The Adventures of the Power Ponies
#43-Burned Part 1
It was night at the Canterlot Museum of Magic, and the security guards were making their rounds. One guard, a green earth mare with a brown mane tied up in a bun, turned the corner into the Norwhinnean Mythology exhibit. Letting out a yawn, she shined her flashlight on the artifacts: a sculpture of Freya, a stone detailing Ragnarok, a pair of iron gauntlets, and an ancient spear.
A noise sounding like a hoof slipping made her jump. The guard spun around, sweeping her light down the two intersecting hallways. Seeing nothing, she shrugged and turned back to the exhibit.
Then her face grew pale.
"Uh, Lens?" she said into her walkie-talkie. "Is there anyone else in the Norwhinnean exhibit besides me?"
"Uh…no," a male voice said through the device. "According to the cameras, you're the only one anywhere near that area, Searchlight. Why?"
"Well, either invisibility is a secret power of Thor's Gauntlets," Searchlight said, pointing her flashlight towards an empty display case, "or they've just been stolen."
"You sure everything's alright over there?" Twilight asked into her cell as she pulled on a purple evening dress.
"Sure, sure," said Spike's voice on the other end. "Radiance and I just took care of some thugs. Nothing big, just your run-of-the-mill bank robbery."
"That's it?" she asked, using her magic to put on some black flats. "No supervillain activity? Mane-iac, Trixie?"
"Nope. All in Balkham."
"What about Discord?"
"Still no activity from him."
"No natural disasters? Because if there are, I could totally fly over there right now!"
"We're fine, Twilight. Zapp, Radiance, Saddle and I've got everything under control. You just relax, have a good time."
"Yeah, sure, relax. I can do that. I can…" Twilight froze as she caught her frazzled reflection in the mirror of her hotel room. "No, I can't."
She heard Spike sigh. "Twilight, it'll be fine."
"No, it won't be."
"Twilight, it's been almost a month. Plus ten years. Just talk to her."
"Oh, right, sure," Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "And what am I supposed to say? 'Hi, remember me? The mare who practically ruined your…?'"
A knock at the door interrupted her.
"Twilight?" said Officer Flash Sentry's voice. "You ready? Lyra and Bon-Bon are waiting for us in the lobby."
"Coming!" Twilight called before returning to her phone conversation. "You'll call me the minute there's trouble, okay?"
"Twilight," Spike said in a stern voice. "Go."
"But what if…? Hello?"
The long tone ended the conversation for her. Sighing, Twilight hung up and slid the phone into the pink purse hanging from her shoulder. Looking into the mirror, she put on a big smile before walking to the door and opening it. Flash, wearing a dashing black suit and blue tie, greeted her with a smile.
"You look great," he said.
"Thank you," Twilight said, grinning back as she closed the door. "Let's go."
"I must say," Bon-Bon said, "it's nice to be in the backseat for once."
Twilight and Flash were in the back of a rented limo with Twilight's driver, Bon-Bon, and her partner, Lyra. The two mares were gussied up, Bon-Bon wearing a pink ruffled dress and Lyra wearing a matching yellow one.
"So Lyra, you and Twilight went to school together?" Flash asked.
"Oh yeah," Lyra said. "We weren't that close. I mean we did hang out a couple times. The first year, we sat with four other fillies at lunch, but that was before Twilight started hanging out with…"
"It's uncanny, isn't it?!" Twilight said quickly. She cleared her throat. "I mean…when I hired Bon-Bon to be my driver, I of course had no idea she was in a relationship with one of my old schoolmates. Weird how things turn out, huh?"
She nudged Flash so hard he fell sideways into the minibar.
"Oops," she said, bringing her hoof to her mouth. "Sorry."
"It's okay," Flash said, massaging his foreleg. "Thanks for inviting me to your school reunion. I can't wait to meet the rest of your schoolmates."
"Can you believe it's been ten years?" Lyra asked. "Seems like only yesterday I was taking that entrance exam." She sighed dreamily. "It'll be nice to see every pony again: Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, Minuette, Moondancer, Sun—"
"Some night, huh?" Twilight said with a laugh, looking out the window. "Isn't Canterlot lovely at night?"
"Sure is," Flash said. "Apparently, there's been some serious crime going on in this town at night."
Twilight looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Haven't you heard?" Bon-Bon said, pulling up her phone. "There was a robbery last night at the Canterlot Museum of Magic. It's all over the news."
She showed Twilight her screen with the article. Twilight's eyes widened as they read through the tiny text.
"Someone stole Járngreipr?" she said.
Flash chuckled. "I think you're the first pony I've met able to pronounce it. Took forever for the chief to tell me about it just because of that word."
"Yarn-what-now?" Lyra asked.
"The Iron Gauntlets of Thor," Twilight explained, "the Norwhinnean God of Thunder. It was said that the gauntlets were what allowed Thor to wield his hammer, protecting his hooves from the lightning. But they are presumably useless without the hammer. Why would some pony steal them?"
Flash shrugged. "About nine times out of ten, it's about money or power. I'd check it out myself, but this city isn't in my jurisdiction. Besides," he said, throwing his hoof around Twilight, "I'm off-duty for the weekend."
"Off-duty," Twilight muttered under her breath.
She kept glancing at Bon-Bon's phone throughout the drive, even after it was put away in her purse.
"Ah, it's just how I remember it!" Lyra said, taking in the sight of the decorated gymnasium.
Twilight looked around. "Honestly, in all my years at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, I didn't spend much time in the gym."
Lyra giggled as she whispered to Flash, "Except for those scholastic decathlons and science fairs."
Flash smirked at Twilight. "I took you for a nerd."
Twilight blushed. "Is that a good thing?"
"Of course." He hooked his foreleg in hers. "You don't get to be one of the richest mares in the world without having brains."
"TWILIGHT SPARKLE!"
Before Twilight could see the source of the voice, she was tackled to the ground. She looked up to find herself face to face with a blue unicorn mare with blue and white hair.
"I'm so glad you could make it!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly. "It's been so long!"
Laughing, Twilight stood herself up. "Nice to see you too, uh…" Squinting, she tried to put a name to the face. "Um…"
"Minuette!" the blue unicorn said, pointing to herself. "Don't you remember? We used to sit next to each other at lunch!"
"Of course!" Twilight said, clapping her hooves together. "Minuette!"
"And Lyra!" Minuette said, hugging her other old friend. "You look beautiful!"
"So do you!" Lyra said, admiring her dark blue gown. "Is the rest of the gang here?"
"Over here!" a voice called.
Two more unicorn mares joined their party. One was yellow with a curly blue mane, and the other looked like her twin, only her coat was white and her mane was pink.
"Lemon Hearts!" Lyra shouted excitedly. "Twinkleshine!"
The five unicorn friends all hugged each other. Flash couldn't help but notice that Twilight, though smiling, looked a tad uncomfortable. Bon-Bon cleared her throat.
"Oh, right!" Lyra said, pulling away from the group. "Every pony, this is Bon-Bon, my partner."
Lemon Hearts gasped while Minuette laughed.
