Wordplay aside, was there (either in canon or in your opinion) an Equestrian military draft during the war? I know there was mention of ponies needing to return home (pegasi specifically) to tend to the weather, but don't recall if there was a canonical draft or if there for sure wasn't one in Fallout: Equestria.

There probably was but who knows. I think there was.

I think there was in the canon. Im pretty sure it was mentioned at least once.

I believe there was a draft.

7841822
Considering how much looses were bothering pegasi there definitely was draft aimed primarily at them.

7841822
I don't think it was specified in the original. The only use of "draft" was in reference to the Enclave drafting particularly skilled pegasi. "Conscript" and derivatives don't appear at all in the text. Even looking for any mention of ponies being "forced" or "pressed" into service comes up blank. On the other hand, even the Enclave apparently uses voluntary enlistment (with such things as the right to run for government and expanded reproduction rights as incentives), and the only instance I can think of discussing a pony joining the Equestrian military was voluntary (Rainbow Dash signing up with the Skyguard).

It's possible that they had only voluntary enlistment. On the other hand, it's also possible that they resorted to a draft, especially late in the war when things were dire. But I can't find anything (or remember anything) that specifies one way or the other.

7841822
Well, FoE is based on Fallout games, so if there was a draft in that lore, the same should be true for its pony variant.
I don’t think they would need a draft in Equestria though - ponies seem to be high-trust, low-consciousness enough for simple shaming to do the job.