Fighting cancer is one of those experiences that never leaves you, even if you go into remission. Some would think this to be obvious, but some ponies believe that once you go into remission, that’s it, it’s done for, and you never have to think about it again. I thought that at first, but I later found out that’s not what the term ‘remission’ actually means…
I managed to finish high school and start college without much trouble. I went to school in Baltimare— the university had a great Astronomy department, and Gramma lived close by if I needed her. Unfortunately, at the end of my second year, I had a relapse. As it turns out, ‘remission’ just means that nothing shows up on a scan, and there aren’t any obvious symptoms. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the cancer is completely gone, though.
I had to take medical leave from school to go back to Ponyville, and my studies suffered for it. After another few rounds of treatments, I eventually got better, but my doctors still didn’t want me going back to Baltimare in case something happened.
After waiting too long to go back to school at the risk of forgetting everything I had learned, I was able to transfer to Canterlot University and continue my studies there. It was close enough to Ponyville that I could take a train back home if anything did happen, and if all else failed, a trip to Canterlot Castle got me the attention I needed.
Princess Luna and I kept in touch often, so if I ever needed an emergency ride to the hospital back home, the castle staff happily obliged. I made a good first impression with them— coming into my dreams generally put Princess Luna in a better mood when she had bad nights, and that made their jobs a lot easier. The level of thanks I received the first time the staff actually met me was pretty unbelievable.
My transfer to Canterlot U absolutely thrilled Tesla, who had gone there to study Electrical Engineering. She had been upset when I decided to go to Baltimare— it was so far away, and the long-distance relationship was tough on us, but we managed. When she found out I planned to transfer to Canterlot, it didn’t take her long to find an apartment where we could move in together, and I certainly had no objections.
My relapse was mild enough that I was able to go to CU and finish my studies without too much trouble. My trips home to see the doctors didn’t interfere that much. Coincidentally, my being behind in my classes and Tesla’s extra years of study for engineering timed it so that we graduated in the same year. Our mothers had a field day with the cameras.
Tess and I decided to stay in Canterlot after we graduated. My setup with Ponyville General worked through my first year at Canterlot U, but when I grew old enough that I had to transition out of pediatrics, I switched to the Canterlot hospital system. I was afraid going through all of my history with new doctors in a new city would be difficult, but it wasn’t as crazy as I thought it would be. In fact, it was a great move.
As an adult, the doctors had access to certain medications that the pediatric doctors didn’t. When scans began showing more serious signs of cancer again right after I graduated, I asked them about trying some alternative treatments that I had heard about from Zecora. Unfortunately, they said that even though there had been some studies that the Zebras had conducted theorizing alternative cancer therapies, there wasn’t enough evidence that the treatments would actually work.
Instead, they suggested that they start me on a treatment that was still in its trial phase. I would have preferred trying Zecora’s methods if I was going to be a guinea pig anyway, but the trial was just more convenient at the time, so I decided it was worth a shot.
Starry had gone to Manehattan for school, and like Tess and me, he stayed there after he graduated. He thought it would be easier making a name for himself among art dealers and galleries, so he decided it was for the best. He would come and visit us in Canterlot every now and then, though; it was always nice having the trio together again.
When Tess and I teased him about being a third wheel, he shrugged it off. Apparently, the city life wasn’t only good for making a name in the art world. Everypony knows the nightclubs in Manehattan are the best places to pick up mares— or at least that’s what Starry told me. Apparently, the ‘battle wound’ black-and-blue he sported was actually a pretty good one-liner. I never would have guessed.
Overall, Starry turned out to be right; he became well-known among small-time dealers and eventually worked his way up the art ladder. One of the gallery owners Starry worked with suggested a small style change to his mane. He was wary about the idea, but he thought he’d give it a try, so he dyed a simple teal streak to match his eyes in his mane and tail; while it ruined his ‘battle wounds’ line, it did become his signature look, and eventually, so many ponies recognized it that he started getting commissions from practically every well-known pony in Manehattan. He stopped even needing his pick-up line. Who knew?
From time to time, I brought Tesla up near Canterlot Castle’s gardens at dusk to take a look toward the castle’s balcony. Occasionally we would catch a glimpse of Princess Luna, and every now and then she would come and say hello if she saw us. If we weren’t lucky enough to catch her eye, we would just try another night. Eventually, we went up there enough times and met with the Princess enough for her to keep watch for us every evening at sundown.
Tess and the Princess got to know each other well enough that they even had occasional magic lessons, where the Princess would teach Tess some advanced spells that bordered on alicorn magic. I had to steer clear of those; Tess’s frequent exposure to electricity magnified her magic somehow, and I definitely didn’t want to get hit by a stray blast. The Princess would usually let me into the Royal Gardens during those lessons. After a few of those meetings, Princess Luna made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: she gave me my own key to the Gardens. Ponies generally weren’t even allowed near the Gardens, let alone inside them, late at night. It was one of the best places for stargazing, though; there was almost no ambient light once the path lights were turned off. After all the time we spent together, both in real life and the dreamscape, the Princess knew that she could trust me to keep the place tidy at night, even when I wasn’t really supposed to be there.
Tess and I both had research and projects to keep us busy, but despite that, I still managed to focus some time on the foundation that Dad started for me. Fortunately, I had plenty of support with that. I had to do some work getting things organized exactly how I wanted them, but there’s only so much that can be done when legalities come into play.
Unfortunately, right as I was establishing the proper branches and positions for ponies of the foundation, another medical hang-up occurred. After about three months on the clinical trial, I spiked a huge fever one night, and Tesla rushed me to the hospital. Apparently, the trial didn’t do as much as the doctors thought; it just suppressed the symptoms. After a week of testing to find the problem, they started me on a new chemo regimen which kept me in the hospital continuously again.
Ugh…