The silence of the foals

After flying for thirty minutes, the three alicorns were about to reach Canterlot and its castle. They flew over what was a mass grave of changelings. While flying over it, Luster looked down. Surrounded by grass, there was a big square hole with the bodies piled up. Luster and the other alicorns reached the castle plaza. The place was clear. There were no more changeling bodies, although there were red and green bloodstains all over the place, and the body of Kalby was still on the floor. Luster looked down at the remains of the Farmer’s Market. The two bodies of the unicorn soldiers of the Weapon, that were killed there, in the Night of the Hundred, had been taken away.

The soldiers of the Weapon, that had come from Fillydelphia, were in formation on the north part of the plaza; in front of the Stablo barracks. Luster and the other alicorns landed before them. Flurry approached the commander of the soldiers, that was in front of them. They started to talk. Twilight and Luster looked at Flurry for a few seconds and then at each other. “Twilight, I’m going to take care of the body”. Luster turned her body around and looked at the corpse near the center of the plaza. She raised a hoof and pointed at it. Then, she lowered her hoof. Twilight turned around and walked until she was next to her. “Alright, Luster”, she said, looking at her. Luster turned her head at her. “Then, I’ll take a long bath”, she indicated. Twilight smiled at her. “I’ll be in the castle, researching about changelings, and, uh, about riot control! Just come over if you need me!” For a few seconds, she raised a hoof and put it on Luster’s shoulder.

Luster and Twilight started to walk. They went separate ways, getting away from Flurry and the Weapon soldiers. Luster headed south, to the center of the plaza, and Twilight turned her body to the west, to the castle doors direction. Luster walked until she was a leg away from Kalby’s body. Her nostrils flared and she gagged. “You smell worse than me”, she thought aloud. She narrowed her eyes, leaning her head towards him. She was looking at the two orange-size holes in his chest. Something little there, something white, no, many things tiny and white; they were moving. Luster's eyes opened wide. There were larvae crawling in and out Kalby’s body. Luster took her head away from the body. She looked around, turning her head to the sides. She looked behind her. About thirty legs away north, Flurry was with the soldiers of the Weapon. She turned her head forward and looked down at the corpse. She closed her eyes and sighed.

“I hope you don’t have a family, director”, Luster pronounced in a whisper. She opened her eyes. Her horn illuminated. With her telekinesis, Luster lifted Kalby’s body. The corpse, surrounded by white aura, dropped some of the larvae on the floor. “Yikes!” Luster expressed. She unfolded her wings and started to flap them. She took flight, holding the corpse with her telekinesis. At the sudden effort of starting to fly, Luster’s stomach growled with hunger. “Ugh, not now!” she spoke to herself. It was half past seven in the morning, and Luster hadn’t had breakfast that morning, or dinner last night. Besides, she didn’t get to sleep more than about three hours in Fillydelphia yesterday. She had been active for ten hours.

Luster flew up, the body floating, surrounded by her magic aura. She headed south. She flew over the remains of the Farmer’s Market and the curved walls that circled the plaza. When she got to the other side of the wall, she landed on the grass. In front of her, there was the mass grave of changelings. It was a pit for the dead. Luster stepped forward and looked down the hole. One couldn’t see its bottom as it was full of changeling bodies. Luster, holding Kalby’s corpse with her magic, put him in the hole, atop the changeling bodies. The magic aura of her horn faded away. She looked at the pit for a few seconds. She stepped back and turned around. She started to walk. With her magic, she opened her saddlebag and took out her cloth. She took off her glasses and wiped them. Then, she put the cloth away and put her glasses back on.

Luster reached the castle plaza’s wall. Jumping to gain momentum, she took flight. She flew over the wall and the plaza. She landed near the stablo barracks. She looked at the Weapon soldiers, also near the building. There were atleast a hundred of them. Flurry was in front of them, next to the middle-age pegasus from before. “Understood?!” The pegasus said, looking at the formation of soldiers. “Yes, centaurion!” The group of soldiers answered. “Go!” the pegasus added. A second later the soldiers, except for Flurry and him, took flight, heading east. Flurry, who was looking forward, looked at Luster, that was ten legs away and also looking at her. She raised a forehoof and waved at her once. Luster waved back and then turned her head forward and kept walking, heading to the Stablo barracks. Flurry, who was next to the pegasus, turned her head towards him and started to exchange words with him.

Luster approached the barracks doors. Unlike the last time she entered it, there were no agents guarding the doors. With her magic, she pushed one of the doors. She crossed the threshold and closed the purple door behind her. She yawned, raising a hoof and covering her mouth. Then, she lowered her hoof and smacked her lips. She lowered her head, looking down at the polished black and white tiles. She could see her reflection. She opened her eyes wide. Despite being a tall alicorn, she looked too skinny. Also, her face was of a sleep-deprived pony; dark circles around and bags under her eyes. She took a look at her lower legs. They were still stained black. She sighed and looked up.

Luster went to the left side of the building and went up the stairs to her personal room. With her telekinesis, she opened the door. The inside was dark; its only window was behind the curtains. Luster crossed the threshold. She had left the door open. Her horn illuminated. She opened the curtains, letting the morning light inside. Then, as she walked further into the room of golden and orange walls, she took off her saddlebags and left them on the floor. She approached her desk. She took off her glasses and left them on the wooden furniture. Also, she took off the purple legband from her left foreleg and threw it next to her glasses. Then, with her magic, she opened a drawer of the desk and took out a brick-shaped soap. She closed the drawer and put the soap on the desk. She turned her body to the left and approached her wardrobe, which was next to the window.

Luster opened the wardrobe doors and her eyes fell on a photograph on the inner part of one door. It was one of her with her family; she, as a foal, being hugged by Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst. Luster closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m still alive, mom and dad. That is, whether I like it or not”. She opened her eyes and looked forward. Her horn illuminated again. She took a towel out of the wardrobe. With the towel floating next to her, Luster closed the wardrobe doors. She turned around and, before leaving her room, she took the soap she had left on the desk. She crossed the threshold and closed the door behind her.