Accident sniffled and fidgeted in Sky’s grip, making tiny whimpering noises before her eyes finally flickered open.

Oooh, what a nice bedroom! She thought to herself, peeking out through her blanket of pony feathers and taking in her surroundings.

The room was still very nearly pitch-black, but Accident was used to the dark. She’d had a lot of days living in her attic where the power went out and she’d been left in total darkness from morning until night. It wasn’t a big deal, really. Scruffy always kept her company and protected her from whatever was out there. Accident actually felt pretty unafraid, all things considered.

This pony is crushing me! She thought to herself after a while. She must really love hugs! I wonder if anypony else in this really exclusive club hugs her this tightly!

Accident lay there in silence for a while with a great big smile on her face, before starting to fidget again.

Okay, this is kind of starting to hurt, now… She frowned to herself, wriggling out of the pony’s grip and gasping for breath.

Accident shook her flanks and flapped her wings a couple of times to get some feeling back into her limbs, squeaking quietly and looking down at the sleeping mare. Sky kicked out with her legs, fidgeting herself as her sleep grew more and more restless. Accident backed away a little, whimpering with fright.

“Oh no!” She half-whispered, nudging Sky’s nose with her hoof. “Miss Sky? I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you, I was just getting crushed! That’s all!”

Despite her apology, Sky didn’t stop fidgeting or groaning in her sleep, and Accident felt panic begin to creep in.

“No! No! Don’t cry! It’s okay! Um...Scruffy can hug you! He really doesn’t mind if you hug him too tightly! He loves super-tight hugs!”

Pulling Scruffy off of her back, she tucked him under Sky’s hooves in her place, and the little pony fell silent, a tiny little smile on her face as she clutched him tightly in her sleep.

“See?” She patted Sky’s cheek with a little squee. “He likes you, even if you did get his accent wrong! Don’t worry, he always keeps me company when I’m having nightmares.”

As Sky rested soundly again, Accident perked her ears, glancing around. The room was alarmingly bare, with only a single little black book on her bedside table. Taking extra-special care to not step on Sky’s head, Accident crept across the bed and picked the book up. With her eyes shining bright green in the darkness, the little pony flipped the book open and read the first page.

PROPERTY OF SKY RUNNER

Accident bit her lip. This was super-cheeky! It’s Sky’s diary, obviously a massive treasure trove of secrets all tucked away in a little book that she’d never want anypony to see. What stallions she liked, how she liked to do her mane, who her best friends were.

Maybe she wants to get hugged by a cookie someday, too! Accident beamed excitedly, mere moments away from delving further into the book and laying bare all of Sky’s secrets.

But...but she asked me nicely for me to tell her my super-secret secret! She thought to herself, hesitating. It’d be mean of me to just look at hers without asking her nicely…

Putting the book back, Accident sat down on her haunches, blowing her untidy mane out of her face with a little huff. Her head still ached from the events of the previous night, and she was compelled to search this big new house by pure curiosity. Sky wouldn’t mind, right?

With one last glance at the sleepy pony, Accident hopped off of the bed and trotted over to the door, venturing out into the dark corridor. There were so many doors in this hallway, so many different rooms to explore! What kind of incredible secrets did she have in this awesome clubhouse?

Accident paused as she glanced around at the corridor. It almost looked as if a dividing wall between two houses had been knocked down in order to give Sky more space for her awesome clubhouse. That was pretty inventive!

There’s probably all sorts of awesome codebooks and secret passages, and...and I bet there’s uniforms! Maybe Miss Sky will teach me how to do the super-secret hoofshake! There’d better be a hoofshake. It’s not a real secret club if there isn’t one!

She flicked her tail from side to side irritably as she ran into her first obstacle - a door with the handle just a little too high up for her to reach. Accident approached it, licking her lips as she wiggled her flanks. With a little hop and a rather lopsided beat of her overlarge wings, she hopped up and pulled the door handle down.

“I’m so clever!” She squeaked, pushing the door open and skipping inside. She skidded to a halt as she came face to face with a big pony silhouette.

