Rarity's screams echoed into the night.
I flattened my ears to block out the worst of the sound. I could understand why she screamed like she did, but doing it wasn't going to help us get anywhere with Sweetie Belle. I sat down next to her and wrapped my forelegs around her in a tight hug.
"Rarity! Rarity, please calm down!" I pleaded. "You can't help Sweetie Belle like this!"
"They took her, Twilight!" Rarity wailed, leaning her head against my shoulder. "They took my sister! She broke that police officer's leg, and now they're going to put her in some nuthouse forever! I'm never going to see my sister again!"
"Rarity, that's not true!" I spun Rarity around until she faced me. "We're going to help Sweetie Belle, okay? I'm going to talk to Princess Celestia about this, and we're going to get Sweetie Belle out of there!"
"Princess Celestia?" Rarity's eyes went wide, and, before I could do anything, she grabbed my shoulders and shook me once. "Yes, you're going to send a letter to Princess Celestia, and she's going to get her out of there before she gets hurt!"
"Rarity, Sweetie Belle won't be hurt by those police officers regardless." I took a deep breath a stood up, glancing over at the rest of the dispersing crowd, grateful that they saw that Rarity and I needed space to figure this out. "Sweetie Belle is safe in that police station, and if she's so much as touched, and then Celestia will bring down her full wrath on the ponies who did it to her, okay?"
Rarity sniffled and wiped her eyes before pushing herself up to her hooves. "I... I suppose you are correct, Twilight. I just..." Rarity's jaw quivered. "I don't know how to help her, Twilight. You saw how she was yelling at Jackie. She looked really scared, and she kept telling Jackie that this wasn't funny, like Jackie was laughing at all of this. I don't know what Jackie is, but I have no doubt that she's cruel."
I nodded and looked in the direction of the library. "Yeah, I think you're right." I jerked my head in the direction of the library. "Come on, Rarity. Let's go write a letter to Princess Celestia, then we'll go to the police station to make sure that Sweetie Belle is okay."
Rarity gave a single, glum nod, and the two of us walked silently back to the library. When we arrived, I was grateful to see Spike reclining in his basket with a comic book in his claws, meaning that I didn't have to wake him up to send the letter to Princess Celestia. He looked up from his comic book and grinned when he saw Rarity come in, but he immediately noticed her red eyes and stood up, running down the stairs to us.
"Twilight, Rarity, are you okay? What's the matter?"
I grimaced and waved a hoof. "Later, Spike. I can't talk to you about it right now. I need you to send a very important letter to Princess Celestia, okay?"
Spike stared at Rarity for a moment before slowly nodding and pointing to the desk, where he's organized my quills, parchment and ink. "Yeah, okay. Just let me know when you want me to send it, okay? I won't ask unless you want to tell me anything."
Rarity sniffled and gave Spike a small, watery smile. She leaned down and gave him a quick hug. "Thank you, Spike. You're a true friend."
I managed a small smile of my own, and levitated the necessary writing supplies over to me. I dipped the quill in the ink pot and began my writing.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I am writing to you regarding the most urgent of events. Recently, my friend Rarity's little sister Sweetie Belle has experienced a dramatic mood shift, going from a sweet, kind, sociable filly to a reclusive, aggressive, and downright violent pony. She claims to have an imaginary friend named "Jackie" but there is no doubt that she completely believes Jackie to be real. She will not interact with anyone else. She becomes aggressive when asked to describe Jackie, and refuses to see her friends. She obeys Jackie's every word, becoming terrified at the thought of being separated from her.
Tonight, Sweetie Belle was arrested when she both smashed several windows in Town Hall with a hammer, and snapped the leg of a police officer in half with the same hammer. She kept screaming at Jackie to stop laughing the entire time she was surrounded and being taken away.
Now, I did some research at the behest of Rarity prior to the events of tonight, and I have two theories on the matter: one is that Sweetie Belle has developed some form of schizophrenia. I researched several symptoms, and Sweetie Belle has exhibited several of them. The second is more supernatural in nature. I discovered stories of a creature called a Chindii, and several aspects of that seem to match up with what is going on with Sweetie Belle as well.
Rarity and I are very scared about what is happening to Sweetie Belle. We would appreciate any help you can give in getting Sweetie Belle back home to Rarity, so that she does not have to endure what she is going through in a jail cell.
Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle
I put the quill down and rolled up the letter. Spike took it from me, and with one flame breath, it was on its way to Princess Celestia. Rarity watched the letter fly out of the window, and once it disappeared, she walked up to me, allowing me to put a hoof around her shoulder.
"Do you think that Celestia will respond soon, Twilight?" Rarity wiped her eyes. "I can't... I can't stand the thought of my sister in a place like that. I can't stand the idea that she's suffering."
I gave Rarity a comforting smile, and materialized a hoofkerchief for her. "Yes, Rarity, I do. I think she'll respond very quickly, and do her best to help Sweetie Belle. It's not so late that she'd be asleep, so she'll be certain to get the letter, and, given what I've said, I know she'll want to take immediate action."
Before Rarity could respond, Spikes cheeks bulged, and, with a loud belch, he expelled a jet of flame encasing a rolled up piece of parchment. I caught it in my magic before it hit the floor and levitated it over to the two of us. Before I unrolled it, I shot Spike a look, and he nodded before walking up the stairs to his basket. Content that the two of us had some measure of privacy, I unrolled the scroll and held it out far enough so that the two of us could read it together.
My dearest Twilight,
It saddens me to hear of Sweetie Belle's condition, but I am afraid that there is little I can do about it. I am not above the law, nor can I twist it for my own ends, and if Sweetie Belle attacked and harmed a police officer, on top of the vandalism she committed, then she must face whatever consequences come of that. Do know that her age will be a big factor in the ruling, so I do not believe that she will be severely punished.
There is one thing that I can do for you. On the back is a royal order from me, allowing you to see Sweetie Belle as frequently as you like. Show it at the police station, and if they do not let you see Sweetie Belle after that, then contact me, and I will ensure that you are allowed as much time with her as you desire.
On a final note regarding your mention of the mythical creature Chindii, they are simply that: myths. Almost all recorded cases of Chindii possession have been retroactively diagnosed as schizophrenia, or other some such disorder. I am not saying that whatever afflicts Sweetie Belle is schizophrenia, or even not supernatural in some way, but believe the idea that a Chindii has latched on to her is unlikely.
Please keep me updated on Sweetie Belle's condition and circumstances. Should you require my help in any way, do not hesitate to ask, and I will do my very best to do so.
Your loving mentor,
Celestia
I sighed and flipped the scroll over to remove the royal order attached to the back. If nothing else, Celestia did that for us. We could get in to see Sweetie Belle and figure out what was going on as early as tonight with this. I turned my head to Rarity, and grimaced when I saw that she sat on her haunches, tears pouring down her face again. I sat down next to her and gave her a comforting nuzzle.
"It's going to be okay, Rarity. Sweetie Belle will be just fine."
"Just f--" Rarity's voice cracked, and she took a moment to clear her throat. "Just fine? How can you say that, Twilight? Princess Celestia just said that Sweetie Belle is probably completely insane! Combine that with what she just did and..." Rarity's jaw wobbled, and she let out a single sob. "She's never going to come out of some mental institution again, is she?"
I frowned and spun Rarity around until she faced me. "Stop that, Rarity. Just stop thinking like that! I told you that Sweetie Belle is going to be fine. We're going to go see her right now, and we're going to let her know that you and I are going to be with her throughout this entire process. We'll do everything that we can to make sure that she's okay. You also saw Princess Celestia's letter, right? She said if we needed anything to talk to her. If we find out that bad things are happening to Sweetie Belle, then I'll personally make sure that Princess Celestia helps her, okay?"
"Okay..." Rarity dabbed at her eyes with the hoofkerchief. "You are right, Twilight. Sweetie Belle needs us. She needs us very much."
I stood up and extended my hoof to Rarity. "Then let's go see her. This is a royal order from Princess Celestia. They'll let us in."
Rarity slowly nodded and took my hoof, allowing me to help her up. I walked over to a nearby stool where a small saddlebag rested, and I put both the letter and the royal order inside, before slinging it over my shoulder. With that settled, I led Rarity out the door towards the Ponyville Police station.
I found myself grateful that the crowd of ponies had dispersed in the time that Rarity and spent in the library. I'd rather not deal with the stares of ponies who could likely guess where the two of us were headed and, more importantly, why. Rarity was going through enough right now without having the entire town looking at her every moment. Right now I just wanted to get to Sweetie Belle and see if she was okay, and what we could do next.
