Anxious twins, a royally pissed off mama dragon, an equally pissed off Guardian, a puzzled princess and a sleeping prince being held by said mama all gathered in the dining room area. The dragon guards had run after but could not find Sombra for he had gotten away. However, they did bring back the magic filled crystals that Twilight was now looking over.

“How the actual fuck did that fart gas get past the millions of magical barriers??” Ember asked the princess before glaring at the five guards. “You guys were supposed to be on guard!” she snapped at them.

“We were, we were in the middle of a shift change.” One of the guards said.

“And…we were trying to seduce them.” Gemcity nervously admits before Ruby elbows her to shut up.

Rachel glared at them but concentrating her energy on her son. After what felt like an eternity, Iggy was finally asleep. Nestling in her arms in peace.

Ember then turned her anger on the Queen. “And you, why the fuck are you pussy footing around with the damn pig and haven’t brought Spike home yet??” she snapped at her.

“Oi, you think I haven’t thought of ending it?” Rachel snarled back. “I’m trying to convince Spike to come back to Equestria but every fucking time I tried talking to him about it he shuts down or changes the subject. That is what I’ve been doing, trying to convince him to come back.”

“Won’t he come back for his son?” Twilight asked.

“Oh he’d like me to grab our kid and just take off together.” Rachel said. “And yes, he fucking said that. Each time he mentioned that, it just pisses me off and I have to turn and leave before I beat him to come home.”

“You should probably do that. Beat his mother fucking ass after you roast that mother fucking pig and get your mother fucking ass back in the front lines.” Ember cursed. “He can’t keep running.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?!” Rachel snapped. She stops when she feels Igneous move in her arms. She resumes shushing him and rocking him gently, getting him to resume sleeping. “Spike can’t let go of the fact his body was used to kill, that ponies will react to him being back badly. I’m not making excuses, it's what he’s been telling me.” she spoke in a softer tone.

“Have you told him that no one thinks of that? It was announced that it was Rarity’s fault. Sweetie Belle and the rest of us girls did a press conference.” Twilight explained.

“He just needs to pull his head out of his ass because at this point, he’s self pitying.” Ember growled. “Beat his ass, beat the pig’s ass, get back here.”

“Trust me, once I get back, I’m fucking done with this pig.” Rachel said. “But before I do that, Twilight, can you explain to me, how the hell these crystals are responsible for the shields coming down??” She asked her.

“These crystals are enchanted, they drain the magic used for the barriers and shields. The problem is that what is in these crystals are not enough to bring them down." Twilight explained as she moved them on the table. "I suspect that they have been continuously replaced."

"Is there a way to keep that from happening?" Rachel asked.

"There is. While I get to work on that, let's focus on putting the shields back up." Twilight said.

"Knock, knock."

Everyone looked up to see Princess Cadence. "Sorry, one of the guards let me in." She had something rather large cased in her magic with a thick cloth draped over it..

"Cadence!" Twilight chirped before walking over to her sister in law and hugged her.

The two sisters hugged each other as Cadence set the item down on the floor.

"Cadence, what are you doing here?" Rachel asked.

"Sexy." The twins said in unison.

Pretending not to hear that, Cadence lets go of Twilight and looks at the Queen. "Sorry, when Twilight informed Shining about what happened, he had me send this over. He's been busy with the troops."

She takes the cloth and pulls it off. It was a mechanical box with ponish words etched with heart shaped holes. They could see a crystal piece, whose energy was rather familiar to Rachel, hooked up to wires and such.

"That looked as ugly as the light bombs." Ember mentioned. Causing Rachel to snarl at the insult before approaching the device.

Cadence sees the baby and cooed. "Real quick, may I?" She had her hands out to him.

The look on Twilight's and Gemcity's faces were priceless when she hands Iggy over to Cadence.

Cadence giggled as she held him, keeping the rocking motion so he wasn't disturbed. "He's so precious." Holding him expertly.

"Thanks," Rachel said, smiling softly before looking at the device. "Cadence, I may be mistaken but… is that crystal piece part of the Crystal Heart?"

"What?!" Twilight yelled, looking at the piece. "Did the Crystal Heart shattered? Is the Empire okay?!"

"Yes Twilight, the Empire is safe." Cadence assured her. "Remember that we all speculate that a shard of the Heart was missing after Flurry broke it?"

"You actually found it??"

Cadence smiled. "We did not long after the Crystalling."

"What exactly is this box?"

"A portable Heart. This shard alone emulates a fraction but a powerful energy the same as the whole. Shining Armor has been developing this device for years, ever since Sombra appeared last time. When we found the shard, it only fueled him to make this."

"Does it work the same way as the whole one?" Rachel asked.

"Yes. It is powered by love. Since it's a shard, it doesn't take much." Cadence said.

"Wait a second, if you're here, who's protecting the Empire??" Ember asked. "Sombra has been trying to get it."

"We've been using the Heart to protect the Empire. Flurry took over using her magic to keep the barriers up while I'm here." Cadence explained. "We did have some attempts but he can't enter. Even with those crystals," she gestured to the ones on the table.