“Eeep!” Accident whimpered, backing away a little and bowing her head. “Um...sorry mister...I was just looking around, and...and…”

She paused when the silhouette didn’t move, simply standing there and gazing directly at the door. Accident cocked her head, approaching it with a curious gaze.

“Um...hello?” She asked, tapping it on the head.

Oooh, it’s made of wood! Why would Miss Sky have a little wooden pony in her clubhouse? This looks like a job for Detective Accident!

The young filly hopped up and down on the spot, her hooves finally catching a pull-switch dangling from the ceiling. Taking it in her mouth, she gave it a little tug and turned on the light.

“Wooooow…” She whispered, curling her tail around her and cocking her head.

Before her stood a Sky-sized mannequin, clad in light grey leather armour and a matching cloak. The hood was drawn up over its head with two little holes for the pony’s ears to stick out, and most damningly of all, there was a black burglar’s mask over its empty eyes. There was an old worn bow in the corner, along with a rack of darts, sacks and other sundries.

Accident backed away from the mannequin, her ears flattening against her head. She couldn’t reverse all of the way out, tripping over her own wings and tumbling head over hooves onto her back.

Oh my goodness, she’s a criminal! Accident thought to herself, leaping to her hooves and galloping back to Sky’s room with her wings out. She had a lot of questions that she had to ask.

Clambering onto Sky’s bed again, Accident grabbed a pillow and started beating the mare over the head, grunting as she put her back and her wings into making this the most one-sided grumpy pillow fight ever.

“Wha...oof...what?” Sky yelped, rolling onto her back and holding her forehooves up to shield her face.

Accident drew herself up to her full unimpressive height, brandishing the pillow like a duellist’s glove. She gave Sky her angriest grumpiest filly-face, pouting furiously.

“You’ve got some explaining to do, missy!”

Accident peeked out from Sky’s saddlebag, watching as chimneys and rooftops rushed by. Sky’s cloak whipped around the two of them as the teenaged mare galloped across the rooftops, flapping her wings once in a while for the really high jumps.

“So...you’re a burglar? Like, a real-life super-duper no-faking-at-all burglar?” Acciden called out.

“Sure am!” Sky replied, skidding down a rooftop and leaping across the road to another building. “I’m not just a burglar, though. I’m the best burglar in Canterlot.”

“You are?” Accident squeaked excitedly. “Wow! Have the guards ever caught you?”

“Once or twice.” Sky admitted, flapping her underpowered wings a couple of times to carry them across another street. “Still, I’m free, aren’t I? There’s no prison that can hold me, kid!”

Accident gave a little squee, perking her ears. It was one thing to be in the presence of a wanted criminal, but the best burglar in the city? That was a privilege.

“I bet you’ve been on a whole load of adventures!” She smiled, holding on for dear life as Sky bounded up onto a cloud, launching herself into the air and beating her wings again.

“You’ve got no idea, kid.” Sky chuckled, blowing her mane out of her eyes and pulling her hood up. “I’ve done stuff that most ponies wouldn’t dream of, seen stuff that the Princesses don’t know about, stolen stuff that’s worth more than a tricked-out carriage. It’s pretty awesome work, even though the pay’s not always great.”

“Is it fun?”

“Fun? You kidding me? Of course it’s fun!” Sky’s hooves clattered on roof tiles as she alighted atop a different house, pulling her saddlebag flap open for Accident to get out. “You don’t get an experience like this by stacking shelves or filing stuff all day! Your outfit doesn’t look as cool, either.’

Accident hopped out of the saddlebag, her hooves clattering on the tiles as she gazed in wonder at her surroundings.

The two of them stood atop a tall tower not far from the palace, the whole of Canterlot laid out in front of them in the daylight. Down below, scores of ponies wove in and out of one another through a network of twisting streets to go about their daily business. Overhead, countless pegasi and griffons took flight or hopped from cloud to cloud to visit their friends. To Accident, who had never before left her little attic, the sight of the city was at the same time daunting and fascinating. Though she held onto Sky’s foreleg with all of her might, the young filly couldn’t help but stare.

“Like it?” Sky grinned down at her.

