Staying Strong

A lot can seem to happen within a month. In the world of humans, nothing but down turns have happened to little Dylan. On the day of his doctor's appointment, the doctor told Dylan that he had too big of a fever for simple medication to cure him. With that said, that very day, he was sent to the hospital. Once there, he was given some antibiotics and placed in a room to be monitored. His friends didn't hear about it until he was there for 3 days already, and no sighs of getting any better.

Dylan had to get a blood test, and what the doctors found broke everyone's heart. At least, everyone who was close to Dylan. It was revealed that he had irregular white blood cells. Upon further analysis, the doctors confirmed their suspicion, that Dylan had leukemia. That explained how he easily got bruised, and that they didn't heal all the way. That also explained why he had a fever for such a long time too.

Luckily for Dylan, due to his age, his chance of being cured was very high. This let off most of the stress off of everyone's shoulders. But he would have to go through lots of tests, and go under chemotherapy. After a week passed by, he could finally have visitors come over. His mother, being well, his mother, was there all the time. But now, his friends could come by and see him again. Of course, the first one who walked in the door was Dylan's best friend, Brett. Brett brought a balloon, and a card.

"Hey there Dylan." he said. "How are you feeling buddy?"

"H-Hey Brett." said Dylan. He was just waking up. "Yeah, I'm doing a little better. But I still need to stay in here so the doctors can monitor me, and make sure I don't get worse."

"Gee, I hope you're better by the time we go to Equestria." Brett said. Just then, Cody and Geoff came in. They each brought in their own cards, and trying their best to cheer Dylan up.

"Dude, I'm so glad you're okay man." Geoff said.

"Yeah, I'd be completely bored out of my mind." said Cody. "I'd probably have to go total bookworm and have to start reading." Dylan chuckled at that comment, it reminded him of Rainbow Dash in "Read it and Weep". Dylan then coughed a bit from the chuckling. His friends then grew a little concerned.

"I-I'm fine guys, really." said Dylan. "The doctors say that I should be cured. I'll get better for you guys. Oh, mom, did you bring the DVD's today."

"Yes sweetie. Both the wedding and the crystal empire?"

"Yea. They should keep me occupied until I get out of here. I hope I'm better before August third." said Dylan. His mom gave him a big smile, and told him that she was sure he would. The doctor then shooed them out of the room, so he could do his daily check up for Dylan. Once out of the room, Dylan's mother's expression changed. She was then full of sorrow. Dylan's friends looked at his mother, and all wondered why she was sad.

"What's the matter?" asked Brett.

"Oh, I don't have the heart to tell Dylan. It'll crush him so much." said Mom.

"Tell him what?" asked Cody. "I-Is he going to-"

"No, he'll be just fine as we said before." said Mom, in a kind of stern voice, not wanting to think of loosing her son. "It's just that the doctor's say he'll need to stay in the hospital for a while, for the chemo to take hold, and so they can be sure he doesn't go back to his old state."

"How long are you saying?" asked Geoff. Mom just looked back at Dylan inside, having his temperature taken. Then looked back at the boys with a very sorrowful gaze.

"About another two months." she said, in a very shaky voice. The others finally knew why she was very sad.

"But.... it's July." said Geoff.

"And if he's in here for another two months..." said Cody.

"........ He'll miss the trip." said Brett, in a very sad tone.

"I can't tell him...... but I'm afraid I'll have to tell him." Mom said. "He has no choice, it's doctor's orders."

They all agreed it had to be done, and they would have to tell him. Later that evening, his mother went in his room and told him the bad news. At first, Dylan took the news a little strongly. He only expressed it with a minor showing of disappointment, said that it was okay, and to tell the others that they should have a good time anyway. His mom knew deep down he was very sad that he would miss going to Equestria.

She left the DVD of the royal wedding on for him to watch until he fell asleep. She then walked out of the room so he could get some rest. He was the only patient in the room, so he could sleep easily without any outside distractions. After the wedding was over, he turned off the TV and rolled over to get some sleep. But when he rolled over, he realized that he was never going to see his favorite ponies, and with this thought, he quietly but hardly cried himself to sleep.