Masked Justice

by aggressive cornelius

Deadline

Date: Saturday, March 6^th

Apple Bloom walked downstairs after waking up. Once down she saw her sister in front of the front door. On the other side, she noticed Filthy Rich. He straightened his tie with a stern look in his eye “My dear Applejack, I'm afraid that I've grown tired of you dodging me. I've come to hopefully put an end to this.” he said.

Applejack gasped “Ya don't mean that ya expect that ridiculous order now, do ya?” she asked.

To her relief, he shook his head “No, but I have come to give you a hard deadline. I'll give you a week, seven days to give me what I'm owed. If I still don't have the products by march 12^th then I'll take my business elsewhere.” he said.

“Can't we talk about this?” Applejack asked.

He frowned “We've talked enough. I will not let you delay this forever. Good day.” he said before turning and walking away from the door.

Applejack slammed the door shut and growled “What happened to ya Filthy. Ya used ta be so understandin'.” she said. She turned to see her younger sister staring at her “Oh, did ya hear any of that?” she asked. Apple Bloom nodded causing her to sigh “Try not ta worry about it. Me and Filthy are just havin' a disagreement.” she said.

Apple Bloom scuffed her hoof against the floor and hung her head “Will we be okay if we give him what he wants?” she asked.

Applejack averted her eyes “It might be hard, but we'll get through it. We always do.” she said.

Apple Bloom looked up with determination in her eyes “I'm going to go play with my friends.” she said.

“Alright, have fun. Remember ta be home in time ta do yer chores.” she reminded. The filly nodded and ran out the door.

She burst into the CMC clubhouse to see her friends waiting for her. They smiled at the sight of her but their faces fell at the sight of panic on her face “We have a problem.” she said.

Spike walked up to her and put a claw on her shoulder “Calm down. What has you so panicked?” he asked.

With a calming breath, Apple Bloom explained “Filthy came by the farmhouse this mornin'. He gave mah sister a deadline to honor his deal. He said that we have until the 12^th before he takes his business somewhere else.” she said.

Sweetie Belle put a hoof to her chin in thought “So counting today, we have seven days to stop him. Can we do it that fast?” she wondered.

Scootaloo nodded with confidence “Of course we can. With the four of us and our personas, this will be a breeze.” she said.

Spike crossed his arms and hummed in thought “I've read the book on the metaverse many times but I don't know how long it takes to trigger a change of heart. I guess we'll just have to work as fast as we can.” he said.

Apple Bloom nodded and took the ruby out “Are we ready?” she asked. All her friends nodded and she spoke the keywords.

They looked around to confirm that they had entered the metaverse. Once they saw the tree stumps, they knew it worked. Spike turned to look at Sweetie Belle “Before we go any further, you're gonna need a code name like the rest of us. Does anypony have any ideas?” he asked.

Scootaloo nodded “We can call you punk. Just look at you in that paint stained hoodie, it fits.” she said.

Sweetie cringed at the name “I don't think I want you to call me punk. How about...Hoodlum? It sounds a bit less insulting.” she said.

Apple Bloom nodded with a smile “I like that a lot better. Alright, in the metaverse ya will be known as Hoodlum.” she said.

Scootaloo pouted “I thought punk was a great code name.” she muttered. The rest of the team ignored her and they entered the factory. They walked into the factory and arrived at the factory floor. After scanning the area, they were relieved to see no shadows.

They then hurried into the next hallway with two door to the left and a staircase at the end. Apple Bloom stared at the doors “Should we check those out?” she asked her team.

Sweetie shook her head “I don't think so. We saw that first room yesterday and Filthy took me to the other one when he captured me. There wasn't anything in there.” she said.

Spike nodded “Upstairs it is” he said. They walked up to the second floor and through a door to see another factory floor. This one was also filled with conveyor belts but there were many ponies placing the apples on the belts. They all had blank, exhausted expressions on their faces.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at the ponies “Who are they?” she asked.

Apple Bloom gasped in realization “Ah think ah recognize them. They look like the vendors that run the fruit and vegetable stalls in Ponyville.” she said.

Sweetie looked at them with concern “They look like they'll drop any second now. We have to help them.” she said.

Spike shook his head “I don't think we could. I think they're part of Filthy's distorted mind. So they aren't real.” he said. He started rubbing his chin in thought “Would this mean that the apple family aren't the only ones Filthy Rich is exploiting?” he wondered.

Apple Bloom's ears flattened against her skull “How could nopony know about all this?” she asked.

