//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: The Path to Parenthood // by FictionFreek //------------------------------// Fear can be a powerful emotion, one that, if left untamed, could grow like wildfire and completely take over. No one, no matter how strong or how brave is immune to its effects, as it is an infection that takes hold of you from within. And worse of all fear can come in many different forms, and effect thought in different manners. And the fear of the unknown is by far the scariest of them all, the inability to combat that which we do not understand, or are unprepared for. And for one mother to be, that was the fear which has gripped her slightly. “How did I let it get this bad…” which true that an expecting mother should have some worries and concerns. The fear of harming others upon stepping outside her own door shouldn’t be one of them. And yet, this is what has kept here inside, a prisoner of her own making. With her pregnancy still developing, her body still changing, she had become a ticking time bomb to her own genes. Unsure of when the next time her draconic half would take over. So for the safety of others, Claire took it upon herself to lock herself away, at least in some manner. But as time moved on, as moons passed, Claire began to wonder if this was the life she was going to accept. To simply give in to her fears, to let them rule over her, and keep her hostage for the remainder of her pregnancy. This was after all a time when she should be happy, when she should be proud of what she will soon bring in to the world. Instead she’s only building sad memories with everything that has happened recently. And that wasn’t fair, not just to herself, but to the infant she was carrying inside her. She didn’t want remember nothing but the fear she’d felt every time she thought back to this, she wanted to think back in fondness, wanted to smile every time she remember this time. Claire looked down at her belly and get it a gentle rub “I need to get out of this rut, not just for myself, but for you too little one…” all she needed to do was step outside, to go back into the world with her chin held up high. But that was easier said than done, just staring at the door was enough to make her anxiety rise. A single step felt like she was being weighed down, a desire to step away growing with each passing second. Claire wanted to do this more than anything, she wanted to overcome this, but she knew she couldn’t do it alone. “I need help…” she knew, but the problem laid in who to seek out for it. At this time her family was busy with their duties. And while she knew they would gladly toss them aside to help her, Claire didn’t want to get in the way of important matters. Fortunately, Claire knew someone else who could help her, but she needed to reach her first. “I need to write a letter.” Claire paced the ground of her room for an hour now, the letter she’d written having been sent directly by one of the castles guards. All she needed to do now was hope that the pony she’d reached out to would respond to what she’d written. But the wait seemed to be an endless with every minute that passed by feeling longer than the last. She’d always found it strange, that the movement of time would seem to slow down when a pony needed it to move quickly the most. Almost as if it had a mind of its own and liked to tease those who waited for it. And given the crazy things Claire has seen and heard of in the past, she wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. But untangling the mysteries behind the fabric of time itself would have to wait for a later date. Right now she could do nothing more than allow it to move as it saw fit, and hope that her wait wouldn’t be for much longer. As well as pray that her resolve didn’t weaken before she could get the help she needed. But the uncertainty of when that help would arrive was making it difficult for her. Claire closed her eyes, and took a deep breath “She’ll be here, I know she will…” no sooner had she let out the end of that sentence did Claire hear something. A gentle tap coming from somewhere in her room. But to her surprise it wasn’t coming from the door, and the sound didn’t resemble that of a hoof against wood either. “Then where….” She turned her head to the side, and hey eyes opened wide in total shock. There was her friend, Kiala, waving at her from outside her window. “Wait what?!” as quickly as her belly would allow Claire hobbled towards the window. With her magic she opened it and pulled Kilala in. “Ki what are you doing outside my window.” She paused for a moment, a better question forming in her mind “Wait how were you outside my window, we’re like ten storied high!” Kilala didn’t answer, simply floated in Claire’s magical grasp as she walked up to the window. What she saw was a hook tied to a long rope hanging outside her windowsill. Grabbing hold of the hook Claire turned back to Kilala. “Are you insane?!” “Legally? No.” Kilala said with a grin, though Claire could only groan in response. But at the same time she couldn’t help but smirk a little at her friend’s antics. Claire placed Kilala back on the ground and gave her a hug. “Thanks for coming.” “Like I was just gonna ignore a friends plea for help.” Claire opened her mouth to say something, but Kilala wasn’t finished yet “Now we have no time to lose, the guards are going to be changing shifts soon so we’ll have to act fast.” Claire arched a brow at her friend, her mind starting to piece together what she seems to be doing. “Ki this is not a stealth