The imposing iron door slammed shut behind Scootaloo after she was roughly thrown into a small holding chamber. She allowed a small groan to escape her lips and picked herself up, brushing herself off and grimacing at the door as if waiting for someone else to come in.

After a while she lowered her gaze and flapped her wings timidly, turning around to survey the room. It was definitely small, a concrete structure with a similarly styled table in the center, a bright white light shining onto it. A pane of glass which reflected the pegasus’s face back to her. After reading enough fiction to last multiple lifetimes, she assumed the glass was a one-way mirror; a popular interrogation technique. Her heart fell with a sudden realization. She was being interrogated.

“H-hello?” the timidly called to no one in particular. Her voice echoed around the room for half a second, and eventually the silence of the room fell all around her again. Scootaloo walked over to the table and pulled out one of the chairs, hopping up onto it and putting her hooves together in front of her. She tapped them a couple times on the table impatiently, wanting to get it over with while at the same time afraid to start.

“Deep breaths, Scoots,” she thought to herself as she closed her eyes, placing her right hoof over her heart and pushing outwards, letting out a breath as she did so. A sound from the hallway startled her and she opened her eyes again, hearing the loud clopping of hooves coming closer to the doorway from outside in the hallway. The door swung open to reveal a burly unicorn stallion with a clipboard levitating behind him. He stepped inside and closed the door again, making the loud banging sound echo throughout the chamber.

“So, Ms. Scootaloo,” the deep voice of the stallion yawned. His voice was coarse, and Scootaloo could tell that he was old for his profession. “How are you today?”

“Could ask you the same thing,” she countered, looking him dead in the eyes and ruffling her wings slightly. She figured directly answering the interrogator’s questions would harm her in some way, giving them more material to use against her. More crimes admitted meant a worse case for the three friends.

“True, very true,” the stallion admitted, pulling out the chair opposite Scootaloo and sitting down, dragging a hoof over his unkempt black mane. The filly stole a glance at his flanks, seeing a cutie mark in the shape of a speech bubble adorning them. This stallion’s special talent was persuasion, she figured, but one would think that the guards would have made him wear something covering them. It was a fairly easy bit of reference, and it would’ve taken a complete moron to not notice it. And Scootaloo was definitely not a moron. She had bullshitted her way out of more than one dire situation before, she was positive she could do it again. “But, I asked you first. So, I repeat my question, how are you?”

“Wondering why I’m here,” the filly replied, her face showing perfect indifference. The stallion sighed.

“Considering the charges brought against you, I’d be more than surprised if you didn’t. Now,” he adjusted some paper on the clipboard and flipped the first sheet over to reveal another one that Scootaloo couldn’t see directly, “my name is Quick Thought, and I’ll be getting as much information as I can from you.” The eyebrow raise coming from the filly across from him was all too clear, “without force, of course.” The eyebrow went back down.

“Quick Thought, huh? Persuasive.” The filly raised a hoof to her chin and smiled slightly. Quick Thought chuckled slightly.

“You’re very perceptive.”

“I try.”

“Now, you are aware of the charges, are you not?”

“I’d be more comfortable with them if you were to read them to me.”

“You know your stuff, kid, I’ll give you that.” A small blush streaked across Scootaloo’s face before she quickly brushed it off, turning back to her poker face. “Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who I assume are friends of yours-”

“Far from it,” Scootaloo interjected, glowering. Quick Thought shrugged and made a note on the clipboard with a pen he had pulled via telekinesis from his bag. He twirled it in the air as he continued.

“I see. They claim assault, two counts of harassment, indecent exposure, and nine counts of public embarrassment.”

“Public embarrassment is a thing? And they claim?”

“Do you think these allegations are correct?”

“If all went according to plan,” Scootaloo commented with a smirk. Quick Thought raised an eyebrow and made a couple notes on the clipboard before turning his attention back to the filly.

“You don’t disagree.”

“I don’t see why I should. Considering how much shit they put us through, I think it’s only fair.”

“So you decided to send photographs taken at the crime scene into the nationwide newspaper, Equestria Daily.”

“They posted our embarrassing photographs in the school paper before, nine times if I can remember.”

“And the editor allowed them?”

“Diamond Tiara is the editor.” Quick Name scowled and looked down at his papers again.

