It’s uncommon for a filly to walk into a bank all on her own without a parent in sight, even more so on a schoolday. Shadow found the enormous Corinthian architecture of the bank’s facade more than a little daunting, those tall pillars and white marble stairs making her feel even smaller than she already was. And yet, for the first time ever, she couldn't help but notice that there was a certain vulnerability about it all, as if this whole wide world was something she could suddenly influence. For her small stature in a big uncaring universe, she had a place, a purpose and her own little adventure.

Shadow tucked her overlarge wings in as she ducked past older ponies, marveling at the impressive interior of the Grand National Bank. The foyer stretched three storeys, capped by a stained glass dome depicting the two royal pony sisters. Shadow stood in the light filtering down through it for a time, smiling softly at the dancing colours and thinking about her own sister.

I wonder if Celestia is as awesome as Sky is… she mused. I bet she doesn't take Luna on surprise trips to cookie factories or anything.

She came back to the present as a stallion in an expensive suit bumped into her, almost causing her to topple over and spill out the contents of her saddlebags. Shadow squeaked and staggered out of the way, shaking her head before focussing on the immediate target once more...the teller’s counter.

Everypony had long since gone to work, so the tellers had very little to do. What customers there were were easily handled or quickly kicked out for being belligerent, so it was with significant ease that Shadow grabbed one of the chairs from the foyer and joined the queue with it. She pushed the little chair along with her nose, flapping her overlarge wings to help get a little more power behind it, until she finally propped it up against the teller’s counter.

“Well, hello little one!” said the teller, peering over his spectacles at the little filly as she bounded up onto the chair. “What can I do for you today?”

“Um...I’d like to open a bank account, please,” Shadow said nervously, digging through her saddlebag and retrieving a little hoof-full of coins. “I have five little bits that I wanna keep nice and safe from my sister, okay?”

The teller counted the coins, chuckling at the sight of Shadow’s hopeful little smile and quaint savings account. He took the money in hoof and gave her a friendly little smile.

“You’re a responsible little one. It’s very uncommon for a pony your age to open a bank account, but it’s definitely encouraged. I think we can help you out.” He said.

“Um...mister? Can you show me what you’re gonna do with my money? Only…” Shadow whispered, playing with her hooves, “I don’t wanna lose it or have anything happen to it. It’s gonna be safe, right?”

The teller glanced around for a moment, deep in thought. The foal was barely six years old, surely. It would probably be harmless to let her take a quick look…

“Well, if you’d like, I could give you a tour so that you know exactly what happens to it. Would you like that?” the teller asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shadow tucked her hooves up under her chin, nodding eagerly. “I’d love that, Mister Bank Manager, sir! I’ve always wanted to know how this stuff works! I thought it was all put in one big safe!”

“Well, that’s not exactly how we do it,” the teller said with a chuckle. “Come along and wait by the service door just to the left of the counters and I’ll show you exactly how we handle everypony’s money. You know, we also take care of the Royal Treasury here!”

Shadow’s eyes widened as she hopped off of her chair and waited by the door.

“You don’t have the crown jewels here, do you?” She asked, as the teller unlocked it for her and let her in.

“I’m afraid not,” the teller replied, beaming at Shadow’s waggy tail as she trotted into the service corridor. “The crown jewels and the Elements of Harmony are currently held in the Royal Palace, which is the only place in Equestria safer than this bank!”

“Wow, mister. That’s super interesting. So you take care of all of the other money in Equestria?” Shadow asked, as the teller started down the corridor towards the back of the building.

“Oh, of course. We actually take care of everyone, from big ponies, to little foals like yourself. We also handle major companies and some of the government’s funds, too.”

Shadow nodded along, slipping a tiny doorstop out of her saddlebag and jamming it in the door mechanism as it swung shut behind her. When it closed fully, the lock failed to engage.

Perfect… Shadow thought to herself, wagging her tail some more as she cantered to catch up to the teller.

“Oh, so you keep everypony’s stuff safe! That’s wonderful! But what about thieves and burglars, mister? How do you keep them out?”

“Well...er, what’s your name?”

“Shadow.”

