//------------------------------//
// Plots and Plans 
// Story: Brighter Horizons 
// by Destiny Chaser 
//------------------------------//

Present Day
 
Flash glanced back down for a moment at the three unconscious figures laying around him. There you go, losing your temper…AGAIN Flash…Ugh, how am I going to explain this one to the girls. ‘So Flash, how did your first trip to your home world go?’ Oh, it went great Twilight! Within the first five minutes I was there, I beat three members of my own species into unconscious pulps! ‘Wow, really?!’ Yeah Sunset! I think I even gave one of them a concussion! ‘Wow, you’re totally the coolest Flash!’ Thanks Dashy! 
Another thought occurred to him, that these other humans were not nearly as strong or as fast as him. I guess this confirms Sunset’s theory that my species doesn’t have any magic, ponies are much stronger than us physically, and I’m not even an earth pony. I’ll have too keep that in mind…
“YO! EARTH TO FREAK!” A familiar voice bellowed, snapping him out of his thoughts. “You gonna tell me what the hell that was all about?!” Flash looked back to Ella with an apologetic expression.
“Yeah, sorry you had to see that.” Smooth Flash, you’re a real hit with the ladies.  Ella looked from him, to the bodies, and then back to her surroundings.  There still didn’t seem to be anyone else on the street at this time, but she knew that would soon change.  That, and she thought she saw someone staring from a shop window across the street.  She quickly jumped into action, releasing the grip she had kept on the gun inside her purse, she quickly bent down and began to rifle through the men’s pockets, beginning with Slab.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!” Flash exclaimed as she extracted a wallet, removing the cash before tossing it aside.
“Call it back-pay,” She quickly shot back without looking as she then proceeded to go through the driver’s effects.  She found a money clip with a decent amount of cash, perhaps $400, the keys to the Charger, as well as a fancy, pearl-handled switch blade of fine make which she also quickly pocketed.  She considered for a moment taking the driver’s gun, a Glock 19, from its shoulder-holster but decided against it.  Fewer guns meant fewer things to hide if she should run into the cops. Ella hesitated a moment before touching Damian’s unconscious, bloody form.  Even in this state, she still felt a bit afraid of him, and just the idea of touching him forced her to bite back some nausea.  In the end, it was worth it.  “Jack-pot…” she whispered as she discovered a wad of cash in his jacket; looked to be at least $3k.
She finally looked back up at Flash who seemed to be scanning their surroundings, keeping a watchful eye on things. So, he is smarter than he looks. She considered him, no. Maybe.  A daring idea began to form in her head. It was crazy, but so was everything else that had happened in the last few minutes.  She would have to think about it, she had to know more about this kid; but either way, she was getting the hell out of here.  Ella walked around to the other side of the car and yanked open the driver’s door.  She threw a steely look at Flash, “Get in.”
“What?” Ella rolled her eyes.
“Look kid, do ya want my help or not?”  He blinked in surprise before putting on a determined expression, giving her a firm nod; again, so bird-like. “Then get the hell in the car.”  Flash stepped over Damian’s unconscious form before giving the door a mystified look.
How the heck does this thing work?! Think…He gave the door handle a tentative pull and the door responded by swinging open. Ha! Nailed it.  He slipped into the car’s dark interior, doing his best not to blink like an owl at the sight of so much alien-looking technology.  As he pulled the door shut, he noticed Ella quickly reach over her shoulder and pull some kind of belt out from the wall of the machine, smoothly pulling it over herself before latching it in place with an audible ‘click.’  He looked over his own shoulder and saw the same type of belt. Alright, just do what she did.  Flash grabbed onto the belt and began to pull it towards him, which started to come out smoothly enough before suddenly stopping.  Frowning, he yanked on it; once, twice, the third time he pulled so hard that the car rocked violently for a second and yet, the belt refused to come any further.
“Oh for Pete’s sake…” Ella grumbled.  “Sit back ya meat head.”  He obeyed and had to bite his tongue in shock as she suddenly leaned over across him. She grabbed the belt, feeding it back before smoothly pulling it out, latching it into place.  In the space of those few seconds, her shoulder had lightly brushed against his chest, and her curly blond hair had been in his face; it smelled like a flowery type of shampoo.  
“Thanks.” He squeaked, clearing his throat as she sat back down in her seat again. She couldn’t help but smirk a little as she noticed his ears burning bright red and his face slightly flushed.
“There, mommy’s got you all buckled up.” She said in a mocking, baby-talk tone.  He responded by turning an even deeper shade of red.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you King Dork the 1st: Kicker of Asses, Lord of Adorable Virgins. Feel free to bow. 

