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.