Trixie blinked blearily, and shook her head. “Where is Trixie?” she looked around. She was at... somebody's house, but couldn’t seem to recall how she wound up here. She then looked at the people near her- and jumped away.
Ashley attempted to calm Trixie down. “Now, calm down, sugarcube! We brought ya here ‘cause Twilight was concerned fer ya. We all were. This here’s Twilight’s house. She’ll be down t’ talk with ya, after y’get somethin’ t’ eat. We fixed ya a li’l somethin’.” A tray was brought over by Fluttershy, which contained some Apple fritters, some apple cider, and an apple brown betty for dessert.
With a thought about there being too much apple product and not enough pears, Trixie ate some of the food. She pointed at Twilight, who had now entered the room. “You! Do you know what’s happened to Trixie? Her memory seems to be a bit faulty…”
Twilight was about to say something that might have taken advantage of Trixie’s current state of mind, but seemed to recall something that dissuaded her. “You were being manipulated by another anthro. He was using you so that he could take some of my magic. He tossed you aside after he had no more use for you.”
Trixie seethed with rage. She wanted to get back at this person, whoever they were. “Tell Trixie who it was! They will regret messing with her!”
Ashley spoke next. “Calm down, sugarcube. We don’ know all the details yet. What we do know is that whoever gave you your transformation is ultimately behind it all.”
Trixie gasped. “The gall! Trixie’s own benefactor was using her!?” Her eyes narrowed. “Trixie is going to destroy them!”
Rina piped up. “I don’t think fighting her on your own will do you any good, Trixie. She’ll probably smoosh you like a bug! After all, who knows what things She can do now that Chessmaster gave her some of Twilight’s magic.”
Trixie’s eyes widened. “Chessmaster?” She then seemed to recall something, and gasped. “He used me! Just as he always did, but on a larger scale than before!” Trixie paced. “But how is Trixie supposed to defeat him and the malevolent benefactor by herself?” She placed her hand on her chin, and started to think about her options. She toned out the muttering of the group of friends before her. What can Trixie do? After all, she no longer has the power of the Amulet. The Amulet gave Trixie power, but turned her into a puppet! She then eyed the group of friends cautiously. Trixie could ask them to help, but such a thought disturbs her. Maybe they know somebody that can help her, though. It couldn’t hurt to ask. Trixie then cleared her throat to get the group’s attention. “While Trixie still thinks that she could take on both Chessmaster and her benefactor by herself, she was curious if you knew anyone that could… help.... You know, just in case.”
She saw Twilight roll her eyes, and then hand her a sheet of paper. “Contact Maestro. By the way he spoke, he implied that he’d want to meet with you. Maybe after talking with him you might be a bit more open about accepting our help.”
Trixie scoffed. “We’ll see about that, Twilight.” She then went off into the distance.
Away from the group of friends, Trixie pulls out her phone, and dials the number on the piece of paper. The phone rings once, and a masculine voice answers from the other side. “Hello? This Is Maestro speaking. May I ask who’s calling?”
Trixie took a deep breath. After all, this voice sounded similar to Chessmaster’s, but was notably different. For example, she could tell that it was far more caring. She then replied. “This is Trixie. She heard that you might be able to help her get back at the rotten fools who messed with her!”
She then heard Maestro sigh a bit. “Right. Say, could we meet somewhere to talk out the details? Maybe the park?”
Trixie then nodded slightly. “Of course! Trixie’ll be there!”
Maestro seemed to smile from the other end. “Good. See you there at 3 pm!” He then hung up.
When Trixie arrived at the park, she could see a dark teal anthro unicorn on a bench. He then waved, and Trixie went over. She then addressed him. “So you’re this Maestro that Twilight told me about? How can you help Trixie with her payback?”
Maestro adjusted his glasses with his magic, sighing. “Revenge, huh? On my half-brother Chessmaster, and that mysterious employer of his, am I right?”
Trixie’s eyes widened. “You’re related to him? How can I trust you?” So is that why he has such a similar locket around his neck? She’d noticed that it only had one difference: instead of a chess king, a musical note crossed with a paintbrush in an X-shape with seven lines curving in a leftward arc coming from the brush end was painstakingly engraved.
Maestro spoke, with a tad bit of agitation in his voice. “I’m on your side! I can assure you of that much.” He then sighed. “It’s just a bit difficult to accept that I’m going to have to go up against my bro, is all.” He then looked at Trixie with a serious look. “Wouldn’t you feel a bit torn if you had to fight against somebody from your family?”
