//------------------------------//
// Feather Flu 
// Story: Instant Teenager 
// by SeasonTheWiccan 
//------------------------------//





As Cue worked her tail off on the clouds, shaping some and busting some and while working she hatched up a plan to tell her family the news. She would invite them to Sugar Cube Corner for  something, ice cream or whatever they wanted tomorrow and she would be buying; but she would tell them then and there when they were a little suspicious. She was excited to have a hoof in helping her class' graduation ceremony happen, but at the same time she knew that her family would pressure her to go to college. Her mother was happy with whatever she chose to do with her life but had sometimes flip flopped on her opinion of her daughter NOT attending, sometimes her Mom was a problem on this subject, but not the REAL one. It was, in fact, her Aunt Twilight that was consistently pressuring her to go. Ever since Cue aced her SAT's and ACT's Twilight's been shoving college pamphlets at her from all directions; and reading them aloud to her. There were pamphlets for Universities in Cloudsdale, Trottingham, Vanhoover, Fillydelphia, Manehattan, and even the hardest one to get into: Canterlot. And this really made Cue uncomfortable, she knew that her Aunt meant well but she did tell her that she didn't need to go because she already had a job that she loved and she didn't want a different one, THAT and what she told Dandelion and Autumn, she found the idea of a new place where she didn't know where to go daunting and that she would need an escort to get where she needs to go embarrassing. But, Twilight ignored this telling her, "You should go! Especially with your accomplishments!"

This accomplishment however, Cue felt, would only add fuel to the fire that was quickly spiraling out of control. But at the same time, she never kept anything secret from her family and planned not to do so anytime soon. But she could hear her Aunt Twilight's voice in her mind once she told them, "Ooh! I'm going to go get some more pamphlets for Colleges! Our Cumulus! OUR CUMULUS! She's definitely College material!"

She had her hoof to her forehead and groaned in the present day as she thought this. 

"Okay, just tell them and face the music from Aunt Twilight..." she told herself.

Thunderlane then flew up to her as she busted another cloud, "Cue, your shift's done."

"Oh! It's 9 already?"

"Yeah, I'll take over from here."

"Thanks dude."

He then called to her as she flew away, "See ya on Monday!"

"Later!" she called back as he busted a cloud not far from where she was.

As she flew home, she began to get a headache, she knew she had to get home fast and rest up. Only, as she got closer to home it got worse, she began to fly slower than before and her head was now screaming in pain, not only that but her stomach was now rebelling against her as well. She finally landed on the doorstep and went inside, but before she could head for the couch she heard her mother, "Hey! You're home, there's 5 cheese lasagna for you and..." 

She then saw Cue cringing in pain at the mention of food, "Cue? Honey? You alright?"

Cue shook her head, "Mm-mm"

"Get on the couch and I'll get the thermometer."

Cue was about to tell her that she was 18 not 8 when her head said otherwise. She tried to make it to the couch but her pounding headache wouldn't let her concentrate and she bumped into a table, hitting her funny bone in her hind leg. She cursed Tartarus and rubbed the numbing away before she made it to the couch and she didn't just lay on it, she collapsed. Cue then had her hooves to her temples trying to rub out the pain when Rainbow came in.

"First off, I heard that curse."

Cue groaned, she wasn't in the mood for her lecture right now.

"And second, did you go to get your Feather Flu shot last week?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Just checking."

She put the thermometer in Cue's mouth and the red mercury went up 101.5, Rainbow took it out to look at the reading, "Are you sure you got it?"

"Yes, Mom! I got the stupid shot!" Cue snapped.

"Hey! Watch it missy!"

Rainbow had a pretty good idea what was going on, when she first came to Ponyville and got her job with the weather team she got her meds and shots so she could stay on the job all year round. The only problem? She was slowly turning into a workaholic and she learned her lesson to not push her body to do things it couldn't and now it was rubbing off on Cue and she was going to have to learn this same lesson. Hoof to forehead Rainbow said "I think I know why this happened..."

"Why?"

"Well, I'm no Doctor but this happened to me once, and I learned THAT lesson the hard way when I caught ponymonia. You see, this happened to you because you're immune system is going down from the stress of working too hard."

Cue groaned, "Not this again!"

"Cue, I'm serious! You're overworking yourself, it's not healthy and you have to ask your boss if you can have different hours as soon as you're better!"

"The only way I can do that is if I switch with somepony else!"

Her head hurt more now as she shouted; her hooves were at her temples again. Rainbow thought for a moment, then an idea came to her, "You can have MY hours!"

"Mom, thanks but no."

"Why? What's wrong with my hours?"

Cue now felt guilty, her Mother was offering to make things easier for her and she was laying there complaining and being a grouch all because of her aches and pains.

