Failure, Eternally Retold, Part Three: Morality

Chapters

Chapter the First: Waking Up
Chapter the Second: Back on the Run
Chapter the Third: To the Ends of Equestria and Beyond
Chapter the Fourth: On the Border
Chapter the Fifth: Ready to Cross
Chapter the Sixth: The Road Goes Ever On and On
Chapter the Seventh: A Royal Ransom
Chapter the Eighth: Return to Form
Chapter the Ninth: Camping in the Dark
Chapter the Tenth: Splitting Up
Chapter the Eleventh: The Solar Spire
Chapter the Thirteenth: Guilt Trip
Chapter the Fourteenth: The Cell
Chapter the Fifteenth: The Dark Door
Chapter the Sixteenth: Coping
Chapter the Seventeenth: Honest Heart
Chapter the Eighteenth: Betrayal
Chapter the Nineteenth: Apologies
Chapter the Twentieth: In the Dark
Chapter the Twenty-First: A Light in the Darkness
Chapter the Twenty-Second: Recovery
Chapter the Twenty-Third: Decisions
Chapter the Twenty-Fourth: Moving Out
Chapter the Twenty-Fifth: Calm Before the Storm
Chapter the Twenty-Sixth: The Yurt
Chapter the Twenty-Seventh: Final Rest
Chapter the Twenty-Eighth: Ambush
Chapter the Thirtieth: The Spy
Chapter the Thirty-First: When Time Stops
Chapter the Thirty-Second: Trial Above the Clouds
Chapter the Thirty-Third: Verdict
Chapter the Thirty-Fourth: Aftermath
Chapter the Thirty-Fifth: Return
Chapter the Thirty-Sixth: A Vision of Beauty
Chapter the Thirty-Seventh: On the Road to Ponyville
A Brief Summary of the Story Thus Far
Chapter the Twelfth: Leaving the Spire
Chapter the Twenty-Ninth: Parade of Flesh

Chapter the First: Waking Up

Fluttershy didn't want to wake up. She'd just had the best sleep she'd felt in years, and her bed was really comfortable. The blanket hugged her so snugly, and though the mattress was a little lumpy, it was very warm, and seemed to move with her breathing. If there was any complaint, it was the quiet of the room. There was no birdsong, no ticking clock, nothing but the sound of soft breathing. Regardless of how she felt, however, she knew she needed to leave her bed. There were animals that needed feeding right away, on top of other things.

As she stretched, she felt the unevenness of her bed and the tightness with which her blanket held her down. She didn't remember her mattress being in such a state. Then again, she'd had a crazy dream. Perhaps she'd scrunched up certain pieces of it during the night, and it just needed a good beating. As for the blanket, perhaps a good push from her back legs would loosen it up enough for her to squeeze out.

"Aaahhaah!"

As she lifted her backside, she felt a strong suction coming from her nethers, as if something had been lodged in there, and her push had forced it out. To confirm this, another small push let out an audible pop.

Finally, she opened her eyes, and realized that none of it had been a dream. She was not in her own bed, but in a water bed, in an underwater biosphere. What she'd interpreted as her pillow had been a shoulder, and her lumpy mattress had been a body. She quickly looked down between her legs and saw two sticky strands connecting her to the part that had likely just came out of her, slowly shrinking away in the rush of cold air.

She heard a groan as the stallion beneath her woke up. She gently lay back down on top of him in the hopes that he would fall back asleep and she could take a moment to remember what had happened last night, but it was no use. As her chin touched down on his chest, his eyes met her gaze. "Good morning."

"G-good morning," she stammered. "Did you sleep well?"

His left hoof came up to rest on the small of her back, just behind her wing, while his right brushed her mane out of her face. "I did. Are you cold? You're shivering."

"I'm just nervous," she chuckled. As memories came rushing back into her head, she began to calm down. Some part of her was still panicking, and for good reason, but perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. He would know what to do, right? "So, about last night..."

"Don't worry," he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "It'll be our secret. Nopony else has to know."

"What I mean is, I wanted to ask..."

She was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. "Kai, are you awake!?" It was Twilight's voice. Fluttershy shrank down on his chest and looked a bit worried.

"I am now!" he called back, nodding at Fluttershy and stroking her mane and neck gently.

"Have you seen Fluttershy!? She's not in her room!"

"She came to talk to me last night!" he answered, making sure to keep his story vague. "She wanted to know about my recovery!"

"Is she still in there!?"

"Have you checked the baths!?"

There was no response, only the clip-clop of hooves walking away.

Kai turned back to Fluttershy. "I meant what I said last night. You're very important to me, and now I need to sneak you into the next room to keep our escapades last night a secret. Are you ready?"

Fluttershy nodded. She and Kai had agreed early on to keep the physical contact professional only to keep Nik and Twilight happy, and only just last night, she'd promised Twilight that she would take the relationship slowly. She'd broken both of those rules, and she didn't want her decision to hurt anypony.

With a nod, Kai pulled two small rags from his cloak pockets and gave one to her, using the other to wipe himself clean and stuffing it back into his pocket. "Just put it in the same pocket when you're done," he said. "I'll wash them later."

As she wiped away the remaining evidence of their nighttime debauchery, Kai stepped out into the hallway, looking both ways, then opening the next door down and peering inside. It was empty, with a made bed and everything. He left the door open and returned to his room, waving for Fluttershy to hurry up. Using his body as a shield, he moved her into the room and closed the door with one final peck on the cheek.

He returned to his room and began preparing to leave. Their business here was concluded, so he would rather move on. In truth, they could have moved on yesterday afternoon, but the healing and bathing had been very welcoming. They were all in need of a break, and a half day of recuperation was good enough for now. They were almost done, and it would only be another week or two before they could all go home and rest properly.

He waited another two minutes and stepped out into the hall just as Twilight was coming back from the baths. Without waiting for her to ask, Kai began knocking on the doors up and down the hallway, starting with where he knew Fluttershy wasn't, asking if she was in there. Twilight joined him on the opposite side of the hall, neither of them actually knocking on Fluttershy's door. Just as Kai was about to, she opened the door and stepped out, yawning.

"I'm sorry, she said, rubbing her eyes. "I guess I went back to the wrong room."

Twilight just smiled. "I'm glad you didn't just disappear. There's breakfast waiting in the dining area."

With a quiet nod, Fluttershy and Kai followed Twilight to the dining hall, where Seafoam had prepared a rather hefty meal for them. Nik was already there, and had already finished his second bowl of potage. He'd helped in the cooking process, but had been amazed at the ability to instantly bring water to a boil, and then cool it to a reasonable temperature right away. The trio sat down and scarfed down their breakfast, glad to have something off of a stove for once, rather than a campfire. The evenness was truly something magnificent at this point.

They sat around for a few minutes after breakfast, chatting and telling Seafoam some of the tales that had taken them to this point. While she couldn't really relate to any of it, she was glad to have somepony around to talk to. Despite the shortness of it, the isolation had been difficult for her. She considered the other girls family, and losing them had dropped her down a dark hole. She was glad that somepony had been there to help her back up.

"Well, we'd best be moving on," said Kai, standing up. "Is everypony ready?"

"Can't we stick around for one more day?" asked Nik. "We've been on the road so long, what's one more day of rest?"

"One day closer to the destruction of the world," groused Kai. "Besides, we've overstayed our welcome."

"That's not true," smiled Seafoam. "I don't mind you all staying."

"Would it really be that harmful?" asked Fluttershy.

"Under normal circumstances, no, but--"

"We can't linger too long in one location," interrupted Twilight. "We have to keep moving."

"There is a great force coming after us," added Kai. "The last time they swarmed this place, Seafoam was the only survivor." Everypony except Kai and Seafoam looked down at their empty plate. "I know you're tired, and afraid, but we have to keep going. We're so close to the end of the line. It's just a little further." Slowly but surely, everyone else nodded in acceptance. They knew it was the way things had to be.

Chapter the Second: Back on the Run

Fluttershy was the last out of the bubble with a hug from Seafoam. She felt bad about leaving her blind and all alone, but Kai was right. They had to be on their way. "I hope you recover from this," she lamented, pulling away. "You don't deserve to be alone down here."

"It's alright," Seafoam reassured. "You need to go, though. The best thing you can do for me is make sure that this doesn't happen to anypony else."

"We'll come back and see you when we can, okay?"

Kai came back up and placed his hoof onto Fluttershy's shoulder. "Come on, Fluttershy. The sooner we finish up, the sooner we can come back on happier terms."

With a nod, she followed him out under the lake. It was still dark this far down, and they were still relying on magic to provide light, but it wasn't quite so frightening anymore. Sure, some big fish would swim nearby looking at the source of light, but now they had a friend down here. A calmness washed over them as they made their way back to the surface. Their wagon was right where they left it, hidden away from view.

Kai helped Fluttershy into the harness. She was going to help him pull today, as they wanted to discuss a few things on their own regarding personal boundaries. Nik hopped up inside of the cart and settled in for another day of cramped hiding, and Twilight hopped in behind him. But as she turned around to close the door, she saw something that drained all colour from her face. Next to the wheel was a tripwire, and that was attached to a nearby sapling. She jumped out and called for Kai and Fluttershy to stop, but it was too late. They'd sprung the trap, and a large tree was falling on top of the wagon, rolling back a few decimetres and almost crushing Twilight's leg.

The wagon, and most of its contents, were utterly destroyed. Nik and a few things behind him were unharmed, but they weren't going anywhere anytime soon. To make matters worse, the noise of the falling tree had alerted the watchers in the forest, and now a team of ponies cloaked in black were rushing toward them.

Kai immediately jumped into action, whipping out a knife and cutting Fluttershy from her harness in two strokes. "Go!" he shouted, cutting his own bonds. With a terrified squeak, Fluttershy rushed back to Nik, grabbed his wrist, and began to run.

Twilight joined up with them on the other side of the tree. "Left!" she shouted, casting ice spells on the lake, creating a partial bridge. "Watch your step, and stay low!"

Kai had just freed himself from the harness and dropped his knife in favour of the bardiche. The counterweight on the butt had been broken off, making it harder to control, but it was still a long-handled weapon that he could use while running.

There was no point in splitting up. If Kai ran off in the other direction to distract them, they'd just ignore him. Even now, the cloaked figures weren't coming for him. He was chasing them.

He swung his blade, stabbing and chopping, doing his utmost to cut them down as fast as he could. They were chasing Nik across the ice bridge Twilight had made, and as the assassins had pegasi among them, the trio were unlikely to escape. As Kai leaped into the air and flapped his wings, a bolt of lightning shot out of his horn and struck down a pegasus that had made it a little too close.

He managed to take down two more assailants before they turned on him. A thrown dagger struck his chest, glancing off a rib and embedding itself in his muscle fibre. The sharp pain made him falter, and being only a metre or so above the surface of the water, he crashed into the lake.

The assassins were bearing down on the remaining trio. One that had just come close enough to fire at them nocked an arrow as he slid across the ice, drawing back the bowstring. Fluttershy pushed Nik behind her to keep him safe, glaring as angrily as she could at them, hoping it would slow their advance. It did nothing.

The twang of a bowstring being released was heard, but no sound of it embedding in the flesh of its target. Instead, there came the crashing of a wave, destroying Twilight's bridge. The trio had to hold onto each other, and to the frozen surface of the ice raft they now found themselves on.

At first, they were confused as to what was going on. The lake had been perfectly calm when they'd surfaced, and now they were being pushed aside by a massive wave. Nik looked back over his shoulder, just as a massive blast of hot steam blasted across his face. In a matter of seconds, the whole lake was covered in mist. They couldn't see more than a metre or two in any direction, including straight up.

Soon, the clashing and splashing began to decrease in volume. They were glad to be moving away, but they still were quiet. They didn't want to alert anypony to their presence, not even to talk to each other.

A half hour passed before they could hear only the sounds of the lake lapping against their floe. It was only then that Fluttershy spoke up. "Do you think Kai's alright?" she whispered.

"I hope so," answered Twilight. "He's the one that knew where we were going."

"At least I managed to keep ahold of these." Nik pulled out of his shirt the pouch of orbs they'd collected. He'd been given the last one this morning by Seafoam. "If we can find the last two locations, his death won't be in vain."

The other two nodded and shivered. They'd been sitting on a chunk of ice for longer than was recommended, and their butts were freezing. They also had no idea where they were, aside from floating on a chunk of ice in the middle of a lake. The only supplies they had were what they'd been carrying on their backs at the time. At the very least, they'd eaten a big breakfast, so they weren't about to starve.

Chapter the Third: To the Ends of Equestria and Beyond

After floating in the fog for an unknown amount of time, the raft suddenly jolted, drawing the attention of its riders. They'd made it to the shore, though they didn't know which one. Still, it behooved them to climb off the ice and onto the warm sands. Their legs were stiff from sitting on ice for so long, so leaving would need to wait for them to regain feeling in their muscles.

They moved away from the shoreline, and the fog cleared up fairly quickly. From the top of a nearby hill, they could see that the mist was exclusively over the lake. The town they saw when they went underwater was no longer visible, whether it was on the other side of the fog, or simply too far away.

"It should be the middle of the afternoon," noted Twilight, looking down at her shadow. "That means that we're at the northwest side of the lake. We've been primarily heading west, so I think that's the way we should be going."

"That'll take us out of Equestria," confirmed Fluttershy. "We're almost to the border. A few more kilometres, and we'll be In Belicos."

"Then we'll be right where we need to be," nodded Twilight. "I saw the map before we left, and one of the pieces was in Belicos. Kai said he didn't know where two of them were, but we found the one that moves around. There's one in Belicos, and one more that we don't know where is. I'm sure of it."

"How sure?" Nik looked through his eyebrows at Twilight. "If you had to put a number to it; a percentage, what would you say is the chance that you can take us where we need to go?"

Twilight paused for a moment, calculating the odds. "Thirty-five percent. Roughly speaking, of course."

"That doesn't sound like a very good chance."

"I'm sorry, do you have a better idea?" scowled Twilight.

"One of you could go back to that town and find a map?" he suggested.

"And risk letting those cloaked ponies catch up with us? They were right on top of us this morning! Not to mention the fact that they managed to separate us from the one pony who knew where we were going. For all we know, he's dead now!"

"That's his own fault. I was perfectly fine spending another day underwater. Those killers would have passed right over us if we'd waited."

"They were waiting for us, you arse! They set up a trap because we took too long down there. We should have left!"

"Both of you, shut up!"

Nik and Twilight turned to Fluttershy, who was well beyond fed up with the fighting. For the first time in a long time, she wore a genuine expression of anger on her face. "I've heard enough! Akaitora just gave his life to save ours because he had faith that we could put an end to the suffering caused by you being here, Nik. He knew it wasn't your fault, and he tried to save you. Now Twilight's trying to pick up where he left off, and you're going to let her. Thirty-five percent is a horrible chance of success, I know, but sitting here and arguing has a zero percent chance of success. We're not taking the unnecessary risk of going into a big city swarming with ponies who want to kill us. We're heading west, and if we find another town out that way, we'll stop and ask to take a look at a map, because we just lost what little travelling money we had in the wagon."

Twilight was shocked at how her soft-spoken friend had just taken the reins and given them a hard yank. After picking her jaw up off the ground, she stood up and turned to the west, setting off down the hill with a nod.

Nik stood up and followed. "I suppose the--"

"Not another word," interrupted Fluttershy. "The key to not being caught is to be silent."

She didn't mean to come across as rude or cruel, she just wanted to stop the fighting. She'd been wanting to interject, but the angrier the two of them had become, the shorter the gap had been through which she could sneak in her opinion. In the end, with Twilight's suggestion that Kai might be dead, grief took hold of her, and she was overcome with the need to fill the gap he had left. Her best thought as to how to do that was to place herself between them, to act as a wall, and to just begin on the best path they had at the time. Even if Twilight was wrong about where she was going, they could come up with an alternate solution.

At the end of the day, they came to a stop. Not a word had been spoken since Fluttershy's outburst, and while she felt awful about letting the mood fester, she was going to wait until after dinner to issue her apology. Her reasoning behind waiting was that she didn't want to start a new argument. They would be feeling better after a meal, and would be less likely to return to their fight if she fed them first.

Unfortunately, given the fact that they had no book to double-check their forage anymore, they had to operate off of memory. Furthermore, with no fishing equipment, Nik was relegated to just edible grasses and fruit. He was in a poor mood due to not having any meat or fish.

Meanwhile, Twilight was second guessing every one of her decisions throughout the day. She'd been shaken by Nik's lack of trust in her, and as a result, every tiny uncertainty she had was being blown out of proportion; even the grass she'd pulled up for dinner. She'd had this exact type of crabgrass two out of every three days on this journey, and now she was thinking it might be something else entirely, not having a book to guide her.

To make matters worse, it was a cold night, and they had nothing to cover themselves with. Nik had his clothes, but Twilight and Fluttershy would just have to lie down and hope to have a few hours of rest. The rock they were next to gave them some cover from the wind, but not as much as they would like.

Seeing the way things were, with tempers being as high as they were, Fluttershy opted out of her apology for the time being. She just wanted to go to sleep and hope that today had just been a horrible dream, and that she'd wake up in a waterbed, with Kai's arms wrapped around her again. Wouldn't that be lovely?

Chapter the Fourth: On the Border

Moods had not improved the following day. They'd not eaten very well, then slept on cold dirt, so Fluttershy wasn't expecting much, so when she came back from her early awakening with an armful of tree nuts, the main thing on her mind was the fact that she would soon be unable to ask the little squirrels for help. They would likely be out of Equestria by the end of the day, and Belicos was not known for being a host to lots of animals. Trees were rather scarce, grass was even more so. She hoped they'd be able to survive on cacti for as long as they needed to be there, however long that would be.

"I'm sorry," said Nik, cracking open a nut halfway through breakfast. "What I said yesterday... I was just scared."

"We're all scared," responded Twilight, gently brushing her tail with her hoof. "The world depends on us doing this right, and we can't really be sure that we're on the correct path."

"We're trying," answered Fluttershy, significantly softened from yesterday. "That's what matters. We may not be doing the right thing, but we think we are, and at least we're doing something. For what it's worth, I'm sorry I snapped at you yesterday."

"No, you were right to snap," nodded Nik. "I was being a real arse. Thinking back, I'd have left me behind were I in your shoes, so I suppose I'm glad that I'm not just wandering alone." There was a minute of silence where no one spoke again, broken once more by Nik. "Oh, and I'm sorry for your loss. Kai probably wasn't as bad as I made him out to be."

Another minute passed, and it was Fluttershy's turn to break the silence. Not with words, but with quiet sobbing. She dropped the rest of the nuts on the ground and curled up. She'd been trying to put Kai out of her mind to keep her emotional state more stable, but Nik bringing him up filled her head with thoughts of how he'd been there beside her ever since he'd joined their mission. He'd been their problem solver, he'd been there to calm them, to direct them, and had always been the first to jump forward and volunteer for work. For all of his faults, he'd carried all three of them for weeks on a broken shoulder, and he was still wanting to keep going. He was a good stallion, and she loved him.

And now he was dead. The fear she'd felt the morning before had, for the most part, turned to hope. There was still some fear, as she didn't know what the future would bring, but if she was right, something she'd dreaded yesterday would be something worth celebrating in the future, if they had one.

Twilight moved over and placed a hoof on her shoulder, gently rubbing between her wings. "It's going to be alright," she whispered. "As long as we all stick together, as long as we cover each other, and as long as we keep trying. We'll pull through, and we'll make it back to Ponyville for a nice, relaxing bath. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Fluttershy nodded and wiped away her tears. Though she was a sensitive mare, she wasn't lamenting on the journey. She wasn't wishing she was back at home, snuggled up with Angel Bunny, enjoying a mug of hot apple cider next to a lightly crackling fire. Certainly, that would be nice, but it wasn't what she really wanted at this moment. She wanted Kai. She wanted somepony who would fight until the bitter end for her. She wanted somepony who knew what they were doing, and where they needed to be going. Sure, Twilight could try, and she certainly would, but she just felt safer with Kai around. She'd come to rely on him.

They packed up camp, which consisted of piling the rest of the nuts into Nik's pockets, and continued westward. They'd found a river to follow, reasoning that it must connect at some point to the river that served as the border between Belicos and Equestria. After all, it was headed the right direction. At any rate, they would need to stay close to the river, as it was their only source of fresh water.

Sure enough, more than halfway through the day, their branch led them to the main river that separated Equestria from its neighbor. "So, how do we cross?" asked Nik, looking at the rushing water. "I don't think I'm a strong enough swimmer, but I also don't want to sit on a block of ice again, even if we could direct it to the correct shore."

Twilight looked down the river. "I'm pretty sure that there's a border town nearby. If we keep going, we could probably find a bridge or something."

"I thought towns were too big of a risk?"

"Towns known to be swarming with enemies is too big a risk," answered Twilight. "If we arrive before they do, we should be fine."

"We don't have to decide yet," added Fluttershy. "We should find the place, first. We can scope it out, and if it's safe, we'll sneak through after dark."

Twilight smirked. "When did you become so brave, Fluttershy?"

"I'm not." Fluttershy shook her head and shivered. "I'm just more afraid of those ponies in cloaks than I am of crossing the border into Belicos. I'll survive an angry official. I can't recover from death."

With a nod of approval, The group followed the river south. Just as the sun was beginning to set, they moved around a cluster of trees, and a tiny town came into view. On the Belican side, there were only six buildings total. The Equestrian side had fifteen. The two sides shared one building, a bridge that crossed the river.

"I'm going to go see if I can find a map," said Twilight, turning back to the others. "You two find a place to lie low. I'll be right back."

As Twilight disappeared behind a bend, Fluttershy tucked into the woods. "We should find a place out of the way, but close. If you're looking from this exact spot, you might see us, but otherwise, you'd be lost."

"How about here?"

A large tree had some roots sticking up out of the ground, creating a small amount of cover. There was just enough space for both of them, though it would have been a bit crowded.

"Why don't you take that, and I'll find a tree branch?" smiled Fluttershy.

Chapter the Fifth: Ready to Cross

Twilight scanned the town carefully. She didn't want to risk being spotted by the cloaked ponies, but she wanted to spot them right away. Luckily, the small size of the town didn't provide a lot of places to hide, so she was pretty sure she was safe. There were three public buildings in town, all on the Equestrian side. The rest were residential, belonging to the locals. The civics center and library probably had a map. There was an inn with a tavern, or rather a tavern with rooms for rent, which would probably know if there were any weird landmarks nearby. Lastly, there was a general goods trader that probably traded with both sides. Any strangers would probably come in there, first.

She decided to start with the store. It was as good a place as any. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, a small bell over the door alerting the owner to the opening door. "That was fast," called a voice from the back. "I'm just about clear, just give me one more minute."

Twilight shifted to the side. Had he been expecting her?

A few seconds later, a pegasus stallion stepped into view, wiping his brow. "Oh, excuse me, miss. I thought you were... It doesn't matter, he'll be here when he's ready. How can I help?"

"I wanted to ask a few questions, if you don't mind."

"'Course. Ask whatever you like. You'll always find an honest deal here."

"First, I need to know, have any ponies in black cloaks been here lately?"

"None."

"Are you sure?"

The stallion propped himself against the counter. "Young lady, this town ain't very big. Even if you include both sides, we're really nothing more than a checkpoint. Because of that, word of visitors tends to spread real fast to everypony. It's a big deal. You're the first new face in four months. If there were ponies in black cloaks, I'd know for sure."

"Right, I see." Twilight shuffled in place. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Think nothing of it. I forgive you. Was there anything else I could help with?"

"Yes, I was hoping to find out if there was some kind of... commune, I think you might call it, somewhere near here? I heard it was in Belicos, not too far from the border."

The pegasus scratched his ear as he thought about it, as the front door bell rang again. Twilight turned around, and a large earth pony stallion stepped in. "There you are," smiled the shopkeep. "It's all set up in the back, I'll collect later tonight." With a nod, the earth stallion disappeared to the back of the store. "I'm sorry, but I just can't think of any right now. I don't go out that way very often. Not a lot of business out there."

"Can you think of anypony in town that might know?"

"Probably the mayor, but he's probably in bed by now. He's up early every morning. If you come back tomorrow, he can tell you if there's a Belican commune nearby."

"What about the spire?" asked the earth pony, coming back into view carrying a large keg on his back.

