A Mare Named Lightning: Part 2

A shadowy figure raced through an alley way, and stopped in a dark corner by a dumpster. A streetlamp clicked on, revealing a brown stallion wearing a white-collared shirt and a green tie. "Oh, thank goodness Mr. Whooves! I thought I'd never find you!"

"I am generally hard to find, aren't I?"

The other pony gulped, and stepped into the light. She was small and thin, and she had a camera with a long lens around her neck. "You're not going to believe this! It's about Lightning Dust!"

"What's she up to now? Gambling? Drinking?"

"No sir. She's back on her hooves! She even-"

"Prove it."

She showed him her camera, and he leaned in close to get a good look at the screen. "What is this! A picture of somepony's hoof?" She fumbled around with the camera, "no, no, that was accidental. Here, it's this one." He gave her a funny look, then took the camera from her, glaring at the screen, trying to make out what it was. "That's definitely Lightning Dust, but who's that with his arm around her?"

She blushed, "I don't know sir, I think I may have cut his head off."

"Are you sure you're a photographer, and not a bloody copy-boy?"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay!"

Mr. Whooves sighed, "yeah, I'll get an article in the paper. Try to get some more info on who she's with. This could go big."

"Yes sir!" She galloped off again, into the shadows. He shook his head, and then realized he was still holding her camera. He sighed again, and was about to turn his back, when a voice said, "It'd be a shame if Lightning Dust saw that." He whirled around toward the sound of the voice, and saw a short, hooded colt with brown and black hair. "What I mean is, I'm Alez, and you're Mr. Whooves, also known as 'The Doctor' to some."

"You're the colt from the-"

"Yeah buddy, about that..." He dug around in his pocket, and pulled out a wad of cash. "Lightning Dust won't know a thing about this, and you'll blur her out in the photo."

The reporter hesitated for a few seconds, then said, "I'm sorry, Alez, but I can't do that."

Alez shrugged. Then turned around, "Hey Lightning, what do you think we should do about it?"

The mint-green mare with a bright orange and yellow mane stepped out of the shadows next to Alez. The reporter's face turned pale white. "Sweet Celestia," he murmured. Lightning Dust stepped forward, "how about this: I'll forget this ever happened, and you won't publish the article or the photo."

"Yes ma'am!"

"When I'm ready, I'll write a story for the paper, but not yet. Not now." He was long gone already. Alez stuffed the cash back in his pocket. "Let's go home. Hopefully he got the message, and won't write the article."

"We should have made him delete the photo. Oh well."

He took her hoof, and they left the alley, back onto the lighted street.

"So, Spitfire, huh?"

"Yep. She's mad alright. You made her look bad y'know."

Alez and Lightning Dust were back in their apartment, snuggled up on the couch watching Wheel of Fortune. Alez hated to remind her about Spitfire, but he didn't want her to let her guard down. "I don't think Spitfire knows we're together yet, so that's a small advantage. I can try and convince her."

Lightning Dust knew that the "I'll convince him/her" strategy usually worked pretty well with Alez; he always knew just how to handle the situation.

"But Alez, Spitfire is a different case! I was with her for a whole week, and she was acting like a drill sergeant the entire time! Her attitude is like her name: firey."

"I know. I'll be extra careful."

The Wheel of Fortune landed on the "vacation to Canterlot" space, and the lucky mare who spun picked up the piece of cardboard and waved it around like a flag. Alez scoffed, "look at her. She looks like she's going to explode! I could fly over to Canterlot any time I wanted!"

"Not anymore, actually. They've closed it down to the general public under suspicion of fraud by the Cloudsdale Weather Corporation. Dashie told me that dangerous stuff was happening that shouldn't have been because of unsafe working conditions."

"Wow. Didn't she used to work there?"

"Nah, she worked somewhere else. I don't even know where, but it wasn't in Canterlot. I'm pretty sure it was tied to the Cloudsdale Weather Corp, but I dunno."

Alez watched as the same mare that won the vacation landed on a "bankrupt" space and sadly gave up her prize and all of her cash. Lightning Dust sighed, "I'm worried that something bad is going to happen to you because of me."

"Lightning, no pony is inherently bad. You just like to push yourself a bit more than others, and that gets you into trouble occasionally. Trust me, I know the stakes."

"I think we worry about each other more than about ourselves. Anyway, I'm going to bed. It's been a long day!"

Alez looked at the clock: 7:30 PM. "I guess I'll go to Cloudsdale then. I'll try and scout out where Spitfire is." He started to head for the door, but Lightning Dust grabbed his hoof.

"Be very, very careful."

"I will! Hey, relax! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!"

Alez grabbed a hoodie for the rain, put his saddlebags on, and left the warm apartment for the seemingly less-inviting Cloudsdale.