op…” Claire deadpanned. Kilala placed an arm around Claire’s shoulders and pulled her in close. “Fear not princess, Special Agent Ki is here to set you free!” Claire rolled her eyes but couldn’t resist the smile across her lips. “Your mind it set on this isn’t it?” Kilala gave Claire a small wink before moving close to the door. “My mission is to help a pony regain her confidence, but I can’t do that unless she can sum up the courage to rise to the challenge.” She placed one hoof on the doors handle and then extended the other out to Claire. “So tell me, does she have the will to take that step forward?” Claire started to understand, there was more to this than just some small hijinks. There was a plan, even if she didn’t quite understand it fully. Claire gulped slightly, her gaze locked on the door once more, the worry in her growing again. The fear of what might happen should she take that first step outside. And yet, from the look on her friends face alone, she could feel some comfort. Shakenly she took her first step forward, and then another, each becoming easier than the last. Finally, she reached out and took her friends hoof “Okay, but remember, we’re carrying precious cargo.” Claire said motioning to her belly. “Fret not, all will be safe while I’m around.” Kilala then turned the knob on the door, and the two slowly made their way out into the hallway. Claire couldn’t help but giggle as the two of them slowly made their way down the hall, almost like two fillies playing spy again. “You realize I live here, right, we don’t really have to sneak around.” Claire whispered, but Kilala turned around and silently hushed her. “Don’t break character, you’re a princes trapped in the castle, capisce?” again Claire giggled, but with a clear of her throat she went into character. “I mean, woe is me, trapped in that luxurious room all these weeks, waited on claw and hoof.” Claire said throwing an arm over her head for dramatic effect. “That’s better,” Kilala said with a smile “But fear not, for I will see to your freedom!” taking Claire by the arm Kilala continued to guide her. At first it seemed simple enough, the two walking down the empty hallway while slightly clinging to the wall. That is until they finally saw somepony, a guard standing in the middle of the hall, his back towards them. “That’s odd…” Claire had lived in the castle long enough to know where guards were stationed in every floor. Never had she seen any guard positioned in this hallway, and certainly not standing in the middle of it alone. She felt a slight force against her, Kilala motioning her to stop, she eyes the guard for several seconds then turned back to Claire. “Stay here, I’ll handle this…” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “Um, Ki?” before she could get a word in edge wise Kilala was already making her way down the hall. Claire’s stared as she grew closer to the guard, the stallion never once moving from the position he was standing in. Which was odd, sure Kilala was trying to sneak, but she still made the odd sound here and again. Usually a guard would react to any of them, and yet, he just stood there, motionless. Finally, Kilala got close enough to the guard, standing only a foot behind him. Claire watched with wide eyes her friend raised a hoof to the air, and then brought it down to the side of the guard’s neck. “Hurk!” was the only sound that came out of the guard’s mouth as his body fell over and he hit the ground. Kilala dusted her hooves then turned back to a stunned Claire, her jaw hanging in response to what she’d just seen. “Did you just!” Claire finally said, but again was hushed by Kilala. “How else where we supposed to get past the guard, now come on, we have to hurry before he wakes up.” Kilala said gently pulling at Claire’s arm. She could only stammer in an attempt to find an explanation to what had just happened, unable to finish a sentence as the continued down the hallway. The two eventually disappeared around the corner of the hallway, the guard on the ground finally opening an eye. He looked down the hall to see that they were gone and finally rose from the ground, a small smile on his face as he went the other way. “Are you going to explain what happened back there?” Claire asked, her mind still spinning in the idea that Kilala had just karate chopped a guard, and it worked. “All part of my secret agent training,” she said taking a kung fu pose “You have to be ready for anything in this field of work.” There was a sound, hoof steps and some talking, Kilala and Claire quickly moved to the edge of a next corner, their backs pressed against the wall. Two guards walked passed them, how they didn’t see two other ponies right around the corner Claire didn’t know. “I got this.” Kilala said as she pulled out a small white ball. “Where were you hiding that?” Claire asked with an arched brow, but Kilala didn’t answer. Instead she threw the orb and it exploded into a buff of smoke all around the other two guards. Kilala then ran into the smoke, all Claire heard later was two much yelps accompanied with the sound of falling to the ground. When the smoke cleared both guards were down, one on top of the other. And again Claire was left dumbfounded. “Easy as pie.” Kilala said polishing her hood on her chest, a winning grin spread on her face. Claire gave the guards a look of suspicion. Some things weren’t adding up, and unless Kilala had some special training she’d never known about. But even then he was sure Kilala wouldn’t just randomly attack a guard. “Unless…” Claire extended a