"The spire isn't a commune, it's a holy site."

"A holy site that is home to fifty-some ponies who all think themselves superior. It's not that far from here. Maybe that's what she was looking for."

Both stallions turned to look at Twilight, raising their eyebrows. They were expecting her to decide whether or not the spire was the correct location. "I wasn't really given a name," came her answer. "Can you tell me more about it?"

"Not here, I can't," grunted the earth stallion, adjusting the heavy keg on his back. "Swing by the tavern when you're done here, and we'll talk." Without another word, he shuffled out, presumably taking the keg to the tavern.

"I can't imagine why you would want to go to the spire, but if that's your destination, I won't stop you." The shopkeep shrugged and started looking around his shop for anything out of order.

"Why? What's wrong with the spire?"

He looked over his shoulder, double checking to make sure they were alone. His voice lowered to a whisper as he came closer. "Well, you didn't hear it from me, but all of the ponies out there are crazy. I think it either has something to do with all the time they spend staring into the sun, or the chemicals they use. For all I know, they were crazy first, and that's what makes them want to do those things. I don't agree with it, I don't approve of it, but I'm not going to go down there to talk to them about it."

"What makes you think they're crazy?"

"Every few months, they used to come down here and pick out a lot of supplies from me, and destroy some of my more... untoward merchandise." He picked up a bobblehead of a mare in a hula skirt. "I like to keep a few of these around because there are more stallions around than mares, and this helps keep them happy. I like to think I've reduced the crime rate around here by one whole percent with these. They burned a dozen of these harmless little toys and walked out with over a thousand bits in goods the first time. Every single time they came after it was the same story, give or take a few bits. If the mayor didn't keep paying me back for their trips, I'd be out of business."

He stood up again, cleared his throat, and returned to his normal volume. "Of course, I've learned better by now. I take all the necessary precautions. As I said, if you plan on going out there, I won't stop you, but I think it would be a shame if that became your life. Was there anything else?"

Twilight shook her head. "I think the spire might be where I need to go. Can you tell me where it is?"

After confirming the shopkeep's story with the tavernkeep, Twilight made her way back to where she had left Fluttershy and Nik. They'd found a good spot to hide. "So, I have good news and bad news," she said, sitting next to Nik. Let's start with the good news: The cloaked ponies were nowhere to be found, and I asked the owners of the shop and tavern not to tell them that they saw me. I think we can trust them."

"What's the bad news?" asked Nik.

"The other good news is that I think I know where we're going. It's a place called the spire, and it's west a few dozen kilometers, and north three. Big old tower, we should be able to see it tomorrow, no problem."

"And the bad news?"

"The final bit of good news is that the town usually quiets down an hour from now. They're agrarian, so they have to wake up early. We should have most of the night to cross under their bridge where they can't see us."

"Twilight," said Fluttershy, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Tell us what the bad news is."

Twilight took a deep breath. "Apparently, everypony in the spire has gone mad."

"I'd call them lunatics," came a scratchy voice behind them, "but that would be wrong. They're just crazy and awful."

Chapter the Sixth: The Road Goes Ever On and On

The world seemed to spin as Kai opened his eyes. The light shining down on him was unbearable, so he closed them again. The last thing he remembered was being hit in the chest and crashing into the lake. He tried to sit up, but a jolt of pain shot through his chest and neck, causing him to yelp out in pain.

"Try to keep still," came Seafoam's voice. "You've been out cold all day. How do you feel?"

"I fe--" he had to suddenly turn sideways away from Seafoam, as he suddenly had a coughing fit that only served to do more damage to his chest and neck. Though he did manage to push out a bit of fluid. "Bad."

"I can imagine. You broke your neck and one of your ribs on impact. I patched you up as best I could, but I could only do so much. I tried to focus on keeping you alive, and was unable to do much about the pain."

Kai was about to nod, but at the lightest movements of his neck, he decided to just talk. "You did the right thing. I'll learn to cope with the pain, but I can't do anything if I'm dead. When can I stand up again?"

"Physically, whenever you're ready. I won't stop you, and your body is as repaired as I can make it. Your bones and muscles can handle you standing up. The problem is, it will still feel like everything's broken."

Hearing this, Kai propped himself up on his elbows, opened his eyes, and pushed himself upright. His whole body screamed at him to return to a reclined position, or at least stop moving, but he didn't listen. Halfway up, he was shouting as well, and yet he kept going until he was sitting up straight. He sat there for a moment, panting as his vision slowly returned to his burning eyes. He was back in the dome, sitting on a water bed.

"I'm not sure you should be up and about," said Seafoam. "You're in no condition to--"

"My bones and muscles are fine," interrupted Kai. "Unless my organs have failed, I can--"

"You did drown," interrupted Seafoam. "I had to pull a lot of water out of your lungs. It seeped in through your knife hole."

Kai took in and slowly released a deep breath. It hurt. "You're right. I've forgotten to thank you for saving me. Twice now, you've come to my aid, and I owe you for doing so."

There was a long pause. "You're welcome."

"Did any of my companions survive?"

"I set them on a current that would have taken them to the northwestern shore and covered their retreat with a thick fog. I don't know what happened after that, but I don't think they ended up in the lake. I could be wrong, though."

Kai swung his legs out of bed and stood up with a loud grunt, wobbling as he did so. "I should rejoin them."

Seafoam planted her hoof on his shoulder, causing him to yelp again. "I vehemently disagree. I insist you rest, at least through the night. If you can walk without straining yourself, I'll let you go, but until then, I want you to lie back down and rest. Can you promise me that?"

Kai thought about that for a minute. While he wanted to be out of here, and back with the others, he would also agree that in his current state, he'd just be slowing them down. "I promise, I won't go until I can walk without struggle. However, as soon as I'm better, I'm out."

"That's fine. I just need you to not destroy yourself trying to catch up. Now, you should go back to your bed. I'll make you something to eat."

As Seafoam made her way out of the room to prepare something, Kai immediately dropped to the floor and began doing push-ups. He was determined to return to his group, but would have hated knowing that they were out doing their utmost and he was lying in bed having somepony take care of him. It left a bad taste in his mouth. Instead, he would push himself until the pain became the new normal. If the pain stayed, he would be able to tolerate more of it. If it disappeared, he'd be more appreciative of every day that passed.

After a good forty push-ups, he picked himself up and began pacing around the room, trying to convince himself that all of the pain was purely psychosomatic. Slowly but surely, he noticed it less and less as the pacing increased in speed and intensity. Whether the workout was helping or just distracting him, he was beginning to feel more and more like himself. Perhaps a bit of his old self, but with all of the drive he'd mustered over the last two years. This wasn't for him. This was for the lives of everypony in Equestria. But more importantly, this was for Fluttershy. He'd grown accustomed to being around her, and he never wanted to leave her side again. He tried to consciously associate the remaining pain with being away from her, trying to force himself to believe that being with her again would ease up the stabbing pain in his chest.

He sat down after a few minutes, panting heavier than a light workout would normally cause. He'd worked up quite a sweat in the interim, and pulled out the towels he'd used to clean himself and Fluttershy. He almost considered wiping his sweaty brow, but decided against it. These would serve as the reminder as to why he had to continue on, and would not see use until they were together again, preferably still alive. He put them back, opting to just wipe his face on the collar of the cloak.

The door swung open and Seafoam stepped in, carrying a tray of food. "You need to keep your energy up, so I made a lot."

Kai stood up, walked across the room, and picked up the tray. "You've been kind to me, Seafoam. It's no wonder you and Fluttershy were fast making friends with each other. In some ways, you remind me of her."

Seafoam blushed. "Thank you."

"But that only reminds me of how much danger she's in. I can walk, I can run, I can move freely without audible pain. I'm leaving."

Seafoam furrowed her brow. "We agreed you'd stay the night and rest."

"We agreed that I'd leave as soon as I could handle the journey. I can handle it now. I won't be useless out there."

Seafoam sighed. "At least have something to eat, first. I spent the time to make it, the least you could do for your friends is show up well-fed and ready to help."

Chapter the Seventh: A Royal Ransom

Celestia looked over the destruction on the edge of Ponyville. Sweet Apple Acres was now gone, and the area that had appeared in its place had created an awful stink. It was absolutely loaded with trash, and had been on fire when it arrived. She'd had to call in an emergency rainstorm from Cloudsdale just to keep Ponyville safe.

Worse than losing Sweet Apple Acres, a staple of Ponyville as well as being their primary food source, she had Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash as panicking heaps before her. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had been meeting in their clubhouse, and that was part of the area that had disappeared. Applejack moreso than the other two, as Big Macintosh and Granny Smith were also gone.

"You have to tell us how to fix this!" demanded Rainbow. "I can't just leave Scoots and her friends in a fiery hellhole!"

"Rainbow Dash, I'm doing ev--"

"This trash fire stole mah family from me!" interrupted a distraught Applejack. "I'll do whatever it takes to bring 'em back!"

"Sweetie Belle may not have been the best sister, but she was mine," sobbed Rarity. "Please, Princess, if there's anything we can do, we'll do it!"

Celestia gently placed her hoof on Rarity's shoulder. "I know you're all hurt by this, and I promise, I'm doing everything I can to mitigate the damages. Princess Luna has a plan to close these tears as soon as we find Twilight. To that end, we've set up multiple patrols in places we expect her path to cross."

"Send me out there!" demanded Rainbow. "If it means saving Scootaloo, I'll find Twilight right away!"

"We can't draw too much attention to the area," answered Celestia. "We've had sightings of the cloaked ponies that used to be here in the area, and they've grown violent."

"All the more reason we should be out there fightin' 'em off," growled Applejack.

"Please, princess, Twilight's our friend," begged Rarity, tears streaming down her face and ruining her makeup. "We have a vested interest in helping her with this. Isn't there anything we can do?"

Celestia simply shook her head. "Not until we find her. Once that's done, I'm sure we could find something for you to do, but until she's been sighted, the best thi--"

"We found her!" shouted Spike, running up to the group. Panting and wheezing, he pushed a note to Princess Celestia.

She ripped it from his claw and quickly scanned through it. "One of our forward scouts says Twilight was spotted in a tavern in Cornfield."

"Let's go, then!" Applejack picked Spike up on her back and jumped onto Celestia's chariot.

"I can only take one of you," instructed Celestia.

"I'll fly alongside," offered Rainbow. "Don't worry about me."

Rarity wiped her face with her hoof, only serving to smear her makeup. "I suppose it's best if I stay behind, then. Somepony has to clean all of this up."

"We'll be back as soon as we can," promised Rainbow. "We can't leave it all on your shoulders."

With a mild smile, Rarity hugged Rainbow. "Best of luck, my dears." She pulled back and shooed them away. "Off with you, now. The sooner you regroup with Twilight, the better it will be for Equestria."

Celestia jumped up onto her chariot and nodded, and her escorts took off.

"So, what's this tavern we're goin' to?" asked Applejack after a few minutes of flying. "You said it was in the middle of a cornfield?"

"No, it's in a town called Cornfield," explained Celestia. "It's so small that the ponies living there just decided that, if they had to have a name, they would just register as the easiest name to remember."

"So they named it Cornfield?" asked Rainbow, flying alongside the chariot.

"Their chief export is corn, and there aren't a lot of ponies living there. It's a tiny farming community."

"So where is it?"

"It's right on the Equestrian and Belican border," chimed Spike. "And I mean right on the border. Half the town hangs over both sides."

"It doesn't matter where it is," growled Rainbow. "What matters is that we make it there with all due haste. That's where Twilight is, and she's the one who knows how to rescue Scootaloo."

Applejack sighed. "I guess we don't really need to know the whole history of the place. Is there anything we do need to look out for once we arrive?"

"Twilight and Fluttershy are travelling with a human," informed Spike. I don't know if either of you have seen one before, but that one in particular, we think, is the reason this whole mess started."

"We've run into a few bad humans during this conflict, but some of them seem to be okay," added Celestia. "I tried to have him brought to me at the start, but a crossed wire meant that he ended up in the dungeon. By the time I found out, he was already gone. I've been trying to catch up ever since." She lowered and shook her head. "That's been my greatest regret during this conflict, is not being able to expedite the process."

"There's no sense in regretting your decisions," huffed Applejack. "What happened in the past can't change. It can only influence how you would act in the future. If we went back in time to the exact moment you made that decision, you'd only know what you knew then, and you would make the same decision."

Celestia nodded. While it wouldn't do her any good to think about how she made poor decisions in the past, she could make better decisions because of them. At any rate, she had something to work towards, and that was a start. She could help Twilight, and that was something to be happy about.

It was late evening when they set out from Ponyville, and a few hours after sunset, she saw Applejack beginning to nod off. She opened her wings and flew over next to Rainbow. "You'll be wanting to find Twilight as soon as we arrive, right?"

"Absolutely," she answered, furrowing her brow in determination. "The minute we touch down, I'll be off looking for all three of them."

"I thought you might say that. Take my place in the chariot and rest."

"I'm fine. I don't need rest."

"That's an order," added Celestia. "A few hours of sleep now, and you'll be able to fly even longer if it takes more time to find her."

"I'll just find her quickly."

"You'll find her even more quickly if you rest. Now, Rainbow."

Begrudgingly, Rainbow moved over into the chariot and settled in. In the next fifteen minutes, she, Applejack and Spike were all asleep. It was Celestia that would be flying through the night. It would be morning when they arrived.

Chapter the Eighth: Return to Form

Kai flew over the trees, scanning for any sign of the group. He'd picked up some of the remnants from their destroyed cart and tucked them into his cloak. He was moderately sure that his companions could manage going cross-country on their own, but anything he could do to help them would be a welcome boon.

As he was flying through the morning air, he saw something strange, something he had hoped wouldn't happen yet. A white light flashed in a clearing in front of him, widened out, and then retracted. As it pulled away, he saw the clearing replaced by water. Whether it was from an ocean, a lake, or just a very large river, it was a vast departure from the grasses and flowers that had been there a moment prior. He'd seen a family of deer just narrowly avoid being consumed by the light. If he didn't hurry, portals like this would start cropping up all over Equestria and beyond.

He nodded and continued westward. If this was the first, more would follow in its wake. If it wasn't they'd been very lucky not to run into any thus far. As they were, they would keep cropping up, slowly ripping holes in the world until one managed to open under Nik's feet. If he were swallowed up by one, they'd stop opening, but they wouldn't go away. What's worse, Fluttershy was probably still with him, and she'd likely be swallowed, as well.

With a shudder, he looked to the ground. He saw some flattened out grass next to a rock, and decided that it would be a good idea to investigate. After all, if they had camped here, it would tell him that they were headed the right direction. Sure enough, there was a fresh collection of wild edible grasses nearby, and three spots where something slept. Two were pony-sized, one longer and thinner. This had been them. More importantly, some spots were still warm, meaning they weren't far off.

After a long drink from the nearby stream, he took to the skies once again. He flew slowly, scanning widely. He knew they were close. It was the middle of the morning, and he'd just found their camp. He knew he was less than three hours behind them, and he could guess that they were following the fresh water west.

That's when he saw them, making their way downriver. It wasn't quite the path he would take, but it wasn't a bad choice, especially if they didn't know where they were going. Just as he was about to rush toward them, however, he felt a tingling on the back of his neck. He was being watched.

He turned and flew north, keeping his neck on a swivel. He could feel the eyes on him, but could not place them. If somepony wanted to follow him, they could follow him the wrong way. It was better than the alternative.

He flew for several kilometres, and the feeling of being watched only grew stronger. Finally, he landed on the Belican side of the river, took a drink, and turned to face the direction from whence he had come. It didn't take long for the four ponies in black cloaks to make their way across the river.

A stallion in a trimmed robe stepped forward, removing his hood and mask. "We aren't looking for trouble, priest," he spat. "Your goal and mine are the same. We know you saw the destruction of that patch of grass. We have come to stop it."

Kai glared into his eyes. "We do have the same goal. I want to protect Equestria, as do you. To a high degree, I also want that human to be removed from my life as soon as possible. On those points, I believe we can agree."

"If you lead us to the human, we can destroy it for you. We have no interest in harming your... other companions."

Kai reached up and rubbed his chin. "That does sound beneficial to me. After all, I gain what I want, and lose nothing in return."

The stallion smirked. "I knew you would make the right choice. You're smart."

"I'd certainly like to think so," chuckled Kai. "And in the way that studious smart ponies are, I cannot resist but question things. Things such as where my companions might be. I know their general path, but not their exact location. How were you able to find us multiple times?"

The stallion let out a laugh. "We have informants everywhere. It's a huge network that covers the globe. We also have local teams that go out to do the deeds. We're very efficient." He cleared his throat as the smile ran away from his face. "It's actually really embarrassing that we haven't been able to catch you yet. We've tried almost every trick in the book at this point, which is the only reason you and I are talking."

"How does that work?" asked Kai. "We've done well to stay away from towns and cities. Your informants must have been baffled."

"Like you wouldn't believe. So just tell me where they're headed, and we'll take you right to them."

Kai looked over his shoulders, to the left and right, then waved the stallion over. When they were close enough to touch, Kai leaned in and quickly stabbed into the other stallion's chest the blade Seafoam had extracted from his own. "I would rather die than let you hurt my beloved."

As the stallion fell to the ground, the remaining ponies drew their weapons. Kai threw the knife at one of them, just grazing them as he picked up his bardiche, leaping into the air as lightning collected in his horn.

Kai tore several strips from the trimmed black cloak, tying them around the bandage covering his thigh. He'd managed to end the fight as the victor, though he hadn't been unscathed in the encounter. He'd been hit with a crossbow bolt, and his left side had been burnt under his wing. He'd checked the remaining crossbow bolts, and had found them to not be envenomated. That meant that it was unlikely that he was dying of poison.

He took off to the north, leaving hoofprints behind in case anypony came upon the scene and decided to follow him. He then turned in midair and lowered himself gently into the river. The water was very cold, perfect for helping with his burn. He would have to let it recover as he floated down the river. Thankfully, it was headed the direction he meant to go, meaning he didn't have to try very hard. He just had to push his wings into the water to let it carry him where he wanted to go.

Late into the evening, he climbed out of the water, his burn now as treated as it could be. The bandage was soaked, but that wasn't really a problem. It was just gauze, and the cold water would have slowed the rate of his blood loss. He was about to lie down for the night when he heard voices right above him. He poked his head up over the rocks, and in the dim light of the crescent moon, he could just make out the silhouettes of his travelling companions.

"Apparently, everypony in the spire has gone mad," said Twilight with a sigh.

"I'd call them lunatics," Kai called out, his voice still a bit hoarse, "but that would be wrong. They're just crazy and awful." He stepped forward and illuminated his face. "It's good to see you all again."

Chapter the Ninth: Camping in the Dark

Fluttershy rushed forward and threw her arms around Kai's neck. After stumbling back from the impact, he gently wrapped his arms around her middle. "I'm glad you're alright," he smiled.

"Us!?" whimpered Fluttershy. "What about you? We thought you were dead!"

"I almost was. But that doesn't matter right now. I--"

"Doesn't matter?" interjected Fluttershy. "You're alive! That's amazing!"

He patted her shoulder. "Let's sit down. I have a lot to discuss with you."

Over the course of the next half hour, Kai explained what had happened to him at the lake, as well as giving them the information he'd gathered from the group he'd killed. Of course, he left out the fact that he'd harmed them, opting instead to phrase it as "Those few won't be following us anymore. I led them in the wrong direction, then left them behind. If somepony does find us, it won't be that group."

When he was done with his explanation, Twilight asked about the spire. "What makes the ponies there crazy?"

"Well, I'd tell you," answered Kai, "but I doubt you'd believe me. Most of what I've heard was hard to believe, but then I met one of their emissaries. Self-righteous, judgmental, first to throw a stone and using his deity's name for his own protection. Just the worst kind of pony, who beats you over the head with his beliefs. I was told that they're all like that."

"Oh, come on, they can't all be bad?"

Kai shrugged. "Perhaps some of them are better than that, but I have no evidence to support that. I will say this, though: Their whole school of thought revolves around the majority's opinion, purity and openness. I know that sounds like a good thing, but I have my doubts."

"Doesn't openness lead to stronger trust?" asked Nik. "Sounds like a good thing to me."

Kai turned to Nik. "Let me put it this way: If the three of us ponies asked them to keep you safe, and at least four of the cloaked ponies showed up to kill you, they would outnumber us, so the majority opinion would be that you should die. That, and the majority of Equestria wants to stop the rips in reality to stop showing up. What's the fastest way to do that?"

Nik slowly nodded in acceptance. "I suppose that means we can't just walk up to the entrance and ask for the piece we need and expect them to hand it over."

Kai raised his eyebrow. "Maybe? If I play my cards right, I could do that, but then what? We still don't know where the last location is, and without that information, we can't complete this journey."

"What if we tell them that the world needs us to find that information?" asked Fluttershy. "If finding it means that we save the maximum number of ponies, surely, they'd be understanding, wouldn't they?"

Kai thought about it. "It certainly sounds reasonable; it might work. I have my doubts, though. They're not really known for listening to reason, more often siding with their emotions."

"Then we'll just have to play to their emotions," smiled Fluttershy.

Kai slowly nodded. "I suppose it's worth a shot. For now, though, let's rest for the night." He reached into his cloak and pulled out two coverings. One was enough to keep Twilight warm, the other was for Nik. He couldn't carry the tents with him, due to their size and weight, but blankets were less of a problem. As soon as he pulled them out, Fluttershy caught a glimpse under his cloak.

"Is that a burn?" she asked, concerned.

Kai glanced down. "Oh, right, I was hit this afternoon when I ran into those degenerates. I had it in cold water the rest of the day, it should be fine."

"Are you sure?"

Kai smiled and hugged her. "Never change, my dear."

An hour passed in relative silence. Nik and Twilight had fallen asleep under their respective blankets, covered with foliage to appear as no more than shrubbery. Kai was sharing his cloak with Fluttershy, and both of them were still awake, their minds still buzzing.

Fluttershy let out a quiet sigh, wondering why she couldn't fall asleep. The moon had been out for hours, and her body was comfortable with Kai providing padding and warmth. In response to this, Kai moved his hoof up her back. "Can't sleep?" he whispered.

"I didn't know you were still up," she whispered back. "Sorry, I'll be quieter."

Kai rubbed her shoulder. "That's not the problem," he assured. "I'm just nervous."

"I guess I am, too. I mean, you were dead, and then you were alive, and now we have to go meet some crazy ponies. It's all just a little overwhelming."

"I know. We're so close to the end, but these last few steps... tensions are running high. We're right in the thick of it now. It feels as if the world is resting on my shoulders."

"That's my head, actually." She chuckled. The joke brought a smile to his face.

"And what a lovely head it is." He squeezed her shoulders a bit. "You know what I mean, though. It's just a lot of stress to deal with. Right now, my greatest relief is that you're here with me, and that you're safe. I don't think I'd be able to manage without you."

Fluttershy reached up and kissed his cheek. "You're sweet. Back when we weren't sure if you were alive, it took everything I had to keep from going crazy. It was horrible, going on without you. I wasn't myself. I can't wait for this whole ordeal to be over."

"Nor can I." He craned his neck and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Fluttershy. I can't wait for my opportunity to show it in a setting where we don't have to worry about what other ponies think."

"I'm looking forward to it."

They held each other a little closer, having calmed each other down a bit. It wasn't long before Fluttershy fell asleep in Kai's arms, and he followed shortly after. They shared a dream of the future, of a time when nopony's lives were on the line, and the most they would have to worry about was whether or not they had something on their faces. Though their interpretations of what the future held were a bit different, they were quite similar. In either case, they were together, and they could spend large amounts of time with each other, and that's what was most important.

Chapter the Tenth: Splitting Up

Kai struggled to pick himself up after sleeping through the night. Seafoam had been right; he needed more rest to recover. He had to push quite hard just to stand, but he kept himself silent this time. He needed to make sure he didn't give away their position. The only noise he made was the popping of his joints and some mild groaning.

"Good morning," offered Twilight, nodding. "Sleep well?"

"Sleeping is easy," yawned Kai. "Waking up is hell." He looked around the camp. Twilight had woken up and folded her blanket. Nik was still asleep. It was just before dawn, as the eastern sky was beginning to shift in colour. "Where's Fluttershy?"

"I was hoping you would know," answered Twilight. "She was gone when I woke up."

