Less change than the last chapter, but still enough to make sure everything makes sense
The next morning, to Twilight’s surprise, the decoy she had planted was actually returned, and on her Nightstand at that. What was even more interesting, was the small gem that was found with it. When she picked it up, a voice could be heard. The voice of Phantom Thief Fox.
“Ahahahaha!” the voice laughed, sounding like someone who had just been told a good joke.
“Well done, well done, Princess Twilight. I see that your reputation as a scholar wasn’t a farce after all. I must admit that I’m impressed. You’re the FIRST person on Equus who’s ever tried this trick, and I must admit, I did not account for it. Very well, I shall accept my loss this time. I look forward to the next time we can play again,” the recording said, and for some reason, it made her good mood evaporate.
“Yep. Seems like Fox’s usual games,” Jonathan sighed as he and his team checked the entire room for any evidence that the thief might have left. So far, there wasn’t so much as a piece of fur left behind. “She HAD to have gotten in somehow, but how did she do it…” he said to himself, especially considering that they had kept guard of the Library till morning.
“Hey Jonathan, I think I found how she did it,” Echo said, catching his attention.
“Hm?”
“Look at this,” Echo said, flying up, and pulling down a firm piece of substance in the form of a string. A Spinarak Web.
“That answers one question. But it still doesn’t help us much,” Jonathan sighed. “For now, we’d better scour around town. She might still be in town,” he mused, before idly adding, “Well...at least decoys are a possible option again…” as he remembered what happened last night.
(flashback)
While Rainbow Dash was busy laughing at Twilight’s middle name, Applejack came to him, and idly commented, “So...did Twi jus fool that Fox with a fake book?” she asked.
“Looks like it to me, he shrugged.
“So...why didn’t ya try that?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“Well...truth is, back on Earth...I did. But it never worked. I mean, I tried, but she kept finding out they were fakes, and would always either steal the real one and the fake, or even switch them around till she made off with the real one,” he said. Before a thought crossed his mind. “Actually...I bet she’s already figured out that he book is a fake by now, but maybe...she doesn’t have the resources she had back on Earth, and blending in isn’t quite as easy now for her, so maybe...maybe she only had one shot…” he mused, the gears starting to turn in his head.
(flashback end)
It took Twilight a while to calm down after everything that had happened, she had been feeling pretty good about herself until she’d gotten the Fox’s recording. Fortunately, Spike was more than willing to help.
“Twilight, don’t worry, the Fox is gone, and soon this’ll all be behind us,” the young Dragon handed the mare a cup of coffee. “So why don’t you just calm down and... I don’t know, experiment more with those stones, or work on some kind of paper with Juniper. Heck, you could even visit Oak over in the Pokemon camp. I’ll bet you could study plenty of Pokémon. I know that always calms you down.”
Twilight sighed. “I know, but the Fox is still at large, and we have no idea what she’s going to steal next, and no way to stop her. Heck! My crazy plan only worked because she wasn’t expecting it, and you heard the recording. It was a game to her this whole time! What happens if she’s serious next time?!”
“Well,” Spike began, tapping his chin. “Why not try fighting fire with fire?”
Twilight looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Well, Fox is a Zoroark. Maybe it’ll take a Zoroark to stop a Zoroark,” Spike suggested with a shrug.
Twilight groaned and slumped in her seat. “Sure, that’s a great idea Spike, but where are we gonna find...” she paused as realization dawned on her. “ThanksSpikegottagobye!”
Spike would have asked her to repeat that, but by the time he opened his mouth, she was already gone, a cloud of dust in her wake.
Meanwhile, at the construction site, the members of ShadowFox construction worked diligently on the job at hand. The remains of the old house that once stood there had been cleared posthaste, and the skeleton of the new house was being raised with tender care.
Inti blinked as she turned to look at Ponyville. “X? Is it just me, or is that a giant dust cloud?” Inti asked her friend. X turned to where Inti was pointing and blinked.
