Silver Lake

by The Boss

First published 16th of May, 2018

The town of Silver Lake has a new Deputy, who happens to be a human. The only human in Equestria, or so he thinks. He's underpaid, overworked, but he likes his job. Things are changing in his town, he can only hope they're for the better.

Not much happens in Evergreen County, there's only one town. A little backwater known as Silver Lake, with a population of only five hundred. Despite it's remote location and small size, Silver Lake needs law and order just as much as the rest of Equestria. Enter Deputy Turner, the newest addition to the Evergreen County Sheriff's Department. He happens to be the only human in the world as far as he knows, but he doesn't let that little tidbit get him down. It's been six years, after all. He's got a good place to live, good friends, and now a job doing what he's proud of.

Things take a turn when Deputy Turner ends up with the task of escorting three mares from up north to solve a 'Friendship Problem' out in the expansive Horseshoe Basin. This task sets in motion a chain of events that will reveal the truth about Turner's place in the world, and in the process bring newfound attention to the sleepy hamlet of Silver Lake. Where attention is shown, crime is sure to follow.

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May or may not contain adult content later on (but probably yes). The Mature tag at the moment is mainly due to some instances of swearing, alcohol consumption, and for chapters which may range from murder, drug dealing, and other illegal activities. It's a story about a Sheriff's Deputy after all, it'd be boring if there wasn't some law enforcing to do. It's been a while since I've 'put pen to paper' and wrote something relating to MLP (or anything in general for that matter), so please forgive me if I'm a little rusty. I'm trying to do a mostly OC based cast of characters this time around, but expect a couple cameos and the like.

As always, comments are welcome.

Welcome to Evergreen County

The first thing that Turner noticed was the smell of beer, whiskey, and cigar smoke that hung in the air like a thick fog. This was followed by the sounds of a barely busy road outside, but outside of where…? The young man let out a groan and sat up in the barely comfortable bed, looking around in hopes of getting his bearings. He was in a dark and dingy bedroom from the looks of it, beer bottles were scattered around and it looked like a tornado had come through and tossed the furniture. On second thought, he realized that he was in his apartment, but had simply gone on a celebratory bender the night before. The door to his bathroom was wide open, and Turner noticed that he seemed to not be wearing clothes. His pale skin completely exposed to the humid air, save for the parts of him covered by his blanket.

“What the fuck…?” Turner muttered to himself as he quickly found his boxers and pulled them on before getting out of bed. His head was absolutely throbbing, and his shoulder ached with a dull pain that seemed to be joined by a notable burning sensation. He looked around the room a bit more closely, gathering up his clothes and tossing them on the bed. He came upon the bedside table, which happened to be the only furniture piece that seemed undisturbed. Resting on its surface was his wallet, completely devoid of any cash that may have been in there. Thankfully his ID and other credentials were still there though. There was a note next to it, which seemed to offer an explanation as to where his money had gone. “Turner, guess you weren’t kidding when you said you were a wildman. Don’t worry, kid. We have your cash, just wanted to make sure you didn’t piss it away while you were drunk. Well, more than you already did...” He read aloud before trailing off and looked at the door to the room. “Son of a bitch… What happened last night?”

Turner left the note on the table and walked into the bathroom, examining himself in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot, his head was devoid of any of his usually thick black hair. It seemed that he had shaved his head completely in his drunken stupor, thankfully it seemed someone had managed to keep him from doing too much damage to himself. His new tattoo was fine as well… Wait. Tattoo?

“Fuck me... What the did I do?” Turner groaned as he looked at his shoulder, it was red and sore for a reason, he’d gotten a tattoo. It depicted a Sheriff’s Badge. It all started to come back to him when he set his eyes on that image though. He recalled the day before, he had finally been made a deputy for the County. Turner had been freelancing with the Sheriff for the past couple years, helping track lost campers and other things like that. He had parlayed that work into something a bit more meaningful. After all, Evergreen County was small and understaffed. The man quietly sighed and opened his medicine cabinet, then withdrew a couple painkillers to ease his throbbing head. With those downed he splashed some water on his face and went about his morning routine. A shower, shave, and a quick bowl of cereal later he was getting dressed.

He pinned his new badge to the beige colored uniform shirt, adjusted his pressed brown paints, and laced up his shined combat boots. His shoulder still stung, but the ibuprofen was doing its job well enough that he could ignore it. With his clothes in order, Turner made his way through the rest of the apartment to his front door, he pulled it inwards and stepped outside. The newly minted deputy raised a hand over his eyes as the bright sun greeted him, hissing in pain he closed the door and locked it before quietly descending a set of steps.

The Apartment complex was small, it only had around four units, though two were vacant. It was made of an adobe like material, much like the rest of the small town of Silver Lake, Equestria. In its heyday, Silver Lake had been a boom town of silver mines, but in recent years it had become merely a simple stop over for the rail line on it’s way to the northern parts of the country. Turner had come to Equestria a couple years prior, it had been a bit of local news, but hadn’t gone further than the Silver Lake Tribune. As far as he knew he was the only Human in the entire world, and how he’d come to that world was a mystery to him. Still, the residents of Silver Lake were good people, ponies, whatever…

They had taken him in with open arms, give him purpose and direction, helped him navigate the intense feelings that came from being separated from losing contact with his entire civilization. Now, that wasn’t to say it was a seamless transition, but it had been a heck of a lot better than going it alone.

Turner stopped as he reached the bottom of the steps and took in a deep breath, sighing to himself as he smelled the crisp spring air. Parked a couple feet away was an ‘95 Ford F-250, the same truck he’d been driving when he had ended up in this crazy pony world. They’d put some magic spell on it that made it ‘Everlasting’, which technically wasn’t true, it just wouldn’t run out of gas for a long time or break down as often… Considering how much gas it went through though, that was a godsend. It had a fresh paint job, a white coat with a forest green stripe running along the side, the golden logo of the Evergreen County Sheriff’s Department depicted on the door.

The man looked around at the surrounding landscape, the land was flat near town. Very arid grass and dry soil stretched for miles before reaching rolling hills that were covered in trees. Turner climbed into the truck with a slight grunt before turning the key, the engine rumbled to life and echoed throughout the town in the early morning light. He put the truck in drive and rolled down the window before driving away from the apartment complex, his commute to work lasted a grand total of ten minutes. He rolled past the various buildings on mainstreet, many of whom were boarded up. When he reached the end of said street he pulled up in front of a small adobe structure with a wood covered front porch, an old wooden sign depicting the word ‘Sheriff’ hung on a post from a pair of rusted old chains.

The truck’s engine switched off with the turn of the key, it was followed by Turner opening the door and getting out. He kicked the front tire a couple times before closing the door and walking towards the Sheriff’s office. The town was starting to open up for business, shop windows were opening and the street was beginning to fill with ponies. When Turner entered the office he was greeted by the musty smell of old paper and coffee. There was a large cell off in the back of the one room structure. The front portion of it had three desks set up, two were decorated with commendations or desk toys. Turner’s desk lacked any personalization at the moment, but it had a writing pad, pens, and the other basic office essentials.

Seated at the desk closest to the front door was a gruff looking stallion, he wore a brown duster and a dark black stetson was pulled down over his eyes. This was Sheriff Long Wire, the toughest hombre in the county. He’d been Sheriff since before Turner had been born, and with good reason. His desk was adorned with a dozen of commendations from the Princesses, each a trophy for outlaws he’d caught trying to escape into his county. Long Wire was a gruff looking Earth Pony, to compensate for his lack of magic he had a very menacing looking Spellgun hanging on the wall behind his desk. His once pristine black coat was streaked with white and grey, and his intense blue eyes could virtually bore a hole into a person.

“Mornin’, Sheriff.” Turner said with a nod, walking towards his desk. Long Wire quietly lifted his hat and looked over at the young man, those intense eyes were something Turner was still getting used to.

“Mornin’...” Was his simple response, he quietly cleared his throat and watched as Turner sat at his desk. There was an envelope sitting on it which, upon closer inspection, contained the cash from Turner’s wallet. “Considerin’ today’s your first day, I want to get you started on something simple.”

“Alright, Sheriff, what’s on the agenda?” Turner asked, Long Wire hummed for a moment before looking to his own desk and leafing through a couple papers he had laid out ahead of him. The stallion rose from his seat with a light grunt and made his way over to Turner’s desk, then placed the files down in front of him.

“Station duty at first, make sure all that cargo is on the manifest, checking tickets, that sort of stuff.” The stallion’s voice carried the cadence of an experienced lawman, scratchy and rough as the desert sand itself. He tapped the folders in front of Turner, prompting the young man to look at them. “After that, I want you to head on up to check on these folks, they ain’t come into town recently and their mail’s been piling up.” Turner nodded as he opened the first file and looked at a picture that accompanied it. “I’d recommend getting a cup of coffee real quick, first train’s supposed to be here within the hour, and you’re gonna be busy.”

The young man nodded and stood from his desk, which was fine, he hadn’t gotten comfortable yet. Turner took the Sheriff’s advice and drank a quick cup of coffee before grabbing his radio and spellgun from the equipment locker which was back behind the Sheriff’s desk. With the radio and gun on his belt Turner looked and felt like a real Deputy, he said a quick goodbye to the Sheriff as he walked out the front door and went back to his truck. The rumble of the engine returned to the more active town, and Turner pulled out of the parking space and back onto the main street. He drove past a couple of the locals, as well as some tourists who seemed surprised by the vehicle, which he didn’t fault them for. After all, it wasn’t like trucks were a common thing in Equestria.

Turner parked next to the train station and sat back in his seat, looking out the window at the rail line that seemed to stretch forever north and south. The sweet embrace of the air conditioner made it far more bearable to sit and wait for that first train. Occasionally Turner would hear his radio buzz with some chatter, but nothing that stood out as more than mundane. The rumble of the engine, the breeze from the air conditioner, they were almost as soothing as the sound of waves crashing on a shore. The man began to lose himself in his thoughts, his mind wandering to all the possible dangers he could face in this job… He’d had these thoughts hundreds of times, and no matter how hard he tried to stop them he couldn’t. He knew the risks were astronomical in a town like Silver Lake, but no matter how much he consciously knew he was safe his brain refused to believe him.

Turner was pulled from these thoughts as the piercing wail of a steam whistle echoed in the distance, the Deputy looked the North before looking at his watch. The Canterlot Courier… Right on time, as usual. Turner turned off the truck and got out, quietly walking towards the station platform as the train pulled closer and closer. The ‘platform’ was barely that, it was more accurately around fifty wooden railway ties that had been pounded into the dirt. A large water tower sat at the edge of the platform, and a small adobe structure acted as the station house. Several benches were set up outside of it, a couple occupied by the few passengers that had stayed over the night before. They seemed a little uncertain as they saw Turner walking on the platform, but the fact he was wearing a Sheriff’s Deputy uniform eased their fears.

The train’s brakes squealed while the engine blew its whistle, the odd looking train was nothing like the normal Canterlot Courier. It was flashy, and almost looked like it belonged in some royal secret railway or something… Then again, Turner didn’t know much about life outside of Silver Lake, he’d never gone beyond the edge of the County. Still the normal train wasn’t painted white, nor did it have flags mounted to the front, and it normally had freight cars instead of passenger cars. The Deputy had the bright idea of taking his radio from his belt and bringing it to his mouth.

“Uh, Sheriff? We were expecting the Canterlot Courier first, right?” He asked, narrowing his eyes as the train finally came to a stop. He could see into the windows of the cars, there were ponies looking out at him with surprise.

”Yeah, why?” Long Wire replied over the radio.

“The train that just pulled in ain’t the Courier, it’s all… White and flashy. It’s got passenger cars, and flags on the engine.” Turner said as he walked towards the front of the train, steam hissed from the pistons and valves, billowing in large crowds. “Service number on the engine is.. Seven… Two seven… Nine. That on the manifest for today?”

”Negative, nothing like that on the manifest. Wait there… Make sure it don’t leave. I’ll be along.” Long Wire ordered, Turner nodded and put the radio back on his belt as he walked towards the engine and looked at the engineer that had been operating it, a unicorn with oddly pristine white fur.

“Hey! Sir?” Turner shouted, the stallion turned to look at him. “Sheriff’s Department. Need you to step on out of there.” The Unicorn was about to say something, but the glint of the badge on Turner’s uniform drew his attention. He realized that the odd bipedal creature was serious, and so he left the engine. “Step on over here for me, sir.” The man gestured to an area away from the engine. In the meantime, Turner could see ponies unloading what looked like sacks of mail from the rear train car as well as what looked like luggage of varying type.

“What seems to be the problem, Officer?” Asked the engineer with a raised eyebrow, Turner quietly pointed at the Service Number painted on the side of the engine. “Oh, right… Uh, we haven’t been stopped before.”

“Well, I’m sure you’re on the level here, sir, and maybe we just had a mix up in paperwork… But we take stuff like this very serious.” Turner replied, adjusting his uniform. Standing in the sun was proving to be irritating to his shoulder, but he ignored it for the moment as he was busy. He watched as the pieces of luggage were being set aside closer to the station house. “Mind getting me a list of the ponies on board?”

“Uh, there aren’t a heck of a lot. Three, actually… The other’s are staff.” The Engineer stated, gesturing to the third car. Turner looked at the car in question, then looked back at Engineer. “I’ll, uh… I’ll get that list.” The man nodded and watched as the Engineer walked over to the train, he climbed up inside for a moment before disappearing inside, after a couple minutes he reappeared via teleporting in front of Turner with the list in tow. Turner took it from his magical suspension and looked it over, humming to himself. There were only three names on the passenger list, nine on the staff list. Oddly enough, Silver Lake was listed as their final destination, which was the first time in a long time someone had willingly wanted to come and stay in the town for more than a day or so. Of course, he couldn’t read any of it, as it was in the Pony’s language, but he’d memorized enough manifest layouts and he knew enough to know how Silver Lake was written in the native language. “Let’s see… Rarity Belle… Applejack Apple… aaand Starlight Glimmer…” The engineer read aloud.

Turner seemed unfazed as he heard the name. The Engineer seemed surprise that there wasn’t more reaction to the names, but he didn’t say anything.

“Three ponies, why so many bags?” Turner asked suspiciously, looking at the bags that had been unloaded so far. “Also, why the flashy train?”

“One of them was insistent that we take so many, and as to your second question, the train is privately owned by the Princesses… Most rail lines don’t list Silver Lake as an actual destination, so the Princesses sent us. Those three are here on some sort of ‘Important Friendship Mission’ or something.” The Engineer said, he seemed a little annoyed by the fact that many of the train’s crew as being forced to carry that much luggage for one pony, but at least once the train was under way it wouldn’t be their problem.

“Turner!” Long Wire’s voice echoed from near the station house, both the Engineer and the Deputy turned to look at the stallion as he trotted over. “I see why you called, never seen a train like that in these parts before…”

“Apparently it’s owned by the Princesses, sir. They’re dropping off three ponies.” Turner replied, he handed the Sheriff the list that the Engineer had given him. The stallion hummed to himself as he read over the names before looking up at Turner.

“I’ve gotta fill out some forms and put in a call to the next station down the line… Go verify these are the only ponies getting off here…” Long Wire said with a sigh, he looked at the Engineer. “If they check out my Deputy’ll give you a signal and you can be on your way.” The Engineer nodded and began walking back towards the engine while Turner started towards the Passenger cars. “Turner!” The man looked over his shoulder. “Likely aren’t used to a fella like you, and with folks like these, who knows what they’ll do. Just keep a cool head, yeah?”

“Ten four, Sheriff!” Turner said with a slight grin, he wiped some sweat from his forehead as he turned back towards the passenger car. The last of the bags were being carried off and placed with the others, prompting the man to shake his head quietly. He stepped up onto the passenger car and made his way to the door, then opened the door and poked his head in to identify himself. “Sheriff’s Depart-” There was a shriek of surprise and a box of tissues hit his head. “-ment…”

Within the car were three mares who were looking at him with varying degrees of surprise, the weird pinkish colored one had her horn still glowing while the white one and the orange one were looking at her with raised eyebrows. Turner stepped into full view of them, his expression was rather neutral at this point as he looked them over. The white one had a purple mane in a weird coife… Looked rather gaudy, but hey, he wasn’t the Fashion Police. She also looked soft like a marshmallow. The Orange one was her polar opposite, blonde mane tied back in a smart and functional ponytail. Muscled as hell, and wearing a brown cowboy hat on her head. The purple-ish one had the weirdest mane colors, a weird blend of purples and a light greenish blue.

“You done, ma’am?” Turner asked, adjusting his uniform once again and clearing his throat. The Purple-ish one’s horn stopped glowing. “I’m Deputy Turner, Sheriff sent me over to double check you’re all the only ones getting off. Your names, please.”

“Sorry about our friend there, Deputy. You’re dramatic timing is just spot on… Were discussing some possibly huge and scary monster...” The Orange one said, looking over at the Purple-ish one briefly. Turner looked at them with a flat expression before shrugging to himself. “I’m Applejack, this here’s Rarity, and that’s Starlight Glimmer.” Turner nodded as the mare gesture to her friends as she spoke their names.

“Alright then… If you could disembark, we need the track clear.” Turner said with a hum, the mares nodded and walked past him, they filed out of the passenger car with him following behind. Meanwhile the staff of the train were already back onboard and waiting to go. Once Turner was a couple feet from the train he waved his hands a couple times to get the Engineer’s attention, afterward he gave him the signal to move on out. The train’s whistle sounded loudly before it lurched forwards and began to pull out of the station. It didn’t take long for it to start chugging along, and within around thirty seconds it was well on its way. Turner took his radio from his belt and brought it to his mouth once again.

“Yeah, Sheriff, train’s on its way.” He stated, the Sheriff responded with a quick ‘Roger that.’ before Turner put the radio back. Turner let out a sigh and looked at the three mares, Miss Apple and Miss Glimmer had their bags ready but Miss Belle was surveying her many bags for damage. When she determined they were fine she lifted them with her magic and blew a bit of her mane out from her face. Things were done, so Turner started walking back to his truck to wait for the next train. He began whistling to himself as he wiped some sweat from his brow, passing by the mares without much of a second glance.

”Hey, Turner.” A new voice sounded from the radio, Turner took the radio from his belt as he continued walking. He recognized it as a mare’s voice, belonging to Deputy Buckeye, another one of the Sheriff’s Deputies.

“Go for Turner.” The man stated while he walked down the steps towards his truck.

”What’s yer twenty?” The mare asked, Turner paused and looked around.

“Still at the train station, waiting on the next one to come in.” Turner replied, the radio went quiet for a moment as Turner opened the door to his truck and climbed in. He quickly turned on the engine and, by extension, the A/C.

”Turner, got a new job for you, Buckeye’s gonna take over at the station.” Long Wire’s voice cut in on the radio. ”You know those mares that just got dropped off? They came in on the wire as VIPs, seems they’re supposed to be going out into the basin. Can’t fathom why anyone would want to head out there, but regardless, I want you to escort ‘em… You know how the ponies out there aren’t too keen on outsiders.” Turner let out a sigh and quietly brought the radio to his mouth.

“Ten-four, Sheriff. I still got eyes on ‘em, looks like they’re heading towards the Inn.” Turner said, putting the truck into reverse and backing out of where he’d parked. He watched quietly as the three mares made their way into the Inn, parking in the street and waiting. They were in there for a little more half an hour, maybe forty minutes, before they came back out without their bags. Turner pulled up alongside them and hit a switch on his dashboard, prompting a sort of buzzing noise to echo from the truck, which got their attention. Miss Apple approached the truck as Turner rolled down the window. “You’re heading to Horseshoe Basin, right?” She nodded. “Sheriff wants me to escort you, some not too neighborly folks out there.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure we can handle ourselves, Darling. We’ve handled far worse!” Miss Belle spoke up, Turner switched his attention to her.

“That may be, Ma’am, but if the Sheriff says I’m to escort ya, then I’m gonna escort ya.” Turner said, looking at the group. “Besides, you’ll get where you’re going way faster with me than by hoofin’ it.”

“Look, Girls… We have got no idea what we’re going into here, how often do we end up with some support other than ourselves?” Miss Glimmer spoke up, Miss Belle and Miss Apple hummed at that before looking back at the truck.

“Alright, Deputy, let’s get goin’.” Miss Apple said, she started making her way to the side of the truck and began to climb into the bed.

