//------------------------------//
// 1 - The Phantom Thief Kaitou Moon 
// Story: Chasing Thieves 
// by Yukito 
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A long time ago, there were many people who were charged with the crime of being witches. Practitioners of magic, these creatures could do anything. Over time though, the people came to accept one simple fact: magic does not exist. Princes do not turn into frogs, potions are not brewed from thin air, and hexes are not the cause of one's misfortunes.

Even the so-called 'magic tricks' performed today are simply that: tricks. Smoke, mirrors, and well-planned timing thrown together to deceive the eye. So why such displays so popular? Because people do not understand them. The only magic that exists in this world can be explained, but the common man or woman is unable to explain it. How does an entire person vanish before their eyes? How does a rabbit materialise from such a small hat? How does that magician manage to scale an entire fifty feet of building in just a couple of seconds?

People are drawn to the mystery that these 'miracles' bring. They want to believe that there is a something incredible out there that is beyond their comprehension, and they want to be a part of it. That is why magicians such as the Great and Powerful Trixie are able to please a crowd with a few fancy words and some strategically placed gadgets. And it is also why magicians such as Kaitou Moon can gather such a large fanbase, despite being a notorious criminal.

The portrait of Canterlot's beautiful countryside lake, drawn nearly three centuries ago and worth over fifty thousand dollars, was there one moment, and gone the next. Fifteen police officers stood baffled as they watched both the painting and the thief simply pass through the solid wall behind them. Finally, one of them broke out of the thief's spell and made a call to his comrades waiting outside of the museum.

"What do you mean it's missing?! Sweep the area! He couldn't have gotten too far!"

The unit spread out, abandoning the room that once housed the valuable painting to search the entire building. Only a few seconds after they left did the masked figure descend from the ceiling, chuckling under their breath as their purple, star-patterned cape draped over their body. The figure removed their hat, decorated in a similar fashion to their cape, and pulled out a small remote. Pushing the button caused the wall to shimmer, before revealing the painting sitting exactly where it did before.

"Too easy," the figure stated through a voice filter that made their gender unidentifiable. "I guess I'll be taking this then."

"Not so fast."

Kaitou Moon spotted a young girl leaning against the doorway leading into the room, her arms folded as she held a pistol in one hand. "That painting doesn't belong to you, Miss Lulamoon."

"Lulamoon? I'm afraid you have me confused for somebody else," the thief said. The girl approached, pointing her gun forward and keeping it trained on Kaitou Moon. "What, are you going to shoot me? Do you really think you can get away with murder just because I'm a thief?"

"Some thief you are," the girl said. "You return every item that you steal. Even the police have realised how pointless it is to waste their time and money on you."

Kaitou Moon hummed as they folded their arms. "I guess that would explain the lax security tonight. But fear not; that's about to change. I will make sure that next time is much more spectacular."

"Except that there won't be a next time," the girl retorted. "I'm ending it right now. Just a few shots to your legs to make sure you don't move, and-" The girl pulled the trigger, but no shots fired. She pulled again, but the result was the same. She was distracted by the sound of clanging metal and looked up to find Kaitou Moon dropping several bullets onto the floor. "H-How-"

"Did you really think I hadn't noticed you sneaking through the vents? If one stealthy unit was all that it took, I would have been captured a long time ago!"

The girl growled through her teeth and slowly put her gun away. "I see. You must have emptied my gun when I was focussed on sneaking past the guards. You were stalking me from the shadows."

"Tell me, Miss… why do you think I commit these heists?"

"Isn't it obvious? You commit them to inflate your own ego." The girl pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. "You send these warning notes out to the police with the exact times of your heists, and your exact targets. You do this for nothing more than the thrill of the crime!"

Kaitou Moon chuckled and shook their head. "Then why do you come after me?"

"For the reward, of course." The girl charged forwards, but was forced to stop as smoke filled the area. "DAMNIT!" As the smoke cleared, both the painting and the thief were gone once more. The girl studied the ceiling and found a hole in it, with a thing wire dangling from the pipes above her. "This ventilation… There's only place it leads where she could escape!"





Kaitou Moon stood at the edge of the Canterlot Museum of History's rooftop, their cape fluttering in the wind. They turned around at the sound of footsteps behind them and smiled as the ragged girl finally made her appearance. "I see that you're somebody to watch out for. Sunset Shimmer, is it?"

"Don't… act like… you don't… know me…"

"Maybe I do, and maybe I don't. A magician never reveals their secrets, you see?" Kaitou Moon turned back to look over the edge of the building. "Your deduction earlier was close, but you missed one key detail: I don't only steal to test myself against this town police force. There's a much more important reason for my actions."

Sunset Shimmer regained her composure and said, "Enlighten me."

"Can you not hear it?" The two were silent for a few moments, and the sounds of cheering could be heard echoing through the air. Cheering for Kaitou Moon. "That is why. The people love a good show. They love to see the impossible performed right before their eyes, and they love trying to figure out how I did it. And I love to be the one that all eyes turn to when the curtains rise."

"So in short, you do it for the attention. Like an idiot acting up in class because he has no friends."

Kaitou Moon laughed and spread out her arm. "You know now why I do this. Now try to use that information to catch me… if you think that you can, Miss Detective."

Sunset Shimmer pulled out her gun and watched Kaitou Moon jump off of the building. "W-What are you-" Sunset gasped as the thief suddenly rose up, soaring across the sky with their arms to either side. The cheering grew louder, and Sunset Shimmer was speechless as she watched this impossible feat play out before her eyes. "A-An invisible hang glider! It has to be!" Sunset tried to shoot the area above Kaitou Moon, but her gun only clicked. She pulled out the magazine and checked the bullets that she had recovered, only to find that they were blanks. "No!"

