Opening theme:
“All aboard, the trailer express. Next stop is...where again?” Shade attempted to joke...only she forgot the destination.
“Tall Tale,” Quick Storm supplied.
“Right. Tall Tale,” Shade nodded.
“So...what’s interesting about this next town?” Alice idly asked as she helped them load up their stuff.
“Well for starters, its one of Equestria’s centers for information. It’s also known for its historical records,” Toichi explained while putting down the book he was reading.
“Sounds like a fun town,” Rascal mused.
“It should be,” Sleight nodded, just as they finished packing up. “Well, let’s get going. We’ll need about a day at least to get to Tall Tale.”
“Right,” they all nodded as they boarded the carriage, and soon they were off, leaving Vanhoover behind.
The morning started out well enough for Jonathan. Wake up, freshen up, and get ready for a day in his new job. Of course, that didn’t last long, especially when he read the newspaper.
‘Attempted Robbery at Vanhoover Museum, mysterious thief sighted’
Raising an eyebrow, he decided to take a closer look as he read further into the story. At first, it seemed rather...silly, as aside from the mostly superficial damage to the museum, nothing important was damaged, and it looked like whoever did it had left the loot behind. However, when he saw the few pictures that had been included, as well as the description provided from witnesses, however few, he growled. “Fox...so that’s where she went,” he said glaring slightly. Putting the paper down, he quickly went straight to the chief’s office.
“You want to what?” the Guard Chief all but deadpanned.
“I want to go after Fox, sir. Back before we came here, I was assigned to apprehend her, and I would like to finish what I started,” Jonathan explained.
The Guard Chief sighed, honestly not sure what to do. On one hand, he could understand Jonathan, since Fox had first appeared in this city, and she had all but made a fool of them with her heist. However, the fact that she was now out of the city meant that she was technically not their problem anymore. However, seeing the determination in Jonathan’s eyes… “Alright,” he sighed, before adding. “But we’ll only directly help you to get to Vanhoover. If Fox is really jumping cities, we can’t afford to divert our resources,” he sighed. “I’m sorry, but we can only help send you to Vanhoover. Anything else, you need to figure out,” he explained, but not before sliding a badge over. “Here. We never got to give it to you till now, but consider yourself an official member of the Baltimare Guard. Now go do us proud, Officer Trace.”
Jonathan smiled as he picked up and put on the badge. “Thank you, sir!” he saluted.
“I’ll arrange for you to take the next train which is in 5 hours. I suggest you prepare yourself with that time,” the chief nodded as the Lucario ran out the door.
“So we’re going after Fox now?” Howl questioned.
“That’s the gist of it,” Jonathan nodded. His Pokemon shared a look before grinning.
“What took ya so long?” they laughed, as everything was going back to how it was before. And they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Jonathan just smiled, always happy to know that they got his back. “Only one problem though…”
“Right, if she’s not in Vanhoover anymore...how are we gonna go after her?” Echo nodded. The four of them thought hard. How would they be able to do it...that’s when Heat got a crazy idea.
“I got an idea. It might not work, but its worth a shot,” he said.
“Well...let’s give it a shot, cause I’m drawing a blank,” Howl said.
“Right, first we gotta find Trixie,” Heat said.
“You want me to WHAT?” Trixie shrieked, forgetting her usual speech pattern.
“Help us again,” Jonathan sighed. “Yeah, I know that that doesn’t sound right, but that’s what we’re asking. Please, Trixie, as things are, we’re gonna be up a creek without a paddle, and your the only person we know who could help us…”
Trixie looked him in the eye, and seeing the normally strong officer actually pleading was...oddly endearing. Plus, he did REALLY save her flank the other day, and she really hadn’t done much to repay him, even if he insisted it was nothing. Sighing, she gave them her answer. “Alright, Trixie will help,” she started, before her tone became stern. “But Trixie has a few conditions.”
“Okay, name them and we’ll see what we can do. If we can’t meet them, then you’re free to go,” Jonathan nodded.
“Okay, first, Trixie expects to be funded for the trip to Vanhoover, her wagon included,” she started. “Next, since Trixie will be providing your transportation, she expects you all to pull your weight. Trixie could squeeze a few of you into her shows,” she continued. “And last, Trixie expects some insurance. Trixie will help, but she wants to walk away from this whole and intact.”
“We should be able to do the first, as for the other two...done. We’ll definitely pull our own weight, and as for safety...Fox doesn’t harm people on her heists, and you won’t be on the scene either way, so yeah, we can guarantee your safety,” Jonathan nodded. “Alright, meet us in an hour over at the train station, and we’ll tell you how it goes.”
“Trixie will be waiting,” she nodded.
It took some convincing, but the chief agreed to fund Trixie as well, so it wasn’t long before they were on their way. After having Trixie’s wagon attached to the back of the train, they were off.
“Alright, so what do we do when we get there?” Echo said as she perched on Howl’s head.
“Normal procedure. We’ll investigate the local police, ask them what they know. Then we move on to witnesses. From there, we’ll see if the guards found anything suspicious. Who knows, maybe the saw her leaving, and which way she went at that. Good thing I got this map of Equestria,” Jonathan nodded as he pulled out said map.
“Alright, so we’ll be playing detective, hot on Fox’s trail,” Heat chuckled. Business as usual to them.
“When Trixie agreed to this, she was somehow expecting something more...exciting. So far she feels like she’s in a crime drama,” Trixie blinked.
“Well, that’s cause we’re still investigating. The real action only starts when the perp comes to light. And with Fox, one way or another, you’ll get to see something spectacular,” Howl commented.
“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Trixie chuckled as the train made its way to Vanhoover.
