“Lieutenant, I don’t see why you’re so obsessed with this one burglar. There’s plenty of other crime to deal with…” Titus began.

“Captain, with all due respect, I don’t want to hear it,” Stronghooves replied, shaking his head, “This burglar’s different. She and I have...history.”

“Oh? Is she an old flame?” Titus grinned slyly as the two stallions came to a halt on a balcony overlooking the city.

“And old relation,” Stronghooves shook his head, “It’s...complicated.”

“I’ve got time.” Titus replied evenly, placing a heavy forehoof on the officer’s shoulder.

Stronghooves glanced across at him, letting out a soft sigh. He crossed his forehooves and lay his head down upon them, looking out over the multicoloured roofs of Canterlot.

“She and I go way back,” He explained, “Her name’s Sky Runner. You probably wouldn’t find her name in any record of my family. My parents...our parents...went to great lengths to cover up that she ever existed.”

“What was their big deal?” Titus asked, cocking his head.

“They’re self-made ponies. Unicorns from multiracial families who want to pretend that they’re more “pure” than their own parents. That means that if you’re not a unicorn, you’re an embarrassment to the family.” Stronghooves sighed. “Sky was a pegasus, so…”

“...So they hid her.”

“At first, yes.” Stronghooves nodded. “Downplayed a lot of her achievements, ignored her and dumped praise on me. All the while I did my best to keep her safe from them in their angrier moments, taught her how to fly...it wasn’t the ideal family situation, but it was something. It was special, I guess.”

“And then something happened?” Titus asked.

“Yeah, something big. She got her cutie mark when she went truant from flight school. Ran away from the truancy officers, outsmarted and outran them and galloped all the way home. She was really excited to show me,” The Lieutenant smiled fondly at the memory, wiping his eyes, “Mum and Dad were furious.”

“What was it?”

“Turns out her special talent is running. She’s light on her hooves and really fast...until she uses those gimpy little wings, anyway,” Stronghooves chuckled, “I was just proud that she’d finally found something that she was good at. Mum and dad...weren’t. They threw her out when I went to sleep, and then they told me that she’d gone and gotten hit by a carriage.”

“Did you believe them?”

“At first. I was only a stupid teenager. I guess I was more impressionable back then.” Stronghooves shrugged. “When they didn’t hold a funeral or show me any evidence, I got...suspicious, I guess. They started doctoring all of our family photos to remove her from them. Mum and Dad were hellbent on keeping her existence a secret.”

“Yeah, well, by the looks of it, you’ve found your long-lost sister and she’s turned into a career criminal.” Titus chuckled. “I bet you’re relieved that she’s alive, at least.”

“I suppose I am,” Stronghooves smiled, sniffling, “but she resents me for what happened back when we were kids...and she replaced me.”

“Replaced you? With what?” Titus frowned.

“She had this...this filly with her. I don’t know whose it is, but I can’t imagine it’s hers. She said that her name was Shadow…” Stronghooves said, his features growing a little darker as he spoke, “I can’t even imagine the kind of sick lies she’s filling that kid’s head with about me.”

“You can’t blame yourself for the way she took what happened, but you’ve got a point.” Titus nodded. “If Sky is allowed to hang around this kid for much longer, she could do a lot of damage to her impressionable young mind. We could have another burglar on our hooves before we know it.”

“Yeah, and as long as this “Shadow” kid is a factor, I don’t see things getting better between myself and Sky.” Stronghooves frowned. “I can’t even imagine the lies she’s told about me, just to paint me as a bad guy.”

“Handle the foal as you see fit, Lieutenant.” Titus said stoically. “It’s Sky’s relation to you that interests me. So, this is the burglar that’s been escaping us over and over again, is it?”

“Yes, sir. I’m positive of it.” Stronghooves nodded. “Sky’s a fast pony and she’s exceptionally good at hiding. It’s her special talent. That explains why we’ve never been able to catch up to her. The only reason I got a look at her face last night was because I caught her off-guard.”

“You’re telling me that the one-pony rise in crime in this city is your kid sister?” Titus asked in disbelief.

“I’m afraid so. I’m not proud of it, but...I know it’s her. I don’t know anypony else who looks like her...or who’d speak to me with that much venom in her voice,” Stronghooves cringed at the memory of the previous night’s encounter, “We have to stop her.”

“Well, you’re the best burglar hunter in the city. Tell me what you need and I’ll pull the necessary strings.” Titus winked.

