Imps of Nex Nullby Sidetrack
Chapters
The Deal
"Give my regards to Cerberus."
This was the last thing they heard before the three powerless alicorns landed in Tartarus. After giving all their magic to Princess Twilight, they waited for Tirek to try take it from them. Their plan worked, for Tirek could not find any magic in Celestia, Luna, or Cadence. Unfortunately that meant that they were completely at his mercy, and while they knew him enough to predict that he would come for him, they couldn't tell what he would do with them.
Tirek was not one to waste an opportunity. He knew that simply ending the live of his enemies was of no use to him. The punishment he gave them was just in his eyes. These ponies were the cause of his torture in Tartarus, them and his brother. Since his brother was far out of his reach, these princesses would have to do.
The princesses landed on a perfect circle of stone ringed with tall spires of jagged rocks that seemed to lean in as if listening. Only the flat surface of the dome-like area was lite, and from no apparent source because the only shadows to be seen were cast outward from the stone spires. They landed roughly five feet from each other and about ten feet from the edge of the plateau like structure. While relatively unharmed, they knew that it wasn't going to stay like that for long.
"Well, this isn't so bad. Right Auntie?" Cadence's voice was weak, but in the sudden silence it didn't matter. "I mean, I don't see any monsters or anything."
"Cadence, what do you know or Tartarus?" Asked Celestia in a nervous but somehow still regal tone.
"Umm, just that its the one place that can hold beings that could potentially destroy the world."
"Cadence, think. If every entity, soul, and creature that is capable of ending the lives of our wonderfully ponies is trapped down here, what's keeping them from leaving?"
"I-I don't know, Auntie. Something immensely powerful for sure, but what?"
"I don't know, Cadence." Celetia hung her head. "I just don't know."
For the first time since being trapped in the crystal cavern, Cadence felt true fear. It was a short lived moment of revelation because even though they had increased in volume their voices did not echo, and the echoing sound of dripping had filled the silence.
"Luna! Oh by the Creator, Luna! I'm so sorry." Celestia rushed over to her sister sounding as if she had accidentally hit her.
"Luna? Luna, what's wrong?"
Cadence approached the her aunts out of concern. Luna had moved closer to the edge of the plateau, about three feet from it. Celestia was hugging her from behind with her forelegs and wings. Luna's muzzle was about eight inches from the ground as she hunched over. As Cadence got closer she could she that Luna wasn't just crying, but full on weeping. She had streams of tears running down her face as she drew in quiet shuddering breaths. Her eyes held shut by as much force as she could muster making her grimace.
"L-luna?" whispered Celestia softly. "Luna, I'm sorry. I had no idea he would put us here. Luna, please say something."
"Y-you... y-you pr-promised..."
"I know. I know I promised, but I still haven't broken that promise. You're my sister I would never lie to you." Then she softly kissed the back of Luna's mane trying to comfort her.
"You pr-pr-promised-d tha-at..." Unfortunately Celestia's comforting did nothing to bring her sister out of her traumatic state.
"Promised what,Celestia?" Cadence had no clue as to what Luna muttering about, but Celestia did.
"I promised her, after she turned back from Nightmare Moon, that because I forgave her and love her she did not belong in Tartarus. At first she didn't believe me, and about a week after she returned I found her twenty paces from the gates of this horrible place. I told her that we belong together, that were I belonged, she belonged. Then I asked her if I should be in Tartarus. She said 'Of course not, you have done nothing to warrant such an accusation.'" She looked away.
"'I banished my only family to the moon for a thousand years'"
Everything was quite for a set of time. To Cadence, it was a few hours. To Celestia, it a few days. To Luna, it could have been years.
"I promised her that neither of us would set hoof in Tartarus, because neither of us deserves to..."
"And you do not."
The deep voice had not come from any of the princesses, but they could not even discern which direction the voice had come from. Each of the princesses reacted differently. Luna froze as she held her breath and opened her eyes wide; her pupils turning to pinpricks. Celestia frowned and looked for the source of the voice. Cadence jumped, letting out a squeak, and rushed closer to her aunts. They didn't have to wait long before the owner of the voice showed himself, or an aspiration to represent himself at least.
Two shapes appeared parallel to each other. They remained equidistant and in sink with even the slightest of movements. The one on the right was a hot white that seemed to suck inward as if it was a two dimensional shape that was torn away leaving the brightness in the dark. The shape to the left was so similar that the difference between was accented to the point were it was the defining quality. This shape a sucking dark that made the sky-less shadows of Tartarus seem illuminated, but the shape seemed full and solid as if something was breaching from the other side.
The general shape seemed bipedal, like a diamond dog, but that was the end of the similarities. The four limbs were completely straight with jagged edges. They tapered down to points, making them stand on the tips of their 'legs'. The heads of the creatures were round, but faded upwards.
"How did you end up in my realm?"
The deep voice came from a spot between the two shapes. A spot that could not be looked at no matter how hard the princesses stared. Every time they tried their eyes would drift to either the white or black shapes. Whether there was something physical occupying that space or not may never be known, but a presence was definitely felt from it. Listening close you could find a high pitched quite voice behind the deep one. Celestia was the first to find her voice.
"T-this is you realm? Are you the ruler of Tartarus?"
"Ruler? I hope not. I created... Tartarus you called it, I would have hoped for a higher title for all I've done."
