The Journalist

by redspark

Answers, guesses and more questions

Nimble Hoof ran fast with Sun Seeker in her back groaning in pain. She needed to take her somewhere, but where? She stopped and looked around. They were no longer in Lower Canterlot, yet Nimble didn´t felt safe. She ran fast, trying to find a place where she could leave Sun Seeker. She could hear her breath slowing and her heart beating less. It was only matter of time before… No, she couldn´t think of that.

She noticed she was almost at her house. The hospital was too far away, she would never make it there, and there was no one… Wait. She looked to the café of Serena. She was the only pony she knew of around. She ran to the café.

It was closed and there no light, except one coming from a window on the second floor. She ran to the door and knocked. She heard hoofsteps in the room up and saw Serena look down from her window. She saw her expression surprise and as she quickly went away from the window. Lights in the kitchen turned on and Serena, who was wearing a night gown walked to the restaurant´s door. She took a key and opened the door.

“Nimble! What are you doing so late into the…” She saw Sun Seeker on her back. “What happened?” She exclaimed, looking at her friend. She saw her and opened her eyes wide. “Come inside, quick!” She led Nimble inside and up the stairs into her house over the café. She helped Nimble lay Sun in a bed.

“What happened to her, Nimble?” She asked. Nimble was looking out the window, trying to make sure no one had followed them. She didn´t hear Serena. “Nimble?” Nimble looked at her.

“I found her like that. I need to help them!” She ran to the stairs that led into the café.

“Wait!” Serena said harshly. Nimble stopped surprised at Serena´s reaction. “Why did you brought her here?”

Nimble looked at Sun. “She´s hurt, and I couldn´t take her to the hospital. Can you take care of her while I go and search for…” She stopped. Serena waited.

“For whom, my dear?” Serena asked calmly. Nimble looked down.

“You remember the stories I write for the newspaper?” Serena nodded. “Well, there was a problem and I need to help them. They are kind of… in trouble.” Serena sighed.
“So you brought me your friend, who probably was hurt in Lower Canterlot businesses… It´s a very high request to ask me to take care of somepony that, maybe, is being hunted down this very second.” Nimble shook her head.

“They probably thought they had left her dead. I´m almost certain they won´t be looking for her, and they won´t risk themselves into this part of Canterlot.” She said reassuringly.

Serena nodded. “Alright, I´ll take care of her. I ask fro just one thing in return, though.” Nimble nodded.

“Whatever you need Serena.”

The orange unicorn smiled slightly. “I´d like to know who you are in your stories.” At seeing Nimble´s face, she stopped smiling. “Sorry! I didn´t meant to pressure you, I retriev my question. It was just my curiosity getting the best of me.”

Nimble had begun to shake again st that question, but when Serena said th second thing she smiled and stopped shaking. “It´s okay Serena. I´m sorry I can´t say anything of that. Will you still take care of Sunny, though?”

Serena nodded smiling warmly. “Of course, anything for my friends.” She said. Nimble smiled and ran down the stairs. The café´s door sounded as it opened and closed again. Serena´s smile faded as she looked at Sun Seeker, now lying on her bed. She had a pretty nasty wound. She needed to fix that before asking anything…

* * * *

Wait! That was the word Sun Seeker had heard when a terrible pain had made her fall down to the floor. Silent Mane ran and knocked some shadow ponies down before being stopped by magic. He had his eyes flaring in anger and a tear had begun to fall down his face as he looked at Sun Seeker lying in the floor, clutching its chest. Hightip had shouted with a lot of strength, throwing with his magic all the shadows ponies surrounding him. Grey Stone and Deepsqueak were fighting also, trying to fend the innumerable enemies off themselves. It was a fight they couldn´t wind, but the knife hitting Sun Seeker had made all of them fight with renewed vigor. Hightip advanced towards Sun Seeker. He was going to say something when a shadow appeared. Shadow Pony had arrived. Sun Seeker had not been able to hear anything that he had said, but it was obvious he was speaking as all the ponies stopped fighting around.

The pain was so much! Sun Seeker couldn´t bear it, yet she didn´t moaned as the shadow ponies captured her friends and left. The last one to leave was Shadow Pony. The horrible stallion looked around and spotted Sunny. Apparently he had not expected that, because immediately he took off his hood and walked towards her. Sun Seeker squeaked a little at seeing him approach her, but when she saw that he was doing nothing to her, she looked up, trying to ignore the pain.