"I went to pick up breakfast," came her answer. She stepped out from behind a nearby boulder, a small bag of apples under her wing. "We still have a ways to go, so when I woke up early, it figured I could check in with the local farm animals, maybe provide a little help to them. All I asked in return was a few apples, they gave me a whole bag." She reached into the bag and tossed one to Twilight, and another to Kai. "I didn't mean to worry you."

"You should have left a note or something," groused Twilight. "We were worried sick."

"As long as you weren't spotted or recognized, we should be fine," disagreed Kai, biting into his apple. "It does mean we should move, but at least we have a good start to our day."

"I was thinking about that," smiled Fluttershy, sitting down between them. "If the spire is close enough, do you think we could manage to go there and back again in a day?"

Kai shrugged. "Maybe? I guess if the whole exchange is short, we should be just fine coming back. Of course, you also wanted to ask if they knew anything about our final destination, so I'm not sure how long that would take."

Fluttershy swallowed her bite of apple. "Then it's settled. You and I will go to the spire, and Twilight and Nik can spend the day resting so we can move faster tomorrow."

Twilight coughed a bit, regained her composure, and swallowed the chunk of apple she had nearly choked on. "You're going in alone?"

"I thought that it would be too big a risk to bring Nik to the spire, especially if the cloaked ponies made it there before we did, like they did with Seafoam. It's just not safe."

Kai nodded. "That's sound logic. However, I have a bit of an issue with that. What if you end up hurt? What if the cloaked ponies find Nik and Twilight here? There are a lot of variables unaccounted for. I should go on my own."

"If the ponies find Twilight and Nik, there's not much I can do to protect them," lamented Fluttershy. "I won't make much of a difference. But I can't let you go to the spire alone."

Twilight raised her eyebrow. "Why not? It would solve his issue, and having you well-rested sounds like a good plan to me."

"I made a promise to you, Kai," said Fluttershy, placing her hoof on his shoulder. "If ever you were hurt, I want to be there to pull you to safety. I don't want to lose you again."

Kai took a deep breath. "You're sure?"

She nodded.

"Okay. But you have to follow my instructions. If I tell you we need to go, we go. Clear?"

She nodded again.

"Good." He leaned over and hugged her. "The last thing I want is to see you hurt." Taking the last bite of his apple, he stood up again, stretching his wings out and tossing his cloak to the ground. "They're not a big fan of clothes," he explained. "Whenever you're ready, the sooner we make our way out, the sooner we make it back."

Fluttershy quickly finished her breakfast and gave the bag to Twilight. "Ready when you are."

With a nod, they turned northwest and took off into the air, with Kai leading them. Once they were at a cruising speed and altitude, he waved his hoof, summoning her up next to him. "I have a few things I need to tell you about before we make it to the spire," he shouted over the wind. "First and foremost, don't ever lie to them. They can sense it. Even the slightest of doubts, they can pick up on. That said, don't just go volunteering information. If they ask, tell the truth, but not necessarily the whole truth. Understand?"

"What if they ask where Nik is?"

"He's in a safe location, being handled by ponies who want to protect the world from further harm."

"And they'll buy that?"

"They'll sense that I'm telling the truth, at the very least. Can you answer questions in that manner?"

"I can try."

They continued flying for another kilometre or two, making swift progress. Finally, they were close enough to see the spire. It was a massive, shining pillar in the middle of a sea of sand, with waves of burning heat distorting everything around it. On occasion, large bursts of fire shot up out of the ground, the air itself igniting with the concentrated power of the sun. As they flew closer, Fluttershy thought she saw puddles on the ground, but they turned out to be plates of glass made from burnt sand. They further served to reflect and refract the sunlight, creating even more bursts of flame. It was simultaneously beautiful and terrifying, and it made her question whether or not she really wanted to be there.

They began their descent into a small area seemingly protected from the flames, surrounding the base of the spire. It was significantly less hot down here, and there were several ponies, all of slightly different hues, but with every centimetre of their coats and manes bleached to just off white. The biggest distinguishing factor for them was the colour of their eyes.

"Welcome to the Solar Spire, my newest acolytes," smiled a unicorn stallion, approaching them. "I see you have yet to be cleansed of that which makes you impure. Come, let us correct your colour."

Chapter the Eleventh: The Solar Spire

Fluttershy had expected that walking inside the front door to the spire would take her out of the heat of the sun, but she was wrong. Polished mirrors reflected the sunlight down through tubes, causing the inside of the building to feel like an oven. Her mane was matting to her neck with every bead of sweat.

"You must really love the sun, here," she commented. "Lots of sunlight, sun decorations everywhere..."

"The sun provides us with a purifying light," explained the stallion. "Every day, we bathe in its glow, and it wipes away that which is harmful to us."

"I bet you have to use a lot of burn cream."

The stallion stopped and turned. "You bet?" he scowled. "Gambling is immoral. You may as well be throwing your money in a fire!"

"It's a figure of speech," interjected Kai, stepping between them. "She's not actually wagering any money, she's just commenting on how likely it is that you're experiencing daily burns from the sun."

The stallion shifted his head so he could look Fluttershy in the eye. "Is that true?"

Fluttershy nodded nervously. She hadn't meant to upset him.

His scowl turned to a smile almost instantly. "No, we don't use any burn cream. It stops the sun from radiating its cleansing light upon us, much like any dark colours on our coats and manes would do. And clothing would just put a wall between us and the sun, and we certainly can't have that."

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "So, how do you protect yourself from the sun?"

"Why would we need protection from the sun?" scoffed the stallion. "The sun gives us life!"

Fluttershy looked confusedly at Kai, who responded with a knowing expression. He was right about the ponies here being crazy. She was a fan of the sun more than most ponies, spending as much time as she could out in the meadows with all the little critters, but on cloudless days, she'd usually either sit under a shady tree or wear a nice sunhat. This place was excessive in its need for more sunlight. It was just too much.

This spire was far more populated than any of the other locations they'd visited. The most populated thus far had been the bottom of the lake, with eleven total ponies. She was sure she'd seen at least thirty here so far, though the fact that they were all the same colour mane, tail, coat and haircut, she couldn't be sure. They even all had the same cutie mark, which seemed a bit odd.

They made their way up to the seventh floor, where a new stallion was waiting. He was staring out the window, into the sun. "So you have come," he said, unmoving. "Leave us, my acolyte. I must speak with our guests."

The stallion that has led them there furrowed his brow and stepped out of the room. There was no door to close, he just walked away.

After a pause to allow the other pony out of earshot, the stallion in the window spoke. "You must forgive my brother, there is no dark spot in his heart." He turned around, revealing a burned face and black, lifeless eyes. "I am Bright Eyes, beholder of the sun. You have come for this." He lifted his leg, extending it as his dry, burnt skin cracked and flaked off. In his hoof, he held the sun stone, one of the last two pieces they needed.

"You seem rather far removed from your brother," observed Kai. "Why is that?"

Bright Eyes lowered his hoof and turned back to the sun. "They don't see what I see. The sun is not all light. There are dark spots. In the greatest of goods, there is some evil, even if you are blinded by the overwhelming light. When you see it, you will wonder why it has betrayed you, but it has not."

"What do you mean?" asked Fluttershy. "Is something bad going to happen in the near future?"

"Even the wisest cannot see all ends. I don't know what the future will bring, I can see only the past. The sun shows me all."

"Then you know where we must go next," said Kai. "Please, tell us."

"There is nothing for you there."

"Of course there is. We need the--"

"The place no longer exists. I was there when we destroyed it."

Kai took a step back, his eyes opening wide in shock. "Why!?"

"Imagine, for a moment, that you are young and stupid. Celestia rules over Equestria, moving the sun as is her duty, and directing the lazy moon because her sister has abandoned her senses. She brings light to the land, and all that is good, driving away the darkness. She must be the greatest good, and therefore, light makes right by way of might. All that is dark and evil drives ponies apart, and terrifies them.

"Now, imagine that your group of paladins finds out where the hidden haven is. Our greatest foe, a den of thieves, killers, and all others who hide in the dark. We are given the unique opportunity to be rid of our greatest foe at once. We cannot walk away from such an offer.

"We strike at sunset, bringing daylight to the night. We slaughter the cowards, the deceivers and the liars, and some of us fall to their dirty tricks and backstabbing. Two of my best friends died in the assault, but we won. The hidden haven was destroyed."

Kai scowled. "You had no right to--"

"I know. It is, to this day, my greatest regret, though I didn't see it as such until a few years ago." He turned around again. "You harbor dark thoughts in your hearts. Akaitora, you are right to hate yourself. You have done several things that are worth despising. Fluttershy, you are correct in being afraid of him. He is dangerous. Just yesterday, he killed three ponies."

Fluttershy looked to Kai. "Is that true?"

Kai glowered at Bright Eyes. "No. It was four."

Bright eyes shook his head. "One survived. She is on the west bank of the river, travelling toward your friends. She is moving slowly, but if she finds Nikolas, she will kill him. Twilight, too, if she stands in his defense." Kai turned around and took a step toward the door before Bright Eyes' magic held him in place. "There is no speed at which you can fly that will allow you to reach either party first!"

"I have to try, don't I!?" shouted Kai. "Let go of me!"

Fluttershy put a trembling hoof on Kai's shoulder. "There has to be some way we can save them without violence."

"Not that I can see," answered Bright Eyes.

"Even the wisest cannot see all ends," replied Fluttershy. "Isn't that what you said?"

Bright Eyes held out his hoof again, along with the stone. "I do not know if the hidden haven has been reborn, as it stays in a place the sun cannot see. It has likely moved, if it has been reborn. Seventeen kilometres north from here, thirteen east, barely a kilometre from three freshly dead bodies. That is where you will find the old location of the hidden haven. If you can do anything good from such a dark place, all of existence will owe you its gratitude."

Chapter the Thirteenth: Guilt Trip

Fluttershy was a few kilometres out by the time she felt safe enough to slow down and look behind her, and realize that she was all alone. Kai was nowhere to be seen, despite the fact that he'd been right behind her a few minutes ago. She hadn't had him back for a full day before she'd lost him again. She contemplated going back and turning herself over in exchange for him, but her gut told her that wouldn't be possible. After all, they wanted both of them. If she went back now, she'd only manage to make the escape worthless.

She turned and flew back to Equestria, tears in her eyes. She hated this situation, and she wasn't prone to having that feeling inside of her. For the first time that she could remember, she despised somepony. At first, it was the stallion that had turned on them. That quickly spread to most of the ponies in the spire, and finally, it all drained into her.

She had been the one to mention the hidden haven. She had been so focused on escaping that Kai had to clear the way for her. She had flown off without him. She had also placed Nik's needs above the needs of all of Equestria, leading to this whole journey in the first place. Everything that had happened so far, every hiccup, every hurt, and every night sleeping in dirt with rocks and twigs poking into their backs; it was all on her hooves.

She landed near where they had camped. "Twilight?" she called, tucking the sun stone back under her wing. "Are you still here?"

To her left, she heard a click. She looked over, and a mare in a bloody black cloak was pointing a crossbow at her. "Where is the human?" she demanded.

Fluttershy raised her head. "Are you going to kill me?"

The mare raised the crossbow to her face. "That's right."

Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she puffed out her chest.

In the next instant, the cloaked mare was on the ground, pinned to a tree root by a flash of blue. "Don't you dare!" shouted Rainbow, holding the mare down.

"Fluttershy!" called Applejack, wrapping her arms around the stunned pegasus. "Ah'm so glad you're alright!"

"Applejack? Rainbow Dash? What are you doing all the way out here?"

"We came lookin' for you," explained Applejack. "Thank goodness we found you when we did. Come on, I'll take you to where we put Twilight."

As a squad of guards filed into the clearing, Applejack took Fluttershy to the Cornfield Tavern. The building was a veritable hotbed of activity this morning as the citizens of the town gawked at the guards. The only ponies allowed in currently were the guards, but an exception was made for Applejack and her guest.

The door to one of the rented bedrooms was opened, and Fluttershy walked in. "You see? There they are, safe and sound," smiled Twilight. "How'd it go?"

Fluttershy looked at Nik. There were three new bruises on him, one on his face, two on his chest. He was holding an ice pack up against his face. "What happened to you?" she asked, rushing forward.

"Your friend hit me," he groaned. "The blue one."

"He'll be alright, assured Twilight. "As long as he keeps using that ice pack, those should be gone in a few days. Where's Kai?"

Fluttershy lowered her head. "He didn't make it out."

The colour drained from Twilight's face. She put her hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "He's dead?"

"Dead, or captured and being tortured."

"How did that happen?"

Fluttershy relayed the whole story, from the moment they entered to when she left. She was in shambles by the time she finished, barely able to push out her words.

"Ah had no idea that he was such a stand-up character," lamented Applejack. "Ah only met 'im briefly, but Ah always thought he was kinda shady."

"So what are we waiting for?" asked Rainbow. "Let's go down there and bust him out!"

"Weren't you listnin' Rainbow? They prob'ly already done 'im in. We should go to this last place an' pick up the last whatchamajigger. Use his final action in life to our advantage."

"What if he is alive? We can't just let them torture him! He gave up everything for Equestria! We should return the favour!"

"We'd only become more entangled in the conflict! Didja forget that the whole reason we came out here was to put an end to it?"

"Both of you, calm yourselves."

Everyone looked up as Princess Celestia strode into the room with Spike on her back. This was immediately followed by a swift bow. "You may as well make yourselves comfortable," she said, closing the door. "We're staying here at least until nightfall."

"We've just been out to the hidden haven," explained Spike, sliding down to the floor. "We hoped that we could pick up the last piece for you and skip a day of walking out there and back. Unfortunately, the door was sealed. There were some runes carved into the door, so I spent part of the day translating them."

He pulled out a scroll, which Twilight immediately picked up. "Let's see that..."

"In laypony's terms, the door will only open at night, and only to those who carry with them dark deeds. I don't know what classifies as a dark deed, and I'm kind of afraid to try any of the obvious ones."

"I can open the door," volunteered Celestia. "I banished my own sister to the moon, and left my faithful student Twilight and her friends to clean up the mess. I've carried the guilt with me for a thousand years, and in that time, it's festered. I'd say that qualifies."

The room was silent for a moment, then Twilight spoke up. "I didn't trust my teacher when she told me how to stop Nightmare Moon."

"I accused Twilight of being partially responsible for Nightmare Moon's return," admitted Rainbow.

"Ah let mah family be swallowed up by a trashfire," added Applejack.

"My mere existence is destroying Equestria," stated Nik.

Fluttershy sniffled. "I let the stallion who's saved my life multiple times be captured, and possibly killed."

Spikes eyes darted around the room. "I, uh... forgot to brush my teeth?"

Regardless of how much guilt they all felt at that moment, they soon found themselves in a group hug. Each of them had done something horrible to somepony else for which they were sorrowful. It was a welcome catharsis to let it out.

Chapter the Fourteenth: The Cell

Kai woke up and opened his eyes. He was sleeping in a pile on a stone floor. It wasn't a cold stone floor, but rather very warm, almost comforting. As he shifted his limbs to a more comfortable position, he heard a familiar voice.

"Good, you're still alive."

Kai turned around to see Bright Eyes sitting behind two locked cage doors. "What happened while I was out?"

"She's safe," assured Bright Eyes. "She made it back to your encampment, and while she was met with the assassin, she was promptly rescued. The sun in all her glory has granted her safety, as much as can be expected."

Kai breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't the answer to the question he'd asked, but it was what he needed to hear. "She knows where to go next. With any luck, she can find out the last location while she's there. What about you?"

Bright Eyes gestured to the cell that surrounded him. "I was accused of treason. I told them honestly everything I'd done, from aiding you to keeping information to myself. It was for the good of the world, so I stand by my decision, as it would be the greatest gift I could give to the greatest number of ponies, but they were unconvinced. I am in here, awaiting my sentencing. You have already been sentenced."

"I'm not even granted the courtesy of a trial?"

"My brother was unconvinced. I wish he would see reason, but his vision has been obscured. Though he refuses to accept it, he needs my help now more than ever."

Kai sat back against the wall. "Is there any chance of escaping here?"

Bright Eyes looked up to the ceiling. As he was about to answer, they heard a noise outside the door. Somepony was coming. He put his hoof up to his lips, urging Kai to remain quiet about what was said. The door swung open, and the stallion who had led them through the temple and started the fight walked in.

"Oh, good, I can skip the step where I wake you up."

"I'm already awake," answered Kai. "Why am I being held here?"

"You're being held because you're the spawn of darkness. The only reason we haven't killed you yet is because your cohort has evaded us. You are to tell us where she is."

Kai puffed up his chest. "She is in a safe place. She has found a place where she is to be protected by the sun herself."

"I've heard enough of your lies!"

"He is not lying, Cloud." Bright Eyes stood up and walked to the door of his cell. "I have seen where she is hiding, and the sun has granted her protection."

Cloudy Eyes turned to face his elder brother. "You have caused a great upheaval among our ranks. The paladins are divided in their decision as to how to deal with you. You've always been beneficial to us in the past; I don't understand why you have chosen now to betray us."

"I haven't betrayed you," answered Bright Eyes. "Even now, I serve the light as a faithful watcher. It is telling me that the world is in danger, and I believe that this pony and his companions are the key to saving it. You must believe me. I would not lie to you."

Cloud stared into Bright's face before answering. "You would hide information that is crucial to the survival of the world. You haven hidden it from the best ponies on the planet, from your paladins, even from your own brother."

"You were not the one that the world needed."

"And he is!?" Cloud gestured to Kai. "He can't even convince me that he's not an agent of darkness!" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "And it would seem that he has pulled the wool over your eyes. I make no promises, but I hope that you can be saved."

Bright Eyes, seeing that he could do nothing more with this conversation, returned to his bench and sat down without another word. He needed to be patient. One day, his brother would see the light, he just knew it.

"Put your hooves through the bars," demanded Cloud, turning to Kai. "And no tricks. I don't have the key to your cell, and the one who does will not hesitate to kill you if you try to hold me hostage."

Kai had his hooves through the bars before Cloud was finished speaking. He was swiftly shackled as another bleached pony, an earth pony this time, came in with a key and a leather whip. The cell door was promptly unlocked, and the earth pony took his position behind Kai.

"Now, let's try this the easy way," smiled Cloud. "I'm going to ask you a question, and you're going to answer it. Let's start with an easy one. What is your name?"

"My name is Akaitora."

Cloud turned to the earth pony and nodded. The whip lashed across Kai's back, sending a shock through his system. "Let's try that again, and give me an honest answer this time. What is your name?"

Kai scowled "My name, given to me at the time of my birth, is Akaitora!"

Once more, the whip dragged across his back. "That is not a real name! Tell me the truth!"

"I am!" insisted Kai. "My name is Akaitora!" He yelped at the lashing of the whip. "I cannot control what my name is!"

"But you can tell me the truth! What is your name!?"

Kai didn't like the idea of lying, especially in such a place as this, and over something of so little consequence as his name. "My name is Purple Shirt!" he lied. "I'm the daughter of a dragon, an alien from space, and a flying skull! I have thirty legs and I breathe lightning!" He was lashed multiple times for that, as those came up as obvious lies.

"Now that's just silly," chuckled Cloud. "Now you're only lying to set us off. You can't even tell the truth with something as inconsequential as your name. How can you think that you have any hope of saving the world when you can't do something any foal can do? Pathetic." He turned and walked out of the room. After a few more lashings, the pony with the whip left as well, locking the cage door and unlocking Kai's shackles.

Once they were alone again, Kai looked up at Bright Eyes. "You were about to answer my question about escaping?"

Chapter the Fifteenth: The Dark Door

Celestia looked over the edge of her chariot in the dark chasm. Her horn lit up the wall, but due to an intense fog that permeated the canyon, it was slow going back to the door to the hidden haven. During daylight hours, it had been a bit difficult to find the door, but now it seemed impossible.

"Are you sure it was against this wall, princess?" asked Twilight, sitting on the other side of the chariot. "I don't see anything."

"I'm certain I saw it here earlier," swore Celestia. "Luna said it was against the south wall, and this is the south wall. I saw it myself earlier today."

"I saw it, too," added Spike. "I know it was around here somewhere. We probably need to--"

He was cut off as the chariot struck a rocky crag beneath it. The guard escorts apologized and kept flying slowly through the dark mist.

"Maybe we went too far?" asked Twilight. "It's a large, mostly flat wall. Maybe we passed over the top of it and didn't realize?"

"Perhaps," nodded Celestia. "Let's turn around and go a bit lower."

The guard escorts turned and dipped a bit lower, ready to scan the wall as many times as it took to find the place. They still had the whole night ahead of them; a whole night of flying while supporting the chariot. Whether or not they were going to the bottom of the canyon didn't matter, as long as they landed as fast as possible. This slow flight through the mist was causing more strain on their muscles than they were used to. For this task, it wasn't strength or speed that mattered, but their balance, and that was something they didn't train for as often.

The fog was thicker down here, and Celestia's light seemed more dim than it actually was. Twilight added her own light to the mix, though it didn't do much. Despite the focused beam, it was still hard to see much against the wall. "I think that if we go all the way to the bottom, we won't be able to see each other," she joked.

Celestia looked straight up. "I can still see the moon, so why is it so hard to see the wall?"

"Perhaps Princess Luna knows something about this shroud?" suggested Spike. "I could send her a message."

"And tell my sister that I'm not capable of finding a large stone door with runes carved out of it? I think I'll pass for now. It has to be nearby. We're probably very close, and just missing it."

They continued on in this manner for another ten minutes, not turning up any results. As the chariot hit another rock, Spike fell off. Celestia immediately dove after him, her focus on catching him before he hit anything. To that end, she listened intently for his screaming. She caught him quickly and secured him to her neck and shoulders. "Are you alright, Spike?"

She could hear his heavy breathing and feel his trembling claws. Even with her brightest light, she could barely see him this far into the fog. Realizing that it wouldn't do her any good, she turned it off and looked up. She could see the moon and two other dim lights. One of them was Twilight, but the other, she wasn't sure about.

"Hold on tight, Spike, we're going back up." She guessed that the light directly above was Twilight, so she flew toward the other. As she came closer and closer, Twilight's light seemed to dim, until she could barely see it. Just as she was contemplating going back to Twilight to rendezvous before continuing, the other light approached.

"There you are!" called Twilight. "Did you catch him?" As the light drew closer, Celestia realized her mistake. She'd made the wrong assumption.

Celestia flew up to Twilight and pushed aside her mane, revealing the dragon. "He's a little shaken, but mostly unharmed. He'll be fine in a little bit, I hope."

"We lost sight of you almost right away," said Twilight. "I guess the fog really does thicken as you go further down."

Celestia thought about that for a bit. "When I was down there, I couldn't see a thing until I turned my light off. I saw two lights up here, but one of them faded when you came into view. I wonder if the door can only be seen in complete darkness?"

Twilight shrugged "One way to find out." The glow from her horn faded away. As soon as they were in complete darkness, the other light appeared a few dozen metres from where they were hovering.

"Guards, do you see that?" asked Celestia. "I think that light is our destination."

Slowly, the group fumbled their way through the darkness until they were hovering right next to it. Out of curiosity, Celestia illuminated the area, and it just looked like a regular wall. There was, however, a sturdy level cliff jutting out of the wall, just big enough for them to land on. The guards landed and Celestia turned off her light again.

"I recognize these runes," confirmed Twilight. "I spent all day committing them to memory. This is the same thing Spike copied down earlier today."

"We were searching in the right area," nodded Celestia, for nopony to see. "Now we know that we must approach with no light. Stay where you are, I'm going to open the door now."

The clippity-clop of hooves was heard approaching the door, followed by the sound of grunting. The outline of Celestia's horn glowed for a moment, but the stone would not budge.

"I don't understand. We fulfilled all of the requirements specified. The door should be opening."

"Maybe this isn't the door, but merely a carving that tells us how to open it?" suggested Twilight. "Perhaps we need to find the door separately?"

"That doesn't make sense," groused Celestia. "Why have a marker telling you how to enter, but have the door hidden elsewhere? If this is to be a safe place, it would only be harmful to have the entrance somewhere else."

Twilight thought for a moment. "If the door is hidden the same way the message is, we should return during daylight hours. Any unnatural light would hide it. At the very least, we know more now than we did this afternoon. It's a significant step forward no matter how you look at it."

