The silence of the foals

Luster was standing outside the stablo barracks. She was near the doors. She had put her glasses and her legband back on. Also, she had put her saddlebags on her back. She had taken a long shower with lots of soap, and eaten some hay she had in her room.

She was looking forward. It was ten past eight in the whinniesday morning and the plaza was almost clear of ponies. Flurry and the other soldiers of the Weapon were gone. To the south, she could see the burnt wood remains of the Farmer’s Market, that was around eighty legs away from the Stablo barracks.

Luster looked to the right, at the castle. Its doors were being guarded by two Weapon soldiers, the same ones as yesterday and the day before it. After that, she turned her head towards the Royal Hedge Maze. Some of the bushes that were its walls had been turned to ashes. She looked forward and then up.

Somepony, flying over the plaza, was approaching her. He had sunglasses on. He landed a few legs away from Luster. It was the same intel agent that had told her about the dragon incident.

They were standing in front of each other. The intel cleared his throat. “I have news”, he pronounced. Luster, looking at him, nodded. The intel turned his head around, looking at all directions. Then, he turned his head towards Luster. “So I have two things to say”. Unfolding a wing, the pegasus put his glasses with the tip of his wing up on his forehead. He had eyes like the sky. He folded his wing again “First of all, the Royal Newspaper house was vandalized”. He had his eyes locked with Luster’s.

Luster narrowed her eyes. “By whom?” She asked. The intel looked down, then back forward at Luster. “We don’t know exactly, but we assume it’s the draft-ponies hoofwork. Anyways, graffilli was painted on the outside walls”. As he spoke, he softly pawed the concrete floor with a forehoof. With her magic, she opened her saddlebag and took out a clean cloth.

Luster took off her glasses and started to wipe them. “What was the graffilli about?” she asked. She put away the cloth and put her glasses back on. The intel batted his eyes quickly a few times. “Well, they were all words; Liars, Lap ponies, uh, Blinders, Corrupt, Censors, uh,‘Damagogues’;and etcetera".

Luster Dawn was looking at the intel speak. She closed her eyes and sighed. “What’s the second thing?” She opened her eyes. The intel looked up at the sky and then back at Luster. “I’m afraid to say there are rumors. We heard them from the ponies that are gathered in the town centre”. He raised his right forehoof. He pointed east.

“The ponizens are angry with the authorities. They say someponies are setting up a riot. The stablo agents are barely preventing one from breaking out. Also, the working class is on strike. You could say nobody is working right now; except the law enforcement and the medics, of course”. The intel lowered his hoof back on the floor.

“What about the poniticians?” Luster asked. She looked beyond the intel, at the remains of the Farmer’s Market. Then, her eyes fell on the intel again.

The intel was pawing the floor softly with his forehoof. He looked at the doors of the Stablo barracks beyond Luster, and then back at her. “As we’ve heard from the crowd in the town center, some of the aristocrats and alderponies praise the idea of a riot”.

Luster slowly nodded. She batted her eyes quickly for a few seconds. “Alright”. She sighed. She looked down and then back at the intel. “Nothing else?” She asked. The intel, with his sunglasses up on his forehead, batted his eyes twice. “Dismissed”, Luster pronounced. The intel pegasus turned around and took flight. Luster started to walk, getting away from the Stablo barracks' purple doors.

She was walking in the castle plaza, heading west to the castle. She went up the steps and approached the doors until she was a few legs away from them. Two Weapon soldiers were guarding them. They stared at Luster. The pegasus stepped forward. “Password?” He said. Luster turned her head slightly to the left towards him. She looked down. “Uh, eff-aitch, um, cee-aitch-pro”. She looked up at the pegasus. He turned his head to the left towards the unicorn soldier. He nodded. With his magic, the unicorn opened one of the purple doors, pushing it. The pegasus stepped back from Luster. She walked forward and crossed the threshold. The door was closed behind her.

Luster was standing on the red carpet inside the castle. She was on the hall of the building. She started to walk. She, looking down at the black and white tiles and the red carpet, turned left and headed towards a hallway. She looked forward and walked down the hallway. After walking for ten seconds she reached doors on the left hoof of the corridor. With a hoof she knocked on the purple wood. “Twilight? It’s me, Luster”, she said and stood before the door. A few seconds later the door was opened. Luster went inside. She closed the door behind her.

On the left side of the room, Twilight was reading a book. She was holding it with her telekinesis. She was before a tall bookshelf. A pile of books was on the floor next to her. Luster, near the door, looked forward. The three windows on the wall opposite the one of the doors brought light to the room. She turned her head to the left towards Twilight.

“Have you had breakfast, Luster?” Twilight dropped the book on the pile and turned around. She looked at Luster. Luster looked down and then back at her. “Uh, yes. I’ve eaten some hay. And, of course, I’ve taken a bath”, she said. Twilight smiled. “You are worried, I know”, she said. Luster opened her eyes wide. “Yes, Twilight”. She raised her left forehoof and pointed east. “Out there, anarchy could be triggered at any minute”. She lowered her hoof.

Twilight closed her eyes and nodded once. Her horn glowed. With her telekinesis, she picked up the pile of books on the floor. In a matter of seconds, she put them all back on the shelf in an organized fashion. She opened her eyes. Luster had approached her until they were a few legs away from each other. Her eyes were locked with Twilight’s.

“You may not sorrow, my eternal protégée”, Twilight said. She stepped forward. Since she was taller than Luster, the later had to raise her head to look at her in the eyes. Then, Luster muzzle fell down. Twilight raised a forehoof and put it on Luster’s shoulder. “I fear neither riots nor mayhems. It was for a reason I was the All-team Organizer during the winter-wrap-ups of Ponyville”. She moved her forehoof from Luster’s shoulder to her muzzle. She raised it up and looked Luster in the eyes. “I want you to focus on your criminal case. Please”. She put her hoof away from Luster.

