Staying Strong

by VanillaBeam

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, Slice of Life, Crossover, Human
Length: 4178

Ponyville has found a way to connect the human and pony worlds together, and only certain chosen humans can visit once a year. So when one chosen human is too sick to go that year, the ponies come here to cheer him up.

The ponies of Equestria have made a portal to our world, and choose a hooffull of humans to visit Equestria for 2 days. They do this every year now. Meet Dylan, a die hard brony who isn't really a popular brony, but has always wanted to meet the mane 6 in forever. When he is chosen to go on this years trip, along with his friends, it is a dream come true. But all dreams can take a dark turn, when Dylan comes down with Leukemia. He is aboslutely heartbroken that he has missed his only opportunity to go and meet the ponies. He tells his friends to go anyway, and once there, they tell the ponies of what happened to Dylan. The ponies feel so bad for him, that they bend some rules, and go into the human world, and spend 2 days there instead.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-06-29 21:53:06 UTC

Chapter 1

Well now, how exactly do we start a story like this?

I know how: the final bell rang. School was finally being let out for the summer, and all of the boys, girls, and young adults scattered to their buses to go home, and being a three month vacation. Only a short handful though lived close enough to walk home. And this, is where our friends always walked home.

It was a hot day, being it was eleven days since summer officially started, and it was pretty close to eighty degrees. Dylan always took an extra water bottle with him to school around this time. Dylan also always walked home from school with his only three, best friends: Cody, Brett, and Geoff.

Cody was the tallest of the group, and the strongest. He spends all of his time in the exercise room at school, and his personal gym at his house. He keeps his frame slim and makes sure to stay at his healthiest.

Brett was actually the newest part of the neighborhood. He moved from Montreyal, Canada earlier in the winter. He seemed very shy when he first came to school, but when he joined the group, he felt like he could fit in, and really open himself up. He's actually one of the smartest kids in school, for he always gets honor roll every semester.

Geoff was probably the most mellow out of the group. He would love to help anyone if they were in need of assistance, if they asked or not. Everyone loved his company, because no one had anything bad to say about him, if his parents didn't at least. He was kinda laid back, long blonde hair, loving all of the world, but stuck close to his friends.

And that just leaves little Dylan. And he was the smallest in the group. That could be though, because he was the youngest of the group. He was the only freshman in this circle of friends. Cody and Geoff were juniors, and Brett was a senior. Dylan didn't mind being the smallest, or the youngest, but he loved having best friends. And they all loved each other very much.

The one thing that they had in common though, was that all four of them were die hard bronies. They all watch the new episodes every saturday whenever they came on. They watched all the videos, memorized all the songs, and tried their best to create their own artwork (but sadly, they aren't very good artists).

They loved ponies to death, and the best day of their lives was once they learned that the ponies were REAL. They actually knew of our existance, and just recently, they decided to allow a portal to Equestria. Princess Celestia saw how much love was being spread by the bronies, that Celestia made a holiday, to choose a handful of bronies, and to bring them to Equestria for two days.

They did it every August twentith. And the best part of this year, was because Dylan and his friends were the ones chosen to go on this years trip. It was a bronies dream come true.

"Ah man, I can't wait for the Brony Holiday coming up guys." said Geoff. "I mean, like how many chances does one get to have a holiday, together, with the ponies that we know and love?"

"I know, I can't wait to talk to RD about how we train." said Cody.

"Well, I just hope I get better by then." said Dylan. "I wouldn't want to get anypony sick. I can't do that."

"Aww, don't worry about that Dyl," said Geoff. That was his little nickname he gave Dylan. "You'll get better soon enough." He then took one look at Dylan's legs, and saw that he had a big bruise on his shin. "Hey Dyl, where did you get that bruise from?"

"I got it today. I hit my shin on one of the desk legs. This is the fourth bruise I've got on me."

"You mean, you still have your other bruises from last week?" asked Brett.

"These were from last week. And this one on my elbow was from about two weeks ago. It doesn't even look like it's healing at all. I'm starting to get worried."

