//------------------------------//
// Back in Upper Canterlot 
// Story: The Journalist 
// by redspark 
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Chapter 18
Back In Upper Canterlot


Nimble Hoof opened her flat´s door as she entered, closing it behind her. She sighed tired and walked up the stairs, thinking about a nice night´s sleep. 

She had just returned from helping her friends establish in the recently purchased building. Hightip had been slightly surprised by the prize and was going to say no, but Silent, who surprisingly suddenly seemed comfortable to go living in Upper Canterlot, convinced him it was a necessary purchase. Nimble smiled at the surprise Hightip had had when Silent told him that, but still it had been enough to convince him. 

Nimble had been telling everything she could to her friends about Upper Canterlot, how to behave in the streets so as not to attract unwanted attention. Silent had made himself clear that he was not going out in the day, while Deepsqueak and Grey Stone had decided that they would just go around sometime to see Canterlot. Hightip had gone to retrieve Sun Seeker along with Silent and Nimble from Serena. Nimble had noticed that Hightip was pretty relieved when he saw her, and Sun Seeker was too, but they were clearly masking their expressions. Serena told them that she was fine now, and that they could take her. Hightip then had asked her if she had told anyone about Sun Seeker and Serena had said that no, nopony knew she had been there. Hightip thanked the mare and the four left the café. 

Sun Seeker then had gone to eat something with Hightip while Nimble and Silent returned each other to their flats. Silent had been, well… silent all the way to the new ponyhood´s headquarters. They had been walking silently all the way and spoke only to say bye when they reached the ponyhood´s building. Nimble had then walked to her flat and was now going up the stairs. 

She went to the kitchen and took some water and poured it into a glass. She drank it slowly and then walked to the window. She saw as Celestia lowered the sun, giving way for night. She kept staring outside for a couple of minutes, wandering what her life had become.

She remembered before she had gone to Lower Canterlot. It had been a very slow time on her life. Nothing happened, except when she had been hired by The Daily Hoof. That had been the best day of her life, or so she remembered. 

She had applied for the job a week before, trying her luck. She had not really expected to actually get hired by the most illustrious newspaper in Canterlot, but she had been. She smiled when she remembered when she told her parents she had been hired. They had been so happy for her… She then realized something.

She had not spoken to them since she began to write about Lower Canterlot. She felt guilty all of a sudden. She really had not spoken to them. She looked around her flat. It was dark now and Luna had already raised the moon. After some seconds of indecision, she walked to the stairs leading to the street, not without taking her usual light blue cloak. She looked around her flat rapidly and then went outside.

It had become suddenly cold, which surprised Nimble slightly; when she had entered her flat before outside had been pretty warm. She shivered and walked to the left, going towards Canterlot´s main street. The streets where still full of ponies, even at night, but still it was emptier than in the day. She walked towards the familiar street where she had grown up. Those thoughts brought her memories about when she was a young filly. She had not really thought about her past much, only thinking about the future. She smiled as she saw the usual slightly fallen lamp in the corner of her parent´s house street. She remembered how it had nearly fallen when a friend of her had tried to change its color… She stopped thinking about that, because she remembered the friend that had done that. Day.

Her smile slowly faded away, but still she kept walking, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. For all she knew, Day could be watching her that very instant. She quickened her pace until she finally arrived at the house she was going. It´s yellow color and the memories that came from watching it made Nimble smile again. She walked slowly up the front steps and knocked the door. She waited patiently.

Some seconds later she heard sound inside and hooves walking towards the door. She heard as the door´s lock clicked and a tired looking light blue stallion with a red mane opened the door.

“What is…” He stopped when he saw Nimble.

“Hello dad.” She said sheepishly. 

The stallion opened the door fully and hugged her with a big smile on his face, his tiredness suddenly fading away.

“Nimble, I´m so glad you came.” He slowly let her go and looked into her eyes. “How is my little flower, eh?” He asked smiling, using the way he used to call her when she was a young filly.

“I am alright dad. I just…” She sighed. “I wanted to visit you.” The stallion nodded and gestured her to come inside.

“I´ll tell your mother, she´s upstairs, wait a sec.” He said and he was off up the stairs. Nimble smiled and looked around the entrance. It was small, as she remembered it. There were pictures of her and her parents, along with a diploma. She peeked curiously at the diploma that hunged in the wall.