"Created?" Celestia's voice was barely a whisper, but that hardly mattered in the silence
"Yes. I created this place, and it has had many names. Tartarus, Hell, Abyss, Prison of the Damned, Void, New Jersey... That was a strange day. But, anyway, I am Nex Null, Creator of Perfection, Harshest Soul, and The All Hungry. You may call me Null."
"What do you want with us?" asked Cadence in a pleading tone.
"Want? I want nothing. I am here because I can be. I cannot be seen, heard, touched, or known by the creatures of my realm. I created it for the other Nex to dispatch of the mistakes and dangers of their realms. Here I feed. I sap their strength, fog their minds, remove their power, consume their memories, and reduce them to blank slates. When they leave they are a pure untainted soul in a powerless body... and as much as I love to feed on you, you have not been marked. Tell me, from were do you hail?"
"Equestria." Celestia stated, subconsciously standing straighter and pushing out her chest in pride.
"Equestria? I'm not sure I know that realm. Has it ever had any four armed, bi-pedal, red haired, dog faced beings call hashterra in it? No, that's not were your from. No, your from... No. Yes? No. Wait... Does the name Discord ring a bell?"
"Figures Discord would be familiar with the creator of Tartarus," mumbled Cadence.
"You have no Idea the places he gets to do you? I don't even know if he has ever been marked for a realm or not. He is one of the only entities to have avoided my powers. He's practically immaterial and can think through the strongest insanity. But, if you know him that narrows down the options a bit. Let's see... I'm guessing the main inhabitants are equine like you? So that helps. Hmm... What color is the grass there?"
"Green?" answered Cadence with a raised eyebrow.
"Green. Green! Is there a fruit called a jirrewm that grows on floating trees? Floating as in on water, and not anchored to the ground. Not floating as in on the air."
"No" Cadences fear was slowly losing to her curiosity and confusion at this point, allowing her to stand straight and relax her muscles.
"Kumquats then? You must have them somewhere."
"Yes, we have Kumquats."
"Ah, yes I know where your from now. She would definitely mark you. So... how did you get here?"
"Tirek imprisoned us here as revenge for his imprisonment."
"Tirek, Tirek... Oh! Tirek. Yes, I remember him. He kept absorbing the magic from the others to replace what I took. Clever plan, if not for the fact that I feed on everybeing here leaving him with almost nothing. Its almost funny because... Umm... whats with her?"
"My sister is in a state of shock," Celestia answered. "She once allowed a demon of corruption to taint her being to get revenge upon me and my subjects for neglecting her work. After she was cured, she was under the assumption that we would send her here, like we do with all creatures of evil intent."
"Right. I heard your conversation earlier. So why is she still crying? Haven't I explained the fact that I can't feed of you, or won't at least."
"Why should we believe the word of something like you?"
"I am a Nex. The word nexus, which originally meant 'center of', comes from our name. We create the centers and guide all that comes from it. Do to our position in reality, we cannot interact with what we create, only what another Nex has created. Through all time, and even before, we can only watch as we maintain the positions we have. Its a boring existence. If I lied, it would only add to that boredom. I haven't had a conversation like this in eons."
"So we're just entertainment to you?"gasped Cadence.
"In a sense, but don't think for a moment that I would treat you unfairly because of it. I may be harsh, but I have morals and a code."
"Do you have it in you morals to help us?"
The area was quite as Luna asked her question. Celestia looked at her with a strange mix of hope and concern. Her tone was flat, eerily so. She hadn't looked up or way from the space she had designated for her gaze.
"So you can talk. I was worried you were mute for a while there."
Luna turned her head to stare at the white shape for a few seconds before switching to the black one.
"That one."
"What?"
"I was unsure on which of the two figures I should be looking at. I decided on the dark one."
"I'd prefer that. The white one tends to hurt the eyes in this darkness."
"Do you have it in your morals to help us?"
"Like a broken record... Yes, I could help you. I'm assuming that you want out of here. While I'm sure you will eventually be given a way to leave, I could help."
"Get them out of here."
"NO," Celestia's voice wasn't as loud as it was forceful. It was a voice that had ruled a nation. "I will not let you leave yourself here."
"But-"
"I said 'No'. Now, Null, how exactly will you get us out of here?"
"Hehe... Of, course. Never jump without looking." The shapes moved closer to the ponies revealing the fact that they were almost a head taller than Celestia. "I can change your vectors in reality, but to do that I would need to mark you. This will not be permanent. I will split my influence from you and you will simply need to take it with you. That is my only request."
"What do you mean 'spit your influence'?" Cadence asked.
"Interesting question. In a sense, I will mix my traits with yours so that I may control your future to some extent. Then I will remove what I gave. Unfortunately, that will mean removing a small bit of you, but don't worry. You will not change, just simply be tired... er, more tired."
"What would be the result of this separation?" asked Celestia in a business tone. "You mentioned the fact that we would need to take it with us."
For the first time the princesses had met him, Nex Null hesitated. "...You would be a fantastic lawyer."
"Thank you. Now answer the question."
"... Imps."
"What!?" Cadence covered her mouth after her outburst.
"Cadence, Imps are mythological creatures that-"
"I know what an Imp is!... sort of, but that's not what I'm surprised about. Its the fact that he is planing on effectively giving us children in exchange for our freedom. Was all that horse-apples about 'marking us' and 'splitting your influence' innuendos of some kind?"
"Oh dear Cadence. Get you mind out of the gutter," Null's tone was light hearted considering the accusation. "What do you expect me to do with that much life energy, which would be half yours by the way, put it in an inanimate object? Besides, they would be almost mature, I think, and born of energy. I will not be defiling you, if that's what your worried about."
