Excalibur continued to speak. “You must understand that the Analysts originally had no interest in this world when they first discovered it. However, an event that happened long ago before the reign of the current Princesses changed everything. This event made them want to know more about this world- and so they studied it. They then noticed that certain people had similarities to ponies that lived in Equestria. This uncanny similarity made them certain that the right move was to hide artifacts on this world that would prove useful, should something magical threaten this world. One of these artifacts were the Elements of Harmony, which Twilight now possesses.”
Twilight voiced her curiosity. “So there’s more artifacts out there? How many can there be, seeing as not very many are mentioned in the show?”
Excalibur chuckled. “You’d be surprised.”
Trixie then spoke. “So we’ll need to find all of these artifacts. How will we find them all?”
Excalibur shook her head. “Not all of them could be necessary, but you’ll need at least one more in order to restore Twilight’s magic.”
Maestro hummed in thought. “Judging by what you’re saying, one of the artifacts is a Mana reserve of some kind. Sounds very useful.”
Excalibur nodded. “Indeed, your guess is astoundingly accurate. However, you might not be the only ones that know about the artifacts.”
Maestro sighed. “Let me guess. The enemy is probably after them too.”
Excalibur seemed to consider it. “Yes, I’d wager so. Though, I’m certain that they don’t know how to find them.”
Rina piped up. “So all that we have to do is find as many as we can, and try and stop them from getting their hands on any of them. Simple!”
Excalibur shook her head. “I don’t think so. Our enemy is extremely powerful, seeing as they can anthrofy. It takes a considerable amount of magic to use that spell.” She then put a hand on her chin. “Though I’m uncertain of how the enemy learned the spell…”
Maestro seemed to realize something. “I can think of one way that she learned it. She must have somehow snuck into the Analysts’ HQ and found something that denotes how to cast the spell.”
Excalibur seemed shocked in disbelief. “No way…”
Ashley spoke up next. “Something wrong, sugarcube?”
Excalibur sighed. “There was a report of files being moved around some time before Trixie was anthrofied. One of the files that was moved was the anthrofication spell scroll. I’d thought nothing of it at the time, but now…”
Maestro had a grave look on his face. “It’s worse than I thought…”
Excalibur was a bit confused. “How so?”
Maestro then sighed. “Look, I didn’t tell Twilight and her friends all of my findings because I needed to be certain that my fears were well founded. It seems my uncanny streak of being right about most everything is still going strong.” He then sighed. “You have no idea how much I wish that I was wrong.”
Twilight was quite curious. “So? What are your full findings?”
Maestro summoned forth a whiteboard and a marker. He then started to illustrate his point. “You see, it goes far beyond the World of Anthros I told you that might happen. It’s much worse than that. I’ve got two main concerns: this mysterious employer of my half-brother, and the future that comes with her reaching her goal. You see, if my hunch about her is correct, she will not stop if she defeats us. She will continue on, and rule this new world of only anthrofied ponies with an iron hoof. My true concern is that even if everyone ends up accepting their new, presumably permanent anthro forms, they will only suffer endlessly at the hooves of a tyrant who will stop at nothing to rule forever. That is what I truly fear.”
Harry looked ready to faint. Trixie then spoke. “So, who do you think is doing all of this? Give us your best guesses!”
Maestro sighed. “I’ve got nothing concrete, but many of my findings have made me narrow down the list to only two possible candidates. The first is Starlight Glimmer. This, however, would require the real Equestria to be vastly out of sync with the show, namely the Season 5 finale and everything in Season 6. The other possibility is Chrysalis, the former queen of the changelings. This one is a bit more likely, considering that she is the one villain that currently is a loose end in the show.” He then shook his head. “However, my analysis at this point is far too inconclusive to discern which one of them it is.”
Rainbow then punched her left hand, catching it with her right hand. “So how about we go storm their place?”
Maestro gave an exasperated sigh. “No can do. I’m still trying to decrypt Chessmaster’s teleport signature. It may take a day or two, possibly three, to crack.” He then looked towards Harry and Rina. “That gives the final two of the members of the six time to anthrofy before we try and cut their plans short.” He then lit up his horn. “However, that doesn’t mean that I can't help out our current anthros.”
Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “What are you going to do?”