Rachel felt the same pull from the shard as she did with the actual Heart over a year ago. She reached out a hand and placed it on the box.

The shard shimmered before energy burst out, encasing the whole cabin in its loving glow.

Cadence smiled. "I believe it's a success."

Rachel let out a small chuckle before turning to look at her son. Cadence hands him back to her and she holds him.

"Okay, let's put the rest of the barriers back up before you head back." Twilight said.

"I got enough magic on this staff for one more usage, I won't be able to use it again until Spike gets back, so you better haul ass back here with him." Ember told Rachel.

"Trust me, I'll be doing just that." Rachel said.

"Oh, one second." Twilight said." Lemme fix his room." She said as she teleports to the destroyed nursery. Using a restoration spell, the room returned exactly how it looked. Spick and span, perfect for the young prince before teleporting down to him.

"Before you guys do that, can someone explain how Iggy here was able to blow up his room?" Gemcity asked.

Ember rolled her red eyes. "The kid is the product of both Bloodstone Staff and the Blue Celestial. He already had some magic inherited by Spike. But when Rachel was bestowed hers, the kid was early in development enough to where power was transferred into Igneous. He's a powder keg of magic, with the right training, Igneous will be the most powerful dragon there is. And whatever kids you have after will be the same. I only have magic from the Bloodstone. Since there hasn't been a child of both staffs in centuries so Igneous is the first for a while." She explained.

Rachel motioned the guards to take the box to her son's room. Where it will be the most guarded before putting him in his crib.

She then takes her staff and came back down to meet up the girls."Let's shield up."

The girls got to work on refortifying the cabin grounds. Spells being thrown left and right. For the two dragonesses, their energies were draining from the staffs as they used magic

By the time the shields and barriers were back up, Rachel was on the verge of passing out. Zapping most of her energy, leaving her no choice but to rest.

She would need it for the journey back and to end this bullshit with Snowball once and for all.

Ironstone Wharf

Tempest Shadow was out in the streets of the village. She was picking something up for her and Capper to eat after they explained to Spike where Rachel left.

The streets were dark and empty, her senses were sharp and on high alert.

As she went to turn towards the bar, she caught a glimpse of something slithering in an alleyway. A tip of a bladed tail slipping away. A rattling sound echoed in her ears.

She pulled out her daggers as she calmly turned to that alley.

And was met with a familiar face she knew all too well.

Aspa.

"Well, this-s-s-s i-s-s-s a s-s-s-urpris-s-se, Tempes-s-st." Aspa chuckled, standing at the end of the alleyway. The snake pony hybrid took off his stetson while greeting the unicorn.

"Aspa, what brings you here in this wastepit?" Tempest asked, but she didn't sound friendly. Her daggers in her hands, ready for anything.

He shrugged. "A job. S-s-s-simple as-s-s that. You know how it is-s-s."

"Snowball hired you?"

"You know I cannot give away s-s-secrets-s-s. Client confidentiality you know." Aspa said. "Rumor has-s-s it that you're hanging out with an interes-s-s-sting party." His tail curled around Tempest, but she didn't respond to it. Brushing up her legs.

"I can't respond to that." Tempest grunted. "It's a pity, we both have jobs here."

"It's-s-s-s nothing pers-s-s-s-sonal." Aspa said as he pulled his tail back. "I have to go meet with the pig… if you want to, we can s-s-s-split the profit and get rid of both."

"If you come anywhere near my friends, I'll make sure to cut your head off, snake." Tempest snarled. Getting ready for a fight.

"I don't want to fight you. We'll s-s-s-see what the future brings-s-s-s." Aspa hissed before he slithered past her, going back where he was heading.

Tempest grunted. Forgoing the food delivery and raced back to Capper.

….

"I'm sorry, what the fuck did you say??" Rachel asked through the speaker phone.

"Snowball hired an assassin. Most likely after you." Tempest said while holding her phone. Capper sat close to her to hear the conversation.

"Shit, fuck, fuck, did you tell Spike?" Rachel asked.

"Informing you first before I do. He's a problem."

"What do we know about this guy??"

"His name's Aspa. Once Snowball owned him but he turned assassin. I… I ran a few jobs with him in the past." Tempest admits."

"I hate snakes already, but this guy, really??" Capper asked.

"He's a good fighter. His venom is also something to watch out for." Tempest warned.

"How poisonous is it?"

"His venom once released, releases a neurotoxin that takes creatures and reduces them to their animalistic traits. After being bitten, the first thing that creature sees, they go after it relentlessly. It doesn't change their form but it makes them act out. It lasts ten minutes but usually when the minutes are up, he eats them alive."

Rachel had to pause for a minute before responding. "So basically his venom is a different version of what potion Rarity used on Spike. Fucking hell why can't people be more original??"

"Turns them crazy, yes, but once they see the first thing after being bitten, that's all they care about and goes after it."

"If something turns into a fifty foot beast again, I'm going to lose my shit. No need to get bitten because I'll already go crazy!" She let out a groan. "Thanks for the warning, relay this to Spike. I'll be there when I can, mother fucking-" She trails off as she hangs up.

Author's Note

After this, either two or three more chapters until Spike in finally freed