Sweetie tried to lighten to mood a bit “Maybe it's not as bad as it seems. As Drake said, these aren't the real ponies.” she said.

Scootaloo seemed uneasy “It's still hard to watch them work themselves to death.” she shook the thought from her mind “We should continue.” she said. She walked out from behind a conveyor belt.

Apple Bloom saw something ahead and grabbed Scootaloo to pull her back “Wait Aviator! Look.” she said. They peeked out to see two shadows with their backs to them. They were standing near a spiral staircase in the middle of the factory floor.

Scootaloo smirked “They don't see us, maybe we can surprise them.” she said.

That seemed to remind Spike of something “I think I know something we can try. In the book about the metaverse it says that shadows can be disoriented by forcefully removing their masks. I can sneak up behind one and do it but somepony else will have to do the other.” he said.

Apple Bloom raised her hoof “Ah'll do it.” she volunteered.

Sweetie turned to Scootaloo “After Paladin and Drake do that, me and you will jump in to help them finish them.” she said.

Scootaloo nodded “Right. I'll be ready.” she said. Apple Bloom and Spike quietly departed to sneak behind the shadows. They looked at each other and nodded before jumping on the shadow's backs. The both ripped the masks off and jumped off.

The shadows screeched in pain and they turned into their real forms. One was a zompony and the other was a large humming bird with a blade instead of a beak. They were both on the floor and looked dizzy.

Sweetie and Scootaloo jumped out of hiding and took their masks off. Fagin formed ice on the humming bird and Earheart send sharp winds towards the Zompony. Both of the shadows howled in pain from the attack but recovered from their dizziness.

The humming bird flew towards Apple Bloom and swung it's bladed beak at her. She held her shield in front of her to block the onslaught. Spike ran up and jumped, trying to strike the bird with his daggers. It flew back to dodge and flapped it's wings faster to send sharp winds at the two of them.

She winced at the slight pain but was overall still alright. Spike was a different story as he let out a scream and fell to his knees. The humming bird charged the downed dragon but Apple Bloom quickly took her cross bow out and fired a few bolts at it. She then took her mask off to summon Galahad. He then shot a spark of electricity at the bird to finish it off.

Scootaloo and Sweetie faced the zompony. The zompony swung it's great sword at them but they both dodged. Sweetie ran in and gave it three scratches with her metal claws. It tried to retaliate but Scootaloo interrupted it with a few shots from her mauser. Sweetie then took her mask off to allow Fagin to shatter ice around it to finish it off.

Apple Bloom ran to Spike's side to help him up “Are ya alright? I know that the attack hurt and all but it shouldn't have done that ta ya.” she said.

Spike caught his breath before speaking “It's another quirk about personas. They have certain types of attacks that are extremely effective against them. It's the same with shadows. Butch's weakness is wind, so that's why it hurt me so much.” he said.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow “So we all have weaknesses. That's lame. What's mine?” she asked.

Spike shrugged “I don't know. The only way to find out is to experience it.” he said.

Sweetie frowned “I'm not excited to find out.” she said.

Apple Bloom patted Spike on the back “Will ya be okay ta continue or should we head out?” she asked out of concern.

Spike took his mask off and Butch appeared. He was covered by a green energy and the pain melted away “I'm good now. I can go on.” he said.

They were about to scale the spiral staircase but Apple Bloom got dizzy all of the sudden as she got flashes of her bedroom. She blinked the images away “Did y'all see that too?” she asked her teammates.

Scootaloo nodded “Yeah, that looked like your room.” she turned to Spike “Drake, did the book say anything that could explain that?” she asked.

He nodded and tried to remember what the book said about it “There are some parts of palaces where the distortion is weak. Apparently shadows avoid those areas because of that. So they're basically safe rooms. There has to be one around.” he said.

“Is there anything else we should know about them?” she asked.

“The book said something about being able to teleport between the safe rooms and the palace entrance, but it was pretty vague about it.” he answered.

Sweetie nodded in understanding “I hope we can figure it out, that would be useful.” she said.

Apple Bloom noticed a door on the wall past the staircase “Maybe that's it? Let's check it out.” she said. She entered the door with the others following close behind. The room was a small storage room with boxes and tools strewn about. In the middle was a old looking metal table with a few sturdy boxes around it that could act as makeshift chairs.

They once again got flashes of Apple Bloom's room but it was much clearer now. Spike nodded in confirmation “This is definitely a safe room. Let's take breather here before moving out again.” he said.