“Well then, Shadow,” the teller says, leading her past a pair of glowing green crystals set into the walls, “we have the latest in security technology, including magic-detecting crystals that look for anypony not wearing a little ID badge like this one.” He gestured to the nametag on his chest. “You’re getting past just fine because you’re far too small to set them off, but an older pony trying to get in would set them off and get sprayed with tracking fluid and a special kind of glue. That way, the city watch could easily hunt them down and arrest them!”

“That seems awfully safe, mister,” Shadow agreed. “What else do you do to keep it safe...I mean, if you don’t mind my asking…”

“Not at all,” the teller said with a grin. “Well, we have security guards on-site to keep the place safe, and I’ll show you something else. Just watch…”

As the two of them rounded the corner, Shadow’s jaw dropped. An enormous vault door stood before her on the far side of a room filled with desks and notaries. The door itself was bolted in place with fixtures about ten times Shadow’s size. The idea of something that big ever opening was totally unthinkable.

“Wow…” she whispered. “How do you get into that thing?”

“Well, it’s quite simple,” the teller said, chuckling at her awe and curiosity. “You just have to show your ID card to the magic reader and enter the combination and the vault opens right up. Still, it’s /very/ important to have that combination and the ID badge. If you miss one of them and try to open it up, it sets off an alarm and locks everything down. See, that way, no one can get in unless they work here!”

“That’s really impressive!” Shadow squeaked, trotting past bored accountants and notaries at their desks to look up at the vault door itself. “Oh my goodness, it’s so big...I bet you could fit thousands of me in there!”

“I bet we could,” the teller agreed, showing his ID card to the little crystal set into the solid steel vault door and turning a set of cranks to enter the five-number combination.

5-6-2-2-8. Shadow thought to herself, following his motions carefully. Okay, that’ll make this way easier!

As the vault door swung open, Shadow peered inside, ears flopping down as she took in the sight of the room beyond.

Thousands of safes stood on vast shelves, stretching the height and length of the rest of the building. The higher ones were accessible via catwalk and staircase, with various bank workers trotting this way and that within the vault to access and update bank accounts. It was a veritable goldmine, a jackpot, a motherlode. At least, it would be if Shadow knew any of those words.

“Oh my gosh that’s so cool!” she squeaked, nuzzling and hugging the teller’s foreleg. “What about the safes? How do ponies get into them?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” the teller said proudly. “There are specific keys for every safe in this vault, and the bank manager has a master key that opens all of them in case of emergency. Would you like to meet him? I’m sure he could tell you more, because unfortunately I’ll have to go back to my desk soon.”

“Sure thing, mister! I’d love to know more about how all of this works! When I grow up, I wanna be a banker just like you!” Shadow squeaked, fluffing herself up and looking up at him with her bright green eager eyes.

The teller blushed, leading her to an older mare with a grey-streaked purple mane and a pair of half-moon spectacles. A keyring jingled on her saddlebag as she walked, handing out paperwork to the rather miserable-looking notaries as she went.

“Excuse me, Mrs Hoofshackle, we have a curious pony here who wants to know more about safe banking,” the teller called out, approaching the old mare with Shadow in tow. “She’s looking to open an account and would like to know more about how we do things here.”

“I’m so super excited to learn everything, Mrs Hoofshackle!” Shadow affirmed, nodding along as the teller passed her five little coins to the bank manager.

Mrs Hoofshackle put a hoof to her lips to silence the little foal, before giving the teller a severe look.

“Go back to your desk right this minute,” she said haughtily, ushering him back towards the corridor. “I’ll take it from here, if you please.”

“Erm...okay, sure…” the teller said nervously, casting Shadow a last nervous smile before heading back towards his station.

“Now, you want to understand more about how our bank operates, do you?” Mrs Hoofshackle asked, pacing around Shadow with a grumpy frown. “You’ve come to the right pony. I run a tight operation around here, and with good reason. Any delays whatsoever are bad for business. However, since you seem interested in keeping your...modest...savings here, I’ll indulge you.”

Shadow tilted her head, smile fading just a little. She didn’t entirely know what that meant, but she suspected that it was quite catty.