"Yeah, you should probably tell your parents about that." said Geoff.

"I will, but right now, I really just want to just hang out with you guys, and just talk about what we'll do in August."

"Oh, I don't really know what I'm going to do when we go. I'll probably end up staying back and letting you guys talk, you know. So I don't ruin things for you." said Brett, quietly.

"Oh, you'll do fine Brett. Maybe you and Pinkie Pie could have some fun with each other." Dylan reasured. Dylan was Brett's very best friend, they pretty much did everything together. You couldn't even count how many times that they slept over at each other's houses. Even their parents became good friends with each other. They pretty much could call each other brothers.

"I guess so." said Brett.

"Now no matter what happens, we all need to give everypony we love a big hug. Everything else, we can do later." said Cody.

They all agreed, and made their way to Dylan's house to hang out, like they always do.

Chapter 2

"Twilight, you're over reacting again." said Spike. "Just calm down, I'm sure that everything will go fine on the Brony Holiday like it always does."

"That's just the thing Spike." Twilight said. "We always have to give our absolute best for the bronies. We have to make sure we don't make them hate us, and spread nothing but bad words about us. There are lots of humans in their world that spread nothing but bad words about us. We need to make sure the bronies aren't discouraged and see that we care for them."

"But we do care about them Twilight. And I'm sure that if you just be yourself, they'll still love you. They always do." Spike said, rubbing Twilight's mane trying to comfort her.

"Thanks Spike. But I just want them to have a good time when they get here. I don't want anyone leaving unhappy."

Just as Twilight said the word "unhappy", a pink blur zoomed across her face, and soon popped out Pinkie Pie from out in front of her.

" "Unhappy"?! " she asked. "Who's unhappy?! Is it Spike? Oh I'll cheer you up lickidy split with a Pinkie Tickle!" And with a blink of an eye, Pinkie began to tickle Spike. Spike then bursted out with laughter, so much that he couldn't breathe he was laughing so hard.

"Pinkie! HAHAHAHAHA! Stop! HAHAHA! I'm fine! HAHAHA!" Spike tried to say fully in between his laughs.

"Just wanted to make sure." Pinkie said with a big smile. She then seised the tickling, as Twilight looked at her with an eye-roll.

"I was just saying I don't want the chosen bronies to be unhappy while they're here, or when they leave. I want everything to be exactly right and for nothing to go wrong." said Twilight,

"Well duuuuhh. Of course it'll be perfect. We all do our best every year, and that's we're going to continue to do for them. I already got ten billion cupcakes done and ready to be shipped, and about a billion more to bake." Pinkie Pie just bounced from one side of the room to the next. She was so excited. Twilight couldn't help but chuckle.

"Pinkie Pie, you already have that many cupcakes made for the Brony Holiday? But it's in two months. When did you start baking them?" asked Twilight.

"Last year silly!" Pinkie replied.

"Oh brother." both Twilight and Spike said together. Just then, there was a knock at the library door. Spike went to open it, and there waiting at the door was Rainbow Dash. She trotted inside of the library, giving Spike a quick noogy before coming in. Rainbow was of course in charge of keeping the weather all clear for the holiday.

"Hey Twi, I just got finished placing the scheduel for the cloud clearing for the holiday. We've already received twenty volunteers today." said Dash.

"Oh thank goodness. That's a relief." Twilight said with a sigh.

"I hope I get to hang out with a brony that loves to race." Dash said.

"But Dashie, you're the fastest thing in both worlds." Pinkie commented.

"Yeah, I know. But I at least want to give him a chance if he likes to. Want to give him a motivation to try and get faster."

"Well, that's all fine for you Rainbow Dash." said Twilight. "You see if you can make a good friend, and make sure we all get to make good friends. Remember, we have four bronies that are coming this year." Twilight said.

"Yeah, that reminds me Twilight." said Spike. "Why are there only so little humans coming to Equestria every year? Why can't we ever have any more than like seven or eight come?"

