//------------------------------// // Sick Day // Story: Family of Chaos // by Animalman57 //------------------------------// Fluttershy couldn't help but hum a little as she made breakfast, mixing blueberries into some waffle batter. Her husband was nearby, reading the newspaper upside down as he drank from a coffee mug that had the words #1 Chaos Husband! written on it. Inside the mug was a bizarre purply-pink liquid that, while it didn't look like it, was actually coffee. It turned that color after he poured loads of sugar and milk in, somehow. She silently giggled at her husband's chaotic nature. Raven was currently on the couch in the living room, claiming she wasn't hungry. After confirming with absolute certainty that the teenaged draconequus was feeling fine, the worrying mother hesitantly went back into the kitchen, telling Raven that if she got hungry, she'll make her something. Just as she was about to put the batter into the waffle iron, she heard a sneeze behind her, her ears swiveling to pinpoint the sound. Turning around, she saw Wildflower standing by the doorway of the kitchen, with her deep cerulean blanket wrapped around herself and her dark pink mane was frazzled, not even bothering to put it in her typical braid. She was constantly sniffing and her snout was as red as her pupils. In other words, she looked absolutely miserable. "Oh, dear." Fluttershy said quietly as she walked towards her daughter. "You look awful." Wildflower rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks." She said sarcastically. Her voice sounded raspy, causing Fluttershy to look sadly at her typically brash daughter. They both jumped up as Discord suddenly appeared next to them, now wearing a white doctor's coat with a stethoscope around his neck. A thermometer appeared in Wildflower's mouth as he grabbed an X-ray machine from the wall next to him and flipped it on, showing her skeleton. Fluttershy pushed the machine away, seeing it as overkill before pulling out the thermometer and looked at it. "Oh, you definitely have a fever." Fluttershy said as the thermometer disappeared from her hoof thanks to Discord's magic. She wrapped a wing around Wildflower and started to lead her upstairs. "You should be in bed resting. Come on." "Mom, I'm fine." Wildflower insisted. "You don't need to be such a worrywart." Despite her verbal protest, she followed her mother, not really inclined to argue when she felt ill. Discord chuckled slightly at their interaction before downing the rest of his coffee down his gullet. It might've been too hot for most creatures to just pour it down their throat like that, but him being the amazing draconequus he is, it didn't bother him. "Alright, I think that's enough pillows." Fluttershy said as she set down one last pillow and fluffed it a third time to make it extra comfy. Wildflower looked around her bed. In addition to her being wrapped up like a burrito in her blanket, her mom had brought enough pillows for her to make a fort if she so chose to. She might've even done that if she wasn't sick. "Okay," Wildflower turned her head towards her mother as she spoke, "Since you're comfortable, I'll go make some oatmeal for you. I was going to make waffles, but if you're sick, oatmeal might be a little easier for you to eat. I'm sure either Discord or Raven will eat the batter so it doesn't go to waste." She tittered, holding a hoof to her mouth. Once her mother left, Wildflower sighed as she turned on her side. Nopony liked being sick, and Wildflower was no exception. Though a small part of her (a part that she'd never admit out loud) liked her mother fretting over her when she was sick, it didn't change anything about the awful feeling of her sore throat and stuffy nose. While she wasn't sleepy, her eyes did droop, her energy seemily drained. Her macaw, Chilli, looked at his owner sadly, squawking softly before he turned to preen his gorgeous plumage. Her mother came back with a bowl of oatmeal on a tray, as well as some plain yogurt and water. Wildflower began eating her oatmeal and yogurt, taking occasional breaks to drink the water. She eventually stopped, putting the bowl back on the tray. "I'm full, I think." She said, setting the spoon down next to the bowl. Fluttershy eyed the bowl for a bit before nodding, “You ate about half of your food. That's good. I thought you would've eaten less, to be honest." She set her hoof on her daughter's forehead to check her temperature. "You're still a little warm. I'll go get a wet towel." Before she could, a towel appeared on Wildflower's head in a flash. Fluttershy blinked before turning her head to the doorway and saw Discord floating there. Fluttershy smiled in appreciation as he winked at her. He also made the tray, along with the bowl and yogurt, disappear and