“You seem sad,” she said. “Are you sad, Mrs Hoofshackle?”

The mare paused, avoiding eye contact for a while, before tilting her head up and trotting back towards the vault. “I’m busy. Come along. If I leave you behind then security will no doubt pick you up and shove you out the door, and then you won’t get to open an account at all!”

Shadow hurried after her, practically tripping over her own oversized wings as she followed behind the old mare.

“I’m sorry if I said anything wrong…” she murmured.

“Having a foal in here is the last thing I need,” Mrs Hoofshackle huffed, clambering up the stairs. “It’s been a truly terrible day. As if having the city watch breathing down my neck and disrupting my staff wasn’t bad enough.”

“Why would the city watch be bothering you?” Shadow asked. “I thought you guys were obeying the law!”

“We are, but one of their officers believes that there’s going to be a burglary today, so he insisted on placing soldiers here, and in the vault, no less! I don’t trust a lot of guards. They’re nothing but trouble, like children.” She added, glaring at Shadow.

“That’s okay, Mrs Hoofshackle. I don’t trust a lot of guards either.” Shadow agreed, attempting to nuzzle her foreleg hopefully. The elder mare held it just out of reach, recoiling from her.

“Don’t touch me,” Hoofshackle said, carrying on up the stairs and along a catwalk. “Now, your safe will be Number 1138. If you lose that number, we can’t help you. You will also have to have your photo taken to verify your ID, and we’ll need a full name. Do you understand that?”

“Sure do, Mrs Hoofshackle!” Shadow said brightly, as the bank manager opened up her safe. It was easily big enough to walk in without a care in the world, and Shadow peered inside hopefully, as if curious to see if someone had misplaced a small fortune for her. When she found nothing, she let out a little huff and smiled up at the manager. “This is perfect. Thank you so much!”

“You’re very welcome.” the old mare said curtly, tossing the coins inside before slamming the safe door shut. “You want to access your account, you come to one of the tellers at the front and tell them how much you want to withdraw or deposit so we can keep it on record. Now, let’s get your ID sorted ou…”

Mrs Hoofshackle was interrupted by a wailing from outside the vault, followed by an alarm bell going off. She froze, ears perking, before brushing past Shadow and hurrying down the stairs.

“Wait here!” she commanded, dashing down off of the catwalk and out of the vault. “Don’t move and don’t touch anything! I’ll be back in just a moment!”

Shadow nodded dutifully, waiting for the old mare to charge out of the vault before looking down at the contents of her saddlebag.

One master key and one ID card from Mrs Hoofshackle and the teller. Sky’s gonna be so proud of me! She thought to herself, sealing her saddlebags up and cantering down the stairs. As red lights flashed in the vault itself, the huge steel door swung back into place, slowly but surely.

Uh oh… Shadow thought, beating her wings to force herself to run even faster, nearly tripping over her own hooves as she approached the rapidly closing gap between door and locking mechanism. With just seconds to spare, she slipped out past the door and into the notary hall again, trotting along as if nothing was wrong as the door slammed shut behind her.

Blessedly, none of the notaries’ desks were facing her, so Shadow found it more than easy to disappear down a side corridor, remembering what she’d read of Sky’s map. If she was right, this ought to get her back to the service door...and close enough to Sky to warn her of the impending trap.

Mrs Hoofshackle stormed down the corridor, eyes scanning the hall for any sign of mischief of burglar. What she saw as she came around the corner, however, caused her to roll her eyes.

The teller stood, glued to the floor by his hooves as sprayers built into the walls doused him in the transparent tracking dye. He looked around at her sheepishly as she flashed her ID card at the crystals, resetting the security system.

“Do you have an explanation for this, you imbecile?” she growled, putting her hooves on her hips and glaring at him.

“I...don’t understand…” the teller whimpered. “I had my ID card a minute ago…”

“Get back to your station. You’ll be charged for a new card at the end of the day, and the dye is coming out of your paycheck. Seriously, we have the city watch keeping tabs on us right now and you’re making a scene in front of them! Now I’m going to have to go and tell Lieutenant Stronghooves that it wasn’t that burglar after all, just some bumbling idiot who’s lucky he still has a job!” She growled, storming off again.

