//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Connections // Story: Through Crimson Eyes // by Level Dasher //------------------------------// After numerous bouts of jumping, crying, hugging, and reassuring various nurses that he wasn’t having a psychotic break, Starry eventually settled down. Though still ecstatic, and panting due to his outburst, it seemed his father’s sense of professionalism had finally started kicking in. “Crimson… Tess… whew, sorry. Need to catch my breath.” Starry was still smiling as he stood up, but his smile faltered. “Hey, just because I have my cutie mark, it doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends, right?” I laughed. “Come on, dude. I was joking. Do you really think we would buck you to the curb like that? Just because you’re not technically a Crusader anymore, it doesn’t mean you’re not still a friend!” “Yeah, silly! Crusaders for life!” Tesla put her hoof out in front of her. Starry’s smile came back as he and I did the same to make a three-way hoof-bump. Everypony else gave a small chuckle, while I saw Tess blushing at me out of the corner of my eye. I glanced over at Starry with a smile; I noticed him furrowing his brow a bit as he began looking at the floor. He turned around and looked at his painting, then to me. As his pupils shifted from one corner of his eyes to another, then another, I could tell that he was deep in thought. He looked down again for a moment and tapped his hoof in a few random places on the floor. Then he slowly looked up at me, his eyes starting to widen as he furrowed his brow even more. He stared straight into my eyes, mouth open, for a good five seconds. I got a little weirded out. I raised my eyebrows at him and said, “Uhhh, yes?” “…You…” “Huh?” Starry pointed a hoof at me. “It… it was you!” I had no idea what he was going on about. “Dude, what are you talking about? What did I do?” “Don’t you see? I got my cutie mark thanks to you!” That certainly caught my attention. “What? How do you figure that?” I looked at Tesla with a cocked brow— she returned my look with the same expression. Tesla backed away from us as Starry walked towards me, ranting. Based on what I had learned about the Element of Laughter, this would have put even her to shame. “Think about it! If you hadn’t gotten cancer then you wouldn’t have met Princess Luna and if you hadn’t met Princess Luna then you wouldn’t have told me and Tess about her and I wouldn’t have thought to start making that painting for you and you and your parents and Tesla and Rosebud and Amethyst wouldn’t have said how great it looked and made me realize that I really was good at this and I NEVER WOULD HAVE GOTTEN MY CUTIE MARK! IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!” He grabbed me and hugged me so tight I could hardly breath. He almost yanked my PICC line out. After a few seconds, Starry relaxed his grip, panting again. It took him a moment to catch his breath before he looked me in the eye, a single tear trickling out one of his own. He said quietly, “…You gave me my cutie mark, Crimson.” I put a hoof on his shoulder. “Well… it sounds like your logic could be right, but I wouldn’t go that far. You’re the one with the talent, dude.” “I guess, but—” “Besides, you’ve loved painting for a while now. I’m sure you would have gotten your cutie mark for another piece of art, even if you hadn’t painted this one. It’s all you, dude.” “Maybe, but I didn’t get my cutie mark making any old picture; I got it making something for you. You were a huge part of this, Crimson.” He turned his head and looked at his newly acquired cutie mark. “Hey dude, if you want to give me credit for it, by all means go ahead. But I don’t think I deserve it.” As I said this, I realized I sounded like Princess Luna. Starry looked back at me. “Yes, you do. With all the junk you’re going through, you still managed to help me get my cutie mark. That’s a big deal. I—” His eyes suddenly bulged again. “I need to go home! I need to tell my mom! I wonder what my dad’ll say when he finds out? If Princess Luna comes back, can you ask her to tell Knightfall his son got his cutie mark? Anyway, I’ll see you guys later! Nice to meet you, Rosebud and Amethyst! And thanks again, Crimson!” He galloped out the door, leaving the painting on the cart by the window. The sudden absence of the hyper colt resulted in a deafening silence, but everypony in the room wore a smile. Hey, wait… unknown connections… a reason for dealing with it all… Could… could that be it? Maybe I really did play a bigger part in Starry’s cutie mark than I thought… but, it’s his talent. He earned his cutie mark himself… didn’t he? After letting my mind drift for a few moments, I shrugged and looked around the room. When my eyes rested back on the painting, a thought occurred to me. “Uh oh. He didn’t take a picture of it, did he? So much for his extra credit.” This elicited unanimous laughter and an ‘oops’ from my dad. “Oh well, I’m sure he’ll be back for that, but probably not tonight.” Everypony mumbled a different remark of agreement. I let out a deep sigh and turned to Tesla. “Well, one down and two to go, I guess. Which one of us you think’ll be next?” She shrugged. “No clue. You might be at a bit of a halt with this cancer stuff, but it doesn’t mean you can’t still try for it.” “True.” Of course, Mom had to put in her two bits. “Don’t do anything reckless, please. You are in a hospital, after all. And please keep in mind that you are sick; you need your rest.” I rolled my eyes. “I knoooooooow. Geez…” With that, I saw Tesla glaring at my mother again. I didn’t know what my mom had said before to make Tess so angry, but I was wary about the look she was giving my mother. I thought about Tesla's outburst, as well as the conversations I'd had with her… and about her. I contemplated everything for a moment before I made up my mind. If anything was going to work, I would have to make the first move. I couldn’t help but imagine an invisible hourglass over my head, the sands falling at the same pace that the machines pumped fluids through my PICC. The only thing I had to lose at this point was time, so I figured this was the best opportunity to do it. As I slowly put a hoof around Tess’s neck, she looked at me and her face turned the color of my coat. “You know, Tess, maybe you can help me with that. With all this stuff going on, I’ll need somepony by my side to keep me in line.” I flashed her as sincere a smile as I could, hoping to successfully give her the message. The corners of Tesla’s mouth slowly turned up, and I watched as her eyes began watering. She took her turn to jump at me and give me a hug, being careful around my PICC. As Tesla stood there crying into my shoulder, I could hear her mumbling between her sniffles. “I… I’ve been wanting to tell you for so long, Crimson. Wh-What happened earlier— that wasn’t how I pictured it at all.” Feeling it might be a bit insensitive, I decided not to tell Tess that I had already known about her crush. As she and Rose quietly trotted to the door, Amy whispered to me, “We’re going to go, Crimson. Glad to see you’re taking all of this well.” She waved a hoof around the room, gesturing to the machines and my IV, then pointing to Tesla and silently mouthing the words ‘and that.’ “Hopefully we’ll see you again soon!” Rose gave her a small push. Out of Tesla’s earshot, she quietly added, “C’mon, let’s go. She needs time to let it sink in.” She smiled and winked at me, and Amy stifled a giggle. I cocked my brow at them and stuck out my tongue with a smile to match Rose’s. I watched as Mom and Dad followed the girls’ example. As they left the room, I saw Mom glance at Tesla with raised eyebrows and slowly shake her head. What’s going on with these two?