It was from when she had graduated from College! She thought she had lost that diploma, yet it was there, with her parents, hanging right in front of the door where everypony that entered could see it. She felt a sense of pride at that.

She heard hoofsteps going down the stairs as she walked to see the two ponies going down. She saw her mother, a darker blue coat with her same hair. The mare smiled and walked to her daughter. 

“Oh dearie! I missed you.” She kept hugging Nimble. Nimble smiled and also kept hugging her back.

“I missed you too.” She said.

Finally after some seconds the both let go of each other.

“I heard all about you suddenly becoming very famous with your Lower Canterlot stories.” She said smiling. “We were so proud of you, Nimble. I had your father buy all the newspaper editions where your stories appeared.” She smiled as her father slowly opened a drawer full of newspapers. “But still… Why you didn´t came to visit us?”

Nimble´s ears lowered slightly. “I… I meant to, but I just… didn´t seem to think much about anything else apart from the stories.” She looked at her mother and father. “I really sorry.”

Her father smiled affectionately. “Don´t be my little flower, we know you didn´t meant it.” He closed the drawer again. Nimble smiled. She then looked down, remembering day.

Her mother seemed to notice her sudden change of mood. “What is it dearie, is something wrong?” Nimble looked at her.

“No, it´s just…” She sat on a chair and kept staring at the floor. She didn´t knew how to say her parents that her best friend was her worst enemy now… “I… just don´t know how to tell you this.”

Her father sat on the floor in front of her. “Just tell it flower, I´ll hear it all.” Nimble smiled slightly.

“Well, I…” she began to tell them everything, since the beginning when she was getting fired until the moment she helped the ponyhood change headquarters. She didn´t bothered to hide anything. They were her parents after all, and she knew she could trust them with her life. She told them everything, without letting a single detail out. All the while, both her parents heard without any interruptions. Nimble finished and she looked at her father, who seemed to be in deep thought. She looked at her mother. She seemed worried. ´Great job Nimble´ she thought ´Now you worried them more that you should have´.

Her father looked at her. “I don´t know what to make out of this. I just didn´t expected that your stories were so… true.” He kept staring directly to her eyes. “But you should always keep in mind, you´re never alone. Even if Day wasn´t who you thought he was. We are here, and from what I heard, those friends of yours, the ponyhood, would do anything to keep you safe.” He grabbed one of Nimble´s hoofs. “And we are also here, anytime you want to talk about anything, you always remember we are here.” Nimble smiled, tears threatening to come out from her eyes. She had not felt so weak or exposed in a long time, not since becoming one of the ponyhood. She had needed to toughen up in order to survive in Lower Canterlot, but that was not fully her… That was Agile Mane, she was Nimble Hoof. She then realized how much she had changed due to the fact of going to Lower Canterlot. 

She couldn´t resist more and she broke into a slight sobbing. “Dad, I…” She clasped her head with her hooves, sobbing. Her dad pulled her against his chest, hugging her.

“Shh, it´s alright my little flower, it´s alright.” Her mother also went and hugged her.

Nimble was the first to let go, then her parents also let her go. Nimble cleaned some tears off her face with her hoof, smiling slightly.

“Thanks dad.” She said. “Thanks mom.” Bothe her parents smiled. “But… What Am I to do? My best friend turned out to be my worst enemy, but also that he…” She stopped, remembering when he had kissed her back in her flat. She saw comprehension in her father´s eyes, who had heard that back when Nimble told them everything. 

“I don´t know what you´re going through.” He said honestly. “But I know that you will be able to go through this fine. You are a very clever mare.” He stood up, as well as Nimble.

“Thanks dad.” She said. “I think I´ll be going now. I need to do some things tomorrow morning about the newspaper.” Her father smiled.

“Remember to come whenever you want, sweetheart.” Her mother said. 

“Thanks mom.” Nimble said hugging her. She opened the door and walked outside, stopping to wave at her parents, who waved back at her. She smiled and turned around, hearing the sound of the door closing behind her. She walked smiling towards her flat, feeling much better than when she had entered her parent´s house…










Nimble and her Parents