“It’s so...big…” Accident gasped, clutching the mare’s hoof a little tighter for fear of tumbling off of the roof.

“If I had a bit for every time I’ve said that…” Sky muttered.

“Huh?”

“Never mind.” The mare beamed innocently. “Now, how about you and I go to visit the doctor to get that bump looked at?”

“Can a burglar go to a normal doctor?” Accident asked. As she cocked her head, one of her little blue ears flopped down.

“Nah, we’ve gotta go to a special burglar doctor. Trust me, you’ll like this guy. He’s the nicest stallion in the city.” Sky chuckled, trotting to the edge of the roof and glancing over the side of the building.

“What’s his name?”

“Sawblades!”

“That doesn’t sound very nice…” Accident said doubtfully.

“I know, but I guess ponies don’t exactly get to choose their names. I mean, could you think of anything to call yourself besides Accident? I mean, it’s kind of a crap name, no offence.”

Accident frowned. “Well, it’s not the best name ever, but it’s mine…”

“Oh, that reminds me!” Sky added, pulling Accident onto her back and dropping down to street level. “We’ve gotta come up with a burglar name for you!”

“A burglar name?” Accident asked. “What’s that?”

“Well, it’s a name you have so that nopony thinks you’re you! It’s like a disguise, or...I dunno, a secret codename!” Sky shrugged. “Besides, if you’re gonna hang with me, you’ve gotta have something awesome, edgy, like...I dunno…”

“Hexagon!” Accident giggled, sliding off of Sky’s back and tottering along next to her.

“Nah…” Sky chuckled. “Something like, I dunno, Nightwing! Nah, that’s too edgy…”

“Buttercup!”

“Not edgy enough.” Sky shook her head.

Accident trotted along in the mare’s shadow as she walked, dragging those huge wings of hers behind her like a restless spirit’s heavy chains. She kept her focus on Sky’s face for a time before glancing back down at the pony silhouette on the ground.

Accident let Sky get a little ground on her, trotting behind the mare and occasionally batting at her tail. There’s something about the way it flicked from side to side that made Accident want to catch it. However, as she reached out to grab Sky’s tail, the mare flicked it just out of reach, trotting a little faster and glancing at Accident as if she was something weird, abnormal.

Clearly it’s a test to see if I’ve got what it takes to hang out with a pony as awesome as her! Accident thought to herself. Oh, I’ll show her!

Accident came to a halt, wiggling her flanks a little and licking her lips as she concentrated as best she could. Finally, she made a giant leap, grabbing Sky’s tail in her soft hooves and hugging it as tightly as possible.

“Um...kid?”

“Yeah?”

“What exactly are you doing?” Sky asked, perplexed.

“Hugging your tail.” Accident shrugged, squeezing it as tightly as she could manage and beaming up at the elder pony.

“Okay, first thing…” Sky sighed, blowing her mane out of her face. “Don’t do that. Second thing, don’t do that. Third thing, doing stuff like that can get me in a whole load of trouble...so don’t do that.”

“Why’s that?” Accident asked, tilting her head.

Sky raised her tail, sending Accident sliding onto her back with an excited little giggle.

“Kid...you see that guy over there?” She frowned, directing Accident’s attention to a stallion in bright gold armour.

“Yeah! That’s a guard!”

“Yeah, well guards are pretty dangerous ponies.” Sky nodded, putting a hoof up to her lips to silence the little filly. “If you draw attention to me, I could get in a whole lot of trouble.”

“But you haven’t gotten caught that many times, have you?” Accident smiled brightly.

“No, because I’m good at sneaking and running, plus…” Sky drew herself up to her full, rather unimpressive height. “I’m awesome.”

“Can I be awesome, too?” Accident cocked her head, bouncing up and down on her flanks.

Sky bit her lip as she examined the filly critically.

“Well…” She said slowly, with a certain reluctance to her voice. Accident shuffled closer, tucking her forehooves up under her chin and batting her eyelashes.

“Pleeeeeeease?” She pleaded. “I could be a totally super-sneaky burglar if you just gave me a chance!”

Sky looked into those great big filly eyes and her heart melted. She couldn’t help but smile as she rolled her eyes, bucking back a little to unseat Accident and send her into a giggling fit.

