*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?"

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).

"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.

"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?"