Shadow Pony had begun to speak, but she could only hear a small echo, and she was beginning to feel tired. Shadow then made a spell that took off all her pain and walked away. Sun Seeker had tried to move, but she couldn´t. Slowly she had begun to fall asleep. She knew it was not goo to fall asleep, especially after being cut like she was. Even though she couldn´t see her wound, she knew it was bad. She then saw the door open after several minutes, and she had shouted “No! leave me!” She had felt reassured when it had been Nimble, her friend. Sun Seeker had tried ot tell her everything, but she couldn´t mutter many words. Nimble had then tied her wound and carried her away, just as she fell asleep…

Sun Seeker woke up suddenly, shouting. She looked around and saw that she was in a room, lying down on a bed. It was a little dark, obviously it was night and the little light came from some candles on the side of the room. Sun Seeker looked around, trying to see if anypony was around.

“Hello dear, how are you feeling?” Asked a warm voice behind her.

Sun Seeker recognized the voice. “Se… Serena Skye, from the café?”

Slowly a unicorn walked into her line of sight. Orange with blue and white mane… Yes, Serena. “Yes my dear. How nice you remembered.”

“Why?” Sun Seeker asked. “Why am I here?” The unicorn sat beside her on the bed.

“Nimble brought you here not an hour ago. You are pretty wounded. What happened?” Serena asked, concern in her voice. “Nimble didn´t said much before she went to help her ´friends´.”

Sun Seeker smiled slightly. She was going for them. The still had hope. “I was attacked in… my house with some friends. They threw me…” She stopped as she remembered the air whistling as the knife pierced her. She squealed and closed her eyes, feeling a slight pain in her stomach. “A knife…” she finally managed.

“Yes, I supposed so. It was a pretty big wound.” Seeing Sun´s face turn worried she added “Don´t fret, I have it cared now. Just don´t move much. I have my magic tricks, you know. I used to work once in a small infirmary, before having my café. I learned some basic things about knife wounds in there.” Sun sighed in relief. “But now, please tell me about your friends who were with you? You were not alone when you were attacked. I guess you are from the… ponyhood?”

Sun Seeker nodded. “Yes.”

Serena continued. “And what is your name? I didn´t knew you were from Nimble´s stories.” She made a surprised face.

Sun smiled. “I´m sun Seeker.” Serena smiled wider, but there was something apart from her warm smile… something dark and cold that Sun could not see.

“Well! If it´s not you who saved Agile Mane in the last story?! You are famous, you know?” She said to Sun. Sun blushed slightly.

“I… I guess.” She said, turning away, trying to hide her smile.

“And I presume the other gentlecolt with you last time was also of the ponyhood?” Sun nodded. “Agile Mane?” Sun shook her head.

“No, Silent Mane. He´s a very dear friend of mine, and a very strong and clever stallion.” Sun said smiling. Serena nodded.

“And then, please tell, who is Agile Mane? I´ve had that question on my mind for quite a long time now. I don´t suppose you know that?” She asked, putting her most innocent face. Sun nodded.

“Of course I do!” She said enthusiastically. “Well, it´s Nimble of course!” Serena looked in shock at Sun Seeker.

“Ni… Nimble Hoof, the writer and Journalist?” Sun nodded. “Really? That is…” she thought for a moment. “Unexpected…” her smiled had faded away slowly. Sun looked at her blankly.

“Is something wrong?” She asked. Serena smiled again after several seconds.

“No, it´s just a very interesting… revelation. I didn´t really expected that to be the case.” She walked to the door of the room and stopped, turning to Sun Seeker. “Thanks for the little chat. I´ll check on something with a friend of mine then I´ll bring you something to eat.”

“Thanks!” Sun Seeker said. Serena nodded smiling again and then left the room…

* * * *

Nimble Hoof ran through the rooftops, wondering where they had taken his friends. She thought for a moment. The shadow headquarters were too obvious, and the probably weren´t there. Still, she needed to find that out. She kept running, not knowing exactly where.

She had passed quickly to her house to leave her pen and notebook. She was doing something serious now, and she didn´t thought she would need those. She had taken a new cloak, which was fluttering as she ran. She didn’t had much time. If they had tried to kill Sunny, who knew what else could happen to them captured. She needed to find them, and fast.

She ran without thinking where and ended up in front of the shadow ponyhood headquarters. Well, at least she now had a start. Inside she could find where her friends were.

She slowly walked to the main door and opened it. It was a dark room inside. There was a chandelier, but it had no light. Apart from that, the big room was empty. She kept walking when she spotted a light coming from an adjacent room. She walked to it and peeked through a small opened space of the room´s door.

Two earth ponies and a Pegasus, all wearing dark cloaks, were talking animatedly.

