The silence of the foals

Everything became clear and noisy. The clopping outside the room was disturbing Luster's sleep. "Commissar..., commissar..." Somepony was whispering. Luster opened her eyes and sat on the bed. She looked to her right and saw the nurse next to the bed. Also, the other bed was no longer occupied. The Stablo agent that had been lying there was gone. The nurse was looking at Luster. "What time is it?" Luster asked her. "Sorry for bodering you, commissar. It's half past nine", she answered. Luster opened her eyes wide. "Dung it!" She jumped out of the bed and faced the nurse in front of her, who had stepped back to gave her way. "Did I seriously slept over three hours?!" She said. The nurse nodded. She pointed with a hoof at the open door. Luster turned her head to the left. By the door, there was a pony with sunglasses and a headset on his left ear. It was an intel agent. "Oh", Luster expressed. Her eyes narrowed.

The nurse looked at the intel on the threshold and back at Luster. "I'll go outside and give youse some room." She smiled sheepishly and headed to the door. The intel stepped aside to let her leave. After she left, the intel stepped forward and closed the door behind him. She and the intel were alone in the room.

Luster, standing between both beds, was looking at the intel. With her magic, she had already grabbed her saddlebags and put them on her back. She couldn't see the intel's eyes. She looked down and sighed. Then she looked up back at him. "Tell me the bad news already", she said. The intel, who was before the door, stepped forward at Luster. "Cee-em-cee-two-kay", he pronounced. Luster's eyes opened wide. Her jaw dropped. "Soldiers from de Mareshal's Escort Regiment haff come to de city. Dey are gadering backup to send to Canterlot", he added.

"Move!" Luster galloped to the door. She passed by the intel. If he hadn't stepped aside Luster would have crashed with him. With her telekinesis, Luster pulled the door wide and opened it. She crossed the threshold. The doorknob hit the wall. She strided past the nurse, who was waiting outside, and went down the wide corridor of the first floor of the Fillydelphia Ponice Department. She dodged Stablo agents on her way. Luster stopped, drifting, before the door of the meeting room. She opened it with her magic and rushed inside.

Inside the room were members of the team two and three of the Ponicide Investigation Department. They were sitting on the pillows before the large table. When Luster stormed into the room, they all looked at her with wide open eyes. "No time to lose! Make sure to clear the western and eastern sewers of the city! Lock them down! Understood?!" Luster shouted at them. The ponies exchanged brief glances with each other and then looked up at Luster. "Yes, commissar!" They said in unison. Luster nodded, turned around and got out of the room. She left the door open. She quickly galloped down the corridor again, that time heading to the exit of the building. She reached the doors and pulled them open with her magic. She went to the street and took flight.

She was heading west. To Canterlot.

After flying for fourty five minutes, Luster could already see the mountain in which Canterlot was behind. She had just passed by the Foal Mountain sierra. She flapped her wings as fast as she could. A normal steady flight from Fillydelphia to Canterlot took an hour and a half. But Luster was about to break a record of speed. In her way, when she was just leaving Fillydelphia, she had passed by the Weapon soldiers also heading to Canterlot.

She reached Canterlot. Flying close to the buildings, she looked at the streets. They were empty. She paid attention to the noise. The sirens were on. "They all must be in the dungeons", Luster told herself. She flew past the train station, the Stablo press and the headquarters. She turned left and flew over the Artisan Crops Farmland. While she was flying, with her magic, she had taken out her cantie-rantie out of her saddlebag and configured it with the frequency of Canterlot. She was about to reach the Canterlot Castle. She reached the plaza of the sisters.

Her eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped. There was total mayhem. Green fire burning the wood structure of the Farmer's Market to the south. Dozens of roasted black figures on the paved ground. Changelings. And in the center of the plaza there was an enormous purple beast lying dead. Spike. The stench of death made her cough. She advanced flying and then landed before the castle doors. Even though she had seen changelings still alive flying or galloping around, they didn't seem to care about or hadn't noticed her presence. With her magic, Luster pushed one of the big doors and opened it. She couldn't see what was inside. It was all dark. She crossed the threshold. "Hey, somepony is coming!" She heard somebody say from the inside. "I'm Luster Dawn! Don't shoot!" She said, walking inside. The doors closed behind her. She turned her body around and saw a familiar pony with a purple mane with light blue stripes, and yellow magic aura. Flurry Heart was there, ready to discharge a laser beam from her horn. Since she was the mareshal of the Weapon, she was wearing a black shirt. "Prove you are not Chrysalis again!" She told Luster. Luster, who was illuminating with her horn, looked down at the black and white tiles. "Okay. I'll prove it". She sighed. "Twilight won't admit it, but between you and me, I'm her favorite". She looked up at Flurry.

Flurry snorted, decasting the spell and using her horn to illuminate. "So it is you". Flurry chuckled. "You missed the rodeo, neighrd". With a hoof, Flurry drew imaginary circles around her eyes. Luster smiled, and looked behind her.

Before the stairs of the hall that led to the throne room, horns of unicorns started to illuminate. They were soldiers of the Mareshal's Escort Regiment. Basically, Flurry's bodyguards. There were five unicorns, one earth pony and eight pegasi. They were resting on their haunches. Their black uniforms and helmets were stained with a green liquid, and with blood that shone illuminated by the unicorns' magic auras.

