The silence of the foals

Luster was walking down North Brayed street, one of the main roads in Fillydelphia. She was heading south. She had led Anon down the sewers ten minutes ago, and had walked past Manedy’s a couple of minutes ago. As she paced, she looked at the forest to the west. It was the Brayed Forest. It had atleast fifteen acres and between it and the Vertex Forest there was the Middle Lake. After two more minutes of walking, she reached the corner of the street in an intersection and turned east.

Then, after walking for two blocks she reached the Rearing Terminal Market. On the sidewalk, she passed by its orange raw brick walls and windows, heading to the entrance.

When Luster, with her magic, was about to push one of the crystal doors, a light blue aura surrounded both of them and pulled them.
The mayoress and the unicorn with the sway back from back in the nursery were in front of Luster. With a smile, the mayoress opened her eyes wide. “Commissar, so we meetin’ again! Jawn bless us!”

Luster stepped closer to the doors and, by extension, to the mayoress and the bodyguard. “Hello there, ma’am…”. Luster’s eyes fell on the bodyguard “Hello sire”. She cleared her throat, exchanging glances with both the mayoress and the guard. “I was just going to have lunch”. She chuckled.
The mayoress nodded energetically. She moved to the side. She looked at her bodyguard. “Giff her way!” The bodyguard obeyed, placing himself to a side away from the doors. The mayoress, with her magic, was keeping the doors open. Luster nodded and stepped forward. She crossed the threshold and turned around. The mayoress and the bodyguard had also entered the building again and were staying behind her. The mayoress closed the doors behind them.

“Need help?” The mayoress asked, rushing to Luster’s side.

Luster smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry, I know exactly where to go and what to have”.

The mayoress’s smile dropped. She softly pawed the floor. “Commissar, dere’s someding I really need to speak wid you about”. She moved her head and swept the market around with her eyes. There were ponies either sitting before stands or carrying around their shopping carts. Then, the mayoress looked back at Luster. “After you order, could we haff a chat in a more secluded area?”

“Of course, ma’am”, Luster said. While the mayoress was speaking, Luster had advanced further inside the market. The mayoress and the bodyguard were following her; the mayoress was next to her and the guard behind them. They approached the center of the building which was where the ponies sat before the counter and were attended by waiters.

“Commissar, commissar!” The mayoress whispered. She had a hoof raised and was pointing at three seats away from the crowd. Luster moved her head towards where the mayoress was pointing. “Oh? Let’s go there, right?”

Luster, the mayoress and the bodyguard advanced and reached the three seats. They were on one of the furthest corners from the exit. Once they reached the three high chairs, the mayoress picked the middle one. Luster and the bodyguard sat on the side ones. Luster had taken her saddlebags off and left them on the floor next to her seat. The three of them were sitting like apes would; with their backs and haunches’ weight against the cushion and their hindlegs suspended in the air.

A waiter, who had gotten out of a door of the central kitchen, looked up at the three of them and rushed to them. “Welcome! It’s an honor to haff youse here!” He said with a smile.

Luster and the rest stayed in silence for a few seconds. Then, Luster cleared her throat. She looked the waiter in the eyes “Hi, I’ll have, uhm…” She looked down for a second. “... The-the Royal soy sandwich, please”

“Its name actually is Roast Soy Sandwich”, the mayoress chimed in. She exchanged glances both with Luster and the waiter.

“Alrighty”. The waiter was smiling at the three of them. His eyes fell on the mayoress. “Ma’am, would you like someding too?”

The mayoress shook her head. She raised a hoof and put it on the shoulder of her bodyguard. “We’re fine, danks!” She said. Then, she lowered her hoof and rested it on the counter.

The waiter nodded twice energetically. “I’ll bring your order as fast as I can, ma’am”. He turned around and went straight to the kitchen.
“It’s fife horseshoe service, isn’t it?” The mayoress said.

Luster, who was looking down at the counter, turned her head towards the mayoress and looked her in the eye. She smiled. “I couldn’t deny it. It’s the second time this colt is serving me”. She moved her head forward. She raised both of her forelegs and rested them on the counter. Then, she yawned, but not before covering her mouth with a hoof.

“Commissar, I know you must be tired from all your duties but…” The mayoress brought her head closer to Luster’s. “... I need to know what happened last night”, she whispered.

Luster opened her eyes wide and looked at the mayoress out of the corner of one of them. “Uhm, Would you mind to specify what event exactly?”

“Well…,” With a forehoof, the mayoress was drawing imaginary circles on the counter. “Since Pommel’s been so silent about it, I hope you’d clear things out for me”.