As Kaitou Moon's laughter echoed through the air, Sunset Shimmer could only watch as her last chances for victory sailed away, leaving her stranded on that rooftop with naught but a bitter taste in her mouth. The taste of defeat.

"I swear… I will get you for this, Trixie!"





"Did you see what was in the news today about Kaitou Moon's last heist?!"

Applejack pushed Rainbow Dash back, keeping her friend out of her bubble of personal space. "G'morning, Rainbow. An' no, ah didn't. Ah slept in late today an' rushed out without watchin' the news."

"Well I certainly saw it, and I must say I cannot believe what she has done!" Rarity said, watching nervously as her sister ran by whilst wearing Kaitou Moon T-shirt.

Rainbow Dash held out an arm to stop Featherweight as he passed by them. "Hey, you got today's newspaper on you, right?"

"Of course!" The boy pulled out a newspaper and handed it to Rainbow Dash. "You can keep that one. I always get spare copies every day."

"Here, read it," Rainbow Dash said, giving the newspaper to Applejack.

The farmer took the paper and read the article on the front page. "'Kaitou Moon delivered a note to Sheriff Silverstar, claiming that, due t' the police not takin' her last heist seriously, she is keepin' the paintin''?!"

"That painting is one of this town's treasures!" Rarity exclaimed. "It's been in that museum since it was first established! It is a masterpiece of art!"

Applejack continued to read. "'If the police don't care 'bout the paintin', then they won't mind if ah keep it. Starting from now on, whenever ah feel that the police aren't doin' all in their power to stop me, ah will keep my score'."

"I can kind of see where she is coming from." Applejack turned around and saw Trixie Lulamoon, Pinkie Pie and Maud Pie approaching the group. "At least from a financial point of view. That painting is worth a fortune! Why, if Trixie had that much money, she'd finally be able to buy that warehouse down the street that she's had her eyes on, and set up her own theatre!"

"Ah can't believe this!" Applejack shouted, scrunching up the newspaper in her hands. "Ah never did like that thief, but at least she gave back the things she stole before. But now, she's gone too far!"

"Indeed." Trixie felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to find Sunset Shimmer, grinning like a cat that just got the milk. "That thief is quite the menace. To think that you would actually steal such an expensive painting, Trixie Lulamoon."

Everybody gasped and turned to Trixie. "You think Trixie's the thief?!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"My, how flattering," Trixie said simply. "That you would call Trixie a world-renowned thief. But alas, until such a day that Trixie can leave her schooldays behind her, such fame and fortune are only available in her wildest dreams."

"And besides, she can't be the thief!" Pinkie Pie said as she got in-between Trixie and Sunset Shimmer. "She was with us last night, having a sleepover!"

Sunset's eyes widened. "S-She was?"

"Yep! We even watched the heist happen, together!"

"And she didn't sneak out," Maud added. "Boulder is a very light sleeper and would have made a ruckus if she tried to leave at any point during the night."

Sunset Shimmer took a step backwards, her grin from earlier now replaced with a pale, mixed look of confusion and sorrow. "B-But that's-"

"We all make mistakes. Try not to let it get to you," Trixie said, patting her 'friend' on the shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Trixie has morning practices to attend."

"With the drama club, right?" Applejack asked, receiving a nod. "Did Apple Bloom try out last week? She said she was interested but didn't say much when she came home early."

"Oh, yes. Expect an invoice soon for all the fabric we've had to order to repair our curtains and costumes."

Applejack sighed. "Apple Blooooooom…"

"See ya," Trixie said with a wave, walking away from the group with a smile on her face. After taking the first turn down the corridor, Trixie slowed down and pulled out her phone. Deciding that the corridor was empty enough, Trixie dialled a number and held the phone to her ear.

"Nice work last night!"

"Trixie could say the same to you, Fuchsia Blush. And to Lavender Lace, too; Trixie's alibi was solid thanks to her."

"Is that Trixie?" a different voice said on the other end of the phone. "Hey Trix! Acting as you was tough! I was sure that Maud Pie was gonna see right through me!"

"We'll have to work on your acting then," Trixie replied. "But they didn't notice you, and that's what counts. It's a good thing we did this, because it turns out Sunset Shimmer was actually on to me!"

"Sunset Shimmer? Not the police?"

"Pfft! The police are the least of our concerns!"

"You got that right," the original voice said. "That little stunt you pulled worked, by the way… A little too well, though."

Trixie raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I can take whatever the police throw at me!"

"Yeah? What about what the FBI throw at you?"

Trixie stopped. "T-The FBI?"

"Uh-huh. Apparently, the FBI are now helping the police with this case. Congratulations! You're now a big-time criminal!"

Trixie gave a nervous laugh as sweat began to drip down her head. "N-No problem. Trixie can handle anything that comes her way! So, how many agents are on the case?"

"Dunno. Hacking the police's intel is one thing, but the FBI? Nope. Not gonna happen. What I can tell you is the names of the two agents leading the case."

"Go on then."

"Agent Shining Armor and Agent Chrysalis."

Trixie hummed in thought. "Alright, get whatever information you can on those two. Strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes, previous cases, habits, everything!"

"Now that I can do, but it might take a while to make the right connections… So, what're you gonna do about Maud?"

"Hm? What about Maud?"

"Well, y'know… She's not gonna be happy to hear what you've been up to behind her back, and her dad's not gonna let her marry a common thief."

Trixie's eye twitched and she clenched her free hand into a fist. "For the last time, Fuchsia Blush… we are NOT LIKE THAT!" Trixie hung up the call and put her phone away, taking a moment to breath a heavy sigh before continuing her walk through the school. "… So, the FBI want to play now, huh?" A wicked grin crossed Trixie's face as she chuckled under her breath. "That's fine. Maybe they can make this the spectacular show I've been looking for."