Light and Shadow

by oop

Prologue: The End Of The Beginning (ReWrite)

It was a cold, wintry mix of snow, sleet and rain that bit down on the town of Ponyville the night following Hearth’s Warming Day. The doors and windows of every abode were shut protectively against the strong exterior chill, and most of the inhabitants were turning in for an early rest. It was a calm night, even with the eccentricities of the weather, and the key seemed to be a long awaited peace. It was two years after the harrowing events of Luna’s return and from the vantage of the townsfolk, it seemed as if disaster was folly.

Twilight Sparkle, a newer resident of the little town, was able to gladly share the sentiments of such during the day, but tonight seemed to her especially harsh. Under a more normal circumstance it could be assumed she would be in the library, blanketed against the chill, possibly with a good book open at her side to serve as a distraction until the quiet hooves of sleep embraced her. Tonight was not one of those nights.

Spike had been the one to alert her of the change in pace, halfway through a party as well. Seemingly out of the wild blue he had regurgitated a scroll, resplendent with Celestia’s royal emblem. Excusing herself, and the dragon in question, she had retreated to a back room in order to peruse the letter more closely.

There were instructions written there, simple and yet perplexing in nature, all in the familiar writing of the princess. The request was for a cabin to be built in a very secluded plot of land near the forest before the moon rose that night. It was confusing to say the least, a somewhat daunting challenge to say the most, but after all she was a mage, or she considered herself one by now, and could more than likely finish the job with a degree of excellence.

Applejack had brought the lumber, but not without a snippet at the unicorn’s unusual behavior, and left when requested. Twilight wasn't sure why but she had a nagging suspicion that the purpose of the project was it should be kept between herself and Celestia. With magical prowess unique to her tutelage she was able to raise a sturdy shack, but not without some difficulty. Snow had to be cleared, nails had to be manipulated with great accuracy, and the roof of the hovel seemed intent on blowing away in the direction of the forest. Her doubts of the princess’ motives strengthened with every mistake made, the absurdity of the situation frustrating and confusing her immensely.

As the sun came closer to the completion of its mission west Spike found her again. He had received a second note, this one with more direct orders to wait in the vicinity of the hovel until the princess herself arrived. This was no sure alleviation of her confusion, but Twilight thought she could piece together something from it. In her mind the simplest explanation was the princess was assessing her abilities, albeit in a somewhat unorthodox manner. It was characteristic of the spirit of Ponyville at least, and was probably meant to serve as a shelter for a homeless pony, or something along that train of thought.

With the idea of inspection in mind Twilight redoubled her efforts, sun setting on the finished work of a one room shanty. It was sizable enough, and parts of Ponyville certainly had more meager accommodations, but most importantly it was solid, at least enough to hold against the snowstorm beginning to brew.

But as the night drew onward and the stars were blotted out by the progression of a heavy front of clouds, the princess continued to show no sign of arrival. Twilight had taken refuge inside the little shack and illuminated the space with a ball of contained purple flame. It was still bitingly cold outside the sphere’s influence, and the space nearby was only so much help. The dark and the cold stretched on ceaselessly.

Just as Twilight decided the princess must have forgotten their meeting and she would be better off back at the library the sound of intense thunder came from outside. The unicorn released a startled squeak, the storm had not been scheduled to have lightning. She timidly trotted to the empty door-frame and peered outside. Her purple eyes widened in shock as the dark silhouette of a chariot sped down from the sky, pulled by two broad-shouldered ponies with the wings of bats. Twilight took a moment to compose herself, breathing rhythmically to steady herself before going out to meet with the princess .She bowed to the snow on instinct as the wide wheels hit the snow with a quiet turning stop.

“I did just as you wanted, princess,” she said in as reverent of a tone as she could muster above the raging wind “Its right over there if you want to assess…”

“Assess?” an unfamiliar voice sounded from above “What insanity is this Twilight?”

There was a low creak as a navy colored hoof landed on the carriage step then down into the snow. Twilight’s eyes jerked upward in surprise and terror, recognizing only vaguely the proud muzzle of Princess Luna.

“Your sister must’ve bid her come,” a deeper, stronger voice boomed from the chariot itself “I wouldn't trust her yet, question her.”

