CYCLED

by The REAL Mister Pkmn

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Other, Drama, Original Character
Length: 43049

All the events of the seasons of FiM have happened before. Maestro Spectrum knows all of the events from the start, and crafted an artificial 7th Element of Harmony to try and stop it. However, he is tired of failing ... Something needs to change.

Nightmare Moon. Discord. Chrysalis. Sombra. Tirek. Starlight Glimmer. The Pony of Shadows. The Storm King. Cozy Glow. And the final threat. Maestro Spectrum has tried many times over the cycles to try to break everyone free from the repetition. Through extensive study, and much experimentation, He crafted a seventh Element of Harmony- all in hopes to help the Heroes of Harmony. Though, for cycles upon cycles he has been ignored by the bearers, his knowledge of the outcome constantly questioned. It's come once again. The final confrontation. He knew that things would go as they always did- after all, why should they listen to somebody that made an artificial Element of Harmony successfully? However, he refused to go into the next cycle being the only one aware...

Published 2019-01-02 00:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-03-16 16:21:58 UTC

Ebă: Adding A Second Player

In the ruins of Canterlot Castle, the Elements of Harmony were being fired at a strange being, one grotesque beyond description. The seven friends; Twilight Sparkle, Applejack Apple, Rarity Belle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Maestro Spectrum were at the focus of it all, pouring energy into their respective elements. However, the creature was mostly unfazed by the power of the Elements, and spoke in a voice that haunted all who heard it. “Do you think I can be contained, small one?” It seemed to address the only male in the group, and quirk what passed for its head.

His dark teal fur on end, Maestro stood tall as his blue-green eyes bore into the creature with determination. “No, I've no illusions to such. But if I can delay you, that is all that is needed.”

A rumble came from the creature, a tremorous sound that might pass for it ‘laughing’. “How foolish. It matters not what you do, you cannot halt what comes. The cycle will reset as it always does.”

Maestro glared, his reddish-brown mane seeming to glow in the moonlight as it offset the turquoise streak down the middle. “I'm aware of that, fiend. I've remembered every time that the cycle has reset, ever since the first.”

The girls however, were completely lost as they looked between each other. Twilight was the first to voice her confusion. “Maestro, what are you talking about? I don't understand…”

Regaining her composure, Applejack questioned Maestro as well. “Yeah pardner, what's this 'bout? Cycles? Resets?”

Maestro flicked his seven-colored rainbow tail and sighed, shaking his head. They always did this, didn’t they? Oh those sweet, naïve friends of his… how they never changed… and likely never would. “Listen, we don't have time for this. It's starting.”

Confused, Rarity tried to ask what he meant. “What is- ah! The ground is shaking!?” the sudden tremor caused them to lose focus, and the Elements to let go of their erstwhile captive.

Fluttershy shrank in horror, whimpering to herself. “What's going on?”

The creature stood, to its great height the size of a mountain, and ‘laughed’ harder. “Behold as the world is torn asunder! Look in awe as it makes way for its new incarnation!”

Leaping up into the air, Rainbow looked around at the surrounding area, and frowned. The castle was falling to pieces, and black clouds started to roll overhead. “Even at my fastest, I don't think I could outrun this!”

Even Pinkie had lost her usual cheer and demeanor, concerned at what was going on. “This is so not fun! What's Mr. Author planning?”

As the tremors intensified, Twilight looked over to Maestro, and appealed for an answer. “Maestro, please! Explain what's going on!”

He shut his eyes, sighed, then looked back to all of them, eyes full of resignation. “You wanted to know why I knew of every event before the fact?” He gestured to the surrounding area, and deftly avoided the crumbling structure. “This is why. Stay conscious if you can, and you will see as I see the next time 'round. If not... well, there's always next cycle.”

The ground rumbled, causing Fluttershy to leap backwards. “Eep!” She was knocked unconscious by the falling rubble, but she was otherwise fine.

As the tremors continued, Applejack could scarcely keep herself upright. “Woah!” She tripped, and hit her head on the ground. She tried to force herself to to stay conscious, but it was in vain.

The pandemonium continued, and Rarity soon found herself in a predicament as she fell afoul of a puddle that had accumulated from the now falling rain. “Ah!” She slipped, hitting into a wall. She was not as sturdy as Applejack, so it stood to reason that she wouldn’t be conscious at this point.

Rainbow had evaded most of it so far. Yet… “Can't catch me, can't catch me, can't -” Her pupils shank, unable to avoid what was to come. “Aw, nuts.” Her luck ran out as she was struck by lightning that discharged from the clouds above. She still seemed to have some luck as her unconscious form hit the ground, undamaged.

Due to her abilities, Pinkie had escaped up to this point. But then, her ears twitched, her legs all shook uncontrollably, and her tail twitched all at once. “Pinkie Sense overload! Why, Mr. Author?” The combo continued, making her unable to react when she fell into a white tear in reality. She was then ejected back out, unharmed, but unconscious.

The creature gloated, drinking in its victory as the world fell apart. “The scent of the new iteration is near.... will you see its dawn?”

The ceiling crumbled, and a slab was about to hit Twilight. Her eyes wide, she thought she was done for. “Ah! M-Maestro?” Sure enough, Maestro was using his magic to prevent the slab from hitting its mark.

His eyes started to water, and he pushed the slab away with full force. “No! I've been through this alone too many times! If one other among my friends is made aware, then maybe something can change! I can't go it alone! Not again..” Tears dripped from his eyes, as he started to break down.

Twilight had never seen him like this. He’d always been positive and determined, no matter the situation. This was the first time that she’d seen any other emotion from him. It was a bit surreal, which explained the surprise in her voice. “Maestro... you're... crying?”

He dried his eyes, and looked at her, glaring a bit. “Is it too much to ask for you girls to actually pay attention? If we really are friends, you'll do things differently next time.”

Twilight was about to ask what he meant, but the creature interrupted. “It won't matter in the end. The dawn is here!”

The sun started to rise, and Twilight immediately wanted to shield her vision. But Maestro shook his head, and looked into the sunrise. As Twilight fought the urge and looked into the sunrise, their consciousnesses are thrown elsewhere, elsewhen.

Twilight woke with a start in the middle of the night. “Maestro!” She panted heavily, and looked at her surroundings. It was her old room when she was back in Canterlot studying under Celestia. Everything was as it was that fateful morning when she had been sent to Ponyville. She gasped. Could it be? The thought was crazy, but she looked over to Spike and gasped; his wings were gone. There were many dark thoughts running through her head at first, but then she remembered what Maestro had said. It was a strange thought, that this could be the day she went to Ponyville, but there was one surefire way to know. She got out of bed, careful to not wake her assistant. She looked out the window, and gasped. There, plain as day, was the Mare in the Moon. “Luna… So it’s true, then. It cycled back…” She went over to her reading stand, the one she remembered placing the book on the ‘legend’ of the Mare in the Moon. It wasn’t there, of course. She hadn’t gone to the library to borrow it yet. She hadn’t shrugged off her Canterlot friends, and... well. Then she got an idea. She could do things differently, this time. She could have her old friends meet her friends that she would meet for the "first time" later today. She could change the future! But then she considered something. What kind of ramifications would that cause? She didn’t know. She’d have to talk to Maestro about it, for sure. But, she was still tired, and it was much too early for this. She decided to get a bit more sleep before doing anything too rash.

Later that day, Twilight was on her way back from the Library, book in tow. She’d gone a bit earlier than last time, in hopes of running into some of her Canterlot friends. Right on cue, she saw them. The two that had reminded her about Moondancer’s party. She called out to them. “Lemon! Lyra! It’s good to see you.” She smiled gently, closing her book that she’d been pretending to read. “What’s up?”

The two looked between each other, a bit surprised by her attitude. The Twilight they knew almost always had her muzzle buried in a book, so to see her act so differently was a bit jarring. However, they reasoned that she’d probably just finished reading that book, and felt like talking with them. Lemon shook it off first, and addressed her. “Oh, we’re off to Moondancer’s party. You coming?”

Twilight sighed. “I’d love to, but Princess Celestia wants me to help organize the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville. Spike and I will drop by before we go, though.” She hadn’t lied about the Celebration. After all, she’d already sent the letter that morning. She wrote it herself, changing a few things slightly from last time. She’d mentioned Luna by name, but she had received the same reply as last time. Maybe Celestia had only glanced at it?

Regardless, she grabbed Spike at their room, along with his gift to Moondancer. Twilight and Spike then went to Moondancer’s place, and she approached them with joy. “You came! I’m glad. I thought that-”

Twilight smiled sadly. “As much as I’d like to, I can’t stay. I have an assignment from Princess Celestia. But, I just couldn’t go without saying goodbye.” She then gestured to Spike. “We have a parting gift for you, though. To remind you that we care.”

Spike handed it over, and Moondancer opened it gingerly. Her face lit up, and she looked to Twilight. “It’s all of us… together.” She paused, a sullen look on her face. “Will… I ever see you again?”

Nodding, Twilight explained. “I’ll visit when I can. And you’re always welcome to come visit me, too.” she looked to the others of her friends here in Canterlot one, by one. “All of you are. I’ll just be down in Ponyville. Not too far from here, so we’ll always be in touch.”

Her friends were all surprised by this. Twilight was acting so differently from the way that she usually did. However, some part of them knew that it was her as they said their goodbyes. They even waved as they saw her off. Twilight had a warm feeling in her heart as she went to Ponyville. She had done the right thing. She was more friendly to her Ponyville friends as she met them the ‘first time’, and was carried away. But then, she arrived to the one that she’d met last. Maestro. She paused at the door. He still remembered all of what happened last time. Looking back, she realized what he’d meant- he had advice for how to defeat the villains and befriend their enemies earlier, and they had always been ignored. She felt guilty for that, but she knew that she had to face him eventually. Bracing herself, she opened the door. At the stage, she saw him working with his adoptive daughter at his side, a rainbow dragon named Prism. The door closed behind Twilight, and Maestro turned to see her. “You’re late. Troubling thoughts, I presume?” at her nod, he looked to Spike. He was fawning over Prism, and Maestro cleared his throat. Startled, Spike looked sheepish. Maestro smiled gently. “Why don’t you two go get to know each other? I’ve business with Twilight.” The two dragons left into a side room, and Maestro cast a silence field. “So. Have you done anything with your knowledge of the future yet? Maybe you have averted a dead friendship?”

Eyes wide, Twilight nodded. “How did you know that I’d try to keep my Canterlot friends? There’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

Maestro shook his head and smiled. “Far from it, really. I think now that your eyes are open to how things are, you know now why I’ve done the things I did- even keeping Starswirl’s Journal from reaching you.”

Twilight gasped. “Why did you do that? I don’t understand…”

Looking off to the distance, his eyes were full of sorrow,. “Last time that I let you use that spell, it didn’t end well. You never figured out how to finish it, and well… It wasn’t pretty.” He paused, and looked to Twilight. “I’ve seen many endings to our tale, Twilight. None of them happy. That’s why I’ve done what I’ve done.”

He then showed her an indigo gem, and her eyes lit up. “The Element of Inspiration? But how…?”

He concealed it once more, and sighed. “I created it. It took a balance of the two ways of learning magic, but by some miracle I pulled it off. It may be artificial, but I managed to link it to the the other six. That is how come they work together, though by all rights they shouldn’t.” He looked her in the eyes, that familiar determined look in his eyes. “It took far too many cycles to perfect, but now It works like a charm. I made this in hopes of averting what became of the Equestria I knew. Though, for the longest time I couldn’t pull it off, because you girls were always the same- you always vied for the way things originally went, and that meant ignoring me.” As Twilight was about to apologize, Maestro held up a hoof. “It’s alright. It’s not your fault. The cycles love repetition- that’s how they’ve resisted me thus far. But, if we work together…” He smirked. “We might be able to save Equestria yet. So. Will you take my advice when we face Nightmare Moon, Twilight?”

It was a bit hard for her to digest all this. An artificial Element of Harmony, on top of all this cycle business. Regardless, Twilight knew that Maestro had been trying for a long time to fix things. So, she nodded. “I will. I don’t know what it is, but I guess that’ll have to wait. My party’s soon.” The two shared a nod, and the silence field was dropped. Spike found his way back to Twilight, and gave a sheepish wave to Prism, who reciprocated. Maestro shook his head in amusement, and that was the last Twilight saw of the scene.

The party was enjoyable, now that she actually was participating. Her Canterlot friends even stopped by to say hello, and participate in the party. This was one surprise that she enjoyed very much, and she sort of lost herself in the festivities. But, she got a free moment, and stepped away onto the balcony of the Library. Maestro was there, looking at the moon. Twilight watched as the four stars of prophecy touched the moon- just as they had that night, so long ago. Maestro spoke. “She’s here. Nightmare Moon. The hour is nigh, Twilight. When we go into the Forest, and make for the Castle… We must be careful not to tip our hand. The creature is watching.”

That surprised Twilight, but she controlled herself so she wouldn’t scream out. “It’s here? Now? I thought that…”

Maestro shook his head. “You thought wrong. I made that mistake, Twilight. The first time I became aware of the cycle, I tried too much too fast. It… didn’t end well. Be patient. We will play its game for now, moving the pieces into place at a reasonable pace. Tonight, we solve two problems- Nightmare Moon, and the creation of the Tantabus. If we do things right, we can erase her guilt, tonight. When the time is right, I’ll let you know.”

Twilight nodded, and the rest went as she remembered form last time, but with her Canterlot friends seeing Nightmare Moon for themselves. She and Maestro called her out, and her reaction was much like last time. Twilight convinced her Canterlot friends to stay in town- though she was touched that they wanted to come along. The trip through the forest was much like last time, as she let herself get into those precarious situations that her friends helped her with. Then, Maestro inspired them to keep going when the Castle was re-figured into a maze. They found the Elements, and when Maestro laid the Element of Inspiration with the others, he convinced the others to not go far. He then looked to Twilight. “Together. We must light the spark together. We must use our Elements in tandem. That is what I’ve come to conclude will erase Luna’s guilt. Are you ready?”

Twilight nodded, and they lit their horns together. The two of them were abducted, the Elements shattered at the hooves of Nightmare Moon, and she gave her little speech about the girls being the Elements- then she turned to Maestro. “Maestro, who never let us give up, is the Bearer of Inspiration!” Indigo shards floated around his head, and circled. Twilight then cut off Nightmare Moon’s response. “As for myself?” Violet light descended from above. “I’m the Bearer of Magic!”

As the seven Elements harmonized, Nightmare Moon stepped back in shock. “Not possible! How can there be seven Elements?! How did you summon the Element of Magic!?”

Twilight and Maestro then spoke in unison. “There’s something you should know… Friendship! Is!” The Elements then shot out a rainbow of light at Nightmare Moon. “MAGIC and INSPIRATION!”

Nightmare Moon was soon engulfed, and the sun returned as the light from the Elements died down. Luna was there, and Twilight and Maestro explained to the girls who she was before Celestia could. Celestia looked at the heroes, and smiled. “I must thank the six-”

Maestro stepped forward, and tapped the crown embedded with a gem cut like his Cutie Mark- A turquoise music note superimposed over a paintbrush in an X-shape with the seven colors of the rainbow coming of the tip of the brush in a leftward arc underneath. “I believe you mean seven.” He smirked, positively glowing as Celesita’s eye twitched.

However, she regained her composure, and was about to dismiss his claims, But Twilight interrupted. “It’s true, Princess. Maestro did help us cleanse your sister. Without him, I doubt that Luna would be without guilt about what she did as Nightmare Moon.”

Celestia balked, and looked to Luna. “Luna, is this… true?”

Nodding, Luna explained. “We still regret being her, make no mistake. Verily, We will make an effort to earn forgiveness from the ponies of Equestria. But, We find it pointless to punish ourselves for what cannot be changed.”

Blinking, Celestia took that all in. She then looked to Maestro. “How… How did you even find a seventh Element of Harmony?”

With a shake of his head, Maestro deferred that until later. “That’s not what’s important here. What’s important is that a void in the Elements has been filled, and that your sister is back.” He then looked to Luna. “Though, she will have to be brought up to speed… I think I’ll take that on.”

Celestia stepped back, surprised. “You’d do that? Help her acclimate to today’s society? Why? For my sake? Hers?”

Maestro glared at Celestia, and Twilight saw venom in his eyes. He whispered to himself. “Not for you. Never.” He shook it off, and looked to Luna with sympathy. “For her, partly. For Equestria, certainly. For myself, an experiment. Might be fun…”

Twilight was shocked at how hostile he’d been towards Celestia, and then how sympathetic he’d been towards Luna. What had Celestia done to deserve such anger? Luna’s response broke her out of her thoughts. “Fun? What is… ‘fun’?”

Maestro sighed. “Oh, I’ve got a long road ahead of me, It seems…” He looked to Luna. “I’ll start our lessons later. You should spend some quality time with your sister, might do the both of you some good. After all, you haven’t seen each other in an entire millennium! Lessons can wait until Saturday. Catching up with your sister can’t.”

The rest of the day went rather similarly to last time, with Celestia taking the Elements for safekeeping before she and Luna went back to Canterlot. Though, during the festivities of the Celebration, Twilight took Maestro aside. “You looked at Celestia with such disgust… Why?”

Maestro clenched his ovular platinum locket etched with his Cutie Mark on the front in his turquoise magic. “I… don’t want to talk about it. I’ll only say… she’s not the saint that you think she is, Twilight.” For the remainder of the day, he refused to speak on the subject, so Twilight let it lie for the time being, knowing that she’d get an answer, someday. In the meantime, she helped the girls connect with him as best she could- after all, she understood this much: If they were to win in the end, their friendship needed to be strong. Maestro seemed to appreciate that Twilight had gotten the girls to talk to him, and he smiled to show it. They were the only ones that knew about the cycles, and they both silently agreed that it would stay that way, for now. Maestro left, promising to keep in touch and visit when he could- After all, he was a traveler to his bones. The sun set on the day, and Twilight lost herself in thoughts of what was to come in the future before finally falling asleep.

Author's Note

Here it is! CYCLED! Nice and simple title, for a complex idea. I think it works, but what are your thoughts? If you liked/disliked/faved, I'd like to know why! Anyway, Hopefully I can get this story to update somewhat more often than my other stories.
Edit 01/06/19: Thanks for editing go to Book_Wyrm!

Rthö Vai: Inspiration Takes Hold

The next morning, Twilight awoke in her “new” home of the Golden Oak Library a little before the sun rose. She went down stairs, almost in a daze. It felt like ages since the last time she had woken up in this place. She gently ran her right forehoof across the spines of the many books, remembering all the ponies that ever had- and once again would- borrow these books over the years she spent in the Library. It was almost surreal seeing it like this, just as the whole scenario seemed a little hard to handle. She still had many questions that had yet to be answered. Why was this happening? How had Maestro become aware of it all himself, and how long exactly had he been doing this? Why had he chosen her to be the other one aware, when he could’ve chosen anyone else? She shook herself out of it as she prepared a bit of breakfast- questions like that could wait until she talked to him in person again. The sun rose up, and Spike soon came clamouring down the stairs. He was a bit surprised to see Twilight up already. But he reasoned that she hadn’t exactly gone into a study frenzy last night, so it wasn’t that odd. He stretched a bit, and yawned. “Morning, Twilight. Didn’t expect you to make breakfast… though, I’m more surprised that this place has any food.”

Twilight shook her head, chuckling a little at Spike’s antics. He was a bit like that back then, wasn’t he? She’d nearly forgotten. It was almost nice getting to see him like this again, yet also a bit… sad. She pulled her thoughts out of that sadness though, and put herself in the moment. “The last resident probably left a bit behind, Spike. Though, we will have to go grocery shopping by the end of the week by my calculations.” She remembered having to do that last time around, so it wasn’t exactly lying… more like bending the truth a little.

The matter-of-fact tone that she used got a bit of a chuckle out of Spike as he sat down at the table. “Ah, there’s the Twilight I know! I’ll add it to the weekly list after breakfast, so I can remember.”

As Twilight brought breakfast to the table, she noticed that Spike was contemplating something for a bit. She knew that he only did that when something big was on his mind- and he hadn’t done that this early last time. Instead of stewing in anxiety about it, she decided to break the ice. “Spike, you’ve hardly touched your breakfast. What’s wrong?”

Looking at Twilight, Spike knew that he couldn’t hide it from her. He’d tried once, and that hadn’t worked very well. He sighed. “It’s… you’ve acted a bit differently than usual recently. Not two days ago, you were your typical muzzle-in-a-book self. But the day that you were sent here, you were different. Not just after you arrived- in retrospect, you’d been that way the whole day. Some part of me knows that you’re still you, but still…”

Twilight was in a bit of shock that Spike had noticed. Though, she did suppose it would make sense. But what was she to say? Hey, I know this sounds crazy, but all of this has happened before? If she told him, would he believe her? It was hard to say. She decided to err on the side of caution for now, though. “I’m alright, Spike. I woke up that morning, feeling different from what I had previously. I had a strong feeling that I should do something different that day, make different decisions from what I normally would.” It was quite the stretch of her thoughts from that morning, but it was technically still true, in its own way.

Spike accepted that explanation, and was about to start eating when he burped out a scroll from Princess Celestia. Twilight grabbed it in her magic, and opened it so the both of them could read it. As she read, she recognized it as the letter that was sent with the two Gala Tickets. Though, she had recalled them not arriving this early last time. Had something happened to change that? But as she read on, it was practically identical to the one she remembered. So why send it this early? She’d have to ask Maestro about that, she supposed. Spike looked to her, and asked her the same question he had last time: “Who will you give the second ticket to?”

She was about to just send the letter back with the ticket, and write what she had last time when she considered something. If she did that, would it be perceived as odd? Would it run too many risks? So instead, she decided to go out as she had last time around, and talk to her friends. Maestro was off in another town, so she’d have to talk to him later. Her old friends from Canterlot had returned there late last night, except for possibly Lyra- she might still be visiting her boyfriend, Noteworthy. With this in mind, she smiled. “I’ll talk to my friends about it. I know I could always just go with you, but I want to consider what they think.” She then went around to visit them, and they explained why they wanted to go. Rarity wanted to meet Blueblood, Applejack wanted to sell some of her products, Fluttershy wanted to see the garden with all of its animals, Pinkie was expecting it to be the most fun party, and Rainbow wanted to talk to the Wonderbolts. She invited them to her home to discuss things, though it wasn’t quite the same as last time. After they all argued a bit, Twilight held up a hoof, and was about to calm them down. But just then, Maestro came in unannounced. “Sorry I’m late.” He brushed off some dirt from his favorite royal blue vest, then adjusted his blue-framed glasses. “I was held up in Hoofington for a bit.” He looked around the room, regarding the girls. “So. This little scuffle. What’s it about?”

Everyone was still a little surprised that he had arrived, but Twilight recovered the quickest. “Maestro, is there any reason that you might want to go to the Grand Galloping Gala?”

At that, all of them had their eyes on him. He blinked a little. He hadn’t told anyone his reasons before… He’d only ever said that it “might be fun”, never anything specific. He knew the reasons of Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow, and could reasonably guess what Twilight’s new reason was, so it was quite unfair that he’d never disclosed the reasons he had before. He decided that it couldn’t hurt to see what changed if he did explain his reasoning. “Well, honestly… I don’t want to go if you guys aren’t all there. I just want us all to spend some time together. If all of us could go, then…” He then winked at Twilight.

Taking his cue, Twilight smiled as she asked Spike to pen the letter. It was phrased differently this time, however:

“Dear Princess Celestia,

I appreciate your gift of tickets to attend the Grand Galloping Gala. But I’m afraid that it just won’t be the same if all my friends aren’t there with me, both new and old. I humbly request that this wish of mine be made true.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle”

She had Spike send the letter, without the tickets inside. It took a bit longer than she recalled form last time, but the letter from Princess Celestia did arrive- and this time, it was quite different from what she remembered:

“Dear Twilight,

I had not expected such a bold request from you regarding this matter, and I did not realize that you felt this strongly. When I first read it, I had to double back to make certain I was reading it right. I am sorry that I did not have the foresight to nip this issue in the bud, as it were. Inside, you will find tickets for each of your friends- and a plus one for each. Also, I have gone ahead and invited your family to this event as well as the families of your friends. I think you will greatly appreciate this gesture. Sadly, I could find no information on Maestro’s family, so whomever they are, they will not be able to attend.”

At this point, Twilight noticed that Maestro had a dark look on his face, and could’ve sworn that he growled quietly. Shaking this off, she continued to read aloud:

“I look forward to seeing all of you at the Gala, Twilight. Luna is as well, I suspect. I wish you the best.

Your Mentor,

Princess Celestia”

Twilight handed out the tickets, and a few were left over for her old friends. She shook her head as Spike muttered about going even though she knew he wanted to. As the girls left and Spike went upstairs, Twilight stopped Maestro from leaving. “Wait, please. I need to talk to you.”

