Mistress Do Well: Extradition
by milesprower06

Return

Rainbow woke up feeling the best she had in months. She looked over at the clock on her night stand and saw she had slept in until 9 AM. She got up, and went out into the hallway.

"Mom? Dad?" She called, not getting any answer. Coming out to the dining room, she saw a note on the table.

Hey, hun.

Your father and I had to leave for work, and you were sleeping so soundly we didn't want to disturb you. Help yourself to whatever you like in the kitchen, and we'll be back this evening.

Love,
Mom and Dad <3

Feeling her stomach complain for breakfast, she went over and made another one of her childhood favorites; cheesy hash browns. She quickly devoured them at the table, and then returned to her room, starting to wonder what she was going to do with her day.

"It's taken you this long to figure it out, huh?"

Dash looked over once she closed the door, and saw Double Rainbow sitting on the bed, next to the post with the Cloak of the New Moon.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play stupid with me. That dream last night was the happiest you've been for the past year."

"Leave me alone."

"You are alone, prism-hair."

Rainbow went to her pillow, took the tape out from under it and put it back in her saddlebags.

"Do you really want to stay angry for the rest of your life? Why can't you just say it? You're not afraid of punishing them. You're afraid of forgiving them. Terrified of it, actually. What would be so bad about starting to heal? What about helping them heal?"

"It was only a dream!"

"Alright, let's look at the possibilities. One, it was your dream, and somewhere in your subconscious, you want to be with them. Or, two, it was a shared dream, and all of you want to be with each other, and it is possible to heal from this."

"So I want to get back together with those ponies that raped and tortured me?!" Rainbow yelled, shivering.

"If you want to keep believing that you came out that basement with nothing but fear and anger in your heart, fine, keep lying to yourself. But you weren't the only one down there. Somepony discovered that they loved you, and that's why she took you out of there. I know how you really feel. I know that every time you made up your mind to touch yourself in bed, you were thinking of her."

Dash started to shiver.

"Stop..."

"You've been looking for somewhere to fit in, and nothing has worked. You didn't even go rushing to the Wonderbolts when your primaries were ready. You don't even feel at home in your own bedroom. What are you gonna do? You can't keep wandering Equestria, you're down to 500 bits. You didn't let go of that dream last night. They came to your rescue, and you held them for hours. Just admit it. That's where you belong. You need them."

Rainbow sat on the bed, on the verge of tears, looking at her mind's manifestation.

"I would need to be absolutely sure..."

"Alright. Then let's go make sure. Are you forgetting about an ancient crystal artifact of love up north?"

Rainbow Blaze and Firefly walked in the front door after a long day at the weather factory.

"Dash, we're home!"

The house was silent, and there was no response.

"Rainbow? Sweetie?" Firefly called.

They dropped their saddlebags, and went to the dining room, where a note was waiting on the table.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm really sorry to do it this way, but I was afraid you'd try and stop me, and I couldn't figure out a way to say goodbye in person.

Thank you. Thank you for trying. But there are still some things I need to figure out, and I can't do it here.

Love,
Rainbow Dash

Two Weeks Later...

"Five minutes to next stop, Ponyville! Ponyville, five minutes!"

Rainbow Dash barely heard the conductor as the train steamed south down the tracks of central Equestria.

"Are you alright?"

Rainbow managed a glance to her left, to Double Rainbow, who sat next to her.

"'Am I alright'? You know what I just tried to do..." Dash replied, her voice shaking underneath a whisper, still traumatized from her failed suicide attempt, because she had so stupidly tried to use the Crystal Heart with the Cloak's hood up. But when she awoke at the base of the tree with the rope still around her neck, something inside urged her try again, without it. When she had, she felt the love; of her mom, dad, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy... And Twilight.

"Hey..." Double Rainbow began compassionately, getting down from her seat, kneeling in front of Dash, and putting her front hooves on her trembling ones. "It's over. You're alive."

"What if this doesn't work?" Dash whispered, coming closer and closer to breaking down.

Double Rainbow scooted closer to her, looking up into her eyes, the only one who could recognize her through the hood.

