A Different Maestro Spectrum

by The REAL Mister Pkmn

Chapter The Fourth: It's No Boast If It's True

A few days had passed, and Maestro found himself once again drawn to Ponyville. This time however, he knew why. His friend Trixie was going there, he was certain of it. Call it intuition, or what have you, he just… knew that she’d be there, and if he wasn’t there, she would run into quite a bit of trouble. So, before she arrived, he came into town, but refrained from announcing his presence. After all, he was here to see a friend, not make profit. As Trixie came into town, and set down her stage, he found his way into the crowd after exiting his store, and found himself near the Heroes of Harmony. They were whispering amongst themselves when he interrupted them. “I do so hope you enjoy my friend’s stage magic show. Trixie has worked hard to perfect her act. I do hope that you’ll be entertained. After all, that is why she’s here. To entertain.”

The six heroes noticed him, and turned to the strange, enigmatic unicorn. Raising an eyebrow, Twilight asked the question that was begging to be asked. “So you know this ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’, then? And you, Maestro Spectrum, one of the most renowned artists of our time, is her friend? Why?”

Amused a little, Maestro chuckled. “Do I need a reason? If I must give you one, then I find in Trixie a kindred spirit, a person who wants to give to the world rather than to take away. Besides, she and I met some time back after I left Celestia’s tutelage. She and I share a bond, quite similar to you sharing a bond with your five friends, I could say. She even has some similarities to your friends, in some ways.” He then hushed them. “It’s about to start. Let’s watch.”

The fireworks accented the stage, and Trixie’s voice echoed outward. “Fillies and Gentlecolts! Bask in awe at the illusions of the Great and Powerful TRIIIIIXIEEEEE!~” The curtains parted, and Trixie came out on stage, with a flourish of fireworks. The majority of the crowd clapped politely, including Maestro. The Heroes of Harmony however, held their opinion for the moment. After the clapping died down, Trixie removed her hat, and pointed to her horn. “Pay attention during this trick that my horn never lights up!” She then produced a Nebula Wand (identical to the one pictured in her Cutie Mark) from seemingly nowhere. The wand’s tip glowed as she passed it over her hat. Then, she spoke some magic words. “Tricky Tricked Trickster! Appear from the aether!” After she spoke these words, she reached her hoof into her hat, and pulled out a rabbit, namely Angel Bunny. Trixie shrugged nonchalantly “Well, not the result I expected, but still a great trick, don’t you think?”

The audience erupted into applause as Trixie bowed, and Angel hopped over to Fluttershy after being set down. However, the Heroes of Harmony were not amused by this, but they knew Maestro would defend his “friend”, so they decided to stay quiet on their dislike at this point. Trixie rose from her bow and addressed the audience. “For my next trick, I will require an assistant from the audience!” Several hooves went up into the air, and Trixie scanned the audience carefully. After a bit of deliberation, Trixie chose an Earth Pony filly. “You, how would you like to come up on stage?”

The excitable young filly found her way through the crowd, and Trixie helped her onto the stage. Trixie then procured from the backstage three oversized paper cups. After a little whisper into the filly’s ear, and her nodding in return, Trixie turned her attention back to the audience. “Pay close attention, everypony! Watch as I shuffle the giant cups, one of which my helpful assistant will be under. When I stop shuffling, I will call on a member of the audience to guess which cup has my assistant under it. If they guess right, the game continues. If they guess wrong, another member of the audience will be given a chance to guess. If we all understand the rules… Let the game begin!” Trixie covered her assistant with one of the giant cups, and placed the other two down beside it. With a little help from her magic, she shuffled the cups slowly at first, then sped up a little. After a few shuffles, she stopped, and her horn stopped glowing. She then turned to the audience. “Alright, which one of the cups is my erstwhile assistant under?”

The audience all whispered trying to figure it out, but one of the Heroes of Harmony was done biting their tongue. Applejack huffed as she stepped forward. “Alrigh, tha’s enuff outta you. Ah’m done tollaratin’ this nonsense! This ain’t no magic! It’s a children’s game!”

Hushed whispers went through the crowd, murmuring at what Applejack had accused. But Trixie was not intimidated. “Oh? If that’s the case, why don’t you guess which one she’s under? I’ll even give you two chances, just to be sporting.”

Boldly, Applejack pointed at the one in the middle. “That one!” Trixie lifted the cup, and had a smug smile as she showed that nothing was under- or in- the cup. Mildly irritated, Applejack then pointed to the one on the left. “It’s gotta be that one!” However, once again, it wasn’t.

Trixie couldn’t resist a mild chuckle, and went over to the third one. “Rest assured, you weren’t going to guess right- see?” She lifted the cup, and once more, nothing was under or in the cup. She placed it down. “Not to worry, I can bring back our wayward filly!” Once again brandishing her wand and ensuring that all could see that her horn wasn’t glowing, she waved it over the cup and spoke her magic words. “Tricky Tricked Trickster! Return from the aether!” Once she said the words, she lifted the cup, and the Earth Pony filly from before was revealed. Once said filly was revealed, the crowd erupted into applause, and the duo bowed.

