Halfling

by Dee Pad

Chapter 8 - Arrival

Halfling
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 8: Arrival

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It was quiet; uncomfortably so. Given the circumstances, one would expect quite a lot of hullabaloo, people expressing their excitement, impatience, and nervousness. But within the lobby of the Ponyville hospital, the atmosphere was surprisingly calm. Were anypony to walk in, it would just seem like a normal day at the medical institute; people making appointments, or getting ready for a quick checkup, and others just waiting around for their names to be called.

The only thing that really would have tipped anypony off that something special was happening at that very moment was the presence of a green-eyed changeling, sitting quietly on a chair in the lobby and just staring down at the floor.

Shade was dealing with a mix of emotions at the moment, and wasn't quite sure which one he should be outwardly expressing. A part of him believed that this wasn't actually happening, that it was just another dream, but playing out differently than they had before. He glanced up slightly, shifting his eyes towards the clock on the wall. Unlike in his dreams, the clock was definitely moving forward, despite the fact that it actually felt like it was standing still this time. As a matter of fact, Shade had been sitting in the hospital lobby for eight hours now, not moving, not saying anything, and barely able to think.

The changeling finally breathed a sigh; the first audible noise he'd made in some time. This managed to grab the attention of the mare sitting across from him: the soon-to-be grandmother of his child.

"It's not easy, is it?" Autumn said to him in a calming, compassionate voice.

Shade didn't say anything. He just stared back down at the floor.

Autumn grinned. She knew he had a lot on his mind and didn't really expect him to want to talk much. So she figured she may as well do the talking and try and comfort him as best as possible. "Honestly, I can't blame you. I'm pretty anxious myself. This is our grandchild we're talking about. I can't help but feel a little concerned, too."

Shade sighed again, shaking his head. "That's not exactly what I'm thinking about."

Chamella, sitting to Shade's right, tilted her head curiously. "Then what's bothering you?"

Shade looked around the hospital lobby, finding little comfort in the pristine, white walls and overall peaceful atmosphere. "What am I doing? Winter's in there giving birth to our baby, and here I am, sitting in the lobby, twiddling my hooves. I should be in there with her."

"Then why aren't you?"

Shade instinctively furrowed his brow at the gruff voice addressing him, looking up and casting a small scowl across to the stallion sitting beside Autumn.

After getting Winter to the hospital, her mother had gone to ask Rainbow Dash to make a quick trip to Cloudsdale in order to deliver the news to Winter's father Nimbus. The stallion wasted no time in getting there, marking one of the few times in his life that he'd left work early, but, given the circumstances, nopony was going to argue with him.

"If you really feel that you should be by her side, then why are you sitting out here doing nothing?"

Shade was somewhat miffed that Nimbus would continue to scrutinize him even as his foal is being born. However, now was not the time to get confrontational, and he just answered the question honestly. "Because... I can't bring myself to go. I feel terrible about it, but no matter how much I tell myself that I should be there... I'm just... scared."

Shade felt a hoof rest upon his left shoulder; the lavender hoof of Ponyville's resident princess. "I know my words aren't really guaranteed to ease your mind, but I personally believe you have nothing to worry about," Twilight said with an assuring smile. "The pregnancy progressed pretty normally, with no complications that we could perceive. All in all, it was basically a typical, pony pregnancy. If something was going to happen, the doctors probably would have picked up on it by now."

"I know," the changeling said quietly. "But... I just can't. I feel like if anything bad happens, it's my fault."

Autumn giggled, eliciting a rather hurt look from Shade. "Shade, sweetie, you really don't need to beat yourself up over this." She cast a sly glance at Nimbus, then leaned towards Shade, speaking more quietly. "You want to know something?"

Shade raised an eyebrow. However, Nimbus rolled his eyes and groaned, knowing what she was getting at already.

"Nimbus stayed out in the lobby when I was having Winter."

Shade briefly shot a look at the stallion, who was clearly embarrassed to have that information out there. "Seriously?"

Autumn laughed again, giving her husband a playful nudge, much to his chagrin. "Yup. He might put up a tough front, but when it came time to actually be a father for the first time, he wussed out."

"I didn't 'wuss out,'" Nimbus denied. "I needed some fresh air."

"For six hours? There's nopony in Equestria that needs that much fresh air. You didn't even set foot in the delivery room until Winter was born." Autumn chuckled at her husband's embarrassment before turning back to Shade. "Point is, you're not alone. You're not a bad boyfriend for not being in there. Truth be told, I was so stressed and panicked when I was in labor that I wanted nothing more than to punch Nimbus in his scowl-y face just to let off some steam. So, all things considered, you might be doing yourself a favor by waiting it out out here."

The changeling simply lowered his head, still feeling ashamed of himself about it. "That doesn't stop me from feeling bad. I still think I should be by her side during this."

Autumn shrugged in resignation. "No helping that, I suppose. Oh well, you can make up for it when you have your next kid."

Shade's head shot up, eyes wide. "N-Next kid?!"

"I think she's just joking, Shade," Twilight informed with a chuckle, and her assumption was confirmed when Autumn giggled along with her.

Shade let out a relieved sigh. He knew she meant well with her kidding around, but he really did not need surprises like that right now.

After that, the lobby got quiet again, but only for a few minutes. It wasn't long before the silence was once again broken by the hospital's front entrance busting open abruptly, the culprit—to nopony's surprise—being a certain pink pony well known for inappropriately loud entrances.

"Who wants coffee~?" Pinkie Pie sang, two trays holding cups of coffee balanced precariously on her head. Despite how bouncily she trotted inside, the cups managed to stay upright without spilling a drop. She placed the trays down on a small table near where Autumn and Nimbus were sitting.

However, Pinkie wasn't the only one who had come by. Following close behind her were her posse of close friends; namely Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy. Rarity in particular had been the one who originally went out for coffee, but must have run into Pinkie on the way. Then, once the party pony caught wind of what was going on, no doubt gathered up her other friends to hang out at the hospital until the baby was born.

"Sorry for the wait, everypony," Rarity apologized as she took a cup of coffee for herself. "As you can see, we needed a little more than we originally thought. Any word on Winter? We didn't miss it, did we?"

"If you did, we wouldn't still be out here," Twilight pointed out.

"Fair enough."

Rarity and the others found themselves seats to wait it out with their friends.

"So how long's it been now?" asked Applejack, taking a sip of coffee.

Autumn looked up at the clock. "About eight hours."

Just hearing that was already making Rainbow Dash impatient. "Geez, really?"

"That's nuthin'," Applejack said in response. "When mah Ma was havin' Apple Bloom, she was in there fer fifteen. We could still be in fer the long haul yet."

"You don't have to stay here the whole time if you don't want to, Rainbow Dash," Twilight told the pegasus, seeing the look of apprehension on her face.

Rainbow Dash sighed, waving it off. "Nah, if I left, I'd feel like kind of a jerk."

"Nopony would blame you if you wanted to leave at any point. And that goes for any of you," Autumn assured them all. "It is pretty late as is, and we could very well be here all night."

"That's why we brought coffee!" Pinkie chirped cheerily, not one to let the late hour affect her peppy mood.

"Now that I think on it, we really should have picked up some food while we were out," Rarity said with a disappointed sigh. "We were actually about to go eat when Winter went into labor, and with all the hubbub I haven't had the chance yet." Her displeasure was made evident by the off putting sound of her stomach rumbling.

"The hospital's got a cafeteria," Applejack suggested.

Rarity mulled that over for a moment, feeling somewhat reluctant. "Mm, hospital food is not really appealing, but I suppose it may work in a pinch." She got off of her seat, carrying her coffee in her powder blue, magical aura. "Anypony care to join me?"

