> The Path to Parenthood
>  by FictionFreek
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> Prologue 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.”

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The silence of the room was deafening. Claire, in a moment of joy and confidence announced to her husband what she believe would bring him great joy; she was pregnant. But now, seconds after she had told him, she was beginning to have doubts. Illusion hadn’t said a word; he simply stared at Claire, his mouth slightly open. He showed no sign of joy, fear, or even disappointment, and Claire couldn’t read him at all. 

As the silence dragged on, Claire began to feel a chilling fear creep up on her. What would happen if Illusion didn’t want to be a father...? Would she have to give it up? The mere thought only furthered the spread of fear through her. She tried to gulp, but it felt like there was a hard lump in her throat, and she didn’t know what to do. She felt as though she would go insane if the silence stretched on any longer. If anyone were to break it now, she felt that it might as well be her. 

“Illusion... I-“

“Are you sure?” Claire stopped when she heard Illusion speak. Looking at him, she saw that he still had the same unreadable expression. 

“W-what?” Claire stammered in response. 

“Are…are you sure... that you’re pregnant...?” Illusion asked once again, clarifying what he was inquiring about. He still wore that indistinguishable expression on his face, but the fact that he was speaking slightly relieved Claire. 

“I…yes,” Claire answered, her horn beginning to glow with a magical hue. From inside the bathroom, three sticks held in Claire’s magical field floated outwards. They stopped just short of Illusion's sight, and Illusion took hold of them with his own magic. As they levitated in the air before him, he inspected each of them closely. They were all pregnancy tests, each of them recently used, and all saying the same thing: 

PREGNANT.

Claire watched as Illusion looked at and inspected each test, reading the labels carefully. After about a minute of suspense, the pregnancy tests dropped from Illusion's hold and hit the ground. Illusion turned his attention back at Claire, and he looked deep into her eyes. 

“You really are pregnant…” he said. Claire couldn’t bring herself to speak; all she could do was nod her head in response. After a few seconds, Illusion broke his gaze on her and looked down to the ground back at the pregnancy tests. 

“This…this is…” Illusion began to stutter out. Just then, Claire began to see movement on the edges of Illusion's mouth. Slowly, they began to arch upwards and Illusion's eyes seemed to come alive as tears began to swell up in them. “This is incredible!” he yelled at the top of his lungs with the biggest smile Claire had ever seen from him. Illusion then lunged at Claire wrapping his forelegs around her and lifting her off the ground.  

“Y-you’re not disappointed?” Claire asked.

“Disappointed, how could I be disappointed!?” he said “I’m going to be a father!” he yelled with glee. Just then any fear or doubts that Claire had accrued up until this moment melted away, and as tears ran down her eyes she returned her husband’s hug and shared in his glee. 

“Easy there, I’m still a little nauseous,” Claire said with a chuckle. Illusion looked up at Claire and gave her a wide grin. 

“Right, sorry...” Illusion apologized as he placed Claire back on her hooves. “It’s just so unreal, I mean, yeah I’ve always wanted a foal, but now that it’s actually happening...” Illusion trailed off. 

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Claire said leaning forward and nuzzling Illusion below his chin. Illusion returned Claire’s nuzzle and the two shared in a relaxing sigh, each basking in the moment. “So should we tell the rest of the family?” Claire asked after a few moments of comfortable silence. 

“Of course,” Illusion said looking into Claire’s eyes “I can’t wait to tell them that I’m going to be a father!” he added with a smile. But after saying it for a second time, the full weight of Illusion's words finally hit him. His eyes opened wide and his pupils shrank to the size of pebbles as a strange smile spread on his face. And with a somewhat fear filled tone, he said: 

“Dear mother, I’m going to be a father!” 

And then, he passed out.   




Behind the Canterlot castle was a great garden, one that only a select few have gained access to. It was a large and beautiful garden, and many flowers that could not be found anywhere else in Equestria grew here. This was a place that was near and dear to the hearts of royal family, and to this place they were called. 

Two large doors that were the entrance to the garden began to glow a golden hue started to shift. Slowly, the doors opened as a figure walked through them; she was a large alicorn with a pure white coat. Her mane and tail that flowed through the wind glowed with every color there was under the sun. And right on her flank was a large glowing sun for a cutie mark; this pony was none other than Princess Celestia herself. 

Celestia took in the colors of the surrounding garden as she walked along the detailed cobblestone path. There was a smile that spread across her lips as pleasant memories returned to her. Finally Celestia came to a halt as she reached the large gazebo in the middle of the garden. It was of a sturdy wood construction which was surrounded by a small pony made pond. Using the stone slab walkway Celestia continued forward until she made her way across. As she arrived she was met with a sight that she found rather humorous.  

Sitting on one of the seats in the gazebo leaned over on the table was her younger sister, Luna. She was fast asleep, her head resting on a pillow with her tongue stuck out as she snored. Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of her dead tired sister. Quietly, Celestia walked up to Luna and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Luna,” she said gently as she shook her sister in an attempt to wake her up. 

“No more cake for you, Tia, it’s starting to go to your-“ 

“Luna!”

“Discord did it!” Luna shouted with a snort as she sat up from her leaned over position. 

“Oh that’s comforting.” From beside Celetia came a flash of light, and from within it appear appeared the very Draconequus whose name had been called. His arms were crossed and he tapped his foot as he stared at Luna. 

“Sorry, force of-“ Luna paused as she looked over to Discord “Is that a marker in your paw?” she asked.

“Uh...” Quickly Discord tossed the marker over his shoulder. “No.” he then said with a sheepish smile. Celestia simple rolled her eyes, though that didn’t hide a small grin that had spread on her lips. 

“I take it you two received a letter from Illusion as well?” asked Celestia. 

“Yup,” Discord confirmed, and with a snap of his fingers, a rolled up parchment appeared in front of him. “It was magically delivered to me, telling me to come here at this time.” He said, unrolling the parchment and looking it over again. 

“Same for me, though it doesn’t say why.” said Celestia looking over her own letter. “Luna, do you know what this could be about?” she asked. 

“Honestly, I haven’t a clue.” Luna said with a shrug of her shoulders and a oblivious expression on her face. 

“Well they better have a good reason…” At the sound of a younger voice, Celestia, Discord, and Luna turned their heads. From the sky two figures were landing, one was the owner of the voice, a young alicorn mare with light blue mane and tail and a dark gray coat. Her wings, unlike other alicorns, were that of a bat. She was the daughter of Luna, Nidra. 

The other was the second of a small number of draconies; he was large with a light green coat while his claws and hair were a darker shade. And just like the mare standing beside him, his wings were also bat like, he was the son of the dragon Spike, and pony Rarity, Turquoise Blitz, or T to his friends and family.  

“I am not a morning mare.” Nidra said with a grumpy demeanor. As Nidra and T walked up to the gazebo, Discord grew an amused grin. Flying up his put himself between them and placed his paw and claw on their shoulders. 

“And yet you two arrive at the same time. Forgive my intrusion, but I must ask... what were you two up to this morning?” he said with a teasing tone that it caused a blush to spread across both T and Nidra's faces. 

“It’s just a coincidence!” Nidra said with a scowl. 

“She’s getting defensive,” Luna said with a snicker, joining in on the teasing. 

“Mother!” Nidra whined as the others shared in a laugh. 

“Looks like the whole gang's here.” From beside the gazebo landed a rather large purple figure, his weight was enough to cause the ground around him to shake. 

“Ah, good to see you, Spike.” said Celestia as she walked up to the side of the gazebo to greet her dragon friend. Over the years he had grown to a large size, he could no longer fit inside of any normal home and as such he was too big to enter the gazebo in full. Instead he simply stuck his head in as far as his neck would allow. 

“Did everyone get the same letter?” Spike asked, noticing everyone that was present at the moment. 

“Looks like it,” T answered.

“I wonder what this is about.” Spike wondered.

“Maybe we’d know if they were on time,” said Nidra “I mean if they’re going to send us a letter telling us to be here at a certain time, the least they could do it is get here when everypony else does.” She added. 

“We’re here!” at unison everyone turned to face the cobblestone path that lead up to where they were. Both Illusion and Claire were making their way towards them in a steady pace. 

“About time…” said Nidra. 

“Sorry we’re late, we got a little preoccupied,” Illusion explained, and by that he meant that Claire’s stomach decided not to be cooperative. 

“Not a problem, we’ve only been waiting for a few minutes.” said Celestia.   

“Great! Now I take it you’re all wondering why we’ve called you here...” Illusion said. All but Luna and Claire nodded their heads at this, but the suspense was too thick in the air for anyone to notice. “Well it’s because what I’m about to tell you has to be said face to face.” At first, Illusion had their curiosity, but now, he had their full attention.

Illusion took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and took Claire’s claw as both husband and wife stared at their family with a smile on their faces. And after a moment of pause, Claire delivered the news: “We’ve having a foal.” 

The first time Claire delivered this news she was met with an uncomfortable silence, this time however, the silence was shattered instantly. 

Almost at the same time each member of their family began to cheer in congratulations. Even Nidra dropped her grumpiness and replaced it with glee at the knowledge that her cousin-in-law and longtime friend was going to have a foal. “This is incredible, how long?” asked Nidra as she walked up to Claire. 

“I don’t know, we just found out today, Luna was actually the one who told me to take a pregnancy test.” Claire responded. At that, Celestia looked back at Luna who had an innocent smile plastered on her face. 

“Hey, would you have preferred to hear it from me, or your own daughter-in-law?” Luna asked. Celestia thought it over quickly and realized that she did have a good point. Sure it would have been great news had somepony else told her, but to hear it from the source, in this garden of all places, it was truly a moment to remember. 

“I remember when I found out I was pregnant with Illusion,” said Celestia. 

“And I with Nidra.” added Luna. 

“It’s an incredible feeling, isn’t it?” Celestia asked her daughter-in-law.

“Yeah, and kind of scary.” said Claire. 

“Trust me; that will go away the moment you see your child’s face.” said Celestia as she nuzzled Claire. While the mares were having a conversation of pride and joy, the males of the family were having a different conversation. 

“So...How long did it take for you to faint when you found out?" asked T. 

“I lasted thirty seconds after I found out Rarity was pregnant with Claire. 

“I lasted twelve when Annie told me she was pregnant.” said T, rubbing the back of his head. Discord looked at the two as a grin spread on his face. He placed his paw and claw on his sides and puffed out his chest in pride as he proclaimed: 

“A full minute!” To which T and Spike clapped their claws at Discord. 

“Illusion lasted four!” Claire called out from across the gazebo. Instantly Discord let out the breath he was holding and his chest deflated back to its original size. Afterwords he snapped his finger creating a torch before passing it on to Illusion.  

“Bested by my own son, what a proud day.” said Discord placing his paw around Illusions shoulder. “And what better way to find out I’m going to be a grandfather than in the very place my own son was conceived.” 

“H-he’s just kidding, right?” Illusion said with a nervous chuckle as he looked over to his mother. But when he did, he found that she was having a rather hard time making eye contact with him.

“Well, I’ll never eat here again…” Illusion thought to himself. The praise and congratulations stretched on for several minutes. But after it was said and done, the seasoned parents all grouped up and stood in front of Illusion and Claire. 

“Now I feel it best to warn you that this will in no way be easy,” said Celestia “This pregnancy is a new challenge to your relationship, and probably the greatest one you’ve ever faced.”

“There will be times when both of you may have your doubts, wondering if you are truly capable of being a parent,” said Discord. 
“But so long as you remain strong, and be there for one another when those fears rise, you will be able to overcome them.” said Luna. 

“In the end, when you finally bring that foal into this world you’ll find, that it was worth it all.” said Spike. 

“Of course you won’t be facing this alone, we’re all here to help you when you need in.” Said T to which all the others nodded in agreement. 

“So my son, and daughter.” said Celestia taking a step forward. “Are you ready the trials you will face?” she asked. Claire and Illusion stood in silence for a moment, both processing what they were told. They already knew this would be a difficult challenge for them; there was no doubt about it. So before they arrived they had already come up with an answer to that question.

“We don’t know.” said Illusion. 

“But we’ll find out.” Claire added. Not looking away from their family, Illusion took Claire’s claw and held it firmly. And at the same time, without any hint of doubt, they said: 

“Together.” 


> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Celestia exited the garden and began to make her way back to her throne room she couldn’t help but have a smile on her face. Still fresh in her mind she replayed the moment she had experience only minutes ago. The sight Claire and Illusion had then they called the family into the garden, the joy in their voice when they revealed the pregnancy, and the pride Celestia felt when she had heard it. Her children, both the son she gave birth to and the daughter-in-law she accepted with open wings were going to have a foal of their very own. 

Celestia paused in her walk and looked up at nothing in particular, just allowing her mind to wonder for a moment. “I can still remember the time when I first held you in my hooves.” Celestia thought to herself, the images of her looking down on her newly born son still fresh in her mind even after all these years. Then again she was sure that it was a moment that any mother would remember for the rest of their lives. The moment when they see that they have brought another life into this world and begin the new journey that is parenthood. 

Leaving her thoughts for a moment Celestia walked up to the window in the hall. Looking down she could see them, Claire and Illusion walking side by side as they walked towards the castle gates. “I can’t wait to see you hold yours.” She said as she watched them walk off into the distance. When Celestia could no longer see Claire or Illusion from the window she continued forward. Before long she reached the door to her throne where the two ponies standing guard bowed to her. 

“Good morning, princess.” said one of the guards. 

“And good morning to you as well.” said Celestia motioning the two guards to rise. “I was wondering if I could trouble one of you for a task.” She asked. 

“Of course.” said the other guard. 

“There is something I would like you to retrieve.”




Over at the other side of Canterlot, a white carriage pulled by two members of the royal guard came to a steady halt. After stopping one of the guards unhooked himself and walked up to the door of the carriage. With the use of his magic he grabbed the door knob in his telekinetic field and opened the door. Through the door Claire was first to step out “Thank you.” She said giving the guard a thankful smile.  

Illusion stepped out next; just as Claire before him he thanked the guards for taking them to their destination and moved on to catch up with his wife. The place they had stopped at was outside of an art shop. In the window hung several pictures of fictional beings known as “humans”. The human craze had sparked in recent years, and now many artists were making names for themselves by forging incredible art pieces of this species. And the owner of this art shop was no exception. 

Claire and Illusion walked up to the front door of the shop and pushed it open. As they did the wood made contact with the bell connected to the frame and its sound chimed all through the room. “Be out in a minute!” called out a female’s voice from the back of the room followed by the sound of something falling over.  

“Minute and a half!” the voice called out again which caused Claire to chuckle slightly. A few more sounds of things being knocked over was heard before somepony stepped out from the back. She was an earth pony mare with a light brown coat who wore a gray long sleeved top under a blue vest. On her head was a gray beanie which she used to hold back her long mane which was red in color, same as her tail. Aside from her clothes she worse a few accessory’s, such as a flower behind her ear and a gold bracelet around her hoof.  

And on her flank was the mares cutie mark, a paint board and a paint brush. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what her special talent was. When the mare finally made it to the front she noticed who was standing at the door. 

“Hello, Kilala.” Said Claire. 

“Oh my,” said Kilala placing a hoof on her chest “To what do I owe the honor of having prince Illusion and princess Clarity grace me with their presence?” she said bowing to the two royal figures. 
The two stayed in place for a period of silence as Claire looked down on the bowing mare. And then, they both broke out in a fit of laughter. “But seriously, what brings you to these parts today, Claire?” Kilala asked walking up to Claire. 

