• Published 1st Jul 2012
  • 7,904 Views, 255 Comments

The Stars Will Aid Their Escape - Drhoz



The Great and Powerful Trixie meets a certain Messenger. MLP / Cthulhu Mythos crossover

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Trixie, Locoarborist

The yellow pegasus was weeping, uncontrollably, as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie tried to comfort her.

"Hey, Flutters. It's not so bad - you can't expect your talent to work every time."

"You don't .... you don't understand Dash."

Pinkie was unusually subdued, eyes terribly serious as she nuzzled soothingly against her friend's mane.

"What don't we understand, Fluttershy? You don't have to be sorry that the rest of us had to fight it, no meanie monster is going to get the better of the Mane Six. We'll look after it, AND look after you, OK?"

"That's ... that's not it, Pinkie. I could tell it knew what I was saying... it knew I didn't want to hurt it. But it didn't care! It didn't care at all!"

Fluttershy broke down, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Dashie exchanged a glance with the pink Earth Pony. Neither of them were quite as empathic as Fluttershy, but both were sensitive to the feelings of their friend, even if they didn't quite understand her reaction.

"Do you want us to stay with you, Flutterbutter? Twilight's got that one all under control now, and you heard her, we'll have unicorns and pegasi coming out of our ears as soon as they can get here from Canterlot. We'll get all those tree-things back into the Forest in two shakes of my tail."

Fluttershy's tears slowed, and she returned Pinkie's nuzzle gratefully. "Thank... thank-you. Maybe we could go to Twilight's? Rarity and Spike might need my help, if I can't help Twilight and the rest of you with the monsters..."

Pinkie started to shiver, and her ear and tail twitched. "Uh-oh."

"Pinkie? What's up?"

The stench of the tree-thing, fading slowly now Twilight Sparkle had it encased in a bubble of magic, was back, stronger than ever. Worse, much worse, than Froggy Bottom Hollow after the Hydra had stirred it up.

Rainbow Dash flew up to above the rooftop. "Oh, horsefeathers. Pinkie, Fluttershy, we got dash - the rest of those things have just shown up."

Fluttershy looked horrified, and Pinkie pensive. "I'm not sure I can reload the party cannon that fast, Dashie."

“Doesn't matter. We have to tell Twi-"

There was a crash somewhere behind them.

"I think she just found out."

Dash bit her lip. "OK, here's the plan - Fluttershy, you go to the library, and tell Spike to send an update to Princess Celestia. Pinkie! You and I are going back to help Twi and A.J., maybe we can herd them all into one spot and Twi can gift-wrap them int- oh, horseapples, what is SHE doing there?"

***

"What's this?" smirked Trixie. "Is the librarian so stunned by the Great and Powerful Trixie's awesome stage presence that she cannot even speak?" Twilight Sparkle was trembling, from the effort of containing one of the creatures, and still keep an eye on the dozen more that had followed her into the intersection. "Or is the Princess' number one student realising she's no match for the real magical talent in Equestria?"

Applejack stood between the two unicorns, ready to defend her friend if the creatures attacked. So far, they had remained silent and weirdly attentive behind the showmare.

"What are you talking about, showpony? It's your dang critter that smashed up the town - you'll be lucky if the Mayor don't just lock you up and throw away the key."

The threat washed over the blue unicorn without even ruffling her hair. It was debatable whether she even noticed Applejack's presence. "We would have thought the clever little librarian could deal with one little walking tree, if she was so good against Ursa Minors, and draconequii, and changelings."

Twilight's attention was somewhat occupied, which may explain why it took this long for her to notice Trixie's saddlebag, and the large book protruding from the top. Of course she couldn't comment, and for the time being even Applejack was stunned into silence by Trixie's outrageous twisting of the facts.

"Unless" the blue unicorn continued "the librarian is a fraud, who never really dealt with any of those other things, but pretended to just to impress the other ponies..."

Applejack exploded. "Now you listen here, you good-for-nothing show-off, I don't know what you think you're doing but if you don't turn around and git, there's gonna be a bucket of tar and feathers with your name on it real soon, you got me?"

