From the Eyes of Kuja
It was almost sun set when he died. He was taken back to his room for us to be with him. The night passed without a word between us and the ponies. We kept to ourselves, by his side the entire night. The ponies avoided us, probably not certain how to approach the situation. I can’t blame them. A world like this—the Equestria before we arrived—was so peaceful, I doubt most residents suffered such sudden loss.
Princess Celestia, the great and powerful ruler of Equestria, made it a point to avoid us completely. I imagine it had more to do with what I’d said and less to do with being unable to handle the situation. After all, she’s lived two-thousand years; she’s seen her fair share of death. Perhaps I was being harsh, trying to pass my anger on to some other target. My guards will protect him, right? How idiotic of me. To mock her like that was…wrong.
It wasn’t her fault.
I just needed someone to blame, and she seemed to be the most capable punching bag. It was wrong of me. But…
Vivi died, and yet I felt as if I learned what everything meant. I was finally able to put it all together. And now we’re here, in this place, this memory of memories, about to either win or die. When I look back on the past few hours, I wonder just how all of this came to fruition. I’m amazed at just how much manipulation was going on right under my nose.
But He found it easy to play us. He was our puppeteer.
…
The entire day following Vivi’s death and my meeting with Celestia passed in peace. I stayed with him, not so much mourning but thinking. I tried to understand why he died—No, not why, but how. I was certain I had figured it out! I was almost positive I understood why he lost his memories! But with his passing, all of my puzzle pieces burst into flames. I had nothing left to work with.
But once the sun set again, and the ponies decided to join me in his room, things slowly began to fall into place. I didn’t notice at the time, but there were two very important pieces of the puzzle missing. Looking back, I should’ve seen the signs.
It was an awkward evening, honestly. We all sat in the room, thinking about the fallen mage. We never spoke, not until…
“I cannot express how deeply sorry I am for the events that transpired under my watch. Perhaps if I had been more vigilant, your friend could have been saved.” Princess Celestia entered the room out of the blue, surprising the others. I had honestly expected her.
And as she spoke, something finally clicked! With just those two statements, I had another piece of a puzzle I didn’t think existed! I had been so blinded by my sadness that I hadn’t even considered how abruptly our meeting had been adjourned!
I shot up from my seat and gasped, “Celestia, before the chaos, we were talking about your dreams!” Her brow knotted in confusion, and the others shifted in curiosity.
She stammered, “W-Well yes, we were, but…”
“What did you say the figure in your dreams looked like?”
I saw her eyes flitter about, trying to recall a vision from an unconscious stupor. The previous day it had been so vivid for her, which told me that her dreams stopped with Vivi’s passing. And that, in and of itself, was a good sign!
“The figure was bipedal, just like you. It wore black armor and a cloak, with a bright red jewel on its chest. The head was pale, bald on top with long white hair on the sides.” She stopped for only a moment to consider her words. “The voice from yesterday—the one that came from the demon—belonged to it.”
The description became almost real to me, as if its owner were standing right in the room with us. I considered the voice and put the two together. And then, it clicked. The two lined up almost too perfectly! I knew exactly who her dreams involved, and the message he kept telling her suddenly fit! Of course He would want us out of the way! We were the only ones that could’ve stopped Him!
“Garland!” I cheered, the thought of the old monster finally focusing in my mind.
Twilight Sparkle finally spoke up, incredulous confusion in her voice, “Garland? What do decorations have to do with anything?” I could’ve burst into laughter at her ignorance.
The whole world melted away from me in an instant of clarity. Memories of my time in the world spun around me like windows, each showing a fragment of my days both active and incapacitated. I began to fit all the pieces I could find together. Between random attacks from usually-docile creatures and beasts appearing that didn’t belong, I was putting together a puzzle that I’d been too blind to see since that first excursion from Appleloosa.
When I arrived I sensed a cleaner version of the Iifa Tree’s Mist. It didn’t have the power to create monsters, but it was still able to give life to the Black Mages. At the same time, Mr. 33 and 111 just happened to have been wandering the desert when I appeared, specifically so they could help me! When Vivi arrived, I was told Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had so conveniently been passing by where he appeared, just close enough to hear Bobby Corwen’s chirps!
