With the Meadow still drying out from the recent bouts of heavy rain, Alpenglow was now spending the majority of her time around the falls. The painted dunskin mare had found a shallow pool at the waters edge where she could stare at her own reflection in contemplation. She was not a vain creature; she was simply assessing her choices. Mating season had arrived once again and the other members of her species were coupling up and creating the next generation. They were ensuring that their legacy carries on. Alpenglow was an independent soul who enjoyed her own company. But she could not ignore the years going by and once she was gone there would be no one here with her skills or expertise. She was still young and healthy but that wouldn’t last forever. The prospect of raising a child as a single parent and training them as her replacement would be more feasible and less daunting while she was young. Of course if she was on the mainland she could have mentored another mare’s foal without needing to become a mother herself. A sigh fell from her lips. The thought of being a mother was scary. The child would have thoughts and feelings of their own, they would not be an empty vessel for her to shape and mould to her own desire. She was not the most empathetic or loving mare. Could she raise a foal? Then of course there’s the process of creating a foal. It was a perfectly natural thing to do but for whatever reason the thought of it made Alpenglow want to wretch. Having someone else inside you just felt a little violating in her opinion. And then there was the problem of finding a candidate. She couldn’t request the services of a herd stallion, that would be considered favouritism where she was trying to remain neutral. On the other hand there was probably a plethora of willing bachelors in the Lagoon. However Alpenglow was avoiding that region like a plague. |