The next morning, Nik was the first to wake. He tore down his tent and packed it back into the wagon. Twilight awoke next, and Nik assisted in packing up her tent. This would place the two of them right next to each other as Fluttershy walked out of her tent, accompanied by Kai. They were both wearing smiles of comfort. Twilight was suspicious of this, but Nik jumped right to his conclusion.
Sensing the incoming accusations, Kai spoke up. "You're both wrong about last night's events," he explained, not waiting for them to speak first. "Fluttershy didn't want me sleeping on twigs and rocks with my injuries, so she offered me a bedroll. We spoke and we slept. Nothing more."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Nik in an accusing tone. "Because I'm told that the two of you have a romantic history together." Fluttershy shrank down. She didn't like being the center of blame.
"So what?" asked Kai. "If we have, it's not going to effect you in any way. Unless you're claiming we kept you up all night. Is that what you're claiming?"
Nik scowled but said nothing. He angrily climbed into the back of the wagon and sat down.
Twilight helped Kai and Fluttershy tear down their tent. "I won't claim that I approve of this, but I'm not going to stop you if this is what you want."
"I understand," nodded Kai. "But I promise you, nothing untoward happened. We just had a conversation, and fell asleep."
"We did used to have a relationship," chimed in Fluttershy. "Back before we were sent to the hospital."
"Well, if it's alright with you, would you mind keeping it under the radar while we're all stuck in such close quarters?" asked Twilight. "It seems to be upsetting Nik."
Begrudgingly, Kai nodded. "I've waited two years to have her back in my life. If it bothers you that much, I can wait another month or two."
Before too long, the camp was cleaned up, and they were back underway. Kai and Fluttershy didn't want to risk a fight in the back of the wagon, so they decided that it was best that they pulled the cart with Twilight trying to calm Nik down. That would not be an easy task, as Nik was quite upset.
"Why do you insist on defending him?" Nik asked, half an hour after their journey had begun. "He's a criminal."
"Not so much a criminal as you might believe," replied Twilight. "He may have killed that other stallion, but it was in self-defense."
"He's a killer, too!?"
"Only because he didn't have a choice. If he hadn't acted, Fluttershy could be dead right now, or worse."
Nik sneered. "I don't know how you can sit there and condone his actions."
"And I don't know why you're so insistent on disliking him. What did he ever do to you?"
Nik was at a loss for words. Kai hadn't done anything to harm him. In fact, He'd been nothing but helpful so far. So why was it that every time he saw Kai's face, he grew angrier? His gut kept telling him over and over that Kai was a bad pony, and would cause him no end of suffering, but the evidence so far pointed the exact opposite direction.
"I suggest you give him a chance," said Twilight, leaning back. "Like it or not, we're stuck with him until we can shake these assassins. He's here to help us."
Ten minutes of silence followed before Nik spoke again. "Who did he kill?"
"Excuse me?"
"You said Kai killed a stallion. I want to know who he was."
Twilight thought back to that day. She hadn't been around to see the events unfold, but she had heard from her friends what they had seen. "Fluttershy could tell you more than I could. She was directly involved. When I arrived with the guards, Stain was dead on the ground with a pitchfork in his back, Kai was passed out from blood loss, and Fluttershy's hip was broken."
"So, all you know is that his name was Stain?"
Twilight shook her head. "That's all I saw with my own eyes. If the rest of my closest friends can be trusted, Stain had implanted an explosive inside of Fluttershy, and Kai had dug it out. After that, he'd left her with her friends to escort her to a hospital, but she insisted on making sure Kai was alright. He was, but after he tried to leave with Fluttershy, he was stabbed with a pitchfork. Stain then grabbed Fluttershy and started physically assaulting her, but Kai managed to stab him in the back with the same pitchfork before collapsing. That's when I arrived."
"That's what your friends say happened?"
Twilight nodded. "I doubt they'd lie about that. Besides, Stain had countless assault, kidnapping, murder and grand larceny charges against him. One of Equestria's most wanted criminals. Maybe he didn't deserve to die, but I absolutely believe that he assaulted Fluttershy, and Kai succeeded in saving her. That's how I can condone his actions."
Nik sighed. "I don't know why I hate him so much. He's protected me, fought on my behalf, fed me and even now he's escorting me to something that he says can bring me to peace. I have no good reason to hate him, but every fibre of my being tells me that he's evil."
"I understand," nodded Twilight. "My friend, Applejack met him a month before the fight, and she said there was something wrong with him, too. Rarity also said she didn't much care for him at first, because he seemed rude. However, he stepped in when Stain was trying to rob her, and then again when Stain tried to kidnap her. She changed her mind after that. Even Pinkie Pie said she felt threatened when he was around, and Pinkie loves to make friends with new ponies. You're not the only one who has a bad feeling about him."
Nik chuckled. "Is there anypony you know of that did like him right away?"
"Just one. Rainbow Dash was over the moon about meeting him."
The rest of the day was silent. Nik needed to be alone with his thoughts. In the afternoon, he decided that the right thing to do would be to apologize to Kai for his actions. He had been in the wrong, and he needed Kai's help. He didn't know what he'd been so angry about, but Kai didn't deserve it. He spent the rest of the day formulating an apology.
When the wagon came to a stop for the night, they were in a well-tended clearing, despite the fact that the surrounding woods had no sign of ever being disturbed aside from the path they had just made coming in. Kai was nowhere to be seen, and questioning Fluttershy revealed that he had flown off to gather their dinner and firewood. She also instructed them that the ground was not to be disturbed within the grove, meaning no tents. It also meant that their fire would be in the large stone basin in the middle of the clearing.
It felt strange standing in the clearing. It was almost mystical, like none of it was real. However, it was very much real, as Nik found out when his hand fell on what he thought was a large tree in the darkness, but in closer inspection, was a stone statue. As Twilight lit up the area with her horn, Nik saw that there were five statues. Three stood alone, the other two were right next to each other. None of them knew why they were here, or who had brought them or carved them. All they could know was that when Kai had seen the statues, he had told Fluttershy that this was their destination.
The statues looked almost nothing like each other. To the north was a painter earth pony. Twilight identified him as Remy, a world-famous artist from centuries ago. To the south was a ballet dancer. None of them knew who exactly it was supposed to be. To the east were the two statues that were together. They depicted an elderly mare and stallion. Their placement made it seem as if they were looking into each others eyes. To the west was the strangest of all. It looked to be a young colt in the fetal position, a terrified look in his eye, desperately clawing at his long, ragged mane. He looked absolutely traumatized, as if every moment was filled with fear and agony.
Nik was feeling a bit fearful himself. "What is this place?"