The others agreed and took their seats on the boxes. A thought crossed Apple Bloom's mind “Hey Drake, will we know the treasure when we see it or what?” she asked.

He pondered that for a moment “I can only go off of what the book says since I haven't actually seen a treasure myself. It only describes the treasure as something important to the palace owner. Although it does say that it would be hard to overlook.” he explained.

Scootaloo sighed in annoyance “I hope it doesn't take too long. We don't even know how big this palace is.” she said.

Sweetie Belle thought for a second “From the outside, the factory didn't look like it could hold more then three stories. Since we're almost to the third floor, it shouldn't take too long to find it.” she said.

Scootaloo jumped off of her box “Then what are we waiting for? If we hurry we can be done today.” she said.

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement “Aviator's right, we can't just sit around forever.” she said. Spike and Sweetie Belle hopped off of their boxes and they walked out of the safe room together. There were no other shadows around so they quickly made their way up the spiral staircase.

They then came to a small room with normal doors on three of the walls. On the last wall was a large metal door with a sigh over it that read “To the CEO's office”.

Scootaloo lit up at seeing the sign “That's gotta be where the treasure is. Too easy.” she said before attempting to walk through the door. It refused to open for her and she bonked her head into it “Ah! What's up with this door? It's broken or something!” she growled.

Spike looked unamused “Or maybe it's just locked.” he suggested.

Scootaloo blinked before looking back at the door “That would make sense but I don't see a key hole or anything.” she said.

Sweetie Belle walked up to three indentations next to the door “I think these might be important.” she said. Apple Bloom studied the indentations. One looked like tree, another looked like a cloud, and the last looked like a star.

She hummed as she thought “Ah guess we gotta find these things ta get through the door. Three keys and three other doors. This might take longer than we thought.” she said.

Spike glanced between the three smaller doors “Where should we start?” he wondered.

Apple Bloom quickly pointed a hoof towards the door to their left “That one. We will probably have ta go through all of them anyway.” she said.

With no arguments, they continued through the door. Past that was a long hallway that was cut in two by a stretch with no floor. Instead there were horizontal conveyor belts carrying apples. Lasers shot down from the ceiling and sliced the apple in half before they were carried through a few holes in the walls.

Spike took a step back from the sight “What the...how's somepony supposed to get through here?” he wondered.

Scootaloo walked up to the conveyor belts “Are we supposed to jump between these?” she questioned.

Sweetie Belle saw a series of wires that connected all of the devices making the lasers. They all seemed to connect to a button on the other side of the death trap “I think that button over there turns the lasers off.” she said.

Spike shook his head “We would still need to get over there to press it, or at least one of us.” he said.

Scootaloo put on a brave face “I'll take care of it.” she offered.

Apple Bloom shook her head and stepped in front of her “No, ah'll do it. Ah don't want anypony else gettin' hurt if they don't have ta.” she said.

Scootaloo frowned with worry as Apple Bloom watched the lasers for a pattern. She then heard Earheart's voice in her head “Will you truly sit there and do nothing when you know you can support your friend?” she questioned.

Scootaloo hung her head as she thought “Support?” she muttered quietly. She then felt something in her heart that made her understand. She smiled and put a hoof on Apple Bloom's shoulder “Before you go, let me do something to help.” she took her mask off to summon Earheart “Do it!” she commanded.

Earheart flapped her wings at Apple Bloom who was instantly covered in a glowing green energy. Apple Bloom looked over herself as her body seemed to get lighter “What did ya do? Ah feel light as a feather.” she said.

Scootaloo gave I wide grin “Speed. I boosted your speed. I thought it would help you out here.” she boasted.

Spike raised an eyebrow “I didn't know you could do that.” he said.

Scootaloo averted her eyes sheepishly “Neither did I until now, but better late than never right?” she said. She then looked back to Apple Bloom “Now get going, It won't last forever.” she said.

Apple Bloom nodded and faced the lasers which now looked less daunting. She jumped past the first two easily. A laser quickly came for her midsection but thanks to the extra speed, she got out of the way in time. She smirked before nimbly weaving through the rest of the lasers to end up on the other side.

Her friends applauded her causing her to blush lightly. She then reached up to press the red button. The lasers cut out and the conveyor belts stopped. The rest of her team quickly jumped across the now useless belts to join her. Sweetie Belle pulled her into a quick hug “That was amazing, great job!” she congratulated.

“Ah couldn't of done it without Aviator's power.” she said.

