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// Xavier Breakthrough Project, Day 8: Dual Crisis~ Shifting Heart and Dark Magic 
// Story: Days in the Mind of One that is Great and Powerful 
// by The REAL Mister Pkmn 
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The next morning when Trixie woke up, she got ready and went to find help for the changeling problem. She met up with Gearbox, and after confirming that he hadn’t been replaced, they went to find the others. The first person they ran across was Ayumi, and Trixie dragged her into an alley way, out of the sight of passersby. Ayumi chuckled nervously. “Coming on a little strong, aren’t we? And here I thought you didn’t swing both ways…”

Blinking at that, Trixie shook her head. “No, that’s not why I’m doing this. Never even crossed my mind. We need to know something. But first, a confirmation of if it’s really you. Tell me the name of Trixie’s mother.”

Ayumi scrunched an eyebrow. “Well, that’s never stated in the comics, and she never appears in the show, so it’s debated among fans. Why?”

Relieved, Gearbox released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “So it is you. No changeling could know something like that.”

Just as Ayumi was about to yell out, Trixie covered her mouth. “Yes, changelings. We got confirmation from Maestro last night. Somehow, a part of him was able to wrestle free from the control of whom could only be Chrysalis, and relayed a message to us. It was vague, but we put the pieces together.” she released her hold on Ayumi, and posed a question. “So, we know how they were defeated in the show- a love blast. But, Gearbox and I just aren’t certain if our feelings for each other would be enough. After all, we’re still... testing the waters. Besides, who knows who’s been replaced at this point. So how do we win?”

Thoughts stormed through Ayumi’s head a bit, until she thought of something. “Well, trying to find out who is replaced and who isn’t would take us a long time. So, we use one of the other weaknesses of changelings- a burst of high-frequency sound. With this, we can defeat them easily. Though we should also confirm that we’re dealing with my Chrissy cause if that’s the case i could just confront my wife about why she’s mind raping one of my friends.”

With a plan in hand, the three went to Gearbox’s lab and grabbed a machine that was designed to emit high-pitch wails. Ears protected, they stormed the city. They soon discovered that only anthros had been replaced- and pretty much all of them, at that. The sound drove back the changelings, and soon they found Maestro near the changeling disguised as Sarah. “Sarah” clutched her head in pain, as the changelings around lost focus and changed back. They then proceeded to run back to the portal to Equestria, which had opened nearby- and closed behind them. “Sarah” though, smirked. “I see you found a way to shake off the change. But it won’t be enough.” A burst of green flame enveloped her, as the disguise melted away. From the flames stepped an anthro that looked like a cross between Chrysalis and the anthro that Trixie had seen Maestro talking to a few days before. This revelation set a shock on all of them, which caused the strange anthro to chuckle. “Surprised? Don’t be. This way, I can still have Maestro, even if it’s not the full package. Better this than nothing at all.” Her gaze then sharpened. “And certainly better than him going for that Sarah girl. What does he even see in her?”

Just as Trixie was about to respond, Maestro finally broke free from the strange anthro’s control. “That’s enough, Bridget! I’ve dealt with many things from you, but I will not tolerate you thrusting your anger at me onto Sarah.” Bridget turned to him, surprised. She was too stunned to reply, so he continued with a sigh. “Look. About when I saw you as anthro for the first time… You’d been pestering me for so long about getting back together, that I snapped at you when you brought it up again. If nothing else, you deserve an apology for that.” His eyes softened a bit. “I’m sorry that I snapped at you like that. I hope you can forgive me.”

The form she had fluctuated and shifted, and in a flash she was brought back to the pegasus anthro she was before. Brianna crumpled to the ground, and began to cry. “I’m sorry, I… I just wanted to tell you my side of things. I was conflicted so long by my feelings that I was unsure if I’d be content with us just being friends. But now…” She looked to the anthros that stumbled out of the school in a daze, specifically to Sarah. “I can accept that you’ve moved on. Found somebody that, while you are uncertain as to how deep your feelings go for them, you know that you care for them enough to give them a shot. You did it once for me, and I screwed it up. All because I was desperate for any kind of stability.

“After all, a father that works all the time, a mother in the hospital, no siblings to speak of… Not to mention my roster of friends shifting constantly. All this instability in my life drove me near the brink. Then, I met you: kind, dependable, honest you. With all that… I just felt I needed you as this… pillar, I suppose.  But as things continued, I found myself genuinely enjoying the time we spent together. I no longer looked to you for just stability amongst the storm, but also because I’d started to like you. At this point, I’d stopped making excuses to keep you around. But even so, the things I did to keep you around weighed on my heart. I’d wanted to tell you, but you left before I could. But I forgive you for that. And I hope that you can forgive me for doing what I felt I had to do.” She then lowered her head, ready for judgement.

