Get Knotted!

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As Trixie relaxed her concentration, the levitation field around her dissipated and she gently descended to meet the balcony floor. Once again feeling solid ground beneath her hooves, she breathed a sigh of relief, but then quickly compressed herself against the outer wall of the castle. Nervously, she gave the balcony a quick survey to judge whether anypony would come through anytime soon. Trixie had to admit that she had been very lucky up to this point and she'd hate to spoil it all by being spotted by a guard now.

Satisfied that her hiding place would not be discovered, the blue unicorn allowed herself to feel the full weight of her exhaustion. While she was most certainly great and powerful, she did have trouble using magic for long periods of time.

Just one of the many ways that Twilight Sparkle is stronger than Trixie.

After her latest defeat at the hooves of the purple unicorn, Trixie finally had to admit that her arch-rival was much more powerful than her. This actually gave Trixie cause to contemplate their difference in strength. Then, when she learned of Twilight's coronation, Trixie thought she had her answer. She hoped that by quietly observing the other princesses, maybe some clue as to how to become stronger would be revealed to her.

Which is why Trixie now finds herself here, skulking about like a common criminal.

Shaking the thought from her head, she tip-hoofed over to the gigantic balcony door and peeked into the what she assumed was the Palace throne room. Unfortunately, neither princess was present in the lavish hall but as Trixie was about to move on to another room, a large purple hat caught her eye. The hat in question sat atop the head of a masked pony who wore matching collared spandex as well as a dark blue cape that just barely covered a pair of similarly colored wings.

No way. It couldn't be. Trixie cannot believe her own eyes. Surely that cannot be-

No sooner had she thought it than a deep Zebraghin voice confirmed her suspcions. "Ah, Mysterious Mare-Do Well, I trust that you are doing swell?"

"Very swell," confirmed the vigilante mare as an all too familiar zebra entered the throne room.

"Especially since everypony believes that I am just some myth thought up by our newest princess. I guess you were the one behind that little detail, Zecora?"

The zebra nodded happily, "To bring you some serenity, I clouded your identity."

"I think you did more than that!" the masked mare laughed, "The last burglar I stopped had the bright idea to try flying away, because he thought my wings were just papier-mâché."

Before the two mares were able to move on to other topics of discussion they were interrupted by the loud entrance of a unicorn stallion. "Yes! Yes! I know where to go. This isn't my first time here!" he shouted into the hallway from which he came.

Trixie had never seen this stallion in person but she knew that only one pony had such a distinctive blonde mane and tail in addition to a compass cutie mark, Prince Blueblood.

What sort of meeting is this?

As Blueblood turned to face the other two ponies in the room his expression instantly changed from annoyed to jocular.

"Zecora! Double M! How good to see you again," He said, throwing his hooves around them both. Though she had never been much of a gossip, Trixie couldn't help but hear about what had happened at the last Grand Galloping Gala, so it surprised her that neither mare drew away from his embrace.

"A pleasure to see you too, Blueblood," The pony designated 'Double M' answered.

Smiling, the white unicorn turned to Zecora. "And how have you been? Oh wait, don't answer that. I don't want to be subjected to an epic poem about recent events. Just nod if you have been doing superbly."

The zebra simply chuckled and nodded in response.

Finally releasing his grasp on the other two, Blueblood trotted into the center of the throne room before turning again to his compatriots with a perplexed look on his face.

"Where is the princess? It's not like her to call a meeting of Knots and not be the first to arrive," He said giving the room a once over. Suddenly remembering that she was trespassing, Trixie ducked back outside, narrowly avoiding his gaze.

Just as the mysterious mare was about to answer, a strange noise filled the hall. It was as if some pony was scraping her hooves across the wires of a piano. The sound was somehow both painful to the ear and alluring to the heart at the same time.

Trixie had seen many vanishing acts in her career and therefore she had also seen many ponies perform the "prestige", but what she saw next made her jaw drop to the floor. A blue box, about two ponies tall and one pony wide, appeared near the entrance to the throne room. Across the top of the booth were the words, "Police Public Call Box".

Apparently Twilight Sparkle is not my only competition. Trixie has never seen a pony make such a large object just appear from thin air!

From where she was standing, Trixie could only see one side of it, but the blue mare distinctly heard a door opening and a stallion with a strange accent speaking from within.

"- I don't know, but- Oh. Hold on a tic," he said before abruptly closing the door again.

The blue box immediately began to vanish once more, but it was only gone a moment before it appeared once again. This time when it appeared, however, it was facing into the throne room so that it's door was clearly visible to Trixie.

Finally the door opened once more. As its occupant, a light brown earth-pony with a slightly darker mane wearing a long trench coat, strutted out, he spoke in what almost seemed like a Trottingham accent.

"Ah, there we are! Much better."

Ignoring both the other ponies in the room and the fact that he had just materialized out of thin air, the brown stallion immediately began examining his blue box. He quickly produced from his jacket a strange metallic wand with a blue light on the tip and placed it behind his ear with the blue end facing forward. Soon after positioning it, it began making what Trixie could only describe as a low whistling noise.

"Oh, thatta girl! Jump universes a couple times and she starts to get the hang of it! See, Derpy? No damage at all!" He cheered as the whistling stopped.

"No damage to her maybe," called a voice from inside the booth. Out fluttered a grey, wall-eyed pegasus cradling her head in one hoof. "She handles like Rainbow Dash after she flew through that Poison Joke."

"Oi!"

"Oi yourself, Doctor. You're paying for my next hospital visit."

"It wasn't that bad."

"My concussion has a concussion."

"Ahem," Zecora coughed loudly, interrupting the two ponies' argument. She seemed as if she was about to lecture them but her stern look was quickly replaced by a wide smile.

"Once your jests are completed, I believe hugs are needed," she rhymed, lifting her forelegs wide for the aforementioned greeting.

"Of course," the stallion answered, going in for the hug. "It has been far too long, Zecora."

That was just about all that Trixie could handle and in her moment of confusion and frustration, she couldn't stop herself from shouting.

"IS NO ONE GOING TO TALK ABOUT HOW HE APPEARED OUT OF THIN AIR IN A BLUE BOX?"

She didn't even have time to squeak out an 'Oops' before she found herself restrained and consequently dragged into the chamber by Blueblood's magic. By the time she was able to sit upright she was surrounded by the very ponies she had been snooping on.

"It seems we have a spy on our hooves," Blueblood said, looking down his nose at the offending party.

"What should we do with her?" the mysterious mare asked. "Do either of you know any memory wiping spells?"

"Any potion I would use, would set loose a couple screws."

"Indeed, every memory spell I know doesn't allow you to pick and choose which memories are wiped. However, I don't think that we have many other options."

"What?" blurted the wall-eyed mare. "You're going to destroy her mind just to keep your secrecy?"

"Doctor, you should remind your assistant that as she is not a Knot, her opinions matter little here."

"ASSISTANT?"

"Keep her."

Every pony in the room, even Trixie, turned in surprise to the brown stallion who now wore a mischievous grin.

"Keep her?" demanded Blueblood. "What is she, a stray cat?"

"Make her swear the Oath. Make her a Knot."

"You know I'd usually be the last pony to ask this, Doctor, but what makes you think she can even keep up with us?" stated Double M.

"Exactly!"

"She snuck in here, didn't she? She can obviously bring the element of stealth to the group. Which you have been lacking lately."

"We can't just let any pony join the String, we'd have new members every month!"

"You know, they were saying that same thing right before your admission, B.B."

Before Blueblood could respond, a cold wind swept through the chamber, stopping the words in his mouth and every pony (with the exceptions of Trixie and the brown stallion) turned toward the thrones and bowed. There, in front of the group, now stood Princess Luna herself and suddenly Trixie felt extremely underdressed. She scrambled to get to her hooves and bow, which considering the magical restraints, was no simple feat.

"We call a meeting of The Night String and when we arrive, we find the kingdom's most dependable ponies bickering?" the night princess said in her usual royal inflection.

"I apologize, your highness," answered Blueblood.

"Your apology is accepted, dear nephew, but please explain to us what has our Knots in such a rabble."

"You see-"

To everypony's surprise, Trixie stepped forward and bowed. "Trixie believes that it is Trixie that everypony is arguing about."

If Trixie is going to have her mind wiped, she is at least going to go with some dignity.

"How- But that was- How did you break free?" Blueblood sputtered.

"Trixie has performed far more impressive escape tricks as part of her act," Trixie began proudly, "as well as to elude local law enforcement." she finished little louder than a whisper.

"What is thy name again, young unicorn?" Luna asked, calmly ignoring the possibility of having a fugitive from justice in their midst.

"Trixie Lulamoon, your highness," she answered before continuing, "Trixie was sneaking around the palace when she overheard the beginnings of conversation in this chamber."

"And for what purpose, exactly, were you sneaking through our halls?"

Trixie sighed before answering. "Trixie is a skilled illusionist, but there is one who has bested her at every turn. Trixie was hoping to discover some means of self-improvement."

"We must applaud your honesty, Trixie Lulamoon. Admitting your own weakness is never easy." stated the Princess.

Well yeah. Trixie was hoping to just skip over that part.

"Though she still does not realize the importance of what she saw and heard, Trixie is prepared for any punishment your highness deems fit."

If Trixie had dared to turn around she might've seen the brown earth pony's smile grow wider with pride. Princess Luna certainly took notice though.

"What would you have us do, Doctor?" she inquired.

"Your highness, I would make her take the Oath and become a member of the String," he opined confidently. "I know that she has yet to prove herself but I believe she will become one of your most dependable Knots."

"Is this merely intuition? Or secret fore-knowledge?" asked the princess.

"Ah, ah. You know the rules, Luna."

At this, the Princess smiled widely.

"Very well. She shall have a choice, once all has been explained. She will either become a Knot or Prince Blueblood will wipe her memory and she will be put in 'special care'."

"Thank you so much, your highness. Offering me such an option is certainly more than Trixie could ever hope for, considering her actions."

"Do not be so quick to thank us, Trixie Lulamoon. Once we have explained in full what being a Knot entails, the choice will not seem so simple," Princess Luna said menacingly as she marched up to Trixie, causing an incomprehensible fear to wash over her.

What has Trixie gotten herself into this time?

Despite her fear, or maybe because of it, when the princess sat to begin her tale, Trixie found herself standing in rapt attention. "Long ago, after the Elements of Harmony were first discovered, it was decided that pony-kind should not rely soley upon their power for its protection. However, the thought of leaving the citizenry unprotected for any amount of time was heart-breaking to the early members of the royal court. And so, The Night String was founded."

At this, the princess gestured a hoof over the other ponies in the room. As if on cue, they were all standing proudly in a line. Trixie felt her lips draw into a smirk.

Look at them all posing so stoically. They have done this before.

"So named because they would serve pony-kind without its knowledge. It was hoped that eventually the citizens would learn to do for themselves and the String would be disbanded, but it was soon discovered that not all magic could be contained by the Elements. Inevitably, the magic that flowed freely could find its way into the possession of..." Luna grimaced slightly, "...unsavory individuals. This, in addition to the discovery of other worlds with technology far greater than our own," the princess stopped to give the Doctor a knowing look.

Is that his name, The Doctor? Who names a pony "The Doctor"?

"necessitated a more permanent solution. Thusly, The Night String became an irreplaceable institution for the sake of protecting Equestria," the Princess concluded.

"You want Trixie to protect Equestria from evil?" she asked the Doctor as the gravity of the situation finally manifested itself. His smile seemed to waver, but just a bit. "Trixie is not sure she is up to such a task." she admitted, letting her eyes fall to the floor.

Somepony stepped forward and lifted Trixie's chin until she was staring directly into the masked face of The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well.

"I'm not going to lie, Trixie. The life of a Knot isn't easy. This isn't an honor, or a privilege. It's a responsibility. That is all it is. You will never be thanked for it, and sometimes you might even be hated for it," she said gravely and Trixie felt doubt creep into her mind.

"But that is what Trixie must decide. Either live the rest of my life for the sake of other ponies, or lose everything that makes me who I am and spend my life in 'special care'," The last two words made Trixie shudder as she said them.

"I am so, so sorry," the Doctor's smile finally turned into a solemn gaze, "but the safety of Equestria depends on The Night String remaining a secret for the foreseeable future. This is the best choice I could offer you."

Then the lines of a gentle smile formed beneath the mask of the mysterious mare. "Hey, it's not all bad. At the end of every mission, we feel the satisfaction of knowing that all of Equestria is safer thanks to us. And if the Doctor is that sure about you, I am just as sure you'll do great at it too."

Trixie looked around at the group of ponies in the room, at The Night String. Derpy smiled warmly, the Doctor winked, and Zecora simply nodded. Trixie turned hopefully to Prince Blueblood. It only took a second for him to break. "Alright, fine!" he shouted, exasperated. "But you're her training wheels for this mission, Doctor."

Trixie turned to Princess Luna. "Okay."

"Very well," Luna nodded and stood before beginning what Trixie assumed was an oath as old as Equestria itself.

"Do you, Trixie Lulamoon, swear yourself to the service of The Night String? To cast aside all fame and glory in exchange for nothing but a life of protecting your fellow ponies from the shadows? To leave behind your old life and sacrifice your ambitions and perhaps even die for the sake of the kingdom? Do you swear these things?"

Trixie stood proudly and spoke the only three words she thought appropriate. "I do swear."

Luna smiled generously before kneeling and tapping Trixie once on her right shoulder with her dark-blue horn.

"Then I hereby name you a Knot of The Night String. May your service to the Kingdom be long and fruitful."

At this, Derpy immediately swept Trixie up into an uncharacteristically strong flying hug. "Oh my gosh! I'm so happy for you!"

"Yes, thank you. But you're... ugh... crushing Trixie."

"Oops. My bad," Derpy apologized, gingerly putting the unicorn back down on the floor. Everypony quickly followed Derpy's lead and congratulated her, even Blueblood managed to sound slightly jovial. Finally, Trixie turned to the Doctor.

"So Doctor, do fellow Knots get to hear the secret behind your strange blue box?" she asked jokingly.

"Actually, I'm not a Knot."

"WHAT?" Trixie exclaimed, looking to the other ponies in the room for some sort of explanation.

"Quite right, you have to be a citizen of Equestria to be a Knot," Blueblood stated calmly.

"And also, he's... well-" Derpy began, but she didn't seem exactly excited to finish her sentence.

"Although our dear Doctor is quite amazing, to call him a pony would be false phrasing," Zecora did it for her.

