Okay so I wasn't too happy with the original version of this, luckily, someone named shirotora gave me an idea for a revamp, mostly just how the chapter ended. Enjoy.
The day had been relatively normally for Ponyville, as everyone had gotten up and prepared for the day, as both Pony and Pokémon alike woke up from sleep. So far, the day promised to be a simple, relatively uneventful day…
“WHAAAAATTTTT???!!!!”
Never mind…
The source of the shout that more or less woke up the whole town turned out to be none other than the Golden Oaks Library, just as a certain Alicorn read the newspaper.
“Twilight?! What in the world happened down here?” Professor Juniper said as she ran/floated down the stairs, Spike close behind her, having nearly gotten a heart attack when the scream woke him up. The two of them reached the end of the stairs to see...absolutely nothing wrong with the library. At least, that’s what it looked like until she saw the look on Twilight’s face. A look of abject shock and horror. “Twilight? What’s wrong?”
She got her answer when she saw the headlines of the morning newspaper that had fallen out of Twilight’s hoof. Like the Alicorn next to them, Juniper and Spike both stared at the headlines in shocked disbelief, though Juniper for other reasons.
Phantom Thief Strikes Canterlot: Crown Jewels Stolen
Was what was written on the headlines. “Someone... someone actually stole the crown jewels.” Twilight stammered in disbelief. “How is that even... there suppose to be...” she shook her head. “I should make sure the Princess is alright.”
Juniper, also just as surprised that someone could actually break into the castle and make off with something like that, decided to read more details. What she saw made her gasp again. “No way…”
“What is it?” Spike asked, looking over Juniper’s shoulder at the paper.
“Fox...She’s here...on Equus. The one who stole the Crown Jewels was Phantom Thief Fox,” Juniper stammered, dropping the paper in shock.
“This guys from Earth?!” Twilight asked, dropping the letter she’d been writing to Celestia.
Juniper nodded. “Phantom Thief Fox is the name, or rather, the title of a mysterious thief back on Earth. Records of Fox have existed for 500 years now, as its a title that’s been passed down over the years. Every last known holder of the title has been known to be uncatchable, even after announcing their heists before they pull it, and yet no matter the defense, no matter what the police do, Fox always appears, and steals the item they said they would, many times with little difficulty, all the while leaving the police completely baffled,” she explained.
Twilight’s ears flicked back in annoyance. “But... but... why the heck would she be here?! I thought Arceus left criminals back on Earth!”
Juniper thought about it for a moment, before her eyes widened in realization. “Checkmate...they got through because as far as humans go...they’re morally gray, and they aren’t exactly evil to begin with…” she started. “Fox, while being a master thief, has never been known to harm Pokémon, in fact, many times they’ve saved Pokémon that were caught in the crossfire. Furthermore, they don’t like to kill, and rarely has anyone been harmed in a heist pulled by them. With that kind of record, if any criminal could get through, it would have been Fox…”
Twilight’s breathing became more rapid as Juniper spoke. “This is bad, this is very, very bad, there’s a master thief with the Crown Jewels, what if she sells them? They’re symbols of friendship between Equestria and the other Kingdoms.”
At that moment, something completely random, and convenient happened. I.e. Completely normal for Ponyville.
“Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Crown Jewels returned safe and sound after stolen!” was the sound from a random newspaper pony as another newspaper was tossed at them.
As expected, the headline was how the Crown Jewels had been found safe and sound in the Throne Room of Canterlot Castle several hours after the heist was done.
“Oh yeah...now I remember the last thing about Fox,” Juniper sighed, facepalming. “Anything they steal usually ends up at the local police station within hours of the heist.”
Twilight stared at Juniper in disbelief. “What in... why? Why would anyone do something like that?”
“You’re asking the wrong person. All I know is that many of those heists have ended up getting crime lords thrown into jail, while others haven’t,” Juniper shrugged.
“Soo,” Spike began. “The Fox is some kind of daredevil/anti-hero?”
“That’s...actually a very apt description…” Juniper blinked now that she thought about it.
A few hours later, a carriage and an even larger one behind it, pulled into Ponyville. As it came to a stop, an elderly Earth Pony stallion with a dark green coat and black mane stepped out alongside an elderly Pegasus Mare with a dark blue coat and cyan mane and a young Unicorn Stallion with a white coat and black mane. “Alright everyone, we’ll all split up and go into town for supplies, and if you want, you can look around the town. But be sure to meet up back here by evening. We’ll be getting ready to go by then,” the old Earth Pony said with a smile, talking to the other occupants of the carriages.
Gene sighed as he looked over the newspaper in front of him. “I don’t know, I never really thought about what I’d do after my journey,” he said, absently scratching Fang just behind his horns. “And then... well then I couldn’t.”
The Houndoom mumbled his agreement, not wanting to interrupt the petting he was getting.
“I suppose I could see about getting a job at a restaurant,” he considered. “I’ve been told I’m actually a pretty good cook.” At least that was what Cynthia and Iris had said, whenever he cooked them all a meal.
Fang licked his chops. “You really are,” he said with a happy smile.
Gene set the help wanted section down and sighed as he reminisced about the time he spent in Unova. Undella Town was a top vacation destination, add in the fact that Iris, Cynthia, Shauntal, and several Gym Leaders had beach houses or summer homes there, and it drew in a lot of different people and trainers.
