Mac pulled his plow effortlessly through the southern fields as the heat of the afternoon finally broke. He was careful not to strain himself too much, so as not to disturb the cargo on his back. A butterscotch pegasus colt with a three-toned mane slept on his father's broad shoulders, his tiny hooves dangling limply off of Mac's muscular frame. The little guy seemed to sleep lightly, but Macintosh figured he would most likely be able to gallop at full speed and still not wake him. He'd inherited his love of sleep from his mother. Little Zap's coat had darkened since they’d brought him home from the hospital six years ago. With Rainbow away on stints with the Wonderbolts six months out of the year, most of the parental duties had fallen to Mac.

In a few more weeks, Rainbow would be home again, and his family would be whole once more. He hated how her work took her from them for such lengths, but he knew it was necessary. The income she provided was more than he could ever hope the farm would earn.

Wary of the cargo snoring softly on his back, Mac made his way to the farmhouse carefully, spotting his pregnant sister Applejack and his now lanky sister Apple Bloom sitting idly on the porch. His steps drew their attention as he headed up to the porch.

"Long day?" Applejack whispered, a jeweled, winged lightning bolt earring studded with diamonds dangling from her ear.

"Eeyup, he held out as long as he could." Mac smiled. "How was y'alls day?"

"Good," Apple Bloom replied. "We made a mint today in town."

Mac nodded. "Well, let me put him ta bed, and I'll join ya for a nip or two of cider." He stepped off the porch and trotted back to Rainbow's house, at ground level, and still hovering a few feet behind the Apple farmhouse. Opening the door, he noticed a pile of mail waiting for him on the floor. He scooted the mail toward the couch and slid his son onto the cushions. Little Zap's eyes fluttered open as he yawned.

"Dad?"

"Howdy, sleepy head," Mac said softly. Zap rubbed his eyes and sat up on the couch.

"I fell asleep again, huh?"

"Eeyup. Ya almost made it through a whole day," he replied, sifting through the day's mail. A letter with Wonderbolts letterhead drew his attention as his son began to drift off on the couch. "We got a letter from Momma, Zap!"

His son perked up immediately. "Really?" He got to his hooves and fluttered his little wings, raising him a few inches off the couch.

"Eeyup. Ah suppose we could read it before Ah tuck you in." Mac grinned, mussing his son's mane and talking a seat on the couch. Zap crawled into his father's lap and got comfortable as Mac opened the letter. "Okay, ya ready?"

Zap nodded frantically, only coming to a halt after his father rested a hoof on his head. Mac unfolded the letter and held it out in front of both of them.

"Alright," Mac said, clearing his throat and focusing on the much-improved writing in the letter.

"Dear Mac, I can't tell you how much I've missed you and your—" He stopped abruptly, shuffling the first few pages of the letter behind the others. "Sorry, Zap, Ah think those first pages are meant for Daddy." As he scanned the letters, he found the first mention of his son's name. "Ah, here we go.

"Zap, I miss you so much! I bought a ton of cool stuff for you to play with, and I can't wait to see you so I can give ‘em too you. Ms. Spitfire and Uncle Soarin are both excited to see you too. Hopefully you and Apple Bloom have been getting along, and I better not hear from Daddy that you've misbehaved while I've been gone. I hope you've been doing good in school and not giving Ms. Cheerilee too much of a headache. I've been counting down the days until we can all go to the lake like we did last summer, and maybe after that Daddy and I can finally take you up to Cloudsdale, where all the pegasi are from! I love and miss you so much Zap, and before you know it, I'll be back with you, and we'll be able to do all the awesome things you've written to me about. Be good and eat everything your father cooks for you so you can get big and strong like him.

I love you, my little lightning bug!"

Mac couldn't help but smile as he lowered the letter. He glanced down at his son and noticed him beginning to sniff and wipe his eyes. "Hey now, partner, what's the matter?"

"I miss Mommy!" he replied quickly, sounding indignant that his father even had to ask.

"C'mon now, Zap, she'll be home in a few weeks," Mac reasoned.

"But she's just gonna leave again!"

Mac sat back on the couch, hugging his son in his forelegs as he did. He couldn't deny that was more than likely the case. Having Rainbow leave for stints like this was the way it had always been. Mac hated seeing how it affected his son almost as much as he hated having his sister sub in for Rainbow, mother-wise. Not that Applejack wasn't a good helper, but he knew it should be Rainbow helping him raise their son, not his sister. Now that Applejack would have her own foal to raise soon, he knew more of the work would shift to him. Mac had no idea how he was going to divide his time between the farm and his son without neglecting one.

