Mages of Virtue: The Phantom Thief

by Nova Arc

Face-to-Face

Sunset and Loli walked back to their room. Loli still had a mild headache, but at least she was out of the infirmary.

However, they were going to get anything but peace and quiet with Trixie apparently waiting for them in front of their room.

“You two hang out way too much to have just met this year,” Trixie stated. “And Trixie doesn’t believe in coincidence. What’s going on?”

Sunset really didn’t want to explain it to Trixie, but she also wanted to avoid Trixie from coming up with any crazier ideas.

“I, uh, lent my pen to Loli,” Sunset lied. “But I decided to help her back from the infirmary. Remember when you put her there?”

“Yes, I do,” Trixie said without an ounce of remorse. “And do you mean this pen?” Trixie asked, holding up a bright teal pen.

“What the- you went through my bag? What the hell?!”

“I knew you were going to lie, so I made sure to removed all opportunities so you’d have no choice but to tell the truth.” Trixie must’ve been proud of herself, seeing as she was grinning like an evil mastermind that had caught her arch nemesis in the ultimate trap. But Loli was not fazed.

“Well, I do have another response we could use,” Loli said.

“And that is?”

“None of your beeswax! Now move,” she said, bolting past Trixie with enough speed to kick up a gust and spin Trixie. Sunset immediately followed while Trixie was still disoriented. Trixie was the last person she wanted involved in this. “So, got any ideas for how we can lure out the Phantom?”

“Yeah, but, uh…”

“But what? What is it?”

“It’s… not one of my best.”

“Dawn and I have taken on a pack of Timberwolves by making up a plan as it went along. Lay it on me.”

“Well, we could… wait for her to show up.”

Loli stared at Sunset for a moment before replying. “I know what I said, but aren’t you supposed to be the one with a plan?”

“Well, I’ve never tried catching something I have zero info on,” Sunset replied. “No article I’ve read on her has anything solid!”

“Uh… okay… well, I guess it could be a start. I mean, apparently, you saw her in the room, so anything’s possible.”

“We should probably take turns watching.”

“I’ll get the coffee.”

---

By nightfall, Roxy was at the desk in her room, working on her computer… well, it looked like she was working. She heard a knock on the door and changed the web tab before saying, “Come in.” Pearl walked in and closed the door behind her. “What’s up?”

“You got a package,” Pearl said, holding out a parcel the size of a shoe box. It was wrapped in purple and silver wrapping paper, which was held down with a yellow ribbon. “You’re lucky this came in before your father came back.”

“No kidding,” Roxy said, taking the package. There was no tag or letter attached. She looked all around it and found something on the corner of the bottom: a symbol of a rock with what looked like sugar cubes sticking out of it. Roxy smiled. “Really glad he didn’t see this one.” Roxy placed her finger on the symbol on the corner and a message appeared on the top:

Dear Roxy,

I’m really, really sorry this didn’t get to you earlier. Business has been slow lately and too many problems keep popping up at the wrong time. But I managed to sneak out of an important meeting to get this sent over. So you’d better damn well appreciate it!

I really hope it reaches you directly. Just to make sure “you-know-who” doesn’t get his hands on it.

I’ll try and get in touch as soon as I possibly can. Take care of yourself, sugar.

Love,
Mom.

Roxy’s smile turned into the grin of a starstruck teenager. She looked closely at the ribbon and sniffed. She bit the top and pulled, drawing the ribbon out of its knot. Once it was out, she bit the ribbon and chewed. “Lemonade. Nice.” She opened the box and grinned. Before she could bring out the contents, her phone rang. She looked at the screen and gasped.

“Crap! It’s my dad!” She looked out the window, but didn’t see the car. She answered the call. “Good evening, dad.”

“Evening, Roxanne,” replied the man. “How was your day?”

“Oh, it was… great,” Roxy said with some hesitation.

“I see,” he replied. “Well, I won’t be back as early as I thought. My appointment got moved, so I’ll be gone for another two days.”

“Thank Faust,” Roxy thought. “Oh. Okay. Well, I hope it goes well.”

“Good night, Roxanne.”

Roxy breathed a sigh of relief as her father hung up the phone.

