//------------------------------// // The Break In // Story: Double Trouble // by StormLuna //------------------------------// A couple hours had passed since Trixie ran off Starlight's friends and Ponyville had gone silent and dark. Every single light was off and Trixie knew that this was her chance to steal the book her and Sunburst needed. As she headed out a hoof grabbed her shoulder. Sunburst asked, "Trixie, are you sure you want to do this? If you get caught, both of us could be in serious trouble!" Trixie boasted, "Don't worry Sunburst, The Great and Powerful Trixie knows what she is doing, she will not get caught!" Sunburst knew that there would be no stopping Trixie from trying to do this so he let go of her and sighed, "Very well but if you get caught, don't say I didn't warn you." Trixie rolled her eyes and headed into town. Given that it was just a crescent moon that night, there was very little light to give her a good idea of where to go. Despite the risk, she lit up her horn to create some light. As she continued to head through town, she began to have seconds thoughts as she realized that if she was to get caught breaking into the library, that she could face charges for breaking into federal property. Once she arrived at the library, she still began to doubt herself but in the end her desire to learn a transfiguration spell won out so she used a spell to unlock the door and she headed in. When she headed in, her very first instinct was to turn on some lights so she could see but then realized that ponies would see lights on in there and would investigate. Instead of turning on lights, she lit up her horn brighter and began her search. At first she was not finding any books on magic, just on history and other general topics. She grunted, "Ugh, where are the books on magic? The Great and Powerful Trixie's show can't be perfect without her learning what's in them!" Trixie became more and more frustrated until she saw a staircase that led up to a room that had one small bookcase. Trixie thought to herself, "Perhaps the book Trixie needs is up there!" She headed up there and almost immediately after heading to the bookcase, she found all the books on magic where she found the book with transfiguration spells.. She decided to sit down on the bed up there and at first wondered why there was a bed up there to start with until she looked at the night stand. On it she saw something she did not expect, a picture of Starlight and her friends. She gasped, "What, Starlight lives here?" At that moment Trixie realized two things, she realized that not only would she need a book on transfiguration spells but she would also need one on duplication spells because if any of Starlight's books were missing and it was revealed that she was in town, she would be the first one Starlight would suspect. She also knew that given how close she is to Celesta, that Starlight could probably suggest banishment to the moon as punishment and Celestia would likely do it. She got back up and went to the bookcase to find a book with duplication spells. Given that it was just one bookcase, Trixie was able to find what she needed rather quickly. The first thing she began to study was the duplication spell because she knew that if she could learn that, she could simply duplicate both books, put the originals back and then get going. When she found the duplication spell, she could understand the words but when she tried to focus on the energies involved, she was clueless. She stomped her hooves into the floor and yelled, "Ugh, why can't The Great and Powerful Trixie get this?" She then realized something, she realized that Sunburst, given his intelligence, would be able to get them and despite not having a lot of talent, that perhaps he could help her get them. She knew that taking the books would be a huge risk and she would have to hope that Starlight would not get home from Canterlot for a few days. She continued to contemplate what she could do for a few minutes until she said to herself, "Perhaps Starlight won't get home until the next day. It should be safe for The Great and Powerful Trixie to take them!" She then looked at the picture of Starlight and her friends with a frown. She picked it up and smashed it on the floor before leaving the library. Much to her delight, the town was still dark and quiet so she was easily able to find her way back to her wagon without being detected. When she got back and had two books from the library Sunburst was stunned. He gasped, "You stole two books from the library? Aren't you worried that the librarian will report them missing and we'll get caught?" Trixie replied, "Don't worry about it. The Great and Powerful Trixie will never get caught for something like this. If we just study what we need to tomorrow, we should have everything down and then that unicorn with the glasses will know that we don't use trickery in our acts!" Sunburst added, "And then return those books tomorrow night....." Trixie interrupted, "Yeah, whatever. For now though, The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks we should get some sleep so we can be alert for our studying." Sunburst yawned, "Agreed, now let's get some rest." The two turned in for the night and while Trixie was easily able to get to sleep, for Sunburst it was not so easy. He couldn't help but worry about what would happen if they wound up getting caught with those books in their possession. Eventually he was able to clear his mind enough that he was able to get to sleep but would it be enough for him to be as focused as he would need to be?