Shadow had big wings that allowed her to tear across the sky at a pretty ridiculous velocity for a pony her size. Sky would have given anything to be that good a flyer. Worse, however, was the way that Shadow was squandering that talent right now as Sky clambered up a seemingly endless staircase. Worse still, she’s singing.

“Shadow’s got a six-string in hock. Now she’s holding in what she used to make it talk - so tough...it’s tough…”

“Shadow…” Sky gave the world’s most long-suffering sigh. This had been going on for a while.

“Sky dreams of running away...When she cries in the night, Shadow whispers baby it’s okay, someday…”

“You’re literally worst pony right now…”

“We’ve gotta hold on to what we’ve got, cause it doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not! We’ve got each other, and that’s a lot. For looooove...WE’LL GIVE IT A SHOT!”

“This is how fillies get stabbed…” Sky huffed quietly.

”Whooooooa, we’re half way there! WHOOOOA, RIDING ON A MARE!”

“Shadow, I swear to Luna I will turn this pony around if you can’t shut the fuck up!” Sky growled, panting. “Besides, we don’t want this guy to know we’re coming, so stick a sock in it.”

“Sure this isn’t gonna be a trap?” Shadow asked, rolling her eyes and settling down.

“It’s almost definitely a trap.” Sky shrugged. “Still, when’s that ever stopped us?”

“Yeah, who needs common sense, right?” Shadow chuckled weakly. “So what’s the plan?”

“I go in there and start going through his stuff. You watch my back and come in if I get in trouble, right?” Said Sky. “We’re gonna have to switch out our tactics. We’re dealing with another thief here, so we’ve gotta play it safe.”

“Got it.” Shadow nodded. “You go in and get your diary back, I bail your fat ass out if it turns out to be a trap. I can work with that.”

“Not exactly how I’d have said it, but sure, whatever.” Sky smiled, before letting out a sigh. “Bloody hell, this tower’s stupidly big.”

“It’s a skyscraper. That’s kind of the point.” Shadow said, hopping off of Sky’s back and trotting alongside her. “It’s an office building for ponies who want to make their dicks feel big.”

“Well yeah...but this is kind of overdoing it.” Sky huffed.

This far up, there weren’t even any window panes, and the interior was nothing more than bare-bones whitewashed concrete. This building had clearly been under construction for a long time. Perhaps it was even by this burglar’s design that construction hadn’t been completed. Sky knew that it wouldn’t exactly be beneficial to have bunch of workers wandering through her hideout every day if she were in his horseshoes. Tone Deaf’s bad enough.

The two sisters finally halted at the top of the stairs, facing a large wooden door that looked as if it’d been jammed into the frame.

“I hope the rest of his hideout looks better than this piece of shit.” Shadow commented. “It looks like he just pinched the first door that looked like it fit.”

“I didn’t know you were an interior decorator.” Sky grinned, bumping flanks with her little sister.

“Oi! I’m not! It’s just...standards, you know?” Shadow rolled her eyes. “Anyway, we breaking in or what?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sky giggled softly, approaching the door and peeking through it to check the lock.

“How bad is it?” Shadow cocked her head.

“Big heavy security lock, slide-latch and a chain.” Sky shrugged. “Guess I’m not picking this one.”

“It means he’s home, too.” Shadow noted. “He’ll be waiting for you.”

“Just as well I’ve got the world’s greatest little filly ready to bail me out when everything goes to shit, then.” Sky chuckled, pulling out a screwdriver and getting to work on the hinges themselves.

Shadow blushed a little at that, pulling her hood and face wrap up so as not to give anything away. She couldn’t be seen actually enjoying those kinds of compliments or Sky might give her more, Luna forbid.

The hinges were as ill-fitting as the door, and they came loose after only a little fiddling on Sky’s part. It creaked and groaned as it began to come loose, already beginning to lean towards them as it lost its supports.

“Um...maybe we wanna get the hell out of the way…” Shadow whimpered, backing up to ensure that she wouldn’t get unceremoniously squished.

