Rainbow awoke to the door opening. Hesitantly lifting herself off of the soft sheets. Despite not sleeping well, it was still a comfortable bed, and she didn't want to part with it. Looking up, she saw it was one of the guards that took her to the room last night. He said, "Up and at 'em."

Following his command, she sat up in bed and began to rub her eyes. She then hit herself in the eye with the shackle that was still attached to her forehoof. "Ow! Why couldn't you remove these BEFORE you locked me in here?"

The guard didn't say anything; he just continued to look at her with a look of impatience. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm coming," Rainbow said. She slid off of the bed, cracking her back in the process. She sighed with the sensation, then trotted over to the guard.

He and the other guard led her outside and back in the direction of the courtroom. Rainbow was a bit anxious. She knew that even if she wasn't found guilty, consequences could be harsh. Well, what's the worst that could happen?

What she was most curious about was her friends, Twilight in particular. Why were they working against her? Why had Twilight testified against her? What did Cadenza do? It had to be her; she was the last one to interact with Twilight before she went all weird. Something was up, she just didn't know what.

In a few minutes, she had arrived in the courtroom, going through the same door as yesterday. Most of the people from yesterday were gone. It was only Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and the two pony judges. In addition, the platform she stood on yesterday was at the level of the podiums. She was guided to the platform, and was once again bound to the railing.

Princess Celestia said, still with a voice cold as the void, "Rainbow Dash, we have deliberated on what to do with you. And we have come to a consensus." Turning to Princess Luna, she added, "Sister?"

Sighing, Princess Luna looked down. Looking back up at her with a sad look in her eyes, she began her damning paragraph: "Rainbow Blitz Dash, you have been found guilty of resisting arrest and assault of a member of the Equestrian royal family. A thousand years ago, this would have carried the death sentence." Rainbow internally let loose a sigh of relief. "Instead," Princess Luna continued. "You have been sentenced to exile." At that, Rainbows' eyes went wide.

"WHAT!?", she shouted, straining against the chains.

Luna flinched, but soldiered on. "Effective immediately, You are no longer a citizen of Equestria. You will be escorted from the borders of Equestria. Returning to Equestria, for whatever reason, is grounds for immediate imprisonment within Tartarus. All of your property and assets, unless claimed by a blood relative, will be seized by the state. You will be transported from the country later today, at roughly 6 PM." As she finished, she added in a lower voice, "I'm sorry, Rainbow."

After this, Rainbow was taken back to the room she had slept in. The guard told her that several ponies who wished to see her would be coming later, and that she should wait, and maybe get some more sleep.

She didn't. Instead, she began to pace back and forth, ignoring the rattling and the weight of the chains. Thoughts raced through her head as fast as she could, forming into a swirling mass of panic, fear, and anxiety. Guess I now know how Twilight feels.She would've laughed out loud if it weren't for how panicked she was at the situation. She was bucked.

Suddenly the doors opened, followed by the sound of hoofbeats on the floor. Whipping her head around, she saw her friends. She smiled. Maybe they could help her. Then, she saw their expressions.

Their expressions ranged greatly. AJ had a look of barely held in anger. Pinkie looked sad, like she was the one being exiled as opposed to her, her mane flattened against her head and everything. Fluttershy also looked distressed, but less sad and more disappointed. Rarity wore a look of disgust, looking down at her from a slightly upturned nose. Twilight looked like a mix of angry and curious. Spike looked nervous. All of them made her uneasy.

She smiled a little uneasily. These were generally not the looks of somepony who was in the mood to help. She said, "A, h-hey girls. What's up?"

They all looked at each other uncertainly, then back at her. Rarity was the first of them to speak. Her voice was filled with regal contempt as she said, "Darling, we just wish to know, well, why you did it?"

"What do you mean?", Rainbow asked. "You were all at the trial. You all heard my testimony. I basically already told you, just not, you know, directly."

Applejack growled, "Like hay ya did, ya no-good lyin' varmint! Yous' testimony was a straight-up lie! Now, why did ya do it!?"

Now Rainbow was getting angry. "I'm not lying!"

"Seriously, Rainbow? I gave my testimony just before you, and you still cling to this lie? It's clearly not true, so just tell the truth. How hard is that to do?", Twilight said.

"Twi, I know what I saw, and you weren't-"

Rainbow was cut off by Fluttershy stepping forward, eyes going cold and solid as a glacier. Accompanying it was a sense of dread, like she was staring down a pack of timberwolves instead of her oldest friend. She had never personally seen it, but she knew what it was. The stare. "Listen here, Rainbow! I have known you since flight camp. I've been with you through thick and thin. You helped me, and I helped you! I want to believe that this wasn't you, but it very clearly is. So, if our friendship means anything to you, tell the truth."

It took a few minutes, but eventually Rainbow overcame the stare to the point where she could speak. "Listen, flutters. I AM telling the truth. Please, you have to trust me!"

Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut, her whole body tensing as she took a deep breath. As she released it, her eyes opened. They twinkled with a light, soft yet hard like a packet of the coolers that were used to make snow clouds at the Weather Factory.

"Then, I don't know why we're here. You aren't loyal to anyone but yourself if you won't tell the truth to your closest friends. I'm very disappointed in you." With that, she turned and began to leave, most of others following suit. Soon, it was just her and Spike.

He just looked at the floor. Then, he sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Rainbow. I couldn't do anything."

"No, it's fine," Rainbow spat. "If they don't want me, they don't deserve me."

"You know that's not true. You wished they would've sided with you. That they would have at least tried to comfort you. Right?", he said.

Rainbow sucked in a breath, then released it in a deep sigh. "Yeah, I do. I just want to know why. I know what happened, so why do I have to suffer for it? Its-its, it's unfair!"

Spike looked down, then mumbled, "I'll go. Your parents, and a few others want to see you."

Before he reached the door, Rainbow called after him, "Wait!" When he turned around, she added, "Keep an eye on them for me. Since they don't want my loyalty, maybe they'll take yours. And if not them, at least watch Scoots. That little squirt, well, she seems cool. I know we weren't the closest, but can you do this for me?" He simply nodded, and left.

It had been several hours since then. She had hoped to take a nap; it helped her relax in the past. But, no matter what she did, she couldn't fall asleep. She just couldn't. She didn't know why. Disbelief, fear, shock, rage: she just didn't know.

She was the Element of Loyalty. Why did they doubt her then? She wouldn't betray them, she wouldn't backstab them. So what gave them the right to do that to her? And what of the Princesses? Why was she being exiled? Wouldn't they need her? What was going on?

Then, she heard the sound of the door opening. Looking up, she saw a unicorn royal guard. Stern faced, white-coated; same as all the rest. She had never appreciated just how creepy they could be, until now at least. In his magic aura, he held a set of chains.

"It's time."

Next Chapter: 6~Goodbye... Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 59 Minutes