Twenty Second Heist
Opening theme:
Alice awoke with a start from her bed. “What in the world…?” she blinked after she calmed down. That dream...she honestly couldn’t remember it as clearly anymore now that she had woken up, except that it involved her and Jonathan. But the effects it had on her were apparent. Her fur was slightly drenched in sweat, and...why did she feel so hot and bothered?
Sighing as she got up, she went to the shower to clean herself up. What she didn’t notice was Shade who had noticed an odd scent.
Shade groaned lightly as the odd smell reached her nose. Looking to the source, she saw Alice moving to the bathroom. “...I knew something wasn’t right when she said she kissed Jonathan…” she groaned before going back to sleep. She just hoped Alice didn’t have anymore close encounters with Jonathan for now. Especially if this is what she thought it was.
The next day saw the carriage arriving in a quaint little town south of Canterlot. “Here we are, Ponyville,” Storm said as the carriage came to a stop.
“Isn’t this the town that seems to be the epicenter of weird things happening?” Alice asked.
“...Yes,” Storm sighed. The hamlet’s reputation certainly preceded it, even to newcomers of this world.
“...Well, at least that means our visit might be memorable one way or another,” Alice shrugged.
“Well, considering this is where the bearers of the Elements of Harmony live, I guess it’s to be expected,” Sleight replied, before stepping out. “Anyway, we’re not going to be here for long. We just want to stop and re-stock on some supplies.”
“...Wait, we were just in Canterlot, but why didn’t we restock then?” Alice blinked in confusion.
“Have you seen the prices there? Lots of the bigger shops are waaay more expensive than other places around Equestria. We’d get a better deal coming here,” Sleight deadpanned.
“...Good point,” Alice sweatdropped. She had to admit, some of those shops she visited WERE pretty expensive. Then again, considering it catered to nobility…
“Anyway,” Sleight said as he walked out of the carriage. “Alright everyone, we’ll all split up and go into town for supplies, and if you want, you can look around the town. But be sure to meet up back here by evening. We’ll be getting ready to go by then,” the old Earth Pony said with a smile, talking to the other occupants of the carriages.
“So...what to do for the day?” Alice sighed, once more in her guise of ‘Misty Night’, as she and her old team were walking through the streets (Scep having decided to slink off on his own for a bit).
“Well, we’ve got a whole town to explore, so...start from there?” Shade suggested.
“...That works,” Alice nodded.
So the group spent most of the morning looking around town, taking in a few of the more memorable sights, such as a few of the local Pokemon, and the local architecture. Though their personal favorite had to be the bakery that looked like something out of a children’s book. Heck, the fact that they could get in and out with a plateful of Pokepuffs and Poffins was already a difficult thing to do, seeing as the place was crowded as anything.
“Hard to believe it's already been about a month or so, huh?” Alice mused as she licked the remainder of the icing off her claws. She wasn’t sure if it was just something about this world that made things taste delicious, or if it was because she had been missing them since arriving on Equus, but those Pokepuffs and Poffins had to be the best she had ever tasted.
“You got that right. Feels like just yesterday we were robbing the hapless crime lords of Earth blind,” Rascal laughed. He had to admit, he probably enjoyed his life as a Fox’s Pokemon more than he probably should, but hey, there’s a reason why she named him ‘Rascal’ after all.
“Well, as much as I enjoyed the treat, I think I’ve got us another place to see,” Shade said, as she pointed in a particular direction.
“Hm? What do you have in mind?” Alice asked, turning to where she was pointing. What she saw was the large tree...that had windows and a door on it. “...some things on this world just plain don’t make sense...and that’s saying something considering where we came from.”
“...so...we gonna check it out?” Rascal asked. With that, they were on their way. Going there, they soon found that it was a Library...with an Alicorn for a Librarian. The group of thieves nearly had to physically restrain themselves from gawking. Fortunately, the Library seemed to be having a busy day, as the librarian and her assistants were busy sorting through the books, while also returning books that visitors had finished reading, and also looking for books that visitors requested. In other words, it was easy for them to walk in relatively unnoticed.
“Guess its true what they said,” Alice mused as they found a more secluded spot to talk. “A Princess really is living in this small town.”
“Kinda weird considering the Princesses are basically Legendaries here,” Rascal mused.
“Keep in mind though, this one, Twilight Sparkle, is supposed to be pretty new,” Shade reminded.
“But if the info is correct, she’s also the personal student of Princess Celestia, and quite the accomplished spell master and scholar,” Alice added.
“Guess that’s why she’s that Magic Element thing,” Rascal shrugged. “So...what are we gonna do about it? Gonna see if she’ll put up more of a fight than Canterlot?”
Alice thought about it for a moment. She had heard that Ponyville had its sizeable share of weird things happening on a nearly weekly basis...but then again, she just hit Canterlot AND stole the Crown Jewels. At this point, she was honestly wondering how she could possibly top that. “...let’s just wait and see. We’re only going to be here till the end of the day, so unless we find something actually worth stealing, we’ll leave Ponyville be,” she said with finality.
“Roger,” her Pokemon nodded. With that, the group decided to enjoy the library, picking out a few books to read, and generally taking the time to enjoy the local literature...that is, until Alice noticed a door that led down to a basement. Now, never let it be said that Alice was overly nosy, but she was always a curious person, with her double life as a Phantom Thief not helping things, and ever since being turned into a Pokemon, that curiosity had only grown, likely a side effect of her transformation, as the natural instincts of a Zoroark, while normally kept in check by her human mind, still had an influence on her. Didn’t help either that living the life of a Fox, she may as well have always been a Zoroark in a human body.