“You’d think he’d care less with how he just leaves for weeks on end without a word,” she groaned.

“Uh-huh. So, you want to start with General Knowledge, or History?” Pearl asked, holding up two large textbooks.

“How about Sleep?” Roxy joked. “No? Ugh, fine.”

---

Sunset was, once again, in the same open field. The flowers were just as bright and the breeze was just as calming. She looked around at the vast space around her, taking deep breaths. But then, just like the last time, she noticed a figure in the distance. It was clearer today, as Sunset could notice her bright orange hair.

“Hey,” Sunset called out. But the figure did not move. Sunset began to walk towards the figure, still calling out. “Hey! Can you hear me?” It was hard to move through the thick flowerbeds. But the figure moved slightly at the sound of the flora rustling.

However, something from the outside distracted her; her own name.

“Sunset,” it called. “Sunset… WAKE UP!!!”

---

Sunset’s eyes shot open and immediately scanned the room. Her eyes darted rapidly around her surroundings. At first, she saw nothing except a sleeping Trixie and relaxed. But then, she looked to her side.

“Well, you sure are a heavy sleeper.”

Sunset was paralyzed with shock. Right in front of her bed, sitting cross-legged on the ground next to her, was a figure in a black robe with a brown satchel bag over her shoulder. Her face was hidden in shadows, save for her bright blue eyes.

Sunset’s body finally reacted, but just as she made her move-

“Shhh.”

On hearing the shushing sound, Sunset’s body froze. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t speak; actually she couldn’t do anything!

“Uh-uh-uh. Play nice,” said the shadow. “Now, in case you’re still trying to process it, yes, I am the “Phantom Thief”,” she said. “No idea why you guys came up with that, but I got used to it.” Sunset stared, confused. “Yeah. I expected that look. Let me explain. See, I’ve got a job to do, but it’s hard to do with you snooping around. Bad enough Princess Celestia is upping security around the school, I don’t need any more nosy kids like you looking into my business. So, here’s the deal: I need you to back off.”

Sunset just stared.

“Oh, right.” With a wave of the Phantom’s hand, Sunset’s throat loosened. “What were you going to say?”

“LOLI!!! NOW!!!” Sunset waited… and waited… and waited… “What the- LOLI!!!”

“Save your breath,” said the Phantom. “No one can hear you while I’m here.”

“Wait, what?”

“How do you think I sneak around all the time without anyone being able to catch me?”

“A silencing rune…”

“Ding-ding-ding! I can isolate sounds in an area so I, and whoever I choose, are the only ones who can hear what’s going on! But enough about me… or, wait… you probably have a crap-tonne of questions about me. Go on.”

Sunset was staring, surprised. “Where should I start?” Sunset she finally said, forcing herself to remain calm. “What exactly are you doing? I heard you only take things of sentimental value, but you’ve been around since the year started, but no one has reported anything missing.”

“Let’s say I have a bigger job,” she replied. “Someone made an offer I can’t refuse. Don’t worry, I’ll be out of your hair in about a week.”

“What are you looking for?” Sunset asked.

“Nothing worth wondering about,” replied Phantom. “Honestly, I don’t really care much for it myself. I just came out of retirement because I got the deal of a lifetime!”

“From who?”

The Phantom looked left and right before leaning in. “Can’t say, but he’s in your class.”

“Well, that narrows it down… kinda,” Sunset thought. “Wait, what of all the stuff you stole before?”

“Hm? Oh, you mean last couple of years? Never really did take them. Look around in places people wouldn’t normally pass by and you’ll find a lot of them.”

But one question really bothered Sunset: “Why are you telling me all this so casually?”

“Like I said, I’m retired. I have no need to keep anything but my secret identity. Pretty anticlimactic, huh?” She got up and stretched out. “So, no more ghost hunting for you, okay? I’m generally a nice person, as you can see, but I really hate people who are rude, nosy, and pushy. So please, for your sake-” She leaned in closer, “- back off.”

Sunset blinked and suddenly, she could move. But in that split second, the Phantom had also vanished. Sunset looked around, but there was no sign that she had even been there! Trixie was, somehow, still asleep and she could still see Loli looking out the window.

