The Burning World

67 Ave, Block B-2, Canterlot

Applejack and Billie Hobbs were walking down the hall leading to the main office where all the officers convened and filed paperwork.

They had just finished showering in the mare's locker rooms and were ready to start they're night-shift, even though Applejack and Billie would have much preferred home. The nights were moderate to dangerous at best. Nothing was concrete in terms of obstructive violence caused by locals or the stray Hackitt, but sometimes in numbers things tend to go wary for the department in B-2. Block B in general wasn't as conscientiously sought of as much as Block A, but when it came to numbers of the force, B was still a mighty beast to rip apart. Though, it felt like B was suffering a more severe backlash than C or D would, perhaps.

More units were taken away and shipped off, and only a few years earlier this was were the bulk of the Canterlot police force stayed. Now it's numbers were cut in half, and everyone has been feeling the pressure more than ever. Applejack only joined, however, when those days were finally over. Most of the mane six only joined after the world went down in the tubes. Though each depending on where they specialized in terms of their personal self some were stationed at certain Blocks while others were relocated in another city altogether.

Applejack didn't want to become a police officer at all, but the family business she had helped build from the ground up failed to materialize when the world suddenly killed off most of it's food-source. Something in the ground, or mother nature's intention caused this epidemic five and half years ago. And it has been a long grueling one for Applejack. She never knew what happened to most of her relatives, but hoped everyday that they were alive and well. But she prayed the most that they didn't turn into Hackitt's. She was thankful to bring the ponies back in her farm with her, Big Macintosh was another officer patrolling the streets of Block C-1. He had hoped that they offer him a better position, but he didn't mind dealing with the worst of the worst in Canterlot. It was a perfect place for him to vent his frustration when bashing in a Hackitt's skull. He was a tough-love stallion in that sense.

Billie, on the other hoof, knew it in her heart that she wanted to become a government official. Lucky for her, she had the experience of this job a few years before everyone was subdued into this new world. She was assigned to another partner for three years prior to the events that claimed millions before he got transferred to Block A about a year ago. For a year now, she's been with Applejack and they're relationship was rocky at first: Much like Rainbow Dash, both were incredibly stubborn when it came to their job. And often enough, clashes were always inevitable - and they still are too like that, just not so dense anymore. Eventually, after the first few months everything thawed and now they sometimes enjoy their time together, but also they love to antagonize one another just to see who's bubble would burst.

A officer walked past them in a hurry, struggling to get to wherever he was planning on heading.

"Bad night last night, Simmity Sam?" Billie half-joked.

Samuel turned his body around and took note of his co-worker while scanning her frame down-up.

"Yeah, it was. I don't really want to get to it the graphic details here, mam." The scrawny recruit replied sheepishly.

The phone rang, Applejack turned her attention to the window across from there and noticed it was her phone on her desk ringing.

"Ah gotta take that, might be Granny Smith or my sister." Applejack uttered as she shot into the room and raced to her desk.

"Why, did anyone die?" Billie asked sweetly.

"No, but two officers are in hospital and one other local. It was a chain-gang of Hackitts on Burned Drive down in the alleyways by Franklin Street."

"No way?!" Billie replied shockingly, raising the palm of her hooves up to mouth. "That same place, there was just a hit there two weeks earlier and we almost lost our lives trying to save a poor kid who missed the daily curfew."

"How did the local get hurt?" She asked.

"He was the guy we were trying to save, because they were encroaching on his land and he called us. So we head over there, and the situation got too hot so we sent for extra reinforcements. But by that point they were already on top of me and trying to gnaw their way through my elbow and leg pads. Thank Celestia I didn't die right there."

"I'll bet, it's a damn shame no one follows protocol because armor like that does save your life."

"It's ridiculous, alright." Samuel was now eased into the conversation that he was openly talking as if they were friends. "I mean, protocol's are practically the reason there is any sort of government left, and it sicken's me that nobody takes this stuff seriously. I'm living proof."

"I know!" She stated exuberantly, coming closer within contact of his bubble. "It's silly the way the force looks at these opportunities and simply shrug it off. Because, this isn't the old days where we could all just piss around and have a little bit of fun. We didn't have ponies trying to eat us in those days, so I'm still fuzzing on why some officers don't take situations like this seriously."

Just then their boss walks through the hallway and immediately both of them turn around and walk back to their duties. He was a older man with brownish fur slowly turning to full gray, his face represented the epitome of what a grunted man looks like. It was almost disgusting to look at him if you let those kind of thoughts simmer while you were in a conversation with him. Possibly because his face was so distinguishable that thinking it not so would mean you're in denial. He gave a dreaded look at the both of them before strolling on ahead with paperwork under his armpit and a doughnut gliding above the air with his magic.

2:42 AM, it must have been one of the two. The sharp trilling noise of the phone was aggravating enough, she picked it up as she sat down in her chair.

"Hey," It was Applebloom.

"Up late again?" Applejack asked worryingly.

"Just checking on you, is all." she playfully said, though the tone of her voice expressed it more worryingly than Applebloom had anticipated.

Applejack laughed."You know if ah had that one thing called the bed', ah'd be sleeping in that instead of-"

"It's so quiet here, hate it when you do nights." Her true intention came out as too why she would be calling.

"Only a few more days. You should sleep." She paused as she slightly bit her lip. "Ah would if ah were you.

