Failure, Eternally Retold, Part Three: Morality

"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.