Ella fired up the engine, putting the car in gear as it surged forward enthusiastically with a roar from the exhaust and a bark of its tires.  She swung a right at the next corner before heading back north towards the main body of the city.  They drove the next few minutes in silence. Ella glanced over at Flash and noticed his eyes darting all over as he took in his surroundings.  “So, Flash. Where you from?”
“Uh, I’m from out of town.” He said while avoiding her gaze.
“I can see that, anywhere in particular?”
“Not a place you’d be familiar with, just a small, simple town out in the country.”
That explains a lot. “So, you want to tell me just what the hell all that was back there?”  He finally looked over at her, his embarrassment seemed to have finally passed.
“You needed help, so I helped.”  Ella rolled her eyes.
“That’s not what I meant,” she said in an exasperated tone.  “I meant, how did you do that?  How are you so strong, and fast? I’ve never seen anybody move like that.”  He glanced away out the passenger window.
“Am I really that strong? Or were those guys just weak?”
“Oh, get real.” She snapped.  “I’ve seen Slab, that big guy you knocked down, once shrug off hits from a baseball bat, and you took him down with just two hits!”    
“Technique.” 
“What, you some kind of special forces soldier or somethin’?”
“Something like that.”  Ella smirked.
“Oh, super-secret and all that.”  She looked left as she switched lanes.  “You seem a little young to be a soldier.”
“I signed up early,” he said matter-of-factly.  “My mom’s permission and all that.”  Ella nodded.
“Uh huh, sure kid.”  She kept silent for a few more beats before speaking again. “Well, whateva’ you are…thanks. It’s been a long time since I eva’ had someone help me.”  He beamed a little at the thanks.
“You’re welcome. It’s what any decent pon-person would do.” She scoffed at that.
“I don’t know too many decent people.  You musta come from a pretty good life, Flash.” He nodded thoughtfully as he stared straight ahead.
“Yeah, I’ve had a pretty good life.”  Another minute rolled by before Ella broke the silence.
“So, you lookin’ for someone?”
"Yeah, my family.”  She gave him a quizzical look.  Flash looked over at her and smiled.
“I was adopted.  I never knew my birth-parents, so I came here to look for them.”  Ella nodded.
“Huh, ya musta’ had a pretty good stepmom or whateva’” Flash smiled again with a nostalgic expression.
“The best. I’d die for her.”  A comfortable silence took over after that. Flash could see the bright lights of the main body of a city standing out against the evening twilight in the distance ahead.  Ella was lost in thought; all of her immediate plans had been turned upside-down. She needed to know more about who Flash was, and how she might be able to use him to her advantage.  She didn’t buy his ‘technique’ yarn of his for a second. What she had seen beggared belief, no one was that fast or strong, and he had crushed Damian’s wrist like it was a pretzel. The kid was definitely not letting on all that he knew or was, she just had to get it out of him. 
Well, as ma’ always said, ‘The quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.’ “So Flash, ya wanna grab somethin’ to eat?”  He grinned.
“I could eat.” 