“Why yes, Inti. I do believe that IS a giant dust cloud,” X almost dumbly said. True to Inti’s question, there was a giant dust cloud, apparently in the middle of Ponyville.
“Oh good. Thought I was going crazy again.”
“Wait, again?” Naruto asked as he walked past them.
“...the less said, the better.”
“Er...friends, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but is that dust cloud coming closer?” Azisa commented.
“....Too early. Need coffee.” X sighed. He quickly approached where he had put the almighty coffee pot, and poured himself a cup.
“Maybe its a Tauros stampede, or a Bouffalant stampede,” Apocalypse said, remembering the last time he had seen dust clouds like that.
“...you just HAD to say it, didn’t you?” Naruto groaned.
The dust cloud approached, and skid to a stop, revealing Princess Twilight. She was panting slightly and looked as if she had ran all the way here.
“Er...morning, Princess Twilight. Can we help you?” X blinked, honestly surprised to see the Princess suddenly here.
“Oh, well you know, I was just... around,” she said vaguely. “Figured I’d stop by, see how things were going.”
“Does ‘around’ usually include running with the same intensity as a Tauros stampede?” Inti deadpanned from where she was standing.
“Um...” Twilight tried to think up a good response for that. “Well... anyway,” she began again. “How... how are you all?”
“Well...we’re all fine, I guess,” X said, scratching the back of his head. “I mean, schedule is steady, the materials are great, and we’ll probably finish construction in a week or two.”
“That’s great,” Twilight said with a grin. “So...,” Twilight wondered just how she was going to do this. “Say, have any of you heard of the Phantom Thief Fox?”
Had there been music in the air, it would have come to a screeching halt.
“Er...sorry. I think I misheard you,” Naruto said, his tone pleasant, but the piece of steel that was slowly bending in his paws said otherwise.
“Um... well you see, there was an... incident last night at the library,” Twilight told them. “And it maybe involved the Fox a bit.”
There was an audible creek as the metal rod that Naruto happened to be holding promptly bent into a ‘u’ shape. “Excuse me,” he said, before walking away.
“Oh crap…” X sighed as he watched his brother go.
“Did I say something wrong?” Twilight asked, turning to X.
“Well...let’s just say Naruto isn’t a big fan of Fox…” X said, trying to word it carefully.
“Not a big fan? He burned the newspaper with Flamethrower the last time he saw Fox’s escapades on the headlines,” Inti deadpanned.
“Thank you, Inti. Anything else you’d like to add to that?” X deadpanned sarcastically. The Heliolisk actually made a show of thinking about it, before shaking her head.
“Oh... then I probably shouldn’t mention she’s a Zoroark now?”
There was an explosion followed by a gout of flame erupting from not far away. Turns out, Naruto was still in hearing range. And for that matter, so were they.
“Of all the (censored)! How the (censored) did SHE (censored) come here?! And she just (censored) had to (censored) be a Zoroark!!!!”
“Yeaaaah...you probably shouldn’t,” X sighed as he watched Naruto’s angry tirade.
Twilight thought for a moment, then spoke up again. “This has something to do with the Fox’s symbol, and typism doesn’t it?”
“Sadly, you have it absolutely correct,” Azisa sighed. “Naruto’s kind has been the symbol of Phantom Thief Fox for the last 5 centuries, and sadly many humans...well...let’s just say they’re not examples of intelligence, and instead of blaming Fox like they should, they ended up giving Zoroarks a bad image simply because the thief used them as his/her symbol. Never mind that not a single Fox has ever had a Zoroark for an actual partner.”
“Hate to say it, but yeah...humans can be really stupid like that,” X sighed.
Twilight sighed. “I wanted to ask Naruto’s opinion on ways to stop her,” she admitted. “Cause we tried last night and... failed, so I figured another Zoroark might have some ideas we didn’t think of.”
