//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6B: Seven Nights - Cider & Civility 
// Story: The Crusaders:  A Shadow Over Manehattan 
// by Starhunter 
//------------------------------//

~ The Second Night  ~

The yellow pegasus led Daily Times into the Old Rock Farm, and directed him towards the door to the back room.  Daily ignored her directions and headed over to the bar.  Then, with a freshly poured cider in hoof, he seated himself at an empty booth and sipped at the cold beverage.  He wasn't alone for long.

Daily hadn't ever met Stoneheart, but when the big grey stallion seated himself across the table Daily had no doubt in his mind who he was.  The yellow pegasus didn't join them, seating herself with a cider at a table nearby instead, popping open the top button of her flight suit and leaning back in a pose that explained clearly enough that she was no longer on duty.  She sat close enough to watch, Daily thought, but probably not close enough to listen if they spoke quietly.  

Stoneheart was much as Daily had pictured him from the descriptions he'd heard: tall and built like a farm-horse, with the kind of rugged jaw and easy grin that a lot of fillies liked.  What the descriptions had failed to make clear was the intensity of the stallions presence.  Daily had seated himself first to make Stoneheart come to him, but as soon as the gang boss sat down across from him Daily realized that he hadn't done himself any favours.  Stoneheart hadn't brought himself a drink, but before he even acknowledged Daily he looked over at the bar and made a small waving motion with his hoof.  A cider arrived a moment later.  He drank a long pull from it before levelling an even gaze at the reporter across from him.  It took everything he had for Daily to keep himself in his seat and not bolt for the door.  All of his instincts told him that accepting this invitation had been a very bad idea.  

"So, I take it that a private meeting in the back was not to your liking, Mister Times?"

Daily shrugged, doing his best to appear nonchalant.  "I like a more casual atmosphere."

Stoneheart smiled.  "So do I.  How do you like the cider?"

"Better than I expected, honestly.  It is local?"

"Of course.  A respectable businessman should always support the local economy.  That said, I have some Sweet Apple Acres Special Reserve in the cellar, if you're interested."

"I'll pass.  Cider that good should be savoured, and I don't expect to be here long."

"That's a shame.  I was hoping we could take our time and get to know each other."

Daily smirked.  "Your associates didn't mention that you swung that way, Stoneheart.  I'm flattered, really.  Even if the feeling isn't mutual."

Stoneheart didn't even bat an eye.  "I like to get to know all of my business associates.  Does that seem old-fashioned to a big city pony like yourself?"

"It seems a bit disingenuous, considering you're a gang boss with considerable turf in one of the biggest cities in Equestria."

"That doesn't make me a city pony at heart.  I'm just a county colt who made good in the big city, that's all."

"You have a funny definition of 'made good'.  The Quarry Hounds don't exactly have the reputation of a neighbourhood watch society."

"A fair point.  And my own reputation for ruthlessness usually precedes me.  Its refreshing to speak with someone who isn't intimidated by it."  This time when Stoneheart smiled it showed no amusement, only teeth.  

Daily swallowed hard.  "I've always thought that the way a stallion deals with a little needling speaks volumes about his character."

"I absolutely agree.  So tell me, what have you learned about mine so far?"

That you have the soul of a timber-wolf, Daily thought.  He took a long drink of cider, buying time to consider his response.  Showing fear to a pony like Stoneheart wasn't an option if he wanted to get out of here in one piece.  So he leaned forward and put on the most confident grin he could muster.      "That despite what your lackeys may think of you, the editor at the Tribune is still the biggest hard-case I've ever met.  So do you want to tell me why you sent your goon to pick me up, or should I finish my cider and get out of here?"

Stoneheart put his own elbow on the table and leaned in.  "Don't be thick, Mister Times.  You know perfectly well why you're here."

"You want me to sell out to the mob."

"I want you to do what all freelancers do - tell a story for money.  Simple as that."

"You know the story as well as I do.  There's a vigilante roaming the streets at night, and she's busting up your membership left, right, and centre.  So far, you haven't been able to do lickety-split about it.  What does that have to do with me?"

Stoneheart offered a throaty chuckle.  "Anyone with a bit of news savvy knows that no interview, no matter how sensational, gets published word for word.  There are always editorial choices made.  I just want the uncut version.  I want you to run through the whole night, step by step.  Where you were, how you found her, and everything she said to you while you two were speaking.  In exchange, I'll pay you whatever the Bulletin did.  Maybe more, if you can give me something useful."

"Useful for what?"

"Arranging my own meeting."