Most days, Gene could count on there to be a mini tournament at the Pokémon Center, or for someone to come challenging Iris or Cynthia, and for them to be out or just ask him to ‘test their metal’ if they weren’t really in the mood to battle.
“Those were the days huh?”
Gene looked up to see Belle walking into the room.
“Yeah,” he said with a smile. “They were.”
Gene... well, while he wasn’t glad his first wedding had been wrecked, was glad that he’d met Abby and Kasai as a result but... sometimes he still wished everything had worked out the first time.
Belle smiled and sat down on the bed next to her husband. “You know... while we’re on the subject of the wedding...”
“Belle, I really don’t want to talk about her,” Gene could sense where she was going, and he didn’t like it.
Belle sighed. “Gene,” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know you don’t want to think about her, but don’t you think it’s about time we discussed it?”
“I honestly don’t think she deserves the courtesy,” Gene said curtly, looking away from Belle.
“Please Gene?” Belle asked. “You’re going to have to face it sooner or later, and I don’t want you to be unprepared or in denial when it happens.”
“I’m not in denial,” Gene grumbled. “And why would I have to face it? It’s not like I’ll ever see her again anyway.”
“Gene,” Belle said with a sigh. “Rather than come to terms with what happened, you’re... well...”
“You’ve made it so your mother is basically dead to you,” Fang added helpfully. “And you don’t know that you’ll never see her again.”
“Of course I do,” Gene said with a shrug, not caring to elaborate.
Belle and Fang processed that for a moment.
“Gene... you don’t actually believe your mother was left behind on Earth do you?” Belle asked, worry in her voice.
“Yes... no... maybe... I don’t know,” Gene shook his head. “And I don’t want to think about her!”
“Gene,” Fang began. “She may have reported you to the Union but... well, Solana and Lunick are here, and so is Professor Hastings. If people who arrested people like you are here-”
“I know!” Gene stopped him. “I know okay? But she betrayed me! If we hadn’t gotten away, I never would have seen you guys or any of the others again!” His voice cracked a little. “Sh... she t-tried to take my family away from me.” The anger Gene had felt a few seconds before quickly fled as it was replaced by sadness. “She tried to take my soul-mate away from me.” Gene held a hand over his heart.
“Gene,” Belle said, wrapping her arms around her husband. “It’s alright, that didn’t happen, we’re still together.”
Fang sat up and licked his trainers face. “And come on, you really think Cynthia or Iris would have let that happen?”
Gene sniffled. “I... I guess not,” he admitted. “But still... I don’t think I could go on if-”
Gene was silenced as Belle leaned over and kissed him. “Shush you,” Belle said as she broke the kiss. “No more what if’s when it comes to that okay?”
Gene nodded.
“Good, now will you listen to what we have to say?” She asked hopefully.
Gene was still for a moment, but finally he muttered. “Alright.”
Belle sighed in relief. “Alright, first off, I want you to know that I am upset at what your mother did,” they’d been planning their first wedding for weeks, and when the Rangers had shown up... Belle shook her head. “But, I really do think we at least need to talk about it.”
Gene nodded again.
“You do realize your mother is here right?” Fang asked, raising an eyebrow. “Unless she started beating innocent Pokémon since you last saw her, something I really doubt she’d do, she’s in the same boat as some of the Ranger’s we’ve met... if a little more personal.”
Gene sighed. “I know, I know... but who’s to say I’ll ever see her again? Equus is a big place... least I think it is.”
“Well, considering we’ve run into Iris, Cynthia, Shauntal, Abby, Kasai, and not to mention the rest of the team,” Belle said. “And several other people and Pokémon from several other regions, it seems as if there’s at least a small chance you’ll run into her eventually.”
“Especially if she’s in Equestria,” Fang added. “Your wedding was in the paper a few days ago.”
“It was?” Gene asked, surprised.
Fang nodded. “More due to the fact that the Princesses and several world leaders were attending the wedding of a pair of Pokémon than anything else, but yeah, you two made the news again.”
Gene wasn’t sure what to say to that, he wondered if the paper had gotten their names somehow, and if the article had been prominent enough to garner the attention of anyone who might not like the fact that he and Belle had gotten married.
Gene shook his head, clearing some unpleasant thoughts. “Well... if she does show up here... then... I...” he looked away from Belle and Fang. “I don’t want her near my family again.”
“Gene,” Belle began.
“She betrayed me once already Belle,” Gene stopped her. “Why should I trust her near you, or Fang, or Mage, or...” he paused and placed a hand on Belle’s belly. “Or anyone who I care about again?”
Belle didn’t know what to say, she knew his mother’s actions had hurt him, but she’d assumed the ‘she’s dead to me’ attitude had been at least partially a coping mechanism. It was looking more and more like Gene really had stopped caring about his mother at all.
“Like she could do anything to any of us,” Fang snarked. “Regardless of what Pokémon she is, what could she do to us? Not like she can go to the cops, and the new head of the Ranger Union is Abby’s mom.”
“I know, but-”
“Not to mention we’re friends with a Princess,” Fang added. “And Twilight stood up to Hastings for you.”
“Well yeah but-”
“And knowing you, it’s not like you’d leave your kid alone with someone you didn’t trust with your life and then some,” Fang continued. “So that leaves us, Abby and Kasai, and Iris from those who you currently could find and talk to.”