Applejack's tone did take away some of that edge that had been at Applebloom's rump for the past few nights. Especially that southern drawl she was so perfect at speaking, it made her feel good to have a sister like her. She worried, but more than that. She kept hounding her big sister to go on a trip and leave this place for a while - like they use to.

The chat between them usually now turned into arguments when this subject came up. Their relationship, a whole new casualty in this cursed world. She was fifteen anyways, so it was expected that she'd be acting like this now, hormones and what-not.

Go where? Do what? Leave the job that had supported them for years? Abandon Celestia and her friends? Where to?

These were thoughts that had pillowed and anchored it's way into Applejack's head for the past couple years now.

Supposedly, if you traveled well-deep enough that you could find jobs in the country. Factories still stuck around to produce odd ends and whatever prospectors could salvage because it became too costly with manpower and money to send their own employee's out into the world. The death toll was wealthy in that aspect. Plants were they struggled at running old machines that are in need of serious repair, and producing and stretching their thin food resources across the nation, and if lucky enough, around the world. Because the world is all in this together, but that makes it hard when everyone still struggles immensely to feed their own.

The money wasn't bad. Sooner or later, she might get posted in Manehatten or Block A, at a desk-job. She just had to hang in there. Not that working on the streets were bad, but once you've reached a certain apex between life and death. You know you have to get out, and Applejack is starting to like the idea of getting out.

"Quiet night, sis?" Applebloom asked.

"Yep, so far it has, ah can't say about the next few hours, though." Applejack started, her hoof fumbled for the clutch to extend her seat so she could lie back.

"Well that's good." Applebloom added, she rolled over around her bed while the phone-cord tangled with her body.

"Ya." Applejack replied, she played with her mane momentarily.

A long pause based around their phone chat made it feel awkward.

"Well, ah'm going to go to bed. Night." Applebloom yawned as she closed the phone somewhat harshly. Not intentionally, but she needed some sleep if she were going to get to school in a few hours.

"Goodnight." Applejack felt terribly alone soon as the line went dead. She grabbed the phone and the cord and curled it around her hoof firmly. Her face stared into the abyss, her eyes becoming cold as day, she dared not to look at others because she was afraid of others seeing a slight tear well up in the corner of her eyes.

She placed her head down on the mound of paperwork in front of her and hoped there wasn't going to be a call tonight.

93 Ave, Block A-3, Canterlot

Rainbow Dash too, was dealing with another rookie who happened to stroll by her while she walking up some stairs that lead to the second floor of the building. "Could be, could be. But you know, one night out there. Rolling and strolling and fighting your way out of a Hackitt's force could be too much for one officer, I'd recommend you take it easy next time, Fumbles."

"I mean, you shouldn't worry? There's always some young fool who wants to be a part of what's left of Canterlot's finest." She spoke in that playful tone that Twilight had become use to when Rainbow decided to talk to some new recruit. But for the life of her, she just thought it was annoying.

"She means young ponies want to live here while Canterlot still has a name." Twilight refurbished and got rid of the excessive baggage that Rainbow was just using to toy with her pet.

"Yeah, not only that." Rainbow rested her back on the stair-rail, her wings overlapping it. "But make sure you watch out for Hackitt dogs, now those feline bastards are one scary fuc-"

"Rainbow." Twilight sighed, her head tilted towards the door across from them up the stairs.

Rainbow stopped short and continued along with Twilight, thankfully the message registered. And thank Celestia that she didn't actually have to resort to obstructive language and volume to convey her response.

Hesitated, Rainbow lightly replied back just as they left the recruit contemplating his thought on the lone steps. Laughing, she started. "I mean, c'mon Twilight. What do you think these kids should hear? That the olden days are still hanging in our badges and that the boys in blue still exist. 'To serve and protect.'" She made a silly face in the process. "Only what's there to protect with from the Hackitt's raging - each one looking to take a nice, big juicy bite from-"

"I get it." Twilight stopped her friend, short.

"Fair enough, Twilight. Fair-"

"I got it, Rainbow. I've been doing this as long as you have. Right?"

"Yeah. Right, sorry Twilight," Rainbow admitted, thoughtfully enough. "I guess I was a tad harsh on the kid?"

"A tad? Dash you were something. And that will never change..." Twilight bored on the inevitable factor that Rainbow was just being Rainbow, and Twilight was just being Twilight End of story.

The clanking of her hooves clopping on the solid floor was almost a ringing sound piercing through Twilight's ears as they walked in silence to a destination they don't even know where they're going.

The walls expanding throughout the entire hallway had two very simplistic color-coated paints of green and teal. Almost representing a recreational center or a hospital of some kind. The wall colors were divided in half with green facing the lower half, and teal taking the upper. This building has seen it's fair share of history, that was what you could say about something well over a century old.

They kept walking and the windows around them glittered that solid light from outside, almost vividly piercing through the window itself. The lights were massive, both of them wondered how the security in the outer-regions of Canterlot could handle such power from those lights. Than again, this precinct was much closer to the edge of town than others of Block A.

Finally Rainbow broke the long-over due silence that had echoed it's way throughout the derelict halls.

She turned her to Twilight and softly spoke, "Let's hope for a quiet night and maybe some spaghetti left-overs at the mess all, alright?"

Twilight Sparkle began to smile once again,"Yes. Lets."