Rat Racer sat down at the dark door to Sky’s room, shuffling his hooves awkwardly. She’d long since gone out to the Grand Galloping Gala, and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she was making a complete mess of her attempts to go incognito, but he could get to that later.

Right now, I need to know if he was telling the truth…

Stronghooves’s words weighed heavily on Rat’s mind, sending doubt through his mind like a spider’s web of cracking stone. He was left with two possibilities. Either Stronghooves had lied to him - but why would he do that? - or Sky was in trouble and needed help. Neither possibility struck Rat as encouraging, but if she was in trouble, perhaps he’d be able to help her.

Come on, Rat. This is how you met her! Don’t pussy out of this now!

Rolling his eyes, the unicorn pushed Sky’s door open.

The first thing that struck him was just how bare her bedroom was, with very little besides one uncovered mattress, a mannequin upon which sat her equipment, and a cloud in the corner to act as a shower. Besides that there really was nothing to suggest that a pony lived here, let alone slept here.

Weird...this must be a safehouse rather than her actual hideout. Rat thought to himself, making his way over to the mannequin and flipping the saddlebag open. After a quick rummage he retrieved the overlarge black book, looking it over with curiosity. It was old, probably as old as Sky herself. He flipped it open to its first page, upon which the words “PROPERTY OF SKY RUNNER” were written in black marker. Her hoofwriting was a kind of barely legible scrawl. Probably the work of her fillyhood self.

Rat’s horn flared as he sat down, giving him the illumination he needed to read through the little book. The first few pages certainly caught his interest.

Dear Diary,

My big brother got me this for my birthday! I’m super-excited! Stronghooves told me that this is a place that I can write all of my most special, super-secret secrets, so that’s what I’m gonna do! Um...I can’t think of any secrets just yet, but when I think of one of them I’ll certainly write them here! Thanks Stronghooves!

Rat smirked a little. Sky had probably been one adorable little filly.

I wonder how long her wing’s been like that…?

Rat flipped further through the book, not finding a single mention of her wing being broken. Heck, there were even a few entries about Stronghooves taking her out on occasion to try and teach her to fly.

I wonder why she’s never mentioned her brother before. These two look like they used to be tight. Rat frowned. He’d only known Sky a week, and hadn’t exactly asked her about it. It was possible that the topic simply hadn’t come up, but something told Rat that there was more to it than that.

Dear Diary,

I got kicked out of Flight School today. The teacher said that there was something wrong with my wings, that I’d never fly as well as the other pegasi. I got an A for my dive performance, though! Dad was really mad. He called me a freak and tried to hit me, but SH protected me. He got hurt real bad but he said it didn’t matter. He’s the best guard ever. I hope he gets into the Academy like he wants to. I don’t know anypony else who deserves it more than he does.

Rat sighed. Sky hadn’t mentioned her parents, either. Of course, it was easy to see why. Her dad seemed like a real piece of work. Curious, he flipped a couple of pages ahead, stopping when he saw a passage written in coal dust rather than ink.

Dear Diary,

I got my cutie mark today. I was so sick of being told off in school I ran away instead of going to class, and I ran faster and faster and beat my wings super-hard and I got away from the truancy officer! I was so happy that I showed everypony at home! SH was super-thrilled, but mum and dad got angrier than ever. They called me a disappointment and locked me outside. They told me not to come back ever. I’m sure they’re just being silly. When they calm down they’ll let me back in, just wait and see!

“Five bits says she never gets let back in again…” Rat muttered as he flicked further through the book, passing Sky’s sixth and seventh birthdays. Each and every page was written in coal dust. “Looks like her brother at least came out and brought her food for a while...wait, what the fuck?” He muttered, stopping at a particular page.

Dear Diary,

Today Stronghooves didn’t come. Some mean ponies chased me across half the city. I ran and ran as fast as I could, but I couldn’t fly or anything. They caught me and did things to me. I don’t understand it exactly, but it hurt real bad and I’m bleeding. Stronghooves always protected me. Did I do something wrong? Am I a bad pony? I don’t mean to be. I didn’t want to be born all wrong like this...it’s not my fault.

Fucking hell… Rat cringed. That was something a filly shouldn’t have to go through. It explained so much about her...and made him feel a little guilty about what he’d done the day they’d met. Summoning the strength to read further, he flipped through what was quite literally her life’s story, through birthdays, training to become a burglar to feed herself in lieu of Stronghooves’s supplies, her meeting with Shadow, until he finally came across a passage written not long after Sky’s twenty-first birthday.

Dear Diary,

I’ve got a big surprise coming up for Shadow. So I mentioned that we’d be stealing the Elements of Harmony and we’d been planning the job for months, now. Well, she still doesn’t know what I’m going to do with them once we’ve got them. I’m going to ransom them back to the Princesses and use the money to pay off Shadow’s bounty. She’ll finally be able to live a proper normal life, walk down the street without the guards chasing her. Hell, maybe she’ll even find a special somepony. Nopony wants to be a burglar forever.

