Winter in the desert gave way to spring. Days grow hotter but the nights remain cool. Arcana, usually well-adjusted to hot, desert afternoons, is finding this warming season to be unusually uncomfortable. The black and white mare is huge. Her pregnant belly makes movement difficult, and she sweats profusely with even the smallest afternoon exertion. She has taken to seeking shade and sleeping during daylight hours, then emerging to graze only after sundown has cooled the oasis to livable temperatures. Her hooves are tender, and the muscles in her back and hips are sore with the strain of her burden. She eagerly awaits the birth of her foal, but days stretch on, and spring nearly passes them by, with no onset of labor.

This is not Arcana's first foal, but this one carries much differently than the last. With Kumar, her belly swelled only a little and she foaled early. This time, slack, abdominal muscles readily make room for her growing young, and her body holds on for much longer. She hopes her suffering isn't all for naught, and that someday soon, she produces a healthy foal. Each passing day leaves her wishing more for this pregnancy to end.

Just when she thinks she'll carry this foal into the summer, an early morning surprises her with familiar labor pains. The black and white mare stirs in the darkness just before dawn. Anxiety draws her away from the oasis and into the copse of trees where she often sleeps. Here, she is most comfortable and she can do what she needs to do in peace.

Just as the sun crests the horizon, a beautiful, buckskin filly is expelled onto the sandy earth. Within minutes, both mother and daughter are standing on shaky legs. Arcana cleans the last of her daughter's brilliant, golden coat, while the young girl enjoys her first meal. As soon as they are able, Arcana and Indira emerge from the cover of foliage and into the open. The new mother cannot contain her joy and her pride. Her face is alight with a giddy smile. Usually reserved, Arcana steps out of character and towards the herd, eager to show off the filly at her side.

The filly, called Indira, is the spitting image of her father. The clean lines of Orhan's face are clear in her own. Arcana's curved ears and lanky build are lost to Orhan's genetic contributions. Indira teeters on correct legs, and her ordinary ears are active with young curiosity. The only telling that she is her mother's daughter are the flashes of white that interrupt her buckskin coat.

While Arcana is mostly white, Indira is mostly colored. Her face and neck remain unmarked, and her peach fuzz mane is dark from poll to wither. She instead, has four white stockings, and a patch of white that crosses her topline behind her wither. This one large patch of tobiano extends over her haunch, and leaves her bottle brush tail white at the base and black at the end.

OOC: I will switch this over to a different layout that represent the both of them, as soon as I have one made up.