Rainbow Dash was quick to hop up. "I'll go. Better than doing nothing."

"Wait fer me, too. I could use a bite," Applejack added, following closely behind as the pair left the lobby.

As the three ponies left for the cafeteria, the lobby became noticeably quieter, despite the presence of one particular pink pony. However, one mare, who had thus far remained silent, decided to voice what was on her mind.

"This is pretty exciting, isn't it," Fluttershy expressed with an eager smile towards Shade. "We've been waiting for this day for the past eleven months, and now all the questions and concerns you've had are about to be answered. You must be very relieved."

"I won't be relieved until those answers are actually made clear," Shade replied. "And knowing we're so close but still not quite there is kind of... agonizing. You know what I mean?"

Nimbus nodded. "I know that feeling. And, in all honesty, the fact that you feel that way makes me believe you might make for a decent father."

Autumn grinned with surprise. "My, my. Did you hear that, Shade? A compliment from Nimbus. You should have that transcribed and framed on your wall."

Autumn's joke managed to put a smile on Shade's face for once, but it was also due in part to hearing that from the stern stallion at all. "I guess just sitting here and doing nothing is making my mind fixate on this stuff."

"Why don't we just talk about fun things?" suggested Fluttershy. "Like, um... Have you and Winter thought about names?"

Shade turned his eyes up toward the ceiling in thought. "Uh, no, actually. I mean, we don't even know what gender the baby's going to be."

"Well, you can plan for either event," Autumn stated. "We actually had a name ready if Winter had turned out to be a colt."

Hearing that made Shade curious. "Really? What was it?"

"Alto," Nimbus answered simply.

"Like altocumulus clouds, I presume," Twilight surmised, to which Nimbus nodded in affirmation.

"As you might imagine, Nimbus came up with that name," Autumn explained. "We made an agreement that if our foal turned out to be male, he would name it, and if it were female, I would name it."

"Guess you won that one, huh, Mrs. Maple?" Pinkie said.

Chamella turned to Shade with an amused smile. "I wonder how things would have turned out if you had met a stallion named Alto when you came to Ponyville, Shade."

Shade chuckled lightly at her hypothetical. "Well, I don't think we'd be sitting here right now, that's for sure."

"All joking aside, I do have a serious question," Autumn said, her face curious, yet somewhat concerned. "If the baby turns out to be full changeling—anatomy, biology, behavior and all—what are you and Winter going to do?"

Shade scratched his head as he thought about it. It's not as though he and Winter hadn't discussed the possibility, but he was certainly hoping that it didn't turn out that way. "Well, I think we've decided that, regardless of how it turns out, we're going to raise it as best we can. I've mentioned before that changeling larvae are instinctual creatures and violent by nature, but that's really only because of the environment that they're typically born in, I imagine. It'll be a matter of keeping it under control. We wouldn't be able to take it outside the house, unfortunately. But they're usually more manageable after they've had something to eat; they're really only unruly when they're hungry. So as long as we keep it fed, it shouldn't be too difficult to keep it under control. Although, I wouldn't want to leave Winter alone with it; she may be its mother, but I doubt it would have any qualms about taking a bite out of anypony—even her—if it was hungry enough."

"And how long would this go on for exactly?" Nimbus asked.

"Uh... Well, that's difficult to say. The larvae certainly start to develop higher levels of intelligence after a while, but it varies exactly when that starts to happen. Usually it's about a year or so, I think."

"And you think the two of you could handle a year of raising what is essentially a wild animal?"

Shade hesitated to answer for a moment. "I... don't know. It's not like any changeling has ever bothered to even attempt to properly raise their offspring."

Twilight tapped her chin in thought. "I wonder if their behavior is based purely on the fact that they have to fend for themselves. It could be possible that they'd become much more dependent if they were being taken care of by their parents, or even somepony—or changeling—acting as a parent or guardian."

Shade raised an eyebrow at the notion. Oddly, that thought had never occurred to him. "Huh. I don't know, maybe. I guess that could be possible."

"Changeling or not, do you two think you've adequately prepared yourselves for parenthood?" Nimbus asked sternly. "As near as I can tell, you've spent more time worrying yourselves over what might happen rather than actually preparing for those possible outcomes."

Autumn gave her husband a reprimanding glare. "Nimbus, they've had eleven months to prepare themselves for this."

"My point exactly. And what have they done in that time? I still think this whole thing was a mistake on their part."

The crimson mare gawked in appall at the blunt comment. "Nimbus! Don't say things like that!"

"Are you suggesting that we hadn't made a mistake when you got pregnant?"

"Of course not! Winter is the best thing that's ever happened to us!"

"Is that why you were worrying yourself stupid when you found out? I'm sure I don't have to remind you of how terrified you were to tell your parents."

"Well, yes, but Winter—"

"Is making the same mistake we did."

Hearing that effectively silenced Autumn, and the mare was clearly trying to devise a counter-argument.

During the moment of tense silence, Fluttershy discreetly leaned over to Twilight, whispering to her. "This is awkward, right?"

The alicorn nodded. "Oh yeah."

Shade finally decided to interject on the argument. "To be fair, Winter assumed I couldn't get her pregnant because we're different species."

"And assumptions like that just prove how immature Winter still is," Nimbus snapped back without missing a beat. "She should have taken the necessary precautions regardless of what she thought was possible because that's what a mature adult would do."

"Nimbus, I do not appreciate you talking about our daughter like this," Autumn expressed in a surprisingly quiet voice, looking both angry and hurt at the same time.

"I'm only saying this because I care about her. I will agree that she is the best thing to happen to us, but that doesn't change the fact that we were in over our heads. I don't want the same thing to happen to her."

Autumn sighed at her husband's stubbornness. "Nimbus, Winter isn't as immature as you think she is. Our parents were not very supportive of us, but I'd like if we didn't make that mistake. We need to support her, especially given the... odd circumstances of the pregnancy." Nimbus was about to counter that, but Autumn held up her hoof, stopping him and continuing with her point. "I've spent a little more time with Winter than you have lately, especially since a certain someone came into her life. Maybe you haven't noticed, but Winter's changed a lot from the naïve, absentminded filly she used to be."

"And how do you figure that?" Nimbus challenged her to explain.

Autumn smiled fondly, pointing to the changeling sitting across from her. "Him."

Shade was surprised by that, pointing to himself as if he were unsure to whom she was referring. "Me?"

Autumn nodded. "Winter was like a completely different person before she met you, Shade. Scatterbrained, a bit of a worrywort, and submissive to a fault, especially around her father. She was always worried about disappointing people, and I firmly believe that he was responsible for that," she said, this time pointing to the dull blue pegasus sitting beside her. Once more, she smiled across at Shade. "But since meeting you, I've seen her grow up more than she had before she left Cloudsdale. She's more sociable, confident, and most of all, happier. I've seen her speak to her father in a way she never would have before meeting you."

"Which just means she doesn't respect me anymore," Nimbus grumbled. His tone was gruff, yet uncharacteristically sullen.

Autumn placed a reassuring hoof on the stallion's shoulder. "It's not that she doesn't respect you, it's that she has more respect for herself now. And we have Shade to thank for that."

Nimbus stared into his wife's eyes for a moment before turning away with a slight scowl. "I still think she's too immature for her own good."

Autumn glared at her husband, pointing a hoof in Winter's general direction. "Nimbus, our daughter is in there right now giving birth to our grandchild. If that doesn't prove how mature she is, I don't know what will. Why can't you just be happy for her?"

"I am happy!" he snapped abruptly, his tone belying the exclamation. "I'm just..."

Autumn held his hoof tenderly and knowingly. "Afraid?"