Gene was about to object again, but Fang had been right so far. Especially about the last thing. “Ug,” Gene fell back on the bed. “Why do you guys have to be right?”
Belle giggled and patted her husband on the head. “I’m your better half now, it’s my job to be right.”
Fang put lied down next to Gene and put his head on the Gallade’s chest. “Cause I know you,” he said, licking his trainers chin to try and cheer him up.
Gene smiled and patted Fang’s back. “I still don’t think I can forgive her guys... I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do that.”
Belle sighed. “Alright... but is she ever shows up... try not to explode or anything okay?”
“We’ll see,” Gene grumbled.
Arceus hummed to himself as he looked over a list of some of the more impressive objects he was currently holding in his pocket. “Suppose I could donate the art to some museums, though I need something to do with all the clothes...”
“Dad?”
Arceus looked up from the inventory and smiled as he saw Mew floating in front of him. “Hello sweetie, sorry I can’t talk right now, trying to figure out what to do with all the stuff I stole from Earth.”
Mew pouted and crossed her arms before snatching the list from her father. Arceus blinked in surprise, then turned to Mew. “Mew, give that back, daddy’s working.”
“Nuh uh,” Mew said, shaking her head and teleporting the list... somewhere.
Arceus sighed, he could’ve made another list, but he was fairly certain how that situation would play out. “Alright, you’ve got my attention,” he said with a sigh. “What is it?”
Mew smiled and grabbed her father, wrapping her arms and tail around his head and neck. Arceus sighed and stood there with Mew clinging to him for a few minutes before finally speaking up. “Any particular reason you’re doing this?”
“Cause you’ve never Teleported out of one of my hugs before,” Mew stated, nuzzling her father.
Arceus chuckled. “That’s true, but why now? I have work to do.”
Mew pouted and drew back slightly, leaving her tail wrapped around his neck but allowing herself to look Arceus in the eye. “But dad, you’ve been teleporting around, or dealing with world leaders, ever since we got here,” Mew wined.
Arceus shrugged. “I must ensure my childrens safety,” he said with a sigh.
“I’m your child!” Mew shouted, hugging him again. “You just call the other Pokémon that because you’re the one from whence all life stems.”
“That’s true,” Arceus admitted. “Your point?”
Mew huffed. “You’ve been dealing with other peoples problems ever since we got here... when was the last time you just sat back and relaxed?”
“Five thousand straight years-”
“That doesn’t count, you were trapped,” Mew sighed. “Do you even know how to relax anymore?”
“I do... but the Pokémon-”
“Will be fine for a few hours,” Mew assured him, smiling. “Now you’re going to make a couch, and we’re going to snuggle. Okay?”
It wasn’t that Arceus wanted to protest, he still felt he’d been idle for far too long, and he wanted to- By eternity, how does she do that with her face?
Mew was staring at her father with big, expecting eyes, and a little frown on her face. “Pwease daddy?”
Arceus sighed as his resistance crumbled. A few seconds later, a large, worn, brown couch appeared in the room, and Arceus, with Mew still clinging to his face, settled onto it. “You know, I’m beginning to regret letting you learn Baby Doll Eyes, you have them already, why do you need a move to make them bigger?”
Mew shrugged as she floated over to her fathers back and lied down. “Silly daddy,” she said with a giggle as she curled into a pink ball. “I know every move... like Yawn, for example.”
Arceus yawned. “I know but... wait did you just...” the Alpha Pokémon was interrupted as he yawned again.
Mew giggled again. “Night daddy.” Arceus might not sleep naturally, but he was still affected by moves. “I’m just going to... Rest, here...” with that Mew closed her eyes and fell asleep, leaving Arceus a few moments before his daughters attack took effect.
He could have nullified the attack, but since it was Mew’s, he’d have to Teleport to do it... and Mew looked so peaceful. Arceus yawned again and nuzzled Mew. “Sweet dreams my little kitten,” he said with a soft smile before lying his head next to her and falling asleep for the first time in several millennia.
Spike hummed slightly as he sorted through the books. Earlier they had had a busier day than usual as a few ponies and Pokémon had visited the library throughout the day, so as always, it was their job to resort the books. So Twilight was busy with one section, Owlowiscious in another, and he was cleaning up this section. However, when he got to a particular book, he noticed something odd. “Hold on a minute, what are you doing here?” he asked no one in particular, noticing the book he had. Star Swirl the Bearded’s Spell Book. “Strange...I don’t remember ever putting this book here,” he muttered, scratching his head in confusion.
However, as he did so he turned the book over, revealing something stuck to the other side. A note.
‘The Spell Book belonging to Star Swirl the Bearded shall be mine. Phantom Thief Fox’
At the sight of the note, Spike’s eyes shrunk till they were little more than pinpricks. “Twilight!!!”
Within the hour, the quiet day had suddenly become VERY hectic, as an emergency call was spread throughout the town.
“So does Twilight call you guys whenever she has some kind of emergency?” Korrina asked, looking over at Rainbow Dash. “I mean, I’m not complaining, I’m all for helping others, but it seems like you guys have a lot of group meetings.”
Dash shrugged. “We’re the Elements of Harmony, we’ve stopped national threats together, we kinda depend on each other.”
“Even if Twilight’s emergencies do tend to pop more often than our own,” Rarity added with a smirk.
“Yeah, yeah, we get it, you guys are super friends,” Mage said, rolling her eyes. “But no one’s told me what Twilight wanted us for, Spike just showed up at the boutique saying she was having a ‘Crisis situation’.”
