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?"