set her water on her bookshelf, setting it next to a large pitcher of water that he made appear, so she could drink plenty of water. Next to the pitcher was a tissue box that he also created. A small tin trash bin appeared below her bookshelf so she could dispose her used tissues. His job done, he snapped his talon and teleported away. Fluttershy shook her head before turning to Wildflower. "Okay, I've got to head over to the sanctuary and let Dr. Fauna know that I'll be taking care of you." She said, "I also have some errands to run. You just stay here and rest. If you need anything, Discord will be here to help you." Fluttershy nuzzled her daughter briefly before heading out. "I'll be back as soon as I can." Once Fluttershy closed the door, Wildflower sighed before she reached her forearm out and grabbed a tissue from the box and blew into it. She tossed the used tissue into the bin and laid down on one of her many pillows. She let her eyes close, just wanting to rest her eyes for a little bit. The young pegasus fell asleep within minutes of closing her eyes. When she woke up, she felt warm and sticky. She looked over at the window in her room. The sun was pretty high in the sky. It appeared to be just past noon, meaning she had been asleep for at least a few hours now. She started coughing violently, practically hacking up her lungs. Chilli jumped up in surprise, his feathers jumping off his body and he flew off his stand. Once she finished her coughing fit, she grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. The door opened, revealing her mother, looking at her with concern. "I just came home when I heard you cough. Are you okay?" She said, barely acknowledging the scarlet macaw flying over her head to leave the room. Wildflower shook her head and moaned, "No. I feel like garbage." She tossed her used tissue, it missing the bin and landing on the floor. Fluttershy walked over and reached down to grab the tissue and tossed it into the bin properly as Wildflower continued to complain, "My mane is sticking to my neck, I feel hot, but I'm also too cold, and my voice sounds like I swallowed one of your frogs from the sanctuary and it starts to croak whenever I talk." Fluttershy frowned sadly at her daughter's miserable state. Her voice sounded even worse than it did before and even wrapped up in a nice, thick blanket, she shook due to being cold. Fluttershy removed the towel from Wildflower's forehead before touching her forehead to check her temperature. Though the towel helped a little, she still had a fever. Once she removed her hoof, she adjusted the teen's blanket. "How about I make you soup while you take a bath to clean your sweaty coat? A warm bath might make you feel a little better." She suggested. Wildflower nodded, not really feeling inclined to argue with her mom. She entered the bathroom and she turned the shower knobs, causing the water to pour out. She adjusted the setting so it'd go from the shower head to the bath faucet. She put her hoof underneath to test the temperature of the water. It was too hot, so she turned the knob for cold water to try and equalize the temperature. Once it was to her liking, she waited for the water to fill the tub before turning the knobs off and adding some bubble bath soap into the water. When it was all set up, she flew up and dipped her hoof in. Figuring it was good, she fully entered the tub, sighing contently as the warm water made contact with her coat. She nearly submerged herself, only the top of her head and part of her muzzle being visible from the surface. She took the shampoo bottle that was closest to her and lathered her mane, already feeling a little better due to the bath. After a good five minute bath, she pulled the plug to drain the tub and hopped onto the bath mat. She unfurled her wings and grabbed her usual azure towel to dry herself off. After she was completely dry, she walked out of the bathroom and walked into her bedroom. Almost as soon as she entered her bed, her mother walked in, holding a tray with her wings. Fluttershy set down the tray, a steaming bowl of soup sitting on it. "This is my mom's recipe. Whenever I was sick, she always made this for me. And I felt better in no time." Fluttershy said. Wildflower grabbed the spoon and started eating the soup. It was a rather tasty vegetable soup, one with carrots, tomatoes and celery. She ate slowly, taking each sip with care, but she ate a fair amount, nearly finishing the whole bowl. She also ate the buttered bread that was brought along with it and slowly sipped the water her mother helped refill. Once she was finished, Fluttershy took the tray back with her. When she came back, she had a small bottle of what looked like medicine. "It appears to just be the flu, but I think you should take some