The two of us reached the police station, and I used my magic to open the door for Rarity. She walked in ahead of me, and I followed after her. Given the late hour, I only saw a skeleton crew of cops on duty at their desks, filling out paperwork and the like. Rarity and I walked up to the front desk, where a bored looking cop sat, sipping coffee with a half-eaten doughnut sitting next to a small stack of paperwork. He looked up when he heard us approaching, and sighed.
"How can I help you two?"
"Hi." I took the royal order out of my saddlebag. "We're here to see Sweetie Belle."
"Sweetie Belle?" The cop shrugged and took another sip of his coffee. "Sorry, miss, but I'm afraid that she's still being evaluated by our on staff psychologist. Even if she wasn't, we aren't exactly in the habit of just letting ponies come in to see our prisoners. I'm sorry, miss, but I'm afraid that you'll have to go home."
I smirked and slid the royal order over to him. "Well, what if we had an order from Princess Celestia herself to let us see her?"
"A what?" The cop frowned. "Let me see that." The officer ignited his horn and took the paper from me. His frown deepened as he scanned it, bit after a few moments, he stood up from his seat. "I'm going to go get the captain about this. Give me a minute."
I nodded. "Just don't take too long, okay? I'm sure Sweetie Belle is very scared right now."
The officer grunted in reply and walked off towards one of the interior offices of the police station. I turned back to Rarity, who was looking in the direction of the prison cells and put a hoof on her shoulder.
"It's going to be okay, Rarity. Sweetie Belle's fine, I'm sure of it."
Rarity looked back over to me, her eyes brimming with tears again. "He said psychologist, Twilight. What if that means that they're thinking of taking her to some nuthouse to rot away for years? W-what if the police captain decides that the order isn't good enough, and I don't get to see my sister again before they take her away from me?"
I shook my head. "No, Rarity, there is no way that these officers would ignore a royal order. We're going to see Sweetie Belle any minute now, and we're going to make sure that she's okay. They won't hurt her, or Princess Celestia will make sure that anypony that does will pay to the full extent of the law."
"Perhaps..." Rarity looked back over to the cells. "Perhaps."
I heard the door to the office open and saw the officer come back out with the royal order and a key ring floating behind him. He made eye contact with me and nodded as he came closer to us. He opened a small divide between the main entrance and where the officers were, and beckoned us to follow him. I nudged Rarity forward, and the two of us moved to walk behind him.
"You have friends in high places, miss," the cop muttered as we approached the barred door that led to the cells. He unlocked it and motioned for us to go through. "The captain said that the only thing that could have gotten you to see her is exactly what you had, so I'd count yourselves lucky, if I were you."
Rarity glared at him as we walked through the door. "She's just a filly, you know! She doesn't deserve this kind of barbaric treatment!"
The cop shrugged and closed the door behind us. "Filly or not, she attacked a cop. Cannot, and will not, ignore that." The cop motioned with his head to the very end of the hallway of cells we had just entered. "She's at the very last one. I guess Princess Celestia said that you get as much time as you want, but we're going to be talking with the staff psychologist about what he wants done with her."
That wasn't good. If it was in the hooves of a staff psychologist, then I'd wager that he'd take one look at Sweetie Belle and demand that she be locked up. Screaming at thin air, vandalism and violence? Sweetie Belle might be going away for a little while, and I wasn't quite sure what exactly to do about it. I guess I could make sure that she went to a facility close to Ponyville so that Rarity and I could frequently check up on her.
As the three of us walked down the hall, I saw a middle-aged gray unicorn stallion in a cheap suit with a manila folder floating beside him coming the opposite way. He stopped when he reached us and extended a hoof to me, which I shook.
"Hello, my name is Dr. Thoughts, and I'm the staff psychologist. You're here to support Sweetie Belle's sister Rarity, yes?"
Rarity cleared her throat and looked past the doctor to the cell at the end of the row. "Yes, Doctor, she's here with me. I am Sweetie Belle's older sister, and her guardian while my parents do their jobs as traveling salesponies. I'm here to take Sweetie Belle home."
Dr. Thoughts grimaced and uneasily rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... ah, we'll talk about that in a few minutes, okay? Right now I think it would be best for the both of you if you go see her. She's rather... agitated right now, and I think that two friendly faces would help her calm down."
"She's agitated because you arrested her and are treating her like a criminal." Rarity pushed past Dr. Thoughts and stuck her nose in the air. "We have nothing more to discuss. I'm taking her home tonight."