“Well, they didn’t tell me that tidbit.” He scratched his mane and flipped through the pages once again. Scootaloo watched him before letting her gaze wander to the one-way mirror on the side wall. She couldn’t make out any figures on the other side, much to her chagrin.

“May I ask a question, Quick?” The unicorn looked up from his papers and gazed down at the filly.

“Sure.”

“Who brought the charges?”

“Their parents, of course. They’re not of legal age yet.”

“You are aware of how much money their parents make, combined, correct?”

“I don’t pry, but yes, I hear Filthy Rich is a very wealthy gentlecolt.”

“And how much would they pay to get their own fillies tracks cove-” Scootaloo was interrupted by the squeaking sound of the door swinging open, causing both her and Quick Thought to turn and see a Royal Guard standing in the doorway. He cleared his throat a few times, staring directly at the blank wall behind Scootaloo.

“That will be all, Mr. Thought,” he said, keeping his gaze locked. “I am ordered to escort Ms. Scootaloo back to her holding cell. You are requested in the Inquisitor’s Office immediately.”

“Good Terra, what does she want now,” Scootaloo could hear Quick Thought grumble softly under his breath.

“If you will, filly, please follow me,” the guard spoke again. Scootaloo pushed her chair back and stood up, cracking her neck from side to side. An irritating kink had appeared during her quick conversation with the interrogator, if she could even call him that. He was much too nice and understanding of her situation. “Now, please.” That got her attention. She shuffled her hooves towards the door and passed by the Royal Guard, who drew his spear and kept it laying on his shoulder. He motioned with his head to the left, and she started trotting off in that direction down a long, concrete hallway.

Walking took a good two minutes, and Scootaloo kept silent through the entire ordeal. She figured that speaking up would only aggravate the guard, so she kept her distance.

“We’re here,” the gruff voice behind her stated firmly, jerking his spear towards a cell where the filly could hear two hushed voices talking back and forth. The door was magically opened, and Scootaloo felt a force on her hind legs pushing her into the room. She fell forward onto the ground and the clanging of the door slamming shut behind her resonated through the hallway, the trotting sounds of the guard getting farther and farther away.

“Scoots!” a young voice piped up, one she instantly recognised. “Are you alright?” Scootaloo grumbled something unintelligible, pushing herself up onto her forelegs and shaking her head.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she hastily replied, letting out another groan. She felt something soft and warm brush up against her flank, and then a hoof found its way onto her neck, rubbing it softly.

“What happened?” Apple Bloom’s voice sounded, coming from behind her. She relaxed slightly at the massage her friend was giving her, but when it stopped she let out a small moan. The earth pony and the unicorn took their places in front of Scootaloo in the small cell, listening intently for her story.

She recanted her experience to the best of her ability, leaving both fillies shocked.

“You mean to imply,” Sweetie Belle hesitated, “that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s parents are behind all this?”

“I dunno, Sweetie,” Scootaloo replied, looking downcast. “But I do know that there’s no way they’ll have a case in court.”

“We’re going to court?” Apple Bloom asked, confused.

“Yep. I dunno either,” she added, seeing the awkward look in her friend’s eyes. “I assumed this was something they could settle out-of-court, but you know how absolutely bitchy their parents can be.” Her friends nodded in affirmation.

“The meeting of the Royal Solar Court is now in session. All rise for Princess Celestia.”

The audience and the three fillies rose from their seats in the massive court hall and bowed, their snouts brushing the ground. Princess Celestia gestured with a hoof for all to sit, and a wave of noise notified the fillies that the audience had taken their seat again. The appointed attorney for the trio, Legal Note, gave them a sage smile before taking his seat again.

“So, what do we have here,” the melodious voice of the princess floated down to the crowd. “Sisters of the Elements? This’ll be interesting.” The princess leaned forward in her seat, looking towards the left side of the hall where Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were seated, fake tears in their eyes, accompanied by their hard-faced parents. Scootaloo shuddered and turned back towards the princess.

“Prosecution may call it’s first witness.”

“Thank you, Princess,” the prosecution attorney stated quickly, picking up a pad of paper in his orange aura and bringing it to his eyes. “I call Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to the stand.” The two fillies pushed themselves off their seats and sauntered towards the witness booth, looking at the floor. Apple Bloom let out a small snort of disgust and Sweetie Belle elbowed her in the side, glaring. They passed the bailiff, who made them place their right hooves on the book of Ráhd and swear themselves in.

