Masked Justice

by aggressive cornelius

Permissions

Date: Monday, March 15^th

Princess Luna stared up at the starry night sky that would soon be lit up by her sister's sun. She heard hoofsteps behind her which caught her attention. She glanced back to see Celestia “Good morning sister. Is it time to bring the sun up?” she asked.

Celestia joined her sister on the balcony “Soon.” she answered simply. The two stood in silence for a few moments until Celestia broke it “Something seems to be bothering you.” she noted.

“Of course there is. Do you recall what is happening to our ponies?” she questioned a little harsher than she meant to.

Celestia gave a solemn hum “Trust me sister, it troubles me as well. Ponies losing their lives due to mysterious causes seemingly at random.” she said.

Luna raised an eyebrow “Has the autopsy been conducted on the latest victim?” she questioned.

Celestia nodded but her expression stayed the same “It has but we've learned nothing new. He was just like the others, it's like his brain just shut off. No sign of a struggle or illness.” she reported.

Luna gritted her teeth slightly “Whoever is behind this is making a complete fool of us.” she growled.

Her sisters hoof landed on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her “Try not to get worked up. Stressing ourselves won't solve anything. Once I raise the sun, I want you to get some rest.” she said.

Luna was quick to shake her head “I will not. Ponies are dying as we speak. I shall speak to the doctors who performed the autopsy, perhaps we missed something.” she said.

“If there were clues to be found though autopsy, they would've found it. I will send a letter to Twilight soon. The three of us shall figure this out together and I'd rather you be in the best shape for that. Please get some rest.” Celestia said.

Luna closed her eyes to think about the proposal. Twilight would be a valuable asset in figuring what was happening. She opened her eyes and nodded “Fine sister, you win. I'll get some sleep, but wake me as soon as Twilight arrives.” she said before exiting the balcony.

---

Cheerilee finally got though a class without one of her students trying to end it early. She turned to her students with a smile “That should do it for today. Before you all go, I do have some important news.” her smile faded to a concerned frown “Due to...unexpected events. School will be closed for the next two weeks.” she said. The students didn't seem to pick up on her concern and gave a short celebration before getting ready to leave. She sighed in annoyance “Even though you won't be coming to school, I still encourage you all to keep up with your studies on your own.” she said even though the odds that they would study were slim to none.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle met with Spike who was waiting outside of the school. Apple Bloom greeted him with a smile “Howdy Spike. What brings ya here? Is it Phantom Thief related?” she wondered.

He reciprocated the smile but shook his head “No, actually I won't be able to do any of that for some time.” he said.

Sweetie Belle's brows furrowed in concern “Is something wrong? Are you hurt?” she questioned.

He relieved her worries with a chuckle “Nothing like that. Twilight was called to Canterlot by the princesses. She wanted me to come with her just in case.” he said.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow in interest “What do the princesses want?” she asked.

“I'm not sure, Twilight doesn't even know. I could be gone for weeks” he said.

Apple Bloom's ears flattened against her skull “Well ah guess we won't be doin' any Phantom Thief work then. We can't do it without ya, yer too important ta the team.” she said.

Scootaloo sighed “This would have been the perfect time for that since we just got some time off of school. What else am I supposed to do over this break?” she questioned.

Sweetie Belle giggled “Study?” she teased.

“No way!” Scootaloo shot back.

Spike gave an amused smile “Well we don't leave until Wednesday so we can hang out until then.” he said. The others agreed and they decided to hang around a park.

Once there, they saw a peculiar sight. The unicorn they met the previous day, Sturdy Oak was using a hammer to finish building a bulletin board in the middle of the park. Their curiosity led them to approach him “Uh, hello?” Apple Bloom said to gain his attention. He stopped what he was doing and turned to them.

After a few seconds he seemed to recognize them with a smile “Oh, it's you kids again. Nice to see you.” he said.

Sweetie Belle noticed the difference in his mood from the last time they met “You seem much happier than you did yesterday.” she pointed out.

Sturdy Oak chuckled “That's because I am. You see, Heartshine came up to me last night and to my shock she apologized. She seemed so genuine that I couldn't help but to forgive her.” he explained.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow “You got back together?” she asked.

He shook his head “I'm not ready for that yet. For now we agreed to just be friends. I'm just grateful that she came to her senses.” he then gave the kids a knowing smile “And I know just who to thank.” he said.