But then her train of thought was broken when she noticed a sliver of sunlight creeping in through the window. “Wait, wasn’t it still dark out just now?”

Sunset was more than confused, especially the part about “coming out of retirement”. And why couldn’t she move? Was that magic or another part of her Affinity? And apparently, Princess Celestia already knew about her presence, but said nothing.

“Probably better off that as few people as possible know,” she thought. “Loli and I may have to rethink our approach.”

---

Dawn was not a morning person. In fact, the only reason he was awake was because he had to prepare for anything, and by “anything”, he was thinking of Blueblood. On his bed was one of his yo-yos, or pieces of it anyway. Bits and pieces of what looked like weapon parts were also scattered across his bed.

“Yo. Awake already?” Thunderlane called from the door. Now he was a true morning person. Unlike Dawn, he didn’t need coffee to wake up at 7:30AM and kick the day off in fifth gear! “It’s normally a war to get you out of bed.”

“I’m not really “out of bed” now am I?” Dawn said, grinning.

“Whatever.” Thunderlane looked at the mug of steaming hot coffee on Dawn’s bedside table. “How do you drink that?” he asked, staring into the black liquid.

“Three cubes of sugar,” Dawn answered. “You should try it.”

“Dude, my body's a temple,” said Thunderlane. “And I do not intent to anger the gods by offering them poison.”

“You say poison, I say jet fuel.” Dawn looked behind Thunderlane. “He’s still not back?”

“Who? Bulk or Blue?”

“Uh… Both. I didn’t even know Bulk had left. Where’d he go?”

“Said he was helping Fluttershy at the shelter or something.”

“Who?”

“Shy girl. Pinkette. You know, the one who was caught with about twelve pets in her locker, including a bear!”

“Oh.”

“You really need to get out more often. She’s in your class!”

Dawn shrugged. He didn’t really care much for social interaction. “So, where to?” he asked.

“Gym. Scheduled a session with Atlas.”

“Right. And you didn’t just get one of the gym’s trainers because…?”

“Eh. They cost too much.”

“That makes sense,” Dawn thought. “Well have fun with that.”

“You know I do,” Thunderlane said before taking off.

Before he could get back to what he was doing, Dawn’s cell rang. He picked it up and saw it was a call from Loli.

“Whad’up?” Loli chimed.

“Not much,” Dawn replied. Trying to see if I make some adjustments to my weapons. I still think they can be a bit more compact.”

“Well, it’d be a lot easier than carrying them all separately. Doing anything else?”

“Nope. Why?”

”Sunset and I are heading into town later today. You’re joining us and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“No.”

“I said that wasn’t an answer.”

Dawn heard a tap on his window and looked out to see Loli standing outside the window pane.

“Really?”

Loli cut the call before answering through the glass, “If you don’t come out, I’ll drag you out, kicking and screaming if I have to.”

“You and what army?”

---

“Uh… Is he fine with this?” Sunset asked, concerned when she saw Loli pulling Dawn behind her with her ponytail. She was sitting at a table outside Joe’s Doughnut Shop where she had told Loli to meet her.

“He’ll be fine,” Loli said, finally letting Dawn go. Then she looked at him. “Still think I was bluffing?”

Dawn simply glared at her, then at Sunset.

“I had nothing to do with this,” Sunset said, trying not to smile.

Dawn groaned. “Okay, so, what’s this about?”

“Sunset said she had something important to talk about,” Loli explained. “I just wanted to get you out of your room.”

“The last time I was out of my room on a Saturday, someone got hurt.”

“Come on! At least sit here and pretend to be interested.”

Dawn grudgingly complied and sat down with them.

“So, what’s up?” Loli asked.

Sunset took a deep breath. “There’s no other way to put this, so… um… yeah. Last night? I saw the Phantom Thief.”

“WHAT?!” Loli cried, getting the attention of everyone in the cafe. “Sorry,” she apologized. “What?!” she cried, but a lot less loud.

“She was in our room.”

“W-What?!”

“You and Trixie couldn’t hear us because, apparently, she had a silence rune.”

“Well, what did she say?” Loli said, her eyes glowing with excitement.

“Uh… back off.”

The excitement suddenly faded. “I know this is getting old already, but… what?”

