"No."

Pinkie blinked in surprise. "No?"

"No." The griffon crossed his arms firmly. "That sounds like a lot of hassle."

Part of me wanted to argue, but I remembered. I had detected who would tell the truth and speak it plainly, not who would say yes. "Thank you for considering, really, but any ideas who would be interested?"

"No." He shrugged. "I'd just be guessing. Sorry."

I frowned with thoughtful annoyance. "No adventurous friends, or even not friends?"

He looked ready to deny it, but a new thought came to him. "How dangerous are these tests of yours?"

Twinkle shrugged at that. "So far, two of two have survived. They made them sound quite challenging, but no griffon has died to them so far. Perhaps they're making them sound dangerous to scare griffons from trying?"

"Huh." He seemed to consider that. "Well, there is one griffon I know who might be interested. She's not a friend, but she's always talking about how she wants to change things around here. Maybe she'd be interested?"

I snapped fingers I didn't have, using magic to create the noise. "Great! Please share. We'll--" I trailed off, noticing the griffon wearing a smirk that implied more. I thought I had detected the truth? "Something wrong?"

"Just thinking if she wins or dies, I win either way." He presented a slip of paper. "Here's her info, name and address. Hope you both have fun."

"Oh, I'm sure we will!" Pinkie grabbed the paper and bounced away. "Thanks for your help!"

Twinkle hurried to catch up. "He just admitted to being alright with maybe hurting somegriffon, indirectly. You're okay with that?"

Pinkie shrugged with an 'eh'. "He's a griffon. That's how griffons roll, you know?" She bumped against me on the other side of her. "We're getting closer! Let's rescue Gabby and Gallus. Neither deserve to be prisoners."

"Agreed." I nodded softly, looking over the slip of paper. It had a name, Gabriel. It also had an address. A pity I had no idea how the streets were arranged in Griffonstone. I held up the paper to the others. "Either of you know how to read a Griffonstone address?"

Pinkie shook her head quickly. "Nope! But look, another Gabby, technically." She giggled at the name, changing her direction. "But I bet Maud does. She's been looking around, and she notices things."

Twinkle looked back at me. "You trust this griffon?"

"No, but yes." I wobbled a hoof, a bit precarious until I got all four under me. "I think he said the truth, but I wouldn't trust him with too much else. He thinks Gabriel might say yes. He also doesn't care if she lives or not afterwards."

Twinkle cringed at the thought. "I meant Gabriel, the one that might try the test?"

I inclined an ear at her. "Does it matter? We don't need a lot of trust there. She tries, and she's already done everything we wanted. Ideally, she passes, and finishes with becoming a phoenix."

"And if she dies?" Twinkle frowned at me.

I hissed a breath at that. "We have to keep looking then." I applied a hoof to my face. "Is there another way to do this?"

Twinkle shrugged. "Perhaps? I'm just thinking out loud." She looked at Pinkie. "Did you know any griffons before this?"

"Nope!" Pinkie bounced ahead. "I was just here to help David and Gallus, and now Gabby too. I don't know any other griffons."

Uneasy quiet settled on us until we arrived at Maud's mining pit. I could see other holes, where other griffons were perhaps also mining? I couldn't be sure, but I heard soft tinks of picks at work. We descended down to find Maud examining a bright yellow rock.

She looked up as we came in. "Hello." She stood up. "Good to see you."

"You too." I smiled at her. "How's your day going?"

"Good." She held up the rock. "This is a new mineral. It's a little shiny, and it has some magic in it. I'm not sure what it does yet."

I examined the rock, but, to me, it was just a bright yellow rock. I didn't know its mysteries. "Nice. Say, do you--"

"--know how to read this?" Pinkie thrust the paper forward that I thought I had been holding. "We need to find this griffon."

Maud's eyes wandered over the paper slowly, as she tended to do things. "Hm. Yes. That isn't very far." She returned to examining her rock as if the conversation were done.

I rolled a hoof in the air. "Could you show us the way?"

"Sure." Maud set the rock down. "Follow me." She led us back out of the mine, and onto the streets. "This way." She pointed towards the distance. "That's where Gabriel lives."

Twinkle gently nudged Maud, not that she could force Maud to move much. "Walk with us? We don't understand Griffonstone addresses."

"Oh." Maud nodded softly. "Okay." She started walking. "It's just this way."

We followed along with her. I casually brushed against her side. "Maud." She said nothing. "Sorry for not hanging out with you more, on this trip."

"I didn't ask you to." Her voice was even, as always it was. "Did you want to do something?"

"Be with you. But now we're trying to rescue two griffons, by finding more griffons. It's a bit of a mess." I sighed at the thought of it. "Assuming we can finish that, I'll hang out with you if you like."

She glanced at me. "Okay." She looked away again. "You don't have to."

"I'd like to." I gently grabbed Twinkle with my magic, pulling her up onto my back. "You too. If we have time, a little family time would be nice."

Twinkle laughed softly at that. "A little family time, huh?" She leaned forward to look at Maud. "So, what do you like to do, Maud?"

