Through Crimson Eyes

by Level Dasher

Chapter 40: Condolences

I just laid in bed, looking at Mom and Gramma, who slept on the floor by the window. I couldn’t imagine how they managed to sleep at all. Even after keeping my eyes closed for I don’t even know how long, I still couldn’t do it.

I just sighed and looked out the window. The clouds covered the entire night sky, so I couldn’t stargaze, and I didn’t want to watch TV. I cradled the blue feather in my wing, turning it over again and again. I figured I was going to be doomed to a boring, depressing, sleepless night…

…until she walked out from the corner of the room. She did startle me for a second, but I didn’t say anything. I just looked up at her as she approached my bedside, staring at the feather I held. I could feel the tears falling down my cheek. I didn’t feel like wiping them away, but I didn’t have to— she did it for me.

“Crimson, I must offer you my sincerest condolences,” Princess Luna said. “‘Tis not right that you had to lose your father this way. Or this early.”

I sniffled. “H-How did you find out?”

She sighed. “Well, aside from your demeanor, I just visited your mother.” My eyes widened a bit at that. “She was not aware. I must say, your mother is a very strong mare. Despite your loss, her dreams still hold an air of positivity. She was discussing donating your father’s organs with the doctors.”

I managed to smile at that. We’d all agreed we would be organ donors if anything happened to us. I felt glad to hear Mom had already started thinking about others.

The Princess continued, “You must pull from her strength, Crimson, as you have been doing. Your mother worries for you even more now. She fears she will lose you as well. She knows you are strong, but loss can weaken one’s emotional strength. You already know that.” I nodded at her. “Fight for your mother. Fight for your friends. And especially fight for your father. He believed you will have a bright future, and he was preparing for it, even if he knew he might not be here to see it unfold.”

I stared at her when she made that last comment. “How… How do you know that?”

She hesitated before responding. “I shall tell you in time— properly. You won’t have long to wait,” she said. With that, she vanished in a flash.

“Princess, wait!” I shouted. I covered my mouth, thinking I might have woken Mom or Gramma, but they just lay there, sleeping. I looked across the room at… an empty wall. Wait a minute, Starry’s painting has— At that moment, the painting appeared out of thin air, right in its proper place.

Wait, did I just—

Just as I reached for the top of my head, I opened my eyes to daylight.

“Morning, sweetie. I’m glad to see you got some rest.”

I shook my head, trying to clear it out. I put my hoof on top just to check— nothing. I had a hopeful thought for a second, but when I looked at my side table, the feather was there. Yeah, it had happened. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a dream…

“Ugh, I didn’t think we would ever get that finished.”

“I know. They act as if you didn’t just lose someone you care about. I’m glad I was able to finalize everything with my colleagues before they called us for the paperwork. I would not have wanted you to take care of it yourself, Harmony. For your own sanity, at the very least.”

Mom and Gramma had just come back from finishing the last of the paperwork. I’d just been watching TV for the better part of two hours… holding on to Dad’s feather.

“I’m sorry that took so long, sweetie. There was a lot more paperwork than we expected,” Mom said. “The doctors also wanted to talk to us about donating your dad’s organs.” I looked at her for a moment, remembering what Princess Luna had told me in my dream.

Gramma managed a small smile and continued, “Maybe you’ll be happy to know that your father is going to help no fewer than five ponies.”

I nodded and managed a smile, too. “Yeah, that’s Dad— always thinking of somepony else.” Mom and Gramma nodded back.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Mom looked at me, and I nodded, so she called, “Come in.”

“Hey, Crimson,” Starry said as he walked in, Tesla right behind him. I gave them a little wave.

“Um, Mrs. Harmony? Would it be okay if we talked to Crimson alone for a bit?” Tess asked her.

Mom and Gramma looked at each other for a moment and raised their brows, then they shrugged. “I see no harm in it,” Mom answered. “We’ll go down to the family waiting room, okay sweetie?”

“Sure, Mom. Thanks.” After they walked out, I turned to Tess and asked her, “What’s up? Something you don’t want my mom to hear?”

She shrugged and said, “Well, maybe.” She turned to Starry and asked, “Could you go get him?” After he nodded and walked out, Tess explained, “We didn’t come alone. Somepony else wanted to come see you, and we didn’t know if your mom would be okay with it.”