Rat chuckled. That was precisely what he’d gone on that bank heist with Fox to do the night of that carriage crash. So that was the “Elements Job” that Stronghooves had mentioned. They really had gone after the most prized artifacts in Equestria.

Well...I guess this is the part where I find out whether the Captain was telling the truth… Rat thought to himself, turning the page one last time.

He had his answer before he even read the words. The page and the ink upon it was tear-stained and wrinkled, written by a mare in the deepest darkest pit of despair imaginable. The hoofwriting itself was even worse than her normal scrawl, probably because her hooves had been shaking so much.

Dear Diary,

Shadow died last night. Sawblades couldn’t save her. He told me he tried his best but she’d lost too much blood. She’s gone.

“Fuck me…” Rat breathed, sitting back and letting his horn go out. “Stronghooves was telling the truth. Poor Sky…”

It makes so much sense now. Shadow was fourteen when she died, and this version of her looks to be about fourteen, too. The question is, what the hell is this thing that’s following Sky around? What’s this pony we both keep seeing?

Rat flicked back to an earlier page, where Sky had glued a photo of herself and her little sister standing under a big oak tree in the park. It was the one thing that Rat had had time to look at properly the first time he’d stolen her diary, and now he saw it in an entirely different light. Shadow looked to be in her early teens, weeks or possibly just days away from the Elements Job.

“I’m sorry, kid…” Rat sighed, pawing at the photo with his hoof as if that young smiling pony was going to take it and come back to the land of the living. “I’m sure your big sis did the best she could for you. I’ll...I’ll take good care of her, okay?”

Rat closed the book, stashing it back in the saddlebag as he got to his hooves again. “Course, taking good care of her starts with getting her out of whatever trouble she’s managed to get into, and that means that I’m probably gonna have to find out where the hell she went.”

Slinging his cloak on, Rat ventured out into the city in search of his friend.

“Captain, you asked for updates on the Rolling Thunder situation?” A runner asked, tapping on Stronghooves’s door.

“Yes, I did. Come on in.” Stronghooves looked up from his conversation with Daybreak and Shield to address the guard.

“We just got word that the Count’s train has arrived in Canterlot.” The guard saluted. “He’s escorted by two Operatives and was seen leaving the station with a chest. Nopony knows what’s in there, but it seems more securely fastened than normal luggage.”

“It would do.” Stronghooves tapped his chin. “Those’ll be the focus items from the bill of materials we found in the transformation chamber. Did you keep an eye on him?”

“Yes sir. He’s staying at the Palace. He may be attending his son’s wedding tomorrow before moving the chest over to the facility in the city centre.”

“That would make sense. He’d want to be there for Silver Tongue’s wedding.” Stronghooves nodded, recalling what Silver had said about his fiancee when they’d last met. “Hmmm...keep monitoring the Palace and tell me if he tries to make a move. If he’s guarded by Operatives, only Daybreak, Shield and I can stop him.”

“About the Palace, sir…”

“Yes?”

“Well, the Princess’s bodyguards just reported a disturbance at the Grand Galloping Gala. Some kind of brawl between two mares.”

“Hot.” Shield chuckled, before doubling over in pain as somepony jabbed him in the ribs. Daybreak did her best to look innocent.

“That happens every year.” Stronghooves shook his head. “It’s not an issue.”

“One of the ponies involved in the brawl was Sky Runner, sir.”

Stronghooves looked up at the guard, grinding his teeth. “Was she detained?” He asked quietly.

“No, sir. Both of the mares were completely gone by the time guards were on the scene. Nopony knows whether they’re in the Princess’s custody or if they just took it outside. They’ve simply disappeared.”

“There’s no way…” Stronghooves growled. “She escaped the Princess’s personal guard, in the middle of the Palace, in the most prestigious event in Canterlot? Really?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, sir.” The guard sighed. “I’m just passing on what I heard from the officer on duty in the Palace.”

“I...see…” Stronghooves put his hooves together, staring at the ceiling pleadingly. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet and soft. “Monitor the situation and give me regular reports. I want the Palace staked out. Keep an eye out for Sky and the Count, and tell me if either of them make a move. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.” The runner nodded, backing out of the room.

“You’re staking out the Palace, now?” Shield asked, finally getting the air back in his lungs and shaking his head. “Isn’t this one of the things you should be going to the Princesses for?”

“Involving the Princesses would raise the alarm and put them at incredible risk. Remember, we’re not yet sure what these Operatives are capable of, and Thunder might be able to critically injure them if he’s cornered.” Stronghooves explained. “For now, we’ll play it safe. Daybreak, Shield, I’m relying on the two of you to help me take Thunder down before he can transform himself or do any further damage. Can I trust the two of you with that?”

“Of course.” Shield and Daybreak nodded in unison. As if the question even needed asking.

“Good.” Stronghooves said, getting to his hooves and pulling his helmet back on. “Let’s get moving. We’ll oversee the stakeout personally, and when Rolling Thunder makes his move, we’ll be ready.”

Author's Notes:

Some of the words in Sky’s diary are translated from Fillyspeak for the sake of readability.