"We just spoke to Scootaloo," Princess Twilight said as they ran up to the benches to meet with the others on the Canterlot High School football field. "We told her the news of what we learned."
"Which was what?" EQG Applejack asked. "Why did Dash get arrested?"
"Zolan," Celestia spat out. "She blackmailed Rainbow earlier this week. The day she was acting all strange was the day it happened."
"Zolan knows we have the Orb of Zebrica," Luna continued. She pulled out the Orb from inside of the purse she was holding, still in its container and presented it to everyone. "So she used Rainbow Dash as the key to get to it. She knew that Rainbow has a lot of things that can be taken away from her. Scootaloo, her girlfriend here..." She motioned towards Sci-Twi's apple red face. Rarity did a double take before she continued. "All of you, and her family. Not to mention a secret that she never knew about and won't matter if we don't get her out of this mess."
"What secret?" Anemone asked. She and Amaryllis landed beside Celestia, at least a little comfortable around her. Although Anemone was still between her and her little sister. She didn't trust her that much.
"Rainbow Dash has a sister," she answered, shocking them all except the Thestrals.
"We know," Amaryllis responded, catching their attention. "We—" She motioned between herself and Anemone. "Are them."
"Well, they apparently didn't know," Princess Twilight told them. "But you know what that implies right? Do you really see the magnitude of all of this?"
Both of the Applejacks responded with, "Not really."
"Rainbow Dash's parents are the ones who abandoned Scootaloo. But that's not the worst part."
"Zolan created a fake diary that was supposedly Rainbow Dash's and stowed it away in her locker," Celestia told them. "It was filled with faux entries, two of which had gotten her arrested. It read that she discovered that Scootaloo was homeless and another read she wasn't going to tell anyone about it."
"And that was approximately one year before Scootaloo was taken advantage of," Princess Luna explained. "Which was between ten and eleven years ago."
"So they are blaming Rainbow Dash for not telling anyone," Princess Twilight continued. "Which means she will be getting probably the same amount of time, if not more, as her parents."
"Because the power was in her hands to stop it and she did nothing about it," Ponyville Rarity finished. The group sighed before they asked the obvious question.
"What do we do Twilight?!" The pink duo yelled, scaring the two eggheads.
"Pinkie not so loud," they both scolded.
"OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH! You know something that we totally forgot, girls?" EQG Pinkie stated, catching their attention. She reached into her shirt and pulled out the pink diode. The Equestria Girls gasped and pulled out their own.
"I totally forgot about these!" Sunset exclaimed, rubbing her thumb across its surface.
"And what are those?" Princess Twilight asked, pointing to the weird rocks.
"They're the Magic Diodes we received after going to the Everfree Forest almost two years ago," Sunset explained. "They're like the Elements of Harmony here, and they give us abilities. They help us transform into some superhero-type people. They could be very useful."
"Well even if they are, we need a new plan to track down this woman," Ponyville Applejack said, getting back on track. "She's literally runnin' around and ruining' people's' lives over power. We need to find a way to fish her out."
"Any ideas?" Celestia asked. They all looked around, hoping for an idea to come out of someone's mouth.
"I have one," a familiar voice spoke up. They looked above them to see Discord sitting on a floating stick like a witch. "You all should know that Zolan will be expecting you to give it up during the trial. More than likely as a last chance. She will probably be waiting for you in the crowd, which will indubitably be televised all over the nation. This is a giant and big deal. The worst of Child Abandonment apparently. So it will be put out there."
They all stared at him before Ponyville Fluttershy chuckled. "That is the first time since being here that you said something without being sarcastic. I'm proud of you, Discord." The human Draconequus rolled his eyes and patted her head.
"Discord's correct, she'll be there to tell us this is our last chance," Celestia finished. "Zolan is bright, but she isn't so bright."
"Wait, are you suggesting we—"
"Yes, we are," Luna interrupting, cutting off Sunset. "We will take the fight to her before it is too late. Rainbow Dash's life is counting on it, as well as Scootaloo's. And the whole world's. We do not know what type of judge they will be getting, so we are not taking any chances. We can't just bust into the prison, that is a disaster waiting to happen. So....we will bust into the courtroom."
"ARE YOU NUTS?!" EQG Applejack screamed, shocking all of them. "That's a federal crime! If you get caught, we are ALL goin' to prison for, like, twenty years! Maybe more!!"
"What other choice do we have?" Princess Twilight argued. "Seriously, what other choice? Everyone is in some type of lockdown facility, and if we break them out, the whole nation is after us. The only time they're out in the open will be in court. And that's exactly where Zolan will be too. If court is setup like it is in Equestria, they'll ask for the witness of Rainbow Dash to take the stand. That's Zolan. She will make Rainbow out to be the bad guy. By my calculations, the witnesses will be Principals Celestia and Luna, the police who filed the case, Scootaloo, the doctors at the facility, the person who spotted Scootaloo getting into the car on her way to Manehattan, and her. There could be more, but I'm not so sure."