"Sorry, Mom...I'm just...in a lot of pain right now and..."

She then felt something rising up her throat, "Uh oh!"

"What?"

"Salmon's comin' back upstream!"

Rainbow quickly got a trash can and held it in front of Cue while she threw up pretty much everything in her stomach. Rainbow petted her mane and massaged her back as she threw up, "Don't hold it back, it'll only make it worse."

"Ugh, things today just went from fantastic to horrible all in one d-" she was interrupted by another puking spell.

"Ssh...talk later, okay?"

Cue continued to spit up bile for two minutes and then stopped, "I think I'm done..."

"You sure?"

"Yeah..."

Cue took deep breaths and soon felt just icky all over, she smelled the sour stench of her throw up and covered her nose so she wouldn't throw up more from smelling it if she had anything left in her stomach. Rainbow took the trash can away, taking the hint and said, "See? This is what happens when you work too much, I mean you're only one pony. You can only do so much, you may be my daughter but that doesn't make you indestructible."

"Mom, it's just the Feather Flu, it'll pass over..."

"Cue, working this much plus with school isn't healthy for you! You'll either have to get different hours, quit your job or quit school."

"Mom!" Cue groaned.

"Cue, make a choice or I'll decide for you and trust me, you're not going to like it."

Cue groaned, "Fine, fine, I'll switch hours! Jeez!"

Rainbow nodded, "Good, now let's get you upstairs."

Rainbow supported her as they went upstairs; once they were at Cue's room, Rainbow followed Cue inside and helped her get into bed.

"And I was planning on buying you and the others ice cream tomorrow..." she groaned.

Rainbow looked confused, "Why?"

"It was going to be a surprise but, out of my graduating class, I got Valedictorian."

Rainbow's eyes widened, "You did?! Cue that's great!"

Rainbow was about to hug her when Cue said, "Mom, cooties...I don't want you catching this."

"Oh...sorry."

Rainbow was smiling inside and out, she was so proud of her.

"But Mom, about Aunt Twilight..."

"I'll keep her from going nuts, YOU just get some much needed sleep. Okay?"

"'Kay, 'night."

"'Night."

Rainbow left and went to her own room to go to bed, Cue was asleep within 5 minutes after she left. But at around midnight, she heard her mother's shriek, "CUMULUS NO!!"

Cue stumbled sickly to her mother's bedroom, "Mom?! Mom! Are you okay?"

She opened the door and she heard her sobbing, "Mom?"

"Cue! Oh thank Celestia!"

Cue knew what that meant, "Nightmare again?"

"Yeah, it's nothing to worry about..."

"Mom, that's the 5th time this week though."

"Cue, just go back to bed."

"No, I'm trying to help you."

"Cue, I don't need help right now."

"Yes you do!"

She said that so loud that it made her head hurt again, "Ow!"

"Cue, just calm down...I'll talk to somepony soon, if you calm down and go to bed I will, I promise!"

"Pinkie Promise!"

Rainbow sighed and did the Pinkie Promise, "Now go back to bed, don't risk getting sicker because of me."

This pacified Cue for now, she'd been told over and over again that she picked up her Mother's stubbornness and sometimes her sassy attitude. She never actually heard her Mom's stubbornness until tonight and it was actually a relief to know that nopony was kidding. She then went down the hall to go back to bed; as she lay there trying to get back to sleep, she thought of what her Aunt Pinkie mentioned back at the Summer Sun Celebration. She mentioned that her Mother had a dream of being a Wonderbolt but gave it up because of her unexpected arrival. This touched her when she first heard it and still thought about it from time to time and it still continued to raise her Mom high on her hero pedestal. Plus, not to mention, a lot of times she considered asking her Mom about this fact but thought it would only upset her so she didn't bother. But still, another thing she was thinking was that her Mother had already given up so much for her, she never once complained saying that she wished she'd given her up in the first place or anything else heartbreaking like that. She loved Cue through thick and thin and she gave up a life long dream of flying with the Wonderbolts for a filly that was put on her doorstep for Celestia knows what reason and didn't even know, Cue then decided to give her Mom something back to show her appreciation for all that she'd done for her. But what could she do? 

'Isn't that what Mother's Day is for?' she thought to herself sarcastically. 

But Cumulus had no ideas whatsoever and all this thinking was making her headache worse!

'I mean, what were you gonna do? Ask Commander Spitfire to make her a Wonderbolt?'

She snorted a laugh; after a few seconds of lying there, she had an 'ah ha' moment! That's EXACTLY what she would do!

'There's just one problem...how are you gonna keep this from Mom?' she thought to herself. 

She groaned, her inner monologue was right, she had such a tight knit family that it would be hard to sneak this past her Mom's muzzle. But, (once again) like her Mom, she was up to the challenge.