"Then it doesn't work. You can go back home to mom and dad. Or take Princess Cadance's offer of asylum. Or go to Spitfire and the Wonderbolts. But you know what...? I think you're making the right choice here. I really do. Now, pull yourself together. We're nearly there."

Having been her only companion for the past year, the words from the figment of her imagination brought comfort. She took a few deep breaths, and felt the train slow to a stop. When she heard the brakes hiss, she got up from her seat, grabbed her saddlebags, and disembarked. She was one of two ponies to get off at Ponyville Station.

She slowly walked to the end of the platform and stepped down onto the main path into town. At this time of night, there was very little activity. The streets were hers.

"Feels like you never left, doesn't it?" Double Rainbow asked, walking alongside her.

Indeed, despite all she had been through, it felt like only yesterday that she was running out of town with 20,000 bits and precious few personal possessions on that rainy October morning. She continued towards the west side of town, and was stopped in her tracks when she saw it; the Golden Oak Library.

All the lights were off, but it looked like someone had been here recently with a cart, judging by the wheel tracks.

"Hey, deep breaths. One step at a time." Double Rainbow told her, making Dash realize she had been holding her breath. She slowly stepped closer, and stepped onto the welcome mat. She raised a hoof and...

Paused.

"What if... What if she's not here? What about the others?"

"You know how you can find out?" Double Rainbow asked. "Knock."

Rainbow swallowed, and sent her hoof forward towards the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Rainbow slowly removed her hood, and waited. Five seconds. Ten seconds. Fifteen. Twenty.

The door opened with a creak, piercing the silence of the early night. It swung open on the hinges to reveal the all too familiar face of Twilight Sparkle.

Her eyes widened, and she managed a barely audible gasp. Her lips parted, and at first, no words escaped.

"R-R-Rainbow...?"

The alicorn took a few uneven steps back, her eyes tearing up, and her legs wobbling. She dropped to her knees, then onto her left side, promptly fainting.

For what seemed like the longest time, Rainbow just stood there. Her lips trembled, her entire body pulsed with anger. She felt very much the same when the innkeeper had violated her privacy in the middle of the night.

"Hey." Double Rainbow got her attention, snapping her out of her building anger. "What are you gonna do, drag her to the basement, chain her to the wall, and clip her wings? Deep breaths."

Dash did just that, taking in a deep breath, letting it out, then stepping through through the entrance and closed the door. She stepped around the motionless alicorn, and headed for the kitchen. She flipped the light on, and began scrounging for a late night snack. She opened the package of bread on the counter and cut two slices with the bread knife. She opened the cabinets, and grabbed two items she loved when she was younger. She spread peanut butter on both slices, then sprinkled chocolate chips on top, before combining the two halves. She put it on a plate, then turned off the light and headed upstairs. She took a short glance at Twilight's room. What used to be immaculate now looked like, well, what Rainbow's room had looked like most of the time. She continued out to the balcony, closing the door behind her and sat down, setting the plate beside her and took her first bite.

"You know, forget what I said earlier. Let's find some scissors and clip the bitch's wings while she's out."

Dash looked over, and saw Double Rainbow, inexplicably also with her own sandwich, talking with her mouth full.

"What?" She asked when Dash wouldn't stop staring.

"I'm beginning to wonder if I think long enough and hard enough about throwing you off the balcony, if it'll actually happen."

Double Rainbow choked on her current bite.

"You wouldn't."

Dash said nothing, turning her attention back to the stars.

"So now what?"

"That's the question, isn't it. I'm here so... What now?"

She couldn't help but feel her anger rising again. Twilight had been here the whole time. What was she doing here? Just waiting for her to come back? Did she just play right into her hooves?

She took another bite of her peanut butter and chocolate chip sandwich.

What was going to happen when Twilight woke up? Would she try and hug her? What would stop Rainbow from knocking out a few teeth if she got close enough. She began to think of how the inevitable meeting would play out.

"Rainbow?" she heard muffled through the closed doors and downstairs. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Twilight had come to.

"Welp, looks like it's time to disappear. I think you'll be having real company shortly." Double Rainbow said, swallowing the last bit of her sandwich.

"Remember, deep breaths."

Author's Note

For those who have been waiting for some post-Reparation content, your wait is over starting next chapter.

Thanks for those who are reading!