He set up the silence field, and spoke. “You’re wondering why the tickets came early, aren’t you?” At her nod, he paced a bit. “There are many things I’ve observed over the cycles, Twilight. Most events that happen are set in stone, but not always at a set time or order- save a few. They don’t always go the same way, either. If the right action is taken, one might adjust the outcome. Sometimes those who are not aware will act a different way as well, causing something different to occur. I call these happenings ‘Alt-Cycles’. They are events that are not set in stone, events that only sometimes happen. I’ve witnessed quite a few in my time.”

It was a difficult thing to digest, but after doing so, she had another question. “How long have you been ‘aware’?”

Maestro paused to think. It had been a long time since he had become aware, hadn’t it? He cast his mind back, trying to recall how long it had been. It took a while, but eventually he did find an answer. “The exact number of cycles escapes me, but the amount of years I’ve spent… It’s a large number, Twilight. Easily a few hundred, if not an entire millenium.” At her shock, he paused briefly to let it sink in. After she understood the weight of it, he answered the question that was most likely to come next. “It’s not been easy, you know. There have been times where I’ve almost given in to madness, to let go of what makes me inspirational. There have been times where I’ve almost consigned myself to my fate, to endlessly live out the same events over and over. There have been things that I’ve allowed to happen that I regret immensely, things that I cannot bear to name or think on. All I have is hope that this time, I get it right. That I finally make this the final iteration.”

It was something that she had not realized, but there were consequences to how long Maestro had been doing this. Before he became aware, he was likely a very different person entirely. She could scarcely imagine what he might have been like back then. But there was still one last question she had to know the answer to before he left. “Why exactly is this happening, Maestro? Why is that creature doing this?”

A look of uncertainty entered his eyes, and he spoke with vulnerability for the first time. “I don’t have all the answers, Twilight. This sick game… I only have guesses as to why it’s playing it. Perhaps it looks down upon us like playthings, to mess with as it pleases. And when it gets bored, it resets the ‘game’. Or maybe it views us as its creations, and just throws out the previous versions of our world when it feels that its standards weren’t met. That’s what scares me, Twilight. This creature might have infinite power. I first became aware of the cycles by pure chance, Twilight. Before then, I probably had lived thousands of lives that I do not recall, all of them where I played some designated role. But I am no longer that person. Over the course of the cycles, I have molded my own destiny. I’ve tried many things to break us out of this endless repetition, none of which have worked. But now, I am not working alone- and that give us the best chance that we’ve ever had.” He smiled, his eyes now full of strength and confidence. “I know it wasn’t the answer that you were expecting. I know that you expected a clear-cut answer, an explanation of the creature’s nature. But I did not have that, so I gave you what I could- my honest suspicions. We can do this, Twilight. Call it what you will, but I’ve got a feeling that no matter what is thrown at us this time, we will prevail.” the silence field fell, and they bid their farewells. They had a long road ahead, to be sure. But Twilight knew that they’d come out on top. If Maestro believed in their chances, then so would she. She then turned in for the night.

Throne Room, Castle of The Two Sisters

Something stirred from behind the thrones. An amorphous blob of starry matter crawled out into the open cautiously, and seemed to look around. Those dreadful “heroes” hadn’t come back as of yet, but it still had to be careful. It knew not how, but it would get back at them, somehow. Just then, a figure came from the shadows. The blob quivered in fear at the presence of the creature, for the aura it gave off was vastly powerful. The creature chuckled, and addressed the blob. “How the mighty have fallen… the Nightmare virus, reduced to such a pitiful state…” It shook what passed for its head, and tsked a little. “No matter. I will ensure that there are consequences to altering the script.” A protrusion formed on its head, something that might pass for a horn. It lit in black light, and encased the blob as it started to squirm. “Stop struggling. I’m giving you a gift.” the black light forced its way into the blob, and it seemed to scream in pain. It pulsed with energy until the creature cut the magic. “That should suffice. Now rise, Nightmare Echo!”

The blob shifted shape and grew, and soon enough it was the basic form of an androgynous pony with no features of any kind. The former blob spoke in a voice that was somehow masculine entwined with feminine features, the two aspects of its voice melding into something new. “What have you done to me?”

It looked at its new form in awe as the creature explained. “I have given you a gift, Nightmare Echo. I have given you a form of your own, and the energy to do as you do best. With this gift, you can turn the heroes that struck you down against one another, as relish as they destroy each other. Vengeance will be yours.”

Nightmare then looked to the creature, and posed a question. “Why? What have you to gain from helping me?”

The abomination spread its tendrils in an intimidating display, one that could feasibly send the most courageous running. “I have everything to gain, and nothing to lose. Your services are paramount to my plan.” the creature then seemed to smile. “That is all you need know.” The creature let its tendrils down, and made to leave. “I trust you do not need me to tell you that you are to wait for my signal, correct? For If I can give you this power… I can also take it away.”

Nodding, Nightmare set to get ready for when the time was right...

Author's Note

The first official chapter, and now it won't be pure rehash! I almost considered splicing in another event, like perhaps the confrontation with Gilda or something, but I wasn't sure if I could make it work realistically. As for my plans with Nightmare Echo.... Well, I think you might have some idea of where I'm going with this. Thanks for editing go to Book_Wyrm.

Rthö Ëb: Unfolding of New Friendships

A few days had passed, and that morning saw Twilight practicing some spells with Spike supervising. She already knew them backwards and forwards, but it wouldn’t do to let herself get rusty. Some of these spells were pretty taxing on her at first, but now she could pull them off without much extra strain. Of course, there were some spells that she had learned later on than this point last time, so she decided to practice those in secret. After her morning run-through of the 25 spells that she’d written down, Spike handed her the list with all boxes checked. “Y’know, I think you are pretty good at these already. You should show your friends these spells!”

At those words, Twilight froze a little. It was a similar phrase to what Spike had said last time on the morning of the day that Trixie had first visited Ponyville. She shook it off, certain that it was probably just coincidence. She smiled, and nodded. “You know, I think you might be right about that. I’ll talk to them, see if they want to see what I can do.”

Just then, however, somebody came knocking at the door. Twilight went towards it, and opened it. She reacted fast enough that the pail of water above it didn’t soak her. This could only mean one thing. Rainbow moaned in disappointment. “Aw, rats! I thought that I’d getcha!”

But more intriguing was the fact that Gilda was at her side. She smirked slightly. “I didn’t think that any pony aside from Rainbow would react quite that quickly.” She turned to Rainbow, quirking an eyebrow. “You sure that she’s just an egghead? Seemed pretty nimble to me…”

Half expecting Twilight to berate her for that term, Rainbow held up her forehooves defensively and replied immediately. “Hey, I meant that in the best way possible! Besides, I haven’t known you long enough to get any in-depth impression. I am pretty surprised that you avoided it, though. Pinkie, I get because of her Pinkie Sense. But how did you react that quickly?”

Brushing off the stray droplets that had managed to fly onto her, Twilight replied. “Well, I saw the pail before it fell, and calculated its trajectory and- well, to put it simply- used math to determine how to avoid it in time. I may be a ‘nerd’, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t keep myself fit.”

Blinking, Rainbow took that all in. she hadn’t quite expected that kind of answer, but she didn’t know what was truly ‘typical’ for Twilight just yet, so she just shrugged it off. “Huh. Who knew that math could actually be useful. Y’know, for people that are into that sort of thing.”

Before much else could be discussed, Applejack came up to them. “Well, isn’t this something! Another new face today!” She approached, and extended her hoof to Gilda. “Ah’m-”

Gilda cut her off, taking her hoof in talon and shaking firmly. “Applejack, right? Gilda. Rainbow wasn’t exaggerating, tough grip you’ve got there.” She smirked. “I bet she’s told you some things about me, right?”

Surprised at first, Applejack soon recovered, and nodded. “Yes, a few things here or there. You’re a prankster, an pretty darn good a flyer. She hardly shut up about the things you two get up to.”

Smirk growing to a full grin, Gilda playfully elbowed Rainbow. “So you did mention me to your pony friends! I thought it might’ve slipped your mind. Ah, well.”

Asserting her presence, Twilight spoke out. “AJ, you mentioned that Gilda was ‘another new face’. Who else has come to Ponyville today?”

Turning to Twilight, Applejack jerked her head over towards the town square. “Maestro brought over a friend ‘o his, apparently. She’s… interesting, to say the least.”

Many thoughts ran through her head as they walked towards the square. It can’t be, right? Trixie and Gilda arrived on different days last time! It has to be somebody else, right? If not… then, what does this mean for the other events that will repeat? I’ll have to talk to Maestro about this… When they arrived, Twilight’s suspicions were confirmed by the presence of Trixie near the stage while it was being set up. She panicked for a bit, but calmed down when she remembered that this was a fresh start- that she could do things differently from last time. Her Ponyville friends were all in the area as well, most likely having been gathered by Pinkie.

Her attention was then drawn to Maestro. He took one look into her eyes, then nodded. He knew that she had questions, questions he would be glad to answer later. He went over to them, Trixie at his side. “Hello. Jax and the others have already met her, but I think the rest of you need to be acquainted.” He gestured to Trixie. “This is a friend of mine, Trixie. She’s here to perform a magic show, so please be polite while it’s underway.”

She bowed theatrically. “The Great and Powerful Trixie-” Maestro elbowed her lightly, giving her a look that said “save it for the show”. Taking the hint, Trixie started again. “Ehem, sorry, got stuck in my stage persona there.” she composed herself, and continued. “Right, it’s an honor to make your acquaintance.” She then looked to Gilda after rising from her bow, and quirked an eyebrow. “Though, I didn’t quite think that I’d meet a griffon in town today… Quite the surprise, I must say.”

Shrugging, Gilda moved past her. “I suppose that’s understandable. Then again, I’m only a visitor in town, much like yourself. There’s no feasible way you coulda predicted I’d be here.”

Chest puffed out, Trixie then lapsed back into her stage persona. “Oh? Then you have yet to see the feats of magic that the Great and Powerful Trixie has to offer! Come, watch my show! It starts in an hour, so I must get ready.” She reared up on her hind legs, and stomped down, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

After the smoke cleared, Maestro spoke up. “Sorry about that. Trix just loves her dramatic exits, but just wait ‘till you see her enter on to the stage. It’s more flashy.”

Gilda stretched her wings a bit, eager to get off the ground. “I think that I’ll take a little flight around town until the show starts. Rainbow! You in for a good prank run?”

Shooting into the air like an arrow, Rainbow nodded. “You betcha! This oughta be fun!” The two then shot off into the distance to cause a bit of mayhem.

Twilight was about to go after them, but Maestro stopped her and pulled her aside. He put up the silence field so they could speak privately. “Don’t be reckless, Sparks. They need to blow off a little steam.”

Huffing in agitation, Twilight spoke up. “Maestro, I know you remember how that ended. Some ponies got hurt! Do you-!”

He put a hoof to her mouth, and interrupted. “I don’t want that any more than you do. But we’ve got to be careful. We’ll let them do a few pranks, and interfere when it starts to look like it might get ugly.” He lowered his hoof, and sighed. “Besides, Trixie is also here- I’m just lucky that I won’t have to try in vain to get you guys to not derail her show. This time, things will be different.”

Twilight stopped him from dispelling the field, voicing a concern. “Maestro, what does their days coming to Ponyville merging mean? Will other events similarly overlap like this down the line? What else will change?”

Maestro paused for a solid moment before he replied. “Events have not overlapped before, so this is new territory for me as well. I’ve seen different endings to each of the individual events before- but I cannot predict what will change if events overlap. Major events, I am pretty sure will not- But who is to say if any minor events will not overlap with others?” He smiled widely, a chaotic twinkle in his eye. “Honestly, it’s rather exciting to be this in the dark, though also a bit nerve-wracking.” He calmed himself, reigning in his wild emotions. “Though, I think we’ve spoken enough for now- You best check on Gilda and Rainbow now.”

The silence field lowered, and Twilight went to see what Gilda and Rainbow were up to. She came upon the pair just as they finished up a prank that wasn’t hurtful, but it wasn’t exactly benign either. Before they could go off for another one, Twilight called out to them. “Rainbow! Gilda! I think that’s quite enough for now.”

Affronted, Gilda landed and broached Twilight’s personal space. “Yeah? And why’s that?”

Twilight didn’t flinch, instead standing firm. “That recent prank could’ve gotten somepony hurt. Ponies aren’t as rugged as griffons, what would barely make them flinch could easily hurt a pony, possibly even badly. I think that you best quit before somepony gets hurt badly.”

Rolling her eyes, Gilda was about to completely brush off what Twilight said. But a Rainbow’s hoof on her shoulder made her stop. “She’s right, Gilda. The only reason that I can deal with your rougher pranks is because I’ve gotten used to them. We grew up together, but they’ve never been around you before. I don’t want one of my best buds to end up hurting somepony. Could-”

However, Gilda wasn’t having it. “You’re asking me to tone down what I love to do! I don’t want to hold back on the account of some random pony.” She lifted off, intent on getting away from the situation.

Rainbow tried to reason with her though. “Gilda, don’t be like that! I’m just trying to-”

Frustrated, Gilda shouted at her. “Well, DON’T! I just wanna be myself. If you can’t understand that, I don’t want to be around you!” In a huff, Gilda flew off.

Rainbow was too shocked to try and go after her. “What… just happened?” She spoke in disbelief, still trying to cope with what Gilda had said. By the time she had fully recovered, Gilda was long gone from sight. She then turned to Twilight. “Twi, what do I do now? I thought that maybe…”

Honestly, Twilight was at a bit of a loss as to what to do. But, she knew who could help. “C’mon, Maestro might have an idea. He’s had experience with this kind of thing.”

She took Rainbow back to where the others were, and took Maestro aside, and explained what happened. “I see. Gilda wouldn’t listen, eh? Well, she might listen after she cools her head a bit. You’re trying to get an old friend of yours to connect with some newer friends, and that’s certainly admirable- heck, it’s what I’m doing for Trixie. But hiccups like this are bound to happen sometimes. In the face of adversity, you must persevere. You’re one of Gilda’s oldest friends- maybe her only one. If she doesn’t want to lose that, she’ll come around eventually.”

Rainbow seemed to understand what he was getting at, even if he used a few words she didn’t quite get. Though, she couldn’t voice it as the stage started to come to life, a full audience of all ages present for the show. Spotlights danced on the curtain as Trixie announced from behind it. “Ladies and Gentlecolts! Prepare to be enthralled and amazed at the illusions of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” A puff of blue smoke and fireworks masked her entrance, and they soon cleared as the audience clapped. Trixie took a bow, and straightened herself. “Thank you, really. The Great and Powerful Trixie is honored to be here today, to put on a show for all of you. Now, for my first trick, a bit of a classic- The Great and Powerful Trixie will need a volunteer from the audience!” Hooves went into the air, and Trixie made a show of deliberating for a while before choosing a young unicorn colt named Snips from the audience. She brought out a deck of playing cards, and fanned it out so that the audience could see that all the cards were accounted for. She then fanned the deck of playing cards in front of the colt, face down in her magic. “Pick a card, and show it to the audience! But by all means, refrain from showing it to the Great and Powerful Trixie!” She procured a blindfold, and tied it around her eyes. “Just for a bit of… insurance.” Snips then picked a card, and showed it to all the audience- a 9 of Hearts. He then placed it back into the deck, which Trixie shuffled after taking off her blindfold. She smirked, and picked a card from the deck, but refrained from revealing it. “Now behold, as the Great and Powerful Trixie reveals your card!” She turned the card to the audience, and it was indeed the 9 of Hearts. The audience applauded, for most had not seen such a feat before. Twilight applauded out of respect- She didn’t think that Trixie would go so far to assure the audience that no “shenanigans” were going on.

After once again rising from her bow and sending the colt back to the audience, Trixie got ready to announce her next trick. “For my next trick, The Great and Powerful Trixie wants you all to pay close attention to my horn.” She tapped it lightly, and addressed the audience. “See how it doesn’t glow when The Great and Powerful Trixie does something arguably magical!” she procured a table from the back, and placed a small statuette on it. She removed her cape, and draped it over the table. “Now, the Great and Powerful Trixie will make this statuette disappear!” She waved her hooves over the cloth and muttered some magic words before pulling the cape back to reveal that the statuette had disappeared. The audience applauded, and Trixie returned the statuette by pulling off her hat, and pulling it out of it. She bowed as the applause intensified, and rose after it died down. She returned her cape and hat to their proper place, and made ready for her next trick. Though as she was about to address the audience, she was accosted by a pretty nasty prank from above- a vat of tree sap coated her, followed by feathers. Gilda snickered away, and Trixie glared lividly at her. “You dare interrupt the Great and Powerful Trixie’s show with a prank such as this?!” a powerful spell from her horn cleaned her up- if a bit roughly- and swirled the residue around in a ball. “Let’s see if our prankster likes it when it’s all turned on her!” The feathers were morphed into loose fur, and the mass was hurled back to the still laughing Gilda- though she wasn’t laughing once hit by the rebound prank. She panicked a little, forcing an emergency “landing”. Though, Rainbow flew over quickly enough to spare Gilda from truly crashing.

Once on the ground, Trixie jumped off the stage, and got in Gilda’s face. But before she could rage at her, Maestro set a hoof on her shoulder and cut in. “Reel it back, Trix. Don’t go doing something you might regret. I know that she interrupted your show, and that was wrong of her, but your fire back wasn’t exactly necessary, either. Try and calm down, alright?”

It wasn’t easy, but Trixie knew that Maestro had a point. She breathed deeply, and tried to let go of her anger. She met with some success, and was about to apologize to Gilda. But before she could, Gilda stood and smirked. “Well, I guess I had that coming. Going to be a bit of a pain getting it out of my feathers, but it was a good one.” She then held out a talon. “Let’s call it even, and put it to bed. Deal?”

A bit surprised, Trixie stared at the offered talon for a moment. She then smirked and shook it. “Yeah, I think that I can agree with that.” The crowd cheered, and Gilda stepped on stage to help with the next trick- a bit where she was placed in a box and “sawed in half” then split, and finally put back together before being let out of the box. The rest of the night went smoothly, Gilda and Trixie getting to know the girls, and getting along well.

Twilight found her way near Maestro, and he smiled on the scene. “Beautiful. And this time, we didn’t have to deal with the Ursa Minor. Progress.” He turned to her, and smiled. “I really think that things are coming along, shaping up to be better. What about you?”

Twilight had been lost in thought for a moment, but shook herself out of it. “Well, things are better- but I must ask another question…” Maestro set up the silence field, and motioned for her to continue. “What was your first cycle like? Do you even remember?”

Maestro looked away, a dark look on his face. “I… don’t like to think on that one. The one before I became truly aware had just happened, and I had so many ideas to try and fix everything. I remember trying to solve every issue at once- It didn’t end well. I regret many things from back then, Sparks. I wanted to fix everything, but I just broke it. Suffice to say, when I woke up and I was back where I started again- I decided to take a different approach. I’ve made many a misjudgement over the cycles, and caused things that I regret. But I’ve learned what ‘works’ and what doesn’t. But I just couldn’t do it alone anymore, for fear that I would break and go mad. That’s why I brought you into the equation, Sparks. I needed an anchor, to keep me from sinking. You may wonder why I didn’t save the others from being unaware- and there is a reason for that, too. You’re my best shot, Sparks. The best chance I have of getting through to people. Anyone else among my friends, and it wouldn’t work. They won’t listen to me on my own, and nobody else at the confrontation was suitable to help me. I made a conscious choice to bring you into this mess- even if it did seem a bit last-minute. You may ask, ‘but couldn’t you have saved all of us?’ No. I’ve known for some time that I could only bring one other along- the creature gave me that hint a few cycles back. I’ve had those cycles to think on who it would be. I couldn’t be rash about it, for I only had one shot. That’s why I chose you to be the one, Sparks. You’re my friend, even if it took you awhile to start treating me like one. I hope that makes things a bit more clear for you.”

It was a lot to process, to say the least. The silence field fell, and she went over and showed some spells to her friends to try and get her mind off things. Even so, it still was quite the weight to bear. How had Maestro had the wherewithal to withstand this weight for so long? She couldn’t fathom herself surviving for that long in his position. She was really glad that she had him to bear this weight with her, to help her understand what was going on here. Eventually the party to celebrate the visitors died down, and she made her way home to turn in for the night.

Throne Room, Castle of The Two Sisters

“It is time for the first foray.” Nightmare Echo’s stood at attention at the call of its benefactor. “Go, and sow the seeds of darkness. Only plant them for now- no need to rush things.” Echo bowed, and went into the night and zipped from shadow to shadow to stay out of the prying eyes of the night sky. Echo went to each house in Ponyville, and spread the nightmare influence where it could. For whatever reason, one of the heroes was not in town- but that did not matter. Six out of seven wasn’t too shabby. After the work was done and the seeds found their ways into the hearts of the ponies of the town, Echo slunk away into the night. The time was not yet to activate the seeds, for they were not yet ripe. Though, the time would come...

Author's Note

Well, here it is! The second chapter! Just let me know if you spot anything that feels off, and I'll address it as soon as I can! Thanks for editing goes to Book_Wyrm!

Rthö Pxà: Stripes and Crystal Horn

It had been a week since Twilight had last seen Maestro, and in that time more events had reoccurred. The dragon that had been spewing smoke during slumber had been reasoned with to relocate, and the overworking of Applejack had been curtailed effectively. Twilight didn’t quite know why he’d let her handle those on her own, but she could hazard a guess. She wondered how things were going on his end. He had sent a letter a few days ago explaining that he was helping Trixie with her tour of Equestria, and that the first Lesson with Luna had gone well. He had also said that he’d try and drop by soon, but he made no promises as to when that would be. She knew that he was a busy pony, she recalled that much from last time. She also recalled that whenever he was around, he did try and connect with them- though, it was going much better this time around. She started to read the newspaper, and stumbled across an article with the headline: “A surviving Trigem spotted?” She did a double-take. Last time, that headline hadn’t appeared for a good while, to a few weeks before the Gala. Reading on, it unfolded much as it had the last time she had read it, explaining that this “Last Trigem” was doing good deeds, much to the confusion of everypony. After all, the Trigems had been very powerful and dangerous- and they were often depicted as vile and monstrous. Though, Twilight and the girls had met this survivor last time- and they had been pretty stubborn about thinking that he was being genuine with his actions. Heck, they hadn’t budged on the issue before the reset. Even now, Twilight still had thoughts that Sapphiron was not doing this out of the goodness of his heart. Though, another thought crossed her mind: What if he was? What if he wasn’t doing this to disguise some dark agenda? Twilight realised that she and the girls may have judged him too harshly. After all, they were wrong to ignore Maestro’s advice, so they could reasonably have been wrong about this as well. She resolved to give him a fair chance this time, and see what came of it. She put down the morning paper, and went out to stock up for groceries.

As she walked through the town, she noticed that nobody was outside, and that all the doors were locked and… “Boarded up windows… Oh, here we go again.” She walked on, ignoring Pinkie’s hissing from Sugar Cube Corner. Then to no surprise, she saw a cloaked figure come into the town. From under the cloak she saw a striped leg come out, and the black hoof pawed at the ground. Once again tuning out Pinkie’s insistence, she went up to the figure. She stopped just shy of the figure, and reached out a hoof. “Hello there! I’m Twilight Sparkle. Can I help you?”

The figure then proceeded to lower the hood of the cloak, revealing Zecora for the first time to Ponyville. She stared curiously at Twilight, and then proceeded to voice her confusion. “Most ponies in this town seem to find my presence here nefarious. Yet you, a newcomer, greet me kindly. Curious.”

Twilight smiled gently, and was about to explain when Pinkie came out of the Sugar Cube Corner. “Are you mad, Twi? She’s an enchantress with crazy weird chants! How can-!”

Her questioning did make Zecora flinch. But before she could finish, a certain someone came onto the scene. “Well now, that’s not very nice!” Twilight and the others in town looked to see Maestro stroll in, black portfolio slung across his shoulder. “Just because she looks different and acts different to us ponies doesn’t mean that she’s a bad person!” He shook his head in disappointment. “Honestly, you should give her a chance! Zebras are not to be feared- I mean, come on! You let dragons like Spike and Prism be around you with little qualms, and they’re arguably more potentially dangerous! So I don’t see why you should be scared of someone so similar to yourselves!”

Twilight smiled at the effect this had on everyone, as they started to come out of their houses, though with caution at first. But some were still not open to the idea- so she decided to help them along. “I agree with Maestro here- we should be friendly with those that are different, and attempt to understand them. We should not fear them with no reason to. It takes courage to reach out to those that are different, but I think it is worth the effort. So do the founders proud- and reach out in friendship.”

