Though being a prince had its perks there were also some draw backs. One being the great deal of responsibility that came with the title. But after finding out his family was growing he had to find a way to balance them. One way included going to meetings that would take place far into the night, one of which was now over. With heavy eyes Illusion made his way back to his bed chambers, his mind exhausted after what had to be resolved that night.
“A motion to change the term ‘apple bucking’ into something ‘less subjective’,” Illusion quoted in his head. Another drawback to being a prince, it wasn’t as exciting as most ponies would try to believe it to be. Through the mixture of Illusion’s exhaustion and trying to purge his last meeting from his mind he didn’t notice where he was until his face met with the door to his room.
“Finally…” Illusion sighed, at this point coming into contact with the hard wood of his door didn’t bother him so long as it meant he would be in bed soon. Illusion opened the door slowly and tip toed his way inside, making sure not to make too much noise and wake Claire. It wasn’t long until he was clear to the other side of the room, and only inches away from his soft mattress.
“Ah, sweet bli-“Illusion paused for a moment as he placed a hoof on the bed. The just from the first touch he noticed something was off. To begin he couldn’t feel the blankets, though that wasn’t the strange part as Claire could be a blanket hog at times. The next thing he noticed was that the bed sheet was also missing. And finally as he continued to glide his hoof on the bed he noticed something that worried him.
“Scratch marks?” quickly Illusion turned to his magic and conjured up an orb of light that illuminated the whole room. The first thing Illusion did was scan the entirety of the room for signs of Claire, and to his relief he saw that she was in fact sleeping on the bed. After letting out a small sigh of relief Illusion finally noticed the state the bed was in. The mattress had been completely shredded and the stuffing inside pulled out. They now lined the inside of a circle formed with the beds blankest and sheet along with the pillows. And of course sleeping in the center of it all was Claire.
“What in the world happened here?” Illusion questioned as he scratched his head. With only one way to get his answer Illusion climbed on to the bed with Claire. “Claire, Claire?” he called softly as he shook his wife’s shoulder. At first the only acknowledgment he was given was in the form of an annoyed mumble he couldn’t make out.
“Claire!” Illusion called one last time raising his voice to only slightly above a whisper. This time it worked as Claire opened an eye.
“Ugh, what time is it?” she asked as she tried to bury her face from the light of the orb.
“About five in the morning.” Said Illusion earning him another groan.
“What’s so important it couldn’t wait until sunrise?” she asked.
“Well…the bed.”
“What about it?” Illusion paused for a moment, a question beginning to float in his mind.
“Claire, look at the bed.” Though she would have preferred to go back to sleep, Claire raised her head from under the covers. At first she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to see, but it didn’t take her long to find it. Noting the condition of the bed, and what she was sleeping in, Claire got up to a sitting position.
“What the?” she said as she scanned the surface of the bed “H-how did this happen?” she question as she looked towards Illusion.
“I was hoping you’d be able to tell me,” he said “When I got back from the meeting I noticed the bed was like this.” Again Claire went back to scanning the bed, there was something about the way it looked that seemed familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. And after a few more seconds of study something in her mind finally click.
“It’s…It’s a nest.” She said as she climbed off of the bed. “Did I do this?” she asked.
“It’s possible,” said Illusion. As far as he could tell no one else had entered the room, and he doubted they’d be able to manage something like this without waking Claire in the process. “Do you remember doing it?” he asked.
“No, not at all.” She said, but as she sat there quietly thinking to herself she found that another memory had surfaced. “Actually, I think I woke up sometime during the night. I went to get a glass of water and went back to bed. I…I think I felt something though, but I’m not sure.” Claire’s response only left more questions without answers. The nest hadn’t been built before she woke up in the middle of the night. This means it was done sometime between then and when Illusion returned from his meeting.
“But what would bring her to build one?” he questioned. That is until he remember what his wife was.
“Claire, how much do you know about pregnancy’s in female dragons?” questioned Illusion. Claire raised a brow at Illusion for a moment, wondering why he asked this all of a sudden, but still she answered.
“From what I was told, dragons instinctively build safe places for their eggs. Usually building nests in places no other predators will find.” Though she never saw it herself this information came from both her father and Twilight.
“Wait,” she said “You think my pregnancy has something to do with this?” she asked.
“It’s possible,” said Illusion as he scratched his chin “Aside for some rare moments you’ve always acted more like a pony than a dragon. I think that maybe your pregnancy might have caused your dragon instincts to kick in, even if it was for a moment.” Again Claire looked at the nest, the scratch marks on the mattress, the fact that she had been sleeping in it, it all pointed to her having built the nest. But that didn’t change the fact that she had no memory of it, and that worried her.