Scootaloo gave a proud smile “I guess I do deserve some credit.” she said. They all shared a laugh before continuing through to the next room. The next room was a large almost empty room. The only thing in the room was a robotic unicorn standing in the middle.

Spike took his daggers in his claws “That thing looks dangerous, but I don't think it sees us yet.

Sweetie Belle noticed something behind it “Look behind it, one of the keys!” she exclaimed. They glanced to see the star shaped key waiting in an indentation in the wall.

Apple Bloom eyed the robot warily “Do ya think we can get it without fightin' that thing?” She asked.

Scootaloo shook her head “I doubt it. Let's just trash the thing and be done with it.” she said.

Spike sighed and nodded “Fine but let's be careful, it doesn't look like a pushover.” he said.

Apple Bloom took the lead as they walked up to it. The unicorn's artificial red eyes narrowed at them “This is a restricted area! Come quietly or suffer the consequences.” it said.

Scootaloo lowered herself into a stance “You wish! We're taking you to the junk yard!” she exclaimed.

“Hostility detected. Activating attack mode.” it said. It's horn opened up and a series of cyan, magenta, and yellow spirals shot out at Scootaloo. She was too shocked to dodge and was thrown a few feet away.

Sweetie gasped and ran over to help her up “Are you alright?” she asked.

“I'm fine. Watch out!” she warned as another wave of psychic energy shot toward them. They both jumped to safety as Apple Bloom and Spike came up behind the unicorn with their weapons drawn. Spike gave two slashes to it's side before Apple Bloom jumped and gave a hard strike to it's head.

The unicorn recoiled from the attacks before using it's horn to summon a ball of blue nuclear energy between Spike and Apple Bloom. It exploded and sent them in different directions. Spike recovered quickly but Apple Bloom stayed on the floor while wracked with pain.

Scootaloo came up behind it but it turned around and slashed at her with it's horn. She got up off the floor and growled “It's fast, I guess I'll just have to be faster. Come on out Earheart!” she shouted as she summoned her persona. Earheart enveloped her in the speedy green aura.

Scootaloo smirked through the combat knife in her teeth. She dashed in towards the unicorn and dodged a swipe from it's horn. She slashed it's chest twice at blinding speeds. It attempted to shoot psychic energy at her but she jumped high over it. With a spin, she delivered a devastating strike across it's face that knocked it to the floor.

She turned to Sweetie Belle who was behind her “Come on Hoodlum, follow up.” she said while holding a hoof out to her.

“I'd be glad to.” Sweetie said while bumping hooves with her. She gave the downed unicorn two slashes before giving one final slash with both claws. The unicorn recovered and tried to attack her with it's horn but she was able to jump back in time.

Spike ran over to Apple Bloom who was just getting to her hooves “Here, let me help.” he said before summoning Butch to heal her.

She gave him a grateful nod before summoning Galahad “Strike!” she commanded and a bolt of lighting came down on the unicorn. It fell to the floor once again from it.

Spike looked impressed “Whoa, that was powerful! And looks like it was weak to that!” he said.

Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes in focus “We're going in all at once! Ready?” she questioned.

“Ready!” they all exclaimed. They all dashed in at the same time. They all attacked as they dashed by before turning around and attacking again. They repeated that many times, getting progressively faster.

Once they stopped, Apple Bloom gave the air a celebratory buck as the unicorn dissipated behind her “Yee-haw!” she exclaimed

Scootaloo gave a tired chuckle “That was exhilarating!” she said.

Sweetie wiped some sweat from her forehead “And exhausting. Do you think we can call it a day?” she asked.

Apple Bloom nodded “Good idea. Ah'm still hurtin' from that blue attack. Ah think that might have been Galahad's weakness.” she said.

Spike nodded “Looked like it. I think that was a nuclear attack.” he said.

Scootaloo walked up to the star shaped key “Well if we're leaving, we should at least put this key in place while we can.” she said before taking it in her mouth.

Spike turned back to the door “Alright let's head back to the safe room.” he said.

They quickly made their way to the safe room while quickly setting the star key in place on the way. When in the safe room they sat down to rest. Sweetie turned to Spike “What did the book say about teleporting? Walking all the way to the front of the palace sounds tiring.” she said.

Spike hummed in thought “It didn't say much. Hey Paladin, maybe try doing something with the ruby?” he suggested.

Apple Bloom nodded and took the ruby in her fore hooves. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the entrance to the palace. After a few seconds she heard Scootaloo speak up “Wow, you actually did it!” she said in an impressed tone.