Sneaking in unnoticed, she saw what looked like a mix of a basement/laboratory, evident by the various bits of equipment...and were those Evolution Stones?...several of which had been smashed. “Guess this Princess really is a scientist type,” she couldn’t help but chuckle. With that in mind, she continued to snoop around, until she came across what appeared to be a rather old looking book. “Well now, what do we have here?” she mused, picking the book up. Flipping through it, her eyes widened when she realized it was a spell book, and not just any spell book. It was a spell book that belonged to Starswirl the bearded, a premier magic user of old, if what she had read about Equestrian history was accurate. Either way, she knew that she’d just found a good target. Smiling slyly, she pulled out one of her calling cards, and with a nearby quill, wrote down her notice. Once the ink dried up, she placed the card inside the front page of the spell book, and cloaked it in an illusion. Carrying it up with her, she snuck back into the main library, before placing the book inside the return slot, ensuring that Princess Twilight would find it later.
“Found anything good?” Shade asked, a knowing smile on her face.
“You could say that. Come along everyone, we’ve got another job tonight,” she said.
“Great,” Rascal grinned as well, before the thieves quietly exited the building.
“Alice...you really like to cause trouble for the Princesses, don’t you?” Sleight sighed in mild annoyance after Alice told him what she had done. But then he gained an amused smile. “So...what are you about to do THIS time?” he chuckled.
“Oh, we have something prepared,” Alice smirked, as she put on an earpiece into her ear. “Isn’t that right, you two?”
“Understood. We are in position,” Charlotte and Spinner nodded from their spot inside the Library. Earlier, Alice had fitted them with the same equipment they used during the Canterlot Heist. Seeing as Princess Twilight was known for her intelligence, Alice decided that for this heist, they would benefit from having some eyes and ears INSIDE the Library, meaning their job was to report in case of any changes and the like. Speaking of which, it seems the dragon, Spike, had finally found the notice Alice had left. It was time to start their part.
Alice smiled slyly as she watched the Princess run out of the Library frantically. After Charlotte and Spinner had informed her of the Dragon finding the notice, she had moved to be on standby around the Library, just to see what the reaction would be first. Seeing the Princess and the Dragon run out of the Library, she casually let herself in, before moving to the basement again. True enough, she noticed a small safe inside the basement, no doubt the spot where the Princess was keeping the book. Chuckling to herself, she went over to the safe, and using the glasses Toichi gave her, checked for enchantments, she found that it was covered in a barrier, which only confirmed to her that this was the safe she was looking for. Now she simply needed to find a way to trick them into opening it for her. “Guess I’ll be doing a replay of Canterlot,” she mused as she looked around the basement, taking note of any traps, which she found none, meaning the Princess likely hadn’t set them up yet.
“Now, how best to set things up for the heist?” she mused. She considered Digging a hole/passage for her to sneak in later...but that would be too conspicuous, seeing as the library is in the middle of town, so not much sneaking room there. “Hm….” she mused as she scanned the room. Then she found what she was looking for. A large cabinet in a dark corner. Looking closer, she was delighted to find that it even had a niche at the top, which would be a perfect place for her to hide. However, that wasn’t all she had in mind. Quickly cloaking herself in an illusion that made her seem invisible, and made her way through the rest of the library. One thing she noted, was that the library had a number of ways in, especially from windows in the upper floors.
“I trust I can count on you two to let me in when the time comes, right?” she chuckled towards her two Spinarak, both of them just saluting in response. “Alright, I’ve got an idea on how we’ll do this, but in order for this to work, I need one of you to standby in the basement till the time of the heist. When I give the signal, I want one of you to knock on the door of the basement...from the inside,” Alice said.
“Leave it to me,” Spinner volunteered, before crawling away, headed for the basement.
“I’m counting on you,” Alice nodded, before turning to Charlotte. “Please keep an eye on the Princess. Let me know if she’s up to anything that might be a problem to the plan I’ll explain to you both over the communication later.”
“You got it,” she nodded.
“Awww, come on dudette, at least let me join in the fun,” Scep groaned. After Alice got back, she had explained the plan. Due to the fact that the library itself was a rather small area, too small for all of them to operate efficiently, Alice had told them that she wanted them on standby, while she handled the heist itself.
“Sorry guys, but I’ve already scouted the area. This isn’t like Canterlot or any of the other places we’ve hit. All of us crowding together here will only get in the way,” Alice said apologetically.
“Dang. And here I was hoping we could go up against a Princess after all,” Rascal sighed.
“But as always, Alice knows what she’s talking about,” Shade said. “Let’s trust her as always. If she ever needs help, she’d tell us.”
Rascal sighed, but relented all the same. Scep seemed a bit more reluctant, but in the end he nodded as well. He’d learned by now that Alice only made the best plans she could, so if she thought there really wasn’t anyway for them to join, she would do what she felt was best.
Jonathan grunted as the stop shook him awake. After finishing up in Canterlot, they had gotten info that suspicious figures had been seen leaving Canterlot through the south. As such, he and his team had given chase, to the quaint town of Ponyville.
“Nice town they’ve got here,” Echo mused as she took in the sight of the town.
