//------------------------------//
// Midnight 
// Story: Son of Shadows 
// by Sir Shining Armor 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 2: Midnight.

~Sombra POV~

A few months later.
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It was probably a familiar scene that Shining Armor found himself in the day Hope went into labor; like him, Sombra was completely unprepared. A part of him was laughing at the irony of it all. He could devise ingenious traps and defenses to guard a powerful relic like the Crystal Heart - layers of careful planning, but he couldn't be ready for something as simple (or as admittedly terrifying) as the birth of his own child.

Hope was giving birth in the other room with Cadance, Twilight and Fluttershy as the sole witnesses - as it was a tradition that the father be absent until the delivery was complete. Shining Armor was his sole company in the meantime. The Prince was being unusually quiet for somepony normally so friendly and open. Perhaps it was the fact that he was sharing a room with the stallion that had been his greatest enemy. Or maybe it was the fact that Sombra had once frozen him in stone too.

Such a thought made him grimace. He had assumed that with Cadance being so open and welcoming, Shining Armor might come around at his wife's urging. But then, that might have been asking too much.

What came when Shining spoke was none of those things.

"I know what you're going through. It's tough; waiting for your newborn foal. You feel nervous and excited all at once - and then comes the urge to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off."

Sombra blinked. Quite the unusual phrase, but he supposed the prince was right. He was going through a plethora of emotions all at once; excitement, nervousness, happiness - even a twinge of fear. Giving birth was a complicated process, but he supposed that having Cadance around meant that Hope would be fine. Then there was the fact Hope was capable of powerful healing magic. But then, it wasn't just that, that caused him to worry. His foal would be known as the child of Sombra, after all. At least Flurry Heart would be their first friend, as per the royal's offer.

"Shining Armor." He said aloud, deciding to indulge his curiosity. "Do you remember when we first met?"

"Yeah." The prince said. "When you first returned in your... well, shadow form. We had a brief fight. What of it?"

"You tried to fight me, even though you knew you were outmatched. I'm sure you knew the story of how it took both royal sisters to vanquish me. Yet, you still tried. Why?"

"It's because I wanted to protect my family and friends." From his tone, it was as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Even if it meant losing my magic permanently. Which, thankfully proved not to be the case."

Sombra considered his answer for a moment. "And again, when you faced me in the Umbrum's mock trial. There was no hint of surrender on your face, even when it meant you would be turned to stone. You still refused to give them what they wanted."

Shining Armor nodded. "I knew you were going to turn me to stone anyway, which I forgive you for by the way." He waved a hoof dismissively. "But even if you hadn't, I'd still face it like a stallion."

"For your pride's sake?"

The prince shook his head. "No. For my family's sake. For my people's sake. When you serve in the royal guard - a thing like pride takes a back-burner. Unless it's showing pride in others for their accomplishments. Like when Twili - er, my sister became a princess."

Sombra considered his answer for a moment, then replied. "From what I gather, we're very much alike - you and I. But different in all the ways that matter."

Shining Armor tilted his head. "How so?"

"Everything about you tells the tale: Your attitude - your powers, your very name." Sombra paused a moment to let his words sink in. "I accepted my fate - and I was betrayed at every turn. Even when that betrayal included the mare that I loved. Yet, she never gave up on me. She believed in me. Helped me to find the right path. But you, you fought against fate - even if it was in vain. You never gave up - even in the face of great danger. And your loved ones have been beside you the whole way."

"Well, I've never believed in fate. " Shining Armor replied. "But yeah, you're right. Twilight and the others have fought against terrible odds before. Even when everything seemed lost, they still kept going. And we all turned out happy in the end. None of it would have been possible without them."

"What I don't understand is, why?" Sombra asked. Now came the hardest question of all. "Why did they persist? I know, it all turned out alright in the end - but how did they keep going, even when things looked to be at their bleakest?"

Shining Armor smiled. "It's because they had hope. They had faith in themselves and in each other."

Sombra returned the smile. "It's a strange thing; to hope against hope. But I suppose that's why we're here, isn't it? To see where this all going?"

"You're talking about Princess Amore, aren't you?"

Sombra slowly nodded. Shining Armor was a perceptive one. "Yes. I wonder if she'll forgive me after all I did. I wonder if the crystal ponies will ever forgive me. I've seen the way they stare - the way they still cling to the image of the old Sombra."

"Maybe it's time you did the forgiving, Sombra." Shining Armor put a hoof on his shoulder. "It doesn't do you any good to keep beating yourself up. I know, I did a bit of that after Chrysalis deceived me."

Sombra had heard of that incident. Before he had returned, at Shining Armor's wedding - the Changeling Queen had impersonated the bride and tried to take over Canterlot. Thanks to Twilight and the true Cadance, disaster was averted.

"I'm sure it was your wife that did the beating after the ceremony." Sombra said with mock outrage. "Nearly leaving her for the Changeling Queen? Even to a pony like me, that's cold."

"Did you just make a joke?" The prince's smile broadened. "Sombra has a sense of humor."

"Don't get used to it, prince." Sombra said. "It's not every day I get the urge to run around like a headless chicken."

Both laughed. It felt good to laugh again after such a long time. Now, Sombra could see why the crystal ponies adored their new royals so much.

The moment was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Through it stepped Cadance with the biggest grin on her face.

"Sombra, your child has been born." She announced. "It's a boy."
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Sombra, Shining Armor and Cadance walked through the doors and watched as Hope (looking very bedraggled) stood aside. Lying there, on the bed where Hope had been, wrapped in a swaddling cloth was a newborn Unicorn that like his father, had a grey coat. Whereas his father's mane was solid black - the baby's was lined with silver and purple streaks, like his mother. When the foal opened his large eyes for the first time, they were gentle blue like Hope's - practically glowing with the innocent curiosity of a newborn beholding the world for the first time.