This caused the rest of them to come out, and they soon started asking questions of Zecora. She answered as many as she felt she could, and they soon helped her with what she came to town for. Though before she left, the Mayor of Ponyville went up to Zecora, head hanging. “I am sorry that we reacted the way we did, Zecora. It was… childish, and close-minded. Let me say on behalf of all the town that you are always welcome here.”

A cheer went out, and Pinkie threw a small impromptu party as her own apology. Everything was looking up, that was until a pack of Timberwolves started encroaching on the town as night fell. The ponies quivered and Zecora explained. “This is another reason that I came here- Though I didn’t mean for them to follow near. They are agitated on this night, in the now glistening full moon’s light.”

Twilight gathered her friends together, trying to keep calm. She knew that most of them were scared, though Applejack and Rainbow tried not to show it. The only one of them that did not show any sign of fear was Maestro- He was confident and strong, determined to stand his ground. Then, something unexpected happened. As the timberwolves were about to pounce, a shockwave of crystal spires shot across the ground, causing the timberwolves to leap back. The spires shattered, providing room for a figure to leap from the shadows landing between the townsfolk and the timberwolves. This caught all the town off-guard. The crystalline teal fur shined in the moonlight, offset by the ruby mane that had a single turquoise streak down the center. The pony stood to his full height, flicking his seven colored rainbow gem tail. He glared at the timberwolves, unnerving them with his heterochromatic eyes- the left of Emerald Green, the right of Sapphire Blue. He lit his horn, and pointed it at the timberwolves. “Leave this place, or I will do more than fire a warning shot.” The timberwolves tried to test that, but one more fire of his crystal magic at their paws sent them running back into the forest. The light on his horn died down, and he sighed. Twilight could only barely make out his Cutie Mark in the dark, but it sealed the deal on who this was. A Sapphire, a Ruby, and an Emerald in a triangular formation. The ponies were still fearful though, but before anyone could do anything, he spoke again. “I do hope that you are all unharmed. Otherwise, my efforts would be in vain.”

The townsfolk murmured to themselves, unsure of what to say- that was until Maestro approached him. “We’re fine, my friend. I could’ve handled that, but I appreciate your help, Sapphiron Rubeus Emerald.”

The very mention of that name sent chills through the crowd, with some whispering about the rumors about the last Trigem being true, while others insisted it had to be some kind of trick. Even Twilight’s friends were concerned, for they all had heard of the things that had been said about the Trigems. Twilight remembered how she had been swept up by the rumors last time when she met Sapphiron- but she decided that she would not rest until she had the truth. Steeling herself, she approached Sapphiron. She was quaking, which anyone could clearly see. Hushed whispers went through the crowd as she approached him. She soon stood a few feet away, but she couldn’t muster the courage to stand much closer. She smiled warily, and bowed her head. “Th-thank you, S-Sapphiron. You… saved us. B-but, I must ask… why?”

Taking a deep breath, Sapphiron looked her straight in the eye. “Twilight Sparkle, you must understand- I did what anyone with the power to help should, what anyone of my character and disposition would. I am not as the rumors of my family paint- neither were my family, before they were taken from me. We were, as I am, misunderstood and misrepresented. I am not a monster, and neither were they.” He looked across the crowd, a sad look across his visage. “I know that many of you will not believe me- for you are too trusting of the Princess of the Sun. You reason that she has no reason to trick you, no reason to lie to you. Then, let me ask you this.” His face grew serious. “Why would she erase all concrete evidence of her own sister, and attempt to write her off as a mere legend?” The looks on their faces were troubled, and they looked to Maestro. He seemed to support the assertion, though they didn’t quite know why. They were confused, and some just outright refused to believe. Sapphiron shook his head. “I suppose it makes sense for you to try and keep grasp on what you know- or what you think you know. But the day approaches when you will have nothing left to hold onto. When it comes, what will you do then?” Then without even a second thought, he teleported away.

The townsfolk were beside themselves because of what Sapphiron had implied, but Twilight looked towards Maestro. He too had misgivings about Celestia, and on top of that a friendship with Sapphiron. Determined to get some answers, Twilight took him aside and set up the silence field herself. He raised an eyebrow. “Figured out the spell for it, hm? Alright, I’ve got time for a question. What do you want to know?”

Twilight steeled herself, and broached the topic that was on her mind. “I know that I asked you before, but it’s really bothering me. Why is it that you don’t trust Celestia? What’s the story behind that?”

Maestro shifted uncomfortably, and looked away. “It’s… I’d rather not speak on it. The things I’ve seen her do… the atrocities she’s hidden away… It… hurts to consider it, even now. The wounds are still fresh, even though the event in question occurred before the ‘beginning’ of the cycles.” He shook his head. “Please leave it be, and never ask me that question again.” He had a somber look on his face as he looked into her eyes. “I’ll tell you on my own terms, someday. Just… not now.” Twilight understood that it was painful for him, and so she let down the silence field. She watched on as he left, trying to puzzle out what she could do to help him get over his pain… Nothing immediately came to mind, and she was very tired from the exciting day. She decided to turn in for the night, and worry about it in the morning.

Author's Note

Got chapter three done! I know that this whole Trigem thing might be a bit confusing for readers that haven't perused my other stories, but worry not, I will explain it all in due time. On a different note, who do you want to see affected by the Nightmare Seeds first? Of course I'll save Twilight for much later, but I want to know who you think should turn first. As always, thanks for editing goes to Book_Wyrm.

Rthö Tùl: Rotten Apple- Part One

A few days later, Twilight awoke in a cold sweat during the early morning. The dream she had was disturbing, to say the least. It was a vision of her friends as twisted altered version of themselves, something she didn’t experience last time. Though, she did know that Maestro might know if such a thing was possible. She took out a piece of parchment, and headed down to her study. She sat down at the desk, and started writing.

“Dear Maestro,

I don’t want to bother you too much, but I’ve had a troubling dream. It pertains to our mutual friends, and I want your opinion on the matter. Do you think it possible for them to… become evil? I await your response.

Your friend always,

Twilight Sparkle”

Not wanting to disturb Spike’s slumber, she sent it off with her own magic. She didn’t know when he would reply, so she tried to get back to sleep. Before she had even gotten halfway back upstairs, a letter appeared in front of her. She opened it, and read carefully.

“Dear Sparks,

I understand your worries, and they are well-founded. It’s not impossible for it to happen, far from it. Though I won’t go into detail in such an insecure medium as this. We will talk more on this in person.

Sincerely,

Maestro Spectrum”

Twilight sighed. She didn’t get much out of the letter, but she supposed Maestro wanted to be careful about things. There were rumors of letters being hijacked, so his suspicions were founded in something, at least. She made her way upstairs just as the sun was starting to rise. She wasn’t exactly tired due to her nightmare, so it worked out rather well that way. She woke up Spike and got breakfast going for them. It was still kind of odd to her though. Why did everything switch in order when it cycled back? Maestro seemed to have no solid theory as to why, but he was rather unfazed by it all. She shrugged, reasoning that he probably saw it as something minor and insignificant. She focused on making the day go well- and that started with finishing her breakfast.

She and Spike were nearly finished eating when they got a knock on the door. Curious as to who was there, Twilight opened it with care. Standing on her doorstep was Applejack, and she looked quite out of sorts. Cautiously, Twilight broached the subject. “Hey AJ, are you alright? You look… stressed.”

Applejack huffed in irritation and shook her head. “It’s cider season, and some cons have come ‘round to try and stir up trouble! Ah’m so mad Ah could spit! They gots no business comin’ here to try an’ take advantage of the good ponies of Ponyville!”

Twilight hadn’t seen Applejack quite this livid last time. Sure, she was angry, but not quite to this degree. She tried to calm her down. “Listen, AJ. I know you’re mad, but there’s a simple solution. You have to prove to the townsponies that they are conning them- without evidence to backup your argument, they won’t listen.”

Applejack huffed in indignation. “An’ jus’ how d’ya s’pose Ah do that? They’s got all that fancy ‘salesponyship’ they’ve been flaunting. Maght as well go’an pack m’bags!”

Applejack jolted as Twilight gently put a hoof on her shoulder, a smile on her face. “It won’t come to that, AJ. You have us! We’ll help you out, no question. That’s what friends are for.”

Shaking her head, Applejack pulled away. “Ah ‘preciate the offer, Twi. But if’n Ah’m gonna beat ‘em, Ah’ll do it mahself.”

She stormed off, ignoring Twilight trying to call out. “Wait, AJ! Please-!” But Applejack was already gone. Concerned, she called Spike to the door. “Something’s off with Applejack. Get a parchment and quill, we might have to get a letter about this.” He did so, but she forestalled him from writing it immediately. Instead, she went to Sugar Cube corner just as she saw Rainbow enter. Curious, she and Spike went inside, and saw Pinkie change the sign on the door from Open to Closed, then she shut the blinds. Nopony else was in the shop aside from Rarity and Fluttershy.

Pinkie looked unusually serious as she looked around the room.“I presume we’re all here because we’re concerned about How Applejack has been acting recently?”

Each of them nodded, and Rarity spoke out. “While we don’t exactly see eye-to-eye all the time, I am concerned at how she acted towards those Flim Flam Brothers. Hostile, almost violent even!”

Rainbow snorted. “I get that they’re trampling on her business, but if they had more cider-”

Twilight cut her off with a glare. “That’s not what is important here, Rainbow. She’s not herself. I know who might be able to help.” She then looked over to Spike. “Take the letter, Spike. It’s urgent.”

Spike readied his paper and quill, and stood ready for Twilight. He wrote exactly as she dictated.

“Dear Maestro,

Applejack has been acting off today. Pinkie and the others have seen it as well. She’s been more vicious and active in getting the truth out of others, and I think something is wrong. The girls and I await your response.

Your friend always,

Twilight Sparkle”

With a quick glance over it, she nodded, and had Spike send it off. They didn’t have to wait long for a response, though they didn’t get a letter. Instead, a seven colored rainbow entered in from the window, and touched on the floor. The rainbow took pony shape, and the light went away as Maestro shook himself. “Bah. Not fond of teleportation, but when necessary…” He then lit his horn, and coated the building with the silence field. He turned to the others. “So, how bad is it? Has she hurt anyone?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “N-not yet, but… well it’s best to stop it before it gets out of hoof.”

Nodding, Maestro pondered for a bit. “So she hasn’t yet- but she might very soon. Not good.” He frowned, unsettled. “So her anger…”

Twilight knew that he had his suspicions, but he wasn’t voicing them- classic Maestro, as always. She decided to volunteer the information. “It’s the Flim Flam Brothers. They’re the ones that have her so wound up.”

Maestro understood that, and sighed. “Of course. They’re a troublesome duo, to be sure.” He paused, pacing a bit. He then had an idea. “If I’m right, she’s probably gone to do something rash to expose their con-artist nature-- though, her methods might be quite questionable.” He proceeded to look around the room. “Does anyone know where their camp is?” Rainbow raised her hoof. He smirked. “Well ladies, looks like we’re on a stakeout!”

To Be Continued Next Time in Part Two

Author's Note

Here it is, Chapter 4! I was worried that I might not be able to get it out on time, but I decided to split it in half so I could. Has yet to be edited.

Rthö Hlï: Rotten Apple- Part Two

Maestro and the girls arrived at the camp during the night, when the Flim Flam Brothers had gone to sleep. While waiting for Applejack to arrive, Rainbow decided to have a bit of idle chit-chat with Maestro. “So, although we’re friends, we don’t know all that much about you. What’s it like, travelling to other towns all the time? Surly you get tired of it, right?”

Maestro shook his head. “It’s like you and flying, Rai- I just can’t imagine my life without it. It’s been part of me for a very long time, and It’s bound to stay that way. I may have seen the world many times over, but I never tire of the places and people.” He smiled. “Each trip is different, and there are always exciting new faces, new experiences. The chaos of it all is invigorating, to balance out the order of day-to-day life.”

The girls winced at his use of the word chaos in a positive light- though Twilight did remember that he had done so a few times last time. He had a differing opinion on chaos than others did- and maybe that was what caused them to distance themselves from him last time. This time, she had some idea as to why. Though she just had to confirm. “When you use the word ‘chaos’, you speak of it in good terms. Why do you see it this way?”

Blinking, Maestro processed that. The others seemed curious, too. Shrugging, Maestro answered, “Well, I see chaos as a change- be it good or bad. Something that breaks the flow of events, that alters how things are. Chaos is not evil, just as Order is not good- they are both tools. It is all up to the wielder to determine how to use them.”

The looks on their faces showed that some part of them understood, though they had mixed thoughts on it- aside from Twilight, who now appreciated all the more what Maestro had gone through. If everything had always played out the same no matter what, Maestro would’ve probably gone mad long ago- and who knows what that would have done. She now saw that Maestro saw solace in the flux of the Cycles, a comfort that there was a possibility of success. Twilight just had to ensure that this was the last time things cycled back- otherwise, she didn’t know if Maestro could take it. The group’s attention was drawn to a shadow of an Earth Pony approaching the camp, no doubt it was Applejack. Just as the shadow was about to enter the tent, Twilight used a Spotlight spell, catching Applejack off-guard. “That’s far enough, Applejack!” The group came out of the bushes, and soon Applejack was cut off on all sides. “We can’t let you do this, AJ. It’s not like you!”

Just as Twilight was starting to approach, she stopped as she felt the air charge with a magic that Twilight had felt before, though she couldn’t place just where. She tried to power through, but was thrown back a bit. Maestro caught her, a grim look on his visage. “This magic… you feel it too, don’t you?” At her nod, he sighed. “I knew that I couldn’t be the only one. The familiarity… is of Nightmare Moon’s Magic.”

To be honest, Twilight hadn’t recognized it at first, but now it was obvious- this was in fact the same magic. She was startled when the magic started becoming visible as Applejack spoke. “Ah’m not gonna stand for anypony lyin’ no more! When Ah’m done wit’ them,...” Her coat was stained black as the magic flowed into her. Her Cutie Mark morphed into something new- a trio of apple cores, fecid and rotten. Her eyes changed to be darker in hue, and she barked out in a powerful voice. “Ah’m gonna ensure tha’ nopony lies ever agin!” She glared with ruthlessness at the gathered ponies. “No matter what it takes.”

The girls gasped in confusion, uncertain at what to do. Maestro looked slightly different as he whispered to himself, eyes flickering with a bit of madness. The others didn’t catch it, but Twilight barely made out what he’d said. “It Begins. The Darkness Comes. Our Fate Be Sealed!” A manic grin was there for a second, but Maestro shook himself out of it. He grimaced, and muttered to himself. “Not again. Not this, not now. I can deal with this later.” He straightened himself, putting on a show of confidence. “Alright, there is a way to help her. We’ve just gotta do it right.”

Pinkie voiced the confusion in the air. “Um, but how? We can’t use the Elements on her, it might break the connection! That’s what happened when Celestia used them on Luna 1000 years ago, so what should we do?”

Twilight had her own idea, but Maestro seemed to have his own. Twilight presented hers first. “We must reason with her, each of us is her friend- together, I believe that we can do this.”

The girls seemed to like the idea, but Maestro was skeptical. “I can see the merit of it, but I think I have a better idea.” He puffed himself up with assurance as Twilight remembered him doing in the past; then he explained. “The solution is rather simple, really. We use our collective magic to delve into her mind- There, we will look for the root of the problem- the dark seed.” When he said this, he looked different than before, his eyes had a harder edge to them, to be sure. Though Twilight could’ve sworn one of them twitched slightly as he went to the next part. “ When we find it, we attack and destroy it.”

Even though he was sure he’d won them over, Fluttershy objected. “That seems too dangerous, risking damage to her mind like that. I say we go with Twilight’s plan.” One by one, much to Maestro’s chagrin, they sided with Twilight’s plan.

Maestro looked livid, his eyes like a beast was willing to be unchained. He took a few deep breaths to control himself, He then forced a smile. He understood that Twilight had not seen as much as he had, so she was liable to think something like this might work- Foolishness, is what he presumed. Deciding to humor her, Maestro relented. “Fine. We do things your way, Twilight.”

The group surrounded Applejack, determined to break her out of this- Though Maestro seemed to not believe this would do anything, Twilight would not give in to that mentality. The girls took turns, talking of the good times they had together, of the Applejack they knew. At first, Maestro thought it wasn’t working, and was about to call of the farce- but then he saw it. The darkness was fading. Applejack was second-guessing what she was doing. Eyes wide, Maestro could not believe what he was seeing. This wasn’t how things worked. While some things he had done in the past weren’t exactly the best, He was certain that at this point he’d figured it out- And yet, here he was, being proven wrong.

It was frankly absurd- Yet, some part of him, long forgotten saw this as a comfort. He decided to get in on the action, recount a tale he recalled- but then he remembered something unsettling. That one hadn’t happened in this cycle. Not yet, anyway. He racked through his memory, trying to find something that had happened this time that he could connect with her on. It took a long time, for old memories kept messing him up. His head was hurting from recalling it all at once, and this was why he didn’t recall that far back too often- it hurt too much. He sorted away those old ones, pushing them back as he focused on this cycle only.

There was one tale he had, though he was surprised he jumped right to one of his older ones by default. He shook himself, and recounted when he gave her a bit of advice on bookkeeping the finances of the farm- sure, it was a bit droll, but he didn’t have much else at this point- he kept himself too busy for that. Luckily it helped, but it was Twilight and the others that helped Applejack get back to herself the most. Her colors back to normal, she apologized and walked off with the four others that were unaware of the cycle. Maestro knew Twilight was still there, and he spoke to her. “I was… wrong. I thought I had the answer. Such thinking has lead to unsavory results before, and yet… I let myself be assured that I was right- when my answer for the problem probably would’ve done more harm than good.”

Twilight saw him hang his head in shame, something she had never seen him do. He looked very different than she had always known him, almost like he felt defeated. There were so many questions in her head- but some that she could figure out on her own, mostly. The reason he felt he had so many answers was because of his experience, yet he had so much experience. No mortal pony should have to handle that amount of memory. She even thought she’d seen a bit of insanity in him today, something that had never been observed before because of negligence last time. If Maestro was going mad, there was little she thought she could do about it- After all, it was a long time coming, even if he was keeping it at bay somehow. But maybe, she could help mitigate the effects. Her esolve sure, she went up to Maestro, and hugged him.

He stiffened. He hadn’t had somebody do this in… so very long. He was silent for a while, uncertain what to say. This feeling… Was this what having a true friend felt like? He hadn’t felt this in… ever, really. For the first time, he felt as if he… belonged. He didn’t quite accept it, though. He couldn’t. He was a pony out of time, almost like relic from a bygone era. He knew how things were supposed to have gone, so many ways how it should have been- and that alone caused him to push everyone away. He stood, Twilight sliding off of him. He spoke quietly. “I have much to think about. There are things that I… no longer understand as I thought I did. I still feel like I have to keep distance, but…” He smiled lightly as he turned to her. “Maybe I’ll… come around more often?” He seemed to hesitate, though. “It… will be difficult, but… I think I can do that. Make time… for all of you.” He nodded. “Though, I must get back- Prism’s pretty worried about me. I’ll... see you ‘round.” With a wave goodbye, he teleported back to where he’d come. Twilight was a bit upset that he’d left, but she understood that he had a few things to sort out. She went home, exhausted from the long day.

Author's Note

So here it is! Yes, I know that Nightmare versions of the Mane Six have been done before, but I thought I'd take a little liberty with the idea. I mean, why should they have to go nightmare all at once? Edited by Book_Wyrm.

Rthö Dœf- Mark This Day

A week and a half had passed, and Maestro had kept his word- he had popped by a few times in the interim just to spend time with everyone. He seemed to be more dedicated than ever before to making sure that he connected with their mutual friends. Twilight smiled at the thought that Maestro was making an effort with this cycle, because it was her belief that they needed to pull out all the stops to ensure that this was the last. Sure, she didn’t know that for sure- but, it was wearing on Maestro’s mind. If he stayed aware and things cycled back again… She didn’t know if he would remain sane after that. So this time had to be the last- no matter the cost. She shook herself out of her thoughts when she saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders come into the library to ask her how she got her Cutie Mark. She gave them much the same answer as last time; but her thoughts were elsewhere afterward. The trio had cropped up a few days ago, thick as thieves- and already known for getting into trouble. Last time they’d grouped up much later- but by this point such things seemed less relevant. She found herself going to Sugar Cube Corner, and the girls were all there- and Rainbow told her story to the Crusaders. Just after the group celebrated their connection, The door to Sugar Cube Corner opened- and Maestro came inside. “Hello, all! Did I miss something?”

The girls were still not used to him, and half-debated excluding him. However, Twilight remembered that they had done so last time- and Maestro was rightfully upset about how he’d been ignored for so long. So she instead smiled. “We were telling the Crusaders here our Cutie Mark stories. We’ve all heard each others- so why not tell us yours?”

At first, Maestro blinked. Nobody had asked that question in… wait, had anyone ever asked it? He was unsure. He pushed those thoughts away, and nodded slightly. “Well, it’s been a while since anybody’s asked me that, but I don’t see why not. Though, it’s a long story. I suggest that you all take a seat.” Once everyone in the room had complied, Maestro cleared his throat. “Let’s see… how did it go again...? Ah, yes!

“When I was much younger, I always had a fascination with art in all its forms. During any spare time that I had back then, I would pick up an easel and any sketching supplies I could scrounge up. I would spend my time sketching and occasionally writing a song when I put away the easel. For months I was on the same sketch, trying to figure out what I was missing. Even when humming the tune I was trying to write, which helped me focus, nothing was coming of it. After nine months of work, I was nearing the point where I was starting to have doubts, and felt that I should give up. The day that I was most considering hanging up my art for good was a bleak one, with dark clouds overhead. I’d headed outside to try and get some sort of new vantage point on it. I was struggling with the piece as I usually was, pretty much ready to tear out my hair and break the easel and give in.

But then, at the moment when my stubborn pride and hope was about to give out, I noticed rays of light coming through the dark clouds above. I rose my head gradually to help my eyes adjust to the sudden light from above that cut through the darkness, and when I was properly adjusted to it, I was amazed at what I saw. Cast through the skies was something I thought that had been eliminated long ago: an honest-to-goodness natural rainbow sporting all seven colors in vibrance like nothing else I’d ever seen before. At that very moment, I felt something stir inside, a fire like nothing I had felt before blazed to life as I turned to my work, knowing what it was missing. My control was sure, my focus immovable. I finished the piece in a flurry, and went to another, and another, and so on. I couldn’t stop myself; there were so many ideas in my head that I just had to capture them all. I was so consumed in my work that I didn’t even notice the mark appear. I only noticed it later that day, after my energy and excitement had worn down. Suffice to say, I was surprised and enthralled when I saw it there- the mark that I had pursued, the mark that I wanted more than anything in the world, and it was mine.” Maestro smiled. “And so ends the story of how I forced my destiny to bend to my will. Any questions?”

Sweetie Belle raised a hoof, and Maestro chuckled a bit as he pointed to her. After being given the go ahead, she asked a strange question. “Miss Cheerilee said that each pony is meant to find a certain talent, and will always eventually find it. So, how can you say that you forced it when you were likely to get it anyway?”

Shaking his head, Maestro spoke in a somber tone. “Your teacher was mistaken. If one thing that night changed, I would very likely have ended up in a very different situation, with a different talent altogether. I may have settled in a single place, never having reason to travel the world. I may have never met Twilight and the others, at least in the circumstances that I did. If things had gone a certain way, I may have wound up being a foe to Twilight and the girls- and the possibilities are positively endless as to what else could change. There is something you should remember: you have control over your destiny, you just have to assert it. Find something that you love to do, that you are good at doing, and work tirelessly in that pursuit. Doing this, I am fairly certain that you too might force the mark to be what your heart desires most.” The trio of fillies were hanging on his words, but he had to give them one last piece of advice. “However, know this. This method is only fit for the dedicated, the determined, and the persistent. If you do not have the drive for such things, you will fail. This path is not for everyone. Consider carefully if you wish to pursue this path, for once you do, it’s succeed… or fail.”

The weight of his words hung in the air for a moment, until Rainbow asked the question on everyone’s minds. “So you didn’t see the Rainboom then? How is your mark connected to ours, then?”

At this, Maestro let out a hearty chuckle. After a solid minute, he calmed down. “Oh, Rai. Don’t be silly! Just because I’m not connected through your Rainboom doesn’t meant that we’re not connected! Connections are stronger than just silly same-day Cutie Markings. If that wasn’t the case, nobody would be friends with anyone that didn’t get a Cutie Mark on the same day! Sure, it’s a nice sentiment and all, but is it really all that important? The character of the people you connect with should mean far more than a shared Cutie Mark day. I may not have gained my mark on the same day, but I chose to connect myself to you guys through my own volition- I didn’t have to, mind you. I could have ignored you girls outright. But I chose not to. I forged a destiny where I became friends with all of you, and I believe that is what makes the difference.”