“I thought you said you could eat!”  Ella exclaimed, “Not swallow half-a-freaking planet!”  They had pulled over to a classic, all-night diner.  Its dated, white exterior appeared faded with age but the inside was clean enough, and the food smelled amazing.  They had both slid into one of the booths at the far-end of the diner. She made note of how Flash had particularly chosen it and sat so that he was facing the entrance of the building. Just another indication that he wasn’t some naïve kid.  That, and he hadn’t removed his jacket despite it being relatively warm inside the diner, making her wonder if he was concealing something. Ella was staggered by how much food he had ordered for himself, and was once more blown away now that she could actually see it all; it had taken the waitress two trips.

“What? I’m hungry.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders as he began to drown a platter of steaming pancakes in maple syrup. “Plus, I got a fast metabolism.”  He had ordered a lot of everything, but she thought the family-sized portion of fried-fish, which needed its own platter, was a curious combination to have with breakfast food.  Ella shook her head.

“Ugh, I hate people like you who can eat everything and still lose weight, just not fair.” She grumbled.

“Life never is.” He said before cramming some pancakes in his mouth.

“That’s enough to choke a horse.” Ella quipped which almost did cause Flash to choke.  He coughed as he finally managed to swallow.

“You sound just like my mom.” He said as he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

“Yeah, well, don’t go gettin’ any ideas. This is strictly a business transaction kid; I owe ya’ one so I’ll help point you in a useful direction, after that its sayonara. ‘Sides, I got unfinished business with my old employers…” C’mon, take the bait. If you’re the ‘Captain Sense-of-Justice’ I think you are…Flash paused chewing with a thoughtful look before nodding and continuing with his meal.  Ella knew that she could have probably asked for his help, but she didn’t want to for a number of reasons.  For one, she didn’t want to owe another favor, and for another, she wanted to try her hand at manipulating him into doing what she wanted, into wanting what she wanted.  
Sure, she felt a little bad doing it to such a sweet guy, but she was a sweet girl once and the world hadn’t cared about that. It’s dog eat dog, you can only look out for yourself; nice guys like him finish last.  And it was only a test anyways. If he didn’t go for it, she knew she could swallow her pride and straight up ask him for his help as a last resort.  She didn’t like that idea, but her desire for revenge on Enrique outweighed the sting it might cost her pride.  And as a nice side bonus, they might even end up being able to help the other girls. But revenge came first.  Ella never thought that she would have the chance for revenge when she had first planned on running. As much as she had wanted it, escape came first. That was then. But now, after seeing what Flash was capable of, she smelled an opportunity and she was going to take it.
The minutes ticked by as they ate in silence, she noticed how every now and then, he flicked a glance towards the entrance with those unusual eyes of his. Always staying aware. She curiously noted.

He wasn’t a slob, but he certainly ate fast. She having only a burger, of course, finished first but not by much. She still couldn't comprehend how he could put away that much food. Ugh, he’s like a living garbage disposal.  

After finishing his last bite and stacking the last plate on top of the small tower he had built, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and downed his coffee.  A passing waitress immediately refilled it for him, he gave her a warm smile in thanks. 