I gave Dr. Thoughts an uneasy smile and moved past him to follow Rarity down the hallway to Sweetie Belle's cell. Once I was past him, I trotted a little quicker to catch up to Rarity. "Rarity, I know you're upset, but can't you try being a little calm, if nothing else than for Sweetie Belle's sake?"
"Absolutely not, darling!" Rarity snapped. "I don't care what Sweetie Belle did; she's no criminal! She needs some form of help that doesn't involve her being put away in a jail cell or a loony bin, and the only way to do that is to take her home!" Rarity's eyes narrowed, and she gave a noise of disgust. "I've always hated these places."
I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head. "Why? Have you ever been arrested for anything?"
"Because..." Rarity stopped in her tracks, and her furious expression melted away to be replaced by one that was completely blank. "Because..." She blinked once, and I noted a slight amount of confusion behind the gesture. "I... don't quite..." She vigorously shook her head and rubbed her temple. "It doesn't matter." Rarity's scowl returned, and she began trotting to Sweetie Belle's cell again. "This is no place for Sweetie Belle, or any decent pony for that matter!"
Before I could ask about my friend's odd behavior, we reached the end of the cell block and looked inside. What I saw made my heart sink. Sweetie Belle laid curled up in a ball in the corner, shivering like it was freezing. A magic blocker had been secured to her horn, and a metal cuff was secured onto her right hind leg, which was attached to the wall.
Rarity... took it about as well as I expected her to.
"Absolutely not!" she screeched, wheeling around to the police officer, who trotted down the hall to meet us after a few words with the psychologist. "I will not see my sister subjected to such... demeaning abuses as that chain and horn blocker!"
"Miss, the horn blocker is standard procedure for all unicorn prisoners," the officer said calmly. "As for the chain, it's because the bars are a little too far apart for a filly of her size. We didn't exactly like it, but she kept slipping through the bars and trying to escape."
Rarity huffed and turned her back on the officer. "Just. Go. Leave me alone with my sister." Rarity's expression softened, and she sat on her haunches, reaching a hoof through the bars. "S-Sweetie Belle? Can you hear me? It's big sister, Sweetie Belle! Big sister is here!"
Sweetie Belle slowly raised her head, revealing red, puffy eyes. "Rarity?" she said in a small voice. She scooted forward a few inches and extended her small hoof. "Rarity, what's going on?"
"Don't worry, Sweetie Belle, big sister is going to protect you!" Rarity said in her best attempt at a soothing voice. "Big sister is going to get you out of here, a-and we're going to go home, okay?"
"Rarity..." Sweetie Belle scooted forward a few more inches and touched Rarity's outstretched hoof. "'M scared."
"I know, Sweetie Belle, I know." Tears began dripping down Rarity's face, and she began stroking Sweetie Belle's hoof. "You're going to be okay, Sweetie Belle. Big sister has you now. You're going to come home with me very soon, okay?"
I glanced over when I heard another set of hooves trotting down the hall, and I quietly sighed when I saw that it was Dr. Thoughts. He stopped beside the police officer and cleared his throat. Rarity glanced over at him, but didn't turn her head to acknowledge him otherwise.
"Ms. Rarity, I'd like to talk to you about your sister and what we're going to be doing with her, okay? I know you're not supportive of what is going on right now, and I can appreciate that, but this conversation needs to happen."
Rarity scoffed and continued stroking Sweetie Belle's hoof. "I thought I was clear: I'm taking Sweetie Belle home."
"Ms. Rarity, please." Dr. Thoughts took another step forward. "Please do not make this any more difficult for any of us than it has to be, okay? I know you don't believe me, but I truly do want what's best for Sweetie Belle."
"You're right. I don't believe you."
Dr. Thoughts sighed and ran a hoof through his mane. "Look, Ms. Rarity, I know that the last time we interacted wasn't any more positive than this time, but--"
"Last time?" Rarity scoffed and looked up at him for the first time. "I've never seen you before in my life!"
Dr. Thoughts hesitated for a moment, looking between Rarity, me, and Sweetie Belle, before slowly nodding. "Er... right. Yes, I think I confused you with somepony else. My mistake." He shook his head. "At any rate, I need to talk to you about Sweetie Belle. Nothing is going to get done one way or the other if you just sit there arguing with us all night."
"Humph. I suppose not." Rarity squeezed Sweetie Belle's hoof again, and her expression softened slightly. "Don't worry, Sweetie Belle. Big sister will be right back. Just hold on, and Twilight will watch you, okay? We're going to get you out of here."