"I call it!" the latter said. "I told you she preferred mares! That will be 30 bits!"
Groaning, Twinkleshine tossed her a bit.
"You knew?" Lyra asked, blinking. "I didn't even know until after college!"
"We guessed," Minuette said with a shrug. "We made the same bet on Twilight."
"What?" Twilight said.
Twinkleshine smirked as she sized up Flash. "Looks like I get my bit back."
Minuette sighed as she gave the bit back to her. "Fair enough."
Shaking off the awkwardness, Twilight placed her hoof on Flash's shoulder. "This is Flash Sentry."
"Nice," Twinkleshine said, shaking his hoof and winking at Twilight. "Very nice."
"All we're missing is Moondancer," Lyra said.
"She hasn't arrived yet," Lemon Hearts said. "But she did RSVP."
"Lemon Hearts put this whole event together," Lyra explained to Bon-Bon and Flash.
"I really gotta thank you, Twilight," Lemon Hearts said, pointing to the buffet table on the other side of the room, "for suggesting those caterers to me at the last minute."
"Yeah, their food is amazing!" Minuette said, taking a bite into an apple fritter. "Where did you find them?"
"Oh," Twilight said, casting a sideways glance at the buffet. "They've worked for me on a few…events."
Meanwhile, at the buffet table, Pinkie and Applejack were in white servers' uniforms while serving food to the guests.
"Hey, look, it's Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed, waving her hoof. "Hiya, Twi—!"
Applejack plugged her hoof into her mouth. "Remember what Twilight said. We need to act like we don't know her on a personal level. If our secret identities become too friendly in everyday life," she leaned forward to whisper, "we'll risk exposin' ourselves as the Power Ponies."
Pinkie groaned as she popped Applejack's hoof out. "That shouldn't be too hard. We hardly know anything about Twilight personally. I mean we know her ultra-super-secret identity and all that, but we don't know what she was like as a filly or even her ultra-super-secret origin story. I mean she knows a lot about us but we hardly know a thing about her."
"We gotta respect her privacy," Applejack murmured, lowering her eyes. "Keep a lookout for that unicorn she was talkin' about."
Nodding, Pinkie glanced at the picture in her hoof. "She doesn't look like a dangerous criminal. She's actually kinda cute."
"Looks can be deceivin', Pinkie. Remember the Sirens?"
Pinkie narrowed her eyes at her. "Too soon, AJ. Too soon."
On the other side of the room, Twilight was catching up with her friends.
"So you're a dentist now?" Twilight asked Minuette.
"You always did take care of your teeth," Lyra said.
"And what do you do, Lyra?" Minuette asked.
"I work in a music store while Bon-Bon here is Twilight's chauffeur."
"And Lemon Hearts, you work in the Canterlot Castle?" Twilight asked.
"Mmm-hmm," Lemon Hearts said. "I help with all the big events: galas, banquets, that sort of thing."
"Lemony was always the best at throwing parties," Twinkleshine commented. "Meanwhile, I'm a vice-president at the hoof-polish factory." She turned to Twilight. "But I'm sure that's nothing compared to your success."
Twilight blushed. "Oh, it's nothing."
"You kidding?!" Minuette exclaimed. "When I told my coworkers I used to be friends with one of the richest, most influential ponies in the world, they didn't believe me!" She suddenly gasped as she looked over Twilight's shoulder. "Moondancer!"
She zipped off and came back with a pale yellow mare with thick-rimmed glasses. Her red mane was combed in a similar fashion to Twilight's, and her dress was a simple black one that went up to her neck and covered the upper part of her forelegs.
"Moondancer, hi!" Twilight said, hugging her. "I haven't seen you in such a long time!"
Moondancer narrowed her purple eyes. "I work at the Maretropolis Library. You see me almost every day."
Twilight's cheeks turned red. "Oh, um…of course! Right!"
"We should take a picture!" Minuette said, levitating her phone into view. "Now that the gang's all here!"
The six unicorns crowded together while Minuette's phone floated above them.
"Smile!" she said.
The cell flashed in their eyes.
"Interesting you should still include Twilight as part of the gang," Moondancer said.
Flash frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm simply saying," Moondancer said, pushing her glasses up her nose, "Twilight was a member of our social group only for our first year at this school, before she won the scholastic decathlon and became friends with…"
"I'm hungry!" Twilight interjected, taking her stallion's hoof. "Flash, let's go see what's at the buffet!"
Before Flash could say anything, he was dragged to the table, where Twilight immediately stuffed a whole apple fritter into her mouth.
"What was that about?" he asked.
Swallowing, Twilight replied, "Nothing. Just…something that happened in the past."
Her eyes darted frantically around the room.
"So…I take it you had some falling out with them some time ago?" Flash asked.
Twilight shook her head. "I never meant to hurt them. It's just…you know when you take an interest in…big things, you…tend to forget about…other things."
"I get it." Smiling, Flash gently laid his hoof on her shoulder. "You got so swept up in your studies that you didn't make enough time for friends."
She sighed. "It's not just that. You see…"
"Twilight!"
Closing her eyes, Twilight mumbled, "Celestia, please, not now."
Starlight Glimmer walked up to her side. "I am so happy you were able to make it tonight, what with the busy schedule we successful business ponies have to keep."
Groaning, Twilight put on a bright smile before turning to her. "Starlight! A pleasure, as always!"
Flash glanced between the two mares. "You and Starlight Glimmer of Glimmer Industries went to school together?"
"You could say that," Twilight said.
"But we weren't friends or anything," Starlight said, waving her hoof. "Twilight was placed in Princess Celestia's exclusive advanced class, and I wasn't. She barely knew I existed." She used her magic to grab a cucumber sandwich. "A little unfair, if you ask me, that the princess should play favorites, just because some lucky ponies have stronger…talents."
Twilight tried hard to keep up her smile as she watched Starlight bite into her sandwich.
"But clearly," Starlight said, wiping the crumbs off her face with a napkin, "it doesn't matter what your educational level in school. I'm living proof of that. After all," she smirked at Twilight, "being advanced doesn't necessarily mean you will advance. Remember what happened to your…marefriend."
Flash cocked an eyebrow. "Marefriend?"
"She means platonically," Twilight said hastily, not taking her eyes off Starlight.
"I read the papers," Starlight said, pouring herself a glass of punch. "Honestly, if she dares to show her face here tonight after what she did…"
"Come on, Flash!" Twilight said, grabbing his hoof again. "Let's see what other food there is!" She darted her eyes at Starlight. "While I still have my appetite."
They came to the far end of the table, near the stage. Twilight used her magic to pick up a daffodil and daisy sandwich while looking around the room again.
"Who are you looking for?" Flash asked.
"Hmm?" Twilight said, turning to him.
He shrugged. "You seem to be looking for someone. Old boyfriend?"
"What? No!"
"Not that I'm jealous!" He held up his hooves defensively. "I mean we're both adults. It's understandable if you've been in past relationships."
Twilight bit her lip. "Actually…you're the first stallion I've…"
He looked at her in surprise. "Really?"
