As they landed at the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, deep within the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy and Nikolas stepped up onto the deck. As they were about to disembark, Fluttershy was tackled from over the side of the ship. When she looked to see what was happening to her, she saw Twilight Sparkle hugging her tightly.
"I'm so glad you're safe," she said, small tears of relief forming in the corners of her eyes. They were wiped away shortly after their appearance. "When I heard that those cloaked ponies were looking for you, I was so afraid of what they'd do to you."
"How did you know about them, Twilight?" asked Fluttershy, returning the hug.
Twilight pulled out a scroll from her saddlebags. It bore the two insignias from Kai's letters. "I have no idea how he knew what was going on, or how he knew you were in prison. I'll be honest, he scares me sometimes."
"As you should be," interjected Usu, lifting the wagon out of the ship's hold. "If he doesn't frighten you, even slightly, then you have no idea what he's capable of. Being a pure-bred unicorn gives him a strong lead in magical ability, being alone for twenty years makes him crazy and unpredictable, and most importantly, I've seen him use black magic. A more dangerous combination is hard to find."
"Now hold on a minute," responded Fluttershy. "He's not crazy. He has a frightening presence until you can understand him, to be sure, but he's mostly harmless."
"Harmless doesn't mean without danger." It was Nik's turn to interject. "Just because a dog is calm and friendly does not mean its teeth aren't sharp and its jaw isn't powerful. If this Kai character is benevolent, that's a good thing, but it doesn't mean he can't hurt someone. He may even be capable of killing a pony. All they're saying is that he's capable of causing harm, not that he does it regularly."
Fluttershy shivered and closed her eyes, knowing full well that Kai was capable of ending a pony's life. She had seen him do so, even though she knew he was desperate at the time. The group fell silent for a few minutes while Usu finished unloading the prison cart. With a quick adjustment, he had reformatted it for their journey. "It locks from the inside now. That will keep most ponies out. The wheels lock in place, so you can pull aside and rest for the night. And a quick splash of paint will keep away prying eyes, so nopony will suspect that you're with the Canterlot Royal Guards."
Twilight nodded as she set herself up to start pulling. "Don't worry about your animal friends, Fluttershy. All of our other friends are in on the plan, and Rarity has graciously volunteered to take over for you."
Usu gave Fluttershy and Nik a large, heavy box. "Your destination is San Palomino. The Drunken Dragon Inn, room nine. Keep Nikolas hidden from sight whenever you need to be on the roads. I've provided you with dried foods for your journey. You can stop for water when necessary. Best of luck."
Fluttershy gave Usu a final hug. "Thank you. If ever there's anything I can do to repay you, let me know."
Nik's brow furrowed. "Wait a second. Why can't you just take us to San Palomino on your ship?"
Usu pulled up the gangplank. "I'll be running interference. Keeping them off your trail. Drawing their attention away from you."
"How?"
"By spreading rumours of human sightings in every town from here to Las Pegasus. Since I know what you look like now, I'm pretty sure I can make a fairly convincing fake human."
As the ship floated off into the distance, Nik turned to the two mares. "I'm assuming you both know where San Palomino is?"
Their first day on the road, though short, was not without its problems. As they had taken to the roads, Nik was unable to leave the confines of the cart. To make matters worse for him, Fluttershy had opted to pull alongside Twilight for expediency. This left Nik completely alone in the back of a prison cart. Despite the fact that he was free to leave at any time, it was at the risk of his own life, a price he was not willing to pay. He felt as if he was a prisoner of the two mares escorting him. There weren't even any windows, so he couldn't watch the scenery go by. All he had to occupy his time was to sift through the box Usu had given them.
They stopped to camp for the night far off the side of the road. With a rapping on the door, Fluttershy alerted Nikolas that it was time to come out. The door swung open, and Nikolas stepped out, an axe in his right hand and a small satchel in his left. "I'm ready to help set up the camp. What needs doing?"
"That all depends on what experience you have in camping," replied Twilight. "Do you know how to pitch a tent?"
"I do."
"Excellent. You can start on that while I fetch some firewood."
Using the backside of the axe, Nikolas drove the tent stakes down into the ground and set up the poles to keep the tent elevated. He'd been camping several times with his parents when growing up. His mother had taught him how to pitch a tent and set up a campfire. His father had tried to teach him how to fish, but they'd never caught anything. Neither of them had taught him how to split firewood, though. That was a skill he had learned from a book.
By the time Twilight had returned with a load of firewood, The tents were already pitched, and Nik was almost finished with digging the firepit. "Wow, you work fast," she commented, impressed by his skill. "How'd you manage to set all of this up while I was gone?"
"It's simple stuff," responded Nik. "Two posts, some rope, a tarp and six stakes. What part of that was supposed to stump me?"
"I guess you have a point," she shrugged, dumping the wood near the hole Nik had dug. Pulling the axe from the loop on his now filthy carpenter jeans, he began splitting it down further into small, easy to burn pieces. As he finished cutting it, Fluttershy stacked it for him, and Twilight started the fire. Before long, they were enjoying the crackling flame as they munched on their fruit leather. While Nik would have preferred to be searing a juicy, tender steak over the open flame, he could at least take some amount of joy in the knowledge that he wasn't eating stale bread right now.