“Well this morning I found out some great news,” she said wrapping a foreleg around Kilala’s shoulder. “News that I’m sure you of all ponies would love to hear.” She added.

“Well then don’t keep me in suspense girl, spill it.” Said Kilala. 

“Okay, but first answer me this,” said Claire. “What do you call a mare who eats for two?” Kilala looked up to the ceiling and tapped her chin as she thought over the question. The smile on Claire’s face told her that it was something great. It looked as though she couldn’t wait to tell Kilala what it was. Then slowly, a smirk spread on her face as she came up with an answer. 

“Pudgy?” 

“Yes!” Claire yelled in glee. Both Kilala and Illusion’s muzzles scrunched up as they suppressed a laugh. It took a few seconds, but eventually Claire realized what it was that she had just agreed to. 

“Hey!” yelled Claire, a slight blush on her face. At this point Kilala lost it and began to laugh at Claire’s expense. After losing her friends to time, Claire had gone a long time without trying to make more. That was until she met Kilala, she couldn’t explain it, but Kilala was a pony who just seemed to understand her. And over the years she become Claire’s closest friend, one that she knew she could rely on. 

“Okay you’ve had your laughs,” said Claire when Kilala started to settle down. She then turned her gaze to Illusion who quickly turned away, it was hard enough for him not to burst out laughing without Claire glaring at him. 

“Sorry Claire, couldn’t help myself.” Said Kilala with a few more giggle.

“Seriously though, think hard.” Said Claire. With the joke out of the way Kilala began to think about the question again. It didn’t take her very long this time, her eyes opening wide as the answer popped into her head. 

“No way,” Kilala said in awe “You mean you’re…?” she trailed off.

“Mhmm.” Hummed Claire. 

“How long?” asked Kilala, a smile spreading on her face.

“A week.” Claire answered as she started to grow excited. 

“You’re going to be a…” Kilala trailed off again growing just as excited as Claire. 

“Exactly!” Claire said with glee, her ability to contain herself failing. 

“This is incredible!” yelled Kilala.

“I know!” but this point Illusion had covered both his ears, he knew what was going to happen next. In unison both Kilala and Claire let out a high powered screech in excitement, one that proved two powerful as the sound of glass shattering could be heard. As they heard the sound the screeching stopped and both mares turned their heads. On the floor, shattered into millions of pieces, was Illusion. 
“Oh ha, ha. Very funny.” said Claire in response to Illusions antics. 

“I try my best.” Said Illusions shattered lips with a small smirk. 

“I give him points for creativity.” Kilala said with a chuckle as she and Claire walked towards the back room. 

“So how’s it feel,” said Kilala as she turned her head to look at Claire “Knowing that you’re going to be a mother?” she asked. 

“Honestly, I’m not sure.” Said Claire “But since I’ve just found out I’m pregnant I guess the full weight of it hasn’t hit me yet.” 

“Well if you ever need somepony to talk to remember that my door is always open.” Kilala assured Claire. 

“Always nice to know you’ve got a friend to turn to when you need one.” Claire said with a smile. Now that Claire had shared her news with Kilala, she felt it fair to shift the focus. “So what have you been working on?” she asked causing Kilala’s ears to perk up.

“Oh, thanks for reminding me. Wait here!” said Kilala as she galloped up the stairs into the next room. 

“Well that took longer than expected.” From the previous room Illusion walked in placing his ear back in place. While his gag was completely worth it (in his opinion anyway) he still had to deal with putting himself back together. “Where’d Kilala go?” he asked noticing Claire standing along.

“She’s getting something up stairs.” She answered. The wait for Kilala to return was short, and as she returned from the upper room both Claire and Illusion noticed that she was carrying something on her back. 

“Can you hold this up for me, Illusion?” asked Claire, and with a nod of his head Illusion used his levitation magic to lift the object on Kilala’s back into the air. Now that they could get a better look at it, Claire and Illusion noticed that it was a canvas which was covered with a white sheet. 

“You couldn’t have timed your visit any better,” Kilala said walking up to the covered canvas. “I finished this last night and just couldn’t wait to show it to you.” Using her teeth, Kilala grabbed on to the sheet. 

“I reveal to you…” with a quick yank Kilala pulled the sheet off of the canvas to reveal the painting under it. 

“Yourself!”







After spending a few more hours with Kilala, both Claire and Illusion finally made their way back to the castle. On Illusion’s back was the painting of Claire that Kilala had given to them before they left. Claire still couldn’t believe how amazing it looked, there was no doubt in her mind that she would look like that had she been human. Kilala even promised to paint one of Illusion when she got the chance.

“Maybe we should commission a family painting.” Illusion thought out loud, he could only imagine how the rest of the family would look as humans. 

“That would be great, we could hang it next to our family photo.” Said Claire as she and Illusion reached their room. “Speaking of which, I want to hang that one as soon as possible.” She said pushing the door open. 

“Of course, we can hang it on the-“ Illusion paused for a moment when he noticed something against the far wall of the room. It was some kind of object, but he couldn’t tell what due to it being covered by a sheet. 

“What’s that?” asked Claire.

“I’m not sure, but I guess there’s only one way to find out.” Using his magic Illusion grabbed hold of the sheet. With a tug the sheet was lifted off revealing what was hidden under it. Illusion got one good look at it and his jaw dropped slightly. 

“This is,” said Illusion as he walked up to it “My old crib.” Placing his hoof on the wood Illusion took in the sight of a crib he hasn’t seen for several decades. 

“Must have been brought here while we were out.” Said Claire. Illusion didn’t say a thing, his eyes still staring at the crib with a smile on his face. 

“Oh look, a pacifier.” Using her magic Claire levitated the pacifier off of the pillow and showed it to Illusion. 

“She even kept that huh?” Illusion said with a chuckle. When it came to preserving memories his mother didn’t skip a beat. As Illusion held on to the pacifier with his magic Claire looked back to the crib. 

“One day we’ll be looking down on this and our own foal will be sleeping on it.” She said passing a claw over the mattress. Deep in her mind she tried to imagine it, a newborn foal wrapped in the blanket as he or she suckled on the pacifier. 

“Mhmm.” Hummed Illusion. 

“I know it’ll be months until that happens, but I just can’t help but-“ turning her head to look at Illusion, Claire paused. Her expression changing to one that looks a little less than amused with what she’s looking at. “What are you doing?” at some point while Claire was looking away, Illusion had placed his old pacifier in his mouth. 

“Don’t judge me.” Illusion mumbled through the pacifier. Claire’s only response was to faceplam, but that didn’t hide the small smirk on her lips. 

“Dear Celestia I’m going to be raising two foals.”

> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sitting back on the living room sofa, Claire hummed a gentle melody. In her forearms, wrapped in a light green blanket she held her niece, Oasis. The filly no more than a few weeks old had her little eyes closed, a smile spread on her lips. As Claire hummed she also gently rocked Oasis to and fro. She had fallen asleep a while ago, but still Claire couldn’t bring herself to put her down. And as she hummed, her focus completely on the foal in her forearms, Claire hadn’t noticed that she was being watched. 

“You are a natural, Darling.” Claire blinked and stopped humming when she heard the voice. When Claire looked over to the hallway entrance to the living room she saw somepony standing there. It was none other than her own mother, Rarity, a warm smile spread across her lips as she took in the sight of her daughter holding her granddaughter in her forearms. 

“What do you mean?” asked Claire. 

“I mean the way you handle Oasis.” Began Rarity “From the way you hold her, to the song you were humming moments ago. Hard to believe that there was a time when being near a foal terrified you.” She said with a giggle. Looking away, Claire pouted her lips in response to her mother’s teasing. 

“Don’t you think you’re exaggerating a bit?” asked Claire only to get a sly smile from Rarity. 

“Need I remind you of the day Pixel was born?” asked Rarity, but she didn’t give Claire a chance to answer and continued anyway. “Ew, don’t give it to me, it might spit on me!” Rarity said trying to mimic a teenage voice while making her body tremble. 

“And of course there’s my personal favorite; Moooooom, it’s getting closer, what do I do!?” Rarity mimicked again shifting her body as if she was trying to stay away from something. As Claire watched she brought up her trademark grumpy frown out of annoyance. 

“Hardy har har, very funny.” Claire said with a sarcastic laugh. 

“I thought so too.” Rarity said intentionally ignoring the sarcasm at her daughter’s expense. All Claire could do was roll her eyes in response and continue to rock Oasis. As Rarity watched, she decided drop the teasing and climbed on to the sofa with Claire. “But back then you were still young, still maturing. You have grown so much since then.” She said giving Claire a warm, motherly smile. 

“Thanks, mom.” Claire said returning the smile. They both went silent after that, their eyes glued on the sleeping Oasis. Looking at Claire, the way she held her niece, it reminded Rarity of when she held her newly born daughter in her own forearms. 

“Tell me, Claire, how do you feel when you hold Oasis?” asked Rarity, breaking the silence. Claire remained silent for a little while longer, trying to come up with a way to answer her mother’s question. In truth, she had never thought about it before, never tried to put how she felt into words, she just knew that they were there. 

“It’s hard to explain.” Said Claire “I’ve only held her once before this, and that was the day she was born. When I’m holding her, I can feel this warmth inside of me, the feeling of holding something so small and fragile in my claws while it has nothing by trust in me.” In her sleep, Oasis let out a small giggle, no doubt caused by a dream, and Claire’s smile grew bigger still. 

“When I’m holding her, it’s like I never want to let her go.” Looking at Claire’s eyes, Rarity could see it. They were the same eyes she had, and still does. The eyes of a guardian, a care taker, a mother. 

“You know, you could have that feeling all the time, if you had your own foal.” 

“Mom, not this again.” Said Claire as with a small sigh “I told you, I’m just-“

“Not that kind of girl,” said Rarity cutting off Claire and finishing her sentence. Claire looked over to her mother, usually when they had this conversation Rarity would get frustrated with how stubborn Claire could be. But this time she didn’t have a trace of that on her face, she only smiled. 

“I know I bring this up a lot, and I know the answer you always give me. But I also know that you still haven’t fully made up your mind.” She said. Claire blinked as she stared at her mother with confusion. 

“What do you mean?” she asked. 

“The decision to have a child is an important and difficult one. And it is not one that can be made with the mind.” Slowly Rarity extended her hoof “No, the answer can only come from one place.” Finally Rarity’s hoof stopped on Claire’s chest “From the heart.” Rarity finished. Claire’s confusion only increased. 

“I still don’t understand.” Claire admitted. 

“On day you will.” Rarity hopped off the sofa and slowly made her way to the hallway. “And when you do, come tell me.” 

“Why, so you can gloat?” Claire asked with an arched brow, Rarity simply giggled. 

“No,” she said turning her head to look back at Claire “So that I can tell you how proud of you I am.” And with that Rarity walked away, vanishing from Claire’s sight. Claire still didn’t know what her mother meant, and it would be many years until she would. 




In the early hours of the night, Claire slept in her bed with a pillow wrapped in her hooves and held close to her chest. Tears ran down the sleeping mare’s cheek as she snuffled lightly into her pillow. She laid like this for several minutes, still reliving a moment from her past in the realm of dreams. 

“Come tell me.”

Suddenly Claire’s eye opened wide and she raised her head from her pillow as she let out a small gasp. The room was dark but her eyes were already adjusted, looking around she saw that she was in her bed room of the castle. Taking a deep breath Claire wiped the tears from her face and rested her head back on her pillow. “Just a dream…” Claire told herself “Just a dream.” She repeated, tightening her hold on the pillow against her chest. 

For several minutes Claire laid there trying to go back to sleep, but it was to no avail. She was completely awake, her eyes refusing to close. With a sigh Claire looked over to the other side of the bed, there she saw Illusion sleeping on his back, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Claire placed a claw over her muzzle to suppress a giggle. 

Carefully, as to not wake him, Claire climbed out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. When inside she closed the door behind her and turned on the light, wincing slightly as the room brightened. Once her eyes were adjusted to the light Claire looked herself in the mirror as she placed a claw on her stomach. She had been pregnant for almost a month now, time seeming to just fly by. It felt as though she had only told her family a few days ago, but in reality it had been weeks. 

Claire thought back to that day, she could still see the look on their faces when she and Illusion shared the news. But as she flashed back to all of their faces she realized something; that one face was missing. One that belonged to a pony that wasn’t there that day, not because she didn’t want to be, but because she couldn’t be there.

“Come tell me.”

Again Claire heard the voice, her ears pinning to the side of her head. There was still somepony she hadn’t told yet, and maybe in the back of her mind, she had put it off. Unable to bring herself to go through with it. Unable to go back there.

Moving in closer to the mirror Claire looked herself in the eyes “But I have to.” She told her reflection. Turning on the sink Claire splashed water on her face and toweled off before walking out of the bathroom. Without making a sound she placed her saddlebag on her back and looked back to the sleeping Illusion. Part of her thought to wake him up and tell him where she was going to go. But she knew that Illusion would try to convince her to let him come with her. 

But as tempting an offer as that was, Claire felt that she needed to do this alone. So leaving Illusion to his slumber, Claire exited the room, closing it slowly behind her. “Good evening, Princess.” Came a voice that almost caused Claire to yelp in surprise. Turning she saw one of the bat ponies of the Luna’s royal guard standing next to the door. Claire had almost forgotten that they stand guard by the doors of the royal family at night. 

“Oh, yes, good evening to you too.”  Looking at Claire the bat pony noticed that she was wearing her saddle bag. 

“Is everything okay?” he asked, he had guarded Claire and Illusions room for a while now, never once had he seen Claire just walk out in the middle of the night with a saddlebag. 

“Yes, everything is fine, I just…” Claire paused and let out a sigh “Listen, there’s just something that I have to do, alone.” she emphasized. 

“If Illusion wakes up and asks where I’ve gone, just please tell him that, and that I’ll be back soon.” The guard looked at Claire and could see her pleading eyes, letting out a small sigh he brought his hoof to his forehead and saluted. 

“As you wish, please, be safe.” Said the guard.

“Thank you.” Said Claire with a smile before turning around and making her way down the hall. When she reached the stairs, rather than go down she instead went up. Her next destination was still inside of the castle, which was where she’d get the method to get to her final destination. When Claire arrived to the right floor she then crossed a bridge to where she needed to be, the sky chariot hangar. 

Several bat ponies stood guard in this hangar, all either searching for any potential danger or waiting for any orders to carry a chariot. Claire walked up to the closest bat pony, a mare who was guarding the entrance. When Claire entered her sights the bat pony quickly bowed her head in response. 

“Hello, princess.” She said. “What brings you to the hanger at this time?” she asked.

“There’s someplace I need to visit, could you spare some guards?” 

“Of course.” Said the mare, and before long two guards were hooked up to a chariot and Claire was safe inside. Once the flight was cleared the guards took off carrying the chariot with them as they flew into the sky. 

As the chariot flew Claire could feel the butterflies in her stomach start to act up. She wasn’t too thrilled with what she was going to do, but knew she couldn’t back down from it. She made a promise, and it was a promise that she would keep, regardless of the circumstances. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t have some second thoughts about it. 

“How long has it been since we last talked…?” Claire thought to herself as she stared up into the ceiling of the chariot, almost like she expected an answer. Over in the corner of her eye Claire saw something, an orange glow. Looking over she saw it, the sun was starting to rise and bring about the new day. With the sun now risen, Claire wondered, could she see it from the window?

Rather than question it, Claire decided to find out for herself, opening the window Claire stuck her head out and looked onwards. And there in the distance, she could see it, the place where she has not been in celestia knows how long. 