X took another look at the angry Zoroark, before turning to Twilight. “Come back again in a few hours. When he calms down, I can guarantee he’ll be first in line to want to help,” He said, though inwardly he sighed. First in line is an understatement. A chance to help catch Fox would probably be like Christmas coming early for Naruto…
Twilight nodded. “I’m sorry for bothering you,” she said before turning back towards Ponyville and heading back the way she came. Wonder what I should do until then? She was considering taking Spike’s earlier advice and doing some research when Apocalypse spoke up.
“Hey Miss Twilight?” He asked. “If you’re looking for Zoroarks, I heard there was another one in town. Naruto said he met him one time when we were in Canterlot.”
Twilight paused and considered that. She knew he was talking about Nick, and while the former human likely wouldn’t be able to offer much advice, it couldn’t hurt to ask. “Thanks Apocalypse,” she said with a smile before trotting off.
Please be okay, please be okay! Mage thought frantically as she flew out of Ponyville and towards the surrounding woods. Should’ve gone to Canterlot, why didn’t I stay with him? Mage was, for lack of a better term, panicking.
She’d been having a rough day, having stayed up all last night to help Twilight, and later to read some of the psychology books she’d borrowed.... again. Then, not five minutes ago, she had picked up on a very large amount of negative emotions from just outside of Ponyville. She had hoped it was someone she didn’t know, until she heard the scream.
“WORK! WHY WON’T YOU WORK?!”
It was Luke’s voice, and he sounded like he was hurting worse than ever before.
Just before Mage made it to the clearing she had found Luke in the other day, when she heard him wail, a chill ran through her body and if she had a heart, it would’ve broken in two. “Oh Arceus Luke...”
Mage took a deep breath and floated into the glade, spying Luke sitting cross legged on the ground, his back turned towards her. The Mismagius took a deep breath and floated a little closer to the Gallade. “I was really hoping that things were going to get better, not worse.” She said with a sigh.
Luke’s head whipped around to face her, and Mage froze when she saw his face was streaked with blood. For the love of Arceus, please, please, please let that have been an accident. She prayed in her mind, some of the psychology books Twilight had lent her had talked about situations like this and...
Mage gulped as she flew over to Luke. “Ouch, looks like you had a little accident huh?”
Luke’s eyes narrowed and he tried blast her, but the attack fizzled out and his tears became heavier. “G-go-go-away,” he stuttered, his mental voice weaker than she’d ever heard it before.
Mage had to stop herself from wrapping her tendrils around Luke to comfort him. “I can’t do that Luke,” Mage said, shaking her head. “No way in hell am I leaving you alone like this.”
To Mage’s chagrin, Luke turned away from her, and his shivering got worse. “Jus-just leave me,” he whispered. “I’m... I’m worthless. I... it happened... I... I couldn’t stop him... he just... he just...” He broke down into even heavier tears.
Mage felt a cold rage settling in her chest. “What happened luke?” She asked coldly, her eyes hidden under the brim of her hat. “Who did this to you?” Mage had several ways she could make a person pay, and her magic gave her an added edge.
“M-Mew-Mewtwo,” Luke stuttered, Mage paled. “He-I-don’t know why-he just-he just-tore-tore me apart. I-I-I-” he was unable to talk any further, anguish and pain rolling off of him in enormous waves.
Mage felt literally sick from the emotions rolling off of Luke. Silently, she swore to make sure Mewtwo payed for what he did, regardless of the fact that he was a Legendary. “Sh sh sh,” she cooed gently, floating a little closer to Luke. “You don’t have to say anymore, I promise, you’re safe now.” She didn’t care if a Tyranitar burst out of the woods, she was going to keep Luke safe.
“I-I-I’m-not safe-he-he-he broke down-down my walls,” Luke whispered brokenly. “I-I-I’m exposed-I-I-I-anyone can-anyone can use me-I... I can’t...” He began to rock back and forth. “I’m-I’m-I’m worthless.”
“No you’re not,” Mage said gently, she wondered if she actually did have a heart, something inside her was definitely hurting when he said that. “And I promise you, you’re safe here.”