"Afraid so..." The Doctor started, "You see I'm actually-"

"TRIXIE DOESN'T CARE WHAT YOU ARE!" Trixie screamed, stomping towards the Doctor.

"Well, that was both gratifying and unsettling at the same time," the Doctor quipped, trying his hardest to lean away from the indignant mare.

"YOU MEAN TO TELL TRIXIE THAT YOU JUST CONVINCED HER TO JOIN A SECRET GROUP OF PONIES THAT FACES LIFE THREATENING DANGER MORE FREQUENTLY THAN IT VISITS THE POST OFFICE AND YOU AREN'T EVEN A MEMBER?"

"Oh, that's why you're upset."

"YES, THAT! HOW CAN YOU DO THAT WHEN YOU MIGHT NOT EVEN BE THERE TO HELP TRIXIE IF SHE NEEDS YOU! WHAT IF SHE FINDS HERSELF IN MIDDLE OF SOMETHING SHE CAN'T HANDLE? WHAT IF SHE NEEDS HELP? WHAT IF TRIXIE NEEDS ADVICE?"

The Doctor just smiled and gently placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Just because I'm not a Knot doesn't mean I won't be there to help. Whenever you need me, I'll be there, no matter what."

Taken aback by how calm he could be despite her uncontrolled shouting, Trixie could only ask, "Can you... can you promise that?"

"Can and will. I promise. Cross my hearts and hope to die," he answered before strutting around her and nonchalantly examining the room's decor. "In fact, I dare say that this little club's activities would be quite hindered if it weren't for my meddling."

Princess Luna put a hoof to her head in exasperation, "Please don't remind us, Doctor. Our sister takes great pleasure in reminding us that our plans almost always begin with the same two steps: Try to summon the Doctor, then hope he appears."

"Does she now? I'll have to scold her the next time I see her."

"She might actually enjoy that," she chuckled. Now it was the Doctor's turn to look confused.

"But that is a discussion for another time," Luna proceeded, lifting her head high.

"Knots of The Night String! As well as Doctor and companion!" she added, to the smirks of the earth pony and his friend.

"You have been summoned because a clear and present threat to the Kingdom has revealed itself," the princess announced, "You are hereby tasked with eliminating this threat swiftly and discreetly."

String Theory

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Trixie raised an eyebrow at the Princess's declaration of the obvious. She guessed that it was required of her by some ancient tradition, but that did not make it any less strange.

“And just what is this threat, that has so made you sweat?” Zecora asked in rhyme.

“A cult calling itself ‘The Servants of the Phoenix’ has recently begun gaining a large amount of traction with the Griffon Kingdom’s royalty.”

“Trixie has heard of them. Isn’t their order quite ancient?”

“Yes. In fact, it is rumored that their religion is as old as Equestria itself,” The mysterious mare answered.

“Oh, Luna, I’ve never known you to find fault in a little competition. So why now? And why with a religion even older than yourself?” The Doctor groused.

“Indeed, normally, we would ignore such developments. However, their acolytes are now claiming that wings are a sign of divine right and that any creature without a pair should either be enslaved or culled.”

“And thanks to the traction they are gaining, the royal court of the Griffon Kingdom is considering beginning a holy war to enforce the new doctrine,” Blueblood said, guessing the end to his aunt’s thought.

“But that includes two-thirds of the world’s population! Surely they realize that to accomplish such a thing they would have to wage war with the whole world?” MM responded.

“They wouldn’t have to fight the whole world,” The Doctor added quietly.

The blue alicorn nodded in grave agreement, “Due to various and complicated allegiances, if they attacked Equestria, they would most likely have the backing of the Dragon Islands. And although the Minotaur Empire is sworn to our aid, even the most optimistic predictions put the ensuing casualties of such a war in the tens of millions.”

“That is all I needed to hear," The Doctor proclaimed as he trotted towards his blue box.

“What do you intend to do, Doctor?”

“What I always do, Luna,” He answered without looking back. “Save as many as I can.”

With that, the other Knots stood and followed him, leaving Trixie perplexed once more.

Do they all expect to fit in that tiny thing?

“Wait, Doctor. Trixie realizes she is new here but how do you intend to get everyone in there and why would you even try?”

He just smiled and walked in, quickly followed by the rest of the String. Trixie expected to hear the sounds of several ponies grunting and struggling into position but surprisingly all she heard were hoof steps on metal.

“Don’t just stand there, Trixie!” Called the Doctor.

Hesitantly, Trixie approached and entered the blue box. Then she exited the box. Then entered the box again.

“It’s...It’s... It’s bigger on the inside,” Trixie uttered, dumbfounded.

That was the understatement of the century. Inside this tiny, little booth was a gigantic room which should've most definitely not fit inside it. In the center of the room stood what appeared to be a tall glass tube, with several smaller tubes inside and surrounded by what appeared to be some sort of control panel covered in all sorts of knobs, dials, and switches. Several lower levels could be seen below the iron grate floor, and Trixie even spotted a few doors that she could only assume lead to more equally large rooms.

“Is it? I hadn’t really noticed,” The Doctor said sarcastically as he closed the door behind Trixie and walked to the control panel.

“Welcome aboard the Tardis, Trixie," He began, "That’s T, A, R, D, I, S. Stands for Time And Relative-”

“Oh, cut to the chase, Doctor,” Blueblood interrupted, turning to Trixie. “It’s a time machine.”

“You always skip the fun parts.”

“I, buh, where...” Trixie babbled.

“Uh-oh. I think you guys broke her,” Derpy noted, bringing Trixie a paper bag. “Here, just breath. It’s a lot to take in, I know.”

Trixie gratefully accepted the bag and began breathing into it. While Derpy took care of their newest comrade, the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well and the other Knots approached the Doctor.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked.

“Simple, we go to the Griffon Kingdom and destroy these, ‘Servants of the Phoenix’,” Blueblood replied, stomping his front hoof in declaration.

“Do not begin with the result. First, what do we know of this cult?” Zecora demanded.

“Not much, the order is shrouded in secrecy,” MM answered.

“Then we do not have a plan. We should find where it began,” the zebra mare commented, looking to the Doctor for agreement.

As the others worked towards a consensus, Trixie had recovered from her mental breakdown and started inspecting the Doctor’s vessel.

“So, this is a time machine,” She thought aloud as she wandered around what she assumed was the control room.

“Yup.” Derpy replied, hovering just above and behind the trickster.

“And a space ship?”

“Yup.”

“And the Doctor is...?”

“An alien.”

“So, the Doctor is an alien- "

"With two hearts."

"-with two hearts, who travels across space and time, and sometimes into other universes and...”

“And I go on adventures with him!” Derpy smiled.

“Of course, you do.”

The wall-eyed pegasus tilted her head in slight puzzlement. "You don't believe me?"

"No. Sorry. Trixie is still taking all this in."

“Take your time. It took me a while too.”

“That settles it then!” shouted the Doctor. “Derpy! Get over here and man the stabilizers. M.M., you monitor the neutron flow. Blueblood, steer the secondary thrusters!”

“So you have a plan?” Trixie inquired.

“Yes! Well, half a plan. Well, part of a plan. Well, a semi-clear silhouette of one possible plan. Well-”

“DOCTOR!” Trixie interrupted, rubbing her temples with her hooves. “Just tell Trixie what we’re doing.”

The Doctor grinned. “We’re going twenty-five hundred years into the past!” he answered happily. He quickly trotted over to the console and kicked a large pedal.

“Allons-y!” The Doctor laughed maniacally as the Tardis suddenly began to quake and rumble as if it were being ran over by a herd of stampeding buffalo.

Trixie struggled to keep her footing as the craft shook, but soon gave up in favor of simply hugging onto a railing for dear life. From her new, slightly more secure position, she watched in anxiety as the Doctor danced around the main console and his copilots, hitting seemingly random buttons, flipping switches, and turning knobs.

By the time the Tardis finally stopped its unpredictable jumbling, Trixie could swear that the part of her brain where she kept her arcane knowledge was now located somewhere in her throat. The Doctor, on the other hoof, was all smiles as he hit one last button and went out the front door.

With no small amount of trepidation, Trixie stood and followed him out. Even though she had been told what to expect she couldn’t help but be astonished as she gazed upon the scene before her. Not only had the Tardis moved in time, it had also moved in space so that Trixie now found herself gazing out unto a nearly untamed vista. A wide grass plain dominated the landscape as a mountain range peeked over the horizon and below, nestled in the middle of the grassland, sat a village, just slightly smaller than Ponyville.

“Here we are! The Griffon Kingdom! Well, the Griffon Kingdoms, they won’t solidify under one ruler for another, oh, four hundred years?” The Doctor mused aloud. “And that little village there is the future site of the city of GrassClaw, where ‘The Servants of the Phoenix’ first began.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Doctor,” Blueblood began as he and the rest of the String exited the booth. “But this is long before any ponies have even stepped foot in Griffon Territory. We’ll stick out like sore thumbs.”

“Well, that’s where our new member comes in!” The Doctor said cheerfully.

“What? Trixie?” the indicated unicorn asked.

“You bet. You’re an illusionist. You must know a spell that could disguise us as griffons.”

At this, the other Knots all looked to her expectantly.

“Trixie does know such a spell, but she has never used it on so many ponies at once before.”

“Hey. Don’t worry,” MM said with encouragement. “You’re our stealth member, you know what that means? That means that we’ll handle everything else, especially on your first outing. Just do this one thing.”

“Very well,” The blue unicorn answered after a while. “Trixie will try. Each of you will need to stand so that you’re at least two hooves apart from everypony else.”

The Night String did as commanded and spread out in a line in front of their new member. Once she was satisfied that the formation was acceptable, Trixie began pouring all her magical energy into the tip her horn. Closing her eyes, she focused intently on the thought of a griffon. Not just the image, but every detail, even the magical aura that griffons naturally exuded. It all had to be perfect or the smarter griffons might sense something was wrong.

When the mental image was complete, she focused her magic to surround herself and the other Knots, held it there for a few seconds, then released it. Finally, opening her eyes again, she allowed herself a small grin as the other ponies looked around in confusion.

“I hope you will not find it strange, for me to say I see no change,” Zecora commented after a moment.

“No, you’re right,” The Doctor puzzled “Trixie, are you sure you did this right?”

“Trixie is sure, in fact, this is some of Trixie’s best work, if she may say so herself,” Trixie bragged, “You see, Trixie made it so that we can see each other’s true forms, so that we do not confuse real griffons for members of our party.”

“Then how will we know it is working?” Blueblood inquired.

“Just look here,” Trixie replied, conjuring up a mirror.

Blueblood took the mirror in his magic aura and looked into it. “I’ll be. It’s perfect,” Blueblood admitted, levitating the mirror around the group. “You did an excellent job.”

“Yes, I-” Trixie began, but was interrupted as her knees chose that moment to buckle underneath her.

“What’s the matter?” Derpy pleaded, flying to her aid. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, Trixie is fine,” she answered, holding up a hoof to hold off the concerned mare. “She is just not used to expending so much magical energy at once." She quickly righted herself before continuing, "You’ll need to have the spell reapplied every twenty-four hours.”

“Every twenty-four hours? You sure you can handle casting this spell that often for a long time?” MM asked.

“Do not worry, by the time Trixie has to reapply the spell, her energy will be fully restored,” she replied as a smile grew across her face. “As long as you can take care of everything else.”

“Heh. You got it.”

“We should get going then,” the prince asserted.

“Just a tic there, Blueblood.”

“Yes?” He answered turning to the Doctor.

“It would be strange for six griffons to enter the village on foot, don’t you think?”

“Ah, I see your point. Then I suppose the pegasi should fly on ahead and meet us there,” Blueblood stated before addressing his masked compatriot. “Now, griffons don’t have any talent for applied magic but they might have acquired some artificial magics so before you land, scout the area for any artifacts or any strange arrangement to the buildings.”

The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well nodded and flew off towards the small hamlet.

The Doctor turned to Derpy. “And I want you to search for any signs of out of place technology. Remember, they are just discovering metallurgy, so any large amounts of metal are suspicious.”

The wall-eyed pegasus saluted comically and quickly followed her counterpart. The Doctor stood stock still as he watched Derpy fly off. Finally, the brown stallion turned back to Trixie with a smile.

“Well? Come along then.”

--------------------------------------

Luna sighed softly as the Tardis eventually faded from the throne room. "What fortunate coincidence that this threat should appear on the horizon just as our plans are set in motion," she confided to the empty air.

"When have you ever known me to rely on coincidence, Luna?" countered a masculine voice from behind the princess.

The blue alicorn raised an eyebrow in slight annoyance, "We had asked you to wait in the carriage."

"My apologies, but I had to be sure he would rise to the bait."

"So this new doctrine...?"

"Was their idea alone," Luna could hear the disgust in her companion's voice as he approached, the tone turning sly as he continued, "However, they would not have thought to put pressure on the royal family without my prodding."

"I see," Luna stated calmly.

"Come," he said softly, placing a hand on her back, "We have yet to recruit the technomancer."

"Yes, of course," she answered, finally tearing her gaze from where the Tardis once stood.

A String of Clues

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As the pair of pegasi approached the outskirts of GrassClaw, a nagging thought found its way out of MM’s mouth. “Hey, Derpy. How long have you been the Doctor’s companion?”

“Hmmmm? I’m not sure exactly. Time doesn’t really make sense in the Tardis.”

“When did he first pick you up, in our timeline?”

“Oh, we met about a year before that meeting we were just at.”

“That’s odd.”

“Why?”

“The String went on a mission eight months ago and you weren’t with him,” Double M stopped in midair as she realized something else. “Did something happen to him, Derpy? He seems, cooler, somehow.”

“What? The Doctor’s always been cool.”

“Not then. He tried to be cool, but always failed at it. He was always putting on dumb hats and bow-ties. What happened to the bow-ties?”

Derpy raised an eyebrow. “Bow-ties? Never.”

“Well, I guess he is a time traveler. I suppose it could be sometime in the future.”

“Oh! Spoilers! I love hearing about spoilers! What else did he do?”

“There’s not really much to tell beyond...” the masked pony started to trail off as several cloaked figures rose from the village below and approached the two disguised ponies.

“Uh, hi. How’s it going?” she asked them apprehensively.

“Who are you, and what is the purpose of your visit to GrassClaw?” demanded the closest figure.

“Oh, we’re just traveling, uh,” Derpy began.

“Traveling minstrels,” MM finished for her.

“Yea, that.”

