Through Crimson Eyes

by Level Dasher

Chapter 26: Presents Big and Small

The morning after my birthday, I felt kinda lazy, and I was still a little tired from my party, so I just laid back and watched some TV. Around lunchtime, I asked if I could have another one of my cupcakes. Mom reluctantly caved after some coaxing from Dad. As I happily chomped on my treat, under the condition that I didn’t eat it in one bite, Mom, Dad, and Gramma came up and sat around my bed.

Mom started first. “Okay, sweetie— we know you said no gifts this year, but we do have something for you. Actually, it’s more something from your father— it was his idea.” Dad looked like he was about to protest, but Mom hushed him.

Gramma continued. “First of all, I’m giving your dad another check for your savings account. I have every year for your birthday, and I don’t intend to skip a year.” I smiled and thanked her with a hug. “However, that’s not really the present we’re talking about.”

Dad spoke next. “So here’s the funny thing, buddy— this kind of happened by accident. At least, the timing was an accident. A few months ago, I went and talked to a pony named Miss Nightingale.”

I knew that name. “That’s the mare that was always in the PonyLife room when I went in there. I haven’t seen her since…” I hadn’t been in the PonyLife room for a while. I didn’t have anypony to play with anymore.

Dad quickly jumped back on topic. “Well anyway, not long after you got admitted, I went and talked with her.”

That seemed vaguely familiar. “I think I remember that. That was right around the first time you came up, right, Gramma?”

Gramma nodded. “Good memory, sweetheart!”

Dad chuckled. “Yeah, better than mine! So anyway, I went and talked to Miss Nightingale, but I don’t think I told you what I talked to her about, did I?”

I thought back. “No, you didn’t.”

He nodded. “Good— just making sure. I didn’t want to tell you in case it didn’t work out.”

That piqued my curiosity. “In case what didn’t work out?”

“Well, do you remember mentioning to me that there isn’t a lot in the PonyLife room for ponies your age to do?”

I nodded. “Yeah, why?”

Dad smiled. “Well, I was looking to change that. When I talked to Miss Nightingale, I had only been in retirement for a week, so I called my old boss. I asked him about the possibility of donating some games and systems to the hospital.”

I smiled for a second before I realized something. “But… I didn’t see anything in the PonyLife room the last time I was in there.”

Dad sighed and shook his head. “I know, I wasn’t able to convince him to make the donations; he offered to donate money instead. When I asked Miss Nightingale about it, she said they had gotten the donation, but the hospital planned to spend it on more foal-geared toys. She told me she didn’t make the call on how the donations were spent, and she apologized. However, she made another suggestion, and here’s where we get to the part about your present.”

I had totally forgotten that was what started the conversation in the first place. “Oh, yeah. Wait— what does all that have to do with me?”

Mom smiled. “It has everything to do with you, sweetie. Why do you think your father had that conversation in the first place?”

Dad continued. “So here’s what Miss Nightingale told me: monetary donations to pediatrics can be spent however the hospital chooses, so if they want to spend it on foal-age toys, then they will. Even though there are kids your age here, most of the patients are younger, so those are the kinds of toys the hospital gets. However, money donated to a specific purpose has to be spent for that purpose. Miss Nightingale’s suggestion…” He paused for what I guess was some dramatic effect. “…was to start our own foundation— in your name.”

My eyes went wide at that. “What?”

Dad smiled and nodded. “Yep. If we started our own foundation, any monetary donations could be spent the way we see fit. If we focused that foundation specifically for older kids, then you could play a big part in determining what the money is spent on, since you’re more likely to know what ponies your age enjoy. What do you think?”

The thought was a little overwhelming, to be honest. “That’d be awesome! But, how would we do that? It sounds complicated.”

Gramma suddenly spoke up. “That’s where I come in. When your father first heard about this, he mentioned it to me. I’ve worked with a few teachers that help foundations that focus on schools, so I’ve learned some tricks and met some ponies. I have a few connections.”

Mom chimed in, “And I know a few ponies at the Arts Center that have worked with this stuff, too. The Center has to get its funding from somewhere.” She smiled at Gramma, who nodded back at her. I felt like they were trying to build up to some big reveal or something.

Dad sighed. “Alright, let’s just tell him. Enough with the suspense.” Mom and Gramma laughed, then gestured at him with their hooves. He leaned on my bed and rested his head on one of his hooves. “Long story short, Crimson, for the past couple of months, the three of us have set up just about everything that needs to be done to start the foundation. We even managed to get it all done right around now. There are just a few more legalities to clear up. You’re going to have a foundation in your name.” He wore a silly grin on his face. “How’s that for a birthday present?”

It took a minute for it all to sink in, but when it did, my eyes went wide and my jaw dropped. If I could see my own face, I probably would have said it looked like a cartoon character. My parents and Gramma looked at me for a second before they started laughing.

“What do you think, sweetheart? Exciting, isn’t it?” Gramma smiled and nuzzled my cheek. I still couldn’t get any words out, so I just nodded.

“We thought you’d enjoy that!” Dad said with a laugh as he rubbed my head. I still wasn’t used to the new fuzz.

There was a knock at the door. As everypony turned their heads, I spotted the sky blue hooves through the glass. I looked at Dad and asked, “I’m guessing we’re keeping this between us for now, right?”