With a sigh, Celestia spread her wings and illuminated the area. "Let's go back to the tavern and inn, then. We'll come back in the morning to look for more. Hold on tight, Spike."

Chapter the Sixteenth: Coping

Fluttershy pulled herself out of bed the following morning. She hadn't slept well, and as a result, she was feeling ill. Fatigue, nausea and sensitive joints slowed her movement to the floor.

She looked around the room, having been too upset to really take it in last night. It was very minimalist, with just two beds, a table, and ensuite bathroom. The table had a complimentary notepad and pen, as well as a few of Rainbow's personal effects. She was wearing the cloak Kai had left behind, having wrapped it around herself before going to bed. Twilight had brought it with her from their encampment, a fact for which she was very grateful. The stones they'd collected thus far had been tucked neatly into the pockets the morning before, and kept secure behind a buckle. Thanks to Rarity's foresight, they weren't going anywhere.

Nik was still asleep in the other bed. She had to admit that the beds were soft and plush, if a bit small for him. She had spent the night next to Rainbow, which explained why her belongings were in the room. She was also still asleep, wrapped in a blanket and snoring softly.

Fluttershy hung up Kai's cloak on the small hook on the back of the door and made her way downstairs. The sun was only just about to rise, but the tavern was already full of ponies. The security had relaxed a bit since yesterday, now only barring entrance to the second floor. It looked like half the town was here, but in reality, there were more ponies in the dining area than lived in the town. Some of the guards were using their time between shifts to have a meal cooked by the owner, on top of everypony who ate here regularly. The owner didn't really mind; he was being paid extra for the extra work, though he did have to bring in some help.

"Good morning!" he called over the din of cutlery on plates, waving her over. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah." It was a lie and she knew it, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings by inferring that his beds were subpar. It certainly wasn't his fault that she'd been tossing and turning all night with nightmares plaguing her mind.

"Well, since you're here with Celestia, your breakfast is already accounted for. Royal line of credit, and all that. What'll you have?"

Fluttershy rubbed her stomach. She knew she should eat something, but she didn't know if she could keep it down. "Perhaps later. I'm not feeling very well right now.

The tavernkeep furrowed his brow. "Are you sick? We don't have a doctor in town, but the general goods trader has a few over-the-counter cures for common ailments. Just tell him you're here with Celestia, and he'll take care of your needs. If it's something serious, though, we need to send you over to the next town."

"I think I'll start with a simpler remedy, first," she nodded. "It's probably something minor."

She weaved her way through the tables and squeezed her way out the front door. The crisp morning air was nice, but it felt very normal to her now. Waking up in a patch of grass every day for a few weeks had the effect of familiarizing the scent of morning dew. Even the cold rush of air felt average at this point.

She turned and made her way next door to the general goods trader. There was a closed sign on the door, with the hours listed. She was about twenty minutes early, and she could see the owner inside, moving around and making sure everything was ready for opening. She didn't want to rush him or put too much of a strain on him, so she just sat down near the door to wait. As she had said, this wasn't likely a big deal.

"Did you need something?"

Fluttershy turned around. In the short time she'd taken in sitting down, she'd been noticed by the shopkeep and he'd come out to check on her.

"I can wait until you're open," she said, fidgeting with her tail. "Don't mind me."

"I don't mind opening a little early. The time on the card is just a suggestion." He flipped the sign around, indicating that the shop was now open. "Come on in and have a look around."

With a shy nod, Fluttershy stood up and walked in. "I was told you had some over-the-counter remedies?"

"Right over there." He pointed to a short wall with a few simple medications. Most of the section was what you might find in a really good first aid kit. Generally speaking, it was enough to keep somepony together long enough for a real doctor to come in and have a look. It was no substitute, of course, but if there was no doctor in town, it was at least comforting that they had a decent selection.

She grabbed two boxes off the shelves and brought them forward. "Just this," she said, placing the boxes on the counter.

The shopkeep pressed a few buttons on his register, printing out a receipt, then securing it to a clip he'd put up yesterday. "You're with Princess Celestia, right?" Fluttershy nodded. "Don't worry about paying now, we had a deal. You enjoy your day, miss, and uh..." he scratched the back of his neck. "I hope you find the answer you're looking for with that."

With a nervous smile, Fluttershy stepped out just in time to see Celestia raising the sun. It wasn't a big to-do like the Summer Sun Celebration, but rather a simple craning of her neck and the glowing of her horn. She supposed it was just a routine for her most mornings, and the fanfare would become tiring quickly.

"You're certainly up early," she commented, turning to Fluttershy. "Trouble sleeping?"

Fluttershy nodded and held up one of her boxes. "I was nauseated. I just went to pick up some antihistamines."

"Judging by that other box that you're hiding under your wing, I suspect that you have a theory as to why you're experiencing nausea." Celestia leaned in close. "You are free to make any decision that stems from this, but I want you to know that your friends are always ready to stand by your side. I don't mean to influence your decision; do whatever you feel is right. I just want you to know that your friends will be there beside you every step of the way."

Fluttershy nodded and returned to her room, slipping past Rainbow and into the bathroom. Celestia had probably meant to be reassuring with her words, but they had only served to upset her. In truth, she didn't want to admit that she hadn't thought this through at all. She was in over her head, and she didn't know what she wanted. All she knew was that she was curled up in the tub, crying her eyes out, and she only had herself to blame.

Chapter the Seventeenth: Honest Heart

Applejack slogged her way through the burning sands, her hooves begging her to go back. She was beginning to regret her decision to undertake this task alone, but with Twilight and Celestia trying to figure out an entryway she could barely understand, she had to do something. They'd all discussed going back to the spire to rescue Kai, but the general consensus was that it was too dangerous. Even she'd been against the idea in the beginning, but now she just wanted to know the truth.

As she climbed over another dune, the spire came into view. She was close now. A few more minutes of hot sand, and she'd be there. She broke into a run, hoping to be out of this as soon as possible. She was almost to the wall when she tripped over a large rock hidden down beneath the sand.

As she skidded to a stop on the sand, she realized just how hot it actually was. Her hooves had been given the chance to adjust to the heat. Her chest and shoulders had not. As soon as they made contact with the sand, she realized just how much heat she'd been protecting herself from by staying upright. She picked herself up as fast as she could, but there was still a surface-level burn. It wasn't particularly serious, she'd just need to hose the area down with some cold water when she could.

As she stepped into the courtyard at the base of the spire, the sand beneath her hooves gave way to clay. There was an oasis just outside the structure, and she took the opportunity to splash a bit of cold water from the pool onto her burned skin. It wasn't the coldest water, but it was better than nothing.

"Welcome, my child," smiled Cloud, approaching her. "I see you have been favoured with the heat of the sun. Come, let us remove some of that colour, that you may feel her touch more completely."

"Thank ya kindly fer offerin', but that ain't what Ah'm here ta do."

"Oh? What business have you here in our gleaming home, then?"

"Ah heard ya recently captured a unicorn who strapped metal wings to 'is back. Ah wanna talk to 'im."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Are you friends with him?"

"He worked on mah farm once, and to tell ya the truth, Ah always thought he was kinda suspicious. Like he wasn't tellin' the whole truth."

Cloud let out a light chuckle. "We haven't been able to convince him to speak the truth. Perhaps you would fare better. Come, I shall take you to him."

Eight flights of stairs up, Applejack could hear the crack of the whip before she even stepped into the room. Kai was chained to the front wall by both his hooves and wings, with trails of blood snaking down his back and burns covering his chest. The sight of his condition made her feel sick to her stomach. Cloud splashed some water on Kai's face to make sure he was awake enough to respond. "Are you ready to tell me what your name is?"

"I have told you over and over what my name is," huffed Kai. "I have an odd name. I don't know what you expect to gain from this."

Cloud turned to Applejack. "You see? He's uncooperative. Let's see if you can do anything with him. Will you be needing the assistance of our paladin?" He gestured to the pony with the whip.

"No, Ah don't think so," replied Applejack. "If ya have a sponge, Ah'll need that." She was indicated the back wall, where there was a cleaning cupboard. "Right. Now, if y'all would skedaddle fer a bit, Ah think Ah can manage him. Ah'll find ya when Ah'm done."

With little coaxing, Cloud and his paladin stepped out of the room. Applejack immediately moved to the cleaning cupboard and grabbed a large sponge. With that and a bucket of water, she stepped into Kai's cell. She soaked the sponge in water and began dabbing at his back.

"Do ya remember me?" she asked, after a minute or so of cleaning.

"Not your name, but you're one of Fluttershy's friends. The one she thinks is the most trustworthy. I worked on your farm for a day."

"Most of that farm's gone," she groused, pressing the sponge against him harder than she intended. "It was swallowed up by whatever it is that's destroyin' Equestria."

"I promise you miss, I ha--"

"Applejack."

"Miss Applejack. The whole reason for me coming out here was to stop that from happening. You have to believe that I wish no ill will on you or your farm."

"Ah know. Ah'm not here for vengeance, or anythin' like that. Ah wanna help. Twilight, Spike an' Princess Celestia are stuck at some door. I wasn't privy ta the details, but Ah would guess that you are."

Kai took a deep breath. "I don't know how to bypass the door. If you put me in front of it, I could possibly come up with something, but tied to this wall, I'm finding it hard to even concentrate."

"If Ah could take you down from this wall, is there any chance we could sneak ya outta here?"

"I don't think so. Not in my current state."

Kai's back and legs were as clean and treated as Applejack could manage. The damage was pretty extensive, but she was relieved to know that most of the stains on his body were just dried on. Not all of the wounds were fresh, and some of them were even starting to heal. She was about to circle around to the front when they heard the sound of Cloud approaching.

"Listen, miss Applejack," forced Kai, whispering so as to be heard only by her. "Tell them that you learned a few things from me. We came here from the east, and the hidden haven was to be our last stop. We visited everywhere else on our way here. They'll respect you more if they think you coaxed all of these answers out of me."

The door swung open and Cloud stepped in. "How is your progress on our prisoner?" he asked, having a sponge lobbed at him.

"Ah ain't done yet! Ah said Ah'd find you when Ah was done, didn' Ah!?"

Putting up his hooves, Cloud backed out of the room and closed the door.

Applejack picked up the sponge and washed it in the bucket. "Don'chu worry 'bout me. Ah'm a tough ol' bird. Granny made a real nice role model." She chuckled as she started dabbing water on Kai's burns. "Ah'll tell 'em all about what Ah learned from you, but Ah'll learn it the right way. Ah know they won't believe yer name, so tell me a bit about yerself, instead. Ah'd like to know more about the stallion who made Fluttershy sit in a bathtub, cryin' all mornin'."

Chapter the Eighteenth: Betrayal

After Applejack left, Kai had some time to think on what she'd said. She'd given him a rough approximation of what had been written on the wall, and Bright Eyes hadn't seen it there when he'd stormed the place years ago, so he was no help in deciphering it.

"I suppose it's there as a result of my actions," he lamented, thinking back. "It's meant to be a safe place for those who need to hide. If you have no good reason to hide from the populace at large, why would you be going there in the first place?"

Kai nodded. "That's a valid point, but it bars the reason I would need to go there. I need the help of one who hides in the dark. I do not need a place to hide myself."

"I destroyed the balance. Some hero I turned out to be."

They heard hoofsteps approaching and quieted their conversation. This seemed to be a larger group than the one that usually brought them food, or the two that would come in to torture Kai. Six paladins, heavily armored, stepped into the room and turned to Bright Eyes.

"The paladins have reached a decision," the foremost scowled. "For your acts of treason, you are to be exiled."

Bright Eyes stepped forward. "I raised you better than to lie to me, Open Eyes."

The paladin stepped forward, and Kai couldn't believe what he was seeing. This big, strong paladin who had been particularly forceful with his lashings, was crying. His armor rattled as he trembled. "They're going to kill you. You're to be beheaded tomorrow morning."

Bright Eyes and the paladin embraced each other. Some of the other paladins looked around at each other, worry written on their faces.

"But we're going to overturn their decision. We're going to sneak you out of here tonight." He turned to the other paladins, and each of them produced some spare armor. "We're going to dress you up and walk you out the front door. We'll find you somewhere safe to live, and protect you throughout the rest of your life."

Bright Eyes pulled away slowly. "No, that is not my fate. I am eighty-four years old, and the bulk of my life is now over. While I have not committed the level of treason assigned by your uncle, if the council of paladins has decided that I am to die, then I shall accept that my time has come."

"Don't be unreasonable, father," he scowled. "I love you! I can't sit idly by and watch you die! You've been such a force for good in the world; don't let them just throw it all away!"

Bright Eyes took a deep breath. "Do you truly wish to halt the injustice of the world?"

"More than anything! I can't lie to you; All I've ever wanted was to improve the world!"

The room fell silent as Bright Eyes prepared himself. There was no easy way to say this. "If you truly believe I am innocent, that all I do is for the good of the world, then you must believe that I would only skip the chain of command if it was crucial to the safety of those who deserve it."

"Of course."

"Here's what you should do: The other prisoner here is about as evil as I am. Dress him up in armor, take him to the location of his choosing, then you need to disperse. I don't care where you go, but you've all committed treason by conspiring to break me out of here. If you wish to protect the lives of the average citizen, do so, but not from here. Your lives are now in your own hooves."

Some of the paladins turned around to look at Kai, still bound to the cage wall. Many of them had been in there with him at one point or another, and it had always felt right to torture him, but then again, they were outright told that he was evil. They'd also seen the damage he'd caused trying to escape, including the paladin he'd hit with a lightning bolt. It was easy to vilify him as a servant of darkness, but now being told that he was a desperate rat in a cage, he looked the part. Hearing the words directly from their watcher, they could detect no deception in his words.

Kai was taken down from the wall and dressed up in the paladin's armor. Open Eyes approached and instructed him on how to behave. "First and foremost, don't talk. Don't do anything to draw attention to yourself. Just walk with us and try to look normal. Second, you do everything I tell you until I give the all-clear order. Third, don't take off the armor until I say. Do I make myself clear?"

Kai's joints were stiff from hanging all day, but he did his best to give a convincing nod. One by one, they filed out of the room and down the stairs, the only sound being the clatter of their armor. As Kai went along, he tried to keep in step with the others, but every movement was a searing pain that he just had to ignore for now.

They were almost to the door when Cloud blocked their path. "I don't recall hearing of an order for you to vacate. What's the meaning of this?"

Open stepped forward. "You said at the council meeting that I am too close with our late watcher as we are blood relatives, and that I cannot put my impartiality aside. I have taken those words into account, and for that and several other reasons, I cannot stand to watch my father die tomorrow. If I am made to be in attendance, I fear I may go against the wishes of the others and try to save him. I do not wish for a gross miscarriage of justice, so I am leaving before the ceremony. Some of the other paladins with a like opinion have decided to join me. We are going out into the world to do some good."

"When will you be back?"

"When justice has been properly served."

Kai swallowed hard as Cloud looked directly at him. "Do you all feel this way? You do not wish to see justice carried out?"

There was a brief pause, then Open placed his hoof on Cloud's shoulder. "Are you suggesting that we need to see it? I trust that the other paladins would be able to handle the execution just fine. It is enough for us just to know that it is happening, and that there's nothing that's going to stop it. It would be best if we were not around to see it, as we might be tempted to interfere. You wouldn't want us interfering, would you?"

With a slow nod, Cloud stepped out of the way and let them pass. Kai's heart was pounding as he walked past, but he did his best to act normally. If he was caught, it would mean the end of his life, and possibly the end of these paladins. As crazy as he considered them to be, they were doing something good for him, at great risk to themselves. There was little he could say against these ones in particular.

They made it a few kilometres out before Open turned around. "Everypony, remove your armor and leave your weapons. We are no longer worthy of calling ourselves paladins. Our crusade of good now walks on its own. Fillies, gentlecolts, it has been an honor to serve alongside you."

Chapter the Nineteenth: Apologies

Kai and Open walked alone through the sand, having separated from the rest of the group. When Kai had said that he still needed to go to the hidden haven, most of the ex-paladins had opted out. So much of their lives, they had been led to believe that the place itself was evil. They wanted to stay far away from it, especially without the protection of their armor. Open, on the other hoof, was considering that he belonged there. He'd just left his father to die, helped a prisoner escape from their cell, and practically lied to his uncle, the highest authority for good that he knew, shy of the sun itself. Today was his darkest day by a wide margin.

"Is the hidden haven as bad as I was told?" he asked Kai, more than half an hour into their thus far silent walk.

"I don't know what you were told," answered Kai, "I wasn't there. I've never been to the place, myself."

Open raised his eyebrow. "Weren't you an agent sent from there?"

"I came from the Great Library of Gim-Palarcanus. I'm a magic researcher. I just came out here for the sun stone. It's one of ten pieces needed to stop this whole ordeal, and hopefully reverse it."

Open's eyes grew wide at this. "How could my uncle lie to us like that?" He couldn't fathom what was going on. He could always tell when somepony was lying to him, but he had detected no lies from either his uncle nor the prisoner he was escorting across the sand. And yet, their facts were contradictory.

"It's possible that he was so sure that he was right that he wouldn't accept the truth. Being overly-judgmental can easily lead to being deluded."

As the sand turned to mud, Open stopped. Thinking something was wrong, Kai turned to face him. "Something the matter?"

"I wish I could apologize to you for what's happened."

Kai nodded. "I accept."

"I haven't offered it yet."

"I accept it regardless."

"It's not good enough."

Kai furrowed his brow. "Why not?"

Open puffed up his chest and raised his head up as high as he could hold it. "An apology consists of four parts. You first have to feel remorse for your actions. Then you admit your guilt, make a vow to correct your mistake, and finally, follow through with it. If all you do is say 'I'm sorry,' then go right back to what you were doing without trying to fix the problem, it's not only clear that you feel no remorse, but it's an insult in the face of the pony to which you are falsely apologizing."

Kai pursed his lips. "That sounded rehearsed. Were you made to repeat that a lot in your youth?"

"All the time."

Kai nodded. "Well, how about this; we have some time before we reach our destination. You already feel remorse, so that's step one complete. Next is to admit guilt, right? Let's walk, and you can tell me of what you feel you are guilty. We'll take the next step after."

For the next half hour of walking, Kai listened and nodded along as Open detailed the many things he regretted doing in his life. It started with the most recent events, such as the whipping and the burning, then came his lifelong disdain for those who didn't join the spire, particularly those who joined the other subgroups. Finally, he concluded with small, petty things that didn't really require an apology at all. Every single one was aimed at Kai in some way or another, and as biting as the words were, even the small ones, he just kept nodding along until Open fell silent.

"Is that everything?"

"I think so. I can't remember doing anything else that may have conveyed hurt to you."

Kai took a deep breath. "Okay. So the next step was making a promise to repay the damages done, right?"

"How can I possibly repay the damages caused to you by this? That's the problem. If I make a promise that I can't keep, then the fourth and most important part of my apology is worthless. I can't make this right."

"So don't."

Open looked at Kai as if he had just told him to leap off a cliff. "What do you mean, 'don't?' You expect me to just leave things the way they are?"

"With a slight modification," nodded Kai. "You feel remorse for your actions. You regret the pain you've caused me. You've also just left the spire for good, and that means you are no longer bound by what they all think. What you can promise is that you will never do any such harm again to one who is undeserving of it. Preventing further damage can be just as healing, if not more so, than picking up the broken pieces left in your wake. Ponies can recover on their own most times, but that's much easier to do if they don't have to defend themselves from new attacks. You can promise me two things: First, that you will never again harm an innocent, and second, that you will help them recover by simply keeping their problems at bay for a short while. Promise me those two things and follow through with them, and you can consider your apology fulfilled."

For a minute or two, Open considered what Kai had said. With a smile and nod, he made his decision. "I can make that promise. I will do everything in my power to uphold it."

Kai suddenly stopped. "Would you say we're about a kilometre away from the river?"

"I was never a good judge of distance. Why?"

"Because I can't fly up and check with my back torn open like this."

"If it makes you feel better, I can't fly at all."

"It doesn't. Can you see the Equestrian border?"

Open looked up, moving his head in multiple directions, trying for a clearer view. "Barely. I don't have great night vision."

With a nod, Kai changed direction. They needed to head north now. "We're almost where we need to be. Another hour, I think."

Open nodded and followed Kai. "So how do you know where the hidden haven is if it's your first time going there?"

"Your dad told me. He was actually very wise, enough so that he changed my opinion of you. Up until you tried to set him free, I thought you were just some brainwashed brute."

Open said nothing. He'd been called that before by ponies he'd captured and beaten, and even a few that he'd killed. Twenty-four hours ago, he would have vehemently disagreed. Now, however, he was considering that they may have been right, at least partially.

They arrived at a chasm and found a thin path to walk down. Kai went first, and made sure to go slowly. He was still a bit wobbly on his hooves, and the walkway was unforgiving. If he fell off here, with no use of his wings and nopony to catch him, he would go all the way to the bottom. The sudden stop would be his end. He had to step slowly and deliberately.

Chapter the Twentieth: In the Dark

The stone door swung open as Kai pressed his hoof to it. He didn't have to push particularly hard, nor did he have to open the door all the way. He just needed enough of an opening for himself and his travelling companion to slip through. Open's eyes went wide at what he saw.

The door opened into a long hallway, as wide as a street, with carved stone pillars holding up the ceiling. Between every other pillar, there were chiseled out stone murals that depicted important historical events relating to this location. On either side of the hall, there were small hovels, some of them ramshackle and others upscale, with no regard for how close they were to each other. At the far end, the hall split in two and made its way out in opposite directions. To the left, there was a second large door, but to the right, the area was open and housed a few communal structures.

"This is the den of crime and depravity?" asked Open, looking around. "It's brighter in here than I thought it would be, too."

A few faces appeared in the stonework doorways, then disappeared as they saw the bleached coat Open was sporting. doors closed and locked as he approached. Kai ignored this and walked past the hovels, but it was very dispiriting to Open, who was trying to steady himself. He was only used to being hated by evil ponies, but these ones weren't brandishing weapons at him. They were hiding.

"I don't think I'm welcome here," admitted Open. "They don't seem all that friendly."

"That's likely because of your prior affiliation. I'm not the most socially aware, but I'm pretty sure they don't like being hunted down and slaughtered."

"I wasn't involved in that."

"Oh, no?" Kai stopped and turned to one of the stone murals, pointing to a unicorn that looked just like Open. He had skewered a young earth pony mare through the back with a spear as two fillies looked on in horror. "Then who's this?"

Open gently placed his hoof against the carved stone. "This is..." A realization washed over him, contorting his face into one ensconced in abject horror. He swallowed hard. "It's my dad."

The mural depicted several paladins, some well-known in the spire, and some that had died long ago, armed to the teeth, attacking primarily unarmed, unarmored civilians. A few of the resistance had knives and repurposed tools, but of the unarmored ponies fighting the paladins, the most well-equipped one had a pitchfork. This story had likely been modified for the retelling in the spire, with lots of propaganda to make it seem as if it were a righteous crusade. Bright eyes has said it took years for him to realize that this was wrong, but his son seemed more open to the idea.

"We're monsters," he muttered. "I can't believe this is how it really happened."

"It's probably a mix of both," answered Kai. "History being retold by both sides. The parts that don't change from both sides are likely the only believable parts; that is, your father came here with a group of paladins long ago and killed pretty much everyone. Neither side denies that." He turned and continued toward the back. "The world doesn't deal in black and white. Most conflicts are non-binary. It's all in different shades of grey."

Open fell back on his haunches. He felt sick to his stomach. He knew that coming here was going to fuck with his perception, but he wasn't prepared for this visual aid.

Noticing that he wasn't following, Kai turned back. "Always, hate and spite remain after a conflict. Always. You've somehow managed to always be on the winning side, likely because your distaste for others started the conflict in the first place. In magic research, we are wont to explore the various angles, and see things from every perspective we can. It leads to a better understanding, and breakthroughs when somepony comes up with a new way of looking at things that you hadn't considered. Perhaps you would benefit from looking at things from the perspective of your foe. You may find a better view and end the conflict without causing as much harm."

Kai reached down in front of Open, offering to help him to his hooves. He was overwhelmed by all that had happened tonight, and needed somepony to keep him from snapping back to what he had just left. And yet, seeing Kai's hoof in front of him, ready to help, he could only push it away. He didn't want to look back at this day and remember that he became a better person by relying on somepony he'd beaten half to death. It wouldn't be right. He would need to stand on his own four hooves.

