Silent Graves

Rusty climbed down the trellis of his front yard, careful to avoid the roses. If he wasn't careful, he could end up with a thorn in his hoof, or worse, alert his mother that he'd been sneaking out again. She wasn't around tonight, but his sister, Dusty, was, and she would make sure their parents knew exactly where he was. If she had no proof, though, he had the benefit of the doubt. When he came close enough to the ground, it was just a small leap over the chives and he was out on the lawn.

Just as his hooves hit the sidewalk, his sister pushed open the door to his bedroom. "I hope you're ready for your instant potatoes because I--" A cursory glance told her what had happened. He was not in his bed, the window was open, and the screen was punched out. She set down the plates and rushed over to see his tail disappearing around the corner. With an exasperated grunt, she grabbed her house keys, locked the front door, and rushed off after him.

He was probably going to the same place he always went; he and his buddies were always going to their clubhouse after dark. He always came back with a big goofy smile. She wasn't sure what they were doing there. The one time she'd been inside, he and his friends were just lounging around in their bean chairs, laughing at some stupid joke. They'd also apparently been farting up a storm, because the smell was unbearable.

As she rounded another corner, she saw the clubhouse and rushed ahead to it, throwing open the door. "A-ha!" she exclaimed, freezing when she realized that the building was empty. Nopony was here. She could have sworn he'd come this way. "Rusty? You have to come home, or mom's gonna freak out. I'll tell her what you did unless you come out right now!" No answer came back. Not even so much as a squeak or the clippity-clop of little hoofsteps. There was no light, no horrid smell, nothing. He wasn't here.

If he wasn't here with his friends, mayhaps he was out gathering them up. She found a dark corner and squatted down. They didn't live more than five minutes away from here, so they would all be showing up soon. She just had to wait.

After forty-five minutes, it was pretty clear that he wasn't coming, and all of this squatting was hurting her hips. With several loud pops of her joints, Dusty stood up and walked out. If he wasn't coming here, he was probably just going to one of their houses.

She went first to Swift's place. He was Rusty's best friend, and she had a good rapport with his dad. He was one of the guards that patrolled the town, and had helped her look into becoming one herself. She still wasn't sure that was what she wanted to do with her life, but it would make a good start to any career if she could learn some discipline.

To her surprise, Swift answered the door. "My dad's not here, Dusty," he said. "What with the recent string of murders, he's been working double shifts trying to keep the town safe."

"I'm not here for him, anyway," came her retort. "Is Rusty here?"

"He stopped by, but I told him I can't come out tonight. I'm not allowed out after dark since the security went up."

"Did he say where he was going?"

"No, he just shrugged, told me he'd come back tomorrow, and left."

Dusty let out a heavy sigh. "Thanks anyway." She turned and left, pretty sure of where her brother was now.

Two minutes later, she knocked on another door. She was hoping that Rusty wasn't around here; it was a bad neighborhood. Even though her neighborhood was right on the other side of the railroad tracks, this was a seedy place where the crime rate was eight percent higher than anywhere else in town. Despite the inherent danger, this was the home of Rusty's other friend, High Flyer.

She found apartment 3E and knocked on the door. She could hear a shuffling behind the door, telling her that there were a lot of ponies inside, and after a long pause, three locks clicked open, and a young stallion, not much older than she was, opened the door just a crack, peering through two chain locks. "What do you want?"

"I'm looking for my brother. I have reason to believe he came here."

"Look, kid, I don't know who you are, and likewise, I don't know who your brother is, but we haven't had any guests tonight."

"I know you have a lot of ponies in there. I can hear them moving around. Just send Rusty out here, or I'll come back with a guard to retrieve him."

The stallion's eyes went wide for a moment, then he looked around the room. After a nod, he turned back to her. "Yeah, okay. You come in and grab him, and we'll forget all about this little spat, okay?"

"Okay."

The door closed for a few seconds, there was a clinking of chains, then the door opened properly. "He's in the bedroom on the right."

As Dusty walked in and the door closed behind her, the door across the hall opened up and Rusty stepped out, stuffing a brown paper bag into his shirt pocket. "Thanks again. I needed a pick-me-up."

"With your sister making dinner, I'd believe it. Now remember, you're paying for it next time."

"Yeah, yeah. See ya, High." With a wave, he left apartment 3F and started back home. With what he had in his pocket, he could enjoy even his sister's terrible cooking. Besides, it gave him something to do all night.

Dusty's body was found two days later in a culvert. Her eyes had been dug out with spoons, her lips had ben cut in several places, and her stomach had been slashed open. There were also several fresh pinholes just underneath her bicep, in an attempt to make the guards think she'd overdosed. As soon as she reached the coroner, however, this theory was disproven. The cause of death was actually multiple blows to the back of the head with a cylindrical object, likely a pipe or cudgel.

The day after the body was found, a local store owner was reviewing his security footage, and he managed to capture the ponies that were moving toward the culvert with a big bag of something, and leaving with an empty bag. The guards raided their apartment and found numerous controlled substances, in such large quantities that the only explanation was that they had intent to sell it. After a rather nasty fight, two guards left injured, and one of the dealers left in a bag of his own.