//------------------------------//
// Settling In and Waking Up 
// Story: My Little Pony and the Thievius Raccoonus 
// by RaijingtheClockworkPony 
//------------------------------//

	As the master thief made his way down the halls, supported by his father's cane, he couldn't help but wonder where, and how he had ended up in a mansion filled with strange horse like creatures. They were so similar to the horses, and ponies that he had met in his travels, but they were so different at the same time. They never wore clothes, had marks on their thighs, and had no hands. To his surprise, there were even some that had wings along with the ones that had horns. 

Sly paused for a moment and looked up at a painting that hung before him. It depicted a stallion with a horn on his head casting a powerful spell to defend a mare behind him from a shadowy creature surrounding them. The brilliant, bright green of the unicorn’s magic, and his white coat were a grand contrast with the dark blues and blacks of the shadows. 

Wonderful colors and a very fine attention to detail. I can see the fear in the woman's eyes and the bravery in the mans.

"I see you have an eye for fine works." 

Sly turned to see the owner of the mansion. "Hello there, Fancy Pants right?" The thief extended his arm for a moment then moved it up to brush his hair. It was hard to get a hand shake from a pony that had none. 

The unicorn nodded and noticed the action with a small raise of his eyebrow. "Indeed. I'm glad you know me, I assume Fleur answered some of your questions."

Sly studied the white unicorn with a well-cared for blue mane. He noticed the monocle and the suit top, and much to Sly's chagrin, no pants. The thief found himself wondering what the unicorn did for a living. 

"Now, I hope that you are healing up quickly." 

The raccoon nodded. "Yeah, your doctor is pretty good at her job." 

The stallion nodded and looked at the painting. "Good to hear. I know this may not be the most subtle way to ask, but how exactly did you end up crashing in the park?"

Sly shrugged and took a small step closer to study the painting a little more. "Well, I was working a job, and it went a little south. One explosion later I end up here. A little magic was involved as well but I don't know all that much about magic."

"Hmm, may I be so bold as to ask what your profession is?" 

The master thief leaned closer to the painting and gave it a very intense look. "I collect and retrieve rare artifacts, art works, and other valuable objects for myself or for others that want them. I deal with a lot of very influential people regularly, and travel around the world to make my deals."

The stallion took a step closer to the painting as well. "A treasure hunter, to put it in simpler terms. Interesting, to say the least. It's over three hundred years old. It was painted by my great, great grandfather after he read a legend about a shadow demon. I hope it passes your inspection." 

"It's a masterpiece. The attention to detail is amazing, and the colors play off each other wonderfully." 

The white stallion nodded and studied the raccoon. He noticed that Sly was leaning on the cane heavily, and was stroking his chin as he looked at the painting. Sly took a few steps back to look at the painting at a different angle, and as he did so he winced as he walked. 

"Are you alright? I noticed that you seem to be wincing, and have a small limp in your right leg." 

Sly took a breath in before he spoke. "No, to be frank, I'm not. It's not the injuries that are getting to me though. I've had far worse than this happen to me." The thief looked at the pony for a moment then sighed. "I think a friend of mine might have come to this place as well, but if I'm here alone, that means she might be alone, hurt, and needs me." 

"I understand. Unfortunately, you can't go looking for them in such an injured state. I have talked to a few powerful ponies and they assured me that they will help search for your friend." 

That caught the thief's attention. "What kind of powerful friends?" Sly looked at the painting for a moment then back to the stallion. "What kind of work do you do exactly?" 

The white unicorn stood up a little straighter and a look of importance came over his face. "I'm the head of the Royal Bank, and I handle the funds of Their Majesties the Princess's." 

The raccoon gave the stallion a deadpan look and chuckled. "So, you’re their accountant, and a banker. Must pay very well to own a place like this." 

Fancy Pants shared the chuckle. "I suppose that's a simple way of putting it. It does pay the bills, but the home isn't an expense. It's been in the family for almost ten generations now, if I have a foal that is." 

Sly looked at the stallion for a moment then noticed that the unicorn reached into his coat pocket. The stallion pulled out a small golden pocket watch and checked it. 

"Now, the Princess wanted something of you before she could give you her help." 

Sly's grip tightened on the cane. He never had good relations with authority figures. "And what would that be?" 

The stallion motioned to the end of the hall. "A little of your time. She wants to meet you, to be fair you are a new creature that nopony has ever seen or met before." 

The thief relaxed his grip a little and nodded. "Fair enough. Let's go meet royalty." 