On top of that, the zebra had been just fast enough to save us from manticores inside the forest and the cockatrice that threatened Vivi. When we slept in the tree the night of our vision, any monster could have attacked us in our delirious state! The manticore that destroyed Applejack’s house just barely missed me, and the one that struck Fluttershy’s cottage narrowly avoided Vivi! Any one of the monsters attacking Canterlot could have captured us while we were so haphazardly running the tracks from the stopped train to the town!
But they never did. Each time we’ve been in danger, we’ve narrowly avoided death. Meltigemini didn’t even try to attack us, Lani was unable to land a hit on anything other than metal, and Vivi did a pretty good job of murdering the Black Waltz brothers before they could draw much military attention. The entire time we’ve been here, we’ve used magic and Trance and our own wits to put pieces of non-existent puzzles together.
We were without much purpose until Mr. 111 started spouting nonsense about Lords from Nowhere. I wanted to know what I had to do. Just like a Black Mage programmed to kill, I needed something to guide my hand. So when my companion brought up something even remotely likely, I gravitated toward it. I needed a destiny that I oh-so-much despised. So I latched on and went with the flow.
That was the first puzzle I started to put together…
But what if there was no solution? What if Lord Avon or Starswirl the Bearded or whatever he’s called had nothing to do with the events transpiring before me? What if I had only wanted it to be the answer?
I kept that in mind as I sighed, “I’ve had it all wrong. I don’t think I was ever here to protect this place at all…” I stared Celestia right in her eyes, hoping she would understand my thoughts somehow. I didn’t want to say it.
“What’re you talking about? What about the play and all the connections?” Twilight brought up a point that I finally understood. I didn’t know if I was right, but I couldn’t have been too wrong.
“It was all just a stupid coincidence. Sure, they might be the same person, but that has nothing to do with me.” I was finally starting to understand. I was finally starting to figure things out.
So many things were just wrong about the world. So many things were completely wrong, even for a separate world. Even in my own mind, there had been so many inconsistencies. I finally began to understand why.
And when we all heard it, I was given the comfort of knowing I was right.
But it was a shallow comfort. For when His voice called out, I was swallowed in a cold wave of dread.
“Is the mouse finally reaching the cheese?” It was an ominous, mocking voice. Dark and foreboding, it was all too familiar. “It only took you a month. Honestly, I’ve grown quite bored of this game.”
Game. It was a game to him?
“I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t see it before.” I turned toward the door behind Celestia, expecting the man whom I despised to appear before us.
His voice echoed out, “Our meeting is almost due, Kuja. It’s almost time for me to pay you back for all those months ago.” A rumble of laughter followed, causing the ponies to shiver in fear. I couldn’t blame them.
I fought the urge to turn away from the door. “I’m looking forward to it, father.” I put as much venom in that word as I could. To call him ‘master’ would be too submissive, and to call him ‘Garland’ would be too polite. ‘Father’ simply fit the situation the best, considering our past.
“As am I. But first, I have a riddle for you.” A knot of fear tightened in my gut. His voice continued, “In the place where ancient hostilities lie, I wait in the glow of the pale moonlight. When the forces of kindness gather in protest, the demon will be given unrest. To save a brother for whom you care, or to silence a mage whose power is beyond compare. Which choice do you choose?”
With another round of laughter, his voice faded. The ponies shared looks of confusion before turning toward me, and I stared back at them. Even Celestia showed no sign of comprehension. I tried to consider the pieces of his rambling, wondering why he’d be so unclear. If this is what he had wanted, why would he try to put it off?
In the place where ancient hostilities lie…
In terms of Equestria, I know nothing about ancient battles or enemies. The only one that comes to mind is the legend of the Demon of Chaos from the story Mr. 111 told us. But the demon was sealed away permanently by the Elements of Harmony—Twilight and her friends—right? But he was turned to stone, so he had to go somewhere…
“The Demon of Chaos,” I snapped, turning toward Celestia, “where is he?”
She hesitated for a moment to consider my meaning before sighing, “Discord is on display in the castle gardens. Why do you ask so suddenly?” Her expression immediately shifted to concern, as it should have.
Applejack snorted, “That bad apple ain’t gonna cause trouble so long as us Elements are around!” She smiled smugly as I flinched. That was a fourth strike. Four out of three. Dammit!