Again, Nimbus looked his wife in the eyes, but said nothing. He just stared down at the floor with a defeated sigh, feeling somewhat ashamed that his emotions were so easily deciphered.

"We're both worried about her. We're her parents; it's our job to worry about her. But the other part of that job is to show her how much we support her, especially at times like this. She has friends, a loving boyfriend, and us behind her. She's much better off than we were when we were in this situation." Autumn nuzzled lovingly into her husband's neck. "And I know, despite your prickly exterior, you're going to love your grandchild just as much as you love your daughter."

To add on to the already strange and rare display of emotion, Nimbus gripped his wife's hoof tightly, closing his eyes with a sigh.

Twilight leaned slightly over towards Shade with a grin. "I guess you two weren't the only ones fretting about this after all."

"Yeah," Shade agreed, the surprise of this revelation evident in both his voice and expression. "And from the last person I would have expected."

At that time, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had returned from the cafeteria, not really having been gone long enough for a meal, but considering the hour, it was more likely they procured themselves some light snacks to tide them over. Rainbow Dash was actually still in the middle of munching on a sandwich full of leafy greens while holding her coffee cup with one of her wings.

"Shtill waiding around, huh?" the cyan pegasus said with a full mouth before swallowing. "No news yet?"

Applejack rolled her eyes at Dash's impatience. "We weren't gone long, Rainbow."

"What? It can happen anytime, right?" Dash responded defensively. "It's a legitimate question."

"You're right about that," Autumn agreed. "We've been here for so long now that I can't help but expect to receive word any minute now. But I suppose that's just me being antsy. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time." Her statement was punctuated by her fidgeting in her chair, but grinning with eager anticipation.

The trio of ponies who had just rejoined the group in the lobby each found themselves a seat to wait. Rarity chose to sit next to her employee and housemate. The ivory unicorn took a dainty sip of her coffee before turning to the quiet changeling. "What about you, Chamella?"

The purple-maned changeling lifted her head as if snapped from her thoughts. "Huh? What about me?"

"Well, I just thought you've been awfully quiet since we got here. Unless, or course, you waited for me to leave the room to speak openly," Rarity joked with a look of mock hurt.

Chamella simply shifted in her seat, shrugging indifferently. "I haven't really had much to say, that's all."

"Really? I figured you'd have more on your mind. It may be Shade's child, but as we've said on multiple occasions, you're practically its aunt."

"I suppose that's true, isn't it?" Autumn interjected. "I guess that makes you the closest relative on its father's side, even if you're not actually blood related."

"Oh, that's right," Twilight said as she made the realization. "This is actually the first time the two of you have met, isn't it?"

"Well, given the circumstances, now might not be the most opportune time for proper introductions." Autumn briefly glanced at the clock. "Although, we've certainly had enough time to get acquainted now, but I suppose I've had a little too much on my mind. If you want, Chamella, we could chat a bit while we keep waiting."

The changeling shied away slightly, not making eye contact with Autumn and looking almost ashamed. "Uh, that's okay. I don't really think I'm up for talking about myself right now."

Autumn was disappointed to hear that, but smiled understandingly. "Alright. But one of these days I'd like to get to know you a little better. There are a few questions I've been wanting to ask."

Chamella didn't say anything else in hopes of the topic shifting away from herself. Given her... history with this mare's daughter, she figured it would be more than a little awkward to sit down and talk with her. She was worried about what exactly those questions the older mare may have had were.

Shade took notice of Chamella's posture and expression. He understood why she'd be reluctant to speak with Autumn, but he knew very well what a friendly and accommodating mare she was. Just looking at her now suggested that Autumn was more than willing to forgive Chamella for what she'd done to her daughter. But thinking about it now, Shade thought it was odd that she'd never brought it up to him even once. He figured she'd at least want to discuss that with him before opting to confront Chamella directly. Had Winter even told her mother anything about Chamella and what she did?

A sudden silence had fallen over the lobby once again, with nopony really having anything else to say. All that was left really was just to wait, like they'd been doing for a while now. Fluttershy let out a sleepy yawn, which spread to both Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Another hour had passed and the time was starting to really take its toll on all of them. Even Shade, who had more reason than any of them to be there, was starting to find the idea of a nice, long nap pretty appealing right about now.

Fluttershy lazily stood up from her seat, stretching her wings and back. "I'm sorry, Shade. I think I need to head home. I'm very tired, and I don't like to leave my animals all alone for too long. I still have to read bedtime stories to the baby mice."

Shade, feeling quite tired himself, waved a hoof dismissively. "Don't worry about it. You go on home."

Fluttershy nodded, giving everypony a wave goodbye as she turned to the door.

However, at that moment, the double doors leading further into the hospital opened. A unicorn stallion wearing a white coat and a blue surgical mask stepped into the lobby, his gaze immediately pointing toward Shade.

The changeling, recognizing the stallion as the doctor that had taken Winter in, stood up the moment he saw who it was. Suddenly, the tiredness Shade had been feeling evaporated, and now all that was on his mind was Winter. The doctor's presence also prompted most everypony else to stand as well, particularly Autumn and Nimbus who stood just behind Shade when he approached the doctor.

"What's going on?" Shade asked, impatient and still quite concerned. "How's Winter? Is she okay? How's she doing?"

The doctor raised a hoof to Shade, pulling down his mask to speak. "Please, calm down. That's what I came out here to tell you."

"Is she okay?" Shade repeated more sternly, wanting an answer as soon as possible.

The doctor chuckled at Shade's behavior. "Relax. Both Winter and your son are fine."

The lobby went dead quiet. Shade stood, unmoving, with his mouth hanging open slightly as though he wasn't quite sure he had heard that correctly. "My... My son?"

The doctor grinned widely. "That's right. You are now the proud father of a perfectly healthy, baby colt. Congratulations."

Autumn held her hooves to her mouth, trying her best to fight back joyous tears. "Nimbus, did you hear that? A colt! We have a grandson!"

Nimbus simply stared in disbelief. "Yeah... I guess we do." A small, proud smile managed to work its way onto his face.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Rarity exclaimed gleefully.

"Congratulations, Shade," Twilight said, placing a hoof upon the changeling's shoulder.

"Hearin' that must be a mighty relief, Ah reckon," Applejack said with a chuckle, her own voice sounding of relief itself.

"Well, I can't just leave now, can I?" said Fluttershy with an eager grin. "I don't think I'd be able to sleep wondering what the baby looked like."

Shade had just continued to stare at the doctor, as though he couldn't even hear everypony else as they each congratulated him. "Can I see them?" he asked, addressing the doctor.

The doctor nodded. "Of course. You are the father after all." Having heard that, Autumn made a step forward, eager to see her newborn grandson. However, the doctor held out a hoof, stopping the mare and eliciting a confused look from her. "I'm only allowing the father to see them right now. The whole ordeal was quite taxing for Winter and she fainted once the whole thing was over. The poor girl didn't even get to see her son before she passed out."

Autumn gasped in shock and worry. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," the doctor assured. "She's just resting, which is why I'm only allowing Shade to see them right now. Once she wakes up, you can go see her."

Shade was about to make his way in, but, once again, the doctor stopped him.

"I should warn you: there is a slight... anomaly with your son."

A sudden feeling of dread fell over not only Shade, but the others as well, especially Autumn and Nimbus. In addition to that dread, Shade also felt a sudden anger build up inside him, which he directed at the doctor. "What? I thought you said he was perfectly healthy?!"

The doctor waved a hoof in an attempt to calm Shade down. "He is! Health-wise, the colt is fine. It's just... Well, perhaps it's best if you see for yourself." The doctor then turned back toward the doors, gesturing for Shade to follow.