“Wait! What about the glue?” the teller called, still tugging against it.

“Call security or something. If you’re still there by the end of the day, I might be kind enough to leave you a crowbar,” she huffed, stomping off back towards the vault. “Idiot…”

* * *

Shadow peeked out of the service door, beckoning her sister over before she could begin her standard bank robber spiel. Sky caught her eye, stopping before she started and trotting over as quietly as she could.

“Stronghooves is here,” Shadow whispered urgently. “He’s watching the bank and everypony here knows that he’s here, too.”

“Did you get the stuff?” Sky asked, frowning at this new revelation. Nowhere in their plan had they factored in Stronghooves already being onsite.

“Yeah, ID card, master key for the vault safes and I’ve got the vault combination right here,” Shadow said, tapping her head and grinning. “Are we gonna keep going or are we gonna run away?”

“No,” Sky said swiftly. “We’re gonna go through with this. Come on, let’s get moving. We haven’t got much time before Hoovesie drops the net on us if he’s waiting.”

She slipped inside, tossing Shadow her cloak and pulling her own black hood and burglar’s mask on. The young filly got dressed too, clipping the teller’s ID card onto Sky’s cloak and giving her a big smile.

“Our first big job,” Sky chuckled, ruffling Shadow’s mane. “I’m so proud of you, kid. Come on, let’s get moving.”

Shadow pulled her crossbow gauntlet out of her saddlebag, tugging it onto her hoof before following Sky down the side corridor. “We’re just gonna walk right up to the vault door? There are guards in there!”

“That’s what the darts are for,” Sky said, giving her a nod. “Only one who might see us heading to the vault is the manager, and she’s probably inside it right now, wondering where her master key’s gone...that or she’s gone to find Stronghooves. Either way, we have time.”

“There’s no way we’re gonna make it out of here with all of that loot,” Shadow said, picking up her pace and keeping an eye open for resistance. “We can’t possibly carry it all!”

“Well, we’ll just have to carry what we can,” Sky replied. “It’s more about making a statement than anything else, right?”

“Right,” Shadow agreed, as they both crept out into the notary hall once more. Sky led her over to the vault door, peering over it for some time before Shadow leapt up and flashed Sky’s ID card at the magic reader.

“Now you have to put in the code. 5-6-2-2-8,” Shadow added helpfully.

Sky grinned, pulling the cranks to force the tumblers into place until the combination display showed the right code. With a grating of steel against steel, the vault door swung open once more, presenting them with the same set of stacked safes as before.

“That’s weird,” Shadow muttered.

“What is?”

“Nopony’s here. There were lots of them earlier…” Shadow said with a frown.

“Could be part of the guards’ protocol or something,” Sky chanced. “Come on, we need to go and get this over with nice and quickly.”

“What about those guys?” Shadow asked, gesturing back at the silently scribbling notaries. None of them had turned around to look at them, even with all of the banter about robbing the bank.

“They’re accountants, Shadow. They’re lost in a sea of numbers from which there’s no escape,” Sky said sadly, putting her wing around her little sister and leading her into the vault.

Shadow slipped the master key out of her saddlebag, sticking it into the nearest safe and unlocking it as quickly as she could. Sky made her way over, pulling her saddlebags open and loading them up with bags full of bits as Shadow did the same.

“Good thinking, Shadow,” Sky whispered, as she filled her saddlebags up and passed the rest over to her sister. “The closest safes make it easy to get in and out again.”

“Yeah, that and this is my mum’s account,” Shadow said, grinning. “It was the one labelled “Wind Runner.”

“And that’s...mum’s...name…” Sky whispered, looking down at the money. “Huh…really good job, kid. You’ll get even more cookies for this.”

“You’re gonna pay me in cookies?” Shadow asked.

“Well, yeah, I mean, unless…” Sky began, but Shadow had already clamped herself around Sky’s foreleg in a big filly hug.

“I’d like that,” Shadow whispered, nuzzling her leg and beaming at her. “But I’m gonna share them with you, okay?”