“Ma’am, can’t ride in back. I got some stuff back there.” Turner said quickly, looking back in the bed of the truck. There were several large plastic jugs of water, an empty gas can, various tools, and an empty soda can. The man leaned over and pushed open the passenger side door. “Hop on in.” The mares looked uncertain but climbed into the cab regardless, Ponies were small enough that they could fit on the normally three person bench seat. Applejack being closest to the door pulled it closed with a thud. “Alright, now I realize you guys normally don’t ride in things like this, so if any of you feel sick to your stomach let me know… I don’t feel like cleaning the upholstery again.”

“Got it.” Miss Glimmer replied, Turner put the truck in drive again and pulled away from the curb. “So what do you know about Horseshoe Basin? We were sent because there’s supposed to be a friendship problem there.”

“Well, that’s the place for it.” Turner said with a shrug, once they had reached the edge of town he gave the truck a little more gas as it began it’s long ride down a very old dirt road. “There’s a couple families out that way, mostly survivalists… Doomsday Preppers is what we used to call ‘em where I come from.”

“Doomsday Preppers?” Miss Belle asked, Turner nodded while turning up the Air Conditioner.

“People who prepare for Doomsday, Miss Belle.” He said matter of factly. “End of the world, Apocalypse, Ragnarok, whatever the hell you wanna call it. That sort of mentality isn’t really conducive to the best sort of interpersonal relationships… At least, in my opinion.”

“You don’t need to call her ‘Miss Belle’, you can call us by our first names, Deputy.” Starlight said, Turner let out a sigh and was quite glad that he didn’t have to remember last names, they were so very difficult to remember around here. “And there are really ponies like that out here?” Turner nodded. “Anyone else?”

“Couple Changeling ‘Holdouts’, though holding out from what I don’t know. Small Buffalo tribe is out there as well. Lately it’s been quiet though.” Turner said with a slight sigh, he looked at the three mares. “Those changelings are good people, and the town pretty much agrees to leave well enough alone. If you have any problems with ‘em, best to just keep them to yourself.” The truck started to go over more bumpy ground, jostling the mares inside as it kicked up a large cloud of sand and dust behind them. “Buffalo have their own tribal police, and they’re generally pretty good as well… But again, we’ve been hearing less and less from the Basin.”

“I see…” Rarity said, she quietly ignited her horn and lifted an old looking bit of jewelry from the floor, well she thought it was jewelry. It was a necklace like thing, with a lot of beads and a weird looking cross. Turner looked at it and lit up.

“Well, I’ll be… Found my rosary. Knew it was in here somewhere, but hadn’t had a chance to look.” He said, taking it from her and hanging it from the rearview mirror. “Was technically my Mom’s, but I guess it’s mine now.” The man let out a slight sigh, prompting the three mares to look at another. Eventually it was Applejack that decided to ask the million dollar question, one that they hadn’t been sure how to ask.

“Deputy Turner?” Applejack said, the man hummed in response. “Uh, don’t take this the wrong way, but… What are you doing out here?”

“Driving you guys.” He replied simply.

“That’s not what I mean, what’s someone like you doing way out here?” She said again, the man paused for a moment before mouthing a quick ‘Oooh’.

“Oh, I just showed up here about… Five or six years ago? Maybe seven?” Turner said simply, he patted the steering wheel of his truck. “Me, my truck, and the clothes on my back. People of Silver Lake took me in, and when you’re barely twenty one it has a way of making an impact on you, y’know?” He smiled faintly as he spoke, a look of nostalgia passing over his features. “Never really felt the need to leave, never knew how the world would see someone like me outside of Silver Lake.” Applejack and the others got a funny look on their faces, but a quick glance from Starlight got them to settle down.

“How long do you think it will take for us to get to the Basin? Not to be rude, but this vehicle of yours isn’t the most comfortable.” Rarity asked, Turner looked at her briefly before humming to himself in thought.

“Maybe about an hour, hour and a half? Normally longer if you go by coach.” He finally guessed, the man quietly looked at his speedometer, they were going around forty miles an hour at the moment. Going faster than that on this dirt road would’ve been asking for trouble, with all the bumps and rough patches, Turner would be lucky to not smack his head into the roof every couple seconds.

The mares descended into their own little conversation, Turner tuned them out and focused on the road ahead. Something about the wording of their questions had seemed off to him, though perhaps it was just a different regional dialect. Whatever the reason, he didn’t think there was much to worry about in that regard. Occasionally he’d catch snippets of the conversation, something about some map telling some princess that some people might be having some sort of friendship crisis… Or something like that. For Turner the reasons didn’t much matter, he had no real interest in what was going on outside Silver Lake.

The sun was high in the sky when the truck was brought to a stop at the edge of the Horseshoe Basin, looking down into the valley from the Western Ridge. The Eastern Ridge was visible around a couple miles across, and down in the valley between the two there were several homesteads and houses on either side of a moderately sized river, known locally as the Switchback River due to the occasionally odd turns that it made through the basin. Turner quickly looked around the area before driving down the road into the valley, the mares had quieted down and were now looking at the various homesteads. Some were farms, some were ranches, but all of them were well spread out. They were right to go with the Deputy, as otherwise they’d be out here for days just walking from one place to another.

“First stop is probably going to be the Haybale place, they’re the closest.” Turner said as he stopped at a crossroads and checked both ways. “Unless you’ve got a better idea of where you want to start looking for your ‘Friendship problem’?”

“Well, do you know who out here has been having the most trouble lately? Anyone seem more on edge than normal?” Asked Applejack as she too looked out the window at the crossroads, Turner hummed for a moment. Most of the ponies out here liked to be left alone, they only really came into town for supplies, but he’d overheard some things.

“Couple folks have been like that lately, from what I overheard it sounded like tensions between a couple families and the buffalo have gone up recently, though I don’t really know why…” Turner turned the wheel and started down the road towards the homes of the families he had mentioned. “Out here the ponies tend to take the law into their own hooves, been a sore spot with the Sheriff for as long as I’ve known him.”

The truck bounced a little more on the less traveled road, this area of the county was a little more green than others thanks to the river. It was, like the rest of the county, a beautiful place regardless of what color it was. The grass was taller, the soil richer, and the trees far thicker than in other parts of the area. Applejack seemed quite taken in by that, she could see some farmers out working their fields or doing other chores, it made her wonder none of the apples had ever settled out here. Starlight was equally curious, seeing the different regions of Equestria had become a little hobby of hers, the only one that didn’t seem affected was Rarity. The unicorn in question was simply trying to keep from bumping her horn against the roof of the truck with each hard bump the truck went over.

“Deputy Turner?” Applejack asked, the man hummed in reply. “You said you’ve never left the county before, right?” The man nodded again, though he was more focused on the drive. “Have you read any newspapers?”

“Nope, can’t read your language.” Turner said simply, the mare nodded to herself on that. “Why, something I should know?” Applejack was about to speak, but Rarity cut her off.

“No, Darling, it just explains why you don’t recognize us.” She said, adjusting her mane and once again blowing a bit of it out of her face. “We’re rather well known around the country, most ponies I’ve met have been rather open about their admiration.” The man gave her a slight nod before the truck hit a particularly big pothole that jostled the entire truck. “Could you take those a little slower?”

“I’ll try.” Turner replied, the truck leveled off on a more traveled bit of the road, and as such the bumps smoothed out a bit more. They drove through a small grove of trees, on the other side of which was a fork in the road that turned into a small path up to a small one story wooden house. The paint was chipping, a faded blue color that had sat in the sun for far too long, and the front porch looked like it was in need of a good repair. “That’s the Spots’ ranch, should be a good place to start looking.”

The man drove up the small path and stopped outside the house, putting the truck in park before turning off the engine. He opened his door and got out while the mares did the same, the four of them walked around to the side of the truck that was facing the house before the mares cautiously signaled the Deputy to go first. He nodded and slowly made his way towards the front porch, his boots moderately sinking into the soft soil below. He walked up the front steps loudly, hoping to give whoever was inside some warning, as startling the ponies in these parts was a good way to wind up getting shot at. Once he reached the door the man put one hand on his belt while he used the other to give a couple hard knocks.

“Sheriff’s department!” Turner called out afterwards, he stood there quietly waiting. The house was old enough that he could hear someone moving around inside, and he briefly caught a glimpse of someone peeking through the front window before making their way to the door. The sound of several locks being undone could be heard through the wood, until finally the door swung inward and an older looking mare stood in the doorframe. “Afternoon, Miss Spots.”

“Whatcha want?” The mare replied gruffly, she was a unicorn by the look of it, with white fur and grey spots, her mane was tied back in a bun. She adjusted a pair of glasses on her nose with her glasses before squinting and looking up at Turner a bit closer. “Oh, it’s you… Question still stands.”

“Got a couple folks sent here by the Princesses, looking for some ‘Friendship Problem’ or some such… Mind if they ask you a couple questions?” Turner replied, he stepped aside so that the mare could get a good look at the trio of ponies. After a couple moments she looked at Turner and shook her head.

“Don’t want no Princess’ investigators on my property...Ain’t you read the papers, boy? Where they go trouble’s sure ta follow.” Spots replied in a rather harsh tone, before Turner could get another word out she had closed the door rather firmly and was already locking it. The Deputy let out a small sigh, looking at his feet and shaking his head a couple times before he turned around and started back towards the truck.

“Best get used to that…” Turner said as he opened the passenger side door for the mares, they hopped in looking a little confused. “Don’t ask me why, but most folks around here aren’t to keen on the Princesses, or us government types in general… Honestly, reminds me a lot of where I grew up, though there people had more reason to hate the government.” Once the mares were inside he closed the door and patted the truck on the side before walking around to get in the driver’s seat.

“How’re we supposed to solve this friendship problem if no one will talk to us?” Applejack asked, rubbing her chin as Turner started the engine. Rarity and Starlight looked to one another with a bit of uncertainty before the latter spoke up.

“What if that IS the friendship problem? Maybe we’re supposed to be here to help these ponies reconcile with the outside world, it reminds me a little of my village.” Starlight looked briefly out the window at the house as Turner put the truck in gear and turned around to get back out onto the road. “This was just one pony, AJ, I’m sure others will be more receptive.”

Despite that bit of optimism, it turned out that just about every house they tried resulted in a similar response. They tried introducing themselves, they tried having Turner introduce them, they tried omitting that they’d been sent by the Princess at all. However in those cases it seemed they fell victim to their own success, as a good portion of the ponies they talked to recognized them from the newspapers. The hours passed, and slowly daylight began to fade into twilight. It was at this point that they decided to call it for the day, and the Deputy drove them back to town without incident. It was just around eight o’clock when the group returned, almost every shop was closed and there wasn’t a pony to be seen on the street.

Applejack opened the passenger door and got out first, allowing Starlight and Rarity to get out as well. The two of them said their ‘goodbyes’ and ‘thank yous’ before heading into the Inn, but to Turners surprised Applejack lingered. Her features dimly lit by the soft red neon light coming off the sign mounted to the front of the Inn that read ‘Vacancy’.

“Hey Deputy?” She said, Turner raised an eyebrow. “What you said earlier, about not leaving the county or reading the papers, was all that serious?”

“Yeah, why?” Turner asked.

“I was just curious.” Applejack said with a neutral tone, biting her lip as her eyes flicked back and forth for a second. Turner decided to ignore that for now, but it seemed she had an obvious tell. “You never once thought about going to a big city or announcing yourself to the world?”

“Nope, can’t say I did. I come from a place called Eustace, about fifty miles east of the Rocky Mountains, names of which are pretty self explanatory.” Turner explained rather casually as he leaned back in his seat. “Silver Lake’s pretty much a dead ringer for home, and the people here are just as friendly, never had much reason to leave. Besides, big cities make me nervous.” Turner raised an eyebrow at Applejack. “You’ve been asking a lot of questions about my travel habits, you got something in particular that you want to ask you best just come out and say it.”

“I don’t have any question like that for you.” The mare replied, she didn’t bite her lip this time, her eyes stayed steady. “I’m legitimately curious, haven’t quite run into someone like you before.” Turner let out a slight ‘Ah’. “Anyway, I’m gonna head in and hit the hay, you take care, Deputy. See ya tomorrow.”

The mare closed the door to the truck and gave a slight wave, with that Turner drove off towards his apartment. Afterwards it didn’t take long for him to check in on the radio and sign off of work for the night. After which he was able eat dinner and get ready for bed, tonight he didn’t have much of anything to drink as tomorrow he would need all his faculties about him… That didn’t mean the temptation wasn’t there, but he held himself back.

Night settled on the small town of Silver Lake like a blanket, the quiet chirp of crickets serenaded the residents as they slept in their homes, the stars shining brightly in a brilliant tapestry of light that stretched from horizon to horizon. Nearly every pony in town was sleeping, though there were a few exceptions. Across town in the creatively named ‘Inn’ the three out of town visitors were discussing the days events. They had more than a few dilemmas unfolding, and as they gathered on their beds for the evening they did what anyone with problems does, they talked.

“Do you think he knows?” Rarity asked, looking to Applejack who was looking out the window at the stars, with so little light pollution she could see practically all of them. The mare removed her stetson and placed it on a nearby nightstand. “He says he hasn’t left the county or read the papers, but do you think he’s telling the truth? How could no pony have told him?”

“Ah don’t think he does, sugarcube…” Applejack replied with a sigh as she sat on her bed and looked around the room. It was rather large for a hotel room, and decorated to make them feel right at home in the rustic setting, with three beds for them to choose from. “The question is, what do we do about him? Better question, how did no one that’s lived here or visited tell anyone?”

“As far as he knows he’s the only human in Equestria, and he’s made a good life for himself here despite that.” Starlight said as she too got into her bed. “Look, there’s at least three that we know of, and he makes four. Wouldn’t it be good to let him know he isn’t alone?” Rarity looked a tad skeptical, drawing the attention of her two companions.

“I don’t think we’ll have a choice in the matter either way, when we get back we have to tell Twilight and the others. It wouldn’t be fair to them not to.” Rarity said, leaning back on her bed and staring up at the ceiling. The wall paper pattern was getting under her skin, it was probably older than she was. She couldn’t get over how faded it looked, despite the other tasteful decor in the room. “For now, I just hope we can find out whatever the friendship problem is and go home, far away from this… quaint little backwater.”

“I got a good feeling about tomorrow, Rares… For now we should be getting our sleep.” Applejack concluded, the other’s nodded reluctantly and began to settle in for the night. The cool night breeze that wafted in from the window helped to ease them to sleep, but it was the sound of crickets and coyotes in the distance that sealed the deal and put them one hundred percent at ease. No matter what some ponies would say, the quiet nights on the frontier were truly unlike any other.

Author's Notes:

Well, here's the first chapter in what I hope will be another good long running story. I'm really jazzed to be back with you guys, getting back to what got me into writing in the first place... Cartoon horses. Sounds a little less impressive when I type it out...

Anyway, I appreciate you guys giving this a read, any feedback on this or the subsequent chapters is also very much appreciated!

Horseshoe Basin

The rough bouncing of the truck was making it difficult for Rarity to focus on much more than trying not to whack her head into anything. The morning sun was cresting the horizon but the Deputy had come and picked the mares up at five forty five in the morning, they’d had enough time to get breakfast before getting ready to go. It was clear to the three mares that when it came to his work, Turner didn’t mess around. What was more, he’d packed more water in his truck bed than the previous day, as well as some boxes labeled ‘Police Equipment’.

It was just after seven when the vehicle reached the Western Ridge of the Horseshoe Basin, the sun was casting it’s soft orange glow over the land, and dew could still be seen on the blades of grass that lined the dirt road. Once again, the landscape dazzled the three mares with it’s radiant beauty, a far cry from the heavily forested or urbanized areas of Equestria where they hailed from. Applejack spared a glance over at the Deputy, she could see he was wearing a brown Sheriff’s hat today, and a pair of mirrored sunglasses helped to shield his eyes from the sun’s glare. On top of that, she could see a faint smile on his lips as he brought the truck to a stop just on the crest of the ridge.

“Why’re we stopping?” Starlight asked, to which Turner simply smiled wider and gestured to the sunrise in the distance.

“I just wanted to see the sunrise is all.” Turner said with a simple grin, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes behind his glasses for a couple seconds. “If you can’t take time out of your day to just enjoy the little things, then what’s the point of any of this, right?” The man shrugged and put the truck back in gear and started down the road once again. “Anyway, we pretty much checked out all the ranches on the northern leg of the Basin, so we’re gonna head further east today, see what we can see.”

“What’s east?” Applejack asked as they drove along, passing by the same grass and trees that they had passed the day before, though now that it was morning the shadows made the area look different, almost otherworldly.

“Them Changeling Holdouts I mentioned, that’s what other people call ‘em… Don’t know what they’re holding out from though, no one seems to tell me when I ask.” Turner replied as the truck began to hit some of the bumpier terrain. “They have a compound out this way, used to belong to some ‘Doomsday Cult’ dedicated to someone named ‘Nightmare Moon’... But they moved on a couple years back, the changelings bought the place from the county for real cheap.” Rarity and Applejack looked at one another at the mention of Nightmare Moon, their expressions becoming rather concerned. Changelings and Nightmare Moon were all in this part of the county, there had to be some form of friendship problem here.

“I’ve dealt with a ‘Holdout’ before, they can be a little gruff at times but I’m sure we can get them to come back to the fold.” Starlight said, recalling a recent adventure of hers to the Badlands. Turner shrugged before he looked at the three of them with a rather flat expression.

“Listen, these Changelings are good people that just want to be left alone, they pay their taxes and can be downright neighborly if you can get past some of their mannerisms… Don’t go trying to ‘Bring them back to the fold’, unless they want to.” Turner said pretty bluntly as the truck continued on, Applejack and the others shared another uncertain glance, but considering their discussion from the night before, none were sure what was safe to say here.

The drive continued for a while as the truck passed an aging wooden bridge of the Switchback before it started to climb the sloped wall of the basin to the Eastern Ridge. When it crested the hill the road became even more rough, to the point that Turner actually pulled off the road and drove on the somehow smoother shoulder. There were few farms and ranches out this way, those that they passed were long abandoned, overgrown by tall grass while deer and elk grazed… Until they heard the truck and took off running into the brush.

“So, tell me a bit about yourselves? Got any hobbies other than rushing out to the middle of nowhere?” Turner asked with an inquisitive expression, anything to lift the odd silence that had settled on the group.

“I’ve recently gotten into geology, a friend of mine turned me onto it.” Starlight said, smiling at the attempt to lighten the mood. “That’s why I find this place so fascinating, you don’t normally see areas with such a wide variety of geographical features in Equestria. Most basins in equestria that look like this are alluvial, but I’ve heard the walls of the basin are mostly granite… Is that right?” Turner nodded.

“Yup, though the lower you go the more soil you’ll get. At the peaks it’s mostly granite.” He looked over at Rarity who was sitting closest to him, trying to get a read on how she was doing, she didn’t seem that interested. “What about you, Miss Belle? I can tell riding around out here isn’t exactly your cup’a tea.”

“You’re quite right, my darling deputy.” Rarity replied cheerfully, examining the dashboard of the truck and noting the considerable amount of dust and dirt that was present there. She did her best to distance herself from that and instead looked at the Deputy himself. He was handsome enough, for a human… Though his features could do with a little more definition. The uniform he wore was rather bland. “I’m a fashion designer by trade, I recently opened several boutiques around Equestria.”

“Well, mighty glad to hear that, ma’am. Can’t say I’ve ever seen your work, but I’m sure if you were able to open all those stores it must be somethin’ good.” Turner said with a slight smile, he was glad to finally be making some headway here. It took him a good bit of courage to talk to ponies from outside Silver Lake, but these mares seemed like good people. “And you, Miss Applejack? You seem like the kinda mare that’d be right at home out here… I’m gonna guess you make alcohol?”

“Apple farmer.” Applejack replied, she was almost a little offended, but at the same time it wasn’t like he knew the Apple family name like everyone else in Equestria. “What made you think I make alcohol?”

