To Live Again

by _No_One_Remains_

Kuja Day Thirty-Five: A Fate Predicted

“Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice, Ms. Sparkle.”

Formalities… I’ve never cared for formalities, yet in recent weeks it seems I’ve grown accustomed to following them. Introductions and etiquette are things I never had much use for on Gaia. And while I would have preferred to get straight to my point, I felt it necessary to be polite to the only pony in town that had any chance of being able to understand me.

So we sat—the mages and me—on small wooden chairs at a round table in the center of the first floor of the local library. The pony in question happened to have taken up residence in the one building that contained any information we could hope to gather. So we waited as she insistently prepared us tea and gathered up writing utensils.

Once she was finally settled into her seat with teacups in our hands and a floating quill by her side, I offered my inquiry.

“From what I’ve heard, you are the pony to see for certain kinds of information.”

The purple unicorn giggled, “Well, I do live in a library, after all. What did you need to know?” She sipped from her cup before scribbling something on her parchment.

Mr. 111 cut right to the point. It seemed he had no time for pleasantries. “Do you believe in other worlds, Twilight?” The question caught me off guard, wondering why he’d jump straight to the even-less-likely pieces of the puzzle.

With a puzzled look on her face, she sighed, “Well, I’ve never been to one, but I know for a fact that you three aren’t from Equestria. I suppose it’s just as likely that you’re from another world as it is another continent.” With that, she continued her scribbling.

“Good.” The large mage relaxed slightly, sipping from his cup. He groaned, “Do you believe someone, under certain circumstances, would be able to see the future?” I noticed Vivi shift uncomfortably in his seat, obviously worried that our meeting could go sour at any moment.

“There are spells that let ponies travel back in time, so I guess the future isn’t too impossible.” She finished her scribbling and asked, “Is something wrong?”

I’d spent the evening talking to ponies. After the party let out, I spoke with the Elements and other random citizens of Ponyville. From what I gathered, if I was looking for information or someone to process confusing facts for me, Twilight Sparkle was the pony to speak with.

I’d heard she was a nerd. I was informed she had no sense for most social conventions, and that she was ‘adorkable’ at times. I was not, however, aware that she wouldn’t pass judgment on our inquiries. Any sane creature would think we were crazy.

I sighed, “We have reason to believe that this kingdom—Equestria, as you call it—may be in danger.” I took a sip from my cup of tea, wondering how the mare might respond.

She placed a hoof to her muzzle in consideration. She sighed, “Actually, I’ve been thinking the same thing…”

“What?!” the collective shout came from the three of us. I didn’t know what to make of her response.

“Ever since the first incident with monsters a few weeks ago, Princess Celestia and I have been looking into everything we could, trying to understand what’s going on.” She pulled a large book from one shelf with her magic, laying it flat on the table for us to look at. “We stumbled upon an ancient myth, even older than Princess Celestia herself, about an evil tree capable of corrupting animals and driving people insane.”

We each shared grim expressions, one horrible thought coming to our minds.

Vivi mumbled, “The Iifa tree…”

Twilight cocked her head to the side in confusion. “You know about the Iifa Tree?” She sent the book our way, using her quill to point out a specific paragraph.

There was no mistaking it. The illustration in the book was that of the Iifa Tree. The fog that surrounded its base was obviously Mist. But…how could a world so peaceful and comparatively void of Mist have known anything about a demonic tree from another world? Could Lord Avon have had something to do with that as well?

“Maybe our worlds have similar myths. After all, there’s only so much the imagination can come up with!” With a hopeful smile, the unicorn drew a bulging sack of something from upstairs using her magic and held it over the table. She poured the contents out, all of them being tied up scrolls with some official-looking insignias branded as the seal. She lifted one particular scroll and unrolled it before handing it off to me.

To my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,

It has come to my attention that there are odd occurrences taking place within the Everfree Forest. It has also come to my attention that there are new creatures taking refuge within Ponyville at the moment. Though I have received little information on the nature of these creatures, I fear their arrival may be connected to the happenings within the Everfree. Though it is too soon to begin making assumptions, I believe we need to be prepared for further mishaps.

Is it true that a group of Everfree animals destroyed Sweet Apple Acres? The animals of the forest tend to keep to themselves. I cannot remember a time when they attacked unprovoked. I wish to hear anything you know about the attack on Ponyville, as well as the newcomers that were sent from Appleloosa.

Sincerely,
Princess Celestia

“I received this from the Princess two days after you were attacked. She’d noticed weird things going on within the forest, and she’d heard rumors about some ‘strange bipedal creatures’ hanging around Appleloosa.” Twilight sat in her seat, looking apologetic and sad.

“This is good news,” I chuckled. “We’ve wanted to meet your leader for some time. It seems she wishes to meet us as well.”