Autumn and Nimbus shared concerned looks, but smiled as reassuringly as they could at Shade. Feeling a little uneasy himself, the changeling followed behind the doctor.

As Shade stepped through into the inner halls of the hospital, he found himself wondering once more if this was just a dream. Everything was a little too quiet, as though any sound was being muffled by an unseen force, leaving Shade with only his thoughts. Thankfully the halls were at least populated with nurses and doctors passing by and conversing as they walked. That gave Shade at least some semblance of reality, but there was no real way to completely abate his disbelief.

At least not yet.

Contrary to the events of his dreams, Shade and the doctor had wound up in the hospital's maternity ward rather quickly, continuing a little further down before the doctor stopped and pointed Shade to one particular door.

"She's right through here," the doctor said as though it were no big deal. "I have some work I need to take care of, so I'll stop by later. You go on in."

Shade said nothing. He wanted to thank the doctor, but found his mind far too preoccupied. The doctor had already began making his way back down the hall anyway, leaving the changeling by himself and staring at the door. Shade took a breath in an effort to calm himself, because he knew when he stepped through that door, his life was going to change drastically.

Shade gently pushed the door open, only peeking his head inside at first. The first thing his eyes fell upon was the prone form of his beloved pegasus, covered by the hospital bed sheets and fast asleep. Shade slipped inside, making sure to close the door carefully so as not to wake her abruptly. With his eyes transfixed on her, he softly stepped over to her side.

The doctor wasn't kidding when he said it was an ordeal for her. Winter's ivory coat was damp with sweat and her scarlet mane was frayed and matted to her face. And even in her sleep Winter was breathing rather heavily, practically panting; the only sound in the otherwise dead silence of the hospital room. Shade felt his guilt coming back upon him. Seeing her in such a state made him feel even worse about not being by her side as she went through this. Shade gently brushed aside the errant strands of hair from her face and managed a soft, proud smile regardless of his guilt. At the very least, she was okay. Seeing that did a lot to ease Shade's mind.

But in the brief moments of silence between Winter's labored breaths, Shade heard another noise. It was so quiet that had this just been any ordinary day, it wouldn't have even registered in Shade's mind. But the tiny sound of a quiet moan managed to catch his attention.

Shade turned around. He knew what it was, but at the same time needed confirmation. Behind him, against the wall on the right side of the room, was a hospital manger. And through the clear, acrylic glass railings, Shade could see a small figure laying down inside of it. The changeling stood motionless for a few moments, mouth slightly agape as his disbelief reached a new high. But his sheer, morbid curiosity forced his hole-riddled legs to move, though not without hesitation. Shade slowly approached the manger, placing a hoof upon the railing, and with wide eyes, stared down at the figure within.

There, wrapped up snugly in a light blue, cotton blanket, was a tiny, newborn foal, sound asleep. From what was visible with the blanket wrapped around him, Shade could see that the little colt had a jet black coat and a tiny tuft of dark green hair sprouting from his forehead.

But what was most shocking to him was the fact that it looked like a normal, baby pony. Its coat was thin, but it at least had a coat rather than the smooth, chitinous skin that was characteristic of changelings. In addition to that, the colt lacked the changelings' sharp, curved horn. Shade had worried about this so much over the past eleven months that he basically conditioned himself to expect those things. But for all intents and purposes, this foal somehow managed to be born as a normal pony.

No, it wasn't just a normal pony: it was his son.

A smile crept its way onto Shade's face. Finally, after so much time fussing and worrying, it appeared as though all doubts and concerns were completely unfounded. That, more than anything else, brought so much relief. Shade even managed a quiet chuckle, laughing at himself for wasting his time fretting over this little guy for so long.

At the sound of Shade's voice, however, the little one stirred in his sleep. The tiny colt let out a sleepy yawn, giving Shade a clear view of the kid's fangless mouth. The colt then slowly opened its beady, little eyes, his irises a bright, vivid green. The newborn squinted its eyes as it adjusted to the bright light of the white hospital room.

And the first thing he saw was the adult changeling staring down at him.

The colt's eyes were transfixed on the figure leaning over him, and a worrying thought pervaded Shade's mind. How must it feel to have a creature such as himself staring down at a helpless, newborn foal? Even adult ponies would show fear when faced with a changeling, so how might the colt react?

But there was no reaction. Shade fully expected the colt to begin crying in fright, but it just stared up at him, its eyes not full of fear, but with a sort of curious wonderment. It was then that Shade made a realization. What reason did this foal have to be afraid? He was just born into the world; he had no concept of what was normal or what was scary yet. For all he knew, the creature staring down at him right now was perfectly normal. That thought was bizarre to Shade. To actually encounter somepony who might believe that changelings were normal was a foreign concept, but one that was oddly comforting, even if it was just a foal maybe not even an hour old. Shade began to think that perhaps, if the colt was feeling somewhat wary, he should do something to help ease the tyke. He should welcome his son into the world.

Shade gave the colt as comforting a smile as he could manage—which wasn't difficult, all things considered. As he gazed down at the foal, he spoke his first words to his son. "Hi," Shade said quietly. The colt didn't really react to his voice at all; it just continued to stare curiously. "I'm... I'm your dad." It felt weird to actually finally say that; the kind of feeling that made his stomach tighten, but made his heart beat more fervently. It was a good feeling.

But talking to him could only do so much. After all, the little guy couldn't understand Shade yet. He needed to do something a little more meaningful. Shade's horn went alight with green magic, the aura enveloping the tiny, bundled up colt. He knew he had to be careful; having just been born, the foal was probably still quite frail. With just a minute amount of force, Shade slowly and gently lifted the colt from the soft sheets on the bottom of the manger. However, the moment the colt felt itself moving, its eyes widened more than they had already been, almost looking panicked. Shade paused, a sudden dread overcoming him, and he gently placed the colt back down. The changeling felt a little guilty to have perhaps scared his son like that, but at the very least he wasn't crying. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten the child, but he also wanted to show him that there was nothing to be afraid of. Shade's green aura never dissipated, keeping it tenderly wrapped around the tyke, and he readied himself to make another attempt to pick him up.

As the colt began lifting again, it had much the same reaction as before, moving its head around as if to try and make sense of what was happening.

"It's alright. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," Shade assured him as soothingly as possible.

Somewhat to his surprise, the colt locked eyes with its father again upon hearing his voice. The baby stopped fidgeting and just focused on Shade. Feeling more confident, Shade finally lifted the colt from the manger and guided it to his chest, cradling the foal in his foreleg. Despite the holes in his legs not making for a very consistent surface to rest upon, the colt seemed comfortable wrapped up in its woolly, blue blanket. Again, it just simply stared up at Shade, but after a few moments, its gaze seemed to drift about the room a little more, taking in its unfamiliar surroundings.

Shade couldn't help but smile. This felt good. He was holding his son and he was enjoying it. Maybe all that stuff he theorized about changelings having no parental instincts was just due to the fact that they never bothered to try. Just standing there now, with his son cradled against him, he was filled with pride. And even though he'd only known this colt for a few minutes, Shade already knew he was willing to do anything to protect him.

"Shade?"

The changeling looked over his shoulder at the sound of the quiet and exhausted voice. Staring back at him, amber eyes still half-lidded and tired, was Winter, still laying down on her pillow. Shade grinned softly at her before fully turning around.

Immediately, Winter lifted her head, her eyes widening in disbelief when she saw the little colt in Shade's gentle embrace. "I-Is... Is that...?" she said, her voice shaky as though all of her emotions had just awoken as well.

Shade smiled down at the colt, some disbelief still in his own voice. "Yeah. This is our son."