“Yeah...nice,” Trixie sweatdropped. While she had long since gotten over her...issue, that still didn’t change the fact that this town seemed to be a trouble magnet....which made it oddly fitting that Fox might have passed through here, seeing as Fox herself was trouble.
However, as they got out of the carriage, the first thing they noticed was the rather tense air that seemed to hang over some parts of the town this evening. “...Oookay, guess we came right in the middle of some trouble,” Howl mused, before the four police officers shared a look, already having a good idea who was probably responsible.
“Trixie, if we’re not mistaken, a Princess is living in this town right?” Jonathan asked her, to which she nodded.
“Yes, that would be Twilight Sparkle. I can even show you where she lives,” the mare nodded.
“Alright, let’s get a better understanding of the situation first then,” Jonathan nodded as they followed after Trixie. The path they took led them to the center of town, to what appeared to be a building...built into a tree...that was somehow still alive.
“...Okay...not gonna question that,” Heat deadpanned.
However, as they followed after the path Trixie had taken, the mare was suddenly ensnared by some kind of magic trap the moment she reached a certain distance, and was suddenly restrained on the ground. “Someone help! The Great and Powerful Trixie does not wish to be a lawn ornament!” she screamed, but at that moment, the door opened, revealing a purple alicorn...who was notably smaller than all the other Princesses they had seen so far. Sighing at the sight of the trapped mare, she released the restraints, just as Jonathan and co caught up.
“Arceus, Trixie! What happened?!” Jonathan asked in alarm as they got close.
“Sorry, sorry, I was expecting... someone else,” the alicorn, Twilight Sparkle, apologized.
Hearing her, Trixie sighed, having a good idea who could possibly be the cause of this, seeing as they were after her as well. “Let Trixie guess. The Fox?” Trixie deadpanned as she got up.
Twilight gasped and pulled Trixie off of the lawn and over to her. “You know about the Fox!?” She shouted excitedly.
“Trixie knows a little about her,” she nodded, before pointing at the Lucario. “Jonathan knows more about the thief.”
Twilight dropped Trixie and smiled widely at the Lucario, a little too widely. “Hello there,” she said, never losing her grin. “I’m Princess Twilight.”
Jonathan and his team stepped back a little at that, a little unnerved by the grin on the Princess’ face. However, he quickly regained his composure and spoke. “Er...right. I’m Jonathan Trace, formerly of the Kalos Police, and currently from the Baltimare Guard, and recently, the Canterlot Pokémon Special Division,” he introduced himself. “We were looking for you, Princess Twilight, but seeing as you’ve got your...home on lockdown, I’m guessing Fox is already at it again.”
“She’s trying to steal Starswirl the Bearded’s Spell Book,” Twilight said with a nod. “Hence the magic traps.”
“Sounds like her. Alright, since we probably don’t have much time, we’ll do what we can do. Ideally, we wanted to get the local guard together to prepare some defense, but seeing as Fox is working faster than normal today, we’ll have to make due,” Jonathan sighed. True they hadn’t actually known that she was already here...or that she was already preparing another heist, but he DID at least have a standard plan of action...too bad Fox moved too fast for him this time to implement it, nor did it help that this town apparently didn’t have an official guard or anything. “Oh, and before I forget, let me introduce my team. You’ve already met Trixie. This is Howl, Heat, and Echo,” he said, gesturing to the Mightyena, the Combusken, and the Noibat respectively.
“Nice to meet you all,” Twilight said, her smile finally back to normal. “This is Mage and Rainbow Dash,” she said, gesturing to the Mismagius and the pegasus who were floating near the door. “And the rest of my friends are inside... do you wanna come in?”
“That would be much appreciated,” Howl spoke up, to which the others nodded.
Twilight smiled and gestured for them to follow her, which they did. “So, welcome to Golden Oak’s Library,” she said as she let them inside. When they got inside, they were treated to the sight of a good number of Ponies and a pair of Lucario, and the Mismagius from before. “This is Korrina,” Twilight said, introducing the Lucario wearing a helmet, who nodded from her place on the couch.
“Shalour City Gym Leader,” Jonathan nodded in acknowledgement, remembering her, seeing as he fought her once. Fought and won that is. “And her partner, I presume?” he added when he noticed Lucario next to Korrina, remembering him from the last time he had seen her.
Lucario nodded. “That’s right,” he said with a smile before turning to Twilight. “I heard someone scream, what happened?”
Twilight shuffled nervously on her hooves. “I... may have accidentally pinned Trixie to my lawn.”
“Hmph, ‘accidentally’,” Trixie huffed, much to their amusement.
Twilight chuckled nervously. “Anyway, the rest of my friends are watching the other entrances.”
“You alright Twilight?” came another voice as a VERY pink pony came down the stairs, followed by a Gallade and a Gardevoir.
“You didn’t actually catch the Fox did you?” the Gardevoir asked.
“No, I caught Trixie,” she gestured to the mare. “Jonathan, this is Pinkie Pie, Gene, and Belle.”
At this Jonathan blinked in surprise. The name ‘Gene’ was pretty common as far as names went, but as a police officer, the name, added with the Gardevoir, made the possibility of who he thought this Gallade was very likely. “Gene? Now where does that name ring a bell?” Jonathan mused, deciding to test the waters.
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Uhh... common name?” She asked hopefully.
“I tried to marry Belle about three years ago in Unova,” Gene said with a sigh. “Oh, and I use to be human and Belle... not so much.”
