Failure, Eternally Retold, Part Three: Morality

The doctor from the next town over had been called for general practice. He was primarily just there in case of incident, as the guard presence had increased significantly in the last three days. With all of that sharp steel, somepony was likely to be hurt, whether accidentally or otherwise. He hadn't needed to do more than bandage up a few minor injuries that weren't very serious, until a young pegasus mare approached him, looking for advice. She wasn't hurt or particularly sick, just going through a change of life.

"I'm just not sure what the right course of action is," she lamented. "Especially if I don't know what he wants to do, or even if he's still alive out there."

"This isn't a choice that has a right or wrong answer," waved the doctor. "I don't want to make up your mind for you, as that would be an incipient lawsuit if you regretted your decision. This has to be your choice."

He was interrupted from his discussion as a guard ran up to him. "Doc, you showed up at just the right time. We found a stallion in the desert, passed out and cut open. He's still alive!"

The doctor stood up and wiped his hooves. "I'm afraid we'll have to cut this meeting short, miss Fluttershy. Medical emergencies, you understand."

Fluttershy nodded at retreated to the back of the room. As the doctor usually treated patients in the inn, and all the rooms were full, he'd set up in a conference room in the town hall. It had been cleaned to a reasonable level, nowhere near as much as a surgical studio needed to guarantee a defense against further complications, but he had partitioned off a corner of the room with a tent to reduce the chance of infection as much as he could, given the circumstances.

The doors flew open just as the doctor came back from scrubbing up. Fluttershy's eyes went wide as she saw the metal wings draped over the side of the stretcher. There was only one pony with wings like that. They were hoof-made. She had to restrain herself from leaping onto him right then and there, for fear of causing more damage. This resulted in her freezing in place.

As Kai was undergoing surgery, one of the guards tried to escort her out of the room, to go and rest until the doctor had time for her again, but she refused, opting instead to sit in the corner, waiting eagerly for him to walk out of the gallery. It was three hours before the curtain pulled back. Rather than walking out, Kai was carried out on the same stretcher he'd been carried in on. A cot had been set up for the patients that just needed to lie down, and with some fresh linens, Kai was laid down to rest.

"This is the stallion," she said, approaching the doctor as he removed his gown and mask. He left his cap on for now. "The one I was telling you about. This is him."

"You're sure?"

"We've been travelling together for over a month. I'd know that face anywhere."

"I would have noticed the wings first. Does he generally take good care of himself?"

Fluttershy nodded. "What happened?"

"No idea, he's still out cold." The doctor loaded up an intravenous line and bag, and secured it on Kai's foreleg with a bit of tape. "His front half is covered in burns, his back in cuts. I would recommend he not fly for awhile with all of those perforations. I stitched him up as best I could, but those wings are heavy."

"They come off," offered Fluttershy. She reached down under Kai's right arm and disconnected the pin holding everything in place. His wing uncoupled, curled up, and was set aside. She did the same on the other side, leaving just some lightweight metal nubs above his shoulders. "I, uh... I was there when he designed them."

The doctor rolled his eyes. "That would have saved me a good hour, but I guess what's done is done. Besides, if you had poked your head in, I probably would have yelled at you for not being sterile. At any rate, he's wrapped up now, and should be up in a few hours. I'm going to go clean up and grab something to eat. Would you care to join me?"

Fluttershy shook her head. Even though the ordeal had caused her to miss lunch, she wanted to stay right here by his side. "I want to be here when he wakes up."

"Suit yourself," shrugged the doctor, walking out of the room.

Over the rest of the day, Celestia, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had come in to check on Fluttershy and Kai. Nik wasn't allowed to leave his room, but it was likely he had been told. Fluttershy had listened to them all, but she hadn't taken her eyes off of Kai's face. His breathing was slow, but smooth. His skin had been marred by days of neglect, and was very rough as a result.

She laid her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Through all of the bandages, she could still hear his heart beating, slowly at first, then picking up the a more normal pace as she lay there. She heard the door open and close, hooves approach, and felt an arm resting on her shoulder.

"Is that you, Twilight?" she asked softly, not bothering to look up. "I'm not leaving him. Not again. Not until I can apologize to him."

The hoof on her shoulder moved between her wings, gently rubbing her back.

"I know you were uncomfortable with he and I being together, based on how we met, but he's changed. He's a different pony now. You've seen what he's like, and he's the pony I want." She paused, but the hoof just kept on rubbing. "When all of this is over, he's coming back to Ponyville with us. I'm going to insist on it." She paused, expecting a certain question, but as the question was obvious, she took a deep breath and just blurted out the answer. "Because I'm carrying his child."

"What!?" The hoof that was rubbing her pulled away.

Fluttershy opened her eyes. That wasn't Twilight's voice. She leaned up and turned around. For the last two minutes, It had been Kai rubbing her shoulders. He was awake, and shocked. "I guess you weren't expecting that."

Kai glanced from Fluttershy's face down to her abdomen. "Are you really...?"

She nodded, holding back tears. "You're going to be a dad."