Winter's legs quivered when she heard him say that. "O-Our son?"

The changeling walked over to the bed with the foal, giving its mother a closer look.

Winter held out a hoof. "Can I hold him?"

Shade laughed a little at the request. "He's your son. I think you have more right to hold him than anypony."

Shade lifted the colt over to its mother with his magic. Winter propped herself up against the headboard of the bed, tenderly taking the foal in her forelegs. Shade could already see moisture beginning to form in her eyes as a wide, yet shaky, smile graced her beautiful lips.

"I can't believe it," she said, her quiet voice belying the emotion behind it. "I'm a mom. Oh, gosh, I feel terrible that I fell asleep before I could see him. I wanted to be the first person he saw."

"Can't really help that," Shade said to comfort her. "Just be happy that he's healthy. And that you're okay, too."

Winter's eyes never lifted from her son, lovingly brushing a hoof over his little cheek, and he stared up at her in much the same way he had done with his father. "You're right. And look at him: he's... normal. Oh, uh, not that you aren't... normal. You know what I mean."

Shade waved it off. "I know. Believe me, I'm just as shocked. And relieved."

"But I would have loved him regardless," said Winter, lifting the colt up to nuzzle it. "Still, I guess this makes things easier on us." Winter giggled to herself as she continued to gaze down at her son. "He actually looks like his daddy, too."

Shade raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You're kidding, right? How exactly does he look like me?"

"It's his eyes. He has your eyes."

Shade looked a little closer, skeptical of her claim. He could clearly see some distinct differences, like the lack of the pale, blue sclera and normal, round pupils instead of slotted ones. "I don't see it."

Winter sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, you haven't spent as much time staring into your eyes as I have. Trust me, those are your eyes. And he also has your... Er, well, I was going to say 'coat,' but I guess 'color' would be a little more accurate."

"Well, out of all the things he could have inherited from me, eyes and coat color are probably the best we could have hoped for. Could've been worse things to take from me."

Winter grinned fondly at her lover. "You're too hard on yourself sometimes, Shade."

"I just want him to have it easy, you know? I don't want him to go through the same things I had to when everypony found out about me."

"Well, it's because of you that I think he wouldn't have to. But I guess that's not really worth arguing about now, is it?" Winter turned her gaze back down, gently brushing the small tuft of hair on their son's head to smooth it out.

Shade finally managed to take his eyes off of the colt for a moment, turning his attention instead to Winter. "How are you doing? You feeling alright after all this?"

The pegasus smiled up at him. "Still a little tired, but given the circumstances, I don't really mind. It was all worth it," she said, holding the foal closer and nuzzling him again. After a moment, Winter simply stared down at the tiny colt all wrapped up like a present. Seeing only his little head, a thought came to her and she held him out to Shade. "Hey, can you take the blanket off of him? I wanna see if he has wings."

Shade raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't he? He is a pony."

"Well, despite what it seems, he's still half changeling and he doesn't have many of your features. He might not have wings either."

Shade shrugged, conceding the point and taking hold of the colt with his magic. Thankfully the little guy didn't seem to mind so much anymore and didn't squirm much as he was held slightly in the air above the hospital bed. Carefully, Shade unwrapped the blanket from the colt, letting it fall onto the bed.

And it was all Shade could do just to keep his grip on the child as he and Winter gawked in total shock at what they saw.

He had wings alright, just not the kind they were expecting. Sprouting from the colt's back were not pegasus wings with bones, joints and feathers, but the thin, bright blue, translucent, insect-like wings of a changeling, fluttering slowly now that they were free from their wrappings. Additionally, this being their first look at the colt's lower body, it was worth noting that his legs were free of holes and covered in thin, black fur like the rest of his body. Strangely, his wings also lacked any of the natural holes and tears present in the average changeling's wings, making them look more like a normal insect's wings, like that of a fly, or bee.

Winter and Shade just stared in stunned silence, their mouths agape as they attempted to process this. Winter was the first to speak, her voice a little shaken up. "Well... at least if there was still any doubt that he was your son, there isn't anymore," she joked with a large and somewhat forced grin, trying to play it off like it wasn't a big deal.

Shade pulled the tyke closer, turning him around to get a better look at his wings. While the colt had no thin shell covering his back and wrapping around his abdomen, Shade did notice that the skin around the joint where the wings connected to his back had the same glossy sheen that his own chitinous skin had.

The changeling flipped the child around again, looking his son in the eyes. "Huh. How about that? Guess he got more from me than we thought," Shade commented with a proud smile. He then lowered the colt back into his mother's loving embrace.

Winter chuckled quietly at the comment. "After everything you've just said, I didn't think you'd react so well."

Shade shrugged. "Well, it's not fangs or holes at least. And his wings look pretty normal by bug standards, unlike mine." He flittered his naturally tattered wings to punctuate his statement.

The two new parents then spent several silent moments staring proudly and fondly at the new life that they had introduced into the world. Shade in particular was still trying to come to grips with the idea that he now had a child whose life he was actually responsible for, and not only that but one who was actually half-pony. There was just so much about this that he would have never believed could ever happen had he not been able to see it with his own eyes, and even then it was still so hard to believe that it was real.

Winter held her hoof up to the colt, letting the little pony grab onto her and cuddle in. The sight elicited a soft smile from the pegasus. "He's so tiny. It's hard to believe this little guy was the one I've been carrying around for the past eleven months. And he doesn't even realize how special he is yet." She nuzzled her nose against the colt's with a giggle. "Hi, little guy. I'm your mommy." She pulled back as she realized something. "Oh, right. We should probably give him a name, huh? Any suggestions?" she asked, looking up at Shade.

The changeling hadn't really been expecting the question, stammering slightly as he tried to respond. "M-Me? What, you want me to name him?"

"Well, we should probably come to an agreement on one, but I just want you to throw out some names, see if there's any that have a nice ring to them."

Shade thought for a brief moment, but a name did come to mind rather quickly. "What about Alto?"

Winter's ears perked up at the name, then quickly folded back as she glowered and grimaced slightly at Shade. "Ugh, they told you that, huh?"

Shade, not quite understanding her sudden disdain, shrugged. "What? I just thought it'd be a nice surprise for your parents."

"We are not naming him Alto," the mare commanded firmly. "That'd be too weird for me knowing that it was supposed to be my name. Try again."

Shade took another moment to think, but, in light of Winter's reaction to his first suggestion, came up empty. "I... I don't really know what would be a good name. Sorry. Why don't you pick something? I'm sure whatever you come up with will be better than anything I can think of."

Winter inhaled a long breath through her nose before staring down at the little colt. She gazed intensely at him, searching for inspiration. Her eyes ended up drifting to the foals insectoid wings, and that made her think of something. She then glanced down at her own chest. In spite of everything, her necklace was still draped around her neck, shimmering in the bright light of the hospital room.

And that was when inspiration struck.

"'How two things that have no right being together can exist in perfect harmony...'"

Shade tilted his head, leaning in as Winter mumbled the words.

Winter looked up, passing a gentle, smile to the father of her child. "How about Snowflake?"

"'Snowflake'?" Shade repeated. He looked down to where Winter was looking just a moment ago at the asymmetrical necklace. He immediately caught on to her meaning and grinned back at her. "You know what? That sounds pretty good."

Winter beamed happily when Shade agreed. "Then that's it. His name is Snowflake," she declared happily, snuggling the newly-named colt. "Because you are my special, widdle snowflake, aren't y—ow!"

Shade chuckled in amusement as he watched Snowflake tug on his mother's hair, Winter wincing in mild pain, but, not wanting to upset the tyke, didn't pull away, forcing a crooked smile. "H-Hey, easy there. That kinda hurts." She gently pulled away, her hair slowly slipping from the baby's surprisingly tight grip for a creature with hooves.