"Well, we're lucky enough to have their company after years of knowing they watched us, and years of convincing Princess Celestia to allow them to come to our world to get to know us, and finally become friends. But, we also have to be cautious. There could be some human who wants to plot against Equestria. And we can't be too careful, so we only invite a hoofful so we can keep an easier eye on them."

"But even if they wanted to, Princess Celestia hoof chooses the bronies that come every year." said Spike. "Wouldn't she know who is a good human and who isn't?"

"There are some humans who are peer pressured into being spies. They could slip into this world, find out our weaknesses and try to take us down." Rainbow Dash commented.

"Then why even have this holiday at all?" Spike asked.

"Because we found out that humans lived pretty miserable lives out there. They have to deal with bullies, corrupt powers, and most of all, unloving families. They watch us because they get a feeling that there is someone, or somepony out there who loves them. That's why Princess Celestia allows Pinkie Pie to look at them, because she at least can show that we know we're watching, and we love them."

Pinkie Pie then chimed in. "But I wanted so much to meet the humans who love us so much, so that way I could show them I love them more. So for a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG time, I asked Celestia for a time where once a year, the bronies could come here to see us for two days. And at last, she said "yes"."

"You mean she broke down and finally said yes." Dash said.

"Either way it was "yes"." Pinkie exclaimed.

"Either way, we're always glad to have their company. Their gifts of art, music, and just them being here is good enough for us, and I'll be glad to see who this years bronies will be." said Twilight.

"Yeah! I'm just so excited I could explode." said Pinkie.

"PLEASE PINKIE! I just cleaned up the library, try to hold it in." Twilight said haistily.

"Oh alright." Pinkie pouted.

Chapter 3

Our four friends were sitting in Dylan's living room, watching "The Adventures in the Crystal Empire" DVD that Dylan got as a Christmas present last year. Ever since that day, he's watched it almost every weekend. It was his favorite DVD, because it had the "Crystal Empire", "Sonic Rainboom", "It's About Time", and "Luna Eclipse". They were also his friend's favorite episodes too.

"Oh, I love this song." Geoff said. Everyone else shushed him, because they loved it too, and wanted to hear it. They knew the words by heart, and sang along in their heads, so not to ruin it for the others. The song was "The Crystal Fair Ballad". They must have rewound the sound five times to listen to it over and over again. Each of the boys had their favorite pony singer, except for Dylan. He just couldn't choose, because they were all so good.

Just as the episoded ended, Cody had to leave. He promised his little sister that he would take her out for a jog with him. So after Cody left, Dylan played the next episode, "It's About Time". Geoff noticed that Dylan was coughing quite a lot. Not too much though to raise too much of a concern.

"Dylan, are you okay?" asked Brett.

"Y-Yeah *cough* *cough* I-I'm fine. Probably need to get a glass of *cough* water or something." he said.

His mom then walked in with some water. "Here you go sweety." she said, giving him the glass. Dylan woofed it down fast.

"I guess I'm getting a little over excited." said Dylan. "I mean, we're going to meet these ponies in a little under two months. I don't even know which ones I'll make friends with, if not all of them." Dylan began hopping around a bit for joy.

Geoff and Brett giggled at Dylan's showing of glee. "Okay okay Pinkie, settle down there." said Brett. Dylan then stopped, not wanting to go on another coughing fit.

"I just hope I get better soon. I don't want to get any of the ponies sick...... and have them remember me horribly."

"Oh Dylan, of course they'll remember you nicely, no matter what." said Dylan's mom. She made a habit standing in the door frame, easdropping. That's how she found out about him being a brony. But unlike most parents, she accepted him for who he was. She even watched the show a couple of times whenever he was. She was the one who told Dylan about being chosen to go to Equestria this year. And she was happy for him.

"Yeah Dylan, the ponies love all of us bronies, and I'm sure they'll understand if you just have a little cold." said Geoff.

"But it's not just a cold." said Dylan. "Last night, I saw I had a little fever."

"Then why did you come to school?" asked Brett.

"I don't want to spoil my perfect attendance. The only thing that'll stop that is if I'm on my death bed." said Dylan, adding a little coughing chuckle. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys. I didn't want to be alone for now."

