“Okay, I admit, that’s a pretty high authority. Maybe we need to have a real game so the Princess can judge me properly,” Dad said. “We’d need a good fourth for a game of Spades, though. Last I checked, your mother doesn’t know how to play.” He turned his head to the left, then shifted the computer so Mom appeared on the screen. She simply smiled and shook her head. He turned the computer back and looked through the screen before he asked, “Hey Ma, you ever played?”
Gramma shook her head and chuckled. “Sorry, hon— Rummy is my specialty. I believe Crimson and I are tied in that department, but he had a good hundred points on me last time we played.” She poked me in the ribs. “You and those aces— I think you rigged that deck.”
I giggled and replied, “Hey, you saw me shuffle! Besides, you dealt!”
Gramma scratched her chin. “Hmm... good point. Either way, for a royal game of Spades, I’m not a wise fourth.”
“Eh, we’ll figure it out,” I said.
“Mr. Dasher, I need to speak with you.”
“Huh? Who’s that?” It didn’t sound like Dad.
“Sorry buddy, Dr. Osis just walked in. Looks like he needs to talk to me. I’m gonna turn the sound off for just a minute, okay? I’ll be right back,” Dad responded.
“Oh… okay.” I saw Dad look away from the screen, and when he spoke, no sound came from the laptop. “Oh, he turned his mic off, too. What are they talking about?” I looked at Gramma.
“I’m not sure, Sweetheart. I’m sure he’ll tell us when the doctor is finished speaking with him,” she said.
I was never that good at lip-reading— I tried to figure out what Dad was saying, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of anything. His frown told me he didn’t like whatever the doctor had said, though.
Eventually, he made a slow nod, then his gaze shifted from one side of his room to the other. He looked down and shook his head, then turned back to the screen. “Hey, buddy.” The sound had come back on.
“Dad, you okay?” I asked. “You don’t look very happy.”
“No, not really, Champ. Looks like I’m going back into surgery in a little bit.”
My eyes bulged. “AGAIN? Why?”
“Well, I had another echo just before your mom got here,” Dad answered. “Long story short, the stent they put in a few days ago isn’t working like the doctors hoped. There’s still some pretty major blockage.” He sighed. “They’re going to try something else, but it’s risky. I have to talk to your mom before I go in, so I need to sign off. She’ll explain everything to you later.”
I sighed. I wasn’t happy about it, but he’d made it through the first surgery— he’d make it through this one, too. “Hey Dad, before you go, can I just tell you something?”
“Sure, buddy. Anything.”
“Well, I think Princess Luna helped you through your first surgery— she told me she would try, and I think she did. Maybe she’ll do it again!”
Dad smiled. “I hope so, buddy. Princess Luna has done a lot for us; maybe she’ll come through again. But in case something happens, I need to tell you something.”
“What’s up, Pop?”
“You are, without a doubt, the most incredible colt I’ve ever seen. You’ve been through so much, and have come out stronger every time. You have an abundance of strength in yourself, more than you can imagine. Where it comes from doesn’t matter, but I don’t want you to ever doubt it. You have enough spirit for ten colts, if not more. Just remember, that even if I’m gone, I will always be with you— in here.” He tapped his chest, and I saw a tear streak down his cheek. “I love you, Champ. I always have, and I always will.”
I could feel my eyes watering. “I… I love you too, Dad.”
He smiled. “See you later, buddy.” Before I could answer, the screen went dark.
“I can’t believe we have to just sit around and wait like this! They really oughta have a way to give us some mid-procedure updates!”
“Now sweetie, you know that’s impossible. The room needs to be sterile, and only the necessary ponies are allowed in the operating room,” Mom said.
Groaning, I said, “Of course I know that. I just hate waiting!”
“Believe me, sweetie, me too,” Mom responded.
We’d been waiting in my room for about an hour. Starry and Tess were still in school, so Mom, Gramma and I had to just sit there and wait. I couldn’t fall asleep, and I didn’t feel like playing anything to pass the time. I couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t circle back around to Dad, so I kept my mouth shut. I kept hearing those last words he’d said, but I didn’t want to. They sounded like defeat—like Dad had accepted it—but he wasn’t like that! Dad never gave up— if he was gonna go down, he’d go down fighting. But… I just couldn’t stand the torture of not knowing. Then I thought of something else I didn’t know.
I looked over at Mom. “What did you two talk about?”
She tilted her head at me. “I’m sorry?”
“Dad said he had to talk to you before he went into surgery. What did you talk about?” I asked her.
Mom let out a breath that she seemed to be holding in. “Well, sweetie, quite a few things in not a lot of time, but we had to make sure we had confirmed everything in your father’s will.”
“His will?”
“Yes sweetie, his last will and—”
“I know what it is, Mom! Why would you just assume he’s not going to make it?”
She sighed. “Well sweetie, the truth is, your father and I have known that he’s been having heart problems for some time now. His symptoms became worse around your birthday— that’s why he was going downstairs to his doctor so frequently.”
“Why the hay didn’t you tell me?” I cried.
“Because you’ve been going through so much as it is right now, honey. We didn’t want to add something else to stress you out,” she explained.
“And you think it’s not doing that right now?”
She sighed. “I’m sorry, sweetie. We thought it was for the best— we hoped that whatever was going on with your father could be taken care of, at least temporarily. We didn’t expect this to happen. We hoped we wouldn’t need to tell you until after you felt better, if at all. Obviously we were wrong.” She looked at the floor and shook her head.
“Damn right!” I groaned and put my head in my hooves. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I lifted my head and looked at Gramma. “Did you know, too?”
She frowned and nodded. “I’m sorry, Sweetheart. Your parents asked me not to tell you, and I agreed that it would just be more stress on you.”
I sighed and buried my face in my forehooves. I couldn’t believe they would keep something like this from me, but even so, I refused to give up hope. Even if she didn’t have power over death, Princess Luna would find a way to help. She did it the first time— she would do it again!
Mom and Gramma both came up alongside my bed and hugged me. “We really are sorry, sweetie. Please forgive us— we didn’t want to scare you. We aren’t assuming he’s not going to make it— we just wanted to be prepared, that’s all.”
I let out a huff. “That doesn’t really help much, Mom.”
She sighed in return. “I’m sorry, sweetie. There’s not really much else I can say.”
“Fine. Then just leave me alone,” I said.
“O… Okay.” She motioned to Gramma and the two of them went to sit by the window. After they sat down, nopony made any noise. We just continued waiting.
About two hours later, there were a few slow knocks at my door. The three of us looked toward it to see Dr. Osis opening it. The smile we hoped to find on his face wasn’t there. He approached my bed and paused; he opened his mouth, but no words came out for a second.
“The… The operation did not go as we hoped. We wanted to try an alternative to the stent, but we had to remove it first. The process caused… complications, and he… he didn’t make it. His artery—” He looked around at the three of us. “Perhaps you want to hear the details later?” I dug my face back into my hooves and nodded. “Alright. There’s one other thing, though.” I looked barely over the top of my foreleg as he lit up his horn. “Crimson, I found this on the operating table while we were cleaning up.” His aura surrounded his coat pocket. Out of it and into my hooves came one of Dad’s royal blue feathers, not a barb out of place. “I thought you would want to have it. There really isn’t much I can say to make this situation any easier for any of you, but I am so, so sorry. Good luck with your treatment, Crimson. Stay strong for your father.”
He turned around and walked out the door. I heard him sigh again before it closed, then I looked at the feather in my hoof— the last piece of my father I had left.
And I broke.