The cloaked figure removed its hood to reveal the face of a male griffon with fiery red eyes. He eyed the two with deep scrutiny. “And where are your instruments?”

“We don’t have any.”

“Then you’re not really minstrels, more like beggars.”

“Heheh. I guess so,” Derpy admitted, somehow managing to stay in character.

The griffon smiled. “I see,” he said aloud as he reached into the pocket of his robe. Double M prepared for an attack. “I think you’ll find the 'Servants of the Phoenix', to be quite generous,” he calmly continued, producing several coins and Double M visibly relaxed. “In fact, I should say that you’ll be able to afford instruments in rather short order. We could use a few minstrels around the village.”

“Oh, Uh, th-thank you, so, so much,” Derpy replied, reaching out to accept the money.

“DERPY, WAIT!”

But it was too late. The griffon touched Derpy’s hoof and his eyes grew wide as he quickly realized that it wasn’t a talon.

Grabbing ahold of the wall-eyed mare’s leg, he shouted to his compatriots. “It's some manner of magic disguise! Seize them!”

Derpy tried to pull free but the griffon proved to be far stronger. He pulled her to him and held her legs behind her tightly. MM readied herself for a fight but Derpy stopped her.

“Just go!” Derpy managed to cough. “Tell the Doctor!”

The masked pegasus hesitated only a moment. “I’ll come back for you! I promise!” she shouted before taking off at full speed.

"After her!" commanded the red eyed griffon. His subordinates did as they were told and flew off in the same direction that Double M had left.

"She will not escape. And we will soon find out what you are," the griffon whispered into Derpy's ear as he dragged her towards the town.

--------------------------------------

The Doctor and the three flightless Knots made their way towards the tiny hamlet with a slow but steady speed. Trixie would’ve preferred to get there as quickly as possible but when she had suggested going faster the others shot her down. They also seemed intent on taking several breaks along the way, which frustrated Trixie to no end.

Trixie supposes that you don’t have to go too quickly when you have a time machine at your disposal.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a striped hoof offering her a flask of green liquid.

“I do believe that you will find that this brew, can add to your strengths and invigorate you,” the zebra offered.

She’s nice, even though Trixie nearly destroyed Ponyville. The rhyming is a little annoying though.

“Thank you, but Trixie would rather get stronger through her own hard work, since the last shortcut she took ended badly,” she said gently.

“If Twilight’s skill it did improve, do you still think you’d disapprove?”

Trixie’s eyes narrowed at the implication. “If you think Trixie is trying to get stronger just so she could get revenge on Twilight Sparkle, you’re severely mistaken.” She let out a little huff as she finished.

“Ah, so it was Princess Twilight who defeated you,” Blueblood interjected smugly. “No need to feel bad about it though, she is quite strong.”

“Trixie is aware of that. In fact, Trixie is not afraid to admit that she now has a great deal of respect for Sparkle.” The street magician turned back to Zecora. “And Trixie wanted to become stronger because, well... Let's just say that Trixie's motivations are her own."

“Trixie,” the Doctor urged. “If you try to hide something as simple as this, I can promise that you won't do well in this organization."

Sighing, Trixie pushed past her own embarrassment. “Trixie saw how everyone in Ponyville and even Princess Celestia depended on Twilight’s strength,” she began. “Trixie wants to be strong enough for other ponies to depend on her as well.”

She expected the rest of the String to start laughing, or at least Blueblood, but there was just contemplative silence as he stepped forward and put his hoof on her shoulder. “Then you should drink the potion.”

“Were you not even listening to Trixie?”

“I've drank similar potions. It doesn’t give you any power you wouldn’t be capable of on your own. It just allows you to perform at your best, even when you’re tired.”

Trixie nodded, taking the flask in her magic. She tipped her head back and let the liquid flow down her throat. It had the texture of swamp water and the taste of liquid garbage.

“Blehg. You should’ve warned Trixie about the taste.”

“I said I took such a potion. I didn’t say I enjoyed it,” Blueblood quipped before turning around and marching towards their destination once more. “Now come along. We still have quite a lot of ground to cover.”

As the four ponies resumed their journey, none of them noticed the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well flying overhead, pursued by four black-robed griffons.

--------------------------------------

Not much was said during the rest of their hike and when they reached their destination, they found a pair of griffons in full armor guarding the town's entrance.

The blue unicorn could feel herself sweat from the pressure as they were about to pass the pair of soldiers.

With Trixie's luck the spell would choose right now to backfire.

In fact, she could have sworn it did when the guards stopped the group from passing.

"Who are you, and what is your purpose in GrassClaw?" one of them demanded of Blueblood.

"Oh, we're just passing through on our way to the city of Griffonia," he answered casually.

"Do not think you can just skip the first question with such a simple answer," the second griffon, clearly a female, said flatly.

The Doctor stepped forward and produced a slip of paper, showing it to both of the guards. "I believe that this will serve well enough for identification, yes?"

The first guard gave a sidelong smirk to his friend as he took the paper in his claw (Amazingly, the Doctor somehow managed to avoid direct contact with him) and began reading. Soon after beginning, however, his smirk was replaced by a look of horror.

"Oh, m-my apologies m-my lord," he sputtered. "Please allow the 'Servants of the Phoenix' to pay for you and your companions' accommodations for the night to make up for this misunderstanding," the griffon stated as he bowed humbly.

"That's very generous of you. Please, lead the way."

With that, the two griffon guards escorted the String through towards the inn. Along the way, Trixie couldn't help but notice that as they passed, the other griffons gave them a large berth. Normally she would simply chalk it up to how soldiers of this time were usually feared by those they protected, but she didn't see any fear or hatred in the eyes of the griffons they passed.

When they reached their destination, the largest inn in the town, their escorts quickly paid for a night's stay and showed them to their accommodations. "Enjoy your stay in GrassClaw, my lord," the griffoness said as she left the four disguised ponies alone in their room.

Once it was certain that the griffons were out of earshot, Prince Blueblood snatched the Doctor's paper away in his levitation field. "You and your psychic paper. What grand cover story did you conjure up this time?" He asked before reading it for himself. "This says that you're the High-Maester of Griffonia and that I'm your eunuch servant," He announced with a clear note of annoyance. Trixie couldn't stop herself from snickering.

"You're not much better off," Blueblood said as he continued reading. "It says that you and Zecora are his concubines."

Trixie gasped before giving the Doctor a hard slap across the face. "Where would you even get such a thing on such short notice?" She demanded, blushing as Zecora began to giggle.

"It's psychic paper," Blueblood answered, showing it to her. "It says whatever the person holding it wants it to say."

Trixie took the paper in her own magic and examined it. She didn't know whether to feel relieved or outraged that it did indeed say exactly what Blueblood described. She was about to launch another angry tirade of abuse but stopped short when she saw the concerned scowl on his face.

"What's the matter, Doctor?"

"The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well and Derpy should've met up with us by now. Something must've happened."

--------------------------------------

The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well willed her breathing and heartbeat to slow as the four griffons who were chasing her searched the nearby underbrush for their prey. When she had reached the forrest near where the Doctor had parked the Tardis, she quickly dove in, then snuck to her current hiding place by foot. The four griffons had been looking for her for the past three hours, but they didn't seem to be showing any signs of stopping.

Alright M, you're in a tough spot, but you've been in worse situations before. Remember that time in Las Pegasus with Wonder Wing? That was way worse than this. You can find a way out of this.

"She's escaped," admitted a particularly spry griffonness, snapping the hidden mare out of her reverie.

"Oh, really? And who's going to tell the High Priest that? You, Teresa? Because I'm sure as Tartarus not going to," demanded her superior.

"It's getting dark, sir. If you think he'll be mad that we failed to capture this fugitive, imagine how mad he'll be if we miss the nightly sermon," Teresa argued.

Yeah, yeah. Listen to her. You should head back right away!

The commander paused in thought. "You raise a good point, but we can't come back empty handed."

Yes, you can! You can totally go back empty handed!

"Then I will stay and continue the search."

Damn it, Teresa! Who's side are you on?

"Very well. If you do not return with her in tow in an hour we'll send reinforcements. May the phoenix fly in your favor," he finished with a bow.

No, no! Take her with you!

"And in yours," she replied, returning the bow.

Double M cursed her luck as she watched the other three griffons fly off, leaving their comrade behind. Teresa sat and watched them fly for some distance before turning back to the underbrush. If the masked mare didn't know any better she'd believe the griffonness was staring right at her.

"You can come out now."

Crud!

Mysterious Mare-Do-Well prepared herself for a fight. She hadn't been sure she could take on four griffons alone, but just one shouldn't be too difficult.

Just have to avoid those talons.

"No need to be afraid. If I wanted to capture you, I would've told the others when I saw you two hours ago."

MM stepped out from her hiding place but kept her aggressive stance. "Alright, you found me, but I'm going to need a little more than 'I coulda told but I didn't.' to trust you."

"Understandable. Would I be right in assuming that if I help you, you'll help me in return?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"I need your help investigating the Servants of the Phoenix. You see, I'm actually a spy sent here by-"

The mysterious mare couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"And what, exactly, is so funny about that?" Teresa asked angrily.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she answered, struggling to keep down her giggles. "It's just that, heheh, that's kind of what we're doing too."

Apparently, this did not make Teresa feel any better. "What? Did King Marcellus not think that I was up to the job?"

"King who?"

"You are clearly not from around here if you do not know of King Marcellus, Lord of Griffonia, Master of the Cloudy Keep."

"Uh, no. I'm not."

"From where do you hail, then?"

"Ummmm. That's not important, but these Phoenix guys are definitely a threat, to Marcellus, and to kingdoms everywhere."

"I see," the griffonness said, rubbing her chin in thought. "Then I should send word to Griffonia for reinforcements."

"Wait, no! Don't do that."

"And why not?"

"Because there are still some things we don't know about them. For all we know, they might be able to take on a whole army. No, it'll be better if we keep this mission a secret for now."

"We? So you have partners besides the one we have captured?"

"Yea," the masked mare answered, rubbing the back of her neck. "I should really get back in touch with them."

"Where are they?"

"They should all be in GrassClaw by now."

"Then the difficulty of your task is now tripled, assuming they are all disguised as you are. Griffons from all over pass through town on a regular basis."

"Well, knowing the Doctor, he's probably strutting around disguised as someone important so no one will ask any questions."

--------------------------------------

The Doctor strutted confidently through the streets of GrassClaw with Trixie in tow, only occasionally stopping to covertly point his steel wand to and fro by way of nonchalantly turning his head.

"Ummm, Doctor, shouldn't we be trying to get back together with the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well and Derpy?" Trixie inquired.

"Hmmmm? Oh, yes. Definitely. It's the most important thing," he replied without halting his investigations.

"Then why aren't we?"

"What? I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?"

Sighing, she tried again. "Shouldn't we be trying to find our missing teammates?"

"Oh, that. Don't worry about Mysterious Mare-Do-Well, she's quite a capable individual. And as for Derpy, well, let's just say I don't pick my companions for their looks alone," he answered with a smile.

"Okay..."

The two ponies continued strolling down the street for several minutes, the Doctor still pointing his wand this way and that, and Trixie just trying to think of something useful she could do.

"What is that thing, by the way?"

"Oh, this?" The Doctor said, bobbing his head to indicate the object perched on his ear. "It's my sonic-screwdriver."

"And what are you doing with it?"

"Looking for abnormal things. Out of place things. Timey wimey things."

"Find anything yet?"

"Not sure. There are definitely some strange readings, but I just can't tell what they mean exactly," he admitted, smacking the screwdriver a couple times and inadvertently himself in the process as well, then trying it again. "Come on you."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No jus- Wait. Yes, yes, there is," he stopped and turned to the blue unicorn. "If you could use one of those storm sensing spells."

"What? Why?"

"Just trust me."

"Fine."

Trixie pulled her magic aura close. Feeling for a thunderstorm is a relatively simple matter, earth ponies and pegasi even do it passively to a small extent. Their control of magic just allows unicorns to be more precise about it. In fact, being as great and powerful as she was, it only took Trixie a moment before the spell had taken effect. There was just one problem.

"That can't be right," she thought aloud. "Let Trixie try again."

Trixie performed the spell again but achieved the exact same results.

No. No. No. Trixie can't allow herself to fail at such a simple task. Especially not now!

No matter how many times she cast the spell, the result was always the same.

This is it then. This is when the Doctor discovers what a mistake he made bringing me along.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. But I must be doing something wrong," she said finally, hanging her head in shame.

"Oh? Why's that?"

"The spell. Every time I cast it, it says that there's a storm happening right below us and that can't be right."

"What? Why would that be? Oh. Oh wait. Oh, that is clever."

Trixie looked up, confusion clearly present on her face.

The Doctor almost seemed excited until his expression turned quizzical. "Is it clever? Why is it clever? Oh. Of course!"

"You're brilliant you are!" The Doctor exclaimed, kissing her on the forehead. Embarrassed, Trixie moved to shove him away, but he had already moved on and resumed his posturing.

"You sense a storm below us because there is a storm below us. Well, one particular combination of things that causes unicorns to sense a storm. Don't you see? Electricity is flowing underneath the streets!" he finished, stomping the ground with one hoof excitedly.

"Are you trying to insult Trixie? Trixie knows the difference between a storm and plain old electricity and so do her spells!"

The Doctor just stared at Trixie, suddenly dumbfounded by her ignorance.

"Don't give Trixie that look, Doctor. You're the only one who does this sort of thing."

"My screwdriver could tell someone was channeling massive amounts of energy underneath the town but couldn't tell what kind because they cloaked its presence with flowing water. And thanks to your spell I now know its electric energy!"

"That's what it was? Electricity and water?" Trixie said, suddenly feeling very relieved.

I didn't fail.

"That's right, my dear," the Doctor said, not even bothering to hide his pride. "Not only did it not fail. Your spell did exactly what we needed it to."

Just as Trixie was about to re-establish her indifferent attitude, Blueblood and Zecora trotted up to the pair.

"Have you discovered anything, Doctor?" the white stallion queried.

"Actually, Trixie here, through the rather brilliant application of a storm sensing spell, discovered that there is a massive amount of electrical energy flowing under the village, disguised by a body of water right above it. Without her, I wouldn't even be able to tell what it is."

"Good show. It seems you might just be as 'great and powerful' as you once boasted," Blueblood complimented before continuing, "As for us, we have found a great deal of magical energy accumulating in one part of the town."

"I would bet my last bit, as to how these things fit."