Luna nodded sagely, not turning back towards the voice “Why are you here, Twilight?” she asked, the intonation making the swirling snow seem warm in comparison.

“I got a letter,” Twilight stammered as she spoke “Princess Celestia called me out here to do a building project,” she raised a hoof in the direction of the shack “It’s right over there, have a look.”

A sort of realization flashed behind Luna’s deep blue eyes. She nodded in understanding, then turned back to the carriage, “It’s alright,” she said “I know this one.”

Whether prompted by the affirmation, or simply having finished some business aboard, at that moment a dark furred pegasus pony descended the single step down into the snow. He was tall, very nearly at even height with the towering alicorn beside him. The sword hung by a scabbard at his side looked as if it could be used as much to flatten a pony as it could to slash at them.

The towering size, however, was not enough to divert Twilight’s attention from a small bundle hung at the stallion’s side by a leather sling. The mass shifted fitfully against him as he turned up to Luna, the expression of total stiffness giving way to a look of love, and somewhere deeper, a kind of hurt.

“You’ll want to say your goodbyes then,” he said “I’ll talk to the unicorn then, she’ll need to be explained to.”

“Of course,” Luna stammered as she spoke, blue magic pulling the sling over the pony’s shoulders and close to her face. Twilight caught the briefest glimpse of a tiny black ear peeking out over the edge. A child?

Her curiosity was cut short by the sense of cold metal very near at hoof. The enormous pegasus was holding the edge of his blade a mere centimeter from her cheek. Twilight turned green, not daring to move a single step.

“My name is Umbra Chaser,” said the stallion “To be fair, only courtesy since I know yours. You will receive a very brief explanation of these events if you will swear on your life to hold your tongue.”

“You have my word,” Twilight rasped.

Much to her relief Umbra’s next motion was to return the blade to its scabbard. “The child is of great importance to Luna,” he said, curiously not using her title in reference, “As you are aware Equestria is currently in a state of mild turmoil. The current plan to keep the foal safe is to hide him here,” he gestured to the shack as she said this “For a few years, until the atmosphere up in Canterlot dies down.”

This seemed to be the end of his speech, as he didn't speak to her after, attention turned again to Luna, who seemed to be singing something. The melody was, unfortunately, lost to the raging winds. Umbra walked back over to her as it apparently drew to closure, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

“It’ll be alright,” he said “The years will pass quickly for one such as yourself.”

Luna shook her head “No, it will be worse than all my years on the moon to be without…” she held the bundle close, reluctant to relinquish it.

“Come now,” said Umbra, the falter in his voice easy to catch, “He’ll come out safe and sound on the end of all this, I can promise you that.”

“You know it’s not just him,” said Luna, looking over Umbra desperately “I’ll never find a better captain…”

“Have your sister search for a candidate,” said Umbra “I’m thinking that kid, Shining Armor, he’d be a decent fill for those shoes I’m leaving behind, not as well of course, but decent enough.”

Twilight’s ears pricked up at the mention of her older brother, a slight memory of the gap between their last meetings stirred by the reference. The rest was impossible to guess at, but it seemed near to a close anyway. Luna slowly and reluctantly raised the bundle to face level once again, planting a tender kiss on the infant’s forehead.

“Good luck,” she said “My precious Shadow…”

A tiny hoof rose from the bundle, reaching toward the Lunar Princess with a muffled whimpering. Luna turned away, lowering the sling over Umbra’s shoulder again as the child started to cry.

“You should go,” said Umbra “There’s no point in staying here any longer. You’ll have to lower the moon in an hour or less.”

“Yes,” said Luna, all the strength seeming to be gone from her as she mounted back to the chariot “Five years then Umbra, I’ll be holding you to that promise.”

“Make it six,” said Umbra “After all, we can’t have coinciding ceremonies,” he seemed to be making light of something, but the humor evaded Twilight, and seemed only to make Luna slump further.

“Six it is,” she said “But not so much as a day later.”

“Then I give you my final oath,” said Umbra, pulling to an awkward salute around the sling “As captain of the royal guard, I will see you then.”

Twilight watched in quiet reverie as the chariot pulled out of the snow and away into the starry sky. Umbra made eye contact with her one last time as the last flash of the wheels vanished from sight.

