A pair of massive forehooves crunched on the asphalt of the tower roof, and the Operative pulled himself up onto the summit.

Another pegasus strafed him as he got up once more, roaring atop the skyscraper and trying to swat the perpetrator out of the air. The pegasus pulled up, shooting off into the air again and keeping his distance for the time being. Nopony was paying him to get murdered by what looked like an earth pony with a serious steroid abuse problem.

The Operative gazed out over the city at the escaping ponies, narrowing his eyes as he struggled to spot them in the darkness. It wasn’t too difficult to see the pegasus from here - she was leaking blood and trailing it behind her as she glided.

“Bloody typical…” He grunted, rolling his eyes. “The second I get up to the top of the damn tower, that cheeky bitch has to go and flutter on down to the bottom.”

The Operative took a step forward. His magically modified body healed through the explosive crossbow bolts that struck him as the pegasus went in for another strafing run, cauterising wounds and repairing damage faster than the guards could inflict them. He calmly removed a swab from his saddlebag, wiping it in the little pool of blood where Sky had been standing only moments before returning it to his pack. In the unlikely event that she got away, he’d at least be able to return to Silver Tongue and Rolling Thunder with a way to track her.

“Well, if it’s the docks where you want to make your stand, I can definitely live with that.” The Operative growled, stepping off of the top of the building. He plummeted a good distance before landing atop an adjacent building. He worked his way up to a brisk trot over the rooftops, slowly and surely making his way back down onto street level. All the while he grumbled about Sky’s complete lack of manners. When he finally reached the street, he darted into the nearest alley that could accommodate his bulk to lose the guards. It was laughably easy. On the dark street with so many other ponies and tall buildings to obstruct their vision, it wasn’t long before the pegasi lost their target.

“Amateurs.” He muttered, stepping out into the street again.

He paused, glancing down as he felt a certain warm dampness on his forehoof. Raising it up and peering at it quizzically, he gave a small chuckle. It was blood. There was a whole trail of little dark crimson droplets leading away towards the docks.

“Oh, this is going to be too easy…”

The Operative wiped his hoof off on the concrete, following the trail. That pony wasn’t going to be able to get away for long.

Sky and Shadow came in to land in the labyrinth of steel containers and heavy wooden crates. The younger pony stayed in the air for just long enough to drop Fox on his rump from as painfully as she could manage.

“So now what?” Shadow asked as Sky wrestled her bad wing back against her side.

“We’ve gotta keep running before that asshole catches up with us.” Sky shrugged, trotting further into the maze. Monstrous cranes loomed overhead, shifting containers onto cargo ships down at the quay. This city really didn’t sleep.

“Yeeeeeah, about that. Don’t you think you’re being a little...I dunno...conspicuous?” Rat scratched her head, eyeing Sky’s bad wing with concern.

“What, this thing? Come on Rat, it’s okay. I can get it rebandaged once we’re clear of that hulking great bugger.”

“Yeah, but in the meantime you’re leaving a biiiiig fucking trail wherever you go. What’s to stop him from just following it?” Rat tapped her hoof, raising her eyebrows at the little white mare..

“Come on, do you think he’s gonna follow the trail all the way here?” Sky shrugged. “Besides, he was tied up with those guards on top of that tower. Do you really think he’s gonna be bothering with us right now?”

Sky’s confident smile wavered as she heard the damning sound of approaching hoofsteps, the thundering clatter of heavy hooves on concrete. That could only be one pony.

“Shut up.” She growled as Rat opened her mouth to say something. “Let’s get moving!”

Sky, Rat, Shadow and Fox were already galloping when the Operative rounded the corner, narrowing his eyes at them again. Letting out a furious huff, he stamped his forehoof and started to charge again.

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Miss Runner!” He barked.

“I’m going to make this as hard as I can, mate!” Sky called back, bounding up a pile of crates with Rat. The two of them quickly made it atop a shipping container, their hooves clattering against the metal as they ran for their lives. As Shadow and Fox hopped onto it as well, the Operative leapt up, grabbing the shipping container and pulling it towards him as hard as he could, as a magician would pull a tablecloth out from under the glassware. Sky and Rat made a leap for the next container along, making the jump with a loud clatter.