“Here we are, Tall Tale,” Sleight Hoof said as the carriage approached Tall Tale. However, when the looked at the city, they did a double take. The city was seriously damaged, many buildings were under what appeared to be reconstruction. Some buildings had half of them destroyed, the streets were completely damaged with big circular holes on them, signs and poles were lying on the ground while a large crack divided the eastern part of the city in half. Alice could even see big rocks that had crushed a couple of buildings, leaving nothing but dust. It looked like if a monster straight out of a movie had been wrecking everything around. This wasn’t anything like the images on Toichi’s book..
“Geez, what Pokemon went on a rampage, and who or what ticked it off in the first place?” Rascal commented with a low whistle.
“Well whichever it was, I think its safe to say it was stopped,” Alice sighed, before turning to Sleight. “You sure you still want to be here?”
“Yeah I think so. Sides, if worst come to worst, we can just move on later,” he said.
“Alright, let’s go in then,” Alice nodded, before the carriages were pulled into the city. When they entered, they noticed various ponies going around, obviously busy with rebuilding. “So...where do we go from here?”
“Well, first we should look for a theater or hall to set up the next show. Its been a while since we were here, so we might need to ask for directions,” Storm said, before she did just that. However, not a single Pony even seemed to notice her when she was asking for directions.
“Friendly bunch,” Shade commented sarcastically. “So now what?”
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to be direct. We’ll go to town hall. I’m sure we can get some help there,” Sleight chuckled slightly, before the carriages started moving towards their destination.
They soon arrived at town hall, before Sleight and Storm got off, Alice and her team watching from the carriage. As Sleight and Storm walked up to the door, the door opened, revealing a creature that Alice had never seen before. Its head was like a Talonflame’s, but it had clean white feathers instead of the usual orange and black; her body resembled the one of a female Pyroar, but with light brown fur covering it, and two white wings at its side. What impressed the party the most was the elegant look, which was shown by the golden eyeliner and a fancy pearl collar.
“Well what do we have here? Are you who I think you are?” She said with a delicate and sensual accent, “Sleight Hoof himself, I have not seen you in a long time, used to go to all your shows when I was younger.”
“Why yes. Recent developments have convinced me to come out of retirement,” Sleight chuckled. “Glad to see an old fan.”
“That is some wonderful news! Sadly, I am afraid I can not offer much to give you a proper welcome, you see… we had some problems recently… involving these new creatures that are roaming around.”
“Ah yes, the Pokemon. I can see that happening. Some of them certainly are a little...temperamental,” Storm said delicately
“I’d say that ‘temperamental’ is not the right word to define it. More like brute and destructive.”
“...yeah, I guess we lucked out, especially since the first Pokemon we saw was more or less a little fox,” Sleight chuckled awkwardly.
“The first Pokémon I saw was a horned beast with an iron helmet and claws of steel. Followed by a lime-green mantis-looking metal creature and a… shiny and good looking silver four-legged gentleman…” She said, pecking her beak with every word, before snapping back to her normal self, “Please do ignore that. Where are my manners? Come in, we can talk in my office, and you can introduce me this lovely-looking friend of yours,” She looked at Quick Storm with a soft smile on her face.
“Oh yes, this is my wife, Quick Storm. She’s also the owner of the Air Express shipping company,” he introduced.
“Sphinx, councillor of Tall Tale, in charge of internal and external affairs. Come in, we can have a small drink and chat for a couple minutes, I do need to get my head out of all the troubles surrounding the city, with the reconstruction and such. You can also invite the crew of your carriage to go around the city, I’ll get one of the guards to look after your vehicles,” She suggested, spotting the mysterious figure hiding behind the curtain.
“Of course,” they said, before Storm went into the carriage, and before long, several ponies came out.
“I told them they can walk around town if they want, since we don’t need to have them watch the carriage,” she said.
“Marvelous, well, shall we get inside?” She suggested, opening one of her wings and opening the door completely.
“Of course,” Sleight nodded as they walked into the hall.
As they walked to the main office, Sleight decided to strike up some conversation. “So...how have things been in Tall Tale lately? Aside from the Pokemon’s initial rampage at least.”
“Well, besides a couple problems related to the communications with Canterlot, help having to go everywhere they say. We have remained strong, before the incident, we had a stable income from tourists all around Equus, and we have grown from being a simple beach town, to almost a city. And even though progress has been slow due to… some odd decision making, we are getting there!” Sphinx pretty much whispered that last part, evading eye contact with Sleight, before getting back to her usual self, “And what about you, darling, how are your travels going, I imagine that with your age, you may have some troubles traveling as much as you did back in the day.”
“Er...not really. Thanks for the concern though,” Sleight blinked, backing up slightly from the tone. “We have our servants to help us, and I’ve been taking care of my health, so yeah...its really not THAT hard to go on a tour again. I just can’t do my escape artist stunts.”
“Oh yes, I make sure that he DOESN'T do anything stupid,” Storm chuckled.
“Oh dear, you have quite the job, don’t you?” She laughed softly, “Now tell me, had any interesting encounters with Pokémon yet?”
“You mean aside from how some Pokemon have become part of the Guard in just 2 days? Well...several of the smaller ones have been taken in by some of our servants as ‘pets’ of sorts,” Storm chuckled.
“Interesting. Well, even with the first impression I got from them, they have started to grow up on me, we are analyzing the possibilities they give us with their power,”
“I can definitely see that working. One of our servants casted a spell on some of them, and we can see that they’re as intelligent as any of us. I’m sure working together with them won’t be too hard once we establish more effective ways to communicate,” Sleight nodded.
“Well, I personally find some of them extremely interesting, let me introduce you to someone I befriended recently.” As Sphinx finished her sentence, she stretched out her wings and looked at the roof of the building, “Flame, darling, could you please come down to meet some visitors.” Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm looked at the same direction, to spot a red and black bird descending majestically towards them, landing on one of Sphinx’s wings.
“Sir, Madam, an honor to meet you” He bowed.
“The honor is ours,” the two ponies bowed in return, not wanting to look rude. “I see that you’ve all made use of translation spells too,” Sleight nodded.