"I, umm... Okay, sorry." Cadence lowered her head for jumping to conclusions.
"But, essentially, they would be your children. I would appreciate it if you watched over them for me. After the process is complete, neither you nor the Imps will be able to see, hear, or interact with me ever again. So my condition stays, take them with you and I'll help."
The princesses thought on their ultimatum. Cadence was the first to speak. "I'm confident Twilight can defeat Tirek, but we have no idea if she can get us out of here. I say we take his offer."
"You should go with Cadence, sister. Leave me here," said Luna.
"No, I'm not leaving without you. This is not negotiable."
"Fine. I will go so that you will go."
Celestia turned to Nex Null. "We accept."
"Fantastic. This will be fun."
Before any of the alicorns could register what he had said, the shapes rushed forwards and moved past the princesses, one on each side. As they past, each alicorn would shut her eyes and shudder, as if a cold breeze past over them. As soon as the shapes past Luna(the last one in line), the shapes disappeared. After a second of shuttering their bodies started to glow. Cadence had light grey and dark blue smudges of light coating her. The light on Celestia was covered in was dark grey and brown. Luna's coat had alternating pulses of light blue and orange. Eventually the glow grows to the point that you could no longer see their bodies. After that point the light collected into small bright motes and flew through the air landing a few feet from Luna.
The light from Cadence condensed into a light grey shape that hovered a few feet from the ground. Its body consisted almost entirely of mist with a few floating metal bars. Its main body trailed downward and tapered off to a small wisp. The two limbs at its sides did the same. Two large masses on its back contained the metal bars. They were arranged similarly to bones in a pair of wings, giving the being a bat-like appearance. Its head had almost no defining features but a smiling face made from holes that revealed constant blue, electric arcs that filled its form.
The motes from Celestia almost immediately solidified into brownish grey stones. The two largest stones rested on the ground with the smooth sides facing forward. On the other side, several smaller rock came together to form three three-jointed fingers and one two-jointed thumb per stone. The result resembled a set of gorilla forearms. Another pair of cylindrical stones rested on the ground behind the fists. Then the lights started to form rapidly spinning cyclones of dust and rocks that rose up to meet a flat stone plate that floated on top of a mass of spinning dust. The last thing to form was a short stone head with a wide lower jaw. While not entirely sophisticated looking, it didn't appear barbaric. Once completely formed the outline of its body could be traced by following the spinning dust, which seemed to fly everywhere but outside the beings general shape, as if an invisible shell encased it.
The orange glow that emanated from Luna immediately collected and turned into a large flame. Then the blue motes followed and coated the entire thing in ice. The shell of ice had a bipedal, draconian shape, minus the tail and wings. Its limbs were very thin compared to its size, giving it a gangling appearance. The look was compounded by the fact that it couldn't straighten its arms or legs. At its knees and elbows, it had a small, fire-filled spike that jutted out, like an extension of its forearms or shins. Its hands and feet had three long, hollow claws each. Its head was very draconic, having several spike out the back of its head, but were still flush with the rest of its head giving it a blown back look. Its mouth was a simple zig-zag shaped crack in the ice shell that gave it the look of pointed teeth. At the tip of its snout was to similar slits in the shell, giving it a nose. Its Eyes were constructed in the same way. The flame on the inside was slightly blurred and blued, but could be seen clearly through its eyes, nose, and mouth.
"Hello, I am Thermos," pronouncing its name ˈTHərmOs, "and this is Kinetic," it gestured to the creature of rock, "and that is Static." pointing to the being of mist and lightning.
Then the three creatures seemed to spin as their shapes blurred. The blurs changed size and shape before slowing down revealing that they had changed shape, size, and species. Thermos was now a unicorn stallion of a slightly smaller build. His spiky mane and tail were red with orange tips. His coat was blue with white on the tips of his horn and ears, as well as on his hooves. His cutie mark was half a blue flame and half orange crystal.
Luna looked up and made eye-contact with him as he look at her and said, "And I am your son."
Kinetic was now a towering earth stallion. His mane and tail were a dusty yellow color and were styled in short military fashion. His coat was a flat grey and was only a few inches shorter than Celestia, not including her horn. His cutie mark was a large 'M' with a small 'F' next to its top right corner.
Celestia had a grin on her face as Kinetic walked up to her. "Hello, Mother," his voice boomed.
Static turned into a small pegasus filly hovering in the air. She had a dark grey coat with a two-toned blue mane. She seemed to be about eight years old, because she had no cutie mark.
"MOMMY!!" *Thud*
Cadence was now on her back with said filly standing on her. Her voice was light and high, but seemed to have a subtle crackle, as if it were coming from a phonograph.
"So when do I get to meet Daddy? Or Step-Daddy I guess. I don't really know much about my Daddy. Or Father. Father, yeah that's it. Null can be Father, and Shinning can be Daddy. Do you think Daddy will like me? I know it might be hard for him. I mean, he just got a daughter and doesn't know. And then theirs the weird stuff like my brothers, our powers, the fact that I can't touch ground. Oh! Yeah, I can't touch the ground. I go all Bizzt! But you wouldn't let that happen, right Mom?"
Cadence had enough time to say, "Uhh..." before every thing flashed rainbow, taking all six out of Tartarus leaving the plateau empty of everything but unheard laughter.
