This is bad, this is really bad! I…
There are monsters here in Equestria. Big ones, scary ones, ones that remind me of the ones back home. But…how can there be monsters without Mist? Then again, how can there be magic without Mist? I just don’t understand! This world is supposed to be nice and peaceful…
But waking up by nearly being decapitated doesn’t count much for peace! Fluttershy tells me that the beasts that are dangerous come from the forest I was found in. You know the forest where that zebra saved Boco and me.
So that means…that I’ve had two chances to get maimed horribly since I got here, one of them before I even knew where I was! I guess I’m all the luckier that the ponies found me first then… But how could a world so nice and beautiful hold monsters so evil and cruel? I just don’t understand. It doesn’t help any that Applejack said they’ve been getting worse over the month.
I guess I can rest easy knowing that it isn’t my fault, because I’ve only been here for a few days. But wait, hasn’t Kuja been here for a month? Could that mean that he…? No. There’s no way. Kuja isn’t evil. If he were, everyone would be dead. It wouldn’t take him a month to ruin everything. But maybe there’s a reason the monsters in the forest have gotten wilder since he arrived.
But why is that?
…
I guess I was awake before I was conscious, because I can remember hearing a light squeak from Fluttershy just before I heard the roar that followed the manticore’s leap. In a loud orchestra of destruction, the monster collapsed an entire wall of the Pegasus’s cottage, glass from a window going everywhere and tiny animals crying out in fear and pain.
The noise was enough to stir me from my would-be-days-longer rest, and the first thing I saw was the red claw resting not an inch from my throat. I’m not a genius, but after travelling with Zidane, I was able to tell when danger was close. It was in the split second of consciousness that I kicked my mind and body into battle mode.
There was no hesitation as I rolled from the tattered remains of the couch, wedged myself underneath the small table, and kicked it as hard as I could at the raging beast of an animal. The wood furniture shattered as it made contact, but it served as the plenty of distraction I needed. Now I had time to think about my actions.
One thought pressed harder on me than any other: should I kill the manticore?
Fluttershy watched on in fear from the corner of the room, Angel perched cautiously on her head. I could still hear the cries of little innocent animals and the faint smell of blood starting to fill the air. Something in me snapped at the scent.
The beast lunged forward, putting its whole weight into the claw it charged with. It was fast, but I was faster. Finally deciding which spell in my arsenal to use, I unleashed every ounce of energy I had into it. A concentrated ball of orange and red light engulfed the enraged beast, its roars going from ones of anger to agony. The ball of light compacted into the monster, taking its shape. The heat was getting unbearable even for me, but I wanted the beast to feel the pain it must have caused the poor critters of Fluttershy’s cottage.
“Flare…” I sighed, allowing the energy and manticore to vanish in a blast of concentrated magic that incinerated the entirety of the beast, leaving nothing but magical scorch marks on the floor as a reminder of its existence.
Fluttershy squeaked in a mix of confusion and fear, not sure what she’d just witnessed and certainly not wanting to assess the damage done by the manticore. I couldn’t blame her, personally. The squeaks of obviously-dying animals kept the fire in my chest burning long after the monster had died. So many innocent lives, human or not, snuffed out by a damned Mist monster!
It took every ounce of my being to stay calm and controlled. I could remember the first time I Tranced, all of my brothers falling into the ocean, helpless under the assault of one of our own kind… I was scared, but I had my friends to care for me in my time of uncertainty. But here…none of these ponies would understand a Trance. To them I’d be a monster. To them, I’d be comparable to the manticore I’d just killed.
And I knew that. So instead of giving in to my anger, I turned my attention toward the yellow mare cowering in the corner of the room with a little bunny. Making sure my hands were free of magical energy, I reached out toward her and asked, “The manticore didn’t hurt you, did it?”
The response I received was almost expected. The Pegasus shook her head hesitantly, as if she were considering whether or not to acknowledge my presence. The bunny tried to lash a paw out at me, assumedly in anger and fear. It became apparent that I wasn’t wanted at the time, so I turned to leave. Of course I wouldn’t be wanted. I’d not only killed a living creature, but I’d used one of the most painful spells I knew. I’d made the beast suffer before killing it.
But it made others suffer, so my actions were justifiable, right?
