A Different Maestro Spectrum

by The REAL Mister Pkmn

Chapter The Seventeenth: The Search, Part One

The next morning, Maestro woke early. He considered something. Should his daughter be involved in this? Though Supervisor Silver hadn’t said anything against it, but… Maestro let out a sigh. This was harder than he thought. He made himself busy ads he got ready to move the house again. Just as dawn cracked, Prism came down the stairs with a yawn. “Dad, what’s a ll the racket about?”

A pained look graced Maestro’s face. He took a breath and put up the silence field, and told her the truth. “It’s an assignment from my father, Prism. I have to go on a search for a while. I don’t think you should come with me.”

Shocked awake, she asked the question hanging in the air. “But… Who will take care of me while you’re gone?”

Thinking on it for a time, Maestro lit his horn. “I’m sending you to stay with Janice for a while. Just tell her that I have to follow a muse. I’ll see you again, Prism. I don’t know when I’ll finish with this search, but…” He gave a smile. “Hopefully it doesn’t take all that long. Be good for Janice, okay?”

She nodded as tears welled up. She gave me a quick hug. “I’ll miss you, dad. Be safe.”

Maestro pulled away with a smirk. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Farewell for now, my little gem.” He then forced forward the teleportation spell, and Prism was gone in a flash. Maestro sighed. He didn’t want to do that, but… it was necessary. He went out the front door and cast the spell to transform the house into his portfolio. He picked it up once it was done changing and secured it to his back. He then cast a teleport for himself, saving on time for getting to the Everfree.

Once the light died down, he found himself near one of the edges of the Everfree. He took out his map and compared it, and then gave a nod as he put it away. He made his way into the forest, taking care to not disturb the wildlife. It took a good few minutes’ journey for the spell he’d prepared to start reacting. He turned to where it felt it was pulling him. It was pulling him towards the rickety bridge that went towards the ruined Castle of the Pony Sisters. He let out an amused chuckle. "So this is the first point of interest… Alright then. I’ve been here before, won’t be too bad."

He made his way to the bridge and took a calming breath. He steadied himself as he slowly made his way across. He couldn’t afford to break the bridge, so care was of the utmost importance. Once he made his way across, he looked at the ruined building. His searching spell was reacting wildly to the massive magic energy in the area. Somewhere in that castle was a mana pool, and it was his job to find it. He then went inside. The spell’s reaction to the magic was starting to peak already, which was quite interesting. He hadn’t expected that until he was closer to the source… unless he already was.

He made a few experimental movements. First towards the halls. As he expected, the spell started to cool off. He then re-centered himself in the doorway. He tested going to the old throne room, but once again the spell started to cool down. Maestro wasn’t left with many other options, so he decided to check the area where the Elements had been kept. As he went towards the room, the spell’s reaction reached peak performance. Once inside, he could almost feel the mana pool. How had the girls not noticed it when they were here? He shook his head. He could ask them that later. As he approached the mechanism that had held the dormant e
Elements, he felt a strange calming presence fill the room. He looked around, and called out. “Hello? Is somebody there?”

He was on edge for a while, concerned that somebody had followed. But the presence melted away his worry when it spoke. “Peace, child. I mean you no harm.”

Maestro looked around, confused. “Who are you? Where are you?”

The presence seemed surprised when it replied. “You can hear me? Most ponies cannot hear my voice. I will tell you who I am, if you will grant me the same courtesy.”

For whatever reason, Maestro felt that he could trust this voice. For some reason… he felt like he’d heard it before. He decided to answer the voice’s question. “They call me Maestro Spectrum. Although, it’s not my real name… I… don’t remember what that is, so…”

The presence gasped. “Wait a minute. It’s you! The child from afar that was sent here! The child I saved from the malfunction of your craft!”

Maestro blinked. “Say what now? I…” All of a sudden, Maestro gripped his head. “Ah! My head! What’s…?”

The presence seemed sad. “You’re recalling. Remembering the night that you first came here. Recalling what I did to save you. I’m… sorry.”

Pressure built in Maestro’s head, and in a flash he recalled...

---

Twenty years ago…

Observer Spectrum sighed. This was an important mission. He had a goal, to observe the life of this world that they were sending him to. He wasn’t sure why. All he knew was that they needed data to curb the Grand Virus. He was on his way to the planet when an alarm sounded. He started panicking, sending out a call of distress. Yet none could hear. He was going to die. He prayed, desperate for something to save his life. He then felt a strange presence shoot up from the planet below, and he felt a voice speak to him. “Peace, child. You will be safe. You will become a pony, to save your life. This won’t hurt a bit…” Observer Spectrum looked at his form as he changed, the shock making him go unconscious.

Author's Note:

Now things get interesting...