Maestro had found a secluded area after the second lesson with Xavier went awry. Nobody else was around. He paused to think. What am I going to do? How am I supposed to get through to him? If only I knew… He sat down on the ground, taking in the scenery- It was a small glen, probably a mile or so out of town. He often came here to think. He remember coming here after his vision of the future involving the great darkness, and frowned. I certainly won’t forget that anytime soon… After all, the villain born from it… well, I don’t want to think on it too much. He could recall all the details. He’d spoken of it briefly the day he received it, but he didn’t go into much detail. He knew what their presumptions about it were, but he knew better.
He sighed. He should try and focus on something else. Like how to get through to Xavier. He thought about tapping into his visions, but was hesitant. I’ve never tapped into them with something specific in mind. Whenever I have tapped into them, it’s because I don’t want them flaring up out of nowhere… He paused a moment, then mused a bit. Then again, the next “flare-up” is due soon, so… He nodded. He’d wilt two weeds this way, so he decided to tap into his powers, focusing his thoughts to Xavier. I want to help him. Show me what I must do. For a while, there was nothing, as he toned out all the sounds around him. He closed his eyes, and filtered out all the aromas as well. If he was going to pull this off, he would need complete concentration. As he tuned everything out, with a single focus in his mind, he started to feel a familiar pull. He let it pull him, in hopes that it would show him what he needed. Suddenly, it came to him.
Day Three, the lessons of Kindness fail. An unexpected raising of the stakes must occur. Must show no hesitation, but counter with a raising of the stakes for if you win as well. Day Four, the lessons of Generosity fail. Keep them calm. Assure them that all is going well, that you know it’s going to take a while. Show no concern of failure, only assurance of victory. Day Five, the lessons of Laughter fail. Empower everyone that’s failed to revise everything for their second pass later. Show no weakness. Give them hope. Day Six, the lessons of Hope fail. Show no defeat, only resolve to do better next time. Call Natalie, get her to arrive on the tenth day. She is key. Day Seven, the lessons of ‘Magic’ fail. Tell them that there’s a plan, but nothing else. Assure them that it will all work out. Show no doubts. Day Eight. Xavier takes a deal that he normally wouldn’t. Chessmaster is there. Chessmaster gets attacked. A chink in the armor. Xavier is full of regret. The real breakthrough begins. Day Nine, teach about forgiveness, to some success. It’s not over yet, so assure them that this was part of the plan. Day Ten, start involving Natalie when she arrives. Push Xavier to be her friend. From there, hope for the best. The breakthrough will finalize when the time is right.
Maestro sighed after the vision ended. At least he had a plan now. True, he didn’t like the ambiguity after a certain point, but it was the best shot he had. After all, his visions had a tendency to be right. He stood, and looked to the twilight sky. He knew what he had to do now, and that was a bit of comfort. He smiled. Plus, it opens up a way to get Chess to come over to our side. It’s a pretty good plan. However, his smile started to fade. But does it change things in the long run? He was uncertain. He could gaze into the future again, but the consequences from doing two visions in a row was pretty steep. He certainly didn’t want to deal with the migraine that came with it, but… He wanted to know. Did this option change the future he’d seen when he first met Sunset? He sighed, knowing he was going to regret doing this, but… he had to know. Once again, he focused, casting off everything as he put his thought to the future again, accounting for Xavier’s breakthrough, and possible reconciliation with Chessmaster. Then, he felt the pull again, and found his mind open to the vision again. And he got his answer.
Starlight Glimmer stands over you, gloating about how you had no chance. She thanks you for gathering the four magics- Nightmare, Chaos, Dark, and Drain. You tell her that the others will be here soon, and her petty vengeance will be over. She laughs, and says that it won’t be soon enough. She says that it’s a pity that Chess had to abandon the cause, but that her plans were adjustable anyway. You gulp audibly. You know what comes next. Your Hope breaks. A split. One path, the others come just then, and Starlight ends up defeated. The other, they are too late, and Starlight attempts to gain control of the four powers. Then, the Great Dark comes, and the place is destroyed. The others fail, the last hope gets swallowed and corrupted, and everything ends.
Maestro paled as his head flared with pain. That was the first time two outcomes had been exactly equal. This didn’t bode well. He knew that if they were too late, then… He shook his head. He’d have to make sure they weren’t. It was the only way to ensure that they would win. He had to believe that since there was a chance, that he could force it. He wouldn’t let this faze him. He walked out of the glen with purpose, only slightly inconvenienced. He had something to do. He took out of his pocket the encrypted spell he’d gotten off Chessmaster’s teleportation. He had cracked about half of it, and he had another “lead”. He would piece together this puzzle, no matter what. If he could do it fast enough, he might pull it off before an anthro Tirek was dropped on them. He decided to get to work.