Being a pony-draconequus hybrid has some...complications.
As Raven sniffed on her bed, her mind couldn't help but ponder her situation in this regard. With her not being a pure-blooded draconequus, she couldn't do some things her dad can do, like physical transformations, travel through dimensions, and duplicate herself, among others.
There were also some things that she could do that Discord could as well, but with much more difficultly and limits, often passing out if she over-exerts herself, like she can only teleport about 80 feet until she gets dizzy and nauseous or passes out. And while she isn't immortal like her dad used to be, she has a healing factor and is able to heal others, though her own healing factor isn't perfect, as is evident by the fact of the notch in her ear and even then, it takes some time (though was still faster than a pony's healing abilities) and it only really works on physical injuries and not things like illnesses.
Speaking of illnesses, they were perhaps the most annoying aspect of her being part pony. While Discord largely can't get sick unless it blocked his magical abilities (like with the flu the Tatzlwurm gave him, a story Twilight told the kids much to Discord's annoyance), Raven can get normal pony illnesses like the common cold or the feather flu. But due to her being part draconequus with chaos based magic, even the most mundane cold causes her magic to go haywire.
And that was her situation now. She had started feeling a little bad yesterday, but otherwises felt fine. When she woke up this morning, however, she then knew she had caught the flu. Whenever she was sick, she often felt like she was really young again, where she had uncontrollable magical bursts fairly often due to inexperience.
She could control it fairly well nowadays (well, as much as one can control chaos magic), but when sick, any control she once had was lost. The most she can do when sick is to just let the magic do what it does and wait for the flu to go away, hoping it doesn't harm anyone in the process, especially those she cares about.
She laid back on one of the many pillows that her mother brought earlier to make her comfy. She grabbed a tissue and blew into it, the sound of the blowing being identical to that of a baby elephant's trumpet. She tossed the tissue into the bin that was in her room. At that point, Fluttershy walked in with a tray on her back. She placed the tray down before turning to her daughter.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, putting her hoof over the draconequus' forehead to check her temperature. Thankfully, her hoof didn't catch fire like Discord's paw did when he checked earlier, though Fluttershy still felt a noticeable warmthness on the teen's forehead.
"Like a pile of limp noddles, I guess." Raven replied in a nasally voice. Fluttershy blinked at the slightly unusual comparison before removing her hoof and pushing the tray towards Raven with her nose. On the tray was a bowl of oatmeal, two slices of buttered toast drizzled in honey, and a cup of orange juice.
Raven smiled at the delicious looking breakfast and was about thank her mother, but she was interrupted by her sneezing, which caused Fluttershy's mane to go from light pink to a soft emerald green color (though her tail was still pink) and her eyes turned dark brown rather than their normal teal.
Raven's cheeks turned pink as she tried to hide under her sheets. Raven often felt embarrassed when she caused an accident with her magic, even when she can't control her powers. Fluttershy pulled the sheets down to look her daughter in the eye.
"Raven, it's okay. It was an accident. I know you didn't mean to." She said with a comforting smile to help ease the teenage draconequus. A snap could be heard, and Fluttershy's eyes and mane were back to their normal colors. Fluttershy looked behind herself and smiled appreciatively at her husband, who had come over once he felt the magic imbalance. He smiled their way before flying out the room.
With the magical accident fixed and Fluttershy making it clear that no harm was done, Raven started eating her breakfast. She only ate a small amount of her oatmeal and only ate one piece of toast, which was a stark contrast to her large appetite she normally has when healthy. Once she was finished with her food, Fluttershy fluffed up the pillow behind the draconequus' head.
"Okay. Me and Discord have a friendship meeting later this afternoon, but Discord told Twilight that he'll stay to take care of you and fix any issues your sneezes cause." Fluttershy pulled up the blanket to Raven's chin. "You just rest, dear. I'll be back with lunch later before I leave." She kissed Raven's forehead before grabbing and then leaving with the tray.