“It’s been a while hasn’t it, Ponyville?” 

> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside of their bedroom, Illusion had begun to stir in bed, the light shining through the curtains grabbing his attention. With a grunt Illusion turned his back to the light and reached out to grab hold of something. But to his dismay there was nothing to hold on to but the cold empty air of the other side of the bed. 

“Huh?” with confusion Illusion opened his eyes only to see that Claire was missing from the other side of the bed. At first, Illusion thought that she might still be going through morning sickness, so he turned his head towards the bathroom. But when he did he saw that the door was open and the lights were off. With no other place for her to have gone, it was clear to Illusion that Claire was no longer in the room. 

Tossing the sheets to the side Illusion climbed off of bed and began to make his way towards the door. And that is when he noticed that something else was missing. Beside the door placed on the ground was his own saddle bag. Right beside it should have been another, the one that belonged to Claire, but it was gone. 

“She took her bag too?” a sense of worry began to grow over Illusion, Claire had not only left without a word, but she took her saddle bag with her. Illusion looked around the room once more for a sign of a note, anything that would give him some indication on where she had gone, but he found nothing.  

A sudden uneasy feeling rushed over Illusion, Claire was not one to just disappear like that. Quickly Illusion made for his door, with any luck one of the guards would know when Claire left and where she could have gone. As Illusion walked through the door, he was greeted by a rather odd sight. A batpony guard still standing by his door, his head hanging down as he snored while somehow still standing up straight. 

“Wonder why he’s still here?” Illusion knew that by now any and all batpony guards would have switched shifts with the day guards. So it made him wonder who this guard was still standing in his post. Carefully, so to not freak him out, Illusion tapped the guards shoulder to stir him a little. 

“Huh!” snorted the guard as his head shot up. He blinked a few times as he looked around, eventually his eyes stopped when he spotted Illusion standing beside him. “Oh, good morning prince Illusion.” He said rubbing his eye. 

“Likewise,” said Illusion “by any would you know where Claire has gone?” he asked. This guard had been standing by their door the whole night, so if anyone had the information Illusion was looking for, it would be him. 

“Actually, she left me a message to be given to you the moment you awake.” Illusion arched a brow, he didn’t know what the massage could be, but he prepared himself for it. 

“Go on…” he said. 

“She said that there is something she had to do, and that she had to do it alone.” The guard relayed Claire’s message using the same emphasis Claire had used on the last word. Illusion fell silent with confusion, unsure of the meaning of Claire’s message. 

“Thank you,” the guard bowed his head for a moment before walking away, having delivered the massage he could now end his shift. As the guard walked away, Illusion looked out the window of the hall. He played Claire’s message in his mind several times, trying to find some understanding to what it said. 

“Where have you gone, Claire…?” Illusion thought to himself. 

“Oh, one last thing, sir.” Turning his head, Illusion saw that the guard had returned. “Everypony in the guard has heard of the news of Claire’s pregnancy, and I’d like to extend a congratulations.” 

“I appreciate that,” Illusion said with a smile, again the guard bowed and walked away, leaving Illusion to his thoughts. Illusion wanted to return to wonder where Claire had gone, but instead, he found himself thinking of what the guard had said. 

“Everypony in the guard has heard the news…” 

As Illusion replayed that sentence in his head, he found himself focusing on one particular word. “Everypony…?” Claire had been pregnant for just over a week now, enough time for the news to spread through the castle. Even her niece and nephew were sent notification of it, but still, something seemed to be missing. He tried to figure out what that could have been, but he could only draw a blank. 

“Maybe I should ask mom for some help.” Illusion said to himself as he made his way down the hall. But he only took a few steps before he came to a full stop, turning his head to look out the window, Illusion looked towards the sky. 

“Mom…” 




Claire had long since removed her gaze from the window of the chariot, taking her seat in the middle, her eyes locked on the floor. The anxiety she felt in her stomach grew worse, so much so that she couldn’t tell if it was because she was still suffering from morning sickness, or if it was something else. “Don’t try to fool yourself…” Claire said with a sigh as she wrapped her forearms around her stomach. “You know exactly why…”

Claire’s ride went on for several minutes longer before she began to feel the chariot drop in altitude. No sooner did she feel the wheels land softly on the ground, if it was one thing she was glad for, it was the guard’s ability to make a trip as comfortable as possible for the passengers they carry. Soon the chariot came to a complete halt, but Claire remained where she sat, unable to avert her eyes from the floor. 

There was a knock on the door “Lady Clarity?” said one of the guards, a hint of concern in her voice. “We have arrived at your destination, you are free to exit the chariot.” Claire still didn’t move, she took in a breath before responding. 

“I’ll be out in a moment.” 

“Yes ma'am,” the guard responded which was followed by the sounds of hooves stepping away from the door. Alone once again, Claire tried her hardest to regain her composure, but it was no easy task. With every second that passed Claire found it harder to bring herself to step outside, the trembling in her stomach refusing to stop. Claire has had many fears in her life, some of which he was able to overcome. But there was one that seemed to grow worse as the years went by, a certain place that served as a constant painful reminder, and it was right outside. 

“Maybe…maybe I could try another day.” Claire thought to herself, she was just about to call out for one of the guards when. 

“Come tell me.”

Just then the trembling stopped and Claire looked up from the floor, “What was I thinking?” she said to herself. “I can’t just keep putting this off, I made a promise.” She continued as she stood up from her seat. She took a few steps until she reached the door, looking at the knob she took in a deep breath and reach out for it. 

“And I intend to keep it.” Opening the door Claire took her first steps outside, her claws making contact with the soft grass. For a moment she found a small level of enjoyment out of it, it had been a long time since she felt the soft ground of Ponyville soil. But the moment passed quickly as Claire remember the reason why she asked to be taken here. 

Claire walked up to the front of the chariot where the two guard who brought her there stood in wait. Both heard her coming and turned around to give Claire their fully attention “I’d like to thank you both for bringing me here.” She said with a warm smile. 

“Happy to be of service,” said one of the guards. 

“Now if you could both just wait here for a little while, there’s something I need to take care of.” She said, both guards giving her a salute in response. Thanking them again Claire pressed forward, in the distance seeing a cobblestone path. As she grew closer Claire began to feel her anxiety build up again, only this time is wasn’t as bad. She wasn’t going to let it stop her, not when she was so close now. 

As she traverse the cobblestone path she could see a large gate in front of her. Claire stopped in her tracks and stared at the open doors of the gate, taking a moment to let it sink in. “I can do this, I can.” Claire said as she took another deep breath before bring herself to continue forward toward her goal. As she walked through the open gate, Claire could see the metallic sign that was attached to the top of it. One that read: 

Ponyville Cemetery 




Back at castle, Illusion stood at the balcony of one of the towers with a perplexed look on his face. His gaze was locked on the town in the horizon, Ponyville; he knew that Claire was there and he had an idea as to why. But what he didn’t know, was what he should do with that information. Claire had resolved to do something on her own, and Illusion wanted to respect that, but on the other hoof he also wanted to be there for her. 

If Claire had in fact set out to do what he thought she was, then he knew that it would be difficult for her. So he had a choice to make, go against his wife’s wishes and stand by her when she goes through with it, or await for her return, and comfort her then. The problem was that Illusion had something against both options. He wanted to be there for Claire, but he didn’t want it to be at the expense of her own resolve.  

“There has to be another option…” Illusion said out loud, more to himself than anyone else. 

“Bit for your thoughts?” Illusion blinked when he heard another voice, tuning his head straight up he saw somepony staring back down at him. It was Nirda who had taken a seat on the top of the tower, a slight amused look on her face. 

“Oh, hey Nidra.” He said turning his head back down. Nidra raised an eyebrow as he lips pouted slightly. 

“And a nice cold morning to you too.” She said sarcastically as she flew down landing next to her cousin. Illusions ears pinned to the sides of his head as he let out a small sigh. 

“Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“About what?”

“Claire is in Ponyville.” Said Illusion as she looked over to Nira. The latter simple looked back at him and motioned her hoof for him to continue. “She left sometime during the night, left me a message saying that there was something she had to do.” He added. 

“So what’s the problem?” asked Nidra. 

“The problem is that I think it’s going to be hard for her, and I want to be there for her.” To Nidra the answer seemed clear. 

“So go after her.” She said. 

“But she wants to do it alone.” Said Illusion, to which Nidra gave another obvious answer. 

“Then don’t go.”

“But I want to be there.” By this point Nidra began to grow a little annoyed. 

“Oh for goodness sakes, why do ponies try to complicate this? If one pony wants to be with another one then why not just be with them?” said Nirda enticing a small laugh out of Illusion.

“Hello pot I’m kettle.” He mumbled to himself, but Nidra heard him.

“What’s what supposed to mean!?” she growled. 

“Oh nothing.” Illusion said with a small giggle. The two went into a short silence after that, only for it to be broken when Illusion let out another sigh. “Tell me something; what can you do when you’re face with two doors, but you can’t open either of them?” she asked. Nirda stared at Illusion as she mulled over the question, she didn’t quite understand the meaning of the question, and as such her answer was blunt. 

“Tear down the wall in between them?” she said with a shrug. Illusion placed his paw on his face, he wasn’t really sure what kind of answer he should have expected from Nidra. But after a few seconds he began to think about her answer. 

“If you can’t open a door, make your own…?” he thought to himself. It seemed so simple, but at the same time, there was something greater to it. “That’s it!” he yelled slamming his hoof into his paw in realization. 

“Nidra!” shouted as he grabbed on to his cousins shoulders “You’re a genius!” he added as he shook her repeatedly. When the shaking stopped Nidra’s eyes spun around in her head in dizziness. 

“Great…why is that now?” she asked hoping that the world around her would stop spinning soon. Just then Illusion let go of her and she flopped down on the floor. 

“No time to explain, I have to go!” he said before disappearing in a flash of light. 

“Glad I could help…” Nidra groaned extending one hoof into the air. 




“I’m sorry I haven’t visited in a while, things have been busy with my shop. Lot of ponies out there always looking to buy jewelry crafted by a princess…Actually, that’s not true. Don’t get me wrong, business is still good, but that doesn’t excuse me not coming to see you more often. I guess the truth is that I still have a hard time accepting this, that it’s all some bad dream. But I guess we have to wake up sometime.” 

“But now I’m here, and I have something important to tell you.” Claire had finally arrived to her destination. Within the cemetery’s center stood a large tomb, one crafted in fine marble, one built to house six specific ponies during their final rest. And today Claire had come to see one of those six so that she could fulfill her promise. In front of Claire was a marked grave with three clean cut diamonds edged into it. And just below that was engraved:

‘Here lies Rarity, Element of Harmony, and a wonderful wife and mother, she shall remain in our hearts forever.’   

“You once told me something years ago that I didn’t understand.” Claire continued as she spoke to her mother’s grave. “That there was a decision that I couldn’t make with my mind, but with my heart.” Claire paused, her eyes beginning to water as spoke. “But now I understand, I understand full well and I know that you were right, you were always right.” By now the tears had begun to stream down Claire’s cheeks. 

“So now I’m going to tell you something that I should have told you weeks ago.” Claire wiped the tears from her eyes with her foreleg and put on a proud smile. “I’m pregnant mom, I’m going to be a mother.” She said. Of course her words were met with silence, not to say that she was expecting a response, but at the same time she wished that she did. Clenching her jaw, Claire’s lip quivered as the tears continued to run freely. 

“It’s as amazing as you said it was, minus the morning sickness.” Claire said chocking out a small laugh. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world, the feeling of knowing that there’s a life inside of me.” Claire paused again as she tried to keep her sobs under control, but her high running emotions was too much. 

“I just…I just wish I could have realized this earlier, so that you could have still been around when I found out. So I could see the look in your eyes when I told you, so that I could hold you during one of the happiest moments of my life. But I didn’t, I didn’t and I’m so sorry!” she said letting it all out. After all was said Claire simply sat down with one claw over her eyes in an attempt to stop them, but it was no use. 

Just then Claire felt something warm wrap around her, letting out a gasp she opened her eyes and looked behind her. Looking back at her was Illusion, a sympathetic frown on his face as he saw his crying wife. “W-what are you doing here, I-I said.” Before Claire could finish her lips were covered by Illusions paw as he quietly shushed her. 

“You said you had to do this alone, and you did.” He said as he nuzzled her cheek “Now that it’s done, you don’t have to deal with this alone, not anymore.” Claire closed her eyes tightly as Illusions nuzzled her. And as a new stream of tears were released she wrapped her arms around him and pulled Illusion closer as she cried into his chest. 

“Do you think she heard me?” asked Claire.

“I’m sure she did.” Said Illusion as he rubbed Claire’s back gently. “And I’m sure she’s smiling down on you right now, as proud as a mother could be.” With one last sniffle Claire removed her face from Illusions chest, the tears having finally come to an end. 

“Thanks Illusion.” She said with a smile. “I needed to hear that.” Illusion looked back at Claire and gave her a smile before pulling her back in for a hug. 

“I’ll always be there when you need me.” He told her. 

“I know you will,” she said. The two sat there for a while in total silence, both enjoying the others company. 

“So, are you ready to head home?” Illusion asked her. 

“Can we just sit here for a little while longer?” Claire asked looking back up into Illusions eyes. Illusion simple smiled back as her as he nuzzled her cheek. 

“Of course, I’ll sit here with you for as long as you want.” 

> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Claire was a mare who would try to find the bright side in almost everything. Sure there were times when it was hard, but she would always find that silver lining sometime down the way. But this time was different, this time Claire couldn’t find the bright side in this situation, no matter how much she tried. And Celestia knows that she had tried many times in the past, all of which was to no avail. If there was one thing that everypony knew about her, it was this:

“I hate hospitals…” within one the many rooms of the Canterlot hospital, Claire sat uneasily in her chair. It has been well over a month since she found out that she was pregnant, and now she has been scheduled an appointment with the obstetrician. “Why did you have to schedule one so early, I don’t even have a baby bump yet!” Claire asked Illusion who was sitting beside her. 

“True, but you see there was one thing that was nagging me since we found out you were pregnant.” Said Illusion.

“What’s what?”

“Well, how will you be giving birth to it?” asked Illusion. Claire opened her mouth to respond but quickly closed it again. This was a question that she had asked herself in more than one occasion, being part dragon means that there is a possibility that she could lay an egg. To date there have only been two dracony mares in existence, the other being her niece Oasis. And neither of them have had the pleasure of giving birth just yet. 

“See what I mean?” Illusion continued on “I just want to know what to expect is all, so that we can properly prepare.” he said placing his paw on Claire’s shoulder. Claire looked at Illusion for a moment before dropping her eyes in a sigh. 

“Alright, I see your point.” She said “But I still hate hospitals.” She added right after. 

“Don’t worry, it’ll be a simple ultrasound and we’ll be on our way.” He assured her. Claire nodded in agreement as the two went back into waiting for the doctor to enter the room. The wait went on for about five more minutes before finally the door opened. 

“I apologize for the wait.” Said a male unicorn wearing a white doctor’s coat. “My name is High Frequency, and I’ll be your conducing your ultrasound today.” He said with a smile. 

“Finally.” Claire said under her breath relieved that this would soon be over with. The doctor sat at his chair for a moment as he looked over Claire’s charts. 

“Let’s see, a month into pregnancy I see?” he said to which Claire and Illusion nodded. “Very good, I see you’ve been having morning sickness, very normal, any mood swings or strange food craving?” he asked. 

