//------------------------------// // Not quite there yet // Story: Running While Preggers // by Tiaa OwO //------------------------------// My mind was not particularly blown at the fact that I might (might??? Ha! More like will) be having a litter of foals... There is no way I was going to get used to saying that or thinking that. When Jazz told me, I didn't freak out like she expected me to. I just took a shaky breath after the conversation finished. I can't for the life of me, remember how that conversation had come up. ..... Oh yea, she said she was worried after I asked her what was wrong. That's what happened. Yup. I kind of wondered how I had not known this when I realized something ... I knew almost nothing about draconaqui! Nopony knew about them. I remembered Twilight saying that ponies had nothing about dragons too. It seemed like I wasn't quite there when it came down to knowledge of my marefriends' origins and history. How could I have possibly been so ... not knowing ... ish!? I walked along the grassy roads to reach my destination. I looked around to make sure I wasn't lost. I caught sight of a familiar looking mare as a merchant talking to Jasmine. Jasmine seemed quite angry with the mare. The merchant stallion, which looked alot like a dragon-pony hybrid, next to her patted her and offered her some tea looking stuff. He accidentally dropped some herbs and they created alittle pouder cloud in Jasmine's face. She coughed. I walked over to her to help her and the mare kept her head down. Probably in guilt or something, I thought. The stallion apologized and held up his offered tea. Jasmine refused and she gripped me. She grunted in pain and held her head. "You okay?" I asked. "Y-yeah. Take me to wherever you're going. I'm not ready to go back to the Inn yet." she answered. We walked away. I had a strange feeling that somepony was watching me. I turned around and caught the merchant mare staring at me. She made a face when our eyes met. She looked away quickly. I looked away too. Odd. Jasmine gave me a smile as she plucked some peddles from a pretty red flower. She had been doing that alot lately. I wasn't sure if it was because of the pregnancy thing or what. I smiled back and turned to the huge book propped up on my lap. We were in the library of Wakonda. It was much bigger than Twilight's. It had tall shelves, taller than me, and and there were rows and rows of them. There were even a couple tables where ponies could read. This wasn't Ponyville so I expected this place to have tons of info on my girl. The book was really boring. DRACONAQUI Draconaquus, plural; draconaqui, a rare and currently extinct species unlike any other known to ponykind. A draconaquus' body consists of several different animal body parts. Draconaqui can vary in color, personality, and body parts. They have intense magical powers and no specific sound. PERSONALITY Draconaqui tend to have varied personalities, just like ponies. They are very aggressive, however, when challenged by another species or even another of its own kind. Males are extremely territorial and hostile as mature adults. When young, males have no control over its magical powers and are very unstable emotionally. Females are gentler in its younger and older years but can be dangerous if its offspring are threatened. Females stay in groups while males travel alone. Males may travel together before reaching full adulthood. It is important for no pony to ever care for a youngling, or young draconaquus. The youngling will become overattached, overprotective, and/or violent towards anypony who is close to the caregiver. HOMELANDS Draconaqui tend to live in grassy, open spaces filled with hills and mountains close by. They enjoy sleeping out in the open and are very harmonous with nature. Their surroundings are usually not in proper order due to the excessive chaotic magic. It was believed that there was a place called 'BlizzardLands'. Nopony knows if it is named this because there are actual constant blizzards or because there are blizzards of chaos magic loose there. MATING & OFFSPRING Mating rituals consist of contests between males who are sexually mature to win over an available female. The male to female ratio is even enough so these contests are very rare. It is occational that two males desire one female but only at the rarest of times will these two males fight over the female. The contests are about strength, magic, and anything else that might show the female ow much the male wants her. Offspring are born after a gestation period of seven months. Draconaqui have litters of younglings as an adaptation to the severe predatory conditions they live in. The offspring age just as ponies do but they seem to be immortal untill an unnatural death. The offspring will not be able to use their powers until early adolesence. NATURAL PREDATORS Dreagons, the draconaqui's sworn enemy, feed off of the chaotic magic of draconaqui and eat or kill the younglings for pure pleasure. Draconaqui tend to get very weak after being fed on by the dreagons. Draconaqui fight and kill dreagons as well since the dreagons are mostly dangerous to offspring and injured adults. Other than dreagons, draconaqui have no other natural enemy. I blinked. That was more information than I expected. I was kind of bothered at how the narrator of the book spoke of draconaqui like they were animals. I didn't even know if the info was relevent or if it was written by some pony who had a grudge on a draconaquus. If anypony had ever met a draconaquus besides Discord or maybe Jasmine. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. They burned with a need for sleep. It wasn't even that far into the day yet. Just after noon. "Spikey-bear, what are you up to?" Jasmine cooed from her table across the room. I glanced around. I hoped the librarian wasn't around to hear us talking. I didn't see him. "Just reading." I whispered. "About what?" "Ah... " I looked down at the book. I didn't think saying 'History of Rare Creatures' would satisfy her sudden curiosity. She would ask, "What rare creature where you reading about?" and I wasn't about to say, "Your species, hun.". I know mares. They take offense that sort of stuff. I dunno why but they do. "Uum... nothing you need to worry about...just...dreagons..?" Jasmine stiffened. I mentally faceclawed. Draconaqui were the sworn enemies of dreagons! I suddenly wondered, what exactly was a dreagon and what did one look like? I took a deep breath and tried again. "I-I'm sorry, Jazz, I just wanted to know about what a dreagon was and...stuff...but I didn't wanna bother you." "I don't like dreagons and that's all you need to know." she mumbled. I blinked. Had I heard right? "What? I didn't hear you." "I said, you don't need to know anything about them except that I don't like them." "Just because you don't like them doesn't mean anything." "So your girlfriends words don't matter? Is that what you're saying?" Jasmine's voice rose a bit higher. She was getting mad... "No. I'm saying that I want to know more about them and what you say isn't going to stop me." "Oh really!?" Jasmine's eyes glowed an intimidating yellow and I felt a strange feeling that I hadn't felt in a while creep up on me. "Why do you want to know so much about them, huh? Gonna invite one over? Endanger my babies!?" I shrunk back a little at her practically yelling. The librarian zebra stallion peered at us from around a bookcase. He got one look at Jasmine, started sweating in fear, and cantered away to another part of the library. Fear. That was what it was. I was fearful of the terrible glow in her eyes and the strange note in her voice as it rose to shrill levels. I couldn't hear what she was saying but she was mad. Really mad. I needed to call Twilight or Princess Luna. There was no way this was normal. Jasmine refused to make eye contact with me. She was feeling guilty. So was I. I got her riled up over something I wasn't really doing. What confused me was her reaction, though. It seemed unlike her. Maybe it was the hormones and stuff? I just couldn't help this feeling that it was something more than that...