The door closed behind Fluttershy, leaving the young draconequus in her room with her boa, who hissed sadly at her owner's state from inside a glass terrarium next to her drawing desk. It wasn't often that Raven put Ginger in her cage, preferring to let the constrictor roam freely, but she didn't want to risk her magic effecting her beloved snake and Discord had put a charm on the cage that should keep her safe.
Raven sighed as she wrapped her body up with the blanket slightly. She snorted slightly as she looked at her window. The sound of the light autumn breeze outside was rather soothing and it helped distract her from the feeling of her magic swirling inside of her like the ocean, desperate to escape her body and cause chaos. It was a strange feeling but it was one that she was accustomed to as she lived with it her whole life, and most of the time, she didn't even really notice it too much. But now, with her magic out of control, it almost felt like a foreign invader in her own body, a virus that didn't belong.
She sneezed, causing confetti to fly out of her nose. She sniffed afterwards and kept shifting in her blanket, resulting in her wrapped up in a cocoon. Her eyes dropped slowly until they closed and she dozed off.
Her eyes fluttered open as she woke up. She groaned and shifted her head slightly to look at the clock on her wall. The clock was slightly crooked, but she could still read it as if it was straight. The paw of the tiny Discord inside the clock was on eleven and the talon was on nine, clearly showing it was 11:45 in the morning.
I slept for three hours, but I feel even worse than before! She groaned and stuffed her head under her pillow.
She sneezed under the pillow, causing a book to fall from the sky and land on her, bouncing off her hip before landing on the mattress. It also changed the color of the pillow sheet from the crimson red it was to teal. She looked up from the pillow and sighed at the mess her chaos caused, her midnight mane being even more of a mess then before. She used her tail to put the book onto the bookshelf and she wrapped herself up more in the blanket.
Just as she was about to fall asleep a second time, her door opened, revealing her mother with a tray on her back. Raven tried to sit up, but got up too quickly and made herself dizzy. She laid back down just as her mom came up to her bed and set the tray down on her bookshelf.
"Hey, little flower." Fluttershy said as she softly stroked her daughter's raven mane. "How are you feeling?"
Raven shifted in her blanket and sniffed before replying, "Honestly, I feel worse." Raven sneezed, making a pair of scissors appear in the air before they fell down. Fluttershy flinched as the scissors hit her tail, it successfully cutting the hair. She turned and saw her sloppy cut tail, it now barely past her cutie mark, reminding Fluttershy of her aunt, who had a short mane and tail for as long as she remembered.
The draconequus teen was about to apologize when she suddenly began to cough violently. Fluttershy then lifted her up and rubbed her back, her face twisted with concern as her daughter hacked out her lungs (not literally, thankfully). Once her coughing fit finished, the teen laid down and snorted harshly. She then sneezed again, causing a tea cup to fall from the sky, it breaking upon impact with the floor. It also made an iridescent light purple bubble appear, trapping her snow leopard desk lamp inside, at which point the bubble began to float up the the ceiling.
Fluttershy flew up and popped the bubble, catching the lamp before it fell and put it back on the bookshelf, right next to Raven's ruby red hair band. She landed next to the bed, folding her wings against her body before nudging the tray closer to Raven.
"If you're feeling worse, I'll go get some medicine for you, so eat this while I go get it. I'll also ask Discord to clean your room. And maybe to fix my tail." Her mother smiled sheepish as she looked towards her short tail. She then walked off, the chopped tail swishing as she walked off.
Raven groaned as she sat up slightly to look at the tray, which had a bowl of basil tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, perfectly cut in half in a diagonal fashion. The crusts of the sandwich were cut off and placed to the side, since both she and Discord liked having the crusts cut off, so they can eat them separate from the main sandwich. There was also a nice tall glass of ice water. She smiled at the meal her mom made, even if she thought that she won't be able to eat all of it. Normally, she'd probably eat all that and more, but her appetite was not quite up to par at the moment.