The discussion went on for a while, and Maestro answered as many questions as they had. Twilight smiled at knowing that Maestro’s efforts were not being ignored this time. He really was starting to connect to them- and this is what made Twilight more certain than ever that things would be different this time. She even managed to convince all of the girls to have a sleepover with her- though Maestro declined, saying that he had to get going. After all, he had an expo he had to get to. While she was a bit put out, Twilight understood. Maestro was a very busy person- she couldn’t expect him to just drop something that important. They made their farewells, and Maestro left for Las Pegasus. Though, for whatever reason, Twilight had a bit of a hard time getting to sleep. The girls had already tired themselves out due to the activities, but Twilight was wide awake. She should be tired, but she didn’t feel it. There was this strange, uncomfortable knot inside that she just couldn’t place. She forced herself to ignore it, and eventually managed to get to sleep.

Author's Note

Here we are, Chapter Six! Time for a break- Cutie Mark Story style! I've tossed around his Cutie Mark story in my head for a long time, and this is what I settled on. Editing was done by Book_Wyrm.

Rthö Achi- New Development

It had been two weeks since the girls had last been able to talk with Maestro- he’d written a letter apologizing profusely, explaining that he was caught up with a particularly annoying art critic. He had also explained that he had made a bit of headway in getting Luna adjusted to modern times, which was very good news. However, that letter had arrived a week ago, and Twilight was starting to get a bit worried. Maestro had always tried to keep contact with everyone, even when busy. He had roughly sent a letter a week, though not really in consistent increments. While normally this would console her, Maestro had yet to send a letter this week, and he never waited more than a week to send a letter. Twilight tried to calm herself; after all, Maestro was very busy. He could have just not had much time to write in the past week, or just not known what to write. This did help her nerves a bit, but not by much. If no letter came from him, hopefully he’d explain aptly soon.

However, she couldn’t worry about that now- Rarity had offered to make all of them something for the Gala, and Twilight had to ensure that things didn’t go like last time. She brought Spike along, and they found her friends there. And lo and behold, Maestro and Prism were there too. A bit in shock, Twilight sputtered a bit. “M-maestro? You’re here! You haven’t written in a week, so I was getting a bit worried.”

Maestro sighed deeply. “Things have been hectic, Sparks. That critic just wouldn’t let up. Also had to catch up with Trix, and thankfully she’s doing well with her magic shows. It’s been stressful, to say the least. At least I’m here in person, though. That’s one thing you can count on- if I don’t send any of you a letter within seven days of the last one sent to one of you, I will likely show up that day. I’m trying, but I’m very busy these days. In a few weeks, it’ll probably cool down again.”

Before anyone could reply, Rarity opened the door. “Oh thank you all for coming! Please, do come in.” They all complied, and entered the shop. Rarity shut the door behind her, and explained why they were there. “You see, since we’re all going to the Gala, It’s only fitting that we have something nice to wear! I’ll make all us girls dresses, and Maestro and Spike suits! It’ll be great! So, I’ll take each of you aside to get your measurements and your specifications on what they’ll look like.”

Rarity went and did just that with the girls, and each of them had much the same vision as last time- but Twilight wanted to spice things up a little. When she was taken into the back and measured, Twilight responded to Rarity’s question of what she wanted. “Just as long as it looks like a night sky, I’ll be happy.” Rarity was a bit astounded at that, but decided to not question it.

Rarity took Prism aside, and she asked for: “Nothing too drastic, just make sure it doesn’t clash with my scales.”

Rarity took Spike aside, and he asked for a standard black tux with white shirt. She went to Maestro, and took him aside, starting to measure. “So, what would you like? Anything specific?”

Maestro considered for a moment, and shook his head. “Not really. Just… Surprise me.”

Rarity’s eyes widened, shocked that he’d ask for something like that. She wrote that down, and dismissed them so she could get to work. A few hours later, she called them back, and showed them the pieces. “So? What do you think?”

Twilight recognized many of these as the dresses that they had worn last time, and she was glad to see them. The girls were a bit apprehensive, and probably would answer as they had last time. Then, she saw Maestro holding his suit up to himself, admiring it. “Royal blue with turquoise accents.” He smirked at Rarity. “How did you know? It’s perfect!”

Rarity was shocked that he liked it, as were the others. Twilight had had a suspicion that he’d like it, so him saying so wasn’t a surprise. She saw Prism holding her dress close, a simple white one with laced edges. She smiled at Rarity, a bit lost for words. Though Twilight could tell that Prism liked it. Twilight went to hers, and picked it up. “I think it’s wonderful, Rarity. I’ll try it on immediately!” She looked to the others. “C’mon, girls. At least try them on. Rarity worked hard on these.” The girls looked at each other, and agreed that that was the least they could do. They all went to the changing rooms one at a time to try them on. Twilight tried hers first, and turned to smile at Rarity. “Thank you. It means a lot that you’d do this for us.”

Rarity appreciated Twilight’s words, and expressed as much before Twilight changed out of it and left the room. Applejack was unsure about hers at first, thinking it was a bit much. But she tried to see her vision of what she thought she had wanted on her instead- and somehow, it didn’t feel right. The more she saw herself in it, the more it grew on her. She chuckled at herself a bit. “Well Rarity, Ah think that it’s grown on me! It really has.”

Rarity was enthused at that, and escorted her out after she’d changed out ot it. Rainbow tired hers on next, and was not impressed with hers at first. It didn’t quite seem cool enough. But, she wanted to not make Rarity’s efforts go in vain. She tried flying around the room a bit in it, and she was surprised at how it felt. Her vision might not have been quite this easy to fly in, and the fact that Rarity took that into account touched her. “It’s pretty cool Rarity, almost as cool as me! I couldn’t ask for more!”

Rarity was a bit surprised that she’d earned Rainbow’s approval- she thought she’d have to acquiesce to her demands. Rarity sighed in relief. Rainbow changed out of the dress, and left the room. Fluttershy tried hers on next, and was thinking a bit. She did like it, but maybe… she pondered a little while longer, then nodded slightly with a soft smile. She was happy with it, and it reflected her quite well. She hugged Rarity before changing out of the dress and leaving the room.

Pinkie came in next, and she tried it on. She made a few silly faces, pranced around a bit, and giggled. “I think it’s just as bubbly as me! I didn’t think it possible! Thanks, Rarity!”

Rarity was relieved that her friends liked them- a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She got them to show them off in a fashion show that night, and Fancy Pants was in the audience. The approval of the town and a high-end designer was more than she could ask for- but here, she had it. Things simmered down a bit, and Twilight went over to Maestro, who was still in his suit. She was about to speak to him, but then he turned to face her. “Ah, Sparks. How goes things this evening?”

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. Something was different about Maestro as the full moon shined in the sky. With that suit, he looked almost like a prince. Her face felt hot, and many thoughts ran through her head all at once. She tried to calm herself. Maestro was her friend, and likely had a girlfriend. There was no way he’d go for a bookworm like her. He was well out of her league, and she knew that. This was probably just a silly crush that would abate with time, that was all. She took a deep breath, and smiled. “Fine, Maestro. I’m fine.”

Maestro stared at her for a while, making her a bit uncomfortable. The moment seemed to drag on forever, his eyes piercing her very soul. But then, it was over. “I see…” He closed his eyes, and stood. He turned away. “Well, If that’s everything…”

“Wait!” Twilight couldn’t stop herself. Maestro turned, and Twilight got caught in his gaze again. She powered through though, because she had to know. She set up the silence field, and pursued the question. “Maestro, during the cycles did you ever… date?”

Taken aback, Maestro blinked. That was something he hadn’t expected. He never thought Twilight would be interested in that sort of info on his life. He thought back briefly, and nodded lightly. “In the earlier ones, yes. But after a while… it just got too painful. I couldn’t invest myself in a relationship beyond friendship, because I knew that if I did, it’d be taken from me when it started all over. It was… too difficult to bear.”

Twilight gasped a bit. That means…! She chided herself. Maestro had been abstaining out of pain for a long time. Even if he did get back on the dating scene in this cycle, she had less of a chance with him than the sun did to freeze over. But maybe… She smiled. “Well, if this one’s going to be the last… You deserve happiness. Try. Go out there, and try. I believe in you.”

Maestro knew that he should, but… for so long, he’d not let himself. It wouldn’t be easy, that was for sure. But he decided that if this was to be the last one… there was no harm to be had. He smiled. “Thanks for that, Sparks. I’ll try. It will be difficult for me, for sure. But… I won’t give up.” He nodded. “Alright. I’ll see you later.” He broke the silence field, and went to grab Prism.

Twilight almost reached out, but stopped herself. She wasn’t good enough for him, she knew that. She was a bookworm, and he seemed like the type to go for somepony with an ego, perhaps a bit of artistic talent. She had neither of those- and there was one mare that did who she knew well. She shook her head. Besides, this was just a silly crush. Yet, as she tried to go to sleep, she couldn’t help but wonder if that was really true.

Author's Note

Well now, this makes things interesting. Twilight seems conflicted, and Maestro seems to have some idea what she's trying to hide from him. What happens next? Only time will tell.

Rthö Snĕ- Party For NONE: Part One

Summer was almost over, and today was going to prove troublesome. Today was Pinkie Pie’s birthday- and frankly, Twilight wasn’t sure how to approach the problem. She had so much fun at Gummy’s birthday party that it completely slipped her mind to not suggest “doing this again soon.” Now, she had a dilemma. The girls had plans for the party, but some nagging part of Twilight thought that the distractions might not be enough this time around. She paced for a good while, causing Spike to worry a bit. But she fired it out- It was simple, really. She needed somepony to go to the Pinkie’s party to distract her- But the problem was, all of the girls were busy. Aside from that, she couldn’t send a letter to Maestro- he was busy in Las Pegasus with an expo and couldn’t leave. It would seem that she had to figure this one out on her own. She turned to Spike. “Could you do me a favor and keep Pinkie busy? We need to buy time to prepare her party.”

Spike gave a thumbs-up, understanding completely. He walked out of the library, off to Pinkie’s. Twilight felt sort of bad for not telling Spike about the cycles. The guilt of deciding to keep it from him was starting to weigh her down, and eat at her. She couldn’t help but think that she’d made a wrong choice. Maybe when Maestro was less busy, she’d be able to approach him about the subject. It was easier now to talk to him about things when she could focus on something else other than her feelings for him. It had been slightly difficult to figure out how to do so, but it had been worth it. She was having second thoughts about it being just a silly crush, but that didn’t mean she should pursue. He was a distant pony, and he hadn’t let her in very far. As for a pony like Trixie, it would probably be rather simple to get him to open up.

She shook her head. She shouldn’t think on such things. Twilight instead focused on getting things ready for Pinkie’s party- and at first, it seemed things would go much smoother than last time. With Spike at Pinkie’s after party for Gummy, Twilight and the others didn’t have to be so discreet about it. Heck, they even managed to get more help, and get the entire town in on it. So even if Pinkie started to suspect something, they could distract her. Yet some part of Twilight still nagged at her. Something was going to go wrong, she could feel it. She expressed her concern to Applejack, but she brushed her off. “Listen, Twi. It’s always been a bit difficult plannin’ a party for Pinkie’s birthday. We’re just lucky that you made a plan for it after we explained how difficult it’s been in the past. Don’t worry so much ‘bout it! It’ll go fine. Once Spike starts leading her here, we get into position. Just gotta have faith in the little guy.”

While this should have assured Twilight, it didn’t ease her nerves much. She used her breathing exercise that Cadence had taught her to try and calm herself. It did seem to help put her at ease much more than she had been before, but the needling feeling was still there. But then, something happened. Spike sent a note to Twilight, and what it said was ill news.

“Pinkie’s gone nuts! I accidentally let slip that this was only a distraction, and now she’s tied me up! Please send help.

-Spike.”

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. It seemed that he’d yet to learn how to not put his foot in his mouth… She sighed. “Well, let’s see what’s up. We may need to do more than just calm her down.” She then sent off a quick note to Maestro, informing him of the situation. She told him in the letter to meet them at Sugar Cube Corner’s entrance. He did reply that he’d be there as soon as possible, so they decided to wait for him to arrive. Twilight had some idea of what might happen, but she wanted to see if she was right first.

They didn’t have to wait long for Maestro to arrive via teleport. He took a look towards Sugar Cube Corner’s second floor, and activated his magic. “Hmm… That’s Nightmare Energy, alright.” He turned to the others. “We saved Applejack from the Nightmare Energy by reminding her of our friendship, but It might take a bit more than that this time. So, let’s talk strategy, just in case.”

Twilight shook her head. “I believe in our friendship with her, Maestro. It worked for Applejack, so it’ll work for Pinkie. You have to trust me on this.”

Maestro paused. He ground his teeth a bit, almost about to tell her off- but he reigned in his anger. She was right, after all. It was her suggestion that had worked last time; not his. So, he decided to put his faith in her. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be so sceptical, but sometimes… I can’t help it.” He shook his head. “Alright. We will do this your way, I suppose. Let’s get going.” They braced themselves at the front door, anxious about what they were going to see. But they took a breath, and entered.

To be continued in Party For NONE- Part Two

Author's Note

Less words than I usually hav in my chapters, but I felt it necessary. I'll see you in chapter 10.

Rthö Füf- Party For NONE: Part Two

The inside of the shop was in shambles, with Mrs. Cake cowering behind the counter. She pointed up the stairs wordlessly, and Twilight nodded. “We’ll get Pinkie back to her old self, Mrs. Cake. I promise.” Without much further ado, they went upstairs.

The scene that wawaited them was disturbing, to say the least. Pinkie had gone through a metamorphosis most dire. Her coat was an off-black pink and her mane and tail were tangled and pointy. Her Cutie Mark had changed, too. It was now a trio of balloons with nails jutting out of them. Pinkie held a squirming Spike against the wall, a sick grin on her muzzle. “Well, look who decided to show up.” Pinkie turned to them, a crazed look in her eyes. “How about we have a party?”

As Spike plopped on the floor with a thud, it was clear that Pinkie wasn’t all there. She had this crazed, almost empty look in her eyes that felt quite cold. However, Twilight had to try and break through to her, no matter what. "Pinkie, snap out of it! We're your friends! C’mon! Don’t you remember singing that song to drive away our fears in the Everfree?"

Pinkie let out a disturbing laugh- no, it was more accurately a cackle. “Sure do! But that really didn’t seem to matter much, seeing as none of you wanted to come to the afterparty! Some friends you turned out to be!”

Affronted, Rarity responded. “It’s not like that, Pinkie! We had our reasons, trust us!”

Pinkie’s eyes began to twitch. “Trust you? Why should I? I think I rather reciprocate the spite you obviously have for me.” She widened her stance a bit, as if getting ready to charge.

Applejack restrained Pinkie with her own strength. “Now listen here, Pinkie! We don’t hate you! Far from it, Ah’d say. If’n you’d just let us explain-”

Suddenly, Pinkie lashed out, sending Applejack against a wall. “Explain!? I think I know the reason already! There’s no need to explain!”

Things weren’t looking good, but they still had to try and reason with her. Fluttershy mustered up her courage to try and talk down Pinkie. “Pinkie, calm down. We would never intentionally hurt your feelings, especially because of what day it is. Don’t-”

Pinkie stomped violently. “Stop it! STOP IT! I won’t hear your excuses any more! You snubbed Gummy’s after-party, so-!”

Just then, Rainbow poured out a bucket of water over Pinkie’s head. With her distracted, Rainbow now could get a word in edgewise. “Today’s not just the day after Gummy’s birthday! It’s your birthday. We wanted to surprise you! Can’t we try and do something nice for your birthday?”

At that, Pinkie blinked. Conflicting thoughts swirled around in her head, trying to vy for dominance. Maestro stepped forward, hoof outstretched. “C’mon Pinks. I’ll show you what the girls prepared for you. I may not have been able to help out with it, but I can appreciate what they’ve done for you. What do you say?” Pinkie nodded, and agreed to be led to her party. It was a bit of a trek, but when she saw it her features returned to normal. The dark wisps leapt off, but Maestro caught them in his magic. “Oh, no you don’t! You’re not getting away this time.” He held the wisps firmly, and procured a jar from thin air. He placed the energy within the jar, and sealed it. “That’s twice now that nightmare magic has overcome our friends. Clearly this is no accident. I’ll have to study it to see what exactly is going on.” He warped the jar away to an unknown location, and sighed. “Too much a heavy thought, at the moment. Shall we enjoy the festivities?”

Much to Twilight’s surprise, Maestro actually seemed to enjoy himself at the party. It seemed that even he needed a break every once and awhile, to let his mane down, as it were. Seeing him like this brought some thoughts to mind that she didn’t really want to deal with at the moment. But, savvy that he was, Maestro noticed. He went over to her, and placed a hoof on her shoulder. Twilight jumped a little. “Ah! You startled me, Maestro. Don’t do that!”

He chuckled a bit, shaking his head. “No promises on that one, Sparks. Besides, you looked a bit glum, so I came to check on you. You should be enjoying the party, not worrying about which one of our friends might turn next.” He looked at her with a serious face, and probed a question. “That isn’t what troubles you most though, is it? I can tell, Sparks. Maybe if you tell me, it might help.”

At those words, Twilight looked away. “I… don’t know, Maestro. I think I should deal with this on my own.”

A bit in shock, Maestro considered the options. He put up the silence field, and shook his head. “Trust me, Sparks. I’ve been down that road. It… never ends well.” His eyes looked downcast for a moment, before he regained his composure. “Back when I first started recollection of the cycles, I thought I wouldn’t need the help of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony to achieve victory.” He scoffed. “You can see how much a folly that was. I was a stubborn fool, who didn’t know when to concede- still am, to some degree. The point is, you can’t insist on dealing with problems yourself all the time. With an issue as large as what is eating at you, it’s best to let somebody else know what you’re going through.” He smiled gently. “So c’mon, Sparks. Let that weight off your shoulders. Let me help you.”

However, Twilight was uncertain. Her heart said yes, yet her mind said no. She wanted to tell him, but she faltered. She shook her head. “It’s nothing I can’t handle, Maestro. I’ll be fine.” She left, making her way home with haste. She shut the door behind her, sweating profusely. She couldn’t tell him. Not now, not ever. He was much better off not knowing how she felt about him, or at least that’s what she tried to convince herself with as she drifted off.

Maestro stared after where Twilight had just been. He sighed. “She’s got it bad, then. If she’d tell me herself, I might give her a chance to…” Just then, he saw Trixie come over to the party. He dispelled the silence field as she strolled over. “Trix! Good to see you, my friend. What brings you here?” Maestro did have a sneaking suspicion, but he just had to know for sure.

All eyes on her, Trixie muttered something under her breath that nobody could quite make out. She took a deep breath, and took a leap. “I-i was w-wondering if you might allow me to accompany to the Grand Galloping Gala? As your… d-date?”

The girls gasped, and Maestro smirked. Jackpot. “So, you like me that much, do you?” Trixie was caught off-guard for a moment, but nodded slightly in response. Maestro thought a moment. Well now, maybe a classic bit of jealousy might get her to spill the beans… He smiled widely. “Then sure. Best get your best gown ready, Trix. I’m not easy to impress.” In response, Trixie ran off excited. Maestro sighed. It’s your move now, Sparks. Will you try? Or will you watch in silence? I didn’t think I’d be doing this, considering how I gave up the chase cycles ago… He shook his head. No matter. Sparks urged me to try again, if this is to be the last cycle. I’ve tried many… but I wonder who’ll garner my attention at last? He then left abruptly.

Author's Note

Now things ar heating up! Next up, the Grand Galloping Gala!

Rthö Vaifüf- Night At The Gala: Part One~ Jealousy And Ire

Tonight was the night of the Gala. Summer’s final night was to be set off with a hurrah, and tomorrow Fall would begin. Twilight remembered how things had gone last time, and was glad things would likely turn out different thanks to Maestro’s suggestion. She looked over to the stallion in question, and sighed. At his side was not only his adoptive daughter Prism, but also Trixie. Twilight had known beforehoof that Trixie was likely to have asked to accompany Maestro to the Gala. And much to Twilight’s chagrin, Maestro had accepted. Twilight was still uncertain as to exactly why she was feeling this way, but she just had to ignore it. It wasn’t easy, surely, but it was her only recourse. She pushed her thoughts aside, and went into the changing room.

After the girls went into the changing rooms to get ready, and Maestro waited with Spike outside. He turned to the boy, sly grin on his face. “So, you gonna make a move on my daughter tonight?” Spike looked away, blushing. This caused Maestro to chuckle lightly. “It’s alright, Spike, I get it. You’re nervous. I was like that too, when I first asked out a girl.” He sighed deeply. “Ah, memories.” He shook himself out of reminiscence, and turned to Spike. “Listen, Spike. You’ll never get anywhere by just hemming and hawing. You’ve got to act. Go for it! After all, Prism likes you too. Might as well, right?”

Spike considered it for a while, before finally nodding. “Y-you’re right! I-i’ll ask her to dance! Th-that shouldn’t be too hard…”

Maestro gave Spike a hearty slap on the back. “That’s the spirit! Take life by the reigns and make it yours! Maybe there’s hope for you yet…” Maestro noticed that somebody else was listening. Instead of calling them out, he grinned. “After all, if you sit around waiting, life will just pass you by. If you see an opportunity, take it! If you don’t, you might not get another chance to do so.” Maestro knew that Spike wasn’t the only one struck by the words- question was, would the eavesdropper act on it?

Twilight stepped back from the curtain. The way Maestro had said that… did he know that she’d been listening? He was rather perceptive, so it wasn’t hard to say that he did. Regardless if that was the case or not, she couldn’t deny that his words struck a chord with her. Yet, she felt she had already missed her shot- after all, Trixie had already made her move on Maestro. At the thought, she started to see red, but she took a deep breath to calm herself. Thinking on it would do her no good; she would just have to strive to enjoy the Gala to the fullest. She and the others came out with their dresses, seeing that Maestro and Spike were already ready. Before Twilight pulled the same trick with the carriage as last time, she couldn’t help but notice Trixie’s dress. She looked stunning in it, to be sure. It was a lighter lavender when compared to her iconic cape and hat, and it had small stars spread throughout. There were also small blue wisps flowing and rumbling through it so as to appear it had ambient magic running through it. Twilight also noticed how Maestro reacted to the sight of Trixie’s dress. His reaction was that of sleight surprise, possibly because he might have never seen her in a dress before. Though, Twilight couldn’t really glean much else from his reaction other than that.

Shaking her head, Twilight got to the business at hoof. She turned an apple into a carriage big enough for all of them to fit inside. However, it wasn’t her that provided the solution to the movement issue. Maestro cleared his throat, and lit his horn. Twilight’s eyes grew wide as his magic seeped into the carriage. This was the first time she’d seen his enchantments in action, and it was quite breathtaking. His magic had a rhythm like nothing else she’d heard before, truly and clearly unique. As his magic melded with the former apple, It changed. Small etchings were carved into it all over, glowing turquoise like his magic. He covered the front, the wheels, and the back. Once he finished, he ushered everypony inside, as well as Spike and Prism. Twilight asked the question hanging in the air. “Maestro, what exactly did that do?”

Maestro smirked, and clapped his hooves. The etchings glowed more lively. He cleared his throat, and spoke clearly. “To Canterlot Castle, and make it snappy.” At that, the wheels turned on their own as the carriage lumbered forward on the path. Maestro sat back in his seat as the carriage picked up the pace to be slightly faster than if they were being pulled by fellow ponies. He looked over to the girls. “Impressed? Don’t be. This is a rather simple automation enchantment with basic guidance parameters.” He brushed off his suit coat, even though it had no dust on it. “Simple, for a master enchanter like me.”

That was rather impressive to be sure, for a talent in enchanting was rather rare. However, Twilight couldn’t help getting slightly angry when Trixie cozied up against him. “Wow, that’s quite impressive! Could you…?”

At the implied question, Maestro chuckled. “No, I can’t teach you. You’re an illusionist, so the kind of spell I used would use far more of your mana than it would for me if you were to try it. It’s best to stick to what you excel at, Trix.”

Trixie had a dejected look for a split second, but the moment passed quickly. “Well, even if I can’t gain that sort of power, I can still be powerful in my own way. I just have to work a little harder!” Her smug demeanor had returned, irking Twilight.

The emotions running through Twilight were causing a lot of stress on her part. Trixie was her friend, so she should be happy for her. Yet, her own feelings for Maestro screamed at her, causing a few dark thoughts to run through her mind. She shook her head. She shouldn’t dwell on it too much, but she couldn’t really help herself. Why was she feeling this way towards Maestro? In the previous cycle, she’d largely ignored him, much like the others had. Even when she started getting to know him in this cycle, she hadn’t seen him as much more than just a friend. Yet, when she saw him in the moonlight that night in his suit… something changed.