Trixie nodded in agreement. "If we follow the electricity to its source, Trixie is sure it would end where the magical energy is gathering."

"But how are the two related?" Blueblood asked.

The Doctor exhaled through pursed lips before admitting, "I have no idea. I'd have to give the opposite end of the circuit a closer look. Zecora, you should come with me."

"Alright, then Trixie and I shall investigate where the magic is collecting."

"Aren't you all forgetting something? We still haven't regrouped with Mysterious Mare-Do-Well and Derpy yet."

"If something happened, I have a feeling that they are at one of the two places we are about to investigate, Trixie," Blueblood retorted.

Trixie frowned. The argument made sense of course, but it only made her feel more uneasy. Regardless of her objections, however, the matter was apparently already decided, and the String was to split up once more. So Trixie followed Blueblood, albeit with a bit of a pout.

--------------------------------------

"The Doctor?" asked Teresa.

"Yeah, he's not a real doctor, but that's what we call him."

"What is a 'doctor'?"

"Oops. Please forget I said that. You're not supposed to know about doctors yet."

"Yet?"

"Damn it. You know what? Can you forget everything I said after 'Yeah.'?

Teresa surveyed Double M with concern. "Perhaps we should visit the local maester before trying to find your friends. You don't seem well."

"Never mind that right now. Just tell me where that red-eyed griffon took my friend."

"Ah. Well, captives are usually taken to 'The Warming Chamber' while their fate is decided."

"Then that's where we head first. The Doctor would kill me if I let something happen to Derpy."

"That would not be wise. The Warming Chamber is heavily guarded. But fret not, before delivering their sentence, the Servants of the Phoenix will first publicly announce their decision. And if they sentence her to death, they will not carry out the execution until sunset of the following evening."

"So, what are you suggesting?"

"If you wish to save your friend, first gather your comrades. Then wait to strike at the execution."

"Gotcha. Once we have Derpy back, I'll set up a meeting between you and my friends," Double M declared.

Just as she was about to fly off however, Teresa stopped her. "Wait. If the others saw that you escaped so easily, I would certainly be exposed as a spy."

"Oh, right."

"So I am going to require that you strike me in the face as hard as you can. I shall tell them-"

"Sounds like a plan to me," the masked mare interrupted, limbering up.

"Aren't you concerned as to why?" Teresa said worriedly.

"Nope," MM replied with a smile, winding up for a powerful blow.

Teresa closed her eyes tightly. Her new ally was clearly not going to hold back.

--------------------------------------

As Derpy regained consciousness she found herself in the company of grey cobblestone walls and the backside of a robed griffon. After spending a year with the Doctor she had grown accustomed to waking up in chains to the point that it was almost cliche, but the addition of the strange fireplace opposite her was a nice change of pace.

At first, all the bronze pipes and strange lights simply drew her curiosity but when the griffon saw that she was awake and started pulling levers and flipping switches she grew more than a tad anxious.

"Ummm... What are you doing over there?"

The griffon in question simply shot her a mysterious grin before returning to his work. After a few more seconds of button pressing and adjusting dials, he took a few steps back and bowed in reverence before the fireplace.

"Prepare yourself."

"Prepare mysel-?"

The fireplace began to rumble and the whole room shook until flames erupted from one of the pipes in the hearth. As if that wasn't enough of a trick, the fire started to speak, its voice a litany of chimes.

"Why have you summoned the Grand Phoenix?"

"My lady, earlier we encountered this griffon behind me and when I touched her talons, they did not feel like talons. They were smooth and flat. And remembering what you told us about illusions-"

"You captured her and brought her here so that I might surmise her true identity and objective."

"Yes, my lady."

If fire could smile then Derpy supposed that this is what it would have looked like.

"You have done well, Hephaestus. Stand aside and I shall dispel her disguise."

Hephaestus quickly retreated to the left wall near the door, keeping his head bowed the entire time.

"I do not suppose you would be willing to remove it yourself?" the flames politely inquired.

"I don't know how," Derpy answered, shrugging.

"I see. Very well then."

The fire's color darkened and turned a deep purple. Then it shot out in even greater force than before, straight towards the restrained mare. Derpy flinched as the flames reached her but when she felt no heat she allowed herself a peek at what was happening.

She was indeed enveloped by the purple inferno but miraculously she was unhurt. If she had been able to look in a mirror, she would've seen the illusion disguising her slowly burn away, revealing her true form. After a few moments of this, the flames retracted back to the hearth and returned to their original color.

"Ah. A pegasus."

The griffon returned to his former position before asking, "What is a pegasus?"

"It is a member of another species that inhabits this planet. I thought they were not yet able to travel this far east but it seems I have underestimated their capabilities."

"Then she is a spy. Should I have her executed?"

"No. I think not. Not yet, at least."

-------------------------------------- Canterlot, Present Day

"Miss Scratch," the door pony, Max Lift nodded as Vinyl passed on her way up to the V.I.P. room. She slowly made her way up the stairs, already dreading the earful she was undoubtedly about to receive.

Apparently, some noble occupying the room had "requested" to see her before she began her set that night. She had decided to ignore them out of principle, because it would mean delaying the show and DJ Pon3 never delayed a show.

Besides, it's probably just some rich fan, wanting an autograph.

However, now that her set was done, she could no longer hold off the meeting and the inevitable royal scolding she would receive for even daring to keep the noble pony waiting.

Makes me wish I was a noble, so I could just blow them off.

She shook the thought from her head as she reached the top of the stairs and pushed open the door, what she saw on the other side made her jaw drop. There sitting on the couch farthest from the window was the princess of the night herself, Princess Luna.

She seemed lost in thought as she watched some... thing standing next to the window hum and bob its head in time with the music from downstairs. The thing noticed Vinyl first and flashed a smile but didn't turn around.

Finally realizing they were no longer alone, the blue alicorn turned and addressed the newest addition to the room. "Miss Vinyl Scratch, thank you for joining us."

When Vinyl failed to produce any sort of response Luna tilted her head in confusion, "Do you perhaps prefer to be addressed by your stage name, DJ Pon3?"

Tied up in Knots

View Online

-------------------------------------- Canterlot, Present Day

As Vinyl trudged up the stairs to her apartment, her mind reeled with the implications of Luna's offer. She had refused right away since it would no doubt come back to hurt her marefriend.

She had to have been joking. Had to, no way she would even think of doing that.

As she finally reached her floor, she walked to the bench situated just outside her door and sat down. Taking a quick glance to either side to make sure she was alone, she reached under the bench with her levitation field and tenderly grasped the package she had hidden there the day before. Gently, she brought the small box to eye level before breaking into a smile.

Besides, I've got more important things to think about.

A sudden choking sob ripped Vinyl’s attention from her reverie. Replacing the box where she found it, she unlocked her apartment door and ran inside to discover Octavia hunched over the kitchen counter.

“Tavi?” she called, edging her way over until she could place a leg over the distressed gray earth pony. “Tavi, what’s wrong?”

“O-oh, V-vinyl,” she finally answered throwing her legs around the D.J. in a desperate hug. “I went to play at Hoity Toity’s party and, and…”

Octavia choked again before she could continue and broke down weeping once more. She made an attempt to continue but Vinyl placed a hoof on Octavia’s lips, stopping her.

“No rush,” Vinyl cooed, gently stroking her mane. “Take your time.”

The gray mare took the invitation with gusto, quietly sobbing into Vinyl’s shoulder, for how long, neither pony could really say.

Once Octavia was all cried-out, Vinyl sat her on the couch and brought her some tea. She took a short sip before wincing. “Vinyl, you are absolutely awful at making tea.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’m better at coffee. Want some coffee?” Vinyl grinned.

“No, but thank you.”

“Sooo,” the white unicorn started hesitantly. “Do you want to talk about it now?”

“I… I went to Hoity Toity’s party, as planned,” she began, but paused a moment before continuing.

“When I arrived, Hoity told me he wouldn't be needing my services after all. Normally, I’d just think that he’d had to cancel the party, but I could hear the party going on on the terrace. At least, I thought I could. There were lots of ponies talking and laughing and even a piano playing.

“I pressed him on the topic, and he admitted that the party had not been canceled. Obviously, I asked him why he was cancelling my performance and he said, well, it doesn’t really matter what he said, but he let slip that I had been blacklisted by somepony in the Canterlot nobility.”

“WHAT?!” Vinyl practically screamed, before her eyes narrowed in realization and anger. “Luna,” she growled.

“Vinyl?”

“I have to go,” the unicorn replied, heading to the door. “I have to… kill somepony.”

--------------------------------------

When the Doctor and Zecora finally stopped near the outskirts of GrassClaw, he took a glance of the surroundings for any signs of unwanted onlookers before activating his sonic screwdriver. Unfortunately, it seemed that the same factors confusing his device before were present here as well. He tried it once, then twice, then a third time but every single attempt failed.

Zecora allowed herself a small chuckle at his expense. "I thought your device could, beat anything but wood." she quipped as she continued her own search.

"Yes, yes, very funny," the Doctor groused, putting his screwdriver back into its assigned pocket. "It's this universe. Maybe even this town in particular. All the magic floating around causes misfirings and false readings. Clogs up the sensors."

"I did not mean to darken your mood. Even without it you still do good."

"No. No. It's okay. What about you? Have you found anything?"

"Although I've yet to see it before, I've found something I can not ignore," she replied, pointing to the corner of the small house she was inspecting.

At its corner, imbedded in the wooden support beam, was a steel rod, tipped with a gigantic ruby. Every few moments, the gem glowed just ever so slightly then went out again.

"Okay, yes. That is certainly something that shouldn't exist here," the Doctor stated, flipping on a pair of glasses to inspect it further.

"It seems to move magic around, right into the middle of town."

"And it only happens when there is electricity flowing through it. Interesting."

"That is what I've gleamed so far. Should we now remove this bar?"

"Mmmmmm, no. If we did that, there's no predicting how the arcane energy they've collected so far would react. It might gently dissipate, but it also might cause an explosion that would destroy everything within five miles."

Before Zecora could nod in agreement, a purple blur swept by and towards the center of the village. It kept going a good distance before whatever it was turned back around and finally came to a stop at the ponies' hooves, revealing a rather excited Mysterious Mare-Do-Well.

"Whoo! Hey there Doctor, Zecora. So glad I didn't have to search the whole town for yah. That would've been annoying. You won't believe what happened. Wait, no. You probably will. It is us, after all."

--------------------------------------

Although Trixie could not sense it before, as she and Blueblood neared the center of the town, the massive amount of magical energy gathering at their destination became more and more apparent. A griffon wouldn't even notice the aura but for the blue unicorn it was downright suffocating. She was certain she was on the verge of collapse when Blueblood suddenly halted.

"Are we there already?"

"Close enough, look."

Trixie lifted her head to take in the situation and found the majority of her vision occupied by a steeple adorned with a red emblem in the shape of a bird with its wings outstretched.

A phoenix. Isn't that a little on the nose?

In front of the church stood a fairly large stage, very similar to many that Trixie had performed on, but decorated with several bronze tubes. In the center of that stage stood a lone podium, which was also covered with tubes. It appeared that the two unicorns had arrived just in time to witness a town meeting because it seemed as though every griffon in the village was present, all of them eagerly gazing up at the platform.

Not wanting to stick out from the crowd, the two Knots fell in behind the outermost layer of griffons and waited for whatever it was that they were all assembled for. They did not wait long. A lone robed figure walked up to the podium as the crowd went silent. When it reached the pulpit, it removed its hood to expose the face of a red-eyed griffon.

"Greetings, brothers and sisters!" he began. "I know that the 'Grand Phoenix' has asked much of you and you have seen little in return. I also know that many of you are starting to have doubts." He paused to give a few choice griffons a poignant stare.

Some hidden griffon decided to take advantage of the momentary silence. "Of course you know, Hephaestus! We made sure to put plenty of our 'doubt' in your wine!" Several griffons guffawed at the joke but the High Priest kept calm, simply making a note of the offending party's name for "reconciliation" later.

"Well, I am here today to bring you glorious news! News that will quell those doubts and strengthen your faith! The 'Grand Phoenix' has revealed to me that we are finally worthy and that she will soon make herself manifest in a physical form!"

At this, the audience began to cheer. Trixie thought she might have even seen a few griffonnesses openly weeping in elation.

Hephaestus smiled generously as he waited a few moments for this joyous cacophony to subside, then gently gestured for quiet. "However, this does not mean that we can allow ourselves to lose vigilance! We should not treat this as a reward, rather we should see this as another chance to prove our worth to her. So go now and celebrate, but with the dignity that she has come to expect of us. And may the phoenix fly in your favor," he finished with a deep bow.

"And in yours," the crowd responded in unison. Satisfied that the announcement was over, the crowd immediately began to disperse.

Thank Celestia none of them noticed that we didn't bow.

While the griffons disbanded, Blueblood gently nudged Trixie into a nearby alley. She was about to suggest that they start investigating the area as originally planned but he lifted his hoof for quiet and shook his head. There they sat until the area around the stage was completely empty and Trixie was compelled to end the stillness.

"What is it?"

Blueblood gave the area a quick look before turning back to Trixie. "Isn't it just an incredible coincidence, that on the same day as our arrival, the High Priest of the Servants of the Phoenix announces that their goddess will soon be walking amongst her mortal subjects?"

--------------------------------------

The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well had summed up, at a break-neck speed, what happened as succinctly as she could for the Doctor and Zecora, but had to stop several times and add in important details as she remembered them. Had she been telling the story to any other pony, she would've probably lost them somewhere along the way. Thankfully, however, she had told it to the two quickest ponies she knew.

By the time they regrouped with the others in the pub adjoining their inn, both of them had already rearranged the new information in their minds into a more understandable order. In fact, neither of them had any trouble in relaying it to the rest of the group. And when Trixie and Blueblood had added in what they had heard, everypony took a moment to contemplate the implications.

While the Night String sat in relative silence thinking over the day's events, the other occupants of the pub were busy obeying Hephaestus's command to celebrate and not really giving much thought to what he had said about dignity. Most were already far too inebriated to even notice their friends' comings and goings, let alone what any strangers were doing. One hooded griffonness took advantage of this fact to walk in unnoticed and speak to the proprietor.

"I heard that the High-Maester of Griffonia is staying at your inn," she probed.

"Indeed, Sister," the mustachioed barkeep answered, pointing towards the five disguised ponies. "He is sitting in the corner booth, with his servants."

As she followed his claw, she recognized a face. "Unbelievable. That little-" she mumbled, clenching her talons tight with frustration.