“Applejack’s the name of a type of alcohol where I come from, made from apples if you hadn’t guessed… So I guess the name still fits.” Turner said with a shrug, he didn’t seem to pick up on her rather miffed tone. “Anyway, I’m more a fan of wandering the County… It’s pretty big, lots to see… Been here as long as I’ve been and I’ve still only seen parts of it.” The man let out a slight sigh before he shook his head. “Should be getting a little more serious though, we’re coming up on that compound. Just keep a cool head, okay?” The mares nodded, as the truck crested another small hill they saw what the man had been talking about.

The compound looked like a couple warehouses and bunk houses, surrounded by a large concrete wall with a couple guard towers. Turner continued driving along before he reached a portion of the road that had actually been paved, he pulled back on and made his way towards the front gate. The mares could see several changelings walking along the perimeter of the wall, to the mares they looked like they hadn’t ‘transformed’ as other changeling’s had, and they eyed the truck suspiciously. Turner stopped in front of the chain link gate and rolled down his window, the group sat there quietly for a couple minutes before the gate slowly opened and a group of Changeling’s strolled out. One of them was a little taller than the other and walked up to the window, he was actually tall enough to look inside on his own.

“Hey, Mourning Cloak, how’s the kids?” Turner said in a rather neighborly tone, the Changeling blinked his big blue eyes for a moment before what could pass as a smile formed on his face.

“Doin’ good, Turner. I see you made Deputy, yeah? Glad to see they finally made it official.” Mourning Cloak replied in a rather gruff voice that seemed all too familiar to Starlight. “What brings you out here, and what’s with them?” He gestured to the mares inside.

“You’re not gonna like it, but the Princesses sent ‘em out here to find some sort of Friendship Problem or whatever.” Turner explained, the Changeling’s expression shifted to one of slight nervousness as he looked at the three mares. “Now you know I’m not saying it’s you guys, but have your scouts seen anything out of place lately? Maybe some folks who were close but aren’t anymore?”

“No, you know we don’t run patrols like that anymore.” Mourning Cloak said defensively, Turner gave him a rather dead panned expression. “But… Hypothetically, if we were running training exorcises in the area, we might’ve noticed something going on between the Hazelblossoms and the Comets. They may, hypothetically, be involved in a pretty rough turf war over that spring on their property line… Hypothetically.” Turner nodded slightly.

“Much obliged, Mourning. Tell Aphid I said hello.” The Deputy said genuinely, Mourning Cloak nodded and watched as Turner turned the truck around and started back down the road. The changelings closed the gate once they were on their way, leaving the mares and Turner to decide what to do next. “Well, sounds like we found your friendship problem. Should’a guessed it’d be the Hazelblossoms and the Comets, they’ve been fixin’ for a dust up for goin’ on three years now.”

“What, you’re just going to take his word on that?” Starlight asked with surprise, but Applejack put a hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “What, you too? You believed him?”

“I got a good eye for lies, sugarcube, even from changelings.” Applejack said with a nod, adjusting her hat in the process. “I know you had your differences, what with Thorax’s brother and all that, but just because they haven’t transformed doesn’t instantly make them bad.” Starlight let out a sigh but she couldn’t argue there, even though she still found it very odd that they hadn’t changed yet.

“So what’s our next step? Do you know anything about these families?” Rarity asked, hoping to shift the subject. Turner hummed for a second as he pulled off the main road and began driving through a field seemingly in a random direction.

“Hazelblossom’s are one of the founding families of Silver Lake, they’ve been farming fragrant flowers for as long as anyone in town remembers.” Turner said as the truck suddenly found purchase on a very seldom traveled dirt road which was mostly overgrown by grass. “As I hear it, there was a time long ago when about eighty percent of the perfume made in Equestria came from the Hazelblossoms. Now they mostly just farm for themselves, occasionally sell some vegetables if they have bills to pay.” The man put his arm out the window while his other hand held onto the wheel, the road here was surprisingly level and less bumpy.

“And the Comets?” Starlight said, raising an eyebrow.

“The Comets are just about as old as the Hazelblossoms, but never had the same ambition. They’ve mostly been in it for their kin since the beginning…” Turner continued, his eyes still focused on the road, hidden beneath the mirrored shades. They were beginning to pass through groves of trees and over a couple rocks. “The two only started getting rough with one another recently, maybe a year after I showed up here.” He slowed down as they came to a small stream and eased the truck through it carefully. “Thought stuff had calmed down, but I guess not. Arguing over water isn’t uncommon out here, especially if there’s a drought. Guess no one in town realized just how scarce it was getting for the families this far out.”

After around ten minutes the truck passed through the treeline, an old looking barbed wire fence was set up straight ahead and the road they were on split into two directions. There were two farmhouses that sat on either side of the fence, and each looked like it had been fortified in recent days. It was eerily quiet outside, even the rumble of the engine seemed muted here. The tall grass was higher than Turner had ever seen anyone let it get, indicating that something had been going on here for a while. Turner took the road to the right, which lead to the Comets’ farm. Applejack and her friends noticed several signs posted to the fence. ‘No Trespassing. This means you!’ and ‘Don’t expect a warning shot!’.

The truck slowly approached the farmhouse, the very clear ‘Sheriff’s Department’ markings would hopefully ward off any of the Comets from taking pot shots at it. When the truck came to a stop outside the house Turner could already see an older looking blue earth pony sitting on the porch in a rocking chair, the stallion had a greying mane, but most notably there was a spellgun resting across his lap. The Deputy quietly parked the truck and turned it off, then looked at the mares with a rather serious expression.

“Looks like this is the place, let me handle the introductions… Ol’ Man Comets’ a bit of a hardass.” Turner quietly opened his door and stepped out, the mares followed suit. The Deputy quietly approached the porch, removing his sunglasses and slipping them into his pocket before adjusting his hat. The stallion on the porch looked him up and down, then looked at the mares coming with him. “Afternoon, Fiery.”

“Ain’t broke no law!” The stallion shouted back in a rather annoyed voice. “You ain’t got no right to be here, boy!” Turner sighed to himself but maintained a tone of professional courtesy nonetheless.

“Heard you and the Hazelblossoms are at it again… These mares is here on Princess business, intend to settle things between y’all.” Turner replied, gesturing to the mares behind him. Fiery Comets let out an annoyed grunt and leaned forward in his rocking chair, looking at the mares with a bit more scrutiny. “Come on now, Fiery, you and I both know this spat’s a recent thing. Got a chance to end it right here before things actually get rough. Now, if you’d set that spellgun of yours aside for a bit these mares can talk civil like.”

“Fine…” Fiery muttered, setting the spellgun down on the porch before he got up and walked down the porch towards Turner and the mares. He removed an aging widebrimmed hat from his head and rubbed his forehead before putting it back on, then offered his hoof to Applejack and her compatriots. “Name’s Fiery Comets, pleased to make your aquaintance…”

“I’ll let you folks do your thing, just give a holler if you need me.” Turner said, tipping his hat slightly before he walked back towards the truck and leaned against the front end. He crossed his arms and watched the mares do what he assumed they did best, which was negotiate apparently.

The Hazelblossoms were called over by use of a can and string phone that both sides had previously used to just trade insults, and the entire issue was wrapped up in what felt like twenty minutes, not counting a strange little instance where all members involved had some sort of sing along moment and that somehow cleaned up all the overgrown grass and fortifications to make the farms look better... For some reason, symbolic purposes if Turner had to guess. The water from the spring, apparently, wasn’t the issue. Turner didn’t really particularly care what the problem was either way, just as long as the feud was settled for good. The really weird part came when the mare’s buttmarks started glowing, and that somehow told them there work was done.

In actuality it had taken a couple hours to get everything sorted out, despite how episodically short it might’ve seemed to Turner. Over the course of which he had gotten into his truck and sat with the A/C on. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky, and it’d likely be sunset by the time they got back into town. It had been an odd experience, meeting ponies from outside of town and talking to them more than just saying a casual hello. Part of Turner was sad that it had to come to an end, but he supposed that just went with the territory. The man was drawn out of his thoughts as the passenger door was pulled open, Applejack, Rarity, and Starlight Glimmer got into the truck with smiles of satisfaction on their faces.

“I take it everything’s good now?” Turner asked, the mares nodded. “Good, it’ll be a good comfort to Sheriff Long Wire too, knowing he doesn’t have to break up a feud between those families.” The Deputy quietly started his truck and turned around to start making his way back down the road, in the rearview mirror he could see both families waving goodbye. “You guys got anything else you need to take care of while you’re visiting Evergreen County?”

“Nope, I think that’s everything.” Starlight replied warmly, settling in for the drive back to town. “I just hope Twilight told the train to come back when our cutiemarks signaled we were done, I’d love to just get home and sleep in my own bed… Not that Silver Lake isn’t a nice place too.”

“I understand, Silver Lake’s not for everyone.” Turner replied, the truck continued to trundle along through the brush until it came back to the main road. “Mind if I ask y’all a question?”

“Go ahead, darling.” Rarity replied, equally pleased to be on her way home.

“The Changelings, what are they holding out from? I can’t get a straight answer from them, or the folks in town?” Turner asked, Applejack looked at the others for a moment before she decided that perhaps she was the person to answer this.

“Well, uh, their old leader used to be real hostile to Equestria until they overthrew her. They actually turned out to be real nice and most of them transformed to look… Well… Nicer.” She explained as they continued driving, the Compound of holdouts still lingering in her mind.

“The holdout I met before was a bit of a jerk to be honest, but he changed over in the end.” Starlight added, looking at Turner from her seat in the middle of her two friends. “I thought he was the last one though, it’s unusual seeing so many of them.”

“Huh… Well, I suppose I can see why they picked Evergreen County. When it comes to being in the middle of nowhere, can’t get much closer than here.” Turner mused, he turned on the headlights as it began to start getting darker. “You know, I’m a little surprised you didn’t ask more about me… Not to sound egotistical, but most people have a lot of questions when they first meet me.” That brought Rarity to the forefront really quick, as Applejack and Starlight seemed uneasy on how to respond to that.

“It just didn’t seem proper of us, you’ve been such a help we didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Was the quick reply from the dressmaker, Turner nodded at that and seemed to accept the explanation. “Deputy Turner, if you don’t mind my asking, what’s your first name?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s uh… It’s Paige.” Turner said with a bit of hesitation, glancing at the mares cautiously. “My uh… My parents wanted a girl, and I don’t know about here, but where I come from Paige is a bit of a girl’s name.”

“So your actual name is… Paige Turner?” Starlight asked with a raised eyebrow, part of her found it odd that his name sounded so very… Equestrian. “So your name is a homophone?”

“A homo-what?” Turner asked sharply.

“A word that’s spelled differently and has a different meaning, but essentially sounds the same.” Was the next quick explanation, which made Turner look rather relieved. Starlight’ quickness with the explanation proved to be an enlightening experience for not only Turner but also her friends. “Like Paige Turner as a proper name, and ‘page turner’ as in a very good book.”

“Uh huh, well… If you could just keep that under your bonnet I’d really appreciate it, only a couple people actually know and I just prefer to go by Turner.” The truck hit a rather sharp bump, causing the Deputy to whack his still aching shoulder. “Son of a bitch, gotta check the shocks later…” The man let out a sigh and looked briefly over his shoulder towards the sun as it started to set lower into the Western sky. Starlight let out a slight yawn and leaned her head against Rarity, apparently resolving the differences of two feuding families was hard work.

“Hey, I’m gonna try and get some sleep, okay?” She said, Rarity nodded and offered a bit more of her shoulder. The cab of the truck was rather cramped, but it would have to do. The group quieted down to let her get some sleep, and eventually Rarity followed suit. That left Applejack and Turner as the only two still awake, the silence between them was comfortable at first, but Turner noticed that the mare would glance over at him when she thought he wasn’t looking.

“Hey, Deputy?” Applejack said quietly, hoping not to wake her sleeping friends. Turner hummed in response, also wanting to keep it quiet. “You know how you said we didn’t ask a lot about you?” Turner gave another nod. “Well, I know this might seem odd, but I have a friend who’s very interested in magic anomalies and other oddities… Would you consider coming back with us? Just for a while, I mean.”

“Nope, can’t do that.” Turner replied in his quiet but serious voice, his eyes narrowing on the road ahead as they began to traverse the Basin. “I know you must mean well, Ma’am… But I finally have a job I’m proud of, I’m surrounded by dear hearted folks, and all while I’m in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I prefer to leave the past in the past.” The Deputy quietly adjusted the rearview mirror, allowing him a better view at the sunset. It was likely there would be no one behind him anyway. Applejack frowned slightly, but she could understand.

From what Applejack had seen, Turner really did care about the community in Evergreen County, enough that he wanted to protect it. That was what made things that much harder for her, her friends were right in saying that they couldn’t keep the man’s existence a secret when they returned. That lead her to thoughts on the morality of it all, telling the others that they knew was likely to bring them joy, but what about the Deputy? How would he handle the truth? It gnawed at her with all the tenacity of a Timber Wolf all the way back into town. She barely noticed when the truck came to a stop outside the Inn, once again the soft red neon light from the sign illuminated the area.

“Sheriff, it’s Turner. We just got back into town, problem’s resolved.” Turner said into his radio after taking it from his belt. The man put the truck in park and turned it off, then cautiously opened his door and slipped out so as to not wake the sleeping mares. “Miss Applejack, you want me to wake ‘em?”

“Nah, I’ll take care of that.” Applejack replied, Turner nodded and walked around to the side of the truck so that he could speak into his radio with a bit more freedom.

”Good work, Turner. Head on over to the office when you’re done dropping them off.” Long Wire’s voice replied over the radio, Turner responded with a quick ‘Roger that.’ and leaned against the side of his truck, watching as Applejack coaxed her still groggy friends out of the truck. There wasn’t much sound in the town, no puff of a train engine, which the mares took to mean as their ride hadn’t arrived yet. Turner gave them a slight wave before he got back in the truck, with a slight sigh he turned the key and listened as the engine rumbled to life. With that he put the truck in drive and made his way through the town, his headlights illuminating the dirt road ahead of him with their usual yellowish glow.

Turner pulled into the space just in front of the Sheriff’s Office and turned off the truck, as well as the lights. There he sat in silence for a couple minutes, just staring ahead at nothing in particular, his mind racing with all the things that the Sheriff might want to talk to him about. His imagination didn’t just run wild, it galloped. Every possible bad ending to the conversation played out in his head, despite the fact he knew that they were all likely just the over exaggerations of an overly anxious mind. He couldn’t turn that part of his brain off despite how much he tried to control it, and it had brought him no end of stress. Ultimately though, he knew he couldn’t just sit there forever.

The Deputy stepped out of the truck and closed the door with a slight thud before he started walking towards the front door of the Sheriff’s office. His boots thudded up the wooden steps, and he pushed the door inwards with a slight sigh. The interior of the Sheriff’s building was lit dimly by several oil lamps, and several of the windows were opened to let the cool night air blow it’s way in. The Sheriff was sitting at his desk, and a mare was sitting at hers… Deputy Buckeye, another Earth Pony with a greyish brown coat and a short black mane.

“Evenin’ Sheriff…” Turner said as he closed the door behind him. “Buckeye…” The man removed his hat and hung it on a coat rack standing near the front door. Long Wire looked up from his desk, several pieces of paperwork were laid out there as well. “Said you needed me over here, is something up?”

“Not particularly, but I was hoping you could help me out with something.” Long Wire said, standing from his desk before pushing his chair back in. “I need someone to mind the station tonight, normally Buckeye takes that shift but something came up. You mind?”

“No, sir. Don’t mind at all” Turner replied as he quietly walked to his desk, looking over at Buckeye. “Glad to help, besides, I could use the extra hours.”

“Great, Buckeye can fill you in on the details of the usual nightshift. I’m gonna head out.” Long Wire said, putting on his hat and coat before making his way towards the door. “I’ll leave my radio close by in case you need anything. Take care.” Turner and Buckeye nodded just before their boss left the building, it was odd to see him leave that quickly, but Turner supposed that having Princesses looking into his town was making him nervous.

“So…” Turner said, looking at Buckeye.

“It’s a pretty simple shift, most ponies are asleep by now, the rest’ll be asleep within the hour.” Buckeye explained as she looked over her desk, the mare had been at this for almost as long as Turner had been in town. “Main concern is staying awake, which I reckon will be a little harder for you since you were out driving up and down the Basin today, but do your best.” Turner nodded once again, getting as comfortable as he could in the pony sized desk chair. “If anything comes up that you can’t handle on your own, just need to call us on the radio.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Buck… Thanks.” Turner stated, he looked at his rather large notepad and picked up a pen, which he then proceeded to use to start doodling on. “Would you care to hear how the Princess Ponies solved the Hazelblossom-Comets feud?”

“Maybe, first tell me a bit about these ‘Princess Ponies’. You guys were out before I got a look at ‘em.” Buckeye was still filling out some paperwork, but it was clear from her flicking ears that she was paying attention. Turner leaned back in his seat in contemplation.

“Well, the white one, Unicorn… Rarity. She’s some sort of fancy clothes designer, seemed nice enough, but wasn’t too keen on being out in the Basin.” Turner began, he heard Buckeye’s pen come to a halt on the paper, but she didn’t look up and her ears were a bit more perked than before. “Next was some unicorn named Starlight Glimmer, purpleish one. She was interested more in the Basin itself than she was in the ponies that live there, suppose she’s one of them quiet studying types.” Turner began messing with one of the rubberbands on his desk, absentmindedly twirling it around his fingers. “Last one was an orange earth pony, Applejack… She was the weirdest of ‘em all.”

“How so?” Buckeye asked, looking up from her work with a rather neutral expression.

“Kept asking if I read the newspapers, or ever left the county, then asked if I wanted to leave the county with her and her friends to go to talk to some friend of theirs…” Turner continued, his fingers still playing with the rubberband. “‘Course I said no, to the reading thing and the leaving town thing…” The man looked at the rubberband with his own expression of neutrality. “What do you suppose she was so concerned about me reading in the papers?”

“Oh… I can think of a couple things…” Buckeye said under her breath, which she quickly hoped Turner hadn’t heard, it seemed he hadn’t noticed from his silence though. “Maybe she just takes a really bad picture, y’know? Maybe she’s sweet on you and doesn’t want you to see her in pictures that are less than flattering.” That Turner definitely noticed, and he started to laugh at the thought of a pony actually taking an interest in him in that manner.

“You ever heard of them? They said they was popular ponies or something, but I thought they were just trying to sound cool.” Turner asked, but he trailed off after a couple moments. “Meh, don’t matter either way… Not like I care what goes on outside, unless it’s whether or not we’re getting rain or something...” Turner once again trailed off and went back to doodling on his notepad. Buckeye just shrugged and resumed her paperwork, though Turner noticed she would occasionally glance up towards him… Of course, the clock on the wall was right behind his desk, so he assumed she was looking at that. After around twenty minutes more of her scribbling, she stood up with the paperwork in hand and put it in a file.

“I’m gonna head out, okay Turner?” Buckeye asked, Turner nodded.

“Yup, get home safe!” He replied with a jovial tone. The mare made her way towards the door, with one last wave she disappeared into the night. Turner remained at his desk, quietly scribbling away as he ruminated on the conversation’s he’d had recently. A couple things weren’t quite adding up, and even if he couldn’t read the papers he still figured he might be able to glean some idea of what was going on by looking through the pictures. With that, he stood from his desk and walked to Sheriff Long Wire’s desk. From the trash bin beside it he took the previous day’s paper and began to flip through it… If he had to be up all night at least he’d be able to try and figure out what was going on. In the coming weeks, who knew, maybe he’d forget about the whole thing.

Switchback River

Deputy Turner was in his truck, the air conditioner blasting as the heat of the summer sun bore down all across Evergreen County. It had been a couple days since the ponies on their friendship mission had gone back to Canterlot or wherever it is they were from.

Turner hadn’t been able to reign in his thoughts on what might be going on behind his back, and for the first time he was starting to become a little suspicious of some of the ponies in Silver Lake. He’d placed that day’s newspaper in the seat beside him, so far looking through them had turned up nothing but some pictures of the Pony Princesses and some weird looking building that looked vaguely like a schoolhouse. He didn’t have time to go more in depth as he was on the clock.

