Failure, Eternally Retold, Part Three: Morality

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'."