“This is going to require me to deviate from my normal method of dealing with burglars.” Stronghooves frowned. “I’m going to aim to capture Sky and rehabilitate her, not kill her off. I’m not going to do that to my own sister.”

“What if she resists or runs for it?”

“She won’t.” Stronghooves grinned. “It’s all about finding the right leverage to get her to cooperate...and I think I know just the thing.”

“You’re kidding.” Sky deadpanned.

“Nuh uh.” Accident replied. “I mean it! I want that one!”

“You do know what kind of ice cream that is, don’t you?”

“I don’t care! I wanna try it!” Accident beamed, wagging her bushy little tail excitedly.

Sky let out a long-suffering sigh, turning back to the ice cream mare with a slightly forced smile. “Can I get a cookies and creme and a...kid, are you sure about this?”

“Yes!” Accident nodded confidently. She couldn’t care less what flavour the delightful orange ice cream was. She’d never ever tried ice cream before, and she was super-excited to try it for the first time ever!

“Fine, fine…” Sky sighed, dropping her voice down to a whisper to prevent the young filly from hearing, “...and one mango-flavoured ice cream, please.”

“Sure thing.” The ice cream mare beamed, passing them over. “Is this your first time having ice cream, little one?” She added.

“Yep!” Accident nodded briskly, wagging her tail even harder as she took it between her forehooves. “Miss Sky’s been really nice to me and she took me to a cookie factory and helped me murder mangoes and now she’s taken me out for ice cream!”

“Well then, I should warn you, ice cream is awfully cold, so don’t go eating it all at...once…” She trailed off, watching as Accident stuffed her face with the frozen treat. The young filly whimpered and squeaked as she struggled to get her head around just how cold ice cream was, but it was every bit as delicious as Sky had made it sound!

“Thank you, Mrs Ice Cream Pony!” Accident smiled, flapping her huge wings excitedly. “It was really lovely and I really wanna have more sometime! Are there any other kinds?”

“There’s all sorts!” The ice cream pony chuckled, taking Accident’s gorging session in stride. “There’s chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, mango…”

“Ewww! Mango!” Accident cringed, disgusted. “Don’t tell me that they’re disguising themselves as ice cream now!”

“But...didn’t you just eat…?” The ice cream mare began, but Sky flashed her a dark look, the look of a pony who would simply never be forgiven if Accident ever learned the truth.

“Why, silly me! I had no idea that those dastardly mangoes had infiltrated your nice little ice cream cart!” Sky said loudly, as Accident cowered under her red bushy tail. “No doubt you’re going to hunt them all down and put a stop to their mischief!”

“Er...certainly! Of course I am!” The ice cream mare scoffed, picking up on Sky’s little ruse. “Don’t you worry about a thing! I’ll be sure to go get the Royal Guard and put them back in their place! We can’t have loose fruit running around disguising itself as ice cream so it can sneak up on unsuspecting fillies, can we?”

“No, we can’t!” Sky sighed gratefully, putting a wing around Accident’s shoulders and steering her away, towards the park gate. “Thank you very much, Miss! We’ll get out of your mane!”

“Stay alert, Mrs Ice Cream Pony! They’re everywhere, and they’re watching!” Accident squeaked urgently, poking her muzzle through Sky’s feathers to give the poor salespony one last ominous stare.

“You’re going to get me in trouble one of these days.” Sky chuckled, trotting down the path as she tucked into her own ice cream.

“Or maybe I’m going to get you out of trouble!” Accident countered, grinning. “I don’t mean to brag, but I’m a pretty great little burglar!”

“You definitely put on one hell of a performance for the guards today.” Sky conceded. “Were you scared?”

“No! I’m not scared of anything!” Accident giggled proudly, trotting along in front of the elder pony with her nose held high.

“Yeah?” Sky chuckled. “Well, that’s lucky, considering what’s right behind us right this second…”

“Wha...what’s behind us right now?” Accident said softly, lowering her voice and cowering under Sky’s wing.

“Well, you’d better not look at it, because it’s pretty big and scary.” Sky said seriously. “It’s a giant mango with slathering jaws and a great big mouth that can swallow a pony whole! But hey, I’m sure you’re not in the least bit afraid of it. After all, you’re not scared of anything, right?”

“Ri...right!” Accident nodded, though she couldn’t help but gulp. She could already feel the onset of panic from the monster’s approach...or perhaps that was just her tummy hurting from all of that ice cream in one go. Either way, she felt pretty terrified, nuzzling a little further under Sky’s wing.