And the damage it had done to Fluttershy’s cottage would take days to repair, if it could be repaired at all. An entire half of the tree was ripped off, the animals housed along that half dead or dying. The thought of the animals sent my heart burning again. I needed something to rage at. I needed something to release the…Mist…growing in my chest.
Mist.
It’s always the Mist!
The Mist takes everything beautiful and twists it up into a malformed ball of grotesque humor! The Mist takes something as simple as anger and manifests it into a ball of uncontrollable fury! I needed something to attack, something to release the magic in my gut. I needed a way to release my anger before I snapped at an innocent pony.
Fate has a strange way of torturing people, you know. I wouldn’t have considered it karma, but the stars had aligned in my favor at that moment.
A tiny little snake-like creature drilled its beak into my calf, sending a new burst of burning fury into my mind. Without hesitation, I unleashed another magical blast into it, kicking it away from me in the process. I don’t even remember calling the spell, but the cockatrice was ash before I could blink. In that one attack, that one shock of pain, I felt infinitely better. The fire in my heart cooled, and I was finally able to look at Fluttershy’s cottage without getting unbearably angry.
I could see the Pegasus finally walking around, assumedly assessing the damage. Tears rained from her eyes as she caught the scent of blood and the cries of her innocent critters. I couldn’t bear to see her face, and turned to stare at the edge of the forest. I dared something else to come out. I wanted something else to kill. I needed something to justify my actions.
A crowd of townsfolk started to gather, each one frightened to see what had happened to the animal-lover’s home. The five ponies that constituted Fluttershy’s best friends were the only ones that dared enter the home and comfort her. I simply stood staring away from all of them, ignoring the questions directed at me. I wanted something else to kill. I wanted to use as much Mist as I could.
I didn’t want to Trance.
I… I was scared. If Zidane had been there, he could’ve guided me. Or Dagger. Even Steiner would’ve helped me. They always knew how to talk to me. They understood me better than others.
But…they weren’t there. They never would be.
I was alone. Even if Kuja was in this world, he was miles away. Mr. 33 and 111 were with him, not me.
So I…
Fate. It’s cruel. The second I took my eyes off of the forest to wipe the tears away, a roar erupted from it. I barely had time to look up before the manticore’s claws caught me. I didn’t have blood. For the first time in my life, I actually had a reason to check. Even after everything I’d been through. Even after all the pain and emotions I’d come to know…
I was still just a puppet created by Kuja to kill things.
I didn’t have blood. I didn’t have a soul. I didn’t have organs. I had Mist.
As long as I had Mist, I could live forever. The laws of Equestria aren’t Gaia's.
I didn’t try to stop it. I knew that if I let the beast go, the crowd of ponies outside the cottage would meet the same fate as the creatures within. So I let the pink glow engulf me. I let the Mist swallow me in its comforting embrace. I let it carry me to my feet. I let it straighten my hat’s fold out, and let it create an oak staff in my hands.
I let it guide my magic.
The manticore was dead before it could remove its paw from my chest.
The wolf that followed met the same fate.
Monsters and rabid animals flooded from the woods, called by my concentrated Mist. They continued to gather, one after another, wanting to steal it and use it for themselves. Even in Equestria, Mist still controlled animals. Animals like me…
But they all died. The townspeople watched as I killed each beast in turn. My Mist seemed limitless. I felt alive. At the same time, I knew I was dead. This wouldn’t be real in Gaia. I wasn’t alive, but I felt it.
And then, as suddenly as the whole ordeal began, it ended. A pack of manticores charged from the edge of the woods, the leader of the pack turned to dust by a combination of Break and Comet. The impact of the rock against the ground sent the rest of the wild animals scurrying back into the Everfree, not wanting to follow the example. The air around the town returned to a relaxed state, though the ponies outside Fluttershy’s cottage remained on edge. My Mist had finally been released, and the Trance ended abruptly. I fell to the ground in a heap, remaining conscious just long enough to see Applejack enter my line of sight.
I woke up a few hours later in a comfortable bed, Applebloom sitting right beside me. I recognized the building almost immediately: Sweet Apple Acres. Honestly, it wasn’t where I expected to wake up. I thought for sure I’d end up in the hospital with that one nurse caring for me, but no. Instead I woke up in a comfy bed in a house that still smelled like apple pie. Except…that part of the house looked a lot newer than the place where we ate dinner last night.