“Fine.” She conceded. “But if you’re gonna run with me, you’ve gotta play by my rules. That means doing everything I tell you to do, okay?”

“Yahuh!” Accident nodded brightly. “I’ll be the best burglar ever, Miss Sky! You’ll see!”

“Yeah...but look, this is just until I can get you back to your mum, okay?”

“Okay, and then I’ll get to show her all of the super-duper tricks I’ve learned, right?” Accident giggled.

“That’s right, and I’m sure she’ll love them.” Sky winked. “But first we’re gonna make sure you didn’t crack your head open too badly. Reckon you can handle that?”

“Is it my first mission?”

“Sure! We’ll call it your first mission. So you’ve gotta make sure you don’t attract any attention from the guards, follow me, and whatever you do, be as sneaky as you can be, okay?”

“Okay, Miss Sky!” Accident nodded briskly, before hurriedly stuffing a hoof in her mouth. “I mean...um...okay, Miss Sky!” She whispered, giggling mischievously.

“That’s the stuff!” Sky snickered. “Now come on, walk this way.”

As she snuck carefully past the guard, Accident followed in perfect step, emulating Sky’s gait as best she can. Those huge wings made it pretty difficult for her to walk properly, constantly threatening to find their way under her hooves and trip her up, and no matter how much Accident tried she couldn’t get them to tuck back up by her sides again. They’d always slumped down next to her for as long as she could remember.

Nevertheless, Accident couldn’t help but squee happily as she managed to settle into Sky’s pace, sneaking quietly along behind her.

“Miss Sky?” She whispered excitedly.

“Hmm?”

“I’m doing it! See? I told you I’d be an awesome burglar just like you!”

“Well, you sure showed me.” Sky sighed patiently, blowing her mane out of her eyes. “You’re ready to graduate. Here’s your complimentary burglar’s mask and a free all-expenses-paid trip to the cookie factory.”

“Whoa…” Accident’s mouth formed a little “o” shape as her eyes opened wide. “A real live cookie factory? You’re actually gonna take me to one?”

Sky fatally chose not to answer, making a noncommittal mumbling sound as she led Accident down a rather inconspicuous alleyway. At the end sat an equally inconspicuous manhole cover.

“Oooh, is this a secret passage?” Accident asked, bumping into Sky’s hind leg as the mare came to a stop.

“Er...yeah, actually.” Sky chuckled, giving the manhole cover a kick with her forehoof. It slid aside, revealing a little wooden ladder descending into some kind of tunnel. Accident peered into it, looking for monsters or traps or other sundries that so often occupied passages like this. She’d read all about them.

“So what’s down there?” She asked, as Sky hopped down the ladder.

“The doctor!” Sky chuckled, her voice echoing throughout the catacombs as she held out her forehooves for Accident. “Come on, hop down!”

“This seems like a weird place for a doctor…” Accident said suspiciously, wiggling her flanks and hopping down into Sky’s forehooves.

“Exactly! That’s why the guards don’t think to look here! Get it?” Sky winked, setting the filly down on her hooves and trotting deeper into the catacombs.

“Ooooh, so it’s a secret doctor, right?” Accident nodded, cantering to try and catch up to Sky.

“Yeah. This is a doctor who treats all kinds of ponies. Burglars, assassins, wanted criminals and everything in between.” Sky shrugged. “He wouldn’t exactly be thrilled about the guards coming in to pay him a visit or most of his patients would get arrested!”

“That makes sense.” Accident nodded sagely. “So it’s a super-secret doctor? Do I have to do a super-secret sneaky walk so nopony sees me?”

“Well, Sawblades is probably gonna want to be able to see you, just to make sure you didn’t knock your brains out.” Sky snickered, stopping at a crossroads in the tunnels before taking a right. She trotted down a dark tunnel that was only half-lit by oil lanterns set into the walls. Accident tumbled over her own wings as she tried to keep up, landing on her back with a thump.

“You’re really not used to those wings, are you?” Sky observed, her voice echoing around the tunnel.