They continued to the back, turning left at the end of the hallway. Every closed and locked door was hurtful to Open, and he was hanging his head pretty low at the end. As Kai pushed the large stone door open, they found themselves engulfed in a black mist. Open tried to light it up with his horn, but Kai stopped him. "We are in the home of darkness. If he wants us to see, then we shall."

With a tentative nod, Open followed Kai into the dark room. The door swung shut behind them, and the room grew silent. Open remembered calling out, but being unable to hear his voice. He stepped back, but could no longer feel the ground beneath him. There wasn't even so much as a smell to this place. He was completely and utterly alone in the dark.

He had no idea how long he floated there before some strange voice called out to him. It may have been seconds, minutes, hours, or even days. Floating in the black void had taken away his perception of time. "Though you do not look it, a part of you belongs here," said the voice. "I see a darkness within you; that infernal need to question authority figures, that uncanny desire to have your voice heard among the din, that ambitious thirst... You walk close to the sun, and as a result, your shadow is black as the night."

"Who are you?" called Open, finally able to hear his own words. "Show yourself!"

A wooden frame slipped into view, through which another unicorn could be seen. He had a light green coat with a dark green mane and tail, with little yellow streaks running through it. "In every darkness, there is a light. There is also a darkness in every light. You have been feeding your light and neglecting your darkness so completely that you have been blinded by it. You are unstable. I am here to fix that."

Chapter the Twenty-First: A Light in the Darkness

"He doesn't seem to be doing very well." Kai sat off to the side as Open struggled with the dark cloud that covered his head from the other side of the room. "Is there any way you can make it easier for him?"

"I can," answered the cloud, "But that would do him little good. This is something he needs to overcome on his own. He will be all the stronger for it. Let it not be said that it is easy to change who you are entirely. I do not coddle my followers like my counterpart. They must learn to protect themselves from the world. I just make it easier."

Open was writhing on the floor, clutching at his head. He was likely screaming, but the shroud kept his shouts from reaching them.

"I will not take all of what he was; not all of him needs to change. But deep in his heart, he has a wish to change himself. He wants to be better at understanding. No matter how difficult that is, I will not stop until he either accepts who he wishes to be, or decides that he wants to go back to the way he was. Of course, the later he makes that decision, the longer the trek back. At any rate, he will be left to his own devices for now. You, on the other hand, have a different reason for coming here."

"I need the new moon stone," answered Kai. "I would have come alone if I could, but he needed me as much as I needed him. I know you prefer smaller groups to larger ones."

"I want you to tell me why the stone should fall to you. Do you even know what to do once you have it?"

"I can find out."

"You're not even going to ask me? Who says I don't know what to do with it?"

"Of course you know what to do with it. You created it and brought it here. But what do you stand to gain by telling me? By giving me the stone, you don't have to deal with me anymore. That's your benefit. You gain no benefit by telling me what to do next."

"It would seem you know how I bargain. I would expect no less from one of Gim's own. Very well; take the stone."

From the dark cloud emerged a figure. He was bipedal, resembling something like a minotaur. However, below his waist was not bovid in nature, but rather that of some kind of avian. He was covered in black feathers that tinted blue in the dim light of the room. His midsection was charcoal skin and black hair, from his waist up until his neck. His head was that of an eagle, with a charcoal grey beak and black feathers. In his left hand, he held the final stone, which he tossed to Kai. When he reunited with Fluttershy and Nik, they would have all ten.

"Now, I cannot have you leave the same way you came in," said the bird-man, retreating into the dark cloud. "Other, less understanding forces have been gathering around my doors of late, and I cannot cause more risk to my band of misfits. To that end, I will choose the time and place of your departure. Until then, you are to leave my chamber."

As he spoke, a cloak and mask fell to the floor in front of Kai. He put them on and then left the chamber, taking one last look at Open, who had calmed significantly, laying still in the floor with his chest rising slowly, and falling in short steps.

Other cloaked and masked ponies were sitting in the communal area, eating four separate meals near each other. Kai approached them, and one stood up to face him. "Who are you?"

Kai turned his head to the side. "Who? Who is is but the form, following the function of 'what,' and what I am is a pony in a mask."

"Yes, I can see that."

"I'm not questioning your ability to see me, merely remarking on the paradox of asking a masked pony who he is. I am nopony of consequence, I merely wish to sit. Shall I?"

Two of the other masked ponies chuckled at that, and one kicked out a stool for him. As he sat down, the one next to him placed a hoof on his shoulder. "We just wanted to know which of the two that entered half an hour ago we were talking to. Clearly, you're the one with the scars."

"Why clearly?"

"We don't disclose our identities, for our own anonymity, but somepony I used to know ended up at the spire. He came back with no tolerance for any privacy. If you had come from the spire, you might not see the need for the mask."

"He's not so bad as some of the others," shrugged Kai. "I'll not say what's happened, that's on him, but by the fact that he wasn't vapourized by Shu'umbra, he at least has cause to be here. I can attest to that."

"Do you have cause?"

Kai nodded slowly. "Not for long, as I'm leaving soon, but it is unlikely I shall ever return, even on the slim chance that I survive. I plan to change my fate as available. Given my past choices, and choices I'll have to make in the near future, I don't know what my next course of action will be."

"Just pick the one that will make you more happy," chimed in one. "You do what's best for you."

"That means the one that would grant you the most income," added another.

"No, that's not right," said another. "It's all about the sex. Take the path that will afford you the most pussy."

Kai shook his head. They certainly all belonged here. He also noticed that their voices were mostly similar. There were bits of their original voices coming through, but unless you were really listening, they were all indistinguishable from each other.

"What's sex?" asked one, surprising Kai, and perhaps a few others. After a moment of silence, they clarified. "I'm only eight, you can't expect me to know everything."

That was more shocking. Kai had assumed they were all adults here. They certainly filled out the cloaks and held aloft the masks, but he supposed that any of them could be any gender, any age, and any race. The cloaks were made to hide the details, so really, they could be intelligent creatures that weren't even ponies under there.

The sanctum door opened again, and Open stepped out. Kai wouldn't have recognized him at all, save for the fact that he was the only one in there. As predicted, he wasn't wearing the cloak or mask, and just left his face exposed for all to see. He was no longer bleached white, but sporting a light green coat with a dark green mane and tail, with little yellow streaks in his curly, coiffed hair. He trudged forward as if he were but a shell of his former self, and flopped down on the ground. Kai went to pick him up, but the open sanctum door called out to him. With assurance that the others would help him adjust, Kai stepped into the darkness.

He passed through the cloud quickly, and found himself outside, his cloak and mask dissolving into nothing as the sun rose above the trees. He'd been up all night. As he cursed himself for not eating while he was down there, he noticed a chariot approaching. Celestia's chariot. He called, but he could only manage a short barrage of coughs as his breathing was suddenly laboured. He managed to stay upright for a few seconds, but fell to his knees quickly. The last thing he saw before he passed out was the chariot landing nearby. "At least I still have the stone," he thought to himself as the world went dark again.

Chapter the Twenty-Second: Recovery

The doctor from the next town over had been called for general practice. He was primarily just there in case of incident, as the guard presence had increased significantly in the last three days. With all of that sharp steel, somepony was likely to be hurt, whether accidentally or otherwise. He hadn't needed to do more than bandage up a few minor injuries that weren't very serious, until a young pegasus mare approached him, looking for advice. She wasn't hurt or particularly sick, just going through a change of life.

"I'm just not sure what the right course of action is," she lamented. "Especially if I don't know what he wants to do, or even if he's still alive out there."

"This isn't a choice that has a right or wrong answer," waved the doctor. "I don't want to make up your mind for you, as that would be an incipient lawsuit if you regretted your decision. This has to be your choice."

He was interrupted from his discussion as a guard ran up to him. "Doc, you showed up at just the right time. We found a stallion in the desert, passed out and cut open. He's still alive!"

The doctor stood up and wiped his hooves. "I'm afraid we'll have to cut this meeting short, miss Fluttershy. Medical emergencies, you understand."

Fluttershy nodded at retreated to the back of the room. As the doctor usually treated patients in the inn, and all the rooms were full, he'd set up in a conference room in the town hall. It had been cleaned to a reasonable level, nowhere near as much as a surgical studio needed to guarantee a defense against further complications, but he had partitioned off a corner of the room with a tent to reduce the chance of infection as much as he could, given the circumstances.

The doors flew open just as the doctor came back from scrubbing up. Fluttershy's eyes went wide as she saw the metal wings draped over the side of the stretcher. There was only one pony with wings like that. They were hoof-made. She had to restrain herself from leaping onto him right then and there, for fear of causing more damage. This resulted in her freezing in place.

As Kai was undergoing surgery, one of the guards tried to escort her out of the room, to go and rest until the doctor had time for her again, but she refused, opting instead to sit in the corner, waiting eagerly for him to walk out of the gallery. It was three hours before the curtain pulled back. Rather than walking out, Kai was carried out on the same stretcher he'd been carried in on. A cot had been set up for the patients that just needed to lie down, and with some fresh linens, Kai was laid down to rest.

"This is the stallion," she said, approaching the doctor as he removed his gown and mask. He left his cap on for now. "The one I was telling you about. This is him."

"You're sure?"

"We've been travelling together for over a month. I'd know that face anywhere."

"I would have noticed the wings first. Does he generally take good care of himself?"

Fluttershy nodded. "What happened?"

"No idea, he's still out cold." The doctor loaded up an intravenous line and bag, and secured it on Kai's foreleg with a bit of tape. "His front half is covered in burns, his back in cuts. I would recommend he not fly for awhile with all of those perforations. I stitched him up as best I could, but those wings are heavy."

"They come off," offered Fluttershy. She reached down under Kai's right arm and disconnected the pin holding everything in place. His wing uncoupled, curled up, and was set aside. She did the same on the other side, leaving just some lightweight metal nubs above his shoulders. "I, uh... I was there when he designed them."

The doctor rolled his eyes. "That would have saved me a good hour, but I guess what's done is done. Besides, if you had poked your head in, I probably would have yelled at you for not being sterile. At any rate, he's wrapped up now, and should be up in a few hours. I'm going to go clean up and grab something to eat. Would you care to join me?"

Fluttershy shook her head. Even though the ordeal had caused her to miss lunch, she wanted to stay right here by his side. "I want to be here when he wakes up."

"Suit yourself," shrugged the doctor, walking out of the room.

Over the rest of the day, Celestia, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had come in to check on Fluttershy and Kai. Nik wasn't allowed to leave his room, but it was likely he had been told. Fluttershy had listened to them all, but she hadn't taken her eyes off of Kai's face. His breathing was slow, but smooth. His skin had been marred by days of neglect, and was very rough as a result.

She laid her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Through all of the bandages, she could still hear his heart beating, slowly at first, then picking up the a more normal pace as she lay there. She heard the door open and close, hooves approach, and felt an arm resting on her shoulder.

"Is that you, Twilight?" she asked softly, not bothering to look up. "I'm not leaving him. Not again. Not until I can apologize to him."

The hoof on her shoulder moved between her wings, gently rubbing her back.

"I know you were uncomfortable with he and I being together, based on how we met, but he's changed. He's a different pony now. You've seen what he's like, and he's the pony I want." She paused, but the hoof just kept on rubbing. "When all of this is over, he's coming back to Ponyville with us. I'm going to insist on it." She paused, expecting a certain question, but as the question was obvious, she took a deep breath and just blurted out the answer. "Because I'm carrying his child."

"What!?" The hoof that was rubbing her pulled away.

Fluttershy opened her eyes. That wasn't Twilight's voice. She leaned up and turned around. For the last two minutes, It had been Kai rubbing her shoulders. He was awake, and shocked. "I guess you weren't expecting that."

Kai glanced from Fluttershy's face down to her abdomen. "Are you really...?"

She nodded, holding back tears. "You're going to be a dad."

Chapter the Twenty-Third: Decisions

"You're going to be a father," Fluttershy repeated, grabbing Kai by the hoof. "Can you believe it?" She guided his hoof to the base of her abdomen and pressed it against her flesh, just above her breasts.

For a minute, Kai couldn't stop staring. His mind was reeling from the reveal, and he couldn't bring himself to speak. Then slowly, his hoof began to gently caress the skin. "H-how?"

It was Fluttershy's turn to be shocked. "What do you mean, 'how?' Don't you know how foals are made?"

Kai pulled his hoof back and shook his head. "I know how it happened, I just..." he rubbed his face in exasperation. "How can I be a dad? This is... I can't be a father; it's not right!"

There was a loud beeping from the monitor next to Kai. His blood pressure was spiking, prompting the doctor to come over. "You have to calm down, sir. You're not quite healed yet."

Kai took a few deep breaths and the machine stopped beeping. As the doctor retreated, Fluttershy drew closer in. "I thought you'd be happy to hear the news. Most ponies celebrate when they hear that they're having a child."

"I'm not most ponies," groaned Kai, sitting up. "I'm sure most stallions would be great fathers, too."

Fluttershy sat down next to him and wrapped a wing around his waist. "You think you won't?"

Kai shook his head. "I can't be a good father. I wouldn't even know where to begin. You should learn how to be a father by watching your own. You know how that would turn out."

"You're nothing like your father. He was awful. You're nice."

"But what if I become more like him? What if I end up hating the kid? What if I throw him out and bash your head in with a candlestick? What if I--"

The machine began to beep frantically, telling Kai that he needed to calm down again.

"You're not going to do any of that," she assured, resting her cheek against his shoulder. "You're not that bad. All of those things you just rattled off show that you already want to protect them. And me, too. You're not a bad father. You're already trying to protect those you love."

"B-but I don't know how to feed it, how to change it, how to raise it without taking it out into the wild and hoping it survives... I have no idea how to raise a kid. I'm nowhere near ready."

Fluttershy thought for a moment, then nodded. "Lie down for a bit."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

Kai lay back down, confusion written all over his face.

"Now stay there for a moment, I'll be right back." She first made her way over to the doctor and whispered something to him. He nodded, and whispered something back, and Fluttershy left the room.

"It's normal, you know," he said, coming over to sit next to Kai. "I see it all the time."

"What is?"

"The panic of having your first kid, especially when you're not prepared. I'm not sure when you'll be back on your hooves, but when you have the time, there's lots of books on the subject. All of the techniques are easy to learn. As for loving the child, you'll probably feel it the first time you hold them in your hooves. It's totally rational to be afraid that you'll mess up. But with some sound preparation, you'll do just fine."

Kai turned to him. "How can you be sure? How do you know I won't fuck up this whole thing? I'm really new to this, and my parents weren't very good."

"How bad were they, really?"

"My mother's been lobotomized and still thinks I'm in prison. She's relived the same day every day for more than twenty years. She's that way because my dad beat her, and he threw me out. I was homeless as a colt while my dad lived in his manor. I don't want them to end up the same way."

"So don't do that."

"What?"

"You don't want your kid to be homeless? Provide a roof over their head. Keep them fed and groomed, and educate them. If you do any of that correctly, you're already a better parent than yours were, and without too much effort. If you do it right, you can spend your twilight years with just your wife, while your kids make sure that you're looked after."

"Easier said than done."

"Of course it is. Who ever said that things worth doing were easy? Eight years of medical school, and here I am, keeping you alive. Easy? No. Worthwhile? You tell me."

Kai nodded as Fluttershy returned. She was carrying two plates with her, one of which she gave to Kai. She was also carrying his cloak. "Why were you given this cloak?"

Kai shrugged. "Because Rarity insisted."

"Why did she want to give it to you?"

"Because I... saved her from a burglary."

"And why did you do that?"

"I just didn't want to see her come to harm, that's all."

"Right. You see? You didn't even know her at that point, and you thought to protect her. So what would you do if somepony harmed your kid?"

Kai opened his mouth, then closed it again. He didn't want to say it, as it was excessively violent and potentially harmful to his relationship with her. "I would be quite put out," he enunciated.

She smiled and beckoned him to sit up. The plate had a sandwich and some asparagus spears. With a bit of coaxing, he began eating. The tavernkeep was very good with a frying pan.

Between bites, Fluttershy brushed her mane back over her shoulder. "I'm not about to pretend that I'm the greatest parent in the world. I've never done it before. I'm going into this just as blind as you. I know there's a lot to deal with, but you're not going to be doing it alone. I promise, I will be right beside you every step of the way. It won't just be your child. It'll be our child. We'll raise it together."

For the rest of the night, Kai's monitor didn't make so much as a peep. After the meal, he held Fluttershy in his arms, discussing what their future together might be until she fell asleep against him. He gently laid down after, softly stroking her mane as she snored against his bandages. He wasn't sure he would be any good at parenting, but if Fluttershy kept holding him by the hoof, he was willing to give it everything he had. Not for his sake, but for hers, and for the sake of their child.

Chapter the Twenty-Fourth: Moving Out

Kai pulled his cloak on over his bandages. All ten of the crystal spheres were together now, they needed only to go to the final destination. Luckily, Spike knew where that was. Twilight had come in earlier to brag about being right to have him look into the event for relevant information. Even more good news came alongside that, as Princess Luna was already there, and was preparing for their arrival. It was all planned out exceedingly well from this point on.

Against medical advice, Kai was leaving along with the guards. They were to protect Nik going to the Hill of the Ancient Senate, as well as sticking around after he arrived to make sure things went right. Twilight and Spike were also coming to make sure everything was organized properly and set up right. Rainbow and Applejack were going for her protection. Kai was going to make sure the world was safe for his offspring. He wanted them to live in a happy world, not be ripped to shreds as the world fell apart. He wanted them to at least survive to the age of five.

Fluttershy came in with a big smile on her face. "Glad to see you can stand," she beamed. "Does that mean you're ready to go?"

Kai picked up his wings, which had been packed up and rolled tightly. Grabbing his bardiche, which had now been fully repaired, he nodded. "I have my walking stick right here."

"You won't be needing that, you'll be riding in the back of a wagon. I arranged the whole thing. The guard that'll be taking you back to Ponyville is even an academician. You should have plenty to talk about."

Kai's smile quickly faded, but was replaced with a calm, rested face. "I'm not ready to go back to Ponyville yet. I need to be there to make sure everything goes according to plan. You should return without me; I'll be along shortly."

"I'm not going back to Ponyville, yet," she answered. "I'm responsible for Nik's well-being; I have to stay with him until he can manage on his own. Who's going to care for him if I don't?"

"I have it well in hoof," answered Kai. "And I can focus on his protection more if I know that you and our kid are safe at home. That thought alone will keep me fighting at peak performance."

"You're not going to be doing any fighting," scowled Fluttershy. "Especially not in your condition. You haven't recovered from your last fight!"

"This wasn't from a fight. I was tied to a cage wall. I couldn't protect myself if I wanted to."

"Regardless, you can't fight in your condition!" Her eyes welled up with tears as she fell to her haunches and lowered her head. "I can't stand the thought of losing you again," she sobbed. "Twice in the last week, I've been presented with your death. I can't face it a third time."

Kai dropped his head. Now he felt like crap. He sat down next to her, wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and lowered his voice to a whisper. "When I was locked in that cage, do you know what kept me from giving up? I thought about you smiling at me. With every crack of the whip, I imagined you hugging me, telling me that everything would be alright. I heard your voice in my head, and I trusted it. I don't want to lose you, either. If you go, so does our child."

She rested her head against his shoulder. "If you go, and I'm left alone to raise it, I can't guarantee that I won't grow to hate it. The child that cost me my love. I don't want to feel sad and angry every day for the rest of my life."

Gently, Kai began to rock them back and forth, humming a soft, somber tune. He kept this up for a few minutes to let her breathing calm down. "Some parents we're going to be. If we can't handle a decision like this, how in Equestria can we think it's a good idea to bring a foal into this equation?"

"Why don't you both come?" They turned around to see Celestia standing in the door. "Or you can both go back to Ponyville. In either scenario, the two of you need to stick together. Separating will just cause more strife."

Kai and Fluttershy looked at each other, then turned back to Celestia. "Which one would you suggest?" asked Kai.

"I can't make your decision for you, but it seems you both want to go, and you both want the other to go back to Ponyville. Whichever you decide, do so quickly, as we are about to leave. You have less than fifteen minutes to decide and find your places in line if you're coming. Any longer, and you will be going back to Ponyville."

As she turned and left the room, ultimatum delivered, Kai turned to Fluttershy. "We stay together, then?"

"By your side until the end," she nodded.

"I can't leave the world to be destroyed."

"I can't let Nik come to harm."

They took in a deep breath, and then released it. They were going to battle.

"Don't you dare let yourself be hurt."

"Look who's talking."

They shared a chuckle and stood up. The shuffling caused Kai's signet ring to be caught on a chain and it fell to the floor. He picked it up and dusted it off. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. "What say we make it official?" He presented the ring to her. "If we survive this, I want to be your husband. By your side until we die of old age together. It's one more reason to come back alive."

Fluttershy looked from the ring to Kai's face, then back to the ring. She'd had the dream of every little filly to have a solid gold ring with a fancy diamond. In secondary school, she'd heard the other young mares talking about how the diamond needed to be big and shiny, and the ring polished so that she could see her face in it. This was a tarnished steel ring, clean but not polished. There was no stone to speak of, merely a pattern on one face. And here Kai was, kneeling in front of her, presenting it as if it were gold and diamond.

She reached forward and closed his hoof. "I don't want the ring." She stepped forward, picked him up, and kissed him full on the mouth. "I want the stallion who carries it."

With a smile from each of them, they stepped outside, loaded up into their wagon, and began the penultimate leg of their journey. The next time they changed course, they would be going home.

Chapter the Twenty-Fifth: Calm Before the Storm

Nik had spent the entire day in silence. He was back to sitting in the back of a wagon, but with the added discomfort of being surrounded by stallions he'd never met, wearing heavy armor and carrying weapons. Their hooves never left their hilts, always ready to arm themselves at a minute's notice. It was not unlike his ride to the castle, except Fluttershy wasn't with him to ease his anxiety.

When it finally came time to stop for the night, it took several minutes for the guards to come and let him out so he could sit next to a fire and eat something. Thankfully, Twilight and Spike came to join him, so he had someone to talk to.

"We're so close to the end, now," said Twilight, starting her meal. "You nervous?"

"That's one way to put it," swallowed Nik. "There's an excitement to it, in that I'll be able to stop and appreciate what Equestria has to offer without needing to run for my life, but I'm also nervous that it might not work. What if it fails?"

"Don't worry, Twilight smiled. "We've done all of our research, and we know how to make sure it succeeds. Right Spike?"

"I don't know, Twilight," grumbled Spike. "While it seems likely to work just fine, there's always a chance something will fail with the ritual. Not to mention that it's been several hundred years since this was done. What if the records missed something?"

"Oh, come on, Spike, you did the research yourself."

"That's why I'm worrying. If you'd done the research, I wouldn't doubt a word of it. With me, on the other claw, I'm only eighty-five percent sure."

Twilight shook her head. "I'm sure you did your best, Spike. Nopony's going to fault you for missing something that the vast majority of ponies know nothing about."

Nopony would. Nik, however, was not a pony. His life was on the line. "Are you certain there's not some other source you can check with? Eighty-five sounds like a really low number to me."

"Eighty-five is far more likely than not to end with a positive result," Twilight scowled.

"Let's say there's a fifteen percent chance that the field ration you're eating has been contaminated," reasoned Nik. Twilight dropped her fork and began frantically examining her food.

When she found nothing wrong, she glared at Nik, then realized his point. "I suppose that's fair enough. But let me try it this way. I have one hundred percent faith that Spike did all of the research he could, and that he wrote down everything that was important. There's a reason I trusted him to take care of the research while I was away. He can absolutely be trusted to make sure we're doing things right."

Spike smiled slightly at the praise. He was somewhat used to the comment, but experience had taught him not to dig for more. It was nice just being appreciated. Still, in the back of his mind, he wanted to be absolutely certain that he didn't doom this human. That fifteen percent chance was weighing on him just as much as it was on Nik.

Spike's meal was different than Twilight's and different from all the other ponies'. He had about half of the normal ration, plus a few gemstones he'd brought along with him. Nik knew there were edible rocks, but he'd never seen any creature actually eat this much stone. It was quite a sight to see.

"So you eat stones?" asked Nik.

"Gemstones," corrected Spike. "It's something all dragons do."