As the filly was sent back to the crowd, Trixie was about to announce her next trick when another of the Heroes of Harmony voiced their displeasure. “Oh please! You call yourself Great and Powerful?” Rainbow landed on the stage. She snorted, raising a challenge. “I highly doubt you could do what we do!”

Before things could get further out of hand, Maestro stepped in. "Now Trix, don't go doing anything rash. Clearly they wouldn't know a good show of stage magic if it was right in front of them!" He sighed. “Just ignore them, and get on with the show!”

The crowd was stunned that Maestro Spectrum was taking such a jab at the Heroes of Harmony- After all, they’d saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon! Hadn’t he himself been the one to supply the stain glass window immortalizing their victory? This caused a bit of murmur among the crowd, but Trixie garnered their attention handedly. “Ladies and Gentlecolts! It seems that Rainbow Dash has kindly volunteered for my next trick!” The crowd cheered, And Rainbow tried to back away, but soon found Trixie draping a foreleg around her. “Let’s give her a big round of applause for her bravery!” The crowd did so, which made Rainbow’s pride prevent her from turning tail. Trixie grinned as she lit her horn. “I think it’s time for a classic!” From the back stage, she produced a box, with three swords on the side. A look of terror was on Rainbow’s face, and Trixie allayed her fears as she opened the front of the box. “Relax, nobody’s died from this trick; you’ll be fine- as long as you cooperate.” Trixie led her “volunteer” into the box, and set her on the chair inside. She then shut the door. Once again, she ensured that the audience could see that her horn wasn’t glowing.

She grabbed the first sword, and went to one side of the box. “You know, I’ll be frank- the whole ordeal with Nightmare Moon, that must’ve been scary. I don’t think I’d handle that quite as well as you did. It must’ve been Tricky-” She thrust the sword in at an angle from the top, causing Rainbow to gasp audibly in the box as she dodged. “-to push down all of that fear, right?” She grabbed the second sword, and went to the other side of the box. “Then again, I was no slouch that night either. Ever heard of a small town called Oaton? With a little help, I Tricked-” She thrust the sword in from the bottom edge of the side at an angle, Rainbow dodging with a small yelp. “-the flood waters into a course that would leave the town unscathed.” She then grabbed the final sword, and stood behind the box. “It would’ve been simple for you and your friends, I’m sure- But for a Trickster?” She thrust the sword straight down through the top causing Rainbow to scream out. Trixie opened the box from the front, and the crowd gasped. “It was a piece of cake.” She then shut the volunteer-less box, and gave it a little tap on the top. “You can come on back, now.” She opened the box, and Rainbow was there, unscathed. Trixie took out the swords, and helped her out of the box. With a smug look, she asked. “Now, was that so bad?” The crowd applauded, and Trixie bowed. Rainbow just slunk back into the crowd without a word.

However, before Tixie could get ready for her next trick, Rarity stepped forward and voiced her doubt. “You, save a town? I highly doubt that. I think that you’re exaggerating. Not even with help could you possibly-”

Maestro interjected, and deflected her accusations. "It's true, you know. I was there. We saved that small town from a flood- with help from the townsfolk, of course." He sighed, shaking his head. “I’d rather appreciate it if you would stop trying to ruin my friend’s magic show!” He then glared at her. “I don’t think that anyone here wants to see me angry, so why don’t you and your pals just put a sock in it until the show’s over.”

The crowd’s whispers intensified. Nobody had ever seen Maestro Spectrum this cross before. He usually was calm and amicable. But the sight of this side of him was certainly something to behold. Even Trixie was astonished that anyone would do something like this for her, of all ponies. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and nodded slightly in appreciation. “Thank you, Maestro.” she then turned her attention to Rarity, and smiled smugly. “So, you think that I’m all talk? That I’m doing more than a magic show should? Well then, I’ve got a special trick just for you. If you can prove that I’m using more than sleight of hoof, illusion magic, and misdirection- the three tools of us stage magicians- then I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, will bow out and leave this town without argument. However, if you can’t identify anything that is out of place for a magic show such as mine, then you and your friends shall leave my show alone for the remainder of the night. Do we have an agreement?”

The audience was hushed as their attention was on what Rarity would say next- none had given a challenge to the Heroes of Harmony like this before; and all were eager to see what would come of it. Nodding slightly, Rarity accepted her terms. “Very well. You will be exposed for the charlatan that you are, and you will leave the good ponies of this town alone. Now, show me this ‘trick’ of yours.”