“I have your word,” he said “On your life. And I will willingly collect it should your vow be broken.”

---

The introduction of a small new family to the town of Ponyville was not much of a stir in the gossip of the town. The mystique of the sudden appearance lost its novelty in the course of less than a week. The father, who had fled poverty in Manehatten from what could be gathered, had taken the graveyard shift for the weather team, and the child, while solitary, seemed normal enough. Any gossip in their direction was driven out completely after a year had passed, leaning in to favor of Discord, and of course cleaning up in his wake. By this time Umbra Chaser was able to form as a firm part of the Ponyville community.

The royal wedding came and went two years later, and the crystal empire made its startling return two years after that. Epic events of grand proportion flooded Ponyville gossip until it seemed the hub of information. And at the same time, with much less of a spectacular impact, the young Chaser came of school age.

It was early autumn that found the little colt aflutter at the door of his small house with a grubby pack on his back and a spring in his wings. The sole reason he hadn't already gone off at a sprint was that he was still lacking the brown paper bag which would provide him today’s sustenance.

“Come on dad!” the foal’s voice squeaked very slightly, still underdeveloped, as he shouted past the door-frame “Hurry it up already!”

“Well excuse me if it’s been years since I fixed anyone a sandwich,” the jocular voice of Umbra boomed from within “Hold your humans, Shadow, I’ll be there in a second.”

“It’s just bread, lettuce, tomatoes, bread,” said Shadow, rolling his eyes, the red of the iris glinting slightly in the sun. They hadn't always been that color, but he didn't entirely remember the injury which had caused them to change.

Umbra walked to him from inside, not even noticed by Shadow in the turmoil of his impatient antics. He deposited the back into the rucksack then patted him on the shoulder.

“You remember where the schoolhouse is, right?”

“Of course!”

“And you’re sure you can get yourself that far?”

“Yes!”

“You have all your supplies? Pencil, paper, crayons…”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!” Shadow actually began hopping on the spot with the excess energy provided by his overwhelming impatience.

Umbra sighed, involuntarily shrugging his shoulders as he patted Shadow’s head, giving a shake to his mane as a sort of sendoff. “Why don’t you see how high you can fly?”

Shadow took off like a rocket ship possessed by the devil, his wings hauling him into a low flight as his hooves pounded the ground, the dual propulsion pushing him forward at an impressive pace. Dirt sailed up in a cloud behind him, another sign of the new dawn approaching.

“Bye dad!” Shadow called over his shoulder, not so much as slowing down “Love you!”

“Love you too son,” said Umbra, more to himself than to the colt now far out of earshot. It was a slight strain to see Shadow springing up as fast as he was, it certainly made him feel very old, but in a way it was a relief. His thoughts turned almost too easily to the idea of being able to sleep on the couch until late afternoon, a boon after the recent years of exhaustion.

He flinched as a sudden bolt of pain crossed between his temples, bringing a hoof to the side of his head reflexively. The headaches had started a week ago, steadily growing into a migraine. It wasn't anything new, stress being the probable cause. Between a late night job and a foal he caught whatever snatches of sleep he could. Headaches? A common nuisance at this point. Though what he wouldn't give for them to stop…

“Um, excuse me,” a small voice came from his immediate left “Are you alright?”

Umbra looked up sharply, as if being woken quickly from sleep. A crème colored pegasus was looking up at him from behind a curtain of magenta mane.

“Fluttershy,” said Umbra, forcing a smile, half genuine “Odd seeing you here.”

“Sorry,” she said “I just thought I would come wish Shadow good luck on his first day of school. I hope I’m not being a bother.”

Umbra made his expression more natural, attempting to put the shy mare at ease. Fluttershy was in technicality the Chaser’s next door neighbor, as hers was the only house in town that could be seen from their front door. When Shadow was younger Umbra had occasionally hired her to foal-sit, but they rarely spoke casually unless they happened to be collecting the newspaper at the same time.

“You just missed him,” he said “Sorry about that. If you’d told me you wanted to see him off I’d have kept him.”

“I don’t think you could’ve stopped him,” said Fluttershy, a cheerful expression finally softening her features “He’s such an energetic little thing.”

“Not so little anymore,” said Umbra with a chuckle “That kid’s springing up like a weed. I've already got him on some basic flight drills, the kid’s a prodigy-Ow!”