Mage paused for a second and concentrated, she let her magic seep into the ground and travel outwards to the edge of the glade. Slowly, a dome of dark energy formed over the galde, sealing herself and Luke inside. Mage took a deep breath, putting up an illusion field wasn’t an easy thing to do, and putting one up this quickly, on the spot, had taken a lot out of Mage.
“See?” She asked, turning back to Luke and smiling softly despite her exhaustion. “No one can get in now, and if a Psychic tries to penetrate it, they’ll just find empty space and a headache.”
Luke looked up at her, tears still in his eyes. “Thank... thank you... but-but-I...I still... I...” he trailed off, unable to say anything else, still rocking in place.
Mage shook her head and smiled gently at him. “It’s alright, just take all the time you need, I’m here if you need to talk.”
Mage watched Luke rocking in place, her eyes never once leaving him. ”...he raped me Mage...” he finally said. “He raped me... oh Arceus, he raped me...”
Mage’s gems glowed darkly. No good son of a... I swear, there’s no curse too horrible for what he’s done. She took a deep breath, now wasn’t the time to get angry, right now, her friend needed her.
“I... I was nothing compared to him- he just... tore me down and... and...” Luke stuttered. “He saw everything... everything that I am... he... he just... violated me...”
Mage wiped a tear from her eye. “How could anyone be so cruel to someone as sweet as you?” she asked, shaking her head. Luke’s privacy, his walls, were the one thing he had counted on, aside from Abby, and now they were gone, Mage could feel the emotionally scarring memories just under the surface of Luke’s mind, fighting for his attention after being ignored for so long.
Luke had no answer, instead, he simply kept shaking. “So... so many memories... no... please make them go away...” he murmured, more to himself than her but she heard them nonetheless. “No... please... please... please...” he sobbed, despair, horror, and pain filtering through to her.
Mage thought for a moment, doing her best to ignore the dark emotions emanating from her friend, then her eyes glowed yellow and she muttered. “Tandem reprime memories.” Mage felt more of her energy drain as she cast the spell, she faltered a slightly and fell a few inches before righting herself in the air.
Luke’s shivering stopped and he looked up at her with wide, puffy eyes, staring up at her with disbelief. “I... how did you... how did you do that?” he asked her softly, almost unable to speak as the memories assaulting him recededed.
“I’m magic, remember?” she said with a soft smile. “It’s not only useful for pranks and parlor tricks.” The spell was designed to give temporary reprieve from memories that a person would rather forget, Mage just hoped it would last long enough for Luke to be able to put up some kind of mental defense again.
Without warning, Luke’s power wrapped around her, pulling the ghost to his chest, his arms wrapping around her, his head going into her neck as he began to sob.
Mage’s eyes widened for a moment, taken completely by surprise that Luke, of all ‘mons, was hugging her, then she smiled softly. “It’s okay,” she said gently, wrapping her tendrils around his neck. “Just let it out, let it all out.”
He did so for the next ten minutes, occasionally wailing or screaming into her neck as his tears continued to fall. It’s alright, Mage thought what she was too afraid to say. I’m here, I’ve got you. Finally he stopped, unable to do anything other than cradle his otherworldly support blanket.
“You done?” she asked softly, wondering if he had calmed down or had simply cried himself out.
“I...I... for now,” he answered quietly. “I... sorry... so sorry. Shouldn’t... shouldn’t have done that.”
“Oh I don’t mind at all,” Mage said with a smile. “Anything I can do to help.” She didn’t add. Anything for you.
“... then will you stay with me... for a little while longer?” Luke asked, looking down at her. “I... I... I don’t want to be alone again. Not... not in the dark.”
Mage nodded. “As long as you need me, I’m here, and hey,” a moment of concentration, a memory from a night spent in the woods, and dark fog rolled into the form of a campfire in front of them. “It doesn’t have to be dark.”
Luke just hugged her tighter.