“I’m sure she’ll tell us,” Gene said with a smile, patting Mage on the head. “... as soon as she comes up from the basement, that is.”
“She’s been down there since we got here,” Korrina grumbled.
“Should someone check on her?” Lucario asked. “I’m beginning to wonder what the chances are she found something she wanted to show us that either blew up or tried to attack her.”
The library was silent for a moment as that thought settled in before a Rainbow blur shout towards the library door. “Hold on Twi!”
Just before Rainbow Dash grabbed the doorknob, a blaring alarm, accompanied by a flashing red light, filled the room.
Several of the occupants covered their ears to block out the sound. “WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!” Mage shouted.
Before anyone could reply, the basement door swung open, and a very frazzled looking Twilight stepped into the room. Her mane was all over the place, and she had a kind of evil grin on her face. Thankfully the grin faded when she saw that the only occupants of the room were her friends.
“Hehe, oops,” she muttered under her breath as she deactivated the alarm. Everyone turned to her with varying looks of confusion, annoyance, and worry. “Sorry everyone,” she said apologetically. “But on the bright side... I know my alarm spells work.”
“Okay,” Belle said, still trying to clear the ringing in her ears. “I have several questions, the first of which is, why do you need alarm spells?”
“So I can catch the thief when she tries to take Starswirl’s Journal,” Twilight told them all with a grin.
No one said anything for a moment after that. “Uh... Twilight?” Applejack began. “Remember that talk we had a while back ‘bout context?”
“Oh... right,” Twilight chuckled. “See, earlier today I read that someone stole the Crown Jewels from Canterlot, then Juniper told me it was likely someone from Earth called the Phantom Thief Fox,”
“What?!” Korrina sputtered. “The Fox is here?”
“Apparently,” Twilight said with a sigh. “And now, she’s targeted the Spellbook of Starswirl the Bearded as her next heist.”
“Well that’s just silly,” Pinkie Pie said with a laugh. “Why doesn’t she just get a library card and check it out?”
Korrina facepalmed and Twilight stared at Pinkie in shock and horror. “Pinkie, I don’t let ponies check out ancient tomes of forgotten magic and forbidden spells.”
“Oh, you don’t?” Pinkie asked in honest confusion.
Twilight rubbed her temple. “Pinkie, that book contains the spell that made me an Alicorn,” she flared her wings for effect. “I don’t know if it works without the Elements, but I’m not going to risk letting some random Pony check it out. What if they’re evil and it works? Or worse, what if it works and Sweetie Belle cast it on the Crusaders?”
Everypony in the room shuddered. “Point taken,” Pinke admitted.
“So what? You called us here to kick this thief’s sorry flank?” Rainbow asked.
Twilight opened her mouth to tell her that wasn’t what she was doing, then stopped and looked back at the ward covered basement.
“Twilight?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “Why did you need us all here?”
“Um... mainly so I have more eyes on lookout... I may have been hoping some of you could help with security,” she smiled at Gene and the other Pokémon.
Gene sighed. “That’s a tall order you’re asking Twilight. After all, this IS Fox we’re talking about.”
“I know, I know,” Twilight said sadly. “But I can’t let her get her hooves... whatever she has, on this book.”
“Doesn’t the Fox return whatever they steal the next day?” Belle asked.
“She’s right you know,” Mage said, absently re-reading a psychology book. “The Fox almost never keeps the objects they take in their heists... in fact in five hundred years of mostly unsolved crimes, I’m having trouble recalling a single time they did actually keep what they stole.”
“So...basically we’re here guarding a book from a thief who’s just gonna give it back anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well... it’s a little more complicated than that,” Twilight began.
“Twilight before you say anything else, I think it’s fair to let you know I’ve read a few history books on the Fox,” Mage informed the Alicorn. “So if you even feel that anything you’re about to say is an assumption... maybe don’t?”
Twilight shuffled her hooves. “Please guys? I really need your help, I don’t want to risk the book falling into the wrong hooves.”
Gene groaned. “Alright, what are we up against? Pokémon wise?”
“The paper didn’t say,” Twilight admitted. “But... maybe you guys can figure something out from it?” She floated the article over to Gene.
As Gene began to read the article, Korrina spoke up. “I bet she’s a Zoroark,” she said, crossing her arms. “I mean, it’s been the theme of ALL the Foxes seen so far, right?”
“Not another one,” Rainbow groaned.
“Should we get Nick for this?” Pinkie asked.
“I think he and Elena are busy actually,” Gene said absently as he looked over the paper. “Besides, considering Fox is a trained thief in the body of a Zoroark, and Nick’s... well...honestly, I don’t know what he was back on Earth, he wouldn’t say. Point is, Nick doesn’t strike me as the kind who’d have had the training Fox must have had, so…”
“It’d be like comparing Twilight to Princess Celestia...when she was still a unicorn,” Pinkie finished. “No offense Twi.”
“None taken,” Twilight said with a sigh. “So, we’re operating under the assumption that the Fox is a Zoroark?”
“All signs point to it,” Gene said, closing the paper. “Also looks like she might have some accomplices, likely a Liepard and a Weavile from what the guards reported... assuming she wasn’t making illusions to psych them out.”
“Alright. Anything else any of you heard of or know about the Fox?” Twilight sighed. “Also, what do you know about a ‘Liepard’ and a ‘Weavile’?”
