//------------------------------//
// Chapter the Second: Rocky Terrain 
// Story: Failure, Eternally Retold, Part Two: Nature's Blessings 
// by Kiernan 
//------------------------------//

Fluttershy woke up the following morning in her tent, tucked under Kai's cloak atop her bedroll. This wasn't where or how she'd fallen asleep, so she was a little bit miffed, but at the same time, she knew that Nik would be very upset with them if she and Kai were to sleep next to each other, whether that be in a tent or under the stars. 

She came out to see that Twilight had made breakfast while Nik had packed away both his own tent and Twilight's. Kai was still asleep; understandable, considering how late he and Fluttershy had stayed up the night prior. She packed her own tent back into the cart and woke Kai so they could eat together. She was hoping for a bit more conversation, but the way Twilight and Nik were looking at Kai, she thought that might be a bad idea. It may not have been the nicest meal, but at least they were all together and safe.

When they were all packed up, Kai harnessed himself to the front and everyone else piled into the back. Nik couldn't risk being seen, even out here in the middle of nowhere. Twilight was often rereading through Sky's notes, trying to understand the 'harmonic frequencies' that she'd been studying. While Fluttershy could have helped to pull the cart, she wanted to repair some of the damage from the night prior, and the best way to do that was to talk to Twilight.

"He's not a freak, you know."

Twilight was already deep into her research notes, and she hadn't heard Fluttershy. It wasn't until she received a soft kick from Nik that she looked up.

"Kai's not as bad as you may think, Twilight," stated Fluttershy.

"I never said he was," Twilight said, shaking her head. "I haven't seen him do anything particularly bad in years."

"Last night, you looked at him like he was some kind of weirdo."

Twilight set her notes aside. "Fluttershy, you can't be trying to convince me that he's not weird."

"He is pretty weird," agreed Nik. "I'm not exactly sure what counts as common around here, but of all the ponies I've seen, he's the only one with metal wings. I'd say it's a safe bet to say that's at least a bit strange."

Fluttershy took a deep breath. "Okay, so he's a bit odd, but that's not a bad thing. He's not crazy, he's not bad, he's just misunderstood because he didn't grow up the same way we did. He didn't have friends like us."

"I realize that," said Twilight. "I was just shocked at the way his parents treated him. His father especially. Knowing that, it's no wonder he has trouble with communicating."

Fluttershy nodded. "He never gave me their names, so I can't look into his parents personally, but I believe him. I saw the way he lived before he came to Ponyville. He's not as awful as he may seem at first. If you talk to him again tonight, I want you to understand that his experience differs from yours and temper your words accordingly. He wouldn't say it to your face, but you hurt his feelings last night."

Twilight took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset him. I'll make things right tonight, I promise."

Fluttershy smiled and hugged her friend. "Thanks, Twilight. I know he can be hard to read, but he's still a pony, just like us."

Fluttershy spent the rest of the day stitching together clothing modeled after the clothing Nik was already wearing. He wanted to wear clothes, but he didn't yet have any spare outfits. She was almost done, having spent a few days already on this, almost a week now, in fact. It was almost time to give it to him, preferably at the next chance they had to bathe. They all smelled pretty bad by now, but they weren't really in a position where they could just walk into an inn and have a shower. A large group of cloaked ponies were chasing them, and even if they weren't, they had a human among them. That didn't exactly stoke ponies' sense of hospitality.

They took a few short stops every few hours or so to relieve themselves and to let Kai have a break. After the third one, the cart began to wobble a lot more, and more violently. There had been some patches where they were going through rough ground, but nothing quite this bad. It was late in the afternoon, almost time to stop for the day, so Fluttershy took it upon herself to step outside and ask why the path had become so bumpy. She barely had to open the door to find her answer. The ground was completely covered by large rocks. Furthermore, the vegetation looked to be a bit more scarce, and the temperature was beginning to climb. They must have been approaching Mount Ignus. It was an active volcano, after all.

They soon found a place to stop, right at the foot of the mountain. Even if the plants were a bit sparse around here, they still managed to cobble together a decent meal. Twilight worked together to put up a small protective field in case the mountain tried to dispose of them in the middle of the night. It was a possibility, and one that neither of them wanted to risk. They couldn't take the cart any further up the mountain, either, so they'd have to walk to their destination tomorrow. Luckily, Kai assured them that it wasn't very far, so at least they probably wouldn't be spending too much time here.

As Kai sat down to eat, Twilight placed a hoof on his shoulder. "I want to apologize for my behaviour yesterday. I realize that my actions may have upset you, but I'm sorry. I should have considered your feelings."

Kai swallowed his mouthful. "It's alright. I've come to live with my past. It wasn't great, but it made me who I am. I can't change how others treat me, but I can control the way I treat others. At least I can go to bed at night, thinking that I've done my best for the ponies around me, whether I care for them or not." 

Twilight cocked her head to the side. "A bit odd that you do nice things for ponies you don't like."

Kai shook his head. "I learned it from Fluttershy."

They both turned to look at Fluttershy, whose face had suddenly turned red.