“No, no mood swings yet.” Said Claire. 

“And define strange food cravings?” said Illusion which caused Claire to shoot him a glare. Illusion simple smiled in return. 

“Ah, well, I’m sure you’ll know when you see them.” Said the doctor trying to hold back a small chuckle. “Now then Mrs. Claire, if you’ll sit back on the bed over there we’ll get you’re ultrasound under way in a jiff!” he said motioning Claire to the corner of the room. Getting up from her chair, Claire walked up to the bed and climbed on. Once she was comfortable she rested her head back and waited. 

“Ready?” asked the doctor as he levitated a bottled of gel next to him. Claire nodded as she removed her claws away from her stomach. Once the doctor began to squeeze out the gel Claire gave a small jump. “Sorry, the gel can be a tad cold at times.” He said with a small chuckle. Once the gel was applied the doctor picked up the transducer and placed it on Claire’s stomach as he turned it on. 

“So how does this work exactly?” asked Claire as the doctor moved the transducer across Claire’s stomach. 

“Well you see the machine emits high frequency sound waves thought your body, and as it bounces back it creates an image for us to see.” The doctor continued to trace the transducer across Claire’s stomach for a few more seconds before he finally turned it off. “Alright, that should do it. Right now the image is being rendered in another room, it should be with us in a moment.” 

“Great…” Claire groaned at the mention of more waiting. 

“Don’t worry, it’ll be here before-“ the doctor couldn’t finish his sentence as there was a knock at the door. “Well now that was faster than usual!” he said as he walked up to the door. Once opened he was handed the rendered image “Thank you!” he said before closing the door. 

“Now then, let’s see what has come up shall we?” said the doctor as he placed the image on the view box on the wall and turned on the light. Both Claire and Illusion looked over the doctor’s shoulder to see as well, but they weren’t sure what they were looking at. 

“Well now, this is peculiar.” Said the doctor. This caused Claire and Illusion to worry slightly. 

“What do you mean, is something wrong?” asked Claire. 

“Not that I am aware, I am just very savvy on egg development.” He said trying to look closer at the image.

“Egg, I’m laying an egg?” asked Claire, a small smile on her own face from knowing how she would be giving birth. 

“It would appear so, and they seem to be developing healthily.” He said.

“Oh that’s gre-“ Claire started only to pause “Wait…they?” 

“There’s more than one?” Illusion added. 

“It would appear so…” the doctor said, though there seemed to be some uncertainty in his voice by now. 

“How many?”

“Well let’s see,” he said as he squinted his eyes “Three, four, seven…twelve…fifteen?” he finally said arching a brow. As he numbered the eggs Claire and Illusion both reacted in their own ways. Illusion’s jaw was literally touching the floor by this point, one eyes was twitching and it looked as though he would fall over at any moment. 

Claire on the other hand had wrapped her forelegs around her stomach and held tightly while her pupils has shrunk. Hey whole body was stiff with horror at the idea of what would happen when those eggs finally came out. 

“Hold on a moment…” said the doctor as he pulled the image out from the view box. “This isn’t your ultrasound…” the others hadn’t responded from what he had said, no doubt still too shocked to hear anything. “But if this isn’t yours then…oh my.” Without saying another word he ran out the door with the paper still in his magical grasp. Only a few seconds after the door slammed did Claire and Illusion finally move, both letting out a sigh of relief. 

“Oh thank the maker…” said Illusion as he placed a hoof on his still rapidly beating heart. The two sat down in silence for a moment as they allowed themselves to calm down. Both were greatly relieved at the arrow that they had both just dodged.  

But then Illusion chuckled “Could you imagine, having fifteen kids?” he said. Claire looked up for a moment as a small smile spread on her lips. 

“Yeah, I’d go on record for having the most agonizing labor.” She said with a sarcastic chuckle. 

“No doubt there, but I’m sure you’d bounce back.” Said Illusion. 

“More like I’d have to,” said Claire “If I leave them to you, you’d go crazy in a week.” As she turned her head to look at Illusion she added a “Well, crazy-er” with a light laugh. 

“Who are you kidding, we’d both go insane regardless.” Illusion said joining in on the laugh. 

“True, but it’s not like we’d be going through it alone, we still have the rest of the family.” Said Claire. 

“You’re right, but I still think it’d be a hoof full. But I guess it would get better with time. At least they’d always have someone to play with.” Said Illusion. “And fifteen kids give me more chances to embarrass them around their dates.” He said with a grin. 

“Seriously, not even born yet and you’re already thinking of that?” asked Claire. 

“Hey, embarrassing my kids is a right of passage to a father.” Said Illusion as he crossed his forelegs.

“Yeah, but being your kids I can imagine them getting together to prank you back,” said Claire “Me included.” She added with a sly smile. 

“Wait, why?” asked Illusion.

“You think I’d just let it slide that your baby makers gave us fifteen kids?” said Claire “Oh no, I’d find a way to get you back sometime.” Soon both started laughing at the hypothetical, each sharing a story that they would have shared with their fifteen kids. It was only when the door opened again that it came to an end. 

“Sorry about that, seems there was a mix in the ultrasound.” Said their doctor as he closed the door again. “Some poor soul was found stranded in the everfree and apparently came back with a souvenir.” He said with a slight shake of his head. 

“So is that one mine then?” asked Claire.

“Yes, I made sure of it this time.” He assured. Using his magic he placed the paper on the view box and switched it on. Claire and Illusion watched as the doctor looked over the ultrasound for about a minute. Soon they noticed a smile grow across his face “Well now, while it’s far too early for me to tell you the gender, I can say this.” He said as he turned around to face the couple. 

“You are growing a healthy embryo within you.” Both Claire and Illusion’s mouths opened in a wide smile. They finally got their answer, and in less than ten months from now, Claire would give birth to her foal like any other pony would. 

> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standing on the balcony of her tower, Celestia gazed upon the sky, watching as the sun and moon switched places for the night. She could never grow weary of this, the moment she and her sister share each day, one no one else could experience. Looking over to her side she saw Luna waving at her from the other tower. “Sleep well, Tai!” she called out to her, Celestia returned the wave and responded in kind. 

“And you enjoy your night!” she said back before retreating to her bed chambers. In truth Celestia was no quite ready for bed yet, there was still some time before it got too late. After removing her regalia she turned her attention to the book shelf against her wall. Carefully reading the titles for something that may catch her interest.

There were many genres in her collection to choose from; from riveting crime stories, to scandalous love novels. While both were great for a read, tonight she was in the mood for something light hearted.  

“Ah-hah!” she said as she pulled out one book with her magic. “The Life and Times of a winning Human” read the title, it was a new one to her collection, one she had yet to start. A romantic comedy that had gained its fair share of attention during the human craze, one that she’s not ashamed to say she’s a part of.

Climbing in to bed Celestia tucked herself in and opened the book. Some quiet time while reading a good book was the perfect way to spend her time off. But before she could begin reading, something happened. Green flames began to materialize before her eyes as something seemed to be forming within it. When the flames the flames finally died out it was revealed to be a rolled up parchment which fell on to her book.

“Well now, what have we here?” she asked as she grabbed on to the parchment with her magic. It had been some time since she last received a letter in this manner, she could feel a slight warm of nostalgia as she unrolled it.  After reading what was written on it she raised a brow in curiosity. Not long after she removed herself from under her sheets and made her way towards the door. The book would have to wait until another night. 




The letter that Celestia received was short, all that was written was a simple request. That she make her way to a certain part of the castle. And after a short stroll through the halls she found herself standing just outside of it. “The castle library.” Celestia said to herself as she gazed upon the door. “Why would he ask me to meet him here?” she wondered. But she knew that she wouldn’t get the answers by standing outside of it. So with the use of her magic Celestia opened the door and stepped inside. 

The library seemed void of anypony else, even the librarian had turned in for the day and gone home. But still the lights remained on, enough to tell her that he was already waiting her for to arrive. But as she walked about, searching through the room, she found that something was odd “Where is he?” she wondered. Given his size she thought she’d have been able to spot him quickly, yet he was nowhere to be seen.

But then she heard something around the corner, the sound of something being knocked over. “Spike?” she called out as she walked towards the source of the sound. 

“Over here.” Celestia paused, that was indeed Spikes voice, but there was something odd about it. It wasn’t the voice that she remembered him having, at least, not in recent years. As she rounded the corner she turned tilted her head slightly. Spike was large enough that even she needed to look up in order to look him in the eye. Yet to her confusion, she found that there was no one there. 

“Spike, where are you?” she asked as she looked around. 

“Down here…” doing just so, Celestia tilted her head downwards, enough that she was now looking at the ground. And there she spotted him, looking back up at her stood Spike, currently at about two feet tall. The two simply stared at one another in silence for a short period of time, eventually though Celestia managed to say a single word.

“Discord?”

“Discord.” Spike said with a confirming nod. With a small sigh, Celestia used her magic to pick Spike up off the floor and on to her back. 

“You two didn’t start another prank war, did you?” she asked him.  

“No, not this time.” Said Spike “I actually asked him to do this.” Celestia arched a brow at this “Well, technically I asked him to make me small enough to move freely within the library. But as you can guess, he too some liberties.” He clarified. That answered the question about his size, but another was still left unanswered. 

“But why did you go to such a length to see me in the library?” She asked him.

“Because there’s something here that I need.” He said. 

“And what’s that?” 

“A book from Twilight’s archive.” The room fell silent, now it all made sense to her. Why Spike had himself shrunk, and why he waited until after the library was closed to ask to see her. “I know that after she passed, you collected all her books and put them in safe storage. There’s a book in that collection that I need to find, so I wanted to ask for your permission.” When Spike was finished, Celestia offered him a smile. 

“You are as entitled to those books as she was, Spike. You’ll never need my permission to see them.” She said as she nuzzled him. “Come, I’ll take you to them.” Turning her head to face forward, Celestia made her way deeper into the library. She didn’t stop until she reach the far back, just in front of two large book shelves. Casting her magic the two shelves began to glow, until the sound of a latch coming undone could be heard.

The two shelves then began to move, moving back, then opening towards the sides revealing another room. On the ceiling a chandelier turned on illuminating it; it was a small room, just big enough to house all of the books inside. “Here we are.” Said Celestia as she placed him on the floor. 

Spike scanned the room, each of the book within them were in pristine condition, not a speck of dust to be found. Given how old most of them were it was a surprise to see, Celestia did everything she could to care for them. He’d been a part in the creations of some of these books, so Spike needed could take them apart as a single glance. Eventually his eyes came to rest on one of them, a single book that rested on the top of the shelf. 

With the use of a step ladder Spike climbed up to the book and retrieved it. Once he was back on the ground Spike held out the book and read the title. “A Dracony Study, by Twilight Sparkle.” A slight stinging sensation filled Spikes eyes as he thought back to when this book was first written. But he fought them back, and with a deep breath he turned his attention back to Celestia. 

“Thank you.”




After Spike retrieved the book, he and Celestia retreated back into the main library. Taking a seat by one of the desks, Celestia watched as Spike skimmed through the pages. “This is the book Twilight started, after Claire was born correct?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” said Spike “Before Claire was born, no one even knew that a hybrid like her was even possible. So after she was born there were so many questions, what would she eat, how fast or slow would she age, and many more without answers. So Twilight set out to try to answer as many of them as she could.” Spike continued to flip through the pages, until he reach a blank one. Closing his eyes Spike let out a small sigh and close the book again. 

“But she never finished it.” Said Celestia, summing up Spikes story. 

“Yeah…” said Spike “I hadn’t thought about this book in years. But when Claire told us about her pregnancy it was all I could think about. I saw it as a chance, to maybe be able to get closer to finishing this…for her.” The stinging in Spikes eyes grew a little more, a single tear managing to escape and run down his cheek. 

With a napkin in her hoof, Celestia wiped the tear off of Spikes face. “A kind gesture, from her favorite assistant.” She told him, a smile on across her lips. 

“Thanks,” said Spike as he returned the smile “Problem is things are different than when Claire was a child. She’s not too open about giving away any private information like this. I’m just not sure how I could convince her to go through it this.” He admitted with a small sigh. Both went quiet for a moment, neither quite knowing how to answer it. 

“You could try asking,” at the sound of the voice, Celestia and Spike turned their heads. Standing not too far away from them stood the very mare they were speaking of, Claire. 

“Claire,” said Celestia “What brings you here?” she asked. 

“Couldn’t sleep,” she said with a shrug “Decided to go for a walk around the castle when I heard some voices.” Walking up to the table, Claire’s eyes were locked on to the book. “May I?” she asked motioning towards it. With a nod Spike handed the book over to her, and watched as she scanned through the pages. As she read through it, a small feeling of nostalgia swelled up inside of her. 

“I can still remember the days when I’d help her add to this book. Back then it never felt like an experiment, she always went out of her way to make it feel like a game. From having me run with her to see how much stamina I had, to letting me tear something up with my claws to test how sharp they were. There was never a time when I didn’t find myself giggling none stop. It was most likely some of the most fun I’d ever had as a child.”

“But as I got older we ended up spending less time on the book, because there weren’t as many questions that needed answers. And you were right, there were some that I just didn’t feel comfortable answering. I guess eventually Aunt Twilight shelved the book, hoping that she could get back to it someday.” Claire closed the book again and stared at the title, a small look of shame in her eyes. 

“Guess that day never came…” she added. 

“Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Said Spike “She never had any intention of making you do anything you weren’t comfortable with when she started the book. You helped her with a lot more than she could have imagined, and she was thankful for that.” Despite his current size Spike still managed to pull in his daughter for a comforting hug. 

“Thanks dad.” Said Claire as she returned the hug. “But still, this book meant a lot to her, and to me as well, there are a lot of good memories in these pages. She always used to tell me, ‘Once you start a book, you have to finish it.’ And this book is far from finished.” She said placing it back on the table. 

“But not for long.” She said with a stern expression “I’ll read thought it again, refresh my memory on what it’s missing. Then I’ll start filling in those blanks whenever I find the answers myself. I can already think of a few that I can add to it.” Closing her eyes Claire placed her claws on her stomach. There wasn’t any bump, not yet, but she knew that she would gain one in time, as it grew. 

“And as the months pass by, I know I’ll have more.”
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A month passed since Claire made her promise to finish Twilight’s book. Since that day she has done everything she could to remain true to her word. Her first step was to re-read the book from cover to cover, refreshing her memory of what it contained. With each page it felt like a small window to her past, allowing her to relive the moments she shared with her aunt. And this book contained year’s worth of them, up until when she was fourteen, and Mother Nature began making visits. 

“That’s when it all started to slow down.” After that Claire became uncomfortable with sharing personal information like that. But while Twilight understood completely, it also meant that the amount of new information she could add was limited. Claire tried to continue to help Twilight add to the book, but eventually she ran out of things she was comfortable sharing, and the book was soon shelved. The last entry was when Claire was seventeen.

Dracony strength test - #57

- By their late teen stage a dracony can greatly surpass that of a pony of equal or greater age. Though the male of the species can grow much larger than the female, it is still unknown if a mare dracony’s strength can surpass that of a stallion dracony. 

Claire let out a chuckle as she thought back to the day they figured that out. She beat Gold D in a hoof wrestling match, it was a month before he lived that down. By this time her brother T had also taken part in adding to the book. His own feat of strength involved accidentally knocking over a tree with a single kick. But the chuckle was short lived, now finished she knew very well that this was only a fraction of what the book could have contained. Even before she finished it she knew what she could have added to it. So the very moment she finished re-reading the book, she went to work. 