She shook her head. "That's not important!"
"Then…who are you looking for?"
"No pony," Twilight said, raising the sandwich to her lips.
He raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Twilight. What's going on? You've seemed distracted all night."
"I'm fine!"
She shoved the sandwich into her mouth and then her eyes opened wide. Sticking out her tongue, she revealed a small, thin piece of paper. Flash stared at it in confusion while Twilight levitated it off her tongue.
"I've heard of fortune cookies," he said, "but fortune sandwiches?"
Unrolling the paper, Twilight read the tiny words aloud. "I am often called, but never by name."
Flash cocked his head. "What does that mean?"
Twilight glanced around the room in thought. Then her eyes fell upon the stage. The blue velvet curtains were drawn, but she could've sworn she'd seen them move. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Twilight slid the paper into her pocket and approached the stage.
Opening the curtains with her magic, she looked to her left and right. Backstage was dark, and she could only make out the faint outlines of ropes and sandbags and old set pieces. Powering her horn to illuminate the place, she stepped forward, letting the curtains close behind her.
Suddenly, her ear twitched as it picked up the sound of a hooffall. Her horn glowed bright red as she spun around.
"Surprise!"
Her light dimmed when she saw who it was.
"You…you came."
There was a low female chuckle. "Did you really think I would miss this?" The voice tsked. "Twilight, Twilight, Twilight."
The figure stepped into the light. It was a unicorn mare with a golden coat, yellow and red hair that in Twilight's red light resembled fire. Her green eyes stared at her in the dark, and her face held a sinister smirk.
"I've waited a long, long time for this moment," the mare said slowly.
Twilight took a fearful step back. Then the mare's smirk turned into a happy smile.
"Gosh, it's great to see you!"
The excited tone in her voice caught Twilight off-guard. She was even more surprised when the mare threw her hooves around her and held her tight.
"It's been so many years!" Twilight could feel tears dripping onto her shoulders. "I was worried you had forgotten about me like you forgot about all those others!"
The warm hug comforted Twilight enough to diminish her horn. After about a minute, she smiled along with the mare and returned her embrace.
"Who could ever forget you, Sunset?"
Flash stared at the curtains behind which Twilight had disappeared. She'd been gone for several minutes and he was about to go search for her when she came out with another unicorn in a plum evening gown. The two mares were laughing as they walked foreleg in foreleg off the stage and towards him.
"A curtain call!" Twilight exclaimed. "Pretty clever, Sunset."
"Clearly not clever enough," Sunset said, nudging her shoulder with hers, "if you were able to figure it out in a matter of seconds."
"But to hide the paper in my sandwich… How could you have even known I would pick that sandwich?"
"Twilight. Daffodil and daisy sandwiches have always been your favorite."
"Yes, but…how could you have predicted that I would pick that exact sandwich on that exact plate before any pony else?"
"When are you going to learn, Twilie?" Sunset said, shaking her head. "I know you better than you know yourself."
She booped her on the nose, making Twilight giggle.
"Ahem," Flash said, clearing his throat.
"Oh!" Twilight said, gesturing between him and the mare. "Flash Sentry, this is Sunset Shimmer. Sunset, this is Flash, my…" She hesitated, her hoof going in circles. "Um…"
"We're together," Flash said, snaking his hoof around Twilight's waist.
Sunset's smile seemed to waver as she sized him up and down. "A police officer, Twi? I would've expected you to choose a scientist, a historian, someone with a career more at…your level."
Flash blinked. "How did you know I was a police officer?"
Her eyes glanced down to his coat. "Badge."
Flash opened up his jacket and stared at the pocket where his badge was well tucked in. "But…it's not even in plain view. How did you…?"
"Sunny's pretty observant," Twilight said. "When we first met, she'd already guessed I had a big brother who was in love with my babysitter."
Sunset rolled her eyes. "I never guess, Twilight. I know. Like I knew you were going to find my little note in that sandwich."
"That was you?" Flash asked.
"It's this game we used to play when we were foals," Twilight said. "We'd challenge each other with brain teasers and riddles."
Sunset flipped her mane. "I may have gone easy on you this time. After all, I didn't want to be waiting behind that curtain for too long."
Twilight scoffed. "How many times have I told you, Sunny, do not try to make things easy for me! You know I like a challenge!"
"So sorry," Sunset said with a smirk. "Perhaps next time, I should create a maze with a minotaur in it."
Shaking her head, Twilight said, "Minotaurs aren't a threat. They just act tough by yelling a lot."
"Not if he stole your daffodil and daisy sandwich," Sunset said, cozying up to her.
Giggling, Twilight playfully pushed her away. "You're awful!"
"I know." She batted her eyes. "But you love me anyway."
As the two of them laughed, Flash looked between them incredulously.
"So, um…how do you know Twilight?" Flash asked.
A look of fear flashed upon Twilight face for a moment, but she quickly grinned again. "We were college roommates."
Sunset scoffed. "And BFFs since our first year at this school!"
"Not at first though," Twilight said with a chuckle. "See, Sunset and I were both in Celestia's advanced class, and…she didn't like me very much."
"It was nothing personal," Sunset said, waving her hoof. "At my previous school, I'd been at the top of my class, but when I saw how brilliant Twilight was and how much Princess Celestia favored her, I felt a little…threatened."
"It wasn't until after I beat her in the final event of the scholastic decathlon that we became friends."
"Huh?" Flash said in confusion.
"It may sound backward," Sunset said, throwing her hoof around her friend's shoulder, "but seeing her beat me at my best event was…eye-opening. No pony had beaten me at anything involving magic or math or science before. It gave me a reason to appreciate and admire her as an intellectual equal." She pressed Twilight close to her shoulder. "We'd been inseparable ever since."
Flash was not one to be paranoid, but he could've sworn the glance Sunset cast him was almost…spiteful. He also couldn't help but notice how many of the other guests seemed to be staring at her. A group of unicorn mares spoke to each other in low whispers, their eyes narrowed.
Pinkie was watching Sunset too. "Hey, isn't that the mare we're supposed to be looking for?"
Applejack looked up from the table to see Sunset Shimmer with Twilight. She glanced at the picture in her hooves.
"Looks like."
Pinkie cocked her head. "Is it just me or do she and Twilight seem kinda…chummy?"
As she said this, Twilight and Sunset started laughing together, their hooves entwined. It made Applejack raise her eyebrow.
"I don't get it," Pinkie said, scratching her head. "If Twilight wanted us to keep an eye on her, why doesn't she seem so afraid of her?"
"Twilight did say she was some pony from her past," Applejack said.
"So Twilight's friends with a…dark wizard?"
"When do you suppose Princess Celestia's coming?" Twilight asked Sunset. "I was sure she was going to be here tonight."
Sunset shrugged. "Probably fashionably late, as usual." She frowned slightly. "I just hope she isn't…too disappointed to see me."
"Why would she be disappointed to see you?" Flash asked.
"Gah!" Sunset screamed, turning around to face him. "Oh, you're still here."
