The silence of the foals

Luster Dawn was flying over Fillydelphia. She passed over the public school, over North Brayed Street and then turned west and flew over Fairsteed Avenue. She flew past a block and landed. She was in front of the Fillydelphia Ponice Department.

She approached the doors. No guards were watching them. With her telekinesis she pushed them open. She walked in. The inside had white walls and a chess floor. There were stablo agents walking on long corridors. Many of them had already noticed Luster when she entered the cubical building. They saluted Luster when she walked past them. "Good afternoon, commissar!", one pony said, stopping walking when he saw her. "Commissar!" A pony that just got out of a room said. As Luster moved, following a wide hallway, all the ponies she saw were unicorns. That was because in Fillydelphia the law enforcement only consisted of unicorns.

Luster reached the end of the corridor. There were stairs on her left and right. She knew the way around the place because she had been there many times. The las time she had been there it was months before the Fillydelphian killer was known. She chose the stairs on her left and started to go upstairs. A pony that was going downstairs stopped when he passed by Luster. "Good afternoon, co-commissar!" He said. Luster smiled at him. "Good afternoon for you too, colt", she answered, nodding once.

Luster kept going up and got to the third floor of the building; which was pretty much the same as the first floor. She got out of the stairs and moved through another corridor. She walked past closed and open doors. As she walked she could see, where the doors were open, ponies before desks working on papers. She was about to reach the other end of the corridor. There was a door in the end with a plate engraved: Subcommissar's Office.

Two stablo agents were guarding the door. Their eyes fell on Luster approaching them and opened wide. "Good afternoon, commissar!" They said in unison. And three seconds after they saluted her the door of the subcommissar opened. A middle age unicorn was before the threshold. The subcommissar, chief of the Stablo in Fillydelphia; Pard van Coat. On his left foreleg, he was wearing a blue legband with a bell surrounded by a yellow circle. He looked at Luster and she looked at him. They were a few legs away from each other.

"Commissar, what a pleasant surprise! Fillydelphia mane-to!" Van Coat said with a smile.

"Good afternoon, subcommissar" Luster said. Van Coat gestured with a hoof for her to come closer.

"Please, come in and let's haff a talk!" He pointed behind him. Luster nodded and started to walk into his office. Van Coat turned around and headed to his seat before the desk. Luster crossed the threshold inside the office. With his telekinesis, Van Coat closed the door behind Luster.

"Haff a seat, commissar". He pointed over his desk to a pillow in front of it. Luster nodded and walked to the object. She sat. Van Coat cleared his throat. "Well, commissar, I assume de intel agent I sent to Canterlot gave you all de details about de case". He emphasized the last word. As he spoke he gestured with his hooves.

Luster nodded. She stretched her wings and flapped them once. "Yes, but I think I still need more details about the Fillydelphian killer". She looked at him in the eyes.

Van Coat looked down. His dark green coat seemed to become lighter for a second. He sighed and looked up at her. "It's an easy name to remember, isn't it? Even dough is like a stain on our city's name".

Luster chuckled. "I suppose it is. Anyways, subcommissar, who may I speak with about about the killer ?" She rested a hoof on Van Coat's desk. She drew imaginary circles against the black wood.

Van Coat stood up. "I haff already gadered a team of de Ponicide Investigation Department". He walked and circled his desk, passing by Luster and heading to the exit. Luster got up too and followed him. He looked behind at her. "It's a team of our top ten agents. Dey are expecting me downstairs". He looked forward and, with his magic, he grabbed the doorknob and turned it counter-clockwise. The door was opened. He crossed the threshold and so Luster did. They passed by the two guards that watched the office. Van Coat turned his head to a side and looked at the guards. "Dismissed", He pronounced. The two guards nodded and saluted before dispersing away. Van Coat looked at Luster, who was next to him. "Let's go. Please, commissar". They both started to walk and headed to the stairs on the other side of the corridor. They went downstairs and got to the first floor. They turned right and got into the hallway Luster had gone through a few minutes ago. Van Coat went ahead of Luster. "Here". He approached the first door on the right and opened it. Luster followed him inside.