“Is…everybody okay?” That question was my first conscious thought. It wasn’t until it was answered that I actually examined my surroundings.
With her country accent, Applebloom cheered, “They sure are, thanks to what ya did!”
“Good. It was nothing, really.” If I had blood, I would’ve blushed. I never liked the spotlight. It didn’t help any that what I had done was out of rage and not concern…
The filly scoffed, “It was heckuva lot more than nothin’, Vivi! Them forest critters woulda really did some damage if you hadn’t stepped up!” She had a smile of genuine appreciation on her face, which for some reason was really comforting.
The smell of blood filled my nostrils again, a memory from my waking moments earlier that day. “What about all of Fluttershy’s pets?” A sudden jolt of sadness filled my voice.
Applebloom shifted uncomfortably where she sat. I could see her smile fade at my question. “Most o’ the critters where the Manticore hit passed away,” she sighed. “Some of ‘em got out with just a couple of scratches.”
I didn’t respond. With a simple nod of my head, I turned away to look out of the window into the evening sun. I felt completely drained, even more so than before I fell asleep the previous night. I felt like I could just sleep and never wake up. The Mist had left me entirely, and I was stuck in a drowsy limbo of consciousness. If only I were a White Mage, I could’ve healed myself and revived the innocent animals…
But Black Mages were designed to kill. Not save…
Applebloom let out a sudden giggle; her eyes not focused anywhere in particular. She explained, “It’s kinda funny when ya think about it. Just a couple weeks ago there was another fella just like you laying in that bed…” She looked up to a spot on the ceiling where it became obvious that repairs had been made in recent weeks. The wood on my side of the patchwork was a darker red, while the other side seemed faded.
“One of my friends? Another Black Mage?” I could only assume it had been 33 or 111.
“Well, not exactly one o’ you. It was that Kuja fella you was talkin’ about,” she replied simply.
“Huh? But Kuja’s nothing like me…” I began to grow confused. The only thing that made me similar to Kuja was that I was a humanoid. And a puppet, but I didn’t think that at the time.
The little filly continued, “Well, he went all pink like you and started gettin’ rid of all the Everfree monsters the night he stayed here. That’s why we had to fix up the place!” She pointed upward, her old smile coming back to her features.
Kuja…Tranced? He Tranced in the same town as I. He Tranced to protect the citizens of Ponyville from the Everfree Forest animals. He…had Mist built up like I did. But something so bizarre wouldn’t be easily kept a secret, would it? Why didn’t anyone tell me about it when I mentioned him before?
Before I could continue my thoughts, the door to my room swung open, Applejack and the rest of her friends trotting right in. The six mares sat down around the room, obviously getting comfortable for something.
And, in an instant, it became obvious what. “What are you, Mister Vivi?”
The bluntness of Applejack’s question caught me off guard. I could hear a slight filter of fear in her voice. If Kuja had Tranced before me, and we’d both been the targets of the animals’ attacks, I could understand her fear. The way it looked to an outside eye, it was us foreigners driving the monsters crazy and causing them to attack the town. In fact, that’s how it looked to me. I couldn’t blame the sour expressions on their faces as they waited for an answer.
And it was time I gave them one. If they’d met Kuja before…there was no chance he gave them the answers they wanted. The least I could do for the potential harm we’d caused was explain what we were.
Puppets designed to kill. One created by a god-like descendant of the Terran people, the other created by the original puppet.
So I told them my story. I told them about my creation, my adventures with Zidane, my death, and everything I could about Kuja. And they listened, never once passing audible judgment. And when I finally finished sharing my story with them, the moon was high in the sky. They said goodnight and left me to rest. Applebloom waited in the room, eager to help me if I needed it.
…
If Kuja and I are the reason the monsters are so fierce…then we have to leave. If I ever get to meet him face to face, I have to tell him how I feel. We can’t stay here if we’re bringing Mist with us! No world deserves to suffer like Gaia did before the Iifa Tree died! I just…
We have to find out what’s going on! We can’t let innocent people die because we want to live here! We get to live again, but at what cost?!
I…I have to speak with him soon!