The silence of the foals

Luster was flying over the eastern part of the Foal Mountain sierra. She was heading east. She had left Canterlot an hour and a half ago. She was about to reach the city of Fillydelphia. She had overtaken the Victory Express, back when the vehicle was still going down Canterlot’s mountain; the train was also going to Fillydelphia. In the distance, Luster could see the soybean farmlands bordering the west outer part of the city. She could see some buildings and the River Scheufill, that splitted the city in two. She reached the west part of the city.

“I don’t understand how I’ve never bought myself a watch”, Luster thought aloud.

She was flying over Mareket Street. She flew past the soy plantation and the train station. As she flew over the city, she gradually lowered the height of her flight. She crossed the river and flew straight over the main street. After flying for five minutes, she reached the City Stall. Flying at a height of twenty legs, Luster could see the two Stablo agents guarding the doors of the building. She didn’t stop flying there; Instead, she turned left and flew north over North Brayed Street. Two minutes later, she reached her objective. On a corner on the right hoof of the street, there was Manedy's Hardware Store. Luster landed on the sidewalk, before the doors of the building.

She was standing in front of the building. Its doors were of clear glass. From outside, Luster could see objects like safety helmets, rainboots and saddlebags. She stepped forward, and with her magic, she pushed one of the doors. She crossed the threshold and closed the door behind her. After three minutes, she left the store.

On the sidewalk, Luster was looking at her raised left foreleg. Besides the purple legband on her knee, she had a watch above her pastern. It struck twenty to twelve. She lowered her hoof and looked forward. From where she was, looking west, she could see the Fillydelphia Ponice Department. It was two blocks away from the store. Luster moved forward.

She crossed Brayed Street and went down Fairsteed Avenue. After walking a block, Luster was before the doors of the Fillydelphia Ponice Department. The brown wooden doors were closed. Luster stepped forward and, with her magic, pushed one of the doors. She opened it and she crossed the threshold. She closed the door behind her.

She was walking down the main corridor of the building, heading north. She was on the ground floor. On her way, she passed by a few stablo agents that stared at her when they noticed her presence. “Good morning, commissar!” She heard many of them say. She replied back with a smile or a nod. As she walked, she looked down at her reflection on the polished black and white tiles. She looked up and stopped before she reached an intersection of hallways. She turned her body to the right. She was before a gray door. On the wood there was a plate with words engraved: Internal Affairs.

She was standing before the door. She raised a forehoof. She knocked twice on the wood. She lowered her hoof. After a few seconds, a metallic noise came from the other side; the door was opened. A unicorn, with sunglasses and a headset on his left ear, was standing on the threshold. Luster couldn’t see his eyes. The intel agent stuck his head from the doorframe and turned it to the sides. Then, he turned his head back forward towards Luster. With a hoof, she was quickly tapping the floor. “Would you like to enter?” he asked. Luster nodded energetically. “Yes, I’d like to”.

The intel stepped back and then to his right. Luster stepped forward and crossed the threshold. The door was left open. In the back of the room, a middle-age unicorn got up from a pillow before a desk. Turning his head, he swept the other intel agents in the room. “Out. Now”, he pronounced. Luster moved further into the room. The other intels passed by her side, heading to the exit. When the last of them got outside, the door was closed. Luster and the middle-age intel agent were left alone.

Luster was standing in the center of the room, looking forward at the intel. She approached his desk and sat on a pillow before it. The intel had also sat back down. She was in front of him. She cleared her throat. “I require your services. Again”, she said. The intel, with his magic, put his glasses up over his horn. He batted his eyes twice.

Luster sighed. “There’s a pony coming by train today; he’s arriving in five hours approximately”. She raised a hoof and gestured with it.. She had her eyes locked with the intel’s. “I need the intelligence here to keep an eye on him”. She inhaled. “For as long as he stays here”, she finished.

The intel’s eyes fell from Luster’s to his desk. On top of it, there were an inkpot, books, , and quills. With his magic, he opened a book on a blank page; and grabbed a quill, and dipped it in an inkpot. He, holding the quill, looked up at Luster. “Description”, he pronounced.