Luster looked back at Flurry. "I still got here before it ends". With her telekinesis, she opened her saddlebags and took out the cloth she used to wipe her glasses. She looked at it. It was still stained with her own blood. Nevertheless, she took off her glasses and wiped them with it. Flurry, looking at her, pointed with a hoof at the doors. "Hey, I've still got to swat some bugs out there. And since we are short-hoofed here, I believe you could lend us four". Luster approached Flurry until they were really close. "You shouldn't worry about being short-hoofed. Your backup from Fillydelphia is coming", she said. Flurry pawed the floor once. "Thank princess for that! It turns out I forgot that the Weapon division in Cloudsdale was sent to defend Las Pegasus". She pointed at the ponies some legs away behind Luster. "I sent six pegasi there for nothing. I'm just glad they came back unharmed". While Flurry was speaking, Luster had walked past her towards the door. Flurry's eyes had followed her. "Shall we go? We really gotta find Twilight", Luster said.

"Of course. Just give me a second", Flurry said. She turned her head forward and looked at the soldiers. "Attention platoon!"

Flurry and Luster had gotten out of the castle. Flurry had ordered her team of soldiers to hold their position inside the castle and wait for the backup from Fillydelphia. Outside the castle, they took flight. They went to fight against the remaining changelings. Although, the changelings didn't seem motivated anymore. Luster and Flurry shot laser beams from their horns at them but they didn't even retaliate. They simply were trying to escape or hide from the two alicorns. Luster Dawn had separated from Flurry Heart. She circled the Canterlot castle and went back to the plaza. She approached Flurry in mid-air. "I can't find Twilight! Do you think she's okay?" She asked. Flurry sighed. "If she's still alive, she'll get here no matter what". She answered.

They both, as it seemed that there weren't more enemies alive around, flew down and landed before the large body of Spike. They were surrounded by the beast and dozens of black bodies. There was a pool of red and green blood on the floor. Flurry and Luster looked at the massive dead dragon. "Can you believe this beast; Spike; helped us in the battle?" Flurry turned her head at Luster. The other alicorn nodded.

Luster looked behind and with her eyes swept the area full of charred changeling corpses. "I have no doubts about that", she answered. Luster's eyes were wide open. Still, She and Flurry could barely breathe without retching.

The smell of death and fire was just bearable. They looked up the sky and saw, coming from the east, atleast a hundred pegasi with black shirts and helmets. "Cavalry is here. A little bit late, but is here", Flurry said with a smile. The backup of Weapon soldiers had come from Fillydelphia.

Luster sighed and looked down. She closed her eyes, trying to escape to the happy corner in her mind. Suddenly, Flurry tapped her shoulder. "Look! It's Twilight!" She said. Luster opened her eyes. With a hoof, Flurry was pointing up at north. Luster looked up and saw Twilight in the distance. She was being pursued by Chrysalis and three changelings. They shot green laser beams that Twilight could barely dodge. Flurry and Luster took flight, going after them.

After flying for ten seconds, they were about to reach them. They were behind the changelings, flying around the right side of the castle. They attempted to shoot at the changelings, but they dodged their strikes. Besides, Flurry and Luster were careful not to shoot Twilight by mistake. "I'll go behind them!" Flurry shouted briefly, looking at Luster as she flied next to her. "You go to the other side of the castle and wait for them there!"

Luster nodded, stopped in mid-air and turned around. Flurry kept pursuing the group from behind. Luster rushed to the other side of the castle, in hopes to met Twilight and the others on the other side. She flew close to the wall of the building. Coming from behind the castle, they appeared in front of Luster. They were all in mid-air, flapping their wings without going anywhere. But something was odd. There wasn't one Twilight, but five. Flurry was behind of them, with a confused look. "What the hay?!" Luster said. Her eyes fell on Flurry. "Who is the real Twilight?! You were going after them!" she asked. Flurry cringed and shook her head. "There was a sudden green flash that blinded me. I can't tell who is the one".

Luster looked back at the group of Twilights. She scanned them from head to hoof. They all looked sweaty with a messy mane. They were flapping their wings in front of Luster, staying in place. Luster sighed. "Okay, you're gonna prove you are the real Twilight. I'm gonna ask you something you would only know if you were the real one" she said. The Twilights stared at her. "Tell me why..." Luster cleared her throat. She looked at Flurry and then back at the Twilights. "Tell me why I'm your favorite and Flurry is not".

The Twilight in the middle opened her mouth. "Because... agh!" She said and was shot by Luster. There was a sudden green flash that blinded everypony. Chrysalis was falling. She landed with a loud thud on the Royal Garden. There were four Twilights left, but three of them were also surrounded by green light. Three changelings. They striked laser beams at Luster but she dodge them. Flurry, Luster, and the real Twilight shot down the three changelings left in less than a few seconds. Twilight flew down to the garden. Flurry and Luster followed her.

When Twilight landed, next to the unconscious Chrysalis, she started to shoot at her vulnerable body with laser beams. A dark smoke was coming out of the body. Flurry approached Twilight from behind. She put a hoof on her shoulder and Twilight almost bucked. She had stopped shooting from her horn and turned her head at Flurry. "Aunt, she's dead already. Calm down", she told Twilight. Luster, who was the last one to land on the Royal Garden, approached the other two alicorns. They all surrounded Chrysalis body. "Are you okay, Twilight?" She asked, looking down at Chrysalis and then up back at Twilight. Twilight sighed. She turned her head forward and looked at Luster. "How did you know it was her, the one imponyating me?"

Luster looked down at the body of Chrysalis again. She chuckled and then looked up back at Twilight. "Well, I supposed that her minions wouldn't dare to speak. Also, I know you would never admit I'm your favorite". She smiled. Flurry and Twilight smiled too. They exchanged glances with each other and briefly laughed.

A noise of static came from Luster's saddlebag. She turned her head and looked behind at her saddlebags and with her magic took out her cantie-rantie. She pressed a switch. Flurry, Twilight and she were looking at the device. "Attention, all Stablo agents! The dungeons have collapsed with the ponies inside!" The voice coming from the communicator said. The three alicorns opened her eyes wide. In the background, the sirens were still heard.