"Miss?"

"Never mind. Thank you for your assistance," she said as she left a gold piece on the counter.

"I see," the Doctor finally stated. "So it would be fair to assume that the arcane energy they have been gathering is going to be used to give their 'Grand Phoenix' a body and capturing Derpy has somehow sped up their timetable significantly."

"The question then," added Blueblood. "is, 'Are they speeding up their plans because they feel threatened, or because having Derpy represents an advantage they didn't have before?'"

"Unfortunately, even the majority of the order is being kept in the dark in regards to that point," Interrupted the hooded griffoness as she approached the table.

"Uhh... Who are you?"

In reply, the griffonness simply removed her hood to reveal a familiar face and a black eye.

"Oh, Teresa! I was just telling them about you!" the masked mare offered with a smile.

Teresa did not return her jovial attitude. "I gathered as much. Now please tell me why you've convinced the entire town that you're the High-Maester of Griffonia?"

"If you act like you don't want to be noticed, you're twice as likely to actually be noticed," the Doctor retorted.

"Considering that the high-priest wants to meet you and give you a tour of the town I would have to disagree."

"Ah. Yes. I can see why that would be a problem."

"No need to worry," Trixie shot quickly. "If the high-priest wants to meet the High-Maester, you will just have to introduce him."

--------------------------------------

Hephaestus ascended the stairs of the inn with a wide smile on his face. Everything was finally falling together. Granted, discovering a foreign spy was certainly a cause for concern, but he doubted that anyone would be able to stop his mistress once she attained a physical form. And now he finds out that the High-Maester was currently visiting GrassClaw! What glorious fortune! This was the perfect opportunity to begin accruing political clout. All he had to do was perform a little butt kissing, maybe supply a few drinks, and his new friend would be within the order's sphere of influence.

Finally reaching the High-Maester's room, he lifted his claw to knock on the door but stopped short as it opened to reveal one of his own acolytes standing before him.

"Teresa? What are you doing here?" He asked pointedly.

"When I heard that the High-Maester of Griffonia was here I felt I should come to inform him that he would most likely be visited by you, so as to give him some time to prepare. He is rather old, so a walking tour of the town requires some effort to prepare for," the griffonness answered, bowing her head.

Liar. You came here to win his favor. No matter, if you want to ride his coat-tails it should have little effect on the order.

"I see."

"The High-Maester has requested that I come along as well, for protection in case of thieves or other miscreants."

You are as intelligent as you are cunning, I will give you that.

"Of course. Is he ready to leave?"

"Let me check."

The young acolyte retreated into the room for just a moment before returning.

"Allow me to present: the High-Maester of Griffonia and direct liaison to King Marcellus, Lord Guildenstern," Teresa announced, bowing deeply as an old, grey-robed griffon slowly shuffled his way out into the hallway.

"Lord Guildenstern, this is the High Priest of the Servants of the Phoenix, Hephaestus."

"A pleasure to meet you, my lord," Hephaestus said, extending his claw for the traditional talon-shake.

"I'm sorry," a feeble voice from under the grey hood replied. "but I'm afraid I am currently suffering from a strange cough, the origins of which I cannot place. So l must refuse the usual greeting, just in case it is contagious."

Hephaestus quickly withdrew his talon in slight fear. "Ah. That's very considerate of you. Shall we begin our tour? I dare say you will find GrassClaw to be a very interesting and hospitable village."

As Hephaestus and Teresa led their guest away, Trixie poked her head out of the door and watched them descend the stairs.

"Trixie is starting to have doubts about her plan," the blue unicorn admitted to the other occupants of the room.

"Although he might not seem to fit the part, the Doctor is versed in the actor's art," Zecora replied.

"Quite right," Blueblood agreed, "All he really needed was a quick change to his disguise."

"Trixie supposes you're right. What do we do while they're away?"

"Well, since we can't really do much without the Doctor right now, and night is starting to fall, and there is a pub just downstairs..."

"Surely you do not think, to go down for a drink?" Zecora rhymed incredulously.

"And why not? The Doctor will probably have a drink or two while being chatted up by that priest."

"It does strike Trixie as a bit uncouth to be having a drink while Derpy is chained up in a dungeon somewhere."

--------------------------------------

"Enjoying your meal?" The talking flame asked as Derpy took another bite of pasta.

"Mmmphfhrmff," Derpy answered through her food.

"Please, don't talk with your mouth full."

Derpy swallowed her mouth-full as quickly as she could. "Sorry." Derpy stopped stuffing her face for a moment while she considered her current circumstances. "Hey, Great Phonics?"

"Grand Phoenix."

"Yeah, sure. Why are you feeding me so well?"

"I suppose that we could simply bring you grass and you'd survive just fine, but I like to think that our order is a little more civilized than that."

"So the fact that I'm eating well has nothing to do with your ritual thingy?"

"It doesn't matter how often you ask. I still have nothing more to add."

"Worth a shot," Derpy shrugged as she speared another helping of pasta onto her fork.

--------------------------------------

Trixie grumbled into her cup of water as she waited for Blueblood to return to the table. Although the rest of the String had been adamant about not drinking, the high-society unicorn still refused to give in. So, after drawing straws, Trixie was elected the one to accompany him and make sure he didn't jeopardize the mission while he was inebriated.

Blueblood finally returned to the table, a healthy blush coloring his face as he placed another flagon of wine on the table. "What is that, your third pitcher?" Trixie asked, already knowing the answer.

"Indeed, and all on Hephaestus's tab too." The blue illusionist simply rolled her eyes. "To be honest, I usually don't drink this much. Then again, I usually don't drink alone," Blueblood admitted as he poured himself another cup.

"So Trixie supposes that she doesn't count?"

"You would, if you were drinking something other than dirty water."

At this, the blue mare took a look at her beverage and quickly discovered several bits of dirt and other debris. Sighing, she pushed her cup away and rested her head on the table. "Trixie forgot when we were so she ordered it without thinking."

"You know, since alcohol kills bacteria, the wine is actually safer to drink than the water here," Blueblood teased.

"Ugh, fine. One glass."

"Wonderful," Blueblood beamed, throwing the water from Trixie's cup out the open window and refilling it with his crimson elixir.

"So tell Trixie, are you always so laid back during these missions?"

"Right now, we're just doing reconnaissance," the stallion began, passing Trixie her cup. "And perception magic isn't exactly my strong suit which means that I'm currently quite useless."

Blueblood paused to take a draw from his cup before continuing. "And I hate being useless. Which is why I'm currently on my third pitcher of wine, trying to drown out that little voice in my head telling me I don't belong on this team. It's a silly thought, I'm sure, but it's there none the less."

Trixie can empathize, believe me.

"But weren't you the one who deduced that the Grand Phoenix's arrival was related to Derpy being captured?"

"Oh, Trixie, the String doesn't need me for that. Why, the Doctor and Zecora are much more clever than I am. They would've easily figured that out on their own, I was just the first pony to say it out loud."

"In that case, then Trixie hopes you won't find it rude of her to ask what part you play on this team?"

"A perfectly legitimate query. I am the magical muscle of this group. I haven't studied much of other magics, but in the midst of battle, my combat spells are quite formidable, if I do say so myself." It was clear that the unicorn really enjoyed saying it himself and probably often did just that.

Trixie gave a snicker. "If that's so, how come you weren't able to dodge that cake better?"

Blueblood immediately shot her a look.

Trixie smiled sheepishly, "Trixie, ahem, heard about what happened at the Gala." She quickly took a long sip from her cup.

"Ah, yes. The Gala," Blueblood sighed, "That was... an unfortunate event. Originally, I had intended to quietly enjoy the evening just avoiding everypony excluding my close friends, of course. However, when I was approached by Miss Rarity, I was only left with one course of action."

"What do you mean?"

"Knots of the Night String are not permitted to interact with the Element Bearers," Blueblood pontificated, accenting his words with grandiose hoof gestures. "And whenever contact is sought out and initiated by one the Bearers, it is the duty of a Knot to behave in a manner that discourages any further contact." His soliloquy completed, he stopped to take another draw from his cup.

Trixie raised an eyebrow. "That sounded rehearsed."

"Ha! It might as well have been. Before Luna returned and reestablished her authority over the String, Aunt Tia bore the speech into our brains every chance she got. She was so protective of Twilight she didn't even allow us to meet in the castle. We had to rent out an empty cellar. Though, if we are being honest, I almost miss the place, it felt very... clandestine," he finished with a conniving smile.

The illusionist rubbed her chin in thought for a moment. "Trixie supposes that a friendly rematch with Princess Sparkle is out of the question then."

"Indeed. But now that you're a Knot, I would say you'll find yourself occupied with more interesting adventures than randomly annoying the citizens of Ponyville," Blueblood accented his last sentence with a quiet burp, which, despite the hoof covering his mouth, allowed a whiff of his breath escape and smack Trixie across the face.

Waving a hoof to dispel the noxious gas, Trixie decided it was probably time to get her companion to bed. "Trixie thinks you've had enough for one night, Bluey."

Blueblood dropped his jaw with mock disapproval, "Bluey? How dare you address a prince with such familiarity?"

"Yes, yes. Trixie is a horrible pony and should be ashamed of herself. Now, come along," she replied, grabbing the royal unicorn by the hoof and dragging him back towards the stairs that led to their room.

Either Trixie's griffonness illusion was a little too good, or the other occupants of the pub were just drunk enough to find anyone attractive, because as the two ponies passed a particularly rowdy table, one of the griffons gave Trixie's rump a playful swat with his tail.

Trixie let out a surprised squeak, backing up and turning around to face her assailant at the same time, more concerned that the offender may have felt through her illusion than the probable injury to her honor. However, the griffon in question simply shot her a flirty smirk as he continued pouring ale down his throat, so she assumed she was safe. She was about to continue dragging Blueblood upstairs when he refused to take a single step more.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"Oh, nothing. That griffon over there just smacked my butt with his tail but I think he's too drunk to notice the lack of feathers," Trixie whispered, not realizing that Blueblood had stopped listening halfway into the sentence and was already approaching the offending griffon.

He roughly poked the griffon in the side with an abandoned mug to get his attention and was rewarded as the griffon quickly turned around to address him. "What is it?"

"Sir! Just now as my friend and I were passing you wantonly swatted her backside! You have insulted my compatriot's honor and I demand that you apologize!"

"And what if I said I'm not going to apologize? What are you going to do about it?" the griffon demanded, flaring his wings in a threatening manner. Clearly this was a very strong griffon, not used to being told to do anything, much less apologize, but it didn't look like B.B. was in any mood to back down either.

Trixie swiftly grabbed Blueblood once more and whispered into his ear. "What are you doing? If you fight him, he will definitely realize that you are not a griffon, then all our covers will be blown."

Blueblood just gave her a drunken grin. "Don't worry." He shot her what Trixie assumed was supposed to be a charming wink but because of the wine better resembled a minor stroke then turned back towards their aggressor.

"I don't think you quite understand the gravity of the situation, Sir!" the unicorn elaborated. "This griffonness is one of High-Maester Guildenstern's personal entourage! You have heard of him correct? The High-Maester of Griffonia?"

The griffon's wings shrank back behind him as the implications began to unfold in his mind.

"That's right! Lord Guildenstern, direct liaison to King Marcellus! Surely you recognize her from when she was sitting in his company earlier this evening, in this very establishment?"

"I remember!" shouted some unseen griffon in the back.

"Thank you. Now," Blueblood continued, his voice growing sinister. "I suggest you apologize before this becomes any more complicated."

The griffon turned and bowed to Trixie in a manner that was more frightened than apologetic. "I apologize, milady. I shall conduct myself with more restraint in the future. If there is anyway-"

"Enough," As much as she enjoyed the sight of the griffon babbling for forgiveness, Trixie could tell that they were starting to attract unnecessary attention. "Your apology is accepted. Just remember that it is never a mistake to show a lady the utmost respect."

"You're absolutely correct, milady. I will remember."

"Good," Trixie finished, grabbing ahold of Blueblood again and heading back up the stairs, both ponies' faces plastered with smiles far bigger than they deserved to have.

--------------------------------------

The Doctor sighed as Hephaestus led him and Teresa into the cult's house of worship. He would much rather be back at the inn, strategizing with Zecora, or swapping stories with Mysterious Mare-Do-Well, or even out and about the town further investigating the numerous devices around town that seemed to be collecting magical energy. Instead, however, he was being led around by this priest who not only had no idea he was being strung along, but certainly had no intention of revealing anything too important. So, predictably, the tour so far had been rather, well, rather domestic. And if there was anything that the Doctor hated, it was predictability and anything domestic.

"And this," Hephaestus explained. "is the spiritual center of our town. Did you know, my lord, that nearly eighty percent of GrassClaw is an adherent of our religion?"

The church itself was nothing spectacular. In fact, it was a bit on the small side, even taking into account the chambers than undoubtedly sat below. The only things that really stood out were the bronze tubing that seemed to line the entirety of the interior and the red bird-shaped silhouette adorning the far wall.

"Oh, really?" the disguised earth pony began. "That's quite a lot of worshippers. How do you fit them all in here?"

The high-priest gave a small chuckle. "Well, we actually stopped holding the main service in here, instead conducting it in the square outside. Now this building is only used by our priests and priestesses to perform the sacred rites that do not require the other adherents' participation." The red-eyed griffon shot Teresa a pointed look.

She knew what the old griffon wanted her to say. "Actually, my lord, we would like to build a new steeple, a cathedral that would be able to fit all of the town's worshippers, but we lack the necessary funding. Perhaps you would-"

"And what sort of 'sacred rights' would those be?" the Doctor interrupted.

"Excuse me?" Hephaestus asked.

"You said that this is where you perform the 'sacred rites' that don't require any other adherents. What rituals do you mean?"

"Why, just simple things," Hephaestus answered, slightly taken aback by the question. "The blessing of the oils, the daily prayer, sometimes feeding beggars and other works of charity."

"I see," The priest's attempts to impress had not been lost on the Doctor and he wanted to make it as awkward for him as possible. Seeing a door with a sign that read, 'Brothers and Sisters of the Order Only.' He immediately pointed to it. "And what is behind that door?"

The frantic look on Hephaestus's face brought more than enough joy to the Doctor's heart to make up for the rest of the evening's uneventfulness. "Oh, um. Just stairs leading down to the order's sleeping chambers," Hephaestus started sweating visibly. He decided it was time to change the subject. "Would you like a drink, my lord?"