South of the room, there was a big table and a dozen pillows before it. On the north wall was a white board with writings and photos on it. Ten of the pillows were already ocuppied by unicorns there. They were wearing blue legbands with a yellow circle on their left forelegs. They all looked at Van Coat and then at Luster. "Good afternoon, commissar!", they said in unison. Luster and Van Coat approached the non taken pillows. One was on the head of the table and the other on the opposite side. Van Coat had pointed at the pillow closer to the door for Luster to sit on it. He went to the other pillow. The ten ponies' eyes went from looking at Van Coat to Luster. The room was silent.

Van Coat cleared his throat. "Fillies and gentlecolts. As youse haff noticed...". He pointed at Luster with a hoof. The ponies looking at him turned their heads to look at her. "... De commissar is here wid us". He smiled, and rested his hoof on the table. He exchanged looks with some of the ponies there, then his eyes fell on Luster. "Commissar, I believe this is a good time for any questions". He raised his hoof and put it on the shoulder of the pony next to him. He looked at him. "Any of de ponies here can answer dem". He slight shook the shoulder of the pony. He then took his hoof off him.

Luster inhaled. She was also exchanging looks with the silent ponies there. She looked down and then up at them. "First things first, good afternoon for you all. You might already know my name but I'll still introduce myself". She put a hoof on her chest. "My name is Luster Dawn. I'm the commissar of the Stable Oversight. And yes..., ". She smiled. "..., I am ninety years old". She exchanged glances with the ponies as she spoke. Some of them shyly smiled back at her. She cleared her throat. "Well, I'm here to help you solve the serial killer case". She turned her head at the board on the wall on her right. She pointed at it. The title written on top was: The Fillydelphian. "I see you have been gathering information..." She gestured with her hooves. "... And I would like for you to share with me all you know about him". She looked back at the ponies before the square table.

Van Coat raised his foreleg again and put a hoof on the shoulder of the same pony. He looked at him and nodded. The pony nodded too and cleared his throat. He looked at Luster. "Commissar, what we know about de Fillydelphian is de following". He got up and approached the white board. He stood next to it. The ponies that were on the right side of the table turned their bodies at him. Luster and Van Coat looked at him too. With his magic, the pony next to the board grabbed a ruler. He pointed at the upper part of the board. "De Fillydelphian is a serial killer dat, as far as we know, only kills outsiders. Dat means he does not kill Filly's naturals". Luster nodded twice, closing her eyes. She softly hit the table with a hoof. "Oh!" She expressed.

The pony cleared his throat. With the ruler held by his telekinesis, he pointed at the photos. "Among his victims were business ponies, tourists and even ponitical visitors. Now, who he doesn't seem to care about or dare to attack are de draftees of de Weapon dat come to protect Filly's coast". With the ruler, he pointed at a photo of a female pony lying on the floor. He inhaled. "One of de most important reasons to believe he's is a he, is dat his female victims appeared dead and raped". He sighed, looking down. He looked up at Luster. "Aldough we couldn't determine which was first; either de murder or de rape".

Luster raised a hoof and rubbed her muzzle. She was looking at the pony. "What's his kill count?"

"Well..." The pony looked back at the board and pointed at the bottom part of it with the ruler. "... We haff until now twenty one victims. Seventeen males and four females. De first body we found was almost four monts ago". He turned his head at Luster. She had her eyes wide open. "And we started to suspect it was a serial killing pattern when we found de fifd victim dree months ago". He exhaled and cleared his throat. "Since de killing spree started, dere has been an average of two victims every ten days".

"Wow!", Luster expressed. "Continue, please".

The pony nodded. "He mostly kills his victims at night; aldough, if he does it during daylight he first kidnaps his victims and den kills dem in secluded places like abandoned stables; de Brayed or de Vertex forest near of here; or de sewers. We even haff found a victim floating in de center of the Middle Lake. Dis lake is between de two forests I mentioned before". He inhaled. "Anyways, when he kills at night he leaves de victims were he found dem".

