"Please forgive me Apple Bloom, I didn't mean to do that, please don't be mad at me, I didn't mean to, I didn't want to. Please forgive me Apple Bloom, please."

Ever since the arrests of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Applejack had not stopped asking Apple Bloom for her forgiveness. She just kept repeating the words to herself over and over again, despite Twilight's best efforts to snap her out of it.

"Applejack," she said to the inconsolable mare. "Applejack I need you to snap out of it. Carrying on like this will not help your sister at all so I need you to calm down."

"Please forgive me Apple Bloom."

"Applejack, come on!" said an increasingly frustrated Twilight. "I can't do this without you! I need your help!"

"No, no please don't take my sister! Take me instead, she didn't do anythin' wrong!"

Twilight gave a scream of frustration and looked around to see if she could do anything to snap Applejack out of it. She didn't see anything that seemed like it would work! What could possibly snap Applejack out of her shock in time to...then Twilight saw it: Sweetness.

With a small grin, she walked over to the discarded shotgun and picked it up. It was surprisingly heavy in her hooves but after a few tries, she managed to steady the gun and walk back over to Applejack. Twilight was not surprised to see Applejack still mumbling to herself. Twilight did feel sorry for the mare that was obviously just in shock, but they had a job to do!

Twilight pointed the shotgun a few feet to the left of Applejack's head. She hooked her hoof over the trigger and held her breath, fearing the results of what she was about to do. Her hoof squeezed the trigger.

BLAM

Twilight's ears immediately started ringing from the noise of the blast and the kickback sent the gun flying out of her hooves and her after it. She was flung back a few feet before tumbling around on the ground for a few seconds with constant yelps of pain.

When she stopped bounding around, she felt that her whole body was in pain. Her ears were still ringing and her forelegs were sore from when the kickback of the shotgun had sent it flying out of her hooves. She had banged her head a little bit and she now had a splitting headache to go with her damaged ears. She gave a disoriented groan and only vaguely became aware that she was looking at a set of orange legs standing over her.

Whoever was standing over her was saying something, but thanks to the ringing in her ears, Twilight didn't have any idea what it was.

"Huh?" she said woozily.

"Whtntrntionryadoon?" said the voice.

"Huh?" she asked once more, although her hearing was coming back.

"I said, what in tarnation were ya doin' Twilight?" asked a familiar voice.

"Applejack?" said Twilight.

"Yeah it's me," said Applejack in a half-angry, half-amused voice. "Why in Equestria did you fire Sweetness at me?"

Twilight sat up and looked at where Applejack had been laying. Sure enough, one of Sweetness' trademark craters was burned into the ground.

"I didn't want to hit you," said Twilight as she regained her other senses.

"Have you ever fired a real gun before sugar cube?" asked Applejack. Twilight nodded as she tried to get to her hooves. "When?"

"Just now, didn't you see me? I hit what I was aiming at on the first try, I'm a natural!" At this, Applejack actually managed a small smile.

"Okay Twilight, first off, you were aiming for the ground so yeah, you hit your target alright. Secondly, aimin' for me or not, you still coulda hit me!"

Twilight was on her hooves now and massaging a sore shoulder. "Well, how else was I supposed to snap you out of it!?" retorted Twilight. "I need your help Applejack, and you are no good to Apple Bloom as an emotional wreck on the ground!"

Applejack's smile instantly faded away and tears began filling he eyes once more. Twilight sighed and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "You have to be strong Applejack. You have to be strong for your sister."

"What are we gonna do Twilight?" asked Applejack sadly. "This situation seems just hopeless!"

"It's not hopeless! Remember Scootaloo's note? The girls knew that they were being watched and I'd bet the library that they know who is really behind all of this! Our best bet is to talk to them." Applejack nodded. "Now, I think we should round up the others before we do this. Celestia knows that we need all the help we can get!"

"But they'll still hate me for what I did!" said Applejack worriedly. "They don't want anythin' to do with me right now!"

