Chapter 2: Telling the Truth.
Silence...
That was all I could perceive as I sat on the couch in my house, right in front of the fireplace, while thinking deeply about my current state of health at the time. The cough was still present, which made me know that this was not a joke, but that my situation was real. I was reflecting on what I was going to do from that moment on, since somehow I had to tell the truth to my closest friends about what would happen to me in a few days. Also, knowing that I was going to die made me think about the best way I could live what was left of my life, something that has been printed in my mind since Dr. Blueheart gave me the news.
At that moment I heard someone knocking the door, which puzzled me, since I did not wait for anyone to come and I did not have any meeting or talk that I should attend. Then, seeing I couldn't do anything else, I went to the door; as I walked, the cough invaded me again to such an extent that I was forced to spit out the equivalent of a small pool of blood. Seeing at it, I gulped down some saliva and wiped my mouth, which was a little bloody. After this event, I went to the door and opened it, only to be received by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had big smiles on their faces.
I looked at them very surprised, I expected that could be Dr. Whooves or Derpy, who was knocking on the door; however, I ended up being in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Seeing at the 3 of them, there, in front of me, I couldn't do more than speak...
“H-Hi, girls… What are you doing here?” I asked, although with a nervous tone, since the ponies I least wanted to talk with at the time were precisely them.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Frederickson. Sorry if we are bothering you. It's just that an hour ago we saw you walking outside and... well, you looked pretty strange, we just came to see if you were okay.” Sweetie Belle explained, then Scootaloo said...
"It's true, after all we also care about others." To which Apple Bloom concluded by saying...
"Partly, it is our duty as Cutie Mark Crusaders... and well, you did a lot for us." She admitted, which brought me a smile, but still, I did not want to tell them about my situation, so I said...
"Listen... yes, I got something, I have to admit that- *Coff Coff* ...But, I think it's better if I told it to your sisters first, then later they would explain it to you-" I tried to explain, but the cough invaded me again, this time, being so severe that the Crusaders became very concerned and tried to help me calm the cough; however, I told them that it was not necessary, that I only had a little cough and that it was not serious.
Unfortunately, after saying this, I realized the great contradiction that I just made, having explained two completely different things; and, worse yet, the Crusaders noticed this and said...
"You just told us the opposite." Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah! Are you lying to us?" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Easy, girls!... Mr. Frederickson surely has his reasons..." Sweetie Belle explained, who then turned to see me with an expression of hope and sadness, then said... "Right, sir?"
Seeing Sweetie Belle with that expression made me feel guilty about many things, even if they had nothing to do with what was happening to me at the time; after thinking it over for a few seconds, I opened up to them...
"I'll be honest... *Sigh* ...I'm in a very delicate state of health lately- *Coff Coff* ...I'm not good at explaining things to children, but surely your sisters are. *Coff Coff* ...I'm asking you only one thing, could you please bring your sisters here?... This is important and the fact that you don't know- *Coff Coff* ...fills me with guilt. Could you do this favor for an old man like me?... Please?" I explained as best I could while struggling not to let the cough invade my lungs and consequently my entire body.
Fortunately, for me, the Crusaders agreed to my request, but not before wishing me the best possible health state; by the time I was closing the door, the Crusaders were already running toward their homes, I smiled at this and closed the door. After this, I turned around and walked back to the chair and sat on it while looking towards the fireplace, thinking again about what would happen in the future.
While I was pensive, I heard voices around me that surprised me, at first I was shocked by the fact that I was alone and hearing strange voices, but immediately I remembered something or, rather, someone...
"*Sigh* ...Hello, Discord." I said a little annoyed, then Discord showed up and answered...
“You know, Frank… Being frank with you, you're not fun anymore to scare even a little bit; and I hate to say this, but Pinkie is right when she says you're boring." He explained with his eccentric voice.
I answered. "You know, if you didn't do them so often, maybe your lousy pranks would have a little more effect on me." Discord was offended by this and replied...
"Lousy?! For your information, my jokes are mythical and nopony can overcome them. I must tell you that your statement offends me!” He said with an annoyed tone, but also full of humor.
"*Coff Coff* ...Are you serious you've become Miss Marshmallow and her typical sense of humor!" I joked, referring to Rarity since she was always like this every time something bad was told her.
"Oh no, of course not! I am better than that marshmallow unicorn!” He stated with his eccentric tone of voice, then I replied...
"*Coff Coff* ...Now you sound like the high-class egocentric ponies!" I joked again, this annoyed Discord, who was imitating Rarity...
"Sir, but what nonsense you're saying! I am the Lord of Chaos and the best joker in the world! I'm also not going to fall low enough to pose as her! That would be a nightmare!” He said, ending his performance...
