I was able to convince Laser to come with me as backup. Or rather, she threatened to zap my mane into a bouquet of petunias if I went there alone. The Cattle District looked similar to other old parts of the City, all closely packed brick buildings and cobblestone roads. Cows just happened to outnumber ponies in this area. The location Mother gave me was a lively salt-lick in an old neighborhood. An enormous bull sat behind the counter, wiping it down with a rag. He was muscular and sleek, with a dangerous looking scar across his right eye. He also had some jewelry: a brass nose ring--popular with cows--and a surprisingly delicate arrangement of gold bands on his horns, which were attached to thin gold chains running between his horns, which formed a complex spiderweb pattern.
Laser Focus and I tried to walk in casually, her in a dress and me in a coat to conceal our "hello there I'm a cop" cutiemarks. Thankfully, the party came to a screeching halt for only a brief moment, before they deemed us harmless and resumed their revelry. I walked up to the counter and ordered a saspirilla, and Lase asked for a cranberry juice.
"We do not have sticky sweet sodas or silly fruit juices here. Only borscht, potato juice, and salt. You know, the establishment across the street might have saspirilla..." His accent belied his Kostroma heritage. We had come to the right place.
"Ah, in that case I'll have a potato juice. You want anything dear?"
Laser blushed as she remembered what our cover was supposed to be. "Yes darling, I would love to sample some of that borscht! It sounds so deliciously exotic!"
The bull gave Laser a suspicious look. "...is just beet soup."
I gave a 'quit trying too hard' kick under the table as the bull prepared our order. I tried to get him talking. "Ahem, well, that is some nice jewelry you have there. Does it have any special significance?"
"Oh, you like my hornaments? I was thinking maybe today I would catch a pesky fly in my web. You know what I am saying, tovarisch?"
I swallowed dryly. "A-and that piercing is very fetching."
He prodded his tongue reflexively at the large nose ring. "Ah yes, this means I am married to my beloved. Would you like to inspect me further? I have a very nice udder ring you could look at, politsiya poni."
I hopped off my barstool and took a step back. The bull, who was actually a cow, had me pegged as a cop. "Sir...I mean ma'am, I don't mean any disrespect. I was just--"
She put up a hoof. "Nyet. Spare me your lies. Tell me plainly why you are here."
I sighed. "Very well. Is there somewhere we can speak privately?"
The imposing cow led us to a small back office beside the kitchen. Laser spoke up first. "We have reason to believe that a coordinated act of vandalism was committed by cattle. We came here to see if the Moofiya had anything to do with it."
The cow's face went blank. She rose and slowly butted us towards the office door. "You will not find answers here. Now excuse me, I have customers waiting." She pushed us out into the dining area and eventually out onto the street. "Take your investigation elsewhere. Please do not come back."
Laser Focus and I slowly patrolled Little Kostroma, wondering what to do next. We passed a small rock back and forth using our magic. Laser used her powerful horn to zip the rock rapidly over my head. "Should we try some of the other names and addresses on your list?"
I caught the rock deftly and flicked it back to her. "Hmm, I'm more inclined to let the rumor mill turn for a couple days. Let the word get out that the cops are hunting down the vandals. That might be enough to smoke them out."
She passed the rock back, this time narrowly missing the tip of my horn. "Or the vandals skip town when word gets out. Or we both get fitted for some concrete horseshoes."
"Oh come now, Lase, it's just a few broken windows. That kind of thing only happens in your crime novels."
Laser scoffed. "What, you don't think Moofiya enforcers read those too? And it's not about the severity of the crime, it's about maintaining authority. They will eliminate anything that might comprimise their operations, including an extortion racket."
Suddenly, the crimson mare went silent, her pebble frozen between us in mid throw. "Um...Clover? Did it just get quiet all of a sudden?"
I looked around and crouched into a fighting stance. A half dozen young bulls with too many piercings appeared out of a narrow alley. A muscular brown and white bull spoke up. "Are you ponies lost? You're close to a subway station; we can show you a shortcut."
I dipped my head low, horn glowing at the ready. "Don't even try it, little bull."
The gang laughed and moved to surround us. "You are a brave one, Blue! Now what was it the pretty red mare said about concrete horseshoes?"
Laser snarled in a very unladylike manner, her horn glowing with piercing red light. "Alright, that's close enough. Not another hoofstep!"
I slowly swept my horn at the gang, keeping my head low. "Speaking of hooves, I can't help but notice all of yours are impeccablely hooficured. You simply must tell me where you got them done."
A skinny white bull chuckled. "Haha, a fancy pegasus family does them for free!"
The leader snorted aggressively. "Zatknis, Pietr!"
"Don't use my name, Vasily!"
"Aaaaah don't use my name either! Alright that's it, let's get them!" The leader charged at us.
Laser and I spoke as one. "I've got the big one!" We both fired our magic at the charging bull. The twin blasts rocketed around one another in a double helix of red and green. They hit Vasily between the horns, causing him to seize in place and collapse in a snoring heap.
The snarling red mare aimed her horn at the rest of the gang. "Anybody else want to go nighty night?" I have never heard baby talk sound so threatening. The gang stood stunned, mouths agape.
I took charge. "Alright boys, I want all your bellies and noses on the ground, unless you want to end up like your friend here." They all knelt as one, laying their heads on the asphalt. I pulled my radio out of my coat. "Central this is 88, at 23rd and Plum. We have six 10-95's, one in need of medical attention, requesting pick up, over."
The radio crackled in response. "Did I read you right, 88? Six suspects in custody? That's a new record, Lucky."
I rolled my eyes. "Cut the chatter, Central. I need that pick up."
"10-4, pick up is en route, ETA ten minutes. Good job, detective."