It took me a second to put the pieces together. Somepony else wanting to see me… My mom possibly not being okay with it… I figured it had to be somepony from school, and when that thought hit home, the gears started turning, and it was at that exact moment that he walked in behind Starry.

“He told us about what happened last time he saw you. He didn’t know if you told your mom about it,” Tess said.

I looked across the room at the long face of none other than Brick. “Crimson, I… I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean what I said last time; I hope you don’t think I wanted this to—”

I held up a hoof and cut him off. “It… it’s okay, Brick. You were upset; you had every right to be… just like I do now. But I’m not upset at you— just at what happened.”

Brick sighed. “Oh, thank Celestia. When I heard Starry and Tesla tell Miss Turner, I… Honestly, I thought it was my fault.” He hung his head for a second, then picked it back up. “I won’t stay too long if you don’t want me to, but I really wanted to come by and say I’m sorry— for everything.”

I managed a smile. “Thanks, Brick. By the way, for what it’s worth, I don’t think she’d be upset with you, but I didn’t tell my mom about what happened. Like I said, you had a right to be upset.”

Brick smiled back at me. “Thanks, Crimson. Oh, one other thing…” He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a letter. “This is from Miss Turner. I told her I was coming here, so she asked me to give it to you.” He put the letter on my bed, then headed for the door. “I’m sorry you had to deal with this, too, Crimson. I hope your treatments are going alright— feel better.” With that, he left.

I looked at Starry and Tess, who had just stood to the side during our whole exchange. “Did he really think this was his fault?” I asked them.

“Oh Celestia, you should’ve seen him, dude,” Starry said. “He looked miserable all day after we told Miss Turner.”

“I swear, I thought he was gonna throw up,” Tess added. “I couldn’t believe what he said to you the last time he was here. I wanted to yell at him, but he looked like he was gonna cry. I could tell he was sorry. He only looked a little better when Miss Turner gave him that letter.”

I looked at the letter Brick had left. “Yeah, speaking of, why didn’t she give this to you guys?”

“She told us she wanted to give it to Brick instead,” Starry said. “She knew we’d be coming either way, but she could tell he needed an excuse to interact with you. Maybe he talked to her about what happened last time— we didn’t see him outside during recess.”

“That would make sense,” I said. “Lemme see what she wrote.” I reached for the letter and opened it.

Dear Crimson,

I am so sorry to hear about your father— Starry and Tesla told me about it this morning. I know they will be seeing you, but Brick wanted to speak with you as well. I gave him this letter for you so he would have a good reason to see you sooner rather than later. He was very upset to hear the news— all of us here are, but Brick seems to have taken it rather hard. It’s likely because of his cousin— he talked to me about it. I won’t go into details for his privacy’s sake, but based on what Brick told me, I have a feeling you know about it already.

I’m sure you’ve heard this many times already, but stay strong, Crimson. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be dealing with this loss on top of your treatments, but you are an incredibly strong colt. I hope that coping with this loss does not discourage you from fighting your own battle. You will likely hear this quite a lot, but my sincerest condolences to you and your family. If you ever want to speak to somepony other than your family, Starry, or Tesla, feel free to write to me.

Stay Strong,

Miss Turner

I nodded and put the letter on my side table, next to Dad’s feather.

“I’m guessing something along the lines of ‘sorry for your loss’ and ‘stay strong’?” Starry asked.

I shrugged. “Basically. I’ve been hearing that a lot— probably will for a while.” Tess nodded.

There was a knock at the door, then it opened a crack. “May we come back in?” It was Gramma.

“Oh, yeah,” I answered. “Everything’s okay.”

“Alright.” She and Mom walked in and sat by the window. “Is it okay if we just sit over here?” Mom asked. “We’ll leave you three to yourselves; we’re just going to chat.”

“Sure,” I answered. Starry and Tess nodded, and they left us to our own devices.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

The mane of that blue Unicorn with the red mane and tail in the cover art looks like it's made of fire. Why is that?

[Level Dasher]

6986982 Frequent exposure to static electricity makes her hair stand up all the time. I'm guessing you haven't read chapter 1 yet.

[Dreams of Ponies]

Not a lot to say on this chapter, really. I feel like, just with Crimson, we're transitioning through a period of his life (the story) and are waiting to see how things will progress from here