December 22, 1948
Equestrian International Airport, Canterlot, Equestria.

Rainbow Dash stepped off of the DC-3 that she what been aboard for nearly 18 hours (they had taken a brief break in Portugal before continuing onto Equestria.) Waiting on the tarmac was a solitary dark blue alicorn.
“Hello there Ms. Dash,” said Princess Luna.
“”Hello there, your majesty,” said Rainbow Dash as she bowed before Equestria’s second most powerful pony.
As Rainbow Dash did this, she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her, embracing her in a hug that knocked the wind out of her. “I’m sorry about what happened to you!” said Princess Luna.
“Thank you,” said Rainbow Dash. While she appreciated Luna’s concern for her well-being, things nonetheless felt awkward between the two of them. Knowing that the other mare knows about your deepest darkest secrets and views all of your dreams and nightmares is quite off-putting, even if she was a wise and benevolent being.
Turning to the two black cars that were parked nearby, Luna said, “You two take the car on the right,” as she pointed to Buzz Cut and Bleeding Heart.
Turning to Rainbow Dash, she said, “If you don’t mind, Ms Dash, I would like to escort you back to Ponyville myself.”
Rainbow Dash felt flattered. A car ride with a Princess? “Sure thing your majesty!”
“Ms. Dash, we have known each other for several years know. You can call me Luna.”
“Okay then Luna. But only if you call me Rainbow or Dashie.”
“Fair enough Dash.”
Luna used her alicorn horn to float Rainbow Dash’s luggage to the back of the waiting car. After the loading had been completed, , the two of them stepped into the car.
As the car began to drive out of the airport, Luna turned to Rainbow Dash and said, “I would love to learn more about your… treatment in the Soviet Union Ms. Dash. However, I understand that you may not be ready to talk about your horrid experience in that nation and are also probably dying to learn more about what has happened in Equestria while you were gone.”
“I most certainly would Luna.”
“While you were gone Scootaloo stayed with Twilight, just as you wished. Twilight took good care of her. However, from what I learned from my correspondence with Twilight, she has been worried sick about you ever since word of your capture was received.”
This greatly perturbed Rainbow Dash.. The very thought of her little filly suffering, either physically or emotionally was heart wrenching.
Luna continued, “According to Twilight, she hasn’t been eating much and has suffered declining grades in school. She isn’t failing, but she isn’t exactly excelling like she used to.”
“That’s terrible,” said Rainbow Dash.
“If you want I can stop here,” said Luna.
“No, she’s my daughter, I need to know more.”
“After the news broke that you had confessed to the espionage charges charges levied against you, she started getting bullied by the other kids in school. She has apparently been called labels such as ‘daughter of a traitor.’”
The thought of any bully harassing Scootaloo was enough to make her blood boil. “I only confessed to those charges under torture! I only did so in order to live and see my beloved Scootaloo again!” shouted Rainbow Dash.
“I never believed that you would freely confess to such charges. The overwhelming majority of Equestrian citizens have been outraged by the way you have been treated and the way that the Soviets have essentially used you as a hostage.”
“What do you mean?” asked Rainbow Dash.
While you were on your way to Turkey to begin your mission, we captured a spy in Celestia’s staff of cooks. Apparently she had been conspiring to poison Celestia. However, she was caught in the act of pouring poison into the stew that was to be served at a royal banquet.”
Rainbow Dash was filled with outrage at the very thought that someone would ever dare attempt to hurt the Princess! Then she thought to the pegasus with the odd cutie mark at the border crossing in Turkey.
“Wait, did she have a cutie mark with-”
“Two masks on it?” said Luna, finishing Rainbow Dash’s question. “Yes that was her. Her name was Reading Rainbow. We swapped her out with you in a spy swap.”
Rainbow Dash was incensed at the very fact that a pony had attempted to hurt the Princess. However, she also realized that if it weren’t for this treacherous pony’s actions, then she could very well still be sitting in a Soviet prison or worse. “I owe my life to a failed attempt to take another life,” thought to Rainbow Dash to herself. “Best just to count my blessings and not think about it too much.”
“What about my other friends? How did they take the news about my capture?”asked Dash.
“As you can imagine, they were utterly devastated upon hearing the news of your capture. Each of them, especially Scootaloo, have been having nightmares about you not returning. Fortunately, those horrid dreams will remain nothing more than phantoms of a scarred psyche.”

“Please tell me that her dreams weren’t too horrid compared to the others.”
Rainbow Dash felt guilty prying into her daughter’s dreams. However, she wanted to make sure that she would able to help comfort Scoots when she returned home.
“Every night, she had a variety of nightmares, ranging from fearing harm happening to you, fearing that the Soviets would come after her after they killed you, and that she would be orphaned all over again.”
The last one really hurt Rainbow Dash to think about. Scootaloo didn't deserve to suffer anymore. She had suffered such much over the past several years of her life. For some reason it seemed that certain people were destined to suffer more than others. “Does she know that I’m alright and that I’m on my way home now?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Yes, yes she does. News of the spy swap was made public this morning. Additionally, I made sure that you’re friends and family got the good news first. Last night Scootaloo dreamed of embracing you and going flying with you someday.”
The bittersweet moment was marked with Rainbow Dash simultaneously crying tears of joy at the thought of Scootaloo being liberated from her nightmares and by sadness at the thought that she would never get to fly with Scootaloo. Princess Luna extended her left wing around Rainbow Dash and hugged the weeping pegasus.
She hadn’t cried this hard since she had confronted the fact that Tank would be going into hibernation. After several minutes, Rainbow Dash began to compose herself. Princess Luna furnished a handkerchief from her satchel and handed it to Dash.
“Thank you, for this. Thanks for everything,” said Rainbow Dash, thanking the alicorn of the Night for the support she had provided now and in the past. “People don’t give her the respect that she deserves,” thought Rainbow Dash to herself.
The two of them rode on in silence for the remainder of the trip back to Ponyville, Princess Luna cradling her new found friend and companion under her wing.