Though she wanted to finish this book in particular, Claire couldn’t bring herself to write on it, a part of her feeling that she had no right. So instead she chose to re-write it in a different book, adding any missing information along the way. It still felt embarrassing to write some of the information required, but she wasn’t going to back down. 

As Claire wrote in the book she heard a knock on the bedroom door. “Come in.” she said not looking up. The door opened to reveal Illusion, in his magical hold was some kind of dish, its contents blocked by a lid. 

“Room service.” He said with a smile as he walked up to the bed. This caught Claire’s attention and made her look up from the book.

“Finally,” she said placing her quill in the book before closing it “I’m starved.” With a chuckle Illusion placed the dish on the bed in front of Claire and removed the lid. The moment he did and saw what it was, Illusion felt himself cringe. 

“Um…what did you order exactly?” Illusion felt he needed to ask. Claire levitated one of the several pieces on the plate, a hungry look on her face. 

“Pickled sapphires dipped in batter, wrapped with hay, deep fried in vegetable oil, and coated in chocolate.” She informed him before taking a bite of the substance. The sight of it caused Illusion to let out a dry heave, quickly turning away so he couldn’t see it anymore. 

“I see the food cravings have begun…” he said. 

“What food cravings?” asked Claire as she took another bite of the deep fried sapphires. Gulping down the urge to heave yet again, Illusion turned back to Claire. 

“Nothing, so were you working on the book?” he asked hoping to diverge her attention from the food for a bit. 

“Yeah.” Claire said with a nod “I finished reading it over not too long ago, now I’m re-writing it so I can add in to some of the blanks in between.” Climbing on to the bed with Claire, Illusion looked down on the book. 

“During the beginning of a female draconies menstrual cycle she-“Illusion’s words were cut short when a pillow was shoved in his face.

“Don’t read it out loud!” Claire said, her face blushed, trying to push Illusion off of the bed. Illusion could only chuckle as Claire rolled him over to the edge of the bed, allowing himself to fall over. 

“Ah come on,” said Illusion as he rested his chin on the side of the bed “We’ve been together for decades, and we’ll be together for several more. Is it so wrong for me to know more about your species?” looking over to him, Claire saw Illusion giving her a puppy dog eyes look…literally. Even after all these years Claire could never resist those eyes for long. 

“Alright…” she said looking back over to the book. With a smile Illusion climbed back on to the bed and laid next to Claire. “But you crack on joke and I’m force feeding you this.” Said Claire as she held up one of the sapphires on her plate only inches away from Illusions nose. Just being this close to the substance was enough to make Illusion feel his cholesterol rise. 

“Understood.” He said, slowly moving his head back to prevent the deep fried sapphire from touching him.




In another part of the castle, Nidra was out and about. Roaming the halls she searched for something to occupy her boredom. The life of a princess wasn’t always thrilling, so outside of her duties Nidra would sometimes have a hard time finding something to do. “I supposed I could disguise myself and go out into town.” She thought to herself. If anything it would be more entertaining than remaining inside of the castle. 

“Perhaps T could accompany me on some shopping?” she thought again, a small smile appearing across her lips. Though most males grimaced at the thought of going on a shopping trip with a mare, she knew T was different. Not once did he ever seem to mind going on one, maybe he was just good at hiding it, but he always found a way to make it enjoyable. 

“Princess Nirda.” The call of her name snapped Nidra out of her thoughts. Looking over she saw one of the guards standing a few feet away from her. 

“Yes?” she asked turning towards him. 

“There is a mare at the gate who requests entrance to the castle, states that she knows you.” Nirda’s eyes opened slightly as she instantly thought of who that mare might be. But first she needed some form of conformation.

“And what did she look like?” she asked the guard. For a moment the guard seemed perplexed about how he would explain it, but finally he came out with it.

“Well, strangely enough she was a pale bat po-“ the guards sentence was cut short by a bright flash of light. It took some time, but eventually the spots blocking his vision faded away, and he was able to see that Nidra was no longer there.




Outside of the castles gates, right in front of two guards blocking her way, was the very pony mentioned. As the guard’s description said, she did in fact appear to be a bat pony with a pale pink coat. Both her mane and tail were a forest green with a lighter green highlight running through them. And finally there was her cutie mark, which was that of a pool of water that had several drops of water falling into it. 

Patiently she stood in front of the gate, her smile never fading. Aside from the guards asking her to wait they had not given her much attention, but she didn’t seem to mind. She seemed to be plenty content enjoying the company of a small canary that stood on her outstretched hoof. Oddly enough she seemed to be having a conversation with it.  

“Oh I haven’t seen the garden here, are they as lovely as I’ve heard?” she asked the small bird. It replied the only way a bird could, with several chirps that no other pony could understand. However this pony seemed to know exactly what the bird was saying as her mouth opened in awe. “Is it really?” she asked, the bird nodded its head “Oh I hope I can see it,” she said looking up in wonder. Again the bird began to chirp away at the pony. 

“I would love to see your family then.” She said before the bird took off, waving as it made its way over the castle. As she looked away one of the guards looked over to the one beside him, though he only offered a small shrug as response. When the bird vanished from her sight the mare turned her attention back to the guards. Fortunately it seemed as though her wait was finally coming to an end. 

There was a flash of light behind the two guards, a moment later a figure appeared behind them. This figure turned out to be Nidra, who quickly inspected the pony standing in wait “Oasis, it is you!” she said in glee, effectively scaring the guards.

“Aunt Nidra!” Oasis said with equal parts of joy. It was in that moment that both guards eyes opened wide, both making a face that clearly read ‘oh buck…’. Pushing past the guards, Nidra trotted up to Oasis and pulled her niece in for a hug. “It’s so good to see you again.” Said Oasis as she returned the hug. 

“Likewise,” said Nirda as she released Oasis “What brings you all the way out to Canterlot?” she asked.

“I got a letter from aunt Claire a few days ago,” said Oasis as her excitement began to rise “Tell me, is it true?” she asked. Nidra knew instantly what Oasis was talking about, without saying a word she gave a small nod. 

“Oh that’s just wonderful.” Said Oasis as she clapped her hooves. “I just know she’ll be a great mother, she was always a perfect foal sitter when I was younger.” She said. Instantly Nidra frowned, though clearly it was fake. 

“Oh really?” she said with an arched brow “Well, that’s good to hear.” She said turning her head away from Oasis as she crossed her forelegs. Oasis let out a small giggle at her aunt’s antics, quickly pulling her in for another hug. 

“Oh but nopony could compare to you.” She said. 

“That’s better.” Said Nidra as she failed to hide the smirk that was forming on her mouth. “Well then, let’s not waste out time out here, I take it you want to congratulate her?” she asked to which Oasis nodded. “Come, I’ll take you to her.” She said as she led Oasis into the castle, seemingly ignoring the guards. 

Once they were sure that Nidra was out of range of them, the two guards let out a small sigh of relief. 




Once inside of the castle, Nidra and Oasis began to make their way to Claire’s room. “So how are things in the cottage?” asked Nidra. When her grandmother Fluttershy passed she made sure to have something to give to her family, even if it was one thing. In the will it was stated that Oasis was given Fluttershy’s home, and by extension the title of caretaker of any and all animals in need. A title that Oasis was all glad to accept. 

“Things are great, I actually had the pleasure of seeing a phoenix egg hatch.” Said Oasis “Though I nearly lost my eyebrows when the little newborn burped fire.” She added with a small giggle. “That aside I’m just preparing for the winter, making sure all the animals have a nice warm place to hibernate.” 

“Sounds like you really have everything under control.” Said Nidra. 

“Well I was trained by the best.” Oasis said with a smile. It wasn’t long after that the two finally reached their destination. Nirda was the first to walk up to the door, giving it three consecutive knocks. 

“Come in!” the heard from the other side of the door. Using her magic Nidra turned the nob and opened it, then took a step aside. Looking over she quietly motioned for Oasis to go in first, knowing full well she wanted her visit to be a surprise. Oasis obliged and walked in, instantly noticing the Claire wasn’t looking up, rather her attention on something she was writing. Curious, Oasis made her way to the side of the bed, as did Nirda. 

Both stood in silence as the read what Claire was writing, but ultimately it was Nidra to break the silence “Really, you’re sensitive there?” her face becoming flushed for the second time today, Claire slammed the book shut. 

“Haven’t you heard of knocking!?” she yelled at Nirda.

“I did knock…” said Nirda.

“Hi Aunt Claire.” Having looked up higher to see Nidra, Claire hadn’t noticed that there was somepony else around. Looking down slightly she was able to see who else had entered the room with Nidra, and a smile appeared on her face. 

“Oasis!” Claire greeted as she hugged her “I take it you got my letter?” she asked. 

“Oh I did, and I was happy to find out.” Said Oasis. 

“So was I.” said Claire “Well, first I was surprised, then nervous, but then I was happy.” She clarified. “Also Illusion fainted.” She added right after, causing all of them to giggle slightly. 

“Where is he anyway?” asked Nidra. 

“HUUUURRRGGG!” they heard coming from the bathroom. Nidra and Oasis looked down at Claire who had a small smirk on her face.

“I think it must have been something he ate.” She said with a small chuckle. Pushing her book aside, Claire climbed off of bed. “Well since you’re here Oasis, how about we have some tea in the dining room and catch up?” suggested Claire. 

“Oh that sounds lovely, but…” Oasis trailed off as she rubbed her hoof “Well, I was wondering, could we maybe have tea in the garden I’ve heard about?” she heard of the garden from her father before, and ever from Claire and Nidra in their letters. But as amazing as she heard it was, she never once saw it herself. 

“Actually that sounds like a great idea.” Claire agreed “Come to think of it you’ve never seen the garden have you?” she recalled. 

“To see something, one must visit more often.” Nidra teased as she lightly gabbed her elbow to Oasis side. 

“Sorry, I promise I’ll visit more come winter though.” Said Oasis. 

“Relax, I’m just kidding.” Nidra said with a giggle. With that the three mares made their way out of the room.




It didn’t take them very long to make themselves a pot of tea, and just as Oasis suggested, they made their way towards the castle garden. Oasis could feel herself growing more and more excited as they drew closer. She had heard that flowers from all over the world grew in this garden, and they all mixed together to form a rainbow of colors. Just like her mother, Oasis loved to grow flowers as well, but there were only so many she could grow. 

Soon they reached the front doors of the garden, both Claire and Nidra standing between them and Oasis. “Ready?” they asked already seeing the look on her face, it was clear that they didn’t have to wait for an answer. Using their magic both used it to open one of the two doors, allowing the outside light to shine through. 

Oasis jaw dropped at what she saw, her eyes opened wide at the utter amazement. She’d seen many gardens before, but this one was without a doubt the greatest she’d ever seen. Both Claire and Nidra watched as she slowly walked in to this garden of paradise. 

The three took their time as they walked through the garden, allowing Oasis to take in all the sights it had to offer. Soon they reached the gazebo in the center of the garden where the three set up. Each taking a seat around the table with a freshly poured cup of tea in front of them, the three mares enjoyed themselves as they spoke with one another. All catching up on recent events, or just having fun with some random gossip, it has been a while since Oasis remember having fun with her aunts.

“So Aunt Claire, do you have a belly bump yet?” asked Oasis. Claire grimaced slightly at the thought as she placed a claw on her stomach. 

“No, not yet,” she sighed “But I’m dreading the wait for it to happen. I try hard to keep my figure, now I’m going to get fat…” she groaned. Both Nidra and Oasis couldn’t help but give a small chuckle at this.  

“I think it’ll all be worth it when your foal is finally born.” Said Oasis. 

“Yeah, maybe.” Said Claire as she looked down at her stomach, still no sign of growth to be found, yet. “Still though, it’s going to be a pain to work off the extra weight after that.” She said with a sigh. “But I guess I have a long wait before I can start thinking about that.” She shrugged as she reached out for her tea. 

“So, any changes from the pregnancy?” asked Nidra “Other than your very bizarre food cravings?” she added as she thought back to the plate of food she saw back in Claire’s room. 

“Nothing yet, though the longer they take the happen the better I say.” Said Claire as she took a sip of her tea. “I am not looking forward to the mood swings.” She added. 

“Oh yes.” Said Nidra “They’re bad enough on a regular mare, add claws and fangs and you’ve got yourself a dangerous combination.” Claire made no arguments there, she’d thought about it before. 

“I’m sure you can handle it, remember, you’re not alone in this.” Oasis said with assurance to Claire. Thought she appreciated the sentiment, there was a small part of Claire that wasn’t full convinced that it would be enough. Mood swings were enough to make even Annie, who was probably the nicest pony around act mean. So one could imagine what it could do to a half dragon hybrid. 

“Only time will tell.”

> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the days of Claire’s pregnancy passed by there was something that she had been trying to avoid, something she was sure all mares would try to avoid. But as much as she wanted to put it off Claire knew that this was important. So with a heavy heart Claire stood straight up in the middle of her room, taking in deep breaths as she prepared herself. “Okay I think I’m ready,” Claire said after one last exhale “Just get it over with before I lose my nerves!” she added. Standing a few feet away from Claire was Kilala who had a measuring tape wrapped around her hooves. 

“Was all that heavy breathing really necessary?” she asked “I’m just measuring your waistline.” The mention of her waistline caused Claire to flinch.  After weeks of pregnancy her stomach was finally showing signs of growth, and she felt that she needed to document it. But as much as she wanted to jot down this information in her book, it did not change the fact that this was difficult for her. As Kilala wrapped the measuring tape around her waist Clair made sure to stand perfectly still, keeping her breathing slow as to not alter the measurement. 

“Okay I got the number,” said Kilala. Claire let out a sigh as she felt the measuring tape slide off of her body. 

“So what’s the damage?” Claire asked as she sat down. Kilala still had the tape in her hands as she hid the number from Claire. 

“Okay in the first month your waistline was twenty-four-“

“Twenty-two!” Claire called out cutting Kilala’s sentence short. Kilala lowered her hoof as she stared blankly at Claire with an arched brow. She continued to stare at Claire silently for several seconds before Claire turned her head away. “Okay fine, Twenty-four.” She said as a small blush formed on her face. 

“As I was saying, you had a twenty-four inch waistline in the first month,” Kilala continued uninterrupted. “And after three months your waistline is now up to…twenty-nine,” Claire let out a gasp as she heard the number. 

“That can’t be right!” Claire said as she stared at Kilala in disbelief. 

“It’s what the tape says,” Kilala said with a shrug “Want me to measure again?” she asked.  

“Yes, one more time!” said Claire as she stood up again. Once again Kilala wrapped the measuring tape around Claire’s waist, only this time Claire didn’t closer her eyes. She looked over her shoulder as Kilala tightened the tape around her, carefully reaching the number.

“Oh, I was wrong.” Claire let out a small snort as a smile spread across her face.

“I knew it,” she said proudly “What’s it say now?”

“Thirty.” Claire’s head shot around again as she checked the tape herself. It was just as Kilala said, the end of the tape ending exactly at the thirty inch mark. Claire then turned her gaze towards Kilala as the two mares fell silent. 

“So…twenty-nine?” she asked with a sheepish smile. 

“Sounds right to me,” said Kilala as she unwrapped the measuring tape again and tossed it to the side. Now that she had the number Claire opened her book and wrote down the number “Just curious, but how come you didn’t ask Illusion to do this?” asked Kilala. Claire let out a small sigh as she finished writing in her book. 