“Its a requirement, after the incident, the mayor ordered it to ensure that we knew everything these creatures were saying, in order to prevent any future damage. It is also pretty convenient, Flame here helps me in delivering some messages across the city, and also makes for a lovely companion. I am sure that just as your servants, you must have a Pokémon of your own, I suppose you must enjoy the strange, Sleight Hoof, you are a magician after all.”
“Well, it was more my wife this time, but we did adopt one. A small black Fox-like Pokemon,” Sleight admitted. “She’s been a good friend, even if we decided to leave her back at the mansion since we weren't sure if we could properly take care of her while we were on our tour,” he said telling a half-lie.
“Yes, they are quite amazing, aren't they… well, here we are.” She said while pointing at a carefully carved white door near the stairs that lead to the second floor, “I suppose you must be looking for a place to stay, as well as a good stage, am I right?”
“Well, a stage at least. Finding lodging is easy enough. Its the stage that is usually the problem,” Sleight nodded. “So we were wondering if we could talk to the mayor directly.”
“I am afraid that not even I know where he currently is, but lucky you, you met the one that can help you. Flame darling, can you give a message to Perfect Scene for me? Tell her to reserve the best stage she has for one of the best shows she will ever receive, ok? You two, get in my office, we have some cups to drink and some chatting to do.” As the Talonflame left the scene, the two ponies followed the griffin inside.
“Why thank you,” Storm smiled.
“That’s very nice,” Sleight nodded as well.
As they walked in, they decided to strike up some conversation. “So, where is this stage you’re preparing? I was thinking maybe we could have it somewhere more open, so that more people can come watch. I think the ponies here could use some entertainment after working so hard to rebuild the town,” Sleight suggested.
“I see… I’m sure Perfect Scene can give you the plaza stage instead, Hingard Plaza is a place full of tourist and natives alike, on these troubling and stressful times, the plaza remains a happy and relaxing place for everyone.”
“That’s good,” Sleight nodded.
“Glad you like the idea, you just go and talk with her as soon as you arrive”
“Much appreciated,” Sleight nodded. “So...how have things been holding up lately? The issue with the Pokemon over in Baltimare have more or less been stable, though things have been a little tense. Other than that, no big issues.”
“Well, besides our little problem with the iron beast, the people in Tall Tale seem to have mixed feelings about the new creatures. After the attacks, many demanded to send the Pokémon away from the town, others suggested that only the Pokémon themselves are able to defend us against other Pokémon. After Arceus’ speech, the mayor decided to place some Pokémon specific laws. Nothing too extreme of course, but enough to keep things under control.”
“Fair enough. The Baltimare Guard seem to have responded by adding Pokemon into their ranks. Especially the supposed ‘Former Humans’ that seem to be floating around,” Storm nodded.
“Former…humans?” Sphinx asked surprised. “So the rumors were true… former champion…” She muttered, but Sleight heard her all the same, and more importantly, how she said it. “Yeah, they are quite impressive and useful. The reason that the Pokémon are still around is because of their power, our forces were nothing compared to the beast that attacked us. The mayor is afraid another attack may occur.”
“Well, that’s a smart move I suppose. But I don’t know if its really as big of a problem as you think. The Pokemon are clearly intelligent, so talking works too...most of the time,” Storm said.
“Its true. I’m quite sure many of the issues were solved by talking...though some probably needed to be...beaten up before they listened,” Sleight agreed, chuckling slightly at the end.
“Sometimes words are better than swords, but other times force is required to defend what’s important. Sadly here at Tall Tale we learned it the bad way…” Sphinx looked at the window in the middle of her office, destroyed buildings could be seen not far from there, and hard-working ponies tirelessly tried to fix what the Pokémon arrival had caused. “I’m not sure if the people of Tall Tale will forget these events easily, or completely forgive Pokémon kind as a whole.”
Sleight and Storm also looked on sadly, before an idea occurred to them. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Sleight smiled.
“I think I am,” Storm nodded. “Its too bad they’re so high strung...how about we change that.”
“What are you two planning to do?” Sphinx smiled
“Let’s show them that Pokemon are really just like us on the whole. Spread this message. ‘Any and all Pokemon who are interested, come meet us at our stage. Its time we showed everyone that you all came in peace, by giving them a blast!’,” Sleight smiled, before adding, “And cancel any and all sales for our tickets. This next show is for all of Tall Tale, and is now officially 100% free.”
“Schedule, darling” Sphinx called
“Yes ma'am?” The secretary replied
“I want you to take note of what mister Sleight Hoof and miss Quick Storm have to say. Whatever detail they may add, you write it down. I want their words to be spread around the city, and stop any events that may happen tonight, let the announcement be known to the poor and the rich, to any pony, griffin, or Pokémon that may be on the streets. Tell them that the show of their lifetimes will be showing to night and that they are all invited for free!”
“And leave the preparations to us. We’ll take care of the show itself,” Sleight nodded, before they got up to leave. “Thank you very much for the help, Sphinx. I do hope you can come to the show too.”
“It was my pleasure, and I think I will just do that,” Sphinx nodded.
“So...all set?” Alice asked when Sleight and Storm got back.
“More or less,” Sleight smiled cryptically.
“So...any word on this city? Its a tourist spot, and those tend to be pretty rife with crime,” Alice asked again.
“Well...not that we know. Buuut....we do know someone who might know,” Storm said cryptically. “We’ll need to make sure she’s in town, but that shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Oh? Who would that be?” Alice mused, interested.
“Oh you’ll see,” they chuckled before trotting away. “And one more thing, Alice. Be ready for tonight. Cause tonight may just be a night you and your friends will never forget.”
“I wonder what they’re gonna do?” Shade mused.
“Maybe we should find out,” Scep suggested.
“Nah, let them keep the surprise. Sides, it might be fun,” Alice said. “Besides, we’ve got a bigger issue to deal with. Namely your outfit.”
