Through Crimson Eyes

by Level Dasher

Chapter 45: Start Slow

“Okay, dear. I think you’ve got it. Now, let’s try it on your son.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Mom said to the old nurse. She turned to me and asked, “Sweetie, you have the water at hoof?”

“Uh-huh,” I answered. Oh Luna, I hope this works…

Mom lit up her horn, and I crossed my eyes, watching her red aura as it surrounded my muzzle. I gave it a second, then checked for the pain, prodding the inside of my mouth with my tongue. The pain wasn’t gone, but it certainly hurt much less. I took the water and took a drink like I normally would have, squinting a bit as I felt the liquid flow over the sores before going down my throat. So much better. I smiled at Mom and nodded, who smiled back, then let down her aura.

The old nurse nodded and looked at mom. “Looks like you’ve got it, dear! Great job!”

Mom beamed as she released a deep breath. “Thanks! I have to admit, that was pretty difficult. Thank you for teaching me that spell, Nurse Redcross.”

“You are very welcome, dear. The anaesthesia spell can certainly be helpful at times, but it’ll take quite a lot out of you, so you shouldn’t use it too much. We usually only use it for urgent cases. Frankly, I’m surprised the doctor gave me permission to teach it to you instead of requiring that a nurse do it. Then again, you are a veteran medical parent.” Nurse Redcross turned on me and cocked a brow. “Now you listen to me, young stallion. Your mother is only to use this spell when you eat. Hopefully she won’t need to use it for long— it’s quite draining. You keep sucking on ice chips to help those sores go away, got it?”

I nodded. “Uh-huh.” Geez, the head nurse is nice, but she can be kinda scary sometimes…

“Good. They should be bringing dinner around shortly, so you’ll get your chance to eat with that spell soon enough. Until then, get some rest.” I bobbed my head as she turned and left.

“Well, that will certainly be useful,” Mom said with a sigh, “but Nurse Redcross is right, it’s pretty draining. I’m going to save my energy for when you need to eat, okay sweetie?” I nodded before Mom poked her head out of the doorway. “Starry, Tesla, you can come back in.”

The second she said those words, the two of them stood at the foot of my bed in a flash. “Did the nurse teach you something to help Crimson?”

“Yes, Starry, she did,” Mom answered.

“Can I learn it, too?” Tess asked her.

“I don’t think so, Tesla. The nurses usually only use this spell for emergencies— I don’t think they’d be too keen on teaching it to you. Celestia knows I certainly can’t teach you— I’m just figuring it out myself!”

Tess pushed a hoof into the floor. “Shoot…”

“Don’t you worry your little head, dear,” Gramma said from the window. “You can help in other ways.”

Tess looked over at Gramma and cocked a brow. “Like what?”

Gramma smirked. “I’ll show you when his food comes by, dear.”

“Tess, if you make train noises, I sw-aah!” I probably should keep the talking to a minimum, even with Mom’s spell.

“I won’t! Just relax and let me help!”

Gramma smiled as Tess hovered a spoon of applesauce over to my mouth, while Mom used her new spell. Feeding me wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when Gramma said Tess could help in other ways. Yet, here we were, me holding my mouth open with Tess trying to get food in, while Gramma and Starry chuckled by the window as Mom focused on the anaesthesia spell.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t’ve put it past her,” I heard Starry whisper to Gramma, eliciting another laugh from them both. Tess didn’t seem to notice.

Finally, Tess’s copper aura met Mom’s red one as Tess pushed the spoon into my mouth. As I closed down and swiped the applesauce off the spoon, I could still feel the sores, but they were more of an annoyance than painful.

“Well, that didn’t seem too bad,” Tess said, dropping the spoon back down into the cup. The nutritionists had given me some milk and water along with the applesauce, and some ice cream for dessert, but nothing more. High Flyer wasn’t kidding when he said I was starting off easy with the food. “You up for some more?”

“Sure.” After swiping another dozen spoonfuls, I finally turned to Mom and said, “Okay, let it down. S’good her now.”

Mom stopped the anaesthesia spell and took a few breaths. I could see what Nurse Redcross meant— with the sweat and the panting, Mom looked completely wiped out.

“Mrs. Harmony, are you alright?” Starry asked her.

“Yes, Starry, I’m fine— just a bit drained,” Mom replied. “Let’s see how Crimson’s first ‘meal’ sits.”

“I dunno ih ah-uhl sauce is exactly the ‘est thing to judge eye,” I said.

“Well, like High Flyer said,” Gramma interjected, “you need to start slow— foal steps. If the applesauce sits well with you, then I’m sure they’ll jump you up to something more substantial.”

“I guess,” I answered. Whatever that meant. At this point I could only hope that we’d know quickly. I looked over at Mom, who took a few deep breaths. I realized that the less she had to use that anaesthesia spell, the better she’d feel, so I had to get my flank in gear and get rid of those sores as soon as possible. Unfortunately, my ice chips from earlier had already melted into water, so I hit my call button.

It didn’t take long before High Flyer poked his head in. “Everything okay?”

I nodded and asked, “Can I ha suh ‘ore ice chiss?”

He smiled in response. “Other ones melted, huh?” I nodded. “Sure thing. Be right back.”

When he closed the door, I turned to Starry and Tesla and said, “I gonna chai and do this as ‘uch as I can, so I ‘on’t ee ay-uhl to talk. ‘ay-ee you guys should go.”

“You sure?” Tess asked.

“Yeah,” I answered. “Ah ‘rolly oughta get suh ‘est any-ay. You guys should, too.”

“Truth,” Starry said. “Not gonna argue there. Let’s go, Tess.”

Before she walked to the door, Tess jumped up on my mattress. “How does your nose feel?”

I smiled and let out a quick sigh. “A lot ‘etter. Eye?”

Tess smirked, then rubbed her nose against mine. “Had to check first. See you tomorrow!” She hopped off the bed and galloped past Starry, who rolled his eyes and waved to me before he followed after the giggling filly.

I chuckled and shook my head. “Girls…”

Author's Note:

Apologies for the lengthy use of Crimson's wacky mouth-sore speech, but it was a big deal in the recovery process. This is the last chapter where it appears, though, so it's easy reading from here on out.

Comments

[Dreams of Ponies]

Nose-nuzzlingly adorable. Glad to see that Crimson will get to eat again, even if he has to be spoon fed by a pretty filly, well heck, call it an added bonus