Shadow and Fox weren’t so lucky, still trying to run along the surface of the container as it was pulled out from underneath them. The doors on one end of it came free, opening wide like the jaws of some monstrous undersea creature. As the Operative dragged it closer, the giant metal box tilted upwards, sending the two younger ponies tumbling into it. Their terrified screams were cut off as the doors slammed shut on top of them, trapping the two teenagers inside.

“SHADOW!” Sky yelped, making an about-turn and darting back towards the tumbling container. The Operative wasn’t exactly deterring her. She was fully prepared to wrestle him out of the way to get at her little sister if she had to.

“Damn it Sky, she can take care of herself!” Rat growled, grabbing Sky by the tail and yanking her back. “It’s us that guy wants, remember?”

Sky bit her lip, staring at the container as it slid down onto the asphalt of it quay. The Operative was ignoring the ponies trapped inside, instead charging towards Rat and Sky again. After giving the container one last look, Sky gave a nervous nod, turning tail and running off with her new companion.

Rat’s probably right. Sky thought to herself as she picked up speed. Shadow’ll be safe in there. I guess I just have to worry about getting this asshole away from her.

The two ponies’ hooves clattered over the corrugated metal of the shipping containers as they worked their way closer to the quay. As she came closer to the edge, Sky’s eyes widened. What stretched out beyond the docks was not sea at all, but a sheer hundred-foot drop down onto swampland. This was a port for airships bound for Canterlot, some docking at lower quays below the one upon which Sky stood.

She would, of course, have had much more appreciation for the majesty of the airships if her mind wasn’t currently occupied by other things, however.

“How the hell are we gonna lose him?” Sky panted as the shattered remains of a crate flew over their heads.

“Hey...don’t ask me...you’re the one with the plans!” Rat barked back, hunkering down. The two of them jinked right at the last second as the Operative gained ground on them, reaching out to snatch at Sky’s tail. They found themselves in a narrow passage between two containers, too small for the Operative to fit through.

A moment later, Sky and Rat looked back as a godawful creaking sound broke the relative silence..

“That’s not fair…” Sky muttered.

The Operative took one shipping container in each hoof, groaning with effort as he started to pull them closer together. The gap between the two vast boxes narrowed, forcing Sky and Rat a little closer together.

“That’s bullshit…” Rat shook her head.

The two mares exchanged a brief glance before galloping for their lives. Sky beat her damaged wings as fast as she could, trying fruitlessly to take off. Between the puncture wounds and the heavy bandages, Sky was too heavy and too injured to get enough lift. Tilting her wings down a little, she flapped harder still, propelling herself further forward, faster than her hooves could carry her alone. Rat was only a few steps behind her, horn flaring as she magically lowered her own weight, making her lighter and faster with every moment. In a few moments, Rat was neck and neck with Sky, the two mares darting out just moments before the two shipping containers slammed together with a certain lethal finality.

“We can’t keep this up!” Rat huffed, shaking her head as they crossed a clearing flanked by cranes. “We’ve gotta take this guy out!”

“Working on it!” Sky’s eyes darted around, looking for anything that might be able to stop the monster pursuing them in its tracks.

Come oooon, there’s gotta be something, anything...maybe if we dropped one of those shipping containers on him?

Sky shook her head, dispelling the thought. Brainwashed monster or no, she wasn’t going to commit murder on top of everything else. She simply wasn’t that kind of pony.

Something caught her eye, and she looked skywards. A little grin appeared on her fluffy little muzzle. There stood a crane only a very short gallop away, dangling a shipping container in midair. The driver must have finished his shift halfway through a job. Typical.

“Rat…” Sky muttered. “Can you get into that crane and work it for me? I’ve got an idea.”

“Took you long enough!” Rat rolled her eyes, bumping flanks with Sky and galloping over to the ladder. She started to make her way up the ladder towards the cabin as the grating sound of twisting metal hit Sky’s ears.

She glanced back at the pair of shipping containers again, cocking her head with confusion. The Operative was pulling them aside to get at Sky and Rat again.

Bloody show-off…

Sky rounded on him, tapping her hoof impatiently and shooting him a stare usually reserved for drunk colts who were trying to hit on her.

“Just who do you think you’re impressing with that little display, mate?” Sky rolled her eyes, huffing. “If you wanted me to fawn over your muscles, you could’ve just said so!”

Rat clambered into the cabin, horn flaring again as she took stock of the controls. A set of levers and buttons, all different colours. This was going to be a little more difficult than she’d anticipated.

