//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Home Sweet Home // by ACTASAP //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash let out a long, bored, sigh as she sat in the chair outside of Spitfire’s office. She always hated waiting to see her superior officer, it made her feel like a foal who was waiting to see the principal. The Wonderbolts had just gotten back from a four month tour across all of Equestria, so she was anxious to get back to her Wonderbolt suite to get some rest. After ten minutes of waiting, a cadet finally emerged from Spitfire’s office, letting Rainbow know it was her turn to be seen. She stretched her limbs for a brief moment before finally heading into the office of the only pony who outranked her. “You wanted to see me ma’am?” Rainbow said as she entered the room. “Yes, I wanted to talk to you,” Spitfire told her in a friendly voice, letting Rainbow know she wasn’t in trouble. “With all due respect ma'am, it’s been a long trip and I would like to get some sleep before we have this talk.” “It will only take a second. Please take a seat.” Rainbow knew there was no way of postponing this so she sat in the chair in front of the desk. “How’s your family?” Spitfire asked her teammate and friend with a warm smile. “They’re good,” was all Rainbow said. Her eyes shifted around the room as she search for any inspiration for a new topic. “What’s new with them?” Spitfire asked before Rainbow could change the subject. “Not much to really talk about. Thunderlane’s still the stallion I fell in love with and Silverwing’s doing fine for a growing young boy,” Rainbow answered as best she could, but she noticed that her commanding officer’s smile started to fade. “Rainbow, when’s the last time you saw your family?” She asked in a more serious tone. “Well we were just on that tour of Equestria for four months, but a week before that they stopped by headquarters for their monthly visit. So four months ago, but now that we’re back I’ll tell them to come by for another visit sometime soon,” Rainbow assured her. “That won’t be necessary. I think it’s time you take a vacation,” “Thank you ma’am, but I don’t need a vacation at the moment,” Rainbow told her commanding officer who frowned at her words. “Rainbow, why don’t you want to spend time with your son?” Spitfire bluntly asked. Rainbow jerked her head back in surprise and raised an eyebrow at the yellow mare. “Where is this coming from?!” Rainbow asked, not even bothering to try to be formal. “Well you haven’t taken a vacation since you’ve returned from your maternity leave three years ago,” Spitfire pointed out. “I take time off for the holidays and for Silverwing’s birthday!” Rainbow angrily reminded her, while glaring. “You take time off for the major holidays, and even then it’s only for a day or two. Don’t forget, I’m at those Hearth’s Warming parties Applejack hosts on her farm and I mostly see you interacting with your friends but I rarely see you interacting with your son. I’m glad you take time off to see your son on his birthday, but you’d be pretty heartless not to,” Spitfire’s commented, which only intensified Rainbow’s glare. “My son is busy catching up with his friends too. Besides, Silverwing and I spend a lot of time together on Hearth’s Warming morning, so I think we’re allowed some time with our friends.” Rainbow huffed defensively, but Spitfire just sighed at this. “Rainbow, you’ve only taken three days off this year. One for your son’s birthday, one for your wedding anniversary, and one for Scootaloo’s graduation. I think you’re due for a vacation,” Rainbow’s glare soften as her friend spoke to her with a calm voice “I appreciate your concern, I really do, and a two week vacation would be nice and relaxing but-” “Three months.” Spitfire’s said, cutting the cyan mare off, who stared at her as if she had said the sky was green. “Wait, what?!” I’m giving you three months instead of the typical two weeks. I feel like you’ve earned it.” Spitfire took a deep breath, anticipating another long discussion with Rainbow Dash. “The Wonderbolts need my services, I can’t leave them for that long. It’s also better for my family if I stay here too. Don’t forget, Thunderlane is a stay-at-home dad, so they rely on me for income. If I don’t provide for them, they could lose our house and be forced to live on the streets, begging every pony passing by for even the tiniest scrap of food. Do you want my family to starve?!” Rainbow placed her front hooves firmly on the desk and stared at her with furrowed brows. Spitfire just rolled her eyes at her friend’s melodramatic display and gently nudged her hooves off her desk.. “You just came back from a world tour that lasted for four months, I think you have enough money to give your family; not to mention the money you got from all your merchandise.” It seemed like everyday there was a new contract to sign to put her face on something. This led many of her teammates to believe that she was the most popular Wonderbolt, or at least the most marketable. “What if there’s some kind of emergency? You’ll need the fastest flyer in Equestria to help out with the situation,” Rainbow said with a smug smile and closed eyes. “You are one of the best flyers we’ve got and you’ve earned your rank of second-in-command, but we’ll be fine without you for three months. Besides, I think your family, especially your son, needs you more,” Spitfire assured her. “My family understands how demanding my job is and they’re fine with the occasional visit. It’s just like how my mom died giving birth to me, so my dad had to spend a lot of time working to provide for us. I spent a lot of time at daycare or over at a friend’s house, but I didn’t mind, it just made the time I got to spend with him even more special. I’d say my son is more fortunate than I was at his age, since he has at least one parent who’s always around.” “Yes, but I’m sure you would have loved having your dad around more often, just as I’m sure your son would enjoy having you at home for a while. I’ve seen the way he acts around you whenever him and Thunderlane visit and how clingy he is to you. Even when he’s surrounded by the Wonderbolts, a dream of almost