Apple Bloom's heart sank. How could he have figured it out. Maybe they were too quick to solve his problem, or maybe he saw them enter the metaverse. She gulped as she tried to think of a way to get out of this situation “W-we didn't d-”

“It's all thanks to the Phantom Thieves.” he stated.

Apple Bloom stopped and glanced to her friends, who only shrugged. She turned back to the stallion “Did ya say the Phantom Thieves?” she asked.

He nodded in excitement “You know them right? They're the ones who changed Filthy Rich's mind, and I know they did the same for Heartshine!” he said.

Spike rubbed the back of his neck “How do you know it was them?” he asked.

Sturdy Oak's smile fell to an embarrassed frown “I...don't have any proof.” he shook his head “but I still know it was them! Who else could have done it?” he reasoned.

Apple Bloom tried to calm him down “Y-yer right. It could have only been the Phantom Thieves.” she tried to think of a way to get him off of this topic “By the way, what's that thing yer buildin'?” she asked while pointing at the bulletin board.

He smiled again “I was thinking that I wanted to do something for the Phantom Thieves in return for what they did for me.” he said.

Scootaloo eyed the board with a frown “So you built a bulletin board for them?” she asked.

He nodded and used his magic to hang a sign near the top of the board that read “Phan-board”. He looked upon it with pride “I wanted to help them help even more ponies. I made this so that ponies could post their troubles and hopefully the Phantom Thieves will see them.” he said.

Sweetie nodded in understanding “That's really nice of you.” she said.

Scootaloo agreed “Yeah that should be really useful...for them, I mean.” she said.

Sturdy took the hammer back in his magic and turned back to it “I hope so, but I should get back to finishing it up.” he said. The others nodded and said their goodbyes before leaving to enjoy their day at the park.

---

Date: Tuesday, March 16^th

After school Scootaloo dragged her friends towards the park again. Spike frowned at her “Why did you drag me out here again? I had chores to do you know.” he complained.

Scootaloo trotted ahead of them in excitement “Come on, we need to take a look at that Phan-board. I bet it's filled with requests for us. We'll never get through it if we don't start now.” she said.

Apple Bloom hummed skeptically “Are ya sure?” she asked.

“Definitely!” she answered. She then gasped when something ahead caught her eye. She saw the Phan-board with paper covering almost every inch of it. Scootaloo dashed forward happily and the others followed soon after.

Once they arrived their smiles started to fade. Apple Bloom started reading what was posted on the board “What are the Phantom Thieves? What's with this board? Can anypony post papers here?” she read.

Spike crossed his arms with a disappointed frown “I guess we shouldn't of expected ponies to know us already.” he said.

Scootaloo Scanned the entirety of the board “There has to be at least a few requests.” her eyes landed on a few papers “Help me move in to my new place.” she read.

Sweetie tilted her head “I don't think they understand what we do.” she said.

Apple Bloom couldn't help but chuckle “We'll just have ta make ourselves known the hard way. Fer now let's just enjoy the day. We won't see Spike fer a while when he goes off ta Canterlot so let's hang out while we can.” she said.

After a few seconds Scootaloo nodded with a pout “Alright, I guess we ca-” she was cut off when something impacted her from behind. Her and her friends her thrown to the ground by the force. She whipped her head around to find who was responsible “Hey watch where you're goin-” she stopped when she saw the wall-eyed mail mare scrambling back to her hooves “Oh, hey Derpy.” she greeted.

The mare gave an apologetic smile “Sorry, I just don't know what went wrong.” she said before quickly gathering all of the envelopes that flew from her bag upon impact. She then took to the air again to continue her deliveries.

Apple Bloom's eyes landed on a stray envelope that was left behind. She gasped and picked it up “Derpy! Ya missed one!” she shouted after the retreating mare. It seemed to be futile as the mail mare was already out of earshot. She frowned and stared down at the envelope “What are we gonna do with this?” she wondered.

Scootaloo came up beside her to get a look at it “What's it say?” she asked.

“Ah'm not gonna read somepony else's mail.” Apple Bloom said.

Sweetie Belle hummed in thought “Maybe we should deliver it? Whoever it's being sent to might need it.” she said.

Apple Bloom smiled at that idea but frowned when she scanned the mysterious envelope “Ah don't see an address, or a name. How was Derpy even supposed ta deliver this?” she wondered.

Scootaloo nodded towards the envelope with a smirk “I can think of one way to figure out who it's supposed to go to.” she hinted.