Daily considered his options.  Stoneheart was right about the article, of course.  He'd left a few things out, mostly to do with his lack of grappling acumen. Another was her admission that she didn't intend to hurt him, and the rather clumsy ambush attempt that had started the whole thing off.  Most importantly, he'd left out the way her wings had looked under her cape, where she'd tried to keep them hidden.  That had been too wild to print without a better picture to back it up.  That was the kind of thing that Stoneheart wanted.  

But giving it to him would bring him one step closer to the Crusader, whoever (or whatever) she was.  Maybe that wasn't his business, but he didn't feel right doing it.  And unfortunately, Daily had never been very smart when it came to making choices between what was lucrative and what he felt was right.  So he just offered Stoneheart another shrug, keeping his confident smile firmly in place.  "The truth is, it was dumb luck.  I've been staking out rooftops for weeks, and one night we practically ran right into each other.  It was a total fluke.  She got the drop on me right away, and since she was in total control of the situation, she didn't seem to see the harm in answering a couple of questions."

Stoneheart snorted in derision.  "So, what?  She just decided to offer you an interview out of the goodness of her heart?"

"What can I say, Stoneheart?  Deep down, I guess everypony wants to be famous.  I published pretty much the whole thing... or at least everything I could remember.    I left out the part where she tossed me on my plot, mind you.  Even a reporter has his pride.  But it all happened pretty fast.  My editors have been chasing me for a followup ever since, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of her.  Frankly, I'm in the same boat you are."

Stoneheart glared at him for a moment, and then drained the rest of his cider, placing the mug gently down on the table.  "Well, if that's all you have to say on the matter, I guess I shouldn't keep you. This is the time of night you should be staking out rooftops if you want to land another story.  After all, news that doesn't stay current stops being interesting, and it would be a shame if someone got to her before you did.  I suppose I'll just have to look forward to your next piece.  Hopefully I'll see it within the next week."

Daily couldn't help but be curious.  "Why?  What happens after that?"

Stoneheart rose, stepping around the table and lowering his face to within inches of Daily's.  "After that I get bored with waiting, and I have you dragged into my back room so I can beat whatever you aren't telling me out of you.  Let me be very clear:  I don't care if you want to publish whatever secrets you're trying to uncover on the front page, Mister Times.  That's just as useful to me as you telling me personally.  But I need that information, and I'm going to get it one way or another.  So you go ahead and keep digging.  Because I'm going to find this Crusader, and when I do she's going to be made to pay for all the inconvenience she's causing me.  You should consider very carefully which side of that conflict you end up coming down on, or you might end up joining her."

The big stallion's genial smile returned to his face, as if it had never left. "Don't worry about your bill.  I'll have it taken care of.  I look forward to seeing you again, Mister Times.  Enjoy your cider."

With that, the great granite-coloured stallion walked off towards another table, greeting the customers and glad-hoofing like any other bar owner in town would be doing at this time of night.  No one else in the room acted like they'd seen anything out of the ordinary, though Daily caught a couple of ponies who looked like regulars grinning at him before returning their attention to their own cider and companions.  

Not seeing any compelling reason to stay Daily stood up and made for the door, eager to put as much distance between himself and Stoneheart's back room as possible.  He stepped out the door and found the yellow pegasus in the black flight suit standing on the sidewalk watching him.  He was a bit surprised when she stepped forward to block his departure.  He was a little taller than she was, but she had the bearing of a pony twice her size.  She'd barely spoken a half-dozen words to him when she'd come by his office to 'invite' him to meet with Stoneheart, and none of it had included introductions.

She locked eyes with him.  Her eyes were the same colour as the lighter tone in her blue hair, and they lacked the sort of subtle menace that Stoneheart's held.  But they were no less firm and cool, and no less intense.   When she spoke, her voice was calm and quiet.

"I don't like being called a goon."

Daily couldn't quite manage the casual smile he would normally have used in this sort of situation.  "I see.  I... didn't think you could hear me from where you were sitting."

"It's called professional courtesy.  You should try it."

"Clearly.  I apologize if I offended you.  Perhaps we should start over.  My name is Daily Times.  And you are...?"

She stared at him for another long moment, then jostled past him as she made her way back into the bar.  Slowly, a grin found its way back onto Daily's face.  He wondered if the yellow pegasus would get along with the Crusader, if they happened to meet under different circumstances than her boss had in mind.  They certainly had the same taste in conversation.

He flagged down a passing taxi carriage and hopped in, directing the driver towards his apartment.  Now he had twice as many good reasons to find the Crusader, and some serious thinking to do about what he would do when he did.