"Okay," Sweetie Belle whimpered.
With one more squeeze of Sweetie Belle's hoof, Rarity pushed herself up to her hooves, and followed the cop and Dr. Thoughts out of the room, leaving me alone with Sweetie Belle. She looked up at me, and I gave her a warm smile before sitting on my haunches and reaching through the bars to take her hoof.
"You're going to be okay, Sweetie Belle. I've written to Princess Celestia about this. We're going to make sure that you're alright."
"Okay," Sweetie Belle said again. Her eyes scanned the hallway behind me. "Did... did you bring Jackie?"
My smile fell and my ears flattened. Jackie again. I hated to admit it, but I was getting a little tired of that name. I ran a hoof through my mane before shaking my head. "No, Sweetie Belle, she's not here. She..." I hesitated for a brief moment. "She didn't come with you?"
Sweetie Belle's jaw quivered, and she sniffled and shook her head. "No," she whined. "They threw me in that police wagon, and I thought she might have come with me, but I didn't see her. I looked through the bars of the wagon when it started moving, and saw Jackie standing next to you and Rarity, smiling and waving goodbye to me. I thought... I thought that since she was standing next to you that she might have come with you to see me."
I grimaced and shook my head again. "No, Sweetie Belle, she didn't. I haven't seen her at all. I don't know where she is."
"You didn't see where she went when I got taken away?"
"No. I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle."
Sweetie Belle let out a little squeak, and she curled up into a ball again, covering her head with her forelegs. My heart sank when she began loudly sobbing, but I was at a complete loss for what to do. Tell her that Jackie would be around soon and feed the delusion? Be glad that Jackie seemed to be gone? If Jackie was gone, that might be a good sign that Sweetie Belle could start recovering from all of this.
Before I could think any more, I heard a loud shriek coming from down the hall. I shot to my hooves and, after one more glance at Sweetie Belle, I ran down to where I heard it. As I drew nearer, I heard Rarity screaming something and Dr. Thoughts calmly replying. I reached the source of the noise and saw the police officer holding onto a struggling Rarity, while Dr. Thoughts calmly stood in front of her.
"You will not take my sister away from me!" Rarity screeched. "You will not take my sister to some nuthouse!"
"Ms. Rarity, please. It's not a nuthouse. Your sister will be very well cared for. We just need to monitor her mental health, and I think that even you can agree that this is not the best place to do that. She repeatedly asked me if I could find Jackie for her and you know as well as I that I cannot ignore something like that, particularly if it makes her violent."
"My sister won't last in one of those horrid places!" Rarity wailed, her struggles losing energy as the seconds passed. "Please don't subject her to that, I'm begging you!"
"Ms. Rarity, I have no choice, and you know it. She violently attacked a police officer and broke several windows in town hall. You are not trained to deal with that kind of behavior." Dr. Thoughts sighed and gave Rarity a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. Truly I am, but this must be done. She will be well cared for, I swear to you."
"Please don't take her to one of those hellholes!" Rarity whimpered. She let out a single sob and stopped struggling completely, causing the police officer to gently put her down. "She won't last, I know it!"
"Ms. Rarity, the facility we're taking her to is close, and one of the best in all of Equestria. Besides, I've dealt with a few cases like Sweetie Belle's before, and I can tell you that these things resolve themselves fairly quickly, without any real lasting psychological harm to the foal. I legally cannot ignore her behavior, though. If I let her go and she became violent once more, then she could really harm somepony again."
Dr. Thoughts slipped a small card out of his folder and levitated it over to me. I took it and put it in my saddlebag. "That's the address for the facility. You can see her as soon as tomorrow. We have to transport her tonight, though." Dr. Thoughts looked over to the cop and motioned down to Rarity. "If you could escort them to an office to fill out the necessary paperwork, I would appreciate that."
Rarity wailed again, and I sat down on my haunches and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Shh. Don't worry, Rarity. Sweetie Belle's going to be fine. I'm going to be in constant contact with Princess Celestia throughout this whole thing, and the moment Sweetie Belle is treated poorly, we'll get her out of there, okay?"
"I want her out now!" Rarity leaned her head on my shoulder, and I felt it become wet from the tears dripping onto it. "I just want her to come home and be the happy little filly that I knew. I want my sister back, Twilight! I just want her back!"
"I know, Rarity." I took a deep breath and began stroking her mane. "I know."