Nick smiled as he carried a wicker picnic basket with him through town. He was on his way to a picnic with Elena, and had high hopes of getting his mind off of some... things, that had happened with Vinyl recently.
“Why does she think... where does she get the right to...” Nick shook his head and focused on the much more cheery aspect of his date with Elena.
That thought, at least, brought a smile to Nick’s face as he looked down at the basket he was holding. Despite the misgivings he had during the summit, things between him and Elena were going great.
As he made his way through town to where he was meeting Elena, he thought he heard someone calling him. Shaking his head, he continued on until he heard someone call his name again. Stopping for a moment, he looked around, trying to spot whoever it was.
Seeing no one he recognized he turned back around, intent on making it to his date before-
*Pop*
Twilight, still panting from her earlier exhaustion, flashed into existence in front of Nick. “Nick,” she smiled weakly, still panting. “I’m glad I found you, I need your help-”
“Um... Princess?” Nick said, rubbing the back of his head. “I don’t know what you need, but I have a date with Elena that I need to get to,” he held up the picnic basket. “So if this is some kind of quest or adventure can it wait?”
Twilight blinked once, then shook her head. “Um... no, nothing like that, I just wanted to ask you a question.”
“Oh... really?” Nick asked, relieved he wasn’t about to be drafted for some kind of mission. “In that case, we can walk and talk,” he motioned for Twilight to follow him as he continued on his way. “What did you want to ask me?”
Twilight smiled. “Well first off, what do you know about the Phantom Thief Fox?” She asked.
Nick just shrugged. “Not much really, I know she’s been around for a long time.”
“It’s a bunch of thieves under one name,” Twilight said as they passed Sugarcube Corner. “Anyway, I was hoping you could help me with something, see the Fox is in Equestria.”
“She made it?” Nick asked curiously. “Huh, good for her I guess.”
“Yeah,” Twilight groaned. “Good for her.” Stopping in front of Nick Twilight continued. “Anyway, she’s a Zoroark now, and I was hoping you,” she pointed to Nick. “Could offer some advice on catching a Zoroark.”
“Don’t do what you did last time you tried,” Nick deadpanned. “Other than that... I’m still getting used to this myself.”
“I know,” Twilight said quickly. “But... haven’t you figured out anything that might be able to help us?”
Nick thought for a moment. “Well... the only thing I can really tell is that one way to find a Zoroark hiding as another race is to look at the shadow. I found out by accident once that since its just an illusion, my shadow still remained the same.”
“That could help I suppose,” Twilight made a mental note to tell Jonathan, though he probably knew already. “Thanks Nick and... if you figure anything else out, let me know okay?”
“Sure thing Princess,” Nick said with a smile. “Glad I could help, even if it was just a little.”
Twilight smiled at Nick and said goodbye before trotting back towards the library while Nick went to meet up with Elena.
Meanwhile, at one of the tables outside of Sugarcube Corner, three fillies and their Pokemon watched the two part ways.
“What do you think that was all about?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Ah ain’t sure,” Apple Bloom replied. “Might have somethin’ ta do with why Applejack was out late last night.”
“I heard that something happened at the library last night,” Scootaloo told her friends. “Not sure what though.”
“Oh, someone tried to steal one of Twilight’s magic books,” Pinkie said as she walked past them. “She was some kind of master thief Zoroark.”
“Really?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Uh huh,” Pinkie said with a nod. “Twilight managed to trick her with a decoy, but I guess she still wants to catch her.”
“Well what was she talkin’ ta Nick about?” Apple Bloom asked.
Pinkie rubbed her chin. “Ya know, I’m not really sure. I haven’t talked to her since I got out of the bell tower last night.”
“What?” Scootaloo asked in confusion.
“Anyway, I’ve got some brownies to bake,” she smiled at them before trotting off. “Talk to ya later!”
“Why was she in a bell tower?” Bulbasaur asked.
“Just go with it,” Scootaloo said with a sigh.