"I remember being told part of that information", Luster muttered to herself. She raised a hoof. Van Coat and the other ponies looked at her. "Uhm, is there any description of the killer's appearance?"

"Unfortunately, we do have many descriptions. Each one different from de oders". While he spoke he drew imaginary circles with the ruler on the board. "Some witnesses said his coat was white; oders said it was gray; and we haff one dat said he had a black coat. As far as we know, de killer could be a changeling". The ruler stopped moving. The pony put it on the floor and his horn stopped illuminating. He looked down and then at Luster. "Dose were de descriptions given by witnesses dat saw him at night-time. De only thing they all have in common is dat he was a unicorn". The pony walked away from the board and went back to his pillow. He sat down and looked at Luster. "Also, we assume he's a unicorn because of de wounds found on de victims: Magical burns".

Luster nodded and rested her eyes closing them for a few seconds. Meanwhile, the room was in silence. Coming from outside, voices and clops could be heard. She opened her eyes. Van Coat and the other ten ponies were looking at her. She put both of her forelegs on the table. She looked at the pony that had been speaking, and then her eyes fell on Van Coat. "Okay, fillies and gentlecolts". She got up from her pillow. She had left her saddlebags next to it, under the table. She walked to the white board. The ponies followed her with their eyes. With her telekinesis, she grabbed a marker that was on the floor below the board. She cleared her throat. "This is what we're going to do..." She started to write on the board. Her voice was dimly mixed with the sound of the marker against the white surface. "So, there are twelve of us here". She briefly turned her head to a side and looked at the ponies before the table. They were all looking at her. She looked back at board. She kept writing. "And we'll form three teams of four members each, okay?" She asked.

"Understood", said Van Coat; the only one who answered the question. Luster nodded. "Each team will work eight hours a day. One in the morning, other in the afternoon and the last one at late night". She stopped writing and turned around. She swept the ponies with her eyes. "Since I am not familiarized with you all, I'm going to let you choose who you'll be working with". She pointed at Van Coat with a hoof and then at herself. She looked at Van Coat. "Who is the pony with the highest rank after you here?"

Van Coat immediately pointed with a hoof at a pony three pillows away from him. It was a mare with a dark blue coat. Luster and the other ponies looked at her. She shyly looked down. "She is not an officer but a sergeant. Still, she has twenty years of experience in Ponicide Investigation", Van Coat explained. He lowered his hoof back onto the table.

"Alright. What's your name?" Luster asked. She was looking at the mare with the dark blue coat. The mare looked up at Luster. "My name is Raven Coldblood. But everypony calls me: Ursa". Luster nodded. She looked at Ursa's cutiemark: a silver kitchen knife that contrasted with her dark coat.

Luster turned around and grabbed the black marker with her magic again. She started to write down. "Okay, Ursa, you are head of the team three. Subcommissar...". Luster looked at Van Coat. "... You are the commander of team one". She looked back at the board. "And I'll lead team two". She put the marker down. She got away from the board and approached her pillow. She sat back again. She looked at the other ponies. "Now, I'll need all of you; except the subcommissar and Ursa; to write below any of our names written in the board. You'll not write down your real names, but your codenames". She pointed at the board with a hoof. "Three ponies can write their names under each name. For example, if you write your codename below the Subcommissar...". She looked at Van Coat. He was carefully paying attention to Luster. "... It would mean that you'll be on his team. Remember, only three subordinates per group". She scanned the other ponies with her gaze. "Understood?"

"Yes, commissar!" They said in unison. They all; except for Luster, Van Coat and Ursa; stood up and started to approach the board. One of them grabbed the marker on the floor and started to write on the white surface. One by one, the agents wrote their codenames on the board. Three names below each of the leaders. After two minutes, all the agents had wrote their names. On Luster's team the names were: Tackio, Neighrobi and Stockolt.