Sly and Fancy Pants walked down the hallway and through a pair of large dark oak doors. The pair walked into a large dining room with a deep, rich purple carpet, handsomely carved table and chairs, and a large marble fireplace. Sly only had a moment to study the room before motion at the head of the table caught the raccoon's eye. Sitting there was a large horse similar to the others he had seen, only this one was radiant white, had wings and a horn but that wasn't what made her different. It was the mane that shimmered and moved like it was in a gentle breeze where there wasn't one. 

The large mare looked up from the small piece of parchment she had floating in front of her and connected her gaze to Sly. A chair moved out and she pointed to it. 

"Good evening Mister Cooper. I hope you are healing well."

Sly gave her a small smile and sat in the seat that she offered him. "I'm doing fine, Princess...?"

"Celestia. I am here because you are a visitor to my kingdom, and one that we have never seen before, so I thought a personal visit and welcome was required." 

Sly tapped the head of his cane as he gave the large mare a friendly smile. "Celestia. You all have such interesting names here. It's nice that you saw fit to visit me yourself. I hope this wasn't an inconvenience for you."

The princess shook her head and placed the parchment on the table. "Not at all, I have a few questions to ask you, if you don't mind." 

As the raccoon shrugged as a small bowl of soup was placed in front of him by a pony in a maid uniform. The gentle scent of a French onion soup reached him and a small spoon was placed next to the bowl. Sly wasted no time in starting in on the dish. He looked up at Celestia and gave her a small nod to show her that he didn't mind her asking him questions. 

"I understand that you came here due to some sort of accident, if what Fleur has told me is accurate. Is that correct?"

Sly swallowed a spoonful of the warm soup then nodded to the princess. "There was a complication to a job I was working... a mad mongoose ruined everything..." The raccoons eyes widened as a thought came to his mind. He stood up as quickly his injuries would allow him. 

"We need to search for Carmelita! If I came through then she did, and that means he did as well. If she is close to him in any way then she might be killed."

Sly tried his best to walk towards the door but was stopped by his cane refusing to move. He looked down and saw that it had a golden aura around it. He looked behind him and saw that Celestia had risen as well and her horn was glowing. 

"Mister Cooper, what are you going on about? Who is Carmelita, and why is her life in danger?" 

The thief tried to move his cane but found it wouldn't move. "She is the most important person in my life, and at the moment she might be out there right now, hurt, alone or worse. If she is anywhere near Mchawi then she will need help."

"I understand that you are upset but you are in no condition to go out and search for her. You need to be patient and let us help you. I will send out my guards to search the kingdom for her. Is she like you, grey furred and clad in blue clothing?" 

Sly sighed, and looked at the princess. Something about the honest way she spoke and the look of concern in her eyes made him trust her. He nodded and moved towards the seat he has so hastily risen from. 

"She's got orange fur, deep blue hair, and is a fox."

"I see. If she is as clever as you say then sh—"

Sly tapped his cane on the table to cut the alicorn off. "No, I mean literally, she is a fox, just like I'm a raccoon." 

For a moment the princess just gave him a surprised look then nodded. "Of course, now I think we should continue with some of the other questions, and that little correction leads into my next question. What kind of creature are you, I have never met a creature like you, and you only partially resemble the raccoons in my kingdom."

The thief remained silent for a moment then got an idea. "Can I have a map?"

The princess nodded then her horn began to glow. A second later a scroll appeared and floated over to Sly. He straightened up slightly as it came close to him. His reaction wasn't missed by the princess. 

"Does my magic make you uncomfortable?"

As he took the scroll out of the air he shook his head. "I've had a very bad streak of luck with magic. Voodoo, flaming fists, and now black magic, almost all the magic users I've met have tried to kill me at one point."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I assure you that I'll not be one of those."

Sly couldn't help but chuckle at her statement. He opened the map and looked at it. In an instant he could tell that he wasn't on his own world anymore. 

"Yeah... I thought so, just my luck to. This isn't my world, which means that somehow we need to get back."

Celestia rose from her seat once more and walked over to Sly. "We will find a way to send you home. I have a final question for you and then I shall begin the search for your friend Carmelita. This Mchawi, how dangerous is he? If he is a danger to my kingdom then I must know immediately."

Sly nodded and rolled the map up. "He's a crime lord, and a very powerful one at that. He's trained in hand to hand combat and knows Voodoo magic, as well as black magic. He's armed with a lot of hatred of everything that moves and a very short temper." 

For a moment Celestia paled then she regain her composure. "Thank you for the warning. I'll inform my guards of this and they shall search for your friend, and this criminal." There was a short pause then Celestia's voice grew very serious. "I hope for your friend’s sake that they are nowhere near each other."

