Each night as ponies lay their heads in their pillows and slowly drift off to the realm of sleep, they often wonder what the morning will bring. Some wonder if their day will be just like any other while others wish that something new could happen. When living in Equestria, that wish is often granted by some event that would certainly liven up one's day. But these events are usually resolved quickly and the ponies that had gone through them usually go back to their everyday lives as though it never happened.
However there are a small few who will find that something new will come into their lives. And that this something will not only change how they live their lives from day to day, but also change who they are inside. To some, the idea of change can be terrifying, but they soon discover that change is not all bad, and that it is something they have been waiting for their whole lives.
Comfortably in his bed, Prince Illusion was enjoying his peaceful slumber. Without a worry in the world he could sleep all day if he wanted to, but it seemed he wouldn’t get the chance. Piercing the small opening of the curtain, a ray of sun light was slowly making its way towards his bed. And surely enough the ray made its final resting place just over the face of the sleeping prince. Illusion groaned in annoyance as he tried to move his face away from the light, but it was to no avail.
“All these years and I swear she’s doing it intentionally…” Illusion mumbled to himself as he turned away from the light and pulled his blanket over his head. Trying to slip back into his slumber, he reached over to the source of warmth that he shared his bed with, but as he reached he was met with cold emptiness.
“Huh?” Illusion removed his covers from his body and raised his head to see that the other side of the bed was indeed empty. He was surprised, to his knowledge the sun had just risen, and his bed mate was never known to be an early bird. But before he could further question where she had disappeared to, his ears perked up from a sound.
Turning his head towards the bathroom he saw that the door was closed, but he could also see a light emanating from within it. What he had heard was the sound of the toilet flushing; with a small chuckle he lowered his head to his pillow again. “When you gotta go, you gotta go.” He said to himself. Sure that his bed mate would rejoin him soon, Illusion tried to fall asleep again, however just before he could.
“Huuurggehh!” Illusions eyes shot open and he sat up as he heard the sound of solid chunks splashing into water echoing from within the bathroom. Worried, he tossed off what was left of the covers from him and hopped out of bed.
“Claire?” Illusion said gently tapping on the door of the bathroom “Are you all right, honey?” he asked his wife.
“Does it sound like I’m-huurrrggeehh- alright to you!?” yelled Clarity before spitting something out.
“Can you unlock the door?” asked Illusion as he placed his paw on the knob to find that it was locked.
“No way, we don’t need someone else blowing chunks in here.” Clarity responded before flushing the toilet again. As Illusion waited outside of the door he heard the water of the sink running followed by Clarity gargling something, no doubt mouth wash. When the sound of rushing water finally stopped, the lock was finally undone and the door was opened.
“I think I caught a stomach bug or something.” said Clarity passing her claws over her head to fix her mane. Illusion looked closely at his wife, her eyes were slightly bloodshot, no doubt due to the vomiting, and he wondered how long she had been in the bathroom before he woke up. Her scales, usually bright and beautiful lavender had lost some of its color and had gone pale.
“You look awful,” Illusion said, placing his paw on Claire’s cheek.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” She said with a roll of her eyes. Claire turned and began to walk past Illusion; however she only made it a few steps before she seemed to lose balance. Before she could fall, Illusion was able to catch her with his magic and gently lift her off of the floor.
“You okay?” he asked, looking at Claire with concern.
“Y-yeah, just got a little light headed is all...” Claire responded as she rubbed her temples with her claws. Slowly, Illusion moved Claire over to their bed and gently placed her on the soft mattress.
“Okay this is clearly something more than a stomach bug,” He said pulling the blanket over Claire. “Stay here and try and get some rest, I’m going to go get Dr. Red Cross to come have a look at you.” He added as he nuzzled his wife’s cheek.
“There’s no reason to bring a doctor into this,” said Claire wrapping her forelegs around Illusion to prevent him from moving away. Illusion let out a sigh and rolled his eyes, getting Claire to see a doctor was never easy. It wasn’t that she was particularly afraid of doctors, just that she was too hard headed to admit that she needed to see one.
“Come on, just a quick check up?” he pleaded, but Claire only pouted her lip at him in response. The two stayed there for several seconds hoping the other would give in, and in the end, with a defeated sigh, it was Illusion. “Okay, how about a bowl of soup with pieces of rubies in it?” he finally offered. Claire’s pout shifted to a smile as she leaned in closer and kissed Illusion on the nose.