“You do? That’s great!” The unicorn clapped her hooves together excitedly, her sad expression changing to one of relief.

I continued to stare at the image of the Iifa Tree. There was almost no mistaking it. Just the picture of it emanated a foreboding aura. I couldn’t keep my curiosity in check. I had to be certain these things weren’t coincidences. One similarity was bad enough…but…

“While it’s interesting to see the Iifa Tree in the myths of your world, we actually came here to talk to you about a different threat,” I chuckled, wondering just how the next few moments would play out. I hoped they would give me something to work with…

The mare looked at me with intrigue, obviously wanting to know anything that could help her understand the recent events. Her quill and paper were ready in an instant. She cheered, “I’m listening!”

I nodded at Mr. 111, and he took it away. “Back in our world there was a playwright by the name of Lord Avon. One of the plays he wrote reminded me of this world. It reminded me of quite a few of the ponies here in Equestria. I was thinking…”

“…You think your playwright might have been predicting our future?” The pony caught on immediately. I was impressed. Then again, we had brought up both topics earlier, so perhaps it wasn’t that difficult to put together.

The mage looked dumbfounded. He stuttered, “Y-yeah!”

Vivi butted in, “The play was titled Lords from Nowhere. You don’t have a play here named that, do you?” The little mage’s initiative was impressive, especially after his prolonged silence.

Twilight removed the book about the Iifa Tree from the table and replaced it with another, larger book. “If we do, it would’ve been written by Starswirl the Bearded.”

The Complete Compendium of the Life and Works of Starswirl the Bearded is what the cover read. I was waiting for everything to come together as I expected it would.

The book flew open as pages turned with haste in the purple aura of Twilight’s magic. After several seconds of searching, the aura lifted, landing on one particularly-faded page. In bold print at the top, in an odd font, was written Lords from Nowhere. The two mages immediately shot their attentions toward me, as I simply hunched over the book with an accepting grin on my face.

“Starswirl the Bearded was known mostly as a powerful magician, but he also liked to write plays in his spare time. This book contains all of his known stories and spells.” She stepped closer to the table and leaned over the book with us. “And it looks to me like we’ve found the play in question.”

I continued to stare down at the title of the play. I couldn’t hold my confusion in any longer. “This cannot be coincidence.”

Mr. 111 turned a few pages into the play and slammed a hand on one particular paragraph. “This proves it!” he cheered. We all gathered close to read it.

The paragraph spoke of the rebels’ plan to storm the castle and fight to reach the princess’s room. It outlined the plan of action should things go wrong. While not familiar with the play myself, the expression Mr. 111 held as he read it to us showed his familiarity with it.

“Proves what?” Twilight scoffed.

I couldn’t hold my laughter in any longer. I exploded, “It means your Starswirl and our Avon are the same being! There’s no way two different creatures from different worlds could write identical plays!” It took everything in my power not to collapse into a ball.

She blinked at me a few times before deciphering my fit. She scratched her mane and sighed, “How would that even work?”

I shrugged my shoulders, on the verge of tears from the hilarious fate lain out before us. Even if it were true, how would it be possible? Why would they be the same person, and why would he write the same plays twice, albeit with a few added horse puns?

Vivi sighed, “They have to be the same. If they are, then all the pieces of the puzzle will fit!” He had a point.

The same play predicting the same fate for the same world, written by the same person in a different form. Fate truly was cruel to those of us that never wished to follow it.

What was to come next was still unforeseen…

But we had a chance of fighting fate. Defying destiny…

But the last time I tried to rein my own life I nearly destroyed both of my homes…

Comments

[Kaille]

Okay, THAT'S cool. I always forget this exists until a new chapter gets posted, then I get giddy. Now it's developing into having a being either capable of traveling between worlds, or who exists in multiple at once. And he has premonitions. So boss.

[Dirty Bit]

This is going to be interesting. But will our protagonists end up being the antagonists?

[MoldyShishkabob]

Oh boy.

Starswirl the world traveler?

It must be something with his beard.

[UseFistNotMouth]

Ooh. Exciting.
Also a very nice way to have the 3 gain regard for Twilight without revealing her power or abilities.

[_No_One_Remains_]

2829145 If you've never played or read anything about Final Fantasy 9, you'll have no clue what any of this is about.
The fact that--even if you've never played FF9--you don't know who Vivi is deeply saddens me. He's probably one of the deepest characters in any game.
Put simply, after one of the heroes and the main villain of FF9 die, they wake up in Equestria, 'blessed' with new life. That's as simple as it gets.

[_No_One_Remains_]

2828983 I'm actually quite glad you approve.
You're perhaps the most critical reviewer of this story so far, so it feels good to see you like it.

[UseFistNotMouth]

2829501

Oh I always enjoyed it. Just found it a bit confounding for a while.