*Applauses*
I applauded while laughing at the great performance and interpretation that Discord had carried out, he snapped his fingers and made a floating stage appear while wearing a gala dress and taking off his hat...
"Thank you, thank you everypony!" He said, pretending to be an actor on a show...
After all that, Discord snapped his fingers again to make everything disappear, while I finished applauding and began to be invaded again by a tremendous cough that made it impossible for me to speak to him; Discord realized this and snapped his fingers again, appearing in front of me with a notorious expression of concern and confusion on his face, although he took it as I only suffered from a simple cough; however, I clarified the ideas immediately...
"Discord-" I tried to speak, but the cough wouldn't allow it, which confused Discord, but he still took it as a simple cough; seeing that Discord was doing nothing to help me, I insisted on explaining...
"Discord! I was diagnosed with Tuberculosis!” I exclaimed with great anger towards Discord, who, after hearing what I said, remained silent for a moment and then spoke...
"Hey Frank… I- *Sigh* ...I didn't- ...I'm sorry, I didn't know you-" He started off saying, but I cut him off.
"Enough. Just stop, Discord… There is nothing you can do about it anymore- *Coff Coff* ...Besides, if my fate has already been written, I will respect that.” I said with ironic seriousness since at that moment I should have felt devastated or desperate because of my situation, but I was calm. Discord, trying to apologize for ignoring the fact that I was ill, gave his best effort to obtain my forgiveness; despite all that, I said...
"Easy, Discord- *Coff Coff* ...I forgive you, but... *Sigh* ... I ask you to make me a favor." I explained with a little difficulty when speaking since the cough continued to invade my body and prevented me from speaking well. Discord, hearing me say that, asked...
"What is it?" He said with seriousness and sadness combined, which implied that he cared about me; after all, I supported him myself during his reformation, an act he assured me several times about his appreciation for that.
I coughed again with a clear increase in it and said...
"Please tell the Princesses about my current condition... Remember that I will attend Twilight's coronation and I need them to be aware of what's going on." I explained, then Discord asked...
"You sure you want me to do that?" I nodded and said...
"Please... That way you would pay the favor you still owe me... right?" I joked a little, although the cough still kept me from talking or laughing a little.
An hour had passed since Discord went to tell the Princesses about my health condition; shortly after Discord left, I wanted to entertain myself by playing the guitar and piano, taking turns between the two musical instruments while playing various songs from the Earth with them that I had learned by heart so I could sing them on my own. Among them, I played songs like "Country Roads, Take Me Home", "My Sweet Lord", "Your Song", "Yesterday" and etc.
Precisely, I was playing “Your Song” with the piano until several knocks on the front door interrupted me instantly when they were heard around the house; I turned to see the door and stood up, although again I got to cough, fortunately, I did not do it as loudly as on previous occasions, so I managed to recover my voice and my ability to breathe for a few moments. Taking advantage of the situation, I headed towards the front door and when I opened it, I observed not only the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their sisters, but also Fluttershy, Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie standing in front of my door.
Before I could ask why the others were here, Twilight spoke...
"Applejack came with the others to talk to us about what you asked them to come to talk with you about something serious and, well... let's say we got a little worried and decided to come to see how you were doing... Hehe." Twilight explained with a bit of nervousness in her expression, which made me understand that, despite being close to becoming the monarch of Equestria, she would never stop being the insecure and anxious Twilight that I had met 6 years ago.
"I understand, please come in... *Coff Coff* ...My home is your home." I said with total empathy towards them since I understood that they were worried and, unfortunately, soon they would have a reason to be. I closed the door after everyone entered the house and settled into it; while Twilight and the Cutie Mark Crusaders chose to sit in 2 of the armchairs in the living room, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity preferred to sit in the dining room chairs, along with Pinkie, while Fluttershy decided to sit on the floor at the same Spike wanted to sit in the piano chair and play some songs.
I smiled after seeing him playing the piano, it reminded me the times in which I dedicated myself on teaching him how to play the piano and the guitar to impress a pony in which he was interested; however, and after a few seconds of silence, except for the sound of the piano, Applejack spoke...
"*Ahem* ...So, why did you ask us to come here, sugarcube?" She asked, to which I replied...
"*Coff Coff* ...It's about my health condition." I said with some anxiety in my voice, along with a little sadness in it.
"Are you okay? Do you need to go to the doctor? Is there something we can do for you?” Twilight asked a little anxious since what I said made her a little nervous.
"Twi-" I tried to say, but a very severe cough invaded my body completely for several seconds, I even spit blood every time I coughed. Everypony saw this and Rarity said...
