Anarchy in the Equestrian Nation

I sat quietly with the other Outcasts in the visitation room, minus Pitch-Perfect. We awaited the arrival of our friend.

And arrive he did. The metal door swung open on mechanical hinges, revealing Red Tear, his wings pinned to his side by chains. He walked into the room, slightly limping on his left back leg. Tears were welling up in his eyes as he sat down.

"Hey pal." I began. "I know you're cooped up in this shithole, so we brought you some comfort food." I placed a white cardboard box containing a pumpkin pie onto the cold brushed steel table. He turned the box around and opened it, cracking a smile when he saw his favorite dessert sitting there in front of him.

"Thanks." he said simply, before closing the box. "But how the hell did you get it through security without them getting suspicious?"

"They have X-rays, and the pie isn't in a tin." I explained, glad that my friend was at least a little happy. His smile shrank a little as we were asked to leave, but not before we wrapped him in a bear hug.

---------------[Shifting to Red's perspective for the rest of the chapter.]-----------------

Once my only friends left me sitting alone with a pumpkin pie, I smiled a bit. I picked up the plastic spork the guards had given me and scooped a bit of the filling out of the center, taking a bite and savoring it. The mellow, sweet taste of pumpkin greeted my taste buds, a taste that was welcome after three days of dull, bland, flavorless jail food. I relished every bite of the pastry that I took, genuinely smiling for the first time since the talent show a week ago.

Once I had finished, I was escorted back to my cell, bolts of pain lancing through my back leg. The still-present taste of pie offset this a bit, its mellow taste soothing.

I entered my eight-by-ten hoof cell and promptly plopped on the cot, full and somewhat happier than before. At least until memories of Jack, Vagabond, Turntable, and Manga flooded my mind and caused tears to flow from my eyes and sobs to escape my chest. The Outcasts were the only ponies who I could ever consider my friends. They didn't understand me, but they didn't care what I'd done, they just saw the good in me.

Eventually, I fell into a fitful sleep, halfway waking up several times, and I only fully woke to a knock on my door. "Red Tear, your court date is today." a burly male guard said.

"CV?" I asked, testing to see if it was the guard who'd been helping me through my incarceration.

"Yep. It's me." Constant Vigilance confirmed. "Don't worry pal. The odds are tipped in your favor."

"How so?" I inquired worriedly.

The guard smiled. "Your friends, plus that teacher, are here to testify in your favor." Constant Vigilance hoofed me a cup of water and a single pill. "Painkiller. Figured from the limp in your walk you needed 'em, and I had to go through hell to get permission." I swallowed the pill and downed it, the sour aftertaste sticking for a couple of seconds.

"Thanks, man." I said simply, at a loss for words of how truly grateful I was. The pain in my rear left leg had been killing me. It's where I'd cut the deepest, and it was never quite the same after that. The pain ebbed after a few minutes of walking to the courtroom.

My friends and Cheerilee sat in the front row, all dressed semi-formally, and Jack had even forgone his mask. "All rise." the judge commanded, a few minutes after Vigilance and I had sat down. "You may be seated." he said, nodding. "First case is the town of Ponyville vs Red Tear. Mr. Tear, will you please come up to the stand and tell your half of the story."

I gulped, but swallowed my fear and spoke. "My friends and I were sitting at the lunch table, when my former friend Rampage decided to start picking Union Jack. I have no idea why, honestly, but it had nothing to do with me, so I sat down. Eventually, Jack stood and said he wasn't going to fight Rampage. Rampage got mad and grabbed Jack's bass guitar and took a swing. It hit the wall and broke, which caused my friend to snap. He was about to fight Rampage, but I knew Jack couldn't take him alone, so I tackled Rampage while I still had the element of surprise. Jack backed off, but I knocked out Rampage and threw him into the street."

Cheerilee stood. "I can vouch for Tear, Your Honor. Jack told me what happened, and Officer Cuff has the security tapes."

"We'll get to that, Miss. For now, I wish to inform Red Tear of his charges." He shifted his steely gaze back to me. "Mr. Tear, you are charged with assault and battery. Do you plead innocent or guilty to these charges?"

"Guilty, Your Honor." I admitted.

"Very well then. You are to complete twenty-four hours of community service and an apology letter, unless Mr. Rampage's situation is less favorable. The court would like to call Subtle Rampage to the stand." Rampage walked quietly to the stand, and I noticed Black Bell watching. "Mister Rampage, tell your part of the story."

"I was sitting at another lunch table, across the schoolyard from theirs, and my marefriend, Black Bell, showed up crying. She kept saying about how Union Jack broke her heart, so I went to go show him that I wouldn't tolerate that. My story turned out otherwise the same as theirs."

"All right then, Mr. Rampage, you have been charged with aggravated assault, attempted assault with a deadly weapon, harassment, destruction of property, and threatening and intimidating. Do you plead innocent or guilty?"

"Guilty."

"Your punishment is as follows: You are, as of right now, ordered to pay the exact value of the bass guitar you destroyed, you are expelled from Ponyville Public High School, and you are to spend one month incarcerated. You are also not allowed contact with Union Jack or Red Tear unless they contact you and say otherwise." Rampage gravely nodded.

The judge flipped through some papers before coming back to my case. "Red Tear, you have accepted your charges and no evidence is needed. You are hereby released into the custody of your parents." I gulped at the mention of my parents, who when I turned to them, I expected them to be disappointed and angry. I found them to be happy as could be that I was out of jail.

And I was too.