"I wonder if they're different to the gemstones in my world? Do they have tastes to them?"

Spike fished around in his bag and produced a few. "Emeralds have a very savoury flavour to them, like a really strong herbal thing. Topaz can be kind of sour, sometimes. Amethysts are bitter, but some dragons still like them. Rubies are usually spicy, but if you age them just right, they become super sweet. But you don't need to age sapphires; they're already sweet."

After a short pause, Nik asked, "What about diamonds?"

"Ugh..." Spike grimaced and shook his head. "Really, really dry. You can't eat just diamond." In an effort to appease his taste buds, he chomped down on a topaz.

"Can ponies eat them?"

"Nah, it's just us dragons, mostly. I don't know of anything else that eats these."

Nik let out a sigh. If ponies couldn't eat them, he probably couldn't, either. That would have made for an interesting experiment, but he would rather keep his teeth. After all, he didn't have a set of dental records to replace them. That would certainly be difficult to do. Still, having a vague idea of how the flavours worked would be useful if ever he cooked for a dragon again.

"So what do humans eat?" asked Spike, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Hoomans," corrected a guard. "They're called hoomans."

"Humans is correct," confirmed Nik, not to take sides, but to make sure that the information was correct. "Mostly, we eat similar stuff to ponies, but with a few exceptions either way. I can't eat most flowers, but I am capable of eating meat."

"Like the stuff dogs eat?" Spike turned up his nose at the thought.

"I met a much larger dragon that had no trouble eating meat," answered Nik. "It's a possibility for you, too."

"I try to make sure he sticks to vegetarian stuff," interjected Twilight. "It can be rather demeaning to have him eat things that most ponies would only feed to dogs and cats. In my case, I try to treat him as one would treat a pony, so I just never really gave him any meat. I wouldn't even know how to safely prepare it for a dragon."

Nik looked down at his food. From prior interactions with other humans that had showed up, some information had been exchanged, and something dubbed "Human Food" had been provided to him. It was actually just a canned stew, but it was on par with the MREs that Twilight and Spike had been issued.

"Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to teach," he shrugged. "If this does work, and we all survive, I'll make you something fit for a dragon. I may have to take a few attempts, fidgeting with gemstones, but I'll try to come up with something. It's the least I can do."

"You'd do that for me?"

Nik nodded. "But only if this ritual of yours works. If the world is destroyed, I won't have a chance."

With a somber nod, Spike steeled himself. "I'll double-check every step to make sure things are going correctly. You can count on me."

Chapter the Twenty-Sixth: The Yurt

As the fire died down, Nik leaned back. Twilight and Spike had left to look over his binder again to make sure they were prepared. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were unlikely to come chat, but he was expecting Fluttershy to show up at some point.

As he was thinking about what to do next, he was prodded by the butt end of a guard's spear. "Hooman. Princess Celestia requires your attendance in her tent, immediately."

Nik nodded and followed the guard to a yurt right in the middle of the encampment. It was taller than all of the other tents. The bulk of the guards had lean-tos, but the officers had bell tents. Still, the yurt stood taller. It was also the only white one, as the lean-tos were a selection of green, blue and red, whereas the bell tents were all pastels of similar colours.

The inside had a fair amount of furniture, with a couple of cots, a few folding tables, and a rollable bamboo slat floor with cushions. There were even a few candle stands strewn about. On the left of the entrance, a small, three-legged camping stove sat, still lightly burning with signs of recent use. There was also a wooden bowl with the remnants of a meal sitting nearby.

"There you are," came a voice. Celestia stepped out from behind a partition, cleaning a very large knife. She nodded to the guard, who bowed and stepped out. "So, I've met a few humans over the course of the last month. In all honesty, I'd have preferred we had this conversation long ago, but there were... complications. I had told my guards to escort you to me, and along the way, that order was misinterpreted several times. You never should have ended up in the dungeon in the first place."

Nik simply nodded. He didn't really have much of an answer.

"As for why we didn't speak back in town, I was trying to set up the last of this. The end of Equestria doesn't leave much time for pleasantries." She paused for a moment to inspect her blade, then went right back to cleaning. "Did you find your meal satisfactory?"

"It was fine, for its purpose. I'm under the impression that all humans will be leaving Equestria soon, so if this is just a temporary measure, I can stand behind it. If it were a permanent staple, then I'd certainly make some changes."

Celestia inspected the blade again, nodding satisfactorily and stowing it away in its scabbard. She then picked up another knife and began to clean that. "What sort of changes would you suggest?"

"There's a lot of salt and not that many seasonings. It's also a very minimal assortment of ingredients, picked with the express purpose of being amenable to all tastes by not really having any taste at all, but then salted up significantly to keep it from spoiling. That's fine for now, but if the humans are here to stay, then I would insist on more diverse meals. Being a chef, I could suggest a few changes that would result in happier humans, but this is fine for now."

"You're a chef?" Celestia raised an eyebrow. "I might have to look into that if you end up sticking around. We shall have to see. Now, then, I've had this thing brought in from another human we captured with a foul mouth. Since Twilight assures me that you can be trusted, I want you to explain it to me." She reached into a box and put something small on a table. "Oh, and feel free to sit."

Nik moved over to the table and sat down. "It's a bullet. Nine millimetres in diameter, with a split tip and high-pressure powder."

"That was fast."

"It's written on the back of the casing. Except the split point, that's something you just see."

"And the purpose?"

Nik sighed. "From my limited understanding, split points are made to cause more bleeding and kill by blood loss. Overpressure rounds mean that they have more force behind them, and are either going further before hitting something, or going deeper into the something they hit. It's an instrument of killing."

"Would the end result look like this?" She produced a metal claw and an empty casing.

"That's right."

Celestia nodded and took back all of the pieces. "That's what I thought had happened. It is good we've locked him away, then. He's killed a fair few of my guards. Now we know for certain." She locked them back in their box and stowed it away. "Thank you for that."

"Will that be all, princess?"

Celestia inspected her knife, decided it satisfactory, and sheathed it. "I have one more topic I wanted to discuss with you. This is not so pleasant a topic, and may result in a fair amount of discomfort, but for posterity, I need you to be honest."

Nik braced himself for the worst. "I will not disappoint."

"Have you had, or even attempted to have, intercourse with the ponies escorting you across the country?"

Nik swallowed hard. He hadn't, nor had he attempted to. The thought had occurred to him, as there were no human women around, and Twilight and Fluttershy walked around nude, but he'd never acted on it. "No, why do you ask?" He immediately regretted asking, as that would only serve to prolong the conversation, and cursed himself for answering with just a simple 'no.' That's exactly what someone who had done so would say.

"I have to ask, because more than a few humans have realized that the average human is stronger than the average pony, and have forced negotiators into... unseemly acts. We kept a tight headcount going in and coming out of designated human zones, but we can only act when we suspect that something is wrong. You, on the other hoof, have not been under such scrutiny.

"On that note, you can relax. I know you're telling the truth because I already asked Twilight about it. She says you've not done anything untoward during this event. For that, I am thankful to you, as you seem to have been well-behaved. Congratulations on becoming my favourite human. Not that there's a long list, so it's not the biggest achievement, but well done, regardless."

"Thanks, I guess," muttered Nik, shuffling in his seat. "Is there anything else you wanted?"

"Just one last thing. I doubt it's particularly comfortable in the wagon, considering how tall you humans can be. If you don't mind a guard checking in on you every few minutes, you're welcome to sleep on that." She pointed to a large cot with some large bedding. "If you refuse, you will be sleeping in the wagon. The choice is yours, both are equally safe. I just want you to know that you have the option."

Chapter the Twenty-Seventh: Final Rest

Kai took in a deep breath. He was lying on a down-filled pad under the stars. He'd helped set up a few of the guards' tents for them, but they hadn't returned the favour. They had tossed an MRE in front of him, which he promptly tucked away to gather something fresh to eat instead. Fluttershy had taken the MRE, as she was quite tired of forage. It was a disappointment after having the tavernkeep cooking for them, but it was real food from a civilized society.

After dinner, She'd gone off to go make sure Nik was okay, and Kai had set up a bed for himself, not knowing if she'd want to sleep on the ground with him if given the opportunity if a cot. He'd been sleeping out in the weather this entire trip. A bit longer wasn't going to be too harmful. His bed consisted of a pad and his cloak, which was already better than how he'd spent most of the last month. At the very least, he couldn't feel the rocks beneath him.

Tonight was a clear night with a dim, waning crescent moon, perfect for stargazing. It was a harmless activity, and allowed him a moment to calm down before the final test of his combat skill. With any luck, this would be the last time he would have to fight. It had been a necessity in his life for multiple decades, not really a pleasure or a pain, just something that he had to do. Fluttershy removed that need, giving him the option of peace, and he rather liked the comfort of her embrace. On top of that, he didn't want his kid to be caught up in the violence. The thought chilled him to the bone.

"What are you thinking about?"

He looked up and saw Fluttershy returning to him. "Nothing, really. How was Nik?"

She lay down next to him. He moved over to allow her space on the pad. "He's fine. He's sleeping in Celestia's tent tonight, so he's safe enough. You didn't look like you were thinking about nothing. You looked angry."

Kai smirked. "I'm not angry. Not remotely. I was thinking of our kid, growing up in a scenario where there's no fighting, no running, and plenty of time to breathe. A scenario where the worst injury is a papercut. Maybe I'm being a little selfish, but I want a good life for them."

She rested her head on his arm and looked up at the sky. "I don't think that's selfish at all. I think it's natural to want the best for your kids. Part of being a good parent. I think it's unrealistic, though. Kids do dumb things, and their parents have to protect them from the consequences. I guarantee, they'll hurt themselves doing something that they shouldn't, and they will hopefully learn from that."

"I don't like to think of my kid being hurt, though." He shuddered again.

"When I was really, really young, my mom was making pancakes. I wanted a pancake, and they were coming out of a skillet on the stove. So I grabbed the skillet with my hoof. You can guess what I didn't do again."

Kai winced at the story. He'd cauterized some bad cuts with a hot piece of metal in the past, and had the scars to prove it. The memory of the pain was causing him discomfort.

"The good news is, if something does go wrong, you can do what my dad did. Immediately fly them to the hospital for treatment. Most doctors will make the recovery very easy for you and them."

"Promise?"

"Stick a cupcake in my eye."

Kai reeled back. "Why in Equestria would you ask me to do that?"

Fluttershy shrank down. "I'm sorry. That's a Ponyville saying. It comes from a friend of ours named Pinkie Pie; you've met. I'll have her explain it later, but my point is, I promise that the doctors and nurses at Ponyville General will do their best to help you."

Kai wrapped his hoof around Fluttershy's shoulder, and pulled his cloak over her to keep her warm. He gently placed a kiss on her forehead and held her tight.

After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Fluttershy leaned up and looked around. They were decently removed from the rest of the camp, and the firelights had started to go out. They were far enough away that, if they were quiet, nopony would notice a thing. She climbed up on top of him, leaned down, and whispered to him.

"You know, there's nopony else nearby. If we stay quiet, we can have some fun, if you want."

Kai placed his hooves on on the small of her back, just above her tail. "I'm glad you're not one of those mares that feels the need to announce to the world that you're having a good time. It would be tiring to climb up onto the rooftop all the time just to shout about how much I love you." He held her close, then rolled over so that he was on top. "Keep a lookout, and let me know if somepony's coming."

With a trail of kisses leading down her body, Kai slid down under his cloak, letting his legs and tail poke out the other end. While he didn't much care who knew that he had a sex life, he wanted to protect her privacy.

Her legs opened for him, revealing that she was mildly aroused already. She wasn't soaking wet, or even dripping, just a little damp. She'd showered this morning, and he'd had a sponge bath to protect his bandages. She still smelled of the waxflower soap she'd used. It was a lovely scent, that made her smell as sweet as her personality. As he gave his first lick, her hoof wrapped around his horn and did not let go.

She tasted better than he remembered. It had been a long time, well over a year since they had started their physical relationship. Now that they were essentially an item, they could do this as often as they wanted. This, and a great many other things. As Kai dug his tongue in between her lips, however, he was struck with a new realization. She knew a great deal more about sex than he did. He hadn't even known the position they took when they'd conceived. She'd taken the lead. It was disheartening to suddenly think himself incapable of pleasing her.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You just stopped all of a sudden. Is something the matter?"

He shook his head. "I'm probably just overthinking things. I can't help it; I'm stressed about this whole situation."

She pulled him up by his horn and licked the drippings off his lower lip. "If you're not feeling up to it, we can just talk for a bit. Seriously, what's bothering you? I want to help."

Kai took a deep breath. "I'm not good at sex."

"You're plenty good enough for me. And even if you do feel inadequate, I want you to know that you'll have plenty of time with me to practice. The rest of our lives, no matter how long or short they may be. I'm with you until the end." She gave a reassuring smile. "It doesn't matter what you do, I can feel the love you put into every bit.

They shared one more kiss before he disappeared back beneath the cloak.

Chapter the Twenty-Eighth: Ambush

Back on the road again, the group in their respective places in line made their way to the Hill of the Ancient Senate. Twilight, Spike, Applejack and Rainbow were up near the front going over the final details with Celestia. Nik was in the middle, where he was most protected. Kai and Fluttershy were bringing up the rear, perhaps the most well-rested of all of them.

This wasn't a small group, but nor was it a massive force. Just shy of two hundred guards marched along the road, making sure no harm came to their charges. One would need to be exceptionally stupid to lash out at them.

And yet, they'd been held up by two separate groups of highwaymen thus far. These oafs had been detained for further punishment at a later date. They were placed in a wagon similar to Nik's, with a few guards inside to make sure they behaved themselves.

They'd just come out of the trees into an open field when the real danger set in. From across the clearing, dozens of ponies in black cloaks and cloth masks charged, their blades seeming to glow in the midday light. Seeing them approach, Kai let out a whistle to alert everypony, grabbed his bardiche, and charged forward with the other spearponies to form an impromptu defensive wall.

A volley of arrows was loosed behind him, raining down on the cloaked ponies. Unfortunately, most of the arrows were ineffective, having jagged heads. That was a good match for flesh, but when used on cloth, it just snagged. It was only effective as a tool for bludgeoning at that point.

However, some of the archers on the Equestrian side had tipped their arrows with a puncturing arrowhead, and had pierced right through the cloth. Shortly before they hit the wall of spears, Kai took note that those who were pierced dissolved into dust mere seconds after being hit.

He didn't have time to consider the implications as he was already beset by the swordsponies. He wasn't in a formation like the other guards, and his strikes could be wider as a result. While the others were piercing cloth and flesh, he was cutting, primarily shallow wounds, but long ones. His style of defense varied as the assailants changed their direction of attack, sometimes resulting in him needing to use magic where his weapon couldn't reach. Often, that meant that they were too close, or flying over him.

It wasn't a large attack force, and the guards' quick response meant that the whole thing was over in less than ten minutes. Eight guards lay dead from the assault, but considering their armour and superior numbers, it was very likely that they would have been fine, even without Kai's help. Still, he'd claimed a defensive role, and that's what mattered to him. He quickly wiped down his blade and returned to Fluttershy, carrying an injured spearpony with him to provide her a place to sit while bandaging her leg.

"I was afraid of this," said Fluttershy, assisting the medic that was riding with them. "I don't like the idea of seeing ponies hurt like this."

"It's all going to be over soon," promised Kai, keeping an eye on their surroundings. If another group attacked them, he wanted to be the first to know. "We'll fix this, and we can go back to Ponyville to live out the rest of our lives in peace."

"Unless your tour is extended," added the spearmare. "I was supposed to be out a month ago, but my captain said I couldn't leave due to the crisis. Don't be surprised if we end up being signed up for an extra campaign."

Kai shook his head. "I'm not a guard. I'm just a civilian."

"You're already out of the service?"

"I was never in the service."

The guard scowled. "Then where did you attend weapons training?"

Kai reached into a pocket of his cloak and pulled out the manual he'd been given along with his bardiche. "I only know what I read, and from personal experience."

The guard shook her head. "I don't believe that. You fight too well to be self-taught."

Kai shrugged. "The best techniques are passed on by the survivors. I'm alive, so whatever techniques I've been using are effective. Perhaps not the most effective, but at least effective enough to..." He trailed off as something seemed to be wrong. "We were one hundred and ninety-seven strong an hour ago."

"What's your point?"

"We lost eight guards."

"I know. I was there."

"So why are our numbers now at two hundred and seventy-six?"

Fluttershy and the mare looked over the edge of the wagon and noticed that they were in a larger group than they had been when they started out that morning. They weren't going to sit there and count them all, but the group was definitely larger.

"I can answer that," called one of the two stallions pulling the wagon. "Look up there."

They looked to the direction indicated. They were making their way up a massive hill, with several ponies surrounding it. They were armed and armoured, with palisade walls, archery towers and two encampments with infrastructure to repair if necessary. This place was very much fortified and ready for battle. At the very top of the hill, Princess Luna stood, wearing the rarely-seen royal armour. She also carried with her the Crescent Moon battleaxe, a weapon that had not seen use in over a thousand years, but had been kept in good condition.

Before long, the train was wrapped twice around the base of the hill, with the front, back, and middle right next to each other. Kai, Fluttershy, Nik, Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash joined up and made their way up the hill. Princess Luna was there still, waiting with a second axe, the Break of Dawn. Likewise, it had also been preserved since its last use. There was also a suit of armour for Celestia.

"Dear sister, We did not know when to expect you. We did not think you would be here so soon, especially given your last letter."

Celestia cocked her head to the side. "My last letter said we were on our way. Yesterday morning."

"I have not received a message in nigh on a week. The last thing you said was that you couldn't figure out how to open the door to the hidden haven."

Celestia scowled. "It would seem my messages have not reached you of late. Somepony has been intercepting them."

Luna joined Celestia in her scowl. "That would certainly explain why we are constantly under attack. They know where we are. The good news is, we have been able to repel them effectively. The bad news is, they just keep coming. We barely slept last night due to the relentless attack."

Celestia placed her hoof on Luna's shoulder. "The good news is, we have escorted the human here, and we have the keystones. We just need to hold on a bit longer." She brought over her helmet and placed it atop her head, placing her tiara in its place. "For Equestria, and all of her ponies, let's finish this."

Chapter the Thirtieth: The Spy

Kai and Spike walked up to the top of the hill together. It was already after sunset, and they'd not gone over the plans with each other in detail. Twilight had brought up the question of the correct order, and since Kai knew it, he could clear up some details that were unknown earlier. That said, Kai's own knowledge was limited, and he needed some assistance from Spike to clear this up.

"Why didn't you tell me the order earlier?" asked Spike, rubbing his eyes. "Any time before nightfall would have been fine."

"Because I only just found out you were having a problem," came Kai's answer. "If I'd known sooner, I'd have been here sooner. I guess we probably should have collaborated earlier, but unless we knew we were both having problems that the other would be able to solve, not really a lot we can do. That's why communication is so important."

"You could have picked a better time, is all I was saying."

They came to the top of the hill and looked over the platform. Some plants had overgrown it at one point, but Luna had cleaned it off. The plants that produce runners had woven between the bricks and put down roots, but they could clearly see the pattern that had been laid out.

Ten basins had been organized around the main platform, about thirty centimetres wide and five deep. In the center of the platform, there was a collection of shaped stone bricks that organized into some sort of creature, with the body of a tiger, the wings and tail of a bird, and the head of a dragon. It was displayed in green bricks, while the surrounding bricks were all purple in colouration.

"This is the answer," said Kai, pointing to the creature. "We just need to align the stones with this."

Spike looked down at the creature. "What even is this thing?"

"It's a long story," answered Kai. "What matters is, he's going to guide us." He pulled out the stones and started laying them out.

"The right wing flapped first, and four feathers fell. The first created the stars in a massive burst of flame. The second put out some of the flames with a gust of wind. The third gathered the kicked up dust into big rocks. The fourth and final made sure everything continued to flow smoothly and effectively.

"Next, he flapped his left wing, and four more feathers fell out. The first brought flesh into creation. The second gave them the ability to live and die. Then came thought to make them question the world around them. Finally, they were given the will to change what they saw.

"The final action of creation was the flick of his tail, from which only two feathers fell. The first was pure white and let loose the ideas of the group. The second was pitch black and left the world with a sense of the importance of self."

With the story explained, the stones were now in place. They seemed to glow in their basins, signifying that they had found their proper homes. Kai turned to Spike and nodded. "That's how they line up."

"How did you know that?" asked Spike, inspecting the glowing orbs. "I looked up and down the libraries of both Ponyville and Canterlot, and I found nothing like that. Where did you find that information?"

Kai chuckled somberly. "I had my own library, not long ago. Anyway, have you seen what you needed to?"

Spike quickly pulled out a pencil and wrote down in his notes the order. Starting from the north and going clockwise, they were orange, yellow, green, medium blue, white, black, dark blue, light blue, magenta and grey. "Now, we know the order, and the ritual is pretty straightforward. Nik stands at the center, some unicorn casts the spells on him, and then he disappears for a bit. Then we just wait for him to come back. Right?"

Kai nodded. "That's correct." He took a deep breath. "Now then, let's go to bed. Early start tomorrow, as we have to be up before dawn."

As they made their way back down the hill, a guard stopped them. "Keitra, there is something we need to discuss. This way, please."

Kai nodded for Spike to return to his tent while he followed the guard. They made their way to a hastily-assembled tent and closed the flap. As soon as they were clear, the guard took off his helmet. "It's me," affirmed Open Eyes, shaking his mane. "I'm surprisingly well-equipped for sneaking around your campsite."

Kai was shocked. "I'm surprised to see you here," he said, sitting down. "I thought for sure you'd still be in the hidden haven, figuring out your place in life."

"Rule one, do what makes you happy, others' opinions be damned. I used to think that society couldn't survive with that logic, but then there are ponies like me, who want to help. It's not about taking your job away and doing it for you because I'm able to do so and more disposable. I'm here because it's what I want to do."

"So you're here to fight?"

"I'm in a more stable fighting condition than you are, what with being uninjured; but also, I come with news from the other side. They know you're here, they know you have everything you need, and they know that the ritual can only be performed at dawn and dusk. I've come to fight alongside you, but I've also been made aware of the time of attack. When the moon rises to the peak of the sky, they will strike."

"How do you know this?"

Open discarded the rest of his armour and put on a black cloak with a red claw on the front. "Yours is not the only camp I've been sneaking around. And hey, I recently found out how to use betrayal to save lives. Moral grey areas rule."

With a nod, Kai pushed back the hood. "You'd best switch back your disguise. You don't want to cause a mix-up. If I can't tell it's you, I won't stay my blade, nor will any of the others."

As Open changed into the outfit he'd plundered off a dead guard, Kai left to go find Luna and Celestia. It was time to be creative with the use of stellar magic.

Chapter the Thirty-First: When Time Stops

As soon as Luna heard the news of the incoming attack, she slowed the moon's speed across the sky and prepared herself to drop it back to the horizon if need be. Likewise, she woke up Celestia to to bring back the sun and enforce a sunset. They had been against this idea so as to prevent panic, but with things being the way they were now, a bit of a panic was a small concern. The world could end tonight. A few ponies running around not knowing what time it was would be small change in comparison.

Twilight was also pulled from her slumber, as they needed a unicorn that was not slated for combat duty. They let Spike sleep, as he'd gone over the notes multiple times with Twilight, and even if he hadn't, he'd written it all down in his binder. He'd made a good collection of notes, with detailed descriptions of important parts.

Last to be pulled from sleep was Nik. He was to be the focal point of this operation, and he needed to be in the dead center of the event. With him came the waking of all of the soldiers, rushing to their battle stations to fend off the incoming attack. They'd been granted precious little sleep, so a bit of disorganized bumbling was to be expected, but as long as no harm came of it, it would all be forgiven.

The first strike came as Nik and Twilight were making their way up the hill. They alone would be going to the top, everypony else was to guard their perimeter. They heard a scream as a pony in a black cloak, likely not a pegasus, was launched into the air, then heard the cry stop as they were batted aside by Bone's shield, knocking them away from the hill. Seconds later, the sounds of clashing steel radiated around them as the front line defenses came down at full swing.

"Go, go!!" shouted Twilight, urging Nikolas onward. "We have to go all the way to the top!"

Nik rushed to the platform and kneeled down as directed. Twilight scattered the stones as Spike had indicated as Luna and Celestia wrenched the sun and moon back into the position they should have had for the ritual, with the sun in the west and the moon in the east.

