//------------------------------// // XVIII - A Normal Day In Ponyville... More Or Less // Story: My Little Sly Cooper: Thievery is Magic // by Deyeaz //------------------------------// ~My Little Sly Cooper: Thievery is Magic~ Written by Deyeaz with the help of the ever-brilliant Alex Rite XVIII - A Normal Day In Ponyville... More Or Less “Good morning, Captain Shi–” “Move!” bellowed the Captain of the Royal Guard as he entered the castle, eye twitching at an incredulously rapid rate, grinding his teeth back and forth. The private he had angrily barked at looked at his partner in confusion before watching the captain stomp off. “Hello, Capt– ” “Out of my way!” He snapped towards another private, a female this time. The victim was left shocked and stunned by his whiplike words. To say the least, Shining Armour was pissed. And for good reason: Sky Pooper? No... Rye Scooper? Nope... Sly Cooper! Yes, that was it! Sly Cooper, the thief from yesterday, had escaped from the dungeons in the dead of night. Not only that, but the guards had failed miserably in trying to find him. His fury must have been detected by his fellow guards, for they had withdrawn their desires to wish him a good morning—or a salutation, for that matter. Shining Armour, teeth gritted in rage, entered the throne room of the Royal pony sisters without so much as a warning knock. A startled Princess Celestia jumped in her comfy throne at the sudden intrusion before being bowed to by the captain. “Shining Armour? What, may I ask, is the matter?” She was interrupted from eating her breakfast, a low-fat salad with toast and a glass of milk imported from Milky’s Way, a famous milk dispensary in Trottingham. “The prisoner,” announced Shining, “from yesterday–” “Don’t tell me he’s escaped,” said Princess Celestia, eyes narrowing. Shining Armour nodded, and Celestia sighed in frustration. “Very well. Deploy the troops and have them search every city.” “Every city?” Shining’s anger evaporated at Celestia’s demand, and was substituted by surprise. He was not used to Celestia being vehement and aggressive about something like an escapee; usually, it was a slap on the fetlocks and a warning from her. “Every. City.” Princess Celestia glared out the window, vivid pink eyes practically x-raying through every town and city that they could take in. “Well?” She fired a sideways glance his way, causing Shining to jump this time. “What are you just standing there for? Do it.” “Y-Yes, ma’am!” Shining Armour trotted outside, the doors to the throne room closing behind him as he hurried to rally the troops. Celestia grinned when she was once again left to her lonesome. Celestia levitated a forkful of salad to her mouth, crunching on the vegetables as her horn brought forth a brilliantly-coloured quill and a fresh piece of parchment. “I guess I should write a letter to my faithful student...” she mused aloud through a mouthful of salad. Sadly, she unintentionally showered the parchment with bits of lettuce and tomatoes ejected from her mouth. Celestia facehoofed. Books and Branches Library Sly woke up on a bright morning and walked downstairs for breakfast to see that Twilight and Spike had already finished theirs and were about to leave. "Hey, where are you two going?" he asked them. "We're on our way to pick up some apples at Sweet Apple Acres," said Spike. "We'd ask you to come, but... well, you know," said Twilight. Sly knew. After the events with discord and him breaking out of prison, he was officially a fugitive. It would have to be that way until he and the others could prove to Celestia that Sly was innocent. "Well, one good thing came out of that mess," Sly said with a grin. "Now I have the most amazing mare in Equestria as my girlfriend." "Coming from someone as incredible as you Sly, that's quite a compliment," said Twilight. Spike felt like he was about to barf. "Can we just go already?" Twilight sighed. "Fine. See you later, Sly." "Later," said Sly. After they left, Sly looked around the library for something to do. Finding nothing, he began to get bored, and his thoughts turned to his friends. "I wonder what Murray's up to?" he asked himself. "Whatever it is, I'm sure he's having fun." Sugarcube Corner "I – OW – am – OW – not – OW – having – OW – fun – OW – Pinkie!" exclaimed the ex-hippo as his head repeatedly banged into the ceiling. Pumpkin Cake, one of the Cakes' children, was having another one of her magical surges, her horn glowing in a sky-blue