A Different Maestro Spectrum

by The REAL Mister Pkmn

Chapter The Twenty-First: The Search, Part Five- Conclusion

Anticipation welled within Maestro as he stood in the hot air balloon that he'd rented. He knew that after he activated Cloudsdale's mana pool he would have to get ready for facing his father. But honestly, he wanted to decompress by going on a nice date with Trixie after dealing with this. He smiled as he thought about the letters that he'd received. She really had taken well to taking care of Prism, not to mention the effort to galvanize Equestria's tech sector. Maybe once this was all over... He shook his head and re-focused as Cloudsdale came into view.

He knew that a lot was riding on the line for this mission. Once he did this, he could start phase two of Industrializing Equestria- Magitech. He’d been ruminating on it for a while. Technology that worked in harmony with magic- Whatever form it ultimately took, the prospect thrilled him. Though once more his thoughts turned towards his father’s goals. He certainly understood what his father hoped to accomplish. The subjugation of Mytharia to mine magic in order to solve the problems that The Empire was facing. Maestro shivered with revulsion at the mere thought of it. One worry he had was if his father could be resonated with. If not, could he do what needed to be done? Maestro wasn’t really sure.

He pushed the thoughts aside as he summoned his cloud-walking enchanted boots from within his portfolio. He was still a bit surprised at how easily he managed that. Before, he would have to summon the portfolio then extract the item. It really was true about him growing more powerful. The thought concerned him though. Was it safe for a normal pony to have this much power? He wasn’t experiencing any adverse effects yet, but that could always change. He sighed after putting on the boots. Thinking like this certainly wouldn’t help. He could always book an appointment with Dr. Spellbound later to assuage or confirm his worries. He stepped out onto the clouds and started walking.

It wasn’t long after he’d activated the searching spell that he heard a familiar voice. "Hey Maestro! It's been a while, huh?"

He turned to see Brilliant Dawn, the fan that had asked him out that one time. He recalled how sad she was back when he rejected her, but she seemed happier now. “It certainly has, Bril. How’ve you been?”

She batted a hoof playfully. “Oh, you know. Pining for you daily.” At Maestro’s look of shock, she giggled. “I’m only teasing, silly! I’ve got a boyfriend now.” She wore a small smile. “Honestly, you rejecting me might’ve been the best thing to happen to me.”

Maestro shook his head. “You’re certainly a strange one.” He started to turn away. “Listen, while I’d love to catch up, I’m actually here on business. So, if you’ll excuse me…”

A sigh escaped Brilliant as she shook her head. “You never stop, do you? If you’re not careful, you might end up all alone.”

Maestro let out a derisive chuckle as he started to walk off. If she only knew, he mused. While it was nice seeing her again, he had a more pressing issue at the moment. He walked through the outskirts of the city, in an attempt to avoid too much attention. He was doing well so far, but as he continued forward he noticed something about the direction the spell was leading him. It was leading him in the direction of the Cloudsdale weather factory. It made a modicum of sense, he supposed. After all, the mana pools had all been located in rather old locations. He pushed the thought aside as he continued on. After a few minutes of sneaking around, he found himself within close proximity to his goal. The only problem was finding a good way to get inside.

He was knocked out of his thoughts as he heard another familiar voice- though this one, he was far less happy to hear. “Maestro. What do you think you’re doing?” He turned to see an unfamiliar white pegasus mare. However, he was not fooled- That was Celestia, albeit in disguise. She had cast an illusion to make herself look like a normal pony, most likely to remain low-profile.

Maestro sighed. “Celestia. I was wondering when you might get around to checking on me. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t do so sooner.” He looked right at where her eyes were really, and glared. “As for what I’m doing, I’m reigniting the mana pools. Aetheria sends her regards.”

A look of shock appeared upon Celestia’s disguise. “Aetheria? But she’s supposed to be a mere myth! Nopony’s talked about her since the days before unification. Are you sure that you’re well?”

He pushed her aside before she could reach him. “I’m quite sane, thank you. Really, you should be thanking me. If nothing was done, magic would have disappeared in a mere 300 years! To ponies, it might be a long time. But to you? It’s practically no time at all.”

Celestia noticed something about the way Maestro had said that. She looked at him. “You’re not a pony, are you? What are you?”

Maestro sighed while shaking his head. “I really don’t have time for this. Time is running out. Can you let me finish what I came here to do?”

For a while, silence reigned betwixt the two. After the moment had matured, Celestia let out a sigh. “Maestro, do you truly understand what you’re trying to do? Proving that some ancient god is real is no easy feat. Do you intend to tell the ponies to pray to her?”

Maestro shook his head. “Aetheria doesn’t seem like the type to demand such a thing. All she wants is for ponies to remember her for what she is- the Mother of Magic. Not all ancient powers have to have some kind of ulterior motive, you know.”

With that, Celestia decided to relent. “Very well, Maestro. You may go.” As she turned to leave, she looked back over her shoulder. “I sincerely hope you know what you’re doing. Perhaps I was wrong to judge you so harshly. If you pull this off…: She let herself smile. “Well, we’ll just have to see how this pans out.”

Celestia teleported away, and Maestro re-focused his attention towards the weather factory. He steeled himself and walked right up to the entrance. Another familiar face greeted him at the door. “Maestro? What brings you to the weather factory?”

Maestro smiled. “Hey Rai, I’m just here to look around. As an artist, it behooves me that I’ve yet to see how this place works.”

A look of surprise found its way onto Rainbow Dash’s face, but it soon passed as she shrugged. “I suppose it’s not really my business. Just don’t break anything.”