As Twilight began casting her spells, clouds began to swirl around them. They started out white, then turned silver, and finally a dull grey. Tiny pockets of green lightning arced through the clouds, whipping out in every direction. They were dim at first, then gradually became brighter and more constant. Soon, the whole battlefield was wrapped in an eerie green glow. To make things more confusing, a purple haze began to discolour everything between flashes.

Twilight was almost done with her long chain of spells when the green lightning stopped hiding in the clouds, and began raining down around them. To her credit, though, Twilight kept her focus. She took moments between spells to breathe, knowing that she had to keep going. If she was struck by lightning, that would be her end, but she could no more redirect lightning than change the location of Canterlot.

Finally, she managed to push out the last spell in the chain. As the burst of energy leaped from her horn into the platform, a ridiculously loud, exceptionally wide bolt of green lightning struck where Nik was kneeling at the center of the platform, blasting her backward, sending her down the hill. She came to a rest, half conscious, propped against the leg of Princess Luna's tent.

The battle raged on, Bone cackling with glee with every swing of his weapons. He was leaping from place to place, generally being able to defend a point all on his own, but instead taking the time to take the pressure off of whichever place nearby was in the process of being overwhelmed. His love of battle and combat were well apparent.

The army he had brought with them were not doing nearly as well. Having no real mind of their own, their brains essentially just a reacting series of neurons zapping muscles without any real directive coordination, they were handy at first. But then some cultist found out that you could sever the head, and the bodies would just stand there, or perhaps just march. The news spread fast, and the outermost defenses fell, with the exception of Bone.

Kai had pulled out his wings, tying his chest together with rope in the hopes that it would keep the weight of his wings from pulling apart the tears in the skin of his back. The bandages had done their job, but he needed to fly for this. Armed with his glaive and ability to land and take to the sky again with ease, he, too, would leap from squad to squad, filling in at whatever roles he could until the point was stable, then moving to the next, sometimes taking out cultists on his way.

Rainbow and Applejack, not really being soldiers, relegated themselves to carrying the injured soldiers to the infirmary. It wasn't the most glamourous job, but it was a necessity. The sooner they were patched up, the better. If they could go back to the front right away, great. If not, they'd be more likely to survive the trip back home. Unfortunately, not all of them would make it.

That's where Fluttershy came in. She may not have been trained in pony medicine, but she was well-equipped to patch wounds. She was used to smaller injuries, but she knew how to clean cuts, patch punctures, fix fevers, battle bruises and heal harm in general. She was quick with a bandage, and even if she was out of her league with helping the injured, she could help the real doctors perform better. If there were more than three surgeons performing at one table, they needed a nurse to monitor the levels and call out to them, and she could do that. She could also sponge the sweat from their foreheads, and prevent it from dripping into the open wounds. Even without a medical degree, she was willing and able to save these ponies' lives.

Her eyes went wide as the tent flaps flew open and Rainbow dash and Applejack carried in the body of Celestia. She had some very nasty burns running from her neck down to her right front hoof, as well as out to her wing. She was holding onto consciousness, but her words were illegible. She'd been struck by lightning, not from the clouds, but from the cultists. Her armour had repelled part of it, but there were gaps around the joints to allow for smoother movement. She'd been struck hard in the shoulder, and it had knocked her out of the sky.

Chapter the Thirty-Second: Trial Above the Clouds

Nik knew he had been struck by lightning. He knew he'd been on the battlefield. And now he found himself surrounded by clouds. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Whether by nature or by his foe, he was now dead, and he needed a moment to breathe before seeking his judgement.

The clouds swirled as a golden light approached. It seemed to reflect a series of numbers, geometric equations, and mathematical formulas. It was all flashing by so fast that he couldn't make heads or tails of them. Even if he could read them, he couldn't decipher them. He saw a Greek letter in one of them, and once it progressed that far, he was lost.

"You have made a great effort to come here," said the light, using Nik's voice. "Are you ready to proceed?"

Nik shook his head "I don't know. I'm not sure what's happening."

"Then let me answer for you. You are not ready. You have no idea what you're doing, or even why you're doing it. You're only here because the crazy blue unicorn with the metal wings told you it was what you needed to do, and while you don't trust him, the little yellow pegasus that's responsible for taking care of you trusts him implicitly. She wouldn't harm you, right? So you followed her all the way out here, while she was chasing that crazy unicorn. Does that sound about right?"

Nik slowly nodded. "So you've been watching us this whole time?"

"The whole time. I've been with you every step of the way."

"Then why didn't you help us!?"

"Because shut up. I don't need to help you, it's not my job to help you. You can help yourself, or you can rot away. I don't give a shit, either way."

"So you've been helping our enemies!?"

"Again, why would I give a damn about what they do? I do not take sides, I do not play favourites, and I do not give a fuck what anyone thinks."

"Then why are you here?"

The light chuckled. "Because you went through all the trouble to call me. Now, it's time you quit bitching about how unfair your life is and start thinking about why you woke me from my nap. As much as you hate me right now, you'll be even worse off if I become angry."

Nik squatted down and rubbed his face. "What do you mean, I called you here?"

"You gathered those little stones and had somepony cast the spells. Big fight going on down there, too, so it must have been a pretty big deal. You couldn't even wait for the battle to stop."

"I didn't start that fight."

"But you've had every opportunity to stop it. Think of all of the suffering that could have been avoided if you'd just died like a good little boy. There's the easy answer."

"I don't want to die!"

"And that's why you kept fighting, and extending the suffering of those around you. And here we are."

Several other orbs of radiant light showed up through swirls in the clouds, all of them matching the colours and position of the orbs in the platform, except in a square instead of a circle. To Nik's right, they were orange, yellow, green and blue. To his left, grey, purple, light blue and dark blue. Behind him, black and white. And in front of him was the one filled with numbers and such. It was offset to the side, leading him to believe there was one more that was about to show up, but nothing appeared.

"Right, let's have this meeting come to order," called number. "Let's hear why we're all gathered here."

The area fell silent. Even though nothing nearby had eyes, Nik could feel them on him.

"Well, speak up, Nik," said number. "What do you want?"

He hadn't been made aware of the process for doing this, and was caught off-guard. "I want the world to stop ending, in a way that doesn't involve me dying."

"That sounds reasonable," said black in a deep, somewhat cold voice.

"You wouldn't know reasonable if it bit you in the balls," sneered white, a high, shrill voice. "What's one life in exchange for billions? And that's not counting those who have already died for his sake. Were their deaths reasonable?"

"All will die eventually," added purple, smooth and even.

"What matters is that they enact their will," confirmed dark blue, slow and raspy.

"Still, I would like to see an end to the killing," argued medium blue, her voice backed by echoing chimes. "Only then can those harmed begin to heal."

"Hear, hear," chirped yellow.

"You and your bleeding heart," growled orange. "For fucks sake, let them all die."

"I second that," chirped yellow again, contradicting themself.

"I don't give a damn whether we kill the human or not, so long as we stop this horrid blight on my beautiful land," boomed green slowly, their voice super deep and strong.

"We hafffe to decccide sssomething," hissed grey, dry and scratchy. "Ifff none offf you lot are going to ssstart the tally, then I will: I sssay we grant the human hisss requessst. Ssstop the dessstruction offf the world, erassse all need to hunt him, and dump hisss body in the plane offf hisss choiccce."

"If you are to do that," replied green, "Then I will add the following caveat. We need to repair the two worlds that have clashed, and separate them permanently."

"Yeah!" clapped orange. "Burn the fucking bridges! Let it all crumble away into ash!"

"Not so fast!" interjected dark blue. "Those bridges must remain. They grant access to a new opportunity, the ability to establish a connection of knowledge. We cannot deny the two realities their ability to communicate!"

"I will not let those connections go," added light blue. Nik could swear he'd heard that voice before, but did not recall where. "They need to remain, as does the memory of this ordeal. Otherwise, repeats of this blunder will cause their destruction. Especially when the inevitable life form slips through your claws."

"You mean through your fins," corrected purple. "It is your domain to wipe memories. I would just as soon see the boy die. It's no skin off my nose to take one more soul."

"You have neither skin, nor a nose!" shouted white. "Nor does your opinion matter. If we kill him right here and now, we fix all of the problems in one fell swoop. All in favour?"

"You would opt for the easy solution," scoffed black. "That's all you are, is an easy solution. Just because it suits your needs does not mean jack shit. I say we let him live and fix this whole mess. That's seven of eleven wanting him to stay, and you lose."

"You nefffer were good at counting," hissed grey. "Myssselfff, Krogghm, Chrysssi, Fffolkosss and yourssselfff. That'sss fffifffe."

"Keep your tongue between your teeth, thithter dearetht," mocked black. "I thimply cannot underthtand a word coming out of your mouth. And that makes eight to nothing, case closed. Lunch, anyone?"

Chapter the Thirty-Third: Verdict

The orbs had been arguing back and forth for what felt like hours, sometimes switching their votes depending on the conditions attached to the agreement. Yellow seemed to switch back and forth almost constantly, whereas green had opted to never change his mind. Likewise, Nik had been observing them silently, and had noticed that the different colours of orbs matched the personalities of ponies that had provided them, as far as he knew. He certainly hadn't met every one, but he had met six of the keepers. That was more than half, and that was a hefty enough sample size to be confident about his assumption.

The one filled with numbers was remaining silent, and the numbers were flashing by a bit slower. He could actually read some of them now, but he still didn't know what the Greek letters represented.

"We have to consider the fallout that would arise from such a decision," called out dark blue. "Think of the knowledge that would be lost if we set time back to the point before these events happened."

"I thought you would be happy with that," spat orange. "Considering that you lost all of that knowledge to the flames during this time. I bet that felt real nice."

"Fuck you!"

It was all just petty bickering at this point. They'd strayed away from the reason they were gathered here to take jabs at each other and squabble amongst themselves. Nik had been bored all along this journey, but even now, he was wishing for this to be over. It was just a whole lot of sitting around doing nothing. Sure, this was supposed to stop that, but it just felt like more of the same.

"I cannot see why you would change your mind so completely," winced light blue. "You were the first to suggest we do this."

"How can you sssee anything?" hissed grey. "You nefffer bother to open your eyesss."

"At least he has consistency," snapped medium blue. "When was the last time you looked inside yourself?"

"When my insssidesss became my outsssidesss. But you can't ssstomache sssuch a sssight."

Just as Nik was about ready to stand up and walk away, the clouds all retreated in an instant, and every voice fell silent. Next to the number light, a lack of light was forming, in what Nik would consider to be the final space. It had no voice, but Nik could hear its words.

"He belongs to me."

Nik could feel himself being drawn in, and fought against it as best he could. There was nothing to grab ahold of, and there wasn't a lot of space to begin with, but he pushed himself away as best he could.

"Time to decide," called number. "All in favour of Nikolas being consumed?" The white, orange, purple and yellow lights cast their vote. "All opposed?" The green, all three blues, the black and the yellow cast their vote. "All abstaining?" Grey and yellow cast their vote. "The motion carries."

Nik fell back as the negative force being applied to him suddenly stopped. He fell to what might have been the ground if they weren't suspended in the air.

"Now that that's out of the way, who wants the world to be brought back to the way it was?"

"Only if we keep the doors open," called dark blue. "I will not relent on this."

"They must be closed," argued green. "You will not taint my world further."

"All in favour of doors open?" Dark and light blue stepped forward. "In favour of closed?" Green and orange stepped forward. Grey and purple joined the open side, and white and light blue voted closed. Since yellow was useless in a vote, the tiebreaker came down to black. He thought for a moment, and then in a single word, sealed the decision.

"Closed."

Number let out a chuckle. "As this was close, the doors will be closed, but the memory will remain. Is that all? Can I return to my nap now?"

"What do we do with this human?" asked black. "We can send him back to his home, or we can put him somewhere in Equestria. I don't care which, I just need a destination."

Nik hadn't considered his position on going back home. He'd not known if this was even an option. "What happens if I stay?"

"Nothing happens if you stay," said number. "Nothing happens if you go. It doesn't matter. Why would it? In Equestria, you'd just be some guy. In Kansas, you'd just be some guy. Nothing matters."

"You would be a dark reminder in Equestria!" snapped white. "Go home, where you belong!"

"Home is where you feel at ease," added medium blue. "Where are you more comfortable?"

"That's not home," interjected black. "Home is wherever you want it to be."

"Home is a concept," hummed dark blue, "not a place."

"Pick the one that has cookies!" shouted yellow.

The rest of them talked for several minutes, but Nik had stopped listening. He needed to think for a bit. He needed a moment to consider where he belonged. In the end, he knew where he wanted to be, even though he knew it would be an ordeal. It wasn't because of the familiarity of the place, nor was it his friends, nor was there really any memory that stuck out to him. In the end, it was the act that had started his entire journey. It was the reason he was here in the first place. It had to be chosen, not for his comfort, but for his survival.

"I've made my decision," he called out. "Before you go deciding for me, at least hear me out."

The lights were still talking, drowning out his statement. He stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, drawing most of their attention.

"And I said, 'Oatmeal? Are you cra--' Oh." Yellow was to last to quiet.

"I've thought about where I want to go, and I don't think that matters. I've decided that I should go where I need to. It's not about desire, it's about my survival."

"So what is your choice?" asked Number. "We're all waiting."

Chapter the Thirty-Fourth: Aftermath

Applejack took a deep breath of morning air. She'd been up all night, as well as the night prior, as the sun and moon had swirled and skittered about the sky, zigging this way and zagging back. She didn't know what happened during the battle. She'd been right on the line carrying a wounded Equestrian, they were about to be struck down by a cloaked assassin, then they'd just... vanished. The whole army that had worked their way past the palisades and set fire to the tents had just disappeared in an instant. She didn't pretend to know how or why, but she certainly wasn't about to complain about it. The fight was over quicker than it had begun. That was enough for her.

Now was the time for cleaning up the mess that had been left in the wake of this event. Bodies littered the fields below, And she'd spent the last few hours rolling them all onto their backs. Those with a pulse had been rushed to medical, those without had been left where they lay, their eyes closed and their front hooves draped across their chests. They would be given a memorial service befitting their bravery and loyalty.

It had been over an hour since she'd found anypony alive down here. That was disappointing for two reasons. First, it meant that there was nothing she could do to help them. Badly injured, there was still a chance, but dead? There was no recovery. Second, and more of a personal gripe, she knew that Twilight and Celestia were in the medical tent recovering from their injuries. As much as she wanted to go up there and check on them, that would leave the last fifty bodies unchecked. Even if the evidence suggested that there were no more injured ponies, she'd kick her own arse for not being completely sure. After all, what if there was just one living pony among them, and her break from checking caused their death? It was only a little longer, she could manage.

"South side's clear," called Rainbow, landing next to her. "Mostly just lacerations and such. A few broken bones, but all that remains over there are just bodies." She shivered. "I've touched too many cold ones."

"Just a couple dozen more over here," confirmed AJ. "If we split 'em, we can be done real soon, and then we'll see about findin' you a place to have a hot bath."

"I'm not some flimsy, frail weakling," sniped Rainbow. "I just think it's creepy to touch so many dead bodies."

"Ah don't care for it, either, but Ah still have to do it." AJ sighed. "Look, if yer not feelin' up to the task, at least go check on Twilight 'n the princess. Ah'll feel better knowin' there's somepony with 'em."

"I ain't backin' out of this," snapped Rainbow. "I'm going to check twice as many as you!"

As she bolted off to the other side, Applejack tried to hide her smirk. The simple act of inferring that Rainbow couldn't go any further was enough to split the remaining work in half. It was sneaky and underhanded on Applejack's part, which is why she didn't pull it out more often, but many hooves made for light work, and this was work that needed lightening. Even now, she could see that Rainbow's mind had been taken off the fact that she was touching more dead bodies.

True to her word, Rainbow had checked twenty by the time Applejack had checked ten. She was about to check her twelfth, but suddenly a hoof shot out of a pile of rubble and grabbed tightly to her heel. She let out a yelp and kicked it away, but then remembered why she was out here in the first place. If it could grab her, it was alive.

"Rainbow, come over here, quick!"

"You're not tricking me into losing this race, AJ!"

"Forget the race, I found a live one!"

With relative ease by way of working together, they tossed aside a few bodies atop a collapsed forward post. Two pegasi were trapped down there, unable to lift the roof with their injuries, as well as a certain unicorn pinned to the ground with a steel blade in his thigh. It was he that had grabbed Applejack's leg.

"I'll hold up the roof, you pull them out, quick," shouted Rainbow, taking a central position and holding everything up.

"Ev'rything's going to be fine," assured Applejack, pulling the blade partially out of Kai's leg as she lifted him off the ground. "Try to hold on a mite longer, and we'll take ya ta Fluttershy." She moved him a fair distance from the rubble, then set him down to move the others. One had partially dragged himself out, so she grabbed the one who didn't seem to be all there, probably concussed when the roof fell, and made sure he was in a safe position. By the time she came back for the third, he was almost clear. She helped him the rest of the way and held up the roof for Rainbow to come out.

They started with the concussed soldier. They loaded him up on a longboard stretcher and carried him to the infirmary. Once he'd been moved into a bed, they rushed back and picked up the other, and finally Kai. He hadn't said a word to them, but as soon as he saw Fluttershy, before his eyes could close, he managed to push out a single word.

"Sorry."

Before she could forgive him, or even ask why he needed forgiving, he went limp on the medical cot. Fluttershy did not leave his side until a doctor could have a look at him and confirm that he would be okay. After pulling the blade from his leg, they stitched him up good and gave him a few cold compresses to stop the bruising. Finally, they gave him some blood to make sure he didn't bleed out from his injuries. He was put in intensive care because the blade had nicked an artery, and if he started losing blood fast, they wanted to be right on top of it.

Before going back out to finish up, Applejack stopped by Twilight and Celestia's beds to check on them. Twilight was only lightly injured and sleeping comfortably. Celestia, on the other hoof, had pulled herself out of the hospital bed, and had left the infirmary. The doctors weren't sure where she'd gone, but she had been cleared. Applejack breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was okay.

Chapter the Thirty-Fifth: Return

Nik rubbed his head. He wasn't sure what had happened after he left the orbs behind, he'd just woken up back on the brick platform. Judging by the ache in his head, he must have fallen. He looked to the basins that had held the keys. They were gone, empty and resurfaced. There had been bits of mold growing in them before, but with everything ripped out of them, the basins had markings that exactly resembled the stones, in exactly the order he'd put them in. If he'd known that ahead of time, they might have been done a day earlier, but hindsight was only useful after the fact.

He stood up and wobbled a bit, feeling very unsteady on his legs. He took a single step and very nearly fell over. He took another and actually did fall over. He thought about just crawling on his hands and knees, but considered how demeaning that was with all of these ponies about that had seen him walking on his own two legs before.

He looked around and saw that they were quite busy, many of them dealing with injuries, others dealing with dead bodies, and some doing work to make sure that those taking care of the bodies would be rewarded for their efforts with a hot meal. He would probably take that route, but first, he needed to recuperate. He would be no help in the mess area if he was a mess himself.

Luna had left the camp as soon as Celestia was up and about. She had full confidence that her sister could handle things. Even if she couldn't, she had faith that Twilight would keep things orderly. But she had something that needed to be checked up on.

A week before Celestia had arrived, Luna had already scouted out the nearby area, and had found two small towns within twenty-five kilometres. One had been just fine, but the other had been cut in half with a rift. She hadn't been there before the land was warped, but if there was a place nearby that could confirm whether or not the world was back to normal, this would be it.

She landed on the west end of town and braced herself. While she was hopeful that the place had returned to normal, she had to be prepared in case something had gone wrong with the ritual. With a deep breath, she puffed out her chest, held her head aloft, and marched herself down the street.

Her cautious optimism turned into genuine relief as she found herself at the other end of the road. A long, jagged scar ran through the buildings and roads, denoting the line where the town had separated, but with some work, it could be repaired. What was best about this situation, however, was that the ponies of the town were reunited with their loved ones. While it was rude to not bow when a princess came to visit, she would give them all a pardon for not greeting her. There were more important matters to which needed tending.

She lowered her head and chuckled. While she didn't much care for the ordeal she'd been put through, they'd managed to come out the other side. Equestria was once more at peace. As she turned and took off back toward the camp, somepony finally noticed her presence and thanked her as she retreated. She'd have loved to stay for the imminent celebration, but her work was not quite finished.

After watching the ponies below for a bit, Nik tried to stand up again. As he found his balance, he began to make his way down the hill. He was still a little wobbly, which he couldn't quite figure out. He'd rested until his head was clear, why was he still having trouble walking?

He changed his course. If he had injured his head coming back to Equestria, that would explain the headache and his inability to walk. What harm would it do to ask a physician at the infirmary?

As the tent flap was pushed aside, he found some familiar faces. Twilight was awake, though she seemed groggy. Fluttershy had just finished checking on everypony in intensive care, and, as everypony was stable, she'd sat down next to a sleeping Kai. Celestia was nowhere to be seen, nor were Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but Spike was sitting next to Twilight, writing something down on a scroll.

"It's been quite a night," said Nik, sitting down next to Twilight. "Are you okay after that?"

"I'll manage," nodded Twilight. "Did you make sure to tell them to report back?"

"I was just coming to that," answered Spike. "Do you want them to send the reports back to you directly, or have them filter through Canterlot first, to be compiled?"

"Probably best if we send it to Canterlot first. That way we only need to fill out one report."

Deciding that she sounded busy, Nik stood up again and left her to her business. Fluttershy was supposed to be his caretaker, anyway. He wobbled over to her, being stopped halfway along his course.

"Sir, is everything alright?" asked the doctor, holding out his legs to make sure Nik didn't fall. "Have you been treated yet?"

"No, I haven't. It's just a lack of balance, and my head feels funny."

"Probably poor circulation," said the doctor. "Why don't I take you to a place where you can sit, and I'll take some vitals? We have to know why you're up like this."

Nik nodded, and almost fell backward. Luckily, another doctor was there to push him back upright. Slowly, they made their way to an open bed, where Nik could sit again. Immediately, he was strapped with a blood pressure cuff, and a thermometer was placed under his tongue.

"Are you one of the soldiers that came with Princess Celestia?"

"No. Well, kind of, yes, but really, no."

The doctor grabbed him by the jaw and held him steady while inspecting his head for any sign of trauma. "Did you hit your head on something?" he asked.

"I think so, but I don't remember it happening."

"I see," nodded the doctor. He picked up a chart. "Can you read the first line at the top of this page?"

Nik took the chart and looked at the first line. "Mobile Army Surgical Hospital two thousand, six hundred and ninety seven."

"Very good. Do you know where you are?"

"An infirmary tent on a hill in Equestria."

The doctor nodded. "Okay. I'm going to have you moved to an actual hospital as soon as possible, because I'm pretty sure you have a concussion. For now, just stay in bed. We'll also schedule you for an x-ray to make sure there aren't any skull fractures."

Nik nodded and laid back as the pressure cuff came off his arm and the thermometer came out of his mouth.

"Temp's fine, but your BP is a little low. I'm going to attach a pulse oximeter, so we can monitor you without needing to be right on top of you. If you need anything, call somepony over, don't try to stand on your own until we know for sure, okay?"

Nik nodded and presented his left wrist. He would have spread his fingers, but he didn't have any. It was just a hoof. Suddenly, he was aware of why it was hard to walk on his own two feet. He didn't have feet anymore. It was no wonder Twilight hadn't really reacted to him; she didn't recognize him. As soon as the pulse oximeter was on, it started beeping. His blood pressure had increased dramatically.

"Calm down," urged the doctor. "Breathe deeply. In," he inhaled as an example, "then out. In, then out." He repeated this a few more times as Nik followed him, managing to calm himself a bit. "That's it, good. Now, you need to rest. I'll be back to check on you soon, okay big guy?"

Nik took another deep breath and nodded slowly. "Okay."

Chapter the Thirty-Sixth: A Vision of Beauty

It was right around the evening when Kai woke up. With some difficulty, he sat up and looked around. He was on a cot in the infirmary, with Fluttershy asleep on his right thigh. His left leg was bandaged, and he remembered back to the fight. The blade had almost gone into his gut. He'd managed to push it down, angled to the ground, but then the wall had collapsed, driving it forward. It was only then, after being pinned together, that he managed to strike the fatal blow against his foe.