“Well…” Korrina sighed. “This was more rumours, but...they say the moment anyone steps into Fox’s heist, they enter her stage, where anything and everything works according to her ‘script’, and that anyone trying to stop her are really dancing at her fingertips…” she shivered, remembering that eerie bit of rumor.
Several of the others looked at each other with concern, and Fluttershy did her best to hide under the coffee table.
“As for the Pokémon,” Mage began. “Dark types, weak to Fighting, Bug, and Fairy... but also very effective against Psychic.”
“Err...not exactly, Mage,” Gene commented, as he remembered another rumor he had heard a while back from Iris.
“Gene, I know type matchups... and so do you, so what are you talking about?” Mage asked, eyeing her trainer curiously.
“Well...Iris told me about this once. Apparently, one time the Police got a lucky break, and managed to corner Fox’s Pokémon with a group of Fighting types they had gathered. You’d think the winner would have been obvious but…” here Gene gulped. “Iris said that the winner of that unfair fight...was Fox’s Pokémon. Two Dark-types against a gang of Fighting-types, and they beat them…”
“So they probably have some off type moves or an effective strategy,” Korrina said with a shrug. “I’ve seen it a few times in my gym.”
“Yeah, but that was a one-on-one battle. This was an unfair battle with all the odds stacked against Fox’s Pokémon, and they didn’t have their trainer to direct them. And they still won,” Gene pointed out.
“This is just making me feel hopeless,” Twilight said dejectedly, her ears flat against her head.
“How do you think the police must have felt? At least once this is over, one way or another, Fox will be out of our hair. The police? They have to deal with cases dealing with her fairly regularly,” Korrina deadpanned.
“Well, if we’re going to go through with this mostly pointless mission we might as well be prepared,” Gene said as he got up and made his way for the door. “I’m going to go grab Webber, he’s a Bug type, and he’s more or less nocturnal so that might be helpful.”
Twilight nodded and looked at the clock. “Juniper and Spike should be back soon, I sent them to get some supplies for our stake out.”
“Do we really have to stay up all night and wait for this Fox to show up?” Rarity wined.
“No,” Lucario said with a sigh. “Just until she gets the spellbook.”
“She’s not getting the spellbook!” Twilight shouted. “I’m going to go quadruple check the spells on my safe, you guys should get ready, it’s going to be a looong night.”
An hour or so later, everything was set up. Rainbow Dash and Mage were outside of the library, keeping watch, and the others had split into groups and were keeping watch near the doors and windows. Twilight kept pacing back and forth near the front door, anxious for something to happen.
“You know, chances are she’s not going to knock and ask if she can steal the book,” Korrina said with a smirk.
“But what if she comes in this way just to mess with us?” Twilight asked frantically. “We need to be prepared for every possible eventuality.”
“Ya know, you kind of remind me of another Gym Leader I knew,” Korrina mused. “Clemont, he was always coming up with plans, and weird inventions... you ever come up with weird inventions?”
“How are you so calm right now?” Twilight asked. “Aren’t you Gym Leaders suppose to deal with this kind of thing?”
“We just help out when we can,” Korrina said with a shrug. “Besides, whenever the Fox is in Kalos, she usually struck either Parfum Palace, or something in Lumiose.”
Twilight groaned. “Just stay on guard okay? If we actually try maybe we can catch her.”
Korrina laughed. “Police have been trying to catch the Fox, any Fox, for centuries, and Gym Leaders, and even some Champions, have tried... I’ll give it my best, I’m just not that optimistic at our chances.”
Twilight groaned again, somehow, she felt she’d be doing that a lot tonight.
However, just as she thought that, the alarms outside the library went off. “Yaaaah!” came a surprised female cry from near the front door.
“YES!!!” Twilight shouted in triumph. “We caught her! We caught her! We-”
“Twilight!” Mage stuck her head through the door. “You just pinned some mare to the ground!”
“Tell her it’s-” Rainbow began.
“Someone help! The Great and Powerful Trixie does not wish to be a lawn ornament!”
Twilight groaned again and opened the door, sighing when she spotted a familiar blue mare pinned to her front lawn by several magic traps.
“Arceus, Trixie! What happened?!” came an alarmed voice. Turning to the source, they saw a group of Pokémon consisting of a Lucario, a Mightyena, a Combusken, and a Noibat, all of them running towards Trixie with worried looks on their faces.
Twilight shook her head and went about undoing the various magical traps holding Trixie in place. “Sorry, sorry, I was expecting... someone else.”
“Let Trixie guess. The Fox?” Trixie deadpanned as she got up.
Twilight gasped and pulled Trixie off of the lawn and over to her. “You know about the Fox!?” She shouted excitedly.
“Trixie knows a little about her,” she nodded, before pointing at the Lucario. “Jonathan knows more about the thief.”
Twilight dropped Trixie and smiled widely at the Lucario, a little too widely. “Hello there,” she said, never losing her grin. “I’m Princess Twilight.”
The Lucario stepped back a little, unnerved by her grin. “Er...right. I’m Jonathan Trace, formerly of the Kalos Police, and currently from the Baltimare Guard, and recently, the Canterlot Pokémon Special Division,” he introduced himself. “We were looking for you, Princess Twilight, but seeing as you’ve got your...home on lockdown, I’m guessing Fox is already at it again.”
