A Different Maestro Spectrum

by The REAL Mister Pkmn

Chapter The Eighteenth: The Search, Part Two

Maestro regained his composure once the memories had stopped flowing back. He looked around, and he was still within the Castle of the Pony Sisters. He sighed as he addressed the presence once more. "I remember now. No wonder your voice sounded so familiar..." A puzzled look then graced his face. "But I must ask... just who are you?"

For a moment, he thought that the presence had somehow left, but she soon answered after much deliberation. “I am the spirit of this world’s magic. You may call me Aetheria.”

Questions upon questions boiled inside Maestro’s mind, but one in particular fought its way to the surface. “Aetheria, it is not that I do not appreciate what you did, but… Why? Why did you save me? Frankly, it does not make much sense to me…”

Once more the aura of Aetheria filled the room, calming Maestro. “Peace, child. I will explain.” She paused until the effect of her aura had calmed Maestro completely, and then continued. “You are not the first of your kind to find your way to Equestria, you know. Many others from your world have wound up in this world by accident several times. In those cases, I would haze their recollection of this place, and send them back to their home. But some time before you came here, I started to notice that your kind were attempting to come here on purpose. I could feel that their intentions were not pure, so I frustrated their attempts at every turn. But when your craft shot from the sky, I could feel that you were different from the rest of them. So young, so caring and pure… I thought maybe that you could help me. It was not until I felt your panic setting in that I knew that something was wrong. And so, I reached out to you, and did what I had to do in order to save your life.”

It took awhile for Maestro to process all of what he had heard. After it fully sunk in, he took a deep breath and sighed. “I see. So you want my help, then? That is why you saved me? What could I possibly do that would help you? You seem pretty strong, if your story is to be believed… Why would you need help, anyway?”

Silence prevailed for some time before Aetheria answered. “I need your help because I have no physical form of my own. If your people were to come to harvest the source of this world’s magic, there is little that I could do to stop them. I could feasibly hinder them for some time, but…”

With understanding clear upon his visage, Maestro gave a nod. “I think I know what you are getting at. Ever since my dad contacted me in my dreams, I have had some misgivings about his goals. I will do what I can to help, but I do not know how I will pull this all off. I am already playing a variety of roles already… It is quite a lot of pressure.”

For some reason he felt as if Aetheria was smiling. “I know that you can do this. You are special, Maestro. I am sure that you will find a solution for the situation that we find ourselves in.”

After letting out a dry chuckle, Maestro shook his head. “I am not so sure about that, but… if you think that I can, what do I have to lose?” He then shut off his searching spell that he had forgotten about. He took a look at the map, and gave a nod. “Well, this map was right about the forest hotspot, so I should follow it to the next point.” He paused though, and turned to the center of the room. The place where the Elements had once been kept was exactly on the spot where the strongest reading from his spell had come from.

Before leaving, he just had to know what it would feel like to tap into that kind of magic. He made his way over to the center of the empty display and laid a hoof upon the giant sphere in the middle. He felt the magic surging through like a heartbeat, and he heard Aetheria speak up again. “Protect it, Maestro. The plans they have for it go beyond what they have told you. Please. I am counting on your aid.”

Uncertainty still plagued Maestro, but… as he reached out to tap into the magic, his thoughts became more certain. He was on mostly the right track, he just had to adjust the trajectory slightly. He knew now that it was no accident that he could hear Aetheria. He had never heard of any other pony speaking of such things, not even the Princesses. He was not sure who he could trust with this kind of secret, though. This revelation would likely either be brushed off as heresy by most. As much as it hurt him… He felt that he had to keep this knowledge to himself, for now.

He lifted his hoof away from the sphere, and saw that a bit of the magic had latched to him. He was a bit startled at first until Aetheria assured him it was a gift of trust. Knowing this, he stored it in a small jar that he teleported in from his house. After securing it, he sent it back to his house. He then made his way out of the castle, and looked at the map again. “There are three more hotspots for me to find. Alright, the next one apparently is in… The badlands. Looks like I am going off into Changeling territory. Alright map, don’t fail me now.”

After lighting his horn, Maestro focused. After all, he had not been to the badlands before, so the teleport required more focus. After a few minutes of intense focus, he popped out of the Everfree in a flash of turquoise magic.

Author's Note:

This complicates matters....