A Different Maestro Spectrum

by The REAL Mister Pkmn

Chapter The Twentieth: The Search, Part Four

Maestro had travelled for quite some distance until his spell started reacting again. He was near the East Sea, which was a bit perplexing. Though faintly, the signal was clearly coming from the water. He decided to get this over with. The sooner that he got this done, the sooner he could investigate the final point- Cloudsdale. The only trouble was getting up there, but he’d address that problem when it was more relevant. He focused on the task before him, and took off his vest. He didn’t like the idea of it getting wet, so he summoned his portfolio and quickly put it inside. He felt so weird without it on, like a part of him had been separated from him. He decided not to dwell on it as he sent his portfolio back to the point he’d summoned it from.

Maestro took a stride forward into the sea, and began to wade further out. Like second nature, he began to swim. Had he done this before coming to Equestria, then? Certainly felt familiar, that was certain. He shook off the distracting thought as he swam further from shore. The spell was guiding him, but he started to notice that it was starting to feel as if the signal was coming from a more downward direction. He was mildly surprised at first, but then recalled about the hippocampi that once dwelled below. He braced himself as he channeled a magical air pocket to surround him, following with another spell to abate the pressures of diving deep. Once finished with that one, he finally started to dive down.

As he dove towards the source, thoughts played through his head. He knew more about himself than he’d ever hoped or concerned himself with in the past. This business with Aetheria, though… who could he trust with this secret? Trixie and Prism came to mind, of course. Then there was his adopted family, who seemed to know a lot more about Equestria than most even thought about on a regular basis. It certainly would be beneficial to have somebody to confide in.

But then there was the issue of his father- Head Supervisor Platinum, he recalled. He had invisible cameras all over, with scant few blind spots. In order to avoid suspicion, Maestro had to be careful who he talked to. He knew that the Supervisors hadn't heard his conversation with Aetheria, though. There weren’t any cameras in the old castle. Maestro was walking a very delicate path, one that would cause a lesser person to either balk and run, or collapse from the stress and pressure.

He remembered some of the structure of how things worked back home. His father was the leader of what was called the Grand Project. Under him were three Supervisors: Supervisor Bronze, Supervisor Silver, and Supervisor Gold. The Supervisors ran most systems, only deferring to the Head Supervisor when necessary. Under the Supervisors were the Seekers, of which he could now consider himself a member. Their job was to scour worlds and obtain data for the benefit of the home world. At the bottom were the Observers, the ranks of which he used to belong to. Their objective was simple- take notes on planets that might prove useful for later scouring.

As far as Maestro could recall, Mytharia was only the latest in a long line of targets for the Grand Project. He couldn’t recall how long it had been going on, but it was definitely longer than he’d been alive. He shook himself out of his musings as he found himself on the seafloor, outside a sunken palace. It looked to be made of decaying marble. In its prime, it could feasibly have rivaled Canterlot Castle in its majesty. He swam closer, looking around at the ruins of the capital city. According to his adoptive family, this place used to be a flourishing city. Alas, its grandness was only an echo lost to time. However, the hippocampi were nowhere to be seen- aside from some colorful statues here and there. He swam towards the palace ruins, where the spell was reacting to the “strongest”, which was still pretty weak.

He found himself swimming towards the throne room, and entered. The throne room was accented with silver and gold, though most of it was missing. There was a hole in the ceiling, casting light upon the throne. Upon it appeared to be a statue of the hippocampi’s last King- just as colorful as the status outside. In the center of the room was a circle that weakly emanated magic- this was the mana pool.

Maestro swam closer to the dormant pool and set himself down at its edge. Carefully, he once again put his horn near the pool and lit it. He attempted to “spark it”, much like the one in the Badlands. It took a lot more injected magic, but it started to hum. Veins of energy webbed across the room, and spread beyond. To Maestro’s surprise, the statue of the last Hippocampi King started to move. Maestro stepped back as he realized- That was no statue!

As the Hippocampi King came to, Maestro processed what was going on. Apparently, if a mana pool goes dormant it starts to consume magic in order to stay remotely online. Left alone for too long, the mana pools could consume all the magic and make it “disappear” forever. He was knocked out of his musings when the Hippocampi King addressed him. “You there! Are you the one that reignited the Mana Engine?”

A bit nervously, Maestro nodded. “Yes, I did. I’ve been going around and checking on them, sir.”

The Hippocampi King regarded Maestro for a moment before smiling. “Thank you. It may take time for magic to fully return to us, but we will not forget to feed it ever again. Please, tell me your name, surface dweller.”

With relief, Maestro relaxed. “People call me Maestro Spectrum, sir.”

For a good while, the Hippocampi King paused. Then, realization dawned upon his visage. “You are not from this world, are you?” Seeing Maestro’s shock, the King chuckled. “Do not worry, I won’t tell. After all, such a thing is no longer common, I take it.”

Judging by those words, Maestro wasn't the first off-worlder that the King had met. However, Maestro really had to get going. “While your statement intrigues, I must depart. I might visit someday, though. Adieu.” With that, Maestro quick-charged a teleportation spell and popped out of there.