The truck hit a bump, knocking the man out of his thoughts and putting his focus back on the road ahead. Going with the mares had helped him accomplish some of his work, as he had been able to check in on some of the families out in the basin that hadn’t been coming in as often. That said, he still had to finish one stretch of road, which also happened to be the longest. It ran south, following the path of the Switchback River. Most of the families down this way were a tad more cosmopolitan in nature, which was a nice way of saying ‘Outsiders that moved in from out of town’. Turner hadn’t dealt with them all that much in the past, but if he was going to be law enforcement he would very well have to get used to it, perhaps that was why Long Wire had put him on this assignment in the first place.

The houses down this way were much bigger than the ranches and farms north, they were also far closer to one another. There were swingsets and other oddities out in their backyards, stuff that just seemed out of place in the Basin, but it was their house and Turner wasn’t much of an interior or exterior decorator. Turner came to a stop at the next house on his list, pulling up the driveway and parking near the front door. He killed the engine and got out of the truck, adjusting his hat as he walked towards the house. There was loud electronic music blasting inside, loud enough that he could feel the bass in his chest. That was just one of the perks of living way out in the middle of the Basin. No noise complaints.

The house was bigger than most, with a stucco exterior and big windows that faced east and west to let in the sun. It was two stories tall, which was also an oddity for houses out in the Basin. Whoever lived here had to have some serious money in order to afford something like that. There wasn’t a porch, but the steps to the front door were made of what looked like river stone of some kind. The door itself was big and made of sturdy looking oak, Turner could see there were at least three deadbolt locks installed in it.

“Sheriff’s Department! Performing a wellness check!” He came to a stop at the front door and knocked on it loudly, hopefully loud enough to be heard over the music. There was no response, so he knocked on the door again, this time far louder.

“Turn down that racket, there’s someone at the door!” A mare’s voice shouted from inside, the music cut out abruptly and Turner could hear someone walking towards the door. “Who is it?”

“Sheriff’s Department.” Turner replied, there was a brief hushed argument behind the door before a resounding chorus of locks being undone. The door swung inward to reveal two mares, a grey earth pony and a white unicorn. The earth pony had a tastefully done black mane while the unicorn, well… If her hair was anymore electric blue it might’ve been a crime. “Afternoon, ma’am. Sheriff’s got me out performing wellness checks on a couple families out here that haven’t been seen in town for a while, you were on the list.” The mares were staring at him for a very long time, as if unsure of what they were looking at. “Uh… I just needed to make sure you all were okay…”

“We’re fine…” The Earth Pony mare spoke up, leaning a little closer to read Turner’s name tag. “Deputy Turner. You’re right, we aren’t in town often… This is our vacation home. Thank you for checking on us, but we’re quite fine.” Turner nodded and took his notepad from his shirt pocket, then opened it to a specific page.

“And just to confirm, y’all are Octagon and Vine Scotch?” The man paused for a moment. “Oh, sorry, Octavia and Vinyl Scratch. I apologize, sometimes my handwriting’s so bad even I can’t read it.”

“Yes, that’s us. You needn’t be concerned though, we’ll be going back home in about a week or so.” Octavia replied, Turner nodded again and jotted some things down in his notebook, then took a moment to look around and admire the house.

“Alright, I’ll pass that along…” Turner closed his notebook and tipped his hat to the mares. “If you happen to hear or see anything out of the ordinary don’t hesitate to call, or… Whatever it is you guys do.” With that Turner walked down the steps back towards his truck, he heard the door close behind him, as well as the beginnings of a conversation from beyond it. No wonder the music had been so loud outside, the walls must’ve been thin as paper.

“There’s another one?” One voice said in what was supposed to be a hushed tone, but before he could hear anymore Turner had already gotten into his truck and started the engine. He guessed they just weren’t used to seeing anyone other than Deputy Buckeye or the Sheriff himself. Turner took off down the driveway and pulled back onto the main road heading south, his eyes once again glued to the road. He had been at this for around four hours, so far nothing had been out of the ordinary. In fact, if he remembered correctly there was only one more family to check on.

This far south there was little more than grasslands in all directions, the basin had leveled out and the wind passed in waves over the fields of tall grass and wheat. Only the occasional tree sprouted up out of the ground, but for the most part it seemed the rolling hills stretched out as far as the sky itself. The road became less and less used, with more grass growing up out of the soil than usual. Turner could see the house he was looking for a couple miles ahead, resting on a tall hill with a tree outfront. It was smaller than all the others, more like a cabin. The old brown logs that made up the walls had seen more than their fair share of years, and the roof looked like it had been patched several dozen times. As the truck came up the driveway he was surprised to see the grass was starting to reclaim the structure. Like so many other homes in the county an old rocking chair was resting out on the porch.

Turner turned off the engine and hopped out, listening intently as the wind blew over the land. The tree groaned slightly as it’s branches swayed back and forth, the soft echoing tones of wind chimes greeted the Deputy from their place hanging on the roof out on the porch. Something about this place felt off, but Turner had a job to do. Quietly he walked towards the cabin, the screen door of which was wide open and occasionally smacking against the doorframe in the breeze.

“Sheriff’s Department!” Turner called out as he stopped at the front door, he knocked on the side of the house a couple times as the screen door seemed to be the only way of entering the home. There was no answer, and the door was wide open… It wouldn’t have been much of a wellness check if he didn’t actually go in and check on the occupant’s wellness. “Door’s open, I’m gonna come in!”

Once again there was no response, Turner quietly drew his spellgun from it’s holster just as the Sheriff had trained him to do when securing a house. The inside of this cabin was small, the living room was full of pictures of ponies on the wall, some young, some old. A fireplace, some more chairs, and what looked like an old timey radio in the corner. There was a kitchen that also served as a dining room off in the back as well. Both the living area and the kitchen were clear, though the smell of rotting food alerted Turner that things here hadn’t been touched in a long time. Turner approached the bedroom last, cautiously he turned the handle and pushed the door inward. When he did he was instantly hit by a wave of stench, a stench he had smelled before when dealing with dead animals back home.

“Fuck…” Turner said under his breath as he looked in the room, sure enough there were flies circling the bed and an unmoving lump. He moved towards the bed and examined the lump more closely, it was an older looking stallion. From the look of things and the smell, he’d been out here for a week or so, though an actual autopsy would be needed to determine the actual time of death. His eyes were closed, his dentures still in a glass beside his bed. Turner followed where he would be looking and found he was facing a window, staring out at the wide open spaces and the grasslands that seemed to go on forever.

The Deputy finished clearing the house before he walked out to his truck and grabbed his radio, thanks to magical spells the range on these things was extended vastly.

“Sheriff, it’s Turner…” The man said as he rubbed his forehead. “Out here at the last house on the South Basin. Uh, there’s a body here. Looks like natural causes but won’t know for sure until I get him back to town… How do you want me to proceed, over?”

”Cover him with a sheet if you can find one, I’ll send Doc Meadowbrook down with Buckeye so she can take custody. Sit tight until they get there.” Long Wire replied, Turner gave a quick ‘Ten four’ before putting the radio back on his belt. As instructed he went back inside and took a sheet from the linen closet, then gently draped the cloth over the dead stallion. This was a first for him, Turner knew that ponies were like people, they got old and died… But it had never seemed like it really happened, at least, until now. Turner removed his hat while inside, as he looked over the room for any signs that could be foul play he did so with the utmost respect.

No sign of forced entry, no broken glass, no sign of a struggle, most importantly no ID. Turner concluded that it was still looking like natural causes, but that was up to Doc Meadowbrook to decide. Someone would also need to find out who the stallion was, as he didn’t have much in the way of identification. The Deputy made his way back outside and leaned against his truck, staring at the ground as he processed what was going on in his head. He was glad the Sheriff was sending Meadowbrook, she was one of the ponies that had helped him during his early days in Silver Lake. Like him, she too was apparently not used to Equestria. She hadn’t explained why, but she did seem to get his situation and that had always endeared her to him. Maybe she’d be able to make sense of all the thoughts racing through his head later.

The deputy sat down under the tree in front of the house, staring out across that rolling green sea as the waves of wind raced across the tops of the grass and the clouds above cast their various shadowy patterns onto the ground. It was one of the most beautiful sights Turner had ever seen, if he could he would move way out here and settle down in a little house near the river. Someplace he could fish, or go hunting, or just hang his hat and say ‘I’m home.’. A small smile formed on his face, his eyes glancing briefly over at the cabin. Whoever that stallion was, he had the right idea. Even if this wasn’t Earth, Turner couldn’t help but see this as ‘God’s country’. He couldn’t imagine a more peaceful place to go than right here.

For a couple hours Turner had nothing but time to himself, sitting there under that tree, watching the day roll by. The sound of the wind chimes continued to fill his ears, and for a time it almost felt like he was on Earth again. After around an hour something occurred to the man, who stood up again and made his way back into the cabin. This time he was searching through the closets, within he found a strong box which was unlocked, and in the far back corner he also found an old looking Spellrifle.

Turner, in his search of the local news papers, had started to learn more of the written language. Not enough to read through the documents he found in the strong box, but enough to know they were government related… An ID might be made possible through them. He secured both the strong box and the spellrifle in his truck, then went back to his seat beneath the tree. He had another hour or so before he could expect the Doctor and Deputy Buckeye, most of that time was spent in quiet contemplation, the feeling of the cool wind on his skin was something that always served to comfort him.

The man perked up when he heard the telltale sound of coach wheels coming down the road, then stood up and brushed himself off before walking towards the truck. Turner saw Buckeye and the Doc were pulling up in a carriage marked ‘Sheriff’s Department’ in a fashion similar to his truck. Buckeye was pulling the carriage while the Doctor was riding in back, thanks to the magical enchantments on the carriage it was very simple to pull and quicker than it normally would be. If it weren’t for that Turner would likely have been waiting a day or so.

“Glad you found it okay.” Turner said as he walked towards the two of them, Buckeye unhooked herself and shook her mane loose while Doc Meadowbrook hopped down from her seat. Her crimson mane was done up in its usual beehive and she was wearing her usual apron. She also was carrying an old leather Doctor’s bag. “Buckeye, you mind taking a look at some of his documents? They’re in my truck. Might help with an ID.”

“Sure, I’ll take a look.” Buckeye said with a nod, walking towards the truck. When she arrived she spotted the spellgun and the documents, mostly bank statements that identified the stallion as Post Haste… A retired postal worker. Her attention was also drawn to that days newspaper, it couldn’t have been the dead stallion’s. Quickly she grabbed it and tucked it into her uniform when Turner wasn’t looking.

“Could you come give me a hand, dear?” Doc Meadowbrook said as she started walking towards the house, Turner nodded and followed her. The two of them passed through the doorway, Turner moved to a window and pushed it open to hopefully flush out some of the smell that had built up. “This has always been one of the worst parts of my job, you know?” Turner looked at her with a raised eyebrow as she examined a couple of the photographs before she gestured towards the bedroom. “In here?”

“Yeah, he’s uh… He’s been there for a while, my money’s on a week at least.” Turner replied, following the mare into the bedroom. She approached the bed and quietly pulled back the sheet that had been placed over the corpse. “This is, well… My first time finding someone like this.”

“It’s an unfortunate part of both our jobs, Paige.” Meadowbrook said while pulling the blankets down off the dead stallion to get a better look at him while Turner walked towards the window and looked outside. “I came to Silver Lake not long before you arrived, since then I’ve done a dozen or so of these. You won’t get over it, but you’ll learn to cope in your own way.” The mare withdrew a thermometer from her doctor’s bag and began her examination. “Could you come here? I need you to help me flip him over.” Turner looked at her, after a couple moments he reluctantly nodded.

The examination went on for an hour and a half, there wasn’t exactly a morgue to take the stallion back to, the closest hospital was a days ride away by train. A check of public records revealed that Post Haste didn’t have a next of kin, his only daughter had passed away around twenty years prior. Hardly anyone had even remembered he was out here, but Sheriff Long Wire did. It was as expected, the stallion had died peacefully in his sleep. His will was among the items in the Strongbox. Turner and Meadowbrook had moved the body into the bed of the truck, afterwards Buckeye read the will aloud.

“I don’t want no big funeral. Y’all can bury my ashes in a coffee can for all I care.” Buckeye said, reading word for word off the crumpled up old piece of paper. “I ain’t got no family to take my stuff, so it’s better off just taking it to the dump, unless someone wants something of mine. In that case, give it to ‘em. Weren’t much for sentiment, but if ain’t too much trouble see about naming somethin’ after me, just a little marker to say ‘I was here.’. After all, that’s all we can really hope for in this world of ours, someone or something to remember us when we’re gone...” Buckeye closed the note and looked towards the house, unsure of what would happen to it now that the owner had gone. It wasn’t exactly in the most convenient of places, the land was likely to be left alone for a long time.

“Well, that’s it then…” Turner said, putting his hands on his hips. He looked at the cabin quietly, the door had been sealed and a sign declaring it off limits had been posted beside it, not that anyone would be out this far to see it. “Seems a shame to leave this place like this to rot, looks like he put a lot of work in maintaining it.”

“Well, he did say he was leaving his stuff to whoever wanted it.” Buckeye replied, tucking the will back into the strong box. Turner looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “I know it seems morbid considering how fresh it is in our minds right now, but you’re right, it doesn’t seem fair that a place like this get rundown. You could take it.”

“What? No!" Turner quickly objected, Buckeye gave him a flat expression. "Look, I’ll think about it, okay?” Turner said with a bit of an uncertain tone. “Now, can we just get going?” Buckeye and Meadowbrook nodded. “Do you want to hook the carriage up to the truck? I can pull you guys back to town way quicker, and it’s getting dark.”

“Sounds like a good plan… Buckeye, do you mind if I ride with Deputy Turner?” Meadowbrook said, Buckeye shrugged and began to hook up the carriage to the truck while Turner and Meadowbrook made their way to the front of the truck. “I think you’re right to wait, Paige. Don’t go making a big decision like moving so soon after this.” The two of them climbed in the truck, though Meadowbrook had to scrunch her hair down a little bit so that it would fit. Turner meanwhile was looking at the spellgun that he’d secured earlier, it was a lever action in beautiful condition despite looking like it was at least forty years old. Meticulously cared for, it appeared it had all its original parts as well.

“I might take the dearly departed up on part of his offer though.” Turner said, removing his hat and placing it on the dashboard. “For now though, I ain't gonna even think about this place…” The man quietly looked around the cab of the truck for something. “Did you see a newspaper? I had bought an edition today, trying to learn your language... Finally.”

“No, can’t say I did…” Meadowbrook replied, Turner shrugged to himself. He might’ve misplaced it while securing the rifle. Buckeye gave the signal that the carriage was ready to go, prompting Turner to put the truck in gear. He pulled ahead and made a wide circle through the grassland in order to turn around. The clouds that had been present before were getting darker, in the distance Turner could see the occasional flash of lightning. “What’s your interest all of a sudden?”

“I dunno, might be nothin’... Hope that’s the case.” Turner replied as he began driving along the bumpy road. “Something just seemed a little off to me, and call me crazy, but I think there might be something going on that people aren’t telling me.” Turner flicked on the headlights as large drops of rain began to fall from the sky, thudding against the windshield. “Huh, storm came outta nowhere…” Meadowbrook quietly bit her lip for a couple moments before she turned to look at Turner once more.

“Paige…” She said, the man nodded slightly. The mare looked briefly out the window at the falling rain, then back at the Deputy. He tended to follow her advice, if she told him to drop his search he likely would... “Stop by my house sometime, I’ll do my best to help you learn to read.”

“I appreciate that, Doc… The truth’ll set you free, right?” Turner said with a questioning tone, Meadowbrook nodded and smiled back. Quietly the mare turned and looked out the window, watching the lightning flash in the distance as the rain continued to pour down. With a quiet sigh she closed her eyes, it would be a long ride back to town…

Blue Mountain Trailhead

The trees groaned as the summer breeze blew through them, the ground was littered with pine needles and pine cones. Turner couldn’t help but stop to lean on them from time to time as he hiked his way up the side of Blue Mountain. The Sheriff had made him take several days off after finding Post Haste the way he did, so he was up here on his own. He’d swapped his Deputy’s uniform for a pair of much more comfortable jeans and a grey t-shirt, his work boots were caked in dirt and mud from the hike. Over his shoulder was a messenger bag which carried his water, a map, compass, survival knife, and an old coffee can. His radio was still on his belt, as was his holster. One couldn’t be too careful with wild animals, after all.

Turner had set out a couple hours prior from the Blue Mountain trailhead, from there he’d been making his way gradually east along the ridge. Now he stood on a portion of the ridge that was a tad bit more open, it provided a basically unobstructed view of the entire Horseshoe Basin. On a clear day, such as that day, Turner could see all the way down to the grasslands at the end. The man took a seat on the ground with the messenger bag and grabbed his water, then took a swig as he looked at the view.

“I wonder if you realize the irony of me hauling you up here in a messenger bag? What with you being a mailman and all…” Turner asked, of course he didn’t get much of a reply. The man reached into the messenger bag and withdrew the old coffee can.

“I don’t know if you believed in god, or if you ponies even have a god, but… I do. Hope you don’t mind me sayin’ a couple words, nothing too big, I know you didn’t want anything fancy.” Turner stood up as the wind began to pick up, his expression remaining rather neutral as he made a quick sign of the cross. “God, I ain’t a perfect man, you know I make mistakes all the time, but I guess you ain’t given up on me yet because it feels like you still return my calls…” Turner looked up towards the sky, gripping the coffee can a little more firmly.

“Help Mister Haste here to find someplace better, someplace his bones won’t creak and his heart won’t ache…” The Deputy said softly as he reached to the lid of the coffee can and prepared to open it. “Where he ain’t gonna go hungry or thirsty… Reunite him with those he lost, and those he never knew… That’s all any of us can hope to ask.” The man paused quietly and looked down at the Basin. “Ashes to ashes… Dust to dust. Amen.” With a final sign of the cross, Turner opened the can. The wind swelled stronger as he dumped it’s contents out, scattering the ashes of Post Haste to the four winds.

Turner watched the ashes float away, the cloud becoming harder and harder to see, until finally he couldn’t see it anymore. The man sat back down and rested the Coffee Can next to a nearby tree, he just stared off down that beautiful valley all the way to the end of the Basin. He’d figured he was the one to find Mister Haste, so he should be the one to take care of him afterwards. With it done, the Deputy felt like he might’ve been turning a corner, coming to terms with his own mortality. Even a place like Silver Lake had criminals, and no matter how slim, there was still a chance Turner might not come home one day.

After around half an hour or so of just sitting and taking in the view Turner stood up and adjusted the strap of his messenger bag, the man began making his way back down the ridge towards the Blue Mountain trailhead. Blue Mountain was at the northern end of the basin, past the last of the homesteads and the Buffalo tribe. It was one of the few tourist destinations Evergreen County had to offer, mainly on account of the Double Ott Treasure. The treasure of legendary arms tycoon Colt Double Ott was said to be buried somewhere in Evergreen County, most believed it to be on Blue Mountain.

There was a time Turner had looked for the treasure himself, it had been what got him interested in the wilderness actually, but he ended up spending more time finding lost treasure hunters for Sheriff Long Wire than he actually did looking for the treasure. Most ponies in Silver Lake thought it was a myth, but Turner believed it could be real. He had no idea what he would do if he found it, but that wasn’t really the matter at hand. The Deputy continued his trek through the forest towards the trailhead, silently taking in the view and occasionally stopping for water. The birds around him continued to tweet and sing in the morning hours, now that he had done what he’d come to do the rest of the day was his.

When he reached the trailhead he saw his truck right where he’d left it, a small amount of pine needles had settled on it in his absence. Deputy Turner walked to the truck bed and momentarily looked in back, normally there was police equipment back there, but today he had left that behind in favor of his fishing rods and tackle box, in addition to the jugs of water and spare gas can he kept there as well. With a sigh he unslung the messenger bag and tossed it in the back, then ambled on over to the driver’s seat.

With a grunt he climbed in, leaning his head forward slightly to avoid hitting it against the newly installed gun rack. Turner had taken possession of Haste’s spellrifle, to his surprise the lever action weapon was self charging. It was far less powerful than some of the modern spellrifles turner had looked into buying, and likely to only be lethal against pests. Anything larger it would just stun, or annoy. Considering Turner didn’t much care for the idea of killing a pony, that was fine with him. He preferred fishing to hunting anyway, mainly because he was in an apartment with little room to store meat.