She began to eat the soup, the smooth liquid sliding down her throat, helping to sooth the muscles and relive the soreness her throat was getting. Her ear twitched as she heard magic in her room. She looked around and noticed the chaos from before was fixed. Her dad must've snapped his fingers from where he was and fixed the issues. She dipped one of sandwich crusts into the soup and bit it, her mouth curling up into a smile at the delicious taste of her mom's homemade food.
By the time Fluttershy came back, her tail now back at full length, Raven had eaten a surprising amount of the food. Fluttershy came over to the side of the bed and smiled at the devoured sandwich and crusts, crumbs being the only indication of their previous existence. The soup was almost gone, too. Raven finished drinking the water and placed the half finished glass back on the tray, looking towards her mom as Fluttershy grabbed the tray and placed it on the bookshelf.
She then turned to her asymmetrical daughter. "Okay, sweetheart. I've got some cough syrup here. I also got some topical medicines I got from Zecora a while back, but how about we do the syrup first?" She said.
At Raven's nod, she twisted the cap of the cough syrup off and poured the pale pink liquid on a spoon before she pushed the spoon towards Raven. After putting the spoon in her mouth, Raven swallowed the syrup before coughing slightly and wrinkling her snout. Apparently, even to a draconequus that ate things ponies could not or would not ever eat, the fake cherry flavor of the cough syrup was rather unpleasant.
Fluttershy set the cough syrup down and grabbed one of her topical medicine vials. "Can you lift your head up please, sweetie?" She asked. The draconequus did so and shivered as her mother rubbed some of the cold goop on her throat. Fluttershy wiped her hoof on a cloth she brought with her and opened the next vial, dabbing some of the medicine on her daughter's nose. Raven sniffed, biting her lip as she desperately tried not to sneeze.
Fluttershy set the vial down just as Discord walked in. "Fluttershy, you're going to be late." He said, pulling out a miniature wall clock with her cutie mark on it to show her the time. "I'll take it from here." Fluttershy nodded and turned to hug her daughter.
"Okay. I've got to go. Like I said earlier, Discord will be here to take care of you, so if you need anything, ask him." Raven nodded and after one last nuzzle, Fluttershy turned around to walk out.
Discord snapped his talon, opening up a purple portal leading to Twilight's castle in Canterlot. Discord handed Fluttershy a brown paper bag with scribbles of a smiley sun and her face on it, as well as extra scribbles with the faces of Raven and Wildflower as foals next to a rainbow, which she grabbed with her wing. She hopped through the portal, which closed right behind her as soon as she went through. Discord looked over to his darling daughter.
"Alright, if you need me, just ring this bell." He said, pulling a small bell from his ear and placing in on her bookshelf.
Raven smiled lightly at him but then sneezed, causing a nurse's outfit to appear on Discord. Discord looked at himself briefly before looking at her with a deadpanned look. Raven's lips wobbled into a wavery smile as she looked in clear amusement at the silly look of her father. He rolled his eyes and snapped his talon, removing the outfit with a snap. He then left, flying out the door and closing it.
After he left, Raven quietly tittered, no longer able to contain her giggles before laying down more and closing her eyes.
Raven woke up in what felt like a few moments, her chest and nose already feeling loads better. Her mom's topical medicine seemed to be working well. She yawned and stretched her arms before looking over to her clock (which had rotated on its axis in a clockwise direction, like it always does), which read 6:57. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose, this time sounding like a party horn and then tossed the tissue into her bin.
Her stomach then growled, causing her to blush brightly. She looked briefly at the clock again before looking towards the little bell Discord had left behind.
I guess it wouldn't be too much to ask for dinner right now. She thought. She grabbed the bell with her paw and tried ringing it. Oddly, no sound came out of it, but Discord teleported in regardless.
"You need something, princess?" He asked. Raven blinked slightly that he came since the bell seemed broken, but then reasoned with herself that Discord probably made it specifically so only he could hear it. She ignored this as she replied to her father.