“She knows I’ve been looking into her. She knows my name. And apparently, Princess Celestia already knows about her return.”

“Well, if she did, she’d obviously want to avoid panic… or more people doing what we’re doing,” Loli said. “But I still don’t get how you could’ve been having a conversation and I Didn’t even hear her come in!”

“Like I said, her rune controls sounds. But here’s the weird part: she said she “came out of retirement”. Something about the deal of a lifetime offered to her by someone from our class.”

“O… kay. That’s even weirder.”

“Are you sure you weren’t having a bad dream?” Dawn chimed in.

“Look who suddenly got interested,” Loli said, a smug grin plastered on her face.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But you so sure someone isn’t messing with you?”

“How?”

“Say, for example, someone knew that you were looking into this ghost story and decided to have a little fun with it.”

“Killjoy,” Loli mumbled.

“I’m just saying it’s a possibility.”

“Dawn, come on! You’re the same person who believed this “ghost story” back when your hoverboard got stolen!”

“I told you, I just lost it. Not the first time.”

Sunset watched the bicker like siblings. It was a struggle to hold back her laughter.

“So, how long have you two know each other?” Sunset asked.

“A really long time,” said Loli. “Pretty much since we were kids. We grew up together in Magehattan.”

“Wow. Your parents knew each other?”

“Kinda. My mom never told me the details, but they’re both adventurers and met on some trip to Masia.”

“Wow. So you guys get around a lot, huh?”

“Not really. We just stuck to the Everfree.”

“When you were kids?!”

“Hey, no one told us that the things in there were supposed to be scary. All they said was, ‘Don’t go there.’ How were we supposed to know it wasn’t safe.”

“But we made it a habit anyway,” Dawn added.

“‘Cause we’re crazy like that.”

Sunset looked in disbelief. But then, she had an idea.

“So, the trials are coming up in a week. Are you two entering?”

“N-”

“Yup,” Loli cut it before Dawn could finish. Dawn looked at Loli, shocked. “Since we don’t have a team anymore, we need to retake the whole thing. Besides, we just threw our old team together, so we actually need to take this test.”

Sunset noticed Dawn looking at Loli like she had just told the world his one true weakness like it was normal.

“Oh… cool. I wasn’t here to take it, so I need to too,” she said, not wanting to go any further; Dawn still had that look.

“Sweet!”

---

“‘Sweet?’ NO! Not sweet!” Dawn protested when they left. As they walked down the street, Dawn continued to scold Loli for her actions. “Did you even ask-”

“No,” Loli said. “Because I knew you’d say no.”

“And for a very good reason!”

“One bad experience is not a good reason,” Loli argued.

“We’re going into the Everfree Forest, the most dangerous area of land in this hemisphere; what make you think this won’t end horribly for someone?”

“Dude, the point is to find teammates you can actually trust.”

“And if I happen to get paired with Blueblood?” he asked.

“Uh…” Loli looked for a way to fill the hole in her logic.

“Or Atlas? Or Trixie?”

The hole was getting bigger and harder to fill.

“Um… you let me worry about Trixie,” Loli said, but Dawn still looked skeptical. “Come on! It’ll be fun! We’ll be in the Everfree, fighting monsters and… probably looking for some symbolic artifact to signify we completed the challenge; it’ll be great!”

Dawn was still not sure. But he did love exploring the Everfree…

“One condition,” he said.

Loli instantly beamed and a huge smile cut across her face. “I don’t care. As long as you say yes!”

“Whatever happens is on you.”

“That is a very small price to pay!” Loli said, her excitement causing her voice to squeak.

“Great. Now, first, you’re going to help me tweak me gear.”

“Hey, Razer needs a tune-up too,” she said, referring to her weapon. “That’s a playdate, not work.”

---

Meanwhile, Sunset had met up with Twilight and Pinkie Pie, both of whom were waiting just outside the Chantalot General Library, and explained what had happened the night before. Twilight looked surprised while Pinkie looked very excited, which is not how you’d expect a normal student to react to hearing that there’s a mysterious figure lurking around the school.

“Okay… I… um… what do I say in a situation like this?” Twilight asked, still lost for words.

