Shadow’s eyes flickered open, and she stared blearily around the bedroom.

Her own bed was a cloud that Sky had gotten for her with the assistance of a swimming pool net and some good luck, but she never really used it. She always found herself creeping up to Sky’s bed and snuggling in with her instead. Of course, when she woke up after passing out the night before, she found the bed empty, with no big sister to snuggle with. Shadow’s ears splayed back as she pawed the mattress with her hoof, as if Sky was going to materialise out of thin air.
Come on sis, where the hell are you? Shadow wondered, getting up out of bed and stretching. She couldn’t really sleep that well without Sky. There was something about being all wrapped up in her wings that made Shadow feel safe and loved...though she’d never admit it.
The little filly flapped her wings experimentally, looking out of the window to see if she could spy her in the darkness. A little candle burned on the windowsill, one that Sky had lit every night to guide the way home for both of them. It was a little thing, but Shadow liked it. They’d always come home, often together, even after nights as fucked up as this one was proving to be. Shadow had no doubt that Sky would come through for her. After all, her big sister had never let her down.

Still, she always did wonder…

Shadow launched herself into the ceiling as somepony tapped her on the shoulders, giving an incredibly girly squeal.
“That gets you every damn time!” Sky giggled, looking up at her little sister with a big cheeky grin on her face.
Shadow clung to one of the rafters overhead, shivering wildly. Her tail, mane and overlarge wings hung down beneath her.
“Fu...fuck you…” She shook, dropping down to the floor again and glaring at Sky, doing her little filly pout.
Sky ruffled her mane and sat down on the bed, holding out a wing to wrap around her little sister. Shadow, her little filly heart racing wildly, gave Sky a look of deepest loathing.
“No.” She sulked.
“Awwww, come on! My wing’s extra warm and soft and feathery!” Sky grinned back, fluttering it a little for emphasis.
Shadow was experiencing a kind of existential crisis, shuffling about and furling and unfurling her wings sheepishly. “No...no! I’m angry at you right now! What kind of self-respecting sister come and scares the shit out of a poor little defenceless filly?”
“Aww, come on sweetie, I’m not self-respecting and you know it.” Sky fluttered her wing again. “Are you sure? I’m pretty damn super soft if I do say so myself…”
Shadow growled, turning tail on Sky and trotting to the far side of the bedroom. “Hmph!”
Sky grinned as she kept on fluttering, her feathers rustling a little as she watched the little filly’s tail flick back and forth irritably.
“Piss off, sis. I’m not falling for it again.”
“Sure you won’t. You’re far too old and badass to appreciate a fluffy, feathery cuddle with your big sis, right?”
“Right.” Shadow grunted.
“Oh, well I’m sure I could find something else to occupy this space, like a plushie or something…” Sky rolled her eyes, smiling.
“Yeah, as if! Like some silly cuddly toy could replace my hugs!” Shadow huffed in the corner.
“Well, if...if you don’t wanna cuddle me anymore, then I guess I’m out of options…” Sky sniffled, hiding her head under her good wing.
Shadow’s existential crisis deepened. She looked around reluctantly, ears splaying back as she heard her big sister starting to quietly sob.
“N...no...don’t do that! It’s not gonna work!” Shadow protested, turning around and stamping her fluffy little forehoof as sulkily as she could manage. It wasn’t going to work this time. This time Shadow was going to have a good and proper sulk, and there was nothing in the world Sky could do about it, no matter how...upset...her...sister...looked...because...of...her…
The little blue filly bit her lip, expression softening as she approached Sky with a fair amount of caution. Finally, she reached out and placed a forehoof on her cheek. “Don’t cry, sis…” She mumbled quietly.
She realised too late that she’d fallen right into Sky’s fluffy trap, and she was scooped up in her big sister’s wings.