hoof out, lightly tapping one of the guards on the forehead. If he was unconscious then there should have been no response, and yet, with each tap the guard would wince slightly. “So that’s what took you so long, clever girl.” Claire giggled slightly then turned back to Kilala. “Your skills are impressive, special agent Ki,” Claire complimented “But we still have several floors to get through before we can reach freedom.” Kilala smiled back, glad Claire was finally getting into the swing of things. “Worry not princess, a good agent always has an escape strategy.” Kilala assured, “Now let’s keep going.” Claire nodded and followed after, the smile on her face never fading away. Claire would watch as Kilala, or rather, special agent Ki, continued to guide her all around the castle and ‘knocking out’ guards as they progressed. On occasion she’d catch a few hitches here and there, some things that didn’t go as they were planned so both parties just tried to stay in character. From guards who had a delayed reaction when it came to being struck, to some that go up a little too early. But that only seemed to make it easier for Claire to enjoy, easier for her to laugh, it was something she hadn’t been able to feel much of lately. And it was as if Kilala knew this, and was doing everything she could to provide it. But as much fun as it was, Claire started to realize that sneaking around as she is now is very draining. Luckily for her however they seemed to be close to wherever Kilala was taking her. “Hold on a second” Kilala said, walking up to a door, she looked around the hallways for a moment then tapped on the door a few times. After a few seconds of waiting the door opened and someone pushing a large laundry cart of clean sheets came out. It was a donkey clad in armor that was clearly too big for her, a stare in her eyes pointed at Kilala, one of a girl who’d lost a bet. “Ready agent Lop?” the donkey simply stared for a few more seconds then get a small groan. “Extraction ready, agent Ki…” she deadpanned. “Excellent!” Kilala slipped inside the room for a moment, emerging a few minutes later wearing her own set of armor as well. “Okay princess, climb in.” she said patting the laundry cart. It took both Kilala and Lop to help Claire into the cart, to her surprise it was surprisingly well padded with pillows on the bottom. “Package secure, beginning extraction.” Both Kilala and Lop began pushing the cart down the halls way, walking past unassuming guards on their way. As they walked Claire popped her head out, just enough so she could look towards Kilala. “Exactly how did you manage to arrange all this anyway?” “Knowing the right ponies helps,” Said Kilala “When I got your letter the first thing I did was run over here as fast as I could. Down side to that was I didn’t really have a plan, so picture me pacing the floor trying to come up with one.” Claire gave a small chuckle at the idea, Kilala rolling her eyes a little but continued. “Anyway, while I was stuck for a plan I happened across Nidra. And she helped me figure something out a way to help you out. We needed something to help you take that first step away from the rut you’ve been in lately. So over time we came up with a plan, and thanks to her I managed to get a few guards in on it.” “How I ended up a part of it I’m still not sure…” Kilala gave Lop a sly grin, a single brow raising to the air at such a question. “Because you can’t resist my charm.” Kilala’s voice was sweet and loving, but it then dropped slightly as she leaned in closer. “Especially when I do ‘you know what.’” Lops face turned beat read, and she fell silent. “So all that just so you could get me to go outside?” Kilala nodded her head. “Yup, as well as something to help you just, let go, and not have to worry about anything for a little bit. Thought that if you could pull that off then the rest would just come easy over time.” It was a solid plan, and Claire was happy to know she had family helping from the background too. And she couldn’t deny that she did have some fun while on this little expedition. “I really appreciate this Ki,” said Claire “With this whole craziness my hormones have been causing It’s been hard to just live life anymore. To spend so long repressing my dragon half just for it to suddenly start fighting back is kind of scary.” Kilala wished she could weigh in, but she didn’t have the experience, let alone the genetics to know what Claire was going through. But as a friend she could still do the next best thing, and be there for her. “Hey none of that now, this is about pushing that aside for now, and getting into the outside world again and just what whatever.” Claire nodded, Kilala was right, she needed to let go of what had kept her locked up for so long. “Guess I should figure out what that is before we get out huh?” Kilala and Lop stopped moving and gave a small chuckle. “That was like five minutes ago.” Claire blinked, standing up right to look outside of the cart and notice that they were already outside of the castle. She’d been so wrapped up with the whole escape she didn’t even notice when they’d actually gotten outside. “Princess extraction complete?” Kilala asked with a smile, a hoof extended out to help her friend climb down. Claire smiled back and gave a relaxed sigh, extending a hoof as well. “Mission accomplished.” There are many lands around the world, some can look identical, while others are night and day. One such example would be the lands of Equestria when compared to the homeland of the dragons. A vast stretch of land filled