“She’s trying to steal Starswirl the Bearded’s Spellbook,” Twilight said with a nod. “Hence the magic traps.”
“Sounds like her. Alright, since we probably don’t have much time, we’ll do what we can do. Ideally, we wanted to get the local guard together to prepare some defense, but seeing as Fox is working faster than normal today, we’ll have to make due,” Jonathan sighed. “Oh, and before I forget, let me introduce my team. You’ve already met Trixie. This is Howl, Heat, and Echo,” he said, gesturing to the Mightyena, the Combusken, and the Noibat respectively.
“Nice to meet you all,” Twilight said, her smile finally back to normal. “This is Mage and Rainbow Dash,” she said, gesturing back at the pair who were floating near the door. “And the rest of my friends are inside... do you wanna come in?”
“That would be much appreciated,” Howl spoke up, to which the others nodded.
Twilight smiled and gestured for them to follow her. “So, welcome to Golden Oak’s Library,” she said as she let them inside. “This is Korrina,” the Lucario nodded from her place on the couch.
“Shalour City Gym Leader,” Jonathan nodded in acknowledgement. “And her partner, I presume?” he added when he noticed Lucario next to Korrina.
Lucario nodded. “That’s right,” he said with a smile before turning to Twilight. “I heard someone scream, what happened?”
Twilight shuffled nervously on her hooves. “I... may have accidentally pinned Trixie to my lawn.”
“Hmph, ‘accidentally’,” Trixie huffed.
Twilight chuckled nervously. “Anyway, the rest of my friends are watching the other entrances.”
“You alright Twilight?” Pinkie asked, coming down the stairs with Gene and Belle.
“You didn’t actually catch the Fox did you?” Belle asked.
“No, I caught Trixie,” she gestured to the mare. “Jonathan, this is Pinkie Pie, Gene, and Belle.”
“Gene? Now where does that name ring a bell?” Jonathan mused.
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Uhh... common name?” She asked hopefully.
“I tried to marry Belle about three years ago in Unova,” Gene said with a sigh. “Oh, and I use to be human and Belle... not so much.”
“Oh right! That Gene,” Jonathan mused, before walking over to them, looking them over.
Belle glared at him, but Gene held an arm out and stopped her from stepping forward. “Yeah, that Gene.”
He looked at them intently for another moment, noting any and all signs he could find. “Protective stance, normal hostility, and no notable signs of abuse. Yep, guess I was right. Another Tauros shit case,” he stated plainly. “Can’t charge you for abuse when I see none.”
Twilight let out a sigh of relief and Gene just smiled. “Thanks. Glad to see that some police could tell for themselves.” Gene honestly wasn’t that worried about dealing with officers anymore, Solana and Lunick had come around, and Abby was in Canterlot, setting up the new Ranger Union. “So... you here about the Fox?”
“You could say that. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Jonathan Trace, formerly of the Kalos Police Force. Formerly because well…” he chuckled awkwardly.
“...we’re not seeing Kalos ever again,” Korrina deadpanned, before a thought crossed her mind. “You know, your name sounds familiar...where have I heard it before?”
“Probably cause you’re looking at the guy who’s been working on Fox’s case for the last 5 years,” Jonathan deadpanned.
“Oh right,” Korrina said, recalling the news reports she’d heard his name from. “Should’ve guessed you’d show up.”
“Yeah well, I’m not one to give up. Sides, this new body actually makes being a police officer easier. Too bad the same can be said about Fox. Anyway, all we can do is be prepared. I’ve noticed that using Aura Sense, I’ve been able to get better glimpses of Fox in her illusions, but even then, she’s still extremely hard to catch,” Jonathan stated.
“Well we’re prepared,” Twilight said with a chuckle as she reset the traps outside the library. “We’re watching all the entrances, and aside from the trap spells outside, I have plenty more around the safe I’m keeping the book in, as well as a few barrier spells just to be safe.”
“Not a bad lineup,” Jonathan nodded. “But we can’t be sure. Word of advice, when she comes, keep track of what you’re doing, and think before acting. That’s how Fox got the Crown Jewels. She used a series of tricks and misdirections to fool the guards, and get the Crown Jewels. Basically, just watch your step.”
“Got it,” Twilight said with a nod. “So... now what? We wait for her to show herself?”
“That’s usually how it goes. Unless we can figure out who Fox is, that’s all we can do,” Jonathan sighed.
Time continued to tick by, but for the ponies and Pokémon inside the library, it felt like it was crawling. “Anything yet, Echo?” Jonathan asked, to which the Noibat shook her head, as her sonar had not picked up anything yet.
“Where is she?” Rarity wined. “I need my beauty sleep, and this little stakeout is cutting into it.”
“I do believe one of the reasons why they’re called Phantom Thieves, is because they only come at night, when most are asleep,” Webber idly pointed out.
Rarity huffed. “Terribly inconvenient if you ask me.”
“Welcome to a normal night in my life. Stakeouts like this were pretty common back on Earth whenever a Fox appears,” Jonathan snorted, though he could sympathise. He’d been working quite a bit for the last few days, so some rest would have been much appreciated at this point. “Point is, there’s no guarantee when she’ll show up, only that she will,” he sighed.
Rarity groaned again and sat back down.
“Aw come on Rares,” Dash said with a grin. “Think of it like a sleepover.”