The truck started with its usual ease before he put it in gear and began driving away from the trailhead. Turner’s next destination would be a small stretch of the East Macintosh river up near Silver Lake, he’d heard the trout were practically jumping into people’s nets. The summer breeze helped keep the cab of the truck cool without the need for the A/C. Even with access to magically created gas, Turner still wanted to keep his use of fuel to a minimum. The drive took him back towards Silver Lake, the town was usually going about its day in full swing by that time of day.

To his surprise there was a considerable crowd near the train station as Turner drove down main street, he slowed to a stop before too long, as he didn’t want to hit anyone standing in the street. Quietly the Deputy parked the truck and got out, then moved to the back and grabbed his radio out of his messenger bag. Hesitantly he turned it on and brought it to his lips, it appeared the ponies were more focussed on something at the train station, but a two story general store was blocking Turner’s view.

“Hey, Sheriff? There’s a big crowd in downtown today, near the rail station. What’s goin’ on?” Turner asked, there was no response from the Sheriff, which was odd. “Buck, you on this wave?” Again, no response. “Does anyone copy?”

Turner put the radio on his belt and walked towards the crowd, he reached into his back pocket and withdrew a leather lanyard with his Deputy’s Badge pinned on it. It was Long Wire’s policy that if an officer couldn’t get in contact with the others they should display their credentials and try to find out what was going on. As he got closer to the crowd he put the lanyard around his neck, when he finally cleared the General Store he was able to see what was causing such a fuss. There was another flashy white train at the station, only this time it wasn’t dropping off three ponies and a shit load of luggage.

“Well shit fire…” Turner said in awe, standing on the platform were a couple mares that Turner had only seen in the newspapers. Princess Twilight Sparkle and Luna, standing in the flesh. They didn’t appear to notice him, and Turner quickly scanned the crowd to look for Long Wire or Buckeye, but he couldn’t see them anywhere. The man quietly brought his radio from his belt again. “Buck, Long Wire… There’s another one of them Princess trains at the station, and you ain’t gonna believe who it let off. Come on, I’m on my own out here.”

It seemed the Princesses were addressing the crowd, more accurately Luna was addressing the crowd while Twilight was simply surveying the area. Turner wasn’t as interested in what they were saying, he was more concerned with the fact that there were basically two heads of state standing in his town and he was the only law enforcement officer in sight. As Princess Twilight’s gaze panned over the crowd her eyes settled on the edge, and then she looked straight at Turner. That was probably the most uncomfortable seven seconds of Turner’s life, he found himself taking a step back. The look in her eye, the odd mix of excitement and curiosity, it was somewhat unsettling. The purple princess nudged her counterpart with one of her wings and gestured towards Turner with her head when Luna looked over.

“...Anyway, we have much that we need to do as we conduct our survey of the surrounding leylines. If any of you have questions, please, direct them to us via letter. Thank you for your time, please return to whatever it is you were doing prior to our arrival.” Luna said while clearing her throat, the ponies that had gathered simply nodded and began to disperse. The sheer amount of chatter among them made it almost impossible to understand a single word they were saying, but it sounded excited. Turner was considerably less excited, especially when the two of them started walking towards him.

“Okay guys, this isn’t fucking funny! Respond, please!” Turner said frantically into his radio, the man was good at socializing with most people, and ponies. However, when it came to people of status like the Princesses he was about as smooth as the road through the south basin.

”We were a tad busy, Deputy. Calm down.” Long Wire’s voice finally replied.

“Where are you guys?” Turner asked, the Princesses were gradually getting closer to him. As casually as he could he turned around and started walking towards his truck. He paused as he thought he heard his own voice, in actuality it was the echo from Long Wire’s radio.

“In the crowd.” He spoke up from Turner’s right, the man looked over at the Sheriff as he and Buckeye emerged from the throngs of dispersing ponies. “Didn’t want to respond while we were there, it would’ve been rude. Don’t worry, I know they’re here. What are you even doing in town? I told you to take today off.”

“Was heading up to the East Macintosh.” Turner replied as he reached his truck and leaned against it, he could still feel the Princess’ eyes on him. “So what was it they’re here for again? Ley lines or something?”

“They’re what unicorns draw their magical energy from, a lot of them are unsurveyed though…” Buckeye answered. “Apparently there’s a bunch of them out near Briar Peak, and some in the basin, basically in the middle of nowhere.” Turner shrugged, but again, he felt eyes on him. Both Buckeye and Long Wire seemed to change their posture and stiffen, which told Turner one of two things. Either both of them had just suddenly been stung by a bee at the same time, or the Princesses were standing behind him.

“Sheriff Long Wire, I don’t mean to interrupt, but if we could have a word?” Princess Luna’s voice said from behind him, Long Wire nodded. “Preferably in your office, alone.”

“Of course, your highness.” Long Wire replied in an uncharacteristically differting tone. “Buck, you go stand by the train, make sure no one touches anything they ain’t supposed to… Turner, you get back to whatever it was you were doing…” Both Buckeye and Long Wire looked quite nervous, but Turner could understand that. The Sheriff and Princess Luna walked towards the Sheriff’s Office while Buckeye gave Turner a slight nod and went off towards the train station. That left Turner and the other Princess, Twilight Sparkle, alone together.

The man quietly coughed and awkwardly took off his lanyard, then stuffed it into his back pocket. He briefly glanced over his shoulder at the Princess, she was still staring at him with those big wide curious eyes.

“Uh… Something I can help you with, ma’am?” Turner asked hesitantly, looking dejected at his fishing rods in the bed of his truck. Princess Sparkle made her way closer to the truck and hovered up to get a look at what was in the bed for a minute, then landed. “You ain’t much for talkin’, are you?”

“Oh, no, I talk a lot… Sometimes too much, when I get excited.” The Princess replied in a chipper tone, Turner simply nodded slowly and walked towards the driver’s side of his truck. “Where are you going, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Fishing up near the East Macintosh River, runs down along the rail line a ways… You had to go over it to get here.” Turner said as he opened the truck and started to climb in.

“Can I come?” The Princess asked as he was halfway into his seat, the man froze for a couple seconds as he thought over her request. On the one hand, he normally fished alone, it was how he relaxed. On the other, she was a Princess with wings… Which meant she probably would just end up following him if she really wanted to come anyway. Turner eased himself into his seat and let out a slight sigh.

“I suppose.” Turner said hesitantly as he closed the door. “You sure your Princess friend won’t freak if you disappear for a few hours?” The Princess nodded as she came around the side of the truck and climbed in, it was odd seeing her do that on her first try, most ponies needed to have the door opened for them a couple times before they figured that out.

“She knows I was going to be starting the Survey without her, and the East Macintosh is near Briar Peak, right?” The Princess asked, Turner nodded. “Great!” With a nervous grunt Turner put the truck in gear and began driving along, the Princess was staring at him again… Honestly it was starting to wig him out, but he wasn’t about to try and tell the leader of the country to stop doing something. He did the best he could, and turned on the CD player on the dashboard. A John Denver CD had gotten stuck in it two years prior, so that was all he had to listen to, but it was better than nothing.

“So, is there a particular reason you want to come fishing with me, or are you just bummin’ a ride to Briar Peak?” Turner asked, doing his best to relax as he put his arm out the window and felt the breeze blowing against it. The Princess hummed for a moment as she listened to the music playing through the speakers, then after a while she nodded.

“You aren’t exactly a pony.” She said, Turner nodded. “My friend Applejack told me about you, if I’m being honest the Ley Line Survey was just an excuse to come out here and talk to you.” The man gained a rather annoyed expression for several brief seconds before he shook his head and sighed. “There’s some stuff that you need to know, too, and I’m a bit of a teacher…”

“Weren’t much for schoolin’, Ma’am. Dropped out around eleventh grade, but I got my GED, for whatever that’s worth here. Not much, I assume.” Turner said with a slight shrug, he quietly tapped on the steering wheel every now and then. “But we got about an hour’s ride ‘til we get to the River, so I suppose you got a captive audience until then, Princess.”

“What you need to know is going to take longer than an hour to explain fully.” The Princess mused. “And please, call me Twilight. You said you aren’t a fan of school? Well, I’m not a fan of that title to be honest.”

“As long as you never call me Paige in public you got yourself a deal.” Turner said with a hum, Twilight beamed with excitement as she looked around the vehicle. “So, Twilight, times’s tickin’. Maybe just give me a cliff notes version?” The mare looked at him with a slightly perplexed expression. “Shorten it, strip it down to the bare bones.”

“Oh, well, let’s start with how you got here. I assume you’re curious about that?” Twilight asked, she was surprised to see Turner shake his head.

“Nope, don’t much care how I got here anymore. All that matters is I’m here and I got the good sense to know that any way of trying to get back would be way beyond my comprehension, scientifically speaking…” The man leaned back in his seat, quietly smiling as he listened to the music from the speakers in the cab.

“Well… That simplifies things, I suppose.” Twilight said with a shrug. “Now, try to prepare yourself, but you aren’t the only human that this has happened to.” Twilight yelped as Turner slammed on the brakes, the truck skidded a bit until it came to a stop. The mare looked at the Deputy, who was staring at her with a rather shocked expression. “There’s four of you, actually, including you. I’m good friends with them, though they appeared in Canterlot or near Ponyville. When Applejack and the others told us about you they wanted to meet you, and so did the Princesses, myself included.”

“So, there’s more humans here and they didn’t make the papers?” Turner asked, Twilight shook her head.

“No, it’s made a lot of headlines a couple over the years, there isn’t a place that didn’t get… the… news... Oh.” Twilight trailed off as Turner looked at the dashboard, his expression was shifting rapidly from confusion, to angry, to frustrated until it finally settled on hurt. “They… Didn’t tell you.” Turner shook his head quietly, rubbing his eyes for a couple seconds. The man quietly put the truck back in drive and pulled off the road before parking and getting out, Twilight scooted over slightly and watched as the man walked away from the road, twenty feet out into the brush.

“Mother fuckers!” Turner shouted at the sky before he kicked a nearby rock, Twilight watched as he quietly paced around, swearing to himself. This went on for around ten minutes before he started to calm down, quietly the man walked back to the truck and leaned against it. “Why didn’t they tell me? What, did they think I couldn’t handle it?”

“Maybe? From what I’ve heard from Applejack, and what I’ve seen here, they care about you.” Twilight replied as Turner walked back to the truck and climbed in, the music still playing softly in the background. “You seem like a pretty rational guy, do you really think they’d do something like this without a good reason?”

“No… I don’t figure they’d do that.” Turner replied as he closed the door and turned off the radio, he put the truck in drive again and began once again driving down the road. “I’m just a little hurt that they didn’t let me know, it’s not like it would’ve changed anything if I knew either way.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, more focussed now on Turner than she was on the passing scenery.

“I may have been curious, might’ve even writ a letter or two, but goddamnit… I’d hoped I’d shown them I’m made of tougher stuff than I look.” Turner sighed and tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his eyes firmly focused on the road ahead. “I suppose that’s why all my newspapers have been disappearing…” He shook his head and sighed. “Well, is that the only bombshell you have to drop today? Now’s the time to do ‘em all at once.”

“No, nothing else big like that…” Twilight replied calmly, she looked out the window as Turner veered off the main road onto a less traveled service road. “Where’re we going?”

“Still going fishing.” Turner said simply, his eyes narrowed on the road ahead. “Fishing clears my head, and if there was ever a day to need a clear head it’s this one…” The man let out a quiet sigh and tapped the steering wheel again. “It’s been a doozy of a week… Saw my first dead body a couple days ago, so there’s that… Spread the ashes of the dead guy this morning, and now here I am in the afternoon being told my friends have been keeping a bigass secret from me for who know’s how long… That secret being that I ain’t the only human on this rock.” The man quietly leaned his head back and put his arm out the window once again. “But aside from that, thing’s are great.”

Twilight wasn’t sure what to make of Turner, she wasn’t going to try and stop him, her main concern was to observe how he handled himself. Some of the other humans had proved to handle stress in a less than healthy manner, this was as much about determining what Turner was like as it was determining whether he was possibly a threat. Applejack had said he seemed like a generally cool customer, and so far the evidence seemed to be bearing that out. His earlier outburst of anger was understandable, and at no point had Twilight thought he was a danger to himself or others.

“So, tell me about them.” Turner’s eyes didn’t leave the road as he spoke, the request caught Twilight by surprise, but in a good way.

“Well, they’re certainly an eclectic group to say the least.” Twilight replied warmly, Turner looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Eclectic means widely varied.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, there’s a guy named Thomas. You remind me a lot like him, actually.” Twilight looked out the window with a smile. “He’s from a place called Eagle Creek, in the state of Colorado.”

“No shit?” Turner asked, Twilight nodded. “I’m from Eustace, about ten miles north of Eagle Creek, just over the Wyoming Border. Funny that happening...”

“Not really, it kinda has to do with how you got here…” Twilight replied, she hummed and turned her gaze back to Turner. “We’ve deduced that what you call the ‘Rocky Mountains’ are possibly the largest leyline ever seen before, all the humans here were either visiting or living near them.” The mare scooted a little closer to the radio. “May I?” Turner shrugged, and the mare turned it back on, filling the cab with the soothing sound of John Denver once again. “Anyway, after that there’s a woman named Gwen, she was one of the ones visiting the Rockies when she got pulled here. She’s been doing really well for herself, started her own marketing firm and everything.”

“And the third one is another person who was visiting, her name is Samantha. She was driving through Wyoming on her way to college, though originally she’s from a place called California.” Twilight explained, she could see the vein over Turner’s eye twitch slightly. “Yeah, she and Thomas didn’t really see eye to eye at first, but things are pretty calm now.”

“Can’t say how it’ll be between her and myself, I try not to judge…” Turner said with a slight grunt. “But realistically I stopped caring about stuff like Earth politics when I made peace with being here, so I guess we’ll see.” The man quietly sighed as he slowed the truck down and pulled off the service road towards what looked like a rather remote part of a moderately sized river. “We’re here, watch your step near the water’s edge.” He cut the engine and stepped out, walking around to the side of the truck. “Pick a rod, I’ll set you up with a lure.” He pulled his tacklebox and one of his fishing rods from the bed of the truck before walking towards the river. “Sorry I don’t got any seats or nothin’.”

“That’s fine.” Twilight replied, her eyes roving over the expanse of grass ahead of them beyond the river, with several rising hills that eventually turned into mountains in the distance. She levitated one of the rods from the bed of the truck and followed Turner as he walked down to the river, she could hear him humming something to himself. He set his tackle box down and took a seat on a small rock, then began to quietly go about setting up his line. “I never realized how big Equestria was until I started cataloguing the Ley Lines, granted this trip is more than that, but still.”

“Reminds me of Earth, half the time I forget I’m here.” Turner said as he hooked a rather flashy looking lure on the end of his line, he finished setting everything up before he took Twilight’s rod from her and went about doing the same. “So, when are these people coming to visit?” He finished rigging up her jig with a speed that could only come from years of practice, Twilight levitated the fishing rod in her magic, a hand formed and cast her line out into the river. “Not bad, it’s all in the wrist... Thomas teach ya that?”

“Yeah…” Twilight replied with a smile, Turner cast his line out as well. “As for them coming to visit, that depends.” The two of them began to reel the lures in, the glinting bits of metal shining in the water as the current rushed past them. “If you don’t mind my asking, why not come visit them instead?”

“Wish I could, but I can’t.” Turner replied as he finished reeling the line in, he cast it out again with a bit more finesse. “Sheriff needs me, we’re short staffed as it is… Evergreen County’s the size of Delaware, and there’s three of us. Granted most of it’s wilderness and farmland, but still, it’s a lot of land to cover.” The man began reeling it in, his eyes watching the water as it continued to rush past. “We’re all pretty much always on call, even on days like today, which was supposed to be my day off.”

“Well, we could station some guards here maybe?” Twilight asked, Turner chuckled slightly as he felt a nibble on his line. He set the hook and began reeling it in, grunting slightly as the fish fought and thrashed in the water. After a couple seconds of fighting he pulled it out of the water, a Rainbow Trout, but it was a couple inches short of being legal.

“You don’t know much about Evergreen County, do you?” Turner asked rhetorically as he gripped the fish and grabbed a multi-tool from his tackle box, he used it to begin unhooking the fish. “The people here pretty much come here because they don’t like big cities and the non-local government… Heck, we can’t afford to bring on more deputies, it took me a good four years to earn this position.” With a satisfied nod he had freed the hook from the fish’s mouth and tossed the trout back into the water. “Besides, I know Sheriff Long Wire wouldn’t have none of it, and if he isn’t having it, neither is the rest of the town.”

“I can see your point.” Twilight said with a hum as she reeled in her line and cast it back out into the river. “As it turns out, one of them’s already coming here, they’re actually on the train back in town… That’s what Princess Luna was talking to your Sheriff about.” She grinned as a fish gobbled up her hook, she set it and reeled the fish in. With her magic it was far easier, and when she pulled it out of the river she started to go to unhook it.

“Hold up…” Turner said, grabbing the fish and looking it over. It was a legal Rainbow Trout, but more importantly it had swallowed the hook. “Shit, that’s really deep in there. Don’t think I can get it out without killing it. Well, guess we’re keeping that one.” Twilight looked a bit surprised as he laid the fish out on a nearby stone and gave it a quick whack with a rock. “It would’ve died if that hook stayed in there, would’ve died if I tried to take it out. Best to just end its suffering as humane as possible.”

Twilight looked away as Turner gutted the fish with a knife from the tackle box, removing the hook in the process.

“Do you have some sort of refrigeration spell? I was planning on doing catch and release today, but I don’t want to waste this meat by letting it spoil.” Turner asked, Twilight sighed as her horn glowed. A small magical looking cooler appeared, which Turner placed the filets of fish into. “Figure killing a fish right in front of you without warning probably gives bad impression, huh?” Twilight nodded squeamishly. “I’m sorry, Ma’am. Won’t let it happen again. I’ll let you know next time.”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s something Thomas has done before as well… I just can’t get used to seeing it is all.” Twilight replied, she reluctantly cast her now free line back out into the water and began to reel it in again, this time she’d try to be more careful about how deep she set the hook. “But as I was saying, one of them already came down on the train to see you.”

“Which one?” Turner asked as he too went back to casting his line out in the water, it seemed this would be a catch and cook trip since Twilight had that handy refrigerator spell. If Turner was having guests, then he intended to serve them up something proper.

“Well, oddly enough, Samantha wanted to come first.” Twilight admitted, Turner grunted as he felt a fish bite down on his hook. With the hook set he began reeling it in, Twilight watched as a very large trout splashed out of the river momentarily as it thrashed around on Turner’s line. “To be honest, I think she was getting a little tired of hanging around Canterlot.” With a loud groan Turner pulled the fish from the water, grabbing it’s wriggling body as he went to measure its length.

“Damn… The rumors were right, this spot’s got some of the best Trout fishing of the season.” Turner mused, he looked at Twilight. “I’m having company apparently… Unfortunately I don’t got much more than cereal or beer at home, so… You might want to look away for this part.” Twilight nodded and turned her head away, doing her best to ignore the sound of a rock coming down on the fish, or the subsequent sound of a fish being cleaned and gutted. “Okay, could I get that spell again?” Twilight’s horn glowed, only when she heard him put the fish in the spell did she turn around. “Mind if I ask how that works? Where’s it going when I put it in there?”

“Pocket dimension.” Twilight replied, smiling a bit at the magic question. “I made it for when I would go on picnics with Thomas… He’s the one that named it ‘The Icebox of Holding’.” Turner started giggling when she said that, a very large smile crossing his face. “He said it was based on something from some Earth game.”

“Dungeons and Dragons, yeah…” Turner replied with a grin as he once again cast his line out in the river. “I may have dabbled in it in my last year of high school.” He leaned back and let out a relaxed sigh. “Sounds like you and this Thomas guy are pretty serious, going on picnics, going fishing, and I assume maybe playing board games?”

“Oh, what? No. He’s not interested in me.” Twilight replied, a blush quickly forming on her cheeks as she looked away. Turner simply smirked to himself as he began reeling in his line again. “Anyway, tell me a bit more about Evergreen County? You seem to really know this place well.”