After weighing the pros and cons, Apple Bloom rolled her eyes “Fine, but ah'll only read enough ta figure out who this goes ta.” she said before carefully opening the envelope as to not tear it. She pulled the letter out and started reading. Shortly after starting her face fell from curiosity to concern.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow “Well? Don't leave us waiting. What's it say?” she questioned.

Apple Bloom took a few moments to finish the letter before looking around at her friends “It's a threat, blackmail I think.” she said.

“What? Blackmail? Are you sure?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom's eyes returned to the letter “It says somethin' about an important meeting in Canterlot. It's kinda vague but it sounds like somethin' bad will happen if he doesn't show up.” she said.

Spike noticed something “He? Who was that letter supposed to be sent to?” he asked.

She gulped before answering “Filthy Rich.” she said.

The name sent a wave of uneasiness over the group. Spike rubbed his chin in contemplation “Maybe this is why he became so greedy.” he wondered.

Sweetie gave a concerned frown “Are you sure it's actually blackmail? Maybe it's nothing to worry about.” she said with a hint of hope.

Scootaloo grinned “We should make sure, let's investigate.” she said.

Apple Bloom pondered that idea for a few moments “Maybe but we wouldn't be able ta find much out without going to Canterlot.” a smile grew on her face as she remembered something. She turned to Spike with excitement “Can we go to canterlot with you and Twilight?” she asked.

Before he could answer, Scootaloo raised a hoof in the air “Now that's what I'm talking about! That's a great way to spend our break from school!” she celebrated.

Sweetie Belle nodded “Okay, I'm in. I'm too curious about this letter to let this go.” she agreed.

Spike got their attention by waving his arms in the air “Hey! Aren't we forgetting something? Like your families not wanting you to go on a random trip to Canterlot. And besides that, who knows if Twilight would even let you come.” he said.

Apple Bloom raised a hoof “As leader of the Phantom Thieves, here are yer assignments fer the day. Get permission ta go ta Canterlot. Later we'll meet up at the library ta convince Twilight together.” she said as she put her hoof out.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo added their hooves to hers with grins on their faces. Spike chuckled slightly before adding his hand “I guess it's worth a try.” he then glanced to the letter “But what should we do with this?” he wondered.

Apple Bloom hummed in thought as she stared the letter down “Ah guess we should deliver it ta Filthy Rich. We can't peek in on this meetin' if he don't know there's a meetin'.” she decided. They then made their way towards Filthy's mansion.

---

When they arrived, they took great care to not be seen. They sneaked up to the doorstep and dropped off the letter before beginning to sneak off. Before they could get too far from the residence, a pink filly peeked through the window to spot them skulking away. Diamond's eyes narrowed in suspicion “What are those blank flanks up to now?” she wondered aloud. She decided to investigate and moved over the doors and opened them. When she saw the lone envelope she put two and two together. She grabbed it and took the letter out without a second thought. Her expression changed to one of anger and shock as she read the content. Her eyes darted to the direction the fillies and dragon disappeared in. She thought about chasing them down and demanding an explanation but stopped herself. A grin grew on her face as an idea formed in her mind. She carefully put the letter back into the envelope and closed it up. She then called back into the house “Daddy! You got a letter!” she shouted with false ignorance.

She trotted up the stairs and knocked on the door to his home office “Come in!” she heard him call from inside. She opened the door, causing him to glance at her for a second before returning his gaze to his work “Is it important Diamond? I'm much too busy at the moment.” he said.

Diamond walked up with a sweet smile and the envelope was place on his desk “A letter was left on the doorstep. I thought it was probably for you.” she said.

Filthy rubbed his chin in confusion “I thought Derpy already came by with the mail?” he wondered to himself before shrugging “Well, thanks for bringing it to me honey.” he said before opening the letter and beginning to read.

Diamond expected the ghastly expression that grew on her father's face, but she tilted her head like she had no idea “What's it say daddy?” she asked.

He was snapped out of his horror and folded the letter up to keep it from his daughter's eyes “It's, uh nothing. Just some business that I'll need to attend to in Canterlot. I'll be heading there tomorrow.” he said, trying to mask his worry.

Diamond pretended to be upset “But you're always away on some kind of business trip! I was excited to spend some time with you! Can I at least come with you this time?” she pleaded.

His eyebrows furrowed and her patted her head “Sorry but I can't. I'll be very busy and wouldn't have time to spend with you. I promise that we will when I get back.” he said.

Diamond's eyes started to well up with tears “I don't care if you'll be busy! I just want to be where you are!” she cried before sobbing into her hooves.