“Yeah,” Pinkie agreed. “A sleepover where we’re waiting for the last guest to show up so we can surprise her!”
However, as though in agreement, at the moment Pinkie spoke, there was the sound of a door knocking. Everyone’s attention turned to the front door, but the sound wasn’t coming from the front door.
“Umm... I think it’s comin’ from the basement,” Applejack pointed to the door.
“WHAT?!” Twilight shouted, rushing over to the door. “That’s impossible.... unless she tunneled in!” Twilight immediately flung the door open and peered into the darkness. “Huh... I don’t-” her words were cut off when from her basement, a swarm of Zubats suddenly flew out, covering the entire Library.
“AHHH!!!” Twilight jumped back as one of the Zubat swooped low and nearly hit her head. Several of the others had similar reactions, though Fluttershy did her best to calm the Pokémon, and Webber attempted to use Thunderbolt before Gene stopped him.
“Where did all these Zubat come from?!” Korrina shouted over the chaos.
As if to answer her question, the entire room was seemingly enveloped in a black cloth-like material, before the entire swarm vanished, while the black material furled together, before revealing the owner. A shiny Zoroark with a black cape and a black Cavalier hat standing on the opposite side of the room. Smirking slightly, the Zoroark stood up to her full height, before bowing slightly, like a magician before an audience.
Twilight glared at the Zoroark and shut the door to the basement. “So, you’re the one who’s trying to steal Starswirl’s Journal.”
“And you must be Princess Twilight,” Fox chuckled in amusement. “As for stealing, you mean...this?” she mused, before pulling her paw out of the cape, revealing the spellbook in it.
Twilight’s eyes widened in shock before he gaze hardened and she lit up her horn. “Give. It. Back. Now.” She growled.
“Make me,” Fox taunted, twiddling the book like it was bait on a lure.
Twilight snorted and galloped towards the Fox, charging a beam of energy as she did.
“Twilight! Stop!” Lucario called after her, but she either ignored him or didn’t hear him.
However, when she fired, the shot went right through Fox, and shortly after, so did Twilight.
“I tried to warn you,” Lucario said with a sigh. “That was an illusion.”
Twilight grumbled as she stood back up and looked around the room. “She’s here... somewhere.”
Lucario sighed and closed his eyes, searching the library with his Aura Sense. “It’s faint but... I sense something coming from the basement.”
Twilight’s eyes widened again and she looked back towards the basement.
“Don’t worry Twi,” Dash said with a smirk. “I’ve got this.”
“Rainbow Dash! Wait!” Twilight tried to warn her, but as soon as the Pegasus opened the door and flew down the staircase, the alarms went off and a deep rumbling signified the activation of the traps Twilight had placed.
“... should’ve known that was going to happen,” Mage said with a sigh.
“FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA! SOMEPONY HELP ME!!”
“What kind of traps did you put down there Twilight?” Gene asked, eyeing the Alicorn accusingly.
“Well... nothing that could cause any LASTING harm,” she said, trying to avoid an actual explanation.
“OH SWEET HARMONY! IT’S IN MY FEATHERS!”
“No lasting harm? What did you do? Put a starving Swalot in there?!” Jonathan gasped as he quickly ran for the basement, wanting to at least TRY and help.
As several of the others followed suit, they spotted Rainbow Dash stuck to the basement floor, an odd purple goo that seemed to be wrapping itself around her.
“Someone help me!” Dash shouted when she spotted them.
Mage flew down to the Pegasus and prodded the goo. “Wow, this is a pretty advanced gooey trap, not so much magic aside from what contained it though,” she turned back to the others. “Anyone know anything about cleaning gunk off of a Pegasus?”
Despite herself, Rarity smiled. “Oh, I know a few mares who would be more than happy to help.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened and she whimpered in fear. “Anyone else help me?”
Meanwhile, Mage looked around the basement. It seemed that while Dash had only gotten stuck in one trap, she’d caused a chain reaction that set off the rest, which explained the lab equipment floating in gravity-less bubbles around the room, as well as the magic restraints that were grasping at anything nearby. However, when she turned to the place where Twilight had kept the book, her eyes widened. “Uh...guys? We have a problem.”
Where the book had been kept, the shield was still up and strong, but the book was missing.
“NO!” Twilight shouted, rushing over to the safe and ripping away the magic shield, and in her haste, the front of the safe too...which revealed that the book was still inside the safe.
“Oh thank Celestia,” Twilight sighed as she grabbed the book and hugged it. “It’s alright everyone, it’s still here.” She showed them that the book was in fact still in her possession.
At this point, she really should have stopped tempting fate, cause as she said that, a blur flew through the room, right past her, and in that split second, the book was gone.
“Ah crap,” Mage moaned.
“W-what?” Twilight whimpered, looking at her empty hooves. “N-no... this can’t be happening... this is impossible!”
“Awww...I’m surprised at you, Johnny-boy. How could you forget the most important thing about little old me?” Came a teasing voice from up the stairs. Turning to it, they saw Fox standing casually at the top of the stairs, the book in her paws. “Nothing is impossible for Phantom Thief Fox. And as promised, the spell book is mine. Adieu,” she said with a wink, before closing the door to the basement...and locking it too.
Turning away from the now locked door, Fox let out a jaunty little whistle as she walked away with the book. All that was left was to trigger the outside security, and she’d be able to walk away no-
“Hi!” An overly cheery voice said from directly behind her.