Apple Bloom opened her eyes in shock to see that they were indeed outside of the factory. Sweetie gave her a smile “How did you do it?” she asked.

She rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled nervously “Ah don't really know, but ah think ah could do it again if ah needed to.” she said.

Spike nodded “Well that's good. Let's get out of here.” he said.

---

Date: Unknown

Apple Bloom woke up from her sleep to find herself in a cage once again. She looked around at the blue surroundings and the mysterious unicorn in front of her “This dream again?” she asked.

Mystery index shook his head in disappointment “So you've written off our last meeting as a mere dream? How utterly predictable. This is no fiction created within your feeble mind. I'd think you'd take me a bit more serious since I gave you that warning.” he said.

Apple Bloom's eyes widened “Ya mean, all of that was true? Even about the bad ending ya keep talkin' about?” she asked. Index nodded causing her ears to go flat against her skull “Can ya tell me a bit more about this ending?” she said.

Index stayed silent for a few second as if he was contemplating how much to tell her “Everypony has a story. Every story needs an ending. It is an inescapable fate...at least that's what I've always assumed. I've chosen your story to watch to see if an ending is fate or merely one of countless possibilities.” he said.

Apple Bloom gave a determined look “Ah'll change mah fate. Ah know ah will with the help of mah friends.” she said.

Index turned away from her “It matters little to me whether you do or not. Either way I will have my answer.” he said.

Apple Bloom felt her eye lids get heavier until she fell asleep.

---

Date: Sunday, March 7^th

Apple Bloom woke up again the next morning with a yawn. She hummed grimly as she thought back to what she thought was a dream “Velvet room.” she mumbled to herself. She shook the thought away from her mind for the moment and jumped down from her bed. She yelped in pain as she landed due to her sore leg muscles.

Applejack poked her head into the room “Apple Bloom? Was that you? Ya sounded like ya were in pain.” she said.

Apple Bloom tried to hide her pain “Ah just accidentally kicked my nightstand. Nothin' ta worry about.” she said with a nervous smile.

Applejack walked up closer to her sister with suspicion “Ya know ah don't like bein' lied to.” she said simply.

Apple Bloom sometimes hated having the element of honesty for a sister. She tried to think of a explanation that wasn't technically a lie “Ah...ah'm just a bit sore from playing with mah friends yesterday.” she said.

Applejack sighed “How many times have ah told ya ta not go overboard. Ah know y'all are havin' fun and all but ya got ta know when ta take breaks. That goes for workin' as well as playin'. Ah've learned that lesson the hard way.” she said.

Apple Bloom sighed in relief and nodded “Ah understand. Ah'll try ta take it easier today.” she said before walking past her sister.

---

Later, she walked into the club house to see all of her friends. Spike turned to her and smiled “Hey Apple Bloom, how are you feeling?” he asked.

She shook her head “Not so good. Ah'm still hurtin' from yesterday.” she said.

Spike chuckled “I'm glad I'm not the only one. Maybe we should hold off on the palace until tomorrow.” he said.

Scootaloo frowned “Aren't we on the clock though? Shouldn't we be taking every chance to raid the palace we can?” she asked.

Apple Bloom shook her head “As much as ah want ta get this done, ah agree with Spike. We shouldn't be workin' ourselves ta the bone. We'll just take today off.” she said.

“I guess you have a point.” Scootaloo said. She then took out her combat knife which was reduced to cheap plastic in the real world. She frowned down at the toy.

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at this behavior “Is somethin' wrong Scoots?” she asked.

“Doesn't it bum you out that our weapons are actually just toys? I know that it probably doesn't matter but I wish we had some cooler stuff.” she said.

Spike rubbed his chin in thought “It might actually matter. The more realistic the weapon looks, the stronger it will be in the metaverse. Unfortunately I have no idea where we can get more realistic weapons.” he said.

Sweetie Belle smiled as she remembered something “I think I actually saw something yesterday that would be perfect. Follow me.” she said happily as she walked out of the door. The others looked at each other and shrugged before following.

---

“Ta-da!” Sweetie said while gesturing to the building she brought them to.

Apple Bloom read the sign out loud “Friendly Fire's replica weapons? When did this get here?” She asked.

Sweetie shrugged “I'm not sure. I think the owner just moved the shop here from Canterlot. Either way, this will be useful right?” she asked with hope in her voice.

Spike gave her a reassuring smile “This is exactly what we need. Come on, let's take look inside.” he said.

