Failure, Eternally Retold, Part Three: Morality

It was right around the evening when Kai woke up. With some difficulty, he sat up and looked around. He was on a cot in the infirmary, with Fluttershy asleep on his right thigh. His left leg was bandaged, and he remembered back to the fight. The blade had almost gone into his gut. He'd managed to push it down, angled to the ground, but then the wall had collapsed, driving it forward. It was only then, after being pinned together, that he managed to strike the fatal blow against his foe.

He didn't want to move, for fear of waking Fluttershy up. She'd likely been among the ponies that had treated him, as well as helping out everypony else in here. She deserved a rest after that. His left front leg had a tube and two wires attached to it, with some medical tape holding the tube, as well as the needle at the end, firmly in place.

Three or four doctors were still making their rounds, the rest had gone for some well-deserved sleep. Things had calmed down and quieted significantly. With a bit of magic, he shone a light from his horn, waving a doctor over.

"Was there something you needed, sir?" whispered the surgeon, coming over so as not to wake anypony else.

"Information," confirmed Kai, equally as quiet. "How long was I out?"

"Just for the afternoon. How do you feel?"

"Like shit. I'd have thought I would sleep longer, after being up and very active for more than thirty-six hours. I just woke up from sleep, and I'm still exhausted."

"If I had to guess, I'd say that's a combination of blood loss, and the fact that I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten today."

"Not since sunset. Though I guess that was a day ago, now."

"You should eat something. There's probably still some stew left, if you feel up to it."

"I don't think I can leave." Kai raised his leg with the IV tube and pulse oximeter. He then gestured to Fluttershy. "How long has she been out?"

"A few hours, I think. We offered her a cot of her own to sleep on, but she wanted to be here when you woke up. I'm guessing she's your marefriend?"

Kai nodded, then shook his head. "No, not anymore. Really only for a bit. I proposed earlier this week, and promised that after this, we'd go back to her home and be wed. No more fighting for our lives, no more hoping that we'll find something to eat that night, just a simple village life." He gently stroked her mane, keeping his touch light so as not to wake her. "Any news on the human?"

"The hooman. And no, I'm not in the loop regarding that thing. But let me see if I can bring you some stew."

As the doctor walked out of the tent, Kai wondered what had happened. He'd seen the battlefield cleared, and he didn't hear any fighting going on outside. Perhaps the conflict was over, or perhaps this was just a lull in the action. He thought, if anything, he would hear Bone trouncing around out there, but no. It was very quiet.

The doctor came back very quickly, and without any soup. He didn't even bother coming over to Kai. He just sat down in his chair. For a moment, Kai wondered what this meant, but that changed when Princess Luna came through with a large bowl in front of her. She walked over to Kai, pulled up a tray table for him to eat off of, and placed the soup in front of him. "Akaitora, right? We met yesterday."

Kai gave as deep a bow as he could muster. "Highness."

"You may skip the formalities, I'm just here to talk. Doctor Tibs said you had questions about the human."

Kai nodded. "I was wondering where he might be. I was also hoping for a status update on the battle, if you can tell me."

"The fight's over," answered Luna. "The ponies in the cloaks all disappeared suddenly. We're not sure why. We do have reason to believe that they aren't coming back, however. We believe that they were trying to kill the human for two reasons, and one of those reasons, the rips in reality, is now gone."

"All of them?"

"Eight are confirmed at this time. Before you ask, yes, the one that swallowed Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville is back to normal. My sister has made sure to send news of that when she dropped off Applejack."

"And what about Nik?"

Luna took a deep breath, then let it out. "We're not sure exactly where he is, or what his condition is. At this time, he is listed as missing. Now, it's time I asked some questions of you. You seem to have been quite knowledgeable regarding this. Spike confirmed that you were the one to clear up the matter of in which order the stones were to be used, Twilight tells me that you started this whole adventure, and even Celestia tells me you were able to not only find, but enter the hidden haven. You are no ordinary stallion."

Kai shook his head. "I am ordinary. I just have uncommon knowledge. I'm sure there are other ponies that could have done what I did. What makes me unique is that I saw what may have happened, and tried to fix it. Any other pony that had read what I had and seen what I've seen would have done what I did. Or they would have just killed him and been done with it."

"And that would have been easier?"

"A few quick stabs, and toss him in a dumpster somewhere. I didn't want to do that, so we had to go on this journey. Just he and I, going from place to place. It would have been crap, but Twilight and Fluttershy opted to join us." He smiled. "This whole thing would have been much harder without those gir--"

"Kai!" Fluttershy leaped up and threw her arms around his shoulders. She knocked over his yet-untouched stew in the process, but Luna caught it. "You're alright! I was so scared!"

Kai wrapped his hooves around her and gently rubbed her back, calming her down as best he could. "I'm still here, and I have you to thank for it."

Luna placed the bowl back in the table, which had moved a bit. "I'll leave you two alone. Enjoy your meal, and have a pleasant rest. That said, don't go too far. Our discussion is far from over." With a nod from Kai, Luna stood up and walked out of the infirmary. She had seen what Fluttershy had been dreaming about, and thought it would be awkward to sit there and watch if she decided to partake in such delights.