Kai awoke the following morning to a silent camp. His shoulder was still sore from the day before. In fact, even more so. He wasn't sure why this was, so he attributed it once more to sleeping directly on the ground.
He stood up and looked around. The three tents surrounding him looked calm and unmoving, so he guessed that he was the first one to wake up. Rather than set off directly for the mausoleum to start the trial, he decided that some fresh breakfast was in order, and set out into the woods to forage for vegetation. He had wonderful luck this time, as he came across some wild mustard and peppergrass. There was also a patch of oxeyes he found in a shallow ditch.
When he returned to camp, Nik was already awake, sitting next to the ash pile that had been their fire last night. "Good morning," he said, stifling a yawn. "Find anything good?"
Kai nodded. "A few things. The girls still asleep?"
"Haven't heard a peep all morning. I say let them rest. We're not headed anywhere until you return from the trial, right?"
Kai nodded. He was dreading having to face the trial. "Enough of that for now. Let's make some breakfast."
Twilight fell against the wall of the mausoleum. Fluttershy was back with her, breathing, standing up, and walking around. She was so relieved to have her dear friend back to life. Fluttershy picked Twilight up and pulled her into a hug. For a few minutes, they said nothing, just reveling in each other's good health.
When they finally pulled apart, Twilight spoke up. "I was so afraid that I'd lost you. What happened in there?"
Fluttershy relayed to Twilight what had happened with the reaper, conveniently leaving out the part where she saw Kai's body. "So, really, I should be thanking you for coming along. If I'd been alone, I don't think I would have been able to finish this trial."
Twilight pulled back. "Finish? Does that mean...?"
Fluttershy nodded, holding out her hoof. In it, she held the fourth orb. "We've succeeded. Kai can rest easy, knowing that he didn't have to go through this trial."
Twilight started up the stairs. "We should return to him, then. Good news is meaningless unless you hear it."
Tucking the orb under her wing, Fluttershy followed Twilight up the stairs. "I can't wait to see the relief on his face. That's what good friends are for."
Up the stairs they went, exiting the mausoleum into daylight. They only just now noticed that they'd been underground longer than they'd thought. "Come on," said Twilight, waving her hoof. "We need to hurry back to the camp. I'm sure they've noticed by now that we're gone."
Breakfast was ready. Kai was very much enjoying his mustard greens. It was almost calming, having a meal before facing adversity. He would need a level head for this. Once his plate was clean, he stood up.
"Alright. I'm going to head down to the mausoleum. I know we said they deserve some extra sleep, but do wake them before breakfast is too cold, won't you?"
Nik nodded through a mouthful of leaves, and gave a thumbs-up. Kai had no idea what the hand signal meant, but he knew what a nod was.
Kai turned and exited the camp. He hadn't taken more than ten steps before he bolted down the hill. He'd spotted the girls walking back from the mausoleum. As he reached their destination, he slid to a stop. "Did you jus--" Kai was unable to finish his question, as Fluttershy had wrapped her front legs around him. He winced a bit, as she was squeezing down on his sore shoulder, but he hugged her back anyway. "What happened?"
"Fluttershy and I couldn't sleep," explained Twilight. "We knew you were stressing out about this challenge, so we went ahead and did it ourselves."
"Already?"
Fluttershy nodded and pulled out the orb. "See? All taken care of."
A smile spread across Kai's face. "You didn't have to do that. You should know by now that I'm not going to run from this, no matter what challenges stand in the way."
"We know," smiled Fluttershy. "But we don't want you shouldering this burden alone. We've been depending on you this entire time. We trust you implicitly."
"But we want you to trust us, too," added Twilight. "We're in this together, and we all need to do our part. You're not alone anymore."
Kai was almost moved to tears. These two mares had lifted away the cumbersome weight on his shoulders. Even so, he wasn't going to leave them to the task he had accepted as his own. He waved Twilight over to join in the hug, which she gladly agreed to. "The two of you amaze me. You're braver ponies than I, that's for sure. You faced down your own deaths and didn't go insane. From now on, I believe in your strengths. Together, we can conquer anything this army of assassins could possibly throw at us."
The hug broke apart, and they walked back to camp. The mood was bittersweet, perfectly complimenting their breakfast. Kai took care of the tents and other equipment while the girls took turns explaining what had happened to Nik. At the end of the story, Fluttershy offered the stone orb to Nik.
"That makes four down," he said, shoving them in his pockets. "How many more are there? I'm running out of room to carry them."
"Six," answered Kai. "We're just under halfway done. The rest should be a bit easier, though. Now we know the concepts a bit better, and we're growing accustomed to being on the road. We'll have this done in no time."
Twilight yawned. She and Fluttershy had been awake for over twenty-four hours straight at this point. "So what's our next challenge?"
"Well, that depends on what we run into next. The Lifewood is a few days away, but the Beacon of the Winds likes to move around. If we run into the Beacon at any point, I plan to do that immediately, as I'd hate to try tracking it down. After that, probably Mount Ignus."
Twilight's eyes shot open. "Isn't Mount Ignus an active volcano?"
Kai nodded. "Then we go to the bottom of a lake, and penultimately, the Sun Temple in Belicos. They might even know where to find the Hidden Haven. I'm not even sure where that is."
"That's a long way to go," said Nik, shaking his head.
"You've come a long way, already," said Kai in a reassuring tone. "And when we're done, you can go wherever you want."
Fluttershy had fallen asleep while sitting with her breakfast. Gentle as he could, Kai moved her to the back of the cart and covered her with his cloak. "I'll go nice and slow today. You've all earned a rest."