"It seemed like his coat was recovering from being bleached", Luster said as she, Ursa and the rest of team three walked down the Benjamane Flanklin Trotway. They had left Silverhead's house about five minutes ago. Luster was looking at Ursa as they moved. "I know it sounds crazy, but I know it's him! He also said he didn't trust outsiders!"

From afar, Luster could already see the enormous mansion with the tower that was the City Stall. They got to the Sway Memorial Fountain and circled the rotunda. They kept moving, heading south east.

Five minutes later, they were in front of the City Stall. Luster turned her head at Ursa, who was next to her. "I need your colts to make a perimeter around the City Stall", she whispered in Ursa's ear and then looked forward. There were two unicorns guarding the big doors of the mansion.

"Understood, commissar", Ursa replied and exchanged glances with the three unicorns from team three. Then, she looked back at Luster. "Do you wish me to follow you inside, commissar?"

Luster had stepped forward, moving away from team three. She turned her head and looked behind at Ursa. She shook her head. "No. Stay here with the team. Also, make sure nopony enters or leaves the City Stall without you noticing, okay?"

Ursa nodded twice energetically.

Luster turned her head forward. "All set then". She started to walk towards the doors of the City Stall. Behind her, Ursa was giving directions to her team. Luster kept walking and reached the doors. She exchanged glances with the two guards. They were looking at her. She nodded at them and they nodded back.

With her telekinesis, Luster opened one of the double doors of the City Stall. The heavy wood shrieked as it moved inwards. She crossed its threshold and closed it behind her.

She was in the waiting room. She walked past dozens of unoccupied pillows. She looked east and saw the reception; ponies behind the small tables. Before reaching them, she turned south and headed to the stairs. On her way, she passed by many ponies that stopped and stared at her.

She started to go upstairs. As she was going, she could heard a few clops coming from ponies either going up or downstairs. On her way up, she almost crashed with a cream colored pony that was trotting downstairs. That unicorn, distracted by the almost collision, dropped the papers he was carrying with his black magic. Luster had stopped and was looking at him. "Forgive me, sire!" She raised a forehoof and gestured with it. She was looking at the unicorn's blue eys.

"No problem, uh..., commissar!" He replied, starting to gather all the papers on the floor. "I'm just nervous about dese, uh..., dese tax papers!"

Luster battered her eyes a few times. "Alright, sire". She cleared her throat. "Uhm, do you know if the mayoress is in her office?"

The unicorn froze in place. Slowly, he raised his muzzle and looked up at Luster, locking eyes with her. "Uh, yea, yea. I'm just coming from seeing her, commissar". He looked down, raised a forehoof and scratched his ear. "She's not in de best mood dough".

Luster, smiling, closed her eyes and nodded. "Thanks for the information, sire". She turned her body and started to walk upstairs. "Have a nice day!" She said without looking back at him.

After being for three minutes on the stairs, Luster reached the third floor of the City Stall. From far away, she could see the door of the Mayor's Office. She started to walk down the hallway. At that time, that building's floor seemed to be clear of other ponies.

Luster's pace increased as she was approaching the mayoress's office. "What the hay?" She asked herself aloud as she was moving. She looked at the door from a dozen legs away. It was slightly open and there was light coming from the gap within the doorframe. Also, there was smoke coming out of the room. "What the hay?!" She asked herself again, galloping down the corridor.

As she was approaching the door of the room, a stench invaded her nostrils. She gagged and coughed as she was reaching it. "Celestia damn it!"

There was a smell of burnt flesh. Also, there was a strong stench of bleach all over the place.

With her magic, Luster pushed the door to the mayoress's office. Light coming from the inside of the room shocked her eyes for a second.

There was fire all over the room. Black magical fire. A body was burning in the center. Without wasting more precious seconds, Luster casted an extinguisher spell from her horn. She shot a white laser beam towards the fire. "This can't be real!" She thought aloud.

After almost thirty seconds of fighting with the flames, Luster finally managed to cease the fire. She was now in a room with the ceiling, walls and floor burnt black. The navy blue carpets, with the small yellow bell mosaics, had been consumed and turned to ash. Then, Luster's eyes fell on the body, which lay on th desktop of the mayoress.

Luster slowly approached the body. With her telekinesis, she had taken a cloth out of her saddlebags and was pressing it against her nostrils.

The body, which seemed to belong to a mare, had a thick layer of ash covering it. The corpse was lying face up on the desk. Also, its coat wasn't really consumed by the flames. Beside the black burns, it seemed very intact.

Luster's eyes opened wide. "Mayoress?!" She stepped forward. Something caught her attention. She looked forward, at the wall beyond the desk. There, burnt with magic, was engraved: Traitor

"Commissar!" Somepony said behind her. Luster almost bucked from fear. She turned around to see who was there. She narrowed her eyes. "Ursa, what the hay are you doing here?!" She approached her. "No time to lose! We have a suspect to pursue!"

Author's Note

Hello, fellow readers and writers. I just wanted to say that the next chapter will be the last. Then, it will probably be followed by an epilogue.

Cheers!