Once the fillies were situated, Princess Celestia motioned again to the attorney, who promptly trotted up to the stand.

“Please state your name and spell your last name for the record.”

“Diamond Tiara, T-I-A-R-A.”

“Silver Spoon, S-P-O-O-N.”

“Like they couldn’t spell ‘spoon’” Scootaloo whispered, meeting the same elbowy fate as her friend.

“Alright, girls, I know this is a touchy subject so I’ll be quick. Just answer the questions to the best of your ability, okay?” The two fillies nodded in response, Silver Spoon even reaching up a hoof to wipe her nose. Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Can you tell us what happened to the best of your ability?”

“We were walking out of my house,” Diamond Tiara started, stuttering on her words, “to go to the meeting for the school paper.” She sniffed again, looking down at the three fillies below her, sneering slightly. “But then these three were hiding behind my house… they jumped us. Then they sent the photos into Equestria Daily and they got published.”

“Why did they get published?” the attorney continued, trotting back and forth in front of them.

“Featherweight, an old acquaintance of those three’s, works there as an intern. Apparently they asked him to do it.” The attorney nodded.

“Has this affected the way other ponies see you two?”

“Very much so. We practically can’t go anywhere without laugher following.” The trio grumbled at that one. They all knew that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had promptly bullied the other students into not talking about it with them around, and making them even more antagonising and powerful than before.

“That’s all for now,” the attorney stated, trotting back to his seat. Legal Note stood up from his seat and walked towards the fillies, Scootaloo noticing a slight glare in his eyes.

“Your honor,” he started, looking up at the princess, “if I may?”

“You may begin your cross examination,” she replied. Legal nodded and started moving again, his pad of paper following closely behind.

“So.” That one word was enough to make Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon look up, and Scootaloo swore she could see a hint of fear creep into her eyes. “How was your school life before all this?”

“It was… alright,” Silver Spoon hesitated, looking down. “The fillies were really nice to us.”

“Why were they nice to you?”

“I dunno,” Diamond Tiara mumbled. “We were popular, I guess.” Legal Note moved his eyebrows up but said nothing, turning instead back to Princess Celestia. He raised an eyebrow before turning back to the two fillies. They were just as confused as the rest of the crowd.

“Are you two bullies?”

Boom. Straight and simple, directly towards the heart of the matter. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon gasped, looking at each other. They mumbled a few incoherent words and glared at their attorney, who just shrugged with a “you’re on your own” look on his face.

“Please answer the question,” Princess Celestia said, leaning on her hoof and tapping another against the desk.

“No, of course not!” Diamond Tiara burst out, glaring.

“Really?” Legal said, smirking. “I could get at least twenty more witnesses in that seat saying you are. I’m going to repeat the question. Are you two bullies.” The second time was more of a statement than a question, and the two fillies looked at each other again, sharing a silent debate.

“Objection.” The quick sound from behind Legal made him turn and raise his eyebrows at the prosecution attorney. “Badgering.”

“Badgering?” Princess Celestia repeated. “Really? It’s common knowledge in Ponyville that these two antagonise fillies and colts alike. What’s stopping them from saying so in the court of law? Overruled.” The attorney shrank back into his seat.

“... yes…” Diamond Tiara said quietly.

“And have you ever antagonised Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom?”

“Maybe… once or twice…”

“Once or twice, huh? Have they ever tried to get back at you two for your hostility?”

“I guess this was retribution,” Silver Spoon offered, the ending of her sentence raised up like a question. Legal nodded and turned back to the three fillies.

“That’s all for now.” Scootaloo could see the two fillies deflate. “You may step off the stand.” Princess Celestia nodded.

“Prosecution may call its next witness.” The prosecution attorney nodded and stood.

“I’d like to call Filthy Rich and Fleur D’Lis to the stand.” Slowly the parents of Diamond Tiara stood and trotted to the stand, their heads held high and their eyes closed. Scootaloo snarled, but this time wasn’t met with an elbow to the ribcage. She glanced over at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom and was pleasantly surprised to see both of them with varying degrees of anger on their faces.

“Now, Mr. Rich, how has your daughter’s life been affected by this calamity?” Filthy shifted in his seat and looked up at the attorney with hatred in his eyes.

“It’s been awful. God awful. Her friends have been laughing at her, and those fillies there,” he said, pointing a hoof accusingly at the three friends, “haven’t made it any better. They never even said sorry!”