What followed was an enlightening bit of history for Twilight, who’d never thought a small town like Silver Lake could have a very interesting history. She knew the basics, that it had been a boom town at one point, but aside from that she had no idea. The hours were whiled away as Turner continued to tell her all the stories he’d heard in his six years living in the small town. About Blue Mountain and the story of the Double Ott Treasure, about some of the more colorful characters in town which included Doc Meadowbrook. Twilight seemed to get a funny look on her face at that point, but Turner didn’t push it.

Sheriff Long Wire was a heavily featured character in his talk, to the point that Twilight thought that incorporating the experiences of the Sheriff into a mystery novel series would be an interesting idea. Twilight was particularly interested in the story Turner told her about how he’d met Mourning Cloak, the leader of the Changeling Holdouts, though he seemed to leave a considerable amount of information out of that one. At the end of the day Twilight and Turner caught around ten rainbow trout between them, Twilight threw hers back when she could, but occasionally one would swallow a hook again.

The stories continued along the drive home, though they were the more recent ones he’d been on. Twilight was learning a lot about Turner, how he thought, how he reasoned things out. Perhaps if he’d been born to a different set of circumstances he could’ve been something like a History teacher or a veterinarian, but Sheriff’s Deputy suited him well too. One thing he never could’ve been was a mathematician, something he freely admitted when questioned on it.

“I barely passed my Math test for my GED, if I’m bein’ honest.” Turner spoke as the town of Silver Lake was getting closer. “The only reason I made it was because I looked up how to figure out percents on my way to the test center, that’s what saved my bacon.” The light was starting to dim as the sun was setting, Turner noticed as they pulled into town that Princess Luna was apparently floating in the sky. Her horn was glowing as the sun went down and the moon slowly rose into the sky. “Huh… There’s somethin’ you don’t see everyday.”

“You know, I have to admit you’re not quite what I expected to find.” Twilight spoke up as they drove closer to Turner’s apartment complex, Turner hummed in response as he kept his eyes on the road. “You’ve handled a lot of really stressful stuff today…”

“S’all about perspective.” Turner said with a shrug as he quietly pulled into the spot beside his apartment, the lights were on inside, indicating someone was already there. “I try to keep to something called ‘The Serenity Prayer’, that’s what really keeps me grounded…” Turner turned off the engine and got out. “Well, come on, got people to meet and fish to fry. If I’m bein’ honest, all this jawin’ about myself don’t seem right, never was much for self congratulation.” Twilight hopped out of the truck as Turner grabbed his tackle box and fishing rods from the bed, as well as his messenger bag from earlier that morning. He then lead Twilight up the steps to his apartment. Quietly he pushed the door inward and leaned the poles beside the door with the tackle box near them.

The apartment was not how he had left it… In the days since his celebration of getting his job he had cleaned up the empty beer bottles and recycled them, the furniture had been put in it’s usual spot as well… But he still had clothes scattered around the room, there were dirty dishes in his sink, and many of the paintings of landscapes on the walls had been some degree of crooked. That was not what Turner had walked into though. All of the furniture had been reorganized, the clothes had been gathered up in a hamper, and the paintings were unsettlingly level. Turner could see through the living area into the kitchen that the sink had been cleaned too. His old wooden radio, which rested on a table beside the couch, was also somehow shinier than he remembered it being.

“What the fuck…?” Turner said allowed as he walked in, wiping his boots on the cloth mat near the entrance before he took a step on the now immaculate and shining wood floor. Twilight followed him in and let out a slight giggle as she saw the look of utter confusion on Turner’s face. “This ain’t how I left it.”

“Uh, yeah… Samantha probably did this.” Twilight replied while she walked in and looked around. “This is a nice looking apartment, and I like your taste in landscape portraits!” She stopped to look at the paintings on the wall while Turner walked towards the kitchen.

“I just bought ‘em at a garage sale, needed somethin’ to take up that wall.” Turner dismissively said with a shrug as he opened the fridge and leaned inside. “Want a beer?”

“No, thanks.” Twilight replied before looking around the room a bit more closely. There was a radio set up on a table near the paintings, though it seemed it hadn’t been turned on in a while. The leather couches looked well used, but not trashy, and a mahogany ottoman rest just ahead of them.

“So, where is ‘Samantha’?” Turner asked as he closed the door, holding a brown beer bottle in his hand. There was a bottle opener mounted to a nearby cabinet which he used with practiced ease before taking a couple sips from the bottle. “I don’t mind having guests over, as long as I know where they are.”

“Oh, she’s probably…” Twilight began, just as she started the door to the bedroom opened. Turner being in the kitchen didn’t get a look at her, he was instead taking a cast iron skillet and placing it on the stove. “There you are, where were you?”

“Bathroom.” A woman’s voice replied, Turner could hear her walking down the hallway as he turned on the gas and poured a bit of oil in to coat the bottom of the pan. “You should see what’s in this guy’s closet, I don’t think he owns a shirt that isn’t a drab and boring… And this apartment? Total pigsty when I got here. Whoever this ‘Paige’ guy is, he needs a serious… lesson… in. He’s here, isn’t he.”

“Yup.” Turner replied from the kitchen as he took a sip of his beer. “And only family call’s me ‘Paige’, to the rest of you it’s Turner, or Deputy Turner if you’re feeling formal.” The man took a stick of butter and a fresh lemon from the fridge. He set them out on the counter by the salt and pepper grinder near his cutting board. “Twilight, could you magic up those fish you’ve been keeping on ice for me?” There was a slight flash as the fish filets appeared on the cutting board. “Thank you!”

He could hear a hushed conversation going on in the living room as he prepared the fish, he was going to make four filets just incase Twilight wanted some. The rest he wrapped up in aluminum foil and put in the freezer. As the conversation went on he began cooking the fish, occasionally taking a sip of his beer as he did so. In about fifteen minutes he’d finished and put the fish on a couple plates, after which he put away the stuff he’d used to cook it. Except the pan, as that was still very much hot. In that time it seemed that the conversation out in the living room had reached a head, and he could vaguely hear a faint ‘Fine.’.

“Food’s done.” Turner called out, grabbing the plates and walking towards a small dining table set up in the corner behind the love seat. There were three seats, just enough it seemed. He still hadn’t quite looked up yet, as handling very hot food generally required the full attention of person carrying it. With a slight grunt he stood up to his full height and stretched before turning to look at Twilight and, for the first time in six years, another human being.

Samantha was almost as tall as Turner, maybe a couple inches shorter. Deep brown eyes, flowing black hair, and skin as gold as the sun. Her features were a little sharp, but soft at the same time. She was wearing jeans, a tank top that was doing a very poor job of concealing her ample bust, and a pair of converse sneakers. Perhaps it was the fact that Turner hadn’t seen a woman in so long, or maybe it was because he had no idea what to say to said woman after so many years thinking he was the only human on the planet, but either way he was speechless for a couple seconds. He’d had time to prepare himself, but it still wasn’t enough. Standing face to face with someone who came where he came from was… Well, difficult to describe.

“Uh… Is he okay?” Samantha asked Twilight, prompting the man to quickly shake himself out of his stupor.

“I’m… Uh, I’m Turner.” Turner said awkwardly as he sat down, he was feeling oddly light headed. “Nice to meet’cha…” The man took a couple sips from his Beer before taking a deep breath.

“Hello, Turner.” Samantha replied, she couldn’t say she wasn’t feeling odd either. She and the others had all known about each other since they’d first been transported to Equestria, they had always assumed that they were alone. Now they knew that this guy, essentially a redneck, had been going about his life for six years… There was a time three years prior when Samantha had taken a modelling gig for Rarity, she couldn’t help but wonder what ‘Turner’ was doing at the same time. “I’m Samantha, but everyone calls me Sam… Nice to meet you too.” Turner gestured for her and Twilight to sit, which they did readily. “Uh, so, you’re a Sheriff’s Deputy?” Turner nodded as he picked up a fork from the table and began to eat. “That sounds interesting, what made you want to do that?”

“Well, I would’ve applied to clown college, but I didn’t have the grades…” Turner replied in a deadpanned tone, before he started giggling to himself. Sam began to laugh as well, while it seemed the quip went over Twilight’s head. It wasn’t a good joke, but it helped ease the tension. “No, uh, it just seemed like the right thing to do, y’know? The Sheriff called me in a lot for help, but couldn’t afford to take on another Deputy. When an opening was available he offered it to me.”

“Ah, I see.” Sam replied as she too began to eat her fish. “I’m currently between careers at the moment…” The woman paused as she tasted the fish, Turner smiled as he picked up that she was enjoying it. Twilight was hesitant to eat some, as most Ponies tended to prefer greens… For cultural reasons. “I was doing a little modelling every now and then, but I suppose ‘Humans’ aren’t ‘In’ anymore.” She sighed faintly. “Silver lining? I can pretty much go and do stuff whenever I want.”

“Well, you’re welcome to come visit anytime.” Turner said with a smile before he finished his beer. “I figure there’s only four of us, wouldn’t do right for us to not know each other.” He paused for a moment to take another bite. “Just… Call ahead, so I can get the place cleaned up proper.”

“You aren’t coming back with us to Canterlot?” Sam asked, Turner shook his head.

“Nope, thought Twilight told you. As much as I’d like to, I make up exactly one third of the law enforcement in this town.” He stated apologetically. “Can’t really go on a vacation that isn’t local, which weren’t a problem until about… Oh... Eight hours ago.”

“I see… Well, in that case, maybe I could extend my visit?” Sam asked, Twilight looked at her with a rather surprised expression. She’d been quietly watching them, taking in how the two humans spoke with one another. It was remarkably similar to other exchanges she’d seen, but there was a bit more of an uncertainty here. Still, Sam hadn’t mentioned the possibility of staying more than a day or so to Twilight.

“Oh, I don’t know if that’s-” Twilight began.

“Sure, couch has a pull out bed, you can take the one in my room.” Turner cut her off in that usual deadpanned tone of his. “Hope you have some extra outfits, human clothes aren’t exactly off the rack here.”

“I packed for just such an occurrence.” Sam said with a smile, she looked at Twilight and winked faintly. Turner didn’t seem to notice, the talk continued from there. It was mostly stuff that Turner had already covered during the day, but he was happy to share with Sam. Eventually all of them finished their fish, with Twilight finishing last. Turner took the plates into the kitchen to clean them, offering Sam and the princess a chance to speak alone.

“Are you crazy?!” Twilight said in a loud whisper, Sam shook her head. “You said you were packing clothes in case of an emergency, you were supposed to help me convince him to come with!”

“Only because you twisted my arm. Besides, I’ve never been this far from Canterlot and I’m tired of staring at the same skyline.” Sam replied in an equally loud whisper, her eyes glancing towards the kitchen. “I thought we were free to go where we wanted, Twilight. That’s been the line since we showed up here.”

“I know… It’s just, I can’t stay behind, and I don’t like the idea of leaving a friend with someone we barely know…” Twilight said with a sigh, Sam quietly put a hand on the mare’s shoulder. “Still, you’re right. We said we wouldn’t pen you guys in, if this is where you want to go… That’s fine.” The mare looked towards the kitchen for a moment, then back at Sam. “And… I suppose there are worse people to visit with than a Sheriff’s Deputy.”

“What’s ‘at about a Sheriff’s Deputy?” Turner asked as he poked his head out from the kitchen, Twilight and Sam had nearly jumped out of their seats when he did that.

“Oh, uh, nothing. We were just talking about where I as staying is all.” Sam replied, Turner gave a slight nod before he disappeared back into the kitchen.

Turner quickly walked back to the kitchen, his eyes occasionally flicking back towards the door to the dining area. He had finished the dishes five minutes ago and had just been standing there, his heart pounding in his chest as he leaned on the counter. He couldn’t believe what had just happened, his mind was galloping away with reckless abandon to the darker side of his mind. What if things went wrong? What if he ended up alienating not only Samantha but all the other people as well by extension? He was freaking out.

The man gripped the counter as tightly as he could and took deep breaths, he turned the water on in the sink and closed his eyes. With as much effort as he could he forced himself to just listen to the water, every minute detail, every pitter patter… The whine of the pressure in the pipe, the trickle it made when it down the drain. After thirty seconds of standing there, Turner took a final deep breath and turned off the water. Ahead of him was a window seated over the sink, he could see his reflection in the glass.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change those that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Turner mumbled under his breath before he turned and walked out the doorway again. “Alright, everything’s cleaned up. Do you guys want some coffee or anything else?”

“No, actually I need to be going.” Twilight said as she stood up from her seat, the mare flexed her wings and stretched. “The fish was delicious, Turner. Thank you for having me.”

“Hey, it was my pleasure.” Turner replied with a smile as he leaned in the doorway, he watched as Twilight and Sam hugged each other tightly. “You’re welcome here any time, go ahead and pass that along to your princess friends and the other humans as well.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, and again, thanks for letting me go with you today.” Twilight smiled at him and Sam before she walked towards the door, Sam walked with her while Turner remained where he was. If he’d tried to move he likely would’ve fallen over, there were few things that scared him more than being alone with a woman. This was a skill he hadn’t needed since coming to Equestria, as ponies were quite different from humans in many ways. He was woefully out of practice. Twilight and Sam had a little discussion near the door, there was another hug, and after that the princess stepped out into the night.

When Sam closed the door and turned around, Turner was quietly rubbing the back of his neck and looking off to the side. He coughed awkwardly, clearing his throat before he walked towards the couch and sat down.

“So, I take it you moved all your stuff in here already?” Turner asked, Sam nodded before taking a seat on the loveseat which was perpendicular to the couch. “Good, that’s… Good.” The man quietly laced his fingers and leaned forward slightly on the couch. “I’m… Well, I’m not too good at small talk, when it’s just one on one I mean.”

“I noticed.” Sam replied with a slight smile. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite… Much.” Turner giggled, half sincerely and half nervously. “So, what do you do when you’re home and not off saving lost hikers?”

“Oh, not much… Occasionally I listen to the radio, or I’ll go for a walk, that sorta stuff.” Turner replied, he leaned down and began undoing the knots in his boots. “What about you? I know you got a lot of free time lately? I’m guessing… Painting?”

“God, no. I wish.” Sam replied as she leaned back in the loveseat and looked up at the ceiling. “I mostly sit at home and read trashy romance novels, or if that’s not available, I watch some movies.” Turner raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh, I got snagged while I was moving, so it was me and the rental truck I was driving that ended up here… Which basically had all the amenities of home. Sold off a bunch of technology for a bundle, so watch out for TVs and microwaves coming out in the next couple years.”

“Ah, I’ll keep an eye peeled.” Turner replied after removing his boots and putting his feet up on the ottoman. “The closest I have to that is the radio in my truck, had a bunch of CDs, but a couple years ago one got stuck in there, so I listen to it sparingly.”

“I have missed this…” Sam said with a grin spreading over her face. “Just, chatting with someone I don’t live with, and isn’t a pony curious about ‘Earth’.” The woman looked around the room, aside from the landscape paintings there was little in the way of personalization. “You seem like the hunting type, what’s with the lack of trophies?”

“Two parts to that question…” Turner replied, looking around the room. “First, do you have any idea how hard it is to find a good taxidermist in a town populated by ponies?” The man looked back to Sam. “Second reason, I don’t go hunting all that often. I don’t do it for sport, I do it for food, and I really don’t have a freezer big enough to justify it. Y’know?”

“Yeah…” Sam replied, her eyes fell back on Turner. His short black hair silhouetted slightly in the light from the lamp on the end table. “If you ever need some decorating done, well, I’ve got plenty of time. All the money I brought in from the tech I sold has set me up for a lifetime, but I can’t just sit around all day.”

“Heh, well, if you ever feel like you have too much in the bank, go ahead and feel free to write me a check every now and then.” Turner said with a joking tone, he leaned back in the seat and stretched out. The two of them lapsed into an oddly comfortable silence, the only sound in the room being the wind blowing outside. After what felt like an eternity, Sam spoke up again.

“Can I ask you something personal?” Her voice carried over the room, Turner gave her his full attention and nodded faintly. “Do you ever have doubts about what you’re doing here?” Turner hummed quietly and looked off into space for a couple moments, then to the floor, then finally back to Sam.

“I do, from time to time… But, well… I lean on my faith when that happens.” Turner said quietly, he looked Sam dead in the eyes. “Now, this isn’t for sharing, okay? This stays between us?” The woman nodded. “Growing up was tough for me, my Mom had a lot of problems she wouldn’t get help for, my Dad tried to help but couldn’t…” The man quietly sighed and ran a hand over his hair. “A friend of mine took me home to his house one day, very religious home, his mom was a real bible thumper. I was about fifteen at the time, and she just opened up her home to me, basically a complete stranger. Let me stay at their house for weeks at a time, taught me about God, and how much he loved me…” Turner paused, his voice shaking a little bit. “It was like the cloud’s had lifted, I started to feel better… I liked myself for the first time in my life, it was such a great feeling I can’t describe it.”

“When I got pulled here I admit I lost my way for a time, but these ponies…” Turner continued, Sam was listening intently as she watched the deputy wipe his eyes. “They showed me the same kindness that my friend’s family showed me, took me in as one of their own.” He stopped and took a deep breath. “Long story short, what I’m tryin’ to say is when I have my doubts I remember how I got where I am, the people and ponies that got me here… I owe it to them to stay positive and not lose hope.”

“Aw… Man.” Sam said, quietly dabbing her eyes. “I was just talking about your career, but damn. Got me all misty eyed and shit.” She took a deep breath while Turner started to look apologetic.

“I’m sorry, I misread some signals there…” Turner replied, tugging at his collar quietly. Sam watched him for a couple moments, the way his eyes would glance towards her before quickly glancing away, the uncertain expression on his face.

“It’s okay, and don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone…” Sam’s words seemed to help ease that uncertain expression somewhat. “Just I’ve been living with the same people for the past eight years, for the most part. They’ve all got their own careers. Gwen’s got her ad firm, Thomas helps Twilight, and me… Well, I could never hammer one down.”

“Well, this is just me here, but are you sure you’re looking in the right place?” Turner asked, his eyes briefly glancing back at Sam. She smiled at him, so maybe he wasn’t completely blowing it after all. “I mean, you mentioned being a model earlier. That’s a very cosmopolitan type job, maybe you should look some place less cosmopolitan?”

“Like Silver Lake?” Sam asked, Turner went pale white, then gulped and nodded. “It’s a thought, though I don’t expect my career crisis to be solved in one discussion.” Sam yawned and looked to the clock on the wall, they’d been talking for two hours. It was nearly eleven o’clock at night. “I think I’m gonna turn in for the night. Do you need anything from your room? Blankets? Pillows?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Turner replied as he got up off the couch and moved the ottoman, then began moving the couch cushions. “Sleep tight, have good dreams.”

“You too, Turner… And thanks again for letting me visit.” Sam replied, with that she walked to his bedroom where she would be staying. The dimly lit room looked far better now that Sam had cleaned it up, though there were areas of the room she hadn’t looked in yet. A locked footlocker under the bed had held her curiosity since she found it, but it wasn’t right to try to get into it. As she got ready for bed she couldn’t help but think about what Turner had said, about getting out of Canterlot. Moving to Silver Lake was extreme and had been more intended as a simile, but that didn’t preclude the notion of moving someplace else.

With a sigh, she finished putting on her pajamas and took a seat on Turner’s bed. The woman’s eyes roved around the room as she found herself thinking. For one thing, there was a clear lack of any personalization. Gwen had taught her how to read certain things, they were usually used to help in advertising, but also served as a good way to get a read on what someone was like. It told her that Turner wasn’t all that attached to his apartment, and the mess that had been present before she’d cleaned up told her he was likely less happy than he let on, or maybe even realized. It was a rudimentary guess at best, but Sam believed he was hurting more than anyone really knew. Maybe her visit would be just as good for him as it would be for her…

Silver Lake Township

Sam was awoken by the sound of the front door closing firmly, she scrambled out of bed as she heard the truck’s engine rumble to life, moments later she heard the wail of sirens as it tore onto the road. The woman stepped out into the living room to find it in disarray, the blanket had been tossed off the pull out bed and the couch was slightly out of place. Turner, as well as his clothes, were missing. His gunbelt and radio were also among the things that had disappeared, Sam was still a bit surprised by his sudden departure. Resting on the dining room table was a hastily scribbled note that read ‘Emergency call. Back when I can. Breakfast in the kitchen.’.