“Love ya,” She said, releasing her hold on Illusions neck.
“Always,” Illusion returned the affection, kissing Claire on the cheek before making his way to the door of their room. Illusion used his magic to turn the knob of the door and pulled it open, just as he stepped out he turned back to the bed to see Claire getting comfortable and trying to go back to sleep. Though she couldn’t see him, Illusion smiled at her before walking out the door and closing it behind him.
Once outside, Illusion made his way down the hall, but as he walked he found himself looking back at the door to his room. His wife was sick: how sick, he didn’t know, but it was bad enough that she was physically exhausted. The castle was large; it would take him a while to get to the kitchen and a while more to get back. What if something happened while he was gone?
“Illusion?”
At the sound of an older mare's voice, Illusion looked away from his door. What he saw was a mare older than him. She was an alicorn, to be exact. She had a dark blue coat with a mane and tail that radiated with the brilliance of the night sky. Her cutie mark was that of a crescent moon whose light was piercing the dark veil of the night.
“Oh, good morning, aunt Luna,” Illusion greeted his aunt.
“Good morning to you as well,” Luna greeted back with a smile.
“I take it you’re going to sleep now?” he asked.
“Yes, indeed.” Luna said, trying to fight back a yawn, “But before I do, I was wondering if you could share with me what is troubling you this morning,”
“Oh,” Illusion said, frowning slightly. “Well, it’s Claire...” He answered, turning his head back to the door.
“Is she okay?” Luna asked.
“Not really...” said Illusion, “I woke up this morning and she was vomiting a lot. Not just that, but she’s starting to grow a little pale and she almost fell over after taking two steps. ”
“Oh my...” Luna said, raising her hoof to her mouth.
“On top of it all, she still won’t see a doctor.” Again, Illusion looked back at the door, then back towards his aunt, and an idea popped into his head. “Can I ask you for a favor?” Illusion asked. Luna looked at him and nodded. “Can you look after her until I get back with some soup for her?” he asked.
“Certainly,” said Luna “Go, I will stay by her side until you return.” Illusion nuzzled his aunt in thanks and continued his way down the hall. Luna watched him walk away until he made the corner before turning her attention to the door to his and Claire’s bedroom. After walking up to the door she raised her hoof to the wood and knocked.
“Claire, are you awake?” she asked, but only silence answered. Again she gave the door a few knocks. “Claire?” she asked again, only to be greeted by an unnerving silence once more. After coming to the conclusion that Claire might have fallen asleep, she decided to forgo knocking a third time and used her magic to turn the knob. Slowly, she opened the door as to not make too much noise and peered inside. Scanning the area, she found the bed, but she also found that it was empty, with the covers thrown off.
“Where could she be?” Luna wondered as she stepped inside. But she didn’t have to search hard to find out as a sound quickly answered her question.
“Huuuurrgggeeehhh!” Luna recognized the sound and immediately cringed in knowing that it entailed. She turned towards the far wall and saw that bathroom light was on with the door slightly ajar. Luna walked up to the door, and to avoid walking in on what was most likely not a pretty sight knocked on the door.
“You might as well return the soup; I don’t think I can hold it down…” Claire said in a slightly weak tone.
“Well won’t the chef be disappointed?” Luna interjected, looking through the opening of the door. What she saw was Claire practically hugging the toilet.
“Huh?” Claire said turning her head to the door only to notice that it was Luna and not Illusion like she thought. “Oh, hi aunt Luna.” she said with a forced smile. Luna got a good look at Claire; she was indeed as bad as Illusion described. But there was still something about Claire’s appearance that was a little off.
“Illusion informed me that you were sick. However...” Luna sat down in front of Claire placing her hoof on her niece-in-law’s cheek. “You seem far worse for somepony with a sudden ailment,” she observed. Claire looked away from Luna for a moment and cleared her throat.
“Don’t tell Illusion... but it’s not so sudden,” said Claire.
“How long?” asked Luna.
“About a week now, I would feel a little nauseous, but I never really threw up. And sometimes I’d get really tired after just walking a short distance. I thought I was just a little under the weather and it’d go away on its own.” Claire explained.