with one of the most dangerous creatures in the world. There was a time when Spike had to treat carefully should he enter such an environment. But after all these years he had slowly grown into a being that could match and or rival some of the strongest the land had to offer. He walked alone in the rocky terrain, eventually coming to a stop at the edge of a cliff. The ledge overlooked a large ocean, and in the distance was a piece of land where he made his first friend from his own kind. That day was many decades ago, but the memory was still fresh in his mind, as though it had happened just now. “Thanks for coming...” Spike spoke up, something equal to his own size landing not far behind him. He turned around and offered a gentle smile to an old friend “Ember.” “Of course, a dragon must answer when the Dragon Lord call.” She said, though the chuckle in her voice notified of the joke in her sentence. “I’m not the Dragon Lord, you’re the one who has the scepter.” Ember looked to the scepter to her hand, remembering the day Spike gave it, and his trust to her. “I wield the scepter because it was what you wanted, and it followed your will. But it only made me Dragon Lord by title, you are still the rightful owner.” Spike looked to the scepter, he could still remember the power that surged through him the moment she’d taken it. But he couldn’t bring himself to take it back, still unsure if he was the right dragon to carry the mantel. Ember saw the discomfort in his eyes, and chose to let go of the matter. “It’s good to see you again, old friend.” Ember said walking closer to him. “It’s been a while hasn’t it?” Spike asked “When was the last time we actually took a moment to talk?” Ember thought of it for a moment, the memory returning to her quickly. “I believe it was when you introduced me to your kin,” now Spike remembered, it was when Claire was still young. Spike wanted to introduce her to others from her heritage, but also wanted it to be someone Claire could look up to. Ember fit that roll better than any dragon he’d met in the past or since. “She’s grown quite a lot since you last saw her, I…I’m sorry I haven’t been around lately.” Ember looked to Spike, then away, a small blush appearing on her cheeks. “It’s fine, we dragon live for so long that we hardly notice a few hundred years….” Though she tried to sound convincing, a hollow feeling in her voice caused Spike to wince. “Please, I promise that everything is fine.” Ember tried to reassure him “Your messaged sound serious, is everything okay?” Spike went quiet for a moment, the reason he’d asked for help still fresh in her head. “It’s been a long time since you’ve seen Claire. So much so that she’d grown up herself, and, well, started a family of her own. And after all these years, she’s going to have a little hybrid of her own.” Ember looked happy for him, but worry rose when he didn’t look happy as well. “There’s more, isn’t there?” Spike sighed, nodding his head before continuing. “Her pregnancy has caused some…complications.” Spike explained “She’s spent a long time trying to be a pony that she doesn’t know how to be a dragon. She tried to push that side away so she could try and live a normal life. But now she didn’t seem to have any choice in the matter. I think that after all these years of ignoring her other half, she isn’t able to come to terms with it. So it just starts taking over at random moments.” Ember scratched her chin, there wasn’t much that she knew when it came to Dragonies, but she did have a theory. “Perhaps it’s because she still refuses to accept that side of her.” Spike looked to her, wondering what she’d meant. “You said she wished to live a normal life, that or a regular pony. But that didn’t change that the other half of her still exists. A dragon’s instinct is tied deep into their blood, weather they like it or not, it will exist inside of them. If a dragon truly wanted to control that, they would first have to know what it is to live by it.” Ember and Spike went silent, the theory seemed sound, but what action to take was still unknown, at least, unknown to Spike. Ember had an idea, but she wasn’t sure how well he would take is, given his daughters current state. “Spike, do you trust me?” Spike looked to Ember with wide eyes, unsure of why she’d ask. “I’ve trusted you since the day we’ve met, that hasn’t changed.” Ember smiled, then changed to a serious face. “Then I need you to bring her here.” Spike felt a lump in his chest, the thought of bringing Claire here sending a chill down his spine. “I cannot guarantee that this will end after she give birth, for all we know it could grow much worse. If she wants to gain control of this, then she needs to finally accept the other side of her genes.” Ember stood up scepter in hand, and looked down towards Spike. “I promise you, so long as I breathe no harm will come to her or her unborn child. I will show her the world she hasn’t seen yet; I will teach her control.” The idea still scared him, this land wasn’t a kind one, even with Embers attempts to help change it. But it was as he said, he did trust Ember, he had no reason to believe she’d break her word. Spike took in a deep breath and stood up, nodding his head. “Okay Ember, I’ll leave it to you, but on one condition.” Ember tilted her head, wondering what it could be. Spike smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder “You try to be there when she gives birth.” Ember felt her heart flutter slightly, another blush forming on her face. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”