“You say, “I was wrong. Ghost stories do exist. Sorry for doubting you, Pinkie.” Go on,” said Pinkie.

“Are you absolutely sure it wasn’t a dream?” asked Twilight.

“You’re the second person to ask me that question,” replied Sunset. “Answer’s still yes.”

“Then maybe we really should report this to Princess-”

“Princess Celestia knows,” Sunset interrupted. “According to the Phantom anyway.”

“Oh… so what now? It doesn’t look like there’s much else we can do.”

“We could try to catch her,” Sunset suggested. “And by we, I mean me, you two, and Loli.”

“Wait, wha-”

“I’m in,” Pinkie answered immediately before Twilight could object.

“Hold on, let’s think about this,” Twilight said, trying to reason with her friends.

“I’ve been thinking about this for weeks and I’ve made up my mind,” said Sunset. “We’re catching the Phantom Thief.”

Pinkie could barely contain herself, jumping up and down like a five-year-old who just ate a whole sack of sugar.

“Where do we start?” asked the pinkette.

“First, we need runes; lots and lots of runes…” Sunset said, a determined grin plastered on her face.

---

Later that night, in Sunset’s room...

“This is crazy- no scratch that… IT’S COMPLETELY INSANE!!!” Twilight could spend the whole night listing everything that could possibly go wrong with their plan. Sadly, the other three girls in the bedroom had very selective hearing; anything she said would probably be carried away in the wind.

“Relax, Twi,” said Pinkie with her usual optimism. “Bait traps are the simplest and most effective traps ever!”

“Except when the aren’t. What if she figures out it’s a trap? What if she turns it on you? On us? What if-”

“Twilight,” Sunset said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder to calm her. “Stop worrying about what could go wrong and start imagining what could happen if this works!”

Twilight’s breathing slowed. “I still think this is insane,” she added as she tried to calm herself.

“A lot of the greatest things in the world are insane,” said Loli. “Someone woke up one morning and said, “Hey! I have an idea! Let’s have a celebration where we dress up in scary outfits and get scared of some crazy myth that happens to be true because it’s fun!” BOOM! Nightmare Night.”

“That’s… an oddly good point…” Twilight admitted.

“See,” said Pinkie. “Nothing to worry about. You’re surrounded by professionals.”

“I highly doubt-”

“We all know our part?” Sunset interrupted, grinning at Twilight’s scowl.

“You sleep, we keep a lookout and charge in the moment she makes her entrance.”

“See that?” asked Twilight. “That’s the kind of explanation that makes this plan sound completely nuts!”

“Look, Twi, it’ll work,” Sunset said. "Trust-”

Sunset was cut off by an odd rumbling. Everyone held onto something to keep from falling down.

“Uh… what was that?” asked Twilight.

“I think our plan just went out the window,” said Loli, looking out the window.

“I know I’ll regret asking… but why?”

“Because the Royal Guard just cornered the Phantom Thief outside the library.”

Nobody asked questions. They all shot towards the window.

Just across their dorm, a shadowy figure stood in front of the library, holding a large book. Royal Guards surrounded her, weapons at the ready in case she resisted.

“Well… this makes our job easier,” Loli said.

Author's Note:

So... this is where things get interesting.

Forgive any grammar problems or inconsistencies. This was done in fragments of my spare time, but I hope the next one will turn out way better. Also, sorry for the constant bold print. Don't know why it's happening, but I'm still looking for a way to get rid of it.

Again, like, comment, subscribe!

*Edit: Fixed it!

Comments

[Nova Arc]

7671459 Yeah, I get this a lot. This is a reboot and the previous version has a bit more info. Basically, both the events of FIM and EG take place in this world as part of the same timeline; no magic portal, no alternate reality human world with no magic (or so we thought); just Equestria humanized with magic.

Skyborn are Pegasi, Esper are Unicorns, Gaians are Earth Ponies. There's a very expansive lore behind the world that would be ruined if I just infodumped everything in the first few chapters, so I like to leave you guessing and begging for mercy as I hold you to ransom with your own curiosity to keep things fresh. But just in case, I put up the Q&A segments in the story where the characters answer your questions.

Thanks for the review. I'll get to your story by tomorrow hopefully when I have more time.