"After hearing about what happened to the girls, I know that they'll want to help us! Besides, Rarity needs to know what happened to her sister," said Twilight. Applejack nodded once again and wiped her eyes.

"Alright Twilight, I suppose you're right," said Applejack. Twilight gave her a comforting smile.

"Come on, let's go save the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Twilight and Applejack walked up to Carousel Boutique, each dreading the upcoming conversation. They stood in front of the door and waited for a brief moment.

Twilight turned to Applejack.

"Are you ready to do this?" she asked. Applejack shook her head.

"No, but I gotta do it anyway," she said glumly.

Twilight nodded and she pressed the doorbell. The musical chimes played throughout the shop, letting Rarity know that somepony had arrived.

The duo did not have to wait long and in a few seconds, the door was opened revealing a rather irritated Rarity. The second she saw Applejack, she tried to close the door but Twilight was ready with her magic and she held it open.

"Twilight, shut my door at once! I won't let that ruffian anywhere near my house!" said Rarity angrily.

"Rarity," said Twilight, we need to talk! The--"

"I have nothing to say to you until you break ties with Applejack so if you'll excuse--"

"The Mayor had the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrested today!" said Twilight.

Rarity's eyes widened and she stood in place with a look of utter shock on her face. Her mouth moved as if she was trying to say something but no noises came out.

"Another Gabby Gums article came out. I don't know when or who, but it caused The Mayor to have the girls arrested," said Applejack.

"M...my baby sister was arrested?" asked Rarity quietly. Twilight nodded.

"Scootaloo and Apple Bloom too," she said. a single tear rolled down Rarity's face but she still maintained her shocked look.

"W...when?" she asked.

"About 30 minutes ago," said Twilight. "They practically staged an invasion of Sweet Apple Acres to get them. The three were led away in hoofcuffs and driven towards the police station in a police wagon."

This news really seemed to hit Rarity hard and she began blinking very fast as more tears rolled down her face. Twilight stopped holding the door open and Rarity walked out of her home.

To the surprise of both Applejack and Twilight, Rarity wrapped her forelegs around Applejack and began quietly sobbing into her shoulder. Applejack awkwardly patted Rarity on the back and tried to comfort her.

"Hey, now listen here, it's lookin' bad right now and anypony who says otherwise is a darned fool. But you need to get ahold of yourself right now. Twilight decoded a note from Scootaloo that proves that the Cutie Mark Crusaders aren't the real force behind Gabby Gums this time."

At this piece of news, Rarity looked up at Applejack.

"They aren't?"

"No. It seems that whoever is behind all of this is blackmailin' them somethin' fierce. They're too scared to say who it is out loud and they think they're bein' watched."

"Well we have to go see them!" said Rarity who broke away from Applejack and immediately started galloping towards the police station.

"Hold on Rarity," said Twilight, using her magic to hold her in place before she could get too far. "We have to round up the other three before we do anything. I know that they'll want to hear about this!"

"Then let us not waist anymore time talking about this!" said Rarity desperately. "We need to save my sister!"

Rounding up the other three was not difficult at all. They had each gone home after the events at the farm earlier that day as they had each felt that they needed time to be alone. When they had heard about the imprisonment of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they each immediately offered to help in any way that they could and within an hour, the six friends were walking into the police station.

They were greeted by a bored looking stallion Earth pony who gave them a suspicious glance when they walked in.

"Hi, we are here to see Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo," said Twilight nervously.

"And you are?" said the stallion.

"We're a combo of her family and legal defense!" said Twilight.

"You're their legal defense?" asked the stallion.

"Yeah, that's right, we're their legal defense," said Rainbow Dash. The stallion sighed.

"Nopony tells me nothin'," he mumbled to himself. "Okay, I need you six to sign in here and I'll have somepony escort you to their cell. You are only allowed to stay for fifteen minutes as-per our rules of a non-appointment based visit. You must also surrender any weapons of any ind while you are here." He looked at the six and since they weren't wearing any clothes, he realized that this last tidbit was a tad foolish.