That was the last straw for Scootaloo. She knew that she had to get both Diamond Tiara and her parents back for the BS they were putting through the ringer. This was a court, and it was their duty to tell the entire truth. Legal Note had already convinced them to say they had been bullies their entire lives, but now Filthy Rich was saying - falsely again - that they weren’t. Rage built up inside the pegasus and she let out a long breath.

By the time her internal rant was done, the prosecution attorney was wrapping up his direct examination and Legal Note had once again trotted up to the stand.

“So, Filthy Rich,” he began, pausing to adjust his glasses and flip over a couple pages on his notepad, “I have taken some issues with your statement just back there.” The attorney turned to Princess Celestia, who smiled slyly, and walked back to the table, picking up his notes again.

“So. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were just up on the stand, claiming to be bullies. Yet you have stood here, under oath, to tell the entire truth and nothing but the truth. So,” he concluded, stepping closer. Filthy Rich shrank back while Fleur D’Lis merely pinched her snout in between her hooves. “What was a lie?”

Silence. One could have heard a pin drop in that courtroom. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom exchanged a victorious look, while Sweetie Belle was too busy noticing the judges to nonverbally comment.

“Girls, look over there,” she said under her breath, her pointing hoof barely visible to anypony watching. “The jury.” Scootaloo turned her attention to the ten old ponies seated in the five-by-two seats, not paying attention to the rest of the trial at hand. “Filthy was just proven to be a liar, why aren't they looking?”

But Scootaloo knew exactly why.

“Who brought the charges?”

“Their parents, of course. They’re not of legal age yet.”

“You are aware of how much money their parents make, combined, correct?”

“I don’t pry, but yes, I hear Filthy Rich is a very wealthy gentlecolt.”

“And how much would they pay to get their own fillies tracks covered?”

“They’ve bought off the jury.”

“What?” Apple Bloom hissed, glaring at Scootaloo. “Do you even know what you’re saying?”

“She does have a point, Bloom,” Sweetie added, returning the earth filly’s stare.

“But… but why?”

“Because they’re dicks?” Scootaloo offered. Sweetie Belle shot a glare her way and turned back to Apple Bloom.

“Because they know that if they don’t cover their foal’s tracks and get those photos destroyed, they will never be able to get anything respectable out of life! Do you not understand? Equestria Daily is one of the most widely spread papers in all of the Known World. They’re protecting their children’s futures while throwing ours out the window!”

Apple Bloom sat there, her mouth hanging open, before she was shaken back into the present by Sweetie Belle.

“Don’t worry, Bloom,” she said, smiling softly, “I’m sure Princess Celestia will take care of it.”

The alicorn princess she was currently speaking of sat on her podium, unbelief evident in her countenance.

“How do these ponies even live like this?!” she thought to herself, shaking her head slightly while Legal Note continued to impeach Filthy. “And I thought I had taught them better.” She stood up suddenly and glared down at the ponies in the witness stand.

“That is enough, Legal Note,” she stated matter-of-factly, “I’m sure we know they are lying by now.” The attorney nodded and returned to his seat next to the fillies, who each congratulated him in turn. The redness of a blush became evident on his cheeks. “Now, if the prosecution has no more witnesses, let us move on to the defense. Legal?”

“Yes, your honor. I call Sweetie Belle to the stand.”

Sweetie Belle shakily stood up with help from a couple of smiles from her friends, and made her way to the podium, stopping to be sworn in. She fumbled with the wooden door for a couple seconds before finding the latch with her magic and pulling it open, setting herself down in the witness seat. Celestia nodded at Legal Note for him to begin again, and he obliged.

“Now, Sweetie Belle, have you ever been bullied by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?” Sweetie Belle raised a hoof and coughed into it, bringing it back down to her side.

“Yes, I have, many times.”

“And how long has it been going on?”

“Objection, your honor, leading question,” came the timid voice of the prosecution attorney.

“I think it’s perfectly valid. Overruled.” Celestia said, her eyes half-lidded. Scootaloo could see Filthy Rich glare at the princess and mutter something into Fleur’s ear, which made her shrink back into her seat. Scootaloo leaned over to Apple Bloom, whispering.

“I think Fleur has no say in this,” she said, motioning towards the model.

