It was my first day back on the job since my partner was killed. I had seen it all: we responded to a routine bank robbery but things went downhill fast. I had gotten myself caught by one of the robbers and was being held hostage. My partner and my captor exchanged bullets, and I was the only one left standing. I relived that day every night when I closed my eyes. I tried to kill myself. I crashed my motorcycle into oncoming traffic and I tried drowning myself in a river. Long story short, I was a mess. I wasn’t ready to come back yet. But I had a wife and kids. Mouths to feed.

It was time to man up.

I pushed opened the door to the 78th precinct in Brooklyn, my second home for the past 8 years. Applause broke out as I walked through the lobby. I didn’t want any of it. I was no hero. I sulked into the locker room and started changing into my uniform. I sat there alone for a few minutes as I collected my thoughts. As I was finishing buttoning up my shirt, I heard a voice from behind me.

“Don t Spend Another Day Suffering.”

I snapped my head around just in time to see the door close. What? Am I hearing things? Am I going insane? I shook it off and walked out to the assignment board. I grabbed the keys to my cruiser, ready to start my daily beat. As I was about to walk out the door I heard the Chief call out behind me.

“Johnson!”

I turned to see not just the Chief standing there, but a majestic brown stallion with a white stripe down his nose, wearing Ray-Bans and a police uniform.

“Meet your new partner, horse_ebooks.”

The horse extended a hoof. “Horse ebooks,” he said. I looked back at the Chief.

“I don’t do partners any more”

The Chief took me to the side.

“Listen, I know you’re still shook up about the loss of Jones, but you’re going to have to move on. You need a partner. This kid was the top of his class at the academy, but we need someone to show him the ropes. You’re our best cop, Johnson.”

He slapped me on the back. I took a deep breath and walked over to the horse, still extending his hoof, and shook it. It was going to be a long day.

It was a quiet morning. We spent it cruising around the streets of Brooklyn, looking for trouble but on a cold morning like this we weren’t going to find much. He talked my ear off, and told me about his past jobs: betting on horses, using AdSense keywords to make money online, and curing erectile dysfunction just to name a few. I kept my mouth shut. I had no interest in talking to this rookie.

We stopped for lunch at a tiny Mexican joint in Sunset Park. Horse_ebooks took his muzzle out of his food for a moment to exclaim “Splendiferous Guacamole” before digging back in. Moments later, the call came in over the radio.

“Unit 592, there is a 295 at First National Bank. Repeat, a 295 at First National Bank. Do you copy?”

Horse_ebooks put his Ray-Bans on and got up from the table.

“Ride”

“N-no. I can’t. Let someone else take the call. I watched my partner die there. I-I just can’t.”

He sat back down and looked at me.

“One day, you re crashing a bike, the next day you re getting shot, the next day you re laying face-down dead in a river - all in a”

He stopped himself.

“Confidence and Courage” he said to me.

I looked down at my badge. “To Serve and Protect” it read. He was right. This was no time to wallow in self loathing. People were in danger. They need my help. I can’t let the same thing happen to them I let happen to my partner. I slapped a $20 bill on the table, grabbed my keys and ran out to the car, with Horse_ebooks galloping behind.

“Apprehending Bail Fugitives,” Horse_ebooks said into the radio as we drove to the scene.

We pulled up to the bank and ran inside. There was a lone gunman holding a gun to a tellers head. I froze up.

“Shoes and footwear” whispered Horse_ebooks, pointing up to a box of promotional sandals the bank was giving away when you open up a new account. It was hanging precociously above the gunman’s head.

“Take one more step and I’ll kill her!” he shouted.

I knew what I had to do. I tossed my baton in the air. Horse_ebooks quickly turned around and kicked it right into the box of sandals. That was enough of a distraction, we rushed in and apprehended the robber.

I shut the door to the cruiser, locking the perp in, and looked back at my new partner. “Thank you, Horse_ebooks. Thank you for allowing me to regain my confidence. I know you just got out of the academy but you’ve taught me a lot. Is there anything else you’d like to show me?”

He took a step closer to me and rubbed his muzzle on my neck. “How to awaken your partner s desire.” he whispered sensually.