//------------------------------// // Side Story: Double Anthrofication // Story: Days in the Mind of One that is Great and Powerful // by The REAL Mister Pkmn //------------------------------// Maestro woke up the next morning feeling much better. He got up around 5 AM, and he combed his hair, and put on a clean set of clothes- his sleek silvery pants, an understated white T-shirt, his favorite royal blue vest, and his iconic locket. Staring in the mirror, he sighed. “Oh, what am I going to do? I’d never thought this would actually happen. Having to go up against my half-bro…” He shook his head. “Get a grip, Maestro. You said that you’d help them out, and you will. Just need a bit more time to find where he went, is all.” He then went to the table, and sat down to eat breakfast. Maestro noticed Twilight skid into the dining room, coming a bit closer to his face than he was comfortable with. The former guy may now have be a she, but he still didn’t feel very comfortable around her. “Maestro? Why or how are you here?” Twilight questioned her fellow anthro. Maestro was grateful that Twilight had pulled away to ask the question. He suppressed a sigh, and pulled a confused look. Finishing the food in his mouth, he explained his reason for his presence. “Did you forget? I asked you if I could stay the night so that I could regain my strength and you allowed it.” Twilight scratched her chin for a moment, then suddenly gave a sheepish grin. “Oh yeah… hehe.” Twilight rubbed the back of her head. Twilight’s mother came up beside the lavender anthro without her knowing and grinned evilly. “I must say, dear, you sure know how to pick a boyfriend.” Mrs. Radderson taunted. Twilight looked toward her grinning mother and then back to Maestro, -who went back to eating his breakfast- then blushed heavily. In classic anime style, Twilight shouted back at her mother, redder than anything she could think of, “HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!” This elicited a chuckle from both Twilight’s mother and Maestro (he however, was trying not to show his revulsion on his face at the suggestion). Twilight, in turn, slumped her head and slowly entered the kitchen to acquire her own breakfast. Maestro could almost hear Twilight mutter herself. “Why me?” she was obviously very stressed out about this whole debacle of anthrofying into the opposite gender. Internally growling, she set her bowl down at the opposite end of the table and began to eat her breakfast, emphasising her anger in each bite. Maestro pulled a faux grin at Twilight’s fuming face. He knew how embarrassing it must have felt for a guy to not only change form but also gender. While Maestro couldn’t fathom the gender part, he felt like it was his obligation to try to comfort the mare. She did let him stay in her house, after all. Maestro finished his cereal and got up from his seat. Twilight noticed the sound and looked towards the now standing Maestro. “I didn’t mean to laugh at you.” he said. He thought to himself this, however: Just didn’t want to feel awkward, I guess. Twilight instantly flicked her head to the side with an annoyed look. “I know, but the fact that you did is what hurt me.” Maestro hoped that Twilight was a bit more lenient with her reply. Unfortunately that was not to be the case. He needed to take a different approach. Recalling Twilight’s previous excited mood, he decided to poke at the idea of why she was so excited. “Why were you so excited before?” “Hmm? Oh, well… it’s none of your business, okay?” Twilight replied, unintentionally snapping at the end. ‘Stubborn, I see.’ Maestro thought. With a grin, he continued to speak. “If I were to guess… it is actually my business. The analysts gave you a mission, didn’t they?” The stubborn alicorn opened her eyes wide. “How did you know?” Twilight asked. Maestro shrugged, “I didn’t, it was just a simple guess and it seems like I was correct.” Twilight hated to admit it, but Maestro was correct and she showed that by explaining what the Analysts had told her. “So they tampered with Earth’s history again and placed a relic -that can help us, by the way- on this Lazarus ship that can only be seen by people like us?” Maestro evaluated. Twilight added, “Well, they didn’t say that they placed the relic themselves, but considering that they knew of the spell… I’m sure they implied it. But anyway, yeah. You got the gist of it.” The male anthro adjusted his glasses. He fumbled about with his phone for a brief moment and returned to Twilight. “I would be happy to come with you… but I unfortunately have important things to do. You need me to trace Chessmaster’s location, after all.” Twilight sighed. “Sorry, I got angry before. I just lost it. I always did have a heated temper, so when I get mad… I get Mad!” Maestro gave a genuine smile. “Don’t worry about it.” he turned his head towards the door. ”I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you around.” Maestro gave a wave and departed for the door. Twilight returned the wave as he did. As he left, he