"Everyone will be in one spot, where the truth can come out and we can fight her," Celestia backed up. "And we will have the chance to take her down. Simple words won't do it."
"That is the only choice we have," Discord added, eating what looked like a doughnut.
The group all looked around, hoping that someone has another way. "So....we're really doing this?" EQG Rarity finally asked. "Breaking into an occupied courtroom?"
"I'm afraid so," Sci-Twi answered solemnly. "Unfortunately, they're right. Zolan has given them 'evidence' to Rainbow Dash's case, the parents we obviously can't save, and Scootaloo is probably at the hands of death right now. She's been through so much. And Zolan is only making it worse. And who knows, she probably brainwashed her parents to throw her away. I don't know! All I know is that Rainbow and Scootaloo are in the crossfire of whatever the heck is going on in Equestria."
"Uh, you forgot us," Anemone reminded her, gesturing between herself and Amaryllis.
"Oh yeah. You guys too."
"And she used me to slaughter innocent ponies," Celestia responded grimly. "She has taken her whole body into the dark side. Hopefully the full capacity of her magic won't work here on Earth."
"And if it does?" Celestia glanced towards Princess Twilight.
"Then we will fight fire with the biggest water reservoir we have. Princess Twilight? Be prepared. We are about to go to war. Once more."
The police opened the car door and unbuckled Rainbow Dash before they grabbed her by the arms and helped her out of the vehicle. She was still in handcuffs with tears rolling down her face. She didn't do a thing and these police weren't even listening. And who knew how long it'd take for this trial to begin. It could be next month, two months from now, three months from now. Either way, she needed to stay strong. At least for Scootaloo.
They led her in through the back to get Rainbow Dash registered in the system. This place was actively a prison. But a low class one apparently. The guards at the corridor swiped a card and unlocked it before they pulled the wide thing open, allowing them to move her inside. There were cameras everywhere. Every corner, every room, every area as far as she could see. This place was secure.
After leading her through the hallways, they opened another door into a different area that looked familiar. The holding area. There were two floors of cells and an area down below that looked like it served lunch, as well as had a few televisions in the corners. Currently, it looked like the teenage convicts were eating lunch. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't even eaten breakfast yet. Or any type of food. She skipped out on dinner yesterday, too troubled to even eat while she was thinking about Scootaloo. Her sister. Her parents didn't even tell her she had a sibling. There were no pictures, no references, nothing at all. Hopefully these months will fly by. Because this was looking terrible.
Finally after fifteen more days of Rainbow's imprisonment, Scootaloo's month was up. Which meant she could get out of the hospital. Or so she thought. Most of the original girls in there had already left. Including Icy, Green Rush, and Loud Symphony. She was pretty much alone in there once again. They had decided to keep her in the observation room since she was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety. Not to mention had attempted to commit suicide in there. Twice. Mostly by banging her head against the wall. The nurses had to come in and sedate her for awhile during those episodes. That's how they diagnosed her with Clinical Depression and Anxiety. After that mess, she was sure they were just going to lock her in a room in a straight jacket. Thankfully, they didn't do that. Doctor Martina reassured her that this wasn't that kind of facility. Instead, they just doped her up on some antidepressants, trying to keep her smiling. Unfortunately, instead of making her happy, it made her realize how alone she truly was.
Rainbow was apparently in prison or something, that's what her lawyer, provided by the state, came and told her. And everyone else...were too busy tracking down Zolan. At least Princess Twilight had visited her a few weeks ago. But that was it. A few WEEKS ago. No one has seen her ever since. And she rarely talked to anyone else in the unit. Too afraid that they were going to do something to her. Doctor Martina thought that she was lonely. But truthfully....this has always been an everyday thing. But right now she felt even more alone. Until someone knocked on the door. She looked up one it opened a second later.
"Scootaloo?" Misty said to her. "You have two visitors. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Do you want to see them?"
Scootaloo sat up and stared at them nonchalantly, but her mind was screaming. Where have they been?! She nodded her head and held out her wrists. They were once again doing the handcuffs thing since the suicide incidents. She still had a dark bruise on her forehead because of it. That probably wasn't going away anytime soon.
Violet Twinkle strode forward and locked her in the cuffs before she helped her get up by gently grabbing her by the arm. Once they were situated, the three of them walked out of the room and into the hall, closing the door behind them. Once it was locked, they led her towards the cafeteria. Meanwhile, Scootaloo was still trying to figure out where the hay they've been. It's been a month and they were nowhere to be found. A little voice in her mind was telling her they probably weren't allowed because of their age range. Fifteen and sixteen. Rainbow Dash was seventeen. Was there a rule she didn't know about?
Before she realized it, Violet Twinkle was pressing her key card against the pad and the doors were opening. Was she ready for this? She looked horrible! The only thing that looked decent was her hair. They had combed it everyday, but that's it! She would take a shower and all that other stuff. But that wouldn't get rid of her scar-riddled body. Nor the doors that had opened fully. After a moment they walked her inside.