The six signed in and they were led towards the cell area by a slender unicorn mare cop. Rarity had to hold on to Applejack at times while they were being led towards the cells that held the imprisoned crusaders but Applejack was always there to steady Rarity.

After a minute or so of passing empty cells, they finally came to their destination.

The sight inside the cell was truly pitiful. The three were still wearing hoofcuffs and they each looked far more unkempt than they had that morning. Scootaloo had her forelegs wrapped around Sweetie Belle's shoulders. Sweetie Belle was crying but she had a blank expression on her face and she was resting her head on Scootaloo's shoulder. Scootaloo seemed to be having a lot of trouble keeping it together as well but she hadn't begun crying just yet. Apple Bloom was sitting on the bed in the cell, staring at the opposite wall. It was obvious that she had been crying, but it was as if she had run out of tears to shed.

When they three saw Twilight and the others approach the cell, they looked up at them. Twilight was heartbroken to see that not even their familiar faces brought even a glimmer of hope to their eyes.

Applejack was the first to speak up.

"Why are they still wearin' those horrible things? They're just foals for Celestia's sake!"

"We reserve the right to keep them on if we feel that it is necessary," said the cop simply.

"Why in Equestria would it be necessary!?" said Rainbow Dash angrily.

"That information is classified," said the cop smugly.

"Classified? No, we're their legal defense, we have a right to know why!" said Twilight. Apple Bloom spoke up now.

"Don't bother sis," she said blankly. "They'd just put 'em on again after ya left."

"Shut up in there!" said the cop, hitting the bars with her nightstick.

It took the strength of all five of the ponies to keep Applejack from ripping the cop's head off right then and there. As it was though, Twilight seriously considered letting Applejack go and joining in attacking the cop herself. Seeing the rage from Applejack made the cop take a step back for fear that the five ponies wouldn't be able to hold her back and she would be obliterated by the rage of the farmer pony in an instant.

She began backing out of the room entirely. "I'll just leave you all be. I'll be back in twelve minutes to end this little get-together." The cop left without another word.

The six friends turned back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Apple Bloom, are you okay?" asked Applejack worriedly.

"Do I look okay?" she asked.

"We're gonna get you three outta here!" said Applejack. "We'll sort through this whole mess and we'll get ya outta here!"

"I figured out your note Scootaloo," said Twilight. "What was the rest of it?"

"Note? What note?" asked Scootaloo. Twilight gave her a confused look.

"The note you made with the--"

"Twilight, I have no idea what you are talking about," said Scootaloo sharply.

"Sweetie Belle, Sweetie Belle can you hear me?" said Rarity desperately as she tried to reach out to her sister through the bars.

"Why wouldn't I be able to hear you?" asked Sweetie Belle blankly.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you at all?"

"Well, they didn't hurt us," she said. Twilight picked up on the inflection.

"Who is behind all of this girls? We can't help you unless you tell us who is behind all of this!" said Twilight.

"Is it Diamond Tiara?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Is she out for revenge against you for the last Gabby Gums incident?"

The three fillies sat in silence for a brief moment before Sweetie Belle answered.

"It may or may not be more complicated than that," she said. Scootaloo nudged her and gave her a worried look. Sweetie Belle caught on and began staring at the floor.

"Is there anything at all that you can tell us?" asked Fluttershy.

The three sat in silence once more before Scootaloo answered.

"You're being hunted."

The three fillies refused to answer any more questions after that and the six friends were soon escorted out of the police station. They were told that the trial for the Crusaders would be the following Tuesday and that they could only see them at designated times until then.

The six friends walked away from the station dejectedly.

'What'll we do y'all?" asked Applejack. "Whatever they think is goin' on has scared them to the point that they won't talk to us!"

"Should we bust 'em out?" asked Rainbow. Rarity shook her head.

"No, we'd be caught too quickly and then where would we all be?"

"I can use my Pinkie Sense to see if anypony is coming while we bust them out!" said Pinkie Pie.

