Trixie stopped her recitation. The shape in air above her curdled and collapsed, vanishing into itself with a deathly sigh. "What I've done? What I'VE done?"
The tree-creatures, of course, hadn't stopped. They, and the one Twilight had captured, completely ignored the ponies now, as they obeyed their order to destroy the town. Luna narrowed her eyes, and without a word her Nightguard took up flanking position. Twilight and Applejack were both trying to shout explanations, but Pinkie and Rainbow Dash guessed what was about to happen and pulled both of them flat.
The sky closed over with storm clouds, instantly. Lightning flashed from cloud-top to cloud-top, exactly like the wrath of an angry god, and lanced down at the monsters. They recoiled, as the bolts spat and flared around their hooves, and they fell back into the courtyard, and the electricity danced across the ground.
"Tell your creatures to stay where they are, Beatrice Lulamoon, if thou can. Thou are already in very serious trouble."
Trixie looked outraged, radiating sheer ego despite her tangled mane and the small stick stuck in her ear. "Why are you blaming me? Trixie is the one who had her home and business destroyed by a giant monster. Why aren't you accusing the fraud Twilight Sparkle?"
Rainbow Dash was grudgingly impressed. "Wow. Projecting, much?"
Luna narrowed her eyes. "The mare Twilight Sparkle is beloved of the Court - beware lest you defame her further. Do you deny the use of magick to call up and control these abominations?"
Trixie looked around her. "What abominations? They're just trees."
Luna looked shocked. The things dribbled slime, and formed and reformed their black and viscid limbs, and muttered to themselves in croaking, glutinous voices. She turned to Twilight, Applejack, Dash and Pinkie. "Loyal subjects, please answer me truthfully - is the mare Beatrice ill of mind?"
Applejack nodded "Princess, she's more loco than the Friendship Express."
Luna looked thoughtful, then turned back to the crazed unicorn. "You may be given leniency, Beatrice Lulamoon, if you surrender yourself into Our care, and order your beasts to return from whence they came."
Trixie didn't seem to notice, and hadn't ceased her self-obsessed monologue.
"... so of course Princess Celestia will make Trixie her student and Trixie will be the Great and Powerful Bearer of the Element of Magic, and Twilight Loser will have to apologise and go live in a hut like Trixie did..."
Luna stepped closer, and the creatures surged forward. She wheeled and reared up, stamping her silver-shod hooves into the ground, and lowering her horn. Her Nightguard moved to protect her, but she had already called down more lightning, and driven the creatures back once again. She snorted, and ordered her escort stallions to watch, but to approach neither beasts nor showmare. That, at least, seemed to restore the stand-off.
Luna turned back to the other mares, and relaxed. The furious glow in her eyes faded, and she lowered her head to nuzzle Twilight affectionately. "It is good to see you once more, Twilight Sparkle. We are sorry we did not arrive sooner."
The purple unicorn smiled, as she and her friends crowded around the alicorn, and greeted her with genuine warmth. The younger of the royal sisters was still uncertain around her subjects, and still recovering from a thousand years of insane solitary confinement as Nightmare Moon, but it was obvious to the four that she was as committed to the well-being of her subjects as Celestia. Besides, her use of the Royal ‘We’ was somehow endearing, compared to Trixie’s Third Person posturing.
"It's alright, Princess. I'm just glad you could get here before anypony was hurt.”
“Then nopony has been injured by the creatures? We had feared the worst.”
“No, your Highness – we had been afraid they’d hurt Trixie, but see for yourself. Plus, I had messages sent to all the farms to tell everypony to stay indoors. Is Princess Celestia coming as well?"
Luna smile flickered. "I fear not, Twilight Sparkle. She sent word to us as soon as she received your letter, and she has dispatched the unicorns and pegasi you requested, but she herself has opened the archives in search of the nature of the creatures you described. We were... disturbed... by your description of the beasts."
Applejack tilted her head "Does that mean you know what they are, Princess? I mean, the Apples have been living out here for four generations, and I ain't ever heard of anything like these critters coming out of the Everfree."
Rainbow Dash butted in. "Maybe they got out of Tartarus? Is that it?"
Luna's expression switched to pensive. "Perhaps, Rainbow Dash. But my sister and I fear they come from... somewhere else. We... that is... I became aware of something new in my night, six evenings past. It... reminds us of something we saw a very long time ago. When my sister heard that these things had attacked you, we feared greatly for your safety."
Twilight's brow furrowed. "But if they're not from the Everfree or Tartarus, where else could they have come from? Someone would have seen them, if they came from anywhere else. They don't look like they can fly, or burrow."
Luna turned attention back to the creatures and the still talking showmare.
"I do not know. But we intend to find out. Tell me - how does the mare Beatrice control them?"
Twilight bit her lip. "She just told them what to do, I think. Applejack? Rainbow? What did she do to make them come out of the Forest?"
Rainbow shrugged. "Just said a bunch of words like she'd been kicked in the mouth and was still spitting out teeth. Sounded a bit like what she was reading from that book of hers."
Luna's eyes narrowed again. Trixie had apparently forgotten about the book, and it lay face down on the turf. From this angle, and even in this light, they could make out a faint pattern embossed into the cover. It looked like a castle tower, behind a quill.
"We have seen that mark before... Twilight Sparkle! Stand beside me! Mistress Applejack, Mistress Pie, Mistress Dash! Stand well back. Guards! If the creatures attack you are to defend Mistress Sparkle!" She looked down at the young scholar. "We require you to bring that book to us - I will guard against any attack on you as you do."
Twilight looked uncertain, then nodded. "Whatever you say, Princess." She set her hooves and charged up her telekinesis.
Trixie stopped ranting when the book was lifted up by Twilight's violet glow. "Hey! You can't have that, it's mine!" Her eyes blazed and her nostrils flared. "You give that back, you bitch!"
The monsters surged forward, flowing almost fluidly, sprouting howling mouths as they rushed to assist their demented mistress. The two winged stallions flew in between Twilight and the creatures, kicking forward with cold iron horseshoes, as their ruler flicked a holding spell at Trixie and the lawn reared up and immobilised her mud-stained hooves. Trixie spat more obscenities, and her horn lit up in retaliation...
****
.
Herald watched the drama unfold with interest. Behind him, the three fillies were still and silent. "Only one alicorn, and four of your Bearers? Workable, perhaps, but not ideal. We shall continue with the original plan, I think." He watched more intently, as Twilight and the Night Princess attempted to steal the book.
"Naughty, naughty, Luna. Didn't anyone tell you it’s wrong to take things that don't belong to you?" He waved a hoof before him.
****
Trixie vanished.