“If my dragon half took over and made be build a nest, what else will it make me do?” she asked with a hint of fear in her voice. It was bad enough that she had no memory of doing this, but knowing that it could happen again made it worse. Illusion wanted to answer this, but he knew very little about dragons, and even less about hybrid dragons.
“I’m not sure…” he wished he had some reassuring words for Claire, especially as he saw the expression on her face. Wrapping his arms around her Illusion pulled Claire in for a comforting hug. “Look, there’s no sense in trying to worry about it now, how about I get us a new bed and we’ll try talking to your dad later. If anything maybe he can help shed some more light on this.” Closing her eyes for a moment Claire allowed herself to sink deeper into the hug, letting out a small sigh.
“Alright,” said Claire, and in response Illusion gave her a small kiss on her forehead. After a few more seconds of the hug he released her and made his way out of the room. Claire sat there for a few more seconds after Illusion left, her eyes still glued on the nest she had made. Finally she moved, but not towards the bed. On the dresser was the book Claire had been writing on, and once she reached it she began to open it into a new page.
“At least there’s a silver lining to this.” She said as she dipped her quill into some ink. If nothing else she finally had another piece of dracony information to add.
“A female draconies pregnancy can cause her dragon side, no matter how buried to surface. This will result in the dragony to adhere to her dragon instincts subconsciously. First occurrence was during sleep, it is still unknown what the cause is, or what else it will make her do.”
Reading over what she had wrote Claire knew that there was going to be a lot more information that she would have to add. As it stood this was the first of possible many changes her pregnancy could cause. And deep inside she was beginning to fear what other surprised it was going to have for her along the way.
In truth Illusion could have gotten a new mattress in a flash, either by asking some guards to do so or making one himself with magic. His real reason for telling Claire he was going to fetch one was to hide what he was going to do. “Claire would kill me if she knew…” he said with a sigh as he waited in the empty throne room. He had sent out two letters with instructions for him to me met here, and for it to be as quickly as possible.
He waited for several minutes until finally the door were coated in two separate magical hues. As soon as they opened two figured stepped inside, one being his mother and the other his aunt Luna. “What is the emergency?” asked Celestia, the letter having been sent to her telling her that it was an urgent matter.
“It’s Claire,” immediately both princesses snapped into serious attention “I think her pregnancy might be causing her dragon half to take over at random moments. When I went back to our room after the meeting I found that she built herself a nest, but she had no knowledge of doing it.” Both princesses shared a small glance, they could understand how this could prove to be a problem in the future.
“What can we do?” asked Luna.
“I need two small teams from both your guards, ones that can keep an eye on Claire both during the day and night.” He said.
“Does Claire know of this?” Illusion paused for a moment, letting out a small sigh as his shoulders dropped in guilt.
“No, I’m doing this behind her back,” though he hated to admit it, Illusion had no other choice “I know Claire would be against this, and honestly I’ve been trying to keep myself from doing this for a while now. But after what happened tonight I don’t think I can, if there’s a risk that her dragon instincts will take over again I want to make sure that she is going to be kept safe.” Taking in a breath Illusion stood straight as he faced his mother and aunt again.
“I know this may be selfish of me, and Claire can be angry with me all she wants if she ever find out. But I’ll be able to relax a lot better this way, and I know that the two of you have felt the same way before.” Celetia and Luna were quiet for a moment, there was no way they could deny this.
“Very well, we’ll assemble the best teams we can, and they will answer to you.” Said Celestia to which Luna nodded in agreement. With a smile Illusion walked up to both of them, wrapping his arms around their necks for a hug.
“Thank you.”
Illusion returned to their room almost a half hour after he had left, a new mattress along with pillows and blankets held in his magic. “What took you so long?” asked Claire, her exhaustion starting to get the better of her. Using his magic to replace the mattress Illusion let out a small chuckle.
“Well you know me, I’m very picky about my mattresses.” He said. Claire only rolled her eyes as she climbed on to the new bed. Her body flopping to its side the very moment she made contact with the soft material which felt like a cloud.
“You sure can pick them…” she said with a blissful sigh. With a smile Illusion joined Claire on the bed, using his magic to flick off the lights. With his arm around her Illusion closed his eyes, hoping to fall into deep sleep quickly.
“Can I be honest with you?” asked Claire breaking the silence of the room.
“Of course.”
“What happened is starting to scare me,” she said “Sure I was expecting some surprises, but nothing like this.” Looking for some comfort Claire inched herself back a little, pressing herself up against Illusions chest. “Honestly I don’t know how you’ve manage to stay calm about this.” Again Illusion felt guilt wash over him. He didn't want to do this behind Claire’s back, but for her safety he knew he had to. Wrapping his hooves around Claire’s stomach he pulled her even closer, allowing himself to be comforted by the warmth of her body.
“I guess we all find our own ways to cope.”