//------------------------------// // Chapter 44: It's Just Water // Story: Through Crimson Eyes // by Level Dasher //------------------------------// “Okay, the tape’s off. We’re gonna need you to take in a nice, deep breath, then exhale slowly. Can you do that for us, buddy?” High Flyer asked. “Uh-huh.” I felt myself shaking a little as I sat there with the tube loosely dangling out of my nostril. I wanted this so much, but I was nervous as Tartarus now that the tube was actually coming out. The unicorn mare High Flyer brought with him stood next to my bed, holding out a hoof to me with a reassuring smile. “Do you want to hold on? It can feel a little strange.” I looked at her hoof. It was tempting—I didn’t see a reason not to—but I wanted to be strong. I slowly put my hooves in my lap and answered, “No hankoo.” “Okay then,” she said, still smiling. “Are you ready?” I sat for a second, then took in a quick breath and answered, “Uh-huh.” “Alright.” As she lit up her horn, she said, “On ‘three’, take that nice breath, and I’m going to pull the tube out as you exhale, okay? Here we go— one, two, three…” I drew in a long, deep breath. “…and out.” As I breathed out slowly, I could feel the tube smoothly coming up through my throat and out my nose like a worm. It wasn’t as bad as I expected, but as it slid out, I couldn’t help but cough. The new empty space in my throat and nose felt strange, but refreshing. “That’s it, all done! Great job!” She patted my foreleg. “High Flyer will take it from here. I’m going to take this thing out of here so you don’t have to look at it anymore.” She winked at me as she left. High Flyer held up a hoof to me. “Awesome job, buddy!” When I finished coughing, I smiled and returned the hoof-bump. “How do you feel?” I held a hoof to my nose. I couldn’t really come up with a solid answer at first. I grabbed a few tissues from my side table and blew my nose. It cleared out like a rocket. After tossing the snotty tissues, I let out a refreshed sigh before I answered, “Hunny… uht good.” “Not surprising. Well, now that that sucker’s out, we want to see if you can eat and drink, but we’re not going to do everything at once. You think you can try just a bit of water at room temperature?” I nodded. As I did, I realized it was much easier to do without the stupid tube in my nose. I turned my head left and right, up and down, and around in a circle, just to see how it felt. High Flyer laughed, “Much easier without the tube in, huh?” I nodded with a smile. As he gave me a cup of water, he said, “Okay, I just want you to take a couple of sips at a time for now, alright? Not too much at once. We’re just gonna start with something small and easy later for dinner. We can’t go giving you a four-course meal right away.” As he made his way to the door, he said, “But, I’ll be happy to give you as many ice chips as you want for those sores. I’m telling you, they’ll go away much faster.” Before he closed the door, I heard him say, “Well, you two have good timing.” He popped his head back in, and before he even asked, I waved my hoof in a ‘come in’ motion. As Starry and Tess walked in, Starry started, “Yo dude, what did your nurse mean by— DUDE!” “They took it out?!” Tess exclaimed. I nodded my head vigorously, then took a nice, deep breath through my nose and laid back on my pillow. Oh Luna, did that feel good. One down, one to go— if only I could get those sores to go away. Oh, buck it. I hit my call button. A couple of seconds later, High Flyer popped his head back in. “Everything okay, bud?” I let out a harsh sigh. “Can I ha suh ice chiss?” He smiled. “Finally willing to try again?” I sat up and nodded. “Sure thing, buddy. Be right back.” Starry asked, “That for those obnoxious things in your mouth?” I nodded at him. “They should go a’ay soon.” “But I thought they were because of the chemo,” Tess said. I smiled and made the same motion High Flyer had earlier, sliding my hoof across my neck. “They stopped it?” She asked. I nodded again. “Oh, thank Celestia! Does that mean you’re doing better?” “Well, we’re going to find out soon enough,” Mom interjected. “He’s going to try some food later. Hopefully everything… well, works.” I couldn’t have stopped her if I tried. Tess hopped up on my bed and gave me a hug. “Does that mean I don’t have to be careful of your nose anymore?” she asked. Fortunately, as I put a hoof up, she caught herself. “Wait… your nurse said… did they just take it out? Like, right before we walked in?” When I nodded, she turned to Starry. “So that’s what he meant by good timing!” Starry nodded in agreement, and Tess looked back at me with a sigh. “Okay, then I’ll wait.” She took a hoof and gently tapped my head. “Is your mane gonna grow back?” I shrugged. “Ho-hully. He said it should.” High Flyer walked back in with a cup. “Alright, bud. I’ve got some ice chips for your sores. Before that, though…” He pointed to the cup of water I’d placed on my side table. “Did you try the water yet?” When I shook my head, he said, “Then can you just take a little drink while I’m here?” I nodded and looked at the cup. I hadn’t put anything in my mouth other than ice chips for ages, and they usually didn’t stay in for very long, but I figured taking a little drink of water wouldn’t be too difficult. I was… horribly wrong. The water touching the sores made my mouth feel like fire. I shouted and dropped the cup, thanking Luna that Tess had developed good levitation reflexes. When the water I had managed to get in my mouth got to the back of my throat, I finally swallowed… and it actually felt fine. As I held a hoof over my mouth, Tess levitated the rest of the water back into the cup and asked, “Did it hurt that badly?” I couldn’t speak; it really did hurt, but not the swallowing. It gave me an idea— I held the hoof hovering over my mouth up to them, then motioned for Tess to give me the cup back. High Flyer asked me, “Are you sure? Tesla is right— you looked like you were in quite a lot of pain.” I furrowed my brows and nodded. Though she seemed reluctant, Tess gave me the cup back. Holding it between my hooves, I slowly tilted my head back and opened my mouth wide. I tipped the cup just enough that a bit of water landed on my tongue. Keeping my head tilted back, I poured the water into my throat again, then after a couple of seconds, I managed to swallow without closing my mouth. I sighed, then nodded. “Wait, you didn’t make any noise that time,” Starry said. “Well, based on what I’m seeing,” High Flyer started, “it looks like you shouted the first time because the water made contact with your mouth sores. When you tilted your head back on your second try, it looked like you managed to get the water straight to the back of your throat without it touching them, and you didn’t seem bothered. Given that evidence, it seems that the water touching the sores is what hurt— actually swallowing the water didn’t appear to cause you any pain. Is that what’s going on?” I still didn’t want to speak, so I just nodded. The water itself was actually pretty refreshing, but those sores… ugh. “Well that’s a pain in the rump,” Tess said. I rolled my eyes. “Yes, it is,” High Flyer said. “It’s good that swallowing doesn’t appear to hurt, but it’s going to be pretty hard for you to eat if those sores are getting in the way…” I put a hoof to my forehead; I hadn’t thought of that. If I could barely get water past those things, actual food would probably be impossible. Well, may as well see if those ice chips help any… GAH! Luna, that’s COLD!