medicine anyway." She unscrewed the cap and poured the cough syrup onto a spoon, a different one from her soup spoon. Wildflower grimaced at the sight of the pale pink liquid. "Ugh, do I have to?" She moaned as Fluttershy brought the spoon to her face. "You'll need to take it in order to get better, dear." Her mother said in her usual caring voice. Wildflower sighed and opened her mouth. As soon as the syrup touched her tongue, she recoiled slightly at the taste as she pulled from the spoon. Her nose crinkled as she groaned slightly before swallowing the medicine. She refilled the water and greedy drank to wash the taste out of her mouth. Wildflower laid her head down on her pillow as she tried to rest. Fluttershy screwed the cap back on and took the bottle with her as she left, allowing her daughter to rest. As her eyes opened, Wildflower looked up at the window again. The sun was setting, the sky going from bright blue to reddish-orange. Her macaw had apparently returned to her room, now resting on his stand. She coughed loudly, though not as bad as before and she blew her nose with another tissue. After she threw the tissue into the bin, Wildflower thought about how she had some time to kill and so she decided to read one of her comics. The one she went with was one of her favorites: the origin of her favorite hero, Zapp. Her mother entered the room as she got near the end of the story, carrying a tray on her back. Wildflower put down her comic just as the older pegasus came up to the bed. As she set the tray down, Fluttershy asked, "How are you feeling now, dear?" She put her hoof over Wildflower's head. Her temperature had thankfully gone down a little and her fever wasn't as bad. "Terrible." The teenaged pegasus said while rolling her multi-colored eyes. Fluttershy shook her head before removing her hoof and giving her the tray. "Discord had kept the soup I made earlier warm with his magic, so I thought about giving you leftover soup for dinner, if that's okay." "That's fine, I guess. It was good." Wildflower said. Fluttershy smiled lightly towards her. "You're voice is sounding a little better already. I think that medicine really helped." She said. Wildflower shrugged before starting to eat the soup. Once she finished, Fluttershy took the tray and left. Wildflower snuggled into bed as she closed her eyes again. Wildflower woke up the next morning feeling much better than before. Her throat wasn't sore anymore and her mind was less clouded. She touched her forehead and was relieved to find that she no longer had a fever. She walked down to the kitchen with a smile on her face after she brushed her mane free of knots and put her locks in her typical braid. Fluttershy, who was sitting at the table, looked towards her daughter, who started to whistle as she flew up to grab the cereal box. "Well, somepony's feeling better." She said, setting down her half eaten toast onto a small plate. Wildflower finished pouring the cereal into a bowl before looking toward her mother and smiled. "Yeah. I feel much better." She took a moment to grab milk from the fridge and poured it on her cereal. "I still have a bit of a stuffy nose, but it's not as bad as yesterday." She didn't flinch as Chilli flew onto the top of her head as usual, his beak seemingly curved into a smile at his owner's improved health. Fluttershy smiled as Wildflower walked to the table with her cereal and sat down. "I'm glad you're feeling better, sweetheart." Before Wildflower could take a bite of her cereal, they were interrupted by a dainty sneeze. Almost immediately afterwards, the bowl changed from off-white to a bright greenish-blue color. They looked over and saw Raven standing in the doorway of the kitchen, her snout being bright red and her black tresses were heavily mussed. She sneezed again, bubbles suddenly appearing and floating from her nose, shocking the macaw, who then flew off to Wildflower's bedroom. Discord teleported in, looking at the teen draconequus with a raised brow. "Well, that explains the magic imbalance I felt." He said, touching her forehead with his paw. His paw soon caught fire, which he doused with a floating hose that he magicked up. She sneezed a third time, causing a frilly pink dress to appear on her sister. Wildflower yelped at such a girly looking dress appearing on her. Discord snapped his paw and fixed the chaos that Raven caused with her sneezes. He then left to fix whatever chaos she might've accidentally caused in her bedroom. Fluttershy walked over to Raven and guided her to the stairs. "Let's take you to your room while I make you something warm to eat." As the two of them walked away, Wildflower closed her eyes and shook her head before she began to eat her cereal. While her being sick sucked, Raven being sick was literal chaos.