Twilight smiled awkwardly. "Err, Flash, would you mind getting us some punch?"
"Um…" Flash said, glancing between the two of them. "Sure…okay."
Hesitantly, he headed for the punch bowl.
"Not very assertive for a cop," Sunset whispered.
Twilight nudged her in the side. "That's not very nice."
"I'm just saying," Sunset replied, rolling her eyes, "while I would've expected you to move on at this point, I didn't think you'd pick some pony so…bland."
Twilight folded her forelegs.
"I'm just kidding, Sparkle. He seems nice, I'll give him that." She muttered under her breath, "You could use someone nice."
There was silence between them for a long while.
"How…how are you doing?" Twilight asked, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "You know, now that you're…"
Sunset glanced at the unicorns whispering and pointing at her. "That answers your question?" She sighed. "You make one mistake ten years ago, and no pony ever lets you live it down."
"Right." Twilight bit her lip. "Mistake."
Silence again.
"Sunset, I'm…"
A sudden crash interrupted the party. Every pony spun around to a gaping hole in the wall. When the dust cleared away, a unicorn all too familiar to Twilight stood upon an octopus-like machine with eight mechanical arms, four of them acting as legs to hold her and the control platform up.
"Fear not, fellow schoolmates!" she said. "Your best friend, the Great and Powerful Trixie, has arrived!"
Scowling, Twilight whispered into her commlink, "Spike! You told me Trixie was still in Balkham!"
There was awkward laughter on the other end. "Oops."
"What's she doing here?" Pinkie asked.
"Don't any of you remember me?" Trixie addressed the crowd. "Trixie was in your class!"
"That was in our class?!" a voice called.
Starlight huffed. "As if having one criminal in our year wasn't enough."
Starlight was about to eat her words as one of the mechanical arms grabbed her and pulled her up towards Trixie.
"None of you ever noticed Trixie, did you?" she shouted, pointing down at all of them. "No pony even thought to invite her! Well, you'll all be sorry you ignored the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
Pinkie and Applejack ducked under the buffet table. Twilight was about to slip away too when Sunset unexpectedly grabbed her hoof.
"You always were quite the drama queen, weren't you, Trixie?"
Trixie turned her attention to Sunset and smiled wickedly. "Ah, Sunset Shimmer." She made the machine trudge towards her, forcing the guests to scatter out of the way. "The Queen Bee herself. Never once gave Trixie the time of day. Trixie hears you turned out just as bad as Trixie. Did some time in the clink."
Flash, still wishing he had brought his gun, looked over at Sunset with wide eyes. She did not let Trixie's comment faze her. She was standing strong and staring hard at her with narrowed eyes.
"I paid my debt to society," Sunset said, taking a step forward. "It's time you finished doing the same."
Trixie laughed. "And what are you going to do about it? This isn't Maretropolis! There are no Power Ponies around to save you!"
"Maybe not, Trixie, but you forgot one small detail."
Two of the mechanical arms moved to make it look like they were on the machine's hips. "And that is?"
Sunset smirked as she powered her horn. "You just crashed a party for Equestria's most gifted and talented unicorns."
She shot a beam at the machine, setting one of the arms ablaze. Trixie shrieked as she attempted to shake the flames off.
"Come on, ponies!" Sunset shouted to the crowd. "Are we gonna let this asshole ruin our night?"
The unicorns yelled as they ignited their horns and started firing at Trixie. Screaming, Trixie tried to dodge the attacks, but there were too many coming at her. Mare-velous and Fili-Second popped out from behind the buffet table but then their jaws dropped when they saw the unicorns ganging up on the villain.
"Um…are we needed?" Fili-Second asked.
"Reckon not," Mare-velous said, going back under the table.
Twilight looked down as Sunset clutched her hoof tighter.
"What do you say, Sparkle?" Sunset said with a grin. "We finish her off like old times?"
Twilight returned her smile. "Like old times."
She pressed herself to Sunset's side and leaned her head close enough for their horns to touch. Their green and pink magic sparked to life, creating a swirling red ball of light. Several unicorns stopped their attacks to watch the magical display in awe. The ball rose high above the crowd before lunging towards Trixie.
"Oh, shit!" Trixie cried, shielding herself with the mechanical arms.
When the ball hit her, there was an explosion. Every pony shielded their eyes from the blinking red light. When the light diminished, the machine's mechanical arms were wrapped around Trixie like cocoon. Every pony cheered and laughed.
"Well, well, well, Trixie," Sunset said, walking towards the trapped villain. "Now I'm starting to see why you didn't make it to graduation."
Trixie wailed in agony as she writhed in her bonds. "The Great and Powerful Trixie swears, Sunset Shimmer, once Trixie defeats the Masked Matter-Horn, you're next on her hit list!" She glared at the unicorn standing beside Sunset. "and you as well, Twilight Sparkle!"
Twilight couldn't hold back her laughter. Sunset chuckled along with her.
"Still got it," Sunset said. "Eh, Sparkle?"
"Yeah," Twilight said, smiling at her. "Still got it."
After calling the authorities, Flash rushed to see if Twilight was okay. He stopped a few feet away from her, his eyes focused on how tightly she was holding Sunset's hoof.
"Dear Me, what happened here?" Princess Celestia said as she entered the gym.
Ten minutes later, the police were hauling Trixie away, using their magic to carry her and the robotic wreckage as they tossed her into the paddy wagon.
"You may have been able to escape Balkham Asylum, Trixie," Princess Celestia said in a stoic tone. "Let's see how you fare in the Canterlot Maximum Security Prison."
Trixie growled. "You never liked me, Princess! Always playing favorites!"
As the door slammed on her, Starlight, who was watching from a few feet away, snickered. "If that were the case, she wouldn't have locked away one of her prized pupils."
Flash, hearing her from a short distance away, gave her a curious look. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, Twilight didn't tell you?" Starlight glanced over at Twilight, who was talking to Sunset on the school steps. "About ten years ago, when those two were in college, Sunset Shimmer was caught practicing dark magic in her dorm."
Flash's eyes widened.
"That's right," Starlight said with a nod. "As soon as Princess Celestia heard, she sent Sunset straight to Canterlot Maximum Security Prison. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it in the tabloids at least. She has just given early parole a few weeks ago."
He looked to where the two mares were conversing, feeling uneasy.
"Though I must say," Starlight said with a shrug, "I had my doubts about Sunset Shimmer being invited to this reunion. However, it looks like she's decided to move forward from her past. I admire that in a mare."
That did not settle Flash's stomach.
Meanwhile, Twilight was saying to Sunset, "That was amazing, what you did back there, influencing the others to retaliate."
Sunset waved her hoof nonchalantly. "Like I'm gonna take orders from the likes of her. Besides, any pony would've done the same thing. I mean, if they had the guts, that is."
Twilight smiled. "You really haven't changed much."
"Oh, yes I have," Sunset said, giving her a serious look. "Didn't you read the tabloids?"
The smile was instantly replaced with a guilty frown.
"You know," Sunset said, looking down at the steps, "as great as it is to see you, I wish I'd been able to see you earlier." She locked her gaze with Twilight. "I was allowed visitors, you know?"