“Okay,” Sky giggled, raising her hoof to let Shadow slide off of it onto the floor. “Now come on, we’re all loaded up. Let’s get out of here before…”

“Before what?” came a voice from behind them.

“Before…” Sky muttered under her breath, “my asshole brother decides to turn up and crash the party.”

Shadow cowered behind Sky as the teenaged mare rounded on her brother, who stood right in the vault threshold. Flanking him were five guards on each side, all fully armed and armoured. No escape.

“You were very clever, Sky,” Stronghooves said, smiling at her. “Getting your little filly friend here to infiltrate the bank for you is inventive, but isn’t that kind of low for you?”

“Maybe,” Sky admitted, backing away with Shadow behind her, “but hey, she asked to be part of this operation, and it was a right sight better than her mum leaving her out on the street like she did.”

“Oh, I see,” Stronghooves scoffed, pacing towards her and lowering his head. “You both have very sad stories behind your criminal lives, I’m sure. I can’t even begin to imagine what you went through, Sky, but poisoning the mind of an impressionable foal is just…wrong.”

“Exactly,” Sky snarled, lowering her own head as well. “That’s why I cut you and my parents out of my life. Leave Shadow out of this.”

“If she’s involved in this at all, it’s your fault, not mine,” Stronghooves reasoned. “Besides, it looks as if capturing your dear little accomplice is a sure-fire way to get you to stay still and play along.”

As he talked, his horn flared bright blue, picking Shadow up with his magic and pulling her over to him. The young pony screamed, beating her wings as forcefully as she could, but there was no escaping Stronghooves’s telekinetic grip.

“Don’t worry, Shadow,” he whispered. “We’ll hand you over to Captain Titus until he can return you to your mother.”

“I don’t wanna go back to my mum! I want to stay with Sky! Let me go!” Shadow growled furiously, trying to sock the officer on the nose as she flailed her hooves wildly.

“See, Sky? You’ve poisoned her,” Stronghooves said, ignoring Shadow and holding her there as he stared at his younger sister. “You couldn’t just ruin our family. You had to ruin somepony else’s, too.”

“Her mum didn’t love her,” Sky snarled. “I met her, and you’ve met her too. She’s the most manipulative bitch in Canterlot and she kept the kid locked in the attic. First time that filly left the house was so her mum could leave her to die on the street. Sound familiar, Hoovesie?”

“If what you say is true, her mother will be reprimanded and the foal will be put into foster care,” Stronghooves said. “Still, I doubt that you’re telling the truth, and we’re getting away from the crux of the matter. Right now, you have a choice, because we have you cornered and I have your little partner here. If you give yourself up now, no harm will come to her.”

“And if I don’t?” Sky asked, suddenly very wary indeed. She was dimly aware that he wouldn’t dare hurt a hair on Shadow’s head, but given the things he’d done to fillies before, all it would take was a moment where no one was watching, and poor Shadow wouldn’t even be able to scream before she died.

“Make your choice, Sky,” Stronghooves replied simply.

Shadow and Sky locked eyes across the vault, both sisters shivering with fright. Sky knew that there was no way out of this, that Stronghooves could do whatever he wanted to make her submit, and he would, too. Having a partner in crime may have benefits, but this was the most vulnerable that either of them had ever been.

“Sky...you don’t have to let him win…” Shadow said, her quiet voice echoing across the vault. “You can run away if you wanna, and I’ll...find some way to get back to you. I love you, big sis.”

“I love you too, kid,” Sky murmured back, pulling her crossbow off of her hoof. “Stronghooves, drop the kid. I...give up. Just let her go...please…”

“Right,” Stronghooves said with a smile, dropping Shadow onto the marble floor with a thud. As one of his soldiers approached the filly to check on her, he himself strode forward and grabbed Sky by the foreleg, cuffing them both behind her back. “You’re coming with me, and I’m never going to let you escape again.”

“We’ll see about that,” Sky whispered, with confidence that just wasn’t there anymore.

One of the guards leaned in to inspect Shadow, who shook and whimpered as she curled up on the floor.