“Um...well...not really…” Accident admitted, rolling back onto her hooves and shaking the muck out of her mane. “I’ve...kinda lived in a room my whole life…”

“So you can’t fly either, I guess?” Sky raised an eyebrow.

“Nope…but I’d love to learn how! I bet I’d be super-speedy!” Accident giggled, hopping up and down on the spot. “I’ll be the speediest pony in all of Equestria, just you wait and see!”

“Heh…” Sky muttered, nuzzling Accident affectionately. “So your mum never took you out flying or anything?”

“Nope!” Accident shook her head, smiling brightly. “Mum always kept me locked up in my attic. I sometimes asked why I couldn’t go outside and play with all the other ponies, and she said it’s because of my name!”

Sky froze, frowning. “Wait...um...what did she say exactly?”

“She said I’m an accident and that’s why I couldn’t go outside!” Accident nodded briskly. “She was probably afraid that I’d trip over my wings and hurt myself. I do that a whole bunch!”

“I...guess you do…” Sky said, her ears flopping back against her red mane.

“Miss Sky?”

“Huh?”

“Are you okay?” Accident asked with concern. She placed a hoof on Sky’s, looking up at her with sad green eyes. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”

“Um...no...no, I’m not, kid.” Sky said quietly. “Hey, did...did your mum ever give you...you know...hugs?”

“Yep! She said I was the best hugging pony in the whole wide world!” Accident beamed. “She didn’t want hugs too often, though. I guess she wanted to keep them special. If I gave her hugs all the time, they’d stop being as nice, right?”

“Yeah, I...I guess so…” Sky cocked her head, a weird look on her face. “Erm...kid?”

“Yes, Miss Sky?”

“If you ever want a hug from me...I...I guess I could give you on...oof!” Sky started, before rolling onto her back as she was tackled by a ballistic filly.

“You give great hugs!” Accident nodded confidently, wrapping those huge wings around Sky and nuzzling her chest. “They’re extra-squeezy and soft and you hug me way tighter than mum does! Are you sure you’re not her in a clever disguise?”

“Pretty sure, yeah.” Sky muttered, putting her hooves around Accident as well and closing her eyes. Accident cocked her head. Sky was squeezing her pretty tightly, but not too tightly.

“You’re really good at hugging…” Accident observed as Sky finally let her go, sitting the filly on her back and heading down the tunnel again. “I bet your fan club hugs you all the time!”

“Yeah...erm…about that…” Sky chuckled. “Oh, look at that, we’re here!”

The two of them stood before a giant metal door with a little viewing slit built into it. It was huge, fortified and covered in spikes.

“That…doesn’t look like a doctor’s office.” Accident said doubtfully.

“It’s not supposed to.” Sky shrugged, stepping forward and knocking on it. “Oi! Sawblades!”

The clang of Sky’s padded hoof on the door echoed throughout the tunnel for a time before fading into silence.

“Maybe...maybe he’s not home?” Accident ventured hopefully, hiding behind Sky’s mane and peeking out.

“Oh, come on kid, don’t worry about it. Sawblades is harmless!” Sky giggled. “Don’t be such a scaredy-flanks!”

“ ‘m not a scaredy-flanks…” Accident muttered grumpily, as Sky knocked on the door again.

This time, the viewing slit opened, revealing a pair of mismatched eyes glaring back at the two little ponies. Whatever’s behind that door, it’s tall.

“Yeah?” It grunted.

“I found a filly, Sawblades!” Sky beamed back. “She’s managed to bust her head open, but she came and found my hideout and she was cold and wet...I don’t suppose you could have a look at her?” She lifted the struggling little pony off of her back, holding her up for Sawblades to see.

“Hmmm...sure...why not?” Sawblades grunted, closing the slit and leaving the two ponies in silence.

After another moment, there came a godawful clanking sound from beyond the door as Sawblades undid the locks, pulling the door open with a grating screech. Accident hid her head behind her little forehooves, only one eye peeking out from between them. To her surprise, the pony who stood before her was not the thuggish butcher she’d envisaged. Rather, he was a sweet earth pony in his late teens, only a little older than Sky. He smiled softly at the scared little filly, cocking his head as he looked her over.