“Yeeeeah…” Sky glanced up at the door with worry as she loosed the last hinge, stepping sideways as it swung ominously open with a terrifying creak. The thin chain was the only thing holding it in place now, hanging over the two ponies’ heads and threatening to tip over onto them.

“So...I’m gonna back up and cover you…” Shadow grinned uneasily. “You just get the diary and let’s get the fuck out of here, okay?”

“Yeah, something tells me that that tiny little chain is gonna blow our cover...if we haven’t done that already.” Sky whispered, giving Shadow a little nuzzle. Pulling up her hood and concealing her face, the elder sister crept into the hideout.

The burglar’s place was pretty nice, all things considered. The whole floor, once intended to be one big office, was completely bare except for some added amenities and furniture. A variety of trinkets lay scattered around the room, treasures stolen from hundreds of ponies across Manehattan. Sky couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she took in the chaos.

It’s gotta be a stallion, then. Bastard can’t clean up after himself…

As she crept further into the seemingly unoccupied office floor, Sky glanced around, looking for any signs of movement whatsoever. She took in a bunk-bed jammed into a dark corner of the room, a desk covered in various blueprints, even a little workbench. This colt had a great setup, whoever he was.

It didn’t make him any less of an asshole, however.

As her gaze ran over the bunk bed a second time, a little black book caught Sky’s eye. It looked as old as the building itself, with a whole bunch of pages hastily added to it. The spine was barely managing to hold the great big mess together.

There it is… Sky smiled, her good wing fluttering a little with excitement. She tried to control her breathing, keeping it as low and silent as possible as she snuck over to the bunk bed. Of course, whoever this burglar was, he was in the room with her, and was no doubt watching her right this second. Sky merely wanted to get her diary back and get the hell out of there. With those Operatives to worry about, the last thing she wanted was a fight with another burglar.

“Hello, beautiful…” She whispered, scooping up the book and clutching it to her chest. That book was full of all of her special little secrets, her photos of herself and Shadow, the things that she’d never tell another pony about herself in a million years. It was nice for her to have a place to be truthful. You couldn’t be a compulsive liar all the time.

Nevertheless, something felt off about the book. It was somehow lighter than it should be, and as Sky cradled it, a worried frown made its way across her brow.

Something’s not right here...he didn’t remove some of the pages, did he?

Nervously, Sky looked down at the old tome, opening it up and reading the title page.

Rat Racer’s Journal - Hooves off Fox, you little shit!

Sky cocked her head as she flipped through the pages. “Rat Racer...so that’s our guy, huh? Who the hell is Fox?”

She stopped as she landed on a page that sent a chill up her spine. There was a photo of a stallion and a young colt, both unicorns, standing together in the summer sun. The elder pony, a red stallion with a white mane, just as messy as Sky’s own. The light grey colt by his side was leaning into him, smiling brightly under the shade of a large tree. Sky cocked her head as she took in the scene.

I’ve got a photo just like this in my diary. What the fuck’s he playing at? Sky wondered to herself.

“You’d better put that book down if you know what’s good for you, missy.” Came a growl from behind her.

Sky dropped the journal, turning and finding herself face to face with a very irate-looking unicorn. He wore a burglar’s mask just like hers, a cloak that uncannily matched her own, and he even had a hoof crossbow! She matched his glare with her own, growling quietly and beginning to pace around him. He kept his crossbow trained on her, loaded with a strange cartridge rather than anything that looked remotely like her darts.

“You’ll be Rat Racer, then.” Sky began, smiling warmly. “You’re kind of shorter in person!”

“You’re kind of uglier in person, Sky Runner!” Rat stuck his tongue out grumpily. “Now, what the fuck are you doing in my hideout?”

A younger unicorn of about Shadow’s age stepped out from behind him, horn flaring as he fixed Sky with a furious look. It was the little colt from the picture.

“I’m looking for my diary.” Sky replied evenly. “Don’t bother lying, sweetie. I damn well know it was you, but I’ll tell you what. If you give it back right now, I’ll only kick your ass a little. How does that sound?”

