Trial and Error: Second Edition

Chapter the Thirteenth: Trust

Fluttershy gently shook Kai's shoulder. He had been sleeping for three hours. In that time, she had collected her thoughts and calmed down. Kai bolted upright, not used to being awakened by anypony, but soon calmed down.

"Feeling any better?" he yawned. Rubbing his eyes, he rolled over to sit on the edge of the bed.

Fluttershy nodded, and presented him with a bowl full of food. "I made some rice."

Kai accepted the bowl and set it off to the side. He wasn't quite awake enough to take in the excitement of her cooking yet. He patted the clump of old fabric next to him, coaxing her to sit down. When she did, he gently placed his hoof on her shoulder. "I know I'm not the most comforting pony, but I want to help you to be happy here. I wasn't kidding when I asked if you wanted the night off."

"I think I'll be okay," she said, unsure. "The sooner we work on it, the sooner we're done, right? I'd like to go back home."

"I suppose so. You probably don't think very highly of me, so I understand your desire to leave. Especially after he told you that you were just some kind of tool in my eyes. You're not just one more in a long line of mares. You're the only mare who has come out here with me. And thus far, he's the only stallion who's ever known that I was here. But you can't take my word for that. I know you don't quite believe me."

Fluttershy nodded. "I can trust some things you say. If Twilight says you've done well in taking care of my home while I've been away, then you're probably an honest pony. But I'd like to be sure. So, tomorrow, do you think I could ask another favor of you?"

"Of course." Kai began eating.

"I want you to go to Sweet Apple Acres. It's on the other side of Ponyville. I have a letter I want you to give to my friend Applejack. I've asked for a quick response, so I'd like you to bring one back."

Kai was suspicious. "I'll have to read through it to make sure it doesn't violate the terms of our agreement."

"It doesn't say anything about where I am or in what condition you're keeping me. I want to trust your word, but you have to trust mine in return. Please?"

He thought about it. It wasn't easy for him to trust, and he had already given her quite a bit of freedom since her arrival. It was quite a risk, not reading her outgoing letter before it left. If he didn't read it, and it contained information that would condemn him, he was walking right into a trap. Then again, if he did read it, and it was perfectly safe, she would have every reason not to trust him, and he would have one more place that he was surrounded by enemies.

"I'll consider your request. I'll have an answer for you tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Fluttershy took his now empty bowl and stood up. "Oh, and the stallion upstairs wants to visit the toilet. I don't know if I can control him if he breaks my hold, so I told him--"

"I'll take care of it," Said Kai, holding up a hoof. "I need to collect my notes anyway. We'll continue our work in here tonight, so as not to be disturbed by him."

Kai went upstairs to his workshop. The prisoner stood up and scowled at Kai. "You certainly took your sweet time."

"I could just leave you in that cage, you know. I don't have to take you anywhere."

"And hurt your maid's feelings? She speaks highly of you, so I doubt she'd be all that happy if you gave her an extra mess to clean up."

"She's not a maid. But she is the reason you're still alive, so I suggest you treat her with the proper respect. If she decides you're too much trouble to keep around, I'll find you a nice tree branch to hang from. Treat her well, and you may just make it out of here with your life. Now put your front hooves together, and slip them through the gap in the bars."

"Is that a threat?"

"I don't see any way that it couldn't be. Hooves through the gap in the bars."

"No wonder Stain demanded I eliminate you." He slipped his hooves through the bars.

Kai began tying his hooves together tightly. "I don't know anypony by that name. I told you when you arrived, I'm not the stallion you were looking for. Turn around."

"Red pegasus, usually takes Tundra and Frostbite out with him? Any of this ringing a bell?"

"It is. I remember him, but he never gave me his name. We're not exactly good buddies."

"Obviously."

Kai tied the stallion's back hooves together and hoisted him up onto his shoulders. "He deserved what came to him. He attacked me with a knife, so I punched him in the face."

"Don't lie to me. You're not good at it. You saw him on the streets and beat him up because you didn't like his face. The only reason you stopped was because your girlfriend begged and pleaded."

"That's ridiculous, for several reasons. How gullible are you?"

"Why would he lie to me?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Kai set his prisoner down on the latrine. "I locked you up. What do I have to gain from lying to you?"

The stallion was quiet. He didn't have a good answer.

"I don't know what brought you into his service, but he's lying to you. He was holding a knife to a young mare. I only stepped in for her protection. I'm not asking you to believe me, I'm just telling you what happened."

"And why should I believe you?"

"I have nothing to gain. When I'm done here, your fate rests in Fluttershy's hooves. If she wants to set you free, that's up to her. Or she can call the guards to take you into custody. I'll never see you again, if we're lucky."

The stallion stood. "You can take me back to my cell now."

Kai obliged, closing the cell door and untying his bonds when there was no threat of assault. Without another word, he gathered up his notes and left the room.

Fluttershy was waiting on the bed when Kai returned. "How did he behave?" she asked hopefully.

"Well, he still hates me. But he did tell me who wants me dead."

"Really? Who is it?"

"Do you remember the pegasus that attacked Rarity?"

"You didn't say it was a pegasus. You said it was three stallions."

"Yes, well the one holding the knife was a pegasus. He's the one that wants me dead."

"Why?"

"No idea. If I had to guess, it's because I stopped his robbery."

"That's not a reason to have you killed..."

"I never said it was. But we're wasting time. Shall we begin?"