Trixie noticed her, now, and sniffed disdainfully. The tree-things certainly did as well, and lunged forward. A cyan blur snatched Applejack off the ground, moments before the Earth pony was seized, and Rainbow Dash swept up and around to keep her friend away from danger.

Twilight's head was splitting with the pain of maintaining the shell, but the creature inside it was berserk in its efforts to break free, and the barrier was rippling unpleasantly. Pinkie popped up next to her. "Hey, Twili. Howdy, Trixie. I don't suppose your could ask your cranky-pants monsters to stop smashing up our town? It's making everypony pretty unhappy, and we were all looking forward to the Eclipse party too."

Trixie looked confused, briefly. "We do not know what you are talking about. The Great and Powerful Trixie does not command monsters, she commands trees to walk. Are you blind, you offensively pink pony?"

The four ponies stared at her, and the hideously unnatural things surrounding her. Twilight lost her grip on the magic, and the creature burst free, thrashing about in the wreckage of the Quill and Sofa store. Applejack understood first. "Oh, Trixie, you poor thing..."

"What? Why are you all looking at the Great and Powerful Trixie like that? Why aren't you applauding the greatest pony in all of Equestria? Are you jealous of her success? Is that it?"

Twilight keep looking from Trixie to her 'trees', and desperately tried to think of a spell that could cage a dozen monsters at once. They were far too numerous and too spread out for anything obvious, and if any attacked she'd need to teleport herself and her friends to safety.

Rainbow Dash could get her friends out of the way, she was sure – she’d already done it twice in the last ten minutes, after all - but if the monsters spread out she couldn't be everywhere, and there were still hundreds of others ponies watching from the edges of Ponyville...

Applejack pitied the delusional unicorn, but that didn't mean she was going to let her friends and her town be injured by the things that she'd called out of the Everfree. Maybe if she roped up Trixie, and dragged her out of town, the things might follow...

Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, was trying think of the best way to humour a mad pony. The last time Twilight had gone insane she'd created a closed time loop and an ontological paradox and that pony with the hourglass cutie mark had come around and complained about Blinovitch Limitation Effects. And Trixie didn't even have any friends to help her into a black skintight catsuit! Unless the monsters were also into latex... she giggled at the mental image.

"What? You think the Great and Powerful Trixie is funny?!" snapped the mad mare. "She will see if you're still laughing after her magic crushes all of your homes and livelihoods!" She looked up at the nearest protean monster, as it drooled and twitched and scraped at the ground with its huge hooves. "You! Tree! Go and smash every single house in Ponyville. The rest of you help. The Great and Powerful Trixie is going to make these mares laugh on the other side of their faces."

Pinkie tilted her head. "It's only got this side, Trixie."

Twilight hissed at her friend. "Pinkie! Stop making it worse!"

Trixie had levitated the book out of her saddlebag, and spread it out before her, pallid in the glow from her horn. The creatures were already lurching away, reaching out to tear the town down to the ground. "As for you, Twilight Loser let's see how you cope with, hmmm... Dread Curse of Azathoth. That looks like fun. N’th scurial m’na Yood sushai..." Dull blue light began to crawl around her, snaking into an airborne sigil above her head.

Dash and Applejack braced themselves, one to distract the creatures, the other to charge Trixie and hogtie her before she could say another word. Pinkie pricked up her ears.

"Incoming!" She yelped, and dived to the ground.

The sky split open with a flash of lightning. Violet light flared across the town, and an icy wind swept back their manes.

Luna, the alicorn of Night, had appeared fifty feet above the town, eyes blazing. Two of her bat-winged Nightguard braced her, teleported in with the Princess. She took in the scene - the frightened ponies, the monsters, the destroyed buildings, the triumphant Trixie, the book, and the sigil.

She roared, the Royal Canterlot Voice enough to shake even Trixie out of her self-absorption.

"BEATRICE LULAMOON! WHAT HAST THOU DONE?!"