“You’d better stop running right now!” The Operative growled. “You’re losing blood and I’m still just as fast as you! You’re out of tricks!”

“I’m never out of tricks.” Sky shook her head, taking a step back. It was important to look afraid, defeated. It made ponies hurl themselves at her a little more recklessly than they otherwise would.

The crane’s load gave a godawful jerk to the left, swinging like a pendulum.

Come on, Rat! Get the hang of it already! I can’t go pissing ponies off if my only way out of here’s suffering from Parkinson’s Disease! Sky thought to herself, taking another step back. Rat was pulling the crane every which way now, but seemed to be ever-so-slowly getting her head around the controls.

“Miss Runner, please. You’re leaking blood and I didn’t even hit you yet. Your body’s falling apart. Just come with me and I promise we’ll get you the help you need.” The Operative lowered his head again. He wasn’t pleading with her. This was more characteristic of a guard asking a pony to put down a weapon before tasing them.

“Or,” Sky held her hooves up diplomatically, “I can get away again and then I can get the help I need!”

“You’re beyond help, sweetheart!” Rat called down from the crane.

“Eat shit, Rat!” Sky called back, still smiling at the Operative.

“You’ve asked for it, Miss Runner.” The stallion shook his head, starting to gallop towards her again. Sky took a moment to look down at the little pool of blood under her bad wing. It wasn’t too noticeable. Definitely not serious, anyway.

Rat finally hit the release button, sending the shipping container crashing to the ground right behind Sky. She gave a little yelp at the sudden noise, skittering out of the way.
The Operative charged into it, busting through the heavy metal doors and trapping himself inside. His momentum carried both him and the shipping container to the edge of the quay, teetering on the edge for one tense moment before plunging off of the cliff.

“Um...is he gone?” Rat asked, peeking out from the cabin nervously.

“Hang on, let me check.” Sky trotted to the edge of the quay, looking out over the edge against all horror movie logic.

There was a shattered shipping container atop a loaded cargo ship that appeared to have just undocked. It was floating away, heedless of its impromptu extra passenger as it sailed off to who-knows-where.

“Oh no! He’s scaling the walls!” Sky yelped, backing up and spreading her wings in terror.

Rat gave a little squeak, scrambling out of the cabin and dropping down to the ground. Her legs were already moving as she hit the asphalt. She would, however, be going much faster if Sky hadn’t grabbed her tail.

“I’m kidding. He’s gone.” Sky giggled, letting the reproachful Rat go. “You’re too easy, sweetie.”

“Next time I’m dropping the box on your fat head.” Rat huffed, sticking her tongue out.

“Awww, did I scare you?” Sky beamed, brushing Rat’s mane aside so she could see her face.

“What, by sending a fucking monster-pony after me? No, not at all!” Rat grunted. “What the fuck was that, anyway? You’ve gone and pissed off Tommygun and brought fucked-up superheroes to Manehattan! I could’ve been killed!”

Sky held her hooves up again. “Well hey, I wasn’t exactly keen on having them running around after me in Canterlot either! Besides, we’re safe now, right?”

“Not exactly. When Tommygun recovers, he’s gonna be pissed. You’re trouble, toots.” Rat shook her head. “Hell, you’re gonna get yourself killed taking risks like that.”

“But you’ve gotta admit that it was fun, right?” Sky grinned, nudging her. “Come on, you can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it a little bit?”

“Well…no…”

“Exactly!” Sky gave her a big hug, rubbing her cheek against Rat’s as she squeezed her new friend as tightly as she could.

“Ack...but you’re still in trouble!” Rat said weakly, hugging her back.

Sky’s eyelids fluttered shut as she tilted her head up, whispering in Rat’s ear. “Well, you can punish me as much as you want tonight, sweetie. That’ll teach me for being such a naughty little pony and scaring you, huh?”

Rat gave a tiny little squeak, giggling slyly as she kissed Sky on the cheek. “You might just have a deal, sweetheart. Now, how about we go and find the kids?”

Sky pulled away, chuckling. “If they haven’t killed each other yet.”

“It’s not going to work, Shadow!” Fox said dully. “Give it a rest already!”

“Maybe...it’ll...work...this time!” Shadow grunted, shooting up and slamming against the doors again and again. It was, however, no use. She was a small light pony and those doors were made of strong steel. The two of them were trapped in the container until somepony saw fit to let them out.