She stole a look at Maestro and Trixie, and her gut twisted at the sight of Trixie chatting up Maestro. They looked so good together. Maestro even seemed to slightly enjoy himself. This caused the knot to twist tighter. She looked away, and tried to analyze why she felt this way. What was it that she seemed to like him for? His looks? Sure, there was her new awareness of that since that night, but there was more than just that. She’d looked back to her first interactions with him since he brought her into the awareness of the cycles. He’s determined, stubborn, and a bit prideful.

Yet he’s more than that. He knew when to admit he’s wrong. He’s honest with his opinion, he’s loyal to his vision. He was kind when you got past the rougher exterior, he was generous even if he sometimes made you feel inferior. He knew when to be laid back or serious, he even had a few jokes in him if he was in the right set of mind. And most important… He knew when to listen. He’s a bit of a mess, sure. He had difficulty opening up to others, but Twilight thought she’d gotten some decent progress there. Twilight sighed. There wasn’t really an aspect of him that she didn’t like. She looked over to the pair of them again, and the familiar knot came back, but this time she understood. She really did like him, perhaps even love him. That’s why she felt so conflicted when she saw him with Trixie. She didn’t know how deep Trixie’s feelings were for Maestro, but one thing was for certain: She was connecting with him.

Sure, what Trixie knew about Maestro at this point was things Twilight already knew. But to hear him retell his Cutie Mark story for her was a red flag. He was connecting faster with Trixie than he had with her and the girls, and that was concerning. Twilight looked away. She didn’t know what to do at this point. Her options were few, and each emotion demanded her take a different course of action. The turmoil in her heart caused her to zone out to try and figure out what to do. No answer came as they drew closer to the Gala…

To Be Continued In Part Two...

Author's Note

Yes, I'm splitting the Gala into more than one chapter. At the rate I was writing it, I wasn't going to be able to put it all in a single part. See you in Part Two!

Rthö Ebfüf- Night At The Gala: Part Two~ Boiling Emotions

The carriage ride passed without much incident, and soon they arrived at the gate to Canterlot Castle. They got out and waited with the crowd out front of the closed gate. Twilight took this chance to try and talk to Maestro. “Maestro, mind if I speak with you for a while?”

Maestro turned to Trixie, whispered something in her ear, and tore himself away with little effort. He replied readily. “What’s on your mind, Sparks? Nervous about how the Gala’ll turn out?”

Twilight gulped. She could do this…. But not with the girls watching. Their eyes on her made it impossible for her to find the courage to broach the subject she wanted to talk about. Instead, she decided to chuckle lightly, and answer his query. “You could say that, yes. I hope it doesn’t get out of hoof, but…”

Maestro’s skeptical look pierced her soul for a few seconds, and then it was gone as he nodded his head. “Don’t worry so much. As long as we spend time together as friends during the Gala, it’ll all work out in the end.”

There wasn’t much time left for conversing as a pony approached from the other side of the gate to open it up. Many in the crowd were rather excited, but Maestro and Twilight remembered being here on this day before. Last time, things got quite out of hoof with her friend’s expectations. Some had family here this time, though not all of them could make it or wanted to go. Twilight went through the doors of the castle and managed to find her older brother. “Shining Armor! There’s some ponies who I’d like you to meet…”

He turned around, and smiled at Twilight. “Twily! You brought your friends to the Gala? How nice that I get to meet them in person!” He looked them over, and his eyes settled on Trixie. “Who’s she? The papers only told of you having six friends help you against Nightmare Moon…”

Clearing his throat, Maestro spoke up. “She’s my date for the evening, Trixie Lulamoon.” Maestro then smirked. “That’s enough about me. So, are the rumors true? Are you dating the Princess of Love, Mi Amore Cadenza?”

At that, Shining Armor's muzzle went slightly red. “Y-yes, they are… She’s busy though, and couldn’t make it to the Gala.” He turned to Twilight. “Though, Cadence did say that she so terribly wanted to see you again, Twily.”

Twilight’s face lit up. This meant that the Changelings had yet to invade Canterlot! It was likely that they’d try something when Discord escapes, but she didn’t know how to broach the topic with anyone that was unaware of the cycles. She supposed that she’d have to ask Maestro about that. She opted to put it aside for now, though. “I wish she could’ve been here. It’s been so long since we last saw each other!” She shook her head. “Nothing to be done about it, though. I just hope you inform me when you decide to ask her the big question.”

Shining Armor’s blush deepened. “Sis! I’m not ready to ask her something like that yet!”

The response got a light chuckle out of Twilight, and a small genuine smile on Maestro’s muzzle. It was nice to see that little jab had lightened the mood a bit. The music began a new song, and Twilight’s heart fell as Maestro offered a hoof to Trixie. “Shall we dance?”

Trixie curtsied, and accepted. Twilight’s stomach churned at the sight. She decided to excuse herself. “I’ll be right back, girls.” She sauntered off, finding herself in the garden. Whilst there, she saw a familiar figure. “Sapphiron? How’d you get here?”

He wore a black tuxedo, with swirls of gold accents. He spoke to her without turning around. “I’ve my ways, Twilight.” He turned to look at her, a serious look in his eyes. “Though, my question to you is: What’re you doing here in the garden? Shouldn’t you be with your friends?” Twilight just looked away. Sapphiron sighed, and approached. “Ah. You’re avoiding something, I can tell. It’s natural to be afraid sometimes. But you must face your fears to succeed.” Sapphiron started pushing Twilight back towards the dance hall. “Get back in there, and face what you’re afraid of.”

Twilight tried to resist, but it was futile. By the time Sapphiron stopped pushing, she was already back inside. She saw Maestro still dancing with Trixie, and she tried to bolt. But she found Sapphiron blocking her way, shaking his head. Twilight was nervous and uncertain, but at the very least her friends were off enjoying the dance floor. She took a breath, and approached Maestro and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned, and smiled. “Sparks. Did you want to speak with me?” A nod came from her, and Maestro nodded with understanding. The dance halted. “Trix, could you leave for a moment? I have something to discuss with Sparks for a bit.” Trixie looked uncertain, but decided to leave. Maestro took Twilight aside, and set up the silence field. “So. What’s troubling you?”
Twilight looked to the side, and remained silent. How was she supposed to do this? She’d never done something like this before, so she started to clam up. At the sight of her hesitance, Maestro sighed deeply. “Sparks, if you have something to say to me, just let it out. I’m here for you, alright? Just… say it.”

Twilight was still uncertain, but she decided to brace herself. She took a breath, and went for it. “Maestro... I LIKE-LIKE YOU!” the force of the shout shattered the silence field, and just as Trixie was coming back. All her friends had probably heard, she was so loud. Embarrassment on her face, she started to back away.

Maestro grabbed her with his magic as she attempted to make a run for it. A smile spread across his face. “Well done, Sparks. I knew that you could do it.”

To Be Concluded In Part Three...

Author's Note

What's this? Part Two's not the end of it? I know, calm down. There's a bit more that I want to fit in the Gala, but I had to cut it here. So on the 24th, look for Part Three!

Rthö Pxafüf- Night At The Gala: Part Three~ Simmering Down

The silence in the hall was deafening. Twilight wanted to run and hide, but Maestro’s magic was just too strong. He sighed. “I knew, you know. I was waiting for you to admit it to yourself, and to approach me on your own terms. I just didn’t expect it to be this soon.” He looked around, and chuckled. “It’s not just our friends that know; I think the whole castle might have heard!” At her deepening blush, he scratched the back of his neck. “Ah, sorry. My bad.” He cleared his throat, and continued. “You may be wondering my response to all this… Well…” He shook his head. “I do enjoy your company, that much is certain. But I also enjoy Trix’s company, so I’m in an odd spot. I don’t know if I like either of you as more than a friend as of yet, so here’s what I’m going to do.” He went over to Twilight, and let her go from his magic. He extended a hoof. “I have already danced with Trix tonight, so… Shall we dance?”

Hesitantly, Twilight accepted the offered hoof. Suddenly, a sharp tango started to play as She was drawn in close to Maestro. He lead like he had done this many times before; and perhaps he had. She followed as best she could, trying to not slow him down too much. She did manage to start a bit of a conversation as they danced. “So Maestro… how many girls have you danced with? I’m guessing many, if you’re this good…”

At that, Maestro chuckled lightly. “Oh, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, Sparks. Let’s just say that it’s more than the amount of mares I’ve dated, and leave it at that.”

The outside world seemed to fall away in the eyes of Twilight, as she was drawn further into Maestro’s eyes. She’d never felt anything quite like this before. Sure, there was that royal guard named Flash Sentry that she’d had a crush on in the last cycle, but this felt deeper than a simple crush. There wasn’t much she could really say she disliked about Maestro, if anything at all. He was a bit rough around the edges, but that was to be expected with all he’d gone through to get to this day, in comparison to her.
She hardly knew what he was like before, but she somehow could sense it. He was once more open and kinder. He was still as honest, and just as dedicated. He still had his generosity, his humor. But his shining quality was his attitude of never giving up. That, above all else, was something that she felt had only grown since his earlier self. The more he was put down, the more he’d fight. She decided to distract herself from these thoughts, and ask another question. “Maestro… what exactly is your opinion of Trixie? Be honest with me.”

A sigh escaped him, and he shook his head. “I see both of you equally at this point, Sparks. You’re both my friends, both of whom are interested in me beyond that. As for my feelings towards either of you… I don’t know anymore. I know for a fact that I at least consider both of you my friends. But recently… things have started to feel different. I haven’t felt this way towards anyone in a long time. The last time was… Rainbow, back in one of the earlier cycles, but that went nowhere. It may end up like that again, I don’t know for sure. I may go back to seeing both of you as just friends. It’s something I’ve come to terms with, seeing as I’ve long had a bit of a disconnect with my emotions. But even if it does end up like that again…” He smiled sadly. “At least I’ll have tried.”

The expression on his face almost broke Twilight’s heart. Maestro had done this song and dance before, and had no luck. Before she’d convinced him to try again, he’d long since accepted that such a relationship just wasn’t in the cards for him. She could hardly bear seeing the sad look on his face. She took a deep breath, and decided to try and cheer him up. “Listen, Maestro. It may not be me. It may not be Trixie. It wasn’t any of the ones you tried before. But I promise you, there is somebody out there for you. Even if we’re only friends after this experiment is over, you still need to keep trying to find the one for you. Everyone deserves happiness, especially you after all you’ve been through. It’s not like the Maestro I know to give up.”

Maestro blinked, then chuckled. “It sure isn’t.” He sighed, nodding. “Thank you, Sparks. I don’t say it often, but… I appreciate that you’re here for me. You and the others are my friends, but among them, I connect to you and Trixie the best. Her for slightly different reasons, but that is not important. The two of you are the best friends I’ve had.” He looked around, and set up the silence field spell once more. “Listen. You know that all my issues with friendship comes from what’s happened with the previous cycles, namely my difficulty connecting to any of you before this one. But I can safely say… that I don’t regret my choice. You truly were the best option to help me connect to them, and we have connected rather well, so far. It means the world to me that I even have friends that listen at all.”

Hesitation came from Twilight’s heart. He’d mentioned Trixie in the same breath as herself. Sure, he had said that he saw the two of them as equal in his eyes… but something inside refused to accept that answer. But, she didn’t want to hurt her chances by doing something rash. So instead, she just smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way. It means a lot to me that you are starting to open up more. You said it yourself, after all. We need to be connected as best as possible with others before the final showdown.”

Maestro sighed, and looked away. “Yes. It’s hard for me to do so, though. I’m so used to being ignored and pushed aside. Because of that, I find it difficult to open up like I used to. But… I’m getting better. I haven’t felt quite like myself in a long time, and who knows if I’ll truly feel like my old self again. But if I have to settle for a modified version, so be it. As long as it gets a future for this world at last, I’ll pay practically any price.”

That last line caused her to gasp a little. Practically any price? What did that mean? What was the edge of what he would willingly pay, and what he wouldn’t? He didn’t seem like one to give up his friends, so that was likely out of the picture. But then, her eyes widened. “Does that mean… if necessary, you’d lay down your life?”

A pause as he looked away. He sighed, and nodded his head. “If there was no other acceptable way, yes. You must understand, Sparks. I’ve seen so much more than anyone ever has in their life. I want to live out the rest of it after the cycles are gone, sure. But if the price of life must be paid… I’d rather that it be my life that is laid down for the future to finally come, rather than anyone else.” He shook his head, and smiled. “Let us just pray it doesn’t have to come to that, alright? Let us enjoy the rest of this night.”

Twilight smiled sadly and nodded. “Yes.” They danced for a little while longer, until Trixie decided to cut back in. Twilight sighed as she saw them dance together. She spoke to Applejack and Rarity, who had approached. “Look at them. So perfect together. He may not know if he returns either of our feelings, but… I think I know who he’ll end up with among the two of us.” She turned to them, a few tears in her eyes. “It was foolish for me to even entertain the idea that maybe… He’d fall for me instead.”

Applejack and Rarity looked amongst themselves, uncertain what to do. Rarity decided to approach, and wiped her tears away. “Nonsense, darling. What you did was very brave. But he said it himself, didn’t he? His heart has yet to decide. So try and win him over. It may end up the way you suspect, but you can’t just give in because of that. So, ask him out. Don’t give up until his decision is made. Just don’t quit.”

Applejack nodded. “She’s right, ya know. Just dust yourself off, and get back in there!”

Twilight smiled, nodding. “Thank you, girls. I’ll do just that.” She stood, and approached Maestro again. She tapped his shoulder. He turned, and she curtsied. “May I have the next dance?”

Maestro smiled. “Of course.” the music changed, and he once again started to dance with her. His smile widened. “So, come to ask me to a date later as well? That’s what Trix did, so…”

Twilight fumed a little, but shook it off. “Yes. When would you…”

He chuckled lightly. “Oh, next Saturday, after my date with Trix. Remember, Discord will return this Saturday, so we can’t do it then.”

They continued to dance in silence after that, the night ebbing away. Things were now going to change...

Author's Note

Well, that's the end of the "Season One" arc! Next time: Chaos!

Rthö Tulfüf- A Little Bit of Chaos

When Saturday came, it started relatively normally. However, the sign that Discord had escaped soon made itself evident as cotton candy clouds came to the town, raining chocolate milk. Maestro, Twilight, and the others were all summoned to Canterlot shortly afterwards, and made haste. When they reached Canterlot, they followed Celestia to the vault with the Elements inside it. She pulled out the box, but when she opened it, it was empty. Maestro huffed in irritation. “This’s why you should have let me enchant them a little further! Now Discord has hidden them somewhere. Thanks a lot for that.”

Then, they heard a cackle from the stained glass. “Ooh, I do love messing with ponies!” The attention of all was drawn to the window of when Discord was defeated. His picture started to move as he spoke. “How nice of you to not listen to him! This wouldn’t have been possible without you! For that, I thank you.” His figure moved to the stain glass window of the victory over Nightmare Moon, and thought pensively. “Though, I must say… seven Elements of Harmony? Last time we tussled, there were only six… How’d that happen? Did you and your sister miss one when going up against me? Inspiration… what a wonderfully chaotic word! Acting on a whim by what strikes you… that’s my kind of power!”

Twilight stepped forward, a smirk on her face. “So, Discord. I guess you won’t tell us outright where you’ve hidden them. After all, that’s just not chaotic enough for you, is it?”

He blinked, and an eyebrow raised. “Well, yes. Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of Magic… you seem to know more than you let on…” He shook his head, chuckling. “No matter. I’ll just give you a hint and be on my way. *Ehem*!

“Twists and turns are my master plan,

“Then you find yourself back where you began,

“But more trouble I’ll cause for you,

“Your friendship torn asunder before the day’s through,

“To mend it’ll be an arduous task,

“In Elemental Glow you must bask.”

Discord smirked deviously. “Alright, I think that’s quite enough of a hint enough for you, isn’t it Sparkle? But if you don’t figure it out, don’t feel bad… you’ll have a new life in my world anyway…” he laughed as his stain glass window avatar ceased to animate.

Twilight bit her lip a bit. Part of Discord’s hint sounded like the riddle he’d given them in the last cycle. Yet, the rest of it was new to her. Twists and turns probably still referred to that maze that wasted their time last time, but she wasn’t so certain that finding themselves back where they began still meant for them to go back to her library. For all she knew, that could be a trap, considering the line that immediately followed. He intended to break them apart, and it was up to her and Maestro to ensure that didn’t happen. Problem was, she was uncertain how to puzzle out the rest of it. She turned her attention towards Maestro. “I‘ve got some inkling as to what this riddle means, but I’m not certain on what some of it might mean. What’s your take on it, Maestro?”

A nod from his direction towards the hedge maze. “That over there’s where he wants us to think the Elements are- likely to separate us, perhaps even twist us into some dark mirror of who we’re supposed to be. He said it himself, after all: ‘Twists and turns are my master plan’. He’s trying to fool us. The next line is a double entendre. The first meaning obviously’s to lead us back to the library; the place where we began the day. I’ll get to the second meaning later. The trouble he intends to cause intends to do as he says in the very next line: ‘Your friendship torn asunder’. He sees us as a threat to his aims, and’ll likely stop at virtually nothing to break our friendship apart. The ‘arduous task’ is us finding the Elements, something he intends us to fail. To defeat him, we have to ‘bask in their glow’ as he puts it. Now, as for the second meaning to finding ourselves back where we began comes in here as the solution. We go back to the Everfree, where our friendship began to truly form. He won’t make it easy on us, though.”

Applejack voiced her doubts. “What if yer wrong? We might be off the mark if’n we go there. Discord could easily mean something else!”

At that, Maestro shrugged. “Well, that might be true. But it’s the best lead we’ve got right now. So, are we ready?” a round of nods came in varying hesitation, and he smirked. “Alright then. Back to the Everfree it is, then.” He turned towards Celestia, and she lit her horn to send them off to the Everfree.

Once there, they were all on guard. The Everfree was even more chaotic than normal, if that was even possible. They kept together best they could, navigating through the constantly shifting foliage and avoiding the rabid beasts of the forest. The trees looked far more sinister, and the clouds above looked like darker pink cotton candy- and they rained down strange unidentifiable liquid. The trek to the castle was harsh, but they soon reached the chamber where they first got the Elements. But when they reached out to grab them, Discord appeared before them. “So, you figure out my riddle. Congratulations! Even so, you won’t win. I won’t let you!”

He snapped his talon, and a pulse of energy went across the room. Twilight and Maestro managed to push off the effects, but the girls were not looking as colorful. Just as discord was going to gloat, Maestro touched the Elements to their respective bearers as Twilight used a spell to break Discord’s hold on them. Surprise lit on his face as the Elements started to glow. Maestro smirked. “Alright girls, let’s do this!”

They lifted into the air as Twilight and Maestro led the charge. Discord yelled in surprise as the rainbow light twirled around him. “No, not the statue again! I can’t go back to that insufferable state!”

However, that was not the aim. Twilight and Maestro psychically reached out through the Elements to the others, convincing them that was not what they should do. Some took a bit more convincing than others, but all soon agreed. The light went inside Discord, and he started to shimmer. For a while he convulsed a bit, but it eventually died down as the light did. Celestia arrived on the scene, and panicked. “What is he still doing here! He should be stone again, seeing as his chaotic changes have left!” Celestia turned towards Maestro, an angry look on her face. “What is the meaning of this?”

Maestro shook his head, and pointed towards Discord. “Look at him. He doesn’t seem as malevolent now, does he?” Celestia obliged, and when she looked at him, she saw that he still used his magic; but the effect was far less powerful. He managed a small cloud of cotton candy, but it soon dissipated. Celestia turned back to see a smug look on Maestro’s face. “His magic will remain weakened until I feel he’s learned that what he used to do was wrong. To that end, I will recommend that Discord spend some time out of each day getting lessons from each of us. It will take a bit of time before his powers are back to full strength, so in that time I hope to have him see the errors of his ways. I hope you can see that in this state he is of little harm, right?”

She looked to see Discord trying a bigger chaos spell, and failing. She sighed, and looked back to Maestro. “Fine. I’ll have some guards keep an eye on him, though. If you think all he needs is a bit of tutoring, then so be it. All of you can hash out who he visits and when.” She shook her head. “I’ll be getting back to Canterlot now. Just know that you’re treading on some very thin ice, Maestro Spectrum.”

Celestia left, and Discord crossed his arms as he rolled his eyes. “Oh, goody. Now you’re holding my magic hostage until I reform, eh? I’ll play your game, painter boy. Just don’t expect it to be easy. I’ll stick around in the Everfree, though. Feels more like a home than anywhere else. Now, off with you. I’ve got to make myself at home.”

Twilight and friends were escorted to the Celebration in Canterlot that unveiled Maestro’s stain glass window for the occasion. Celestia even let Maestro enchant the Elements of Harmony further so their theft wouldn’t happen again. They may not see eye to eye, but they certainly knew how to put on a good performance for the audience. The day ended when they back got to Ponyville to rest.

Author's Note

Well, that's Discord out of the way for now. I will show the results of Luna's tutoring soon, and Discord will have some of his tutor sessions explored, seeing as Twilight will teach some of them. But for now, we focus on other things.

Rthö Hlifüf- The First In A Long Time

The days passed quickly as Twilight worried about her date with Maestro. Sure, he was going out with her after Trixie, but that wasn’t any reason to do things by halves. She may not know if anything would come of it, but she had to try. The nervictement (as Pinkie’d put it) she had was almost palpable. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, to get her mind in working order. Tonight was the night, but she wasn’t sure when he’d stop by. She was slightly worried, but there really wasn’t much she could do right now. So, she decided to get some fresh air. She strolled for a bit through town until she sighted Maestro and Trixie. She ducked into cover, and watched as they walked together.
Trixie was clearly enjoying their time together, but Maestro was a bit harder for Twilight to read. Twilight knew that she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t get the idea out of her head. Yet, she didn’t want to intrude further. She was a better friend than that. She decided to leave them to it and went home to wait.

The wait had been aggravating, with her constantly pacing back and forth, and adjusting her look. Spike tried to calm her down. “Relax, Twi. It’s going to be fine! I’m sure that you’ll leave quite an impression.”

Twilight sighed, adjusting the dress that Rarity’d made her for the occasion. It was a gentle blue with white lace trim. She also wore a pair of white heels on her back hooves to accentuate her look. “I guess I shouldn’t worry too much… What happens, happens. He’ll be here any minute, though…” Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock at the door. “That’s him! Hope this goes well!” She took a breath, and braced herself for what awaited her when she opened the door. The sight of him in that royal blue tux almost made her heart leap right out of her chest. Was he doing this to her on purpose? She collected herself, and smiled. “Ready?”

Maestro smirked. “Of course. Shall we?” at Twilight’s nod, he stood aside as she exited the library. Once she was outside with him in the crisp evening air, he commented on her dress. “I must say, simple works wonders for you, just as showy does for Trix. It’s just simple fact.”

A light blush rose upon Twilight’s face. “Th-thanks for that, I guess. You look simply dashing in that suit, you know…”

She covered her mouth, but it was too late. But instead of teasing her, he just let out a short laugh. “As if I didn’t know that already. I’m many things, Sparks, but unconfident in how I look isn’t one of them.” A smaller, more genuine smile graced his face after that, though. “Still, it’s nice to hear an outside party comment on it. Thanks.” Silence resumed between the pair as they walked, a small levity between them. Maestro led Twilight to a corner of Ponyville she’d never seen before- a glen surrounded by strange trees that were made of flower petals. Maestro grinned as he led her to a picnic table made of birch. “Impressive, isn’t it? I asked Discord to help me with this. He was hesitant at first, but he can be an artist in his own right, it seems.” He sat down, and gestured for Twilight to do the same. After she did, he smirked as he revealed a picnic basket that he’d been hiding with his magic. He set it down, and opened it. The food inside looked to be quite expensive, and Twilight looked to Maestro in confusion. He shook his head. “I know it’s not conventional to have a picnic when dressed fancily, but… I thought it wouldn’t be right to have the same kind of date with you both. It’d be hard to distinguish between the two, if you catch my drift.”

Twilight took one of the sandwiches with her magic, and took a bite. Her eyes went wide, and she looked to Maestro as she swallowed. She tilted her head slightly. “How’d you...?”

Maestro smirked. “...know your favorite? Well, this is one of the many advantages of living through the same days over and over. It comes in handy.” He sighed as he took on of the other sandwiches with his magic. “I saw you, watching us. I don’t fault you, though. Jealousy is understandable, given how you said you feel about me. I personally have never experienced it, at least as far as I can remember. I forgive you for spying, but please. Next time, don’t let your jealousy get the better of you. Remember, I’m still getting used to this. I’ve been distant from my own emotions for a long time. You can’t force these things.”

