“YOU!”

“Me!” Sky called back automatically, wheeling around on the spot to see who was addressing her. When she spotted her surprise visitor, however, she gave a frightened yelp and started to back up.

Shadow was cantering towards her with the world’s angriest glare, with Fox was nowhere in sight. She must have shaken him off somehow. That filly was good.

“Er...hey, Shadow!” Sky beamed innocently. “How’re you enjoying the park?”

“Oh, great! Just great!” Shadow chuckled, smiling brightly all of a sudden. “I’m actually having a great time! I’ve even tried out a couple of the rides!”

Oh shit, she’s smiling. She must be really pissed… Sky thought to herself as she took an involuntary step backwards. She kept that smile bolted to her face for all it was worth, trying to look for all the world like a pony who had been doing nothing but loving, caring, good sisterly things today.

“Well that sounds fantastic, sweetie!” Sky giggled, inadvertently putting a snack cart between herself and Shadow. “What rides did you go on?”

“Well, I actually let Fox choose one for us both to go on! I mean, you suggested that I be nice to him, so I thought ‘hey, let’s let him choose a ride to get dumped on! I bet he’ll appreciate that!’ Do you know which one he chose, dear sister? Do you wanna take a guess?”

“Oooh! Is it the Sonic Rainboom? I bet it was!” Sky nodded with a friendly little squee. “If you two haven’t gone on that one yet, you totally should!”

“No, sis. No, it wasn’t the Sonic Rainboom! I’d have liked the Sonic Rainboom!” Shadow giggled a little too loudly, hopping onto the cart with one flap of her wings and glaring down at her big sister. She was almost in hysterics by now. “It was the Tunnel of Love, dear sweet Sky! It was the Tunnel...of...fucking...Love...and...it...was...horrible.” She was still smiling, but talking through gritted teeth.

“Oh, yeah! I forgot that they had one of those here!” Sky clapped her hoof to her forehead as she kept backing away. “So, how did it go?”

“He. Cuddled. Me.”

“Ya...yay?” Sky hunkered down, still smiling innocently. She knew right away that that was the wrong thing to say to an irate filly. She was going to regret that one for certain.

“No, sis. There is nothing “yay” about it.” Shadow hopped down from the cart, continuing the very slow pursuit with a rather predatory prowl. “In fact, this is the exact opposite of something yay-worthy.”

“Ne...neigh?” Sky cocked her head. As she backed up a little further, her back legs struck a bench, causing the little white mare to flop back onto it in a sitting position. She sat there like a very silly horse indeed, staring blankly at the irate teenager.

“Oh, sis...you almost had me.” Shadow shook her head, hopping up next to Sky and staring at her with wild eyes. “You almost had me completely fooled and tied up in your little web of lies!”

“I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about!” Sky shrugged, still playing the innocent card for all she’s worth. ”I said that you had to be nice to him for a while and then dump him! What the hell did you end up doing?”

“I pushed him off of the boat.” Shadow deadpanned. “That totally counts as dumping him!”

“Yeah, right.” Sky bit her lip, trying not to grin too knowingly. Shadow still had that big orange flower in her mane. Perhaps it hadn’t occurred to her to take it out. “And where is he now?”

“Probably still in the water.” The filly frowned. It was clear that she had no idea, nor was it really her concern right now. “I flew off as soon as he went splash.”

“Damn it, Shadow. That’s not how you’re supposed to be nice to ponies.” Sky giggled. “Are you gonna fish him out?”

“Eh.” Shadow shrugged noncommittally, laying down by Sky’s side. She lay there in contemplative silence for a time, and Sky eventually worked up the courage to rub her behind her ears. Shadow didn’t resist, even leaning into her a little and making soft whimpering sounds.

“Um...are you okay?” Sky asked, cocking her head.

“No, I’m not…” Shadow shook her head. “I’ve been stuck with some dumb-shit colt who won’t take no for an answer, and he keeps being so nice to me, and he gets me flowers and wants cuddles and…and...I’m supposed to believe that he just wants to be friends?”

“Well, you guys are at that kind of age…” Sky said carefully, avoiding Shadow’s gaze.

“Now hang on a second!”

“What? I’m just saying, what with the kissing and the cuddling and stuff, he might be infatuated with you just a teensy bit!”

“Wow, sis! I wasn’t picking those signals up from him at all!” Shadow said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “Did you work that one out all by yourself?”

“Well, I guess now you’ve gotta deal with the million-bit question: What are you gonna do about it?” Sky pulled away a little, crossing her forelegs and putting her good wing over her sister.

“I...don’t...exactly...I haven’t worked that one out, yet.” Shadow frowned, brow furrowed in concentration. “I...he’s…”

“Wow, he’s gotten you more flustered than I thought.” Sky snickered.