Fluttershy tilted her head in concern “Are you alright?” she queried “I noticed that a minute ago, does your head hurt?”

“I’m fine,” said Umbra “Stress headaches, autumn thunderstorms are a pain in my-augh!” he flinched again “Ok, but seriously, my skull is throbbing, you wouldn't happen to have anything for that? Maybe your zebra friend?”

“I don’t think so,” said Fluttershy “We should go see Zecora, it sounds really bad…”

Umbra mulled that over for a moment, wondering if the notion was worth the jeopardy of his hard earned morning nap. The pain, of course, prevailed.

“Yeah, sure,” he grumbled “I’m gonna leave a note for Shadow in case this ends up taking all day…”

The dismissal bell at Ponyville Elementary rang at exactly three o’clock, heralding the return to their parents the dozens of foals in the schoolhouse. Quite a few would, on the special occasion of the first day, stay awhile afterward to catch up with friends on the playground. Ponyville wasn't a large town, but for the children two miles could still be separable distance during the summer months.

Shadow Chaser fit neither of these niches. The moment the freedom ring sounded he was gone like a jet black bolt from the blue, relieved to be out on his hooves again. It wasn't that the classes were boring, or that there wasn't a great deal of hooves on activity, but it was the first time, save sleeping, he had ever sat still for such a long time.

The sprint slowed to a smart trot as the well ploughed roads gave way to rougher paths closer to Everfree’s edge. Fluttershy’s cottage had been visible even from the schoolyard and he headed for it, mischief in mind. He had seen a frog hopping along the edge of the brook by her house on his way to school, and in his mind now seemed like a splendid opportunity to get on the hunt.

He stopped at the roots of a large, dark wood tree, setting his bag where it would be safely out of view. There were lots of important things in that bag after all, some action figures, a yo-yo, bubbles, and to a lesser extent, homework, none of which he would be fair to part with if some raccoon came sniffing about. He procured a handkerchief from a side pocket, creeping toward the creek in search of the elusive amphibian.

One eye was kept open in search of Fluttershy, who would surely end his expedition should she find out about it. Not that the threat held much weight in Shadow’s mind, slipping along the bank with the silence of his namesake. No toad yet, but he had a good feeling. The trickle of water over the shallow stones beneath seemed like the perfect setting to capture any variety of aquatic creatures. At least, to his mind it seemed that way.

The cobblestone bridge which heralded the way to the cottage seemed to materialize from thin air. Shadow, eyes focused intently on the bank, failed to notice it until his skull came in contact with it. He flinched, taking a quick step back and almost slipping on the rocks.

“Dang it!” he squeaked, catching his balance then bringing a hoof to his mouth. Fluttershy might have heard that, and the sort of trouble he would be in for using such language was a subject of which he did not like to think.

He crouched down on the bank, ears pricked up for sound of a peeved pink-haired pegasus pony. When nothing of the sort presented itself for the span of twenty seconds he stood again, shaking water out of his fur. Minor inconvenience on the great river expedition, better to just shake it off and move on.

That particular moment happened to be when he finally glimpsed a flicker of green along the bank. He smirked, tracking the occasional movement along the opposite shore, beady red eyes following the indistinct form sliding under the mud. His tail flickered back and forth, displaying his interest. Shadow’s haunches gave a swift side to side jerk, leaping across the water with wings flared. He gathered up the reptilian skin between his hooves and landed triumphantly on the muddy bank with an enormous splatter.

“Gotcha!” he proclaimed, coming up from the nasty mass with exuberance filling his voice “When I show everyone at school I caught a… frog?”

No it certainly was not a frog. The green Shadow had seen slithering along the bank was a common variety of grass snake. The creature was, even as annoyed as it was now, entirely harmless except to the weaker kinds of mice and lizards. At this moment, wrapped around Shadow’s front hoof as it was, the poor reptile could do nothing more than stare up at its captor with something a little less than anger.

Shadow did not know anything beyond the fact that a snake was glaring at him, and as the story books always said, snake bites were a thing to be avoided at all costs. He screamed, tossing the innocent snake into the water and galloping back to the tree. He braced himself on the other side, half imagined fates of the snake following and eating him piece by tiny piece danced through his thoughts. A quick peek behind the tree revealed no such fate, but did nothing to assuage the fear.

