//------------------------------// // Rthö Hlï: Rotten Apple- Part Two // Story: CYCLED // by The REAL Mister Pkmn //------------------------------// Maestro and the girls arrived at the camp during the night, when the Flim Flam Brothers had gone to sleep. While waiting for Applejack to arrive, Rainbow decided to have a bit of idle chit-chat with Maestro. “So, although we’re friends, we don’t know all that much about you. What’s it like, travelling to other towns all the time? Surly you get tired of it, right?” Maestro shook his head. “It’s like you and flying, Rai- I just can’t imagine my life without it. It’s been part of me for a very long time, and It’s bound to stay that way. I may have seen the world many times over, but I never tire of the places and people.” He smiled. “Each trip is different, and there are always exciting new faces, new experiences. The chaos of it all is invigorating, to balance out the order of day-to-day life.” The girls winced at his use of the word chaos in a positive light- though Twilight did remember that he had done so a few times last time. He had a differing opinion on chaos than others did- and maybe that was what caused them to distance themselves from him last time. This time, she had some idea as to why. Though she just had to confirm. “When you use the word ‘chaos’, you speak of it in good terms. Why do you see it this way?” Blinking, Maestro processed that. The others seemed curious, too. Shrugging, Maestro answered, “Well, I see chaos as a change- be it good or bad. Something that breaks the flow of events, that alters how things are. Chaos is not evil, just as Order is not good- they are both tools. It is all up to the wielder to determine how to use them.” The looks on their faces showed that some part of them understood, though they had mixed thoughts on it- aside from Twilight, who now appreciated all the more what Maestro had gone through. If everything had always played out the same no matter what, Maestro would’ve probably gone mad long ago- and who knows what that would have done.  She now saw that Maestro saw solace in the flux  of the Cycles, a comfort that there was a possibility of success. Twilight just had to ensure that this was the last time things cycled back- otherwise, she didn’t know if Maestro could take it. The group’s attention was drawn to a shadow of an Earth Pony approaching the camp, no doubt it was Applejack. Just as the shadow was about to enter the tent, Twilight used a Spotlight spell, catching Applejack off-guard. “That’s far enough, Applejack!” The group came out of the bushes, and soon Applejack was cut off on all sides. “We can’t let you do this, AJ. It’s not like you!” Just as Twilight was starting  to approach, she stopped as she felt the air charge with a magic that Twilight had felt before, though she couldn’t place just where. She tried to power through, but was thrown back a bit. Maestro caught her, a grim look on his visage. “This magic… you feel it too, don’t you?” At her nod, he sighed. “I knew that I couldn’t be the only one. The familiarity… is of Nightmare Moon’s Magic.” To be honest, Twilight hadn’t recognized it at first, but now it was obvious- this was in fact the same magic. She was startled when the magic started becoming visible as Applejack spoke. “Ah’m not gonna stand for anypony lyin’ no more! When Ah’m done wit’ them,...” Her coat was stained black as the magic flowed into her. Her Cutie Mark morphed into something new- a trio of apple cores, fecid and rotten. Her eyes changed to be darker in hue, and she barked out in a powerful voice. “Ah’m gonna ensure tha’ nopony lies ever agin!” She glared with ruthlessness at the gathered ponies. “No matter what it takes.” The girls gasped in confusion, uncertain at what to do. Maestro looked slightly different as he whispered to himself, eyes flickering with a bit of madness. The others didn’t catch it, but Twilight barely made out what he’d said. “It Begins. The Darkness Comes. Our Fate Be Sealed!” A manic grin was there for a second, but Maestro shook himself out of it. He grimaced, and muttered to himself. “Not again. Not this, not now. I can deal with this later.” He straightened himself, putting on a show of confidence. “Alright, there is a way to help her. We’ve just gotta do it right.” Pinkie voiced the confusion in the air. “Um, but how? We can’t use the Elements on her, it might break the connection! That’s what happened when Celestia used them on Luna 1000 years ago, so what should we do?” Twilight had her own idea, but Maestro seemed to have his own. Twilight presented hers first. “We must reason with her, each of us is her friend- together, I believe that we can do this.” The girls seemed to like the idea, but Maestro was skeptical. “I can see the merit of it, but I think I have a better idea.” He puffed himself up with assurance as Twilight remembered him doing in the past; then he explained. “The solution is rather simple, really. We use our collective magic to delve into her mind- There, we will look for the