Once Winter had freed herself, their little family meet-and-greet was finally interrupted when the door opened slightly. The doctor poked his head in to check on the new, happy family, grinning and stepping inside when he saw Winter sitting up with the baby. "Ah, you're awake. How are you feeling, Winter?"

Winter smiled softly. "Like a million bits."

"Good to hear. Congratulations, by the way. And now that you're awake, would you like me to inform your parents and your friends?"

"Oh, right! Mom and Dad must be pacing holes in the floor waiting to see their grandson. Yeah, tell 'em to come in, and anypony else who wants to visit, too."

The doctor simply nodded to acknowledge the request and left once more.

Winter looked back up at Shade. "What were they like while you guys were waiting? Were they a wreck?"

Shade shook his head. "Not really. Your mom was more excited than anything. Although, your dad was surprisingly worried. Either way, they couldn't have been in any worse shape than me." The changeling sighed, gently running a hoof over his son's head. "Winter, I want to apologize for not being by your side through all this. Even if I was scared of what was going to happen, I should have been here to help you and hold your hoof through this."

Winter could see the guilt all over Shade's face, his narrow pupils widening apologetically. She gave him a fond grin. "That doesn't matter, Shade. What does matter is that you're here at all. Admittedly, there were moments during the whole pregnancy where I was afraid you might leave because of all the pressure being put on us."

"You never have to worry about that," he assured her. "I'd have to be a pretty ungrateful boyfriend to abandon you after everything you've done for me. Which is why I feel so bad about not being here."

"And I want to apologize for doubting you, but, look, we don't have to focus on stuff like that now. Right now, all of our attention should be focused on this little guy, okay?"

Shade couldn't help but smile when she said that. "Fair point."

"Knock knock." From the door poked the silvery mane and crimson coat of Winter's mother, her cheeks dimpled by the widest of smiles, but Winter could tell she was still restraining herself. That restraint, however, flew out the window at the sight of her daughter cradling a tiny, newborn foal. She stepped inside, her hoofsteps shaky and trepidant as she fought to hold back joyous tears. "Oh my gosh, there he is," she squeaked, barely able to control the volume and pitch of her voice.

Autumn moved to the bedside next to Shade to see the colt up close, every inch closer causing her eyes to well up more. And with the doorway now cleared there was room for more visitors to enter, Nimbus having followed closely behind his wife, and he was followed by Twilight and her friends who all spread out about the room, making the place feel a touch cramped, but making sure they weren't in the way in case the doctor needed anything. Chamella was the last to enter, electing to stand by the door. Everypony expressed their congratulations and 'aw'-ing at the adorable, little colt, but none more than Autumn.

"He's just the cutest, little thing," Autumn exclaimed, lightly tapping a hoof on the colt's nose. "Oh, gosh, I can't believe it. I'm actually a grandma. And look at him..." She cast a smile towards Shade. "He looks just like his daddy."

Nimbus leaned in toward the colt with a raised eyebrow. "I don't see it."

Shade grinned to himself slightly, a little amused that he and Nimbus actually agreed on something.

"What exactly about him makes him look like his dad?" asked Rainbow Dash in confusion. "I mean, his coat is black and his eyes are green, but aside from that he looks like any other newborn foal."

Winter rolled her eyes with a sigh and a slight smile, looking to Shade. The changeling shrugged; he knew what was coming next.

"Brace yourselves," Winter warned.

From his cradled position within Winter's embrace, Snowflake's wings were not visible. However, the moment she lifted him up for everypony to see, the room fell silent.

With wide eyes, Autumn held a hoof to her mouth in shock. "Oh, my goodness."

Everypony else's reactions were much the same: mouths agape in surprise. Nimbus even shot a glower towards Shade, to which the changeling simply shrugged; it wasn't as though he had any control of it. However, one pony in particular wasn't so much shocked as she was intrigued.

"Fascinating," Twilight mused, unable to contain her smile of scientific curiosity. That curiosity urged her to push through the crowd in the room to inspect the foal more closely. "I knew that mutations were to be expected, but this is more along the line of selective breeding; the process of passing down ideal traits of the parents to create offspring with the most beneficial genetics. But even that is a little more subtle that what I'm seeing here. This is more like an advanced form of evolution. Who would have thought something like this was possible?"

Winter cleared her throat to interrupt the excited princess, giving her a somewhat bemused stare.

Twilight, realizing she was looking at the colt more like a subject of biological study as opposed to an actual person, blushed and corrected herself. "Oh, sorry. He's cute. That's what I meant."

"Cute is an understatement, darling," said Rarity. "He's absolutely precious!"

"You gotta bring him over to Sugarcube Corner so he can have play dates with twins sometimes!" Pinkie Pie suggested enthusiastically.

"I'll be sure to do that," Winter agreed with a nod.

Autumn took an eager step closer. "Can I hold him, sweetie?"

Winter nodded. "Yeah, of course."

She held the colt out to his grandmother, Autumn barely able to contain her emotions when the tiny foal came to rest in her motherly embrace. "Oh my, it's been such a long time since I've held a baby like this. I used to hold your mommy like this, too," she whispered sweetly to the colt.

"At least he doesn't seem too overwhelmed by having so many people around," Applejack observed, noticing nothing more than an expression of innocent curiosity on the colt's face as he looked around at all the adults around him.

"So did you decide on a name yet? Or perhaps you need more time to think about it," Fluttershy inquired sheepishly, not wanting to make them to feel rushed.

Winter and Shade looked to one another and smiled proudly. Winter's eyes fell upon the child in her mother's gentle caress once more before looking back up at her friends and family. "Actually, we have decided. Snowflake."

"Oh, that's such a cute name," Rarity commented.

"Kinda weird, though, don't you think?" Rainbow Dash added. "I mean, no offense, but, personally, I don't think it really fits with the black coat and everything."

"I'm sure their choice of name has a deeper meaning to them," Twilight inferred. Winter noticed that her gaze briefly fell upon her necklace as she spoke, clearly having already figured out the inspiration.

"It's not exactly very masculine, is it?" Nimbus pointed out with a slight grimace.

Winter looked at her father, confused. "Huh? What do you mean? Does that really matter?"

"Of course it matters. The name you give him is what he's going to be known as throughout his entire life. You have to think carefully about things like this."

"Nimbus, please, is this really the time for this?" Autumn said quietly, attempting to diffuse the argument she knew was coming.

"Autumn, I just want what's best for our grandson. He may have a rough enough time fitting in with those wings."

"Hey, come on," Shade interjected. "Don't say things like that."

Nimbus was unfazed by the changeling's effort to scold him. "I'm not trying to insult anypony, I'm just pointing out that children can be cruel, especially towards those who are different. With his wings and a name like that, there'll be more than enough for kids to latch onto in the schoolyard. You should be practical rather than trying to be clever with his name."

Winter just stared at her father as though none of what he had just said meant anything to her. "Well, if you and Mom decide to have another kid, you can take your sweet time coming up with a name. Our son's name is Snowflake. You don't get a say in that, Dad. Sorry."

Nimbus backed off with a huff. "Fine. But don't come crying to me a few years from now when he comes home from school one day crying because some kids were making fun of him."

"If I might offer a compromise," Twilight interjected. "Why not just call him 'Snow' for short? That sounds a little more masculine, doesn't it?"

Winter grinned at the suggestion. "How about that, Dad? You can call him Snow if you want."

Nimbus paused for a moment to contemplate that before shrugging indifferently. "I suppose that's a little better."

