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// Chapter 7 - 1/2: A Sickening Display 
// Story: To Love a Pet 
// by Creative Charmer 
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	Lester let out another big sneeze which was followed by several more coughs. He had been sick all day so far; ever since Sweetie Belle first came to greet him in mid-morning, and she was really worried. Although Sweetie wanted to get Lester some help, she still didn't want anypony else to find out about him, so she decided to try and nurse him back to health herself.
After seeing Lester so sick in the clubhouse, Sweetie Belle took him outside and placed him on a stump, hoping the fresh air would do him good. She also placed a blanket over Lester to keep him warm, as Sweetie's own mother did the same for her when she fell ill.
Ever since Sweetie Belle had placed Lester outside, she had not strayed too far from him, as she did not want him to be left alone for too long if he needed something. Most of the time, she just sat right next to the sickly porcupine, waiting on him hand and foot so as to do whatever possible to speed up Lester's recovery as swiftly as she could.
"Would you like some food, Lester?"
Lester endeavored to open his eyes, but only managed to get them less than half open. He glanced over to Sweetie Belle, then weakly shook his head, abruptly producing a violent sneeze right afterwards.
Sweetie Belle felt she was entirely incapable of taking care of Lester with the limited provisions she had at her disposal in the clubhouse. She desperately sought to leave and search out more effective remedies for the accelerated and ameliorated treatment of her furry companion, but the thought of leaving him alone for that long  was something that she simply could not bring herself to do. All she could do now was wait and hope for help to arrive, growing more despondent with each passing second that Lester lie unaided.
Just then, the answer to Sweetie Belle's wish came walking up to the clubhouse in the form of her two best non-pet friends: Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. However, since the distraught filly was so preoccupied with tending to her ailing pet, she did not at first take notice of her friends as they walked up to her and Lester.
"Hey, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom greeted her, which instantly caught Sweetie's ear.
"Guys!" she shouted with much rapture. "I'm so glad you're here! Lester and I really need your help!"
"Why? What's wrong?"
"When I came to see Lester this morning, I found him lying on the floor, looking really sick. He kept on coughing, and his nose was all red. His eyes were tearing and a little puffed up. I just don't know what could be wrong with him," she placed her hoof on Lester's head, with tears starting to well up in her own eyes.
"Well, can't you take him to the vet?"
"I can't do that by myself. I would need my sister or parents or somepony else who is old enough to take me and Lester there, and then everypony would know about him, and I just couldn't have Lester leave after all we've been through together..." Tears formed into larger droplets around Sweetie's eyes, plummeting to the ground and soaking into the soil of the earth. 
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo exchanged looks of sympathy to each other, feeling anguish over their friend's great anguish.
"Yah know, Sweetie Belle; if yah want, we can both watch Lester so you can leave and get whatever it is yah need fer 'im."
"Really??" she responded elatedly.
"Sure! Me an' Scoot can watch 'im while you go an' get whatever it is yah need fer 'im!"
"Oh, yay!" Sweetie bounced gleefully up into the air. "You guys are the best!" she says as she hugs both of her friends, with both hugging her back. "Now let's see...what should I get first...?"
While Sweetie Belle was thinking, Scootaloo glanced over at Lester, noticing that he was panting. "He looks pretty hot to me," she remarked.
Sweetie looked over at Lester herself, and was in agreement with Scootaloo after seeing him look so hot herself. She proceeded to remove the blanket to cool the porcupine down. "There: is that better?" Lester nodded weakly in response. "Now, how about I get you some nice, cold water?" Lester nodded as weakly as he did previously. "Okay, then—you rest up while I fetch you some refreshing water," she gave Lester a quick pat on the head and trotted off towards the farm to retrieve the liquid refreshment for her sickly porcupine pet.
After watching Sweetie Belle leave, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned their attention back towards Lester, who did not look to be getting any better, with his head getting warmer and his breathing becoming heavier and slower as he tried to sleep.
"The poor little guy...ah hate to see a somepony's pet lookin' so sick..."
"Yeah; and Sweetie Belle was looking pretty sad over this." 
"Ah wish there was somethin' we could do tuh help out more than just watchin' Lester."
Scootaloo pondered this notion. "Hmm...maybe there is more we could do."
"Really? How?" Apple Bloom inquired.
"Well...since Lester is so sad, we should do something to cheer him up! So that when Sweetie Belle comes back, she'll see him happy, and she'll be happier, too!"
"That sounds like a pretty good idea, Scoot!"
Scootaloo smiled from the recognition she was receiving from Apple Bloom, now feeling that her idea was a good one. Scootaloo then turned her attention back towards Lester. "How about it, Lester? You in the mood to be cheered up?" she asked as she nudged the porcupine.
Suddenly, Scootaloo felt her hoof being smacked away by an irate Apple Bloom. "Ow! What did you do that for??" Scootaloo irritably responded, rubbing her sore hoof.
"'Cause yer gonna wake Lester up if yah go 'n' poke 'im like that!"
"I wasn't going to wake him! He's not even asleep!"
"What are you talkin' about?"
"Just look!" she said as she pointed towards Lester. "He's not asleep because he's not snoring anymore!"
"Snorin'? I didn't hear him snorin' before."
"Of course he was snoring! He was going (inhale, exhale) over and over after Sweetie Belle left!"
"...yah mean breathin'?"
"That was breathing? It sounded like a snore to me."
"Ah'm pretty sure it was breathin'."
"Well, whatever it was, he's not doing it now."
The two fillies turned their heads towards Lester once again, looking intently at his motionless body. Both looked puzzled as to was going on with Lester, and why he was now making no sound at all. It was quite perplexing for the both of them. The both continued to ponder—until Apple Bloom's face instantaneously changed to one of pure shock and horror—which Scootaloo didn't notice, as she was still thinking herself.
"...that was breathin' he was doin'..."
"Whaaat? That can't be right, because he isn't doing it now. And how could someone just 'stop' breathing?"
Apple Bloom stared back at Scootaloo without uttering a word—her visibly forlorn expression doing the speaking for her. It was from a thorough examination of the filly's facial appearance did Scootaloo finally realize what had happened—and she was no less shocked than Apple Bloom was.
"Oh my gosh..." Scootaloo looked at Lester, then back at Apple Bloom, who remained wordless.
There was a long pause for Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, as the severity of this sudden situation was such that it not could be taken so easily, and was a lot to place on one's mind—especially for two young fillies such as these.
"What...what should we tell Sweetie Belle??"
"Ah...ah really don't know..."
"Well, we can't just do nothing! I mean, this is Sweetie Belle's pet! How do you think she's gonna take this news??"
Apple Bloom didn't respond, but she agreed fully with Scootaloo's statement; knowing full well that someone who loves Lester as dearly as Sweetie Belle does could not handle such grim news in a totally calm and collected manner. It was clearly too late to do anything about Lester, so they needed to come up with some kind of way to soften the blow for their friend, although that task seemed impossible—but it was worth giving a try if it meant helping their dear companion through this hard time.