For what felt like hours on the lake, I attempted to change my surroundings, but to no avail. I tried envisioning Blackhawk and Stripes sitting by the water, but nothing happened. Tess didn’t come back up the path, either. All I saw was the lake, with that odd pink sunset glowing on the horizon. I couldn’t deny that it looked beautiful, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t create what I wanted to see. I guess I needed more practice. After giving up trying to change anything, I just stared at the sunset, which suddenly went black. A moment later, I opened my eyes to see my mother leaning over me.
“Oh! Sorry, sweetie. Was the light helping you sleep? It was on all night.” Mom kissed me on the forehead as I looked at the clock. It was nine in the morning; at least I had a good night’s sleep.
“Yeah, I guess it was. The light came into my dream.” I yawned and stretched my legs. When I sat up and looked toward the window, I found a tray with a lid covering it on the counter. “Let me guess— Asparagus again?”
Mom lifted the lid in her aura from beside me. “Yep, looks like it. They brought it in only a few minutes ago, so it should still be hot. I know it isn’t your favorite thing in the world, but please eat some, won’t you?”
I groaned and crossed my forelegs. “Fine.”
Mom smiled and kissed me on the forehead. “That’s my colt.”
I heard a laugh from the window, where Dad and Gramma sat. “With all the sweets you’ve eaten this weekend, you better finish that whole plate, buddy!” Dad said, wagging his hoof at me.
I let out a harsh sigh and whined, “Oh, come on! If it was Mom’s or Gramma’s cooking I’d do it, but have you tried this stuff?”
Dad shrugged. “Nope, can’t say that I have, Champ.”
I smirked. “I swear, it’s been making my stomach hurt lately. C’mere and take a bite, then tell me to eat the whole plate.”
Dad raised a brow, then trotted to my bed. He picked up a piece of asparagus, took a bite of it, and chewed for a few seconds before he swallowed it. He smirked back at me, looked at Gramma and Mom, then pushed the call button on my bed.
Not a second after I asked Dad why he pushed the button, High Flyer popped his head through the door. “Is everything alright?” He looked at me, and I pointed at Dad. “Is there a problem, mister Dasher?”
Dad pointed a hoof back at me, raised his eyebrows, and asked High Flyer, “Can we bring him food from home?”
Dad shook his head. “You should’ve had me try that stuff sooner, Crimson. If I had known we could bring you whole meals, I would have been cooking with your mom for you since I retired.” On the last day of my birthday weekend, I was treated to two more gifts. First, I was apparently doing well enough that I didn’t need to have a restrictive diet anymore. I hadn’t had any treatments for about a month, and my last scan only showed small traces of cancer. Second, if the doctors kept me there for another month, and nothing extreme happened, they’d let me go home and just keep an eye on me. Pretty good birthday presents, if you asked me!
Mom and Gramma went back home to take care of some housework, and I was going to spend the day with Dad. I was also going to have my first home-cooked meal— as long as I had breakfast and lunch at the hospital, Mom and Gramma planned to make me my favorite dishes for dinner.
“Has the asparagus really been making your stomach hurt? Why didn’t you tell the doctors?” Dad asked as he pulled out my deck of cards.
“It’s not just the asparagus. Practically everything’s been doing it lately.”
“Why didn’t you say something, Crimson? That’s pretty important for the doctors to know,” he scolded me as he dealt the cards out.
I shrugged. “The pain doesn’t usually last that long, and I figured there wasn’t much I could do about the food. I knew Mom wouldn’t let me live on sweets, either,” I chuckled.
Dad sighed. “I’m serious, Crimson. You should tell the doctors about anything that isn’t normal.”
“I know, I know. There isn’t anything that—” Something occurred to me, but I dismissed it. It had happened to me before, a while ago, and it was my own fault. “…Nah, nothing else weird that I can think of.”
Dad narrowed his eyes at me. “Okay, but if you think of anything, make sure you at least tell High Flyer, got it?”
I sighed. “I will, I will.”
As Dad looked at his cards, there was a knock at the door. It slowly opened, and I heard a familiar voice. “Can… can I come in?” A sky blue head poked through the doorway, and I nodded. Tesla came into the room and closed the door behind her, then slowly shuffled her way toward me. Her head faced the floor the whole way until she got to the foot of my bed. Then she peeked at me through the tops of her eyes. She saw my mouth turned down only slightly, then we both spoke at the same time.
“Tesla, I’m sorry.”
“Crimson, I’m sorry.”
I needed to let her talk first, so I shut up and listened, just like Mom told me. “I’m sorry, Crimson. I talked to my mom last night, and she’s right— I overreacted. I don’t know why I got so upset. I… I guess I was nervous. I don’t even remember what you said that made me yell, but I’m sure you weren’t trying to be mean. I feel so bad.” She turned and looked at the floor again.
“No, Tess. You had every right to be upset. I forgot to say some pretty important stuff.” I reached over to the side table next to my bed and picked up the neon light, then set it on the rolling table in front of me. “First of all…” I smiled and turned the light on. “…it’s beautiful.” As she looked up at me again, I saw her mouth turn up slightly. “Second…” I motioned for her to come to the side of the bed. When she got close enough, I leaned down and gave her a hug. “…Thank you. I love it.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it.” As she set her hooves back on the floor, her smile came in full.
“Happy birthday, Crimson.”