“I think you’re right,” came the hushed response before they turned their attention back to the trial at hand. The line of questioning had already ended, just a couple more questions about what kinds of things Diamond Tiara had done, and what the fillies had done in response. Sweetie Belle made her way back to the seat and Scootaloo gave her a pat on the back, getting a sheepish smile in response. Apple Bloom was called onto the stand with more or less the same questions. Soon it was the pegasus’s turn.

She stood up and brushed a purple lock of hair out of her eyes, gulping audibly. One hoof after the other she carried herself towards the witness stand. The bailiff took her right hoof and placed it on the book of Ráhd, repeating the same phrase.

“Do you swear to tell the truth?”

“I do,” she simply replied, turning towards the stand and sitting down in the seat. Legal Note paced back to her from across the room, coming to a stop directly in front of the pegasus.

“Please state your name and spell your last name for the record.”

“Scootaloo Runwing, R-U-N-W-I-N-G.” Legal Note nodded and gave the filly a small smile, turning towards Princess Celestia.

“Your honor, I’d like to treat this witness as hostile.”

A murmur went through the crowd, most likely from confusion. Back behind the table, Apple Bloom turned to Sweetie Belle, raising an eyebrow in a confused stare. The unicorn rolled her eyes and leaned into her friend.

“Having a hostile witness means that they can ask leading questions without objections,” she whispered, getting a nod from Apple Bloom. However, their silent discussion did nothing to help Scootaloo, who was stuck on the stand without a vowel or a clue to understand what was said. However, it must have been good, as the princess nodded.

“By all means.” The attorney turned back to Scootaloo and turned a couple pages in his pad of paper.

“So, Ms. Scootaloo, how many times have you attempted to ‘get back at’ Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon for their bullying behavior?”

“Just the one time,” she answered truthfully.

“Do you think your actions were justified?” the attorney asked, pushing his glasses down on his snout. Scootaloo thought for a moment.

“Yes. Considering how much they did it to us, I think our actions were completely justified.” Legal nodded and turned back to the crowd, pacing along the length of the platform.

“What kind of things did they do to you?”

“Diamond Tiara blackmailed us into pulling up sh… dirt… on other ponies to put into the school paper, the Foal Free Press. She had our own images and was going to publish them if we didn’t keep making other ponies’ lives miserable. Our ‘retribution’ was that stunt, yet much more… effective.”

“What did they do to you the night of the party?”

“Excuse me, Legal, but… what party?” Princess Celestia cut in, gesturing with a hoof.

“There was a party for the fillies and colts at school hosted by one of their classmates. These fillies can tell you about what happened in the aftermath of the party that prompted them to attempt retribution on Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.” Princess Celestia thought for a moment, then waved a hoof, asking him to continue. The attorney turned back to Scootaloo. “Should I repeat the question?”

“Nah, I got it,” she replied, running a hoof through her purple mane. “Pretty sure we all got either drunk or drugged and blacked out, however we heard from both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom’s guardians as well as my orphanage leader that we got home safe that night. I woke up tied face-down in a tree, hanging from my hooves, with the word ‘deformed’ written under my wings. I could have broken my neck getting down from that tree. Sweetie Belle woke up with marks all over her body in the freezing cold. Apple Bloom woke up with regurgitated apples in her mouth and a fake cutie mark on her flank. We were all taken out of our homes, and woke up with photographs accompanying us of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon with us in the background.

“They had trespassed into our homes, taken us literally from our beds, left us out in the cold, mocked us, spit apples into my friend’s mouth, marked up my friend’s fur, and then published those photographs in the school newspaper. I could have died, and we all could have gotten hypothermia.”

While Scootaloo was speaking about the photographs, Legal Note had gone back to the attorney’s table and taken the photos out, locked in protective plastic wrappers, as well as a copy of the school newspaper, and placed them on Celestia’s desk.

“Your honor, I’d like to submit these as evidence.” The princess nodded and took the photographs from the attorney, looking through them. Scootaloo noticed a hint of disgust when she flipped through the evidence. Legal turned back to the filly in the witness chair. “That’s all, Scootaloo, you may go.”

Scootaloo stood and trotted back to her friends who gave her encouraging smiles the whole way. She smiled herself, too.

“Now,” Princess Celestia’s voice boomed over the crowd, the voice magnification spell present on her horn, “if there are no other witnesses, I’d like to give the judges a recess for the ruling. You are dismissed.”