Twilight sighed. Of course he’d noticed. Still it was a bit surprising how forgiving and understanding he was about it. He was right, though. She couldn’t force him to love her. That certainly wouldn’t end well. She smiled gently. “I promise that I won’t do that again. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’ve never quite… felt this way before.”

At that statement, Maestro’s eyebrows shot up. “Not even with… Flash?” At her nod, he sighed. “I see. Well, I mightn’t know if I reciprocate, but… I do feel strongly towards you. I still don’t know what the feeling is exactly, be it strong camaraderie or something more, but I promise that once I figure it out, I will let you know.” He stood, and smiled as he extended a hoof. “I will escort you home though, if you like.”

She smiled as he picked up the basket. “I’d like that.” The two walked back to her place, a comfortable silence between them. Time flew by, and they were back at her door. Twilight spoke to him at the door. “Thanks, for tonight. Maybe we could… do this again sometime?”

Maestro smiled, nodded, then left without another word.

Author's Note

Sorry for the abrupt end there. Next chapter, we step away from this side plot for a bit.

Rthö Dœffüf: Appreciation Consideration

It had been a few days since her date with Maestro, and Twilight was feeling a bit better about things. Sure, she may not know when Maestro would find his answer, but she was willing to be patient. Aside from that, she averted disaster because she hadn’t used the “Want it, Need it” spell this time. It was a giant relief that she didn’t have to go through that lesson again- though she was a bit miffed that Celestia had almost been expectant of a friendship letter. She had to explain that she couldn’t very well force a lesson, because it likely wouldn’t end well. Celestia had left when Twilight insisted on sending the letters on a more as-it-happens basis, and allowing her friends to send some on occasion. It was almost like Celestia had some other agenda. She shook those thoughts aside, and got ready to face the day. Pretty much anything could feasibly be their next challenge- to a certain extent, of course. She was about to get a head start on the day when she saw Apple Bloom wandering around. She looked a bit glum, so it might be about her not having her Cutie Mark- though, who was to say it wasn’t something a bit more pressing? Taking initiative, she found her way towards her. “Hey Apple Bloom, what’s eating at you?”

She sighed deeply. “It’s this school assignment. About… appreciating family.”

At that mention, Twilight’s eyes lit up. She knew what had happened that day last time, so it shouldn’t be so hard to advert it. Tough, she should just ease it along- no need to force it, after all. “Are Applejack and Bic Mac not available for it, Bloom? Is that why your worried?”

She nodded. “Don’ get me wrong, Ah love granny, but she seems a bit… loopy sometimes. To have her show up would be… embarassin’, tah say th’ least.”

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “I remember when my grandma showed up for one of those when I was your age. I was terrified at first! But when she spoke on her life, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” She looked to Apple Bloom and smiled. “The point that I’m stressing is that you could be surprised at what she has to say. Just give her a chance. Okay?”

Apple Bloom seemed hesitant, and was unsure what to do. Then, Maestro showed up. He looked back to the girls, who had pushed him there. Applejack jerked her head towards her sister. “Now talk some sense inta her!”

Maestro sighed, shaking his head. He approached, and laid down so that he was looking in her eyes. "Listen, Apple Bloom. You should appreciate the family you have, kid. Some people don't have that luxury. Imagine what it is like for an orphan, who has to sit out on these kinds of things. Don’t you think they would give almost anything to be in your position?." She nodded in shame. Maestro sighed. “It’s quite alright. I’m sure that your grandmother will surprise you with the wisdom that she can give. Just give her a chance.”

Apple Bloom left, most likely to talk to Granny Smith. All eyes now were on Maestro, however. It was Rainbow that broached the topic first. “What’s up with you? You seem… distressed.”

Maestro remained silent, as if he hadn’t heard her. Twilight however, seemed to understand. “Does this have anything to do with why you never talk about your family?”

At that, his complexion darkened for a split second. Yet, he took a deep breath, and calmed down. “Yes. There’s only one pony aside from myself that knows this tale. Sapphiron. He was there through it with me, after all. I never speak about my family because I lost them when I was very young. All of them, snuffed out in a grand blaze of fire. Not a single one aside from myself was left alive. The burns… still hurt sometimes.” His expression grew more dour at the shock on the faces of the others. He sighed. “They never even saw me get my Cutie Mark. The day that I got that, the scared little foal that I was died, and Maestro Spectrum was born. I tossed aside my old name and built myself anew from the ashes. Sapphiron is the only one left who knows the name I once bore.”

The girls spoke in hushed tones, unsure of what to say. Twilight, however, went straight up to him and held him tight. Surprise lit upon his face as she comforted him. “It’s alright. You don’t have to elaborate if you don’t want to. It’s alright. We won’t ask you to tell us the details.”

For the first time in front of the others, tears fell down his face as he pulled away. But instead of a frown, a smile was upon his face. “Thanks, Sparks. You’re a good friend.” He dried his eyes as he looked around the room. “I know that all of you have questions, but…”

Applejack nodded. “Say no more. If’n you don’t want ta talk ‘bout it, that’s jus fahn.”

Rainbow scratched the back of her head. “Sure, I’m curious, but… if it’s that painful for you, I guess I can wait until you’re ready to tell us.”

Rarity looked somber. “It must have been hard without your family there for you. I can hardly imagine what that must’ve been like…”

Pinkie was less chipper, but not depressed. “Hey, you’ll always have them in your heart! They wouldn’t want you to forget them, after all…”

Fluttershy remained quiet for some time before gaining the strength to speak. “If you ever feel like telling us… we’ll be here to listen.”

Maestro looked around to all of them in turn. Could he really do this? He’d let them in on things that he hadn’t before. Only Sapphiron knew this much about him… He sighed, and smiled. He’d see where this would lead...

Author's Note

Things seem to be changing for the better! Time to mess with that.

Rthö Achifüf- Ego Dash: Part One

A few weeks had passed, and things seemed to have calmed down. Though, Twilight was a bit worried. Sure, many events that had happened after they faced Discord had been nipped in the bud, and- “Ehem, Sparkle. Aren’t you supposed to be teaching me something about your precious ‘magic of friendship’ or something?”

She shook herself as she drew her attention back to Discord. “Sorry about that. I got a bit distracted. Things seem a bit too quiet lately…” Discord smirked, getting ready to snap his talon, but twilight shook her head. “That doesn’t mean that I’m going to let you use your magic, Disord.” he huffed, and rolled his eyes. “Now, where was I?”

Discord decided to give a bit of a helping hand. “Well, you were talking about… ah! How ‘rewarding’ it is to listen to your friends’ issues.” he shivered slightly.

Twilight smiled. “Thank you, Discord. I know that this can’t be easy on you, but it’s better than being stuck in stone again, right?”

He sighed in resignation. “I suppose that you’re right.” He shook his head. “Better suffering through this with some modicum of freedom than being stuck in a stone prison. Now, about that example you were about to provide…”

Twilight nodded as she picked up where she left off. “Right. Let’s say that you notice a friend of yours is acting a little down. You don’t know what’s bothering them, but they don’t seem to have been cheered up by the humor you tried to bring them. What should you do?”

Discord grumbled a bit, but he knew that if he ever wanted to use the full might of his magic again, he’d have to comply. He thought about it for a while, going over the things that he had been taught by Twilight’s friends. Going out on a limb, he spoke. “Well, I’m not exactly certain. Maybe asking what’s bothering them would be best. If they don’t tell you at first… um. How was it again?” He stroked his goatee. “I think it was that you should let them know that you’re there to listen when they’re ready? Or something like that, anyway…”

Twilight smiled. Discord was struggling with it, sure. But he did seem to have a better grasp on it than before. “Right, that is one way of doing it. It all depends on the problems they are facing. Also, your friends won’t always be able to have time to spend with you. So don’t be disheartened or jealous if they spend time together with somebody without you.”

Discord scratched his head. “Where’d you learn that? I don’t remember that in one of your letters to Celestia…”

Twilight gasped a little, realizing what had just slipped out. However, she recovered quickly. “Well, it’s come from having Maestro go in and out of our lives so often, you know. He’s always pretty busy.”

Discord stared at Twilight for a moment with a skeptical look on his face for what seemed like forever. She was a bit nervous, but luckily he dropped it. “Well, it’s none of my business if you decide to hold some of the truth from me. Far be it from me to tell you how to interact with somebody that you’re trying to teach the value of friendship. Though, you weren’t exactly lying either. That Maestro character sure is interesting… I wonder where he’s from? He won’t speak a word of it…”

Twilight and the others had never really gotten an answer about that. Sure, they knew that he was an orphan- but that only told them so much. It was unlikely that he would tell them the full story any time soon. Her thoughts and lessons were interrupted when Rarity came into the library. Twilight looked at her with a concerned look. “Rarity, what’s the emergency?”

Rarity had to catch her breath a bit, but that didn’t take long. “Dash is being more of a pain than usual lately! I think something’s wrong with her. Could you get Maestro to look at her?”

At the mention of that, Twilight thought about what this could mean. Had Rainbow Dash’s ego about saving ponies started to rear its ugly head again? It was nothing that she couldn’t handle, unless it was amped up by Nightmare energy. Twilight nodded as she teleported a quill and paper to her. She scrawled a quick letter that just told Maestro to get over here and that it was urgent. She sent it off with her magic, and then turned to Discord with an apologetic look. He held up his paw. “No need to apologize. Your friends are important to you, so I understand. Go.”

She nodded, and followed Rarity out to see what was going on with Rainbow. Once near her cloud home, they saw that the others had just arrived, including Maestro. Twilight spoke to him, concern in her voice. “Do you know what is going on with her?”

He lit his horn, and his eyes started to glow. He took a look towards the cloud house, and sighed. He let go of his magic, turning back to the others. “Well, time to get cracking. She’ll transform any moment now.”

Pinkie gasped. “You mean!”

He nodded firmly. “She’ll turn into a Nightmare version of herself. I don’t know how it keeps happening, but I will find the source. And when I do…”

He was cut off when a flash of dark light came from Rainbow’s house. Twilight gulped. “Well, at least we have some idea of how to deal with this. So, how-”

The next thing she knew, Rainbow shot out of the house to land in front of them with a large crash. Her colors looked darker, as had the others when they had changed. Her Cutie Mark had changed, the cloud was a dark grey and the thunder bolt was split. She grinned menacingly. “You’re not gonna catch me. No way, no how. See ya! Losers.” Then she bolted away.

Author's Note

Now, things get complicated again...

Rthö Bjæfuf- Ego Dash: Part Two

Maestro blinked rapidly. “Well. That’s different.” He shook himself off, and turned to the others. “Alright, we all know how fast she is- it’s likely we’ll have to outmaneuver her and hold her down in order to get her to listen. Now, Flutters- you are our only other natural flier, so you’re going to have to keep her from getting too far.” She was understandably under quite a bit of pressure, but she gave a timid nod and started off into the sky. Maestro turned to the others. “Rarity, Jacks, and Pinks, you three work together to corral her towards the library. Sparks and I will be waiting to spring the net.”

The three of them ran off, and Twilight followed Maestro back to the library. She tilted her head a bit. “Maestro, are you sure that this will work?”

Maestro shook his head. “I don’t know, honestly. But what other choice do we have? We can’t talk her down if she’s flying circles around us. This plan should tire her out enough so that restraining her is simple. Hopefully we can find the source of these problems soon, though. I’d rather not deal with all of these Nightmare forms if we can stop them from coming.”

Twilight sighed deeply. She understood that Maestro was frustrated a bit. He was anxious to find a way to stop the cycle from continuing on forever. Though, his idea might not work. She considered something. “What about the Marvelous Mare Do-Well? Her costume-”

Maestro shook his head. “We don’t have time to make that again. I know you don’t exactly like it, but time is of the essence. Maybe if we had prepared it beforehand, we could. But…” A sigh came from him. “Nevermind. Just ready your magic, Sparks. I can hear Rai approaching.”

Sure enough, Rainbow soon came into view. She was running on fumes as she drew close to the library. Just as she landed, Maestro and Twilight used their magic to tie her up in a net. Rainbow growled as she struggled. “Cheap! Once I get outa this, I swear that I’ll-!”

Maestro interrupted, concern in his voice. "Rai, this isn't like you! Sure, you do like attention, but this is getting out of control! The Rai that I know wouldn’t be so careless to endanger people! Think about how you talked down Gilda! Did that mean nothing?"

A small change in flashed in her eyes for a split second, but she seemed mostly unchanged. “Stuff it! I deserve adulation and glory! I will be the forefront of the Wonderbolts, and-!”

Applejack shook her head. “Do ya think that they’d take ya like this? You’re so driven for success that yer worse than Lightning Dust! Surely you didn’t forget what almost happened to us thanks to her?”

Rainbow struggled a bit, trying to push the thought away. Seizing opportunity, Rarity spoke up. “Recall that time I asked to fly with wings of my own? I would’ve fallen due to their crumbling had you not pulled off the Sonic Rainboom to catch me! Does that not ring a bell for you?”

The darkness ebbed slightly as Rainbow continued to struggle to get out of the net. Fluttershy held her down, gently but firmly as she tried her hoof at reasoning with her. “Remember all the times you stood up for me back as children? How you didn’t mind if your ego got bruised to help me? Don’t you recall that?”

Rainbow’s struggling started to wane as Maestro got ready to catch the nightmare essence. Pinkie pulled out a mirror from her mane and held it up to Rainbow’s face. “Look at what you’ve become, Dashie! This isn’t the friend we know, and I sure hope that it isn’t what you wanted to be, either!”

The whisps tried to cling to Rainbow as her colors tried to reassert themselves. Just one more push is all that was needed. Twilight took a deep breath, and went for it. “Rainbow, you’ve been there for all of us. But remember that we’ve been there for you, too. Remember when you went to the hospital when you injured your wing? You thought we would make fun of you actually reading something, but we only encouraged you to explore your interests like we did. Point is, Rainbow. You’ve been there for us, and we’re here for you now and always. So come back to us.”

The darkness jumped from Rainbow and Maestro put the new sample in a fresh jar. Rainbow rubbed her head. “Ugh. That… was entirely unpleasant.” She took a glance at the jar as Maestro worked his magic through it. “So, what’re you doing with that? Gonna destroy it?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m trying to use this new sample as a compass of sorts. The last attempt didn’t go over so well, and the sample escaped. Nasty stuff. It’ll likely take some time to figure out where this is coming from, but… I have a hunch as to where it might lead us once It’s finished.”

Twilight sighed. “Why would somebody do this, anyway? What could they gain by corrupting our friends?”

A hush went throughout them as they all considered what one might gain. It was Maestro that finally answered Twilight’s question. “If I had to guess? Data. Strengths, weaknesses, everything. As for ‘why’?” a shudder went down his spine. “Let’s hope that we don’t have to find out.”

Inside the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters, the formless creature looked upon three glowing tubes containing strange liquid. It looked to Echo, a mixed look on its visage. “Your experiments with the Heroes of Harmony have failed, and yet succeeded. Though, it seems that they’re onto us…” A sigh escaped its massive form, and it glanced to the four empty tubes. “We mightn’t have the time to go as slowly as I’d like… Maestro’s ramping up the pressure, hm?” A dry chuckle let out. “Let him. This’s starting to get interesting…”

Author's Note

The plot thickens...

Rthö Snefuf- Twilight's Birthday

A few weeks had passed since the incident with Rainbow’s nightmare shift. Not much of note had happened since, aside from Maestro taking Trixie out for another date. While it did irk Twilight, there really wasn’t much that she could do about it. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t get in their way if he was going to go full-on with Trixie, but that didn’t stop it from hurting. Today was her birthday though, and she had told the others that in advance. She didn’t know about Maestro, but she knew at the very least that her other friends would be there.

She took a deep breath and found her way towards the train station. After all, they had plans for the party up in Canterlot, and her anticipation was a bit on edge. The ride up with Spike was enough to get her thoughts sorted out, however. Whatever the case, she resolved to have fun with her friends, whether or not Maestro was there. The train arrived in Canterlot, and she came across her parents. She hugged them and smiled. “It’s been a while. Sorry that I haven’t visited sooner, it’s just…”

Her mother interrupted her. “It’s quite alright, dear. We understand. It’s nice that you’ve invited you new friends to meet us here. Can’t wait to start! Come on!”

Twilight sighed lightly and shook her head. She followed her parents back to the house, and went inside. Her face lit up as she saw her fiends there- but as she looked, she saw that Maestro hadn’t made it. Her mood only dropped for a second, as she shook it off to enjoy the festivities. Each of her friends had gotten her something, but she wanted to hold off on presents until Maestro arrived.

They started with the cake, which was red velvet- her favorite. They played a few games, but as time went on it started to seem that there was no avoiding it. Maestro wouldn’t be making it to the party. Twilight understood, of course. He was very busy, after all. It just… didn’t feel the same without him here. Her father saw the sad look on her face, and tried to comfort her. “It’s alright. The rest of them are here. Why don’t you open their gifts now? It’s been long enough.”

With a deep sigh, Twilight gave a sigh. She stood, and went to the living room. Her friends and family followed, each carrying a gift for her. She looked around, and couldn’t help wishing that Maestro was there. The first to give to Twilight was Applejack, and the gift was a hoof-written card. It wasn’t expensive by any means, but its value was great. Twilight thanked Applejack, barely hearing herself. The next to have a gift for Twilight was Rarity, giving her a simple scarf for the coming winter. Twilight thanked Rarity, but her thoughts were elsewhere. The next up was Rainbow, who gave Twilight a store-bought card. It was cheap, but effective.

After she thanked Rainbow for the card, things started to blur together a bit. Fluttershy gave her a potted poinsettia, and Pinkie gave her a puzzle book. Moon Dancer gave her a photograph commemorating their friendship, and Lyra gave her a harmonica. Lemon gave her a new Bunsen burner, and Minuette gave her a new mane brush. Twinkleshine gave her an empty photo album, and Trixie gave her a backstage pass to her next show. Shining gave her a birthday card, and Night Light gave her a new book on magic. Her mother then gave her a family photo, and Spike gave her a new quill.

It was then, that there was nobody left- until, a knock was heard at the door. Twilight got up, and rushed to the door. She took a deep breath, hoping that it would be who she thought it was. She opened the door, and saw Maestro standing there, Prism at his side. Maestro rubbed the back of his head, a bit embarrassed. “Sorry that we’re late. I was dealing with a particularly obnoxious customer.” He looked around, and saw all the open gifts. “Ah, nuts. We missed it!” He looked apologetically towards Twilight. “Sorry about that, Sparks. I truly am. It-”

She placed a hoof to his mouth, and smiled. “It’s alright. You made it, and that’s all that matters.” She took her hoof off of his mouth, and beckoned them inside. “So, do you have gifts, or…?”

Maestro chuckled. “I’ll let Prism go first. Mine’s a bit… unconventional.”

The two of them followed Twilight inside of the house, and Prism sat next to Twilight on the couch. She held out a gift box, and gave a toothy grin. “I hope you like it! I made it myself!”

Twilight took care in opening the box, anticipating what it might be. She soon found that it was a small pendant made from Prism’s molted scales. Twilight tried it on immediately, and turned towards Prism. “Thanks. It’s lovely.”

Prism moved away, and Maestro approached. He cleared his throat. “You might be wondering where my gift for you is. Well, it’s not exactly something that you can put in a box.” He took a deep breath, and went for it. “I was hoping that you would join me next Saturday for a date. If you do, I’ll be taking you to someplace that I’m sure that you’ll like. What do you say?”

Twilight was a bit confused at first, certain that she had misheard. It took a good look around for her to realize that she had heard correctly. A mile spread on her face. “Of course. I’d be happy to!”

Maestro gave a sigh of relief, and shook his head. “You had me worried for a moment there, Sparks.” He smiled gently. “I’ll be around to pick you up around 7.” He turned towards Prism. “Come on, Prism. Let’s get going.” They left quickly, but Twilight didn’t mind. She had a chance… and that was enough.

Author's Note

Thought I'd put this here just for a change of pace.

Rthö Eüf: Second Date

The days flew by until the anticipated second date with Maestro. In the afternoon before, Twilight was questioning the implications this event. Why’d he single out her and Trixie for a second go? Sure, Trixie was likely more his type; at least according to Twilight. But herself? What could possibly draw him to her a second time? She had some hypotheses, but none made much sense to her. Could he be still weighing his options between them? Possibly, but Twilight still thought he’d ultimately go for Trixie. That thought deflated her mood slightly, but she decided to not dwell much. After all, there was still something that she could feasibly do about his ultimate decision.

Regardless of what Maestro’s reason was, Twilight couldn’t worry about it forever. Tonight, it would all become at least more clear. So she instead tried to focus on other matters, such as stopping the changelings at her brother’s wedding. She knew that his invitation should be arriving soon, but wasn’t exactly sure when it would. The question was, how were they supposed to stop Chrysalis’ escape without inviting any undue attention? Sure, preventing the Tantabus altogether was one thing, and lessening the chance of Discord siding with Tirek when he escaped was another. But Chrysalis played a key part in the return of Grogar in the future. Was it foolish to try and change that? She’d have to ask Maestro’s opinion on that front.

She gave a sigh. Even when she tried to think on other matters, it always came back to him. She didn’t quite fully understand why this time was different. Was she falling for him because he decided to bring her into the knowledge of the cycles? Because she knew that she hadn’t thought of him much at all last time. It also only really kicked off when she saw him on that particular night when he was in his Gala suit in the moonlight. It was the first time that she had seen him like that, and she remembered that it was like she was seeing him for the first time. It wasn’t exactly fair. He kept his reactions close to his chest, aside from the basic complements. But he could practically read her like a book, because he’d been around her before he decided to bring her along.

She was brought out of her musings when she heard a knock at the door. She looked out the window, and it was already dark. Had she really zoned out that much so that the afternoon had just passed her by? She was hardly ready to go out now, but she hung her head with a sigh. She headed to the door and opened it, revealing Maestro. He was dressed casually, so Twilight inwardly sighed with relief. “Maestro! So, where are we off to?”

He gave a sly smirk, and jerked his head. “Come and see.”

Curiosity compelled her, as her excitement grew. She followed him through the town, until they reached Whitetail Woods. She looked around. “Is this where? No offense, but I’ve seen Whitetail before.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Not like this, you haven’t.” He lit his horn, and then Twilight gasped as the area changed. Strewn elegantly across the branches of the trees in the clearing were small lights that glowed subtly in a variety of colors, giving the Whitetail Woods a more enchanting look. At Twilight’s wide eyes, Maestro’s smirk grew. “Do you like what I’ve done with the place? I made them myself.”

Twilight caught her breath as she looked towards Maestro. “This is incredible! But why go to all this effort?”

He gave a sigh, and looked away. "Listen… before this goes any further, I have to clear something up.” Twilight gave a confused look, and motioned for him to continue. “Twilight, I... haven't exactly told you everything. I’ve had my reasons, mostly because the memories are painful and that a pony rightfully shouldn't have this much knowledge crammed into their head. But... You deserve more than I've given you so far."

He paused, and braced himself for what he was about to say as he raised the silence field. “I haven’t told you the full truth about the cycles. I’ve omitted quite a bit, due to what I’ve mentioned before. But… I’ve decided to let you in on the truth.” He looked at her, eyes full of sorrow. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth… I’m sorry.” He looked away as her confusion brimmed, then he explained. “The truth is, We’ve… done this all before. Not in the sense that you know, but in another. This is my sixth attempt to bring somebody else into awareness of the cycles.”

Twilight stepped back, shocked. “Wait, didn’t you say that you could only bring one? Did you lie to me?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t. I just failed to mention that you weren’t the first that I tried to bring in. It was after trying and failing with all five of our friends that I finally settled on you- my best shot. I’m… sorry. I know that you must hate me now, but please, understand. I had to be sure. We’ve gotten further this time than the other attempts, and with astronomically better results. But it’s not about just that anymore.”

Twilight had to calm herself down a bit. He had failed to mention that detail, but he had his reasons. She still had questions, though. “Why? Why now, of all times? Was I just a tool for you then, from the start?”

Maestro shook his head. “No. You always have been my friend. I had to try the others first, to see if it worked, but you were my last resort. I didn’t want you hurt by this mess, but I had no choice in the end. So here you are, by my side. As for why I’m telling you now…” He turned to face her. “I felt that if this were to continue, you deserved that much. You’re special, Twilight. I care about you more than virtually anyone else.”

Twilight was a bit stunned. Did this mean what she thought it meant? She decided to ask. “What are you saying? That.. you’ve chosen me?”

Maestro blinked, then chuckled. “Yeah. Let’s go steady.”