The woman sighed briefly and put the note back down before walking into the kitchen, resting on the counter was a plate which had been covered with tinfoil. Sam removed the covering and found herself staring at a pair of eggs, sunny side up, and a couple pieces of bacon which had been arranged to look like a smiley face. The woman smiled right back, quietly she looked out the window over the sink at the town of Silver Lake. Dawn had barely broken, and Sam had to admit it was something she wasn’t expecting. Sunrise here was beautiful, the reds and pinks in the clouds was truly breathtaking. They painted the distant mountains in a beautiful palette of colors.

Sam took the plate to the table and sat down, eating her breakfast quickly while she tried to think what emergency would have prompted Turner’s sudden departure. Once she’d finished her meal she put the plate in the sink and went about her usual morning routine. After around an hour she was dressed, the dish was cleaned and put away, and the pull out bed had been folded up and stored back in the couch. The woman adjusted her hair one final time before she walked out the front door. The sun was far brighter here as she was looking right at it, Sam quickly turned her eyes to the side and began walking down the steps.

As she walked away from the apartment complex she found herself near mainstreet, there were ponies going about their normal days, paying almost no attention to her. She’d snuck her way to Turner’s house the first time, unsure of how the Ponies would react to her, but as Turner had said they were just treating her like a normal person. A large smile formed on her face at the prospect, in Canterlot she had to sneak around a lot to avoid ponies. Seeing as Turner was off at work, Sam decided to go and explore the town a bit. Part of her was concerned about Turner, but in a town like Silver Lake what could possibly go wrong?

Walking down mainstreet gave her the opportunity to see what life was like in Silver Lake, the majority of ponies going about their business looked like farmers or ranchers. There were more than a few ponies that also looked like they were just visiting, judging by how out of place they looked compared to the locals. There was a General Store that mostly seemed to sell seed and feed for various farm animals, a market place where farmers could sell their crops, an inn, an apothecary, and a restaurant that seemed to double as a bar. The rest of the businesses in the area had been boarded up long ago.

“Mornin’, Ma’am.” A stallion said as he walked past Sam, tipping his hat slightly while walking towards the marketplace. Sam replied with a quick ‘Morning.’ as she watched him and several others approach the first couple of stalls. While Sam was interested in seeing what the marketplace had to offer, she wanted to do a bit more exploring. The woman continued walking along the road, passing by the mostly boarded up buildings. After ten minutes she happened upon the Sheriff’s Office, Turner’s truck wasn’t parked outside, and it looked like there had been a carriage there as well which was also missing.

Sam walked up the steps to the office and entered cautiously, the office was almost completely empty. There was, however, an older looking blue unicorn stallion sitting at a desk off in the corner in front of a radio set. He seemed to be looking at it intently, a pair of headphones placed over his ears so he could hear whatever it was that was going on.

“Be with you in a minute.” The stallion said, not looking away from the radio. He wrote down a couple notes on what he was hearing before removing the headphones and turning towards Sam. “What can I do for… Oh.” He trailed off as he realized that Sam was a human. “I take it you’re hear about Deputy Turner?”

“Yeah, I’m just curious what’s going on. I’m Sam, and you are?” Sam asked.

“Static... It’s a mononym.” The stallion replied with a grunt. “I’m fillin’ in as dispatch here for Sheriff Long Wire, on account of everyone bein’ sent out on that call.” Sam nodded quietly as she walked into the room and looked around. “That sparse lookin’ one is your bo’s desk, reckon he won’t mind you sitting there.”

“Oh, he isn’t my ‘Bo’.” Sam replied in a somewhat surprised tone as she walked over to the desk but didn’t sit down, instead she took the time to examine it. The desk had a little more decoration, there were various doodles scattered about on sticky notes and a weird statue that seemed to be made from paper clips. Static shrugged and looked back at the radio set, holding one earphone to his head. “You still haven’t told me what’s going on.”

“Some tourists camping up at Blue Mountain trailhead, one of their little ones wandered off this morning.” Static replied tiredly. “I been here since the Sheriff went up there, nothin’ so far.” That would explain Turner’s sudden departure, he likely had just finished making breakfast when the call came in. “They got Turner and a couple Changeling scouts up there, so it shouldn’t take much longer to find ‘em.”

“I’m sure things will turn out okay.” Sam genuinely believed her own words. She picked up a notepad and examined one of the doodles, which seemed like a sketch of a valley or perhaps a river, or maybe he was just drawing random lines. Briefly she glanced at Static, the stallion was once again looking at his radio set up. With him distracted Sam carefully opened one of the drawers on the desk, her curiosity getting the better of her. There was mostly office supplies, some notepads, but notably there was what looked like a piece of paper from the County Land Office.

Sam could see that it had several listings for pieces of land for sale by the county, a couple farms that had been abandoned, and various other properties. A good portion of them had been circled in pen, and stapled to the back was a plain bit of paper which had rough translations of what each circled bit said in english, as if someone was dictating when they were transcribed. This was something that gave the woman some more insight into where the deputy’s priorities were. He didn’t decorate his apartment because he was more focused on something a little different. Sam quickly tucked the papers back into the drawer and closed it, her eyes flicking around the room to see if anyone had been watching her.

Static was still at the radio, mumbling into it every now and then. Sam watched him for a couple moments. Part of her wanted to continue exploring, but at the same time there was a child that could be in danger. With a slight sigh she walked towards the door, there wasn’t much she could do here, best she could do was just go ahead and hope things worked out for the best.

As she walked outside she could hear the faint sound of sirens along the road to the North. Her eyes were drawn almost instantly as she spotted the familiar sight of Turner’s truck driving down the road. Oddly enough it wasn’t at a rapid pace, if anything it was leisurely. After a couple minutes the truck pulled in in front of the Sheriff’s office and the siren was turned off. There were three ponies seated in the bed of the truck, and one in the cab. A little colt by the looks of it.

Turner opened the driver’s side door and hopped out, he was wearing jeans, his boots, a t-shirt, and his deputy uniform shirt which was unbuttoned. As he got out he turned to the cab and gestured for the colt to come towards him while the two ponies in the bed of the truck, a mare and a stallion, began to climb out.

“Alright, kiddo. Ready?” Turner asked, the colt nodded and the deputy lifted him out of the truck and put him on the ground. The two adult ponies meanwhile came around the side of the vehicle and hugged the colt. “Alright, if you folks could head inside real quick, we have some paperwork you need to fill out.”

“Alright, thank you Deputy. I can’t apologize enough.” The mare, an Earth pony with cream colored fur, said as she and her family started walking towards the building. Sam stepped to the side to allow them in while Turner reached into the cab and grabbed his radio before closing the door and walking towards Sam.

“You found the lost kid.” Sam said with a cheerful tone, Turner shrugged.

“Wasn’t really lost, he was just hiding, playing around.” The man said with a slight sigh, rubbing his neck before clipping the radio to his belt. “We get cases like this once or twice a year, some kid runs off and hides to play a joke on mommy and daddy.” He seemed rather annoyed actually, briefly looking through the door at the family which had taken a seat near his desk. “Honestly, can’t stand this stuff. If there had been an actual emergency we wouldn’t have had enough officers to respond because we were all out looking for him. At the same time, I’m glad he wasn’t actually in danger…” The man walked up the steps and into the Sheriff’s Office with Sam following behind him.

“Deputy.” Static said from his radio set up, Turner nodded to him.

“You’re good to go, Static. Sheriff’s radio bugged out on him though, so he’ll probably swing by later to see if you can fix it.” Turner replied, Static nodded as his horn glowed. In a flash of light he’d teleported his radio equipment away, with only a slight nod the stallion walked past Sam and outside. Meanwhile Turner moved to his desk and took a seat across from the family that had gone in, allowing Sam to get a look at him in action, at least somewhat. “Okay, so, I need to go over a few things with you and your son before we send you on your way.”

“Of course.” The stallion replied, he was a Pegasus with light blue fur, and as it turned out the colt was also a pegasus of a similar color.

“So, first and foremost I cannot stress this enough, you need to make sure your son understands how serious we take things like this.” Turner said, looking at the parents directly. “We’re a small department, we can’t afford to spend time looking for ponies who aren’t missing. Now I understand you’re only here camping, but even still, it’s a misuse of law enforcement resources.”

“We understand, Deputy.” The mare said, looking at her son. “Swift, you know you can’t do what you did again, right?” The colt frowned and nodded apologetically, Turner quietly opened his lower desk drawer and leafed through a couple files before withdrawing a pair of sheets and setting them out on the desk.

“Alright, now if you could sign these…” Turner said, offering them a pen. The mare and stallion looked over the papers for a couple seconds before nodding and signing them. “Great, and we can send mail to you at the address you provided the Sheriff, right?” They nodded. “Alright, you can go. I’d recommend spending the rest of your trip here at the Inn just down the street.”

“We’ll definitely consider it, Deputy… And again, we’re so sorry…” The mother said as she and her family got up, Sam watched as they walked out of the Sheriff’s Office before Turner put the sheets of paper in his desk.

“I thought you couldn’t read Equestrian.” Sam said as she walked across the room.

“I’ve picked up on a few things, even if I’m not totally fluent… And Deputy Buckeye helped me translate the various forms for my files.” Turner replied, he stood up and put the two signed papers into a bin on the Sheriff’s desk marked ‘To Be Filed’. “So, how has your day been?”

“It’s been fine, took a walk through town… There’s not much to see though, and eventually I just ended up here.” Sam explained as she leaned against Turner’s desk, she briefly glanced at him for a moment, then at the top desk drawer. “Sorry if this is a bad time…”

“Huh? Oh, no, not a bad time… Actually since you’re visiting the Sheriff wants to give me another week off…” Turner replied, though he didn’t seem too enthused.

“Is something wrong?” Sam asked, the man paused and walked towards a water cooler near the wall.

“Not particularly, I just don’t like the idea of leaving all my work to Buckeye and Long Wire for a week, especially since I’ve already taken time off.” Turner replied, he got himself a little paper cup of water and took a quick drink before sighing. “Granted, the total population of the county is only around five hundred people, but still…” He took a moment to breathe. “I wasn’t totally honest earlier, he didn’t give me the week off… He ordered me to take a week off. That’s more what’s bothering me.”

“Ah…” Sam said quietly.

“Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to have someone to hang out with.” Turner said quickly, the woman raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m just having a bit of trouble adjusting is all, but I haven’t even been on the job a month yet, so I’m sure things’ll work themselves out.” The man tossed the paper cup in the trash and walked back to his desk. “Hope you don’t mind, but do you think we could hang out at the apartment for a couple hours? Blue Mountain is a helluva hike.”

“Yeah, that sounds fine.” Sam smiled as she watched him sit down from where she was still leaning on his desk. “You know, I have a feeling a rumor is gonna start about you and me…”

“What makes you say that?” Turner asked.

“That guy, Static, he called you my ‘Bo’.” She replied, Turner started laughing to himself. “Crazy, right? You and me? Together?” Her tone was incredulous, like the possibility of such a thing happening was less likely than finding a white hole in space.

“Yeah… Crazy.” Turner said in a bit more of a quiet voice, a maelstrom of thoughts was starting to form in his mind. Had he done something wrong? Said something wrong? There were only four humans on the entire planet, and from what Turner could tell ‘Thomas’ was already spoken for… He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the notion that him ever getting a date with fifty percent of the human female population had seemingly evaporated.

Sam, meanwhile, could see the wheels spinning in Turner’s head. What she’d meant to say was that they barely knew eachother, how could they be in a relationship. The way she’d said it though caused even herself to flinch.

“Turner, I didn’t mean to say that. I just meant we barely know each other…” Sam said, Turner only nodded quietly. “Jeez… Gwen was saying I needed to work on thinking before I talk, now I kinda see why.” The woman sat on the desk and sighed. “Can we talk about this when we get back to the apartment? Please?”

“Sure, Sam.” Turner replied distantly as he got up and walked towards the door, he peeked outside and hummed. “Sheriff’s almost back.” The man quietly watched as the Sheriff got closer, when he saw Turner the Sheriff gestured for him to get going rather insistently. “Alright, we can go…”

The short drive back to the apartment was spent in relative silence, as was the walk up the steps. When Sam and Turner were inside the man removed his work shirt and hung it up near the door before sitting on the couch, to his surprise Sam sat next to him. They both sat there, each of them unsure of what to say to the other. It was Sam that spoke up first, she looked over at Turner and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I take it you’ve been alone since you got here? I mean… Well, you know what I mean.” She asked, Turner only nodded. “It’s been that way for me too.” She sighed and squeezed his shoulder. “Look, I can tell I hit a nerve back there, and I really am sorry…”

“I’m sorry too, I don’t think I responded as well as I should’ve.” Turner replied as he leaned back on the couch, his eyes focussing on the pictures on the wall. “I mean, it wasn’t fair of me to act like that. It’s just I don’t know about you, but me and ponies? That’s just not happening… So when you said that it hit a little harder than expected.”

“I know, right?” Sam asked, Turner looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Gwen’s okay with ponies, Thomas is okay with ponies, I’m not. I mean, they’re fine to be in a platonic relationship with, but something more? Doesn’t it just seem…”

“Weird?” Turner finished for her, Sam nodded. “Yeah, yeah it does.” The woman leaned back on the couch as well, her eyes settling on the landscape paintings as well. “So where does that leave us?”

“Honestly? I don’t know, I don’t think that term ‘Plenty of fish in the sea’ really applies here.” Sam said softly. This had been the first time that Turner had ever talked about how he felt in regards to romance in Equestria, though it appeared Sam had discussed it more with her other human friends. For that reason, he opted to let her steer the conversation, as she had more experience. “It’s just you and me. You’re the only other person on the planet that I can see myself with.”

“I don’t think that statement holds as much weight, considering the lack of other options.” Turner said with a rather sarcastic tone.

“Stop that, I’m trying to be nice.” Sam replied, Turner smiled faintly, a real and genuine smile. “I want to give it a chance, for both our sakes. Six years alone for you, eight years alone for me, I think we owe it to each other to at least try.”

“That’s not guilt talking?” Turner asked, Sam nodded. He quietly looked at the floor and clasped his hands together. “Alright, what the heck… Can’t win the lottery if you don’t play, right?” He looked over at Sam and quietly rubbed the back of his neck. “So… Dinner later?”

“Sure.” Sam replied with a smile.

“That felt like the weirdest and most roundabout, yet somehow direct, way of asking someone out I’ve ever seen in my life.” Turner said with a somewhat relaxed sigh. The man quietly leaned his head back, his expression softening somewhat. “What do we do now?”

“Want me to take a look at the CD player in your truck?” Sam asked, Turner looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Before I sold any tech to the ponies I familiarized myself with it, car stereos were a pretty easy one. I could probably get that John Denver disc out easy peasy.”

“Well, shit, yeah that sounds like a good use of our time.” Turner stood up quickly. “As much as I may be a fan of John Denver, listening to nothing but him for two years has been a tad excessive.” Sam laughed slightly as she got up as well, the two of them went to the door and stepped outside.

Over the course of the next couple hours they worked to remove the disc from the stereo system, getting the system out of the truck had been the easy part, but getting it to give up the disc was something else entirely. With a little finessing, some moderate swearing on Sam’s part and a little prayer on Turners the disc finally came free. Half an hour later and the two of them had the eject mechanism running like new, with the stereo finally cleared of the disk Turner was free to finally take his music collection out of storage. Some he’d purchased, some he’d burned at home.

Sam had thought that after reinstalling the stereo Turner would want something a little different, like classic rock or maybe even some classical music in general. She found that most of Turner’s music was old cowboy and country music. Marty Robbins, Sons of the Pioneers, Johnny Cash and so on. The remainder was classic rock and blues. Despite her hesitation for Turner’s choice in music she proposed something they could do to celebrate his newly fixed stereo, she wanted to see what Evergreen County was like outside of Silver Lake. Turner was more than happy to oblige, but only after he returned to the Sheriff's Office to complete the remainder of his shift. Thankfully, all the excitement had been at the beginning of the day and Turner was able to clock out at a reasonable time. When he returned the two of them got ready in their own ways, and once that was done they hit the road.

The drive out into the Horseshoe Basin took the usual amount of time of around two hours or so, most of which Turner and Sam spent listening to the sweet dulcet tones of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Of all the music that Sam noticed however, it seemed that the majority of it was Johnny Cash. They drove for hours and hours, occasionally stopping at points of interest like Switchback River, and so on. It was a rather good time, mostly spent talking about the local wildlife or the local history. The truck reached the Western edge of the Basin as the sun was starting to set, the sky once again becoming a tapestry of brilliant reds, pinks and oranges.

“Wanna stop for a bit?” Turner asked as he looked at the sunset, Sam nodded quietly and with that Turner turned the truck around so that the bed was facing the sunset. With that done Turner killed the engine and the two of them both got out and walked towards the back of the truck. He did, however, leave the keys in the ignition as to allow the stereo to keep playing softly in the background. Sam waited patiently as Turner lowered the tailgate and opened up one of the bags they’d packed, from inside he withdrew a blanket which he laid down in the bed of the truck. He also took a couple sandwiches that were wrapped up in tinfoil.

“When did you get a chance to make these?” Sam asked as Turner helped her up into the bed of the truck, the woman crawled forward a little bit before sitting against the cab of the truck so she could get a good look at the sunset. Turner climbed up with a grunt and sat beside her, offering her one of the wrapped sandwiches.

“When you were in the bathroom getting ready.” Turner replied while leaning back and watching the sunset. “The Diner in town is okay, but I dunno, I felt like we wouldn’t get much privacy there.” The two unwrapped their sandwiches, they weren’t anything fancy in the way of food, but it was clear Turner had put effort into making something. “Besides, the Diner doesn’t give you a view like this.” The man gestured to the sunset, the warm glow of the light bathed both of them in it’s embrace as they sat beside one another.

“Well, you certainly know how to make a first impression.” Sam mused as she took a bite of her sandwich and looked out over the vast fields that were dotted with groves of trees and shrubs. “I kinda see why you’ve never left Evergreen County, it really is beautiful here.” She looked over at him as he was starting to speak. “And if you say something corny like ‘Not as beautiful as you.’ I’m going to smack you.” Turner began laughing, and soon after Sam joined in.

“How-How did you know?” The man asked in between giggles.

“Because that’s something right out of the trashy romance novels I read.” Sam replied in a mirthful tone. After a couple moments they calmed down enough to continue eating. “Come on, Turner… I know you can come up with better stuff than that. Come on, give me a real compliment.”

“You’re asking for a compliment?” Turner asked with a raised eyebrow, Sam nodded.

“Yeah, complimenting people is a skill, it requires practice. I’m merely trying to help you grow that skill.” Sam said simply, as if it was merely her being magnanimous. She took another bite of her sandwich and waited for the man’s response, her eyes drifting back towards the sunset in the west.

“Fine, put me on the spot. Gimme a second.” Turner incredulously replied while grinning, he looked off to the side before looking back at Sam. “You’ve given me a lot to think about in only a few days of knowing you, that’s not something that’s easy to do… And you’re funny, but that's just gravy. Maybe it's just because I've been with ponies so long I've never really connected with anyone in this particular way... I find myself trusting you more deeply and quickly than anyone else...” The man smiled faintly and looked off to the side. “And… If you want… I guess you can call me Paige.”

“That was good. Could work on the delivery a little bit, but not bad.” Sam said with a grin, Turner smiled back at her and leaned back with a nervous sigh. “Were you serious?”

“I’m always serious when it comes to stuff like that, Sam.” Turner stated as he took another bite of his sandwich and went back to watching the sunset, the light was dimming as the sun began to dip below the horizon.

“Alright, I just wanted to be sure…” Sam’s tone sounded genuine as she and Turner lapsed into a silence, watching as the sun continued to set in the distance. “So, I get Paige isn’t really a guy’s name, but does it really bother you that much?”

“Not as much anymore, but I still like to keep it to myself.” Turner stated simply, Sam quietly looked off towards the side of the truck for a couple moments before she hesitantly scooted a little closer to Turner.

“I’ll only use it when it’s just us then.” Sam said after finishing her sandwich. She began scooting even closer, before just leaning against him. She felt him go rigid, like someone had just placed a snake in his lap. After a couple moments she felt him relax his posture slightly, the two of them once again lapsed into silence. Turner finished eating and leaned back, feeling Sam’s head resting on his shoulder had been nerve racking at first, but he forced himself to play it cool. As far as he was concerned he was batting a thousand at this point. Just sitting there and listening to the stereo play in the background while the sun set had to be the most romantic thing he could think of, and it seemed to be working.