“Oh right! That Gene,” Jonathan mused, before walking over to them, looking them over. He had heard of the story of the case...and frankly he saw several BIG holes in it, so it was time to put it to the test.
Belle glared at him, but Gene held an arm out and stopped her from stepping forward. “Yeah, that Gene.”
He looked at them intently for another moment, noting any and all signs he could find. “Protective stance, normal hostility, and no notable signs of abuse. Yep, guess I was right. Another Tauros shit case,” he stated plainly. “Can’t charge you for abuse when I see none.”
Twilight let out a sigh of relief and Gene just smiled. “Thanks. Glad to see that some police could tell for themselves,” he sighed. “So... you here about the Fox?”
“You could say that. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Jonathan Trace, formerly of the Kalos Police Force. Formerly because well…” he chuckled awkwardly.
“...We’re not seeing Kalos ever again,” Korrina deadpanned, before a thought crossed her mind. “You know, your name sounds familiar...where have I heard it before?”
“Probably cause you’re looking at the guy who’s been working on Fox’s case for the last 5 years,” Jonathan deadpanned.
“Oh right,” Korrina said, recalling the news reports she’d heard his name from. “Should’ve guessed you’d show up.”
“Yeah well, I’m not one to give up. Sides, this new body actually makes being a police officer easier. Too bad the same can be said about Fox. Anyway, all we can do is be prepared. I’ve noticed that using Aura Sense, I’ve been able to get better glimpses of Fox in her illusions, but even then, she’s still extremely hard to catch,” Jonathan stated.
“Well we’re prepared,” Twilight said with a chuckle as she reset the traps outside the library. “We’re watching all the entrances, and aside from the trap spells outside, I have plenty more around the safe I’m keeping the book in, as well as a few barrier spells just to be safe.”
“Not a bad lineup,” Jonathan nodded, rather impressed. “But we can’t be sure. Word of advice, when she comes, keep track of what you’re doing, and think before acting. That’s how Fox got the Crown Jewels. She used a series of tricks and misdirections to fool the guards, and get the Crown Jewels. Basically, just watch your step.”
“Got it,” Twilight said with a nod. “So... now what? We wait for her to show herself?”
“That’s usually how it goes. Unless we can figure out who Fox is, that’s all we can do,” Jonathan sighed. That was the million Pokedollar question. If they could only find out who Fox really was...they’d be all the more closer to catching her. With that in mind, he and his team quickly made themselves comfortable and joined in on the wait.
Meanwhile, Charlotte and Spinner crawled up to the balcony that they had agreed upon earlier. Carefully opening the balcony, they quickly aimed and fired several webs, creating a thick rope of webbing leading from the balcony to a nearby house, not worried about anyone seeing as most if not all of the townsfolk were asleep.
After the set the rope on the balcony, if one noticed, the rope suddenly pulled downward, like something was exerting weight on it, though nobody could see anything. That changed however, when the weight vanished, and whatever was causing it climbed into the library, the illusion vanishing to reveal Alice in her Shiny Illusion. “Is everything set?” she asked.
“Of course,” the two of them nodded as she put on her Fox outfit. Moving down into the Library itself, once more cloaked in an illusion, she peeked down the stairs at the assembled crowd...and stopped short when she saw Jonathan again. For a moment, she felt...odd when she saw him, but she quickly shook it off, instead focusing on the door to the basement. Making sure nobody was looking, particularly when the Princess was busy talking, she quietly made her way to the door, and with a slight tug, opened it just a crack to let her get in easily. The door made no noise as it did, which was to be expected, as Charlotte and Spinner had gummed up the door’s locking mechanism with their webs so that just a small pull could have freed it, while she had made sure to grab some oil and use it on the hinges earlier, ensuring that the door would open silently when she did without drawing any attention, as she had finally managed to create a decent copy of her special compound that hid her scent fully from Pokemon like Howl, though had he been a Growlithe or some other Pokemon with a super sharp nose...he’d have probably sniffed her scent. Slipping inside, she put on her magic detecting glasses...and noted that the Princess had been busy, placing several magical signatures, most likely traps, all over the room, some even overlapping with each other. Fortunately, it seems Princess Twilight had left a path that was small, yet free of trap triggers, possibly she started by placing traps near the entrance before working inward...perfect for exploitation. Carefully treading her way into the basement, she found her hiding spot, and got in. “Alright everyone, time for the waiting game. Stand by for...about 2 hours at most...or until they start getting...antsy, whichever comes first,” she ordered via communication jewel.
“Understood,” Charlotte and Spinner nodded as they moved back to keep an eye on the targets.
“Huh? The dudette is just...waiting? Lame,” Scep snorted from where the three of them were listening.
“Hardly,” Shade shot back slightly miffed. “This is a pretty common tactic Foxes use. Psychological warfare,” she said.
“This is still lame,” Scep snorted.
“Well it's just how it goes sometimes,” Rascal shrugged.
Shade sighed. “Hey Scep, are you good at games?” she idly asked, deciding to try something different.
“What kind of games?” Scep’s eyes looked at her with newfound interest.
“A little game called Go. Its a little obscure, but its a form of chess,” she chuckled. “Not sure if it exists here, but I could easily make a board with how simple it is.”
“With a name like that, I think it’s right up my alley.” Scep grinned. “Get up and go. That’s the PLA way. No sitting around and ‘waiting’.” He rolled his eyes.
“Well then...let’s see if Sleight has something like that,” Shade chuckled, deciding to ignore that jab for now.