Smugly, Trixie pulled out a bill of money- and the audience stared in awe. It was a bit foreign for ponies to see such a thing, even with rumors of Equestria phasing out the gold coins going down the grapevine. She then produced a pair of paper clips, and addressed the audience. “With only these three objects, I will astound this audience here tonight! No need for spells at all! Watch closely.” She gently placed one paper clip on each end of the bill of money, narrating a bit as she went. “These little paper clips want to get married, see? But the only one with that power available is Mr. Goldbeak here. So, with the power invested in him,” she then brought the two ends of the bill together, touching the two paper clips together. “He declares them wed!” she then pulled the bill taught, sending the two clips flying straight up. She then caught the now linked paper clips, and showed it off to the audience. “And there you have it- one newlywed paper clip couple.” The audience applauded enthusiastically, for they’d never seen such a trick performed. Maestro too applauded, glad that the trick that he taught her went to good use. She bowed, and smiled. “That’s all for tonight! I wish you safe travels!” The audience left soon after, glad to have witnessed such a spectacle.

Rarity was flabbergasted, but soon regained her composure. “I didn’t expect something like that, so you have my respect. But, do you mind if I ask one last question?” Trixie shrugged, showing her indifference, so Rarity continued. “Why is it that you don’t use real spell-”

Before she could finish, Maestro interrupted. “Illusion magic uses just as real spells as any other field. Just because she doesn’t use any ‘conventional’ magic doesn’t mean her claims are wrong. She said that she was a great and powerful illusionist, and she has given no reason to question that claim. She has boasted, yes. But, she has backed it up. So back off.”

Before she could talk back, Twilight held her off. “Rarity, don’t.” She turned to Maestro, and tilted her head. “So, what are you saying here? That it’s fine to boast, as long as it comes from a place of truth?”

Maestro smiled and nodded. “Quite so. As long as you can back up your claims, there’s nothing wrong with a little boasting. You should feel comfortable showing off what you can do, I mean, look at me! The song I introduce myself with when I enter a town to sell boasts of how my art survives a lot of crap, and I go to a lot of extent to show it. That’s why I’m the best enchanter around- barring the Princesses, probably.”

However, the Heroes of Harmony looked on confused. Rainbow recovered the quickest, and voiced the group’s confusion. “What song? We’ve never heard you sing.”

A bit surprised, Maestro shook it off and nodded in understanding. “Right. None of you have been around when I enter to sell things, have you? Trust me- It’s quite the show-stopper.”

The Heroes of Harmony looked between one another, and conversed a bit. After doing so, Twilight stepped forward. “The girls and I would like to apologize for what we did during your show, Trixie. It was uncalled for. You never boasted falsely, only using what you knew you could do. We’re sorry that we judged you harshly.”

Twilight hung her head, and Trixie was about to gloat, but Maestro lightly jabbed her, shaking his head. Trixie hesitated, but soon complied. “It’s alright, really. I don’t blame you for doing so. Though we ascribe to different ways of learning magic, I think we can get along. Maybe even be friends.”

Twilight blinked a bit, uncertain of what to think about that. She looked to the others, and they seemed just as uncertain. However, a silent part of them wanted to try. She turned back to Trixie, and nodded. “Yeah, I think we could try. After all, you can’t have too many friends.”

At this, there was a cheer, and the Heroes of Harmony started to chat with Trixie. Maestro looked on, and smiled. Though, as he was about to leave, Pinkie called out to him. “Hey! You’re her friend, right? So that makes you our friend now, too! Stick around, let’s get to know each other!”

Maestro was about to object, but he realized that he had no plans tomorrow. Surly, it couldn’t hurt to socialize a little. Shrugging, he went down to join them. “Alright, let me tell you about how I first met Trixie…” he expounded to them, and kind of lost himself in the moment. Time flew, and soon they parted.

Soon it was just Him and Trixie, and she looked to him. “I never did thank you for saving me from that Ursa, did I? I really should thank you properly.”

Maestro shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. Your words are enough, Trix. It’s thanks enough that you’ve heeded my advice about your magic show. With it, you’ll possibly surpass Hoofdini himself.”

She looked to the stars, taking that in. “You really think so? That I could surpass his legendary feats?”

Maestro shrugged. “Someday, maybe. Just gotta play your cards right.”

Trixie smiled gently at him, a light blush on her face. “You flatter me, but thanks. We’ll see how far that dream goes.”

They said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways. Maestro traveled to where he’d set down his home, and went inside. He smiled at the sleeping rainbow dragon on the couch. “Oh, Prism. Never change, my sweet daughter.” He locked the doors, then went to his room. He tried to sleep, but he couldn’t quite get to sleep. This was nothing new. He’d had many sleepless nights pondering where he was from, and this night was no different. He sighed, resigning himself to it as he stared a the ceiling, trying to will himself to sleep.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait! It's finally here! What do you think of how I handled this? I think I did well, but that's probably just bias.