--------------------------------------

Hephaestus nervously searched the cupboards of the temple's kitchen for some glasses as his guest leaned against the bar opposite, popping popcorn into his mouth one at a time.

Confound it! Everything was going so well! Now the whole order seems suspicious. Maybe I should have just taken him down and given him a short tour? Just enough to satisfy his curiosity. No. No. It would've only brought more suspicion when I pointedly avoided the Warming Chamber.

The priest finally found two clean glasses good enough for illustrious guests. He was pouring the drinks when he had an idea.

Perhaps all is not lost. With a small addition, if he ever shows any more signs of suspicion, we can simply remove him.

Glancing over his shoulder to make sure the wine glasses were hidden, he produced a small vial from his sleeve and added its clear contents to the glass on the right.

Meanwhile, the Doctor watched the fruits of his play-acting with a look of unbound glee on his face. Seizing the moment while Hephaestus was otherwise occupied, Teresa whispered into the his ear.

"The order's sleeping chambers do indeed lie at the bottom of those stairs, however, that is also where you can find the Warming Chamber."

The Doctor just kept grinning at the sight of his hoofiwork's results. "I knew that even before Hephaestus got jumpy," he replied through a smile which he was now almost certain would become permanent.

"What?" Teresa asked.

"Hoh yes!" the proclamation was exaggerated but quiet.

The griffonness seemed incredulous. "How?"

"Oh, come on. A secretive order trying to take over the world? A damsel in distress chained up in an underground dungeon? It's more cliche than a... than a... Well, it's more cliche than a very cliche thing."

"You and your friends continue using such a strange manner of speech."

Before the Doctor could explain what 'cliche' meant, Hephaestus interrupted their banter, placing the drinks on the bar. "I had this bottle imported from Griffonia a few months ago," he picked up the bottle and cradled it lovingly. "It's a Chardonnay, year of King Marcellus twenty-three. I was saving it for a special occasion and I can think of no occasion more special than meeting the High-Maester."

"No occasion save for meeting the King himself, correct?" the Doctor asserted. "May I?" he asked, indicating the bottle in the red-eyed griffon's grasp.

"Certainly."

The Doctor took the bottle in his hooves and smelled its contents, savoring the aroma. "Mmmmm, year of Marcellus twenty-three, I remember it well. In fact, didn't his Highness decree that it was forbidden to drink this particular vintage from anything other than a mahogany chalice?"

"Oh, goodness! You're right! I'll throw these out at once."

Fie and fie again! That was the last of milady's potion!

Hephaestus turned to search for cups that might be able to pass for mahogany, but was stopped by the apparent High-Maester.

"Oh. It would be a shame to waste even a glass of such a fine wine," the Doctor implored with a sly grin. "So... I won't tell his Majesty if you don't."

The priest chuckled both inwardly and outwardly as he picked up his glass.

Mishaps aside, this evening has gone even better than expected.

"Tell his Majesty... what, exactly?" he asked, returning his guest's sly tone and extending his arm for a toast.

"Exactly," the Doctor answered, clinking his glass against his host's and taking a long draw of the golden liquid.

--------------------------------------

As the sun rose the next morning, Hephaestus wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the day in his bed sleeping. However, his mistress needed to be updated on what had transpired in regards to the High-Maester of Griffonia.

Rising from the bed in his private quarters, he stood and shuffled to his personal console. He pulled and pushed several levers and flicked a switch here and there, the order of these actions second nature to him now. Finally, he took several steps back and bowed. A few seconds later, the visage of his mistress appeared, burning bright and red appeared before him. The sudden change in light served Hephaestus another headache to remind him of the previous night's activities.

"The day's greetings, Hephaestus."

"And a good morning to you, my lady," he managed to croak.

"Judging from your countenance, I'd say the meeting with the High-Maester went well. I hope you didn't drink so much that you made a fool of yourself in front of him."

"No, my lady. He was starting to grow suspicious when I showed him around the temple, so I slipped him that potion you gave me for just such occasions. However, it may have been unnecessary as he seemed to forget it easily enough when I brought out the wine."

"Oh?"

"Yes, mistress."

"A wise decision nonetheless. I will remove him if he ever proves to be more trouble than he's worth. In fact, invite him to the ritual at sunset this evening. So that I may gauge his reaction."

"You wish to conduct the ritual tonight?"

"Yes. We have already moved up our schedule once, and we already have more than enough energy."

"Then I shall see to it, my lady."

--------------------------------------

As the Night String awoke, it made the unpleasant discovery that its usually most dependable pony was nursing a hangover. This fact surprised nopony more than the Doctor himself.

"Blueblood's behavior was expected, but I thought you'd be more collected," Zecora rhymed in disappointment.

"Yeah. I gotta say Doc, I never thought I'd see you shirk duties and get wasted," the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well said, perhaps a little louder than was necessary making the Doctor wince.

"And how are you, of all ponies, completely fine?" Trixie demanded of Blueblood.

"I'm curious about that too, B.B.," the Doctor said, fighting through his pain to turn and look at the prince.

Up to this point, Blueblood had been nonchalantly sitting on his bunk, perfectly happy to just let his compatriots lay into the Doctor. "Hey, don't drag me into this. I was perfectly well behaved last night, despite being pleasantly pickled. Just ask Trixie," he replied, indicating the aforementioned mare.

As Zecora was about to rhyme out just such an inquiry, however, there came a knocking at their chamber door, followed by the entry of a very tired looking Teresa, who looked around the room in a confused manner before quietly closing the door behind her.

"You are all very fortunate that I was the first to enter this room and check on you. If it weren't for his massive headache, (Thank you for that by the way, Doctor.) Hephaestus would've been over here with the first rays of the sun."

"Why is that?" the Doctor asked.

"Don't you remember? You made quite the impression. He was practically ready to stop worshipping the Grand Phoenix and start praying to High-Maester Guildenstern by the time we left."

The Doctor gave a mischievous smile. "I tend to have that effect on ponies."

"I can tell."

"Wait, why are we fortunate?" Trixie interrupted, confused, before realizing a very important fact. "The disguise spell ran out during the night! Trixie knew she should've cast it again before bed."

"As I said, quite fortunate, but you're safe for now."

"Yes, thank you for that. Now if nopony minds, I'm going to use the sink, maybe some cold water will make this migraine go away."

While the Doctor went into the adjoining washroom to make a futile attempt to soothe his pains, Teresa surveyed the remaining members of the Night String. Clearly not finding whatever she was looking for, she approached Blueblood and inspected him further.

"May I help you?" B.B. asked, uncomfortable under the griffoness' scrutiny.

"I was just curious. I've never met a pony before. The one I met outside GrassClaw, Mysterious Mare-Do-Well, I believe her name was, which one of you is her?"

"That's me!" Double M declared.

"Ah. A pleasure to finally meet you. Though to be honest," she mused aloud, looking around the room to be sure she hadn't missed anything. "I thought you ponies would be taller, considering how strong that blow was."

"Did she just subtly call us all short?" Trixie asked Blueblood who could only shrug in response.

"No offense intended, I assure you. You make up for it in other aspects," Teresa apologized. "Some, more than others," she finished, glancing slightly at the door through which the Doctor had exited.

Trixie raised an eyebrow in confusion.

What?

"Well, that didn't help at all," the Doctor announced as he returned from the washroom, toweling himself off. "So, Teresa, where do we stand?"

"The high-priest has decided that the wait is over. The ritual to give the Grand Phoenix physical form will be performed tonight at sunset in the church square," Teresa began. "Guildenstern and his companions are invited to attend and sit on the stage with Hephaestus as he performs the rite. If your friend is to be used in the ritual in some fashion, you will be perfectly poised to rescue her," the griffonness quickly eyed the Doctor from top to bottom. "Obviously, you'll have to come donned in that same illusion from earlier."

"Disappointed?" the Doctor teased.

"Maybe a little."

Does Trixie have to spray you both down with ice water?

"Then we've got some prep work to do," Blueblood finally interjected, clearly also irked by the blatant flirting.

Teresa remembered that she had come here with a purpose. That purpose now fulfilled, she was expected to return to the temple. "Ahem. Good day."

Thank Celestia for Blueblood. I couldn't take another moment of that.

--------------------------------------

After a day of recovery, all but one of the String's members ascended the stairs of the stage in front of the steeple. Mysterious Mare-Do-Well, on the other hoof, sat atop one of the nearby houses, eyes glued to the stage. "I hope this plan of yours works, Doc."

Down below, Hephaestus greeted his guests with vigor enough that you would've never guessed that just eight hours earlier he had been lying face down on his bed, just trying to escape the reminders of his frivolities the night before. "Hello, hello, Lord Guildenstern and company!" he said animatedly, reaching out to shake the Doctor's disguised hoof, before remembering their meeting last night. "Oh wait, that's right. Are you still feeling unwell, my lord?"

The Doctor gave a couple fake coughs. "Yes, the cough is definitely still there and I have to admit, our fun last night probably did me little good."

"But it was worth it, wasn't it?" the griffon laughed and the Doctor simply chuckled in response.

The square shortly filled with hundreds of griffons, all excitedly awaiting their goddess. Once the square was sufficiently full and he was certain all his followers were present, Hephaestus took to the podium. "Friends! We are gathered today for a most momentous occasion! Tonight, as the sun sets, we will bare witness as the Grand Phoenix descends from the heavens and begins her time among us!"

Trixie gambled a look at the other Knots. Blueblood was rolling his neck to remove any kinks. Zecora had produced and readied a vial of red potion, from where she couldn't say. She couldn't see the Mysterious Mare from where she sat but she assumed the masked equine was limbering up. Turning to the Doctor, she discovered him looking right at her, his sonic screwdriver in hoof.

"Allons-y," he grinned.

Hamstrung

View Online

Hephaestus looked out over the excited crowd and smiled with pride. Even those who usually shirked his weekly sermons, those who were members of his religion in name only, had shown up to witness the event that was about to occur.

After today they will gladly come to every sermon, even the optional one on Thursday mornings.

"Before we begin, I have some news that you all must know." The High-priest signaled to two robed griffons off-stage who, in turn, dragged forth the grey pegasus that they had captured, still in chains. The crowd began whispering amongst themselves, all wondering what the Servants of the Phoenix had brought before them.

Indicating the chained mare, Hephaestus continued, "Naught but two days previous, our acolytes captured this creature, known as a pegasus, just above our town. She was wearing a magical disguise but the Grand Phoenix was easily able to dispel it, revealing her true form." The red-eyed griffon's tone turned to one of disgust. "This spy, this, this thing, was sent here to sow seeds of dissent and disharmony amongst our congregation!"

The gathered griffons began shouting and booing. Every other one called for some form of harsh punishment. Some wanted her banished, others wanted a hanging, and a few even demanded a beheading. Turning to smirk at his hostage, Hephaestus was slightly disappointed to find no fear coloring her face, no hints of desperation emanating from her countenance.

I suppose ponies are as willful as my lady led me to believe.

--------------------------------------

As she was led unto the stage and threatened by the griffons below, Derpy had nearly broken down and cried. However, when she looked away, to shield herself from the emotional assault, her eyes caught on something metallic, something blue, something that had brought her comfort in times of need a million times before, the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. For some reason, it was in the claw of an old robed griffon.

They caught him?

The old griffon recognized that he had caught her eye and winking, gently waved the blue light across his face, flashing away the illusion just long enough for Derpy to see underneath. Empowered by the gesture, the grey pegasus became as steady as a rock. She could not allow herself to falter, she could not afford to cry. She would stand proud and unafraid because the Doctor was watching.

--------------------------------------

Having failed to notice the quick exchange between his prisoner and his ally apparent, Hephaestus continued, "Foolish was she, to think that she could even hope to rock our faith!" He fed off the crowd's energy and kept going with increased gusto, "In fact, little did she realize that she would become the very instrument of our mistress's victory!"

Trixie had first began to grow anxious when the crowd started baying for blood, but now had gone into full blown panic mode. Looking to the rest of the String for some signs of action, she found herself baffled by the lack of movement.

Turning to the Doctor, she whispered, "Now that she is out in the open, shouldn't we attack?"

"No. Not yet," He answered.

In hopes of a second opinion, she turned to Blueblood, "Don't you think it's time?"

"Not yet." Though his words mirrored the Doctor's, his face was contorted as he grit his teeth tightly around each syllable. A soft but repeated thudding brought Trixie's attention downwards to discover him continuously lifting his left front hoof and putting it back down. His every muscle was tensed up, half of them clearly wanting to jump into action and the second half occupied keeping the former in place.

"Now, dear friends, let us call down the Grand Phoenix together!" The High-priest's declaration brought the blue unicorn's attention back to center stage. He quickly stepped away from the podium and bowed his head. The crowd obediently did like wise and began praying in quiet mumbles.

--------------------------------------

Somewhere under GrassClaw, a lone robed griffon named Stephan lazily pulled a bronze lever at the precise moment he had been instructed to. His only task for the evening completed, he returned to the rather riveting chess match he had begun against himself while stifling a long yawn.

--------------------------------------

A low rumbling shook the entirety of the village, until it grew into a cacophonous thunder centering on the podium. Finally, a bright red flame burst forth from the pipes that decorated it.

"Greetings, my children!" the flame began. "Behold as I now appear before you!" The crowd simply cheered in response. "However, I cannot hold this form for long. I require a host in order for me to permanently dwell among my cherished subjects."

Many of the griffons and griffonnesses in the crowd began shouting, volunteering to give themselves for their flaming mistress. "Your devotion is appreciated," the deity of fire began. "However, thanks to the intrusion of this pegasus, such sacrifices will not be necessary. My spirit will descend upon her, and as it does, it will take possession of her mind and body."

--------------------------------------

Sorry Doc, but I've heard all I need to hear.

The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well launched herself from her nearby perch towards Derpy. She flew fast and hard, extending her forelegs out in preparation of retrieving her captive friend mid-flight. A griffon here and there saw her before she reached the stage, but none of them were fast enough to do anything to stop her. She had nearly reached Derpy when a red aura pinned her wings to her sides and stopped her short.

"What? No, no, no, no!" she cried out as she was lifted end over end and brought before the gigantic sentient fire.

"Now, what could cause a young griffonness, in clear defiance of her goddess, to try to rescue a creature she doesn't even know, Hephaestus?" the Grand Phoenix asked rhetorically.

"Perhaps, my lady, she is not a griffonness at all. Perhaps she is yet another disguised spy," her servant answered, completely oblivious to what rhetorical even meant.