“Well what do you think she was askin’ Nick about?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Oh! Maybe she was investigating to see if he knew the thief!” Sweetie exclaimed. “Maybe she thought he would know something since he’s a Zoroark too!”
“Or maybe she thinks he IS the thief,” Squirtle said with a gasp.
“I kinda doubt that,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh. “But maybe the thief is hiding in Ponyville, and Twilight thinks Nick knows where she is.”
“You think he’d tell her?” Scootaloo asked. “I mean, Rainbow Dash said they had a rocky start with Nick when they met him in Manehattan.”
“Ya don’t think he’d actually hide that from her do ya?” Apple Bloom asked. “I mean, she is a Princess.”
“I don’t know, but maybe we should find out,” she said with a devious grin.
“Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What are you thinking?”
Scootaloo turned to her friends still smiling. “I’m thinking we help Twilight out by following Nick around and seeing if he talks to anyone suspicious.”
“What? Like detectives?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Exactly!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER DETECTIVES YAY!!”
“This is so booooring,” Scootaloo moaned from behind the rock she and the others were hiding behind. “They’re not doing anything!”
Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and their Pokemon had been watching Nick and Elena for the past half hour and so far, they hadn’t done anything a normal couple wouldn’t do on a date.
“They’re on a date Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle reminded her friend as she put down her binoculars. “What did you expect them to do?”
“I don’t know!” Scootaloo shouted. “Pokemon are awesome and powerful, I didn’t think they had picnics or went on dates!”
“What about Gene and Belle?” Apple Bloom replied, smirking.
“That’s different,” Scootaloo said, waving her argument off. “They’re like... married, or something.”
“Girls,” Sweetie tried to get their attention.
“Well they had ta be dating fer awhile first... and of course they’re married! Applejack told me ‘bout their weddin’.”
“Girls!” Sweetie shouted, stopping them before they got any further. “Come look at this, someone else just showed up.”
The trio crowded on top of their hiding rock and all tried to peer through the binoculars together.
“What is it?” Scootaloo asked.
“Ah can’t see!”
“It’s another Zoroark,” Sweetie told them, pushing them away from the binoculars.
Everyone gasped. “What’s he doing?” Scootaloo asked frantically. “What’s he saying?!”
“He’s just talking to them... and I can’t hear him,” Sweetie deadpanned.
Naruto sighed as he walked through the nearby woods. After the Princess’ visit, he needed to get his mind off of the fact that one of the biggest contributors (at least, that’s what he thought) to typism was running around Equus doing the exact same thing she did on Earth, and worse still, she was a Zoroark. One of his kind.
X suggested that he take a walk, maybe the fresh air would help clear his head. Heck, X even commented how Gene had told him the other day that apparently some former humans and Pokemon had decided to make a base camp in the woods, so maybe he’d check it out just for the heck of it. Anything really to get his mind off what he had just heard.
As if on cue, his ears perked up as he heard someone talking just ahead of him. Deciding to check it out, he followed the path he was on until it led him out of the woods and into a small meadow, there he spotted another Zoroark and a Lucario sitting on a checkered blanket.
Naruto smiled when he recognized the Zoroark. The same one he had met in Canterlot, and from the looks of it, the Lucario must be that old friend he had fallen for. From the looks of the obvious date, looks like they had really hit it off. “Might as well say hello while I’m here,” he said to himself.
Making his way over to the pair, it wasn’t long before Nick spotted him, recognizing him. “Oh hey... Naruto, right?”
Naruto nodded. “Nice to see you again Nick,” he said with a smile. “And who, may I ask, is your lovely friend?”
“This is Elena,” Nick said with a smile. “She’s... she’s the one I told you about when we met in Canterlot.”
Naruto grinned. “Congratulations Nick, didn’t I tell you everything would work out?”
Nick wanted to point out he’d actually added to his distress, but decided to keep that to himself. “Kind of... I guess.”