shroud as she slammed Murray over and over into the ceiling. As she caused pain to the fuchsia earth pony, she and her brother Pound Cake were laughing like crazy. Unfortunately for Murray, brain cells were on the line, and he didn’t have that many in the first place. Each crash into the ceiling was like an atom bomb to his cranium, and his headache worsened and worsened with each blow. "Don't worry, Murray, I know just what to do!" replied the pink pony. She pulled a bag of flour out of nowhere and poured its contents on herself. Seeing their favorite joke, the twins turned their attention to Pinkie Pie. Unfortunately, this caused Pumpkin’s magic to falter, dropping Murray on the ground. “GAH!” Murray crashed into the ground, causing the floorboards to creak ominously. "Murray!" exclaimed the now white Pinkie, rushing to her friend's side. "Are you okay?" "Why of course I am, ghost lady. Is it tea time already?" said Murray, not sounding alright at all. “Oh no,” said Pinkie, “Something is wrong with you. You usually hate tea!” Pinkie gathered the twins and put them in their room, then she attended to Murray. Pinkie was very worried about him. Since she had first met him, she considered him her best friend, and she liked him a lot. Sometimes, she debated with herself if she liked him even more. Pinkie bandaged Murray’s head with a first-aid kit she had pulled out of a hidden compartment in the wall (Why not? This is Pinkie we’re talking about.) and then took him up to their rooms. It was slow going, Murray was much heavier than Pinkie could carry, but she managed, with her huffing and puffing for air. After Pinkie put Murray in bed, she began to check to see if his mental status had improved. “Murray, do you recognise me?” asked Pinkie. “It’s me, Pinkie.” “You’re not Pinkie,” muttered Murray, his brain damage still affecting his actions and making his speech ever-so-slightly incoherent. “You’re a ghost lady. Pinkie is pink and she’s kinda cute.” “Huh?” said Pinkie, feeling confused. “Yeah, Pinkie is cute and sweet and always knows how to make people smile. She’s a great chef, and she’s the best friend I’ve ever had.” Pinkie Pie began to blush at Murray’s words, but she was still confused as to why he didn’t recognise her. It was then that she remembered she was still covered in flour from before. “Silly Pinkie,” Pinkie scolded herself before turning back to Murray. “Murray, I am Pinkie.” Pinkie then shook off all the flour that covered her until she became her pink self again. “See.” “Pinkie!” said Murray, snapping back into reality. Realizing that it was Pinkie he was talking to had snapped him out of his pain induced trance, but he was still completely embarrassed at what he had said. “Oh, uh... I was... uh... I mean-” Murray said before Pinkie cut him off by placing her hoof over his mouth. “It’s okay Murray,” said Pinkie, leaning in closer to the ex-hippo. “I love you too.” Murray, face as red as a ruby, began to say something else when Pinkie leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Carousel Boutique “While these colours are both complementary to the customer’s physique and fur... I simply can’t decide to choose between the lilac fabric or the taupe....” Rarity, hard at work as ever, was designing a new dress for a client, who had come in all the way from Manehattan just to place her order. Right now, Rarity was torn between the two different-coloured fabrics she was magically levitating before her: both were excellent enough, but she also had to take into consideration of what features the colours would accentuate for the pony. “Oh, how I wish for something to take my mind off this.” BANG! “...Speak of the Devil,” Rarity mused. “Damn it!” shouted Bentley in frustration from outside the Carousel Boutique. Fearing for him, Rarity dropped the fabrics and ran outside. She gasped when she witnessed a huge machine, belching smoke and donning a trashed and malfunctioning look. As she approached it, she saw Bentley lying on his back, face covered in soot and glasses slightly askew. After a jab with a hoof from Rarity, Bentley jumped a bit from the sudden firm poke. “Good heavens!” exclaimed Rarity. “What happened, Bentley?” “I seem to have... miscalculated,” replied Bentley, shaking the soot from his complexion as he sat up. “I didn’t break anything, did I? I mean, other than my machine.” “No, no, no, darling, everything is fine.” “Oh.” Rarity looked at the machine again, a huge mountain of