Biting her lip, Twilight said, "I…didn't think you'd want to see me after…"
She trailed off when she felt Sunset's hoof touch her shoulder.
"Twilight," Sunset said slowly, "I don't blame you for what happened.
She blinked. "You…don't?"
Sunset shook her head. "Why do you think I never told the police about you? You had your whole life ahead of you. Just because I was going down didn't mean I was going to take you with me. Still, it was pretty lonely in that cell."
Her hoof tightened around Twilight's shoulder. Glancing down at it, Twilight quickly shook the hoof off.
"But," Sunset said, her smile returning, "if you want to make up for a lost time, I'll be in Maretropolis next week for business."
Using her magic, Sunset took a business card out of her pocket and floated it into Twilight's hoof.
"'Magic Consultant?'" Twilight said, reading the card.
Sunset nodded. "I figured with my magical knowledge, I can help other unicorns improve their own magical abilities." She winked. "Not that you need any help."
Twilight grinned. "I'll call you if I do though."
A limo pulled up in front of the school's steps.
"Looks like your ride's here," Sunset said.
"Looks like," Twilight said. "Catch you later?"
"Not if I catch you first, Sparkle," Sunset smirked as she walked away.
Twilight gave her old friend a wave. When Sunset was far away enough, Twilight looked to where Applejack and Pinkie were loading their truck.
"Great job on the catering, girls!" Twilight said loudly as she trotted over to them. "The food was delicious!"
When she was certain they were out of earshot, Twilight leaned forward to whisper, "Before you turn in tonight, I need you to check something out for me."
"You okay?" Flash asked as he and Twilight walked down the hallway of hotel rooms.
"Hmm?" Twilight said, snapping out of her daze. "Oh, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"You've been awfully quiet since we left the reunion."
"Right. I'm just disappointed that it had to end so early."
"Yeah," Flash said, glancing at his hooves. "You looked like you were enjoying yourself."
They stopped at a door.
"Well," Twilight said, getting out her card key, "good night."
She had just inserted the key into the slot, when Flash suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around, kissing her hard on the lips. Twilight widened her eyes, unsure of how to respond. When he pulled away, she blinked incredulously. In all the months they had dated, he had never kissed her so…aggressively before.
"What was that?" she said in alarm.
Releasing her, Flash backed away in embarrassment. "I'm…sorry, I…didn't mean to scare you, I just…"
Twilight cocked her head. "Are…you okay, Flash?"
He locked eyes with her for a moment and then sighed. "Why did you invite me here?"
She scrunched her muzzle. "What do you mean?"
"It's just that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I came here to support you, but…you've practically ignored me all night. I mean I know you came here to catch up with your old friends but…there's clearly something about your past that you're not telling me. Heck, I had to hear about the fact that your roommate did time for using dark magic from Starlight Glimmer."
She took a step back. "She…told you about that?"
"Yeah, and…it kind of hurts that you don't have that kind of trust in me. I know we haven't been dating for a few months, but…" He closed his eyes. "What am I to you, Twilight?"
Twilight opened her mouth, but to her surprise, couldn't find the words. Flash hung his head.
"When you figure it out, give me a call."
He walked past her to his room. Twilight's mouth remained open, still speechless.
"This is all the footage ya've got?" Mistress Mare-velous asked the security guard at the Canterlot Museum of Magic.
"Yeah," Officer Lens said, indicating the security monitors. "I'm telling you, we've gone through this footage of the night of robbery hundreds of times, but the thief doesn't appear anywhere on these cameras! See?"
He pressed some keys, making one of the monitors rewind. The picture showed the Gauntlets of Thor inside a glass case.
"Gauntlets," he said.
A second later, the metal gloves vanished into thin air.
"No gauntlets."
Fili-Second turned her head upside-down. "Have you played the video really, really, really slow? Maybe the thief has super speed! Or the power of invisibility!"
"Or is just really smart," Mare-velous said. "Can we have a copy of this?"
"Sure," Lens said, typing some commands into the keyboard. "But I doubt you're going to find anything else."
"Maybe not." Mare-velous squinted at the screen with the empty glass case. "But our really insightful partner just might."
A week later, the Maretropolis Policeponies' Ball was in full swing at City Hall. Chief Spitfire stood at the podium onstage as she addressed the crowd of dressed-up police ponies.
"Thank you every pony for taking time out of your busy schedules for this event," she said into the microphone. "Tonight, we honor the ponies who help keep our city safe. And that's not just limited to our esteemed police force, but seven heroes who use their gifts to defend our fair city. Please welcome our special guests: the Power Ponies!"
The crowd applauded as the heroes came from all directions. Fili-Second whizzed through the room in a pink streak, reaching the stage first. Zapp swooped down from above, leaving a trail of lightning behind her. Mare-velous swung from the rafters, releasing her rope as she landed onstage. Radiance flew in on a glowing pink carpet, while Saddle Rager shyly came out from behind the curtain. The five ponies stood in a line as the audience continued to clap.
After about a minute, Spitfire wore a frown as she glanced around the room. The crowd did the same, expecting something else. Or rather, some pony else.
"I know you told me it was past Humdrum's bedtime," Spitfire whispered to the heroes, covering the microphone with her hoof, "but where's the Matter-Horn?"
The Power Ponies looked at each other, appearing just as confused. Fili-Second pointed to each of her colleagues, plus herself, counting silently.
"I thought she said she was coming," Zapp whispered to Mare-velous.
Mare-velous scanned the crowd, murmuring, "Twilight Sparkle didn't show up either."
Her gaze fell upon Flash Sentry, whose eyes were also searching the room.
"She's not answering her commlink," Radiance whispered her hoof in her ear.
Spitfire cleared her throat, casting a sideways glance at the expectant audience.
"Uh…" Mare-velous quickly grabbed the mic. "Unfortunately, the Masked Matter-Horn is out on patrol tonight." She chuckled nervously. "After all, some pony's gotta be watchin' the city while we're all partyin', am I right?"
The audience murmured and nodded to each other in the collective agreement. The Power Ponies sighed in relief.
"Where is she really?" Zapp whispered to Mare-velous harshly.
Mare-velous narrowed her eyes. "My guess: the same place she's been all week."
Back at Headquarters, Twilight was staring hard at the monitors, which showed the security footage from the Canterlot Museum of Magic. She used her magic to click on the mouse and move from window to window.
"I know I'm missing something," she murmured to herself. "I just don't know what."
"Twilight?"
Shrieking in surprise, Twilight fell backward with the rolling chair. Spike's face peered over her.
"Spike?" she said as he helped her up. She then noticed he was wearing his fuzzy purple pajamas with dragon-faced feet. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"
He crossed his arms. "Shouldn't you be at the Policeponies' Ball?"
Twilight stared at him in silence and then sighed. "I wasn't in the mood."
He watched as she lifted the chair up and sat back down. "This wouldn't have to do with the fact that your ex-boyfriend is at that ball, would it?"