What she got, however, was unexpected. Maestro hugged her. “I’m sorry. Sorry that I didn’t listen to you back then. If I had, maybe things would be different now.” He pulled back, and looked her in the eye. “But, things happened the way they did, and we must accept that. I understand why you did what you did. And I do forgive you.” He then looked away. “But, things cannot go back to the way they were back then. I just don’t feel the same way about you anymore. I don’t hate you, now that I know the full truth, but I can’t say I like you like you anymore, either.” He looked at her despondent face, and lifted her chin. “Nonetheless, I think we can at least be friends.” He reached out a hand. “What do you say?”

Smiling, Brianna clasped his hand. “I think that I can live with that.”

The anthros stood as Sarah found them. “Maestro… Who’s this?”

Maestro let go of Brianna’s hand, and placed his arm around Sarah. “You know the ex-girlfriend I talked about?” She nodded slowly. “That’s her. She anthrofied, we had a bit of a spat when we met up again, she took a deal to cross with Chrysalis (probably from Chess), and I broke her out of it with an apology. We’re friends now.”

After the recap, Sarah processed that for a bit. “I… see.”

Just relieved to have her back, Maestro smiled. “You know, I never got to talk to you about what I wanted to that night. How about a nice dinner? My treat.”

Before Sarah could reply, they heard a commotion in the distance. Now with the group together (and no longer groggy), they went off towards the sound. When the reached the area, they found Xavier. He was conversing with somebody, that being Chessmaster. They heard a piece of their conversation. “Can you really give me the power to prove that I’m right to those fools?”

Noticing that Trixie and the others had arrived, Chessmaster seemed ... different than he had before. “I can give you power, Xavier. But there are consequences. Do you really want this?” He had on his face a look of… concern? Why? Wasn’t this what he was supposed to do for “Lady Starlight”?

Noticing that Chess seemed hesitant to go through with this, Maestro lit up. This was different than he’d seen! Perhaps.... “Xavier! Please, listen! Chess is right!” He got strange looks for this, but he continued. “Is the power really worth risking losing who you are?” He motioned to Brianna. “She almost lost her entire identity from her deal with Chess! Do you want that?”

For some reason, Chessmaster had a somber, guilty look on his face. As for Xavier, he had the look of a trapped man, desperate to find a way out. “Shut up! I’m fed up with this nonsense! It’s time I get back at this world, once and for all!” He then clasped his hand with Chessmaster’s outstretched hand, causing it to be encased in a red glow.

A dour look played on Chessmaster’s face. “Very well. You have chosen your fate!”

Xavier was encased in a red glow, and Chessmaster backed off. He stuck around, however, just to see what would happen. Xavier laughed as he was engulfed in a cloud of Dark Magic, and shrouded in purple mist. His skin became pitch black as fur grew across his body. A horn sprouted from his forehead, red at the tip, and curved. His hair grew longer, and became black and wavy as a tail of the same color sprouted. His ears moved up his head as they morphed to be pony-like, and his mouth became a muzzle. His feet shifted into hooves, and his eyes became red. His irises became green, and purple mist wafted from them. The cloud dissipated, and he grinned malevolently. He bellowed a laugh, and spoke. “Behold the might of Xavier the Dark!” He then shot a blast of dark magic at Chessmaster, who barely dodged.

Surprise flashed across Chessmaster’s face, which turned into shock. “It shouldn’t be possible! The anthrofication spell given by Starlight was modified to control the targets, replace their personalities!”

The look of a madman played across Xavier’s new mug, and he shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe I’m just too strong-willed?” He launched another spell at Chessmaster, which hit this time. Xavier grinned as he saw Chessmaster’s eyes gloss over in fear as the magic took effect. “AHAHAHA! Become trapped in your worst Nightmare!” He then turned to the others. “Now, let’s start the show!” He summoned pillars of black crystal, and launched them at the group.

However, Maestro pulled out a crystalline object, and morphed it into a scythe. In one fell swoop, he cleaved the pillars in twain. He then summoned a dome of turquoise magic, and pushed everyone else out, leaving just Xavier and himself. Twilight knocked on the dome. “Maestro! Let us back in! We can-!”