“Ack! No! No! Piss off, sis!” She squeaked, trying to wriggle out of the death-grip hug that the elder sister. She couldn’t even spread her wings when she was held like this, only able to kick her back legs adorably in a vain attempt to break free.
Sky kept her held like that, rubbing her cheek against Shadow’s until her little sister finally gave up the fight. It never took too long for her to surrender when she was already trapped like this. Sure enough, Shadow’s kicking eventually relented, and she sighed with exasperation.
“One day that’s not gonna work, you know…” She muttered quietly, hanging there as Sky hugged her.
“That’s why I’m gonna enjoy it while it lasts.” Sky mumbled back, kissing Shadow on the forehead and pulling her up onto the bed. In spite of Shadow’s wild fidgeting, eventually she allowed herself to be tucked under Sky’s good wing, where she settled down more calmly and quietly than ever. Sky helped things along by scratching the back of the filly’s neck, which made her little back leg start kicking. She started making a quiet happy whimpering noise with each kick of her hoof.
“S...so what did you find ou...out?” Shadow whispered, wiggling her way onto her back and tucking her forehooves under her chin, head hanging off of the bed upside-down.
“I found this thing.” Sky replied, rubbing Shadow’s belly with one hoof and pulling out the letter she’d found at Shady’s apartment, holding it upside-down for Shadow to read.
“Weird.” The filly commented, both of her wings unconsciously fluttering under Sky’s ministrations. “Well that just goes to show that this wasn’t a random heist, but who the hell is - *eep!* - this “RT” guy?”
“That’s a good question.” Sky frowned, pulling her little sister closer. “There’s fucktons of ponies in this city with initials like that.”
“Not - *eep!* - too many ponies with the kind of resources to pull this off though, right?” Shadow suggested. She was trapped. She’d allowed herself to be trapped, and now she had no choice but to accept her cuddles and belly-rubs like a mare.
“No, you’re right.” Sky nodded. “Whoever’s pulling this shit, they’ve got resources and the initials RT. That’s something.”
“We could find out about the kind of pony this guy is, and what kind of...higher please...thank you...company he keeps.”
“And then take his little operation apart piece by piece, especially once we’ve got the evidence we need to get that terrorism charge off of my list of offences.” Sky smiled.
“Wow, really? They’re pinning you with that now? At this rate, you’re gonna get criminal bingo before I do.” Shadow ceased her meeping to give a cute little giggle.
“Yeah, turns out those crystals are some kind of magical weapon focus component or something in the wrong hooves. Since I apparently nicked them, apparently that makes me a terrorist.” Sky shrugged.
“Damn…” Shadow whistled, rolling over again. “They really think you’re an asshole, don’t they?”
“Tell me about it.” Sky chuckled. “There’s no doubt about it. This shit’s completely crooked. Somepony wanted me to get locked up for this, but why the hell would they want me out of the picture anyway?”
“You know we haven’t got any answers laying around here.” Shadow shook her head.
“Yeah, you’re right. Looks like we’ve got some homework to do.” Sky grinned.
“Aw shit, not homework!” Shadow tucked her head under her wing, groaning. “I know you only wanna go to the library so you can eye up that mare again…”
“Not this time. This time we actually need to find out who the hell this asshole is, why he wants me out of the picture, and who’s got those gems right now.” Sky shook her head, pulling Shadow’s wing up. “Come on, this might even be hero stuff we’re talking about here!”
“You’re not selling this to me, sis.” Shadow tugged her wing out of Sky’s hooves and hid under it again.
“We can always stop for ice cream afterwar…”
“Sold.”
Shadow was already standing by the door, wearing her own little cloak.
As an orange tinge grew out of the horizon and made its way across the sky to signal the onset of dawn, Sky smiled at her little sister. One thing was for sure: with that little filly watching her back, they were going to do just fine.