Sure enough, there was Apple Bloom and Sweetie engrossed in a conversation. Something to do with cars and how to get one without spending any money. The first one to spot her was Apple Bloom, who glanced past Sweetie Belle, who had her back to the door, and stop talking immediately. She had a look of shock on her face before Sweetie Belle turned around, trying to see what made her stop talking. A second later she shared the same expression.
"H-Hi, Scoots," Apple Bloom greeted, trying her hardest not to cry. Scootaloo could see the tears wavering in her eyes. "How are ya'?" The nurses sat her down across from the two and set her arms on the table to unlock the cuffs. Once they were off, they backed up and allowed her to have her space.
"Hey, Scoots," Sweetie Belle greeted softly. She was wiping her face of the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. "Is everything...how....how are you doing in here?"
She shrugged before responding. "Managing," she whispered.
"We are so sorry we couldn't come sooner," Apple Bloom apologized, lightly grabbing her scarred hand and stroking her thumb across it. Scootaloo pulled it back, shocking her a little bit. "Th-the doctor wouldn't allow us to see you because we were too young. But apparently, she pulled some strings and let us come see you. Something about therapy."
"Thanks," she mumbled.
"I really wish we would've known," Sweetie Belle said quietly. "You would not be in this situation if we had known. As your best friends, we should've been there for you." Scootaloo looked her and then Apple Bloom in the eyes. Were they blaming themselves for this? That just won't do.
She reached out and grabbed both of their hands, taking them completely off guard. "There is nothing you could've done," she told them in full volume. "Mostly everything that happened to me happened before I even met you. Everything else I kept secret for a reason. There was, and there is, nowhere for me to go. If I had told you, I would be taken away from you and everyone else. And you would have never seen me again. These scars are the main reason I always wore a black jacket. I would roll them down so you can't see them. And you would never know."
"What about....." Apple Bloom couldn't finish the sentence.
"Just say it."
"What about your face?"
"Happened on my way to Manehattan. I was raped and he cut my face." They pulled in their lips trying not to cry before Sweetie Belle got up and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," she whispered into her ear. "I am so sorry. We'll be here every step of the way."
Apple Bloom joined in on the hug, hugging her tight. "And we'll come here everyday if we'll have to," she whispered.
Scootaloo didn't respond, but she did have a stray coming out of her right eye. They wanted to come, but weren't allowed because of their age. Rainbow Dash...her sister, probably pulled some strings to get herself in. Says a lot. "Can I tell you something?"
They pulled back and looked down at her. "I have a sister."
"Oh, really?!" Sweetie Belle asked excitedly. "Who is it? Do we know her?"
"Yeah, it's.......Rainbow Dash."
"Oh, okay-wait..." Apple Bloom looked at her strangely. "Are you telling me...Rainbow Dash....the one in jail right now that's like your best friend...is your sister?" The patient nodded. "Did she really know about-"
"No, she was setup," Scootaloo interrupted. "An Equestrian enemy set her up and used my condition as a playing card. She planted a diary, wrote in entries in Rainbow's handwriting using magic, planted it in her locker, and told the authorities. Under what name, and how she actually got it in there? I don't know. But she was framed."
"So that's why Princess Twilight is here!" Apple Bloom pointed out, literally pointing a finger at Scootaloo.
"And the rest of them!" Sweetie Belle figured.
"The enemy," Scootaloo continued. "A woman by the name of Zolan wants something they have, and used me as a tool to get to it. But Rainbow took the shot for me. I really hope they can get her out of that cell. She doesn't belong in there. And neither does anyone else. Except Zolan."
***
While Scootaloo was having her visits, the Equestrians and Equestria Girls were holding a briefing on the plan. They knew they had to get inside. But how? Luckily, Princess Twilight knows the way.
"We will send in Sunset Shimmer to be checked in and find the way to the room," she told everyone standing in front of the school. "She will find the courtroom and let us know she is there. I will teleport us all to be there for both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Then we will all make an appearance when Zolan takes the stand."
"Yes, but how will we know when it's her?" Sunset asked.
Celestia shook her head. "Her eyes. If her eyes are the reddest red you have ever seen, then that is Zolan. You cannot miss it."
"Good, we have a description," Sci-Twi answered. "Now how exactly do we approach her in the middle of a court session? She'll more than likely be in the middle of a questioning." Celestia laughed from the side, confusing them.
"Oh, you'll see," she answered. She reached down and grabbed her purse from the ground. "She knows we have the Orb. And she'll do whatever it takes to get it. We'll just cause her to do something stupid and make herself look bad. She doesn't care about the humans, she just wants to have something to rule over. So we will tease her relentlessly until the time is right."
"How exactly will you 'tease her', if you don't mind me askin'?" Ponyville Applejack asked.
"Like this." Celestia pulled out the magical box from Luna's purse and held it in front of her, tossing it up and down in her hand. "But instead of me tossing it like this, I'll just hold and cradle it like a newborn foal. Easy. She is very greedy. She possesses the mentality that if she doesn't get something right then, she will never get it. And in this case, she is correct in that regard. We play and toy with her, let her get distracted, then we strike. Just be ready."