everything we are, it just went away
with a slide of the tongue and a sour taste

From the moment she first felt the quickening of her womb, she has felt a deep shame that she cannot seem to shake.

She’s... pregnant?

She tries in vain to put it from her mind, but it is no use – the child inside of her is very active indeed, keeping her up all hours of the night with constant movements and the pains that come with pregnancy. It was one time... Ah, but one time, one time is all that it takes and she should have known better than to fall into her friend’s arms as if it’s where she belonged. Litotes has changed so much since their kingdom visit to Nerine, and it scares the girl; he was still friendly – and more passionate than she could have dreamed of – and honest, but there was a hardness behind those eyes, a hardness she didn’t like.

And yet, she had allowed him to fuck her as if it were her last day alive.
And then she had visited her family as if nothing had happened.

There is no denying her pregnancy, though it should be some months before the foal arrives – her swollen barrel sticks out like a sore thumb, and she can’t help but wonder if there is more than one foal in there. Just her luck. She doesn’t want to go to her mother about this – what would Cress think? – and going to her queens about something so trivial as pre-maternal panic seems petty to her. She can’t talk to her dear friend Kensa (she’d probably kick Dawn’s ass for sleeping with her ex) about it, and she’s... all alone. Not for the first time, she longs for Sunny’s gentle embrace and his infectious laughter. The Cove feels empty without the prince. Without her best friend.

It is long past midnight, but she is restless, and she doesn’t find herself beginning to tire until she crosses into the common grounds, hooves leaving heavy imprints in the light dusting of snow. The child – children? – has calmed in her womb, and she finally brings herself to a halt, her deep brown eyes scanning the Meadow anxiously. She had not meant to wonder so far, and she knows this isn’t a safe place... but she’s so tired.

Sniffling back tears, she slowly lowers herself to the ground, leaning around to bump her nose to her belly comfortingly. Even with this new life inside of her, she has never felt quite so alone.

Dawn

oh, it's gonna be a long night