It has been many years since Josephine and Martin had a baby, though they remember Abby's first years well. Considering the foals their horses have had before they were uplifted, they assumed Ava would be no less troublesome to take care of. However, Ava was a little bit more active than they expected. Considering mundane foals are quick to get to their feet after being born, it's not completely unexpected. However, Ava's humanoid arms were not as long as her more equine legs so she couldn't properly get on all fours just yet. But it seemed like it wouldn't take long for her to start crawling.
Looking for a bit of advice to handle her new daughter, Josephine got in contact with someone who also had a filly of their own. She and Annie had been fitness buddies for a while. Several mares tended to work out together, part of a herding instinct apparently. And Annie had little trouble in joining in, considering horses and zebras are both equine. In fact, Annie's career as a personal fitness trainer really benefited the other mares. Josephine wasn't as close to Annie as some of her other friends, certainly not as close as she was to Ella and Simone, but they had common enough ground to chat.
"So Annie," said Josephine, "You know I've had a baby recently."
"Congratulations," said Annie, "I assume you're wanting to start burning off that pregnancy fat."
"Well, yes, but that's not my main concern," said Josephine, "It's just that, well, Ava isn't like Abby when she was a baby."
"Ah, let me guess, she wants to run before she can really crawl," said Annie.
"Was Sandra the same way?” asked Josephine.
“At first…” said Annie, thinking back to her daughter’s birth.
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Before becoming an Animalian, Annie had wondered what it would be like to have her own daughter. She was long past the point where she could have had one when she got HIV, but there were a few times where she wondered about 'the road untraveled'. Back when she was in her prime, there wasn't really an option for a lesbian woman to have a child on her own. Of course, things have changed a lot since then, particularly herself. She was happily married to Stuart and was about to deliver their first foal. This was certainly not like what she had imagined. She hadn't really imagined the pain well enough.
"Oh, one last time, push," said the midwife. Annie let out a very shrill squeal, which would have made most people cover their ears. Fortunately, the midwives in Animalia have long since started wearing earplugs. Presently, she held up the damp zebra foal and said, "Congratulations, it's a girl."
Shortly after that, Stuart was in to meet his new daughter. "So, why Sandra again?" asked Stuart.
"She was an old friend of mine," said Annie.
"I didn't think you knew the Trumans that well," said Stuart.
"No, not that Sandra," said Annie, "She was someone I knew before Animalia. You never met her."
"Ok, but is our Sandra smart or is she like me?" asked Stuart.
"Stuart, you're not that dim. And she's not going to be dim either," said Annie.
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"So yeah, Sandra took a while to settle once we got back home," said Annie, "Eventually her zebra instincts realized her body wasn't able to move around, so I think they stopped."
"I don't think that's how instincts work," said Josephine.
"Well, eventually, your kid's going to adjust and then it'll be like raising a human baby," said Annie, "Though her kicks will be a lot more painful."
"I can imagine," said Josephine, "So, Annie, if I may ask, when Sandra's old enough to start noticing boys or when she starts noticing other girls, what are you going to tell her?"
"I'll encourage her either way," said Annie, "Heck, I'll encourage her both ways. She could really take after her mom."
"I'm not sure I'd want either of my daughters to be an exact copy of me," said Josephine.
"No, I want Sandra to become her own person too," said Annie, "I'm just going to make sure she can follow her choices."