Rat burst out laughing, turning on the spot as she kept pacing around him. “If you reckon that it’s my ass that’s gonna get kicked, you don’t know the first fucking thing about me, sunshine! I don’t know if you know this, but I don’t lose.” His voice was laden with a heavy Manehattan accent, with only the tiniest hint of Sky’s own just beneath the surface.

“I don’t lose either.” She grinned, snapping her crossbow open. “Come on sweetie, drop the fake accent and give me my book back, or I’ll make you experience the next twenty-four hours as a mare.”

Rat chuckled, jamming his crossbow up under her chin and narrowing his eyes. “Make me, sweetheart. I’m not gonna back down, and if you try and pull that trigger, Fox here is gonna drop you into a whole world of pain, isn’t that right, kid?”

“Sure is!” The colt grinned evilly, horn flaring bright yellow as he trained it on Sky. “You’re not gonna do shit to my big brother, missy!”

“AND YOU’RE NOT GONNA DO SHIT TO MY BIG SISTER, YOU CUNT!” Shadow shrieked.

There was only a moment’s warning, during which the hideout was filled with the jet-engine roar of pegasus wings. Shadow rocketed out from the doorway, tackling the younger unicorn and launching them both out of the window.

Rat Racer blanched as he saw the two foals disappear off down the side of the skyscraper. “Um...so you brought backup, then?”

“Sure did!” Sky giggled, pushing her own crossbow under his chin in turn. “So, how about you and I get this standoff started?”

Shadow clutched Fox in her forehooves as she shot down the side of the skyscraper. On reflection, perhaps it should have occurred to her to use her bow, or her own crossbow, for that matter. Somehow, however, it didn’t matter. What mattered was getting this upstart away from Sky. With him taken out of the picture, her big sister ought to be able to handle that stallion herself.

Pulling up over a rooftop, Shadow released her grip on Fox, air-braking and hovering in place as he hit the roof and kicked up a storm of tiles, finally sliding to a whimpering halt some distance away.

“Don’t you dare try and touch my sister again.” Shadow growled, dropping down onto her hooves.

“Who...who’s gonna stop me?” Fox replied, getting shakily to his hooves and glaring right back at her.

Wow, he’s tough for a mangy little conehead…

“The only pony around here who’s allowed to give Sky hell, that’s who!” Shadow lowered her centre of gravity, getting ready to take off again if she needed to. “Now come on, just sit your ass down like a good little bitch so I can sleep dart you.”

“Oh, so it’s like that, is it?” Fox shook his head, horn flaring again. “You haven’t got shit on me, sister. You can’t even use magic!”

“Maybe I can’t, but I can kick your ass!” Shadow beat her wings, launching herself into the air. She hovered in place, pulling her bow off of her back and nocking an arrow.

“You couldn’t kick my ass if your life depended on it!” Fox spat, stamping his hoof. “You’re just a little filly! Why don’t you go play with your makeup and let me get back to work?”

Shadow’s eye twitched a little. “What did you just fucking say?” Her voice grew low, soft and quiet, and to the two little ponies it seemed as if all the noise from the rest of the city had simply died away.

“You heard me!” Fox stuck his tongue out. “Go back to trying on dresses and obsessing over stallions or whatever it is frou-frou fillies do! Leave the fighting to the professionals!”

Shadow paused, dumbstruck by this colt’s incredibly thick skull. She dropped down onto her hooves again, approaching him with a completely unreadable wide-eyed expression on her face. She only stopped when she was practically nose to nose with the poor unfortunate colt.

“This is the part,” she whispered softly, “where I rip out your tongue and shove it up your ass.”

And with that, she socked him right on the nose.

Sky and Rat kept circling one another, weapons trained on each others’ necks.

“You do know that it’s rude to go through a mare’s things, right?” Sky asked innocently. “Or was that another lesson you missed while you were being raised in a fucking barn?”

“You do know that I don’t give a shit, right?” Rat replied evenly. “I’m a burglar, sunshine. It’s what I do.”