The gruff stallion suddenly found himself flinching when Autumn had thrust the colt into his forelegs out of nowhere. Nimbus stared at her in confusion, receiving a coy grin from her.

"Just shut up and love your grandson, 'Pops,'" she giggled.

Nimbus looked down at the little colt, who stared back at him with his beady, green eyes. The sight of the foal in his forelegs brought back so many dormant memories of when his own daughter was born, and the stern stallion softened up a little and finally managed to smile. "Well... I guess I can teach him to stand up to anypony who might give him a hard time. Nopony better mess with my grandson."

"Excuse me."

All eyes turned to the door to find the doctor attempting to squeeze into the crowded room.

Autumn gave the doctor a grateful grin, though there was a touch of concern in her voice as well. "Hello, doctor. Is there a problem?"

The stallion shook his head with a dismissive smile. "No, no. No problems at all, really. Just dropping in to see if you had any questions about the colt."

"You mean the wings, right?" Shade inferred, to which the doctor nodded.

"Ah reckon we should probably get out of the way an' give 'em some room," Applejack suggested, already pushing through the door and exiting out into the hall. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight, and Chamella all made to follow.

"There's no need for that," Winter assured them. "You guys aren't in the way."

Twilight turned back and gave a wave. "This sounds like a family matter. I'd rather give you guys some privacy."

"Actually, Your Highness, I'd like to request that you stay," the doctor said. "And Miss Chamella, too, if you would."

Twilight and Chamella stopped, looking back at the doctor curiously as the others continued on their way back to the lobby. "Huh? Why's that?" asked the alicorn.

"I heard that you're writing a research paper about changelings. Is that right?"

"Yes," Twilight confirmed with a nod.

"In that case, I'd like to ask for your opinion on certain matters we'll likely be discussing, seeing that you're essentially the leading authority on changelings. And having an actual pair of changelings weigh in would be very helpful as well."

"I can't really say I know how this is going to affect our kid, but I'll help where I can," said Shade.

The doctor nodded, then picked up and looked over a clipboard hanging off the foot of the hospital bed. "Alright then. First of all, I'd like to reiterate that the foal—oh, have you decided on a name yet?"

"Snowflake," Winter answered.

The unicorn doctor removed a pen from the pocket of his white coat using his magic and made an addendum on the paper. "Okay. As I was saying, I'd like to reiterate that Snowflake is in perfect health. As near as we can tell, the wings are not demonstrating any adverse effects on his health. He even seems to be able to move them without any trouble. I do fear that they may be rather fragile. Is that an issue that you deal with?" he asked Shade and Chamella.

Shade simply shrugged. "Not really. The Changeling Kingdom is a pretty cold place, so I guess we've adapted to that. Our wings are stronger than they look, at least when it comes to damage." He splayed out his wings to show him. "And these 'rips' and 'tears' you see are actually natural; we were born this way."

"Although, I have seen some particularly violent changelings fighting one another and ripping each others wings off at the base sometimes," Chamella added. The mental image caused not only Winter and Autumn, but also Nimbus, to shudder at the thought.

"I don't suppose changeling wings grow back, do they?" Nimbus inquired, to which both changelings unfortunately shook their heads.

"From what we've seen, it's not that easy for them to get ripped off anyway. I've been in a few rough tussles and my wings are fine. Even the guys I fought with still left with their wings intact. They're probably not gonna get torn out unless somepony specifically goes for them."

"That's good to hear at the very least," Autumn said with a relieved sigh. "I'd hate for this little guy to go through that sort of pain." She ran a hoof gently over the colt's head.

"I just had a thought," Twilight interjected. "Changelings are notably lighter than ponies, having more slender frames and less mass, what with the holes in their legs and the apparent lack of leg bones."

The doctor nodded, having been just about to address that topic. "Yes, I believe we're on the same train of thought, Princess. Changeling wings possess no muscles except for the area around the base, so it's essentially impossible to increase wing strength through exercise like a pegasus can."

"What exactly are you getting at, Doctor?" Nimbus asked with narrowed eyes.

The doctor gave the family a sympathetic look, hesitating to answer the question. "From what we can tell... it's unlikely the colt will ever be able to fly."

A stunned silence fell over the room, the faces of the three pegasi and the changeling father having fallen at the shock of hearing the unfortunate news.

"Never?" Autumn whimpered sullenly.

"Changeling wings are designed to carry the lighter bodies of changelings," Twilight clarified. "A pony's body would likely be too heavy."

Nimbus hung his head slightly, holding the colt more tightly to himself.

"However, this is merely a theory," the doctor told them. "As you can tell, his wings don't look exactly like his father's. It's entirely possible that the extra surface area of having—for lack of a better word—'whole' wings may give him the lift needed to fly."

"And he is part pegasus, right?" Winter pointed out. "We tend to be a little lighter than earth ponies and unicorns. And maybe his changeling genes mean he'll be even lighter than us."

"Wishful thinking, but I suppose we have no evidence to rule it out," said Twilight optimistically.

"Speaking of pegasus genes, I wonder if he can walk on clouds," Autumn mused. "I'd hate for him to never be able to visit his grandma and grandpa in Cloudsdale."

"I'm afraid I don't have an answer for that," the doctor said with a shrug. "You'll have to test that out yourselves, I suppose. Though I'd recommend doing so as safely as possible."

"I never even considered that my grandchild wouldn't be able to fly," Nimbus mumbled solemnly.

"If it means anything to you, if I had a choice in the matter, I'd have given him pegasus wings," Shade said in an effort to ease Nimbus's mind.

"Look, in the end, it doesn't matter if he can fly or not," Winter stated with confidence. "He's our son, and that's all that matters to me. So right now, I'd rather focus on taking care of him than worry about how things might turn out in the future."

"So the exact opposite mentality you've had for the whole pregnancy then?" Autumn quipped with a giggle.

Nimbus passed Snowflake back to his mother, letting the colt nestle into her alabaster chest and letting out a yawn as it drifted back to sleep in her embrace.

"I'll make sure to keep his future in mind," Winter clarified. "But I need a little time just to get used to the fact that I'm a mom now. I thought after carrying him around with me for eleven months I'd have already come to terms with that, but..."

Autumn nodded in understanding. "But actually holding the baby in your hooves is a completely different feeling."

Winter smiled at her mother. Knowing that she now had so much more in common with her mother was a warming feeling. Having a foal herself made her feel even closer to her parents than ever before. "Yeah."

The conversation having seemed to have reached its natural conclusion, Twilight turned to the door, excusing herself with a polite grin. "I'm going to head back out to the lobby. If you need anything from us, don't hesitate to ask."

Winter returned the princess's grin with a grateful smile of her own. "That's okay. Thanks for being here, Twilight. And make sure to thank everypony else for me."

The alicorn nodded silently before disappearing out into the hall.

"I'll be going now as well," the doctor added. "If you have anymore questions, just have one of the nurses fetch me."

"Thank you so much, Doctor," Autumn said, very grateful for everything he's done to help her daughter and grandson.

With them gone, the only person left in the room with no blood relation to the baby was Chamella, a fact that was made very evident to her as she watched Shade, Winter, Autumn and Nimbus all quietly watching Snowflake sleep on his mother's chest. The feeling made her a little uncomfortable, as though her presence was an intrusion on what should be a family moment. With that in mind, Chamella attempted to quietly slip out while they weren't looking.

"Where're you going, Chamella?"

The female changeling halted with a jerk, turning back to see Shade smiling amicably at her. "I... just figured I'd give you guys some privacy."

"Nonsense. You're basically family; you have every right to be here," Autumn assured her.

While she blushed at the compliment, Chamella was still a touch uneasy about staying, a feeling that became stronger the longer she looked at the newborn colt.

