Failure, Eternally Retold, Part Three: Morality

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.