Maestro extended the glow of his horn to his right hand. “I’m going to give you all enchantments. Magic amplification for Twilight and Edge, with a touch of spell efficiency, as well as strength enhancement and flight enhancement.” He traced a complex symbol, one that seemed far more mana intensive than the enchantment Trixie received. He then traced it again. He spoke up again. “Flight enhancement for Rainbow,” He traced a symbol that looked like it featured a pair of wings, “And strength enhancement for Ashley.” He traced another symbol that featured a barbel. He then spoke again. “A fair bit of warning, however. These enchantments, when first applied, are a bit painful at first, but it should die down shortly.” He then turned towards Twilight and Excalibur. “However, the enchantment I crafted for you two is a combination of multiple separate enchantment spells. I’ve never had to give an enchantment to an alicorn, so I don’t know what might happen.” He turned again, facing in the general center of the anthro friends. “I will understand if any of you are unwilling to go through with this- The choice is yours, but know that if you choose to get the enchantment, there is no going back.”
Ashley raised an eyebrow. “Why is that, sugarcube?”
Maestro spoke clearly and concisely. “These enchantments are permanent. Once I apply them, they cannot be removed. This means that you’ll be stuck with them until the end of your life. If any of you are willing, come forward now.”
The group seemed hesitant, so Trixie decided to speak. “Trixie agreed to be enchanted. Let her tell you, at first it does hurt slightly. However, that pain will soon be replaced by a dull yet pleasant buzz. And when it’s fully applied, you won’t regret it! Trixie has certainly never felt this good!”
The group then seemed a bit more at ease. The first to go was naturally Rainbow, followed by Ashley. Then Twilight stepped forward. Maestro then spoke. “Now remember, I’ve got no Idea what might happen by combining all of these enchantments. I’ll give you one last chance to back down.”
Twilight then spoke. “Tell me, is spell efficiency what I think it is?”
Maestro responded. “If you’re thinking that it is like a power saver for mana, then yes.”
Twilight then set a determined gaze on her face. “Set me up.”
Her reaction when the enchantment touched her forehead was drastically different. From what Trixie could tell, Twilight was acting as if her entire being was being bathed by the sun. It lasted for a few minutes, but eventually Twilight’s reaction went into that same calm state as the others, and she walked away smiling. As much as Trixie despised Twilight, it was good to know that she was not irreversibly harmed by the enchantment. Excalibur went next, and had a similar reaction akin to Twilight’s. When all was said and done, Maestro was looking a bit ragged. Trixie spoke with concern in her voice. “Are you okay, Maestro?”
He chuckled. “Heh, only slightly winded. After all, ever since I went from Josephus Star to Maestro Spectrum Star, I’ve had quite the knack for enchantment. I’ll be fine with a little rest.”
Excalibur then spoke. “I must say I’m impressed. However, I want to ask you something, Maestro. The Analysts said they had no hoof in your anthrofication. So, how did it happen?”
Maestro seemed to be able to tell that everyone else there wanted answers as well. He sighed. “Listen, it’s not all that different from how you guys got anthrofied- the e-mail, the glowing screen, the slow, painless change. The only difference that I have from Trixie’s experience is that I know who my benefactor is, and why he did it.”
Rina’s eyes seemed to have stars in them. “Who was it? Tell us, tell us, tell us!”
Maestro chuckled a bit. “I was just about to do so.” He then calmed himself. “It was Discord. He told me himself that he wanted to spice things up a bit by adding ponies that, while non-canon to Friendship Is Magic, certainly exist within Equestria. He wants to see just what kind of mayhem he can put into our endeavor.” He then looked towards Excalibur. “I’m only surprised that he wasn’t the one to anthrofy you. You got a special deal from the Analysts.”
Excalibur still seemed to want more answers, however. “What I don’t get is that, when we first met after I was anthrofied, you were already adept with your magic. Why is that?”
Maestro took a deep breath. “Well, for one, Discord made it as if I’d had magic all my life, like it had always been there. However, that isn’t the only reason. I’ve also been an anthro for four years, ever since right after I graduated High School early.”
Twilight and her friends were shocked. Trixie was too, but she recovered quickly, and asked a question. “So you’ve been anthro for four years? How come none of us have ever seen you around as an anthro?”
Maestro’s horn glowed. “Because I can do this!” The glow encased his entire body, and it started to change the fur vanished and was replaced with a fair skintone. His head became more human, and his tail contracted. His hair lost its exotic color, and became a plain chocolate brown. His hooves became feet once again. His horn disappeared. The only thing that was the same were his eyes. He then chuckled. “Do you like my polymorph spell? This is what kept my anthrofication from being discovered for four years!” however, he became dizzy, and the spell went away in a snap. Trixie was closest, and went to keep him steady. “Heh. Was a bit more drained from all of those enchantments than I first thought. Thanks, Trixie.”