“No.” Maestro’s harsh call stopped them in their tracks. “This is my fight. My responsibility.” they saw Maestro tap into his extra mana- and something unprecedented happened. They heard the sound of shattering glass. Had he just broken the seal on the excess mana? “I will not risk anyone else getting hurt. I made the mistake that set him down this path. So I am the best shot of getting him out of this state. Do not interfere.” He clutched his locket as he gazed at Xavier. “I won’t hold back, old friend. I won’t let you harm anyone or anything in the area. I will make the damage minimal, so that your guilt is minimal. Now let’s dance.” Maestro then pressed three portions on the backside of his locket, each resonating with a beautiful sound. And when the three sounds harmonized together, light came from the locket and enveloped his form. He then yelled full force. “Temporary Ascension!” The group witnessed as Maestro grew taller, to be about 7'2". Large bat wings sprouted from his back as his pupils slitted, and his canines sharpened. The final change was the richer hue of his coat, mane and tail. He then went to battle with his old friend.

The group watched as the two titans traded blow for blow, spell for spell. Xavier called a storm of crystals, Maestro countered with a wall of them. Maestro tried getting in close with his scythe, Xavier summoned a magical construct to parry his attacks. Xavier would strike, Maestro would defend, and then the reverse would happen. Though, Maestro still was holding back, not daring to delve into the Nightmare or Chaos Magic at his disposal- For he knew that to do so would be very risky. So he kept to what he felt was safe- The beams of colored light, scythe techniques, dodges, and blocks.

He knew in his heart that in order to break the attrition he would have to find an opening for the skill he’d never pulled off. So he decided to set up. He channeled his overflowing mana through his timed Thestricon form, and shouted. “Spectrum Split!” The magic was amplified, splitting him into more than the maximum he’d done before. Now, there were fourteen Maestros total- and this was the upper hand he needed. Each ‘gänger had an extension of his will, so working together, they pooled their magic, skill, and numbers to bring his ultimate skill into reality. If Xavier still was standing after this… Maestro shook his head. This had to be enough. It just had to! Focusing on every last scrap of hope he could, he unleashed his best. “Spectrum Scythe Serenade!” Each duplicate -plus himself- struck through Xavier at regular intervals, impacting the spell rather than the person beneath.

As the attack continued, Maestro could feel a familiar presence creep in. So. Feeling a little desperate, are we?

The familiar voice of his Nightmare Entity cropping up again in his head was starting to make Maestro feel a little acidulous. Quiet, you.

Smugness and snarkiness seeped into the voice, causing it to amplify its presence in his head. Oh, Maestro. Don’t be like that! You and I both know how this is going to end.

As Maestro clenched his fists around his scythe as he struck the forced anthrofication spell again. SHUT. UP. You have no power here, Cacophony.

Seeming amused at this outburst, “Cacophony” couldn’t help but chuckle. Hmhmhm. Fine, be like that. But when you fail… I’ll be ♪waiting♪. After all… Even you can’t escape destiny forever.

Maestro sighed as Cacophony finally butted out again. Just in time, too. The attack ended, and it was the moment of truth. Maestro’s duplicates vanished as he collapsed, his transformation wearing off. That wasn’t good. He looked to see Xavier back to his old self, causing Maestro to sigh. At least that was taken care of. The dome of magic left, and the group came in. Xavier looked around, taking in the collateral damage of the fight. His eyes widened as he backed away. He wanted only to prove a point, but… he shook his head. He was too stunned to speak. Then, before anyone could stop him, he ran. As they were about to go after him, they saw Maestro clutch his sides in pain as he groaned. The group was full of concern, and Sarah voiced it. “What’s wrong?”

Sweating furiously, Maestro gasped out. “Mana… poisoning… Quite… painful…” He then clenched his teeth as he hissed and forced out a blob of viscous sludge. His sweating and shortness of breath went down, as he slowly focused his magic to burn the sludge. After about a minute, the fire died, and left in its place was a ball of white aether. The ball then went back into him, and after that, he used his magic to reconstruct the seal. He wobbled a bit unsteadily as he slowly stood. “Hrngh. Still going to have to lay off the magic for a bit, though. That’s livable. I’ll recover.” he looked off towards where Xavier went. “Well, time to adjust tomorrow’s lesson. Forgiveness it is.”

Somewhat curious about something, Trixie posed a question. “Maestro, when you temporarily ascended… Why did you grow thestral wings? What’s that about?”