Incredibly enough, Sleight DID know about the game, and actually had an antique board and stones. Now the two mon were facing each other with a blank board and two jar fulls of stones, one jar full of black stones, while the other full of white stones. “This is Go. The goal is to capture the most territory on the board, via encircling them. Oh, and unlike chess, Black goes first,” Shade said.
“Sounds easy,” Scep nodded. “I choose Black. I don’t like to give my opponent the first move.”
“Alright,” Shade nodded, giving him the jar full of black stones. “I’ll explain the rules as we go along. It’ll be easier instead of explaining it all in one shot,” she said as she took the jar full of white stones.
(Play: "Get Over" by Dream)
Scep frowned as he looked over the board. “Where do I put the stones first?”
“Each turn, you can place one stone on any open point, which is where the lines intersect. Just so you know, unlike Chess, we don’t start with a set number of forces. We have to build our army from the ground up,” Shade said. “And yes, we can capture pieces, but to do that, you have to surround them first. Capturing instead of killing if you will.”
“Sounds like something the Commander would love to play,” Scep scratched his chin. “Never did hang around him too much, but enough to know him well.” He placed a stone off to the right corner.
“That's a start,” Shade nodded, as Scep’s first move was a good enough start to gain more territory. “But then again, the game is just starting,” she chuckled. "Also, the game ends whenever either of us feels that no more moves are necessary."
The game progressed steadily, Shade being sure to give proper information at points where they were applicable. Scep...was actually holding his own well enough for a beginner, though it also helped that Shade herself was no pro. She just remembered playing this game with Alice back when she was a Purloin, and seeing as she was the ‘teacher’ here, she made sure not to make any insane moves. However, she still maintained a steady lead.
The game lasted a good hour and a half, seeing as they weren’t using a full sized board. The board Sleight had was a smaller 9X9 grid, the type used by beginners, so the game wasn’t one that would last for hours on end.
“And stop. I think that's all the moves I I want to make,” Shade said, as she saw no need to make anymore moves, seeing as much of the board had been riddled with white and black stones, leaving only a few remaining blank areas.
Scep frowned. “But I was just getting started. How does the Commander make stuff like this look so easy?”
“His mental health aside, he’s still a leader, and from what you’ve told us, one infinitely better than the LAST guy running the PLA, especially in how he treats both his own men and his prisoners,” Shade said as she counted the pieces with her tail. “A leader must be able to look into the opponent's strategy, see through it, and devise the best strategy with his own troops in mind. Really, the reason why I wanted to show you this game, is cause its the same strategy that Foxes have used for a long time,” she explained. “They don’t start with a set number of forces. If anything, they always have to build from the ground up, like in a heist. Every time we do a heist, Alice wracks her brains thinking how best to use our individual skills to the fullest, and devise plans based on the terrain, location, and various other factors. And above all, do you know what is the one unacceptable result for a Fox?”
“Getting caught?” Scep asked.
“Wrong. Losing one of their teammates. To Alice and any Fox really, the idea of one of the people under their leadership dying in a heist or a mission...that’s beyond unacceptable. Why do you think Alice’s main focus was escape plans for the Canterlot Heist? She knew if any of us went up against any key players alone, we’d lose for sure. And to her, that meant a LOT more than getting her target.”
“I guess I see,” Scep frowned. “Never gave my own Commander’s orders that much thought. He just always seemed to know what to do and how to do it. It just came to him and we’d win.”
“Part of that might be natural talent, but like any good leader, he probably spends time...likely losing sleep too, thinking of how best to apply his forces, with as few casualties as possible,” Shade nodded as she finished counting. “Speaking of which, I win. Not bad though, you managed to keep up pretty well for a beginner.”
Scep stared at the board. “I don’t think he ever slept. Not really.” He said more to himself. He sighed, looking a bit ashamed.
“Well then, next time you see him, be sure to let him know that you appreciate what he’s done. I won’t claim to know what goes on in his head, but everyone likes a little recognition,” Shade smiled as she cleaned up the board. “Well, the next heist should be starting soon. If you want to continue listening in, be our guest. Or if you want, a stroll through town wouldn’t hurt. You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
“I’m going to go for a stroll and….pay my respects,” Scep stood up and walked off. It lacked his usual laid back swagger and fit more akin to a soldier.
(theme end)
Back in the library, time continued to tick by, but for the ponies and Pokémon inside the library, it felt like it was crawling. “Anything yet, Echo?” Jonathan asked, to which the Noibat shook her head, as her sonar had not picked up anything yet.
“Where is she?” Rarity wined. “I need my beauty sleep, and this little stakeout is cutting into it.”
“I do believe one of the reasons why they’re called Phantom Thieves, is because they only come at night, when most are asleep,” Webber idly pointed out.
Rarity huffed. “Terribly inconvenient if you ask me.”
“Welcome to a normal night in my life. Stakeouts like this were pretty common back on Earth whenever a Fox appears,” Jonathan snorted, though he could sympathise. He’d been working quite a bit for the last few days, so some rest would have been much appreciated at this point.
“Point is, there’s no guarantee when she’ll show up, only that she will,” he sighed.
Rarity groaned again and sat back down.
As this was happening, Trixie was busy reading a book she had taken off of the shelf, though she was able to keep herself busy, she couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. Up till now, she had never really seen the infamous Fox up close. But if the stories she heard were anything to go by, then the thief was nothing short of a master magician if she used tricks and illusions that could so thoroughly fool people was any indication. “I wonder though...alright, let’s see how you stack up, Fox. The great and powerful Trixie will be seeing through your illusions this tonight,” she thought with a small smirk.