"Perhaps. There is only one way to find out," she said, turning a deep purple and shooting out in all directions.

--------------------------------------

Trixie shielded her face as the inferno reached her, only to discover that it had no heat at all. However, while the fire may have had no effect on her body, she certainly felt the effect it had on the illusions she had cast. She could feel it burning away the arcane energy holding them in place.

Trixie can actually feel it burning. How is that even possible? Regardless, Trixie cannot allow the illusion fail.

The illusionist mare quickly tried to replace their disguises, but she quickly discovered that without the benefit of Zecora's stamina potion, she was nearly devoid of magic.

Trixie can't let this fail. Not yet.

Judging from the Doctor's face, she could tell he knew what was about to happen.

Wait! That's it!

Shifting her focus to the alien stallion, she pushed forth her very last ounce of energy and collapsed. As the inferno passed, her vision began to fade.

There is more than one string on Trixie's fiddle. Heheh, "String".

--------------------------------------

As Hephaestus turned, probably in the hopes of receiving some form of praise from the High-Maester, he gasped in astonishment, "More spies! Spies everywhere mistress! Quickly, Lord Guildenstern, to me! They are right next to you!"

Puzzled, the Doctor turned to discover the Night String's newest member collapsed behind him.

"Indeed. It would seem that your entourage has deceived you, Lord Guildenstern," the Grand Phoenix agreed as she surrounded the other members of the Night String in her red aura, imprisoning them.

Solemnly nodding at the Doctor, Blueblood shouted dramatically, "Confound you, Grand Phoenix! Were it not for your interference, we would have replaced the Maester with a spy and eventually the King himself!"

Taking the hint, the Doctor bowed to the Grand Phoenix, "Thank you, Grand Phoenix. Without your intervention, I would have never seen through their disguise. Truly, I owe you my life and my worship."

"Think nothing of it. I am only too happy to assist my children and destroy any heathens that stand in their way. Now, returning to the original purpose of our gathering-"

"My lady," the Doctor interrupted contritely. "I hope you'll excuse my asking, but what you intend to do with these interlopers?"

"A rather presumptuous question, Guildenstern."

"I apologize milady, but I am of a quizzical sort."

Sighing, the Grand Phoenix replied, "If you must know, once I have gained a permanent body, I will destroy them."

"That seems a tad cruel for a goddess."

"Cruelty is necessary when dealing with such deceitful creatures."

"Do you feel the same way, Hephaestus?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, I, uh, believe that," Hephaestus stammered his mind now caught between expressing two choices, each one staunchly supported by someone he had come to idolize. "I think that it would be better to um-"

"Enough!" shouted the Grand Phoenix. "I thought that you might turn out to be a strong ally in our future plans to take over the kingdom, but you have proven to be more trouble than you're worth."

"Oh, that's me. A regular firebrand," the Doctor chuckled at his own joke.

"In addition," pondered the living flame. "I would very much like to know what happened to your cough." With that, another wave of purple flame washed out in all directions.

--------------------------------------

Trixie had finally returned to Ponyville to have her rematch with Twilight Sparkle, though this occasion was all in good fun. She and the new Princess had pushed themselves to their absolute limit and eventually collapsed, exhausted, but laughing in enjoyment.

"You've gotten better, Trixie," Twilight admitted, panting.

Trixie was about to reply when a quaking grabbed her attention. Turning to the sound, she saw a tidal wave surging towards her over the fields of Sweet Apple Acres. It was gigantic, and would most certainly destroy the whole town.

"Quick, Princess Sparkle! You have to-" the illusionist began, spinning back around towards her new friend, only to discover her and the entirety of Ponyville had vanished into thin air.

She was now standing on a small sand bar several miles out to sea from some tropic isle she did not recognize. As the wave hit her, she expected to be washed away but instead she came out on the other side unscathed.

"Well done, Trixie," a Trottingham accent congratulated her. As if from nowhere, the Doctor walked up to Trixie and laid a hoof across her back.

"What's going on, Doctor?" she asked, now completely certain that this was a dream.

"You're dreaming."

"Yes, Trixie understands that. But why are you here?"

"No idea, really. It's your dream, after all."

"Fair point," Trixie sat down and let the waves lap at her hooves as she considered why she would be having such a specific dream.

"Trixie supposes something is going wrong in the real world right now and you're here to wake me up."

"Probably. So wake up. We've got some racist griffons to thwart."

"Wait, what does-?" Before she could finish the question on her lips, another tsunami swept over her, washing it from her memory.

--------------------------------------

Trixie slowly opened her eyes to discover the magic holding the Doctor's disguise had burned away completely.

"Oops," he said weakly as the Grand Phoenix's aura enveloped him as well.

The blue illusionist bolted wide awake and immediately tried to stand. When she found that she couldn't, she settled for yelling at the time pony from her current position on the floor.

"TRIXIE PUTS THE ENTIRE REMAINDER OF HER MAGIC POWER INTO ONE LAST DITCH EFFORT, RISKING MAGICAL OVERLOAD, AND YOU RUIN IT BY BREAKING CHARACTER?"

"No worries. We've still got this," he whispered as the High-priest fell to his knees apologizing to his only remaining idol.

"My sincerest apologies, my lady. I was completely fooled by his deception and even considered turning against you. As for you," Hephaestus, clearly in the mood for some gloating, stepping forward to continue. "I must admit that your charade was well acted last night, but it did not matter in the end, for no power can even come close to that of my mistress!"

Suddenly remembering an important detail, he called out, "Mistress, Teresa was incredibly bent on accompanying us. Perhaps you should seize her as well?"

The aforementioned griffonness had taken the sudden kerfuffle as an opportunity to slip over to the chained pegasus. She was certain she had just about succeeded in picking the locks that kept the grey pony bound when she too was engulfed in the red aura and dragged in line with her co-conspirators.

"Oh, Teresa. We knew from the beginning you had ulterior motives, but to suddenly give up your cover like this? Very sloppy," Hephaestus taunted, clicking his tongue. "But I am curious. Before these, (What did you call them, mistress? Ponies?) Before these ponies arrived, what was your original intention?" he inquired, poking her in the chest.

"Careful there, priest," she snarled. "These ponies might be fair game because of their foreign status, but I am a representative of King Marcellus himself! Harm me and you'll quickly have the army of Griffonia breaking down the doors of your temple and lances engraved with the royal insignia at your throat!" the spy retorted proudly.

"Clearly, I should have slipped that potion into your drink instead!" the red-eyed griffon laughed.

"Potion?" Teresa asked, suddenly worried.

"Yes, when its key ingredient is activated by my psychic command, it turns anyone who has imbibed it into my willing slave," the Grand Phoenix answered.

"With your fiery spirit and connection with his majesty, you would have made a fine slave. But no matter, as this pony," Hephaestus said, indicating the Doctor, "obviously has a very intelligent mind, well suited for strategy and espionage."

"Excuse me," interrupted the brown stallion. "The intelligent pony has some intelligent things to say."

"Oh, I am very much inclined to hear this! What will such a clever pony say in his last desperate attempt to save his own life? What ploy do you still think you have up your sleeve?" the burning goddess inquired tauntingly.

"No desperate attempt, no ploy. Just a compliment... and a warning."

Trixie supposed that the flame might have raised an eyebrow in interest but since flames don't have eyebrows she could really only guess. The Doctor, on the other hoof, seemed certain that he had its attention.

"You are beautiful, you are. Very clever, obviously, and I'd love to learn exactly what you are." The Doctor's face brightened with a wide smile.

The jovial attitude did not last long before he became serious and pleading. "So don't do this. Just stop this right now. If you stop right now and you absolutely need a host to survive, I'll get you one. Just not one that comes at the cost of another living being. Just let me find another way, please."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed and his voice suddenly became so much more frightening, "But if you don't stop this and you continue on this path... We will stop you. I only give one warning, and this is it."

Hush dominated the stage as the last rays of sunlight disappeared under the horizon, the only remaining illumination coming from the windows of the nearby houses and from the Grand Phoenix herself. As Trixie tried and failed to move her neck in hopes of getting a better view, it appeared to her that perhaps there were even a few griffons who silently hoped that their fiery goddess would accept the offer.

But what will the Doctor do if she says no? She's caught us, all of us. Unless...

Trixie glanced at Blueblood's horn, praying to see the tell-tale gold aura that had accompanied his magic grasp when they met, only to be disappointed to find his eyes shut tight, clearly struggling just to emit the occasional spark.

No such luck. This field must interfere with unicorn magic. So how does the Doctor hope to follow through on such a threat?

The Grand Phoenix had obviously come to the same conclusion when she burst out in laughter. "He'll stop me, he declares. How? You are trapped, all of you! It's impossible to bluff when all the cards are face up on the table."

"No bluffs. Just facts. We will stop you."

"I was enjoying our little conversation, but now it's become monotonous. So I believe it has run its course," she replied, bored, as her color began to change once more, this time passing purple and settling at blue. "It's time that you saw things my way," she finished with a sinister tone as a column of blue light shot straight up into the sky from the center of her being.

Once again hush fell for several moments. Trixie attempted to peer at the Doctor, worried that her new mentor might've already fallen to the goddess's control but could only barely see his backside through her peripheral vision and he wasn't moving.

"Nope. Nothing," came his signature Trottingham accent from in front of her. Trixie let out a breath she hadn't even realize she had been holding.

"What?" shouted the goddess. "Hephaestus! You said you had given this pony the potion!"

A flat, emotionless voice replied, "Yes, my lady. I gave the potion. He took the potion." Every eye in the village turned to the High-priest to discover the griffon's eyes, once as red as his mistress's flame, were now pure white, interrupted only by the black of his pupils.

"You switched the cups," Teresa said, amazed. "You saw him add the potion and switched the cups when he wasn't looking." The Doctor beamed at the praise.

"Do not allow this go to your head!" retorted the Grand Phoenix angrily. "While I may have preferred to keep you as a slave, I will gladly settle for destroying you outright. And once I take this pegasus' body as my own, I'll have plenty of power to do just that!"

Without warning, the flames turned bright green and descended upon Derpy's chained form. As the bonds that once held her down shattered like glass, her body slowly levitated off the ground and her eyes actually synchronized themselves. Having grown accustomed to Derpy's signature look, Trixie found this new expression almost horrifying, to say the least.

The glow surrounding the pegasus slowly turned red and remained in place, as she looked down upon the Night String, still held in place by the goddess's red magic and began laughing maniacally. She then flared her wings triumphantly and roared in a voice that was not Derpy's, "See, Doctor? I'm more powerful than ever!"

The Doctor cocked a single eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh yes! I now know who you are, Doctor! I know everything that your companion knew. Which is why I'll be taking this," the newly formed Grand Phoenix replied to the Doctor's unvoiced question as her levitation field dragged his sonic screwdriver from his hoof.

"Oi, I need that!"

"And I just can't wait to have a look at that Tardis of yours," she continued confidently, landing on the stage. She visibly flexed her leg muscles, then her wings, and finally her neck, slowly acquainting herself with her host's body.

"What have you done with Derpy?" the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well demanded.

Annoyed by the interruption, the Grand Phoenix answered gruffly, "She was blinked out of existence the moment I took over h-" she was cut off as her own hoof slipped upward and smacked herself across the face.

"No, I wasn't!" came Derpy's original voice from the now shared mouth.

"What?" demanded the Grandly Surprised Phoenix, "You should have been destroyed! Get out this instant! This body is mine now!"

As each consciousness fought for more control, the pegasus' muscles seemed to fight themselves. Each statement was accented by a jerk in a new direction and a change in timbre and tone.

"No! I have to go on more adventures with the Doctor!" declared Derpy's voice.

"Your adventures are over, pegasus! This is now property of the Grand Phoenix!"

"F'raid not, Grand Phoenix!" the Doctor countered. "You see, mind control is so common around here (I mean it happens in my universe sometimes but certainly not as often as it does here), when I got around to choosing my companion, I decided it was best to find one who was resistant to it. And the moment I saw Derpy, I knew she had just the right timey-wimey stuff in her to put up a good fight."

The next jerk presented a pegasus on the verge of crying, "The moment you saw me?" It was clearly Derpy's voice.

"Hey now, no tears. Those eyes that some think make you less of a pony actually mark you as a very special one. One who has a hardy, resilient mind. A mind that is much stronger than yours, Grand Phoenix!"

"No! That's impossible! There are none stronger than me! This should have gone perfectly!"

Derpy jerked her eyes forward and looked straight out over the crowd, at an opponent only she could see and, with a combination of mock innocence and real confidence, replied, "Well, I just don't know what went wrong."

A red flash burst forth from the shared body, followed by a shrieking scream that sent shivers down Trixie's spine. Once the light faded and the shrill noise ceased, she finally chanced a glance around, only to quickly discover that she and the others were once again in control of their muscles, the red aura holding them in place now completely dissipated.

Overjoyed, she jumped to her feet to express her thanks to the pegasus who had undoubtedly saved their lives, only to discover that the Mysterious Mare had beaten her to it, lifting a once again wall-eyed Derpy high into the air in a flying hug.

Suddenly remembering that she was in public, Double M quickly replaced Derpy on the wooden stage and rubbed her left foreleg with her right in embarrassment. "Um... Yeah, I'm glad you're safe. I was, you know, worried about you."

"I glad you're safe too," Derpy replied happily, ignorant of the masked pegasus' embarrassment.

"As touching as all this is," Blueblood said pointedly, strolling across the stage. "I would suggest that we enjoy it in the comfort of the Tardis, rather than in front of this crowd of cultist griffons whose idol you probably just killed?"

Up to this point, the audience had been so preoccupied watching the events transpiring before them that they hadn't even realized that they might be able to affect their outcome. In fact, they might have remained oblivious had it not been for one griffon in the back numbly realizing out loud, "Hey. They killed the Grand Phoenix." and another, in response to the first, angrily shouting, "Seize them!"

The Doctor's eyes went wide, "And now comes the running. Coming Teresa?"

"Do you even have to ask?" the griffonness called from her head start.

"Oi! You're going the wrong way!"

"Very well," the griffon answered, coming back around. Reaching down, she scooped up the Doctor in one arm and Zecora up in the other, each one squeezed tightly around the barrel of its respective charge. "Point the way, Doctor."

"There, towards the forest!" he replied. "Blueblood! The Grand Phoenix was kind enough to gather all this bronze piping together for us. I hope you won't disappoint by not making use of it!" the Doctor called over his shoulder.

"Quite. I know just the spell," he shouted as his horn lit for just a moment before galloping after them. "Double M, a little help?"