Walking the remaining fifty yards back home was a paranoid endeavor, consistently looking back over his shoulder for the slithering beast who was surely out for blood. In truth the snake had gone back to its hole long before he even left his hiding place behind the tree. He practically careened through the door of the cottage, slamming it shut behind him with ragged breath. At least he was now sure he had escaped the terrible monster.

Something, however, seemed oddly amiss. His ears registered total silence in the house, a worrying contrast to Dad’s announcement of dinner, or at least his snoring. Shadow was hesitant to turn and face the empty house, instantly making it obvious he was home alone. There was only one room after all, and the couch where Umbra usually slept was vacant.

Maybe the weather called him to job early, nothing suspicious about that. The colt trembled, dropping his bag off at the door and walking once around the wall. On his second pass he noticed the scroll left behind on the coffee table. He might not be blamed for his obliviousness, after all he was a good deal shorter than it was.

He clambered hastily up onto the wooden surface, carefully avoiding splinters, and unrolled the scroll. “Shadow,” he read aloud “I have to go to the doctor. Get food. Take a bath.” He smiled to himself, Umbra had kept it simple and Shadow felt good about himself for being able to read it. He hopped off the counter and made for the fridge, not having any pretext not to follow the first of his father’s instructions…

Four hours and a full tub of ice cream later Shadow was still covered in mud from the riverbank, and Umbra was still absent. The colt was starting to grow fearful, the sun was setting and he didn't know how to work the oil lamp. His state of panic grew stronger as he speculated the possible fates his father may have encountered. The last time he had been to the doctor they had given him a shot, and it wasn't hard to believe that was terrible enough to need to heal for a day. Maybe they had given him the shot so bad he had to stay and get fixed? That made sense…

Either which way, the darkness was creeping in on him, and he didn't trust the Everfree after dark. He decided in a moment to go back to Fluttershy’s, valuing his chances there far better than standing alone against the forest. He had a certain difficulty getting to the door, all the ice cream hadn’t done him any good at all, and it was hard enough to pull the door open normally. Eventually though he got himself out and started down the path.

Fluttershy was quite frankly shocked to see the pegasus colt on her doorstep, shivering in fear with dirt caked in his mane. Her first thought was that the poor dear had gotten himself into some sort of accident and brought him inside to look him over more thoroughly. He wasn’t hurt, at least not by strictest definition, but it looked like he had taken a bit of a spill earlier and not bathed since. Shadow explained, as the pink maned mare dragged him to the water basin, the entire ordeal of having arrived home to loneliness and the surety that he couldn’t possibly be safe all by himself there, and how the nasty doctors had probably put a bad shot in his dad.

“I think Umbra’s fine,” said Fluttershy when she could finally get a word in edgewise “He had a bad headache this morning so I took him to see Zecora. He only had to go to the doctor because she said it wasn’t something she had a potion for.”

“And the doctor will have a potion for it?” asked Shadow, the calm enough for him to be distracted by floating bubbles.

“Something like that,” said Fluttershy, uttering a quiet giggle “If he’s sick he may need to stay overnight, but it’s nothing serious. If you’d like we could go down to the hospital, after you’re cleaned up of course.

“Sure,” said Shadow, the mass of bubbles before his face becoming in his mind’s eye an island of evil ninja ponies, and himself the mighty titan. With a high pitched roar he dove forward, sending water cascading over the basin’s edge. Fluttershy squeaked and backed quickly away, managing a stern look

“And now we’ll have to clean this up too,” she said with a sigh “I think bath time is over now.”

Shadow was more than a little put out when, after toweling off, he was presented with a mop and instructed to clean the mess he made. But he did the job, and Fluttershy was waiting for him at the door soon afterward.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

They opted to walk the country road toward Ponyville General. The moon was high in the sky, casting a pleasant glow over the sleepy town. Shadow chased fireflies as they walked, excited, but careful not to injure the delicate insects. Each one he caught he presented to Fluttershy, who invited them to rest in her mane for awhile. It was an innocent, childish excursion, and to Shadow it seemed like a magnificent adventure.