“So,” Ella began, “How do you want to begin looking for your family?”  He looked up at her from his coffee mug before slowly putting it down on the table in front of him.  
“Yeah, about that.” Flash reached inside his jacket and took out the business card, the one Damian had thrown at him earlier. It had a number and the silhouette of a naked woman on the front of it. He pushed it across the table towards her.  “What can you tell me about this?”
Oh baby, don’t you ever change. Time for an act…Ella picked up the card and gave it a hard look, broadcasting an expression to make it look as if she were reluctant to talk about it. “Those three guys you took down work for my former pim-, procurer, Enrique. He owns a night-club north of here, but that’s just a front for his real business.  Flash nodded.
“Go on.”  Ella paused a beat for dramatic effect.
“He has other girls, lots of them.  They work the back rooms for ‘special guests.’ Not exactly voluntary if you catch my drift. It’s horrible, and we can’t call the police. For one, we’re too scared of the consequences. And for another, Enrique is careful, like, really careful. He keeps himself super clean on the surface so the cops don’t suspect him.” 
“What else has he got going on?”
Perceptive, aren’t you? Ella nodded, “I know that the bulk of his money comes through drugs. The club is loaded with them; it serves as a hub for the other distributors. If someone could find where he stores them inside, expose them and call the police, it would put him away for good. But there’s no one that’s gonna do that…”
“You can drop the act.” Ella looked up at him in shock.
“I, don’t know what you mean…” When did he…Flash sighed, shaking his head before looking at her seriously, though not unkindly.
“You shouldn’t try to deceive someone, it’s not very nice.” Especially when a Changeling teaches counter-espionage at the academy. “Besides, I was planning on helping those other girls anyway; all you needed to do was ask.”  Ella gaped at him, her mind racing with a million questions. She looked down at her hands, a long pause grew between them.
“When did you know?” She finally asked quietly.
“From the moment you told me to get in the car. You could have simply pointed me in a direction and then left; but you asked me to come with you. You wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t want something from me. I just needed to figure out what that was; and now, you’ve told me.”  Ella slowly spun the card on the table with her finger, not meeting his gaze.
“Wow. I guess you ain’t just a dumb kid after all, huh?”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far.” He grinned. She chuckled a little before looking up at him apologetically,
“Sorry about that.”  He gave a slow nod.
“Don’t sweat it, I wanted to help.” Flash looked outside and saw that it was now dark out. “And one other thing.”
“Yeah?”
“No revenge.” He let that hang in the air while she stared hard at him. After a pause, she finally released the breath she had been holding.
“Guess I couldn’t hide that one from ya, huh?” Flash gave her a compassionate look.
“I’ll help save the other girls, I’ll bring Enrique to justice, he may even get slapped around a bit in the process, but no killing. You want my help? That’s the deal.” He said with a tone of finality.  “That, or I do this on my own and you won’t even get the satisfaction of seeing justice served.” He held up the card, “True, it would be harder without your help, but that won’t stop me."  Ella looked down at her hands in shock and then back up at Flash who had a sly grin on his face. 
When the hell did he get that back?! Ella took in a breath before letting it out slowly. “Fine, deal.” She said begrudgingly. Flash smiled in response before standing up.
“So, let’s go get this done.” He said while rolling his shoulders to loosen up. Ella blinked.
“What, now?!”
“No time like the present.” He replied. “Besides. The way I see it, Enrique is already down three guys. He probably sent out more to go look for you, as well as me, now, by extension since at least one of them has no doubt woken up and reported what happened to them.  He’s no doubt upset, unsure of the situation, and now, low on manpower at the club. Plus, that’s the last place they’re going to expect us to show up. Either way, perfect opportunity.” Ella took a moment to absorb his logic and found that she could not argue with it. It was so crazy that it might actually work.
“Wow, you’re a regular Napoleon Bonaparte aren’t ya?” Flash blinked.
“Who?”
“Ugh, I spoke to soon. Guess you didn’t pay attention in history.”
“Uh, yeah, heh. Guess not.” Ella paid the bill with some of the cash she had taken from Damian, grumbling once more about how much Flash had eaten.  She left a generous tip for the waitress.  As they both got back into the car, Ella paused a beat before hitting the ignition.
“Just one thing Flash, why do you want to help?” He considered her with a serious expression for a moment before staring ahead.
“Because, I want to. And you could say its my special talent.” He said as he absentmindedly rubbed a hand over the patch on his left shoulder: a dark grey kite-shield with a yellow lightning bolt across the front. She noticed that patch was on both shoulders of his jacket now that she thought about it. “Besides, I hate bullies.”
“Well, Enrique is a model one.” She said as the engine rumbled to life. “If we make it through this though, you’re going to tell me what you really are.” He smirked.
“We’ll see.” She paused a beat before putting the car into gear and pulling out back on the road, anxious for this confrontation.
We will indeed.