Failure, Eternally Retold, Part Three: Morality

The world seemed to spin as Kai opened his eyes. The light shining down on him was unbearable, so he closed them again. The last thing he remembered was being hit in the chest and crashing into the lake. He tried to sit up, but a jolt of pain shot through his chest and neck, causing him to yelp out in pain.

"Try to keep still," came Seafoam's voice. "You've been out cold all day. How do you feel?"

"I fe--" he had to suddenly turn sideways away from Seafoam, as he suddenly had a coughing fit that only served to do more damage to his chest and neck. Though he did manage to push out a bit of fluid. "Bad."

"I can imagine. You broke your neck and one of your ribs on impact. I patched you up as best I could, but I could only do so much. I tried to focus on keeping you alive, and was unable to do much about the pain."

Kai was about to nod, but at the lightest movements of his neck, he decided to just talk. "You did the right thing. I'll learn to cope with the pain, but I can't do anything if I'm dead. When can I stand up again?"

"Physically, whenever you're ready. I won't stop you, and your body is as repaired as I can make it. Your bones and muscles can handle you standing up. The problem is, it will still feel like everything's broken."

Hearing this, Kai propped himself up on his elbows, opened his eyes, and pushed himself upright. His whole body screamed at him to return to a reclined position, or at least stop moving, but he didn't listen. Halfway up, he was shouting as well, and yet he kept going until he was sitting up straight. He sat there for a moment, panting as his vision slowly returned to his burning eyes. He was back in the dome, sitting on a water bed.

"I'm not sure you should be up and about," said Seafoam. "You're in no condition to--"

"My bones and muscles are fine," interrupted Kai. "Unless my organs have failed, I can--"

"You did drown," interrupted Seafoam. "I had to pull a lot of water out of your lungs. It seeped in through your knife hole."

Kai took in and slowly released a deep breath. It hurt. "You're right. I've forgotten to thank you for saving me. Twice now, you've come to my aid, and I owe you for doing so."

There was a long pause. "You're welcome."

"Did any of my companions survive?"

"I set them on a current that would have taken them to the northwestern shore and covered their retreat with a thick fog. I don't know what happened after that, but I don't think they ended up in the lake. I could be wrong, though."

Kai swung his legs out of bed and stood up with a loud grunt, wobbling as he did so. "I should rejoin them."

Seafoam planted her hoof on his shoulder, causing him to yelp again. "I vehemently disagree. I insist you rest, at least through the night. If you can walk without straining yourself, I'll let you go, but until then, I want you to lie back down and rest. Can you promise me that?"

Kai thought about that for a minute. While he wanted to be out of here, and back with the others, he would also agree that in his current state, he'd just be slowing them down. "I promise, I won't go until I can walk without struggle. However, as soon as I'm better, I'm out."

"That's fine. I just need you to not destroy yourself trying to catch up. Now, you should go back to your bed. I'll make you something to eat."

As Seafoam made her way out of the room to prepare something, Kai immediately dropped to the floor and began doing push-ups. He was determined to return to his group, but would have hated knowing that they were out doing their utmost and he was lying in bed having somepony take care of him. It left a bad taste in his mouth. Instead, he would push himself until the pain became the new normal. If the pain stayed, he would be able to tolerate more of it. If it disappeared, he'd be more appreciative of every day that passed.

After a good forty push-ups, he picked himself up and began pacing around the room, trying to convince himself that all of the pain was purely psychosomatic. Slowly but surely, he noticed it less and less as the pacing increased in speed and intensity. Whether the workout was helping or just distracting him, he was beginning to feel more and more like himself. Perhaps a bit of his old self, but with all of the drive he'd mustered over the last two years. This wasn't for him. This was for the lives of everypony in Equestria. But more importantly, this was for Fluttershy. He'd grown accustomed to being around her, and he never wanted to leave her side again. He tried to consciously associate the remaining pain with being away from her, trying to force himself to believe that being with her again would ease up the stabbing pain in his chest.

He sat down after a few minutes, panting heavier than a light workout would normally cause. He'd worked up quite a sweat in the interim, and pulled out the towels he'd used to clean himself and Fluttershy. He almost considered wiping his sweaty brow, but decided against it. These would serve as the reminder as to why he had to continue on, and would not see use until they were together again, preferably still alive. He put them back, opting to just wipe his face on the collar of the cloak.

The door swung open and Seafoam stepped in, carrying a tray of food. "You need to keep your energy up, so I made a lot."

Kai stood up, walked across the room, and picked up the tray. "You've been kind to me, Seafoam. It's no wonder you and Fluttershy were fast making friends with each other. In some ways, you remind me of her."

Seafoam blushed. "Thank you."

"But that only reminds me of how much danger she's in. I can walk, I can run, I can move freely without audible pain. I'm leaving."

Seafoam furrowed her brow. "We agreed you'd stay the night and rest."

"We agreed that I'd leave as soon as I could handle the journey. I can handle it now. I won't be useless out there."

Seafoam sighed. "At least have something to eat, first. I spent the time to make it, the least you could do for your friends is show up well-fed and ready to help."