---

When the spell popped Maestro back to the beach, he released the spells that helped him dive. As he dried off, He was approached by somebody with a booming voice. “Seeker Spectrum, report.”

As he looked over, he found himself looking at a pony that had golden features. He shook the rest of the wetness off and addressed the pony. “Supervisor Gold, I’ve only got one point left to investigate. Though, getting there will be a small issue...”

With a raised eyebrow, Supervisor Gold responded. “I see. But that is not why I’m here, sonny. I’m here to ask you what you know about this unnatural Technological boom within pony society. Do you know where it came from, boy?”

A bit surprised at the change in subject, Maestro gathered himself before responding. “I can only guess. Like I told Supervisor Silver, I presume that a group of ponies just felt that the stagnation of things had been going on for too long.”

Supervisor Gold leered at Maestro, trying to see… something. Maestro didn't falter, though. “I see…” A sigh escaped his avatar’s lips. “If we’re not careful, this ‘revolution’ could catch them up with us technology-wise.” He looked Maestro in the eye. ”I need you to snuff it out. I’m giving you a special designation of Disruptor.”

Aghast, Maestro stomped his right forehoof. “Absolutely not! Artificially holding them back is wrong! Searching their world for a solution to our problem is one thing, but actively suppressing their progress is a whole other ballpark! I won’t do it!”

A chill ran down Maestro’s spine as he’d realized what he’d done. He looked upon Supervisor Gold’s face to see pure, unadulterated rage upon his visage. He spoke with venom in his voice. "Best be careful of your actions, sonny. We wouldn't want Head Supervisor Platinum to think that you're a traitor, now do we?" With a shake of his head, he continued. “I tried advising him to send you when you were older, but he didn’t listen… Now look at what it got us! A Seeker that insubordinates against us!” He glared at Maestro. “Listen, boy. It’s imperative that you follow this directive. If you don’t there will be dire consequences. I suggest you reconsider your position on this, sonny. As of now, you’re on thin ice. Let me know through the dream channels if you’ve come to your senses.” With that, Supervisor Gold disappeared.

Silence fell upon the beachfront as Maestro digested that. He had his suspicions that his father’s goals with Mytharia weren’t as pure as he claimed. But this… this sickened him. What else was he supposed to do, though!? He couldn’t do that to the ponies, especially after he helped snowball the tech revolution. What else was he supposed to do!? Indecision ate at Maestro, a feeling that he rarely felt. But as he was ruminating upon what he heard, he was enveloped in a white light, and teleported away.

---

As he came to, he looked around. This place was unlike any that he’d seen so far. As far as the eye could see, the ground was a solid plane of starry night. The sky was a scene of perpetual dusk, maybe dawn. It was hard to tell. He could see rivers of strange liquid that glowed a luminescent violet. He then heard a familiar voice. “Welcome to my domain, Maestro.”

He turned to see quite a sight. There was an ethereal form attached to Aetheria’s voice now. It looked like a mix of all the races of Mytharia. A pony’s head, attached to a catfolk body. A diamond dog arm on one side, a minotaur’s on the other. Dragon leg on one side, griffon talon on the other. Changeling wings sprouted from its back. Upon the forehead was a singular horn that was apparently made of polished onyx. The body was a pearl white, and the eyes were a stark violet. Maestro addressed her. “Lady Aetheria, why bring me here? I don’t feel worthy.”

A smile graced her face. “Au contraire, Maestro. You’ve made me feel stronger than I have in quite some time. If it weren’t for you, I might’ve wound up going completely dormant in a few centuries. So I owe you my thanks.” Her smile fell slightly as she saw Maestro’s look. Understanding consumed her visage as the smile disappeared. “Ah, yes. The outburst against ‘Supervisor Gold’ as you called him. You’re wondering what you should do.”

With a nod, Maestro replied. “I just can’t go through with his request! Now I'm far more concerned with what they’re doing! But if I don’t…”

A chuckle escaped Aetheria’s lips. “Why do you think I’ve been giving you mana shards from the pools? You’ve a hefty task before you, when you openly defy your father’s plan.”

He hadn’t noticed before, but Maestro did feel more powerful. But was violence the answer? Wasn’t there another way? A sigh escaped him as he resolved to do what was necessary to stop what nefarious plans his father may have. He smiled as he looked back to Aetheria. “Thank you, for helping me realize what I should do.”

Aetheria nodded, and teleported Maestro back to the beach.

---

Maestro looked to the horizon, and set his gaze upon the city upon the clouds. He knew now what was required. He’d play along until he finished searching. Then, he’d prepare for the day where he confronted his father. He nodded determinedly, and set off in the direction of Cloudsdale...

Author's Note:

Finished this chapter earlier than I thought! So you guys get to read it almost a week early! I've given the updates on my stories some thought, and I've come to a decision- Starting January, I'll focus on updating two stories every other month. So January, March, May, July, September, November. As for which stories I'll update, I'm still ruminating on that.