“Don’t want...Sky to be taken away…” Shadow whispered. “Please...give her back...I’ll do anything…”

“It’s okay, little one,” the stallion whispered, nudging her with his snout in an effort to make her get up again. “We’re going to make your friend better and rehabilitate her, okay?”

“No…” Shadow whispered, snapping out her little hoof crossbow and loading up a sleep dart, “I’m not gonna let you take her.”

With that, she loosed a dart straight into the stallion’s face. He went down in seconds as the alchemical formula put him into an instant coma. Shadow leapt to her hooves as the other guards rushed towards her, galloping past them and spreading her wings as she picked up speed.

“STOP HER!” Stronghooves roared, clutching Sky by the back of the neck as her little sister accelerated across the marble floor.

The guards, with their metal armour and hoof-guards, slipped on the polished floor as they sought to go from zero to gallop in two seconds. Shadow leapt over notaries and slid under desks as the soldiers chased her across the hall, actually opening up the distance against all of the odds. She skidded past the glued-down teller, burst out into the foyer and pumped her wings furiously as she hit the top of the stairway outside the bank.

“Uh oh…” she squeaked, as she realised that it was a little too late to slow down. She shut her eyes, stretched her wings out as far as they could go, and...took off.

Shadow opened her eyes as she felt the strangest sensation, the feeling of air rushing through her primaries and lifting her up above the streets. She flapped experimentally, letting out a timid squeak as she found herself climbing higher.

“Oh my goodness I’m flying and it’s awesome and all of my dreams have come true!” Shadow squeaked, as the hapless guards watched her gain altitude and glide over the city centre. “I just wish...Sky had seen me do it…”

She let out a soft sigh, pulling her wings in a little and letting herself float down into a crowded corner of the city. Too many ponies for her to be spotted by the guards. As she got trotting once more, Shadow felt her mind focus. She knew precisely what she had to do next.

“Your little friend’s more like you than I thought,” Stronghooves commented, holding onto Sky as his guards came swarming back to apprehend her.

“She’s learned from the best,” Sky replied, straining against her manacles. “Trust me, she’s better this way.”

“We’ll see,” Stronghooves said, slinging her onto his back and hauling her out of the vault with his soldiers in tow. “As for you, my dear sister, you’re going to be rehabilitated, whether you like it or not.”

“What, when you did me the kindness of forcing me to get into this job in the first place?” Sky laughed mirthlessly. “You’re one confusing sack of shit, Hoovesie.”

“And you’re one manipulative tramp, Sky,” Stronghooves laughed, hauling her down the side corridor towards one of the service entrances. “You twist my words so wonderfully to make me look like the bad guy in all of this.”

“Must be a bit of a wakeup call after all of the effort you must’ve gone to to convince yourself that you were right,” Sky huffed. “What’s it like, getting torn out of your echo chamber by somepony telling the truth? Hearing for the first time that maybe you are an asshole after all, that you left your own little sister out on the street because you chose your parents over her?”

“You’re trying my patience, Sky,” Stronghooves growled, kicking the exit door open and hauling her out into the alley behind the bank.

“Why, because you know I’m right?” Sky asked, beaming. “You know that you’re a bad guy. You’re corrupt, you kill burglars in cold blood just because I’ve slipped through your butter-hooves so many times, and you obsess over me as if some empty promise of brotherly love makes up for all of the shit you did to me. After all of that, you think that me robbing that bank is enough to put you on the fucking moral high ground, huh?”

Stronghooves slung her off of his back with a snarl, sending her down onto the cobblestones with a dull thud. Her vision dimmed for just a moment as a stabbing pain shot through her head, and when she was able to focus again, she found herself pinned under Stronghooves’s heavy hoof.

“You are the absolute worst kind of scum, Sky Runner,” Stronghooves growled in her ear.

“I learned from the best,” she whispered back.

The officer glanced from her to the soldiers arrayed behind him, before drawing back his hoof and slamming her head into the pavement, knocking her out cold.

“You saw her,” he said, glaring at all of them. “She attacked me and resisted arrest. Bring the carriage around and let’s get her off to the city prison. Move it!”