“Shadow, you’re gonna brain yourself at this rate!” Fox sighed. “Come on, just relax and settle down before you hurt yourself, okay?”

Shadow paused in midair. “Oh, great! A lecture on not hurting myself from the masochist! Thanks a lot, Fox!”

“You’re welcome!” Fox smiled brightly, ignoring the sarcasm in Shadow’s voice. His horn flared bright amber again, illuminating their little prison and catching Shadow’s bright green eyes. “Come on, sit down. I think we’ve got a few things to talk about.”

“Really?” Shadow glared at him, crossing her forehooves. “All I see is a pony who’s gonna try his luck at getting laid again the second I touch down. No deal, buster.”

“Come on, Shadow. When have I ever said I wanted to get laid?” Fox looked up at her earnestly, fiddling with his forehooves. “I...I just wanted to get to know you, that’s all. Besides, your wings look hurt…”

“What, you mean these?” Shadow glanced at her wings. “They’re not hurt, dipshit. They just need preening, that’s all. It’s your fault for ruffling my feathers like that!”

“Well, maybe I can help you fix them!” Fox smiled hopefully. “I dunno much about preening, but…”

“Course you wouldn’t! I didn’t expect some conehead to know anything about...eep!”

She froze in midair, looking across at a feather that had been pulled out of her wing by magic. It was floating, wreathed in bright orange light as Fox kept staring up at her.

“It’s not that hard, right?” Fox shrugged. “Just pull out damaged feathers and straighten the bent ones, right? Come on, I’ll bet you anything that I can do it properly.”

“A...a bet, huh?” Shadow cocked her head, feeling her cheeks go a little pink again. “Wha...what’s the stakes?”

“If I do it properly, you have to be my friend.” Fox stuck his tongue out.

Shadow blanched at this, shaking her head. “No way! No fucking way! I’m not gonna degrade myself like that! Talk to Sky! Degrading herself is, like, all she ever does!”

“What’s the matter, Shadow? Scared of losing?” Fox asked innocently.

“I’m...wait...you can’t…” Shadow shook her head. She wasn’t scared of losing, and she was pretty confident that he was going to completely cock it up. Still, daunting as those stakes were, she wasn’t going to back down from a challenge like this.

“Fine! You’re on!” She said finally. “But if you lose, I’m allowed to kick your ass as much as I want and you can’t fight back, okay?”

“Deal.” Fox said confidently. There was something about his expression that was worrying Shadow, like he knew something that he wasn’t telling her.

The young mare finally folded her wings in, dropping to the ground next to him with a sulky thud. She sat down, pointedly not looking at Fox as she held her wings out. “Fine. Let’s see just how badly you fuck this up.”

She almost immediately tensed up as she felt a pair of hooves on her shoulders, her eyes snapping wide open. Was he...massaging her?

“You’d better take those things off of me right fucking now or I’ll shove them so far up your ass that you’re coughing up hoof clippings for the rest of your life.” She growled dangerously.

“Oops...erm...sorry…” Fox withdrew a little, looking her over. “So, Shadow...if you’re always this mean, how the hell have you and Sky been together so long?”

“That’s different.” Shadow shook her head, looking away from him again. “She’s my sister. I mean, of course I’m gonna be nice to her, even if she embarrasses the fuck out of me sometimes.”

“I know what you mean.” Fox smiled, nipping at one of Shadow’s loose primaries. “Rat embarrasses me all the time. I swear that asshole gets off on it.”

“He probably does. Your brother’s one hell of a creep.” Shadow giggled. “Must run in the family.”

“Yeah, well I don’t know what the hell runs in your family.” Fox chuckled. “I mean, your sister’s nice and friendly, and you’re...well…”

“An asshole?” Shadow finished for him. “I’m not always like this, Fox. Just when ponies overstep their boundaries.”

“You don’t know that many ponies in that case, huh?”

“I know...eep!...one or two…” Shadow’s eyes closed halfway, her mouth hanging open as he tugged and pulled at her feathers very gently indeed. “I...don’t have much time for meet-and-greet when I’m...running for my life…”

“The way you talk makes it sound like you don’t get any downtime. You mean to tell me that you’ve never made any friends?” Fox asked quietly, moving on to her other wing.

“I’ve...got...friends!”

“I mean friends who aren’t your sister.”