"No!" Twilight said a little too loudly. "I just…some pony had to watch the tower tonight and I volunteered. After all, who knows when Discord might pop up and try to steal his Amulet back?"
"Uh-huh," Spike said in disbelief as he gazed up at the giant screen. "Is that the footage from that gauntlet robbery?"
"Mmm-hmm," Twilight said, enlarging one of the windows.
"You're still looking at that?"
"It's puzzling." She rewound the footage and played it back for the millionth time that night. "I mean there's no indication of the thief anywhere! No shadow, no strand of hair, nothing! And the perpetrator couldn't have been invisible. We would've still seen the Gauntlets of Thor floating away! Or at least the glass case lifting all by itself!"
"Maybe they used magic to teleport it out of the case?" Spike asked.
"Without triggering the alarm? Impossible!" She switched to the video showing the empty glass case. "The podium has a weight sensor. If the Gauntlets were removed from it, even for a second, the alarm would've gone off!"
"Maybe they disabled the alarm?"
"But how?! Those alarms are magical! One cannot simply…disable them! You'd need to be very well-versed in magic to be able to do that!"
"But…wasn't Discord able to do that with your security spells?"
Twilight hung her head. "Discord's a god, Spike! Unless he or some other divine entity stole the Gauntlets, there was no way any pony could've done all this undetected!"
Spike tapped his chin. "Maybe it was a god. You think maybe Thor wanted his Gauntlets back?"
She shook her head. "You remember when Discord showed up, right? I don't think Thor would've been so subtle. I mean…he's Thor. He could just demand that his Gauntlets be returned, the same way Discord demanded his Amulet. He'd have no reason for being so sneaky."
"How would you know? You've never met Thor."
She threw up her hooves. "I don't even know if he exists!"
"We know the Gods of Grace exist though, right? Why not the Gods of Norwhinny?"
Letting out a groan, Twilight placed her head in her hooves. "Just go to bed, Spike."
He sighed. "Fine. But you should really consider taking a break from all of this. All week, you've done nothing but stare at this footage. You've missed five days at the office, two charity auctions, three public appearances, and now one ball. The only time you do break away from these monitors is when there's trouble."
She did not respond, nor did she turn around to look at him.
"Look, I'm no psychiatrist, Twilight, but I have a feeling you're putting in these extra hours as the Masked Matter-Horn because you're…avoiding something. Or some pony, maybe? The thing is I can't figure out if the pony you're avoiding is Flash or Sun—"
This time, she did turn around. And she was glaring at him hard.
"Okay, okay!" Spike said, backing away with his hands up. "I'll go to bed!"
He walked over to the elevator. As the doors closed, Twilight turned back to the screen. She replayed the part where the Gauntlets of Thor vanished. After the fifth repeat, she let out a sigh.
"Maybe Spike's right," she said, releasing her magical hold on the mouse. "Maybe I am just doing this to avoid…"
She paused, unsure of how that sentence finished. "Besides, there is no possible way to solve this. Whoever this thief is, they had pragmatically planned, and practically perpetrated, the perfect crime."
She flopped her face onto the keyboard and mumbled, "They've won."
Suddenly, Sunset's voice echoed in her head, "Why you giving up so soon, Sparkle?"
Then Twilight recalled a moment when she and Sunset were fourteen. They had been in the schoolyard, playing a game of chess. Young Twilight had used her magic to turn over her white king in surrender.
"You've won," she had said.
Examining the board, Sunset had said, "Come on, you've got at least three moves before that happens."
"But you've got me cornered. Every move will put me in check. There's no possible way I can win."
"That doesn't mean you should just give up. If you give up now, then you'll never know if you were able to beat me or not. Besides," she had said with a smirk, "what fun would it be for me if I only won by forfeit?"
Smiling softly, Twilight had repositioned her king and continued the game. Three moves later, Sunset had called checkmate.
"See?" Twilight had said. "I couldn't win."
"Yes," Sunset had said with a wink. "But you wouldn't have known that if you hadn't kept playing. Don't you feel better now, knowing you got through the whole game without giving up?"
Back in the present, Twilight lifted her head from the keyboard, her face imprinted with a tessellation of squares.
"You're right, Sunset," Twilight said, playing back the footage. "Don't give up on the game until it's over."
Just then, the General Badness Alarm went off, making Twilight groan in annoyance.
"Well, I could use a break anyway."
Spike came out of the elevator. "What's happened? What's going on?"
Twilight opened the Crime Tracker on the computer. She squinted at the red blinking dot on the city map.
"Typical," she said with a sigh. She picked up the commlink on the desk and put it back in her ear. "Girls, break in at the Maretropolis Museum. Fili-Second, I'm going to need you to scout ahead, keep the perpetrator busy until I get there."
"On it!" Fili-Second piped.
"Need us to come too?" Zapp asked.
"I don't think that'll be necessary," Twilight said. "The rest of you just enjoy the party."
"Speaking of which," Radiance said, "why aren't you...?"
"Later, okay?" Twilight said, standing up.
"I'll come too!" Spike exclaimed, running to her side.
"No, Spike. I need you to stay here and guard the tower. If there's any more trouble, call the rest of the team."
Spike groaned. "Why am I always put on monitor duty?" He caught Twilight's glare. "I mean…right away, boss!"
He jumped onto the rolling chair while Twilight lowered her horn.
Terra, pennae, cornibus…
The minute the Masked Matter-Horn crashed through the glass roof of the Maretropolis Museum, she knew something was wrong with this picture. No alarms were blaring. The thief must've disabled them, she thought.
But if that were the case, why hadn't the thief disabled the alarms before setting them off?
The Matter-Horn's ear twitched upon hearing a muffled cry from the next room. Powering her horn for good measure, she turned the corner and stepped over the red velvet rope to the new, unveiled Anugypt exhibit. There, leaning against an ancient column of hieroglyphs, were two security guards, a mare and a stallion, bound and gagged. The Matter-Horn quickly used her magic to free them.
"Don't worry, you're safe now," she said. "What happened?"
"We don't know," the mare said. "One minute, we're patrolling the halls, the next minute, the alarms are blaring."
"Only for half a minute though," said the stallion. "Then they suddenly stopped!"
"We came here to investigate, but then we were roped and gagged by magic!"
"Did you see the culprit?" the Mater-Horn asked.
They both shook their heads.
"But we know what they took," the mare said, pointing across the room. "The cuffs of Queen Neightocris."
The Matter-Horn turned to the empty glass case she was indicating. Upon further inspection, the alicorn realized it wasn't completely empty.
"Did the cuffs contain two black opals and four round pieces of lapis lazuli?" the Matter-Horn asked.
"Yes," the stallion said. "Why?"
"The cuffs are gone, but the jewels are still here. And I have a funny feeling they didn't simply fall out." She tapped her chin. "Why would the thief take the cuffs but deliberately leave the jewels?"
"Quite the riddle, isn't it?"
Jumping at the sudden voice, the Matter-Horn spun around to find the source. The guards looked around too, but there was no pony there.
"HELP!" said another voice.
This one, the hero recognized.
