To Protect And Serve: A Sisterverse Tale

by brokenimage321

Prologue

It was past two in the morning when Radiance tore the paper from her typewriter.

Her sudden hatred for the form she had been working on may have come from her lack of sleep. Or perhaps she had simply lost patience with the thing. In any case, she ripped it from the typewriter with her teeth, crumpled it in her hooves, and tossed it in the wastebasket beside her desk. It would have landed neatly inside, were it not for the fact that the wastebasket was already overflowing with similarly-sized wads of paper. Radiance buried her face in her hooves, took a deep breath, and started counting to ten.

Radiance was a white unicorn mare in her early twenties. Her mane and tail were both a deep, rich violet, with a gentle wave that, ordinarily, she was quite proud of. Tonight, however, she wore her mane in a tight bun, and had her tail tied up in a neat little bob. It would have been nice to let them down, but she was technically still at work, despite the fact that the rest of the department was dark and still.

Radiance absently adjusted the collar of her navy-blue uniform, whose matching cap lay on the desk beside her. The uniform still smelt new, and the silver badge on her shoulder--engraved with the words “CANTERLOT POLICE DEPARTMENT, #4572.”--still sparkled. She would have done her best to keep it fastidiously clean and pressed, but it hadn’t even been in service long enough for the creases to fall out. Much less for it to pick up the stench of smoke, sweat and despair that clung to the veteran officers.

Radiance wiped at her eyes with one hoof, then looked up. She was working at one of the common desks shared by all the rookies. The Department had strict regulations about what knicknacks, posters, and so on the rookies could display, but Radiance had still taken the time to lay out some of her inspirations before she’d begun tonight. She let her eyes drift across them, by the dim light of her desktop lamp. First was a Shadow Spade novel, with a picture of the daring detective herself on the front cover, read and reread and treasured and cherished until it was literally coming apart at the seams. Next to it stood a small, framed photo of Radiance herself from when she was a filly. She was wearing an oversized policemare’s cap and smiling up at the camera with a bright, gap-toothed smile. Last in line was another framed photo, this one much larger than the others. They had taken it on the day of her graduation from the police academy. Radiance stood in the middle, her mascara already running, and a wide, undignified grin plastered on her face. On her left stood her older brother Shining Armor, and, on her right, her father, Night Light. They had been so proud of her…

Radiance took another deep breath, pulled a fresh form off the stack at her elbow, and inserted it into the typewriter. She turned the roller knob on the side to line up the form under the type heads. As she did, she took another glance at her graduation photo, her gaze lingering on her smile. Then, she looked back at the form, set her hooves on the keyboard, and began to type.

Comments

[Comickook]

Definitely a good start to this story. Loved Radiance's reflections on the job so far, as well as her frustration on what she was TRYING to type out.

On to the next chapter.

[Toon4Thought]

Last in line was another framed photo, this one much larger than the others. They had taken it on the day of her graduation from the police academy. Radiance stood in the middle, her mascara already running, and a wide, undignified grin plastered on her face. On her left stood her older brother Shining Armor, and, on her right, her father, Night Light. They had been so proud of her…

Where were Twilight and Serenade? They really couldn't attend their own sister's graduation?