grey metal, decorated with a complex spider’s web of wires, lights, and other doohickeys that Rarity had no name for. “Bentley, may I ask what this machine is for?” “Oh... well, you see... I can’t stay here,” Bentley said, rubbing his foreleg in slight shame. “What?” Rarity was confused. Of course you can stay here! I’d be more than happy to share the Boutique with you!” “No, I’m not talking about the Boutique. I’m talking about here. On this planet.” “Whatever do you mean, darling? You have as much right here in Equestria than anywhere else.” “Yes, but... we don’t belong here.” Rarity was about to interrupt and contradict that claim, but Bentley raised a hoof, asking for a silence that Rarity complied. “Within a few short weeks, we’ve made this place already more upside down that it already is. Sly is in trouble with the authorities, and since he’s already escaped once, they might do something horrible to him! Like, execution, or banishment to the moon! “Even worse, Carmelita is absolutely livid about Sly being technically innocent, especially since she’s spent years trying to throw him behind bars. Now, as much as we all do love it here, we can’t stay: Carmelita, Murray, Sly, and I all belong back on earth. It’s for the best.” Rarity looked hurt at Bentley’s words, but she nodded and smiled. “I understand. I really do. You all must be horribly homesick,” she commented, before going inside and coming back out briefly, with a large black kerchief around her neck. “Normally, I’d find black an atrocious colour to wear... but I’d wear anything if it helps you with your needs.” “...Oh baby,” said Bentley cheekily. Rarity cleared her throat, albeit the blush on her cheeks was totally evident. “Oh, hush,” said Rarity,. “So, shall we reassemble this atrocity?” “Way ahead of ya, sister.” Fluttershy’s Cottage Fluttershy paced around her cottage, a worried look on her face. Ever since Sly turned out to be technically innocent, Carmelita had spent most of her time up in her room, brooding. It had gotten to the point where Fluttershy decided she would need some help. The knocking on her door let her know that help had arrived. “Hey, Fluttershy. What’s up?” asked Rainbow Dash as she walked into the cottage. “Thank goodness you’re here,” said Fluttershy. “Carmelita has been very upset lately. She hasn’t left her room at all. I wanted you to help me talk to her.” “I don’t exactly see why you need me,” replied Rainbow Dash. “Being the Element of Kindness, wouldn’t this be something you could handle on your own?” “Well, with the mood she’s in, Carmelita kinda... scares me,” replied Fluttershy sheepishly. Understanding Fluttershy completely, and being the impulsive pony she is, Rainbow Dash flew upstairs and entered Carmelita’s room. When she entered, Rainbow Dash found the place a complete mess, with Carmelita in the exact center of it. Carmelita looked up at her, her eyes red with rage. “GET OUT!” she screamed. Rainbow Dash flinched for a second, the ex-fox scaring her almost as much as she scared Fluttershy, but began to calmly talk to Carmelita. “It’s okay, Carm,” said Rainbow Dash, “It’s just me. I’m just here to talk, trying to make you feel better.” Surprisingly, Carmelita did begin to get calmer. Seeing this, Rainbow Dash continued talking to her. “Okay, now I’m pretty sure that you’re angry because you’ve been chasing Sly for your whole life, and when he finally ended up in jail, he was technically innocent. If that happened to me, I’d probably be ticked off too, but you’ve got to get over it.” Carmelita sighed. “No, Rainbow Dash, that’s not the problem. The problem is something that happened after that. You see, I think I may have... sorta... kinda... been in love with... Sly.” “Ooohhh,” said Rainbow Dash calmly, while on the inside she was going, “ENTERING DANGEROUS TERRITORY! ABORT MISSION! ABORT!”  Luckily for Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy came to her rescue. Now that Carmelita was calm, she had nothing to fear, and she jumped at the chance to be helpful. “It’s okay, Carmelita. Everyone has that happen to them at one point or another. I’m sure Sly isn’t the only guy out there for you, and the next one may be even better. Besides, you and Sly can still be friends, right?” Carmelita gave Fluttershy a blank look. “He’s a master thief. I’m an officer of the law. Notice anything?” “Oh. Right,” said Fluttershy, embarrassed a bit for forgetting, before all three of them broke out in laughter.