Trixie seemed to calm a bit. “Trixie is certain that she would. She is sorry for doubting you.”
Maestro shook his head. “That’s fine. I can certainly understand why. After all, Chessmaster was the one who… well, you get what I’m getting at. Are you still interested in my help?”
Trixie then asked something. “What help can you offer?”
Maestro then lit up his horn in his signature turquoise glow. “Well, I’ve got an enchantment that can amplify magic power, as well as add ‘spell efficiency’ as I call it. Of course, the amplification isn’t quite as potent as the Amulet.”
Trixie voiced her confusion. “Why not make it just as powerful? Couldn’t you easily do that?”
Maestro shook his head. “Not really. To get said results, I’d have to have a mana focusing gem, like the red gem in the amulet.” He then sighed. “Such things only exist in Equestria, and I can’t exactly get there.”
Trixie then spoke. “So how did the amulet end up here? Last Trixie knew, it was being guarded by Zecora.”
Maestro hummed in thought. “Well, I can think of only one plausible reason. The person- or should I say pony- that gave you your transformation likely distracted Zecora, and stole it. She was most likely hoping to use it herself, for a bit of revenge on Twilight. However, something happened, and this ‘something’ caused her to toss the Amulet through a small portal that connects to our world. She most likely came after it later, and that is when she came across Chessmaster. However, this is just a hunch.”
Trixie blinked. “That’s a pretty elaborate hunch.” She then spoke a bit more calmly. “Trixie wants you to bestow upon her the enchantment!”
Maestro, however, seemed a bit hesitant. “Even with this enchantment, I don’t believe that you could do this alone.”
Trixie then smirked. “Then come with me! Let’s bring them down together!”
Maestro still was a tad hesitant, but sighed. “Alright. But, let me tell you this: I may have analyzed the teleport signature, but it may take a while to find when he went. There’s quite a few encryptions on the signature.” He then brightened the glow on his horn. “Now, this enchantment may be a tad… painful at first. You’re certain that you’ll still go through with this? There’s still time to back out. I will completely understand.”
Trixie had a determined look on her face. “Trixie won’t back down.”
Maestro’s right hand then started to share the glow of his horn. He traced a symbol that featured a unicorn horn and some kind of scale in the air, and then he touched the symbol to Trixie’s forehead. A slight shock ran through her body, through every nerve. At first it was painful, but soon it became an almost pleasant dull buzz. Maestro then decided to ask a question. “So? How does it feel?”
Trixie smiled. “Trixie feels amazing!”
Maestro nodded. “That’s good. Now we can get Twilight and her friends to help us as well!”
Trixie scoffed. “Twilight? Why would we need her help?”
Maestro then chided Trixie. “Listen. That enchantment isn’t as powerful as the one on the Amulet. Knowing my half-bro, he’ll have removed the brainwashing enchantment and replaced it with a secondary magic enhancement enchantment. With that kind of power, he will be extremely hard to deal with. Not to mention that his employer, whoever she is, May have found various ways to enhance her already presumably powerful magic. I highly doubt that we can do this by ourselves, Trixie. We need their help.”
Trixie wasn’t happy about it, but Maestro did have a point. With a sigh of defeat, she relented. “Fine. Trixie will work with Twilight. But that doesn’t mean that Trixie will like it!” She then hmph’d and Maestro rolled his eyes.
He then spoke. “Alright. Let’s go to them then. I’ve got a feeling that Excalibur Edge might be there with them. You’ll definitely want hear what she has to say, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” The two then journeyed back to where Twilight and her friends were. Among them was a white-and-blue alicorn anthro with a trio of swords (one red, one green, one blue) piercing through a gray diamond shield. Maestro spoke. “Well, what do you know! It is her! Hey Excalibur! How’re you doing?”
The aforementioned Excalibur gasped a little, causing her red hair to sway a little. “Maestro? What are you doing here?”
Maestro then got serious. Very serious. “We’ve got a problem, Excalibur. I told some of my findings to Twilight and her friends already. But, we need to know the entire picture to figure out what’s going on. Tell us what you know.”
Excalibur sighed. “I was just about to do so with Twilight and her friends when you came along. I’ll fill you in on what I know, and you’ll explain your findings afterward. Deal?” She extended her hand,and Maestro shook it. “Very well. Let me start from the top…”