“What’s wrong with my threads?” Scep glared, a slight snarl on his mouth.
“Nothing. Its just that...it stands out too much. You were wearing it on our last heist, and you were seen with it. If you keep wearing that in public, it won’t be long till someone puts two and two together. If that happens, we’re through,” Alice explained.
“This, dudette,” Scep worked on his collar. “Is my uniform. I’ve worn it for years, proudly too. How else are they gonna know I’m PLA?”
“And on a heist that is perfectly alright. All I’m asking is that for when we’re not on heists, you wear something else. At least to avoid anyone making the connection on who you are,” Alice nodded as she reasoned.
Scep stared at her for a moment. “Well, you’ve got me there, but I’m not going to shy away being PLA any time soon.”
“I’m not asking you to. You being a member of the PLA is as much a part of you as being Fox is to me. All I’m asking is that when we’re not on Heists, don’t make it TOO obvious, and your uniform...kinda paints a bull’s-eye,” Alice nodded. “Besides, I’ll even let you pick. Sleight was really happy with some of the tricks I showed him, he’s actually paid me for some of the tricks. So I’ve got some money to buy some stuff.”
“There’s that word,” Scep tapped his chin. “Buy? I keep forgetting what that means. Buy? Buy?...Oh that, yeah we don’t ‘buy’ back in the PLA. Well, except for the ‘Honorary Pokemon’, though.”
“Fair enough. Unfortunately, I AM technically an honorary Pokemon, since remember, I was human a week ago, so yeah, as Alice I usually follow the law. Besides…” she smirked slightly. “Did you know, that sometimes the truth is a key part in some of the biggest deceptions?”
“Kind of,” Scep answered. “I wasn’t part of the intel things. That was Agent Gold and General Yan’s thing...Though Yan was more focused on destroying human intel and stations.”
“Then consider this a simple exercise. If you saw someone who always acted like an upstanding citizen, followed the law, and generally never caused trouble, would you consider them likely candidates for notorious criminals?” Alice chuckled.
“That’s sounds like a really boring person,” Scep deadpanned. “Though, we do have some of the Honorary Pokemon act like that. It works most of the time...Well, except with Raziel.” He shivered. “Guy made a necklace out of their teeth for his wife.”
“...excuse us,” the Fox gang deadpanned, before running to the toilet. When they got back, they all looked a little pale. “Okay, new rule. Scep, you don’t talk about what Raziel did. EVER,” Alice deadpanned.
“Anyway, as you just confirmed, yes, that is exactly the point. By keeping up an image of us being upstanding citizens, we can further distance ourselves from suspicion. Remember Scep, until you find the PLA again, you won’t have any real place to hide other than here. And that’s something we won’t be able to do if we give off who we are,” Alice stated.
“I’m actually surprised no one’s tried to attack me because I’m PLA,” Scep pondered to himself. “I mean, we weren’t exactly ‘buddy buddy’ with everyone in the world.”
“That...actually...you know...that’s really a good point,” Alice deflated, causing the rest of her team to sweat drop. “Anyway, so is that a yes? Can we at least get you some day clothes?”
“Sure thing,” Scep smiled. “Though no promises on the Raziel stuff. I don’t like it, but we might bump into some mons that do. So, I’ll keep my mouth shut for now...I really hope Roa’s okay. She might have...gotten scared and that never works out for everyone else. Hope they like blood red.”
“Well...at least we’ll know about it when it happens…” Shade chuckled weakly.
“Yeah, then we can go head first to the killing machine, even if its not her fault. I quite like having my limbs attached. That and breathing,” Rascal snorted, earning a smack upside the head from Alice.
“Be nice,” she simply said, before turning to Scep. “Okay, let’s go then. No point in stalling,” and soon they were out in the city.
It wasn’t long before they could find a clothes shop with a reasonable price tag to find Scep a new outfit.
“Okay, Scep, I guess you can take your pick, then we’ll see what happens next,” Alice said. “Just make sure to keep it legit. We’re not thieves right now, okay.”
Scep’s brain ceased to function. “Not...thieves?” He stared at her in horror.
“Er...yes, we kinda need to keep up appearance for now,” Alice nodded.
“No, I’m fucking done,” Scep glared at her. “I’m fucking done.”
“...wait...but we’ve only been here for like 2 minutes,” Rascal blinked, before he had a devious idea. “Oh wait, don’t tell me you’re too chicken to do this.”
“That’s Tauros shit,” Scep dramatically pointed a finger at him. “That’s fucking Tauros shit, little rodent!”
“Awww, but you won’t even play along for all of...20 minutes. Big chicken. Bawk bawk bawk bawk,” Rascal taunted.
“Er...Rascal...should we really be doing that in here?” Alice sighed.
“Chicken?” Scep’s stare wasn’t so much a glare, but more of a blank look. Though the eyes spoke of hatred. He leaned down to his level. “How about this. Did you ever go up against any of Raziel’s thugs, robots, or enhanced pokemon and humans, hmm? Any of that? Answer me fairly, dude.”
“Nope, but at least I’m not chicken enough to not even be able to play along for 20 minutes,” he grinned shamelessly.
“If I could blow up a mech,” Scep answered. “If I could take out a room full of guards without a scratch, I can do this. Still, don’t call me a chicken. I’ve killed plenty enough in my time, you wouldn’t be too different.”
“Oh yeah, then prove that you can do this,” Rascal grinned.
“Did Rascal suddenly gain a death wish?” Shade deadpanned to the side, causing Alice to shrug, though she looked worried.
“I will,” Scep growled and quickly went over and grabbed a few hawaiian styled clothes you’d see on one of those laid back, hippy types. “These’ll do, dudette.”
“Okay then, we’ll get that. But...something is missing…” she mused, before snapping her claws. “I know!” she went to another section, and when she came back, she had a pair of stylish sunglasses. “These might go well with that outfit,” she suggested.