"And you haven't even held the baby yet."

Hearing Shade say that made that uneasy feeling in her gut even worse. "Uh, t-that's okay. I'll pass."

Shade frowned in disappointment. "You sure? I really want him to meet his aunt."

Chamella gulped nervously. While she didn't want to disappoint Shade, she also didn't want to do anything wrong that might upset the colt's mother or grandparents.

"If she wants to leave, she can," Winter interjected. "You don't have to make her do anything she doesn't want to."

The purple-maned changeling breathed a silent sigh of relief, happy to have an out. "I'll... just be out in the lobby with Twilight and the others."

After Chamella promptly left the room, Autumn had a thought. "Actually, now that I think about it, you've been in here for quite a while, Winter. You must be starving."

At the mere mention of it, Winter suddenly felt a rumble in the pit of her stomach. "Huh. Now that you mention it, I guess I am pretty hungry. Wasn't really something that was on my mind given the circumstances."

"I can get you something if you want," Shade offered.

Autumn lifted her hoof to stop him. "No, no, you stay here with her and the baby. I'll fetch something to eat."

"Thanks, Mom," Winter said with a grateful grin. "But don't go overboard; I'm not eating for two anymore. Something light will be fine."

"Sure thing."

"I'll go with you," said Nimbus, following his wife to the door. "I could use another coffee."

And for what felt like the hundredth time, the room was befallen by silence. The difference this time was the peacefulness of it. There was no tension, no nervousness, no shock or stun. Just peaceful, comfortable quiet. Winter simply lay there, watching her newborn son moan quietly as he slept soundly on her chest, a content and proud smile upon her lips. Shade continued to stand by the bedside, watching as Winter gently ran her hoof over the colt's head. Each tender stroke of his mother's hoof elicited a slow flitter of Snowflake's tiny, bug-like wings.

"It's too bad not all changeling babies are this cute," Winter said softly with a light chuckle.

"You're happy now, right?"

Winter looked up from the colt, turning to Shade with a raised eyebrow. There was a look of slight concern on her boyfriend's face. "What do you mean? Of course I'm happy."

Shade nodded and smiled. "We've been worrying ourselves silly all this time. I just need to know that you're not scared anymore."

Winter let out a sigh, but smiled regardless. "Well, it's not like I'm not still scared. We're responsible for his life and that's pretty scary, but at the same time, I can't help but feel like having that kind of responsibility is going to be important for us, you know?"

"So you've been looking forward to this then?"

"Yeah. Just because I'm scared doesn't mean I don't want it to happen. Why? You're not having second thoughts about this, are you?"

Shade shook his head, placing his dark, hole-filled hoof over Winter's ivory, coated hoof. "No way. I just needed to know that you felt the same way."

Winter stared up at him fondly, one hoof lightly gripping his, the other resting gently upon their son. She leaned up as much as she could without disturbing the colt, closing enough distance to press her lips against Shade's and kiss him for several moments, breathing a satisfied sigh when they parted.

Today marked the start of the next big chapter of their lives, and perhaps the most important, as well. Winter and Shade quietly watched the colt sleep; the life that they, together, had created.

Their special, little Snowflake.

Comments

[FordPrefect]

Loved the chapter!

Just one small nitpick... birthing for quadrapeds is much, much quicker than for humans. (less than 2 hours)
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/604709/childbirth-vs-foalbirth

[readsponies]

This is a really weird way for that Fight Club reference to end up being used.

[Dee Pad]

7770793
These are magical, talking ponies from another universe we're talking about here. There's no evidence to suggest they behave exactly the same way as real world equines. I took some creative liberties for the sake of making it a little more relatable and to push the story in the direction I wanted.

[FordPrefect]

7771399
That's why it was a nitpick.
But actually its more of humans being the exception, rather than horses being quick.
There are allot of problems that occur with human childbirth that is the direct result of us being bipeds.
Pretty much every other species on Earth has quick childbirth since they aren't bipedal.

Short version:
Pelvic hole on human is too small for easy childbirth. Reason it is too small is because it has to hold twice the weight compared to a quadruped and if the hips were made bigger to compensate we wouldn't be able to run. (Which in primitive times would mean not getting as much food or being food.)

[Venom93]

To my fellow readers, there are spoilers ahead, so please do not read unless you have read the chapter.

Month and months of build up and suspense. Keeping not just Shade and Winter, but all of us readers on the edge of our seats. All to finally show us the product of their relationship. And you know what...

I LOVE IT!!!!!

Seriously, I have not been this jittery with excitement for any story, novel or fan fiction, in a long time. Maybe it's just me, but suspense leading up to this was some of the best I have ever seen. Shade's concern for Winter as well as his own ability to be a father were were realistic in my eyes and conveyed his fears effectively. We just saw he was even having nightmares about it and then he has to go through all those hours of waiting to hear the results. I don't honestly blame him for not being in there. I can easily imagine that seeing Winter struggle in pain like that would have been simply soul crushing for him.

And then he goes in and interacts with his newborn son, and by God does it hit you. Both him and Winter go from being scared stiff to just beaming with absolute joy and pride. Shade proves to Winter, and more importantly, to himself, that he is capable of being a caring parent. The few paragraphs of just him, Winter and their son are just... wow. Just wow.

Of course there is more ahead for them, but I have no doubt these two, now three, and get through it. They have jumped the first hurdle, and are ready for more.

[Dee Pad]

7771534
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it so much.

I've actually been looking forward to writing the particular scene revealing the baby for a long time; hell, before I even started this story, in all honesty. It's probably one of the scenes I've put the most thought into—not just for this story, but all of my stories—because I wanted to make sure it came out perfectly. I'm so glad to hear that it went over well.

[Slavenger Karl]

This is just plain awesome. I just count for the pegasus magic to make the flight work.

I also wonder abaut his transformative abilities. If his changeling magic can work - he could go out as a white pegasus, maybe even not know of it as Shade's true form would be kept a secret over the years...

[The Spy of the Tiger]

I just realized how much this has in common with MaxBeezy's My New Life in Equestria, despite that being an HiE. This even follows a similar formula! I mean look at it like this; in both stories a non-pony immigrant arrives in Ponyville, some things happen, some problems come about, and then the immigrant falls in love with a native, despite being a completely different species. In the second story, the immigrant and his love interest have taken their relationship to the level of having a child, and the second story mostly revolves around the pregnancy. The third story is all about the kid growing up and reaching adulthood. It seems like this story is coming to a close, but it does not feel like the book is over quite yet.

Now, don't get me wrong, the story is amazing and I am enjoying it. In fact I only just now noticed the similarities. I am not accusing you of anything either, Dee Pad. I just thought it was worth bringing up. If you haven't read My New Life in Equestria, I would recommend setting aside some time to read it. It is worth at least a look, and it hits a lot of the same flavors that this story hits. I very seriously doubt someone would like one of these stories and not the other.

[Helljumper206]

You need to get a picture of the baby. Something that cute needs tobe shown

[TexasDragon1995]

B-E-A-U-TI-FUL

[harts fire]

a vary sweet chapter and i can say i like the name Snowflake.
but is there a meaning for naming him after bulk biceps / snowflake.

[Dee Pad]

8409854
That was never Bulk's official name. Fans gave it to him to perpetuate the joke of the muscle-head having an ironically unintimidating name. There is no connection with him and the Snowflake in this story. Snowflake just happened to be the name I felt was most fitting. Besides, Bulk Biceps was given his official name by the time I started writing Halfling, so I don't know why people still choose to call him Snowflake.

[DezzarTac]

8410176
Because irony is hilarious. *monotone* What killed the doctor? An apple. Ha.