Twilight fainted, and Maestro ran to catch her. He shook his head. “Guess it was a bit much, huh? Ah, well. Let’s get you home.” He then carried her back to her house, and made sure she was secured in her bed before he left her a note and teleported away.

Author's Note

Now things get interesting...

Rthö Vaieüf: New Direction

It had been a week or so since Maestro had dropped that bombshell, and it still felt unreal to Twilight. When she thought about it, it was the most unlikely thing ever. After all, why would he go for her over Trixie? The two of them had much in common, so him choosing Twilight instead had made no sense- and yet, he had. Every day when she woke up since that night, it had felt like a dream, unreal and distant. Yet it always set in sooner or later that it hadn’t been. After all, she had fainted that night, and couldn’t exactly get home. Yet the next morning, there she was in her bed. She sighed. It wouldn’t do her much good worrying about why he had chosen her, she supposed. She could always ask him, the next time they met. She nodded, resolving to do so. She got ready for the day, unsure what was to come, but excited nonetheless. Nightmare Night was gone and passed, and her brother’s wedding was fast approaching. Whatever came between those to surprise her was good in her book, so she decided to take on the day with confidence that she could handle it.

However, what she didn’t expect was to be approached by Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow. Twilight hadn’t remembered such an event happening last time, so maybe… she pushed the thought away, and smiled. “So what’s up girls? Did you just come by to chat?”

The three of them looked between one another, and were about to broach the subject when Pinkie popped up from nowhere. “Congrats! You actually did it, even though you doubted it would happen! We were wondering why you’d been out of it for the past few days, and-”

Applejack put a hoof to Pinkie’s mouth, and explained. “What she’s tryin’ to say is that we know that ya an’ Maestro are a couple. Took a bit o’ readin’ th’ signals, but… we figured it out.”

A blush rose upon Twilight’s face, and she looked away and circled her hoof on the ground. “It sometimes doesn’t feel real, you know? But he’s keeping in touch with me more often now, so I know that it really happened.” She gave a small sigh. “I wish he weren’t so busy, though…”

Rainbow chuckled lightly. “It’s kinda funny, if you think about it. Here we all thought you might be the last of us to get a coltfriend, but now you go and be the first. Sure showed us for thinking like that!” She shook her head, a gentle smile replacing her earlier boisterousness. “Seriously though, we’re happy for you.”

Twilight smiled. She looked across the four of them, glad to have them. She sort of wished that Fluttershy was there, but she knew that she was likely busy with taking care of her animals at the moment. “Thanks girls. It means a lot. I’m sure you’ll all find somebody of your own. It might not be who you expect, though…”

Rarity gave a nod. “I second that. I thought that I’d at least have been dating somebody at this point, but Blueblood wasn’t quite what I expected at the Gala. Even though I was going in with intent to get to know him as a pony, he brushed me aside anyway. I don’t know who I’ll end up with.. But I hope that it is somepony that loves me for who I am.”

Pinkie piped up again, giggling. “Sooooooo…? When-”

Just then, Mastro popped in via teleport, and Twilight’s blush returned. He took one look at Pinkie, and chided her. “These things take time. I’m not ready for the next step, and it might not happen for some time.” He looked over to Twilight, and smiled. “How have you been? I’ve meant to check in personally before now, but… you know how it is. The Hearth's Warming rush is almost here.”

Twilight rubbed her left forehoof on her right foreleg as she turned to face him. “I’ve been well. I know that you’ve been busy, but… I just…”

He approached her, and nodded slowly. “I get it. Dating one of the world’s most famous artists can be quite frustrating sometimes, I’ve heard.” He paused, and a smile grew on his face. “Tell you what. My shop closes for Harvest Day. We can have our first date as an official couple then, a few days before the end of the month. How does that sound?”

Twilight hugged him, and surprise lit upon his face. She pulled away slightly, and spoke. “I’d like that very much.” She paused and until she realized what she’d done. She let go, a massive blush on her face as she sat down and looked away. “I- I don’t know what came over me, I-”

Maestro blinked a few times. When was the last time he had felt something like this? Had he even felt something quite like that before? He decided to file that away for later as he drew close to Twilight. He lifted her head to face him. He smiled. “It’s alright. I don’t mind.” His smile turned into a grin. “Couples shouldn’t be shy about hugging in public, after all!”

He let out a hearty laugh, one unlike she had ever heard from him before. She snickered. “I guess I am being a bit silly. See you then… Mae-Mae” She walked off back to the library.

Maestro processed that for a bit as Twilight was about to enter her house. He smiled. “Heh. My first pet name from a girlfriend of mine. It’s sort of refreshing.” He called out to her, a happy tone in his voice. “It’s promise, then! See you later… My Sparks.” This possessive caused her to blush a bit, as Maestro chuckled as he teleported away.

Meanwhile, in the Everfree…

The creature growled. “No. He’s not supposed to be happy! This is all wrong…” The creature barked harshly. “Nightmare Echo! Come! We have some work to do…”

Author's Note

Now the wheels are turning...

Rthö Ebeüf: Plucked Butterfly Averted

The next week flew by as Twilight thought about her future. What was in store now? She wasn’t sure anymore, but… the rush that came from the unknown… she now understood what Maestro found so tantalizing about it. Old events changing, new events arriving… all of it was something that made it all worth it. Sure, it was a bit hard, knowing that she wasn’t the first that he had tried to show this all to among the six of them. But… she didn’t really mind so much anymore. After all, here she was, the one that had helped him further and more effectively than the others. And she was his fillyfriend, which was an experience that she would cherish for a long time. But then she thought about something. How was Trixie doing? She hadn’t heard from her in a while.

The last time she asked Maestro about that, he’d said that he’d been keeping tabs. Apparently she was doing well, if still a bit miffed. But Twilight wanted to hear from her. She nodded to herself, and grabbed a parchment and quill and began to write.

“Dear Trixie,

“It’s been some time since I heard from you… I know that you were hoping to become Maestro’s fillyfriend instead of me, but I can’t control the way things work out. Though I won’t deny… I always thought that it would’ve been you to win his heart, not me. I hope that you know that I wish you the best, wherever you may be. I hope to speak with you soon.

“Your friend, Twilight Sparkle.”

Giving a nod, she rolled it up and sealed it up. She sent it off with her magic, and hope for the best. It wasn’t much time after she had sent the letter that she got a knock on the door. She went to answer, and saw that it was Maestro. “Mae-Mae! What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

He gave a nod. “I’ve been tracking the Nightmare Energy, and I was pretty close to finding the source. But then, it jumped towards Fluttershy’s cottage, and… well, I think you know what that means.”

Twilight sighed. “Fluttershy? But she’s so… sweet!” She turned to face Maestro. “Maybe, we can get there before the spell takes hold! I’ll get the others!”

He understood. “I’ll do what I can to keep her with us. I’d rather not have to deal with yet another Nightmare version of a friend.”

Without hesitation, he teleported away, and Twilight went off to get the girls. She found Rainbow first. “Rainbow! We’ve got a problem. Fluttershy’s being targeted!”

Rainbow growled. “The one using that nasty magic is going after her? Not cool. I’ll speed over to Applejack’s and you go get Rarity. I’ve got a feeling that Pinkie might be there already.”

Twilight nodded, and she teleported over to Rarity’s as Rainbow sped off to Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight went up to Rarity’s house and knocked on her door. Rarity came and answered, a bit of a perplexed expression on her face. “Twilight, what is the matter?”

Twilight explained quickly. “The Nightmare Energy is on the move again! We’ve got to protect Fluttershy!” Rarity gasped, and gave a nod. She followed as Twilight ran towards Fluttershy’s cottage. The two arrived there, and saw that Rainbow, Applejack, Maestro, and Pinkie were all already there.

Maestro spoke without turning as he focused on his spell. “You all made it! I wouldn’t be able to hold it off much longer if you were any later.” He opened the door. “Let’s do this.”

They all went inside and saw quite the sight. Fluttershy was in the corner, eyes shut and teeth grit. She was surrounded by Nightmare Energy as it tried to pry into her. But the more startling thing about the scene was the other figure. It looked to be a pony form of the Tantabus, although it had eyes of its own. It was the one firing the spell, and it scowled as it noticed the group of heroes. “Bah. Not good.” It cut the magic, and huffed. “That should be more than enough. Now to-”

It was cut off when Rarity’s, Maestro’s and Twilight’s magic grabbed it all at the same time. “Rainbow got up in its face, very cross. “So you’re the one that’s been doing this? After what you have done, we’re sure as Tartarus not letting you go!”

The strange pony growled, and tried all it could to get out. “You’re too late anyway! Plucked Butterfly will soon manafest!”

At that, their attention was drawn to Fluttershy, who now had tears streaming down her face. She was still fighting it, which was amazing in and of itself. But she wouldn’t be able to hold it off forever. Maestro let go of his magic, and turned his focus to Fluttershy. “Don’t you give up on me! Remember that time I helped you with your critters?”

Fluttershy gave a weak nod, and muttered softly. “Y-yes…”

The nightmare magic started to ebb away, and Pinkie spoke up. “Hey, Shy. Remember when you helped me babysit the Cake Twins? You were such a great help!”

Fluttershy’s tears stopped falling as she started to stand. “I… was?”

Rarity piped in with something too. “I do so enjoy our trips to the spa, dear. It would be a crime if you could no longer go with me…”

Fluttershy stopped gritting her teeth. “R-really?”
Rainbow gave a grin. “Hey, the two of us have been together through a lot! Don’t you forget that!”

Fluttershy stood straighter as her eyes relaxed. “Dash…”

Applejack brought up something as well. “All o’ us helped ya out of that mess wit’ Iron Will, recall? Well, we’re helpin’ ya here too!”

The magic was at its weakest now, and Fluttershy smiled. “Everypony…”

Twilight struck as the magic was fading. “We’ll always be there for you, Shy. No matter what.”

The magic faded completely, and Fluttershy opened her eyes. “Thanks.”

Their attention was drawn to the strange pony as it stood. “Hmph. It’s not over yet. I-!”

Maestro caught her in his magic. He turned to the others. “So. What should we do with her? We can’t just let her go…”

Rainbow huffed. “Give her a taste of her own magic!”

Twilight shook her head. “That won’t do us any good. She’ll just get stronger.” She looked at the pony, though. “Maybe she just needs a friend.”

Their captive huffed in irritation. “I am Nightmare Echo! Like I would ever-!”

Maestro put a magic cork in her mouth, and sighed. “Hoof-full.” He turned to face Twilight. “I don’t know if she’ll ever listen, but you have a point. We’ll give her a chance.”

Twilight beamed. Things were bound to change now…”

Castle of the Two Pony Sisters

The Creature growled. “No. NO. NO! This isn’t right!” The Creature swished its tails angrily. “Take my servant captive, eh? Well.” A dark mad grin made itself evident. “You just made a big mistake.” It channeled magic through its form, and shouted. “If you wish to change the rules…! I WILL OBLIGE!” The Creature cackled as a new creation was manifested in front of it.

Author's Note

I really like raising the stakes, don't I?

Rthö Pxaeüf: Harvest Day Date

Twilight woke the next morning to find a letter being handed to her by Spike. She took it in her magic, and saw that is had an azure seal embossed with Trixie’s Cutie Mark. Twilight gave a little chuckle at that as she opened the letter to read.

“Dear Twilight,

“I know that I haven’t been keeping as I should. I must admit that at first it was because I was jealous. Though, I’m better now that Sapph has been talking me through my misgivings. It’s amusing that you thought it would be me in your place as Maestro’s fillyfriend. I must admit… I thought the same way for quite some time. But, such is not the case now. I think… my affection for him is petering off now. I have come to accept that I will only ever be his friend. Though… I think I’ve found somepony else. I’ll be popping by Ponyville in a week or so, once my show in Manehattan is finished.

“Your friend, Trixie Lulamoon.”

Twilight smiled. It was good to know that Trixie was doing well. Though, it was a bit surprising that she had moved on so quickly. Who was the lucky stallion then? She supposed that she could just wait until Trixie stopped by. As she was putting the letter away, a knock came from her front door. A bit curious, she went down to answer and see who it was. She opened it to see that it was her coltfriend, Maestro. “Mae-Mae! Is it Harvest Day already? I wasn’t aware…”

He came into the library, and Prism followed him in. He gave a chuckle. “Well, time does tend to get away from us some times. I hope you don’t mind that I brought Prism… She hasn’t seen Spike in a while, so she’s been kind of eager.”

At that, Prism blushed. “Dad! Must you do that?”

Maestro ruffled her spines a bit. “Aw, don’t be like that. You know I only tease you a bit because I care.” He smiled as Spike came into the room. “Speaking of your boyfriend…”

Prism lumbered over to Spike. “Spikey! Oh, it’s been too long…” She gave him a hug. “Sorry that I haven’t been in touch… helping dad with his shop is pretty much a full-time job.”

Spike hugged back. “I missed you too, Prizzy. I knew that the wait would be worth it…”

At that, Twilight let out a chuckle as she raised an eyebrow. “Oh? That’s not what I heard. You kept debating if she’d left you.”

At that remark, Spike fumed as he was released from the hug. “Hey! That doesn’t mean that I gave up on her. I’ve been waiting this long, haven’t I?”

Maestro gave a nod. “You do have a point, Spike.” He then jerked his head towards the kitchen. “Say, since you forgot that today was Harvest Day, I’ll get dinner going. Is that alright, my Sparks?”

Twilight blushed and gave a nod. “Sure! Mind if I ask what’s on the menu?”

Maestro grinned as he teleported in his portfolio. “Oh, you’re gonna love this.” He unzipped it, and rummaged through it for a bit using his magic. He then proceeded to pull out the following: a pumpkin cheesecake, a bowl of salad with all sorts of fixings mixed in, an uncooked turkey- most likely for Prism and Spike-, and some sort of strange bread-like food that Twilight was unfamiliar with. He opened the oven, and popped in the turkey. He set the oven with quick-set, and left the turkey to cook.

He set the salad and bread-like substance on the table as Twilight was finishing setting it. She raised an eyebrow as he set the cheesecake on the counter. “Are you sure that this will be enough? My family always eats a lot on Harvest Day…”

Maestro chuckled. “Oh, my Sparks. You haven’t seen the best part.” Once more, he reached into his portfolio, and rummaged a bit. He frowned. “Hm. That’s odd. It was in here…” He rummaged a bit more before his face lit up. “Aha! Here we are.” He pulled out a pie, and judging by the aroma it was cranberry. He set it carefully down on the counter next to the cheesecake. He spoke with confidence. “Old recipe that I got as a gift when I left the orphanage. Prism likes it, and I hope that you do too. I only whip it out twice a year- for Harvest Day and Hearth’s Warming.”

Twilight, Spike and Prism sat down at the table while Maestro pulled the turkey out of the oven. Maestro set it down, and Prism spoke up. “I think I’ll go first. I’m grateful for my dad. Who if he had not found my egg out in that storm, I would likely not be here today.”

She grabbed a turkey leg and pried it onto her plate as Maestro dished out the salad to everyone. Spike shrugged. “Well, I’m grateful for my spunky girlfriend. Without her, I might be still pining for somebody that I cannot have.”

He grabbed the other turkey leg and put it on his plate as Maestro served up the bread-like substance. Twilight went next. “I know that it’s cheesy, but I’m grateful for my family. I’m glad that they raised me the way they did.” She saw Maestro’s pained look. “Oh! Sorry Mae-Mae. I know family is a… sore subject for you.”

He shook his head. “It’s alright. I’m used to it. As for what I’m grateful for…” He looked around the room. “My friends. Without whom, I would fall into darker paths.” He raised a glass that was full of pear cider. “To all the things we have that we are grateful for.”

They chatted amicably through the night, Twilight commenting about the “stuffing” as Maestro had called it. Once the main course finished, the cheesecake and pie were cut and shared. And for once, when it all was over… Maestro stayed the night.

Author's Note

I think you all know what harvest day is meant to be. Yes, I know that it's December and I just posted a Thanksgiving chapter. No, the next one will not be Hearth's Warming. That'll happen sometime later.

Rthö Hlieüf: The Winter Wedding- Part Two~ Reunion

Twilight took a calming breath, and decided against it by shaking her head. “I’m probably overthinking it. Maestro’s probably just really excited for the wedding. Feels a bit odd, sure, but it’s probably nothing sinister, right? I best be off.” She ran off before Celestia could get a word in edgewise. She needed to check on something. At this time of the day, she had come across ‘Cadence’ on the balcony. She did find her again, once again with her brother in tow. She tried doing their signature hoofshake, but once more was pushed aside.

Twilight shadowed her a bit longer to make sure it all lined up again, but was startled when Maestro interrupted her. “Sweetie? Why are you in the shadows like that? C’mon! You’re helping with this wedding too, you know.”

There was the uncanny feeling again, the feeling that something was wrong with Maestro. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but… She shook her head. No. just because he was… investing his energy into this… but that wasn’t what the Maestro she knew would do. He’d have taken her aside to talk about a plan to stop the changelings by now. She decided to test that, though. She shook her head. “I know, Mae-Mae. I’m just trying to ensure nothing bad happens. But… Cadence seems awfully wound up. This is nothing like her, Maestro. I think we need to do something.”

The girls perked up at this, and came closer to hear. Maestro however, just shook his head. “Chill, sweetie. It’s a lot of pressure that she’s under. You’ll understand someday.” He saw that Cadence was looking his way, and he straightened. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to place a few enchantments about the castle. I’ll see you later.”

Maestro certainly wasn’t acting like himself, and the others had noticed. Applejack commented as soon as he was out of earshot. “Wut’s his deal? I thought he’d trust you on something lahk this. Ya two’ve been petty close since you met, so…”

Rarity gave a nod. “It’s puzzling to be sure. Plus, Cadence isn;t anything like you said she would be. If you think that something’s wrong… we’ll trust you.”

Twilight smiled at the others. “Thanks girls. Now all I need to do is figure out how to get Maestro and Cadence back to their old selves…” She walked off, to try and clear her head. If Maestro had been replaced by a changeling, she wasn’t even sure how. He was pretty capable, as far as she understood.

Regardless of that, she had to get him out of this mess. It was then that she ran into “Cadence” again. Twilight stood as she saw Maestro come out of “Cadence’s” shadow. “Cadence” spoke. “I heard that you don’t exactly trust me. Why is that, Twilight?”

Twilight brushed herself off, and stood tall. “You can drop the act. You’re Cadence that I know. She would never be this cruel!”

“Maestro” gave a deep sigh. “Bother. Well, he did say that you were smart…”

Twilight growled. “What have you done with Maestro?”

“Cadence” smiled with a sinister grin. “Oh, you’ll see.” She lit her horn with sickly green magic, and green flames surrounded Twilight. “Cadence” turned towards “Maestro” as the flames grew in strength around Twilight. Twilight barely could hear what she said. “Now, get somebug to replace that pest. We don’t want any more undue attention.”

Twilight soon passed out from the sheer heat, barely feeling herself being dragged away.

It was an undetermined amount of time later that she woke to find herself in the familiar crystal caverns from the last cycle. Knowing how these walls were, she took a breath as she tried to recall exactly how she had broken through to the section with Cadence. She recalled the exact angle, and fired a beam of magic. It bounced for a while before it hit the wall and broke it. She gasped as she saw Cadence. After they performed their signature hoofshake, she hugged her. “You’re okay!” She then slowly realized something as her expression soured and she broke out of the embrace. “Wait… where’s Mae-Mae?”

Cadence shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve been down here for days. I wasn’t aware that bug had captured anypony else.”

It was then that Maestro burst through another wall, and dusted himself off. He coughed a little. “Bah. To think that a changeling could get the best of me… I must be getting rusty…”

Twilight ran to him. “Mae-Mae! You’re here too!”

He gave a grim chuckle. “ Yes I am, my Sparks.” He looked towards Cadence. “Right. Now, how do we get back to the wedding? We’ve got a few bugs to zap.”

It was then that they were approached by Sapphiron. He raised an eyebrow. “What’re you doing down here? This isn’t the wedding hall.”

Cadence looked at him incredulously while Maestro smiled. “Buddy! Can you get us out?”

He smirked. “I know these like the back of my hoof.” He led the way, and called back. “This way!” Twilight, Maestro and Cadence ran after him, soon catching up. Maestro actually slowed down as to not out-pace them as they continued through the dark mines.

The quartet ran for what seemed like forever until they reached the point where Twilight and Cadence had seen the “bridesmares” before. Maestro grimaced. “Mind control. Disgusting. They won’t remember this… at least, they shouldn’t.” He charged a spell, and sighed. “To think that I’d actually have to use this…” He cast a spell, and it hit Lyra and the others as they collapsed. The quartet went over to them, and Maestro jerked his head towards the exit. “They’re fine, just unconscious. Now. Let’s leave these blasted caves.”

He turned to see Sapphiron stopped at another junction. They came close and he spoke. “Go left. Continue up the stairs, and you’re home free. I’ve got business to attend to.” They then went their separate ways.

To Be Concluded In Part Three...

Author's Note

Yes, another three-parter. Maybe this'll be the status quo for this series...? Don't know just yet.

Rthö Dœfeüf: The Winter Wedding- Part Three~ A New Solution...?

The trio ran as fast as they could to get to the wedding hall, and they all burst in at the same time. Twilight called out. “Stop the wedding!”

Though, she then noticed what was going on here. The girls had blank looks on their eyes, much as her brother did. Celestia looked a bit pale, shackled in the officiator’s position. “Twilight…”

The fake Cadence turned and scowled, and fake Maestro sighing at her side. “Well, it seems we have no choice, my queen. Plan B.” The two of them were engulfed in green fire, as were a large portion of the crowd. The others in the room gasped as a part of the Changeling army was revealed. The one that had disguised as Maestro stood a bit taller than the average drone, and he barked out his orders. “Now, let us bring Equestria to its knees! For Queen Chrysalis!”

The drones were buzzing, ready to rumble. Chrysalis gloated. “Now, there is nothing that you can do to stop me! This day is what I have waited for, and I won’t have it taken away!”

She turned to the still dazed Shining, and closed in… But Maestro fired a blast of magic, and garnered her attention. “Sorry. I’m not gonna let you do that.” She growled, and he laughed. “Please. Did you forget that your little general only caught me off-guard by accident? I won’t be defeated so easily this time.” He then charged his magic, and fired at the girls.

Celsetia called out in terror. “Maestro! What have you done!?”

He smirked. “Oh, stuff it. They’re alright. Just unconscious, is all.” He turned to face Chrysalis. “Now. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. What’s it going to be?”

She lit her horn. “Attack!” The changelings from outside the barrier destroyed it, and started to swarm the castle. She chuckled. “You can’t hold your ground here while the rest of the castle is attacked, now can you?”

Maestro huffed. “Sparks. I’ll stay here and stall so the girls can recover. You hold off the outside forces.” Twilight gave a nod, and left the area. Maestro smirked. “Alright then. Who wants to tussle with Maestro? I’m anxious to fight…” He lit his horn and pawed a hoof at the ground. The Changelings from the crowd tried to confuse him by transforming into his friends, but he knew that the real ones were unconscious so it didn’t quite work. After he knocked some out, the rest tried to mimic him. But for some reason, they always got something wrong. Maestro chuckled as he fired blast after blast- hitting fake Maestros that had hair too long or too short, the wrong shade of teal, or even a second horn. After he managed to thin the numbers a bit, His friends started to wake. He addressed Applejack. “Jacks. Sparks’ll need your help out front. I can handle things here."

She woke the others, and they proceeded to exit to go and help Twilight. Maestro kept on knocking out Changelings, until there were only two left in the room. He stood proudly as he made to approach. The general approached to cut him off. “That’s as far as you go!

Cadence lit her horn. “Stand aside! I won’t be kept from my fiancé!”

The general growled, but Chrysalis smiled. “Just try it.” Cadence fired, and Chrysalis countered with a blast of magic of her own. Hers barreled right through Cadence’s, knocking her to the ground. Chrysalis smirked as she looked towards Maestro. “Well then? Do you still think that you can beat me?

Maestro lit his horn with as much magic as he could muster. “Not alone, no. But I can delay you.” He was about to attack when the girls found their way back. At Chrysalis’ surprise he fired at the general, knocking him out. Maestro smirked. “That’s what you get for trying to disguise yourself as me. I don’t like imitators.”

Chrysalis growled, and shook herself. “No matter! I still have-!” she turned to see that Shining had been moved by Twilight’s magic during the distraction. Chrysalis fumed. “No! This isn’t how it’s supposed to be! You can’t beat me!”

Maestro fired another blast that destroyed Celestia’s shackles. She gave a small nod of thanks, and turned to look at Chrysalis. "Chrysalis. It's over now. Surrender, and I’ll be lenient."

Swiveling her gaze around the room, Chrysalis tried to find some way to get out of this mess. She lit her horn and growled. “I won’t submit! I’ll go down fighting!”