root of the problem- the dark seed.” When he said this, he looked different than before, his eyes had a harder edge to them, to be sure. Though Twilight could’ve sworn one of them twitched slightly as he went to the next part. “ When we find it, we attack and destroy it.” Even though he was sure he’d won them over, Fluttershy objected. “That seems too dangerous, risking damage to her mind like that. I say we go with Twilight’s plan.” One by one, much to Maestro’s chagrin, they sided with Twilight’s plan. Maestro looked livid, his eyes like a beast was willing to be unchained. He took a few deep breaths to control himself, He then forced a smile. He understood that Twilight had not seen as much as he had, so she was liable to think something like this might work- Foolishness, is what he presumed. Deciding to humor her, Maestro relented. “Fine. We do things your way, Twilight.” The group surrounded Applejack, determined to break her out of this- Though Maestro seemed to not believe this would do anything, Twilight would not give in to that mentality. The girls took turns, talking of the good times they had together, of the Applejack they knew. At first, Maestro thought it wasn’t working, and was about to call of the farce- but then he saw it. The darkness was fading. Applejack was second-guessing what she was doing. Eyes wide, Maestro could not believe what he was seeing. This wasn’t how things worked. While some things he had done in the past weren’t exactly the best, He was certain that at this point he’d figured it out- And yet, here he was, being proven wrong. It was frankly absurd- Yet, some part of him, long forgotten saw this as a comfort. He decided to get in on the action, recount a tale he recalled- but then he remembered something unsettling. That one hadn’t happened in this cycle. Not yet, anyway. He racked through his memory, trying to find something that had happened this time that he could connect with her on. It took a long time, for old memories kept messing him up. His head was hurting from recalling it all at once, and this was why he didn’t recall that far back too often- it hurt too much.  He sorted away those old ones, pushing them back as he focused on this cycle only. There was one tale he had, though he was surprised he jumped right to one of his older ones by default. He shook himself, and recounted when he gave her a bit of advice on bookkeeping the finances of the farm- sure, it was a bit droll, but he didn’t have much else at this point- he kept himself too busy for that. Luckily it helped, but it was Twilight and the others that helped Applejack get back to herself the most. Her colors back to normal, she apologized and walked off with the four others that were unaware of the cycle. Maestro knew Twilight was still there, and he spoke to her. “I was… wrong. I thought I had the answer. Such thinking has lead to unsavory results before, and yet… I let myself be assured that I was right- when my answer for the problem probably would’ve done more harm than good.” Twilight saw him hang his head in shame, something she had never seen him do. He looked very different than she had always known him, almost like he felt defeated. There were so many questions in her head- but some that she could figure out on her own, mostly. The reason he felt he had so many answers was because of his experience, yet he had so much experience. No mortal pony should have to handle that amount of memory. She even thought she’d seen a bit of insanity in him today, something that had never been observed before because of negligence last time. If Maestro was going mad, there was little she thought she could do about it- After all, it was a long time coming, even if he was keeping it at bay somehow. But maybe, she could help mitigate the effects. Her esolve sure, she went up to Maestro, and hugged him. He stiffened. He hadn’t had somebody do this in… so very long. He was silent for a while, uncertain what to say. This feeling… Was this what having a true friend felt like? He hadn’t felt this in… ever, really. For the first time, he felt as if he… belonged. He didn’t quite accept it, though. He couldn’t. He was a pony out of time, almost like relic from a bygone era. He knew how things were supposed to have gone, so many ways how it should have been- and that alone caused him to push everyone away. He stood, Twilight sliding off of him. He spoke quietly. “I have much to think about. There are things that I… no longer understand as I thought I did. I still feel like I have to keep distance, but…” He smiled lightly as he turned to her. “Maybe I’ll… come around more often?” He seemed to hesitate, though. “It… will be difficult, but… I think I can do that. Make time… for all of you.” He nodded. “Though, I must get back- Prism’s pretty worried about me. I’ll... see you ‘round.” With a wave goodbye, he teleported back to where he’d come. Twilight was a bit upset that he’d left, but she understood that he had a few things to sort out. She went home, exhausted from the long day.