Luster, with her mind lost in those two shiny purples, nodded. Her mouth was half open. “Yes, Twilight”. She smiled. “I’ll do my best!” She skipped in place for a second. Twilight laughed breafly, stepping back. She stopped moving until she was a couple of legs away from her. “So, Sherclop, what’s your next move?” she asked. Luster looked at her with eyes wide open. Then, she looked down at the floor.

The red carpet they were standing on covered the room’s entire floor. Luster looked forward back at Twilight. “Um, well…” She unfolded a wing and, with the tip of it, she combed her hair. It was smooth and silky. She folded her wing again and cleared her throat. “I-I’ll set up a bait for the killer, yeah. For that, I’d need a third party”, she said. Twilight opened her eyes wide. She smiled. “Ooh, I like where this is going! Tell me more!” Then she was the one skipping in place.

Luster chuckled. “Well…” she was softly pawing the carpet in Twilight’s room. She looked down for a second and then back at Twilight. “The bait will play as a journalist, uh, from here, Canterlot, yeah”, she said. Twilight, smiling, nodded once. “If I find a lucky volunteer I’d send them by train today”, Luster added. She chuckled.

“That sounds excellent, Luster!” Twilight said. She raised her right forehoof and pointed at the door. “Now, I must go to give a speech in the town centre”. She lowered her hoof. Luster, looking at her, nodded. “Of course, Twilight. I’ll go to the Stablo headquarters”. She turned her body towards the doors.

Both alicorns were heading to the doors. With her magic, Twilight opened it. Luster came out first and then was followed by Twilight, who closed the door behind her. In the hallway, they turned right and went down the hallway to the castle hall. Once they got there they turned to the right, to the exit of the castle.

They were standing before the castle doors. With her telekinesis, Twilight pulled both of them. Luster and she crossed the threshold. Luster looked to the left and saw the unicorn soldier of the Weapon standing there. Twilight closed the doors behind them and exchanged glances with the two soldiers guarding the castle doors. She smiled at them. Then, the alicorns stepped forward, going down the few steps of the stairs before the entrance to the castle.

Luster and Twilight were walking in the castle plaza. They reached its center and stopped moving. Twilight, who was next to Luster, looked at her. “I’ll see you later”. She smiled. “That’d be if you haven’t gone to Fillydelphia already”, she added. Luster, looking at her, smiled back. “Yes, Twilight”.

Twilight took flight. She was heading east.

Luster, on the floor of the plaza, was looking at Twilight getting away. Then, she lowered her head down and sighed. She raised her head, looking forward, and took flight too.

After flying for two minutes, Luster landed on the street. There wasn’t anypony around. Still, Luster could hear clopping and shouting far away. She was in front of the light-gray building of the Stablo headquarters. She looked forward, at the closed doors. Nopony was watching them. She closed her eyes and sighed. She walked forward and got close to the doors. With her telekinesis, she pushed one of them. She crossed the threshold and closed the door behind her.

Inside, in the background, a single pony was working on papers before a desk. He was a unicorn; the same unicorn that went with Luster to help the ponies get out of the dungeons after its collapse.

Luster was walking towards the unicorn. He looked up at her when she was a few legs away from him. He immediately got up, circled his desk and stood in front of it. “Go-good morning, commissar” he said. His mane and coat were dusty. His eyes were red; they had dark circles around and bags under them. Luster stopped a few legs away from him. She looked at him. “Good morning”. She looked beyond the pony at the desk with papers. “What are you doing?” She asked, looking back at him.

“Uh”. The unicorn looked down for a second, and then back at her. “I’m working on the death toll of the dungeons collapse”. He softly pawed the floor. Luster nodded. “Alright”. She cleared her throat, looking down at the black and white floor for a second. Then, she looked forward back at the unicorn. “How many ponies have died?”

He gulped. “Um…” He lowered his head. “The count goes around two hundred and fifty, Commissar”. He looked up at Luster. “And there are still about fifty missing”. He had raised a forehoof and was gesturing with it.

Luster, looking at him, nodded. “I understand”. She inhaled. She looked him in the eyes. “Could you follow me to my office?” she asked. The unicorn nodded energetically. “Of course, commissar”, he said. Luster smiled and turned her body to the left. She started to walk and the unicorn followed her. After walking for a few legs, Luster and the unicorn took a turn to the right and went to the stairs.

They were going to Luster’s office up the stairs. They reached the last floor of the building, which was the fourth one. On their way, they hadn’t seen a single pony. “Are they all in the town center?” Luster had asked. “That’s right, commissar”, the unicorn had answered. When they got out of the stairs they turned to the left and, when they could, they turned right and walked down a corridor. On the end of the hallway, there was a door. Luster and the unicorn approached it. They could read on a plate on the door: Commissar’s office.

With her telekinesis, Luster turned the knob clockwise and pushed the door. She, in front of the unicorn, crossed the threshold. The unicorn followed her inside. She advanced further inside the room and circled her desk. She sat on a pillow before the wooden furniture. Her horn illuminated and she closed the door behind the unicorn. “Come closer and sit down, please”. She raised a hoof and pointed at the pillow on the other side of the desk. The unicorn moved away from the door, approaching Luster. He sat down on one the free pillows. He was in front of Luster.

Luster cleared her throat. “Alright, colt. I’ve got a mission for you”. She raised both of her forelegs and rested them on the desk. She looked him in the eyes. The unicorn, without breaking eye contact, nodded. His ears perked up.