“Aw yeah,” Scep grinned, putting on the shades. “The ladies are gonna love this new get up.”
“Perfect, now let’s pay for them now then,” she nodded, and unseen to her and Scep, Rascal had his paws up in a ‘V’ shape.
“Good job for a change, Rascal,” Shade chuckled. “I was worried he was gonna chop you in half for a minute there.”
“I was,” Scep happily commented. “But I don’t feel like it right now, dude. Ain’t got the right mojo at the moment.”
“Alright, so here we are,” Jonathan said as he looked up at the local Guard Office. Stepping inside, they were immediately met with a few of the guards.
“Halt! State your name and business here,” they stated...right before they realized that it was another of the odd cre-Pokemon that had appeared.
Jonathan was about to answer, when suddenly a Pegasus Pony interrupted.
“Who are you!? And I want you to answer that a few seconds ago!” The Pegasus literally said in a yell-like tone.
“I’m Officer Jonathan Trace, Baltimare Guard,” he started. “I’m guessing you’re the captain of this Guard?”
“What’s your business here, Officer? Be quick about it and I might just listen to you!” the Pegasus interrupted, more or less confirming his thoughts.
“Its about the recent attempted robbery. I’m quite certain I know who the perp is, and I’m chasing after her. I came here to inquire about any and all witnesses to the incident,” Jonathan quickly said.
“If you are looking for witnesses, I might be able to help you with that, Officer Trace! Word has reached my ear that our premier crea….Pokemons in town are in the know of the robbery currently in investigations!”
Jonathan frowned at his near slip, but decided to let it go. “Alright. Do they have names?”
“I don’t know their names, but I do know where they might be living right now!”
“And that would be?”
“They’re currently living with the Bat Pony mare in town called Solar Dawn! Him and several of his friends right now!”
“Alright then. Can you tell us what kind of Pokemon they are? Also, where does this...Solar Dawn live?”
“Well, the first one who commanded some big, and winged four-legged Dragon with axe-like wings is a hydra-like thing with three heads. The second one was said Dragon with axe-like wings. The third and fourth one is some green-ish bubbly Pokemon….thing and one that looks like a giant moth, though only the first three were seen at the robbery.”
“Okay, so a Salamence, a Hydreigon, a...I’m assuming a Reuniclus, and either a Dustox or a Volcarona. And about where Solar Dawn lives?”
“She lives nearby, everyone in here knows the only Bat Pony that lives here. You can ask them and they’ll point you in the right direction. But if you want, I could tell you.”
“Okay, I think that’s all, Jonathan nodded, jotting down the names and information into the notepad he had with him.
“Now then, if that’s all, Officer Trace or are you going to stand here like a Celestia-forsaken statue and prevent me from doing my job?”
“Didn’t you come into our way?” Jonathan mentally sweat dropped, but just left with a quick, “Thank you.” All that mattered now was that they had a lead.
Finding the house turned out to be very easy, as true enough, everyone knew where it was due to the resident. When they got to the house, they saw that the house was a rather normal looking one instead of a grandiose one like they had started to expect.
“After all the talk we heard, Trixie was expecting something a bit...more,” Trixie couldn’t help but say.
“Well, just goes to show you always have to take rumors with a pinch of salt,” Jonathan said, shaking his head.
“Might also be due to her species. I mean, they kept calling her a Bat Pony. Maybe that’s the equivalent of a Dark-type Pony?” Howl commented.
“Well, not like it matters. We came here for a reason, so let’s go,” Heat said, as he walked up to the door and knocked on it.
A few seconds later, the door opened inward to reveal a simple looking Bat Pony mare with the eyes of the deepest seas and blood red mane staring at them. The most peculiar thing was the golden-winged brooch she’s was wearing alongside the leathery wings attached to her sides.
Upon seeing the….weird looking Pokemon at the door, she glanced back and forth before scratching her head again. “Uh, can I help you….sirs?”
“Er...yeah. We’re looking for…” Heat started, taking a quick look at the list. “A Hydreigon, a Salamence, a...Reuniclus, and either a Dustox or a Volcarona. But mainly the first 3. We’re investigating the recent robbery, and we were told that they were witnesses to the crime,” Heat explained.
The mare frowned while glancing around in nervousness. She knows full well of who is the big chicken-thing is referring to. “Uh….can you excuse me for a moment?” She quickly went inside, not before closing the door.
“...so far so good,” Jonathan mused, though he certainly noticed the nervousness Solar Dawn was giving off. “But she sure seemed tense.”
“Maybe those Pokemon don’t like the attention. Or maybe she just doesn't like police,” Echo shrugged.
They were into their conversation that they didn't notice that the door had opened up again, revealing a taller than average Hydreigon standing in the doorway. “Who are you?” He asked with a straight tone as he towered over them all.
Jonathan blinked a bit at the sight of the large Pokemon, but quickly answered. “I’m officer Jonathan Trace from Baltimare. My team and I are investigating the recent robbery, and we were told that you and your team were witnesses to the incident.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He answered almost too quickly.
“Ah, I disagree. Several ponies in town CLEARLY testified that they saw, and I quote, ‘A 3 headed black hydra carrying an unconscious dragon with axe-wings, and a bubbly green creature away from the museum’. That was shortly after the attempted heist,” Jonathan said, the amused look on his face would have made Fox proud.
“.....dammit....” The Hydreigon muttered not loud enough for them to hear it. “I was carrying them after they got into an accident, I don’t know about the museum robbery until after I heard of it.”
“I don’t know why you’re avoiding answering, but at the rate you’re going, you’ll be feeding the other rumors. The ones that say that you’re accomplices of the attempted theft, or that you did the theft yourselves. Now really, please stop doing something that will risk you taking the blame for Fox’s actions. None of us, Fox included, want that,” Jonathan sighed.
“Hey, Eric! Is there something wrong out there? Is there anyone out there that needs a beating?” A female voice called out from behind the Hydreigon.