Introductions
Tirek was not one for careless damage, especially damage to the castle he wished to use as his seat of power. Unfortunately, Tirek was big. Many of the doors in Canterlot castle were... re-sized by... unconventional means. With its integrity compromised, it suffered quite a bit from the cross-fire and deflections of Twilight and Tirek's Battle. Fortunately, ponies don't build castles on the sides of mountains without thinking of natural(or not so natural) disasters.
The castle was built with a break-away system in place. When key walls or support beams get damaged that section, usually a tower or hall, would collapse and crumple into pieces and fall onto the royal labyrinth. There was a reason the princesses built such and extensive, forbidden place. This system was not the only, and certainly not the first, line of defense the castle architecture had. In addition to a keep and several small storm-holds, every staff wing had an arcane teleport chute that lead to the Royal Guard Barracks, were ponies would be escorted to safety from there.
It was these things that left Celestia's court room empty when the Harmony Rainbow waved through all of Equestia and some land beyond. After the wave however, the room contained six ponies.
"Mom, what just happened?" asked the crackly sounding filly.
Since the pink alicorn seemed to go catatonic, Thermos took it upon himself to answer his sister.
"We were teleported, Static. I don't know who did it or how they did it, but we're in Equestia now."
"Yay, we're home... Can it be home if we've never been here before?"
Thermos just shrugged and walked over to his mother, who was still sullen. As this was happening, Kinetic had been looking around the room as if he were searching for something and Celestia had made her way over to Cadence.
"Cadence?... Cadence, are you alright?"
Her head slowly turned to Celestia.
"Auntie, what is that?"
Her voice was deadpan, but in the worse possible way. The action Cadence preformed during her question caused eveypony to go quite. Thermos and his mother went into the back office of the court room, to both give and get privacy. Kinetic, who was looking over the door at the time, dipped his head and left. Celestia simply frowned and closed her eyes at the fact. Static was still hovering in front of cadence, but was now sagging as she noticed the pink hoof directed at her.
"W-what do you mean? I mean, no, I'm not a pony, I'm technically a shape-shifter, but that's not that important right. I'm still part you, I'm still you dau-"
"No, don't say it. You just-"
"Cadence, don't say anything you'll regr-"
"No, Auntie she just- I mean, it just assumes I'm its mother when there is no way I would..." Cadence seemed to trail of without a way to put her feelings into word.
"No way you would what, Cadence? Berth her? Nurture her? Care for her? What is so impossible that it prevents you from having such a relationship?"
"Love!"
Again everything went quite, but not for long. Eventually, the sound of wet drops followed by the slam of the main door caught everyponies attention. With it, came the realization that Static had made them. Silence returned for a moment or two, just enough time to realize you forgot to breath.
"What is wrong with you Cadence? This isn't the mare that watched and played with my student all those years ago. What do you have to-" Celestia started to rant before she saw what Cadence was doing.
She was holding her breath, only to let it go and hyperventilate after her face turned red. Her hooves were pressed tightly to the sides of her head as she charged her horn. Celestia had seen her niece like this before. She was having a panic attack. It hadn't happened in a few years, but with something like this, time has no real hold on it. Celestia knew that she had to calm her down before her horn fully charged. Past experience told her that if left to her own devices, Cadence would purposely overload her horn for a magical surge.
Celestia's first encounter with these attacks happened just before she took on Twilight. She had learned of her connection to the Crystal Empire and was told to do a report on the region for school. She seemed fine at first. Whenever asked on her progress on the paper she would respond calmly that she was getting it done.
Nopony suspected a thing until her teacher asked to see her progress on the paper two days before it was due. After confessing that she had not even started on it, her teacher was sympathetic and tried to help, but he could only do so much and pass her. while she handled herself calmly in front of her teacher and on the street walking home she could not calm down.
Celestia came in to check up on her only to witness her fling across the room in a self-induced surge. When calmed and asked what had happened she explained that even though she fully understood the situation and had several options, she could not calm down, which frustrated her, which upset her more, which frustrated her even more... Eventually Cadence came to Twilight's lessons, particularly the ones on focus and breathing. From then on they were inseparable.
"C-Cadence! Cadence, calm down. Breath, Cadence breath..." Celestia put a foreleg around the pink alicorn.
Finally listening to her aunt, Cadence started to breath in shuddering breaths and calm down. Her hooves were still on the sides of her head, but they were no longer pressing her skull in. Do to her niece's still confused state, Celestia decided to slowly ask some questions to get the conversation back on track.
"Cadence, Why can't you care for Static? You don't have to answer right away. Take your time."
After a few shuddery breaths, Cadence tried to voice her thoughts. "She was... bor-brought into existence, I guess, through a means absent of love. She is here because she is the byproduct of a deal. That... that's just not right."
"So, your holding that against her...?"
"No... I... I just..." Cadence started breathing heavy. "She should not have called me mother. Shinning and I have been trying so hard for foals... and then we get one... through a deal? Its not right."
Some lights were starting to turn on in Celestia's head. "Are you saying its not right because its not fair to her?"
"Well, yes mostly," Cadence muttered as she fidgeted with her hooves.
That was the one thing Celestia hoped and feared she would hear. She then grabbed her niece by the shoulders and leaned in. With a small frown on her face and a sternness in her voice, Celestia lectured.
"Cadence, listen to me and listen carefully. It doesn't matter how she got here, you should know this. You will learn to love her as if she were your own without any problems, simply because that's the mare you are. However, none of this matters right now, because right now there is a filly who thinks that the one she shares her very essence with hates her, a filly that thinks her mother and only family refuses her purely for who she is," Celestia gave a small smile and continued, "a filly that needs you."