Quirking an eyebrow, Maestro turned to her with an “are you serious” look on his face. “I’d think it’d be obvious by now. I mean, slitted pupils, sharp fangs, natural cloud-walking… The only thing I don’t have is the wings! So, you tell me: why would I grow thestral wings?” After this, he purposely dispelled the polymorphs on his eyes and teeth, as if to make a point. “Why, could it be because of genetics?”

The group stepped back, all except Sarah. She looked to him with concern. “You’re sure you want them to know? I mean…”

Sighing deeply, Maestro nodded slightly. “They were bound to find out sometime, Sarah. I thought that since Janice was okay with being seen in her kirin state, Chess doesn’t care who knows he’s part griffon, and Servo’s fine with showing her minotaur traits… What excuse do I have to keep hiding the fact that I’m part thestral?” He shook his head. “None. Might as well let ‘em know now, rather than later.”

The group turned as they heard a series of slow claps. “Well said.” The one that spoke was Chessmaster, who looked different than before. For one, he’d taken off the Alicorn Amulet. His beak smirked. “Well said, indeed.”

Cautiously approaching, Maestro reached out. “Chess… Does this mean…?”

Looking at the Alicorn Amulet one last time, Chessmaster spoke gravely. “I don’t have much time before the connection is re-established. She will see soon, but for now... she is blind.” He looked to Maestro. “I know you were right. Once she sent that e-mail to your ex-girlfriend, I overheard her speak about how once all was said and done… she’d toss me aside.” He sighed. “Some part of me always knew, but the draw of gaining the power of an Alicorn… that was hard to ignore.” He shook his head sadly. “I tried to talk Briana out of accepting the change, but I couldn’t say much without raising suspicion from Starlight. But now I have an opportunity, even if brief.” He looked to Briana, and explained somewhat. “I did not want to change, warp, or twist you. But as I was under surveillance, I had to keep a certain air about myself. I hope that you can understand.” He looked away. “I can’t tarry longer. After all, I’ve got a job to do.”

A voice called out as he was about to leave. “Wait!” Chessmaster turned to see Servo and Janice coming up the road. They stopped near the group, and Servo spoke again. “You can’t just go! We’re not going to let you!” She cracked her knuckles as she lowered her head to point all three horns at him. “Not without a fight.”

Grabbing her horns and lifting her head up, Maestro spoke up. “Calm down, Servo. Chess isn’t going to leave, with or without a fight. He’s staying with us, whether he likes it or not.”

Amused at this statement, Chessmaster smirked. “Oh? And what makes you say that? You can’t stop me, you know.”

Adopting a chiding tone, Maestro continued. “Do you really think that Starlight didn’t think that your concern for Briana and Xavier was suspicious? If you go back there, she’ll probably just destroy you!”

Realizing that Maestro was right, Chessmaster looked down to the Amulet. “Well then, since that’s the case…” He focused his magic (no longer under the influence of the Amulet) and opened a portal to a random place in Equestria, and chucked the Amulet through. The portal closed behind the Amulet. He looked to the sky, knowing that Starlight was seeing this. “I believe we’re done here! I don’t think the Amulet’s going to do you much good if you can’t find it!” He chuckled as he looked to his half-siblings. “Oh, she’s mad. Serves her right, trying to use me like that.”

Sighing and shaking his head, Maestro replied. “It’s good to have you back. Now, I’ve got some business to attend to.” He went over to Sarah, and he asked a question that the others couldn’t hear. She hesitated before nodding, and the two went off into the distance.

Looking over to Brianna, a feeling of guilt came back to Chessmaster. “Could you two excuse me? I’ll be right back.” He went over to her, and paused before he spoke. “Listen… I know it was your choice to take that offer, but… I feel terrible for what happened to you. I’d like to make it up to you, somehow, if you’ll let me.”

Considering for a moment why Chessmaster would say this, Brianna lit up, and smirked. “Oh? And why do you feel responsible? Is it because you have… feelings … for me?”

Stunned for a moment, Chessmaster tried to not sound flustered. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about! Th-that’s ridiculous! I-I just am offering an apology, that’s all!”

Rolling her eyes and deciding to play along, Brianna smiled. “Alright then. Let’s get dinner. Your treat, of course. Then we’ll see if your attitude changes.” She then proceeded to drag him away.

Servo and Janice snickered at the scene, and decided to just go home to wait.

It had been a long day for Trixie, a lot of excitement. She said good-bye and good night, as she went back home for the day. She collapsed on her bed, exhausted. She ran through the events in her head. What did Chessmaster’s change of sides mean for them? Would this speed things along? Would it change anything at all? She decided that these were too heavy of thoughts to think of at the moment, and drifted of to sleep.