Failure, Eternally Retold, Part One: The Human Element

by Kiernan

Chapter the Nineteenth: Sins of the Past

Kai managed to sleep for the next six hours, his rest ending when they ran into a hole. As the wagon wheel dropped into the pit, it tilted rather quickly, tossing Kai off the bench. As he hit the floor, it didn't injure him, but it did manage to rouse him from his slumber.

Fluttershy jumped to his side, helping him up. "Are you alright? That looked like it hurt."

Kai dusted himself off. "I'll be fine. How long was I out?"

"A few hours," answered Nik. "Fluttershy and I were hoping you'd be out a bit longer. Lack of sleep is bad for you."

Kai shook his head. "I'll sleep tonight when we make camp. We should have a strong enough lead, still, so we can afford to stop for the night. I'm sure none of you slept particularly well last night." Fluttershy and Nik nodded in agreement. A bouncy, constantly shifting wagon was not nearly as comfortable as sleeping on the ground. "On that note, I'm going to go scout ahead."

"Are you sure?" asked Fluttershy, concerned. "You didn't sleep as long as you probably should have."

"I'll be fine," repeated Kai. "You'll see me when you arrive at camp." Kai stepped out of the back door and made his way up to Twilight. After finding out how far they'd come in his sleep, he judged the distance they could cover in the remaining daylight, and designated a spot on the map for her to head for. With their waypoint now set, he grabbed his spear and flew off, leaving the trio behind as he rushed ahead to set things up.

"I know I'm new to the land of Equestria," said Nik, "But I'm able to relate to you and Twilight rather well. Hell, I was even able to understand Terra's point of view. However, despite the fact that he's responsible for our safety, I don't have any read on this Kai character. I know you two are friends, but I don't understand why."

Fluttershy smiled. "He's not such a bad pony. He's just under a lot of pressure right now. It's obvious that he hasn't been sleeping very well. I don't think he really knows how to, to be honest. His home just went up in flames, and his colleagues just sacrificed their lives to save us."

Nik sighed. "I suppose he and I have a lot in common, when you put it that way. Still, you'd think he'd be more upset, right?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "Not at all. I mean, most ponies would have broken down. Even Twilight couldn't keep her sorrow hidden last night. But Kai is emotionally stunted. He didn't have the same upbringing as most ponies. Most of us had help growing up, but he had to do everything himself."

"Why didn't anyone help him?"

"Nopony could. He lived alone. I didn't meet him until he kidnapped me."

"He did what!?"

Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably. "He... He broke into my house in the middle of the night, tied me up and locked me in a small cage."

Nik scowled. "Why would you trust someone like that?"

"He didn't mean any harm. He even apologized for it later."

"That doesn't justify his actions."

"I know, but his heart was in the right place. He also saved my life. Three times in one night, in fact."

Nik shook his head. "That doesn't sound like something a kidnapper would do. I don't buy it."

"It's true. Some other ponies had kidnapped me, and they had tortured me. They were even going to kill me. But Kai stopped them."

"How do you know he wasn't in league with them? That could all have been an attempt by him to confuse you, or make you indebted to him."

Fluttershy shook her head again. "Kai was stabbed through the chest in the struggle. If the guards hadn't showed up when they did, he'd have died. I refuse to believe that he was involved in their plans."

Nik folded his arms. "I wouldn't trust him after that."

"You should. He broke you out of prison. He didn't need to do that. He set us up with a wagon for transport. He brought us into his home, and when it erupted in flames, he made sure we made it out safely. And to top all of this off, he's the only pony who knows how to stop these assassins that are after you. If you were to tell him that you didn't trust him, I'm sure he'd be insulted. But he's a good pony, so I'm sure he'd continue to help you anyway."

Nik had no response to that. It was true that Kai had helped him already, without asking for anything in return. Then again, he hadn't known Kai for very long, either. Until yesterday, Kai had been his puppet master, pulling the strings from the shadows. Now that he had a face, Nik's feelings on the matter were conflicted. Perhaps he should give Kai another chance.

It was about half an hour after sunset when the trio finally arrived at the campsite Kai had indicated. A fire was already going, and around it were two trout fillets, skewered on green hickory branches. They looked to be lightly seasoned. There were also four plates, two with assorted roasted nuts, the other two with fresh wild greens and berries.

With Kai's help, the tents were up and ready to go very quickly. It helped that he'd already cleared the area by the time they'd arrived. Before long, they were all sitting around the fire, the boys eating fish and nuts, the girls eating grass and berries. The reason Kai gave for his own meal was that the trout he had caught was so large that he didn't want it to go to waste, but the real reason was that he still very much enjoyed eating meats. It was the first meal he had ever made on his own, after running away and being lost on the forest. Granted, that was salmon and this was trout, but that didn't diminish his enjoyment.

After their meal, they piled into their tents. Kai didn't have a tent, so he laid back against a fallen log, draping his cloak over the top of himself. It would serve as his blanket, one of the intended purposed Rarity had thought of when designing it for him. Just as he was nodding off, he heard hoof steps approaching. He grabbed his knife, which he kept tucked away inside his cloak, and turned his eyes toward the sound.

He relaxed as he saw Fluttershy, her eyes glowing in the moonlight. "Kai? Are you still up?"

Kai sat up. "Is something wrong?"

"I was just wondering if... That is, I think it would be best if..."

Kai shrugged. "I can't answer if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Fluttershy swallowed hard. "I thought it might be nice if you had a tent to sleep in. If you like, you can share mine?"

Kai stood up. "If you would have me, I'd be quite glad to share your tent." He followed her back to her bed curling up next to her. He had missed this. Sleeping next to her brought back all the memories of when they had lived together. He had no more trouble falling asleep that night.