Fox stopped short, her mind trying to process what she was hearing. Turning around, she was met with pink, pink, and well...pink. “...didn’t I just lock you in there a moment ago?” Was all she managed to say, her mind still trying to process how the pink Earth Pony had suddenly appeared.
Pinkie looked at her in confusion, then back at the locked door. “Oh wow, that is weird, wonder what happened.”
“...oh I get it. Another Earth Pony Magician. Nice try, kid, but you’re not about to catch me with small tricks like that,” Fox smirked, before throwing a smoke bomb, covering the room with smoke as she escaped through the windows. Once she was at the window sill, she quickly threw several ball bearings at the ground, triggering the traps, before leaping off the window, and over the traps.
Once she landed, she looked back at the library and smirked, then turned back to see the same Earth Pony standing in front of her.
“...I’m starting to understand how the cops must have felt…” she deadpanned, tough her eyes still bugged out when she saw the Earth Pony. “How did you do that?”
Pinkie smiled. “I just used the door,” she said with a giggle.
At this, Fox couldn’t help but smirk. This girl was good. “...you’re not bad, kid. Keep this up, and you might be an incredible magician one day. But, I’m afraid today is not that day,” Fox chuckled, before a bouquet appeared in her hands, which was promptly shoved into Pinkie’s face, the Earth Pony suddenly going woozy, before passing out as the sleep powder that Fox had coated on the flowers taking effect.
“Glad that’s over,” she sighed as she leaped up to a nearby roof.
“You’re telling me,” a familiar voice said off to her left. “Those flowers tasted really weird, where’d you get them?”
Looking over, her eyes all but jumped out of their sockets when she saw the pony she had just knocked out. At this point, Fox decided to do something that she would never mention to anyone, for it would forever be a stain on her personal record. She ran. No grace, no glitz, just plain running like hell.
(Insert Billy Hills theme)
“Did I get away from her?” Fox wheezed as she stuck her head out of a barrel.
“Away from who?” Pinkie asked just beside her, sticking her head out of the same barrel and looking around.
Fox was gone so fast, she left an outline behind.
“I’ve had to have lost her this time…” she panted, hiding in one of the apple trees.
“This is a fun game,” Pinkie said, hanging upside down from the tree by her tail. “But who are we running from anyway?” Pinkie looked away and swallowed one of the apples hanging near her, when she looked back, the Zoroark was gone. “Shoot, I forgot to ask for the book again.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but that pony is impossible,” Fox wheezed, clutching her chest as she stuck her head out of the bell tower in Town Hall.
“I’m not impossible,” Pinkie argued, her voice echoing slightly as she stuck her head out of the bell. “I’m Pinkie Pie.” She smiled at Fox.
“...” at this point, something broke, and from her cape, Fox pulled out dozens of small metal balls, and before Pinkie could react, found herself in a cocoon made out of webbing, which covered the entire bell along with her too.
“Help! I’ve been cocooned!” Pinkie shouted from inside the ball of webbing.
Fox’s only response was to give the bell several sharp blows, making it ring loudly, before she vanished into the night.
(theme end)
While this chase had been happening, back in the library basement,Twilight stared at the door for a moment before a smile crept onto her face. “Hehe, she just... and we all... hehehe...”
The ponies all took a few steps back, remembering the last time Twilight had gotten like this. Spike had to call Princess Celestia. Gene, not aware of the danger, took a step towards her. Before he could speak, however, the unstable alicorn's eyes flashed briefly. Everyone else could only watch, too stunned to move, as she looked around in confusion for a moment before gasping and darting to the door. A quick spell disengaged the lock and she darted through.
Spike was the first to run after, followed closely by the other ponies, leaving the pokemon to bring up the rear. They reentered the main room just as Twilight started doing something they never expected.
"Heh... Hehehe... Haha!" the princess cheered. "Take that, Fox! You failed!"
"What are ya' talking about, Twi?" Applejack asked, more than a bit worried about her friend's mental state. "That Fox character got away with the book."
"No she didn't," Twilight corrected, bluntly. As Applejack opened her mouth to argue, Twilight's horn lit up, pulling a book off one of the shelves in the 'accounting' section and held it out for the others to see.
Starswirl the Bearded's Book of Spells.
Twilight smiled proudly at everyone's confused expressions before explaining. "That was a decoy. Fox was expecting her target to be put under heavy security, so she went after the book that was the most protected. She didn't even bother looking on the public shelves. Then I just used a memory suppression spell on myself until the decoy left the library, since my acting skills aren't very good."
"Well, Ah'll be," Applejack said with a whistle.
"Ha! Take that, Fox! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous being, 'never get involved in a land war in Zebrica', but only slightly less well known is this; 'never go in against Twilight Daisy Sparkle when books are on the line!'"
Rainbow tried to hold a snicker in with her hooves. "Y-your middle name is Daisy?"
Hearing this, the two Spinarak that had been watching the whole thing decided to crawl out the window. Once they were out, they touched the small gemstones they had as collars. “Fox, we have a small problem.”
“If its about the book, I know,” Fox said from the other side, but she didn’t seem upset. If anything she seemed amused. “I already found it out after I got the pink pony off my tail, but...if she went to that much trouble for this thing, I suppose we can let it slide for once. After all, it's not like this was a serious heist anyway. Let her have her moment,” she chuckled, before cutting off the line.