//------------------------------// // Chapter 39: Shock // Story: Through Crimson Eyes // by Level Dasher //------------------------------// I sat in a chair next to the wall as one of the laundry ponies changed my sheets. High Flyer stood in front of me, wiping away the leftover mucus under the NG tube. He had come in to take my vitals— when my pulse came back almost off the chart, he didn’t say anything. He just nodded. “Do you want some ice chips, buddy?” “C-Can’t I just have a bit of water? I’d just c-crush the ice chips anyway…” “Sorry bud, you know the drill. Ice chips only.” I sighed. “F-Fine. I’ll have some.” High Flyer let out a long breath. “Crimson, I don’t know what to say. I am so sorry.” He got up and started for the door. “I’ll be right back.” The laundry mare finished up and helped me back into bed. “I’m so sorry, honey.” I had a feeling I’d be hearing a lot of that in the next few days. A minute later, I heard the creak of the door opening, but it stopped halfway. A voice outside my door spoke, then I heard a couple of gasps. High Flyer walked in with a cup. “Here are your chips, buddy. I hope they help your throat. It looks like you’ve at least gotten used to it normally, but crying with an NG tube can hurt, so I’ve been told.” He walked toward the door, and before he left, he asked, “You’re welcome to say no, but are you up for visitors?” I had a pretty good idea who he was talking about, so I just nodded. He nodded back, then held the door open; they came in as slow as molasses, both of their mouths agape. They got to the foot of my bed and leaned against it. “Is… is it true?” Starry asked. I looked down at my sheets and nodded again. “Oh my gosh… Crimson, I—” Tess looked behind her at her flank for a moment and sighed. Then she looked back at me and shook her head. “I’m so sorry.” Starry nodded his head. Yeah, quite a lot of that. She climbed up onto my bed and made to give me a hug, but I held up a hoof. “You… you might not wanna do that. Y-You’ll prob’ly get wet.” Tess gently pushed my hoof aside and hugged me anyway, and I gladly returned it. Starry came around the other side of my bed, then climbed up and did the same. “Th-Thanks, guys.” I looked at the two of them, and they both nodded. “Hey, where are your mom and grandma?” Tess asked. I sighed. “They… they’re filling out paperwork.” Starry let out a grunt. “Crimson, I’ll be back in a little bit.” “And just where are you going?” Tess asked him. “To tell our parents we’re gonna be here for a while,” he answered, hopping off my bed. “Good,” she said, “because I’m not going anywhere.” “I thought so,” Starry replied before he walked out. The initial shock having finally subsided, I told Starry and Tess what happened once Starry came back— he’d said their parents gave them permission to stay as long as they wanted. I figured I’d throw in my latest encounter with the Princess, too. That at least helped me feel a little bit better. “I tell you, Princess Luna sure has good timing,” Starry said. “At least you got to have one more good dream about your dad before he… well, y’know.” “Yeah, I guess that’s true,” I replied. “Even if I knew it wasn’t real, Dad and the Princess in one dream was like winning the lotto.” When I glanced over at Tess, she had her chin in a hoof, staring at my sheets with her eyes and brows crooked. It was a look I’d seen on her before, so I sighed and asked her, “What’s up? Something’s on your mind, I can tell.” She slowly looked at me, and just as slowly responded, “What if… What if she knew?” Starry and I looked at each other and cocked a brow, then turned back to Tess. I asked the first question on my mind. “Wha— who?” Tess tilted her head and answered, “Princess Luna. Maybe she knew that your dad was…” She stopped herself, but I knew how the sentence would’ve ended. “What… what makes you say that?” I asked her. She lifted her head and dropped her hoof. “Well… think about it. The night before your dad passes away, she comes to give you a nice dream about him being able to come and see you…” “Yeah, so? She’s been visiting Crimson for a while, and she said he was due for a good dream. That could just be a coincidence,” Starry said. “But you told me Princess Luna said she didn’t have power over life and death…” “Okay…” Starry commented. “…When you two had that conversation, the Princess said you had to know that. She also said you would find out why. What if this was why? What if Princess Luna can’t stop death, but she knows when it’s coming? The Princess said she was going to try and help your dad the first time he went into surgery, but what if she knew he wasn’t going to make it? Maybe the Princess could only give him a little extra time, and wanted you to have…” That’s when my gears started turning. “…Just a few more days,” I said. My eyes widened. “Maybe that first time she helped him out, but this time…” I shook my head. It was a little much to take in. “But if she did know, why wouldn’t she tell me?” “Maybe for the same reason as your mom and grandma,” Starry answered. “She didn’t want to make you upset.” I sighed. “True. I guess I’ll have to ask her next time I see her.” “Knowing Princess Luna, that probably won’t be very long. She obviously likes you,” Tess said. “And you’re not jealous?” Starry quipped at her with a smirk. Tess punched him in the shoulder hard enough that he fell off the bed. “Shut up!” At least that got a smile out of me. It was pretty late before Starry and Tess finally went home. Fortunately, their parents had given Starry some snacks for them to eat, so at least they didn’t go hungry. It did kinda bug me when they ate in front of me, but I wasn’t gonna let them starve. “Sweetie… I just don’t know what to say.” Mom sat by my bed, her head resting in her hooves on the mattress. “This really isn’t fair… especially not to you. You shouldn’t have to deal with all this at once.” “You can certainly say that again,” Gramma said from my other side. “No mother should have to lose her son, and no child should have to lose a parent so early.” She put a hoof on my fetlock. “As if your medical treatments weren’t enough.” I just sighed. I didn’t really want to respond. They were both right, but the thought of saying ‘yes’ just… hurt. I think Mom and Gramma both knew that— they seemed to be waiting for a response from me, but not expecting one… “Sweetie, I’m sorry to say, but I’m going to have to fill out some more paperwork tomorrow. Some of the things your father and I discussed have to be written down. Will you be alright with that?” I nodded. “And I’m going to have to confer with some of my colleagues so they can take care of my students. I’m not going back to Baltimare right now, that’s for certain. I’ll just need to take care of that, but I’ll be here as long as we need each other,” Gramma said. “Thank you, Gram,” Mom said. “I think it would be best for us all to be together right now. It’s a bit of a shock for all of us.” I just nodded again. “That said, we ought to at least try and get some sleep.” “Agreed. No guarantee of success, but we ought to try,” Gramma replied. Again, I could only nod.