“I don’t know,” she said as he lay back on the ground “I guess part of me is afraid of what he’d say if he knew how much I’ve grown,” with a claw on her stomach Claire began to move it slowly. As she traced around it she could feel the curve of her baby bump, feeling both a mixture of dread that it was going to get bigger and joy that there was a baby growing inside of her.

“I seriously doubt he’d crack some joke about it,” said Kilala. “And even if he does he’d never say it as an insult.” She added. 

“I know,” Claire said with a sigh “He’s been nothing but supportive sine I got pregnant. I think the hormones just have me a little paranoid.” Given how much of a fuss Claire had made out of a simple measuring Kilala agreed, but she chose to keep that to herself. 

“But paranoid or not, can’t help but wonder what he’ll think when I’m the size of a blimp…” said Claire. Kilala wasn’t sure how to answer, in truth different men would probably have different opinions about it. So weather or not Illusion would be crazy about it would only be seen when the time comes. 

“I guess time will tell.”




Several blocks away from the royal castle stood a rather large antique shop. Inside were various dated items that couldn’t be found anywhere else. The store was filled with several consumer types, from older ponies searching through antique furniture, to younger colts gawking at the overpriced copy of Super Stallion: Issue #1 on the display case. 

Though of all the shoppers around there was one that didn’t blend in with them. This shopper was the large and green dracony, T. “So what are we doing here again?” he asked the pony standing beside him. He was an earth pony with a dark coat with a gray mane and tail, his cutie mark that of three lumps of coal. The only color on the pony were his eyes which were a brilliant green. 

To anypony he introduced himself to he would be known as Coal. But anypony who was close to him would know that this was only a pseudo to who he really was. In reality this pony was Illusion using a disguise so that he could wonder through public without gaining any unneeded attention. “That’s why.” Said Coal as he pointed his hoof down towards the other end of the shop. 

There was a large wooden table there, on it lay several small objects, it wasn’t until they were close to it did T see that they were. “Tobacco pipes?” she asked with an arched brow “Since when do you smoke?” 

“I don’t,” said Coal as he searched through the selections. 

“Then why are you looking for something you won’t use?” Coal didn’t answer at first, his attention still on the pipes on the table. 

“I always sort of pictured myself being a father someday, even before Claire was actually ready to be a mother. And of all the things I’d do as a father, there’s one that I look forward to the most.” It was at this point that a large grin spread across Coals face as he turned to look at T. “Embarrassing my kids.” He said proudly. T couldn’t help but chuckle at the look on Coals face, he himself had some embarrassing dad moments that may or may not have been intentional. 

“Okay but that still doesn’t explain the pipes.” 

“Presentation!” said Coal as he wrapped one foreleg around T’s shoulder and waved his fee hoof in the air. “Think of it this way, your daughter is upstairs getting ready for her date who’s arrived early. The mother leads the boy to the living room where he sees you waiting, sitting on a large chair next to a fireplace with a pipe in his mouth.” Releasing his hold of T’s shoulder, Coal looked directly at him. 

“Tell me something more intimidating than that.” He dared. T looked back at Coal for a brief silence before taking a few steps back. The first thing T did was open his extend his wings as far as he could, angling them slightly for an intimidating pose. He then spread his front legs, extending his claws and lowering his head so that he was eye level with Coal. Finally he raised his top lip slightly to give a better view of his fangs. And to add the cherry on the top of this display of intimidation T let out a small huff from his nose allowing a small puff of smoke to come out of his nostrils. 

Coal stared at T with wide eyes for several seconds “Touché,” he said finally as he applauded T’s display. “But since I’m not a fire breathing dracony, I have to use other means to intimidate.” He said. 

“Isn’t being a prince enough?” asked T.

“Too easy,” said Coal “If I’m gonna scare some innocent teenager I want it to be challenging. Oh how about this one?” Coal said as he grabbed one of the pipes. It was a rather large one, close to the size of his head. T looked at the oversized pipe that Coal held in his hooves and couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. 

“I think a pipe like that would have the opposite effect on a colt.” He said. Coal arched a brow at T before looking down at the pipe again. It took several seconds but eventually it his him.

“Oh…” he said as he placed the pipe back down. He continued to scan through the various pipes on the table, they all looked good but none seemed to match his expectations. He was almost at the end of the display and ready to give up on his search, but then he found it. Coals jaw dropped as his eyes rested on it, he was unable to find words as he marveled it, except for one.

“Perfect…” he said in awe as he held up the pipe with both hooves as though the gods themselves had bestowed it to him. The stem was black in color, a forest pattern carved into it, but this wasn’t what made it perfect. No it was what the forest pattern lead to, a large brown stummel carved in a way to appear as the head of a timberwolf. Not only was the design amazing but it was also created in such a way that smoke could come out of the timberwolfe’s mouth.

Coal wasted no time and immediately brought the pipe to the store owner so that he could purchase it. With his new pipe now in his saddle bag both he and T made their way out of the shop. “You never told me,” said T as they walked up to the door “What are you gonna do if it’s a boy?” he asked. The two stopped walking for a moment and stared at one another. After a few seconds the two smirked, and at the same time said:

“Embarrassing baby photos,” laughing together after doing so.




After making his purchase Illusion made his way back to the castle, dropping his disguise as soon as he was inside. Already at the door to their room Illusion couldn’t wait to show Claire the pipe he had bought. As soon as he entered the room he spotted Claire sitting on her working table, working on a new piece of jewelry. “I’m back,” he called out catching Claire’s attention. 

“Hey Lulu,” she said turning away from her project “What’s in the bag?” she asked. 

“Take a look,” said Illusion as he levitated the bag towards. With the bag in her claws Claire opened it to see its contents. She arched a brow for a moment before letting out a light laugh.

“You actually bought it?” she asked as she pulled out the pipe. 

“Hey yeah I did,” said Illusion “And look at that thing, it’s amazing!” 

“Can’t argue with you there.” Said Claire as she tossed the pipe back at Illusion. 

“So what’d you do today?” he asked as he put the pipe away for safe keeping. Claire looked away for a moment as a small blush formed on her cheeks. 

“I uh…measured my stomach today.” She said as she tapped her hooves together. Illusion’s ear perked up when he heard this.

“Really?” he asked as he turned around with a smile on his face. “How much has it grown?” he asked. 

“Nope, not going to say,” said Claire as she folded her forelegs. 

“Still a little self-conscious about the weight gain?” he asked, Claire nodding her head slightly in agreement. “You know there’s nothing wrong with that, right?” he added.

“You say that now, but let’s see what you think when I’m the size of a hot air balloon.” Said Claire.

“You kidding, I’m looking forward to it!” said Illusion. Claire blinked and looked towards Illusion with disbelief. 

“Really?”

“Of course,” said Illusion “Even before you got pregnant I had this little dream. We’d be lying in bed, you on your side because of your stomach. And I’d be sleeping comfortably with my head on your belly, feeling the baby kicking occasionally.” As Illusion voice his dream there was a warm smile that spread across his face. One that grew warmer with the realization that this dream would come true soon enough.

“Oh so I’m a living pillow, huh?” said Claire as she hid the smile on her face.

“The best kind of pillow!” said Illusion as he wrapped his arms around Claire’s waist, tickling her in the process.

“Ah!” she gasped as she felt herself being tickled “No fair, I wasn’t ready!” she said as she tried to control her laughter. 

“I’ll stop if you tell me the number!” Illusion said with a chuckle. Claire tried to wiggle her way out of Illusions hold but found it to be a fruitless effort. 

“N-never!” she called out unable to contain her laughter any longer. As the tickling continued with Claire not giving in, Illusion decided to show some mercy. 

“Heh, you never were an easy egg to crack,” he said as he lay next to Claire.

“You’re the one who likes a good challenge,” Claire chuckled as she nuzzled Illusion. The two stayed on the floor wrapped around each other for several minutes of comforting silence. Even after all these years of being together neither had grown tired of this, and likely never would. 

“Listen, I just want to make sure you know that it doesn’t matter to me if you gain weight.” Said Illusion “I love you for you.” He said looking her in the eyes. Claire looked back at Illusion and smiled, leaning in closer she gave him a kiss on the forehead. 

“I know Lulu, I know…” she said softly as she lay her head on his shoulder. 

“So what do you say, will you tell me the number?” he asked. Claire let out a small chuckle as she raised her head. Using her claws to hold on to his chin, Claire made sure he was looking her in the eyes. And with a sweet voice she said:

“Not on your life.”

> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.” 
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few weeks passed since the incident involving Claire building a nest in her sleep; since that night, thankfully, nothing abnormal has happened. It was a relief to Illusion, the thought that what happened that night might have been a one-time event. But even with that there was still the small voice in the back of his head that feared that it would occur again. Luckily he wouldn’t have to worry about it happening when he wasn’t around. And this was all thanks to the teams that he had asked of from his aunt and mother. 

Just as he had instructed, two teams, one for day and night respectably did as they were asked of. They kept a close eye on Claire, be it in the castle or out in the streets, insuring that nothing would happen to her. Illusion still regretted going behind Claire’s back in this regard, he knew from her past that she wasn’t too fond of those around her being overprotective. But at least now he can rest easier and focus on his work when he knows someone is there to protect her if the need be.

He promised himself that he would tell her after the foal was born, but for now he would just prefer that she stay in the dark about it. This was she can live her life normally without having to know that she’s being followed at all hours of the day. But at least today he wouldn’t have to leave it to the teams, and he could spend it with her.

After learning of Claire’s pregnancy Illusion found a desire to be near her a much as possible. Not just for the part of him that wants to protect her, but for the part of him who wants to be by her side every step of the way. To be able to see her as she develops, and so see their child grow inside her with each passing day. And more often than not, spending the day with her will result in some hilarities. 

“Need help with that?” Illusion had heard that some mares will often take up a hobby during their pregnancy. But of all the things Illusion could picture Claire ever kicking up, knitting would have to be last on the list. While Claire may be skilled in many things, it would seem that working a yarn might be her match. Through a series of trial and error, Illusion watched as Claire somehow managed to tangle herself in a web of yarn. 

“H-hold on, I think I’ve got it” Claire said as she struggled to untangle the yarn from around her body. 

“Maybe you should have tried using your magic rather than your claws?” while Claire’s claws gave her an edge in terms of dexterity, they weren’t quite constructed for delicate work. 

“It’s more personal if made by hoof- er-claws.” Claire said as she continued in vein to free herself. Eventually she let out a defeated sigh and put her arms down. “Okay, screw it.” She said as her horn began to glow, and before Illusion could question what she was going to do Claire opened her mouth and let out a short breath of fire. The yarn quickly caught blaze and burned around her she was finally free from her prison. 

“And that is why the room is fireproof.” Illusion said with a chuckle. Claire simple stuck her tongue out playfully as she reached for a new ball of yarn. With a sigh she picked up her knitting sticks and tried a new once again. 

“But seriously Claire, why the sudden interest in knitting?” Claire fell silent as she halted her knitting. Illusion stared at Claire as she looked down at her hooves. Her mood which had seemed bright until now suddenly went south. Claire closed her eyes and slowly lowered her sticks to the floor, letting out a sigh she looked up towards the ceiling.

“You know, when I was still a foal my parents took a lot of pictures of me. In a lot of them you can see me wearing little socks, a hat, even chewing on a blanket.” She said letting out a small laugh at the last part. “All of them she made with her own hooves, not once did she ever buy something from a clothing store. She used to tell me, ‘You can find the best crafters, request only the highest of quality materials, and pay top bit. But no matter what there is one thing they will never be able to sew, knit, or mold into their creations.” Claire paused for a moment, taking a moment to fight back what Illusion could only assume was a lump in her throat. 

“A mothers love…”

The room fell silent again, Illusion frozen in place as he tried to figure out what to say. But what could he say to something like that, what could he contribute? All he could do was lay there in silence as he watched Claire try again. “Mom tried to teach me how to sew, a few time actually, but I could never really pick it up.” Said Claire “I’m not looking to make the best quilt this side of Equestria, but I just want to make something, something I can be proud of. Something I can look back on and know in my heart that it’s one of a kind.” 

Illusion bit his bottom lip, he could understand Claire’s desires, but there was nothing he could do to help her. He’d never really tried to make anything that wasn’t just created with magic, but there was only one other pony her knew who could. “You know what, keep going at it, I know you’ll get it.” Said Illusion as he got up from the ground. “I’m going to get you some more yarn, okay?” 

“Okay.” Said Claire, her focus fully on to the sticks between her claws. Without another word Illusion left the room, a smile spread across his lips.




“Oh Tartarus!” Claire hissed, again her attempt to knit something she could be proud of resulted in a botched anomaly. By now she had given up on trying to save and reuse the yarn, instead she tossed it over onto the pile with the others. Looking over to her basket Claire saw that there was one ball remaining. And with Illusion yet to return with more she would have to make do with that one until he did. 

“Alright, this time for sure!” she said as she held the final ball of yarn in her hooves. Setting it down close to her she found the end piece of the string and began to work it around her knitting sticks. With unyielding focus Claire continued to loop the string, praying that it retain the shape she had pictured in her mind. With each twist and twirl she could feel her hopes rising, feeling that finally all the trial and error was going to be worth it. 

But that didn’t last long, before she knew it the loops and knots were coming undone, and try as she might she just couldn’t fix it. But she wasn’t going to give up, she wanted to do this, she had to do this. Eventually her determination turned into anger as she let out an annoyed huff, tossing the yarn to the ground. Putting her stick down Claire let out a sigh as she ran her hooves through her mane. She knew trying to teach herself to knit would be challenging, but with everything she’d tried she had expected to make at least some progress. 

Instead she was no better than when she first tried this, “But what else can I do, if I don’t practice I won’t get better…” laying her head on a pillow Claire let out a small sigh, she couldn’t continue practicing until Illusion returned with more yarn. As she waited she wondered just what she would choose to be the first piece of clothing she’d make for her child. Sock were the first thing her mother made for her, but she was told her claws tore through them. She didn’t want to risk it being destroyed, so it had to be something that would last for years, a scarf perhaps. 

“Yeah, that sound good,” she could picture it now, she’d make it big so it can be wrapped around her child to keep it warm. As he or she grows older the scar will never be outgrown, still usable even when her child is fully grown. “It’ll be perfect,” with her mind settled all that was left was to wait for Illusion to return with more yarn.

Knock knock knock

“Perfect timing,” Claire said as she raised her head form her pillow “It’s open Lu!” she called out. The knob to the door turned and it was quickly opened, however it wasn’t Illusion who stepped through. 

“Good evening, Claire,” standing at the door was Celestia, her usual warm smile spread across her face. 

“Oh, hello mother,” said Claire surprised to see Celestia enter her room. “What brings you here?” she asked. 

“Illusion tells me you’re having some difficulties,” she said as she stepped in closer. Soon Celestia noticed the large pile of ruined yarn on the floor. “And I see it hold true,” using her magic Celestia picked up the pile, pulling it towards her.

“Oh no, it’s actually my masterpiece,” said Claire “I call it, ‘belongs in trash’” Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle at the amount of sarcasm she heard in Claire’s voice. 

“I will admit, it isn’t the easiest of tasks, takes a while to learn.” She said.

“Wait, do you know how to knit?” asked Claire. 

“Among other things,” said Celestia “Believe me Claire, you don’t get to be as old as I without picking up a few hobbies.” Celestia’s horn began to glow brighter, as did the magic around the tangled yarn. Slowly but surely the string began to move, steadily unraveling itself with each passing second. Claire watched in total amazement as the disheveled tangle or yarn was returned to the original balls they were before she began.