"Girls," said Twilight. "We are not breaking them out of jail! We have to do this by legal means and that means investigating what we can for now and then trying to get them off during their trial!"

The idea to break them out quickly died inside the other five ponies.

"Now," continued Twilight. "I'm going to go through every law book that I can to see if there is a way out of this! In the meantime, I want you five to investigate anything you would even think is a lead in this case. I'll write to Princess Celestia and tell her what is going on."

"Um, Twilight, what happens if they are found guilty?" asked Fluttershy nervously. Twilight became very quiet all of a sudden and she stared at the ground as they walked.

"Uh, Twilight," said Pinkie. "What is it?" Twilight sighed.

"Well...if the Cutie Mark Crusaders are indeed found guilty, then they will be...sentenced to twenty years in prison."

The other five gasped.

"That long for a mere case of libel!?" said Fluttershy.

"That and breaking and entering. I mean, everypony knows that to get that photo of Filthy Rich, you would have to already be inside of the house."

"So what'll we do y'all?" asked Applejack.

"Like I said," said Twilight. "We just have to do our best to fight this thing!"

"I'll take Fluttershy and go over to Filthy Rich's house!" said Rainbow. "Maybe we can talk to Diamond Tiara about this whole thing!"

"I'll take Pinkie and Rarity to see if we can't find where these papers are comin' from," said Applejack. Twilight nodded.

"Sounds good girls," she said with a determined smile. "I'll go read up and see what I can find out about libel cases. Okay everypony, move out!"

The six friends split up and began their separate missions.

Twilight ran towards her library home to read up on law cases and to her surprise, she saw two ponies that she had never expected to see: Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. The two fillies were walking past her house and quietly talking amongst themselves. Twilight dove into a nearby bush to listen in.

"So those stupid blank flanks got arrested did they?" said Silver Spoon. Diamond Tiara gave a haughty laugh.

"Yeah, you should have seen the looks on their faces when the cops came to get them. Oh it was truly a sight to behold."

"Still," said Silver Spoon nervously. "Isn't this a bit too far? I mean, they got arrested and this is--"

"That's the whole idea!" snapped Diamond Tiara. "You know how delicate this all is and we can't risk them blabbing to somepony. Frankly I'm surprised that they haven't already. They must be dumber than they look." Silver Spoon nodded.

"Are we supposed to go back there now?" she asked. Diamond Tiara nodded.

"Yeah, and if we don't hurry we'll be late so let's get going!" said the filly irritatedly.

Twilight's mouth dropped open when she heard this. So Diamond Tiara was the one behind all of this! All she needed to do was follow them to where they were headed and she could undoubtedly blow the whole thing open. She waited until the fillies were far enough away before she left the bush and slowly began following them.

The speed that the fillies were walking made the journey slow, but Twilight's resolve to save the Cutie Mark Crusaders kept her from doing anything foolish.

Twilight was surprised to see that the duo seemed to be heading to the outskirts of Ponyville, to the old industrial buildings. They must have set up the newsroom there! She soon saw that her suspicions were correct as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon entered an old, abandoned factory not too far from the edges of Ponyville.

When she saw that they had gone inside, she bolted towards the door and walked into the factory as well. To her surprise, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were nowhere to be found. She looked around confusedly. Where could they have gone?

She simply decided to pick the main hallway and follow it until she ran into something. Thankfully the factory wasn't very large so it wasn't long before she came to a large doorway that seemed to lead to the main factory floor.

She pushed the door open and walked into the room. The room was filled with run-down machinery and Twilight suddenly felt slightly unnerved at the sight. She knew that ghosts didn't really exist...but if they did, it would be places like this where they would live.

Suddenly, the door behind her slammed shut. Twilight wheeled around and was about to use her magic to get the door open again when she heard hoofsteps behind her.

She turned around to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon grinning evilly at her. To Twilight's utter shock, someone else was behind them; someone that Twilight had never expected to see again. Her jaw dropped open.

"You!"