Rainbow awoke to the same dingy cell she'd left. Her son snuggled tightly beneath her wing. Feeling her movement, Zap woke up and hugged his mother, crying into her coat.
"Mom... I'm scared!" he sobbed.
"I know sweetie, it's okay to be scared." Rainbow whispered hoarsely. "We'll figure a way out of this, I promise."
"B-but what if we don't?" he asked.
"We will. Right now, I bet your Dad and Mom's friends are on their way here to help us," she said, and secretly prayed that was the case. This did little to comfort her frightened colt, unfortunately.
"I know it's scary in here, but I need you to be brave for me, okay? Can you do that?" she asked, nuzzling him.
"Okay..." he replied weakly.
"Why don't we sing a song to help keep our spirits up? She can't hurt us if she knows we aren't scared of her," Dash said.
"Okay... but what song?" Zap asked.
Rainbow thought for a moment. None of her normally preferred genre of music would work in this situation. But then she remembered a song Mac used to use to sing Zap to sleep when he was a newborn.
"I got one I think you'll remember," she answered with a soft smile.
"Almost heaven, Appleoosa, Blue Slope mountains, Marendoah river, life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, growing like the breeze," Rainbow sang softly.
"Country road, take me home, to the place, I belong!" Zap completed, Rainbow seeing him smile for the first time since this ordeal began.
"Appleoosa, mountain momma, take me home, country road!"
Rainbow continued to hum the rest of the song as her son sang the rest of the song. Behind her gentle, calming smile, she felt a burning rage filling her heart. She was completely powerless to help herself or her son and it burned her up to no end. Now that she was at least conscious, she just needed time to think of a plan.
But that would have to come later. Right now, all she cared about was keeping Zap's mind off their predicament. She just had to bide her time. She'd think of something eventually, she was sure of it. She just had to wait for her moment to strike.
The moon cast a long shadow along the streets as Mac walked toward the agreed meeting place. Peach Blossom stood waiting beneath the flickering light of a lamp post, spotting him as he approached.
"Ma'am," he said, tipping his hat.
"Have you heard from Tumble?" she asked softly, as if speaking too loudly would draw the wrath of her employer.
"Ain't seen him yet," he replied.
She shifted nervously on her hooves. "How can we do this, have we lost our minds?"
"Peach!" a voice from the shadows said. Tumble appeared from a darkened alleyway, immediately embracing his lover.
"Oh Tumble!"
Mac watched the two reunite in the moonlight, acutely aware of how lonely this journey had made him. They both turned to him.
"Well, thanks again for all the help in arranging this... and for not killing me," Tumble added weakly.
"Think nothin' of it."
"But, how can we start a new life without any money?"
Mac produced a moderate sized bag full of bits. "This oughta help."
He tossed the sack to Peach. She opened it and marveled at the contents. "This... this is more than enough to pay off my debt. Why don't we just pay off Flowers?"
"I 'spose you could do that, if you trust Madame Flowers to honor her word," Mac answered smartly.
They both knew what he was implying. Better just to cut and run.
"I don't know how to thank you, stranger," Tumble replied.
"No need for thanks, just start fresh somewhere."
Mac turned to leave.
"Wait!" Peach shouted. "Where will you go?"
"I'm looking for someone. Next stop's Amalga."
Without another word, Mac headed out of town. He had certainly left his mark on this town. He'd killed a criminal, burned down a saloon, and rescued a prostitute in distress. And here he was, walking out of town as easy as the breeze. He glanced down at the brand on his forearm. The further away he ventured from Equestria, the less clout the brand would have. Amalga was firmly in the Disputed Territories, and as such, his brand would simply be another piece of body art, rather than the royal endorsement of violence.
He had given all his bits to the young couple he had just helped, so it looked as though he would have to rough it for the foreseeable future. It suited him just fine. It would be a days walk to Amalga, so it decided it best to make camp for the night. He quickly started a fire and took his rest beside it. The stars in Luna's sky shone brightly, reminding him of his first real experience with his wife; the two of them driving cattle to auction.
He couldn't help but think about his wife and son. He had to stop himself. It would only make him angry.
Mac closed his eyes for a moment before someone drew his attention.
"Well, that was a nice thing you did for those two. Think it'll make up for what you've done to get here?"
He opened his eyes. Across the campfire sat himself, his same cigarette smoldering between his lips. His own dark passenger, manifested before him once again.
"I don't care what you say. You aren't real," Mac replied. Maybe it was a side effect from that spell in Canterlot.
"You can deny it all you want. Whether or not I'm real is irrelevant. But what you're feeling, is most certainly real," Dark Mac answered with a smirk. "So, will the killing be worth it in the end?"
"If I get them back, it will be."
"Mr. Apple, before you go, there is one last matter to attend to," Bentgrass said.
"What's that?" Mac asked, looking over his fancy new crossbow on his foreleg.
"We need your foreleg," he said, as a unicorn levitated his leg before he could refuse.
"What for- OW!"
A magic brand burned into his foreleg.
"This brand will grant you immunity for anything you do in the lands ruled by the Princesses," Bentgrass stated. "As long as it falls in line with your mission, of course."
Mac examined his foreleg. The sun and moon superimposed upon one another, with two crossed spears beneath them.
"You are now acting in accordance with the will of the Princesses. Honor them in your words and actions."
"Well then, I guess this is goodbye," Mac said, fully geared up for the mission ahead.
"Not goodbye, Mr. Apple. We'll see you when you return, successful."
"Beautiful rendition, really," Chrysalis said from the darkness.
Rainbow stood from her shackles and growled at her captor. "What do you want? Wasn't it enough that we spared your stupid hive after you attacked us?"
"That attack was just a probe, albeit a well thought out one," she replied.
"You really think you stand a chance against the princesses?"
Chrysalis chuckled in reply. "Right, the ones that make you and your friends fight their battles for them? You saw me best that overgrown cow, Celestia."
Rainbow was about to release a string of curses before she realized Zap was still clinging to her hind leg. "Either one of them could take you down."
"Then why didn't they?"
Admittedly, Rainbow didn't have a solid answer for that. "They'll find you, and this time, they'll kill you,"
"Not likely," Chrysalis paced back and forth in front of her cell. "Say, I have an idea. Would you like to see what your love has been building?"
Rainbow was taken aback.
"I thought you might. See, we've been trying for ages to catch a mother and child. That is the purest and most potent form of love," She said with a malicious grin. "So why don't we take a little tour, shall we?"
Two changeling guards appeared behind her, using their dark magic to restrain her. She opened the cell and the magic dragged Rainbow away from her son.
"Momma!" he cried, as magic kept him from moving.
"Mommy's fine, stay strong for me, Zap, I'm coming back!"
Chrysalis drug her captive out of the cell and through the darkened tunnels, her sons cries fading into the distance.
"I know you've been wondering why you're here, and that's something that I've failed at explaining. I'm still getting used to the whole, 'gracious host' thing," She said as she walked ahead of Rainbow, her guards sticking by her tightly.
After many twists and disorienting turns, they climbed a seemingly endless set of spiral steps, before arriving at a balcony. Before her stood tens of thousands of changelings, with more being hatched as they watched.
"Your love is building me an army. Oh, and there's someone else who had a hoof in this grand plan of mine."
From the shadows, stepped a grizzled looking unicorn carrying another unicorn's skull. A face she instantly recognized.
"Flam..." she whispered.
"My brother and I have waited a long time to see you again."