Maestro grimaced as Twilight drew close to whisper in his ear. “What do we do now? Cadence is unconscious, and my brother hasn’t snapped out of his trance yet! How are we supposed to defeat her?”

Maestro thought about it for a while, before turning towards Cadence and lighting his horn. He cast some sort of spell, which helped Cadence recover. He then turned to Shining and broke the stupor with a spell. Maestro smiled. “That oughta do it.”

Cadence and Shining drew close and kissed, lifting into the air and blasting out pink energy. Chrysalis was knocked down, her energy fading. The two of them set down, and Celestia chuckled. “Well. That was eventful…”

After Chrysalis was captured and sent to the dungeon, the ceremony went off without a hitch. At the after party Twilight approached Maestro with a question as she set up the silence field. “You just made them solve it again. Wasn’t there another way for Chrysalis to be defeated?”

He looked away. “We weren’t ready for that. We were the only other pair that could have tried, but with my hesitation… well, I wasn’t going to risk it.” He looked at her and sighed. “At least we didn’t make it worse.”

He dispelled the field and joined in the festivities. Twilight sighed. They were a couple now, but… He still felt… distant to Twilight. She put that aside to join the others.

Author's Note

Well, there's that. Now... what to do next...?

Rthö Achieüf- The Crystal Empire

It had been a few days since the wedding, and Hearth’s Warming was right around the corner. Twilight got ready for the day and found that Spike was ready with a letter for her. It was from Celestia, and it was about an assignment. If Twilight knew the wording though, this was the one Celestia had sent when the Crystal Empire had returned. Twilight was a bit anxious about that, though. She had managed to find another solution last time when she was stuck behind the dark magic crystals. Spike had saved it then… Could she take that away from him, though? It had done wonders for his growth in the long run… She wasn’t sure.

She could ask Maestro about it, she supposed. Resolving to do just that, she left the house to board the flying chariot that Celestia had provided. The trip flew by as Twilight considered the options, but no alternative felt quite right. Her solving it would take away from Spike’s growth, and so would Maestro solving it. Was the only option for her to get stuck on purpose? She didn’t like that, but… She shook her head as the chariot set down in Canterlot. She could worry about that later. She approached the throne room, and entered. She saw Celestia, and spoke calmly. “You had an assignment for me?”

Celestia quirked an eyebrow. “Twilight? I half-expected you to take a bit longer, maybe show up with tons of paper and quills, perhaps a bit panicked. Yet you seem… almost calm.”

It made sense that Celestia was a bit surprised. Though Twilight wasn’t sure if she could let her in on the real reason she was so calm compared to last time. She decided to give an answer that was still partially true, though. “Well, things have changed a lot since Maestro came into my life. I’ve learned to take more things in stride, thanks to him.”

Celestia seemed out of sorts for a bit at that information, a concerned frown on her face. She sighed, and decided to explain the situation. “The Crystal Empire has returned, and I suspect that Sombra has come with it. You need to know how to deal with Dark Magic in order to pass through his ancient traps.” Twilight already knew where the rest of the conversation was going. After calling and dismissing the dark magic as instructed, Twilight was given the train tickets.

While on the train, her friends were chattering, discussing what they expected. Twilight sat next to Maestro, and put up the silence field. He raised an eyebrow. “Something bothering you?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know if we should solve this differently. I mean, Spike placing in the Crystal Heart was a big part of his development last cycle…”

Understanding graced Maestro’s face. “I see. It’s true that he does end up better off for doing so most of the time. But look at him.” Twilight obliged and looked over at Spike. He seemed different now that he was actually dating Prism. More confident, and perhaps more like what he was like at the end of last cycle. “Do you see? I noticed it too. He’s started on that without it. He doesn’t need to become some big hero to help him get where he’s supposed to go- he just needed a similar confidence boost.” Maestro smiled as Twilight turned back to face him. “It’s not going to be the end of the world if you take this accomplishment for yourself.”

While Maestro seemed to have a point, Twilight wasn’t so sure. However his observation seemed right at the moment, so it was hard to argue. She still wasn’t sure that she was supposed to be the one to recover the Crystal Heart, though. For some reason… it just didn’t seem right.

She didn’t have much time to consider that as the train slowed to a stop. The silence field dropped, and all on the train put on their heavy winter gear to deal with the raging blizzard outside. Even Maestro put on a coat and winter cap. They got off the train, and followed Shining Armor through the barrier around the city. Once inside, they took off their gear, but there was somebody else there to meet them. “Hello all. Welcome to the last city of the Crystal Empire, Crystaltopia.”

Twilight gasped as she saw who it was. "Sapphiron? What’re you doing here? And in broad daylight, no less!"

He heartily chuckled. “Take a look around you! I fit right in. Sure, the Crystal ponies currently are without sheen… But they see me as normal! It’s nice to be out and about and not be judged.” He cleared his throat. “Right. You’d better visit Cadence. She’s currently barring Sombra’s entrance.”

The visit with Cadence went about the same, as did the assignments for the fair. Twilight went off alone as Spike helped Maestro with the fair. She found her way through Sombra’s taps, and made her way past the endless stairs. She paused in the room of the Crystal Heart. “Now, how am I going to do this?”

It was then that she noticed Sapphiron had followed her. He looked from her to the Crystal Heart, and then understood. “You sense the dark magic surrounding the Crystal Heart too. Nasty stuff.”

He was about to grab the Heart when Twilight pushed him aside and ended up within the circle. She grabbed the Crystal Heart, and the black crystals began to rise. She pushed the heart through the gap, and Sapphiron grabbed it with his magic. “Go! Repower the city!”

Sapphiron nodded, and ran off.

He ran as he heard Sombra chasing. He knew the barrier couldn’t hold forever, but this was madness. He made his way out of the castle, and gunned it to the proper place. He set the Crystal Heart, and saw Sombra fade before him. He sighed as he saw the Crystal Ponies regain their luster. “Now this is more like it.”

Author's Note

Yes, I changed how it turned out.

Rthö Bjæeüf- Hearth's Warming Doubts, Part 1

Much had changed in the weeks since Sapphiron saved the Crystal Empire. For one, He was taking the place of Cadence as ruler of the city-state. Celestia didn’t like it much, but there was little that she could do. Cadence didn’t seem to mind being relegated to an advisor of the new Crystal Emperor, though. As for Twilight and the others, they were all preparing for Hearth’s Warming day. Twilight already had picked out a present for each of her friends, aside from Maestro. He was a bit hard to shop for, seeing as he was still pretty secluded from her circle of friends. She had some idea as to what not to get, but… that only helped so much. She was frankly a bit stumped. What was one supposed to get somebody that arguably had all that one could want?

Sighing, Twilight turned her attention back to the list of ideas that she was quickly dismissing. New paints? That was too obvious. A new vest? She quickly disregarded that idea. Maybe a book? She shook her head. She didn’t want to be that predictable. She rubbed her forehead with her left forehoof. “What am I doing…! If I don’t get him something, our relationship might be over! Gotta think of something…”

She looked over the list again as her mind drifted to other thoughts. Sometimes it didn’t really make sense to her why she had fallen for him. After all, what was so different this time? A single image in the moonlight changed everything. And since then, she’d been brushing aside some flaws of his out of hoof. He was very stubborn, and quite abrasive at times. Even so, she had convinced herself that his positives outweighed the negatives. Sometimes she thought that she was making the wrong choice to pursue this relationship.

A headache was pounding in Twilight’s head, and she dropped the list to the ground. Why had these thoughts waited until now to rear themselves? What was so different now than before? And then it hit her like a barreling train. She hadn’t seen or heard from Maestro since the return of the Crystal Empire. Then again, Maestro had been gone for long periods of time before, but this time was different. Maestro hadn’t sent any letters in the interim. He hadn’t even been present for the Hearth’s Warming Play. Questions boiled to the surface of Twilight’s mind. Where was Maestro? Why hadn’t he written in weeks? And why was she only questioning this all now?

She tried to calm herself by doing some of Cadence’s breathing exercises. There had to be a rational explanation. She took the time to look through her library until she found a book that she hadn’t seen before today. It was an unassuming brown book with the title Arcane Magicks And Enchantments printed in bold black letters. Curious about this peculiar addition to her library, Twilight began to read it. After a few minutes, she stumbled upon a certain page:

“Enchantment Of Attraction Magnetism”

Twilight was disturbed by the title alone. Surly Maestro would never do something like that, right? Not even if he was… desperate… right? She shook the thought aside and continued to read. “Directions: Apply Essence of Wish Fruit librally to the desired object. Bathe object in direct moonlight for 30 minutes. The first two individuals to see the object while it is enclosed by moonlight will start to feel attraction towards the object.”

Scarilly, the enchantment was starting to line up. Though, there were some aspects that were doubtful. Maestro wasn’t out that night for 30 minutes before she saw him… or, at least she thought so. Plus, that didn’t explain Trixie. She didn’t see him at night before her attraction began, at least to Twilight’s knowledge. Also… there was the whole Wish Fruit debacle. She shook her head. She had to know the rest of the effects before she could confront Maestro about this, so she read on. “No amount of distance via time or otherwise has been known to dissipate this spell’s effect. No cure is known. A weaker version known as the ‘Want-it-Need-it Spell’ exists, and is preferable to this enchantment. Do not use it at any cost.” Twilight sighed with relief until she read the section under it. “This enchantment ruined my father. Do not let it corrupt anyone else. -Maestro Spectrum.”

Twilight dropped the book in surprise. She hadn’t expected Maestro to have anything to do with this book. She closed the book to look at the cover to see if there was an indication that she had missed before. The only indication was the credit to a vague “multiple authors” on the cover. She sighed deeply, uncertain of what to think. Even if her faith in their relationship was waning, she just couldn’t think that Maestro had done anything heinous. She decided to try and think on lighter things, like what to get him for Hearth’s Warming.

Yet, the questions still burned in her mind. Maestro had said that his family was taken from him at a young age- However, this didn’t necessarily clash with the book. After all, some ponies were known to have photographic memory, so him remembering a story from his dad wasn’t entirely out of the question. The questions were too weighty to think about anything else. She needed answers, and she needed them now. She wrote a quick note to Maestro and sent it off in a rush.

But as she waited for the reply, she grew more curious. If it wasn’t the enchantment that she had found in the book, then what? It certainly wasn’t Want-it-Need it, for she knew the effects of that one all too well. As she was puzzling about it, a knock came to her door. She opened it, and there he was. Maestro had a more somber look on his face than she had expected. He sighed deeply. “I have come… to explain.”

To Be Continued In Part Two

Author's Note

Well now. This changes things...

Rthö Sneeüf- Hearth's Warming's Doubts, Part 2

The two of them sat at the table as silence prevailed. Twilight observed that Maestro was nervous, moreso than she’d ever seen him be. She could understand, of course. It was a delicate subject that he was trying to broach. Twilight didn’t rush him, though. He would talk when he was ready. He took a breath, and began. “It’s not my fault this happened to you, that it got so… weird. It all goes back to my dad. He was… eccentric… to say the least. I know that you read about the Enchantment Of Attraction Magnetism, but allow me to shed some light on it all. You see… My dad was a desperate mess after his first wife died, at least according to the journals he kept.

“He tampered with things that he shouldn’t have, and experimented with enchantments until he stumbled upon the key for his desires. Once he tested it… it seemed that it was key to his problems. It worked wonders for him finding a new wife- at least, at first. You see… he didn’t know the consequences of what he had wrought.”

Maestro paused for a moment as he looked down, a solemn look on his face. “This next part… I didn’t find out about it until recently. You see… a child born from such a mingling… is essentially cursed.” Twilight’s heart sank as she could tell where this next part was going, but let Maestro continue anyway. “My dad kept notes on what happened in my childhood, recording what came of such interactions. There seemed to be no limit in what it could do. He was ecstatic at his findings, a pony that could -without knowing- cause anyone to fall for them. He did, however, note that this curse was different from his enchantment. If enough time, space, or what have you came between the victim and the source, the effect would dissipate. He tried forcing such to become enthralled again- but the effect only ever works once on any given individual.”

Twilight saw tears stream from his face. He’d kept it together through the explanation, but apparently the thought of what his father had left him with was too much. Twilight hesitated for a moment. What should she do? She was awfully confused, but… Maestro was still her friend, and he was suffering. She got up from the table, and went over to comfort him. She held him close as his tears continued. She stroked his mane gently, trying to calm him down. She‘d never really seen him so vulnerable before. She tried to comfort him with words. “It’ll be alright, Maestro. We’ll figure out something to get this curse broken. I promise.”

To her surprise, Maestro broke away from her grasp. His tears were starting to dry, but he still looked rather solemn. “That won’t work, Sparks. My dad’s enchantments are too strong for me to break. This… curse… has his magic essence all over it. It is as immovable as a mountain. I may be very good with enchantments, but even I could never hope to free myself from this affliction.” He looked away, defeat creeping onto his face. “As for what happens to us now… I’m unsure. I was blinded by my feelings, not understanding the signs that you were showing. I wanted so badly to have a romantic relationship work for me, but I didn’t see the signs of how shallow it was. As for why… I chose to be willfully ignorant, much to my shame. I hope that at the very least we can still be friends, Sparks."

For a while, Twilight was uncertain of how to respond. This sort of challenge for friendship was something she had never really come across before. However, she knew this much- Maestro had never meant for this to happen. The sincerity in his voice was something that was impossible to fake. She knew what had to be done. She walked up to him, and placed her right forehoof upon his back. “Maestro, I forgive you. You’ve seen so much happen, that it’s understandable that your frustration at your previous failures clouded your judgment. As for this curse… I think that there may be one individual that might be able to help. I’m not completely sure how things will work out between us, but we’ll figure it out. Whether we are meant to be together or remain as just friends, I’m willing to figure that out. After all, avoiding it will only cause more trouble down the line.”

With a chuckle, Maestro shook his head. “You amaze me, Sparks. Always have. You were one of the few that were less predictable than everyone else- aside from Discord and Pinkie, that is. I’ve had many flings over the iterations, but I never felt strongly about anyone… until you. The reason I didn’t approach you until I got today’s letter is simple- once I excavated the disturbing facts by visiting Dad’s lab, I had to know the truth. Did you really love me? Or was it the curse that I’d been straddled with?” He looked Twilight in the eyes, and sighed. “Now that I know the result, I can safely say… I don’t deserve somebody like you in my life, Sparks.” He stood up, and gazed out of the window. “Perhaps… I should pass the baton of my Element to someone else, and step back. All I need to do is find a worthy candidate…”

Shock and surprise lit upon Twilight’s face. Was he serious, or was he joking? She honestly couldn’t tell. Twilight wasn’t sure how to feel. Was he refusing to try again with their relationship? Part of her thought she was relieved that they could go back to being “just friends”, but the other part vehemently disagreed. Did she want to try again, with this black spot hanging over them? Or would she push down her nebulous feelings, and let him walk away as a friend?

To Be Continued In Part Three

Author's Note

Well, I've finished the new chapter early, so you get it early! I thought that I could finish this arc in two chapters, but I feel that would be a bit cheap. So, it's getting a Part 3. As for when I'll start writing it, I've got no clue. I guess I'll just start when I feel I've got some idea of how it will fit with the rest of the story. Until then, be seeing you!

Rthö Bjæ- Conflict of Interest

A week had passed, and Twilight thought that she had come to to terms with her silly crush and tossed it aside. It had been nothing more than her appreciating how good the suit made him look, nothing more. At least, that's what she tried to tell herself. But Twilight was conflicted when she saw Maestro that day. A knot twisted inside when she saw him talking with Trixie. A sick feeling that she could only presume was simple jealousy. He was talking with her as a friend, yet Twilight couldn’t help but see something else. The knot twisted harder as sharp pain was wrought upon her heart. She was conflicted. Part of her wanted to leave them be, because Maestro was clearly a good match for Trixie. But another part of her wanted him for herself. She didn’t know what to do. She tried to push it away, to ignore this feeling… yet it refused to go away. She decided to go get some fresh air within the forest, and hopefully that would help.

She travelled along the path for a good while, trying to sort things out. Was this more than she initially thought it to be? Why of all ponies did it have to be Maestro? She’d never really had interest in somepony else before, at least not quite like this. She tried rationalizing again, trying to convince herself that it was nothing more than a silly crush, that it would fade with time. It just had to be, for if it wasn’t… she didn’t know what to think. She had been so consumed in her thoughts that she had lost her way in the forest. She looked around, but she didn’t recognize this area of the forest. Everything around her looked very similar, and that only added to her confusion. She had forgot to bring a compass- something she chided herself over. With no certain way back to town, she weighed her options. She could shoot off a ball of magic, and hope somepony would see it. She could shout, and hope somepony was in earshot. She could teleport, of course- but that would likely drain quite a bit of her magic. But before she could make a decision, she saw a familiar figure. She called out to him. “Sapphiron! I am glad to see you!”

Turning to her, Sapphiron had a puzzled look on his face. “Twilight? Gone and gotten yourself lost in the forest, it seems. Would you like me to guide you back to town? I know this forest like the back of my hoof!”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, thank you! Lead the way!” She fell in step behind him, and he took her out of the clearing. Sure, she still was uncertain about Sapphiron, but she felt she should give him a chance. So, she decided to break the ice as they walked. “So you and Maestro are friends, right? Might I ask how you two met?”

For a minute, Sapphiron considered the question. “Well, it was a long time ago. He and I go way back- we grew up close to each other. We’ve always had one another’s backs, no matter what.” His face suddenly fell. “We were there for each other during the hardest part of our past- we had nobody else to turn to. I’d rather not talk about that story right now though. It still hurts sometimes, even to this day…”

Twilight saw that Sapphiron had issues of his own, on top of all the rumors spread about his family. Speaking of… “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but… what was your family like?”

Sapphiron stopped in his tracks, just shy of the path back to town where Twilight could see Applejack’s farm. He turned to her, tears running down his muzzle. “They were… good ponies. It still… hurts thinking about what they were like on a personal level sometimes so… please forgive me for not elaborating.” He dried his eyes, and stood up. He gestured to the path. “There you go. You can make your way back from here, I trust.” He started to walk off, but then paused and turned back. “Farewell for now, Twilight.” And with nary another word, he disappeared into the forest.

His disappearing act was so sudden that she hardly had a chance to thank him. Yet some part of her suspected that he’d know somehow. She went back into town, feeling slightly better. The little exchange with Sapphiron had taken her mind off of her troubles, and for once she was grateful that Maestro had already left. Seeing him at this point would only make things harder. Though, Trixie was still there, and she approached Twilight, a bit of a strange look on her face. “Hey. It’s been a while hasn’t it, Sparkle.” She rubbed a foreleg on her other, looking a bit nervous. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to… be interested in Maestro too, would you?”

Twilight was caught off guard. She hardly wanted to think on this right now. She was trying to move past that stage, not get dragged back! Tough, she couldn’t lie to Trixie. “Well… I mean, it’s probably nothing more than a crush. It’ll go away on its own.” She looked Trixie in the eye, knowingly. “If you want to go for him, be my guest. I’m probably not even his type.”

Surprise played on Trixie’s face for a moment, but then she shook her head. “W-well I could, but… He’s terribly busy, and I’m due for a few shows soon. The schedules just won’t work out.”

Part of Twilight felt elated, but another felt sorry for Trixie. Twilight knew she might regret this, but… Trixie just seemed perfect for Maestro. “If you ask him, you’d probably be surprised with the flexibility of his schedule. I say: Go for it.”

Trixie thanked Twilight, and went on her way. However, that inevitable regret came over Twilight as Trixie left. Some part of Twilight hoped that it wouldn’t work out, but she knew that it probably would. Despite what Maestro’d said, It was time that he considered things like this again; after all, if this was to be the last cycle, he deserved happiness, too. Yet, as Twilight got ready for bed that night, she couldn’t help but cry herself to sleep, longing for what she would likely never have.

Author's Note

Now things are getting interesting... But next chapter will take a break form this development to get back to other things.

Rthö Tuleüf: The Winter Wedding- Part One~ It's just the same invitation... right?

A few days had passed, and the day had come. Twilight was having a picnic with her friends, and they were all having a nice chat. That was until she saw Spike come running, holding a scroll in his claws. Once he arrived, a letter came out from his dragon fire. Twilight grabbed the one in Spike’s claws first, unrolled it and read:

“Hey LSBFF,

“I almost forgot to send you this, until your coltfriend stopped by and pestered me about it. So I’m writing to tell you that I proposed to Cadence a while back, and that the wedding is… well, by the time you get this, it’ll be today… Sorry for not sending it sooner, I’ve just been super swamped with guard duty. I hope that you and your friends will be able to attend.

“Your BBBFF, Shining Armor.”

She rolled it up and smiled. “Well. Looks like it’s finally happening.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Twi, you expected this? Wut, you psychic or sumthin’?”

A shake of the head later and Twilight explained. “Nothing like that. It’s just been a long time coming. And for him to propose to Cadence… well, it’ll be nice to have her as my sister-in-law.” Though, she had a sneaking suspicion that things might go as last time if she wasn’t careful. She nodded, and turned her attention to the other letter. It was from Celesita, much the same as it was last time. She turned and jerked her head in the direction of the train station. “Come on, girls. Celestia wants us to help out with setting it all up. On the way there, I can tell you all about Cadence! I think you guys will like her…”

A shuffle over and show of tickets later, the girls and Spike all boarded the train to Canterlot. Twilight spent most of the train ride telling all sorts of stories about Cadence and how nice she usually was. That way, if she had been replaced by Chrysalis, her friends would more easily believe her. They soon came upon the dome of magic that surrounded the city, and they passed through with little issue. Rarity raised a small concern. “Does anypony know why there’s a barrier around Canterlot? It’s usually so open…”

Twilight nodded. “Shiny said that his guard duties were getting a bit hectic. It makes sense that they would place a barrier to filter out any unwanted guests. Pressure is high, with the wedding looming.”

This seemed to satisfy them, but it only made Twilight’s worry worse. She could tell that the shield wasn’t her brother’s best. That meant that Cadence had already been replaced. Still, Maestro was apparently already in Canterlot. Maybe he’d been keeping things in check until they got there. Twilight gave a sigh. She knew that hoping that this day wouldn’t involve the changelings was hoping for a miracle, but… did it really have to repeat almost verbatim? She put her thoughts aside as they came into the station.

Once the train stopped, they exited to see that Maestro was there. He grinned. “What you took you so long?”

Twilight brightened and hugged him. “Mae-Mae! I wasn’t expecting you to meet us here.”

He chuckled as he peeled her off of him. “What, do you think that it’s wrong for me to meet my girlfriend and our mutual friends at the train station? What has the world come to?” He shook his head and calmed down. “Seriously, though. I’ve been waiting for you guys. I can’t make this wedding the best it can be without you.”

Twilight was a bit perplexed at first. Maestro knew as well as she did what was going on here. So why was he being this chipper? Something seemed off. She decided to have a little test first. She looked around. “So where’s Prism? You hardly go anywhere without her.”

He raised an eyebrow. “My daughter? Oh, she’s back at my shop that I set down. Might as well make a bit of profit while I’m here. How could forget her?”

Twilight was still a bit skeptical, but the answer did seem to hold weight for now. She decided to keep her thoughts to herself as she turned towards her friends. “Come on, girls. Let’s get to it.” They went to the castle with Maestro as their guide. Though, Twilight just couldn’t shake the needling feeling that he wasn’t Maestro at all. She knew her Mae-Mae. He often had a sad twinge in his eye, a melancholic echo in his voice. Yet here he had neither. It wasn’t a certain thing yet, but she was keeping her guard up just the same.

The seven of them soon reached the palace, and were greeted by Celestia. “Twilight! Girls!” She looked at Maestro uncomfortably. “Maestro.” She turned her attention back to the others as Maestro just let that venom roll right off of him. “I’ve been waiting for you. Rarity will help with the dress, of course. Pinkie and Applejack will help with the food, and Rainbow and Fluttershy will help setting up the hall. Twilight, you and your… coltfriend… can help ensure that it’s all running smoothly. Everypony got it?”

At the shared nods, they split off with Twilight lagging behind. Maestro noticed this, and turned to face her with a raised eyebrow. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

Maestro had never called her that. It felt wrong. She shook it off. Maybe she was overthinking it. She gave a forced smile. “I need to have a word with Celestia in private first, if you don’t mind.”

He stared at her with a puzzled expression before shrugging. “Okay then. I’ll be off make sure that nothing falls apart. See you later, sweetie!”

After he left, Twilight turned to see Celestia with a concerned expression on her face. “Is something wrong, Twilight? You haven’t approached me like this since before I sent you off to Ponyville.”

Twilight paused. Should she? She wasn’t sure….

To Be Continued In Part Two...

Author's Note

Well. I think this sets it up nicely.