He didn't want to move, for fear of waking Fluttershy up. She'd likely been among the ponies that had treated him, as well as helping out everypony else in here. She deserved a rest after that. His left front leg had a tube and two wires attached to it, with some medical tape holding the tube, as well as the needle at the end, firmly in place.

Three or four doctors were still making their rounds, the rest had gone for some well-deserved sleep. Things had calmed down and quieted significantly. With a bit of magic, he shone a light from his horn, waving a doctor over.

"Was there something you needed, sir?" whispered the surgeon, coming over so as not to wake anypony else.

"Information," confirmed Kai, equally as quiet. "How long was I out?"

"Just for the afternoon. How do you feel?"

"Like shit. I'd have thought I would sleep longer, after being up and very active for more than thirty-six hours. I just woke up from sleep, and I'm still exhausted."

"If I had to guess, I'd say that's a combination of blood loss, and the fact that I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten today."

"Not since sunset. Though I guess that was a day ago, now."

"You should eat something. There's probably still some stew left, if you feel up to it."

"I don't think I can leave." Kai raised his leg with the IV tube and pulse oximeter. He then gestured to Fluttershy. "How long has she been out?"

"A few hours, I think. We offered her a cot of her own to sleep on, but she wanted to be here when you woke up. I'm guessing she's your marefriend?"

Kai nodded, then shook his head. "No, not anymore. Really only for a bit. I proposed earlier this week, and promised that after this, we'd go back to her home and be wed. No more fighting for our lives, no more hoping that we'll find something to eat that night, just a simple village life." He gently stroked her mane, keeping his touch light so as not to wake her. "Any news on the human?"

"The hooman. And no, I'm not in the loop regarding that thing. But let me see if I can bring you some stew."

As the doctor walked out of the tent, Kai wondered what had happened. He'd seen the battlefield cleared, and he didn't hear any fighting going on outside. Perhaps the conflict was over, or perhaps this was just a lull in the action. He thought, if anything, he would hear Bone trouncing around out there, but no. It was very quiet.

The doctor came back very quickly, and without any soup. He didn't even bother coming over to Kai. He just sat down in his chair. For a moment, Kai wondered what this meant, but that changed when Princess Luna came through with a large bowl in front of her. She walked over to Kai, pulled up a tray table for him to eat off of, and placed the soup in front of him. "Akaitora, right? We met yesterday."

Kai gave as deep a bow as he could muster. "Highness."

"You may skip the formalities, I'm just here to talk. Doctor Tibs said you had questions about the human."

Kai nodded. "I was wondering where he might be. I was also hoping for a status update on the battle, if you can tell me."

"The fight's over," answered Luna. "The ponies in the cloaks all disappeared suddenly. We're not sure why. We do have reason to believe that they aren't coming back, however. We believe that they were trying to kill the human for two reasons, and one of those reasons, the rips in reality, is now gone."

"All of them?"

"Eight are confirmed at this time. Before you ask, yes, the one that swallowed Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville is back to normal. My sister has made sure to send news of that when she dropped off Applejack."

"And what about Nik?"

Luna took a deep breath, then let it out. "We're not sure exactly where he is, or what his condition is. At this time, he is listed as missing. Now, it's time I asked some questions of you. You seem to have been quite knowledgeable regarding this. Spike confirmed that you were the one to clear up the matter of in which order the stones were to be used, Twilight tells me that you started this whole adventure, and even Celestia tells me you were able to not only find, but enter the hidden haven. You are no ordinary stallion."

Kai shook his head. "I am ordinary. I just have uncommon knowledge. I'm sure there are other ponies that could have done what I did. What makes me unique is that I saw what may have happened, and tried to fix it. Any other pony that had read what I had and seen what I've seen would have done what I did. Or they would have just killed him and been done with it."

"And that would have been easier?"

"A few quick stabs, and toss him in a dumpster somewhere. I didn't want to do that, so we had to go on this journey. Just he and I, going from place to place. It would have been crap, but Twilight and Fluttershy opted to join us." He smiled. "This whole thing would have been much harder without those gir--"

"Kai!" Fluttershy leaped up and threw her arms around his shoulders. She knocked over his yet-untouched stew in the process, but Luna caught it. "You're alright! I was so scared!"

Kai wrapped his hooves around her and gently rubbed her back, calming her down as best he could. "I'm still here, and I have you to thank for it."

Luna placed the bowl back in the table, which had moved a bit. "I'll leave you two alone. Enjoy your meal, and have a pleasant rest. That said, don't go too far. Our discussion is far from over." With a nod from Kai, Luna stood up and walked out of the infirmary. She had seen what Fluttershy had been dreaming about, and thought it would be awkward to sit there and watch if she decided to partake in such delights.

Chapter the Thirty-Seventh: On the Road to Ponyville

"Up we go," smiled Rainbow, pulling Spike up onto the back of the wagon. "It's a half-day wagon ride up to Fetlock Springs, then an overnight train to Ponyville."

"You made sure to pack everything up tight, right Twilight?" asked Spike. "We're not forgetting anything?"

Twilight looked over the wooden box she'd stored her belongings in. "I'm sure. I didn't bring much at the beginning of this journey, but I certainly have more now." She tapped the box, a bit smaller than a standard trunk, but bigger than her saddlebags. "We were surprisingly sufficient."

Rainbow tousled her mane as she climbed up into the wagon. "Our resident egghead learned something new. Did you have fun?"

"I was running for my life. What do you think?"

"Let's say you weren't in danger. Would you say you had fun then?"

Twilight chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. As far as roughing it out in the wild, this could have been a lot worse. And yeah, I learned some things along the way. So it definitely wasn't all bad."

"Then it's settled," smirked Rainbow. "You are coming with AJ and I on our next trip to Rainbow Falls."

Twilight nodded. "I'm good with that." She took a seat next to Spike and looked back to the steps as Fluttershy climbed in with another pony, the one that had been walking upright yesterday. "Did you rest well?"

Fluttershy nodded. "And I found out where Nik went."

"Really? Where is he?"

The new pony waved. "I'm here."

Twilight raised her eyebrow, confused. Then realization dawned on her. "Nik?"

He smiled and nodded.

"You certainly look different. What happened?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Either way, I'm a pony now. It'll take some adjusting to, but I figure I'll just have to adapt. I think I might change my name, though. Nikolas doesn't sound like much of a pony name."

"We were thinking of some on the way here," nodded Fluttershy. "I have to wonder if Pinkie wouldn't prove invaluable here, though."

"She does have a knack for names," agreed Rainbow.

With a helping hoof from Fluttershy, Kai stepped onto the back of the wagon. He was all bandaged up and clear to go.

"Are you going back to your library?" asked Twilight, clearing a spot for him. "Doing damage control, making sure the other two are alright?"

"I received word from a friend last night," answered Kai. "Terra is alive, and is rebuilding one of the doors. The place is currently inaccessible, so I won't be much good out there, wherever he is. I may go back when the path is clear of rubble, but for now, I have a higher calling."

"Oh?"

Kai patted a small box. "I'm going to take all of my earthly possessions here, and move into Ponyville. As terrifying as it seems, It's time I settled down and started a family of my own. One that isn't so depressing."

"Do you have anypony in mind?" teased Rainbow. "Considering your interpersonal skills, I have some doubts as to how well you'll do finding a mare. I'll tell you what, I'll coach you through dating. First, yo--"

"That won't be necessary," interrupted Kai. "I have already found the mare for me." He wrapped his arm around Fluttershy's shoulders and pulled her in close. "A more beautiful sight, you could not ask for."

She blushed at his words and placed her wing over his back. "I think you're really handsome, too." She leaned up and kissed his cheek, bumping into him as the wagon began moving. "So now's as good a time as ever to say this: we're engaged."

Rainbow's jaw dropped. Twilight rolled her eyes, having expected this. Nik seemed disappointed.

"Congratulations!" beamed Spike, just happy to hear the news. "You have a ring, right?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "I didn't want the ring. I just wanted the stallion who offered it."

"What about the date? Did you pick a day for your wedding?"

Spike was very gung-ho about sorting out the details in broad strokes during the entire trip home, to the point where he shuffled along next to Kai and Fluttershy onto the train and sat with them until he fell asleep. When they woke the next morning at Ponyville Station, he handed over the details to Pinkie, who set aside some time after the Equestria-is-saved party she'd put together as soon as Applejack came back. Despite not being somepony who liked parties, preferring to spend his time in small groups, Kai found himself enjoying the festivities, mostly from the side. The bandages didn't really allow for deft movement, but with the return of Sweet Apple Acres being the highlight of the party, apple-themed desserts were rampant for his enjoyment.

A few days after his bandages came off, Kai and Fluttershy met with Rarity at the spa. Fluttershy needed to update Rarity on all that had happened, and was also due for some relaxation, the likes of which Kai had never experienced. Rarity was, of course, wanting to make Fluttershy's wedding dress, and insisted that they tell her the date ahead of time so she knew how to hide the fact that Fluttershy was already with child. This came as a bit of a shock, because neither of them had told her yet, but she somehow knew. Moments later, Rarity had secured her place as the child's godmother.

It took weeks for Nik to figure out his new legs, and even longer to figure out how to hold things. Then, of course, there were customs, calendars and cookery. Being a pony, he needed to learn an entirely new menu, where grains and grasses were more commonplace, and meat was no longer a factor. Despite that, he did gain a connection with the dog food manufacturers, and delivered to Spike the promised ruby roasted rack of ribs. They were delicious, or so he said.

It was two months after they came home that Kai and Fluttershy were married. They'd not been shy about sharing a bed, and Fluttershy was just beginning to show signs of her pregnancy. Her closest friends were let in on it, but her family was not, mostly to keep Zephyr from causing a scene, which he did anyway; catching the bouquet and presenting it to Rainbow, who promptly overturned it onto his mane. At the ceremony, Twilight, Rainbow and four moustached stallions that nopony seemed to know were the only guests on Kai's side, with everypony else on Fluttershy's side.

A few months after the wedding, Fluttershy gave birth to a lovely chestnut-maned unicorn with an acorn-coloured coat. Before this had happened, Kai remodeled the cottage a bit, adding a second bedroom just for the colt. They named him Venator, an ancient word meaning huntsman, or more accurately, trapper. This was in the hopes that he would not only be strong enough to handle whatever life threw at him, but also clever enough to evade trouble in the first place. Kai went home with his wife and child; he could finally honestly say that he loved his family dearly.

A Brief Summary of the Story Thus Far

Nikolas Jameson, an average human male working as a line cook, suddenly found himself with a group of assassins after him. Just as he's about to die, he falls into a portal into Equestria. He is captured and held in a cage by a zookeeper, who takes him to Fluttershy to identify him and make sure he's in good health.

Things were going well until the guards showed up to arrest them both, tossing them into a cell in the castle dungeon. However, their stay wasn't long, as they were freed by a band of thieves shortly after arrival. The leader even told them where they could find more information on what was happening. What's more, the unicorn he directs them to is one Fluttershy knows and has been looking for.

With Twilight joining them, they set off for the town of San Palomino, where Kai is supposed to be waiting for them. When they arrive, however, the innkeeper gives them the wrong room and leads them into a trap. It is at this point that they're rescued, not by Kai, but by one of his compatriots. He takes them out of town, and to the place where Kai actually is; a massive library inside of a pocket dimension.

Kai explains what's going on quickly and carries them across the first step. After a magic duel, in which Kai is the victor, he is given a small orb, which he promptly gives to Nik. He tells him that there are ten they need to collect in order to protect Equestria. As he's about to explain the rest, though, they're attacked by the same ponies in cloaks from the inn. Our main party manages to escape, but the library is destroyed in the process. Kai and his guests are the only known survivors.

Joining up with the group, Kai takes them to the Grove of Dreams, and Nik is made to relive his greatest nightmare. After coming to grips with why he hates Kai, they agree to remain civil.

Their next stop is an underground arena. Twilight and Fluttershy keep watch at the entrance while Kai and Nik go underground to find the third mark. Kai goes into combat with a giant creature with four arms and is promptly beaten. However, he'd done enough damage to qualify for being impressive, so they give him the prize, regardless.

They return to the surface and the group makes their way to another graveyard. Fluttershy and Twilight decide to let Kai rest, and take his place going after the fourth token. They see many things that may happen, and they are made to see their own deaths. Fluttershy takes a deep breath and steps forward, accepting that she may die, but knowing that she has to keep trying no matter the cost. The whole world is counting on her. Seeing that, death itself gives her its blessing, and she returns to Kai with the fourth orb.

The group continues to a volcano, where Kai asks Fluttershy to stay behind due to her fear of dragons. He and Nik scale the mountain, and at the top, must display a mastery of fire by cooking a meal for a dragon. They are given the waystone of fire as their reward.

They return to the group and make their way into a forest. Fluttershy is enamored by the greenery and the diversity of the critters scurrying and fluttering around. Their task here is to water the largest tree to show their care for the earth. Fluttershy jumps at this opportunity, and the group goes to a river to collect fresh water. They're given equipment that is counter-intuitive, and while having trouble returning the water to the tree that they're supposed to be tending, Fluttershy convinces some bears to take the load off of Kai's shoulders, earning them the respect of the keepers and their trinket.

On their way to the next location, Kai and Fluttershy talk to each other about their feelings toward each other, and how they might be able to rekindle their affections from the ashes, as neither one had stopped caring for the other. They arrived at their destination and had to play multiple different board games to demonstrate their ability to split their focus. It was only through their working together that they managed to succeed, and were promptly kicked out with their prize.

Their most recent claim came along when they descended to the bottom of a lake and fought a tentacle monster. During the fight, Fluttershy was knocked out of the air. Kai caught her before she hit the ground, but in doing so, his leg was broken. It had actually been broken since his fight in the arena, and he'd been using it anyway.

After the fight, they helped a blind mare give her dead loved ones a water burial. In return, the mare gave them the water token and healed Kai's leg. She also offered them a place to sleep for the night, which they accepted. However, after a very welcome bath for all parties (in separate rooms, of course), Fluttershy wanted to apologize to Kai for breaking his leg. She walked up to his room and had a long chat with him.

During the time they were on their journey, Equestria has been falling apart. More humans have been thrust into the world, and ponies have disappeared. All attempts to contain the spread have been unsuccessful, and no studies have returned any results as to why. The population has been told not to panic, and to report all instances of the world shifting, as the extent of the dangers are not yet known.

Chapter the Twelfth: Leaving the Spire

Fluttershy carried the sun stone in her wing. Not having anything to wrap it in to keep it safe, she had to carry it outright. She couldn't even place it in one of Kai's cloak pockets because he wasn't wearing it anymore. Not that she was in the mood to right now.

"I'm not angry," she said, turning to him. "I'm mostly just disappointed. I don't condone your actions. Why would you do such a thing?"

Kai shrugged. "I was scared. They offered to kill Nik and end this whole conflict. I didn't want you to be hurt."

Fluttershy was shocked. "You told them where we were!?"

"No!" Kai took a deep, trembling breath. "I did what I did to make sure that they couldn't follow me back to you. I absolutely feel awful because of my actions, but I also regret that they were necessary. If I could do it all over again with the knowledge I have now, I'd have flown faster and not stopped to drink from the stream. I would catch up with you sooner, and they wouldn't have found us. I don't want any more hurt, I just want to keep you safe."

There was a brief pause before Fluttershy placed her hoof on his shoulder. "Do you really mean that?"

Kai looked around. "If I were lying, everypony in here would have snapped at me."

"A lie is a black hole," scowled one of the ponies nearby, standing and walking toward them, "growing deeper and deeper, turning blacker and blacker, swallowing anypony who happens to stumble into it. Then when all are consumed by it; friends, loved ones, family all, do you know what happens!?" At this point, he was centimetres from Kai's face, glaring into his eyes.

"What?" squeaked Fluttershy, a bit scared of what he might do to Kai.

The pony turned to her. "It morphs into a great, black beast. It then turns on its creator, and devours him, as well." He turned and walked away. "Or her."

Kai took another deep breath. "We should be on our way. We need to go back to our friends so we can move on."

"Right, we need to move. We need to go to the hidden haven."

At the mention of the hidden haven, all eyes were on them, leering through their eyebrows. In mere seconds, they surrounded them, demanding answers over each other before being silenced by the unicorn that had led them up the spire in the first place. As he stepped forward, he wore the nastiest look on his face Fluttershy had ever seen. "What is all this nonsense about going to the hidden haven?"

Kai stood up a bit taller and placed himself between Fluttershy and the others. "It was a mistake for you to have heard that. We have no quarrel with you, and we would like that to stay as it is. You should let us pass, and be on with your day."

The tension in the room had grown so much that even the lightest breeze would immediately turn into bedlam. It took all of Fluttershy's willpower not to turn and run away.

"Why would anypony with good in their hearts ever want to travel to the hidden haven?" asked the unicorn, beginning to circle them. "Unless, of course, you are the sort of deceitful scum that feels joy in spreading evil throughout the land."

Kai matched his pace, shielding Fluttershy from the unicorn. "If I were a deceitful liar, as you believe me to be, you would have picked up on it right away. Isn't that something you and your ilk can do; detect lies?"

"That is most certainly true," he smiled, still scowling. "However, I cannot possibly know what little tricks you might use to fool us more noble and good ponies."

"I haven't told a single lie since I came in here."

"I believe you have."

"And what lie do you believe I've told?"

"You haven't told us why you are going to the hidden haven."

"Our business there is of no concern to you."

As the unicorn's hoof slapped across Kai's face, Fluttershy took a terrified step back, and was immediately grabbed by one of the acolytes. She shrieked in shock, and Kai caught it out of the corner of his eye. Before he could stop himself, he burst backward, driving his hoof into the face of the mare that had grabbed her. That action sent the whole room into chaos, with the sunburnt, off-white ponies of all varieties descending on them, with intent to capture.

Kai grabbed Fluttershy and pushed her toward the door. "Go, go!" he urged, his horn blasting out energy to clear a path for her. She nodded, running as fast as she could toward the door that would take her outside. She barely managed to dodge blasts of fire from the unicorns, bolting left and right when she could feel them coming. She would have closed her eyes if she didn't need to see where she was going.

She slid into the hallway, her hooves skidding as she turned and ran toward the door she came in from. She looked back to see Kai following behind her, merely tripping up the ponies chasing them, slamming them into the walls and kicking their hooves out from under them.

She turned forward just in time to see two armored ponies with spears advancing on her from the other end of the hallway. Her eyes went wide as a bolt of lightning arced from behind her, around her body, striking one of the armored ponies in the chest and knocking him off his hooves. Though she very likely saw it, she had no idea what happened to the other guard.

As soon as she was outside, the sun stone fell to her hoof as she took to the sky as swiftly as she could. She squeezed her eyes shut and just flew as fast as she could manage.

"I'm right behind you!" called Kai from somewhere behind her. "Just keep going!"

Kai was actually not very close behind her, staying back a bit to deflect any spells aimed at her. He'd made it out and into the air, but he'd taken the brunt of the damage, and was significantly slowed by the damages he'd sustained. As soon as he was certain that Fluttershy was clear, and he noted that she was flying in the right general direction, he was hit by a burst of flame from the sand. His vision blurred, his body went numb, and he collapsed into the hot sand, skidding to a stop.

Chapter the Twenty-Ninth: Parade of Flesh

Spike looked over his notes. "I think they have to be in a certain order, but I'm not sure what that order is." He, Celestia, Nik, Twilight and Applejack were in Luna's yurt, up near the top of the hill. Kai, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had gone to check the defenses with Princess Luna. "Any ideas?"

"They're all different colours," observed Applejack. "P'r'aps we need ta arrange 'em into some sorta pattern?" she moved some of the stones around until she came to the keystones from the solar spire, hidden haven, and the tomb of the animated. Being white, black, and grey, respectively, they didn't fit anywhere in the colour wheel. "Maybe not..."

"Is there some significance to the order in which you collected them?" asked Celestia.

Twilight shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I don't think so. Kai was pretty certain that we should go after them in a certain order, but one of them, we changed course to go after. I don't think we were supposed to do it that way, if the order was important. Even then, our journey had a start and end, and circles don't do that."

"Have we stopped ta consider that maybe this doesn't have an order? Ah find it hard ta believe that if ya jumped through all these hoops ta make it this far, the ponies what designed this whole business would make ya keep jumpin'."

Spike furrowed his brow. "What if we--"

"Princess Celestia!" A guard burst through the open tent flap. "An army of zombies is approaching from the east!"

Celestia raised her eyebrows. "Zombies? What are you talking about?"

"That's what they looked like!" confirmed the guard. "And there was this really big one that walked on two legs!"

Celestia took a deep breath. "Tell my sister to prepare for battle." The guard saluted and ran back out. "The rest of you, figure this out. The sooner we solve this, the sooner we can begin the process."

Celestia rushed to the eastern wall and looked out as far as she could into the shadow protruding from the hill in the evening sun. Sure enough, a fifty strong group of armed ponies, seemingly stitched together, was marching in a surprisingly well-organized formation. Behind them, a three metre tall bipedal creature was walking, both armed and heavily armoured. What the guard had failed to mention was that the biped had four arms.

"What in the world is that?" asked Luna, taking her place beside Celestia. "Have you ever seen anything like that before?"

"Never. But it doesn't matter. Whatever it is, we can't let it stop us from finishing this ritual. Ready the soldiers, it's time for battle."

As the soldiers rushed to their battle stations and prepared themselves for combat, Fluttershy made her way to the medical tent in preparation for any injuries that may occur. Kai and Rainbow Dash took to the front lines, ready to fight off their foe. However, as soon as he saw what they were up against, Kai rushed toward them, his bardiche at the ready. While multiple guards called him back, and others counted him as a lost cause, Rainbow admired his initiative and flew after him.

"So what's the plan," she asked. "You take the big one, I'll take the rest?"

"I just want to talk to the big one," answered Kai. "Keep your weapon down unless I tell you."

"What weapon?" Rainbow was not trained in armed combat, and was mostly relying on punches and kicks.

Kai rolled his eyes and slowed as he approached the group, still out of range of the archers. They stopped and split down the middle, creating a path for him to approach the armoured figure. "Bone."

"I have come for the fun," he grinned. He let out a loud laugh that sent a chill down Rainbow's spine. "Am I late?"

"You are," answered Kai. "However, there may be more. We've not called off the fight just yet, and would be much appreciative if you would join us in defense of the hill."

"A king of the hill match? Consider me there. But first, I believe I owe you something." Bone reached behind his back and pulled out Kai's old glaive, now repaired with a a razor sharp edge with a waving stripe pattern. "To maintain the weight that you have grown accustomed to with this glaive, I have kept the materials the same, with very slight modifications. Damascus steel blade, with an oak and teak shaft. Give that a try, and see what you think."

Kai gave the bardiche to one of the zombies, and took the glaive. It felt different than when he'd last held it, less brittle. There was no longer any rattle when he stopped suddenly on a swing, and the shaft no longer flexed in his hooves. A wide area cleared as the zombies stepped back, and he tried a few wide strikes and several tight formation techniques. It was much easier to use now. As he struck hard to the right, Bone caught the blade on one of his swords. They shared a smirk, then separated their blades. As they turned to each other and bowed, Kai's cloak fell to the side, revealing his bandages.

"You're injured?" asked Bone. "How did you manage that?"

"I was tortured," replied Kai. "It was more painful than when you broke my shoulder."

Bone scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I thought about that a few hours after you left. Sorry."

"The lakebed dome attendant fixed it right up."

"Ah. I was wondering when you would notice."

"I noticed the moment it snapped in half."

Again, Bone let out a chilling laugh. "All is well. Now, let us set up an extra layer of defense around you."

Kai looked around. "I think you'd need more soldiers to surround us."

"No shit, It's just me and a bunch of mind-controlled flesh puppets. They feel no pain, but they'll fall apart in a few days when the magic wears off."

Kai nodded, turned around, and led the group back to the outer layers of the camp. Rainbow flew ahead of him and told Luna and Celestia to instruct the archers to hold their fire. As promised, the amalgamated stitched-together flesh forces stayed outside the palisade walls, with Bone patrolling the perimeter, just waiting for the opportunity to strike out at whosoever would attack. He took his orders from Kai, rather than from the princesses, but an extra layer of protection was something they certainly weren't about to decline.