“Burglar. Yeah right.” Sky rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t know burglary if it crept up behind you and bit you in the ass. You just happen to show up and pickpocket me as I turn up in the city? Give me a break!”

“What can I say?” Rat shrugged, flashing her a toothy grin. “You were the prettiest mare in the whole terminal. I just couldn’t resist.”

“Awww, aren’t you sweet!” Sky giggled, though she felt her wings grow a little warmer. “Come on, what other lines have you lifted from the Big Book of Charming Stallion Cliches?”

“Oh, you think I’m charming, do you? Well, if that’s not the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.” Rat beamed. “You’re not so bad yourself, sunshine.”

Sky gave him her biggest, friendliest smile. “The most charming, incompetent sack of shit in Equestria.”

“That’s rich, coming from the most adorably pathetic cripple in Manehattan.” Rat rolled his eyes, smile disappearing. “Sure you didn’t get ‘burglar’ and ‘beggar’ mixed up?”

“Oh great, a comment about my wing! That’s super-original!” Sky beamed brightly, nodding her head. “Aren’t you the cutest little colt ever!”

“Who’re you calling a colt, you dumb bitch?” Rat spat at her. Sky couldn’t help but giggle now. She had him right where she wanted him.

Awww, he’s so cute when he’s angry! Let’s egg him on!

“Who’re you calling a dumb bitch, you wanker?” She stuck her own tongue out. This wasn’t exactly A-grade material, but it was clearly doing the job. Rat was getting drawn right in.

“Who’re you calling a wanker, you cunt?”

“Who’re you calling a cunt, conehead?”

“Who’re you calling conehead, twigbody?” Rat’s crossbow snapped back into its retracted position, disarmed.

“Who’re you calling twigbody, saucer-hooves?” Sky disarmed her own crossbow, actively trying to suppress her laughter at this point. She spread her wings, blushing just a little as she tried to look as inviting as possible.

Come on, sweetie. Come and get me…

Rat’s expression softened as well, shifting his back legs uncomfortably to conceal his stallionhood as Sky gave him her most alluring gaze. “Who...who’re you calling saucer-hooves, you...you…” He trailed off, apparently distracted.

“All out? Damn, just once I wanna meet a stallion who can last more than two minutes.” Sky giggled, swaying her flanks as she made her way towards the door. She knew that she’d won now. After all, she’d just given him a challenge that no stallion could possibly resist.

Rat ran his forehooves through his mane, and his horn flared. Sky was picked up and slammed against the wall. He approached her with a predatory look in his eye, rearing up onto his hind legs and pinning her to the wall with his forehooves.

“I’m a little rough around the edges, but you learn to love me.” Sky grinned.

“Shut up.”

Rat looked her up and down for a moment, sizing her up with a mix of fury and lust on his face. After a moment, he glared at her once more, leaning in and kissing her fiercely.

It was all Sky could do to not laugh into his mouth as he pushed his tongue past her lips, pressing his body against hers.

Stallions are so damn easy…

Fox tumbled off of the roof and dropped down into an alley, landing in a hay bale. The relative quiet of this part of the city was broken by the roar of Shadow’s wings as she rocketed up into the air.

“Argh...shit…” Fox whimpered, pulling himself free of the hay. He quickly drew his little hood up again, following the noise and glancing skywards. “Aw, this isn’t good…”

Shadow twisted in the air and tucked in her wings, diving back down on him like a bird of prey. She narrowed her eyes as she dove, picking up speed very quickly indeed. Fox had only a few seconds to try and brace himself. Some ponies chose to run, some tried to dive out of the way. The young unicorn, however, teleported out of the way. Shadow couldn’t pursue him further like this, pulling up and shooting up into the sky again.

Fox zapped back into existence atop a nearby building, watching as Shadow climbed for altitude again. Lowering his head, his horn flared, trying to lead his target as he let fly with a bright orange spell.

Shadow yelped, changing course as the spell shot over her head, scorching her hood.

