Orchard Blossom stood in proud attention. She wasn't alone, one of about six graduating ponies in sharp police attired. The chief of police standing at a podium to address the crowd. "We have a fine batch of graduates today. Each has shown in their own way their readiness to support the community and protect our ponies from dangers." The crowd clapped and stomped eagerly. "If you should see them, know they are a safe pony to call on." He winked suddenly. "But if they're not dressed properly, they're probably off duty, so let them have a moment off, hm?"

Polite chuckles did the round, the clapping continue. "Just Cause! Step forward." The chief handed each graduate their diploma in kind. With Ochard Blossom, things deviated a little. "Our first princess police officer. This comes with other... adjustments. Our recruit intends to serve Equestria at large, not just our fair city."

Blossom saluted the cheering crowd, stance stiff and upright.

"One of her talents is getting from place to place in a hurry, but she's a night pony, like Princess Luna. So, troublemakers that think they can hide in the dark, watch out! She'll be coming for you, and she doesn't care if it's Baltimare or Las Pegasus!" The crowd only cheered louder. A princess that was protecting them, directly? How delightful!

The new policeponies were officially welcomed to the force by the ponies they would protect and a selection of other officers clapping politely along with them. The afterparty began, with ponies sipping from fancy glasses and chatting amiably about how things had gone.

"Hm." The mare that was, in some ways, Blossom's boss, the leader of her squad, peered at her suspiciously. "The brass says I can't give you a patrol. What exactly do you plan to do that'll help any of us?"

Blossom turned to the officious and irate mare. "Good evening, ma'am. Ah reckon they didn't see the purpose since ah'll be wanderin' 'round as much as ah will be."

"About that!" She glared at Blossom with renewed fury. "A police officer is supposed to protect this city. What kind of officer is off somewhere else?"

"The kind that serves Equestria," Blossom replied without a quiver in her voice. "If it helps, ya trained an agent of Celestia an' Luna and they right appreciate it."

"Is that so...?" She paced left and came back to where she began. "I'll be double checking that! If they don't agree with you, you are getting tossed off the force so hard, they'll have to repave where your butt slaps the sidewalk!"

Blossom watched her stalk off in a huff. "Don't mind her." Another officer, a stallion, was smiling at her. "She likes things by the books, and you're busy re-writing them, so of course she's upset."

"Anything ah aughta do?" Blossom turned to face the new stallion. "Not tryin' to cause no trouble."

He tipped his hat towards Blossom. "Just do your job. Not much more to it than that. She respects results. Now, me? I'm quite curious how this'll turn out." He patted Blossom on the shoulder. "You cut a nice figure in the uniform. More princesses should try it. Do right by it and we won't have any poblems at all."

Blossom saluted sharply. "Oh! Ah'll need to visit the other cities afore ah can visit 'em whenever. Can't just go anywhere ah think of. It's gotta be someplace ah been to 'least once."

He whistled softly at that. "I'd ask how you plan to watch so much at once, but Princess Luna manages it with her dream patrol, so I'll write that up to a princess thing and stop worrying about it. Either way, unless you have your own funds, you'll need to get in better with your captain before you ask for money for field trips."

"Hm. Jus' as well. Ah wanna help out 'round this city. 'Least ah can do for showin' me so many things!"

"That's the spirit!" He slapped her on the side and started off. "Look forward to hearing about how that goes."

Blossom trotted alongside her girlfriend. "And this is where ah work!"

"With that fancy outfit." Sugar Belle leaned against her police-suit wearing girlfriend. "You arrest anypony just yet?"

"Not yet. Oh! Ah'm on duty." She pointed to her chest, where she wore her outfit and badge. "Or ah wouldn't be wearin' this. That'd be against the rules, 'less it was a special occasion or somethin', and meetin' yer special somepony don't count, no matter how special they are."

"Tease." She pawed at Blossom with a giggle. "So am I here to watch you patrol? I thought we were going to have fun."

"Can't be both?" With a toss of her head, Blossom lifted Sugar Belle into the air and started down the road. "Two sets of eyes an' ears means we'll be twice as good at noticin' trouble, and you'll get to see me work."

"Lead on." Sugar walked in the air, her hooves having no ground to find purchase in. "I can walk though..."

"Right." Blossom set her down gently to take care of her own locomotion.

A sudden hurry of clip-clops announced the arrival of a panting pony. "Ma'am!"

Blossom twirled on them. "Somethin' the matter?"

"West Wind." He pointed off frantically. "She was on her fire escape, and the whole thing came loose! She's dangling off the side!"

Blossom's eyes widened at the report, taking to the air with a strong flap. "Show me the way." She soared back the way the pony came from, though shouts and gasps of other ponies guided the way as a crowd had gathered to see the entire side of fire escapes on a building coming loose, with a pony desperately clinging to the rails of one of them. "Shoot... Back off!" She waved desperately for the crowd to disperse. They were in immediate danger of the fire escape falling on them, to say nothing of the poor mare caught on it directly. "Make some space."