“Well, I won’t keep you both from your date. Have fun you two,” he chuckled, before walking away, leaving the couple to their own devices.
“-I told you I don’t know how to read lips!” Sweetie Belle shouted.
Scootaloo just sighed and shook her head. “I knew we shouldn't have put you on look out.” Peering over the rock again, Scootaloo watched as the other Zoroark headed back for the woods. “Come on girls, we have to follow him!”
“I thought we were investigatin’ Nick?” Apple Bloom asked.
“We were, but now we have a new lead, and you always follow the freshest lead in a case like this.” After making sure Nick and Elena weren’t watching, Scootaloo raced after the Zoroark, soon followed by her friends.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Sweetie Belle said, hiding behind Squirtle as they trudged through the woods. “What if he jumps out at us?”
“Or tries to eat us?” Squirtle said with a shudder.
“That’s not gonna happen,” Scootaloo assured them. “And if he tried anything funny, Charmander and I will take care of him, right buddy?”
“Right!” The Fire type agreed.
Sweetie Belle sighed as she trudged along. “Has anyone considered what we’re going to say to this guy when we run into him?”
“Yeah, we’re going to ask him where he was last night, and if anyone can support his claims, and if he has any connection to the Phantom Thief Fox,” Scootaloo told her friend. “Come on Sweetie this is detective one o’ one here.”
“Ah don’t think yer suppose ta ask about their connections Scoots,” Apple Bloom pointed out. “Makes ‘em suspicious.”
“Well little miss law and order,” Scootaloo said mockingly. “What do you suggest we do?”
“Maybe not chase a possibly dangerous criminal around the woods fer one thing,” Apple Bloom mumbled.
Scootaloo didn’t hear her and smirked. “I thought so, now come on girls!” She cried as she reared up. “We have a thief to catch!”
“Do we even know this guy is the Fox?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I mean, all we know is he’s a Zoroark, and the Fox is a Zoroark.”
“She kinda has a point Scoots,” Apple Bloom added. “I mean, that’d be like investigatin’ another Pony just cause they’re the same type as a criminal... think it’s called racial profilin’ er somethin’.”
“Why do you even know that?” Scootaloo asked.
“Uh... book report,” Apple Bloom replied. “At the very least stop callin’ him a thief until we find him.”
“Fine, innocent until proven guilty okay?” Scootaloo asked. “Now can we please keep looking?”
They walked in silence for a while, watching the path ahead of them, as well as just about everywhere else, for any sign of him.
“This is startin’ to feel hopeless,” Apple Bloom said dejectedly.
“Hang on, I have one more idea,” Scootaloo said. She stopped in place, took a deep breath, and shouted. “I KNOW YOU’RE OUT THERE FOX! NOW SHOW YOURSELF!”
A gout of flame shot towards them, followed by a rather angry Zoroark marching up to them.
“Gosh darnit Scoots! Now look what you’ve done!” The CMC’s watched as the Zoroark marched towards them, Sweetie hid behind Squirtle and the Pokemon did their best not to look too scared.
“Yes gosh darnit Scoots. Har dee har.” He seethed. The trio could almost see the flames escaping his mouth. “Mind filling me in on why you think I’m an infamous criminal? Oh no no no, let me guess. Maybe it’s just because I’m a Dark Type? Or maybe it’s because she just so happens to have stolen my species? Or maybe both!?”
Scootaloo stared up at him with terror in her eyes, her legs gave out beneath her and she tried to form a coherent sentence. “I... I...” Her mouth opened and closed helplessly as she tried and failed to think of a way to explain herself.
“Wait mister!” Apple Bloom ran between her friend and Naruto. “She didn’t mean it! We heard from Pinkie Pie that the Fox tried ta steal somethin’ from Twilight last night!”
“And Twilight was talking to Nick about it earlier, and,” Sweetie Belle sighed. “We were trying to be detectives.”