every pegasus child his age, he only cares about being close to his mother. That kid idolizes you and he’d love to have you back home, please don’t disappoint him,” Spitfire pleaded. Rainbow refused to make eye contact with Spitfire as she used her right foreleg to give her left one an uneasy rub. Her face portrayed a mixture of guilt, hesitation, and even a bit of fear, which she quickly tried to replace with a look of frustration before looking at her friend again. “I don’t know why we’re even discussing this, Skinflint will never allow me to take a three month vacation anyway,” Rainbow said as she lifted herself out of the chair and headed for the door. Skinflint was a strict manager and cheap when it came to the business side of things. To his credit though, his penny-pinching ways were apparently effective since the Wonderbolt’s profits had increased ever since he took over as their manager. Most of the time he would even attend the parties they’d have after their shows to unwind and have a tankard of cider. So he could be cool, but his main focus with the Wonderbolts was profit and it wasn’t profitable to have your biggest star take a three month vacation. “I already got his permission to give you this vacation.”  Rainbow stopped dead in her tracks when she said that and slowly turned her head, her mouth slightly agape. “H-How did you get him to agree to this?” “I have to train the new recruits, without pay,” Spitfire sighed. Rainbow remembered that the yellow mare was the one who trained her and her husband when they attended the Wonderbolt Academy. However, when she mentioned this to the captain back when she first joined, she told the cyan mare how much she disliked training the cadets. She had always thought of it more as annoying menial work, and she especially hated all the paperwork that came with it. “.....Y-you didn’t need to do that for me,” Rainbow meekly said. “If this is what it takes to make you realize that both you and your family needs this, then yes I did,” Spitfire said with a mix of firmness and softness. Rainbow was speechless. Her captain, her friend, was willing to do a job she barely tolerated just so she could have a three month vacation. Words could not describe the cyan mare’s gratitude, so instead she tried cracking a joke instead to break the uncomfortable silence that filled the room. “On the bright side, Skinflint probably won’t send you to any more meetings with Ms. Harshwhinny,” Rainbow chuckled at her own joke but Spitfire just frowned. “I keep telling you, she’s not as bad as you make her out to be,” Spitfire scolded her, causing Rainbow to roll her eyes. Recently, Ms. Harshwhinny had been interested in sponsoring the Wonderbolts in exchange for special shows at the Equestria Games. Since Spitfire was the captain, she was the one who usually met with her. At first, Spitfire couldn’t stand these meetings. She’d always complained about her grumpy demeanor and her strict standards for professionalism. After a while though, the yellow mare actually started to return from her meetings with a more upbeat attitude, claiming that she got Ms. Harshwhinny to loosen up a little. “Yeah yeah, that’s what you keep telling me,” Rainbow waved a dismissive hoof. “Except every time she comes to our training camps she’s still the same strict and uptight mare I remember working with years back. It also seemed, at least to me anyway, that there was some tension between you two.” Spitfire paused for a moment, as if she was hesitant to respond to this. “I don’t know if you’re doing this on purpose, but we’re getting off topic.” Rainbow frowned at this, wondering if her mind really was subconsciously trying to avoid talking about this vacation. “You really think I need this vacation?” Rainbow asked.. It was more of a rhetorical question, but Spitfire answered anyway. “Even though I’ve been a Wonderbolt longer than you, you’ve taught me so much, even before you were a bolt. One of those things was to be loyal to yourself and to your beliefs, and I truly believe you and your family need this.” Rainbow Dash let out a defeated sigh. After what Spitfire did for her, there was no way she could come up with any more excuses as to why she couldn’t take this vacation, it would only prove her point that she was avoiding this. Besides, even if she wouldn’t admit it to her friend, she really did miss her friends and family. “Well then, I guess I’ll be seeing you in three months.” Rainbow drooped her head down after exiting Spitfire’s office as she sluggishly walked through the halls. She didn’t lift up her head until she had reached her own office. Once inside she grabbed a nearby duffel bag and made her way over to her desk to pack various things,but when she got to the pictures on her desk she paused for a moment to admire them all with a smile on her face. First was a picture of her and her friends on one of the many picnics they used to have before she became a Wonderbolt. Every now and then, she’d get a care package from her friends with a letter explaining what’s been new with them or what’s happening in Ponyville. She was hoping this vacation would also give her some time to spend with them, though she didn’t think that would be a problem with Applejack since their sons were best friends with each other. The next one she looked at was a triple picture frame, each one containing pictures from her wedding. The first was a picture of her and Thunderlane sharing their first kiss as husband and wife. The second was a standard wedding photo of the couple holding each other close with a bright smile on their face. The third was similar to the second but it included their family members, his parents, her dad, Rumble, and even Scootaloo. Rainbow’s mind drifted for a moment as she remembered how happy she was when she heard her surrogate sister had gotten together with her brother-in-law. However, the last picture made Rainbow’s smile fade. It was a family photo that her husband and son had taken but since she wasn’t around her son held up a picture of her as if she was in the photo too. She was touched by this, of course, but it also made her see Spitfire point about needing this vacation. After packing each