Luster narrowed her eyes. She looked down for a second. “Um, oh, I understand”. She looked forward back at him. She cleared her throat. The intel, with his magic, took the quill away from the inkpot and brought it over the blank page of the book. Luster looked up at the white ceiling. “Uh, he’s a, uh, he’s a unicorn. He is blond and has blue eyes…”, she said, an looked forward back at him. The quill, surrounded by the intel’s magic aura, had started to move against the paper, writing words with black ink. “… His, uh, his coat is white, and, uh, his cutiemark is a pair of gray forelegs, uh, yeah, performing a hoofshake. That’s it”, she ended. With the hoof she had raised, she softly tapped the desktop once. The quill, ridden by magic, stopped writing. The intel put it away, back with the others. He closed the book and looked up at Luster.

Seconds after, Luster and the intel were sitting in silence. Luster, with her hoof on top of the desk, was drawing imaginary circles. “So?” She lowered her hoof. “Did you understand everything?” She asked. The intel batted his eyes twice. “Perfect”. Luster stood up from the pillow, still looking at the intel. “Just one more thing”. She raised a forehoof and put it on the desk. “The intelligence should not interfere with this pony’s whatdoings, unless…” She emphasized the last word. “… His life is in danger”. She tapped the desktop twice and then lowered her hoof. “Understood?” The intel agent batted his eyes twice. Luster nodded. She turned around and walked across the room, heading towards the exit. With her telekinesis she turned the knob and pulled the door. She crossed the threshold. Outside in the corridor, she was surrounded by intel agents. She couldn’t see their eyes. When she stepped forward, away from the entrance to the room, the intels started to head inside. She turned around and watched them enter the room. When the last intel crossed the threshold, the door was closed. Luster, a few legs away from the door, could hear a metallic noise come seconds later.

Luster was walking down the corridor, passing by stablo agents and heading north of the building. When she was about to reach the stairs, she stopped before the door of the meeting room. The door had been opened and a green figure was crossing the threshold. Luster looked at him. It was Van Coat. He, who was looking down, turned his head to the right and looked at Luster. His eyes opened wide. “Commissar!” He walked outside the room and approached her. Behind him, by the door frame, was a unicorn with a dark blue coat. Luster’s eyes fell on her. It was Ursa. “Good morning, commissar”, she saluted Luster, and also approached her. “Good morning for you two”, Luster replied. “What’s with the look on your faces?” she asked. Van Coat, who was next to Ursa, exchanged glances with her. Then, he looked forward at Luster. “Commissar, you must know someding”. He raised a hoof and pointed behind him. “Please, follow us inside de room”, he said. Luster exchanged glances with both of them. She nodded. “Alright, let’s go”, she said. Van Coat turned around and headed to the open entrance. Luster stepped forward and followed him. The last pony to cross the threshold was Ursa. She closed the door behind her.

Once inside, Van Coat pointed at the closest pillow before the table. “Please, commissar, have a seat”. Luster approached the object. She took her saddlebags off her back and put it next to the pillow. She sat down. Van Coat and Ursa walked until they were opposite to Luster before the table. They sat down on pillows next to each other. Van Coat looked at Luster, while Ursa looked down. “I hate to ask, but…” Luster looked Van Coat in the eye. She raised both of her forelegs and rested them on the brown wooden table. “… Is it bad news?”

Van Coat nodded. He cleared his throat. “I’m afraid to say, commissar, dat dere has been anoder victim". He sighed, looking down. "We pin it to de Fillydelphian", he said. Luster opened her eyes wide. Van Coat looked up at Luster. "It's not only dat". He got up from the pillow. He turned to his left, stepped forward. He, passing by Luster, walked to the exit. Luster and Ursa, still sitting down, had their eyes on him. Van Coat stopped before the door. He turned his head to the right and looked at Luster. "... We haff de pony who found it under arrest". He raised a hoof and pointed forward at the door. "Do you wish to go and interrogate him?" He gestured with his head, tilting it to a side.

Luster was looking at Van Coat. She stood up from the pillow. Ursa did the same. "Why do you refer to the victim as it?" Luster asked. With her magic, she lifted her saddlebags from the floor and put them on her back. She turned her body to her right towards Van Coat and the door. She also looked at Ursa, who had walked until she was next to Van Coat.

"Well..." Van Coat exchanged glances with Ursa. Then, he looked Luster in the eyes. "... Because it's a changeling".