Cadence froze. Like throwing a torch in a dark tunnel, her mind light up. That nervous cloudiness that she was afraid of left. How could she have been so inconsiderate?
"I-I... I need to go." Cadence rushed over to the door. Before leaving she turned to her aunt and shouted, "I have a daughter to apologize to!"
After the door slammed shut for the second time in the past five minutes, Celestia smiled, proud that her niece had put the pieces together. After a moment of thought alone in the room, Celestia frowned then looked around.
"I better go find my new son before I look like a hypocrite." and with a laugh she left.
"Auntie, what is that?"
That was Thermos' cue to leave.This was going to get ugly quick, and not the good kind of ugly. Instead, he decided to go have a talk with his mother. He knew exactly why she was upset, he had about seventy percent of her knowledge and memories, but he also had knowledge from his father. That knowledge contradicted the assumptions and ideas of his mother. He had to try to get that knowledge to her, but because his father left out memory magic, he had to do it the old fashion way.
"Mom, can we talk?"
Luna was apprehensive for a few reasons, but none of them stopped her from nodding. She brought him into existence, ergo she was responsible for him.
"Mom, I... I know how you feel. You feel like Aunt Celestia tricked you out of your punishment. Like... Like you finally got a fate that fit your guilt, and she took it from you. I know this, but I also know that you were wrong." He went up to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. "And I think you know it too."
With her paradox of mind and heart spoken out loud, she wept again. Not the hard, frightened tears she had in Tartarus, but quite, soft ones that were held back for a long time.
"You keep setting up rules for yourself and your sister breaks them down. So, lets make one she can't stop."
Luna looked into his orange eyes. They were shimmering with determination and hope. She was confused by his last sentence, but also very curious.
"I'm going to be leaving."
"What?" Luna may not have known him for long, but he understood and cared for her in the past two minutes more than her sister had in the past two years. She was suppose to be his parent, guardian, and mother, but he was giving her care. It didn't feel right.
"I'm going to leave and stay away, but not far and I'll keep in touch. I'll be in Ponyville, that's the place you had that Nightmare Night, right? This will be your punishment. Come find me, but only after you've forgiven yourself."
"Thermos, I... No, you can't do that. I-I... We..."
"Mother, Aunt Celestia had to wait a thousand years for you. I don't have that much time. I'm sure she missed you the minute you were on the moon. I won't leave yet, but I will."
"How do I forgive myself for almost dooming Equestia?" Luna ask flinging here hooves to the side.
Thermos smirked... then shrugged, "I don't know."
Cadence rushed down the hall, eager to fix her mistake, but ran into an impasse. The hall forked. Standing next to a crumpling wall was a Guard and Kinetic. while the guard was at attention facing the way Cadence had come, Kinetic was Scrutinizing the wall, or what was left of it. As she approached, Kinetic turned to face her and the Guard saluted.
"Have you seem were Static went?" Then she turned more to the Guard. "A small grey pegasus filly?"
The Guard's eyes lit with recognition as he pointed out the hole in the wall to his left. At the same, Kinetic walked up to the left of the Guard and, do to his height, pointed to the right by sticking his foreleg over the Guard's head. Cadence stared in confusion At the two of them.
*Creeeeeak, Crack. fwush-BAM*
A broken section of ceiling came loose and would have crushed the Guard had it not been for the fact that it had impacted Kinetic's foreleg and busted into dust. The Guard flinched and had to suppress a cuss for the sake of the Princess in his presence. Kinetic didn't move an iota. After the dust had settled, Kinetic grinned and swung his foreleg around to point out the hole in the wall, matching the Guard. With the confusion cleared up, Cadence turned to head out onto the palace grounds(what was left of it, anyway). She looked through the grounds for a minute or two before finding her.
She was so happy to find her. she could set things right. She started to head towards the filly when she noticed that she was talking to somepony. She was concerned and slowly got closer. She heard a stallions voice, but couldn't make out what he said. When she got a good look at him, he was hugging Static. Her concern wasn't justified, but was replaced with a different kind of concern. She recognized the stallion.
It was her husband, Shining Armour.
"Love!"
'She doesn't love me? My own mother doesn't love me... Static's hooves felt heavy. A weightlessness that she didn't even realize was there simply disappeared. With the exception of her wings, her entire body froze and trembled. It was an unsteady balance that was kept alive by the silence of the room. When her tear had made its way to the bottom of her face it hung for a second before falling. when it hit the ground the balance was broken.
The small pegasus raced out of the room. She headed straight down the hall and out a hole in the wall, the tears in her eyes preventing her from seeing her brother and a guard at the end of the hall. She flew for a while before landing on a tilted column to rest her wings. Her ability to control electrons and store them was based off of the Arcane Perspective Theorem. This is what allows her to technically be in contact with the ground without losing her charge, magic, and soul. Although, this only works to a certain point. Being in direct, undeniable contact with the ground was dangerous, and the same went for floors and metal poles. But her mind was not on that subject at the moment.
What do I do now?... Like her brothers, she had shared knowledge, from her father and her m-... Cadence. While this was still decades over what a filly her... physical age should know, she had nothing on what to do in this situation. She simply wept.
"Are you hurt?"
Static started for a second before turning to look. In her crying and self-questioning she didn't hear the stallion approach. With the tears in her eyes, she could only make out a white coat and some gold armor. Not wanting to bother the guard to much, she replied while wiping her eyes.
"N-no, I'm fi-." She stopped as she recognized the stallion. "Sh-Shinning Armor?"
