The Stars That Bind Us

The Cabin

"Okay Iggy, time to go to sleep." Ruby said as she placed the child proof lock. After many escapes, the twins were given a lid to put on top of Iggy's crib, turning it into a cage of sorts so he doesn't get out.

And he was not happy. He angrily cried out, smacking the bedding and shaking the bars of the crib. Breathing small bursts of fire at them. With everything fireproof inside of the crib, nothing got caught on fire.

"Buddy, buddy hey I know this sucks but we can't have you run around. You need sleep, we all need to sleep." Gemcity said, seeing him shake the bars. She turned to Ruby. "This seems cruel, do we have to leave him there??"

"It's what the guards suggested. He nearly got out of the barrier too many times." Ruby said. "I hate this too, but at least we can get a decent night's sleep. We'll check in like always. Before Mama Rachel gets home, we'll remove it and she and Spike can handle him how they want."

They turned to look at Igneous. He had his arms crossed and had the grumpiest look a baby can muster plastered on his face.

"Ooh yeah he's Rachel's baby, that's her angry face." Gemcity pointed out. The two have similar faces when angered.

Ruby slides in some of his toys and his favorite blankie through between the bars. “That is indeed her face.” She goes to give him some reassuring pets when he snapped at her hand with his jaws.

Thank Celestia that he doesn’t have teeth yet but the motion made Ruby slide her hand back. “And her crappy attitude.”

“And you’re supposed to be the smarter twin, I wonder why.” Gemcity raised a brow.

“Oh shut up.” Ruby said before standing up. “We’ll check on you later, bud.” she said before the twins left, turning off the lights on their way out.

The only light that shined was a night light. The light casted a rainbow glow and the images move, the shadows of two dragons dancing in a circle on the ceiling. Since there were some crystals in his room, the light reflected so everything was in a bit of a rainbow.

Igneous stared up at the ceiling, watching the two dragons going in a circle. He reached out as if he wanted to touch them, making croaking sounds. His motion of trying to reach caused him to fall on his back but still gazing up at the ceiling before looking up at the mobile. Seeing the figurines of stars and planets circling above him, playing a soft lullaby.

As he feels like he’s falling asleep, he hears something creaking.

Iggy turned his head to look out of the bars. At first, he saw nothing but faint rainbow lights casting most of the room.

Maybe Auntie Gemcity had snuck in and was going to unlock the crib?

As Iggy scanned the room, he experienced a new feeling when he spotted the dark corner of his room. The fur on his body started to prickle, standing up on all ends.

He rolled on his belly and scooted himself closer, making soft coos as he stared.

The small shadowy corner began growing bigger and bigger.

The infant prince whimpered as he was experiencing fear for the first time. He did not like. He tried to push the lid of the crib up, jostling the lock but it didn't budge.

The shadows grew and grew before a figure stepped out. A dark unicorn with a wicked fanged smile.

Iggy whimpers louder as he tries to escape but he is unable to do anything.

He was at this pony's mercy.

"Finally, oh? What a sight, I was going to do the same," Sombra chuckled, seeing the trapped infant.

Igneous felt something was not friendly with this creature as he approached the crib. He started to cry.

As he was feeling the fear, Iggy felt something within him starting to stir, causing his purple eyes to cast a glow.

"I will say that you are very adorable in person, my prince," Sombra said, taking in the fear the baby was feeling before using his magic. He broke the lock, lifted the lid and engulfed the baby in his magic before lifting him out of the crib.

The baby continues to wail in fright as he was carried over to the unicorn before he was held in Sombra's hands.

Sombra licked his lips. "Now, let's… what?" His eyes blinked in confusion as he saw something happened to the child.

This intense heat was radiating off of him as his tear stricken eyes glowed brighter. This purple energy began swirling around his body as his cries got louder and louder.

KABOOM!

The whole cabin shook violently as the explosion rocked the foundation.

Disturbing the twins' attempt at the guards, all of them sprung into action to go find out what it was. Hearing the uncontrollable loud cries of the baby.

They all burst the door and came to a sudden halt.

Inside of the nursery, everything was black and burnt, crystal pieces shattered all over the floor, the crib was in splinters. Like an intense fire hit only in this room. All toys turned to ash, everything was destroyed.

The only thing that wasn't burnt or turned to ash was Igneous. He was on his back just wailing in the middle of the floor. Most likely dropped when the explosion happened.

As the twins rushed in to tend to the infant, the guards heard a commotion outside. They ran to the window and just barely caught a glimpse of someone running down the path.

They jumped out of the shattered window and pursued the intruder.