Princess Celestia once again trotted into the courtroom, accompanied with the bailiff's voice asking the crowd to stand. She waved a hoof and the congregation sat back down.

“Now, judges, I’d like to hear the ruling,” she said, her hoof under her chin. The three fillies sat where they had four hours earlier. Scootaloo was shaking slightly, worried about the verdict. Sweetie Belle took notice.

“Scoots,” she whispered, “don’t worry about it. Even if the jury has been paid off, there’s no way Celestia’s going to allow for a vote like that to pass through.” Scootaloo nodded, but her anxiety wasn’t helped by her friend.

One by one the judges stood, the same chant ringing out.

“Guilty.”

“Guilty.”

“Guilty.”

“Guilty.”

“Guilty.”

“Guilty.”

“Guilty.”

“Guilty.”

“Guilty.”

“Guilty.”

With each guilty verdict, Scootaloo shrank into her seat, squeezing her eyes shut. Princess Celestia’s eyes burned with rage and she stood up from her seat quickly, glaring over the assembled jury.

“This is an abomination,” she spoke, her obvious attempt to reel in her anger and disbelief faltering slightly. “You all have mocked the integrity of this courtroom, you have mocked the lives of these three, perfectly innocent fillies, and most importantly you have mocked me, your princess of the sun. I have no idea why this case was even brought to court, much less why you are completely oblivious to the integral standings of the mares you see before you. This problem could have been solved at home.

“Instead, two ponies, parents of the prosecution, wanted to bring it to me. Have obviously forced the jury into doing what they want them to do, probably under the influence of monetary gain. They should be the ones sitting it that defense chair, not the way it currently is.”

She paused to take a breath. The jury shank back into their seats and shook in fear. The angry whispers from the crowd were poignant throughout the airy chamber.

“This vote has been overturned. Court convenes tomorrow morning.” She turned to the bailiff. “We need a new jury.”

The three fillies sat in their cell, not speaking to one another. The patrolling Royal Guard passed by their cell for the umpteenth time, his stoicism causing him to avoid looking at the detained prisoners. Once he was out of earshot, Scootaloo shuffled.

“This is bullshit,” she said under her breath. Her friends nodded in unison.

Many hours had passed from their court session, yet nowhere was a clock that Scootaloo could use to tell exactly what time it was. She had considered asking the guard, but it was obvious he didn’t want anything to do with the prisoners.

Suddenly a banging sound traveled down the hallway. Scootaloo opened her eyes wider and shuffled over to the bars of the cage, peering down the corridor. What she saw was completely out of the ordinary.

The patrolling guard was knocked flat on his back, his spear rolling lazily on the ground beside him.

“What…” was all Scootaloo could manage. Thoughts were flying through her brain at a thousand miles per hour. What could have done it? Exhaustion? No, it couldn’t be that late, probably only a couple hours into the morning, maybe three AM. Heat? No, those guard suits were designed to keep the wearers as comfortable as possible. Rainbow Dash? No, sh… wait...

“RAINBOW DASH!” Scootaloo cried out upon seeing the blue pegasus hanging upside down above the cell.

“Sh! Keep it down, kid, you’ll bust us both!” she whispered, holding a hoof to her mouth and fluttering down to the bars.

“Shit! Sorry!” Scootaloo replied, looking over at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, who were both in a state of comatose shock. “Why are you here?”

“To get you out of here.”

“Are you crazy?” Scootaloo stage whispered. “Celestia said they’d have a new jury tomorrow, and we can easily win the case!”

“Sorry kid,” Rainbow Dash said, “but it isn’t that easy. I was walking through the castle grounds when I overheard two of the previous jury members talking. So I hid and listened to them.”

“So? What did they say?” Scootaloo eagerly asked.

“I can’t give you specifics, but it revolved around the bribery of the past jury, and the fact that the next jury has already been paid for in advance.” The crusaders were once again thrown into a state of shock, but Rainbow continued. “Celestia can only overturn a vote once, meaning that you guys will be found guilty.”

“So how will you get us out?” Sweetie Belle asked from behind Scootaloo, looking at Rainbow with a worried expression. Rainbow reached a hoof behind her back and pulled out a key ring, choosing one and inserting it into the lock on the door to the cell. The door swung open with a loud creak and the fillies shuffled out one by one.

“Come on,” Rainbow urged. “We gotta run.” The group took off down the hallway, jumping over the unconscious body of the guard.