Neigh York – Bucklyn – Flash's Parents' Apartment
"I... uh... I made a new friend," Lightning Dust said. She blinked wide. "I-I mean a very honest friend!"
"Uh huh..." Flash droned, standing across the empty room from her.
"And... uhm... this friend? This new buddy of mine?" Lightning gulped. "She has... uhm... connections. Fancy connections... that will have an edge over my not-so-honest friends. And... right now the plan is to have her join me."
"Join you?"
"At the docks. Tonight. During the latest exchange." Lightning Dust ran a hoof through her mane, trying to hide her trembles. "She'll hide out in the shadows and play the part of observer, recording what's going down for evidence. Then, when the exchange is done, we'll go our separate ways under the cover of night. I'll take the first train out of town, and she'll expose these jokers—and Jasmine Enterprises by extension—to the public. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy."
"I'd beg to differ," Flash said. "If your corrupt companions are even the slightest bit resourceful, they'll likely have the entire district cased."
"Nuh uh! They won't notice my friend!"
"How could you possibly know that?"
Lightning Dust winked. "Because I'm the thug on watch tonight! It's my job to 'case the joint.' And I'm gonna give my buddy a window to crawl through so she can get the real scoop on what's going down!"
"You've buried yourself neck-deep in the Black Market," Flash said. "And now you're needlessly endangering your whistle-blowing friend." He shook his head. "It's just the same old cycle of stupidity, Lightning. You like to say that you've 'changed,' and now I see that's sadly true. You never used to get innocent ponies involved in your shenanigans. But between what went down at the Academy and what's happening here... I'm starting to wonder if the 'devil' has taken over the 'dare' in my old daredevilish friend."
"Poetic, ya dick," Lightning Dust droned. "Can't you see that I'm trying to do a very noble thing?"
"If you can't live long enough to get to the 'noble' part, then what's the point?"
"Yeah, it's dangerous! Risky, even! But that's why I'm here, Flash!" She trotted towards him. "If we had just a little bit more help from the outside—a true blue badass who could kick the butts of several yaks and not blink—"
"I'm not gonna help you commit suicide," Flash said. "You're dabbling with danger and debt. That's nothing that you should be tempting any further."
"I'm talking about tearing the whole thing apart at its foundation!" she exclaimed. "For real! My new friend can expose these creeps! Bring the whole Enterprise collapsing in on itself! It'll wash Manehattan squeaky clean!"
"If you care so much for justice..." Flash pointed out the window. "Why not just go to the police with this information. They'll have the resources to sniff out these jerks—"
"I can't go to the police, Flash!"
"Why? Because they'll throw you in irons too?"
"No!" She frowned. "Because they're elbow-deep in Jasmine Enterprise's bit bag! Don't you get it?! Jasper Jasmine has been running her organization blood deep into the roots of Manehattan! She's got the police chief by the scrotum! All of his officers are working for her—even if they know it or not! Tart, by now she probably owns a good chunk of the newspapers as well!"
"With all the mistakes you've made, can you really... truly afford to invest so much in a conspiracy theory?"
"Flash... Flash..." Lightning Dust sighed into her fetlock. "It's not a conspiracy theory... it's real life." She looked up, frowning. "I've seen and heard enough to confirm this crud. You... you just gotta believe in me. Have some goddess-damned faith."
He stared at her. Deadpan. "After all the times you've burned me... embarrassed my friends and family... you really think I can trust you?"
She smiled pathetically. "You used to, y'know." A gulp. "Heart and mind... and body."
Flash shuddered, looking off. "Don't remind me..."
"Of what?" She trotted towards him, voice dripping. "Of the days when you used to laugh? Used to smile?" Her lips curved. "When you used to worry about beating speed records and not shining your uniform all nice and sparkly?" A giggle. "You know... there was a time when I made the bed."
"I was stupid, egotistical, and restless."
"You were a pony... not this... lame machine." She sighed, leaning in to nuzzle him. "I was kinda sorta hoping—with the badassery that went down in the Crystal Empire—that a bit of the old you had resurfaced—"
He shoved her away. "Rrrgh... I worked hard, Lightning. For years on end, I worked my flank off to become something worthy of protecting Equestrian interests! Not just as a thug in a helmet—but as a symbol, y'know?" He frowned. "And that's something you're never going to strive hard enough to understand! That you gotta be better than yourself to achieve something truly honorable!" He sighed. "And for a brief moment... I forgot all of that." He clenched his jaw. "I'm not gonna throw that down the toilet again."
"Or maybe..." She squinted at him. "...for the briefest of moments... you remembered what it meant to love and honor your parents' memory."
Flash's jaw clenched. "That's low, Lightning Dust. Even for you."
"You mad?"
"Go buck yourself."
"Great!" She smirked devilishly. "Channel that anger... and holster it for tonight! Come with me to the docks! Help my friend and I do something truly awesome and then—I promise—I will be out of your hair."
"I'm through with stupid, reckless stunts, Lightning," Flash droned. "And so are you."
"Flash, come on—"
"No. This conversation is over." He marched over to the window and opened it, pointing outside. "Leave. Not just this apartment—but this town. It's for your own good."
"I'm no coward."
"No, and at the rate you're going you won't live long enough to be brave." His glare hardened. "Find a new town and a new life to start over, Lightning. And if you can't do that, then go to the police."
"Have you heard a single thing I've said—?"
"Yes. And it's as crazy as all the other pointless exercises you've spent your adult life on. That's why I could never tolerate 'us' any more, Lightning. You're just... just too see-through, and I could no longer settle for what I saw on the inside. Celestia knows how you can bear with it every day on your own."
Silence.
On shuffling hooves, Lightning trotted past him and mounted the window frame. "Wanna know how I bear with it?" She passed him an angry stare. "I actually try to enjoy life. If somepony I once knew still had a grasp of that... then maybe he'd understand why it was so worth protecting."
"Are you done?" he muttered.
"Nope. But your folks sure are." She produced a bitter smirk. "Bet you wish you could take that back, huh?" Fwoooosh! And she was gone.
Schwisssssh—Thump! Flash slammed the window shut after her... but remained there, leaning against the pane with shuddering breaths. Sighing, he rubbed a hoof over his clenched eyes, keeping the moisture in.
Eventually, under a heavy shadow, he trotted across the apartment and resumed putting the boxes in order.