Likewise Jonathan was also trying to keep himself calm. “So Fox it looks like Fox is playing a waiting game tonight. Calm down. If you lose your nerve now, you’ll walk right into any and all of her traps,” he mentally reminded himself.
All in all, Jonathan’s group were doing what they could to mentally prepare as like anything else Fox did, nothing was for certain. There was no telling when or where her stage would begin.
However, at that moment, there was the sound of a door knocking. Everyone’s attention turned to the front door, but the sound wasn’t coming from the front door.
“Umm... I think it’s comin’ from the basement,” Applejack pointed to the door.
Hearing that, Jonathan’s eyes widened. That shouldn’t be possible on accounts of how long they’ve been waiting...unless...Fox had been in the Library from the start! However, before he could think on it further, Princess Twilight had already rushed over to the door, opened it and peered in.
“Huh... I don’t-” her words were cut off when from her basement, a swarm of Zubats suddenly flew out, covering the entire Library.
On reflex Jonathan and his team flinched, but after a few seconds, they quickly recomposed themselves. To have this many Zubat emerge from the basement was impossible. That meant that this was…
“Where did all these Zubat come from?!” Korrina managed to shout over the chaos.
As if to answer her question, the entire room was seemingly enveloped in a black cloth-like material, before the entire swarm vanished, while the black material furled together, before revealing the owner. A shiny Zoroark with a black cape and a black Cavalier hat standing on the opposite side of the room. Smirking slightly, the Zoroark stood up to her full height, before bowing slightly, like a magician before an audience.
Jonathan tensed when he saw Fox, but something wasn’t right. Something was nagging at the back of his mind.
However, the issue was taken out of his hands when Princess Twilight glared at the Zoroark and shut the door to the basement. “So, you’re the one who’s trying to steal Starswirl’s Journal.”
“And you must be Princess Twilight,” Fox chuckled in amusement. “As for stealing, you mean...this?” she mused, before pulling her paw out of the cape, revealing the spellbook in it.
Twilight’s eyes widened in shock before he gaze hardened and she lit up her horn. “Give. It. Back. Now.” She growled.
“Make me,” Fox taunted, twiddling the book like it was bait on a lure.
Twilight snorted and galloped towards the Fox, charging a beam of energy as she did.
While that was happening, Jonathan had closed his eyes in concentration, reaching out with his aura sense...which was still erratic most of the time. However, it still told him what he needed to know. Something Lucario realized as well a second earlier than him.
“Twilight! Stop!” Lucario called after her, but she either ignored him or didn’t hear him.
However, when she fired, the shot went right through Fox, and shortly after, so did Twilight.
“I tried to warn you,” Lucario said with a sigh. “That was an illusion.”
Twilight grumbled as she stood back up and looked around the room. “She’s here... somewhere.”
The Lucario sighed and closed his eyes, searching the library with his Aura Sense. “It’s faint but... I sense something coming from the basement.”
Upon hearing that, Jonathan’s eyes widened as the pieces fell together for him. Fox must have been hiding INSIDE the Library the whole time, explaining how she could have set up her illusions from inside the building. However, that also meant she probably had several tricks planned. Unfortunately things moved FAR too quickly for him to actually manage to stop, as Rainbow Dash had already darted for the basement, heedless of Twilight’s warnings. As soon as the Pegasus opened the door and flew down the staircase, the alarms went off and a deep rumbling signified the activation of the traps Twilight had placed.
“... should’ve known that was going to happen,” Mage said with a sigh.
Inside the basement, Fox resisted the urge to laugh. Her Zubat and fake Fox illusions had done the job in riling them all up, and the knocking on the door served to put them into overdrive in terms of paranoia. However, even she couldn’t have expected that the moment she got out of the way of the door, it flew open, as a Pegasus flew right in...right into the traps that were in place, triggering ALL of them, with the one she got caught in giving the funniest effect.
“FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA! SOMEPONY HELP ME!!” the Pegasus shouted as she was trapped in what could best be described as a slime trap...one that seemed to be growing too. “OH SWEET HARMONY! IT’S IN MY FEATHERS!” she shouted as she was now being wrapped in the goo, just as the others came in.
“Someone help me!” Dash shouted when she spotted them.
Mage flew down to the Pegasus and prodded the goo. “Wow, this is a pretty advanced gooey trap, not so much magic aside from what contained it though,” she turned back to the others.
“Anyone know anything about cleaning gunk off of a Pegasus?”
Despite herself, Rarity smiled. “Oh, I know a few mares who would be more than happy to help.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened and she whimpered in fear. “Anyone else help me?”
As they were busy focusing on the Pegasus, Fox looked towards the safe, and casted another illusion over it.
“Uh...guys? We have a problem,” Mage said when she saw the safe...or rather, what it appeared to be.
Where the book had been kept, the shield was still up and strong, but the book was missing.
“NO!” Twilight shouted, rushing over to the safe and ripping away the magic shield, and in her haste, the front of the safe too...which revealed that the book was still inside the safe.
“Oh thank Celestia,” Twilight sighed as she grabbed the book and hugged it. “It’s alright everyone, it’s still here.” She showed them that the book was in fact still in her possession.