"What? Expecting some two-bit guard instead?" Shinning's grin turned into a softer smile as he continued. "And don't tell me you're fine. You wouldn't be in this rubble crying if you were fine. So, tell me what happened... Please?"
With her relationship with Cadence gone, this stallion was no longer her 'daddy' or any sort of relation. While she knew a lot about him, he didn't know she existed yet. 'Half truths. That's what I'll tell him.'
"My... My mom is gone and I'm not sure what to do." She dipped her head and looked away.
"I'm sorry to hear that, but are you sure she's gone? Many ponies got separated these past few days, she might looking for you." Very little casualties were reported from Tirek's attack, but panic and fear caused many to get separated. Shinning knew that it was a possibility, but he assume the little filly's mother was dead.
"N-no she told me she doesn't want to see me."
This shocked him. How could a mare, no, a mother be so cruel to her own flesh and blood in a time like this. Something else had to be in play here. He sighed and walked closer to the filly.
"Do you mind if I sit with you?" She shook her head slowly. He sat. "What's your name little filly?"
"Static."
"Static is a very nice name." He paused for a moment. "Do you think your told you that because you made a mistake?"
Not having thought of it that way, she became nervous and started to question herself. "I... I dunno... Maybe?"
"I don't know if that's what happened, but I know that ponies make mistakes. That never goes away. If you made a mistake or not is between you and your mother, but I know for a fact that she made one. No foal should go without parents. So I'll make you a deal."
Static looked up at Shinning as he smirked.
"Me and my wife have been trying for foals for a while, and it hasn't been working. If things don't work out between you and your mother, we could offer you a place to call home. You'd have to except the fact that you might get a little brother or sister anyway, but we wouldn't care for you any less. You can stay with us until we find your mother and we'll try to help you through whatever problem you have and if things don't work you have a family at the ready. What do you say?"
She had Cadences memories of Shinning, but what was happening now proved that he was just as kind and loving as she thought. She didn't care about the consequences of her actions at this point. What he offered is what she wanted. So with watering eyes she dove into his chest and hugged him.
Taken by surprise at first, he hugged her back and smiled. Even in the fillies embrace, his guard training was still working. He heard hoofsteps in the grass behind him. Before he could turn to look, his attention was brought back to the filly as she muttered into his fur.
"Its a deal."
Those words, as quite as they were, were heard by the approaching mare. Shinning gave the filly a small squeeze before looking to find his wife standing their with tears streaming down her face.
'A deal? They made a deal. And I just got done freaking out over the fact that she came to me-no, us as the result of a deal. I'm such a moron.' She took a few steps forward. "S-Static?"
The little filly looked up from Shinning's chest. "Mom...?"
Shinning's eyes went wide. "...Whaaaaat?"
To Ponyville!
*Blink, blink*
That was the extent of Shining Armor's movement. The filly he offered a home was his wife's daughter. So she would have been part of the family anyway? Okay... His wife's filly appeared to be seven to eight years old and he had no knowledge of her. When did this happen and who's her father? His wife had upset her daughter to the point where she ran away. That doesn't sound like Cadence, what happened? This complex conundrum had Shinning completely frozen as his moderate mind(his sister got the brains) raced.
"Static..." Cadence said as she stepped forward. She stopped though as she saw the filly in question edge away from her. "Static, I didn't- I mean, Its not..."
*Blink, blink*
"What? You didn't mean to tell me you didn't love me? You planned on keeping it a secret?" Static slowly went from scared to hostile. "I have a good portion of your memories, enough to know that you would never be cruel. Unless, of course, you thought they deserved it. So, what did I do? Does my existence cause you that much pain? Why...?"
*Blink, blink*
"I was confused. I thought that because of how you came to me, without love, that I couldn't give you such," Cadence pleaded.
*Blink, blink*
"You could have tried! You could have given me a chance!" Static was crying again re-wetting the paths down her cheeks.
*Blink, blink*
"I know that now. I took a step in the wrong direction... but I promise that if you let me I'll never do so again. Please, lets try again?" Cadence got closer to Static. This time she did not cower from Cadence.
*Blink, blink*
Static pause... before lunging to Ca- No her mother to give her a hug. She just nodded into her coat. Cadence replied in kind.
*Blink* "I think I've narrowed it down to one question."
Cadence and Static look at Shinning, having forgotten he was there. His face would have been called a calm one, except for the fact that he seemed to be gazing into Infinity.
"Of course, honey. Ask your question."
"What. Just. Happened?"
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Celestia has had children before, so she knew, somewhat, what to expect. This, however, was not one of those things.
"For the last time Kinetic, my office is fine the way it is."
Blue Blood the First was a strapping, yet thoughtful, stallion. He thought the fact that Celestia was immortal(or ageless, whichever you prefer) was quite a sad one. So after having plans made with Celestia(the wine flowed freely that night) they made it tradition to name the next first born of their bloodline Blue Blood.
"Trust me Mother, having the room shrunk not only places the bookshelves closer to you, but also decreases the number of infiltration points."
The line of Blue Blood had always been laid back however, content in the fact that their entire family treasury and reputation was for Celestia's nostalgia.
"I appreciate the thought dear, but I liked it roomy. It's easier for me to have guests this way."
She never thought she would be grateful for their self-exemption from politics and government in general. For instance the fact that her new son was taking the opportunity of the damage to the castle to modify the blueprints. So far he has put an extra set of walls around the Hall of Achievements, added balconies in the courtroom for guards, switched two royal guest suites and an observatory into watch outposts, and turned a destroyed meal hall and its surrounding area into an advanced barracks for an Elite Guard. He was currently surveying her office for 'potential improvement'.
