http://archive.heinessen.com/mlp/thread/17600690#p17827032

>Five a.m.
>Like clockwork Applejack's eyes shoot open.
>The day ahead is full of promise and opportunity, which she intends to shake down for every last bit.
>Moving to roll out of bed, the orange mare is suddenly reminded of her recent 'condition' as she can only make it onto her side.
>"Consarnit," she hisses through her teeth as she glares at her swollen stomach
>More and more often, the promise of impending motherhood seemed to be an impediment to her lifestyle rather than a joy.
>Shifting over again onto her back, the farm mare forces her center of gravity down towards her flanks before pushing her upper body into a seated position
>Her gravid belly hangs low between her hind legs, brushing against the firm mattress underneath.
>Still, the determined mare shifts and squirms herself into a standing position before carefully lowering her weighty frame to the ground.
>With an exhausted sigh, Applejack tosses her mane out of her face and trots out of her bedroom.
>It wasn't just getting out of bed, everything seemed to take longer.
>The water would take ages to cover her plush paunch in the shower
>The unborn foal demanded stairs be taken one at a time.
>And then there was breakfast, which sometimes warranted another round of cleaning if it was particularly messy
>Everything just took so long.
>"Ah don't see how ya'll could have handled it," she huffs to Granny Smith as she helps to clear the table. "It's bad enough that Ah've been kept from buckin' for the past two months, but now everything takes too long. Ah can't wait fer this little rascal to be out and we can be done with this inheritance business."
>But despite her complaints, there is one nice thing about taking it slow.
>The warm, motherly glow she feels when the foal shifts inside her belly; how it strains and stretches, pressing against her inside in unexpected, sometimes painful ways.
>But the ache disappears with time, leaving only the smug sense of a job well done behind.