At this point, Fox was grinning almost savagely at the sight, and in a quick blur of motion, did the same thing she did in Canterlot, she grabbed her target using her speed, while the Princess was at her most vulnerable.
“Ah crap,” Mage moaned.
“W-what?” Twilight whimpered, looking at her empty hooves. “N-no... this can’t be happening... this is impossible!”
“Awww...I’m surprised at you, Johnny-boy. How could you forget the most important thing about little old me?” Fox teased from up the stairs, drawing their attention to her who was standing casually at the top of the stairs, the book in her paws. “Nothing is impossible for Phantom Thief Fox. And as promised, the spell book is mine. Adieu,” she said with a wink, before closing the door to the basement...and locking it too.
Turning away from the now locked door, Fox let out a jaunty little whistle as she walked away with the book. All that was left was to trigger the outside security, and she’d be able to walk away no-
“Hi!” An overly cheery voice said from directly behind her.
Fox stopped short, her mind trying to process what she was hearing. Turning around, she was met with pink, pink, and well...pink. In the split second, her mind raced, namely wondering how the heck did this pink Pony get out when she had well… “...Didn’t I just lock you in there a moment ago?” Was all she managed to say, her mind still trying to process how the pink pony had suddenly appeared.
Pinkie looked at her in confusion, then back at the locked door. “Oh wow, that is weird, wonder what happened.”
At this point Fox grabbed the only LOGICAL conclusion she had at the moment. “...Oh I get it. Another earth pony magician. Nice try, kid, but you’re not about to catch me with small tricks like that,” Fox smirked, before throwing a smoke bomb, covering the room with smoke as she escaped through the windows. Once she was at the window sill, she quickly threw several ball bearings at the ground, triggering the traps, before leaping off the window, and over the traps.
Once she landed, she looked back at the library and smirked, then turned back to see the same earth pony standing in front of her.
“...I’m starting to understand how the cops must have felt…” she deadpanned, tough her eyes still bugged out when she saw the Earth Pony, who she could have sworn had teleported somehow. “How did you do that?”
Pinkie smiled. “I just used the door,” she said with a giggle.
At this, Fox couldn’t help but smirk. This girl was good. “...You’re not bad, kid. Keep this up, and you might be an incredible magician one day. But, I’m afraid today is not that day,” Fox chuckled, before a bouquet appeared in her hands, which was promptly shoved into Pinkie’s face, the pony suddenly going woozy, before passing out as the sleep powder that Fox had coated on the flowers taking effect.
“Glad that’s over,” she sighed as she leaped up to a nearby roof.
“You’re telling me,” a familiar voice said off to her left. “Those flowers tasted really weird, where’d you get them?”
Looking over, her eyes all but jumped out of their sockets when she saw the pony she had just knocked out. At this point, Fox decided to do something that she would never mention to anyone, for it would forever be a stain on her personal record. She ran. No grace, no glitz, just plain running like hell.
(Insert Benny Hills theme)
“Did I get away from her?” Fox wheezed as she stuck her head out of a barrel.
“Away from who?” Pinkie asked just beside her, sticking her head out of the same barrel and looking around.
Fox was gone so fast, she left an outline behind.
“I’ve had to have lost her this time…” she panted, hiding in one of the apple trees.
“This is a fun game,” Pinkie said, hanging upside down from the tree by her tail. “But who are we running from anyway?” Pinkie looked away and swallowed one of the apples hanging near her, when she looked back, the Zoroark was gone. “Shoot, I forgot to ask for the book again.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but that pony is impossible,” Fox wheezed, clutching her chest as she stuck her head out of the bell tower in Town Hall.
“I’m not impossible,” Pinkie argued, her voice echoing slightly as she stuck her head out of the bell. “I’m Pinkie Pie.” She smiled at Fox.
“...” at this point, something broke, and from her cape, Fox pulled out dozens of small metal balls, and before Pinkie could react, found herself in a cocoon made out of webbing, which covered the entire bell along with her too.
“Help! I’ve been cocooned!” Pinkie shouted from inside the ball of webbing.
Fox’s only response was to give the bell several sharp blows, making it ring loudly, before she vanished into the night.
(theme end)
“Okay, Sleight was right. This town is crazy. Physics defying ponies? That shouldn’t be possible...and that’s saying something coming from me,” was all Fox could say as she pulled out her target for the night. “Oh well, at least I managed to ge-” her words died when she opened the book out of curiosity only to find it blank. Blinking, she put on her glasses...and saw that there was no magical signature whatsoever on the book, meaning only one thing. The book was a fake.
Fox stopped short at the realization, seemingly unable to comprehend...before she started to chuckle...then laugh. Not a sarcastic laugh, or an angry one. But an honest laugh, like someone who had been told a good joke. “After all that trouble, I was tripped up by something as minor as this,” she laughed. “Well played, Princess. I completely forgot about decoys tonight,” she said, tipping her hat lightly in concession. At this point trying to go back to steal the real one would be asking to get caught. So it looks like she had just been dealt her first loss on Equus...and she was perfectly okay with that.
While this chase had been happening, back in the library basement,Twilight stared at the door for a moment before a smile crept onto her face. “Hehe, she just... and we all... hehehe...”
The ponies all took a few steps back at the sight, while Jonathan and his team looked apprehensive at the sudden development, namely the frightening look the Princess was developing. Gene, not aware of the danger, took a step towards her. Before he could speak, however, the unstable alicorn's eyes flashed briefly. Everyone else could only watch, too stunned to move, as she looked around in confusion for a moment before gasping and darting to the door. A quick spell disengaged the lock and she darted through.