"Mother, we both know how much Equestria depends on your safety." He lifted the entire desk by making contact with one hoof and raising his leg. He then tapped a few places under the desk before setting it down and continuing. "What if the guard shift in the hall below forget to inspect the spare room beneath? Somepony or someone could set up an ambush and capture or kill you. This room should either be moved to a ground floor or the room below should be re-purposed so a guard shift can be placed there without suspicion."
"Deary-" Celestia tried to protest in a sad tone.
"We should also check the same on your bedroom. Moving your office would take care of the extra posts needed above, but you would still need some stationed below," Kinetic continued.
"Kinetic-" Celestia's voice was firmer this time.
"Do you think Aunt Luna would be willing to move her bedroom?"
"Kinetic-" Her voice was now developing a darker tone.
"Of course, she would be extended the same protection as you. She is family and might be used as leverage."
"Honey-" The sound of grinding molars was faint, but still audible.
"Then again, we would have to watch whoever you wanted as a special somepony just as mu-"
"Kinetic!"
Celestia rarely used her Royal Canterlot Voice, but that did not mean it was rusty. Quite the opposite actually. While Luna was more of a cannon in the hooves of an enthusiast , Celestia was more of a volcano, slow to anger and destructive to all around her. Kinetic, the being that habitually absorbed the surrounding gravitational fields and converted it to frictional force on his hooves, was pushed back slightly at his mother's shout. He may only be three hours old, but he knew that this was bad.
"Did you ever consider that there are more important things than my safety? Or the fact that I can protect myself? I might not be powerful enough to defend against pure love, but I still have experience in combat and the power to move the sun. But what has disappointed me the most is the lack of faith you have in my little ponies. I try to be open, inviting, kind. I hope to set an example for them. And lo and behold, war has been absent for centuries."
Celestia calmed down somewhat and moved over to put a hoof on her son's shoulder. "I appreciate your concern, but I am not that important. What is important is my little ponies. They have come a long way and all these acts to protect myself would seem selfish and would send the wrong message."
Kinetic furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "But they only got this far because of your leadership, your examples and ideals."
She slowly shook her head. "Anypony could have came to those conclusions, but I saved time and misery by enacting them sooner."
"But-"
She stopped him with a shake of her head and sighed before continuing. "You understand the importance, the political and social dynamic, but until you understand the personal aspects-" I can't believe I'm doing this again. "-of friendship, I'm sending you to Ponyville."
Kinetic looked at his hooves for a moment before nodding. "According to what knowledge my father gave to me, I have the most important knowledge you know in summary... But I guess somethings can't be summarized. I will go, if that is what you think I need."
Celestia grinned at their momentary understanding. "I believe it will be, and if not, we will have both learned something."
"Go where?"
They both turned to the doorway to see Thermos leaning on the door frame. His front hooves were crossed in a careless fashion, but his dumb, innocent grin told the others in the room that he probably didn't realize that he was interrupting.
"I was just sending your, um, brother I guess, to Ponyville to learn a bit about culture."
With that, Thermos perked up and walked over.
"Ponyville? Nice, I was just about to head there. We could bunk together," he said while attempting to punch Kinetic in the shoulder. He didn't budge and Thermos got a sore hoof.
*Sign* "It would seem so," Kinetic stated in almost perfect monotone. "But, if I may ask, why are you heading there?"
As Celestia nodded in agreement, Thermos tried to explain his decision. "Well, Mom still hasn't let go of some things and its not healthy. From her memories and Dad's knowledge, I know that she is the only one that can do it. Most importantly she has to do it- on her own." He shot a look at Celestia which made her feel slightly offended. "So, unless you know a way we can go in her dream in her dream in her dream, I'm going to leave and she will come to me once she has cleared things up."
Celestia cocked her head in a curious way. "So, you're bribing/blackmailing her to fix things that nopony can force her to fix?"
"No, I'll still send letters and ask how she's doing, so its not a punishment or reward or anything." Thermos scratched his and stared at the ceiling for half a second. "Its more like, I gave her a blank check list with only the last item written down but not checked. We both know she has to complete it, but the exact details, times, and order are all up to her. I didn't do it to hurry her up, I did it to help her acknowledge it."
"I'm still not sure I follow, but I trust that you know what you are doing." Celestia then started when she had an idea. "Oh, you can stay with Twilight. I should check up on her anyway."
She then levitated out a feather quill and quickly, but neatly, wrote a letter to her most faithful student assigning her a summary of recent events(if she just asked for what happened she would receive a five page tail of the event).
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"Twi, you know this is completely stupid, right?"
"They were one of a kind. I must restore them." The sound of claw smacking scaled face could be heard all through the new crystal castle.
"Um, Twi, you might be a huge egghead, but you can't re-write every book that got destroyed." When Rainbow Dash heard about the disaster of the Treebrary, the closet bookworm had come to asses the damage.
She found out three things: one, all commercial or mass-produced books had been magically replaced; two, many more books were added to the collection; and three, Twilight was attempting to rewrite over fifty books that had not been replaced. Rainbow would be more understanding of this if it weren't for the fact that ninety percent of the 'irreplaceable' books were notes Celestia had written for her when she was a filly.
