Failure, Eternally Retold, Part One: The Human Element

by Kiernan

Chapter the Twenty-Fourth: Flight from the Grove

Heeding Incubus's warning, Kai leaped to his hooves and began hurriedly packing away his bedroll. The girls, sensing the tension he was exuding, rushed to pack up as well.

Nik stood up. "What's going on?"

"Kai seems to be in a bit of a panic," Twilight responded, fitting herself into a harness. "And after that crazy dream I had last night, I don't blame him."

"You also had a scary dream?" asked Fluttershy. "What happened?"

"What does it matter?" asked Nik. "Dreams aren't real."

Kai turned to Nik. "I want you to place your hand in your left front pocket," he growled. "Show me what you find in there."

Nik did as he was told, fishing out the orbs that he found in there. The first was the orb he had known was in there, the pentagram in the center staring back at him. The second orb was new. It was the same orb that he had been given in his dream. "What?" He rolled the orb around in his hand. "H-how did this..."

"Exactly." responded Kai. "You heard Incubus. We shouldn't linger for too long in any location. To me, that means that the tragedy at the library could strike again right here if we don't hurry. Furthermore, if one of us dies on this quest, so does he. Do you want his blood on your hands, Nik?"

Nik shoved the orbs back into his pocket and shoved his bedroll haphazardly into the back of the wagon before jumping in after it. "Let's go. I want this journey finished yesterday."

Kai slipped into a harness next to Twilight. As soon as Fluttershy was in the back, Kai and Twilight took off, galloping at full speed away from the grove, trying to cover as much ground as they could.

They finally slowed down around noon. Having skipped breakfast, on top of hours of running, Kai and Twilight were exhausted.

Fluttershy disembarked to check on them. "How are you two holding up? Do you need help?"

"We just need a minute to rest," huffed Twilight. "Thanks for your concern, though."

"I think more than a minute," panted Kai. He looked up and pointed to a river in front of them. "We passed by a town about a mile back, before this wooded patch. This river is downstream of it. If just one of us goes into town, I don't think we'll draw much attention. Any volunteers?"

Fluttershy stepped forward. "I'll go. You two find some cover by the river. Soak your hooves for a bit, splash your faces with cold water, whatever you need to do to reinvigorate yourselves. I'll take care of the resupply."

"Here." Kai reached into his cloak pocket and presented Fluttershy with a sack of coins. "This should cover expenses. If it doesn't, I promise to pay you back when I can."

Fluttershy shook her head. "I have my own money."

Kai pushed it forward again. "Just as a backup, then. Just to be safe."

With a bit of hesitation, Fluttershy took the bag. "Okay. If it'll make you feel better, I guess it wouldn't hurt."

With Kai's money in her hoof, she turned and took flight toward the town they'd passed earlier. Kai and Twilight moved over to the river, finding a safe spot to hide their wagon from prying eyes. Only if you knew to look near the river would you be able to find them.

Nik stepped out of the back of the wagon. Other than lavatory stops and camping, he hadn't had much time outside of late. "Where's Fluttershy?" he inquired.

"She volunteered to go into town," answered Kai. "She's going to pick up any extra supplies we might need. She would know better than I would what we're missing."

Nik scowled. "You let her go into town alone? What if something happens to her?"

Kai shook his head. "No one's coming after her. Even if they were, I trust her implicitly. She'll be back soon, I'm sure of it."

Twilight placed her hoof reassuringly against Nik's hip. "She'll be okay, Nikolas. She's tougher than she lets on. You don't need to worry about her."

Nik sighed. "Alright. I suppose if there was a pony in whom I could place my trust, it would be Fluttershy." Walking over to the bank of the river, Nik sat down and took his shoes and socks off. They'd been on for over a week now, and they were starting to stink. Having a river to soak his feet in was quite refreshing.

Twilight walked over to the side of the wagon, where Kai had chosen to sit. He was sharpening the blade of his knife against a whetstone. "So, I've noticed that you don't have any problems when it comes to eating fish," she said, sitting nearby. "Is that something you do often?"

Kai didn't take his eyes off his blade. "Sometimes, you find yourself starving in the woods. When you can't tell what plants around you are and aren't poisonous, you resort to something that most civilized ponies would turn up their noses at. That's when you realize that it's not always a choice."

"Do you eat other meats?" At Twilight's second question, Kai stopped working his blade and looked up at her through his eyebrows. "I promise, I won't tell Fluttershy."

Kai sighed and returned to his blade. "I'm a fairly accomplished hunter and fisher. If you slice your meats thin and salt them, storing them away in watertight containers, they'll keep for quite awhile. Wild forage is scarce in the winter, so if you take down something big in the autumn months, you can supplement your diet quite nicely while you wait for spring to arrive. My enjoyment of meats comes from the reminder that I'd have died without them."

Twilight shifted to the side. "I suppose. But you must know what is and isn't safe to eat now, right? How else would you make sure to feed us properly?"

Kai fished into one of the pockets in his cloak and pulled out a book. "I'm told you like literature. You having this information should help to equalize us a bit more on this journey."

Twilight read the title aloud. "The Herbalist's Guide to Southeast Equestria."

"I also have the southwest guide and the Belican guide" Kai added. "Those are the three areas I expect we'll be moving through the most."

Twilight looked up. "We'll be going to Belicos? Do herbs even grow there?"

Kai unrolled the map he'd shown Twilight on the way to the grove of dreams. "The tail end of our journey will take us into the desert," he said, pointing to the last destination. "There's one or two more places after that, but I have no idea where they might be. I only know that one's nearby. The other tends to move around."

Twilight swallowed hard. Belicos was the last place she wanted to go. Then again, if Kai still carried the ring he'd wanted to give Fluttershy, it may not be so bad.