Dad nodded and responded, “Smart colt.”

As the door creaked open, Tesla asked, “Can I come in?” When she got a look at my parents and Gramma crowded around my bed, she winced. “Should I come back later?”

Gramma smiled and waved a hoof at her. “No, no! Come on in, dear. We were just having some idle family chit-chat. You’re welcome to join us!” My parents and I nodded.

She shuffled inside, her head tilted down ever so slightly. The bulge on the left side of her saddle bag drew my eye. “You’re here kinda early, Tess; it isn’t even one o’clock yet. Everything okay?” I asked

She nodded and answered, “Yeah, I’m okay. I couldn’t wait anymore; I was afraid something would happen to it.”

I furrowed my brow and asked, “Happen to what?”

Tesla glanced around the room, then pointed at the rolling table next to Mom. “Um, could you roll that over, Mrs. Harmony?”

Mom nodded and cleared the remainder of my lunch from the table. She glanced at me, clearly just as curious as I was as to what Tesla was planning. Mom rolled the table in front of me, while Tess leaned on the foot of my bed.

Tess nodded to Mom and said, “Thank you. Um, so, Crimson, I know you asked us not to give you any gifts, but…” I smirked. I figured Tess would give me something, and I was right to assume she wouldn’t do it at the party. “…but I’ve been working on this for almost two months.” As she put all four hooves back on the floor, I sat up so I could see her over the edge of my bed. She closed her eyes, then took a deep breath and started mumbling to herself.

For a moment, I thought she had lost her marbles. A second later, Tess stopped mumbling and scrunched her face up like the sun had shone directly into her eyes. I saw a spark appear at the tip of her horn, then the whole thing started glowing a light copper color. I flinched and fell back; I’d never seen her use a successful spell before. Her saddlebag was enveloped in her aura, and a wrapped box floated out of the pocket. Tesla’s legs quivered as she levitated the box in my direction, cracking open one eye. The box hovered overhead, quivering like her legs for a moment before it rested exactly in the center of the table. The second it landed, the aura disappeared with a soft snap, and Tess stopped shaking. She smiled and took a deep breath, then leaned on my bed again as she looked at me.

I paid no attention to the box on the table as I locked eyes with Tesla. My mouth hung open for a second before I exclaimed, “Woah! You’ve been practicing!”

Tess nodded. “Yeah. After that thing with my mom and the dark magic, she put the books away in the attic. She’s been helping me every day since then. It took a while, but I finally got it!”

Off to my side I heard whispering. “What dark ma—”

“Don’t ask.”

As I sat up again, I saw Tess blush and her eyes shift away for a second before she said, “I wanted you to be the first one to see it.” I gave her a small smile before she pointed at the box. “Oh, and I wanted to give you that, too. That’s your gift. Just… be careful with it. I’ve been working on it for a while.”

I smiled and looked at the box on the table. It was wrapped with red wrapping paper, and a blue bow sat on top of it. When I took the bow off and set it aside, Mom swiped it from the table. I swear, Mom saves everything. As I carefully unwrapped the paper, it revealed a plain, brown box, a little bigger than my hoof. I opened the top and looked in, but all I saw was a lot of tissue paper. If there was anything in there, Tess had hidden it pretty well.

Right as I was about to put my hoof in, Tess cried, “Wait! Hold on— sit back.” She put her hooves back on the floor and took another deep breath. I leaned back against my pillow as I saw her scrunch up her face again. Her horn sparked and started glowing once again, and I could see her copper aura shining from the inside of the box. Tess opened one of her eyes again, but she wasn’t shaking this time. I saw some of the tissue paper unravel, then the whole thing started to lift. “Oh, come on…” Tess mumbled. The box lifted a bit more before it started sliding down from around whatever was inside. “There we go…” I saw a curved object appear from inside it. As the box fell away, its top clipped the object and caused the whole thing to fall on its back. In the process, the object itself started glowing inside Tesla’s aura. The object quivered for a second before she gently placed it down.

On the table sat a pink neon light in the shape of a heart, perched on top of a small, black base. Tess’s aura snapped away again, allowing the light to shine on its own, and giving her the opportunity to take another breath. Then she leaned on the edge of the bed again and smiled with a light blush.

“Happy birthday, Crimson.”

Comments

[Topaz Moon]

Update! And the biggest chapter so far.

Oh, and *kicks Level in the shin* the color Sky Blue does not have a - Tis my second favorite color!!

[Level Dasher]

4405263 It works with or without. Anytime I've had that debate I google the word(s) in question with the hyphen in. If Google corrects it so it doesn't have the hyphen, then it's not supposed to be there. But in this case...
s27.postimg.org/43rgsgfub/Screen_Shot_2014_05_17_at_5_31_24_PM.png
It goes both ways, so nyah.

Also, slight edit made to this chapter based on your comment about unicorn auras.

[Crystal Moose]

I had to re-read the description for that gift twice… light as in illumination, not as in heavy. Lol.

Shuddap, I'm tired!

[Dreams of Ponies]

Hmmm, a foundation started in your name? Yeah, that sounds like something Crimson would be happy for, that selfess brat

And now Tesla has literally given Crimson her heart. D'awww