Manehattan – West Docks
"Flash?" Lightning Dust stumbled out of the warehouse, following a furiously marching orange stallion. "Flash?!" She flapped her wings to keep up with him. "Where are you going—?"
"Shhhhh!" He insisted, his angry eyes reflecting the distant lights of the Haydson River. "Keep your voice down!" He made a bee-line for the building across the way. "I didn't find any crooks outside while I was coasting the place, but you can't be too sure."
"'Coasting the place?'" Lightning Dust's jaw dropped in mid-trot. "Did you tail us here?"
"How could I not?" Flash grumbled, heading straight for a dumpster. "I knew you were putting yourself at unnecessary risk. And the life of another pony too!"
"Wouldn't it have been easier to have just helped us out?" Lightning frowned. "Like I friggin' asked you to in the first place—wait." She craned her ear to the sound of muffled yelps coming from inside the dumpster. "Is that who I think it is—?"
"Shut up." Flash hoisted the heavy lid up with two hooves. "Rrnnngh... and lend a hoof!"
"Pffft. Yes, Dad. Whatever you say, Dad." Lightning flew into the open dumpster and pulled out a quivering bundle of cloaks. "Whoah whoah whoah, girl!" She grimaced, setting the petite, flailing figure down. "Since when were you into changing dead fish's diapers!"
"Rnnghhghhhghh—" After much fighting and fussing, Satin Cinders finally fought her way out of the mess of cloaks and gasped for breath. "Lightning!" She clutched the mare's shoulders, trembling. "They're onto us! We gotta get out of here! I was almost gutted by a thug and—" She blinked. "... ... ...Lightning?"
"You okay, princess?"
"But... the sting..." Satin gulped. "It... it was a bust! They figured you out... figured us out and... and..." She turned to see Flash—then did a double-take. "You!"
"Shhhhh..." Flash insisted.
"Don't 'Shhhh' me!" Satin frowned at him. "You suffocated me with my own cloak and tossed me into a dumpster!"
"Because I had to," Flash grumbled. "She gave me no choice."
"Yeesh, Flash." Lightning raised an eyebrow. "There's mysogyny, and then there's just being pathetic."
"I'm serious," Flash said with a frown. "That thug who had the drop on her was just seconds away from making a positive identification. I had to make sure that nopony else saw her face—not until I had complete control of the situation."
Satin blinked. "Oh..." She bit her lip. "...fudge."
"Everything went better than expected." Flash gulped, as if finally taking the opportunity to catch his breath. "Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth." He pointed. "You two need to get out of here."
"Oh, you bet!" Satin Cinders nodded. "Thank you, Mister! We'll leave the docks right away—"
"I mean out of town!" Flash's brow furrowed. "Ditch Manehattan altogether."
"Wait... what?" Satin grimaced.
"Whoah whoah...hold it there, Flash," Lightning waved. "We just proved that we could take on an entire leg of Jasmine Enterprises—"
"We proved nothing!" Flash gnashed his teeth. "Until tonight, you were an expendable dust mite beneath a heartless gang's boot, Lightning. But now? You're gonna be the top of this organization's hit list. So you need to be a smart little filly and run as far away as you can!"
"Bullcrap!" Lightning frowned. "Nopony saw that it was me who helped you in the end! For all anyone might know, I was just as much a victim of some random vigilante as the rest of these punks—"
"Do you have the memory of a goldfish?!" Flash wheezed in her direction. "The entire reason they held this 'operation' tonight was to uncover the rat in their midst! Stop making love to the chip on your shoulder, Lightning! They're onto you! They're onto you and soon you're going to be dead meat along with Miss Dandelion here—!"
"Flash, there are always risks! But thanks to you, I just dodged the bullet!" Lightning grinned. "Don't you see? This is precisely what I had planned for you to do with us tonight in the first place—"
"Lightning, seriously, when have you ever planned anything in your whole bucking life?!"
"Now you listen here—"
"Shhhh!" Satin Cinders insisted. "Quiet! The both of you! Look, we're lucky! That's a wonderful thing! Let's not bite each other's throats out over such a miracle!" She turned towards Lightning Dust. "Is this your 'old friend' that you spoke of?"
"Mmmmmmmmmmm-yeahhhhh..." Lightning Dust scowled at him. "And it looks like somepony hung him out to dry a little too long."
