Days in the Mind of One that is Great and Powerful

by The REAL Mister Pkmn


Side Story: Maestro's Nightmare

Maestro sighed. It… was certainly a lot to take in, even now, a few hours later. This form he had was a patchwork of enchantments, not even his true face. It wasn’t just him either- it was his entire family as well. They’d taken the revelation just about as well as he’d expected. And the magic bolstering it was indeed a shard from Nightmare Moon, albeit a somewhat small portion. Perhaps the size of it was why it had not taken hold of him as it had Rarity in the comics? He massaged his temples. This was giving him a headache. Perhaps a little bit of rest was in order, to help get his mind off things. And so, with a dose of some special-order headache medicine, He found himself drifting off to sleep…


It was this strange dream again. Where everything was somehow dark and light at the same time. Where Chaos and Order mixed together in perfect balance, a true harmony. In this dream was what he recognized as the Tree of Harmony from the show. However, it looked far more defined, looking almost like it had bark like a real tree. Off and to the right was an photograph- one that always appeared in his dreams- of his father in his prime with a woman he never knew, and yet instinctively knew was his mother. The scene was pristine, given how bizarre it was, and it provided a sense of calm to Maestro. However, this is when the dream changed to be unfamiliar. Instead of going down its usual path of guiding him through a crystalline labyrinth, off to the left was a scene that he’d never thought he’d see. The sky was dark and filled with black smoke. On a throne made of stardust was Starlight Glimmer, spreading her newly obtained wings in triumph. Over on her left was a set of six statues- the subject of whom he recognized as the Mane 6. On her right was Chessmaster, having shed his enchantments to embrace his hippogriff nature. However, he looked a tad different from what he was supposed to. He had a second set of wings aside from his griffin pair, and his beak-like muzzle was sharper as well. Then, from behind Starlight came a strange figure, that seemed to be as tall as Maestro was. He was forcibly drawn near the figure, and stopped when he was only a scarce few feet away. Now that he could properly take in the look of this figure, he didn’t like what he saw. It looked like he was looking into the darkest shadow possible- For what was before him was a silhouette that was as tall as himself. Every feature was black as pitch, unable to be truly comprehended. But what was most notable was that he didn’t hide the slits of his eyes or his fanged teeth. The shadow doppelgänger’s locket also bore a twisted etching of Maestro’s Cutie Mark. Instead of the sleek musical note, there was a jagged one that implied noise. And in place of the curved leftward arc of the seven lines was a swirling mass of lines beneath it all. Maestro shuddered involuntarily at what that mark would look like in color. The figure smirked at Maestro’s discomfort as the rest of the scene melted away. He then spoke in a heavier, more forceful version of Maestro’s own voice, which seemed to somehow ooze with the feeling of physical darkness. “So. We meet again.” His smirk slowly changed to an openly malicious grin, one bent on getting what it wanted. “I’m glad that I get to meet you again- you know, before you become me.” His grin only seemed to grow wider at that remark.

Maestro shook his head, realizing that the silhouette before him was not what this creature really looked like. “What are you talking about? You and me seem different enough. Even if you look so much like me.”

Not-Maestro rolled his eyes. “Oh, please! I am you! I’m what you’re meant to be; the harbinger of the Dark Future! You know in your heart that it’s true.”

Maestro shook his head. “The future isn’t set in stone; I am in control of my own destiny! And I say that I will never be the same as you.”

Not-Maestro scoffed. “Of course you’d be stubborn about it.” He sighed, twirling his locket. “No matter. You will see for yourself, soon enough. You will realize that you should’ve chosen me that day, and embrace my ideal of beauty- and we shall alter the world itself to our whim, just like we should have done four years ago.”

Maestro rolled his eyes. “As if, 色彩の不協和音. I’ve gotta jet.”

Not-Maestro grinned. “Did you just… name me?” His grin spread further, almost impossibly wide. “It may not be in English, but you know, that’s still a sign that at least a part of you accepts that what I say is true.”

Maestro shook his head. “Whatever. I’m out of here.” Then, with sheer force of will, he woke up.


Maestro was still reeling from his nightmare, and looked out at the noonday sun. He sighed. Fist finding out that I’m not exactly what I seem, and now this? A Nightmare apparition in my head? If I could talk to Luna, I could sort this out- But she’s not here at the moment. His horn glowed turquoise. Might as well try something to at least make sure I don’t start hearing his voice again. And so, he let the turquoise glow wash over his mind, as he worked out a mental seal spell to seal off that dark seed until it could be properly weeded out. He was surprisingly good at sealing magic- after all, it was scarcely different from enchantment magic. But he knew that it wouldn’t quite have the staying power his enchantments did, due to the subtle differences between the two. He then got up, and decided to get ready for the day. Perhaps if he was lucky, he could find somebody to help him weed out the darkness. He already trusted a few people with at least a portion of his secret, maybe one of them could help? He would have to find out.