Spike was the first to run after, followed closely by the other ponies, leaving the pokemon to bring up the rear. They reentered the main room just as Twilight started doing something they never expected.
"Heh... Hehehe... Haha!" the princess cheered. "Take that, Fox! You failed!"
"What are ya' talking about, Twi?" Applejack asked, more than a bit worried about her friend's mental state. "That Fox character got away with the book."
"No she didn't," Twilight corrected bluntly. As Applejack opened her mouth to argue, Twilight's horn lit up, pulling a book off one of the shelves in the 'accounting' section and held it out for the others to see.
Starswirl the Bearded's Book of Spells.
Twilight smiled proudly at everyone's confused expressions before explaining. "That was a decoy. Fox was expecting her target to be put under heavy security, so she went after the book that was the most protected. She didn't even bother looking on the public shelves. Then I just used a memory suppression spell on myself until the decoy left the library, since my acting skills aren't very good."
Hearing that, Jonathan blinked before his eyes gained an incredulous look. After all that, they had actually managed to beat Fox...with a decoy, one of the most basic tricks in this situation. This...was getting too much.
"Ha! Take that, Fox! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous being, 'never get involved in a land war in Zebrica', but only slightly less well known is this; 'never go in against Twilight Daisy Sparkle when books are on the line!'"
Rainbow tried to hold a snicker in with her hooves. "Y-your middle name is Daisy?"
Hearing this, the two Spinarak that had been watching the whole thing decided to crawl out the window. Once they were out, they touched the small gemstones they had as collars. “Fox, we have a small problem.”
“If it's about the book, I know,” Fox said from the other side, but she didn’t seem upset. If anything she seemed amused. “I already found it out after I got the pink pony off my tail, but...if she went to that much trouble for this thing, I suppose we can let it slide for once. After all, it's not like this was a serious heist anyway. Let her have her moment,” she chuckled, before cutting off the line.
Back in the library, Jonathan sighed as he was processing what had just happened. While he was busy thinking, 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, not sure what else to say.
“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. It seemed that his options for the future had just increased.
Likewise, Trixie was also thinking over what she had seen. Fox was...strictly speaking, her tricks used in this heist were nothing special. But it was HOW she applied them that made the difference. She had heard of it, but actually seeing it up close was a completely different thing. It was clear to her, that Fox was the real deal. A master illusionist, not from how complex the illusions were...but rather from how she applied her illusions to utterly ensnare the minds of her targets. If Twilight had not taken that extra step, it was clear to her that Fox would have walked away with the spell book tonight.
Ending theme:
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okay so officially this story is caught up.
Can I burn them now?
When your King comes.
awww
kudos to Oblivion for visual representation
its always so much fun reading about Fox trying to outwit Pinkie Pie...now if she can just figure out that shes coming into heat...this should be fun...
I remember reading this part on Zeus' side of the story. He actually didn't feel comfortable with Fox stealing Starswirl's book and decided to have her stealing the wrong one instead.
Also, why steal from Twilight Sparkle anyway? Because there wasn't any sign of corruption involved with her like most of Fox's previous heists.
6399482
Play heist. Its her reminding Equus, that she's still here. As Carmen Sandiego said: "Catch me if you can!"
6399427 its not caught up...Fox still has to hit Los Pegasus, drive Bit a little more crazy, make an enemy of Vincent and then Alice meets Johnathan again...
oh, and ur ending theme was removed from youtube so it doesnt work..
6399511
...I'll fix that later
6399506 I do remember Carmen Sandiego.
...I might be wrong here but, is fox in heat?
6399960
More controlled, but yeah. Simply put, seeing as the object of her affection isn't always around, and she was pretty logical as a human, her human mind is able to keep it under control
6400048
Ah, alright then so I'm guessing her object of affection is Jonathan.
Is he affected in any way by fox being in heat or is it his own thing as well?
...and will something happen that forces fox/alice to be close to Jonathan soon?
I'm still waiting for Jonathan to find Alice, not shiny Fox. That will be an interesting reunion.
6400096
My current working theory, is since the two have little interaction during the peak of the heat, the effects on Jonathan are minimal, seeing as males don't go into heat. However, they (Alice and Jonathan) meet around the end of the heat, so while the effects aren't too drastic, it will have a small effect on him...which will have some significance later. Don't worry, I got most of the plot planned out already.
6400274
Its not that far off. Just one more area before Las Pegasus
Ah, so she's slightly in heat, that would make a little more sense as to why she wasn't at the top of her game this night.
6399509 Don't think it's very hard to make an enemy of Vincent. He'd probably destroy a few buildings just if someone told him to suck it up.
6400475 no, he wouldnt do that if that happened...but threaten a member of his family...
6400606 He nearly did just because someone said they were a ranger.
6400475
Kid does need to learn that its NOT okay to flaunt his powers like a playing card
6400609 no, that was just fifteen years of repressed anger and helplessness being released at Abby but directed at the Rangers and law enforcement in general for how badly they failed to find his father. to be suddenly given that kind of an outlet after what Vincent has seen his father do? yeah, it wasnt going to pretty, but he had nothing against Abby personally, it was just that repressed rage finally getting out
6400683 I think the problem here is that he still tends to use his powers to get his way. Of course, I had a theory...which was confirmed by Thad himself
I found Fox's rival.
And here i was hoping for another kiss