The first thought that came through Sombra's mind when he looked at his son was similar to what he'd experienced when he met Radiant Hope - all those years ago. To put it mildly, it was love at first sight. 

"Have you decided on a name?" Cadance asked with a raised eyebrow and a grin.

"We were thinking... Midnight Shard." Sombra said as he nuzzled his snout close to the foal. Baby Shard's little hooves clasped his father's muzzle with a giggle - and a surge of warmth filled every portion of Sombra's being. 

"Our son." Hope whispered as she tiredly sauntered over and hugged him, which Sombra returned - tears welling in his eyes. For one long, wonderful moment - they were just parents and their child - and everything felt right.

"Of course you realize," Shining Armor said, "he's going to have power fluctuations and is going to need a lot of supervision. Having two powerful Unicorns as parents means that he'll likely be a hoof-ful. I know Flurry was."

"That's true, but compared to all the challenges we've faced, I think that this will be a piece of cake." Hope replied cheerfully. "And we have you two here as well. And little Flurry to be his first friend."

"Speaking of whom..." Shining Armor said as he started for the door.

While he was gone, Sombra looked at his son once more. My boy. He thought with a smile. My little Shard.

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Flurry quickly took to Shard, even if their introduction was a little funny. As was normal for all horses, he had learned to walk within a few hours of his birth - but even more surprising was that he learned to teleport too. 

Given that Flurry was already two by the time of Shard's birth, she had started to develop more of her personality. She giggled quite a bit at seeing him zip around the room with his parents trying (and failing) to keep up. Then he abruptly stopped in front of her - and their eyes met - and they both stared.

Then he sneezed with a high pitched neigh - and she responded with one of her own - much to their parent's worry. As Flurry's first sneeze had blasted through several floors of the Crystal Castle, they feared Shard's might have a similar effect.

As it turned out though, she had only faked it as a prank. She seemed to enjoy teasing her parents - a habit that nopony doubted she picked up from Pinkie Pie.

Over the course of the next few months, Shard's magical powers did indeed begin to manifest. Unlike Flurry's, (which had been destructive blast beams) - Shard's powers were more limited. He could heal wounds like his mother, which they discovered after he had accidentally teleported himself and his crib directly on top of Sombra. Then there was his unusually strong telekinesis - which sporadically caused the toys and furniture of his room to start levitating and dropping, (something which Flurry found endlessly amusing) - until his father put a stop to that by having everything nailed down.

Like Sombra, Shard's magical aura was blue, which he found to be strangely relieving - a sign that his dark power was now gone for good. A sign that things really were changing for the better.

Another came when he and Shard were at play in the parks - just outside the Crystal Castle - and for the first time the crystal ponies didn't stop and stare. It was simply him and his son enjoying the same games that he'd played with Hope when they were foals: Fighting dragons and rescuing a princess from her tower, (the princess in question being Flurry) - and teaching Shard the basics of magic and how to control it. Most of all though, Shard's favorite activity seemed to be digging for treasures in the sandbox. He had a penchant for finding lost toys and even sometimes gems for his first Dragon Bank.

He and Flurry seemed to be thick as thieves throughout their little treasure hunts. Even when they didn't find anything, (which was surprisingly rare) she kept a good attitude - almost always smiling and laughing. Her cheeriness and fun-loving attitude seemed to bring out the best in the otherwise quiet gentle-colt. Whether it was at play or studying - or the occasional visits from her aunt Twilight, the two were inseparable.

Time seemed to just fly by as the two grew closer and closer.
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Four years passed. 

After her 6th birthday, the seal on Flurry's power was partially released - allowing her access to some of her innate Alicorn Magic, which meant that she now started to join Sombra and Shard in their training, another point which they bonded over. In time, the two families started to grow closer as well - and even Shining Armor and Cadance started to openly refer to Sombra and Hope as friends. 

One day, while they were having dinner - a modest meal of wheat, oats and crystal corn - Sombra decided to break a bit of news to the royals.

"You're leaving the Crystal Empire?" Cadance seemed to be in shock. "Why now of all times?"

"We need to finish our quest in reassembling Princess Amore." Sombra replied calmly. "Otherwise she'll remain shattered forever."

"But your son, Shard...-"

"Will be coming with us." He finished. "I have thought this through - and I think it's time Shard sees the world beyond the Crystal Empire's walls." Cadance gave him a strange look, one he recognized as concern. No doubt she was thinking of Flurry and how close she had become to Shard. Beside her, Shining Armor said little as he poked at his food. He had supported the two's budding friendship - and to hear that his daughter's closest friend was leaving must have been a shock.

"Come now, there's only a few more pieces left." Hope pointed out. "Just a few more - and we'll have restored the lost Princess."

"It's not that, that we're worried about." Shining Armor said. "It's that the Crystal Faire is only a few months away, and Flurry wants Shard to be there. If the faire goes on around her - all the crystal ponies having fun and her without her best friend - she'll be so disappointed."

"That's why we'll be back in time for the faire." Sombra promised as he trotted over to the prince and put a hoof on his shoulder. "This will be for the best - after all. I've put this off for too long. But, I promise, we will return in time."

"Best hurry then." Shining Armor said, giving him a pleading look that quickly turned stern. "I'd hate for Flurry to be disappointed. I imagine Shard would be too."

"Believe me, Shining Armor." Hope declared. "The last thing we want is for either of our children to be disappointed."

Indeed. Sombra thought darkly as he started for the door. As if being the son of Sombra wasn't enough reason to be disappointed.