"So?" Steel Wind asked nervously once the nurse was done listening to his heart.

The nurse gave him a reassuring smile as she put away her stethoscope.

"Sounds good, if a little fast," she commented, making yet another note on her clipboard.

Gee, why could that be? Steel thought sarcastically, he would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't so scared of what came next.

"Nervous?" the nurse asked as if she could read his mind.

Come to think about it, she was probably used to this. Probably every stallion who came into her field clinic felt just as nervous as him.

"Yes," he admitted, and was at least reassured to see her smile grow softer.

"Aww, don't be," she replied, giving him a pat on the head, "I do this every day, I promise the procedure will go smoothly."

That wasn't much comfort to Steel, and the nurse could probably tell because her smile grew more sympathetic.

"Got a marefriend waiting for you when you get back home?"

Steel nodded. "Stallion actually."

"Oh that's nice," the nurse said, giving him another friendly pat, "At least you won't have to worry about siring foals."

"That's not what I was worried about," Steel began, but the nurse cut him off by pressing a hoof to his lips.

"None of that darling," she chided him, "every stallion who is drafted goes through the same procedure, and you'll be returning as a war hero. I'm sure your stallionfriend will be more than happy to have you back, missing bits or not."

Steel Wind could feel himself relax, that was good to hear.

"Every stallion?" he asked.

"Every... stallion," she reassured. "It's standard procedure for all ponies who want to join the royal guard, and we won't change that just because we have a war on our hooves."

Well that was reassuring, at least he wouldn't be alone.

Granted, he wouldn't be a he either, but at least there'd be plenty more like him.

"I guess that's okay then," he chuckled nervously.

"It's not optional," the nurse replied, giving him one last headpat before her face split into a beaming smile. "But I'm so glad you agree, it makes this much simpler."

"Well, you'll have to be prepared to do something for your country when it has done so much for you," Steel recited one of the slogans from the draft posters.

"Indeed," the nurse nodded and smiled.

"Now bite down on this," she said, handing him a piece of wood, "I'm afraid this will sting a little."

He dutifully put the stick between his teeth.

"Fow Ewuesfria!" he mumbled as she picked up a pair of scissors.

"For Equestria," the nurse agreed cheerfully as she lifted his tail out of the way.

***

A few minutes later Steel Emerged from the nurse's tent two stones lighter and entered the line to receive his weapons and armour.

Author's Note

My first dual prompt. They were Hospital and Bits. I was contemplating writing a war story when I was asked the question: What bits do you cut lff in a hospital?

So enjoy this dystopian spin on the Equestrian military.