“No, don’t worry, girl! I’ll handle this.” Eric replied without glancing over his shoulder.
“Looks like there are a bunch of Pokemon out there playing the detective, Sally!” Another voice, this one male, said. “Isn’t that wonderful, now we got a bunch of kids playing investigations. Isn’t that rightfully cute? Sure, maybe you should leave them Eric, let them have a go at it and the worse is they ended up killing themselves.”
“Shut up, Will!” the female voice from earlier shot back.
“...your team, I’m guessing? Either way, I think it would be in all our interest if you came clean,” Jonathan simply said.
“Jonathan’s right you know,” Howl chimed in.
Silence occurred right after the Mightyena said that. It is broken when the Hydreigon let out a sigh. “What do you want to know?”
“Let’s start with names, then move on to what happened,” Jonathan smiled before holding out a paw. “Jonathan Trace, Baltimare Guard. These are my teammates, Heat, Howl, and Echo,” Jonathan started, gesturing to the respective Pokemon. “And this is our friend, Trixie. She’s helping us out for now,” he finished, gesturing to the mare.
Eric raised an eyebrow when he mentioned Baltimare Guard which weren’t even supposed to be here. “Baltimare Guard? If my knowledge is correct, this city is not Baltimare, it’s Vanhoover. What are you doing here?”
“I’m assuming you’re the former human of this group, correct?” Jonathan sighed.
“Yeah, what of it? I don’t see any relevance in your imminent questions.” He replied curtly.
“I am, or rather, I was the officer in charge of Fox’s case back on Earth. While I don’t think this was one of her actual heists, in that she isn’t directly responsible for it, I’m pretty sure she had a hand in this one,” Jonathan sighed. “And so far, you seem to be the only person who can confirm this.”
“The one who wore a cavalier hat?”
“That's right. Know any other Phantom Thieves who wear that and WEREN’T caught before this whole transfer?” Jonathan sighed.
“....no, I only saw this female Zoroark who does look like the Phantom Thief Fox judging from the hat and the cape she wore. I assumed it was her.”
“A Shiny Zoroark, right?”
“Yeah, she is.”
“Then its her. She literally just evolved after her first heist on this world, back in Baltimare,” Jonathan nodded. “Alright, so can you tell me what happened?”
“I was going back after I saved this stallion from an angry Tentacruel, then when were just passing the museum, I noticed one peculiar thing in the dead of the night….the door is wide open. I decided to investigate inside and found a Sceptile wearing some kind of uniform and Weavile attempting a robbery. I ordered my team to stop them and they did, the Weavile and Sceptile were nearly knocked out. After that, it was chaos, as suddenly this flocks of Pidgeys suddenly appeared everywhere and the Shiny Zoroark appeared. I assumed that with how the Weavile and Sceptile disappeared before she herself appeared, they’re her accomplices.” Eric had maintained his straight tone and face as he explained what happened.
“Yeah, sounds like Fox’s usual entrance. The Weavile we’re aware, but the Sceptile is new. Though...a Sceptile in uniform...where have we heard that before...” Jonathan nodded, while musing the last part.
“That PLA Pokemon!” Heat suddenly said.
“Right!” Jonathan nodded. “So he’s in league with Fox now, huh?”
“Anyway, you were saying?” Jonathan said, prompting Eric to continue.
“I tried to stop her, but…..she hardly fights fair. My Reuniclus, Will was knocked out by a Hyper Beam from the ceiling and,” The Brutal Pokemon chewed his lips as he prepared himself to say the next part of the descriptions. “Sally, my Salamence….she still tried to….fight the thief even after receiving two Ice-type attacks.”
“She what?” Jonathan blinked. “That was a very dumb move. Fox is a thief, so don’t expect her to play fair when it comes to battles. Furthermore, insisting on fighting after taking 2 Ice Moves...not the smartest thing to do. You should have called her off,” Jonathan said, shaking his head at the end.
“Sally can be stubborn, I would have called her back with her Pokeball if I could to prevent her from pushing herself, but that is out of the question now. In the end, I ordered Sally to stop her the best she can with her limited strength. We failed and she left as I tended to them and carried them back here that night.”
“Well...it was a good effort either way. Most civilians usually stay OUT of Fox’s way,” Jonathan nodded. “Thank you for the info. Is there anything else you can tell me?”
“Nothing more that is relevant, she’s probably already long gone by now.”
“Alright then. Thank you for your time, and sorry to bother you,” Jonathan nodded, before they left the house. “Alright then, next we’ll check on the border guards. Maybe they can tell us where she went...assuming they saw her that is…”
“Here’s hoping,” Echo commented.
Later, after getting back to the Carriages, The Fox gang was met with an odd sight. Sleight and Storm were there, but alongside them was a Unicorn Mare that none of them had seen before. She had a dusty brown coat, with a light blue mane. Her cutie mark was that of a magnifying glass over what appeared to be a note pad.
“Hey everyone, say hello to Info Scoop. She’s an old friend of ours, and one of the best Mares to talk to when you want to find out some shady business,” Sleight Hoof said.
“So these guys are the new friends you made, huh?” Info Scoop mused, before chuckling. “Always knew you two liked odd things. This fits right up your alley.”
“Charming mare,” Shade snorted.
“Nice kitty,” Info shot back in amusement.
“Witty kind of pony, eh? Those types are fun,” Rascal chuckled.
“So you’re an old friend of Sleight and Storm?” Alice asked, smiling pleasantly. “Nice to meet you, I’m Alice.”
“AKA the Fox, right?” Info Scoop chuckled. “I worked it out myself, especially since the gang that’s been squeezing us suddenly went defunct, and I’ve been paying attention to the stories. So the only reason Sleight and Storm would be housing you all, especially if you haven’t been in his shows, is if you all did something big for him,” she nodded.
“Very astute, Ms. Scoop. You’re the first person to figure it out...though you did have an unfair advantage,” Alice chuckled. “So, you have info on the crime in this city?”