Fortunately, she was not the only police officer in the city. Others were starting to show up and got to crowd control without her needing to ask them. That one worry put to the side, Blossom zipped in close to the mare as she tilted an inch at a time, each with a groan of metal as it gave way. "Ain't even the first mare tonight." She wrapped the mare in her magic and picked her up, or tried. The mare was clutching to the fire escape desparetely. "Ah gotcha! Leggo! That won't save ya none."

And it gave, the fire escape falling free of the building with a metallic screech. Her magic wasn't enough to pry the desperate mare, and there wasn't time to be clever. Blossom surged forward, crashing into the mare as they both fell with the metal. Orchard hugged the falling pony, and they landed in front of the train station to the mild surprise of the ponies there.

The mare shoved Blossom away violently, but realized a moment later that she hadn't smashed into the ground. She wasn't falling. She wasn't anywhere more dangerous than a sidewalk. "What?"

Back at the building, the fire escape crashed to the ground in a cloud of raising dust and strobing lights. The fire fighting team had just arrived, helping to keep ponies out of the dangerous places and start cleaning up And then there was Sugar Belle, looking around with some confusion. "Where'd he get off to?" Sure, her 'he' was a 'she' at the moment, but that didn't much matter to her in that confusing moment.

"Ya alright?" Blossom looked the rescued mare over for injuries, but didn't spot any obvious ones.

"I am not alright!" The mare stomped the sidewalk. "There I was, jus' enjoyin' a nice summer night, bang! Whole things fallin 'round my ears!" She threw up her hooves. "Jus' like that! Thought Ah was gonna..." She flopped back to her haunches. "Thanks for the save or whatever..."

Orchard Blossom nodded softly. "Pleasure to serve, ma'am. You be careful." The mare was safe. Getting more of a thanks was not the priority. "Need a lift back to yer place?"

"I got hooves!" she snapped, marching in place just to demonstrate that. "Don't need no foaling, eesh." She marched away with her nose turned up high.

Orchard hurried back to the scene of the accident. He spotted Sugar Belle and hurried over to her. "Yer alright."

"Yep." She crossed her arms. "Don't feel like I did much..."

"Not that time... But a mare coulda got hurt real bad."

"And she didn't?" Sugar hugged Blossom firmly, if briefly. "Glad to hear that at least, but I want an evening of us enjoying the town instead of protecting it."

"Promise." Blossom touched noses before hurrying along to report in with the other officers on the scene. She only returned once everything was confirmed to be in oder. "It's mostly out of our hooves now. Ain't much more fer a police pony to do that the fire ponies ain't already doin'. Wanna move on?"

"With pleasure!" Sugar started away from the scene. "How'd that mare do? How'd you save her? You just... kinda vanished."

"Ah did. Ya been there before. I grabbed 'er and we were in front of the train station."

Sugar's brows went up. "Oh! You teleported or whatever, neat! I didn't know you could do that with a pony you were holding." She curled a hoof to her chin. "I'm going to want that, later."

"Want what?" Blossom arched a curious brow. "To teleport?"

"Yep, in your arms." Sugar leaned against Blossom. "How you'll be taking me home later, so be ready for it."

"Wit' pleasure." They exchanged a fond rubbing of their cheeks, but Orchard Blossom was still on duty and they got back to patrolling the city, together.

"That was real dumb of you." A villain that looked like a mafia member tipped his hat with one hoof, the other on a gun he was pointing at Sugar Belle. "Bringing a helpless civvie with you? It's like you want me to win." He turned back to the frozen Orchard Blossom. "Got you where I want you. So put up--" His words stopped when Sugar Belle jumped on him, bashing at his head and shoulders with wild thumps of her hooves.

The distracted was enough for Blossom to surge into action, wrenching the pony's gun away with a glowing horn and sending it flying far away from the fight. "Stop right there!"

"Ah ain't the one fighting!" The poor mafia pony was being beaten mercilessly by Sugar Belle into the ground, trying desperately to cover their head from further abuse. "Call off your dame!"

Chuckling, Blossom nudged Sugar with her magic, one hoof on the back of the baddie. "Yer under arrest fer pointin' a gun at a pony."

"She attacked me!" he wailed, still on the ground. "Why ain't ya arrestin' her?"

"Ya pointed the gun at her first. It's self defense now, and her hooves don't count as a more lethal weapon last ah checked, so..." Blossom half-yanked the stallion to his hooves. "Now get movin'!" She took him to the nearest wagon to be carted off to face justice for his crimes.

Sugar was still breathing hard when Blossom got back. "That was... exciting... but also kinda dangerous... This really isn't the kind of job you should be taking your plus ones to, I think... You're welcome to join me in the bakery anytime! I'll keep you safe from the oven and all that sugar, promise..." She shuffled from hoof to hoof, looking around the darkened alleyway. "But this is a bit much."

Arguments came to Orchard Blossom's mind, but died about as fast. "Sorry fer gettin' you in trouble." She rubbed at one arm with the other hoof. "But ya defended yerself right good. Ah'm really proud of ya."

Sugar peered at Blossom a moment before she laughed. "I did do that, didn't I? Never thought I'd take down a thug like that..." She karate chopped the air with a keyaa! "That'll show them for thinking I was an easy mark."

Author's Note

Police work is not really a take-your-friend kinda job. Baking is so much safer...

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