“Sis...please…”

“Nope! You’re not weaselling your way out of this one, missy!” Sky shook her head, looking at her little sister sternly.

“But...sis, what if he has rabies? Do you want me to have rabies? It’d be horrible and I’d die and it’d end up being totally your fault!” Shadow pouted. “How could you do this to me?”

“Hey, you should’ve thought about that before you started accusing me of setting you up with him at Celestialand!” Sky put a hoof on her heart, hurt. “You just had to go and think the worst of me, didn’t you?”

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry that I accused you like that!” Shadow clutched Sky’s forehoof, pleading. “Just don’t make me do this! He’s gonna get his…self everywhere!”

“Well, if you’ve got any idea where else he could sleep, I’d love to hear it!”

Shadow opened her mouth to speak.

“Somewhere that isn’t the roof, a sewer or the inside of a dragon.” Sky added, narrowing her eyes.

Her little sister closed her mouth again, looking down at her hooves.

“Come on, I thought you were gonna be nice to him now!” Sky nudged.

“Yeah, well there’s a difference between being nice to somepony and sharing your bedroom with them! I mean, we only have one bed! How the hell are we gonna work around that?”

“That’s a good question.” Sky tapped a hoof to her chin, thinking. “I suppose you could sha…”

“I’M NOT SLEEPING WITH HIM!” Shadow stamped her hoof irritably. “The boat was bad enough! He’s smelly and horrible and I don’t wanna be stuck with that all night!”

“Awww, come on Shadow! He’s not that bad! Look at how sweet he’s being!” Sky giggles. “You’ve gotta admit, this is the nicest you’ve been treated by a new pony in years, and he really wants to get to know you!”

“Well...yeah…” Shadow frowned, not meeting Sky’s gaze. “But...but I...look, sleeping with somepony on the first date is your thing, not mine!”

There was a pause as both sisters processed what had just come out of Shadow’s mouth. Sky couldn’t help but smile at the look of growing horror on the filly’s face. This was without doubt the cutest thing she’d seen since she’d clapped eyes on that tiny little pony for the first time.

“Did you just say…?”

“No!” Shadow said quickly, scrunching her snout.

“You did!” Sky giggled. “You said da…”

“I didn’t! You’re going deaf!” Shadow backed away, spreading her wings.

“Shadow, too much sex turns you blind, not deaf.” Sky rolled her eyes, unable to wipe that smile off of her face. “You really like him, don’t you?”

“No! Stop! I didn’t say date! I was just...just...I’m not sleeping with him, okay?” Shadow tucked her head under her wing, cowering in the corner.

Sky settled down next to her, not trying to pull Shadow’s wing away from her face. Not just yet, anyway.

“You know, if you’re having a lot of confusing feelings about a pony, sometimes it means that you really want to be with them.” Sky whispered softly, putting a hoof on Shadow’s shoulder. “There’s no shame in it. I think it’s kinda cute.”

“I don’t wanna be kinda cute! I wanna be Shadow!” She whined, hunkering down and curling up. Her big bushy tail couldn’t quite wrap around her head and her wing, but she certainly made the effort.

“You’re treating this as something that you’re supposed to be ashamed of.” Sky shrugged. “The feelings you’re dealing with are pretty confusing. I get that. Still, you’re not just gonna let him fluster you every time he touches your hoof, are you?”

“Please!” Shadow growled, poking her muzzle through her feathers and glaring out at Sky. “He doesn’t fluster me, he just...I dunno...confuses me.”

“He flusters you, sweetie.” Sky shook her head, looping a foreleg around her little sister and snuggling her. “You blush, you trip over your words and you punch him.”

“I punch a lot of ponies!”

“That’s different. You punch ponies because they’re being dickheads. Why do you punch him, though?”

“Because he’s being a dickhead!”

Sky raised her eyebrows at Shadow.

“Well, he is!”

“Name one thing he’s done so far that makes him a dickhead.” Sky deadpanned.

“Well...he...he…” Shadow paused. “He just is! He knows he messes with my head and he goes out of his way to make me...me…”

“Yahuh.” Sky grinned, unconvinced.

“Wow, sis. I can feel the sarcasm coming off of you.” Shadow deadpanned, pulling her wing aside.

“Well, you’re not exactly selling it.” Sky smiled. “Shadow, look, if you like him then that’s okay. I promise that I won’t take the piss, really!”

“But I’m not...wait, you mean that?” Shadow cocked her head, waiting for the punchline.

