Failure, Eternally Retold, Part Three: Morality

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."