"Um, yes. I'm hungry. It wouldn't be too much to ask for dinner, right?" She said, shifty slightly in the blankets. He smiled towards her as he poofed up a chef's toque and an white apron into himself.
"Well, it is past the time we normally eat, but I'll certainly make something for you. How about you take a bath to feel a little better while I make dinner?" Raven looked down after he said this. Her fur was matted and she felt sticky and sweaty. A bath did sound good right now.
As Discord was finishing the soup he was making, his ear twitched at the sound of the tub draining. A few moments later, he saw Raven walked out of the bathroom out of the corner of his eye, her body wrapped in her crimson red towel.
He used his magic to make a bowl float towards him, as well as the ladle to float and pour into the bowl. He snapped his paw, causing the fresh bread he was baking to be pulled out of the oven, without even opening the oven door.
He also poured water into a glass, using his magic to turn some of the bubbles into ice cubes. He snapped his tail tuft, making a tray appear and float in midair. The soup, bread, and water floated onto the tray and he snapped his talon, teleporting him right to Raven's room, knocking on the door.
After Raven said it was okay for him to come in, he walked in, the tray still floating right behind him. Raven laid on her bed, now completely clean and even looking a little healthier. She smiled at him as he entered but then sneezed, the books on her bookshelf all reorganized and the covers changed colors. Discord snapped his fingers, fixing the chaos. The tray then floated over to Raven. Raven smiled at the food on the tray and began to eat, the potato soup easing her throat.
Once she was finished with her food, she sneezed again, the terrarium going from a rectangle shape to a castle shape. Luckily, the charm Discord placed on it protected Ginger, who looked surprised by the increased space this allowed her. It also caused a dark cloud to appear above Discord. Thunder cracked and snow fell on him, already successfully covering his lower half, basically turning him into a snowdraconequus.
He snapped his talon and removed the snow and the cloud (but he kept the terrarium castle at Raven's request, wanting her pet to have the most comfortable terrarium possible).
"Alright, that's dinner taken care of. Anything else you need before I leave?" He asked, his fingers curled in a way that he could teleport if she said no.
Raven thought a moment before an idea popped into her mind. She leaned forward and grabbed a book from her shelf. Discord raised a brow as Raven's face blushed harshly.
"Um, can you...read this to me, like when I was little?" She felt silly asking this, as she was probably too old for being read by her daddy, but she couldn't summon her glasses to read it but more importantly, she didn't want him to leave yet. The book flew from her grip and floated to Discord, who has a tender smile.
"Of course, princess." He said. A rocking chair appeared next to the bed and he sat in it. She smiled towards him and settled as Discord opened up the book to the first page and began to read, "Tramplevania is a land situated in the Caprathian Mountains, filled with lush forests and sparkling rivers. During the day, it is quite peaceful. The smell of the oaks and beeches..."
Later that night, Fluttershy walked in to check on Raven. The meeting went on for longer than she thought it would've and she desperately wanted to check on Raven the whole time. She knew Discord was watching her and she trusted him to take care of her, but she just wanted to make sure before going to bed.
She opened the door, only to blink at the sight before her. Raven was sleeping on her bed, a cute smile on her face. Her breath sounded a little wheezy due to her being sick, but she still looked at peace. Discord was sleeping on the chair, drool dripping down his chin and the book he was reading her laying open across his chest.
Fluttershy smiled tenderly at the sight. She walked forward and tapped Discord's arm. He snorted and opened his eyes before looking over to Fluttershy. He stood up and stretched, using his tail to pop the chair like it was a bubble. At the same time, the book floated back to Raven's bookshelf.
"How was the meeting, my dear?" He whispered, not wanting to wake Raven up. The two of them started walking out of the room.
"It was alright, but I was worried about Raven the whole time. I knew you were watching her, but you know me and my worrying nature." Fluttershy replied, grabbing the knob to the door. Discord chuckled softly as she closed the door, leaving their daughter to sleep off her flu.