“Really.” Sky said, nuzzling her little sister’s cheek. “Besides, these feelings are the hardest part of being a filly your age. Like, you get confused, scared, fluttery, blushy…”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve read all the crappy poetry in your diary.” Shadow groaned. “Sis...do I have to do this?”

“What, you gonna back down from the challenge?”

“I never back down from a challenge! I just...dunno if I like him. He confuses me and...and...I’m not gonna sleep with him!”

“Well, you can always come and bunk with me if you wanna leave him in your room on his own…”

“Fuck you! I’m not gonna let him touch my stuff if I’m not there! How will I know what I need to burn or wash?”

“So you are gonna sleep in the same room as him?” Sky raised her eyebrows expectantly.

“Well, I dunno, it is summer and the roof’s really nice right now…”

“He’s not sleeping on the roof, sweetie.”

“Fuck.” Shadow sighed. “Fi...fine…”

“Hey, Shadow.” Sky whispered, kissing her on the cheek. “You’re the toughest pony I’ve ever met. Trust me, you can handle this.”

“Um...what if...what if hypothetically…I was...scared?” Shadow shivered. “Hypothetically, I mean. Like, just saying.”

Sky gave a tiny little chuckle, lowering her head and bumping her cheek against her sister’s. “Hypothetically, that’s okay. Being fourteen means dealing with a whole load of feelings you don’t understand, and that stuff would be scary. I know I was scared of the things I was feeling back then. Hypothetically.”

“And what did you do?”

“Me? Well, I got confused, did a whole load of stupid shit and embarrassed the hell out of myself.” Sky shrugged, chuckling. “I still lay awake at night thinking about the dumb shit I used to do to get colts to notice me.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Shadow cringed. “I don’t have to do that sort of shit, do I?”

“Nah, the great thing about having an older sister is that you get to learn from their mistakes.”

“Good, because I’m not burning down a fucking building just because he’s an anarchist or whatever...unlike some ponies.”

“That was once!”

“Or pretend to know kung-fu to impress zebras…”

“Yeah, but…” Sky began.

“Or that time when you changed your gender for…”

“THE POINT IS….” Sky interrupted, pushing a hoof into Shadow’s mouth abruptly, cringing. “There are a lot of feelings that you’re gonna be dealing with at this age, and they’re not gonna go away, either. The question is, are you tough enough to take them on?”

This gave Shadow pause. If it was a question of toughness, especially if hers was being directly challenged, then she knew damn well that she had no choice in the matter. Sky knew that little filly too well, watching as the gears turned in her head.

“Yeah, but…look, I’m not a “feelings” filly.” Shadow said doubtfully, though it was evident that her defences were breaking down.

“Because being a badass is important to you?” Sky nodded understandingly.

“N...ye...does that matter?” Shadow frowned, ears splaying back against her head. “

“That’s a yes, then.” Sky whispered. “Shadow, do you remember back when you were five and you told me that your lifelong dream was to get hugged by a giant cookie?”

“Ye...yeah…” Shadow cringed, closing her eyes tightly at the memory.

“Or the time we broke into that pageant and you won just by walking onto the stage and singing your little heart out?”

“I’d rather not remember that one…”

“Or when I caught you doing your mane and putting on makeup?”

“What’s your point?” Shadow asked with a certain desperation, stomping her hoof irritably.

“My point is that you’ve done all kinds of cute things in your life. Hell, you even do them now, even though I know you don’t want to.” Sky put a hoof under Shadow’s chin, lifting her head up so that she could stare into her big sister’s eyes. “And yet you’re still the biggest badass I know.”

“Oh Luna, you’re being sappy again.” Shadow groaned, hiding her head in her fluffy hooves.

“Yeah, and I can make time to kick ass as well.” Sky grinned confidently. “And even though you’re not exactly a feelings pony, you know that I can do anything I put my mind to and make time to make sure you know just how awesome you are.”

“Well, that’s different…”

“How? You and me have grown up with a lot of the same experiences. We’ve got so much that makes us alike, and that’s part of what makes us so awesome, right?” Sky beamed, nuzzling the young pony. “Hell, you’re a badass without even trying, and you’ll still be this awesome no matter how many cute things you do.”

Shadow looked like she was having a lot of trouble processing this foreign concept, opening and closing her mouth wordlessly as she did her best to wrap her head around it.

“So...you won’t tease me?” She said after a while.

“I swear on my dad’s grave.”

“Your dad’s not dead.”

“On his dead sex life, then.” Sky rolled her eyes. “Okay, how about this. If I make fun of you for this, you get to demand one thing out of me and I’m not allowed to say no. Sound good?”