"Ah know, son. Ah don't like it any more than you do."

"Then why don't you make her stop?" he asked, drying his tears. Mac looked down into his son's green eyes and sighed.

"She has to do it for work, Zap. Her leavin' is what lets us afford all the nice things we have. Not everypony in Equestria can afford the life we live. Some ponies can't even afford to eat." Mac was well aware dumping the problems of the world into his young son's lap may not have been the wisest idea, considering the many questions sure to follow, but as they say, ‘toothpaste can’t go back into the tube.'

"There are?"

"Yes, some ponies don't have what we have."

Zap paused to consider what it would be like not to have the three meals he sometimes barely touched or just pushed around his plate. "Does somepony help them? They don't starve, do they?"

Mac smiled, patting his son's head before answering. "Yes, there are ponies that help them. Your mother and I give some of the bits we don't need to the ponies that give them food."

"You do?"

"Eeyup."

"Do they ever say thanks?" Zap asked, tilting his head.

"They don't need to. We do it because everypony should have somethin' ta eat." Mac set his son on his neck and stood up off the couch. "Now, Ah think it's past a certain colt's bedtime."

"Oh, can we write back to Momma before I go to bed?"

Mac stopped in the hallway on the way to Zap's room. "Ah dunno. The sun's already down, and when it's asleep, little colts should be too."

Zap hung from one side of Mac's neck. "C'mon, Dad, pleeeeeease? I promise I'll go to bed as soon as we're done!"

Mac thought for a moment, if only to build suspense. "Alright, Ah suppose we could just this once."

"Yay!" Zap fluttered off his father's back and scurried to the table where a quill and a few spare scrolls sat. He took the quill eagerly in his mouth, ready to show his Mom how good his writing had become since he last wrote her.

"Tell ya what, Zap. Why don't you just tell me what it is ya want to say, and Ah'll write it down for ya." With a look of dejection, Zap slid over in the chair and set the quill down as his father picked it up.

"Dear Mommy, I got your letter! Daddy read it to me, and I really miss you! I hope your stunt flying is going well. I'm really excited to see you again so you can give me the stuff you got for me and so we can go on those fun trips we go on when you're home. School is going okay, but it's boring. Recess is my favorite time, but I think I told you that in the last letter. Daddy is making me go to bed, so I can't tell you much more, except that I love you and I want you to come home and stop leaving me and Daddy by ourselves. All the other colts have Mommies that pick them up from school, and I want them to see how great mine is! Say hello to Ms. Spitfire and Uncle Soarin for me!

Goodnight Mom! Zap Apple."

Rainbow set the letter down on the table in her hotel room as she sniffed up her tears. She rubbed her eyes as she stared at the parchment. Next to it was a bottle of champagne, compliments of the hotel. She opened the bottle, letting the cork fly unobstructed to a far corner of her room. Two flutes sat next to the bottle, but she didn't bother with them. She wasn't sure whether the hotel was mocking her or if it was just an oversight by the staff.

Dash took a swig of the bottle and sighed. This was her sixth tour. She'd earned her place as a Wonderbolt and was secure in her position behind Spitfire as lead mare, with Firefly constantly pushing herself to surpass her. She loved it, but then again, she lived for competition. At least, she used to. Now, all she found herself thinking about was how much she was missing by not being with Mac to raise their foal. She'd already missed Zap's first hover and his first time playing in the clouds. She hated herself for it. She wanted to quit and go live the simple life on the Apple farm with her son and his Dad, but she still had another four years in her contract.

Dash snorted to herself as she took another drink from the bottle. She would have never believed that in six years time she'd be seriously longing for an end to her seemingly endless show tours and performances. Flying was in her blood, a passion of hers rivaled only by besting somepony in direct competition. Eventually, performing the same routine, day in and day out, felt less and less like flying and more like work. She still loved the cheering of the crowd, the stream of foals willing to wait hours for her autograph, and the look on their face when she give it to them, but that was hardly worth being away from what she loved most, her friends and family.

A knock at her door drew Dash from her thoughts. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror to make sure her eyes weren't puffy. She strode to the door and expected a fan, but instead found Spitfire, with the champagne from her room.

"Captain." She nodded, stepping aside.

