They found their way to a circus tent with the sign stating: “Currently undergoing renovations. Thank you for understanding.” Trixie was a bit put out at this, but decided to not let it get to her. She just needed a bit of time with friends, and that was what was more important. However, Rae called out in astonishment. “Look out!” She tackled Trixie, the two of them diving out of the way of a black beam of magic.
Their attention was drawn to an anthro unicorn in a black bodysuit, a glow of black magic around the right and left hands. The figure scoffed. “Hmph. Surprising…” The voice felt as deep as a chasm, the features of his face concealed by his helmet’s dark visor. He brushed himself off. “Ah, well. A good strategist knows when to withdraw.” He cloaked himself in magic, and addressed them. “I am known as Jet. Do not presume this is over, Trixie. I will withdraw for now; but Starlight will have your wings. No matter the price. Farewell, for now.” He then vanished into shadow, just as suddenly as he had made himself known.
Stunned, Trixie looked to her friends. They seemed just as confused as she was. None of them had heard of this Jet character before, and they were uncertain what to think of him. Ayumi found her way onto the scene, and saw the damage. “Woah! What happened here?”
Trixie steadied herself, and turned to Ayumi. “Some mysterious anthro in a black bodysuit calling himself Jet attacked me. Luckily, Rae tackled me out of the way.”
Ayumi had a confused look on her face at first, but then recalled something. “So he’s called Jet, is he? So that’s who I saw discussing things with Starfall…” She studied the damage, which had scorched the ground and caused a bit of a crater. Not many could fire such a powerful spell, but she couldn’t think of anyone that would attack Trixie like that. “Just who are you, Jet…?”
Just then, Maestro arrived on the scene. He lit his horn, and started tidying the area. “This… Jet… certainly has a flair for power, that is to be certain. This spell is raw power, on the level of high-ranking unicorns.” His magic expunged the scorch marks, and used loose material in the area to patch up the damage. He continued his speech effortlessly. “Certainly there are only a select few that could pull off this sort of large-scale attack. Certainly, it’s… disconcerting. It casts potential shade on some we might trust; and raises many questions.”
Their attention on Maestro, it raised a few more questions. Jet was a male unicorn anthro, and they didn’t know very many of those… The question hanging in the air passed from Carmen’s lips before she could stop herself. “You didn’t do this, did you? You wouldn’t attack us, right?”
Silence fell as Maestro let his magic fade. For a moment, his hands clenched, and his fur flickered into a darker shade. But the moment passed as quickly as it came, as he took a deep breath and faced them. His face was serious and grave, signaling that this was no joking matter. “I certainly could do something like this, I will admit. Given a certain level of pushing, I could be capable of such destruction, perhaps far more. I won’t deny that.” He paused, looking down at his hands. “I don’t like this power of mine sometimes. The things I could end up doing with it sometimes make me wish I had ended up turning into somebody else. Yet, there is nothing for it now. I chose this path, and so I will own up to it, consequences and all.”
They had not expected Maestro to be quite this frank with them regarding this. They expected him to deny the possibility, or elsewise insist that it had to be somebody else. Yet instead, he made no attempt to do so. The pain on his face when he talked on such things really spoke volumes for his struggles with himself. Cheryl addressed his worries. “It’s alright, Maestro. You’re our friend; I’m sure you would never do something like this.”
Maestro however, remained silent. But then, a laugh was heard from the sky. Their attention was garnered by Starfall, looking smug. “Ah, the faith they have is adorable. What they don’t seem to understand is that everyone has a breaking point.” Standing on a roof near her was the figure from before, silent as the grave. She rubbed his shoulder, a minx-like smile on her face. “Why don’t you show them what I mean, hm? Jet! Get them!"
Jet paused a bit before replying to Starfall. "As you wish, Princess." He leaped from the roof, magic flaring. When he hit the ground, it shook. As he stood, the others arrived on the scene. He scoffed. “Well. You think you have me outnumbered? Let me show you something.” His magic encased his form, and he disappeared into the shadows.
Ayumi called out, concern in her voice. “Oh, great! Now he could be anywhere! Be on your guard, everyone!”
They all were on edge, all except for Trixie. She felt confident. “So you think you’re tough, huh? But you shouldn’t feel cocky; illusions are my forté!” She lit her horn for the first time since her wings grew. She noticed the immense power there that hadn’t been there before, just waiting for her command. Using this magic, she made herself disappear into thin air. She then focused magic so that she could see magic in use, and smirked. Gotcha! With the wave of a hand, she disbursed the illusions in effect, revealing Jet about to attack Tyra from a blind spot.
Jet cursed, and backed off. “Tch! Well. So you’re adapting to your new power… Alright. You’re an illusionist, but can you handle what I do next?” He poured more magic into his being, readying to attack with a massive spell. Panicked, The group scrambled to pool their magic together. “Fools. FALL!”
A ball of black magic was hurled in their direction, at a speed that they couldn’t hope to react to- But somebody did. Maestro had suddenly appeared in front of them, standing at full height. His eyes were set in determination. “Sorry, all. But you are just gonna have to carry things from here.”
From the audience Phantom spoke up. “What’re you saying, Maestro!? We just made amends!”
At that, Maestro shook his head and chuckled darkly. “This must be done. I have to find them. Sarah and Prism. This is my one shot. I hope that… you can understand.” With a deep breath, he pooled his magic. He encased himself in it, and leaped towards the ball of magic. One final phrase could be heard from him before he disappeared. “If I’m not myself when we meet again… I’m sorry in advance. Farewell.” When his figure disappeared into the horizon of the black ball of magic, it stopped mid-air. It suddenly started spinning, faster and faster. It started to pulsate, and the group backed away, as did Jet and Starfall. Then, at its fastest, the ball exploded into white light, pushing everyone against the walls- and sending Starfall and Jet flying several kilometers away.
When the light died down, Ayumi took scope of the situation. Maestro was nowhere to be found, and Jet and Starfall were long gone. None of them knew exactly what had happened to Maestro, but it wasn’t looking good. They discussed amongst themselves what he’d said. He said that he was going to find Sarah and Prism. None of them had thought those two were missing, only busy. But from the way Maestro spoke, they’d been missing for a while. They had to have faith that he was alright, and would find them soon. As for this Jet character, they had to discuss that with “Slighthand” anyway. So, they traveled to the place they had last seen him to discuss the matter.
When they arrived, “Slighthand” turned to them. “Hm? Back so soon? What’s wrong?” and so they explained it to him, and he listened intently. “Hmm… Jet, huh? Does remind me of somebody I knew back home, to be sure. Not sure if it’s him, but… We’ll keep the option open.”
Though, one thing was bothering Ayumi immensely. “Where are you guys from, anyway? I’ve never heard anything about you before…”
“Catseye” shook her head. “It’s complicated. We’d rather not endanger the balance here anymore than we have to. Once we do in Starfall, we will take her back home with us, and be out of your hair. You won’t have to worry about us for a good long while.”
Though the answer wasn’t satisfying, they weren’t likely to get any more answers out of them. So, regretfully, they let it be. It was getting late, so they all went their separate ways for the day. Trixie still couldn’t help but feel that she somehow should know “Slighthand” and his brother. Just something about them felt like she should know them. Yet before they showed up, she’d never seen them before. Maybe they had been people she’d met before they anthrofied? She shook her head. That answer felt wrong, somehow. However, she’d get no answers fretting about it, so she turned in for the night.