That gave Shadow pause. She glanced down at her hooves, panting quietly and trying to ignore the burning sensation in her cheeks. “That’s...beside the point…”

“It is my point.” Fox was whispering now, nipping and nibbling at her feathers and running his hooves over her wing to smooth them out. “It’s okay...I’ve never had anypony else besides my brother, either.”

“That explains...why you don’t know what personal space is…” Shadow grunted weakly. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do...but...eep!...I’ve got Sky. That’s all I need, okay?”

“And she needs you too, huh?” Fox nodded sagely.

“Ye...yeah. We need...need to watch each others’ backs.” Shadow bit her lip. “That’s what...being sisters is all about…”

“We’re not that different, then.” Fox sighed, grabbing her outermost feather and gently tugging at it with his magic. “You and I are both meant to take care of our adults, cause Celestia knows they can’t take care of themselves, right?”

“Ri...riiight…” Shadow nodded, closing her eyes. Her tail started to flick from side to side, devoid of all conscious control.

The fuck’s he doing to me?

“Well, that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends on the side, right?” Fox shrugged, tugging a little harder. Shadow was squeaking and whimpering more than ever. It was adorable.

“Well...just...one problem…” Shadow gasped. “You’re...a useless sack of...shi...shit…”

Fox chuckled. “I know you don’t mean that. Come on, I’m the first pony in ages who’s given you a second look, huh?”

Shadow didn’t answer. Perhaps it was because it was true, but perhaps it was also that he’d just pulled out another feather and she couldn’t think straight anymore. What she did do was flop over onto her front, having some difficulty breathing.

“Um, Shadow?” Fox ventured nervously, nudging her with a hoof. “Are...are you okay?”

“Fuggoff…” Shadow muttered, closing her eyes and panting a little. She seemed to be having trouble pulling her wings back against her sides. They seemed to be stuck that way.

“Hey, Shadow?” Fox picked her up, lowering her down onto her back. He brightened his horn a little, staring down at her with concern. She held her fluffy forehooves up over her face to keep the light out of her eyes.

“Idon’twannagotoschool…” She whimpered, dazed.

“I...didn’t hurt you, did I?” He asked, taking her hoof and squeezing it.

“No...youdidagreeeeatjob…” Shadow giggled, opening her eyes a little and smiling up at him.

Fox smiled back, his expression softening a little. “Don’t scare me like that, damn it!”

“I’ve scared better ponies than you.” Shadow chuckled. She didn’t seem to be totally with it right now, looking for all the world like she’d been drugged. “Don’tworryaboutitsweetie…”

Fox nuzzled her cheek, coaxing another little giggle out of Shadow. “Look at you, you do have a nice side!”

“Don’t get used to it…” Shadow shook her head. “You’re not gonna see much of it if you hang out with me.”

“I’d better make the most of it, then.” Fox smiled, pecking her on the nose.

Shadow scrunched her snout, eyes widening. “What the fuck, Fox! I thought you just wanted to be fri...friends…”

“Yeah, I do, but…” Fox pulled back, looking down at her with worry.

He was, however, cut off by the grating sound of the doors being pulled open. Sky’s head appeared in the doorway, tilting a little as she took in the scene before her. Shadow and Fox both realised at the same time how incriminating their current predicament looked, with Shadow effectively pinned underneath him, their muzzles only inches apart.

“Do you guys need some time alone?” Sky grinned, trying her hardest to not giggle.

“Now wait, Sky, I know how this looks, but I can expla...oof!” Fox grunted as Shadow kicked him in the bollocks, wriggling out from underneath him.

“You saw nothing!” She glared at Sky as she got to her hooves, cursing her wings as they once again refused to fold back in by her sides. “Come on, let’s go. We’re gonna need to take a look at that information you got out of Tommygun when you wrecked his place.”

“Yahuh, and then we need to have a talk, young lady.” Sky stuck her tongue out at Shadow, turning tail and trotting back towards the city with her little sister in tow.

Shadow glanced back at Fox with a look of pure confusion, though her view was a little obstructed by her oversized wings. Colts were weird.

Not long after that, Rat came trotting into the shipping container too, helping her little brother to his hooves and ruffling his mane. “So? How’d it go with Shadow while we were off endangering our lives?”

“Great!” Fox wheezed, eyes crossing as he struggled to stay upright. “I think...she likes me!”

And with that, he flopped down onto the ground again.