Stormy Flare Suffers a Heart Attack

Still traumatized by the events at the Wonderbolts derby, Spitfire attempted to carefully lead her fragile mother up to her house in Cloudsdale. Everything that had transpired. made Spitfire feel weak and vulnerable, as well as bitter. She had nearly lost her mother to a heart attack, after all. She needed to be more careful to avoid any undue stress for her mother.

"Spitfire," Stormy Flare sighed. "Is this really necessary? I'm perfectly capable of flying up to my own house, thank you."

"Mom, you just had a heart attack!" Spitfire replied, giving her mother a concerned look. "And I'm not going to lose you to another one, understand?!"

Stormy Flare gave her daughter a small glare and released herself from Spitfire's grip. "Watch your tone, young filly," She lightly scolded, firmly and briefly taking to the air. "I don't need to have another type of attack because of your behavior. I appreciate your concern, but I promise you I can manage just fine. I know my limits."

"Mom, don't you see that all I want you to do is rest?" Spitfire protested, opening the door. "You're the only family I have after all, well at least right now maybe. In other words, do you want to live to see your grandfoals?"

"Of course, I do," Stormy Flare smiled. "I'd love to see what kind of foals you'd have. I promise I won't spoil them too much."

"Then you need to rest and get well," Spitfire answered, firmly. "And there's no use in arguing about it. I'm exhausted from worrying about you, and that's all there is to it. Besides, the doctors were very clear about avoiding any unnecessary stress for you. Now, do you want anything to drink?"

Stormy Flare said nothing, she just nodded, and let her daughter get her a drink. Still, Stormy Flare had to remember that she had suffered a heart attack and could not pretend that she was all better from it. "I know I must've scared Spitfire half to death, but I don't need her worrying herself so much about me." She thought to herself.

"I'm not doing this to be mean, Mom," Spitfire explained, flying into the living room and hoofing her mother the drink. "I'm doing this because I love you and I don't want to lose you. If the doctors say that you need to keep your stress level down, then you must do so."

"I know, I know," Stormy Flare replied. "But, I've always been one that can never be kept down. You know that, Spitfire, or have you forgotten that I was once like you?"

"Those days are over, Mom," Spitfire retorted. "Time ultimately catches up to all of us eventually. And what I feel you should do is, relish whatever your life has in front of you. You know very well that I'll one day be married and bear you foals for you to play with. Do you want my foals to never see their grandmother, let alone get to know her?"

Hearing this made Stormy Flare feel very nervous. "Well, I-I do want to see you bear foals of course," She stammered. "And I want to at least be a part of their lives. But-"

"Then, you've got to let your stubborn nature go," Spitfire pleaded. "I'm not returning to the Wonderbolts until you're back on your hooves and properly rested. So you better start getting used to me being around here more often. Understand?"

Realizing that there was no other option, Stormy Flare gave into her daughter's pleas. "Very well." She reluctantly agreed.

For the rest of the day, Stormy Flare was reduced to just sitting down and relaxing, as the hours ticked away slowly. Stormy Flare wanted nothing more than to get out and be among other ponies, even just for a little while.

However, Spitfire's stubborn motives prevented her from doing so. "You need to rest, and that's just what you're gonna do, Mom," She would always say. "Just let me worry about things, you focus on relaxing."

Stormy couldn't bring herself to say no to her only daughter, especially since she was taking time off from work to be with her. Even so, with nothing to do, Stormy soon found herself growing restless. "This is boring!" She thought to herself, as she continued to sit on the sofa. "I know my little Spitfire means well, but I do have an entitlement to live my life the way I want it to be. I'm not that old! I know my heart attack must've scared her, but it was only one. If I just reduce my stress a little, I shouldn't have to worry about that ever happening again."

At that moment, the door knocked, and Stormy Flare got up to answer it, but Spitfire put up a wing and stopped her.

"Don't get up," Spitfire barked, motioning for Stormy Flare to return to the couch. "Keep resting! I've got this!"

"All right, all right." Stormy Flare muttered, and Spitfire answered the door to reveal Rainbow Dash on the other side, holding what appeared to be a package.

"Hey, Spitfire," Rainbow greeted, opting to drop the captain part as Spitfire was technically a civilian now. "The rest of the 'bolts wanted to put together this package for you and your mom. How have you been holding up since the attack?"

"It's been a struggle, Rainbow Dash," Spitfire sighed as she let Rainbow Dash in. "But at least Mom is settling down now. She's in the living room, resting on the couch."

Rainbow Dash accompanied Spitfire into the living room and saw Stormy Flare on the sofa, giving Stormy a sense of optimism that she was now having company other than her daughter.

"How are you feeling, Mrs. Flare?" Rainbow asked, briefly embracing Stormy. "Everyone back at Wonderbolts HQ's been thinking about you lately."

"I appreciate your concerns, Dash" Stormy Flare politely replied. "But, I should be getting better soon. What happened at the derby was just a speed bump, nothing more."

"I don't think that was a speed bump," Rainbow said nervously, before turning to Spitfire. "Everypony was concerned about you the other day when you had your attack. Right, Spitfire?" All Spitfire could do was nod nervously to her promising comrade. Rainbow could tell that Spitfire was emotionally drained from the entire ordeal. "Look, I know this is tough for you, Stormy," Rainbow added. "But, you need to listen to your daughter and just rest for a while. Why don't you just do some mother and daughter activities around Ponyville or even Canterlot? Heck Twilight says you're welcome to visit her castle."

"Did she now?" Stormy Flare asked ,a hint of optimism creeping into her voice. "Well, at least now I can do something aside from just sitting here and doing nothing."

"Mom, I have no intention of not having you sit around and doing nothing," Spitfire protested. "If you were thinking that, then I apologize. I do want you to be active, but not in situations that are stress provoking."

"If that's what you're trying to say to me," Stormy smiled. "Then, that's perfectly fine with me. I thought you were just going to keep me a prisoner in my own home."

Hearing this made Spitfire feel very amused. "And why would I do that, Mom?" She laughed. "Don't you know me at all? I'd still let you do things like eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom as normal, I just don't want you trying to do a whole lot all the time. Besides, there's so much we can do together that's all not stress provoking. In fact, you can pick the first activity we'll do together. It's been a long time since we did anything together as mother and daughter. So, what would you like to do, Mom?"

"Let me think about it first," Stormy Flare sighed. "Now that I have a better understanding of your actions, hopefully I can pick something that'll make us both happy."

"Well, if everything's okay here, I think I'll head back to HQ," Rainbow spoke up. "I'll let all the 'bolts know you're doing well, Mrs. Flare. And Spitfire, Soarin's doing a wonderful job as captain, you'd be proud of him."

"I don't doubt that," Spitfire smiled in reply. "Now get out of here. My mom and I have an entire day to spend together!"