//------------------------------// // 7 years later... // Story: Instant Teenager // by SeasonTheWiccan //------------------------------// A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she'll never outgrow your heart -Author Unknown It's been 7 years since the blind Pegasus learned to fly; Rainbow Dash had been coping with the fact that she was growing with gritted teeth. Cumulus herself had grown accustomed to her origins as well as her blindness, in fact, she had taken her navigation skills to the air. She tracked where she was by the smell of the air and what she heard below her. And not only that, but she was fast! Even faster than Rainbow! When Rainbow first saw her speeding through the sky at 13, her first instinct was to stop her before she hurt herself! But she then saw how well she was doing, she saw how good she was at knowing when she was about to crash into something and dodging the obstacle.She got around by her other 4 senses and this impressed everypony in Ponyville how she didn't let her blindness stop her from flying. This even impressed the weather patrol and noticed that she was very good with clouds, she was good at sculpting them, placing them and determining them just by the feel of them. On her 16th birthday, she got the question that neither Cue or Rainbow expected. "Would you like to join the Weather Patrol and take care of the clouds?" Cumulus was dumbstruck but said yes on the spot when she finally found her voice. Rainbow couldn't be more proud as a mother, and to think that she was worried about her Little Cue about joining the Weather Patrol when she was just a baby! But now, seeing how far that she's come from the basket and proving that she was able to fly without her mother's help, she was slowly and uneasily letting go of the reins. Rainbow was also very excited to know that Cue's blindness wasn't going to be a hindrance for her in life. During the next 2 years, trying to fit school with work (she insisted that she continue her education) was a struggle. She was tired most of the time, dozing off as soon as she sat on the couch in the living room for a breather most nights, and not to mention that a lot of times she would come home in tears over the stress that she was under. When she came home, stressed as can be, Rainbow asked, "Are you sure you can handle this? Because it's not a problem if you can't. I'll totally understand." She simply took a deep breath, "Yeah, I'm fine. I can do it, I just need to get used to it." Rainbow was hesitant but said simply, "Alright, just let me know if it becomes too much for you." Cue nodded, "Okay I will." On this morning, the morning of the Summer Sun Celebration, Cue is asleep in her bed. Her alarm clock goes off attempting to wake her up, only to be halted by her making it stop and knocking it to the ground. She then went back to sleep, she was asleep for an extra 5 minutes when her mother called up the stairs, "Cue, you'd better not be sleeping! You'll be late for work!" Cue only groaned and covered her head with her blankets. "Cue! Now! Or I will get the storm cloud!" Cue jolted awake, "I'm up!" 'All these years and I'm still afraid of thunderstorms,' she thought to herself. She remembered her most fearful encounter with a thunderstorm. That time, a bolt of lightning hit a tree, causing it to catch fire, her mother was able to get her out of there quickly; creating the first ever Sonic Rainboom from a takeoff. The whole incident ended with Cue getting a broken leg and burns on her back. She still shuddered at the memory, she remembered the fear in her heart, the pain all over her and the feeling of being strangled by the smoke. She brushed the memory quickly aside as she went down the stairs. 'Well no wonder why I'm still scared of them,' she thought to herself sarcastically. She came into the kitchen smelling blueberry pancakes. She entered tired eyed, her mane and tail a mess. Rainbow looked at her daughter as Cue yawned and rubbed her eye. "Wow, it's either a zombie apocalypse or you were up late last night," Rainbow half joked. "Har, har, har, you're so funny. You know I had a late shift last night." "I remember, don't worry," Rainbow said understanding and trying not to ask her if she could handle this out of concern. Knowing that Cumulus would give her the same response telling her she could. So instead Rainbow only served Cue her pancakes. "So, you excited or nervous about this years' Summer Sun Celebration? It's not everyday that the Princesses come to Ponyville," Rainbow stated. "I'm mostly excited, I've met them before and honestly, I can't wait to perform my welcome aerial act." Rainbow was honestly worried about her performance. She has learned over the years not to be so overwhelmingly overbearing but, the thing that frightened her was that Cumulus' total wing power now exceeded Rainbow's and she feared that her daughter wasn't going to have the time to react when she locates herself at the last second if she goes to fast. Cumulus was extremely stubborn when she was asked to tone it down. 'Teenagers,' Rainbow thought to herself back then. Cumulus could navigate herself very well by feel, smell and sound. She'd gotten used to it so it came naturally to her, "As naturally as breathing," Cue put it. She was becoming more and more independent, Rainbow knew that their time together was ending.