"Fili-Second?" She turned to the guards. "Get the police! And keep on guard! The thief is still here!"
She took flight and soared through the halls, listening for Fili-Second's high-pitched voice.
"Once I get outta these ropes, tall, dark and creepy shadow; you're in for a real flank-whooping!"
She followed the voice to the Norwhinnean exhibit. Fili-Second lay in the middle of the room, her hooves tied up.
"Mattie!" Fili-Second cried. "About time you showed up! I came over for backup like you told me to, but then the alarms just suddenly stopped and it got real spooky and I thought I could hear something but I couldn't find the thief anywhere but before I knew it I was tied up!"
"Hang on," the Matter-Horn said, landing next to her. "How could you have been tied up? You're the fastest thing alive."
"I'm telling you! It's another super speedster like me, only evil!"
"I don't think they've left yet. Let's get you out of here."
She prepared her horn to release her colleague when her horn was suddenly encased in flames. Shrieking, the Matter-Horn quickly doused the fire with a water spell.
"Ah, ah, ah," said the same disembodied voice from earlier. It was at such a neutral pitch that the heroes couldn't decide if it was male or female. "Sorry, sweetie, but I'd like to keep the game one-on-one. Evens the odds, you know."
Flapping her wings, the alicorn looked around. "Show yourself."
A low chuckle was heard. "Now, now, you can't expect me to make it that easy for you."
"The voice seems to be coming from everywhere," the Matter-Horn muttered to herself. "Ventriloquism?"
"I love puppets!" Fili-Second exclaimed.
"Close," the voice said.
"Of course," the Matter-Horn said, glancing at her bound-up friend. "You obviously know magic, so you must be casting a ventriloquist spell."
"Correct. Good luck trying to find me."
"So if you're casting a spell," the alicorn murmured, "your magic must be emitting some kind of aura," she rested her eyes on a display case of shields in the corner, "which means," she used her magic to slide the case aside, "it makes a very distinct sound!"
Sure enough, a unicorn-shaped figure had been hiding behind the display case, its horn emitting green magic which also surrounded its throat. The thief doused their magic and sprinted along the wall.
"Oh, no you don't!" the Matter-Horn cried, charging her horn. "Freeze ray!"
But as she shot her ice beam, a fiery dome surrounded the thief, evaporating the ice into steam. The Matter-Horn gasped.
"A fire shield?"
"You might want to call out your attacks after you fire them!" the thief shouted over her shoulder.
Without the voice-altering spell, she sounded distinctly female now. She skidded to a halt so fast the Matter-Horn almost flew into her.
"For example," the thief said.
In a split second, the Matter-Horn was hit with a magical beam that set her wings on fire.
"Flamethrower!" the thief exclaimed, running as the hero wailed in agony.
Quickly spraying water from her horn, the Matter-Horn extinguished herself. When she looked up, she saw the thief climbing up the wall, her hooves glowing with green magic.
"Is that," the Matter-Horn said in disbelief, "an adhesive spell?"
"Pretty cool, huh?" the thief said as she neared the glass roof the Matter-Horn had broken earlier. "Comes in handy. Or should I say," she giggled, waving her glowing front hoof, "hoof-y?"
Growling in annoyance, the Matter-Horn zoomed upwards. To her surprise, the thief didn't hasten her climb, only waited. Then she leaped off the wall and onto the Matter-Horn's back. Pushing her legs upwards, the thief sprang towards the hole in the roof.
"Thanks for the lift!" she called cheerfully.
The Matter-Horn gaped as the thief shot through the hole, did a barrel roll and landed on the glass roof like a cat. Shaking it off, the hero flew up after her. The thief was laughing as she was reaching the edge of the roof.
"Honestly," she said, "this was an easier job than Thor's Gauntlets!"
She looked like she was about ready to jump to the next building.
That's it, the Matter-Horn thought. No more Miss Nice Mare.
Her horn glowed red. Throwing her head back, she shot a thick laser beam at the thief, striking her back hoof. Crying out, the thief lost her balance and landed flat on her face. She rolled over, but the Masked Matter-Horn was quicker. Pressing down on the thief's shoulders, the alicorn pinned her to the ground.
In the light of the moon, the hero was finally able to get a good look at the thief, who was wincing in pain. Her tight-fitting suit was a dark maroon, which covered her whole body, saves her eyes and mouth. The golden cuffs of Queen Neightocris were on her front ankles, devoid of jewels. Her eyes opened, revealing them to be a deep-sea green.
The thief glanced down at her damaged hoof. It was so badly burnt, it was smoking.
"End of the line," the Matter-Horn said, crouching over her foe. "Next time you want jewelry, go to Bray's."
The thief locked eyes with her and then smirked. "What keeps coming back even after it bursts into flames?"
The non sequitur caused the hero to blink back in befuddlement. "What?"
The scoundrel only widened her grin as her horn glowed orange. The Matter-Horn prepared her own horn to fight when the biggest surprise of all came.
The thief burst into flames.
Jumping backward, the Matter-Horn watched in alarm as the flames died down and the thief was nowhere to be seen. Horrified, the hero looked around. Had the thief burned herself to death? Impossible, for there would've at least been ash marks in her place.
Just then, the Matter-Horn heard a whoosh behind her. Turning around, she saw a gulf of flames extinguishing on the roof of the next building, the thief appearing in its place. Too stunned to respond, the hero's jaw dropped. The thief only cackled.
"Haven't guessed yet?"
She sprinted off, and the Matter-Horn was about to pursue her, when she teleported, this time without flames. Furious, the alicorn soared upwards and examined the rooftops from a bird's-eye view. But the thief had vanished without a trace.
"MY PRECIOUS MUSEUM!" Mr. Fetlock cried once the police showed up. "RUINED!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Fetlock," the Masked Matter-Horn said assuredly. "We'll be sure the cuffs are returned as soon as possible."
"I'm not talking about the cuffs!" He pointed up to the glass ceiling. "I'm talking about that hole you made in my roof!"
"Oh." The alicorn blushed. "Well, I was trying to catch the thief."
"I don't care! Every time you Power Ponies come in here, something either gets stolen or damaged!" He poked her in the chest. "And how come you are never sent to jail for it?!"
Chief Spitfire, who was still in her dinner jacket, placed her hoof between the Matter-Horn and the curator. "Mr. Fetlock, we'd like to ask you a few questions concerning the stolen artifacts."
As the chief led him away, he sent the Matter-Horn a death glare, which sent a chill up the hero's spine.
"Sheesh," Fili-Second said, zipping to her side. "What's his problem?"
"Find anything?" the Matter-Horn asked.
Fili-Second shook her head. "Searched the whole place top to bottom to left to right. No clues anywhere."
"Excuse me, Miss Matter-Horn?"
The alicorn winced at the familiar voice. Not now, she thought.
"Can I have your autograph?" Flash Sentry asked, holding up his notepad. "I'm a big fan of yours."
The Matter-Horn put on a big smile before facing him. "Of course."
She used her magic to grab his pen.
