My Shadow had named the child, Cortana...A lovely little name for our daughter, beautiful and alluring just as she would grow to be. Dark eyes glanced upwards towards my pet, one ear flicking back as she asked of how I had found her. My nares flared while an insulted snort escaped, crown pulling back just slightly when she spoke of how she thought I would not come. "Of course I would come... I am present for the birth of all my children, unless I am unable to do so otherwise. I've been keeping close to the north during the last bit of your pregnancy, I knew you would be due soon. You may be my Shadow, but I will be the one to follow you when needed."

As my ebony and violet pet began to try and coax our daughter to rise, my eyes narrowed just slightly. It seemed that she was trying for quite a long while, and Cortana was having none of it. Was the child simply stubborn? What kind of newborn doesn't want to drink? Eyes still narrowed, one brow raised as the filly snuggled beside the stupid cat rather than feed. Was she confused? Did she think the damned leopard was her mother? Did she already feel threated by Zandora, since it was her very mother who had pressed the tip of her dagger to the child's throat? Ever so vaguely, I caught my pet's question. For once, I had no answers. There would be no comfort from me, no reassurance that this was normal and she would decide to get up when she wants to. For this was certainly not normal, in any sense. Perhaps some...motivation, would do her some good?

I stepped closer to the filly, ignoring the cat and lowering my crown to the filly's rump. A gentle little shove with my nose ought to do it, right? I waited a few seconds to see if my daughter would move, my heart beginning to race erratically as I tried to figure out what was wrong with her. The filly's coat was not as lustrious as it should be, her fragile body growing weaker with each minute passing by that she refused to drink. Maybe there was an instinctual reason that Zandora had nearly taken her life. Perhaps this child was not meant to live past today...

At this thought, my ears pinned back as I glowered at the dirt. How could this have happened? I had never had such problems with my children before. If it wasn't my genes then...

Burning eyes shot back up to the mare, ears still pinned against my mane as I raised my crown, the blood-stained daggers on my crown shining dangerously in her direction. Deep within the pit of my stomach, the anger and resentment grew. A fiery pit that made my blood boil with a misplaced rage that I surely thought was all because of her. Carefully I stepped around my child, making sure that I would not harm her. After all, nothing harms a daughter of mine when I'm around. Not even by my own actions. "You..." The words hissed out of my lips like venom. I couldn't even fathom an insult, my mind solely focused on finding some sort of revenge for my child, for the damage caused from sharing her bloodlines. My tense muscles shook just before I sprang towards the vixen, horns aiming to slice upwards at her shoulder. She would fix this. Zandora had to fix this. I would force her.