“Are you okay, Shadow?” Sky asked, licking her ice cream a little more. “You’re awfully shivery! Don’t tell me you’re scared!”

“N...no!” Accident shook her head. “I’m just...er...cold! That’s it!”

“Cold?” Sky pressed, raising her eyebrows, “but it’s the middle of a super-sunny day and we’re in the middle of the park! How could you possibly be cold?”

“Well...okay, I might be the teeniest tiniest bit frightened, too…” Accident gulped, “but I don’t wanna be eaten whole! I’m only little! I’ve got so much to live for!”

“I guess you do,” Sky sighed, flicking her tail around and wrapping it around Accident’s, “so you’d better watch out, because if you’re not careful...it’s gonna GET YOU!”

And with that, she gave Accident’s tail a tug, sending the filly tumbling onto her flanks with a squeal.

“NOOOOO! DON’T EAT ME! I WANNA LIVE!” She squeaked, hiding her head in her hooves to avoid looking into the monster’s eyes.

After a while, Accident cracked an eye open, a little surprised at the decided lack of slathering jaws and razor-sharp teeth. More surprising, however, was Sky’s cheeky giggling.

“I’m...I’m alive?” She whispered, as Sky proceeded to laugh her flanks off nearby.

“Ye…yeah...you’re alive, kid…” Sky snickered, finally catching her breath. “Oh, wow! I really had you going, that time! You completely fell for it!”

“Fell for...fell for it?” Accident asked, cocking her head. “This was a trick all along?”

“Sure was!” Sky giggled, standing over the young pony and tussling her mane, “There’s no such thing as giant mangoes. Don’t worry, kid.”

“Wh...why?” Accident whimpered, looking up at Sky with her great big green filly eyes, “Why did you trick me, Miss Sky? We were getting on so well!”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it had something to do with the stunt you pulled back at the cookie factory. Remember, when you refused to get me out?”

“Oh yeah...er...that…” Accident giggled guiltily, “but I’m still really grumpy with you, Missy! Like, super grumpy! In fact, do you know how grumpy I am?”

“How grumpy are you?” Sky asked, her curiosity piqued.

“I’m so grumpy I could...could…give me that…” She huffed, snatching the ice cream cone out of Sky’s hooves and pressing it to her own forehead, creating a rather messy fake horn. “A-ha! Now I’m a princess and I’m gonna make you pay for being such a cheeky, mischievous little pony!”

“Oh no!” Sky yelped melodramatically, putting her forehooves up in surrender as Accident held her at cone-point, “Please don’t hurt me, Princess Shadow! I’ve seen the error of my cheeky ways!”

“Too late for that, Sky!” Princess Shadow grinned, advancing on her, “You’ll have plenty of time to think about what a cheeky little pony you are when I turn you into a kangaroo!”

“Noooo! Don’t...wait, really? A kangaroo?” Sky asked.

“I like kangaroos.”

“Oh,” Sky fell silent for a time, before raising her forehooves again, “noooo! I’m innocent! I didn’t mean to scare you, Princess!”

“Silence! I don’t want to hear your excuses, Miss Sky! Let’s see how silly you look when you’re forced to hop around like a great big kangaroo!” Accident grinned, levelling her “horn” at Sky and making a rather convincing “Zap” noise.

Sky rolled her eyes, rearing up on her hind legs and hopping in circles around the younger pony. She didn’t have a clue what kind of noise a kangaroo makes, but judging by Accident’s cheery giggling, Sky figured that she was doing a passable impression nonetheless.

“Okay, okay, now a donkey!” Accident squeaked, “zapping” Sky with her horn again.

The little white mare froze in place for a time, looking around at the other ponies in the park apprehensively. Each and every one of them had already started staring at her after the kangaroo act, and things were only going to get worse from here on in…

Ah, screw what they think. It’s making her laugh!

“HEE-HAW!” Sky brayed dramatically.

Princess Shadow exploded into a giggling fit, rolling onto her back and failing to notice when her fake horn fell off of her head. A few other ponies nearby burst out laughing at Sky’s display, while a very touchy mule strode haughtily off, complaining about how her mother was, in fact, a saint.

“Forgive me, yet?” Sky snickered, trotting up to the little pony and rubbing her tummy.

“Ye...yeah, I forgive you, Sky.” The filly giggled, wrapping all four legs around Sky’s hoof to protect her vulnerable little belly.

“Come on then, Princess Shadow,” Sky grinned, hoisting her young sister onto her back and trotting off down the path, “I’ve got another little surprise for you, and I think you’ll like it.”