could hear Twilight muttering. “Not one word.” Maestro walked home, humming a tune. The sky was brilliant blue- not a single cloud to be seen, so he took his time. He sighed. Deep in his heart, he knew that his half-sisters, Laranda and Reina, would soon anthrofy- call it brother’s intuition, or some kind of sixth sense, or what-have-you, it mattered not. The fact was that it was rarely wrong. He even had an idea of who they’d become. As the birds flew overhead, he came to his home that he shared with his entire family: The Star Estate. It was the size of a small mansion, courtesy of their late father. He was always one for elegancy when he was alive. Maestro shook off that thought, and pushed open the gates. He walked up to the front door, wondering how he could possibly tell his half-sisters the news about Chessmaster. They certainly wouldn’t take it very well, even if he tried playing it down. He sighed, and entered the house. The first member of the family to greet him was his pet tiger, Amira. Maestro chuckled as the tiger smothered him with affection. “Heh. It’s good to see you too, girl.” He ruffled her fur a bit, and then stood. He went into the kitchen, and saw his half sisters at the table having bacon, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast. He washed his hands in the kitchen sink, and then joined them at the table. Looking Reina in her hazel eyes, he spoke. “So, did you feed Amira last night?” Reina huffed, causing a strand of her white hair to fall into her face. “Yes, but she was pretty difficult about it. I swear she thinks that she can get away with messing with me just because I’m younger than you!” Maestro chuckled. “Oh, lighten up! Amira’s just having a little fun.” Laranda glared at Maestro with her amber eyes, and changed the subject. “So where were you last night?” Maestro spoke nonchalantly. “At a friend’s. You know me.” Reina piped up. “So, have you found out where Chessmaster is? Will he come home soon?” Maestro’s expression grew dark. He sighed. “Chessmaster… He’s… working for somebody that wants revenge on Twilight. He’s our enemy, at least for the moment.” Reina lost her cheer at this revelation, and started stammering. “Ch-chessmaster? A-against us? I-i don’t b-believe he’d do that!” Maestro looked downward. “I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t seen it for myself.” Laranda seemed to grow more… distant as she spoke. “I thought that we’d stand together when we’d all been anthrofied. But with this…” She pounded the table with a fist, causing some of her black hair to fall into her face. “How could he do this! If dad were still here, he’d-! Maestro cut her off. “But that’s just it, L. He’s not. Chess is doing this for power. He’s to power hungry to even realize that he’s being used. That’s why we have to break through to him.” Reina dried her tears. “We? How can we help?” Maestro then looked at both of them. “You two will need to anthrofy. If we have any chance to break through to him, it will be when the two of you can use the power of your anthro forms.” He then led them to the computer room, and logged in on two different computers. He then pulled up both of their e-mails, one on each computer. Laranda looked cross. “How do you know our passwords?” Maestro rolled his eyes. “I’m your brother. I make it my business to know as much about you as possible.” He then scrolled through the emails until he found what he was looking for. “Bingo. Both of you have received emails from Mr. Dion, aka Discord.” He stepped away from the computers, and led his half-sisters to their respective email screens. The curiosity of his half-sisters pulled through, and they opened the emails simultaneously. The flashes of the two screens mixed, and Maestro noticed that the transformation had begun. Laranda started to grow yellow fur, and Reina grew blue fur. Both grew a horn, and had their feet morph into hooves. Reina’s eyes shifted into indigo, while Laranda’s became yellow-orange. Laranda’s hair grew longer, and became a distinct indigo, and a tail of the same color sprouted. Reina’s hair shifted to a cyan and lavender coloring, and a tail of the same colors grew. Their ears morfed into pony-like ones as they migrated up their heads. And, as if from nowhere, a platinum locket appeared around each of their necks. Reina’s bore an etched in shooting star with gems scattered through its tail, while Laranda’s bore an etched in circuit board. Maestro grinned. He then led them to the bathroom, and had them stand in front of the full body mirrors. “So? What do you think of your new selves?” Laranda nodded, and gave a calculating smile. “It’s good. I think Servo Star fits me better than my old name.” Reina seemed to glow in admiration of her new self. “I look so striking! I believe Janice Dazzle Star is a better name for my new self.” Maestro nodded. “Alright. Servo and Janice, let’s introduce you to the others!” After turning off the computers they then left the house. However, they didn’t notice that a certain tiger had begun to… change.