Fluttershy had a mane of stars by the time the gentle glow of the hospital came into view, the lights mostly dimmed but the lobby emitting beacon brightness. The lightning bugs were dismissed into the night sky as they walked into the sterile white room, mostly empty save for a few elderly ponies milling around the plastic chairs. It seemed safe above all else, and any worries that Fluttershy hadn’t put out of the colt’s mind were swept away.

Shadow occupied himself with some tinker toys in the corner while Fluttershy went to the counter. She was pleased to find Nurse Redheart on shift, a familiar face. The white earth pony had helped her with a charity drive for orphan animals once several months ago. They weren’t friends per se, buts she was more approachable than a stranger would have been.

“Excuse me, nurse?” she said.

“Fluttershy,” said Redheart, permitting a familiar, but professional smile to grace her features “What can I do for you?”

Fluttershy cleared her throat before starting again, feeling slightly anxious “Do you know what room Umbra Chaser is in right now? He has a visitor…”

“Chaser, I can check that for you,” Redheart’s voice fell somewhere between the land of curt and the valley of patience “File says he came in around noon complaining of head pains. Nurse examined, couldn’t find anything wrong, so they were going to send him home with some high-strength aspirin…”

Redheart took a moment to squint at the messy scrawl on the page, leaving the finishing past tense to hang ominously in the air. “Did something else come up?” Fluttershy asked, trying to hasten the talk.

“Started bleeding from the ear on the way out,” said Redheart, wincing at the words “The attendant stopped him and they got him rushed for the MRI.” Her professionalism slipped, a sudden shock visible for barely a second “Cerebral hemorrhage, apparently built up a massive clot.”

“Well what does that mean?” asked Fluttershy.

“It means he’s bleeding from the head,” said Redheart “They found a small malignant tumor on the hypothalamus, but it’s very early stage. He’s been in surgery for the past few hours.”

“Is he going to be alright?” Fluttershy’s voice fell low as Shadow turned casually to observe the conversation.

Redheart noticed the pause and lowered her own voice. “They caught it early,” she said “And he’s in his prime. The odds are stacked well in his favor considering the seriousness of the condition. There may be some complications afterward, speech impediments, left-right side reversal, but the chances of fatality are thankfully minimal,” she nodded to Shadow “You can tell the kid he’s going to be fine.”

“How long is he going to be in surgery?” asked Fluttershy.

“Variable,” said Redheart “It all depends on how well they’re able to remove the tumor, and then how the recovery goes. I would say check back in the morning, he won’t be in any shape to see people before then.”

“Thank you,” said Fluttershy, somehow not feeling very grateful at all. She walked back to Shadow who had occupied himself by pushing a series of colored beads down a wire track.

“Train to the Crystal Empire, departing at seven,” he was talking to himself “Scheduled stop in Canterlot at noon, arrival at six.” He shot the beads down a decline on the track “Choo-choo!”

Fluttershy couldn’t bring herself to smile at him, stomach tied in an uncomfortable knot. She took a seat on one of the plastic chairs that lined the wall and picked up one of the available nature magazines. She watched Shadow over the edge of the paper, suddenly irrationally afraid for Umbra's life and the colt's future. Umbra was going to have a difficult time in the aftermath of this mess. It wasn’t enormously likely the weather team would take his job, but the matter of bits would still be jeopardized by hospital bills and failure to make shifts. She would talk to Applejack, she decided, at least to make sure they had food.

Shadow’s wings flared out from his back as he yawned, flapping gently twice before falling against his back again. They were large on his small frame, a trait likely gotten from his father. The mane was green, she noticed, an uncommon trait. Fluttershy wondered vaguely what his mother could have looked like, unable to visualize a satisfactory image beyond the sharing of a fluffy gray coat.

The little grey colt climbed his way up onto the seat next to Fluttershy, his eyes half lidded “Is dad going to be here much longer?” he asked, curling himself into a little grey tuft of fur.

“I’m afraid it may be a little while,” she said “Do you need to go home and get some sleep?”

“No, I’ll wait,” said Shadow “Sleep is for,” he was interrupted by his own yawn “Babies…”

“Well alright, said Fluttershy “I’ll stay here too then, you can’t be here alone.”