Maud shrugged gently. "I was mining. If you want to watch me mine, okay." She stopped in front of a house, pointing at it with her snout. "Here."

Pinkie bounced ahead of us, knocking on the door. "Hello! Is Gabriel home?"

We could hear steps approaching. "Who is that? I didn't order nothin' and I don't want nothin'!" A large, angry, griffon swung the door open, giving us all a glare. "Buzz off!"

"Hi!" Pinkie waved a hoof at her. "We were wondering if you'd like to become a phoenix?"

Gabriel blinked, clearly caught off-guard by the question. "What? Ain't no way a random street thug like me's about to become one of those things. They're damned legends!"

I cleared my throat. "It's true. We've already got two griffons in training right now, and we need three more. Do you want to be a phoenix? It's a lot of responsibility, but you get to help your fellow griffons."

"Pfft." She rolled her eyes. "What have griffons done for me lately? Nothing, that's what!" She looked over our motely band. "But it ain't every day I get a bouncing pony, a kirin, with a unicorn for a hat askin'."

Twinkle adjusted herself on my back. "I'm not a hat."

"Whatever." Gabriel waved that complaint away. "Let's play pretend. I go with you and then what?"

"You get tested, and then, if you pass, you become a phoenix." I shrugged softly. "If you don't pass, you don't."

Twinkle tapped at the back of my head. "For sake of honesty, I really do need to mention not passing could get you hurt."

Pinkie bounced eagerly. "But passing means you're on the way to phoenix. Think how jealous everygriffon else will be."

Gabriel stroked along her beak. "That'd really show her who was the one that knew which way was up. Hm, how hurt are we talkin'?"

"Uh." Twinkle stammered a moment. "In theory, all the way hurt, but, so far, every griffon has made it through fine."

I picked up where Pinkie had left off, "And you look like you're made of better stuff than Gabby."

"Gabby?!" She stepped out and slammed the door shut behind her, allowing her to stand even taller, looming over us. "Gabby passed? This test has to be easy if she managed it." She suddenly scowled anew. "It ain't a friendship test or somethin' is it?"

"Nope!" Pinkie shook her head quickly. "Nuh uh, no friendship tests. Just being awesome enough to be a phoenix."

Gabriel slammed her hands together, fist against palm. "Then this'll be easy if Gabby can pass it. Where do I go?" We all pointed to the temple, well, all of us but Maud. "On it." She took flight, off with only a single lost feather settling towards the ground.

Maud reached out and grabbed the feather, looking it over. "Hm. A feather." She tucked it away somewhere.

I blinked at that. "I didn't think you cared much about feathers."

"I don't." Yet, she had taken it. "You need to get more griffons?"

"We do." I nodded softly. "Three in total, so two more to go." I focused on the icon of the spell, seeking those who would speak truthfully. I felt a warm draw towards the ponies around me. They would not lie to me. I smiled but spread my search beyond them. "It's late in the evening. I'm not sure how much we can look today."

Twinkle looked up at the sky. "I think we have time for one more, but then, we should stop. We can pick up again tomorrow."

Pinkie threw a leg over Maud. "We can find the last one together! You wanna be a part of this, right? It'll be so much fun!"

Maud nodded softly. "Okay." She tilted her head to look at me. "What about you?"

"I'm the one dragging everypony else along." I felt a soft ping and led the way towards it. "And I feel like we'll get straight answers this way." I expected a griffon to be what we found, but it was another creature, related to griffons at least. She was at a fire, chatting with other griffons, but she was a hippogriffon.

She noticed us approaching and said something to the griffons she was talking to, then stood up to meet us. "Hello there." She smiled at us. "It's rare to see ponies wandering around here."

I raised a hoof at her. "Good evening. Sorry, not trying to interrupt things." A thought tickled at me. "But now I'm just curious. Do you know what phoenixes are?"

"Of course." She nodded quickly. "They're a mythical race of griffons that can control fire. I've always wanted to be one. Why?"

I smiled, hope building inside me. "Oh, great! Good. But first, can a hippogriff be a phoenix?"

"We won't know if nogriffon gives me a chance." She put hands on her hips. "But nogriffon's done anything but laugh when I bring it up. Why? You're ponies." She reached and casually pet over my snout. "Cute, but you can't be a phoenix for sure."

I rubbed my snout at the touch. "I'm not. But I am helping Gallus and Gabby to train more griffons, and we need more griffons."

She put a hand on her own chest. "Me! Me me me!" She hopped forward, eyes shining with hope. "Me!"

Pinkie bounced in time to the hippogriff's excited movements. "I like her. I bet she'll make a great phoenix."

"She will." I nodded at the hippogriff. "Do you want to try? We don't know how long it'll take, but we'll help you as much as we can."

Maud shrugged softly. "You may die."

"Or you may become a phoenix, if you pass," I hurriedly added with as good of a smile as I could muster. "Only one way to find out." I pointed up at the temple. "Come with us and you at least get the chance."

Her eyes shone with hope. "I'll really have a chance?" She took a deep breath. "Then--" She looked to those she had been speaking with before for help on the decision.

Author's Note

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