“Whoa, you’ve got to teach me that.” Said Claire. Celesita smiled as she placed the balls of yarn into the basket. She then took a few steps closer to Claire, and knelled so that she was lying beside her. 

“I can teach you that and more, Claire,” said Celestia, her magic reaching for one of the ball of yarn, slowly moving it towards Claire. “If you’ll allow it.” Claire was taken back from the offer, looking down at the yarn as though it were some lie. 

“I truly think of you as my daughter, and I know that you see me as a mother. But I also know that you and I won’t have the same bond that you had with your real mother.” Said Celestia “And I don’t blame you, Rarity was a wonderful mother, and a dear friend.” Extending a wing Celestia wrapped it around Claire. “But I also know that she left us, you, too early. Before you could require her wisdom the most. I know I can replace her, but I want you to know that I am here for you, and I always will be.”

Claire looked up at Celestia, that smile, her smile, it was always so warming, so motherly. One that said she could always come to her with any problem. Again she looked down at the yarn in her hooves, as though she had been looking at them for the first time. With her magic she picked up her stick once again, and looked up. 

“Do you know how to knit a scarf?” with her eyes closed in glee, Celestia nodded, and from her long flowing mane she pulled out her own pair of knitting sticks. 

“I’m afraid I have no experience with claws,” she said as she looped another yarn to her sticks. “But if you follow my lead, I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly.”




Time flew by as minutes turned into hours, but Claire hadn’t noticed. All she could see was what was held in her hooves. All she could feel was the pride in her chest for what she had finally managed to accomplish. She had tried so hard before only to be met with failure, and yet with the help of Celestia, she’d finally accomplished it. Finally it was complete, a long scarf made of blue and red yarn. And alternating zigzag pattern that melded perfectly with one another, it surly was something Claire could be proud of.

“You’ve done wonderfully,” said Celestia as she stared down at Claire’s master piece. “But I must admit, I think you made it too long,” she said with a chuckle. Claire laughed as well as she extended the scarf. 

“Yeah you’re probably right,” said Claire “Even if the foal grows up I doubt it’ll be able to grow into this.” Using her magic Claire levitated the scarf off the ground, stretching it as far as it would allow. “But I think there is somepony who this would be perfect for.” To Celestia’s surprise the scarf began to move, and gently it tied itself around her neck. She looked down at it in silence before looking over to Claire. This time it was her turn to give out the warm, loving smile. 

“But…I thought.” 

“I thought about what you said,” said Claire “You’re right, you’re not her, but that doesn’t make you any less of a mother to me. And maybe the bond you and I have won’t be the same as I had with her. But in the end, that doesn’t mean that it won’t have the same value to me.” As Celestia listened, a single tear streamed down her cheek.  

“You are my mother, and as a daughter I wanted to give you something that would prove it. And soon, you’ll get to hold your grandfoal in your arms.” She couldn’t help herself any longer, with more joy than before Celestia wrapped her arm around Claire and pulled her in for hug. Truly she loved this mare, she loved her daughter.

> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shape, size, height, and several other features change as a pony ages; that much is a given. As such many ponies place their self-worth on their own appearance. And will go do whatever necessary to make themselves appealing to the eyes of others. However there are a small few who do not have this option, and unfortunately to her, Claire was one of them. Again she found herself staring at the mirror, again noticing the one part of her body that has and will continue to grow in the coming months. “You’re just going to keep on growing aren’t ya?” Claire said to the mirror “I’ve literally spend decades keeping my figure, and yet somehow you managed to reverse that in a few months.” By this point Claire began to pace back and forth, her eyes never straying from her reflections.

“Oh but you’re fine with that am I right, sitting there all snug and comfortable.” Claire stopped for a moment and tapped her chin “But then again I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable, I mean, I do want you to grow healthy and all. But I know exactly how this is gonna end up, you’ll come out of me and leave the baby fat behind. It’s not easy for me to lose weight you know, it took mom two years to lose hers after she had T. Which means I might have to spend years-“

“Who are you talking too?” in a moment of surprise Claire let out a high pitched ‘eep’, followed by an impressive jump. One which launched her to the ceiling, her claws imbedding into it and preventing her fall. This feat which was adorable, impressive, and hilarious all at once however would never leave the room after that day. With the initial shock finally gone Claire looked down-or up rather- to see who had spooked her. 

“Lu I hate it when you sneak up on me!” she said. Both she and Illusion stared at one another for a moment, the latter of whose muzzle was scrunched in a battle of willpower not to chuckle. It was only when Claire tried to pry one of her claws from the marble ceiling did Claire finally break the silence. “Um…I’m stuck.” She said with a light blush. 

“Not hard to sneak up on someone who’s talking to herself.” Using his magic Illusion slowly pulled Claire free, lowering her upright onto the floor. 

“I wasn’t talking to myself…” she deadpanned as she turned towards the mirror again. “I was talking to the baby.” Illusion looked at her for a moment with an arched brow “Mothers talk to their foals while they’re in their stomach all the time, it’s not unusually.” She defended.

“Talk, yes, though yours sounded like an interrogation.” Claire stuck out her tongue at Illusion through her reflection, pointing her nose into the air.

“My way’s more fun.” From behind Illusion let out a small chuckle, gently wrapping his arms around Claire’s stomach. 

“Fair enough, so what were my two favorite ponies talking about?” he asked resting his chin on Clair’s shoulder. Claire let out a small sigh as she leaned back on to Illusion’s hold, rubbing her rounded belly for a few seconds. 

“Just about how much its grown, along with me.” Though the sight of her size increase wasn’t the highlight of her days, Claire couldn’t help but smile. In the months since its conception, her foal had grown large and healthy. And over five months into the pregnancy, the time when she’d finally see it with her own eyes was drawing near. 

“It…” Claire said under her voice.

“What was that?”

“Have you ever noticed how we refer to the foal? It’s usually, the baby, the foal, or ‘it’. Maybe it’s just me, but it feels a little…impersonal?” Illusion gave a light shrug, he could see what Claire meant, wanting to have a better way to refer to their unborn foal. Something that could help form a better connection between them, even if the foal couldn’t hear it said. 

“But we agree not to give it a name until after it was born.” 

“True, but, what about the gender?” she asked “This far into the pregnancy there’s a chance the doctors can identify it, don’t you think?” Illusion thought this over for a moment, up until now any checkups on the growth on the foal was to insure it was healthy. Not once had they tried to figure out the gender. Even Clair’s willingness to have an appointment showed just how much she wanted this. But there was a slight problem.

“Thing is…I kind of want to be surprised.” Said Illusion “Sure maybe it’d make things easier, give us a better way to prepare for the birth. But I’ve always had this idea, you and I would be in the hospital, you having just given birth. And then the doctor would hold out our foal, and we’d see it for the first time. We’d get to see the hair color, fur, race, and even the gender; and we’d know that this was something we brought into this world, together. I just feel that knowing any of that ahead of the time would steal from the magic of that day.” Claire looked up at Illusion and placed a hoof on his face, chuckling lightly.

“You can be so cheesy sometimes,” she said giving him a kiss “No wonder I fell for you.” But still there was a problem to be solved, one wanted to find out the gender, while the other wanted to be surprised. “So what do we do?” it was a tedious situation, but not one without an answer, and fortunately Illusion had one in mind.

“We can do what my parents did. When mom was pregnant she couldn’t wait to find out my gender, but dad wanted to find out when I was born. Eventually they just decided to settle for the best of both worlds. After they went to the hospital dad left the room while mom found out the gender, then she just kept it a secret until I was born. Seemed to work fine for them.” It seemed like a grounded plan. But then Claire threw a wrench into it:

“But if I keep it a secret I won’t be able to use him or her, and we’d be right back to where we are now.” Claire let out a small sigh “It’s not like not knowing the gender will hurt the foal, plus I’d prefer it if we were both on board. I guess it can wait for a few more months?” she shrugged. Illusion let out a small sigh of relief, he was sure something like this would have blown out into a long discussion. But it seems he’ll get out guilt free this time.

“Besides, I’d hate to keep a secret like that from you.”

Or so he thought…

“I mean, sure you might be okay with it, but for me to know something so important and not tell you about it, it’d probably tear me up inside.” It may not have happened to Claire, but Illusion could already feel it. How long has gone by since he set up that team, a few month? And still Claire was none the wiser. Each day with nothing happening would convince him that she was fine, that what happened was a one-time event. But the fear that it wasn’t insured that the team had continued their job. He didn’t want to make the risk, even if he had to carry the guilt with him until the foal was born. 

“Besides, I doubt you’d be able to keep something so important a secret from me, right?” through loving eyes Claire looked up at him, a warm smile spread ear to ear. Tightening his hold on her, Illusion nuzzled her affectionately. 

“Of course…”




Though hers and Illusion’s moment was great, his royal duties sadly had to get in the way. Soon enough Illusion had to leave and attend to an afternoon meeting, leaving Claire to herself. Laying on her back Claire looked down on her stomach, many questions forming about the foal developing inside. “I hope you don’t come out like T, I could hear mom from the waiting room when she gave birth to him.” She said, cringing from the memory of her mother’s screams from giving birth. There was no telling how big the foal would grow, it wouldn’t just have dragon genes, but a piece of everything Illusion was made of as well, there was no telling how it would develop.

“Oh but I’ll love you anyway.” She said rubbing her belly, giggling lightly from the tickly sensation. This was until she heard a knock at the door “It’s open,” the nod turned soon after, and through the door stepped in one of the maids.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, I just need to change the bed sheet.” She said.

“No worries, go right ahead.” Said Claire as she rolled off the bed to allow the maid to do her job. 

“I see your pregnancy is coming along nicely,” said the maid as she worked on the bed. 

“It’s had its ups and downs, but overall it’s been a wonderful ride so far.” Said Claire. “Though I could have gone without the morning sickness.” She added with a chuckle. 

“Ah yes it can be a challenge, for my sister it was the mood swings. One moment she’d be a bright as the sun, then a second later she’ll be prepared to rip your mane off.” Said the maid. Claire thought of this for a moment, she’d have expected mood swings before, yet surprisingly they never came. She’d often wonder how she’d act, given her dragonic genes, there was no telling how fierce she could become.

“Oh but it’s not something to fear, her swings were very rare and even then they were brief.” The maid assured her. She watched as Claire smile rubbing her belly, the sight of a soon to be mother was always something that could bring a smile to ones face. Deciding not to press further the maid continued to work on the bed. With the sheets removed and new ones set in their place, she was prepared to leave.

But then she heard Claire gasp.

“Is everything alright?” she asked quickly turning around, Claire didn’t answer at first, simply staring at her stomach, both hooves placed on it. For a moment the maid contemplated calling for medical help, but then she saw Claire began to smile.

“It…it moved.” She gasped “I felt the foal kick!” to call it a squeal of joy would have been an understatement. But who could blame a mare for such a reaction after feeling their foal move for the first time. The let out a small breath, relieved that nothing wrong had happened, with a smile she took a few steps closer to Claire. During her moment of glee Claire had turned around, her back now turned to the maid.

“Oh yes they can become quite lively at times,” she said with a chuckle “Would it be alright if I felt it?” she asked. It was in that moment that something strange happened, all the joy, all the giggling coming from Claire, it all just seemed to stop. The maid just stood there for a moment in the silence, wondering what caused Claire to stop, she’d seemed so happy a few seconds ago. 

“P-princess?” she stammered, wondering if she might have offended in some way. She watched as Claire head rose, and slowly, it turned to look back at her. When Claire stopped turning her head the maid could only see the side of her face, a shadow cast over it. And her pupil was slit, locking its sight with the maid before her. 

“I-is everything okay?” the maid said taking a step back, a bead of sweat running down her face. Claire didn’t answer, all she did was slowly turn, standing on low as her claws extended. As the maid backed away Claire would only step forward, slowly, a light growl heard as she inched closer. The maid wasn’t sure what was going on, but she thought her best choice was to get out of the room as slowly as fast as she could. But then she bumped into something solid, daring a look she saw that her back was literally against a wall. And the door, in the one place she wished it wasn’t, on the other side of the room, with Claire standing between them.

> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Illusion may have taken up the responsibilities of court meetings in order to give his mother and aunt some time off from their duties. But that didn’t mean he enjoyed it, especially when most if not all his meetings were the same. An influential pony stepping in to make some request which would ultimately benefit himself in the long run. Though in rare occasions he’ll have to listen to somepony with a request that was downright odd.

And this, was one of those times. 

“So let me see if I understand you correctly here Mr…Fabulous Attire, was it?” 

“Attiré.” the sweater vest wearing stallion standing before him corrected. Illusion stared at him for a few seconds with an unamused look and took in a deep breath. 

“Mr. Attiré,” Illusion emphasized “You’re request is to pass a law making it illegal in Canterlot to not wear clothing?” the stallion nodded his head in confirmation, ignoring any whispers he may have heard from others around the court. And although Illusion was sure he’d regret this, it was his duty to ask: “Why?” 

Attiré scoffed, finding it impossible that such a question needed to be asked. “Are you to say you haven’t noticed the indecency that has gone unchallenged for hundreds of years? Ponies, griffins, and any other species just waltzing around with the nerve not to cover up, simply barbaric!” he huffed turning his head away. Illusion let out a small sigh, he wasn’t sure how much longer this would go on. 

“Anything, I would prefer anything else if it meant I could get out of this.” Illusion thought to himself. But he would come to retract that statement when the court doors suddenly slammed open. All eyes turned towards the door in surprise, but none more so than Illusion, it wasn’t just a guard standing there, it was one of the guards he had appointed to watch over Claire. 

“Your highness, you must come with me immediately.” He didn’t have to be told twice, quickly he stepped down from his seat and ran across the room towards the door. But just before he could make his way out and into the halls. 

“Pardon me your highness but I am not done!” Attiré announced “I believe this is a serious issue and I will not be ignored until this matter is resolved!” Illusion stopped in his tracks and let out an annoyed grunt. Turning around her took a few steps back into the courtroom and stood tall. 

“All those in favor?” he called out to those inside the court, and immediately he was met by a collective ‘Nay’ from everyone inside. “Request denied, deal with it, court closed until further notice.” Without giving him a chance to reply, Illusion ran out the doors, closing them behind him to prevent any attempt to call after him. As both he and the guard ran down the halls he asked for information on what had happened. 

“It started a few minutes ago, Claire was talking with one of the maids when she suddenly turned on her. We managed to get between them but it only seemed to make Claire even more violent, currently the others are insuring that the maid stay say but none have tried to leave the room.” Just as he’d finished explaining the two of them finally arrived at the room. Even standing on the outside Illusion could already hear loud growls coming from behind the door. 

Illusion didn’t hesitate, quickly opening the door and stepping into the room so that he may see what was happening with his own eyes. The room was a mess, some scratch marks around the carpet and a few things knocked over. Over in on edge of the room he saw three of the guards standing in front of the maid he was told off, their eyes locked on the other side. Turning his head over, Illusion saw exactly what they were focused on. 

“Claire…” She was standing in a car corner, her claws extended, her fangs bare, and her eyes slit with furry. And as she growled aggressively Claire looked as though she would strike at even the slightest of movements. Slowly that movement became Illusion himself as he moved towards the center of the room, between Claire and the others. When he finally fell into her field of vision did Claire turn her head to notice him. At first she snarled loudly at the sudden presence of another body. But as her eyes locked on to him, she seemed to start calming down, her growl becoming less aggressive. 