I had to block out my annoyance at such fate-challenging statements to focus on the matter at hand. “On…display…you say?” I couldn’t begin to wrap my mind around the idea of putting the single greatest threat to the kingdom in plain view for any random citizen to see! But I quickly shifted my mind to the next gear, not trying to miss a beat.
…I wait in the glow of the pale moonlight.
Pale moonlight? That naturally meant that it basked in the glow of the lunar body, and that the moonlight bathes the statue of Discord. And yet…what was the point in mentioning ‘pale’? Isn’t all moonlight pale? When I thought about it…it dawned on me that it had been a full moon the prior night!
Again I snapped, “The moon’s full tonight, right?”
Celestia giggled, “It should be, yes, if my sister is doing her duty.” Celestia had a sister? And yet I hadn’t seen her in the castle at all…
Twilight pulled a small calendar from her saddlebag and added, “It’s supposed to be bigger tonight than it has been in the last few months.” When I was told she was a nerd, it wasn’t a lie. She even had the cycles of the stars recorded, despite it all being controlled by ‘magic’.
But the fact remained that the moon was meant to be larger on this particular evening. Whatever was meant by ‘pale moonlight’ was irrelevant in that case. Again, I moved ahead to the next piece of His riddle.
When the forces of kindness gather in protest…
There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind what that line meant. The Elements of Harmony were the only ‘forces of kindness’ I could even begin to call to memory, even from my time in Gaia. Those who did the right thing and acted selflessly were never referred to as warriors of kindness, only kind souls. There was no other meaning behind that line.
And yet I simply had to ask… “You are the Elements of Harmony, are you not?”
The six ponies in question gave me cautious glares. “Of course we are, silly! Who else would they be?” the ear-wrenching voice of the pink pony called out in response. At the very least, it was a response.
Rarity scoffed, “Where are all these questions coming from, dear? Is this related to the ominous voice?” I replied with a silent nod as I shifted forward further into the puzzle.
…the demon will be given unrest.
I’d already established that ‘demon’ referred to Discord, the Master of Chaos and ancient enemy of Equestria. But ‘unrest’ caught my attention. Unrest usually means anger and sorrow, or the inability to be at peace with oneself. But the demon was sealed away in a permanent prison. How much less peaceful could it be for the evil being? No, there must have been a hidden meaning in the word…
But what?
“Whaddya think the guy meant about ‘unrest’?” Suddenly, with startling coincidence, the baby dragon darted into the room, sweat pouring from his brow. Following close behind was the familiar golden of a certain baby bird.
Twilight snapped in somewhat-concern, “Spike? Where have you been?”
“I was just showing Mr. 111 and Boco around the castle, when all of a sudden some really creepy voice started calling out around the castle.” The expression on the child’s face showed a genuine fear. I almost felt sorry for the poor dragon for having to go through everything because of our presence in the world.
“So where is the big fella?” Almost inaudible, Fluttershy’s voice flooded with concern. I expected her to be cowering in fear of the evil voice, yet she was instead worried more for my companion. I envied her selflessness.
I decided to dismiss whatever exchange they started having in favor of moving to the next stage of the mystery. Dismissing the meaning of ‘unrest’, I hurried along.
To save a brother for whom you care...
It was at that point I began to panic. Before I arrived in Equestria, the only creatures I even once considered calling brothers were the Genomes, and even then there was only one. But since spending time with them, the Black Mages have grown on me. I would argue to say we were the same kind of being. They were my brothers. My true brothers.
So who would I have to save? Mr. 111? Vivi? Zidane?
Vivi was already gone. I had accepted that. Zidane wasn’t even in this world, and would probably never be. So then it had to be Mr. 111 I would have to rescue. But even knowing who it was I still had to figure out what I was saving him from…
I kept that particular concern to myself, it not being the ponies’ burden to find out.
…or to silence a mage whose power is beyond compare.
I would have to choose to save my brother or silence the mage? How is it that those two didn’t coincide with one another? If I had killed the evil mage, would that not have saved everyone? No. He was too aware of that fact. To save my brother, the forces of kindness would be required to step in, wouldn’t they? By the forces of kindness stepping in, the ancient hostility would be given unrest… ‘Unrest’ had to have meant ‘life’. The pain and suffering and sorrow of being sealed away would break the seal itself.