Trixie huffed. “It’s the least Trixie can do for you. She did this in thanks for your enchantment.”
Excalibur then spoke. “Do you think that Chessmaster might attack again?”
Maestro shook his head. “I doubt it. Chessmaster is one that always thinks over things thrice. He will most likely wait for us to come to him, so he can fight us on his terms.”
Rina then posed a question. “Do you think that Discord will anthrofy anyone else?”
Maestro nodded. “I’m certain that he will. My only question is who, and-” All of a sudden, Maestro’s phone rings. “I wonder who that could be?” He answers the phone, forgetting to take it off of speaker. “Hello? This is Maestro sp-”
He was then cut off by a very irritated adult male voice. “Who are you!? What have you done to Josephus!? This is his phone that I’m calling! Tell me where he is at once!”
Maestro then spoke. “Chill! It’s me, Josephus! I just changed my name, is all.”
The voice on the other end gasped. “What!? Impossible! I know that Josephus would never do such a thing! He told me himself! You must be lying!”
Maestro stroked his temple in agitation. “Look, it’s me! C’mon, what’ll it take for you to believe me?”
The voice huffed. “Tell me the one thing that only he and me know. I demand your answer!” Maestro seemed to recall something, and whispered into the phone. The voice responded crossly. “Josephus told me that was his generic thing that he told all of his other friends! There’s only one thing that he only shared with me, and nobody else! If you really are Josephus, then tell me this: What did we name the binary star we found together?”
Maestro’s eyes grew wide. “Double J Nexo.”
The voice on the other end seemed to sigh. “So it is you… I’d never expect you to change your mind about changing your name, Josephus. Then again, it’s been fourteen years. Many things can change in that amount of time.”
Maestro seemed on the verge of tears. “Jozhir! It’s good to hear from you again! Sorry that I haven’t kept in touch, it’s just-”
Trixie raised an eyebrow at the name Maestro spoke. There’s no way, right?
Jozhir butted in again. “Look, that’s not important right now. People over here in the States are panicking. Strange transformations have broken out all across the nation. People grow fur, have their feet turn into hooves, some grow wings or horns, and some even change gender! It’s not natural! And the common thread between them all? An e-mail from one Mr. Dion. so that’s why I’ve avoided my email for the last two days. I was hoping that you might know how I can cure this epidemic. Well do you?”
Maestro responded. “No. From what I have gathered, it’s quite permanent. There’s no reversing anthrofication.”
Jozhir sighed. “So there’s no…” He seemed to blink, though nobody could see it. “Wait. You’ve got a name for this thing? So it’s happened over there too?” He got a bit agitated. “Well that’s just perfect. Next thing you know, the entire world will be these… anthros! The human race will go extinct! I don’t think I could live in a world where my gadgets were obsolete!”
Maestro raised an eyebrow. “Humans going extinct? Are you certain that would happen?”
Jozhir snapped. “Yes! According to my current understanding of Anthro DNA, which I must admit is limited, no combination of two opposite gendered anthro’s DNA through synthesis result in a strand of human DNA. Now, at such an early stage in research, I cannot be 100% certain, but my current findings are not very promising. If the Human race is to survive, I believe that whatever is causing all of these anthrofications must be rooted out ASAP.”
Maestro sighed. “Don’t you worry, Jozhir. I have a good idea of who’s causing all of this, and how to make it stop.”
Jozhir sighed in relief from the other side of the phone. “Good. If you need anything, say some of my gadgets, just let me know. I’ll be happy help. Good-bye.”
“Good-bye, Jozhir,” Maestro hang up.
Fluttershy was shivering. “I-is wh-what he said r-really possible? Th-the extinction of humanity?”
Maestro had a solemn look. “I didn’t want to think that it was. I had hope, that even in a world of anthros, humans might be born into it. After all, it’d be too sad to say good-bye to humans forever. However, with this news…” He tried to stand, but slumped back down onto Trixie again. “Listen. If that is a real possibility, we just have to stop it from becoming reality.” He then looked to Twilight. “I hate to impose, but do you think I could…?”
Twilight nodded. “My parents certainly won’t mind. We don’t often have guests, let alone ones that stay the night.” She then took over for Trixie as support, and led Maestro to the guest room. As for everyone else, they departed to their own homes, digesting what Excalibur and Maestro had told them.