“You’re darn right I do,” Info Scoop nodded. “If you’re aiming for the crime lords around here, I can point you straight to the biggest one of them all,” she boasted.
“And that would be…?” Alice goaded.
“Right right. Sorry about that,” Scoop chuckled sheepishly. “Anyways, to be honest...we don’t have all that many criminal organizations, this town is not that big, and being filled with mostly historical artifacts and such, not many can find valuable loot in here. Of course we have our regular street thieves, but nothing too dangerous. The real problem are not the outlaws, but the law itself. The biggest criminal of Tall Tale, Mayor Grumble.”
“Wait, what?!” Sleight and Storm gasped. “But...we just talked to one of his subordinates, that nice Griffin, Sphinx...and she didn’t seem to have anything bad to say about the mayor!”
“Consider yourself lucky, out of Grumble’s four subordinates, she is the calmest and the least involved in the ‘irregularities’ surrounding Tall Tale. She is a manipulative beauty, the one in charge of hiding what’s wrong with the management, it doesn’t surprise me that you couldn’t notice anything odd with her. They all have their roles, they protect the mayor’s corruption from the public eye. But out of all the times Grumble has abused his power, tomorrow night will be the worst he’s done so far.”
“I see....” Alice mused. “Alright, so what is this...action he is about to do? And do you know where it’ll happen?”
“Of course I do, finding out information like this is MY special talent. I always get a scoop when I can find one,” she said, sounding rather proud. “Anyways, out of all the things Grumble likes to do, taking money from the city treasury is probably his favorite. Five months ago, an obscene amount of money was sent to Canterlot, of course a… friend noticed this, researched about it, and found out the purpose of this withdrawal. Turns out, it was for an order of a statue, and from my own snooping, apparently its a golden statue of himself. It gets worse considering that such a withdrawal caused major trouble for the people, many prices rose, many ponies lost a lot that month, some were even forced to beg and even robe, the excuse? Government's fault, and the media was in charge of confirming that badly crafted story …”
“That scumbag...” Alice growled.
“Right,” Scoop nodded. “Anyways, I’ve recently got news regarding such statute, it seems like a wanted criminal group known for doing any kind of dirty work to anyone with enough bits is bringing the finished statue to town. Grumble has decided to hide the statue until the chaos caused by the rampage passes, imagine the reaction of the public if they find out that their mayor has decided to get such luxury in such times of need, they can’t risk it. They are hiding the statute in a storage building on the outskirts of Tall Tale, and apparently they are going to present it to the mayor tomorrow night.”
“Hm...alright. How are the Police in this town? Are they in on this, or is there anyone we could trust to do the right thing if they had enough evidence?” Alice asked.
“The police force is in chaos, some have dared to stand up against Green Lead, head of the department and overall security...lets just say that it didn’t end well. I doubt anyone would try to go up against the mayor directly…though I do have one name in mind, someone that could convince the police force to stand up, as well as the citizens, against Grumble if the right conditions are given. An old yet respected cop who is known to everyone, Golden Star. The guy is a saint and the incarnation of justice itself sometimes. Everypony loves him. Show him enough evidence, and you will see a massive riot, and Grumble being thrown to jail with his subordinates.”
“Alright then, we’ll do what we can,” Alice nodded.
“...I hate to suggest this, but at tonight’s show, everything is free, so most of the town should be there tonight. If things go well...you can use the show as a diversion to prepare,” Sleight sighed.
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t feel good about using your show for something like this…even if its just preparations,” Alice said.
“No, its okay. That would be the best time, so please do it,” Sleight said.
“...alright. If you insist,” Alice nodded, before smiling. “Thank you, Sleight.”
“Anytime, Alice,” he smiled.
“Alright, so you say you think you saw a suspicious figure that night dart into the woods?” Jonathan confirmed.
“Yes. That’s right. I would have followed, but as things were I felt it best that I didn’t since at the time I was the only one on patrol at the time, I didn’t want to leave my post for what I thought I might have seen,” the guard nodded.
“Alright then…” Jonathan sighed, checking the map. “If she really did exit through this way, that makes her likely destination...Tall Tale.”
“Then we’d better get going before she can jump towns again,” Heat said.
“Right, let’s hurry,” Jonathan nodded, the five of them heading quickly for Trixie’s wagon as they soon set out for the next town on the trail of the elusive thief.
“You know, when you said it was a surprise, I was expecting something big,” Alice blinked.
“And this?” Sleight chuckled.
“Let me put it this way. Big does not even begin to describe this,” she simply said. The place that Sleight had been given for his show was PACKED with an assorted number of Pokemon of all shapes and sizes.
“Alright everyone, settle down!” Sleight said, as the various voices of the Pokemon died down. “As you all know, we’re here for one thing only. To show all of Tall Tale, and maybe all of Equus that you all mean no harm,” Sleight started, earning several murmurs of agreement from the collective Pokemon. “That’s why, tonight we’ll show everyone the fun side of Pokemon, and by the end of the night, we’ll leave them with a memory that will make not even the most stubborn able to call you all monsters!” Sleight cheered, earning a resounding applause from the gathered Pokemon. “Now then, we have about 2 hours at least before the show till then, feel free to think up a performance, and if you’d like, show it to me before the performance, and I’ll give you some pointers if I see any necessary.”
With that, the area immediately became bustling again with activity, as the Pokemon milled about, thinking up acts for the show, a few of them taking up Sleight’s offer and showing him their stunts, to which the old stallion would comment and give helpful tips.
“They sure look like they’re having fun,” Alice chuckled, walking up to him in her Earth Pony illusion. “This is a really good thing you’re doing, Sleight.”
“I would hope so. An entertainer’s duty is to make people smile. And besides, I’d hate to leave a city knowing that there’s so much tension between the residents and the Pokemon,” he smiled.
“Yet what we’re about to do...it might go either way,” Alice sighed sadly.
