof onto Spike's back, even backed away out of startlement.
After the process was done, Celestia's body dropped to the ground. Twilight rushed over to her teacher. She was breathing, thankfully.
Twilight then headed over to Starlight and her friends. "Does anyone know what's going on?" Twilight asked the two mares.
"I-I-I don't know. I was pinning Spike to the ground and all of the sudden black mist came out of his eyes.
Trixie, who looked frightened, started shaking her hoof at the air. "I-I-I think I know where the mist is coming from." she stammered.
Twilight and Starlight followed her hood's direction, and their ears went downward with what they saw. The black mist was forming a pony's body in the air. After the formation was complete, two red eyes blinked. He looked down at the group in frustration.
"I've had it with you all!" Basan shouted. Twilight was immediately unnerved by the creepy voice that he had. Almost sounds like King Sombra...
So it's time I did something different... I hope you guys love this big surprise! Basan shouted with a rare tint of happiness. Basan looked down towards Starlight. She was startled by his intense gaze.
"You. he decided. Without warning, the mist immediately surrounded Starlight, then it disappeared as quickly as it came. Starlight then dropped to the floor.
"Starlight!" Twilight and Trixie exclaimed at them same time.
The two looked at Starlight frantically until the unicorn finally opened her eyes. She laughed while she smiled. "Thanks for letting me take over your body. Greatly appreciated!"
"You... you took over Starlight!" Twilight screamed.
"Of course I did. I mean, I took you over too many times, and your friend over there is weak." Starlight scoffed.
"Ok, but why did you take over the body? Starlight is less powerful than an alicorn!" Trixie demanded.
"I know your friend is powerful, which is why I want the satisfaction of killing the two of you in her body. Oh the nightmares and the trauma awaits!" Starlight said while she pranced in joy.
Twilight looked scared, but Trixie looked smug. "Oh really? How exactly will you kill us when we can easily teleport away. Right, Twilight?"
Trixie looked to see Twilight, but her mouth was agape.
"Uh... Twilight?"
Suddenly, Twilight's expression shifted. "Actually that's a great idea!"
"Huh?"
Even Starlight was shocked by her response. "R-really?"
"I mean, yeah! Why don't you end us all with a single, lethal beam that would burn us into a crisp one by one." Twilight told her, while winking at Trixie.
Trixie suddenly got the hint. She then nodded vigorously. "I mean, yeah! You're right! What's worth living in this life anyway, am I right?"
Starlight scratched her head. "Wow. You guys are really down on the dumps. I was expecting some persuasion but ok!"
Starlight walked to a distance and started firing up the spell.
"Uh, can you count 1 to 3 please?" Trixie suggested.
"Normally I don't take requests but since you guys literally have nothing left to lose, then I might as well. Ok, 1..."
"You have it ready?" Trixie muttered to Twilight.
"Of course."
"2..."
"You better not screw this up Twilight." Trixie muttered as she braced for impact.
"3!" The beam suddenly fired at them.
"Now!" Trixie screamed.
At that very moment, Twilight teleported the book in front of the laser, and immediately teleported them away to safety.
Starlight stared at the burning book, then back at the ponies. "You two are dumber than I thought—"
Cough!
Starlight covered her mouth. "What the..."
Cough!
"No..." Starlight immediately rushed over to the burned book. She gasped when she recognized the symbol on the book's cover, which started to melt.
"My necklace! This is the spell book that—"
Cough!
At the third cough, Starlight suddenly writhed on the floor. "My... my body! It's burning! I need to escape!"
Once again, black mist escaped through Starlight's eyes and mouth, only this time, it was burning. Despite being on fire, Basan regained to his pony form.
"Every movement! It hurts! It hurts!" Basan screamed. Suddenly, one of his hooves started to melt, and one of his eyes were inflated.
"No! No!" It screamed as the eye popped, spewing out dark blood. "My eyes! My poor eyes!"
As he continued to burn, he vigorously rubbed the back of his neck. "My neck! My head! I'm about to be dismembered! Help!"
But Twilight and Trixie could only watch his fate.
"My neck! MY NECK! It's about to break off!" Basan screamed out of pure fear. He tried to run away, but he was melted to the floor, they couldn't escape.
"Anoetos!" Basan pleaded to the dark night sky. "Anoetos! Please help you brother one last time! Please!"
No answer.
In a one final attempt, Basan faced Trixie and Twilight. Only one eye glowed bright red. "You—"
He gasped when he heard his neck continue to rip.
Basan glared at them for one final time. "I HATE ALL OF YOU—"
He was suddenly cut off by a crack. Basan's head immediately dropped to the floor, spewing out lots of dark red blood from the neck as the body continued to burn.
Finally after moments of pure anguish and suffering, all of what was left of the curse was two, flat spots of black ooze. One was the body, and one was the head.