“Fuck you! I don’t get flustered!” Shadow snarled. “I’m just...I’ve never had a colt like me before, and I wanna dump his ass before he gets any big ideas, okay?”

“Really? See, it seems to me that you wanted to let him down pretty gently earlier, but you didn’t have the stones to do it.” Sky couldn’t resist anymore, smirking at her. “That was the plan, right?”

“Yeah, but then I realised that you’d gone and led me into a trap.” Shadow growled reproachfully. “What the hell, sis?”

“What? I wasn’t there to watch any of it! I was busy working out here! Anything you and Fox do on your own time hasn’t got anything to do with me.” Sky shrugged innocently. “I’m just trying to be helpful and get you out of a difficult place. Are you sure you don’t like him back?”

“I’m...erm…of course I…” Shadow began, but something seemed to catch in her throat, almost as if she was having trouble letting the words out. She wasn’t exactly an expert on feelings, especially where ponies she’d just met were concerned.

“Oh Luna, you do like him!” Sky laughed, looping a foreleg around Shadow’s shoulders and pulling the protesting filly into a tight hug.

“No! Stop! Fuck off! Don’t...stop it, sis! HELP! HELP! I’M BEING FOALNAPPED! MAD MARE! MAD MARE!” Shadow bellowed, beating her huge wings to try and break free of her big sister’s grip. It wasn’t that she minded hugs, of course. She just didn’t want anypony, especially certain colts, seeing her and thinking that they could get a hug whenever they wanted.

“Oh, shut up.” Sky said quietly, rubbing her cheek against Shadow’s. Her wing wrapped around the young filly and pulled her closer, interlocking with her little sister’s feathers and trapping her there. “Come on, there’s no shame in admitting that you like him!”

“I’ve known him for, like, a day! He doesn’t know anything about me besides that I’m a filly! He doesn’t even know my last name!”

“Neither do you.”

“That’s not the point!” Shadow pouted, muzzle pressed up against Sky’s. “I don’t want to…I can’t…”

“You don’t know how to handle it.”

“I...ye...yeah…” Shadow trailed off, slumping.

“So what you’re saying is that you wanna change the plan? You actually wanna get together with this guy?” Sky smiled warmly, nuzzling her.

“I didn’t say that, okay? I wanna...be his friend. I wanna get to know him, work out how much of an asshole he is, and then get as much distance between him and me as I can before he knows what hit him.” Shadow crossed her forelegs sulkily. “So...so you know what I’m gonna do?”

“Thrill me.”

“I’m gonna play your game.” Shadow said stoically. “I’m gonna be nice to him, and show him a nice time, and then I’ll...I’ll…” She let out a soft sigh. “I’m confused, sis.”

“I don’t blame you.” Sky shrugged. “Hey, you remember when I was fifteen, how weird I got around colts?”

“Yeah…” Shadow snickered quietly. “You did all kinds of crazy shit…”

“Exactly. I was confused because I was at an age where it was easy for me to get fucked up over how I felt, right?”

“Yeah, but there’s a difference between being confused about who you wanna go out with and inviting axe-murderers over to your house.” Shadow deadpanned.

“That was one time! When are you gonna let it go?”

“Never. I’m never gonna let that go. That’s the stupidest shit you’ve ever done.” Shadow stuck her tongue out, giggling.

Sky pouted, running her hooves through her mane as she put Shadow back down on the bench. “But you see my point, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Teenagers get weird around colts. I hear you.” Shadow waved a hoof dismissively. “Here’s the thing, though. I’m not that kind of filly. I don’t fall for ponies. It’s not who I am. You know that.”

“Yeah, I know that.” Sky smiled. “You’re a badass and proud of it, right?”

“Right!” Shadow nodded. “I’m not having that taken away from me by anypony, no matter who the fuck they are.”

“Good...because I wouldn’t have you any other way.” Sky smiled.

“I know you wouldn’t. I dunno how the hell you’d take care of yourself if you didn’t have me here.” Shadow chuckled, before cocking her head a little. “And...er...thanks, I guess.”

“Thanks?”

“Yeah, I mean...I dunno what I’d do without you, too…” She muttered grudgingly.

Sky smiled. “Hey, it’s okay sweetie. I’ve always got your back, and I know you’ve got mine, too.” She leaned over, the two sisters exchanging a little nuzzle.

“Yeah...sisters forever, right?” Shadow smiled as she took her hoof.

“Damn right.” Sky nodded, hopping off of the bench. “Now, I’ve got what I came for. Let’s head back to Canterlot so we can work out how we’re gonna finish this shit.”

“That sounds great.” Shadow grinned.