As Rainbow stood aside, Maestro rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be careful.” He started off towards the source of the pull from his spell. However, he could feel Rainbow following him. After tolerating it for a brief canter, he stopped. “Do you really have to follow me? I can find my way around just fine- I’ve got the map memorized.”

Rainbow let out a scoff. “That’s not important. It’s policy to accompany guests, you know. If I didn't I could get in trouble.”

While it was tempting to do a doppelganger shuffle using his newfound proficiency, it seemed like an abuse of his new gift. He sighed. “Fine. I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble. Come on then, there’s something specific that I’m here for.”

He started to canter again as Rainbow followed. This wasn’t something that he’d expected, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. They were friends… at least, he liked to think so. It really wouldn't do to get on the bad side of one of the heroes that had saved Equestria thrice over. He pushed the thought aside as he noticed that Rainbow was attempting to break the awkward silence. “So, uh… what do you do in your spare time?”

Maestro sighed. “You mean, aside from working on my art?” He could tell she gave a quick nod. He continued to answer. “Well, keeping in shape is important for my occupation. Hiking is most effective, but I can’t do that all that often. I find running through the forest to be almost as effective.”

He could hear Rainbow’s confusion in her next question. “Why is that so important?”

He chuckled. “Trix gets it, seeing as she’s a fellow artist. Rares’d likely understand, too. But I suppose not everyone would understand.” He took a quick pause before really answering. “As much as it feels stupid, people connect one’s artistic ability with how they look. They judge you by your looks, and if you don’t look the part… Well, you won’t get much business.”

As Rainbow was about to reply, Maestro stopped in front of a cellar door. He approached it with caution. He felt the spell react more instantly as he approached, “Ah yes, here it is.” He lit his horn and tried the door- but it was locked. “Tch. I’m so close…” He turned to face Rainbow. “I guess it was actually fortuitous that you tagged along. Do you mind opening this for me? That area is what I need to see.”

The look on Rainbow’s face shifted from surprise to anger to disappointment in quick succession. “Almost nopony’s allowed down there, Maestro. It’s been that way for centuries. Only the boss of the factory can go into the cellar.” She shook her head. “I may be the bearer of an Element, but that doesn’t give me special privileges in this case.”

As Maestro was about to retort, he heard Aetheria’s voice within his head. There is another way, Maestro. My gifts of shards to you can let you manipulate your magic to be recognized as Earth Pony or Pegasai magic temporarily. You just need to focus all of your magic, and channel it throughout your body. You need to have well in mind which kind you wish to emulate as you cast the spell. It will temporarily change you physically into a pony of that tribe. Once that is finished, you need to touch the cellar door. It will recognize you as someone worthy, and unlock itself for you.

Noticing that Rainbow was looking at him funny, he regained his composure. He turned back to the cellar door, and he started casting the spell. He tuned out whatever was going on as he focused on re-directing his magic throughout his body. As it engulfed every inch of his physique, he chuckled. “Now you’ll see that I’m not exactly a typical pony.”

He would rather her not see this, but he was more concerned with getting beyond that door. Using the polymorph spell to aid in the spell made the strain easier to bear. He then cast it, and focused on Pegasus magic. He felt his magic realign itself in two points on his back and in his hooves. He could feel immense pain as his horn started to retreat into his skull as wings started to protrude from his back. He grit his teeth as he focused his attention on the spell working, rather than the pain it was currently causing him. After a while, his horn had completely vanished from his head. He could feel his new wings finish filling themselves out, and once it finished he let out a sigh.

He took great pleasure in seeing Rainbow’s shock, but he returned his attention to the cellar door. He walked closer and removed one of his boots instinctively with his wings. His surprise at this would have to wait, as he had more pressing matters at hand. He placed the hoof upon the door, and a sigil of a stylized version of Aetheria’s face lit up. The door audibly unlocked, and swung down to open. He then sighed as the spell that changed him quickly- and painlessly?- reversed itself. He pushed aside his questions for now, and started to descend into the cellar.

After he reached the bottom, Rainbow seemed to have recovered. She had quickly zoomed down to catch-up. “What in the world is going on with you? Are you crazy? I gotta get you out of here!”

Maestro trudged forward, shrugging off Rainbow’s attempts to get him to leave. Irritated that she wouldn’t leave him be, he telekinetically lifted her off of him. She squirmed, which was only a minor nuisance. He glanced back as he heard the cellar door lock itself as it shut. He set her down. “Well, you’re stuck down here, at least for now. I’m not leaving until I’ve found what I came here for.” He saw Rainbow zoom off in an attempt to get the door open. Maestro released a breath he didn’t realize that he had been holding. He galloped with excitement towards the last mana pool. With this, his mission would finally enter its next phase. He stopped at the edge of the pool, noting that it looked like it could at any time start a downward spiral that would inevitably cause Cloudsdale’s buildings to lose their magic and crash to the surface. Knowing this, he wasted no time in channeling his magic. He was running a little low, seeing how much he had exerted himself for the transformation spell.

He shook the dark thoughts away as he touched his horn to the pool. He focused, hoping what remained within him was plenty. He started sweating at some point, just trying to avoid over-channeling. After a little more time, the pool glowed with immense luminance. Maestro attempted to pull away, but he soon found himself being pulled into the pool. The last thing he heard before he was dragged under was Rainbow shouting his name.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

Her we are, the end of the searching arc and the beginning of the next. I thought it best to leave it on a nice cliff-hanger for now. Any predictions as for what's going to happen to Maestro now? Leave them in the comments below!