"So do I, your majesty."

Celestia walked out the doors and began talking to Fancy Pants in a rushed whisper. Sly returned his gaze to the soup in front of him and found his mind focusing on the last image he had seen in his own world. The frightened face of the only women he loved. Suddenly he wasn't all that hungry.
                                                                                                                                                                                       

Warmth. It surrounded and comforted the fox that was slowly waking up. She rolled over and reached out, expecting to find her bedmate for the last two months there to greet her into the morning and found empty air. Her groggy mind took a moment to process that information.

Wrong way... strange, he usually sleeps on this side of the bed. Oh well, when in Rome... 

The blue haired inspector rolled over and found her face suddenly pressed up against something soft but firm. This set off the first alarm in her head. The second alarm was caused by the sudden realization of humming coming from behind her. The final alarm was the sharp pain in the arm she started laying on. 

She sat up quickly only to have her head to begin spinning. She grabbed the arm of the couch to steady herself and the sudden sensation made her feel sick. Her hand went to her mouth and she closed her eyes so that the spinning room would stop assaulting her eyes. 

The humming stopped and she heard the distinct sounds of hooves on floorboards. Years of training told her that the number of hooves meant two horses and that the lighter tone of the sounds meant they were small. 

A family of horses... they must have found me and brought me to their home.

She opened her eyes as a soft voice reached her. "Oh good, you're awake. I was beginning to get worried that I would need to get help."

The fox stared at the pink maned horse for a moment stunned. She had never seen anything like it before. Standing a few feet away from her was what looked like a very young female horse walking on all four of her limbs. The thing that really stunned the inspector was the simple fact that the young woman was naked. 

Carmelita took a small breath as she locked her gaze with the mare. "Hello, my name is Carmelita. What's yours?"

The horse smiled. "I'm Fluttershy. Are feeling alright? I tried my best with your ankle and your arm. I hope they feel fine."

The fox looked at her arm to see a well-made cast and a quick gaze over the rest of her body revealed that Fluttershy had been very thorough with her care giving. The fox noticed something that made her cover herself. Her chest was bare; Fluttershy had removed all of her clothes to apply the bandages but never placed them back on her. 

"They feel fine. May I have something to wear, please?"

The small horse nodded. "Oh, of course.” A small frown came over the gentle face.  “I don't know if anything I own will fit you, but I'll find something. I hope you don't mind but I sent your clothes to get repaired. They were very badly ripped and worn out."

Carmelita nodded and sighed. "Okay. May I ask you something really quickly?"

The mare nodded. "Sure, anything you need." 

"I don't want to sound rude, but are those wings... real?"

Fluttershy turned her head to look at the wings on her back. She blushed a little then nodded. "Um... yes. I'm a pegasus."

The inspector nodded for a moment then sighed. "Right... of course. Thank you." 

Almost thirty minutes later Carmelia and Fluttershy converted a few of the pony's dresses into a skirt and a blouse. The fox decided to break the ice with some of the questions buzzing in her mind. 

"So, Miss Fluttershy, how exactly did I get to your home, and where is your home?  Country and town or village I mean." 

"Well, Sebastian saw you fall into the pond and when he brought you here—"

The inspector held up her hand to stop the pegasus. "Who's Sebastian?"

Fluttershy smiled. "He's the bear that lives nearby. I help him with his neck and back problems. He was coming over for a session and saw you fall into the pond. After fishing you out, he brought you to me and I started taking care of you. You are in my cottage in the outskirts of Ponyville in Equestria." 

Carmelita sat down on the small chair in the cottages kitchen. She rubbed the bridge of her nose for a moment. She had never heard of a Ponyville, let alone the nation of Equestria. 

"Okay, how long have I been here?"

"Almost a day and a half. Would you like some tea?"

"Sure, thank you."

Over the next hour Fluttershy and Carmelita talked about the town and the ponies that lived there. The fox learned very quickly that this place was nothing like anywhere she had ever been. All the ponies looked similar to Fluttershy, never wore clothes, and all had the little tattoos on their upper thighs. 

The inspector placed her now empty cup down on the table and was silent for a moment. "Has there been others... like me I mean." 

Fluttershy shook her head. "Not that I have noticed. Maybe somepony in town has seen them. I was planning on heading into town tomorrow to get you fixed cloths. If you would like to join me we could ask my friends if they have heard anything."

Carmelita felt her heart sink for a moment then she nodded. She now had a plan and she now had a goal in mind. As Fluttershy got up and cleared the table the fox looked out the window and muttered to herself.

"Stay safe ringtail."