“Where the hell did you find this, Sky?” He said. For somepony who’d been so crude and grumpy-sounding before, Sawblades was softly spoken and kind, regarding Accident with curiosity and a compassion she’d never expected out of any doctor, let alone this one. “What’s your name, little one?”

“A...Accident…” The filly whispered, raising her head to peek over her hooves at him. “Um...are...are you Sawblades?”

“Yes, sweetheart. I am.” The doctor nodded. “Come on into my office, you two. I’ll give you a look over and make sure that your clock’s still ticking.” With a flourish, the earth pony made an about-turn and retreated further into his clinic. Sky and Accident exchanged a glance, following him inside.

“You’re lucky it’s a slow day.” Sawblades said conversationally, trotting through the empty waiting room and into the office at the back. “The guard’s been cracking down on burglars something fierce. Little Nightshade came in with a broken wing yesterday. It’s pretty dangerous out there.”

“Why are the guards suddenly so interested in burglars?” Sky cocked her head, sitting Accident on her back and following him into his office. It was every bit as broken and dreary as a clinic built into the sewers would be, with cracked walls and little decor, but it was serviceable.

“Dunno. Word is that it’s got something to do with some new lieutenant they hired on. Guy hates burglars, and he’s been working with Captain Titus to try and catch every last one of them.”

“Huh, that explains why the patrols have been getting tougher to run from.” Sky whistled, setting the filly down on an examination table. “It’s probably some newbie who got robbed once and decided he’s got an origin story. I give him a week.”

Sawblades nodded, putting on his glasses and approaching the examination table. “Have you ever been to the doctor’s before, sweetheart?” He asked kindly.

Accident shook her head, tucking her forehooves up under her chin. “N...no sir…”

“Okay, well this is gonna be pretty new to you, but I’m just going to have a look at that bump on your head to make sure that you haven’t suffered anything permanent, okay?”

“Okay, Doctor Sawblades…” Accident nodded guardedly. “Um...what does “permanent” mean?”

“Oh, erm...forever.” Sawblades waved a hoof dismissively, taking hold of her head and unwrapping the bandages that Sky had woven around it. “Hmmm...bit of a nasty bump, here...you weren’t doing anything naughty, were you?”

“No sir...I was just running from a really scary guard...and...and I tripped on my wing…” Accident held her huge wings up as if to emphasise her point. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. Nopony’s blaming you.” Sawblades beamed. “Accidents happen, of course. Those wings are pretty huge, though. Were you born with them that big?”

“They’ve been big for as long as I can remember! Mum says it’s because of my name!” Accident nodded. “They’re soft and perfect for hugging!”

“They sure are.” Sawblades stepped back, smiling. “Well, I don’t see anything wrong with her. No permanent damage or any significant bleeding. Just keep an eye on her and give me a shout if anything else happens, okay?” He addressed Sky, before finally turning back to Accident. “Now, since you’ve been so well-behaved, I think you’ve earned a treat. How would you like a lollipop?”

“A...lollipop?” Accident cocked her head. “What’s that?”

“It’s a sweet little thing on a stick that…” Sawblades froze on his way to the bowl. It might have been because he was trying to explain the concept of a lollipop in a way that didn’t make it sound phallic...or it might be because the bowl was empty.

“Um...where did…?” He muttered, confused.

“Oh, were those lollipops in that bowl?” Accident grinned. “Sky just took every last one when you weren’t looking!”

Sawblades rounded on Sky, glaring at her sternly.

“Oh, come on!” Sky beamed with a little squee. “Would I do a thing like that?”

“They’re in her saddlebag!” Accident cried out, giggling.

Sawblades darted forward before Sky could stop him, flipping open her bag and looking at the delicious candy stash within. “I don’t know…” He chuckled. ”Would a burglar steal from somepony?”

“Um...okay...look…” Sky backed away. “I...I can explain!”

“Oh, you can, can you?” Sawblades smiled knowingly. “Go on, then. Explain it. I’m waiting.”

“Er...kid?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s time for your second lesson...now we’re gonna learn about something called “running away.””