As the two of them trotted away, neither pony saw the little unicorn colt who’d been hiding behind the bench, wringing out his wet tail as he processed what he’d just heard. As he considered everything that Shadow had said, his confused little frown turned to a great big smile.

Finally, he let out a tiny little squee, trotting off to find his brother.

“Got everything?” Shadow asked.

“Let’s see. Bags, check. Letter, check. Darts, check.” Sky glanced over her shoulder at Rat and Fox. “Souvenirs...double check. I think we’re good to go, sis.”

“Thank Luna.” Shadow sighed, looking around at the crowded platform. She’d already been forced to jump out of the way of one or two busy commuters who wouldn’t even acknowledge her. Manehattan was crowded as hell, but at least the Operatives didn’t seem to be present. Whatever else they were, they certainly weren’t subtle.

As the train pulled into the underground station, the two sisters exchanged a relieved sigh. As much as they liked a little cardio now and then, they weren’t in any mood to start running from irate super-soldiers again. Not right now, anyway.

The car disgorged a horde of ponies from the Equestrian capital city, intermingling with the whirling scrum already taking place on the busy platform. The whole place reeked of stress and fear, and only when Sky and Shadow finally hopped into the carriage themselves did their breathing settle again.

“So what did the courier have, anyway?” Shadow cocked her head as Sky settled down in an unoccupied compartment with her.

“Let’s have a look-see.” Sky muttered, pulling the letter out and setting it down on the counter in the middle of the compartment as Rat and Fox trotted in. The elder unicorn sat down next to Sky and read over her shoulder, while Fox hopped up next to Shadow, shuffling a little closer to her.

Sky read out loud as Rat kicked the door closed.

“Silver, I’ll be returning to the city in just under a week. I’ll be carrying the last of the materials I need with me, and we’ll begin the transformation. Thereafter, you, myself and your new wife will relocate to the testing centre outside of Canterlot for safety. I’ll hide instructions for the removal of the crystals in my wedding present to you. We’ll make the move a day after the ceremony itself. I haven’t forgotten that you two will be wanting a honeymoon!

Your loving father,

Rolling Thunder.”

Sky sat back, raising her eyebrows.

“Look at you with your pretty little reading voice!” Rat grinned, glancing down at the letter. “Guess that means we’re crashing a wedding.”

“Yeah, right.” Sky scoffed. “The day I go to a wedding is the day I dress up in a bright pink tutu and recite a poem all about Shadow.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that!” Shadow challenged, shuffling ever-so subtly away from Fox. The little unicorn shuffled ever-so subtly closer to her again.

“Something doesn’t make sense, though.” Sky frowned, looking over the letter as Shadow narrowed her eyes. “Thunder mentions safety. What the hell’s he scared of? It’s sure as hell not us. As far as he knows he’s got us on the run.”

“I dunno.” Rat scratched the back of his head. “My guess is that not every Operative is totally loyal to those two right now. I mean, that’d make sense, right?”

“I guess so.” Sky nodded. “By the looks of it, Thunder’s looking to go through whatever fucked-up transformation process is turning ponies into those things. Maybe he’s gonna try and even the odds against whoever’s giving him trouble.”

“Yeah, well I’m not exactly in the mood to get killed by some superpowered old-ass pony.” Shadow growled, now curled up in the corner and trying pointedly to ignore the unicorn sitting right next to her.

“Me neither.” Sky chuckled. “So this must be the wedding we read about when we were going through Silver’s stuff.”

“Wait, hang on.” Rat put his hooves together to signal a time-out. “You broke into Silver’s place?”

“Damn right we broke into Silver’s place! Let his dragon out, too.” Sky giggled. “If we can get into his house again, maybe we could intercept that wedding present, too…”

“I dunno, that could be a trap.” Rat shook his head. “It might be best if we…”

THUMP.

Both ponies started, looking up. Shadow was sitting there with her wings fully spread, with Fox laying out cold on the far side of the compartment. It appeared as though he’d been catapulted into the opposite wall by the young mare.

“Um...Shadow...what the fuck?” Sky asked simply.

“He touched my belly.” Shadow glared at the unconscious Fox. ”Nopony touches my belly.”

“I bet you he didn’t.”

“He totally did! Well, I mean, he was getting awfully close! He was thinking about it!”

“Sure he was.” Sky sighed. “Okay, how about we sort out what we’re doing when we get back to Canterlot. Rat, you can stay in my room with me, okay?”

“I was going to anyway, sweetheart. Just try and stop me!” Rat winked.

“Eww.” Shadow stuck her tongue out, cringing.

“And Fox…” Sky beamed at Shadow, “can stay with you!”

As Sky and Rat went back to sorting out their plans for the return to Canterlot, Shadow’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

“Wait…” She sputtered in protest. ”WHAT did you just say?”