“That does not appear to be the case, now does it?” Luna said with a sympathetic smile. After she said that Claire gave her a look, one that said there was something that said she was hiding something else.
“Is there anything else you wish to tell me?” Luna asked. Claire bit her lip and a small blush seemed to spread across her face.
“My um…” Claire paused for a moment and cleared her throat. “My friend is late…” she finally said. At first, Luna stared at Claire, unsure as to what she meant by ‘friend’. But after staring at Claire’s slightly flushed face for several seconds, it finally hit her.
“Oh.” Luna said normally, it wasn’t until she remembered what that could mean did her eyes open as wide as they could and she let out an even louder:
“Oooohhh!”
Exiting the castle dining hall, Illusion carried a steaming bowl of soup in his magical grasp. He also held a glass which contained some kind of green substance. It was something the chef had prepared when she was informed of Claire’s sudden sickness. “It’s an old family remedy; it should help ease her stomach,” the chef informed Illusion when she gave him the drink. However, Illusion wasn’t sure how he’d convince Claire to drink it. It smelled horrible and the chef said that it tasted even worse.
“Maybe I could mix it with her soup?” Illusion wondered, thinking that maybe it would mask the taste. As he thought about what he’d do, he continued his way down the hall so that he could get to their room. He was glad that his aunt was watching over Claire for him, but he still couldn’t help but feel a little worried. Claire was in horrible shape when he left the room, and he didn’t know if she was resting peacefully or had gone back to throwing up after he left.
“I think I should still have Red Cross see her.” Illusion thought to himself, even if Claire didn’t want to see a doctor it would still make Illusion feel better if she did. But he decided to wait until after Claire had eaten to see if she would improve or not. After a couple of minutes of walking Illusion finally reached their bedroom. Uncertain if Claire was awake or not, he carefully opened the door to prevent any noise that might wake her up.
Once inside, Illusion looked around and noticed that nopony was around. “Claire, aunt Luna?” Illusion called out as he placed the bowl and glass down on the night stand.
“I…I don’t believe it.” Illusion's ears perked up at the sound of Claire’s voice. Following the sound, Illusion found himself once again staring at the bathroom door. He began to walk up to the door, but as he drew closer he began to hear a sound. This sound was not the violent vomiting he had heard before; it was something else....
Sobbing?
“Are you alright, Claire?” asked a second voice, no doubt Luna’s. Illusion stopped a few steps short of the door and heard a sniffle from Claire.
“Y-yes,” Claire said with a small sob, though her voice didn’t sound sad. In fact, it sounded to be quite the opposite. She actually sounded...happy?
“What’s going on in there?” Illusion thought to himself.
“I’m just wondering how Illusion will react...” To this Illusion heard a small giggle coming from Luna.
“Believe you me when I say that he will share in your emotions.” said Luna.
“Thank you, I needed to hear that,” Claire said with a sigh. “I need to tell him right away. Maybe then he can stop worrying.” As Claire spoke, the lock on the door was undone and the door swung open.
“That would be best; I’m sure he will-“Luna paused when she spotted Illusion standing at the door. She could see the look of confusion on Illusion's face as he looked to her, then to Claire who was standing behind her. Illusion could see tears streaming down Claire’s cheeks, but she didn’t look like she was sad at all.
“What uh, what’s going on?” Illusion asked looking left and right at his aunt Luna and his wife Claire.
“This is a conversation best done in private.” Luna said to Illusion; she then turned her head towards Claire who gave a slight nod. “Now I shall take my leave,” she said before leaning in and nuzzled Claire. “Good luck,” Luna told Claire before she left. Illusion watched with more confusion as Luna walked past him towards the room's exit. Just as she walked out, Luna turned her head back at Illusion and gave him a quick wink before closing the door behind her, leaving Illusion and Claire alone.
“What did she mean by that?’ Illusion asked with an arched brow. When Illusion looked back at Claire, he could still see tears in her eyes, but also a smile on her face. “Is everything okay?” he asked her.
“Everything’s fine,” Claire said with a nod. “In fact, it couldn’t be better.” She added. But this only served to further confuse Illusion about what was happening.
“What do you mean?” Illusion asked his wife. The two fell into a short silence. Illusion, still feeling confused, wished he knew what was going on. Slowly, Claire closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as she let it out her eyes opened and gazed into Illusion's, she said:
“I’m pregnant.”