Luster turned her head towards the mayoress. Their muzzles were a hoof away from each other. Luster had her eyes narrowed. “Who’s Pommel?”

The mayoress’s hoof on the table stopped moving. The mayoress jaw dropped. “Uhm, I’m talking about Irwing Pommel, he’s got de rank of Centaurion of de Weapon”. She softly hit the counter with her hoof. “He’s a commander of de Rearguard of the Griffonian front!”

Luster opened her eyes wide. “Oh, isn’t his coat light gray and he’s got the cutiemark of a fox face?”

The mayoress nodded once. “Yea! You’ff seen him yesterday or early dis morning, right?” As the mayoress approached her muzzle to Luster’s, the latter backed her head away.

The mayoress smiled and backed off to her seat. Luster also rearranged herself on her chair. She turned her head forward. She cleared her throat. She had both of her forelegs resting on the counter. “Mayoress Baley, you and I know the same information. We both share what our intel agents get for us”.

The mayoress snorted. She, who had her head towards Luster, turned it forward. With the corner of her eye, she looked at the bodyguard sitting next to her. “No offence, commissar, but dis secret ponice business isn’t much my style. It just seems so impractical”.

“So you are against it? You think information should be free for everypony?” Luster turned her head towards the mayoress.

The mayoress turned her head towards Luster with her eyes wide open. She raised her forelegs and shook them. “Let’s not get radical, commissar! Dat was just my opinion!”

Coming out of the kitchen in the center of the building, the waiter was holding a dish with his teeth. He was approaching Luster and the others.

The mayoress, who was pronouncing words, stopped when she noticed the waiter coming towards them from a few legs away. Luster, the mayoress and her bodyguard rearranged themselves on their seats, still like apes would sit and resting their forelegs on the counter.

When the waiter reached the counter, specifically in front of Luster. He tilted his head forward and left the dish before her. On the plate there was a white bread sandwich with toasted soybean sprouts. Luster, who was looking at her meal, looked up at the waiter with a smile. “Thank you, colt”.

“You are welcome, ma’am” He exchanged glances with her and the others. Then, he looked down. “Enjoy and excuse me, please”. He turned to a side and went towards other clients away from the trio.

The mayoress turned her head towards Luster. “Commissar, with all due respect, I’ff made an oad dat I'll protect dis city. If I ask about de Weapon and its members it’s just because I care about deir wellbeing”. The mayoress inhaled. “After all, dey did us de favor of kicking all de dragons out of de city!”

Luster was looking at her with the corner of her eye. Then, she looked down at her meal. “I understand, mayoress. I’m afraid I shall not add more details to this conversation”.

The mayoress smile dropped. She lowered her head and looked down. “It’s okay if you want to remain silent, commissar”. She hopped off the high chair and circled it until she was behind it. The bodyguard imitated her. Luster turned her head towards the mayoress.

The mayoress smiled “Bon appetit!”.

Luster raised a forehoof from the counter and waved at her. “Thanks. Goodbye, mayoress”.

“See you later!” The mayoress turned around and started to walk. The bodyguard followed her. They started to get away, walking down a hallway that led to the exit of the building.

Luster, alone with her meal, sighed. “If you care so much about this city, why don’t you help the homeless?” She thought aloud. “Hay, I could use a dozen of them and the killer would be brought on a silver platter”. She opened her eyes wide. With her telekinesis, she grabbed the sandwich and ate it in ten seconds flat. She swept the area with her eyes and saw the earth pony waiter. She raised a hoof and waved it.

The waiter looked at Luster from afar and rushed until he was in front of her. “Need anyding, ma’am?”

Luster nodded energetically. With her magic, she opened her saddlebags which were on the floor next to her and took a cloth bag out that clinked. She raised the bag and put it on the counter; the dish there had already been put away by the waiter.

Luster looked the waiter in the eye. She put a hoof on the bag and there was a metallic noise. “Here inside there are ten gold bits”. She moved the bag across the counter, closer to the waiter. “I’d like for you to charge me the bill and exchange the remaining gold bits for silver bits”. She batted her eyes repeatedly. “Is it possible?”

The waiter nodded energetically. “Uh, of course, ma’am! I’ll proceed right away!” He grabbed the bag of bits with his teeth. He turned to the side and walked away from Luster.

Luster opened her majestic wings and, with their tips, she massaged her temples. She had her eyes closed, still sitting like an ape on the high chair. “It won’t be mindless charity. It will give these poor homeless ponies atleast a short-term purpose in life”, she thought aloud.