"Hey, we understand." said Geoff. "We're always there looking out for you buddy. Just eh, make sure you don't sneeze our way, okay?"

Dylan laughed at his smart comment. "Will do." Geoff then looked at his watch and gasped.

"Oh crap, I was supposed to do my chores after I left school. Can't talk anymore today. Bye Brett, bye Dylan, bye bye Dylan's mom. Thanks for having me over."

"Anytime." said mom. With that, Geoff bolted out the door. Dylan and Brett shared a good laugh, then continued to watch the rest of the DVD.

Since Dylan and his mother were the only ones who lived at their home, Brett was always a welcomed guest. He even stays for a home made supper or two.

At the end of the day, Brett had to go home. So before he left, he gave Dylan a hug, and told him goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" asked Brett.

"I wish." said Dylan. "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. I don't know how long it's going to be."

"Oh, okay then. Then the day after tomorrow if not then." said Brett.

"Okay, will do. Goodbye Brett."

"Goodbye Dylan." And with that said, Brett left for his home. Dylan then cleaned himself off, brushed his teethe, and readied himself for bed. Being he was only about five feet tall, he could still fit in one of those car beds. He didn't mind being small, or meek, or not very bright, he just enjoyed feeling like a kid.

One last thing he needed before going to sleep. He grabbed his Twilight Sparkle plushie. He wanted life sized, but it would've been too big for him. So he got one of those fourteen inch plushies. It was the next best thing. He snuggled up to it, told it, and his mother goodnight, and gave them both a kiss. And with a slight cough, he went to sleep.

Chapter 5

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.

Chapter 4

It has been at least a month of preparations in Equestria, most of it being in Ponyville. As Princess Celestia observed the set up, she was also gaining more and more information of the backgrounds of the four bronies that are coming to Equestria. Celestia always loved to see the humans who loved them so much, but still, she could never be too careful.

Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle was making sure that everything in town was absolutely perfect. Pinkie Pie was busy decortating the town. Twilight thought she did enough with the sweets. Rainbow Dash had her scheduel with keeping the skies clear for the holiday. Applejack was the new pony in charge of catering, except she was making pies and fritters and all the good stuff. Rarity was helping Pinkie Pie with the decortating, because Rarity wanted things to be perfect as well.

Fluttershy had a really important job. Princess Celestia hoof picked Fluttershy to keep the information that Celestia finds out about the humans. So that way, Fluttershy will know what they like and don't like.

After hours and hours of finalizing, the town was fully ready for there arrival.

"Everything seems to be in order Princess." said Twilight.

"You have done a wonderful job preparing Ponyville Twilight. I couldn't have done better myself." said Celestia. "Now, there is one other job that I wish for you to do this year."

"Really?" asked Twilight. "I mean, yes, of course I'll do whatever you wish for me to do."

"Being that everyone in the human world knows and loves you so much, and since you ARE a princess now, I would like for you to be the one to go to the human world and bring the humans to us."

"You want me........ to go there?" asked Twilight, seeming a little excited at the thought.

"Of course my Twilight." said the princess. "I have seen how much you study the humans, and I have heard all of the times you have told Spike how much you want to go to there world for once. Well, I figure an appropriate way for you to go is to pick them up yourself."

"Wow Princess Celestia, I-I don't know what to say." said Twilight. "Thank you princess." Then, after thanking the princess, she had something else she wanted to ask her. "Um..... princess?"

"Yes Twilight?"

"Why can't we ever go there to visit their world, instead of them coming here?"

Celestia then changed her look to a more serious glance. "Because I can protect us better in a world that I am more familiar in. In there world, they have technology there that could do some serious harm to us. I can't take any chances, so that is why they come here, instead of us go there. Do you understand?"

Twilight sat and thought about it for a little bit, then looked at her teacher. "Yes, I understand."

"I know there are many questions that you have about both of our worlds, but you will learn them all in good time. But for now, trust me Twilight, I know what I'm doing, and I know you do as well."

"I'm sorry princess. I guess I am still learning." said Twilight. "But I trust in you."