“Sky?”
“Yeah sis?”
“What the hell is that?”
Shadow glared at her big sister. Her eyes drifted to Sky’s mane, before snapping back to her face accusingly.
“Oh...oh, this? It’s just something that got caught in my hair on the way here.” Sky replied, giving a little innocent squee. A little blue bow had somehow found its way into her red mane. It was unfortunate, really. Sky had so hoped that Shadow wouldn’t notice it.
“So take it out.” Shadow leant against the wall, huffing. I swear, I can’t take this bitch out in public…
“Wh...why? Maybe I’ll just...you know...leave it in or something.” Sky shuffled her hooves awkwardly.
“This is so that librarian will notice you, isn’t it?”
“Maaaaaybe…” Sky ruffled her feathers sheepishly, going a little pink.
Shadow deadpanned at her for a good long while, making sure that she made her sister feel as embarrassed as possible, before rolling her eyes. “You’re impossible.” She huffed, trotting into the library.
Sky stuck her tongue out behind Shadow’s back as she followed her inside. Cheeky bitch…

The library was one of the only places in the city that Sky and Shadow hadn’t been kicked out of, at least not yet. It was a large building, aisles full of the collective works of Equestria’s authors putting even the most hedonistic of superstores to shame. The two burglars kept their hoods down and their masks off for this one. Partly, this was because wearing a hooded cloak was a great way to draw unwanted attention to yourself. However, Sky’s reasoning for leaving her cloak at home today might also have had something to do with wanting that pretty librarian to notice her bow.
Possibly.
Shadow looked around at her big sister as they made their way past the circular main desk, heading down the aisle dedicated to files on the Canterlot citizenry.
“So how are we gonna do this?” Shadow asked, fluttering into the air to get at some of the higher shelves.
“Well, we could start by finding out just how many ponies have the resources and the motive to go through with something like this.” Sky shrugged, pulling a file off of a shelf and nearly getting crushed underneath it. “Blimey! How big are these damn files?”
“Big enough, that’s for sure!” Shadow chuckled. “Bloody weakling…” She pulled out a file from the top shelf, which turned out to be a little too heavy for her wings to support. She dropped like a stone, thudding to the floor with a grunt.
A moment later, another book landed on her head, knocking her out.
“Oh for fuck’s sake…” Sky muttered, pulling the book off of Shadow’s head. “Come on sis, we’ve got work to do!”
“Mo...mommy?” Shadow whimpered, her eyes pointing in different direction.
“Guess again, sweetie.” Sky chuckled, waving her hoof in the filly’s face. “Quick, how many hooves am I holding up?”
“Si...six?”
“Close enough.” Sky picked her little sister up and dropped her into her saddlebag, leafing through one of the books and looking at some of the higher-income ponies in Canterlot.
“Well, we’ve got a Count Rolling Thunder...that’s a good start.” Sky muttered as she read, taking a quill and hurriedly writing down his personal details.
“You might wanna...wanna...check out the other ponies who might want the crystals too…” Shadow piped up.
“Good thinking, sweetie…” Sky muttered, sitting down and scribbling down the details for a few other ponies who were known exotic gem collectors. She wasn’t exactly expect them to be in on whatever plot concerned these crystals, but it paid to check. Whatever the nature of this little plan, Sky was certain that it didn’t come down to just one pony. No single pony would make themselves a target like that. There’d be henchcolts, there’d be security systems...and there was obviously a reason that those particular crystals were chosen. It sure as hell wasn’t money, that much was certain.
Sky finally put away her notebook, resolving to actually get some damn answers instead of mere speculation. She briefly considered trying to get those books back on their shelves, but thought better of it. There was no way she was going to get them back up there with that damaged wing of hers. She couldn’t even lift herself up, let alone a book that looked like it was pregnant with a few copies of War and Peace.
As Sky made her way towards the exit, something - or rather somepony - caught her eye. The librarian. She looked only a few years younger than Sky did, with mint-green coat and a blue mane that fell about her shoulders, framing her face in a way that made Sky feel just the tiniest bit envious.
“Come on sis…” Shadow groaned. “Put away your bloody wingboner and let’s get out of here…”
“Um...in...in a minute…” Sky bit her lower lip, closing her eyes and pointedly trotting towards her. “I’ve just gotta do...um...just gotta do one thing first…”
“I swear, if you’re gonna bump into her just to get her attention…”
“So...so what if I am?” Sky said defensively, trying to sway her flanks a little. She felt weirdly clumsy today, like her hooves were numb and unresponsive, and there was nothing she could do about her wings, so rigid by now that they could be used to cut glass.
“Because it’s lame, sis!” Shadow nudged her shoulder. “You’re gonna make an idiot of yourself!”
“No I’m not! Just you watch!” Sky said, trying her best to project confidence that simply wasn’t there.
Sure enough, Sky bumped right into the librarian...although it would be more fair to say that she barrelled into her at significant speed, as what she had thought was a brisk trot had devolved into a clumsy, lopsided gallop. All three ponies were knocked flying, collapsing in a big fluffy heap in the middle of the library.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Sky squeaked, taking her by the hoof and trying to help her up...sort of. “I didn’t see you there! I...erm...I’m...just...well...kinda...yeah, that was my fault.”
“Smooth.” Shadow deadpanned from the sidelines, picking herself up. “How about you round things off with a pickup line or something? You’re making such a good impression…”
Regrettably, the part of Sky’s brain that was good at picking up on sarcasm simply wasn’t functioning by that point. “Um...did...did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”
“I...beg your pardon?” The poor unfortunate pony replied, accepting Sky’s hoof and getting back up. She looked only the tiniest bit frightened by this whole display.
“Bec...because...I really like your ass!” Sky finished, a little bit louder than she’d intended.
“Erm...I...see…” The librarian replied, going a little pink and adjusting her wings. “Well...er...thanks...I guess?”
Sky was apparently a little absent by now, just tilting her head a little and regarding her with a slightly lopsided, open-mouthed grin. “My name’s Sky.”
“Um...hey...Sky...I’m…Penfeather.” She replied uncomfortably, ruffling her feathers a little and backing away. “I’ve got to...go...somewhere else now...um...bye!”
And with that, she cantered off.
Shadow looked between her sister and the retreating pegasus, blowing her mane out of her face. “Wow...you sure showed me. You didn’t make an idiot of yourself at all.”
“She told me her name!” Sky squeaked, flapping her good wing excitedly.
“Yep, she sure did.” Shadow chuckled, taking Sky’s forehoof and dragging her out of the library. “Come on sis, let’s get out of here before you earn yourself a restraining order or something.”

With that, the two sisters departed, off to continue their investigation into the stolen crystals.
And if they ran into an ice cream stall on the way...well...they’d earned a little treat. Besides, maybe if Sky dunked her head in the freezer, she’d stop blushing quite so fiercely.