"Afternoon, Rainbow," Spitfire said, walking toward the table where Dash's open bottle and letter lay. "I came to talk to you about your future as a Wonderbolt." This seemed to be the talk she had been dreading, yet simultaneously waiting her whole life for. The press had predicted it, she had known it was coming, and probably every one of her co-workers did too. Spitfire was planning on offering her the Captain's spot. She and Soarin were due to retire after this year, and everypony knew the spot had to get passed on. "But first, why don't we have a drink. Unless you've already beaten me to it?" She smiled. Rainbow sat in the chair opposite Spitfire and took her bottle as another cork shot into a darkened corner of the room.

"So, how's Twilight?" Dash asked.

"She's fine. You'd think growing wings would change a pony," she replied.

Rainbow chuckled after taking another drink. "Not her. As manic as she can be, she's pretty grounded." By now, Dash and Spitfire had seen enough of each other outside the workplace that a comfortable familiarity had risen between them, but only behind closed doors. "So, any wedding bells in the air?"

Spitfire snorted. "No. I did the whole 'marriage' thing once. Besides, breaking up is a lot easier than getting a divorce," she lamented.

"How's Beebop?"

"Fine, though she's become a real pain in the flank lately. Teenagers, I guess."

"Heh, Apple Bloom is going through the same thing, apparently. All the sudden, she cares about colts instead of having fun with her friends." Dash took another chug of her bubbly and wiped her mouth with her foreleg. "AJ's havin' enough trouble trying not to lock Apple Bloom in her room until she's an adult."

Spitfire smiled. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Would you believe Beebop told me I embarrass her the other day? I'm friggin' captain of Equestria's elite flying team, and I'm 'embarrassing,' somehow."

Rainbow whinnied sharply. "I believe it. I bet if the princesses had daughters, they'd be embarrassed of them." Her captain's mood lightened a bit.

"How is the new Mrs. Soarin, by the way?"

"She's fine. Foal's about three months away."

Spitfire nodded, matching a drink. "Beebop seems to like her." She set the bottle down on the table and sat up straight. "Now, about earlier..."

Rainbow's ears snapped to attention. "Listen, Captain, before you offer me your spot, I just wanted to let you know I was really thinking... about quitting. I just... I've already missed so much of Zap's life, I don't know if I could stand to miss another four years."

Spitfire raised an eyebrow before leaning back in her chair. "I know."

"It's just that—wait, what?"

"I know you've been letting our tours get to you. I see it in your routines." Spitfire leaned forward, resting her forelegs on the table. "Which is why I'm offering you Director of Operations at the Wonderbolt training camp in Cloudsdale. You can spend the four years you have left there, closer to home."

Rainbow's jaw fell open. "Are... for real?"

"Yes, Dash, for real. But, this would mean my next choice for Captain would be Firefly. Is that something you can live with?"

She nodded gratefully. "Yes, absolutely! I've trained that kid for six years. If she's not ready now, she'll never be."

Spitfire sat back, a reserved smile across her lips. "Good. Also, the venue for our last show backed out, so it's been cancelled. We're headed home tomorrow."

The school bell tolled loudly overhead as the large doors released all the fillies and colts from the confines of the schoolhouse. Zap walked at his usual pace down the steps, his saddlebag weighing heavily on his back, filled with books that only seemed to get heavier as the day went on. After he made it into the courtyard, he scanned the faces in the crowd trying to pick out his aunt Applejack. As he looked, he heard a familiar voice call his name. He could have sworn it came from above him! As he craned his neck, he saw a rainbow trail zip by before Dash landed gracefully in front of him in her Wonderbolts uniform. He could hardly believe his eyes.

"Mom? What are you doing home?" he squeaked as the other children silently gawked at the celebrity in their midst.

"I was tired of missing you." She smiled, nuzzling him before bending down. "Hop on, and let's go surprise Daddy!" Without a moments hesitation, he climbed onto his mother's back and took off into the heavens towards Sweet Apple Acres. As they flew, Rainbow couldn't hold in her special surprise for her son any longer.

"Hey, Zap, remember how I told you I had all kinds of surprises for you from my tour?"

"Yeah," he replied over the winds.

"Well, there's one I didn't tell you about." She found a fluffy nimbus cloud and stopped on it, letting her son slide down her back and onto his haunches.

"Really? What is it?" he asked excitedly.

Rainbow looked into her son's eyes that resembled her husbands so perfectly, his multi-hued mane that had taken after hers, and his wings that would soon grow into the glorious appendages that would carry him aloft on his own. She couldn't wait to see his reaction.

"Do you remember how badly you wished I would never have to leave you and Daddy alone again?"

He nodded.

"Well guess what, my little lightning bug?" She smiled, nearly getting misty eyes herself.