Shadow’s ears perked up. That was a serious gamble for Sky. If she broke her promise, there’d be no end to the humiliation that Shadow would subject her to. She must mean business.

“What are you planning?” Shadow accused, narrowing her eyes.

“Well, I’m planning on giving you the biggest cuddle in Equestrian history!” Sky giggled, giving a cute little squee as she scooped Shadow up and clutched her tight. She couldn’t resist hugging Shadow. She was fluffier and softer than any pony she’d ever known. With those huge wings, she had all of the adorableness of a filly with all of the hugging potential of a full-grown pony. Sky loved her to pieces, and Shadow couldn’t deny that she loved her, too.

“Ack! No! Stop it, sis! What if he sees?” Shadow yelped, struggling a little. This time, however, her heart wasn’t quite in it. They were having a moment for the second time in as many hours, and this time Fox wasn’t there to get his fat ass in the way.

“Then you’re a big enough badass to handle it, no matter what.” Sky whispered. “Remember?”

“But...but…” Shadow sighed, burying her muzzle in Sky’s soft mane and breathing quietly. “Tha...thanks, sis.”

“Don’t mention it.” Sky chuckled, breaking the hug and nuzzling the little filly’s nose again. “Come on, let’s get the boys and get the fuck back to the hideout.”

“You got it.” Shadow grinned, patting her sister’s shoulder and trotting back into the train compartment with her.

As the two ponies disembarked from the train with Rat and Fox in tow, not a single one of them saw a barely noticeable stallion in the crowd. He glanced at a few photographs, checking their faces against them before turning to his compatriot.

“Inform the Captain.” He growled. “They’re back in Canterlot.”

Shadow dragged Fox into her room by the ear, gnawing on the tip a little before letting him go.

“Right, listen up kid!” She growled in her best drill sergeant voice. “I’m letting you stay in my room because I’m giving you a chance to behave yourself in front of me, just once! So, you ready for the ground rules?”

“Sure, why not?” Fox whimpered, rubbing his tortured ear as Shadow paced back and forth in front of him.

“Firstly, there’s to be no touching, tickling, snuggling or cuddling!” She snarled sternly, prodding his chest with a forehoof. “I catch you doing any of that shit and you’re taking a surprise trip out the window, got me?”

“Sure!” Fox grinned, nodding enthusiastically. “What else?”

“Don’t touch my stuff, either! If you have to touch it though, make sure you spray it with some disinfectant or something so I don’t get sick off of all your colt germs.”

“You’ve got it.” Fox nodded confidently.

“And if you want a glass of water or something, you’ve gotta go get it yourself. I’m not gonna let you trick me into leaving the room so you can do...I dunno…whatever it is colts do when they’re left alone in a filly’s room!”

“I promise I’ll do it myself.” Fox beamed, fiddling with his forehooves innocently. “So am I excused?”

Shadow narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. “I...suppose…” she said slowly, pulling her torn hood back.and letting her mane fall about her shoulders. She trotted over to the little mannequin in the corner, pulling her cloak off of her shoulders and hanging it up. Fox settled down on the bed, watching her with a tiny knowing smile on his face.

The young filly glanced over her shoulder at him a couple of times as he watched her unbuckle her padded armour. It was really a smaller version of Sky’s own suit, made of leather and toughened wool to let her survive blunt trauma, though after the fight with the previous day that armour was torn all to hell, practically useless. Sky was going to have a hard time fixing that, but it wasn’t the worst damage that that suit had taken.

Fox’s jaw dropped as his eyes travelled over her body, finally resting on her exposed belly. It was the first time that he had seen it since she’d first met him, and it was the single fuzziest, fluffiest, snuggliest thing he’d ever seen.

“What are you looking at?” Shadow challenged, finally clasping her barding in place over the mannequin and turning to face him.

“Huh? Oh! Erm...nothing!” Fox gave a tiny little squee, mindful of Shadow’s “no snuggling” rule. That was going to be harder than he’d first thought. “Just…zoning out, that’s all!”

“Zoning out?”

“Yahuh!”

“Staring at me and zoning out?” Shadow deadpanned.

“Um….” Fox bit his lip, unsure of the right answer, or if there even was such a thing. “Ye…yes?”

“Eww.” Shadow stuck her tongue out, shaking her head and trotting over to the bed. “Hey, didn’t I put some newspaper in the corner for you to sleep on or something?”

“Um...no!” Fox shook his head, discreetly pushing those very newspapers under the bed and flashing her the cheesiest of cheesy grins.

Shadow stared at him incredulously for a moment, finally shaking her head with a long-suffering sigh. “Take your damn cloak off and pick a side of the bed...and fucking stay there, got it?”