Fuck me, that was close…

She turned around, eyes scanning the rooftops in search of the cheeky little colt. However, she came up empty. There was no sign of the little bastard anywhere.

He’s good…

There was a flash of light just over her head, and Fox flickered into existence, landing on her back and grabbing both of her wings in his forehooves. Shadow gave a frightened squeak as he held onto her. With her wings no longer able to produce lift, the two ponies plummeted towards the ground.

“Hey, conehead, mind letting me go? I kinda need these things to live.” Shadow said conversationally, nodding to her wings. She tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible, but her voice shook with fright. She felt naked without her wings.

“Depends.” He replied, equally conversationally. “Do you promise to let me get back to work?”

“Okay! Okay! I’ll stop fighting! I’ll do whatever you want! Just please, let me go!” Shadow squeaked, twisting around and clinging to him with all of her might.

“Good! I...wait, wow, really?” Fox asked, taken aback.

Shadow raised her head, looking him dead in the eye with a massive cheeky grin on her face. “Nah.”

She struck out with her hind leg, landing a blow directly on his nadgers. Shadow gave a furious little growl, doing it again and again until he finally let her go. Spreading her wings again, Shadow flipped over, scooping him up in her forehooves and air-braking just enough to prevent them from turning into strawberry jam on the street below.

“That’s a shame…” Fox sighed, as she dropped him down onto a nearby roof. “That was a pretty nice hug.”

“You’re a fucking creep, you know that?” Shadow barked hotly, batting him around the head with her hoof.

“And you’re still a frou-frou filly!” Fox limped slightly as he turned to face her again, firing up his horn again. This time, Shadow wasn’t able to get out of the way in time, he caught her in the chest with a blast of magic that sent her flying headlong into a nearby chimney. She slammed into the brickwork, dropping down onto shaky hooves. There was a big blast mark on her chest where the spell struck her, blue fur showing through her light grey padded armour.

“You’re...fucking...dead…” She panted, trying to get her breath back. Spreading her wings again, she shot forward, tackling him and arcing around to slam him into the same chimney. Shadow drew back a hoof and tried to punch him on the nose again, but Fox teleported out with a flash of amber light.

“What the fuck…?” Shadow’s eyes widened as she glanced around.

Fox brought both his forehooves down on her back as he struck her from behind and Shadow collapsed with a yelp. He flicked his hoof while she was down, snapping his own little crossbow out. Loading up a taser cartridge, he trained it on Shadow’s head.

The filly rolled onto her back, taking his cheeks in her forehooves and launching herself upward with her wings. She landed a headbutt on his face, striking his horn with her forehead and sending him reeling back.

Shadow’s eyes rolled in their sockets as she tried to get her senses back, dazed by the impact.

Why the fuck do they have to have such bony fucking horns?

Rolling onto her front again, she got back on her hooves, rounding on him as he rubbed his horn in pain.

“Oi! Stop...stop jacking off for two seconds and show me what you’ve got, kid!” Shadow snarled, spreading her wings again. They made a low whining noise as she started beating them, digging her hooves into the roof tiles to prevent herself from taking off prematurely.

Fox shook his head as well, looking back at her with bleary eyes. Raising his forehoof, he pulled the trigger on his crossbow, launching the taser dart. It struck her in the upper neck before she could dive out of the way, sending a powerful electric shock throughout her whole body. Shadow lost control of her muscles, collapsing with a clatter of displaced roof tiles.

“Are you...are you gonna stay down this time, you stupid filly?” Fox panted, lowering his hoof as Shadow twitched on the floor, ears smoking. The stench of scorched fur filled the air as the young mare squeaked and whimpered, curling up slightly.

“Y...yeah...whatever…” Shadow whispered, sobbing quietly. “Just...just leave me alone…”

Fox’s expression softened behind his burglar’s mask. “Um...are...are you okay?”

“You...you hit a girl…” Shadow squeaked in disbelief, in between terrified sobs.

Fox bit his lip, approaching the poor little pony cautiously. “Hey...look...I didn’t mean to, okay? Don’t...don’t cry…” He put a forehoof on her head comfortingly.