Filthy held his forehooves up in surrender “Alright, we'll go to Canterlot together and I'll set aside some time to be with you. Okay?” he asked.

Diamond lifted her head and started wiping her tears away “P-promise?” she asked with a hint of hope.

“I promise.” he said in relief that he was able to cheer her up.

Diamond gained a wide smile and tackled her father with a hug “Thanks daddy, you're the best!” she claimed.

He wrapped his forelegs around her and smiled softly “Anything for you princess.” he said as his mind was still racked with worry.

---

Apple Bloom walked though Sweet Apple Acres as she went through the plan in her head. She split up with her friends so they could all ask their guardian's permission to go on this trip. She wasn't sure how she was going to get her sister to go along with this, but she had to try. She started to hear loud thumping and know she was coming up on her sister. She spotted her bucking an apple tree causing all of its fruits to fall into buckets which were placed under it “Hey Applejack!” she greeted.

She turned and wiped some sweat from her forehead “Howdy sis. Need somethin'?” she asked.

Apple Bloom paused for a second to get her thoughts in order “Ya know how we have that break from school?” she asked.

Applejack raised an eyebrow “Yeah, what about it?” she questioned.

Her eyes danced around her surroundings “Well ah was talkin' with Spike and the other crusaders and we thought it would be fun to take a trip durin' it.” she said.

Her sister's eyes narrowed on her “Just y'all?” she asked simply.

Apple Bloom waved her hooves in front of her defensively “Of course not! Apparently Twilight's takin' Spike ta canterlot 'cause of somethin' fer the princesses an' ah thought we could come along.” she explained.

Applejack mulled over the idea for a few nerve racking moments before finally nodding “Alright. Only if Twilight's okay with it. Ah trust her like kin so ah know she'll take good care of ya.” she said.

Apple Bloom jumped up in celebration “Thanks sis!” she exclaimed before dashing off.

Applejack raised an eyebrow at her sister's behavior “Ah didn't think she was so excited ta go ta Canterlot.” she shrugged “Well ah hope she has fun.” she said before returning to work.

---

When Apple Bloom reached Twilight's library she saw Scootaloo waiting in front with Spike “Howdy, how'd it go Scoots?” she asked.

She smirked and snickered “Even if I didn't get permission I would of just went anyway and apologized when I got back.” she said.

Apple Bloom gave a concerned glare “Ya did get permission, right?” she asked again.

Scootaloo nodded quickly “Of course I did, I was just joking.” she said.

Apple Bloom let out a sigh of relief “Good, now where's Sweetie?” she wondered.

“Right here!” called the familiar shrill voice of their friend. Sweetie Belle ran in to join the group “Sorry I'm late. My parents were fine with it but my sister happened to be visiting and she was being super over-protective. It took some time to convince her.” she said.

Spike gestured to the door to the library “Now only one more pony to convince.” he said. Apple Bloom took the lead and opened the door. They were met with legions of items flying around covered in a lavender aura.

Twilight saw them enter and her eyes landed on Spike “Where were you all day Spike? We need to pack and I can't decide on what to bring.” two large tomes floated over to him “I don't know what the princesses need so I don't know what would be more useful, this book on astrophysics or this one on moral philosophy!” she panicked.

Spike held his hand up in an attempt to calm her down “Take a breath, we'll never finish packing if you're panicking like this.” he said.

Twilight took his advice and took a few calming breaths “Thanks Spike.” she then noticed the three fillies in the room “Did you girls need something?” she asked.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle turned to Apple Bloom, so she guessed it was up to her “We wanted to ask you for a favor.” she said.

Twilight nodded but glanced back at the not yet packed supplies behind her “Okay, as long as it's quick.” she said.

Apple Bloom rubbed the back of her neck nervously “Well, we heard about this here trip yer takin' an' we wanted ta ask if ya'd mind takin' us with?” she asked.

Twilight sighed and shook her head “I don't know what he told you, but this isn't a vacation. It's important business with the princesses. I won't have time to foalsit.” she said.

Spike jumped in to help “Well you trust me, right? I can watch them, and you just let me know if you need me for whatever the princesses want.” he said.

Twilight actually started to consider it “Fine, I guess that's okay. But you need to make sure that your parents and guardians know about this and are okay with it” she said.

Apple Bloom smiled wide and nodded “We already got permission. Thank ya so much Twilight!” she said while the others already celebrating.

Twilight couldn't help but smile “We leave early tomorrow so I recommend going home and packing.” she said. The kids all nodded at each other before separating to prepare for the trip.