“It can’t be helped. In the long run, it would be better that you do this now, rather than later. Besides, the people deserve to know the truth. We believe in you, Alice,” Sleight smiled.
“Thank you,” Alice nodded, before going backstage. It wasn’t long before it was time for the show to begin. The stands were filled to the brim as pretty much the entire city had come to watch.
Backstage, Sleight exhaled, calming himself. Putting on his top hat and cape, he got out of the chair he was sitting on. “Nervous?” Storm teased.
“Oh, its only my biggest show yet, one that could potentially decide whether or not the people living here will learn to accept the Pokemon...or decide to run them out,” he said dryly.
“Oh don’t worry. Everything will turn out just fine. It always does with your shows,” Storm chuckled, planting a light kiss on his cheek for luck.
“Hope you’re right. This isn’t our usual show after all,” Sleight nodded, before stepping out and into the stage. When he was out, he beheld the massive audience. Putting on his best smile for his show, he looked at all of them. “Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome one and all to this one night only spectacular!”
The crowd cheered, looking forward to hearing what he had planned. “Before we begin, citizens of Tall Tale, I must offer you my condolence for the recent damage your city has suffered,” he started, lowering his head slightly, the top hat covering his eyes. Likewise, the crowd grew somber at that, though some looked angry as well. “However, I implore you all to not let this one incident make you turn your backs on the possibility that has been presented to us! Away from what may be our new friends!” Sleight said, his features brightening as he said that. The crowd seemed a bit confused, but some of them, notably the younger members who had befriended some of the Pokemon already smiled. “That’s why, tonight, I won’t be the only one entertaining you, but rather, all of the Pokemon who volunteered to help me show you that despite how they look, the Pokemon are really no different from you or I!” Sleight Hoof finished with a dramatic bow.
The crowd was silent for a moment, but then, one by one, they started clapping from the sincere speech. With that done, Sleight decided to open up the act, with something simple. He took out what looked like a deck of cards, and before the eyes of the audience, they seemed to float out of his hand, circling around him, before they started shifting around in the air, ending with them neatly returning to his hoof, once more a full deck. “Now then, to all the audience in the front row,” he started, trotting up to them. “Pick a card. Any card from the deck,” Sleight smiled.
The audience did so, and when all the cards were gone, Sleight pointed to one of them to reveal their card. Doing so, he showed the number: 5. “And first, we have number 5, come on out guys,” Sleight said, and from the stage, a pair of small Pokemon came out. A Totodile and an Eevee.
“And now...let the show...BEGIN!” Sleight called out dramatically
To the surprise of the audience, the two suddenly began to have a dance off as music started playing from seemingly out of nowhere. It was honestly quite cute with how the small Pokemon jumped about, and even did a break dance, which was pretty impressive considering it was the Eevee that did it. The cute display went on for a while, ending rather hilariously as the Totodile tried to do a break dance as well...only to accidentally spin into the Eevee, leaving both Pokemon in a heap. The audience winced at the sight, but upon seeing the two Pokemon pick themselves up, not the least bit injured from the accident, they laughed and clapped as the two exited the stage.
The rest of the evening went by in a similar fashion, with Sleight picking out a card with a number from the audience, and with each card, a different act performed by Pokemon was done. The crowd was mesmerized by the Psychic Pokemon who worked together levitating various items in synch, and using them to form various intricate symbols and designs, which was only matched by the act done by several Ariados who used their webs to form pictures of various Legendary Pokemon that left the audience in awe at how accurate and fast they worked.
The foals certainly had the time of their lives as several of them were allowed to be part of the show, as as Machamp juggled them, all of them laughing all the way as the Machamp seemed to be having fun too. Likewise, they also had a thrill as a few more volunteers were riding on the backs of several large Flying-types as they did several mid-air stunts, the foals cheering like they were on a roller coaster.
Rushes of thrill went down the spines of the audience as they saw some of the more daring stunts, such as the Whirlipedes and Sandslashes who did daredevil stunts by rolling at full speed off of a ramp, over several beds of spikes that came from Celestia knew where. Said thrill was soon doubled when the following stunt was that of a Venusaur juggling several torches with his vinewhips...only said torches were on FIRE thanks to the Magby that was with him, with more being added and soon set on fire too.
Even during the few intermissions, the audience was alive with chatter as they talked about the show, all of them having enjoyed the various acts so far, and were looking forward to what was coming next.
The audience was soon laughing again as they saw several silly acts done by some of the more silly looking Pokemon, notably a few Wobbuffet and Spindas doing a clown routine. They were soon in awe again as they watched several Butterfree spreading their powder from their wings, before a Beautifly flew into the veil, and used Morning Star to set the whole veil alight and spread it out, making it looked like stars were showering down on the audience.
The audience was soon left clapping when several bladed Pokemon, such as Scyther, Pawniard, and even a Honedge began carving several blocks of wood, creating several fine carvings of what appeared to be themselves, and in record time too.
The evening went on, and before long it was time for the final act, and what an act it was. For the finale, many of the Pokemon came together, and formed a pyramid together, ending with several of the smaller Flying-types landing on the top of the Pyramid, causing the audience to cheer loudly at the impressive sight of the finished pyramid. With that final cheer, the pyramid was suddenly encircled by a mass of red, which seemed to wrap around them, before shrinking and revealing itself to have seemingly been the underside of Sleight Hoof’s cape, as the Stallion was suddenly where the Pyramid had been.
“Thank you one and all! We hope you enjoyed this show as much as we enjoyed performing it!” he smiled. “Now then, everyone, take a final bow!” he said, as he took of his cape, and waved it, seemingly making it grow, before it shrunk again, having swept across the stage, revealing various Pokemon who had been on stage, as Sleight and all of them took one final bow for the night.
The last thing heard that night was the uproarious applause from the audience for what may have been the greatest show they had ever seen.
Ending theme:
