Author's Note

After nine years, I'm rewriting my first story. During that time, I have RPed as Kai, living out his life to the very end. As a result, I've delved deeper into the character, and found that his origin is quite flawed. There are several parts of the original Trial and Error that I hate now, and may have even hated then, so those sections will be removed and replaced with better ones. These will be more cohesive to Kai's character, and this will allow his character growth to feel more natural.

I'll try to keep the beginning and end of each chapter in roughly the same place, though some might need to shift, as the story is so drastically changed from what it used to be. The chapter names may also change, as to be more descriptive of their content.

Other things will definitely change, as well. One of the comments on the original story had asked for Kai's full name, and I had just made something up. This is no longer the case, as I later decided that his name should just be a mononym. His Father's name has also changed to a mononym, that being Sufferthorn. All of Kai's family has changed in some way or another, an end result of playing his character so much.

Another big change is the range of supplies available to Kai. In the original, he had access to chemicals and an endless supply of food. Now he has only his wits, as much food as he's ever needed thus far, and a bit of dark magic. And while he still has a supply of treasure, it's not nearly as drastic as it used to be. He used to be wealthy beyond measure. Now he has a chest full of coins he has no real use for, but enough to live out the rest of his life in a fair amount of comfort.

Chapter the First: A Riddle

Chapter the First: A Riddle

Akaitora Stood and dusted himself off. Once more, he had failed to gain any altitude, and had crashed into the courtyard. As he brushed the filth away, he turned to his back and released his harness.

"That makes twenty. Twenty failed attempts with this rubbish." He sighed and tossed the device aside. "That means it's a lost cause. The design is flawed. Again." Frustrated, he kicked at a rock, sending it flying against a wall. It bounced back, smacking his shoulder. Again he sighed. "I suppose it's back to the drawing board..."

He picked up his harness and descended into his workshop. Rather, he had made it into a workshop. The cages along the far stone wall indicated a high probability that this had originally been a dungeon. This would make sense, as he was underneath a crumbling castle. He tossed his harness onto his desk, a half-rotted table he had reinforced with tree branches that was littered with so many papers they had started spilling to the floor. A lone stool sat nearby, one of the legs of which was also a tree branch.

He sat down and started rubbing his face. What could he do? Every design he had drawn up thus far had failed, and he was out of ideas. He had read every book available to him regarding flight dynamics and wind manipulation, and still he could not take flight. He could only barely glide at the best of times. He would have to think of something new.

After an hour had passed, he stood up and left the room. His horn dimly illuminated the dark halls of the castle's under croft, giving him just enough light to find the stairs leading deeper down. His first basement contained a dungeon and a guard barracks, the latter of which held a latrine. Below that were bedrooms, none of which had usable beds, and further down was a kitchen and some storage rooms. The first storage room was full of books, as the castle's library had been damaged, leaving a hole in the roof. The second was for other miscellaneous things. The third, however had been set up in such a way that some small amount of agriculture was possible down there. Kai plucked an apple from the branch and moved into the kitchen.

The kitchen was much larger than he would ever need. Eight stoves sat in the center of the room, all venting up to a single pipe. Surrounding those were tables. Some tables were still holding together, but others were unlikely to ever see use again. Around the outside of the room were several racks, filled mostly with broken kitchen appliances and sealed jars. Kai grabbed two of these jars and brought them to his favorite table. It was his favorite because it was the only one that wasn't covered in dust.

He opened the first jar, filled with honey that had been left behind by the previous owner of the castle. With his knife, crafted from the broken-off head of a spear, he sliced the apple into chunks, dipped them in honey, and ate them. Between bites, he opened the second jar, this one containing dried salmon that he had caught two months prior. While this meal would seem ill-fitting of one who lived in a castle, he had grown accustomed to it, and it suited him just fine.

Upon finishing his meal and resealing the jars, he moved back up to his workshop and grabbed his cloak. He had reached a decision. He would be unable to continue his work with the means currently at his disposal. He would need an expert on flight to explain the finer points. Only then could he continue his dream. He needed a pegasus. Which meant he would need to venture into town.

He always hated coming into town. There was always a chance he would be recognized, or reported to the local guards for suspicious activity. Not to mention all those bright, smiling faces that were all too eager to strike up a conversation with him. This time, however, he needed one of those faces. One with wings, and more importantly, knowledge on how to use them.

He began to look around, his dark blue eyes glinting underneath his hood in the light of the evening sun. The first pegasus he saw was but a filly, fluttering her wings to propel her scooter, as well as her two friends in their wagon. Kai contemplated having her explain how to fly, but thought better of it. As poor as his social ability was, even he knew that ponies would take issue with a fully-grown stallion in a heavy cloak hunched over and talking to a small filly. Besides, she might not even know how to fly yet.

His next target was a better option, as she appeared to be fully grown. An excellent choice she would make, as she darted quickly and precisely between the clouds, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake. Clearly, she was an expert when it came to flight. And therein lay the problem with having her involved. She came to a stop at the final cloud, tucking her front hooves behind her and lounging on the cloud. There was no means of reaching her. Certainly, he could call out to her, but without knowing her name, she may simply assume that he was referring to somepony else.

The third one ran directly into him. As he turned to face her, he immediately knew she wouldn't do. Her eyes were looking every direction except at him. If he were to model himself after her example, he would continue to crash. Without a word, he turned and left her there, her apology falling on deaf ears.

For the next half hour, he strolled through the town, staying in the shadows when he could, and only maintaining minimum interaction with the locals. All the while, he had been watching the skies, scanning for anypony that would both meet his requirements and be approachable. Just as he was about to give up for the day, he rounded a corner and collided with a young mare. She was a white unicorn with a purple mane. As his somewhat large build was quite sturdy, he managed to stay upright as she fell to the ground.

"My apologies," He said quietly, picking up the book she had dropped.

"No, no, that was my fault, I suppose," said the mare, standing and dusting herself off. "That's what happens when one is not paying attention to where one is walking." She smiled, offering her hoof to shake. "I'm Rarity."

"A pleasure, miss."

A small moment of silence passed before she retracted her unshaken hoof. "If this is to be the end of our conversation, would you be so kind as to return my book?"

Kai looked at the cover of the book. It depicted a pegasus in a long, flowing gown. "You are interested in making clothing for pegasi, miss Rarity?"

"My dear sir, I make clothing for everypony. Satin is very in this season, and I wanted to have a look at some designs from the last decade to determine if any of them could be salvaged. Mixing old and new together, as it were." She once more held her hoof out to him.

Kai grunted. "I have no need for the latest designs. What matters most is that the clothing covers me." He returned to her the book she had dropped.

"I'm sure that somewhere underneath that worn-out cloak there's a handsome stallion. He needs only the right clothing to make him stand out and wow the crowd. If ever you're interested in turning all eyes on you in a good way, you should stop by my shop, the Carousel Boutique." She offered her business card, a simple design, but elegant, and straight to the point.

"I suppose if I'm ever in the market for that sort of thing, I'll remember you. Until then, I should really be on my way." He pushed past her, and began walking down the street she had come from.

"Oh. A-alright. I'll see you soon, then." She waved as he rounded another corner, and resumed her walk home.

Kai had a new destination in mind. That book had been emblazoned with a stamp declaring it the property of the Ponyville Public Library, and had been stamped with a checkout time less than five minutes ago. That meant that there was a library right here in town that he had not been aware of. The time stamp told him that it was close, and more importantly, that it was likely still open. His excitement grew as he finally spied the building, the front door wide open. He rushed forward, only to be cut off on arrival by a purple baby dragon closing the door.

"Sorry, sir, but we're closing for the day." The dragon was short, and had no wings to speak of. "You can come back tomorrow morning with everypony else."

"I won't take up too much of your time, I just need to find some information."

"You can find it tomorrow. It's almost sunset, and this dragon needs his beauty sleep."

"Why is everypony in this town obsessed with looks?" mumbled Kai under his breath. "Can you at least tell me if you have any books on flight training?"

"They're all checked out at the moment. You can come back tomorrow and see if any have come back in, but I doubt it."

Kai sighed. It could be days before he would have a chance to read those books. Weeks, mayhaps. Even then, there was no guarantee that the information would be of any use. This could all end up a waste of time. He would have to settle for his original plan of finding a pegasus teacher.

"Thanks for nothing," he mumbled, walking back down the street as the dragon closed up behind him.