At the same time in Ironstone Wharf

After giving an earful to Ember and bantering back and forth of who has superiority in the War, Rachel came into the Inn, dropping her bag on the ground.

"That bitch gives me a headache." Rachel snarled, rubbing her aching head.

"Is there anything that doesn't piss you off?" Capper asked as he lay on his stomach, scratching something on a notepad, tip of his tail idling flickering side to side.

"I'll give you a million dollars if you can find something like that." Rachel muttered before Tempest tossed her a bottle of water.

She graciously takes it and drinks it.

Twilight gazes down at the group before looking at Rachel. "Have you talked to Spike yet?"

"Nope. Ember pissed me off so I'm afraid if I go talk to Spike, something is going to be said and I'm going to blow up. Gimme the night to relax and destress." Rachel responded with a grunt. "So before my patience runs out, I'm currently running on fumes at this point, so guys, how are we procuring the remote before I get it myself? "

Capper sits up. "Fizz and I managed to watch Snowball's movements and his habits. Like any good heist, it takes skills and planning. Have you ladies ever been on one?"

Twilight, Rachel and Tempest said yes at the same time before looking at each other with similar looks.

"I know Fizz here has, but Princess Twilight, you?"

Twilight blushed red. "It was a game heist… and when I tried to take the pearl from the Hippogriffs."

Capper then looks at Rachel. "I'm actually not surprised with you."

Rachel shrugged. "I was young, dumb and stupid, mostly lookout and sometimes as a bodyguard when I was 14/15." Smirking in memory as her friend Justine came back to her mind before sighing.

"Okay moving on," Tempest said. "We noticed that everyone is being controlled by the remote. We get it, all of the residents are set free. Snowball carries it around most of the time and stays in his office. There's a high tech safe where he stores the remote at the end of the night."

Capper shows off the notepad. A drawing of the said remote, though it wasn't a good rendition of the safe, a child-like drawing, it has three numbers written on top of it. "I only got the last three of the five digit combo. These kinds of safe have a system that if you get the combo wrong, it immediately shuts off and everything gets stuck in there and they are impossible to crack, three tries. I think I can guess the last two."

"His office also has an alarm that will trigger his henchmen and we'll be surrounded." Tempest said.

"Or I can pry the numbers out of him." Rachel suggested.

As they made plans, Rachel's phone went off. Knowing the twins' ringtone.

Rachel quickly pulls it out, wondering why they are calling the second time. She quickly answered the video call.

Immediately hearing in the speakers were Iggy's loud wailing. Her body tensed up. "Girls?? What's going on, why is Iggy sounding like that?!" Her heart twisted and pained, her anxiety levels shooting up.

"Something happened, we don't know exactly but you need to come home, right now." Ruby said as the girls tried to calm Igneous down, but he wouldn't stop.

When he heard his mother through the phone, Rachel saw he desperately wanted her.

"W-we heard an explosion in his room, you gotta get here fast!" Gemcity loudly said.

Rachel's body shook. "Gimme a second, I'm coming right over." She said ala before hanging up. She stuffs the phone in her pocket and pulls the staff out of its dimension. "Guys I'm sorry, but I have to go, something happened to my son."

"I'll meet you there." Twilight said.

"Go, we'll tell Spike." Tempest said, seeing how the mood quickly shifted.

The Blue Celestial out up as Rachel slammed the end of it on the ground. Fire quickly consumed her.

She reappeared in the foyer of the cabin, falling to the knees as it took a lot of her energy to teleport that far.

Hearing her son's screams, she wobbly pushed herself up in her hooves and stumbled upon the stairs to the source. Going inside the master bedroom to find the twins desperately trying to console the sobbing prince.

"Igneous!" Rachel cries out entering.

Igneous turned to hear his mother, seeing her actually here. He reached out for her, crying even harder.

Ruby quickly hands him off to his mother, Rachel wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. The baby clung onto her and sobbed in her chest.

"What happened?? What the fuck happened to my son?!" Rachel asked. Hearing him cry like that was making her cry.

She started bouncing him, making shushing noises, kissing his head. "I'm here, Mama's here." Her voice crackled. "My sweet baby boy, I'm here."

"We were just hanging out when we heard an explosion." Ruby said before motioning to the blackened door.

Rachel held her baby as she went to check it out. She could feel Igneous shake as they went closer.

She stood, horrified upon seeing the burnt room.

"Oh my God," she whispered breathlessly, consoling her child even more. She looked down and saw her son's eyes were glowing again, pointing at the corner before burying his face, hiding himself. "You did this… " she muttered, trying to put the pieces together.

She looked up at the shattered window, the color of her face drained. "Uh why can't I see the barriers??"

The realization hit her hard.

Someone was trying to take her baby.