“Darling, you don't look healthy at all. Are you sure you're okay?" She asked worriedly...
"No, I am not okay." I answered as I sat in the same armchair that Twilight and Apple Bloom were sitting in (it was a medium-sized chair), then Rainbow Dash spoke…
"So what have you got? It can't be as serious as to-”
"Rainbow..." I interrupted and turned to look at her when I did this Rainbow Dash was silent and anypony who was not in the armchairs, except for Spike, who was already on my left, approached them and sat down around them. I saw them all, then I looked at the fireplace, I thought for a moment and in the end, I said...
"I got Tuberculosis..." I said, I could not bear it any longer and I was forced to shed a tear while everypony present was left with shocked looks and surprise printed on their faces.
"H-How severe is it?" Fluttershy asked, I turned to look at her and answered...
"*Coff Coff* ...Very much, it's already at an advanced stage."
"Is there any chance that-?" He started saying Spike, but I cut him off...
"It is Tuberculosis, this one can be very aggressive and it is in an advanced stage, even if-" I started to say, but the cough and blood returned and prevented me from continuing speaking; which forced Twilight to explain...
“Tuberculosis is, probably, the most aggressive bacterial disease of all those that exist in Equestria and it spreads rapidly through your lungs and respiratory tracts; those who contract it feel fatigued, have chest pain, spit up blood, and have a very severe cough, not forgetting the difficulties one may have in breathing properly." Twilight explained with a sad and anxious voice, which was transmitted to Spike since he immediately understood my situation, so he remained a little shocked.
"...And even if there were a cure for Tuberculosis, it wouldn't work against how advanced it is within me." I told them with a seriousness mixed with sadness, which the others realized.
Apple Bloom, being close to me, and seeing me with a tear on her face, approached me and hugged me. I, having noticed this, reciprocated the gesture and hugged her; immediately, Twilight and Spike approached and hugged me too, so did the others.
"Now what will you do?" Pinkie asked with deep sadness.
"*Coff Coff* ...Memento Mori." I said as I broke the hug and stood up. Everyone was confused by what I said, so I explained...
"It is an expression in Latin that means: Remember death-" I started saying, but the cough, again, invaded my lungs; I waited for it to go away so I could continue talking, and when it did, I continued...
"Many on Earth use it to remind themselves that they no longer have time to live- *Coff Coff* ...they always remind themselves that they should do some act of kindness to redeem themselves from past actions." I ended up explaining as I walked over to where the guitar was and then sat in a chair by the fireplace and started playing the song “Yesterday”, I didn't sing it but I did play it on the guitar so I could calm down a bit.
I played the song for a couple of minutes, in which the others decided to keep quiet and listen to the music for a bit, including Spike, who had sat in front of one of the sofas; then, at the end of the song, I spoke to Spike...
"Do you want to play a song with me?" I asked, to which he nodded in response...
To Be Continued...
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10246465
Done and... DONE. New chapter uploaded.
The feels are real.
10247056
Really?
10247058
Indeed, I’d say you’re doing a splendid job so far!
10247061
Thank you. I have to ask you, do you want me to upload a new chapter today or tomorrow?
10247062
It’s entirely up to you. After all, this is your story, and I can be patient for a good story.
10247064
Thank you for understanding. I just wanted to upload an extra chapter, but I read it 3 times and it was... the worst thing I could have ever written in my life. So, knowing that people wouldn't like it, I deleted it.
10247066
That‘s the way it is for us writers, review review review. But hey, you’ll do good, don’t worry.
10247068
Yeah, but still, I think it is best for this story to delete that chapter. I tried to make it better, but it became worse than before.
10247069
We can only learn from our mistakes to better improve ourselves. Again, you’ll get it with time!
10247074
Thank you.
10247075
Don’t mention it! After all, I’m here for the support of others!
Considering all this, he is still not in the hospital and is actively communicating with others .. hoofpalm
It's just better to consider it cancer ..
**No wonder it is so widespread if they send patients home .. Comparing Equestria Medicine with Central Africa, whose borders were determined by a straightedge?..
High resistance appears due to improper treatment and due to the mixing of different bacteria from patients
By the way, tuberculosis happens not only in the lungs. But such patients are constantly taking painkillers ..
10354243
Listen, this is an "Equestrian Tuberculosis", besides, it's my story. Please, at least show some respect to it, no?
O.m.g. destiny 2 ace of spades has another hole new meaning T-T
10398967
I... sincerely don't know how to react to your comment.
10399335
Lmao. Probably a 12 yo or something
i have a feeling "Frank" has other... problems...
oh this will be a story i tear up.. i feel it