[fleabittengray]

I'll gently rise and I'll softly call
Good night and joy be with you all

TW: Childbirth

The time had come, finally, for her twins to be born. She was excited to meet them. She was sure that she was having twins because her barrel had grown wider and wider until she was sure that she would pop! The heavily pregnant mare was all smiles as she hurried toward Pahaendeline. It was probably not the first place most mares would think for having their foals, but Foxglove was so sure that if she went there, then someone from the Afterlife would come to her and rejoice in her new babies with her. Maybe even Spike himself! They had only met once, at the twins' conception, but she had grown obsessed with him - at least for the time being, until another man entered her life for her to be obsessed over. She didn't know what to expect now, but she was hoping that Spike would show up. She wondered if he thought of her as much as she thought of him. She wanted to be able to tell her children stories about their father, but she really didn't know anything about him at all! So she could only hope that he would appear to her now, as she found a cozy (to her, anyway) spot amidst the cracked granite tombstones. She settled onto the soft grass beneath the morning mist with a grown, expecting the mist to be able to hide her for a bit of safety when the birthday process began.

When the contractions began, she pushed, legs kicking against the grass and her body beginning to sweat. It was a painful process, more so than when she was younger. She was not old, exactly, but she wasn't as young as she had once been. The pain ripped through her but she refused to scream, huffing and panting as she closed her eyes and let her mind wander. What would the children look like, she wondered? Would they resemble Spike at all? Or herself? Some mix of both of them? Grinning despite the pain, Foxglove spent the next several hours in labor until, with one last final push, the second foal was out. She groaned with relief, drenched in sweat, but despite the exhaustion she lifted her head to look at the two foals.

They were beautiful. Her eyes watered and her heart swelled with love for the two bundles of joy and she quickly reached to begin licking them clean of birthing fluids. She had a colt, who had been the first of the twins to leave her womb, and a filly. Giggling, feeling giddy with joy, the mare nudged the twins gently as she finished cleaning them. "Let's get you two up and feeding," she cooed to the newborns, carefully getting herself to her feet. She was sore and a mess of sweat and blood and birth, but she felt happy. She would go to Iosis Lake, perhaps, so that she could bathe and wouldn't have to worry about her new babies in the water. But for now, they must feed, and she would rest a bit before traveling there. She nickered sweetly to the twins. The girl perked her head up first, but the boy was the first one to attempt getting to his feet. His tiny little hooves scrabbled across the earth, making Foxglove laugh kindly as she watched, neighing softly to encourage them both to come to her and feed.


Tagged: Open
Words: 568
Characters: Foxglove (11 years), Parzival (newborn, first born), Aphrodite (newborn, second born)
Notes: Open to anyone! These twins are children of the former (and exiled) Lord of Utopia, Spike
Timeline: Summer, morning