The moment he touched her, Fox knew that he’d made a mistake. There was something so very wrong with the way she was shaking.

“Fuck...you’re not crying, are you?” He whimpered weakly.

Shadow wrapped her forehooves around his leg, looking up at him with a great big smile on her face. “Nope! Are you ever gonna stop falling for my shit?”

With a cheeky little giggle, Shadow took to the sky again, twisting in the air and launching Fox straight into the roof tiles again. This time the tiles gave way, sending the colt crashing into the attic below. Shadow dropped into a dive, following him into the building’s dark interior.

When she landed on the dusty wooden floor, however, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Hellooooo? Asshole?” Shadow called out in a sing-song voice. “If you come out right now, I promise I’ll only kick your ass a little! Come on, you can trust me!”

Silence.

Shadow spread her wings, advancing into the darkness. She glanced around, trying to spot him before he managed to fire off another spell. Her chest was still smoking a little from the last one.

Damn, those spells hurt…

Fox charged up behind her, smacking her around the back of the head with a wooden chair. Shadow slumped again, stunned, and Fox didn’t give her an opening this time. He struck her over the head with the chair again and again, trying to knock her out before she could get up and strike him back again.

The filly rolled over, entangling her hind legs in the chair as it came down on top of her again. Kicking out with her back hooves, she launched it straight into Fox’s face, sending him reeling again. Shadow growled as she got up one last time, covered in bruises and limping.

“This time I’m gonna make sure you stay the fuck down.” Shadow spat. The two of them glared at one another, illuminated by the hole that they’d smashed in the roof. Both of them were limping by this point, having suffered their own fair share of cuts and bruises, but they were both set on settling this right here, right now.

Shadow darted forward as soon as she saw Fox’s horn flare up again, leaping into the air and bringing her hoof around to smack him right in the face. She caught him across the cheek, throwing off his Fox’s and causing him to blow a second hole in the roof. Fox snarled, charging up another spell and firing it off before Shadow could hit him again. It struck her in the face, the force of the blast knocking her across the loft. She skidded to a halt a good few feet away, her hood a ruined blasted mess.

Fox charged at her, lowering his head and charging his horn again. Shadow rolled over, taking off in the confined space and shooting towards him.

The two struck each other simultaneously, Fox’s spell catching Shadow in the face as she struck out at his horn again. The force of the colt’s magic was certainly enough to daze her, but not enough to stop the inevitable impact, and the two young ponies went tumbling head over hooves, landing in a tangle of hooves and wings. Shadow shook her head, a darkness at the edges of her vision telling her that she was close to unconsciousness. She needed to end this fight now.

Bringing up her forehoof, Shadow stamped on Fox’s head again and again, blinking through the growing darkness as her consciousness began to abandon her. His nose started to bleed as she brought her hoof down, the floorboards shaking and cracking as she whaled on him. Fox finally caught her hoof in his own, pushing her off of him. The two of them lay side by side, panting heavily. Neither of them was conscious enough to do anything other than look at the other.

Fox cocked his head slightly as he stared at her. With her hood torn to scorched shreds, Shadow’s long messy mane was splayed out on the floor, her bright green eyes half-lidded from exhaustion. Even in this state, she was looking at him like something she’d accidentally trodden in. The young mare lay directly beneath the hole in the roof, illuminated by a patch of light.

She was stunning.

“The hell...are you...looking at?” She panted, her body aching far too much for her to move.

“You’re...a rea...really pretty pony…” Fox whimpered pathetically. “Like...a really…really pretty pony…”

Shadow blushed hotly, bowing her head so that her mane would conceal her embarrassment. She fumbled desperately with a sleep dart for a moment before finally managing to get a shot off at him, striking him in the stomach and knocking him out.

“Fu...fuck you…” She whispered breathlessly. “I’m not...not doing that...fucking story arc…”

With that, she was overcome by the blunt trauma that she’d suffered as well, passing out by his side.

By sheer chance, when her hoof finally slumped to the floor, it barely touched his own.