A week passed by, and the effects of the Defense against the Unicorns and Pegasi Act, as it was now known, were starting to become noticeable within our local area. The region had undergone a profound transformation. The population had been recruited, where they lacked other occupations, into military production. Those not recruited into military production had become subject to military recruitment drives, with citizens being encouraged to sign up and serve their country, or at the very least become a reservist if the call to war was required. This wasn't what I'd expected, but with my position as Sheriff of Maretime Bay I was in what was termed a protected occupation, and thus I was exempt from military conscription of any sort. Because between you and me going to war didn't sound too appealing. Very messy. A lot of cleanup required.
These changes had shifted the nature of our town as well. Several temporary military bases and forts had been set up in the area to house the growing numbers of troops in the region. It wasn't just troops. Armour pools were being assembled, and were being filled with armored vehicles of every type and shape. Tanks, mobile artillery, transports of all types, helicopters and gunships, and other craft were being put into position in readiness for combat deployment. Something in me was concerned that this would trigger an arm's race with the other tribes, but data I'd seen on the pegasus military confirmed that was even more massive than ours, so many earth ponies saw this as a way of getting even.
How was all this stuff being made, I hear you wander? Or wonder. One of the two. It turns out the bill also turned other facilities over to military production, even civilian ones. The factories that already existed to make military equipment were struggling to keep up with demand, and temporary factories had been built in the region thanks to our coastal access. Water is vital for powering these facilities, both for tidal and hydro power and a number of other useful features.
Not even the main CanterLogic factory was immune to these changes. The lower levels, which had once produced poorly made defensive junk that had proven to be more of a hazard to us than to the enemy, had been converted for the making of small arms. Rifles, pistols, and machine guns rattled off the production lines at incredible speed, all needed to keep our troops armed and supplied. The ammunition was made at another site to minimize the risk of explosions and other things that would damage a military factory.
The old entrance hall and main floor, which had sat in front of the main production level, had been gutted. The stage where the annual technology demonstration took place had been removed, along with the lobby where visitors used to check in. Something about them wasting space, or something like that. Phyllis had grumbled about the loss of a space to exhibit her items, but the military had overruled her, stating that being ready to fight was more important than making a profit.
And what had happened to that level? Well, it had been turned into an enormous tank factory.
Numerous assembly lines labored day and night, turning iron and steel into parts needed for armored vehicles- tracks, hulls, plating, turrets, and other critical components (although the weapons and engines were fitted elsewhere). The skies were black with smoke from all the production, and hastily laid railroad lines were being used to move these supplies about the area.
It was a surreal sight, seeing my previously quiet region of the world turned into an enormous military park. I guess this was how a lot of people in England felt when the Americans arrived and were being squeezed into local towns and cities. But this was the consequences of my actions. When I'd gone to Fillydelphia I hadn't anticipated that the government would make a response quite like this.
What if the other leaders simply upped arms production in response and we just ended up at war? We'd be in quite a lot of trouble if that happened. Not to mention other side effects had occurred. You see that concrete lamp post just out there? That was made of cast iron before all of this began. It was removed as part of the scrap drives they had running to ensure there was enough iron and steel to make weapons. Understandable, but the affect it had on the town was dramatic.
I stood there, one dreary, gray day, looking out over the sea which by now was filling up with ships as part of the rearmament program. Behind me was the endless smoke of the factories, and before me was an endless sea of gray ships ready for action. I didn't envy any of those sailors in the slightest, endlessly swaying up and down on the water. Just thinking about it is giving me motion sickness.
I was thinking to myself as a military brass band marched past, playing a patriotic tune. I knew the melody from the world I'd come from, but of course the words were different, singing about how pegasi and unicorns would be driven back.
I probably sound like a stuck record, but this was not what I'd intended at all. Law of unforeseen consequences and all that.
I sat there, thinking to myself. And it was then I remembered something from long, long ago.
I hadn't heard anything from Hitch in a long time. Was he in danger wherever he had gone? He had been heading for the lands of the pegasi a while ago, and hadn't reported back at all. Given the lack of speech I could only assume the worst was happening. Hitch was in trouble, and he needed my help. Specifically mine. Who else has the handsome looks or bravery of my heart, that could help him out of such a terrifying situation as the one that surrounded us?
I knew what I had to do. I went home to the flat I rented and collected together things I would need for a long journey that lay ahead of me. A bag for things, some snacks, other useful supplies that would be needed for a long travel distance, and the other tools which I might need.
I figured I would leave without telling anypony. After all, Phyllis could run this place by herself without any difficulty. She's both the mayor and the head of the town's biggest employer, so she could easily run things. Besides, with the Military Police and my deputies to keep order, nothing bad should happen in Maretime Bay.
I just had to make sure I was away and gone before curfew. Being out after the curfew was generally a bad thing, as you could be put in jail and be denied ice cream. And that's just terrible!
I flipped the bag onto my back and prepared to get on my way towards my destination. I had a lot of travelling to do, and seeing as the truck I had used to get to Fillydelphia had been requisitioned by the army I had no choice but to make my long journey entirely on foot. Or on hoof, so to speak, as I didn't have feet.
As another band marched past, blasting more tunes (or it might have been the same brass band- I couldn't really tell them apart by this point), I made my way down the streets, before hiding behind a trash can to avoid a military patrol. Once they were out of the way, I moved off once more down the beachfront as best I could. I then stopped behind another object to avoid detection.
Once I had cleared the many obstacles, including hiding behind Sunny's smoothie cart at one point (I'm amazed the military didn't hall it away and use it as wood), I made my way out of town under the bridge. I began to climb a gap and up past the lighthouse, which had been requisitioned by the army as a watchpost for watching the sea approaches should any ships try to sneak up. I suspect unicorn ships are only medium sneaky.
Once I was away and clear from the town, with the sun beginning to fade behind us and turning the skies a brilliant shade of orange, the enormity of what I was about to do fell upon me.
I was heading away from comfort and all I had ever known and heading out into an unknown land, full of all sorts of dangers. Not just the guy I'd fought in that big robot, but the other potential threats too. Dangerous lands, hot deserts, and all sorts of lands awaited me to the north in this new realm.
But I had to go. Hitch needed help, and as such I had no choice but to make a journey north. I sighed and set off.
I had no way of knowing this journey would be my making.