“The book? Yes, I heard about it. She came to me and wished for my help in catching the Fox.” Naruto replied. “That doesn’t explain why you pranced around pretty much the entire town, if not the entire world, shouting that you were coming after the Fox with the intent of catching her. Come to think of it... even if you did find her, what then?”
“First off, we didn’t tell anyone what we were doing,” Sweetie Belle stated.
“That’s worse, not better.” Naruto said, shaking his head.
“And second off... it was her idea.”
“Hey!” Scootaloo protested. “I just wanted to help Twilight stop the Fox!”
“And how?” Naruto asked again.
Scootaloo started to say something, then stopped. “Uh... guess I didn’t plan that far ahead.”
“....so let me get this straight. You wanted to stop a notorious thief known for being pretty much uncatchable.” Naruto replied.
“Yep…”
“While having your plan, if I can assume it is a plan, consisting of simply looking for a Zoroark because she is one..”
“That’s right.”
“And the worst part is you didn’t bother to double check your information to make sure it was right.”
“Well when you put it that way of course it sounds like a bad idea.” Scootaloo said, crossing her hooves.
“That’s because it is.” Naruto was now….calmer as he knelt down to their eye level. “Trust me, I’m my teams’ informant. I know how important information can be. And I know how dangerous to yourself and your friends if you have the wrong information.”
Scootaloo hung her head dejectedly. “I’m sorry,” she said sadly. Turning to her friends, she continued. “Sorry I pushed you into this girls.”
“Aw, we forgive ya Scoots,” Apple Bloom said with a smile, messing up her friends mane. “Ain’t the first time ya dragged us into a situation like this unprepared.”
Scootaloo nodded, then glared at her friend. “Name one-”
“Cutie Mark Crusader Spelunkers.”
Sweetie Belle shuddered. “So much slime.” Naruto felt like he was at at impasse, like two halves at war. One half wanted to know what exactly happened regarding the slime, and the other half wanted to exorcise the very thought from his mind as he was afraid of what knowing would do to his psyche.
Scootaloo chuckled nervously. “Alright, alright,” she smiled. “Guess we should just stick to what we’re good at.”
“And that is?” Naruto asked.
The fillies faces were split by enormous grins. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS POKEMON TRAINERS/COORDINATORS!!!”
“And suddenly I feel like the world is going dark.” Naruto mused.
Gene smiled as Belle knocked on the door to Abby and Kasai’s hotel room. After everything that had happened the night before, they decided the best way to take their minds off it would be to spend some quality time with their friends.
“Abby? Kasai?” Belle called as she knocked on the door. “Are you two in there?”
“We’re in here Belle,” Kasai called. “Come on in.”
Belle smiled and pushed the door open, revealing the two canines snuggling on the hotel bed.
“Hi,” Gene said, still smiling. “We came to see how you two were doing.”
“Gene! Belle! Come and see!” Abby said, grinning widely at them.
The pair walked into the room. “What is...” Belle stopped when she saw exactly what was nestled next to Abby. “Oh. My. Arceus.”
Gene, spying the eggs, one bright red with several red swirls reaching up from the base, and one light orange with several black stripes, squealed. “Babies! Well... eggs but... either way.” He squealed again.
Kasai chuckled merrily at the Gallade’s reaction. “Yes, that’s a bit of my reaction too when last night.”
“Yeah... having Mew midwife was interesting,” Abby agreed with a small chuckle.
“That’s one way of saying it,” Kasai added with another chuckle.
Belle smiled and walked the rest of the way to the bed, sitting down next to Abby, she smiled at the eggs, as well as her friend. “You lucky, lucky fox,” she said with a smile. “I’m so happy for you two.”
Abby leaned over and licked her face. “Thanks Belle, and yes, yes I am,” she said before smiling mischievously.
“A great big stud of a mate and a pair of beautiful eggs of my own.”
“Oi, I am more than just a stud,” Kasai stated with a chuckle, nudging his mechanical limb against her.
“You’re right, you’re my stud,” Abby agreed with a smile.