"Those books had knowledge that Celestia had purposefully removed from history. Not only had they been the only copies, but were also the only proof that could provided if that knowledge was needed somewhere. Now, do you think Celestia would say 'General Long Sword's amazing mustache' or 'General Long Sword's artisan mustache'? She used both in her lectures, but I can't remember which she wrote down."
Spike and Rainbow shared an understanding glance at their friends crazed behavior. Until he burped and hit her in the face with a scroll.
"Sorry Rainbow."
She clucked and gave the scroll back. "It's fine, just don't do it around Rarity."
"Uh... Yeah." The dragon blushed and gave the scroll to Twilight.
As usual, the sight of Celestia's wax seal snapped her out of the trance she was in. She then unrolled and read its context.
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
This letter's purpose is three fold. The first is to ask if you and your friends are alright? While the current state of Cantelot and the return of our magic tells me you succeeded, I know that no victory comes without a price. Please send a short report on any and all damages, injuries, and(maker forbid) casualties that may have happen in the past twenty-four hours.
The second is to let you know that Cadance, Luna, and I are all safe. Our imprisonment in Tartarus was unpleasant, but luckily we did not run into anything that meant us harm. That is not to say nothing happened, but we can discuss the subject when I arrive.
My arrival and visitation is the third part of this letter. While I'm afraid I can tell you over a letter why, please make a reservation at a local Inn for six ponies or five beds. If the Inn is damaged please tell the rest of the Elements that, though we are royalty, we will pay for lodgings. This will only be for one night unless other business requires we stay. Please do NOT start a celebration for this visit, I wish it to be as casual as possible out of respect for the recent troubles.
Sincerely Your Equal,
Princess Celestia.
"Spike I need you to count the rooms in the castle. Rainbow could you go get a damage report from Mayor Mare, a patient's list from Red Heart- complete with injuries, and ask Fluttershy if she's seen Discord?"
Spike ran off to count the rooms(he's been asking to explore the castle since it appeared), but Rainbow hovered in the air for a moment and turned back.
"But... I thought we could read that new hardcover Daring Do with the extended author's notes together?" She asked rubbing the back of her head.
"Then you better do what you do best," Twilight smirked, "and fly fast."
Dash grinned and flew out the window, wanting to get back to Twilight.
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"So I'll call you Daddy, and his name will be Fathah." Using her imp powers, Statics voice not only dropped to a ridiculous pitch, but also reverberated to the point where Shining thought there was a million of her. If it weren't for the fact that she was on his back, he would have seen her eyes point away from each other.
Despite the creepy display, Shining laughed. "Well, I guess I'll have to thank your Fathah if I ever meet him. He not only saved your Mommy, but did it by giving us you."
Cadence winced at that statement, the hurt from the argument/misunderstanding not yet fading. Being slightly behind her, Shining and Static noticed. Shining stopped.
"Honey, Static forgave you. Don't hold this against yourself," he said while Static nodded in agreement. "Let's just be a family..."
"Well, it's just..." Cadence turned and bit her lip in thought. "The way you worded that... um. It make Static sound- I mean, well-"
"Mom, Dad, how much do you know about Imps?"
Shining and Cadence froze and then shared a glance before he answered.
"Not much, honestly. I know the synonyms, but not what one really is."
Static let out a sigh before taking wing to face her parents. "I know a bit about Auntie Twilight, so I wanted to put the questions off until we met her, but there are things you need to know that would clear things up." She took a deep breath then, after looking at Shining, she turned back in to the lightning filled, cloudy wisp she first appeared as. Cadence wondered why she decided to do this, while Shining gasped.
"Imps are not usually full life forms. We are a section of another, usually strong, being that has taken a section of it's own life-force and made it physical. We are made because our limitations are very strict, having being part of anothers life-force and not having any our own. We usually serve that which we are a part of. Calling me a tool, or suggesting I am a means to an end is not wrong. I mean, it's like saying earth ponies are good at growing food. It might imply that that's all they're good at, but its also a fact and a complement to some."
This information didn't calm Cadences worries, but it made it easier to put them to rest. Shining had felt disgusted with himself after realizing how his comment made him sound. While Statics lesson made him feel better about it, he was still ashamed of it.
"I say usually, because me and my brothers are the exceptions. We have less limitations on our individualism partially because we have the mix of two life-forces, and partially because of Father. He creates and guides all life-forces in his realm. This means I can rebel if I wish, and can have goals and desires of my own. I can be my own being. I say 'being' because Imps are pure shapeshifters. The like to mimic their creators image. Because of Father and what he is, when I mimic him I look like this. He based me and my brothers off of his pattern for elementals."
Static then turned back into her pony form. "However, because our limits have been lowered, so has our abilities. We only get one form per species and we can't chose it. We can use illusions it make it look different, but it makes us tired. We also need to feed in more ways than one. Normal Imps feed on the results of what they are told or made to do. My brothers and I are different. We eat normally, but we also have to manipulate our element. Kinetic cannot go against gravity, Thermos either absorbs the heat of things or raises its temperature, and I can't come into contact with what is considered at the time 'ground'. That's why I fly. Even though this floor is not really the ground, I can't land. It works on perception magic. I could touch something that is grounded and feel nothing, as long as it isn't the largest level surface in the room and connected to the floor. If I do, I lose my charge and will fade until I get it back."
Cadence took this information to heart. She was determined to keep her safe and learn as much as she could about the filly and what to do in emergencies. She suddenly realized half of her foal-sitting knowledge was now useless.
Shining's thought's on the subject, were much simpler, however.
"You are definitely my daughter, because if you weren't how did end up with Twily's lecturing gene?"