“Finally, we captured them.” The Pegasus said with a rough voice. One of the earth ponies nodded.

“Yes, It´s been a long time, but finally we did it.” That pony was a mare. The other kept silent.

“But we didn´t has the mare… the blue one. The one that has escaped our boss a couple of times.” The Pegasus said. Still, the other earth pony remained silent.

“Well, she´s alone. I don´t think she´ll be a problem anymore. What do you say Wood?” She asked, turning to the silent pony.

The pony stirred. Her cloak covered her face, and Nimble couldn´t yet recognize her features, but she guessed that when she spoke she´d know if it was a mare or a stallion. The pony looked at the door. Nimble felt a shiver pass her whole body. Had she been discovered?

“She will be.” Said a mare´s voice finally. Immediately, a horn shone inside her hood and the door opened, revealing Nimble to the three ponies inside. Nimble then felt herself been picked up and thrown inside the room against cardboard boxes.

She now saw the room. It was white and had a couple of tables and… bits? There were bits in the tables. Thousandths of them. She couldn´t think of that for long, though, because the three ponies approached her.

“Well, well, well. If it isn´t that mare herself.” Said the Pegasus. Nimble stood up and prepared ot defend herself.

“Ha!” laughed the earth pony. “Really, this will be easy.” The unicorn said nothing, but Nimble could guess she had the same thoughts in mind as the other two ponies.

“Stand back!” she exclaimed. “I.. or I´ll…”

“Or you what? Will throw us a quill?” the earth pony said, laughing along with the Pegasus. Nimble gulped. She looked around for a good escape route. She saw none except the entrance of the room, which was blocked by the three shadow ponies. She needed to brake a space for her to pass.

The Pegasus attacked unexpectedly launching to the air and then towards Nimble. Nimble dodged and kicked instinctively, hitting the Pegasus and sending him against the wall. The earth pony attacked then. Nimble blocked her first kicks but soon felt a hard hit in her back. She struggled back, trying to keep her balance. The Pegasus laid unconscious in the floor.

“What great help you were!” the earth mare shouted to the Pegasus before attacking again. Meanwhile, the unicorn remained just staring. That unsettled Nimble. Something was going to happen, and she didn´t liked it.

The mare kept attacking her, and she dodged all her kicks, but eventually one would hit her, making her to fall back until she was against the wall. Instinct kicked in again and she stopped a hit directed at her belly. She then attacked at the mare´s back hitting her hard. As the mare tried to keep her balance, Nimble kicked her with her hind legs sanding her flying against the wall beside her friend. The mare hit hard the wall and then the floor. She struggled one time trying to stand up until she finally stopped moving, also knocked out.

Nimble looked at her last remaining opponent. A unicorn. She was sure she would not make it our of there alive.

“Very impressive. Maybe you do have chances to defeat Shadow.” She took her hood off, revealing a green mare with blue mane, her horn shining slightly. “I am impressed, really. We had our thoughts that you were untrained and amateur. I would never had underestimate you like those two fools did. Bu then, I am a unicorn. I know how to fight without really touching you…” Nimble gulped. “You should see the expression on your face!” She said, laughing. What was up with that mare? Laughing before a fight?

“But well. I have no reason to fight you.” She moved aside from the door. “You´re free to go, and make sure Shadow regrets returning.” Nimble stared at her blankly.

“Why are you letting me… go?” She asked.

“Because that Shadow pony killed my father, who was the leader after he disappeared and left us all. My father dared him to a combat, and he killed him. He deserves to suffer the same fate as my father, and you are the best candidate for that.”

Nimble shook her head. “I don´t want to kill him.”

“You don´t need to. As long as he looks weak, especially if he is defeated by an earth pony considered and amateur in the business, well, his career and image will be ruined. I just need you to make him look weak, which I see is something pretty easy for you. The rest will go with the ponyhood, because a weak leader cannot lead.” Nimble nodded.

“Thanks.”

The unicorn nodded. “Just never mention it.” Nimble nodded and walked out of the room. As she was closing the door of the building, slready outside, she heard the unicorn.

“He´s on his private house, about three kilometers from here. It´s a building like the size of your own headquarters with a shadowy aura. You´ll know which one. Go to the road in the right, it’ll lead you to it.”

Nimble nodded and ran as swiftly and as fast as her legs could run. She climbed a building and ran even faster, jumping obstacles and thinking about how was she supposed to save her friends, but she had gained an important weapon: confidence, after defeating two ponies by herself.

Such where the thoughts on her mind as she raced against the clock to what was going to probably be her last mission ever, and that scared her, a lot…