"What?" he answered softly, a growing inkling shining in his eyes.

"I don't have to anymore."

It took a moment for her words to sink in, but once they had, Zap's smile grew from ear to ear. "Really?!"

"That's right!" In a flash, Zap was hugging his mother as tightly as his little forelegs could grip her. They held each other for a few seconds before breaking the embrace, Rainbow kissing her son lightly on the forehead.

"Do you really mean it, Mommy?"

"Of course I do, kiddo."

"I'm so happy you're staying with us from now on," he whispered, reclaiming his spot in her back.

"Me too. I love you, Zap. I'm not going to leave you again."

"I love you too, Mommy."

The dripping, dingy cells of the Wasteland Territories Correctional facility echoed with the sound of the guard's hoofsteps as he made his rounds. Each prisoner was here for a different reason, but all were considered risks to pony kind. He looked into each of the cells, making sure each prisoner obeyed the rules of their confinement. No movement without permission. No talking. No looking at guards. They didn’t so much as sneeze without the express consent of the staff or face punishment. So far, everyone checked out. It was not just ponies housed here, but griffons, zebra, saddle arabians—there was even a legend of a dragon being housed in the basement, but he'd never seen it.

As he returned to the gate from which his patrol began, another guard approached him. Unusual, considering his shift change wasn't for another two hours. "We got a visitor," he said in a low, gruff tone. Only the toughest guards were hired to guard the toughest criminals.

"Who for?" he asked.

"06435"

The guard handed him the order signed by the warden himself. 06435 was serving a twenty-five year sentence for embezzlement. Rather harsh, considering the crime, but tacked onto that was a felony charge of endangering the well-being of the nation of Equestria, a crime second only to treason itself. He gave the paper back to his comrade and unlocked the iron door, allowing both of them to walk down the narrow corridor. They arrived at 06435's cell and opened the slot known as the ‘food hole’. Usually, there were two criminals to a cell, but 06435 was a special case. He used to have a cellmate, but after he died, he did not allow anyone else, not even the toughest criminals, to share his space. The guards had given up trying to force a cellmate on him, so they just confined him to solitary.

"Assume the position!" the larger guard shouted.

The figure inside the windowless cell responded with a curt 'Yes, sir,' and presented his forelegs out of the food slot. They shackled them tightly before opening the iron door. Once inside, the guards secured his hind legs and checked the tightness of the anti-magic ring on his horn.

"You've got a visitor."

06435 said nothing, his cold eyes simply glaring ahead, as if straight through the guards themselves. The beams of sunlight shooting through the windows of the building as he walked down the hallway hurt his eyes, but he didn’t flinch. He simply kept walking, one hoof in front of the other, through a maze of iron barred doors and secure checkpoints. Once through the onion-like layers of security, he finally arrived at the visitors center. It was just as dilapidated as the rest of the prison, but unlike the rest of the prison, hardly ever used. Those imprisoned here usually didn't have family or had been disowned by them. These were the worst of the worst.

06435 sat in the booth, across from a unicorn stallion with a black mane and piercing green eyes. "Who are you?" he asked calmly. Though it had been years since he had any normal social interaction, he spoke as though he'd only been locked up yesterday.

"Who I am is not important," the stranger said, glancing towards the guards, making sure they were not listening in on their conversation. "All you need to know is that I work for a very powerful individual, one who has taken an interest in your plight."

06435 fought the urge to scoff. "What could anypony like you possibly know about what I've been through in this Celestia-forsaken hell hole?"

"I know that you want revenge. Revenge for the life stolen from you, and revenge for the death of your brother—"

"My brother is not dead!" 06435 roared, attracting the guards attention before the stranger assured them everything was under control.

"My apologies, of course he isn't." The stranger shifted in his seat. "Like I was saying, I know you want revenge, and my employer can give it to you. She has the tools, and the means. All she needs is someone with the drive to act."

06435 raised an eyebrow. "Continue."

"Should you accept this offer, once the guard passes your cell on his fifth patrol, you are to draw a triangle inside a circle on the floor of your cell and stand within its bounds. Once you do that, you will be free. Follow the moon, your instincts will guide you to my employer."

06435 rubbed a shackled hoof across his chin. "And if I refuse?"

The stranger stood from his chair, coldly analyzing the prisoner before him. "You stay here and rot."

Author's Notes:

And with that, this rambling, 100,000 words of Mac and Dash goes in the 'complete' column. Huzzah!

If you liked this fic, you can also thank Razed, Cyne Fan and q97 for their editing work! Because it would be a LOT worse without them!