So that was his game.
If I wanted to save my ‘brother’, I would have to be responsible for awakening an ancient ‘demon’. It’s not like I could simply ask the Elements to sit this one out. Their kind and caring nature would never let them sit by while I risk my neck… Dammit!
Of course it would be humanity that would be my undoing…our undoing.
But…
I couldn’t just leave Mr. 111 out to hang. He knew that. I knew that. Deep down, I think we all knew that. So then it was checkmate, wasn’t it? He’d won, hadn’t he? He’d won before we even started playing the game. I wasn’t going to sit and let my friend die, even if that meant letting loose an ancient evil onto Equestria.
So I clenched my fists and fell back into my seat. Whatever the Equestrians were discussing suddenly stopped as I let out a deep sigh. Celestia in particular seemed dreadful of what such a sudden change of heart had to mean. I stared down at the floor, my mind swimming through all the possible ways the following hours would play out. No matter what, I didn’t see a happy ending in sight. Garland had played his cards perfectly, and he had been dealt an unbeatable hand.
Everything had led us there, to that castle in the center of a land of mystical ponies, so that we could be the pawns of His game. He played a perfect game. And as I considered the riddle and the inevitability of what was to come, I could only laugh at how cruel fate truly is.
I convinced myself I had a purpose in this world, one that had nothing to do with killing innocent beings. But…I was deceived by desperation.
So, without warning, I leaped from my chair and darted from the room, shoving violently past Princess Celestia. The moment I crossed the threshold, I felt a weight come crashing down on top of me. I could feel His evil seeping through the walls of the castle. He’d been here far too long. I could smell the darkness in His heart. It guided me through the winding halls, ever closer to the place where ancient hostilities lie.
I heard hooves clopping behind me, following me without hesitation. I heard concerned voices call out to me. I wanted nothing more than to stop them, but I knew what needed to be done. It wasn’t a riddle. He never intended it to be a riddle. It was a prophecy! He’d done all he could to make this encounter absolutely perfect! So now, as we raced toward a confrontation that could only end in pain, I knew there was no way to stop it.
The garden smelled of flowers.
The evil smelled of death.
The two scents mixed beautifully, as if to symbolize the kindness of Death’s embrace.
I began to think about how horrible a fate I had been cursed with. I’d been doomed to die not once, but twice. Of course, I wasn’t the only one. Vivi, Mr. 33, and—as much as I wished it could be avoided—Mr. 111 were all doomed to die. I didn’t know it when I first stepped into the pale moonlight, but things were never meant to end happy for us. We didn’t belong.
I slowed to a walking pace as I turned the corner of a sweet-smelling gardenia hedge.
There before me, standing on opposite sides of the secluded grotto, stood my ‘brother’ and my ‘father’. The former stood tall, staring at the evil demon before him with bravery and anger. The latter, a man whose ambitions led his own toys to turn against him, hovered just slightly off the ground, his heavy black armor shimmering in the moonlight. Just behind him sat a statue of a malformed beast, one comprised of innumerable different animals.
The statue itself seemed as if it were watching the two foreigners in its presence.
Garland raised a single hand in the air and laughed, “So the mice have finally finished the maze! It’s a shame the only prize that’s ever waited for them is death. Alas, that’s the fate of a toy, isn’t it?” He dropped his arm suddenly and spun in midair to face me. “To be used for entertainment until it simply fails to entertain. Then it is discarded with the garbage, left to rot for an eternity in solitude.”
He turned back toward Mr. 111, who simply stood his ground. He continued with a sigh, “You’ll have to forgive my deceit, my child. A single memory can be the most powerful thing, you know.” He drew a long silver sword from a sheath at his side. I reared back to intervene…but it was impossible.
I could barely even keep up with him. It was as if he had stopped time. With his weapon drawn, the monster took off in a stationary dash toward the un-flinching Black Mage. Like a hot knife through butter, the entirety of Garland’s being pierced the puppet’s shell, emerging perfectly normal on the other side.
A dark purple cloud followed him out, seemingly tied to the end of his weapon. It slowly travelled down the blade and into the hilt, dancing to and fro until poured into the red gem embedded in the demon’s chest plate. The golden lights of Mr. 111’s eyes faded, and the clothes fell in a heap where he stood…
All in a matter of seconds…