“Yes ma’am.” Fox said absently, eyes drifting to her fluffy rubbable belly again as she looked away. It looked like the kind of belly that you could use as a pillow, the kind of belly that you usually only found on the fluffiest of cats...and it belonged to Shadow, the fluffiest, prettiest filly in Canterlot. This was going to be a long night.

Shadow clambered into bed, spreading out her massive wings to shove Fox onto the edge of the bed. She lay on her back, the only way she could possibly lay comfortably with those oversized limbs. No wonder she took up so much of the bed.

Tentatively, Fox shifted his weight a little, resting gently on top of Shadow’s wing and gently running his hoof through the feathers. “Um...Shadow?”

“Oh Luna, what now?” She groaned, closing her eyes and trying to pretend that she was asleep already.

“Um...about that cuddling rule…”

“The cuddling rule’s staying.” Shadow interrupted.

“Well...hypothetically…” Fox said nervously, blushing. “Um...hypothetically, if...if I broke that rule…”

“You break that rule, I break your horn.” Shadow turned her head to stare at him as dangerously as she possibly could. It was difficult for her to look intimidating at all with that tuft of chest fur and her fluffy tummy, however.

“I...see…” Fox bit his lip, looking at her laying on her back with her forehooves tucked up under her chin. It wasn’t fair. She was so adorable, so huggable, such an incredible little pony in every way, and all he wanted to do was snuggle up to her, to rub that tummy of hers and kiss her on the cheek and make her smile as she’d smiled the night before. That wasn’t too much to ask, right?

“So...I’m not allowed to…?”

“Not allowed to lay a hoof on me, no.” Shadow stuck her tongue out. She seemed to be making an exception for her wing, since it took up so much of the bed. Besides, it was twitching a little as Fox rubbed it with his hoof. It was pretty obvious now that she had very sensitive wings indeed.

However, Shadow had left herself alarmingly vulnerable, offering him a loophole. Fox intended to jump on it.

“So...I can’t lay a hoof on you?” He asked for clarification.

“Nope! No hooves whatsoever!” Shadow smiled a tiny little filly-smile, eyes still closed. She tensed up a little, still smiling, almost as if she was expecting what was coming next.

Fox’s horn lit up, a bright amber hand made of pure magical light appearing over Shadow’s tummy.

The filly’s eyes snapped open, gazing up at it in abject terror. “Oh Luna, no…”

“No hooves!” Fox giggled, magically manipulating the hand and starting to mercilessly rub Shadow’s belly. The magical fingers ran through her thick belly fur, tickling her tummy as both ponies broke out into a fit of the giggles.

“No! Stop! Stop! Not fair! Asshole!” Shadow wheezed, driven breathless by an assault on her incredibly ticklish stomach. Her protests turned into a very quiet squeaking noise, sounding more like a gradually deflating balloon than anything else. The young mare’s hooves and ears twitched as she went from giggles to protests to a state of pure zen, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling.

Fox rolled onto his front, watching as Shadow completely succumbed to his torture. He knew that he’d be in trouble for this later on, but at that moment it didn’t matter. She was so cuddly that he just couldn’t resist. It was worth whatever she was going to throw at him later.

However, as Fox pushed the envelope further still, letting up on the magic and resting his head on her belly, she didn’t hit him or even resist. She was paralysed, stuck in a state of ticklish cuddly bliss.

“No hooves!:” Fox giggled, nuzzling her belly fluff.

“Shut...shut up...gonna...gonna get you for...for...forget it…” Shadow grinned, still staring at the ceiling, motionless.

“You’re such a sweetie, Shadow…” Fox whispered, closing his eyes as he snuggled up to her. He kept his hooves to himself for the time being, glancing up at Shadow and watching her face.

“No...I’m...a badass...and that’s all I’ll ever be...no...no matter what…” Shadow shook her head chest rising and falling. Her heavy breathing was interspersed with the tiny little whimpers of the recently tickled, looking down past her forehooves at Fox with a mixture of intimidation and happiness. That was undoubtedly her most vulnerable spot where he was resting his head, but he was a nice little colt. There was no way he was going to do anything to her.

Fox nodded, eyes drifting back to her belly. He tucked his nose into her fur, nuzzling her gently, enjoying the warmth and softness. Nonetheless, something felt weirdly off as he delved deeper and hit her skin. A difference in texture from the rest of her body, an injury that seemed far more severe than the normal rough-and-tumble cuts and bruises of ponies in their profession. A scar.

“Shadow?”

“Hmm?”

Fox pushed her fur aside, frowning. “What’s this?”