photo, Rainbow closed up the duffel bag  and put it over her shoulders. With a heavy heart, she turned off the lights in her office as she exited and locked the door behind her. Then she headed in the direction of the mess hall to inform her teammates of her vacation. ------- There were some nights where it would be a struggle for Rainbow to fall asleep and it seemed tonight was going to be one of those nights. She tried sleeping in different positions, sleeping on more than one pillow, and flipping her matress over, but none of it seemed to work. She was even desperate enough to try counting sheep, but she only got to 14 before giving it up. To make matters worse it was a cold October night and even her heavy blanket couldn’t keep her from shivering. After an hour of frustration, the cyan mare lifted herself out of bed and made her way to the kitchen, thinking a late-night snack would help. Her fridge was mostly emptied due to the fact that she wasn’t a very good cook and she usually ate out. There was still a little bit of food though, most of which she planned on packing tomorrow morning and taking home with her, and after a quick scan, she found some carrots and grabbed one. She took a seat at her table to eat her snack, alone with her thoughts. She tried to think of the bright side of this vacation; like seeing her family and friends again or just being able to relax on a nice, puffy cloud, but Spitfire’s words from earlier were also buzzing in her mind. As much as she hated to admit it, her friend was right, she was intimidated by motherhood. Thunderlane had asked her about the possibility of having children when they were engaged and once again after they got married, but both times she told him she wasn’t ready for that yet. They had both finally achieved their dream of becoming Wonderbolts and they quickly became fan favorites due to their gimmick of being a married couple that performs their routines together. Their careers were on the rise, so there was no time to even think about the idea of children. They were still sexually active though, but she was taking emergency contraception pills to prevent pregnancy. One day, however, her and Thunderlane had overslept and needed to meet up with the other Wonderbolts before they left for their show in Fillydelphia, and in their hurry she forgot to pack her pills. Unfortunately, they didn’t realize this until it was too late. She still remembered how nervous and terrified she was when the doctor told her she was pregnant. Thunderlane’s first reaction was to fly around the room shouting ‘I’m going to be a dad’. She wished she could’ve been as enthusiastic as her husband but her mind could only focus on how unprepared for this she was. Her career as a Wonderbolt had just begun, a career that she dreamed of having since she was a foal, and now she felt it was coming to an end. She wasn’t sure how, or if, she could balance motherhood with her job, especially since her job required her to travel around Equestria. She did her best to keep this fear hidden but her husband could see right through her. One night, Thunderlane confessed to her that he knew she was scared of having this baby and what it would do to her vocation, so he decided to resign from the Wonderbolts after the baby was born, so he could take care of him. He was giving up his dream job so she could keep hers. She was speechless, she didn’t know how to express her gratitude other than wrapping her hooves around him and throwing her lips against his. Once their son was born, Thunderlane announced to the public that he would be leaving the Wonderbolts when his wife was ready to return. Rainbow even made a surprise appearance during his final show and the two got to perform one last routine together. She had always felt a little guilty about staying with the Wonderbolts, while her husband became a stay-at-home dad for their son. There were times where she thought about taking a long vacation, like Spitfire was making her do now, so she could be there for her son, but she never had the courage to go through with it. Her first experience with motherhood during her maternity leave wasn’t exactly the most pleasant experience. If it wasn’t for some assistance from her friends and husband, she wasn’t sure how she would have gotten through it. She lost count of how many times his crying would wake her up in the middle of the night as she’d struggle to figure out what he needed. Then there was the diapers, she shuddered as she thought of the horrible stench that attacked her nostrils while she was changing him. She couldn’t help but laugh at the irony, she had helped save Equestria from numerous threats and performed many death defying daredevil stunts, yet it was motherhood that she was afraid of. Then again, she remembered a time when she was scared of a serious relationship with Thunderlane. It wasn’t until she had a talk with his brother and realized just how much she really cared for him, and now they were happily married, even if it was a long-distance marriage. She really did love her son too, and she enjoyed the time they spent together whenever they visited each other. Whether he was visiting her at the Wonderbolts training camp or she was visiting him at home, she always made sure to play with him and show him some tricks she would be performing for her next show. However, spending that much time playing with him also allowed her to avoid most of her motherly responsibilities, which she preferred since she liked to consider herself the cool, fun parent while Thunderlane was the more responsible one, yet still fun in his own way. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to do that this time though, but it couldn’t be that hard. After all, she was Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria and second-in-command of the Wonderbolts, so childcare should be no problem for her. Although, she wouldn’t be able to do anything if she didn’t get some sleep soon. She had finished her carrot so she crawled back in bed to resume her nightly struggle of trying to get comfortable. She continued to toss and turn throughout the night until it eventually tired her out and sleep finally overtook her.