Failure, Eternally Retold, Part Three: Morality

Fluttershy didn't want to wake up. She'd just had the best sleep she'd felt in years, and her bed was really comfortable. The blanket hugged her so snugly, and though the mattress was a little lumpy, it was very warm, and seemed to move with her breathing. If there was any complaint, it was the quiet of the room. There was no birdsong, no ticking clock, nothing but the sound of soft breathing. Regardless of how she felt, however, she knew she needed to leave her bed. There were animals that needed feeding right away, on top of other things.

As she stretched, she felt the unevenness of her bed and the tightness with which her blanket held her down. She didn't remember her mattress being in such a state. Then again, she'd had a crazy dream. Perhaps she'd scrunched up certain pieces of it during the night, and it just needed a good beating. As for the blanket, perhaps a good push from her back legs would loosen it up enough for her to squeeze out.

"Aaahhaah!"

As she lifted her backside, she felt a strong suction coming from her nethers, as if something had been lodged in there, and her push had forced it out. To confirm this, another small push let out an audible pop.

Finally, she opened her eyes, and realized that none of it had been a dream. She was not in her own bed, but in a water bed, in an underwater biosphere. What she'd interpreted as her pillow had been a shoulder, and her lumpy mattress had been a body. She quickly looked down between her legs and saw two sticky strands connecting her to the part that had likely just came out of her, slowly shrinking away in the rush of cold air.

She heard a groan as the stallion beneath her woke up. She gently lay back down on top of him in the hopes that he would fall back asleep and she could take a moment to remember what had happened last night, but it was no use. As her chin touched down on his chest, his eyes met her gaze. "Good morning."

"G-good morning," she stammered. "Did you sleep well?"

His left hoof came up to rest on the small of her back, just behind her wing, while his right brushed her mane out of her face. "I did. Are you cold? You're shivering."

"I'm just nervous," she chuckled. As memories came rushing back into her head, she began to calm down. Some part of her was still panicking, and for good reason, but perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. He would know what to do, right? "So, about last night..."

"Don't worry," he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "It'll be our secret. Nopony else has to know."

"What I mean is, I wanted to ask..."

She was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. "Kai, are you awake!?" It was Twilight's voice. Fluttershy shrank down on his chest and looked a bit worried.

"I am now!" he called back, nodding at Fluttershy and stroking her mane and neck gently.

"Have you seen Fluttershy!? She's not in her room!"

"She came to talk to me last night!" he answered, making sure to keep his story vague. "She wanted to know about my recovery!"

"Is she still in there!?"

"Have you checked the baths!?"

There was no response, only the clip-clop of hooves walking away.

Kai turned back to Fluttershy. "I meant what I said last night. You're very important to me, and now I need to sneak you into the next room to keep our escapades last night a secret. Are you ready?"

Fluttershy nodded. She and Kai had agreed early on to keep the physical contact professional only to keep Nik and Twilight happy, and only just last night, she'd promised Twilight that she would take the relationship slowly. She'd broken both of those rules, and she didn't want her decision to hurt anypony.

With a nod, Kai pulled two small rags from his cloak pockets and gave one to her, using the other to wipe himself clean and stuffing it back into his pocket. "Just put it in the same pocket when you're done," he said. "I'll wash them later."

As she wiped away the remaining evidence of their nighttime debauchery, Kai stepped out into the hallway, looking both ways, then opening the next door down and peering inside. It was empty, with a made bed and everything. He left the door open and returned to his room, waving for Fluttershy to hurry up. Using his body as a shield, he moved her into the room and closed the door with one final peck on the cheek.

He returned to his room and began preparing to leave. Their business here was concluded, so he would rather move on. In truth, they could have moved on yesterday afternoon, but the healing and bathing had been very welcoming. They were all in need of a break, and a half day of recuperation was good enough for now. They were almost done, and it would only be another week or two before they could all go home and rest properly.

He waited another two minutes and stepped out into the hall just as Twilight was coming back from the baths. Without waiting for her to ask, Kai began knocking on the doors up and down the hallway, starting with where he knew Fluttershy wasn't, asking if she was in there. Twilight joined him on the opposite side of the hall, neither of them actually knocking on Fluttershy's door. Just as Kai was about to, she opened the door and stepped out, yawning.

"I'm sorry, she said, rubbing her eyes. "I guess I went back to the wrong room."

Twilight just smiled. "I'm glad you didn't just disappear. There's breakfast waiting in the dining area."

With a quiet nod, Fluttershy and Kai followed Twilight to the dining hall, where Seafoam had prepared a rather hefty meal for them. Nik was already there, and had already finished his second bowl of potage. He'd helped in the cooking process, but had been amazed at the ability to instantly bring water to a boil, and then cool it to a reasonable temperature right away. The trio sat down and scarfed down their breakfast, glad to have something off of a stove for once, rather than a campfire. The evenness was truly something magnificent at this point.

They sat around for a few minutes after breakfast, chatting and telling Seafoam some of the tales that had taken them to this point. While she couldn't really relate to any of it, she was glad to have somepony around to talk to. Despite the shortness of it, the isolation had been difficult for her. She considered the other girls family, and losing them had dropped her down a dark hole. She was glad that somepony had been there to help her back up.

"Well, we'd best be moving on," said Kai, standing up. "Is everypony ready?"

"Can't we stick around for one more day?" asked Nik. "We've been on the road so long, what's one more day of rest?"

"One day closer to the destruction of the world," groused Kai. "Besides, we've overstayed our welcome."

"That's not true," smiled Seafoam. "I don't mind you all staying."

"Would it really be that harmful?" asked Fluttershy.

"Under normal circumstances, no, but--"

"We can't linger too long in one location," interrupted Twilight. "We have to keep moving."

"There is a great force coming after us," added Kai. "The last time they swarmed this place, Seafoam was the only survivor." Everypony except Kai and Seafoam looked down at their empty plate. "I know you're tired, and afraid, but we have to keep going. We're so close to the end of the line. It's just a little further." Slowly but surely, everyone else nodded in acceptance. They knew it was the way things had to be.