1. CPD (Canterlot Police Department)
Five hundred years ago, Equestria was a land of magic and destiny. Peace reigned, and rare was there ever a serious threat to the land. This peace would not have been possible if not for the protection of the Alicorn, Princess Celestia.
Today, things are different. Celestia no longer rules Equestria, and has in fact vanished into history. No one knows where she is, or what happened to make her step down from the throne.
Magic has faded to a point where very few can do anything significant with it, and technology has developed explosively. Crime is everywhere, and destiny is nothing more than a concept some ponies turn to in times of struggle.
My name is Twilight Sparkle. This is my story.
---
“Sparkle!”
Twilight Sparkle leapt from her desk in surprise, managing to scatter the paperwork she was working on all over the floor.
“My office! Now!” the voice coming from her radio said roughly, before going silent.
She groaned and dropped her head in her hands. “Great. Not only do I have to clean this up later, but the Chief sounds mad.” She stood up and straightened her uniform. She wore a blue button up shirt and black slacks. On the left breast of her uniform was a bronze badge and a strip of text that said “Officer Sparkle”, but she lacked any adornment beyond that.
She pressed a button on the radio clipped to her shirt. “On my way, Chief,” she said, before looking around her desk again. She sighed at the mess of paper. “Well, at least I won’t be bored tonight.”
“Could be worse,” a white coated unicorn stallion said, walking up with two cups of coffee. He handed one to her.
Twilight smiled at him and accepted the coffee. “Thanks Shiny, and I don’t know. The Chief sounded really upset. I better get going before he gets even angrier.”
Shining Armor, Twilight’s Sparkle older brother, wore a white button up shirt and black slacks. His shirt was adorned with a gold badge and a single silver star, showing his rank as the Deputy Chief. He brushed some of his two-toned blue mane from his eyes, grunting as he did. “I need a haircut,” He grumbled. He followed after Twilight. “I’m heading in that direction, so I may as well join you.”
Twilight shrugged. “Sure,” she said.
---
After giving her brother a hug goodbye, Twilight opened the door to the office and walked in. “You bellowed, Chief?” she asked.
Police Chief Blueblood looked up from his paperwork. “Good,” he said, standing. Like Shining Armor, Blueblood is a white coated unicorn. Unlike Shining Armor, his mane and tail are blonde. He wore a white button up shirt with a gold badge on it. Instead of one star though, he had two. “Let’s talk,” he said.
Twilight sighed. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?” she asked.
Blueblood sighed. “Not officially, no. I called you here to ask you a question. Why are you still just an officer?”
“Well, I guess I-” Twilight was interrupted by Blueblood raising a hand to silence her.
He reached into his desk and pulled a file out. He dropped it on the desk in front of Twilight. Her eyes widened as she saw her name on it. “Before you try, I’m well aware of your record in High School, the Academy, and your law enforcement degree. Every single teacher or professor that taught you claimed you were a hard worker and fast learner. But it’s like the moment you got hired as an officer, your motivation died.” He looked into Twilight’s eyes. “I’m going to ask again, and this time I want the truth. Why are you still and officer, and not somewhere further up the line?”
Twilight drooped slightly. “...There’s no way I’m leaving this office unless I tell you, is there?”
Blueblood shrugged. “You can leave the office any time you wish, but if I don’t get an answer I like, the badge stays.”
Twilight’s hand moved to her badge. She hesitated. “I…” She sighed. “I don’t know, okay?”
Blueblood raised an eyebrow, waiting.
Twilight rubbed her arm and looked away. “When I was a little kid, I was kidnapped by a scientist from Rich Industries.”
Blueblood nodded. “I remember that day. Professor Kintobor kidnapped you because he thought you were special magically. He was rambling about you being ponykind’s salvation. You were held for two days by him, and… well, I read the report.” He paused. “... Are you scared you’ll get kidnapped again?” he asked in a softer voice.
Twilight shook her head. “No, I’ve gotten over most of what all that did to me. I didn’t bring that up because of the kidnapping though. It was the pony that saved me…”
“Celestia…” Blueblood sighed. “You know that was chalked up as the stress, hunger, and damage he did to your body causing hallucinations, right? The pony that saved you was a white Pagasus named Surprise, not an Alicorn.”
Twilight winced, but shook her head. “Respectfully, sir, I disagree. I remember it all vividly, even today. But again, that’s not why I brought it up. When Cel… when she saved me, I had already given up. I was pretty much just waiting for something to kill me and end it. But then the wall of the lab was blasted in, Kintobor was killed in the blast, and she walked in. She picked me up, held me… and told me I was safe now.” She looked up at Blueblood. “You don’t know what it’s like sir. To have hope thrust on you like that after having given up. It was almost religious, that’s how great it felt.”
“I think I can guess the rest,” Blueblood said. “You decided while you were recovering that you wanted to be like your savior, to give ponies hope like she had you, right?” Twilight nodded. “But… then why aren’t you pushing your way through the ranks? If you would just accept the promotions you keep getting offered, you’d be able to help more ponies.”
Twilight sighed. “I don’t know. I got the job, and I was excited, but soon that excitement just vanished and left me… I don’t know. I just feel like I’m not on the right track, or that maybe I missed a step somewhere, but this just doesn’t feel right. So I decided to stay where I am on the ladder until I could figure out why this feels so wrong.” She shrugged. “I haven’t had much luck.”
Blueblood sat down and looked to be thinking. Having not been dismissed, Twilight remained where she was standing. After a few minutes, he looked up. “Have you tried imagining yourself in any of the other positions up the ladder?”
Twilight nodded. “None of them felt right,” she said.
Blueblood sighed. “Sparkle… May I call you Twilight?” Twilight nodded. “Twilight, I run a tight ship here. I pride myself on being able to say the men and women working in this station can be just as effective as any military officer. That means I expect them to give their all into everything they do here, from shining their shoes to taking down criminals. If you can’t promise me that you’ll give this job your all, Twilight… I’m afraid I may have to ask you to turn over your badge.”
Twilight wilted slightly.
“I won’t do that yet,” Blueblood waved a hand. “Instead, I want you to take the week off and try and figure this out. Maybe go the Castle Museum or something. Some ponies say inspiration strikes them as they’re touring the place, so who knows.” He looked her in the eyes. “Come Monday, if you can’t look me in the eye and promise both me and yourself that you’ll give this job one hundred and ten percent, and mean it… you’ll leave this office without your badge. Are we clear?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes sir. I understand,” she said.
Blueblood smiled. “Good. Now go enjoy your time off.”
Twilight nodded and left. After a moment, Blueblood picked up his phone and dialed a number. “... Yes, this is Police Chief Blueblood. Can you patch me through to the Commissioner please?... Thank you… Commissioner. I just spoke with her. It went about as well as you suspected. If she’s got as much magic as that nutjob thinks she does, she may be developing path-crossing. I did as you suggested and told her to have the week off to try and get her head on straight. I even suggested the museum like you said. I just don’t get why.” He sighed. “Yeah, I know. Classified, classified, classified. I swear, she does this just to give me headaches…”
He snorted. “You too, eh? Oh well. We still on for drinks tonight?... Alright, I’ll see you then. I’ll talk to you later, Night Light. Bye.”