They walked into the store to find many different types of weapons adorning the walls. They turned to the counter that had a door behind the presumably led to the back of the store. Suddenly a stallion walked out from the back. His coat was a dull green while his mane and tail were a tan-ish brown “Did I hear somepony enter?” he asked as he glanced around.

His gaze landed on the three fillies and dragon. He gave them a warm smile “Hello children, is there something ol' Friendly Fire can do for ya?” he asked.

They walked up to the counter and Apple Bloom spoke up “Howdy, we are uh...we're big fans of weaponry. So we'd like to purchase some replicas to decorate our rooms.” she said with what she hoped was a convincing smile.

Friendly Fire's smile faltered slightly “I'm not sure if I'm comfortable selling to children.” he said.

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance “Why not? It's not like they're real weapons.” she complained.

“They might not be real but last time I sold a replica to a colt, I got in real hot water with his mother. Apparently he was going around whacking ponies with that replica sword. I can't afford to get in more trouble.” he explained.

Sweetie Belle looked up at him with huge sad eyes “Please sir. We were so excited learn more about weapons throughout history.” she begged.

Friendly Fire hummed in thought “It is nice to see the younger generation getting interested in historical weapons.” he muttered to himself. Suddenly he gained an idea “Okay, how about this. I'll sell you some of the lower quality stuff I have. If a good amount of time passes without me hearing from any angry parents, I'll be more open to selling stuff of higher quality. Deal?” he offered.

Apple Bloom thought for a second before nodding “It's better than nothin', deal.” she said.

Friendly Fire grinned “Great, what can I help you find?” he asked.

They all laid their cheap plastic toys on the counter “Can we get somethin' like these.” she asked.

He whistled as he looked over them “I can see why you came to me. These are cheaply made and barely historically accurate. I can definitely get you little ones something better.” he took a quick account of the weapons “War hammer and shield, dual daggers, combat knife, and claws.” he said to himself.

He came out with replicas that were obviously still plastic but were higher quality. The hammer had a black head with a small spike at the top. The handle was striped black and red. The shield was trimmed in red while the majority of it was back. In the middle of it was a white crescent moon emblem.

The daggers were curved blades with silver hand guards and black handles. At the bottom of the handles was a silver design that resembled fire.

The combat knife was a blue-ish gray with a dark green cord wrapped around the handle.

The claw's blades were silver while the gauntlets they were attached to were brown. Attached to the sides of the gauntlets were plastic feathers.

Friendly fire looked down at his items with pride “The hammer and shield were designed after what the night guards were rumored to have used a thousand years ago. The daggers were designed after what young dragons used to defend themselves when their claws were underdeveloped. The combat knife is designed after what guardsponies always had on hoof as a secondary weapon. The claws were designed after claws that griffons used to protect their own claws from damage from overuse. So, what do you think?” he asked.

Apple Bloom seemed impressed “It's still plastic but it's a lot better than what ah had before. What do y'all think” she asked her friends.

Scootaloo marveled at her new knife “This is so much cooler than that other knife. I can't wait to use it!” she squealed before realizing what she said. She cleared her throat “i mean, not use it.” she corrected.

Spike was checking his daggers out “I didn't know dragons used daggers, I like them.” he said.

Sweetie smiled down at the claws “They're so cute.” she said.

Apple Bloom chuckled “Sounds like we'll take them.” she said.

“That will be 48 bits total.” Friendly Fire said.

Apple Bloom looked through her coin purse and hoped that they had found enough bits from shadows to cover it. Luckily she had more than enough and hoofed over the bits. Friendly Fire happily took them and waved the kids goodbye “Thank you for your business, and remember our deal.” he reminded.

“We will, bye.” Apple Bloom called back before leaving with her friends.

---

Date: Unknown

Twilight hummed in thought “Friendly Fire? I think I've seen his shop before, although I haven't had a reason to visit it. So he supplied weapons for all of you?” she questioned.

Apple Bloom nodded “He only sold us replicas but they worked just like real weapons in the metaverse.” she said.

Twilight wrote a few thing in her notepad “So he wasn't aware that he was assisting criminals?” she asked.

Apple Bloom glared at the princess “Ah'd appreciate it if ya stopped calling us criminals.” she said.

Twilight glared back “I'd appreciate it if you provided even a shred of evidence to prove any of your claims.” she countered.

Apple Bloom sighed “Fine, can ah just continue my story?” she asked.

Twilight nodded “Please.” she said.