7 years later
“I hereby declare the Radian Hope Hospital for Species Wellness open!” Twilight snipped the red ribbon, marking the hospital officially open to the public to a chorus of cheers. Gests, investors, and newly hired staff from every race entered the facility to see it at its completion for the first time. The waiting room chandelier of floating dancing crystals was obviously the star of the show. Not only was it beautiful but it served a functional purpose, they could send signals to staff regarding emergencies with their color and movement, helping communication.
“I think you can expect a lot more business after this Sombra.”
“I’ll be sure to tell my wife who to blame.”
“Heh,” Twilight laughed, “Just add that to the list.”
“It is extensive.”
“Ok, stop.”
Sombra shrugged and took a drink, “I see Celestia and Luna came, why don’t you go talk to them?”
“…Is that your way of saying ‘Discord is here and waiting to scare you’?”
“I hate it when you ruin the surprise. Whatever happened to helping me sneak up on her?” Sombra caught the paper airplane that had been flying overhead a suspicious amount of time and unfolded it to talk to the drawing of Discord.
“It was fun until my foals started copying you. I almost fell down the stairs when my oldest jumped out of a flies shadow.”
The drawing put its hands on its hips and pouted, “Well now you’re just bragging about your kids.”
“There is a lot to brag about. Shadow Dancer got hired to be in her first ballet and she’s only six years old. And Hope just received an award in-“
“Oh, would you look at the time. Catch you later Salsa, tah!” The paper suddenly vanished.
Sombra looked smugly at Twilight who was staring at him in jealously, “You need to teach me how to do that.”
“I will Princess, as soon as you stop pretending that you don’t have a crush on-“
“Oh, Discord was right, it’s getting late. I should go talk to Celestia before she leaves.” Twilight ran to the other end of the party to do just that but Sombra wasn’t alone for long. Moon Dancer came up behind him to hand him one of the horderves from the snack table.
“How is the party on your end?”
Sombra smiled at his wife, “Terrible, nopony has let me finish a sentence all evening.”
“Well you did just now so buck up.”
Sombra pretended to be offended, “I’m perfectly happy, I haven’t had a single death threat all day.”
“A record.” Moon Dancer smiled, looking over at the snack table to see fishing line after fishing line shoot up out of the shadows to grab a teat and disappear. “They’re really biting today.”
Sombra nodded, “It’s there party too. If the Umbrum hadn’t come forward with Radian Hope’s research journals, we never would have known how much she discovered about the health of other races.”
“She was quite a mare…” Moon Dancer looked up at the towering statue in the courtyard. Radiant Hope had spent her life making sure nocreature went as misunderstood as Sombra did. She lived to a ripe old age but her work lived in obscurity until Sombra looked into the life of his old friend more. It was a shame that she went unappreciated in her lifetime but now every student in Equestria would know what she did for generations to come.
Sombra nuzzled his wife lovingly, “I don’t know how we felt about each other back then but I know how I feel now. I’m sorry I couldn’t meet her again or remember our time together. But I am the luckiest stallion in the world because I get to be with the smartest, kindest, most amazing and beautiful mare I have ever met in this world.”
Moon Dancer smiled and nuzzled him back, “You’re good at talking your way out of things you know.”
“I’m offended, I will never recover, how dare the love of my life insinuate I am not genuine. Love is dead. I will go seek comfort in Tom’s arms as we sail the high seas like I dreamed so long ago.” Sombra had remained completely monotone the entire time and made to walk away but his children chose that time to grab his hooves from the shadows. Sombra looked apologetically at Moon Dancer and stuck his head in his own shadow to talk to them, sound didn’t carry from the shadow realm to earth and vice versa.
Shadow Dancer and Hope Sparkle were floating just below him with their faces stuffed with sandwiches. “Yes, what is it? Mommy and Daddy are in the middle of out sarcasting each other.”
“Can we go to the shadow city please?” Hope Sparkle asked as sandwich crumps flew out of her mouth.
“The shadow city is too far away; you’ll get too tired and I’ll have to come and carry you back. Aren’t you having fun at the party?”
“Nope.” Shadow Dancer answered simply and saw no need to elaborate further. Sombra felt Moon Dancer tap him on the shoulder.
“Stay right here and don’t move.” Sombra pulled his head back up.
“What’s the problem?” She asked.
“They want to go to the shadow city because they don’t like the party.”
Moon Dancer rolled her eyes, “It’s because they let them paint on the walls isn’t it?”
“Well it is hard to beat. If I let them mess with the crystal display, they might forget about it.”
“But it might set a bad precedent. They can’t play with it once the hospital starts using it for emergencies.”
Sombra sighed and prepared to be the bearer of bad news when he got an idea and stuck his head back in. “Mommy says you girls are too important to the party. The Umbrum can’t see which treats are best when they fish so only you two can pick the best ones to feed them.”
Both girls gasped in excitement and climbed out of their mom’s shadow to book it to the snack table. Moon Dancer shuddered with the oddness of the feeling that never seemed to get any easier and watched them go. “What did you tell them?”
“To be the new servers.” He watched as his girls went straight to the desert table to examine every cake, only picking the best to phase through their own shadows and feed the Umbrum like koi.
“I’ll never understand what made you so different from them.” Sombra frowned but understood the question.
“They only knew the void until a few years ago. After Amora banished them, entire generations came and went in darkness. They have legends of ‘the before times’ and of Radian Hope but they never had writing or school. They were too afraid to come too close to the surface with how badly they were beaten…I resented my mother a bit after I studied them but after I really met them my opinion changed. She must have been very brave to come near the surface and leave me there, thinking she would be killed for even trying. Daring to hope that even a fraction of the good stories were true.”
Moon Dancer reached for his hoof to hold, “I’m glad she did.”
“Yeah,” he gripped her hoof back, “Me too.”
-The End -