"Right! I gotcha," The masked pegasus quickly answered the call, lifting the royal unicorn into the air as the pipes snaked to life behind them. Each one slithered out and wrapped themselves around many a surprised griffon.

"Derpy! Trixie!"

Though the blue illusionist was busy admiring Blueblood's hoofi-work, the grey pegasus was already lifting her high into the air. "I've got her!"

As the seven made their escape, Blueblood lived up to his promise as the combat magician by toppling several walls on top of their pursuers. None were gravely injured, but at the same time none of them would be able to continue following them tonight. However, the others quickly wizened to such tricks and started flying well above the town, out of the way of any falling debris.

"Any chance that potion you're carrying would help, Zecora?" Blueblood shouted, casting a paralyzation spell at the closest griffon and cursing as its target dodged it with minimal effort.

As if just remembering that she was still carrying the flask of red liquid, Zecora gave a double take, then quickly dropped it. This left Trixie understandably confused.

Wait, shouldn't you throw that at them?

Trixie tried to save the fragile vial with her levitation field, only for it to smash into the side of a house.

Oh, well. I suppose that's-

Suddenly, several vine-like crimson tendrils grew out of the red puddle now slowly dripping down the side of the wall. The strange new appendages then rapidly shot upwards and grabbed hold of the remaining griffons, ceasing their pursuit.

Oh.

The zebra simply chuckled happily and began humming a tune to herself as they approached their destination, the Tardis.

--------------------------------------

Now inside the Doctor's time machine, Trixie slumped to the floor, exhausted. Outside, she could clearly hear the Doctor and Teresa talking.

"So, need a lift back to Griffonia?" he said with all the confidence of a high-school hoof-ball player picking up mares.

"I'm not sure your box can fit any more, Doctor."

"Nonsense, come on in," he countered, entering the Tardis and waltzing right past Trixie.

"I know that you ponies are small but I don't see how-" Teresa stopped short as she took her first peek inside the Tardis's doors.

"What do you think?"

The griffonness gawked for a good four seconds before finally stammering, "It, it is, it is..."

"Yes?" the Doctor asked giddily.

"It is larger within," she finished. The Doctor's brow furrowed slightly. Clearly this was not the response he usually liked to hear.

Trixie smirked to herself, enjoying the Doctor's apparent annoyance.

That's what you get for wasting Trixie's brilliant efforts earlier.

Standing, she leisurely strolled towards a staircase that she hoped led to some sort of bedroom. However, seeing Derpy and the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well engrossed in conversation midway down, she decided she would try another passage, rather than interrupt them.

Just as she was about to take her first steps into a particularly enticing hallway (It was the same color as her eyes), a cough stopped her short. Turning, she discovered Zecora behind her, a striped hoof over her mouth.

Putting her hoof back on the floor, the zebra said, "You would be lost for many days, only to fall to foolish pride, if you walked into this maze, and did not think to bring a guide."

The blue unicorn glanced down the hall. She had to admit that it appeared to stretch on for miles. "Trixie did not realize that walking through the Tardis was so perilous. If such is the case, however, perhaps you would be so kind as to direct her to a bedroom? Trixie would like to get some rest now that the mission is complete."

"Complete?" called the Doctor from across the control room, popping out from behind the column of controls.

"Yes, Doctor, 'complete'. That is what you call it when you finish a task. Now if you'll excuse me, Trixie thought she would take a short nap."

Blueblood stepped forward, "Trixie, you do understand that we're not done yet, don't you?"

"What? But we defeated them. Derpy killed their goddess!"

"Yes, she did, at least I think so. And thank goodness for that! But think about it Trixie. If the Servants of the Phoenix were really well and truly defeated, long before the Griffon Kingdom was even formed, why would we even have come back in time in the first place?" the Doctor explained.

"Well I, that is-" Trixie stuttered, trying to fully understand the Doctor's question.

"If we really did defeat them in this time and they never re-emerged, it would create a paradox! And as wibbly-wobbly as the laws of time can be, that wouldn't make any sense at all."

"I told you before, didn't I Trixie? This was merely reconnaissance. We came, we saw, and now we leave to fix the real problem," Blueblood stated plainly. "We've still got a lot of work to do back in our present."

"Then what was the point of coming here?" Trixie stomped her hoof, confused for at least the second time that day.

"We came to investigate."

Trixie could feel her eye twitch from the vagueness of the response.

"We might've done more than that, Doctor," Blueblood uttered sheepishly.

"Yes, but the last time I checked, the Servants didn't have a magical goddess on their side, even in our time. So I'm pretty sure we didn't cause any paradoxes," the Doctor countered.

Trixie sighed. The fact that somehow the Doctor always managed to avoid actually answering any questions was starting to wear on her.

Trixie supposes she should have known it wouldn't be this easy.

"Alright. Trixie understands. However!" she said, pointing a hoof at the Doctor. "The rest of us don't have two hearts to keep us going as long as you can, Doctor. Us ponies need rest whenever we can get it!"

"Ah. Yes. Good point," the earth pony admitted before pulling out a piece of paper and pencil. "Okay list of things to do: One, take the Tardis to Griffonia. Two, drop off Teresa."

"Trixie thinks you can include that with number one, Doctor," Trixie yawned before turning to leave. "So, Zecora, the bedrooms?" she asked, gesturing for the zebra to lead the way, and was quickly obliged.

--------------------------------------

As the two mares jaunted down the hallway, Trixie finally felt relaxed enough to ask a question that had been bothering her for quite some time, “Why do you speak in rhymes?” She inquired of her zebra companion, who gave her a look in response.

"If the subject upsets you, you don't have to answer. It's just that Trixie has been wondering ever since we first met, but she has yet to have a moment in which she felt it would be appropriate to ask."

Zecora shook her head to show that she was unoffended. “Tis one petty pony’s curse, that does make me speak in verse.”

Trixie had heard of curses that cause the victims to make fools of themselves, indeed, she had used a couple, but it just seemed cruel to force that on someone for their whole lifetime. She studied the zebra’s countenance for any sign of well-deserved resentment or anger but found none as Zecora continued to lead the way, humming to herself possibly the same tune she had been humming earlier.

She doesn’t seem to mind it that much.

--------------------------------------

"Right," the Doctor answered the now-absent illusionist, scratching the item off the list. "And I should probably try to make that last eight hours. Two, take the Tardis back to the present. Four - no, wait a minute, three, discover who is now leading the Servants of the Phoenix and stop them. And lastly D... No. Four, head to Las Pegasus and celebrate our victory with banana daiquiris."

Finally finished with his list, the Doctor set about flipping a series of switches to set the Tardis on a leisurely course to Griffonia.

Teresa, who had just been quietly listening so far, sneaked up behind him. "Two hearts, eh? Do you have two of anything else?" she asked in a sultry whisper.

The Doctor did his best to keep the Tardis on course, though he admittedly was finding it a little difficult to focus on anything besides the burning sensation coloring his face.

Note to self: Griffonnesses are significantly more forward than ponies with their advances, especially when alone.

-------------------------------------- Canterlot, Present Day

As she closed the door to her private quarters, Princess Luna was acutely aware of the uninvited presence in the room.

"Under normal circumstances, we would have already summoned the Lunar guard to remove you, Miss Scratch," she stated without even bothering to glance over her shoulder at the moving shadow.

The white unicorn flinched, but stepped into the moonlight nonetheless. "Fine. I'm not as sneaky as I'd hoped," she replied. "So? Why haven't you called the guards?"

"Firstly, we know why you are here. Secondly, you are not the only one hiding amongst these shadows."

Before Vinyl could process the sentence she had just heard, one of the shadows launched itself at her, pinning her to the ground. Judging from how heavy it was, she guessed it was the thing Luna had with her at the club.

"That was extremely unnecessary," the blue alicorn chided, prompting the creature to release Vinyl and remove itself back to the darkness.

"Our sincerest apologies, Vinyl. Our associate has a... flair for the dramatic."

"Unless you've got some explanation for blacklisting Octavia, I would say his knee on my throat was an appropriate reaction," the D.J. half-joked, half-choked.

"We are not responsible for her predicament, though we were aware that it would happen."

"So, what, then? You expect me to join you for the sake of petty revenge?" Vinyl growled.

"Revenge?" asked a soft, deep voice from the shadows. "Revenge will not restore Miss Octavia's position in the musical community, nor will revenge bring her any happiness," Luna's companion continued as he advanced on the unicorn menacingly.

She could feel her every muscle tense as he drew closer, her every instinct telling her to engage her flight response, to run as fast and as far as she possibly could, but Vinyl wouldn't be cowed by anyone tonight. She clenched her teeth and glared right back at him, which for some reason only served to make the creature smile.

"What you want, what you really want, Vinyl Scratch, is change. And if you join us, we will change everything."

Author's Notes:

Another one down! So much more to go, I promise.

Just some thoughts and/or questions for the people who usually comment as well as anybody else who might catch the comment bug:

1. I may have botched the pacing a little on this chapter so if you can suggest a way to make it better (just general thoughts, nothing too specific), I'll gladly come back and make revisions. (I'll make sure to let the readers know if I make any large changes. There is a way to do that, right? Yeah, I'm sure there is.)

B.-No wait- 2. Was this chapter action-y enough?

3. If you haven't noticed (but you probably did), I still haven't found a suitable cover image. I will give special thanks/credit to anyone who comes up with one (both to the artist and to the person who helped me locate the image).

And finally 4, or D. I've written a couple scenes that are a part of The Night String's story but I'm not certain I'll find a suitable place to insert them in this one or any future stories. (Yes I'm already planning a sequel to this. Yays all around.) So I'm thinking of making a separate story to store them/ show them off in. Thoughts on this?

Any other notes? Suggestions? Favorite daiquiri recipes? Anything?

Stringing it Out

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Trixie huffed as she ran through the Everfree forest in the hope of escaping the enraged Ursa Minor she had accidently hit with one of her fireworks. A futile gesture really, since the beast was much faster and in possession of far superior stamina than the simple street magician could hope to muster.

Oh, Celestia. This is where it ends.

As it closed the distance between them, Trixie heard a strange noise mixed between the bear's chomps and snarls, a noise she could have sworn she had heard before, a noise that sounded an awful lot like a...

Tidal wave?

The wall of water crashed down on her and the Ursa Minor was gone. A strikingly familiar sand bar suddenly replaced the backdrop of the Everfree and the Doctor happily greeted her with a yellow drink in hoof as the water subsided.

"Visiting Trixie's dreams is starting to become a bad habit of yours, isn't it?" she asked, only half-joking as she accepted the glass. "What's this?"

"Banana daiquiri," he answered cheerfully as he produced a second drink out of nowhere for himself. "So, why do you think we're here this time?"

"Considering that you're offering me drinks, Trixie would have to assume that it's not as urgent as the last time."

"Suppose you're probably right."

"Tell me, Doctor. Are you actually here?" the time pony could only gave her a puzzled look in response. "What Trixie means is, are you consciously doing this, coming into my dreams?"

"I can't really answer that."

"Why not?"

"Let's say I'm not really here, and just assume that I'm another construct of your subconscious. Even then, do you think I'd admit to not being real?"

"Trixie admits that you have a good point," she answered, taking a sip from her drink.

"It might be your own point."

"Then Trixie admits that Trixie has a good point," Trixie replied haughtily but quickly began to laugh. The Doctor was not far behind in joining her. As the laughter died down, they sat for a while, enjoying each other's company and sipping their imaginary beverages, the relaxing hush punctuated only by the sounds of the waves lapping at the shore and the swaying of the trees on the island behind them.

Finally, the Doctor finished his drink and stood back up. "Well, I think it's time to be moving on. Those racist griffons won't stop just because we asked nicely."

"You said that last time, 'racist'. What does that mean?" Trixie asked. In truth, this was probably the most relaxing dream she had had in a long time, so she was just trying to make it last as long as possible.

"It means," the Doctor began but his voice suddenly became loud and shrill and mechanical, "AAAHNNNT! AAAHNNNT! AAAHNNNT! AAAHNNNT!"

Just as it happened before, another tidal wave crashed down on top of Trixie, washing away any traces of her original thought.

--------------------------------------

"AAAHNNNT! AAAHNNNT! AAAHNNNT! AAAHNNNT!"

Trixie found herself awakened from her peaceful slumber in one of the Tardis's bedrooms by a rather rude alarm. Zecora was already up and about, also covering her ears with her hooves.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Trixie shouted, looking to Zecora for some sort of explanation, but it seemed that the striped mare was experiencing the same combination of confusion and extreme ear pain that she was. Turning to the loudspeaker above the doorway to the hall, Trixie focused her magic into a lightning bolt and loosed it upon the offending mechanism, which sputtered for a moment before finally succumbing to silence.

"Trixie has had just about enough of that," she offered to no pony in particular before trotting out into the hallway toward the control room.

It seemed that everyone else had been roused by the alarm too as the other members of The Night String were already gathered in the control room as it started convulsing. Although all present were certainly eager for an explanation, the Doctor hardly noticed the new company as he continued to worriedly flip switches and toggles. It was Blueblood who finally gave in and expressed his frustration. "What is going on Doctor?"

"Something is wrong. We're being dragged off-course," the Doctor replied not even looking up from the controls. A violent shake tilted the Tardis off-kilter, which Trixie would've normally attributed to its manic pilot, but considering the concerned look on his face, she allowed herself to worry.

"How is that even possible?" the white stallion asked once he had regained his footing.

"It has happened before, but usually I can trace the source of the-"

"Doctor!" interrupted a booming disembodied voice, "Doctor, I require your assistance!"

"Star? Is that you?"

"Oh, good. My spell worked."

"Spell? You're dragging my time machine off course using magic? That's impossible!"

"My calculations suggest otherwise," the voice replied matter-of-factly.

The Tardis gave another vigorous shudder before suddenly stopping. Clearly angry, the Doctor asked, "Where did you bring us?" before walking out the door and calling from outside, "Foal Mountain? Why are we here?"

"That is very fortuitous," the voice answered, "Wait just a moment, I shall be there forthwith."

As the voice withdrew, Blueblood put a hoof to his chin for just a moment before asking, "Doctor, you said Star. That wouldn't happen to be short for-"

A sudden flash of light blinded The Night String, and as Trixie's vision began to return, she distinctly heard the jingling of several tiny bells.

The Night String and The Servants of The Phoenix

by charredenay

Get Knotted!

String Theory

A String of Clues

Tied up in Knots

Hamstrung

Stringing it Out