Satin turned towards the stallion. "'Flash,' is it?"
"Please, let's not get into formalit—"
She reached out and grasped his fetlock in two gentle hooves. "Mr. Flash... thank you... and I apologize for my anger earlier." She gulped. "But surely you can appreciate the gravity of this situation. If you were indeed listening in... then you know that Lightning here has merit about the criminal foundation festering underneath the likes of Jasmine Enterprises..."
Flash sighed, closing his eyes. "Ma'am... I can appreciate the fact that you want to enact justice. But this... this thing is simply too big for any small group of ponies." He opened his eyes calmly. "If you want to do what's right for this city, bring it to the local law enforcement—"
"You mean the ones who are slaves to Jasper Jasmine and her cronies?" Satin slowly shook her head. "It's not that simple, Mr. Flash. Sometimes—in life—you have to take a little risk. That's one thing that Lightning Dust is good at. But you? You seem to be good at finishing it. Please... won't you help us?"
"What you girls need... is luck." Flash drew his hoof away. "Me? I've been lucky twice in the last month." He gulped. "But that luck is not going to last forever. Now, I already learned my lesson. But I'd hate for yours to consume your lives... and needlessly. That's why I'm asking that we all kindly walk away from this before anymore flagrant 'risk-taking' comes to bite us in the rear."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mr. Flash," Satin said, shaking her head. "As a reporter with Manehattan Daily News, I am obligated to pursue the truth in all—"
"Excuse me, what?" Flash trotted forward, craning an ear towards her. "Did you say the Manehattan Daily News?"
"That's right."
"... ... ...what's your name?"
"Satin."
"As in Satin Cinders?" Flash blinked. "The famous reporter on that new-fangled television show?"
Lightning gasped with a smile. "So you do pay attention!"
Flash fumed. "Oh this is just terrific." He spun towards Lightning with an iron frown. "So not only did you attempt an unnecessarily risky sting operation, but you brought in a high-profile celebrity?"
"Uhhhhh..."
"What if I didn't get to that unicorn in time, huh?!" Flash gestured. "One little glance at her face and hundreds of interconnected lives would have been compromised! You think these punks have the police under their influence? That's nothing compared to having an entire Manehattan media empire grabbed by the balls!"
"Mr. Flash!" Satin Cinders frowned. "Let's not be childish! You're obviously braver than this!" She pointed at herself. "And I'll have you know that I understand the risks involved—"
"Do you?!" Flash stared her down, frowning. "Have you lost your entire family due to one little slip-up? Do you limp on with each passing day, knowing that you'll never again hear the voices of the ones you love?" His eyes narrowed. "Do you hate yourself every sunrise and sunset for never being as strong and courageous as you've pledged yourself to be?"
Satin gulped. She leaned back, and her voice was more than a little shaky as she replied, "I would have figured... Mr. Flash... that you of all stallions would better appreciate the importance of making sure that other ponies don't suffer the same thing."
Lightning's amber eyes flicked from Satin to Flash. She was silent.
Flash breathed... breathed. At last, he leaned back with a sigh. "I'm going to tell you a little secret, Miss Cinders. There are no such thing as heroes... only lucky fools." He waved at the warehouse behind him. "The world will always be full of villains... and you're not going to solve everything by eliminating them." His nostrils flared. "Live with the gifts that you have, and protect your loved ones. Going on the offensive? That's only going to tear you apart."
Satin clenched her jaw. "It's a pity you feel that way, Mr. Flash. You have a lot of talents to waste."
"The only thing being wasted here is my generosity." He brushed past Lightning. "Get her safely out of here. After that... I don't want to see you two sniffing around these punks ever again. Otherwise... there's gonna be trouble. If not from them... then from me."
"You can't be the boss of everypony when you can't even be the boss of yourself, Flash," Lightning Dust sputtered.
"How delightfully poetic," Flash spat, spreading his wings. "Hope it brings a smug grin to your face the next time you've got your stupid back against the wall. Because by the time that happens... don't expect me to bail you out. Luck runs out for everypony." Thwoooosh!
Lightning and Satin stood alone. It was a long time before either of them could wrestle away the awkwardness and summon the strength to talk.
Instead... they very quietly... very lightly trotted out of the dockside district before any of the thugs could wake.