"I'm sure you'll catch the thief," Flash said, staring at her in awe. "You always manage to catch them in the end."
She said nothing as she signed the notepad and handed him back his pen.
"Flash, go interview those security guards, would you?" Spitfire said, pushing him aside. "Sorry about that, Matter-Horn. Officer Sentry is a bit…unprofessional."
"No problem," the Matter-Horn said softly, watching Flash's back as he left.
"Now, are you certain you've told us everything?"
"Yes. The thief was a unicorn, and she was pretty advanced in magic."
"Really?" Fili-Second asked. "You mean not all unicorns can be all ventriloquist-y or fire shield-y?"
"As if those spells weren't hard enough, she managed to cast the Phoenix Charm!"
"What the hell is the Phoenix Charm?" Spitfire asked.
The Matter-Horn shook her head. "It's an extremely complex, extremely dangerous, and extremely forbidden spell. The theory is that one can rejuvenate oneself using flames, in the same way, aging phoenix bursts into flames and then is reborn from the ashes. That thief's hoof was badly burnt, but after disappearing into flames and then reappearing several feet away, her hoof looked as good as new, and she was able to run again!"
"Phoenix, huh?" Spitfire said, making a note in her book. "And you are certain this was the same thief who stole Thor's Gauntlets in Canterlot?"
The alicorn nodded. "She admitted it, and somehow I think she deliberately captured Fili-Second while in the Norwhinnean exhibit to leave us a hint. But the thief that stole the Gauntlets didn't leave a clue behind, didn't trigger any alarms. If she's the same thief, why would she be so careless this time?"
The chief shrugged. "Thieves can make mistakes."
"Not this one," the Matter-Horn muttered, rubbing her chin. "Somehow, I have a feeling she's incapable of making mistakes."
The next morning, the newspapers and channels were all abuzz about Maretropolis' latest criminal. Apparently, some pony had been watching the rooftop battle between the thief and the Matter-Horn from their apartment window and filmed it with their phone, capturing the thief's fiery escape. As consequence, the tabloids were calling her "The Phoenix."
All Power Ponies were gathered in the tower. Twilight paced in front of the monitors as she voiced her thoughts.
"It just doesn't make any sense," she said in a murmur. "Doesn't make any sense."
Seeing as how their unofficial leader was preoccupied, Applejack decided to take the reins of this briefing. Standing up from the couch, she said, "Okay, what do we know about this thief so far?"
"She's really tricky," Rainbow Dash said, sipping a soda can.
"And has no sense of fashion," Rarity said. "In what world is maroon a suitable camouflage?"
"And she seems to like really old things," Pinkie said, hanging upside down on the couch while using a rubber band to make a cat's cradle.
Fluttershy suddenly burst into laughter. Everyone turned to see that she was talking on her cell.
"Oh, you are just awful!" She giggled. "Please, you're making me blush!"
Twilight cleared her throat. Fluttershy turned to see the others glaring at her.
"Sorry, I have to go," she said into the phone. After a second, she smiled. "No, you hang up." She laughed. "No,
you hang up! No, you hang—"
Rainbow snatched her phone and flipped it closed.
"Whoever were you talking to?" Rarity asked.
Fluttershy's cheeks turned pink. "No pony."
Applejack rolled her eyes. "I'll bet it was that Delancey fella."
"Who's Delancey?" Spike asked.
"Just this colt Fluttershy's been seein'."
Rarity gasped loudly. "You have a gentlecolt friend?!"
"No!" Fluttershy blushed deeper. "Well, I mean…we never really talked about it but…" She gave a small smile. "I mean we've been seeing each other a lot and…I like him, and he makes me laugh and…"
Rarity sat down beside her. "Details, please!"
"Ahem!" Twilight exclaimed. "Have you forgotten we have more pressing matters to deal with?"
"Right," Rarity said, straightening up. "This Phoenix character, she seems to be adept at magic."
"Complicated magic," Twilight said. "I've never seen any pony cast a Phoenix Charm to perfection."
"Just how complicated is it?" Spike asked.
"It's next to impossible! One cannot set oneself aflame without burning oneself to a crisp! To use such a method to heal oneself would be improbable!"
Applejack narrowed her eyes. "How do ya know about this charm?"
Twilight locked their gaze with her. "Let's just say I've done my research." She turned to the monitors, which bore pictures of the items stolen. "This has got to be the most puzzling adversary I've ever faced." She looked towards the Gauntlets of Thor. "First, she pulls off the perfect crime," she said, turning to the Anugyptian cuffs, "but then at her second job, she triggers an alarm, lets herself be caught on camera, and doesn't leave the crime scene immediately! Why would she make so many mistakes when she had already proven she could pull something off like this so flawlessly?"
"You'd think she wanted to be caught," Pinkie said, getting her hooves tangled in the rubber band.
Twilight's face lit up. "Pinkie Pie, you're a genius!"
Pinkie grinned as she attempted to wrench her hooves free. "Tell me something I don't know."
"Of course. That explains it!" Twilight threw her hooves in the air. "She set the alarm off on purpose, and then switched it off before I arrived!"
"Long enough to alert the tower," Applejack said, glancing at the General Badness Alarm.
"But not long enough to alert the police," Rarity said, "because they were all at the ball."
"Then the Phoenix must've counted on us showing up," Rainbow said, "because she was ready for Fili!"
"Think she used some kind of spell to trap me?" said Pinkie, who was now in a pretzel position with her rubber band.
"It's possible," Twilight said. "Aside from a super-speed spell, there is a time-altering spell that can make everything around you move in slow motion. But both those spells are almost as advanced as the Phoenix Charm!"
"So the thief was waiting…for us?" Fluttershy asked with a shiver.
Twilight rubbed her chin. "It would seem that way. There's something strange about the items she stole too. Thor's Gauntlets, though powerful, are completely useless without Thor's Hammer, which, of course, has never been found. And the monetary value of Neightocris' cuffs decreases immensely without the jewels, yet she deliberately left them behind."
She turned back to the screen in thought. "It's like…the thief isn't after power or money. So what is she after?"
Rainbow checked her watch. "Well, I better get back to the museum. We've got a mummy coming in today and I'm supposed to help Mr. Fetlock with that." She rolled her eyes as she stood. "He's especially cranky after last night."
"I'd better return to work too," Rarity said.
"Me too," Fluttershy said.
"Pinkie and I have a few places to see for our bakery," Applejack said. "But call us if ya need anythin'."
As their colleagues filed out of the room, Spike let out a yawn.
"Maybe we should catch some z's. We were up all night watching and re-watching the museum footage."
Twilight didn't take her eyes off the screen. "You get some rest. Some pony's gotta watch the tower."
With a shrug, Spike headed for the elevator. Twilight clicked on the window showing the footage of the Phoenix bursting into flames. She asked herself the same question she'd been asking for the past week.
How the hell can she able to accomplish the impossible?
Her colleagues couldn't give her the answer. They didn't understand this sort of magic. But she knew someone who did.
Her eyes moved in the direction of her purse. Using her magic, she unclasped it and withdrew Sunset Shimmer's business card.