“Hey Claire, it’s me, it’s Lu.” Said Illusion as he slowly moved towards her. “You remember who I am, right?” though she was looking at him, Claire didn’t say a word, nor did she react to his words. He wasn’t sure what was happening or what was Claire’s current state of mind, but this was something he could figure out later. Right now he had a room filled with ponies who were in danger of being close to her. Insuring that Claire was looking into his eyes, Illusion used his tail to point towards the door. The guards saw and moved accordingly, inching themselves and the maid towards the door so to not attract Claire’s attention. 

Sevetal tense minutes passed before they finally reached the exit, the click of the door closing being Illusions signal that he and Claire were now alone. With that problem solved, he now had to face the one in front of him. She still hadn’t said a word to him, yet now she seemed a little less cautious than before. 

“They’re gone now Claire, see?” said Illusion as he stepped to the side. Claire looked around the room, seeing no one else was around. Fortunately for Illusion this seemed to calm her further, enough for her to take a seat. Hoping for the best Illusion decided to draw closer to Claire, and while she saw him moving, she didn’t react other than watch him. Finally when Illusion was right beside her, Claire leaned in. She smelled him for a brief moment before smiling, and licking his cheek. Illusion gave a sigh of relief that she was no longer aggressive while Claire began nuzzling his chest. 

“Now I just need to figure out how to make you snap out of it.” Illusion said wrapping an arm around Clair. If anything he could try bringing Spike into this, chances are he might know something about what was going on. But for now, at least she seemed to be calm. 

“Illusion?” he blinked at the call of his name, because it came from Claire’s voice. Opening his eyes Illusion looked down to see Claire staring back up at him, her eyes back to normal.

“What are you doing here, didn’t you leave for court?” she asked with a raised brow. “Where the maid go and…” she started to look around, noticing the damage done to the room. She would question what happened or how, but then she noticed some details about it. There were claw marks all around, her own claw marks. Illusion could feel her starting to tremble slightly as a realization hit her. 

“Lu,” she said looking back with fearful eyes “What did I do?” 




It took a few minutes to calm Claire after that, her mind having rushed to the worse case scenario having shaken her quite a bit. Only after seeing the maid with her own eyes and extending a strong apology did Claire manage to bring herself to calm down once more. Now alone again, both she and Illusion lay on the bed, the latter stroking Claire’s main as she lay on her side with a worried look on her face. “Who knows what could have happened,” she said “If the guards hadn’t shown up I could have…” she trailed off, not wanting to think about it again.

“It wasn’t your fault Claire,” Illusion tried to assure her.

“That’s not the point, I’m dangerous!” she said covering her head. It was one thing for her to randomly be building nests, but this, this was one of her worse fears. Growing up she was always stronger than the other mares, her teeth and claws didn’t make that any easier. There were times when she would accidently hurt someone when she was just trying to play around. But now, a fully grown mare who can suddenly go feral without warning, who knows what she could do to someone. 

“Look Claire, I know you’re afraid of what can happen. But you have to remember that it’s not who you really are. The real you wouldn’t want to hurt anyone, you’re just being introduced to a part of you that for the most part hasn’t come up. But I know you can control your dragon side, and if you feel you can’t do it alone, then I’ll be here. And not just me, but also our friends, and our family, we’re all here for you.” Slowly Claire removed her hooves from over her head and she turned toward Illusion. 

“But what now, how do I keep myself from hurting someone if I go through a sudden change again?” she asked. Illusion would have tried to bring up the guards again, but he knew she would refuse. His best chance was to keep them as a secret, and find a better option. Something she would be happy with, and insure that she’d still be protected. 

“Well when I’m not around you can hang out with your brother, or Nidra, or even mother. Like they said, they’ll help if needed. And if anyone can handle a feral dracony, I’m pretty sure they can.” Claire leaned in and rested her head on Illusion’s chest. She’d hoped these moments were over with after doing so long without another incident. That the last time was nothing more than just a fluke. But now she knew that it wasn’t, and that there might be another incident when she least expects it. The unknown was scary, unable to prepare for it, unable to prevent it, it was all so too much to take in at once. 

“Can we think about this later?” she asked “Right now I just want to be held…” with furrowed brows Illusion gave Claire her wish, pulling her closer into his hold on her. They lay there in silence, feeling each other rising chests with every passing second. It was calming, everything Illusion wanted to give Claire right now. But during the silence, during the stillness, Illusion felt something. It was a bump, a gentle one but it happened every few seconds, and it seemed to be happening from his stomach. 

Curious Illusion looked down to see what it might be, but all he saw was Claire’s stomach pressed against his. At first he was going to dismiss it, but then he saw it, movement coming from exactly where he felt the bumps before. At first he simply watched with a stunned look on his face. “Claire…is that?” he asked in awe. Claire let out a small chuckle, grabbing Illusion’s hoof and placed it on her stomach. And as the gentle bumps continued Illusion couldn’t help but smile. Leaning in Illusion kissed Claire, wrapping his neck around her, the two giving off a sigh of comfort. 

“Hard to believe something so small can make such an impact.” She said, rubbing her belly with a warm smile. This foal, their foul growing inside of her, it was as though it knew just how to help, and acted on it. 

This pregnancy may have had its struggles and it will most likely have more in the future. But this moment reminded them just what that struggle was for. Reminded them of just why they chose to make this leap together. And in the future, when they are looking back at this moment, they will remember. That this was their first, the first moment they shared, all three of them as a family.

> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



After six months of pregnancy expect dangerous mood swings. Triggers are currently unknown and random, but the results are instant. A pregnant Dracony Mare will give in to her instincts to protect the infant inside of them. In this state it doesn’t matter who it is, or how much the Dracony may trust them, they’ll be seen as a threat instantly. 

Recommendation: 
•	Stay away from them, seclude yourself from family, friends, or anyone until the pregnancy is over or else-




“Okay that’s enough of that.” Claire had been updating her journal category her pregnancy. Though she may have been calmed after her recent episode, it didn’t last long. Eventually as she continued to think back on that moment Claire could only feel her worry rise once again. As it stood the only one she felt she could have stay beside her safely was her own brother. 

“Give it back, T!” she said reaching out for the book, but her brother’s superior height and her expanded belly weighing her down made it impossible to grab. T pushed Claire lightly, just enough to make her roll on her side. 

“Not if you’re going to slander yourself….” 

“But it’s true!” Claire exclaimed “I’ve known that maid for years, I had no reason not to trust her. But I still almost attacked her!” Claire placed her hooves over her head, curling into a ball. She couldn’t remember what happened, though part of her didn’t want to. She didn’t want to have to see the fear that must have been in that maid’s face.

“It’s perfectly natural, Claire.” T tried to convince “Do you have any idea how many times I cowered in fear of Annie when she was pregnant?” Slowly Claire removed her hooves from her head and looked at her brother with an arched brow. 

“Annie was a third your size and you’re built like an armored train. She couldn’t have hurt you if she hit you with a train.” Claire stood up and held out her hoof, extending out her claws. “But me….I’m not built like her, I’m not built like a pony, T.” eyes furrowing Claire placed her hoof down and let out a small sigh.

“When we were growing up we always had to be careful, always had to make sure we didn’t go out of control. For a while I was always afraid, afraid that someday I’d get too riled up, or play too rough, and end up doing something I’d come to regret forever. And that was when I had control over my actions.” Claire paused and placed her hooves on her stomach giving it a gentle rub. 

“But that’s not the case anymore, because now I could lose control at any moment without realizing it until after the fact. Lu might be able to calm me down when I do, but for how long, will I reach a point where I’ll attack my own husband too?” she looked to T, almost as if she was asking for an answer. But T had none to give. 

“The constant worrying, the total uncertainty of what will happen next. It all just hangs over my head to no end, and it terrifies me.” Seeing the tears well up in Claire’s eyes T pulled his sister closer and allowed to sniffle on his shoulder. 

“I know it’s hard, Claire, but I’m here for you, we all are.” Gently he pushed Claire back, looking his sister in the eyes. “No matter what happens we’re not going to let you fall, we’ll help you no matter what.” His words were true, he and everyone else in the family had resolved to be there for Claire when she needed them. But no matter how sincere his words may have been, Claire didn’t look convinced.

“And when you’re not here?” she asked “And don’t try to deny it. You, Nidra, Mother, Aunt Luna, and Illusion. You all don’t just have lives; you also have duties that can’t all be put on pause because of my raging hormones. There will always be a time when I’ll be alone, a time when you won’t be able to help me if things go out of control.” Tears streaming down her cheeks Claire tried to put up a brave face, but she couldn’t even fool herself with it. 

“Claire…” T was caught off guard, sure he came running the moment he heard of what happened. But he hadn’t found out until a few hours later, and even then it took him some time to arrive. So in the end he knew she was right, he couldn’t be there for her if he was stationed on the other side of Canterlot.

“But it’s not your fault, T, some things are just out of our control.” Without meeting any resistance Claire managed to retrieve her journal again. Pressing it against her chest she then laid on her side, her eyes half closed as she let out a sigh. “I chose to do this after all, so I have to accept any consequences.” T watched Claire as slowly, yet surely, her eyes were completely closed and she was sleeping peacefully. 

“Thank you, Nidra.” From a dark corner of the room a vapor trail seeped out, the mist slowly beginning to take form of a pony. Soon enough Nidra was back to her original form, looking on at T with saddened eyes. 

“What will you do now?” she tries not to eavesdrop, but this time she couldn’t stop herself from hearing the whole story. Though hard to know exactly what Claire was going through, she could still see and feel the turmoil in her face. And she could also see the desire in T’s, the desire to protect one’s family no matter what. 

“Can…can you watch her, make sure she stays sleeping peacefully?” Nidra smiled and hopped on the bed. 

“Of course,” she said placing a hoof on his cheek “Now go, do what you must. Claire has nothing to fear while I’m here.” With a sigh of relief T hugged Nidra tightly, the bat pony unable to hide the blush of her face at the embrace. 

“Thank you.” Finally releasing Nidra he slid off the bed and made his way towards the door. Quietly he closed it behind him and began to walk down the hall.




Illusion sat at his desk, a mountain of paperwork stacked beside him. Bills to be passed, and laws to be considered, some more ludicrous than the last. But still they needed to be attended to, it was his duty as prince after all. But while tonight was like any other, Illusion was finding it difficult to focus on the task towering before him. Illusion eventually let out a defeated sigh and leaned back on his seat. “No use…” he knew very well why he couldn’t focus, what it was that had stealing his attention. 

“Claire…” Right now his wife was being guarded in secret by some of the best the guard had to offer, and still Illusion couldn’t feel at ease. It wasn’t the fear of something happening that got to him, it was every painstaking minute that passed with nothing happening at all. The uncertainty of what could happen with every tick of the clock. Sure the fear and anxiety would vanish the moment he was in the same room with her once more. But that didn’t make the hours before that any easier. 

“Maybe I need to take some time off.” He wondered, both his aunt and mother did so when they’d gotten to a certain point in their pregnancy’s. Removed themselves from the stressful days of royal work with their respective husbands and tried to stay at ease until it was over. Illusion seemed to enjoy the idea the more he thought of it as well. If anything it’d give him more time to spend with Claire through the remaining months. But that didn’t change that the obvious, there was no doubt he couldn’t spend every minute with her. 

Claire was her own mare after all, and with her current fears she needed to be encouraged to not live in fear of herself. In order for that to happen she’d need to be able to feel free from herself, to be able to venture outside of the castle again like anypony else. And sometimes she may have to do it when he isn’t around. It would be then that he’d need to rely on his guards the most, and yet, he wasn’t sure. It wasn’t that he questioned their loyalty or abilities, rather he was worried about their connection to her. Claire didn’t know these guards; even Illusion hadn’t met them until he formed his team. 

There was no attachment between them, not like Illusion and Claire had with their family. Nothing to instantly fill them with ease at the moment of sight. Something Illusion was sure had helped calm Claire during her last outbreak. But what could he do about that, it’s not like he could just command them to form everlasting bonds with his wife. “Pretty sure that’d go against some code of ethics too…” Illusion tapped his chin, he felt like the solution was staring him in the face, but he couldn’t quite place his hoof on it. But before he could ponder this further, there was a knock at his door.

“Come in.” Illusion called out, the door opening soon after. To his surprise it was T who walked in, instantly causing Illusion to worry. Just as he sat up to voice his concern T raised a claw. 

“Easy, she’s fine. Nidra has her sleeping comfortably right now.” Illusion let out a sigh of relief and sat back down. “Seems she’s not the only one on edge.” Again Illusion let out a sigh, longer this time for emphasis. 

“What can I say that you haven’t already experienced.” He said “I still remember Annie’s death glare. And when a blind mare can stare you into submission then you know she’s hardcore.” T chuckled at the fond memory, he couldn’t deny that a pregnancy could very well turn any mare into an unstoppable machine of destruction and chaos. 

“I may have some idea, but no two pregnancies are alike, experiences will very. Especially when dealing with the first Dracony pregnancy.” It was one thing when it was a normal earth pony. By then they knew what to expect and were able to plan for it. In Claire’s case however they were dealing with the unknown. No one can predict what could happen next, or what changes Claire would go through for the remainder of her pregnancy. 

“I know this is hard, and it’s just going to get harder as it goes on. And that’s kind of why I’m here.” Illusion noticed a shift in T’s body, he was standing straight up, just like he was trained by the guard. “I want in on the team.” Illusion ran a cold chill, he’d kept the team a secret from everyone who wasn’t his aunt and mother, so how did T find out?

“Don’t try to play this off, I can read it on your face.” T said with a smirk.

“How?”

“Wasn’t too hard, at first it was talk of the princesses gathering their best soldiers. That followed by learning that a group of guards had managed to intervene in record time when Claire went feral. After that it was just a matter of adding two and two together.” With that the cat was out of the bag, and honestly, Illusion felt a little relived. 

“Okay, yes, I did have one formed.” He finally admitted “After Claire’s first bout of losing control of herself I…well I panicked. I was afraid of what could happen if it ever happened again, more specifically what could happen to her. I just…I just wanted to make sure she was safe when I wasn’t around.” T walked around Illusions and placed a reassuring claw on his shoulder. 

“Hey man, I get it.” He said “When I first found out Annie was pregnant I started following her around everywhere she went. Heck I used to sit outside the bathroom in case something happened.” To say T was overprotective during Annie’s pregnancy was an understatement. Always the one to protect her even when danger wasn’t present he had grown worse when he felt she was even more vulnerable than she was before. 

“You want what’s best for her, even if she might not want it herself. You want to be able to be there for her in some shape or form. And as her brother that’s also something I want more than anything. And that’s why I’m here, that’s why I’m asking you to let me be a part of the team. Wouldn’t you feel better if you had someone protecting her who was actually family?” Illusion stared at T in surprise, the answer to his dilemma had literally come knocking at his door. And he couldn’t have come at a better time. 

“It would probably be the best kind of protection I can give her. But if you are going to be a part of it you have to promise Claire will never know. It’s bad enough she doesn’t trust her own actions, but to find out I’d done something like this behind her back?” Illusion shuttered to think of it. 

“Alright, you’ve got a deal. I’ll place you under the night watch team, that sound good?” T quickly agreed with a nod of his head. If anything Claire wouldn’t question him of his work so long as it remained at night. Not that it mattered to him, so long as he was able to help Claire in some way, he was happy. 

“And listen,” Illusion said extending a hoof. “Thank you, it really makes me feel at ease.” T smirked and took Illusions hoof for a gratifying shake. 

“That’s what family’s for.” 

> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.”