Shadow nodded, drowsiness taking him. He vaguely counted the chairs on either side of him in an attempt to remain engaged, but it only made him sleepier. His eyes fell shut and he went lax against the plastic, breathing slowly and rhythmically as he began to dream.

---

The sun seemed to rise painfully slow to Fluttershy as she watched it steadily begin to seep in from a window on the other side of the lobby. She hadn’t slept a wink all night, nerves keeping her on-edge and the sleep-talking colt beside her keeping a constant mumble. She had decided, some hours ago while it was still dark, she would get the attention of the first nurse who would come out to the lobby in order to ask about Umbra’s condition.

Thus far it was deadly quiet, a good sign that no one had injured themselves, but a bad sign for those awaiting news. The hospital was, as most hospitals are, always open, but there had been no sign of a desk worker since midnight last night. Mildly frustrating, but given the small size and relative peace of Ponyville it could be easily considered unnecessary. And yet it was so rude. Even innocent Fluttershy, scared out of her mind of what was to come, was starting to grow impatient. She would never say such a thing aloud of course, but it had been a stressful night. When the little white hat of a nurse finally emerged from the back area it came as a blessed relief.

It wasn’t Redheart this time, but a yellowish young pony with mousy brown hair. She looked as though she might be an intern or a nurse’s aide, rather than a member of actual staff. She looked tired and grumpy, likely the victim rather than the volunteer of the early morning shift, leaving Fluttershy wary to approach.

“Excuse me,” she mustered the most polite and reverent tone she could, even though the worker looked a good deal younger than herself “Would you mind too horribly looking something up for me?”

The intern rolled her eyes, and Fluttershy caught the name ‘Healing Heart’ on her badge “That’s kind of my job isn’t it?” she drawled “What do you need exactly?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Fluttershy, terrified she had offended her in some way “I just need to know if Mr. Chaser is in visiting condition.”

“Chaser,” Heart took a note of the name and started sifting through the file boxes under the desk “Got Shadow, pediatric records, oh, you probably want Umbra don’t you? That looks real recent…” she procured a manila envelope from the boxes under the desk, flipping it carelessly open.

“I really am sorry to be a bother,” Fluttershy reiterated “It’s just his son is here, and we were told he would be better by morning.” She trailed off, realizing that Heart probably couldn’t care less.

Heart, however, stopped listening halfway through, eyeing the file as if there had been some kind of mistake “You did say Chaser, right?” she asked “As in Umbra Chaser, checked in yesterday afternoon with head trouble?”

Fluttershy’s stomach leapt into freefall “Yes,” she said “Is he still indisposed?”

“Honey, I don’t know how to tell you this,” said Heart “But that’s the first file edit of the day. Umbra Chaser passed away in post-op about fifteen minutes ago, could not be resuscitated. Time of death…”
.

“What?”

A tiny voice heralded from behind Fluttershy and she swiveled wildly around to see Shadow, awake and on his hooves, no more than a meter behind her. His expression read blank shock.

“Dad…” he spoke low, rubescent eyes welling up with tears “No… he isn’t. We were going to Canterlot, he promised. Dad!”

Shadow bolted before Fluttershy could even say a word to him, ignoring Heart’s cries to stop as he barreled through the doors to the other wings of the hospital. His desperate cries echoed out of the halls, softer and softer, as he searched for the father he would never see again.

Author's Note:

As i come at long last to the final stretch of my fanfiction i feel the need to update the beginning of my work to reflect on the writing styles ive learned over the time I've written the rest. To my new readers, welcome, to my old readers, welcome back.
I apologize to anyone who happens to have felt particularly emotional about this chapter, i don't really think its all that sad or well written, but I've received several reviews to the contrary, so thats your warning come far too late. The story from here on out isn't particularly tragic (until the very end but i won't spoil anything) and is really more of a comedy. So please, if you enjoyed thus far, sit back, relax, and continue to enjoy.
Thanks again to SS for the beautiful cover art for this story, and it's sequel, and to Neppi for her reviewing of this story
-CC
3-14-14

Comments

[Bazing]

moment I saw hemorrhage I was like
"well, you're boned"
and the ending is heaps sad :'(

[Soaringhere]

Kinda OOC( Out Of Character ) and a little rushed.Grammer seems fine.I'll read later