Sam looked out as the sun was getting closer to setting completely, she felt Turner nervously move his arm up and drape it around her shoulder. The woman reached up quietly and grasped his hand, squeezing it softly. Turner nervously looked over at Sam, and almost simultaneously she had the same thought. The two of them ended up looking into each other’s eyes, this felt like the critical moment for Turner. Make or break time. Slowly he leaned closer to her, she leaned up to meet him. They both closed their eyes as their lips met, in the background the song ‘Cowboys and Angels’ by Dustin Lynch began to play on the stereo.

Their first kiss lasted for a couple seconds at most, but their second lasted even longer, all while that music continued to play in the background. Inside Turner was in total panic, was he doing the right thing? Was he overstepping? Maybe he just should’ve stopped himself. Sam quietly put her hand on Turner’s back, embracing him as they stayed close. They weren’t sure where things were headed, but there was little that could stop what was happening.

“Freeze!” A voice boomed from the back of the truck, both Turner and Sam jumped in surprise and looked to the rear. There were three changeling’s standing there with spellrifles, at the head of the group was Mourning Cloak.

“Mourning! What the fuck!?” Turner shouted as he sat up, Sam meanwhile wasn’t sure what to do. So she did the best she could and put herself behind Turner, as he was the law enforcement professional here.

“She’s trying to take your love, Turner! I came to rescue you! You said it yourself. You’re the only human, remember? She musta brainwashed you into thinking there's more than one!” Mourning Cloak replied, still holding his rifle.

“No, I’m not! There’s like four of us. Shit, you're a changeling, if she was a changeling you'd be able to tell, right?” Turner grunted loudly. “I just found out, like… Two days ago!” Mourning looked between Turner and Sam for several seconds, his eyes narrowing a couple times on Sam before a very deep look of awkward regret washed over his face.

“So… She’s real…?” Mourning asked nervously, Turner nodded. "And I just interrupted..." Another nod, this time from Sam. “Oh… Oh… I am so, so sorry… Turner, I had no idea...” He and the other changelings lowered their rifles sheepishly, several of them rubbing the backs of their necks as they averted their eyes. “Uh… Well, look at the time, we really should be going.” Bye!” In several flashes of light the changelings teleported away, leaving two very flustered humans behind.

“Friend of yours?” Sam asked awkwardly.

“Not sure anymore after that…” Turner replied equally as awkwardly, he looked off the side and groaned. The mood was effectively dead, the sun was pretty low in the sky. “Maybe we should just head home…”

“Yeah.” Sam concurred flatly, the two of them awkwardly shuffled out of the truck bed and closed the tailgate. Turner secured the blanket they’d been using in its rightful place, and the two of them began the awkward drive back to town. The radio was off for the majority of the way home, and not much was said between the two of them, each processing what had just happened in their own way. Turner, for his part, was somewhat unsure of what he’d done right back there. It had mostly just been on instinct, and he had trouble wrapping his head around that. Sam, on the other hand, was wondering what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been interrupted. How far would things have gone?

These thoughts circulated through their heads right up until they pulled in and parked outside the apartment complex, quietly they ascended the steps and walked inside. Once they were inside, Sam thought it prudent to take the lead.

“Paige.” She said, Turner looked at her quietly. “I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed myself today, up until the part where we both almost got shot…”

“Thanks.I enjoyed myself too, despite how my day may have started. Sorry for the worst ending to a first date ever though, I probably should’ve called ahead.” Turner said as he began to move the couch cushions to pull out the couch bed.

“Oh, oddly enough that wasn’t the worst ending I’ve had to a date, not even close.” Sam replied with a smile and a slight laugh, she watched as Turner began to reach into the couch to remove the bed. “Hey, uh… Do you want to sleep together, I mean, in the same bed… Not… Well, you know.”

“You sure? I’m fine sleeping out here.” Turner said with a bit of genuine concern, Sam nodded and smiled a bit more.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Come on.” Sam said, Turner’s confidence in himself shot up considerably when she said that, maybe the night hadn’t completely torpedoed his chances with Sam after all.

Turner put the cushions back on the couch and walked with Sam to his bedroom, while she was putting on her pajamas in the bathroom Turner was doing the same in the room. He normally just wore boxers and that was it, but as he had female company he opted to wear sweatpants and a tank top. His tattoo felt better once it had been exposed to a bit more air, he’d been doing his best to keep it clean given his circumstances, so far it was healing up nicely.

“Whoa, okay.” He heard Sam say as she came out of the bathroom. “You have a tattoo.” Turner gave her a deadpan expression. “It’s, uh… It looks good on you.” The woman quietly walked a bit closer and took a closer look at it. “I have a tattoo too.”

“Really?” Turner asked as he took a seat on his side of the Queen sized bed, Sam was wearing a tank top as well as her pajama pants, but Turner couldn’t see any tattoos on her arms, shoulders, or even on her back when he caught a glimpse of that. “Where is it?”

“Oh, uh… It’s… Somewhere.” Sam replied as she walked to her side of the bed and sat down as well. Turner looked thoughtful as he laid down, before a look of realization crossed his features and a deep red blush crossed his cheeks. “Yeah…” The woman laid down and got under the covers, then reached over and turned off the light on the bed stand. Turner got under the covers as well and turned away from Sam, resting his head on one of the pillows. “Hey, Paige?”

“Yeah?” Turner said quietly, he felt a shift in the blankets as Sam rolled over and draped an arm over his side.

“Sweet dreams.” She softly whispered, Turner let out a sigh as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. It was a deep sleep, deeper than he had had in a long time. Sam settled in to sleep as well, closing her eyes as she too prepared to slip off into the land of dreams. It had been an odd day, and an even odder ‘first date’, but she was hopeful. The deputy seemed like an honorable man, something Sam had thought at one time in the past to be made up. Despite the fact he was bad at math, or grammar, or that he was as insecure about something as inconsequential as a name…

Despite how fast things were progressing, she didn’t feel ‘rushed’. Maybe it was because she hadn’t had anyone like him in her life for nearly a decade, maybe it was hormones, but whatever the reason she felt a connection… That was good enough for her.

Black Briar Trailhead: Part I

The sound of insects buzzing in the breeze was common across Evergreen County, that included the plains overlooked by Briar Peak to the north of Silver Lake. The midday sun loomed overhead, bathing the ground in the usual post-summertime heat. Late August made for some of the highest temperatures of the year, as if the season was giving it’s final hurrah before being swept aside by Autumn. Wildfires were common around this time of year, and that made keeping a patrol within close distance to the plains vital.

Turner was sitting in his truck with the A/C on, having stopped for lunch after a couple hours of driving around making sure that any campers were adhering to the strict fire ban. So far he’d had to write three or four tickets, which was quite an accomplishment for him since he was finally somewhat fluent in Equestrian text. It had been a month since Sam’s visit, things between them were good, Turner sent a letter every week or so. It was more writing practice, and he also found it to be quite therapeutic to have someone to correspond with.

For the moment, however, Turner was more focused on the chicken sandwich that was waiting for him in his brown paper lunch bag. There had been a large influx of tourists in the last month, news of another Human had driven them all to see the sleepy little backwater. Truth be told, Long Wire likely would have had Turner closer to home to deal with the increase in crime, but a wildfire wiping out farms and homesteads seemed to be unquestionably worse than a purse snatcher. There had been a couple times where the Sheriff had contemplated calling in the ‘Terries’, the local nickname for the Territorial Garrison. Nearest comparison Turner could make to them was basically Military Police. From what he’d heard they were usually run by some nepotism hire from Canterlot, liked to arrogantly parade around in their shiny armor, and almost always trampled on local jurisdiction.

If the Sheriff was even considering bringing them into his County then the situation had to be pretty dire, far more dire than he let on. Turner took a bite of his sandwich and sighed as he looked out over the brown parched plants that lay begging for water in the sun, the last thing Silver Lake needed were a bunch of overpaid pencil pushers telling the Sheriff how to do his job. The man ruminated on the possibility of maybe proposing the deputizaton some of the Changelings from the compound, Mourning Cloak trained his people well, and they had the numbers and equipment to be of help… Before Turner could think any further on that he was interrupted by the crackle of his radio.

”Turner, it’s Static. You still out by Briar Peak?” A gruff voice called over the radio, the deputy put his sandwich down and picked up the radio to reply.

“Yup, still here. What’s up?” Turner replied, his eyes scanning over the treeline.

”We got a mare who says she found a body up by you a couple minutes ago.” Static replied quietly, Turner paused for a moment as he listened to what had just been said.

“Did you say a body? And did you say a couple minutes ago? It takes me half an hour at full speed to get back to town, how’d she find it minutes ago?” Turner looked dejectedly at his sandwich, which likely would be forgotten if it turned out that this wasn’t some sort of hoax.

”Some new invention thing, magic communicator… I think it’s called a ‘Cellular Phone’.” Static replied, Turner let out a deep sigh. Seemed Sam had been a little off with her prediction of when cell phones would start hitting the market, but whatever, if it cut down on response time he was all for it. ”Anyway, she said she’s about two past the the Black Briar trailhead. Want me to get Doc Meadowbrook out there?”

“Nah, not yet. I’ll check it out first, but I think it’d be wise to keep the Sheriff appraised regardless.” Turner said as he tossed his sandwich back into the brown paper bag and set it aside, afterwards he flicked on the lights and siren. “Anyway, Unit Two responding.”

”A’Firm.” Static replied before the radio cut out, Turner hit the gas and tore off down the road. It was going to take around ten minutes to get where to the described location, the ride was a bumpy one. Thankfully there was little in the way of obstructions, but the thought of finding another body was not a fun one, so a quick response was a bit of a double edged sword from where he stood. The dust kicked up behind the truck and the wail of the sirens was a sure sign that anyone on the road had best get out of the way.

He blew past the Black Briar trailhead and continued on, passing by a few rather surprised hikers that were still near the start of the trail. As he neared the location reported by the mare he cut the siren and slowed down, though the lights continued flashing away. A tan pegasus mare with a black mane was standing on the side of the road, waving him over towards the side of the road. The Deputy quietly opened the driver’s side door, grabbing his radio as his boot set down in the dry dirt of the road. With a sigh the man walked towards the mare, closing the door behind him. Overhead he saw a couple carrion birds, vultures from the looks of them. They were circling the area off the side of the road, as if signalling the location even further.

“You call in a body, ma’am?” Turner asked calmly, the mare looked at him with surprise for a couple seconds. The glint of the light reflecting off his badge brought her attention back to the situation at hand. From what Turner could see, the mare was beyond freaked out.

“It… It uh… I’ve never seen so much blood…” The mare replied, she honestly looked like she’d thrown up recently. “I didn’t realize what I was looking at at first, and then… Wham… Y’know? W-What could do something like that?”

“Ma’am, I understand you’re upset, I need you to calm down for me, okay?” Turner said as he approached her, bending down a little to get closer to her level. The mare simply nodded and wiped her eyes, briefly glancing towards the side of the road before looking back at Turner. “Can you tell me your name first, ma’am?”

“Yearling… I just go by Yearling.” She replied, taking a couple deep breaths.

“Alright, Miss Yearling? Are you injured?” Turner asked, the mare shook her head. “Did you touch the body in anyway? Touch anything in the surrounding area?”

“N-No… Yes… Sort of.” Yearling replied, once again glancing towards the side of the road. “I travel, a lot… I’m an archeologist, I heard about the Double Ott Treasure recently and thought ‘That’d be a good challenge to find!’.” The mare rambled for a couple moments but stopped. “I.. I was following an account I read in his journal, stopped every now and then to take some keepsakes… Then I saw the blood, and… And… Everything else.” Turner quietly placed a hand on the mare’s shoulder and started leading her away from the side of the road. “I’ve been all over the world, been attacked by all sorts of animals… I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“Okay, I need you to wait here by the truck for me, okay?” Turner said, Yearling nodded and sat beside the vehicle. Turner reached to his gun belt and drew his side arm, for all he knew this had been a bear attack, and he didn’t want to take any chances. As the Deputy approached the side of the road he could hear the buzz of insects was far louder here than it normally was. When he reached the side of the road he looked down the embankment, which went down around twenty feet near a dried up creek bed. As he looked out over the scene Turner’s jaw quietly dropped open.

“Holy shit…” Turner said under his breath as he started down the embankment, when he reached the bottom he walked along the creek bed. He had to step carefully to avoid bits of the dry soil that had been soaked red in blood. A body was certainly there, though not in one piece. All the limbs had been removed from the torso and tossed randomly, while the head of the pony was off in it’s own little spot. Turner cautiously knelt down and examined one of the severed limbs, he could see down to the bone. “Please don’t let there be…” Turner trailed off as he looked a little closer. “Kerf marks…” Clear as crystal, marked in the bone were the telltale signs of what looked like the teeth of a saw.

Turner stood up straight and quietly coughed as the smell started to overwhelm him, the scent of a corpse that had been left out in the sun for perhaps a day. The body was too deformed for Turner to tell if it was a mare or a stallion without a closer look, and the fur was caked in mud. The butt mark had been removed as well… Perhaps the worst part was the amount of blood surrounding the body, that amount of blood told him that whomever had done this killed the pony there in that spot. The man quietly brought his radio to his lips, his throat felt dry as he continued to survey the scene.

“Static…” Turner said with a slight tremble.

”Go ahead, Turner.” The gruff voice replied.

“Gonna need the Sheriff, Static. Send Doc Meadowbrook out here too.” Turner stepped back from the body and started making his way towards the truck. He couldn’t afford to lose his nerve now, it was one thing to do it when you were with other officers, but there was a witness here that needed to see that he had the situation well in hand or else she would likely freak out even more. “Judgin’ by the state of the body, I’d say we’ve got an equicide on our hands…”

”Equici… Shit. I’ll get ‘em out to you right away, Turner. Sit tight.”

“Roger that, and Static…” Turner said softly, slowly he began his trek back up the road to his truck. He needed to cordon off the area, make sure no one else came in and messed with the scene… Or saw the body. “It’s bad, make sure they step on it.”

---

Turner was leaning against his truck while Miss Yearling sat inside, she wasn’t in any condition to walk or fly back to Silver Lake on her own and Turner couldn’t leave the scene. It had been only an hour since Turner had called in the body as a murder, the Deputy was glad to see a covered wagon rolling down the road with Sheriff’s Markings on it. Riding along in the driver’s seat was the Sheriff while in the passenger seat Static was sitting with his horn glowing. It seemed the unicorn was using his magic to propel the carriage faster than a pony normally could. It skidded to a stop beside the truck, prompting Turner to step aside.

Long Wire hopped out of the driver’s seat while Turner saw Doc Meadowbrook hop out of the back of the covered wagon. Response times had always been a sore spot with the Sheriff, but Turner was the only one able to use the controls of the Truck. Still, his response was good comparatively, the Sheriff walked towards Turner while Static reclined in his seat. He wasn’t here to see the body, and he had no intentions of doing so on accident.

“What’ve we got, Turner?” Long Wire asked as he and Turner walked towards the edge of the road, they stopped at the top of the embankment as the Deputy quietly pointed out at the corpse. “What makes you think it’s murder?”

“I inspected the body, no claw marks or sign of a bear attack, looks like the limbs were cut with a saw.” Turner replied, Long Wire let out a tired sigh. “From the amount of blood, I’d say the victim was killed here… And considerin’ the spray. They were likely still alive when the killer started cutting.”

“There ain’t been a murder in Evergreen County since before I was in office…” Long Wire said with a grunt as he started down the embankment, Turner followed with him. “Doc! Gonna need you down here!” Turner stopped briefly to see that Doc Meadowbrook was indeed following them, she paused at the top of the embankment and her features went pale. After a couple seconds she started down the embankment with the rest of the law enforcement officers. “What did the witness have to say?”

“She’s some sort of treasure hunter or somethin’, was out looking for Double Ott’s Treasure and taking keepsakes…” Turner replied, Long Wire paused for a moment as he reached the bottom of the embankment and waited for Turner and Meadowbrook to join him.

“Double Ott’s Treasure? Most hunters say it’s buried near Blue Mountain, that’s about fifty miles from here. So what’s she doing here?” Long Wire said as the three of them began walking along the dry river bed, wrapped around a couple trees was yellow tape that read ‘Crime Scene - Do Not Cross’ which cordoned off the area. “Think she might have something to do with this?”

“Honestly, Sheriff, she was pretty messed up when I got here.” Turner replied as the three of them ducked under the crime scene tape and came upon the body in all its gore. “If she ain’t telling us somethin’ she’s a real good actor.” Meadowbrook cautiously approached one of the legs that was laying in the dry river sand, the mare knelt down and examined it.

“Discoloration of the flesh puts time of death at at least twenty four hours ago… I’ll need to run more tests to get a definitive number, but it’s at least a day ago, at most a day and a half.” Meadowbrook stated. The mare reached into a bag around her waist and withdrew a pair of rubber hoof gloves, which were exactly what they sounded like, gloves for a pony’s hoof. “And Turner’s right, judging by the blood and the spray, they were killed here and… dismembered while they were still alive. Looks like scavengers removed the cutiemark post mortem, it might still be in one of their stomachs.”

“Really?” Long Wire asked, Meadowbrook nodded as she moved on to examine the torso.

“Yeah, Cutiemarks are magical, so they and the skin they’re on can survive more than normal flesh can… Don’t ask how I figured that one out.” Meadowbrook said, it was clear that she was not enjoying her current task, but no one did for that matter. “Might help with an ID though.”

“Alright… Turner, get your rifle and take down those Vultures.” Long Wire said with a grunt while pointing at the birds over head, he sighed as he looked up towards Briar Peak. “And tell Static to call the Territorial Garrison, looks like we’re gonna need their help on this. Can’t keep the peace and investigate a murder with just three officers. Speaking of which, make sure Buckeye knows to stay at the station until the Terries show up.”

“Yes, sir.” Turner said, he paused for a second. “Sheriff?” Long Wire looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Why not deputize some of Mourning Cloak’s guys? They’ve helped us out in the past.”

“Normally I would, but these are tourists we’re dealing with, they’re more likely to panic if they see a Changeling Holdout than they are if they see a Royal Guard. The last thing we need in a murder investigation is a public panic.” Long Wire replied with a sigh, the stallion looked at the ground. “Now get on taking out those birds.” Turner nodded and started walking up the embankment, after a couple minutes he reached the top and walked towards the truck.

“Static!” Turner called out, the stallion who was reading a newspaper in the passenger seat of the covered wagon looked up. “Sheriff wants you to call in the Terries, and to remind Buckeye she needs to stay at the station until they get here.” Static looked a little annoyed at the prospect of bringing in outsiders, but regardless nodded and hopped down from his seat. He moved around to the back of the Wagon where he could summon his radio equipment, meanwhile Turner opened the driver’s side door of his truck and reached inside to grab his spellrifle from the gun rack. “Miss Yearling, you’re gonna hear some spell shots in a moment. You aren’t in any danger.” He said quietly as he looked at the mare who was staring out the window, she didn’t respond.

Turner closed the door and walked around to the front of the truck, he rested the barrel of the spellrifle on his forearm, which in turn was resting on the hood of the truck. As he sat there he couldn’t get the thought of the body out of his mind, the blood everywhere, the sheer brutality needed to do something like that. His sight landed on one of the vultures, he exhaled and squeezed the trigger. The loud pop of a spell being cast out the barrel of the spellgun echoed through the area as a bolt of blue light lanced through the sky and struck the vulture. It squawked loudly before spiralling out of the sky and landing down in the embankment out of sight.

The Vultures stayed in their circular flight path over the body, even the threat of death wasn’t motivation to dissuade them from their meal. Turner racked the lever, which recharged the rifle with enough energy to fire another spell, weak as it was. Over the course of the next five minutes he dropped the remaining vultures from the sky, watching as each one spiralled down out of the sky and down into the dry creek bed. Turner brought his radio up to his lips as he stood up straight and rested the rifle on the hood of the truck.

“That’s all of ‘em, Sheriff.” Turner said as he grabbed the rifle by the foregrip with his free hand and approached the edge of the embankment, he looked down at the dry creek bed and saw that the Sheriff was examining the corpse while Meadowbrook was tending to the task of recovering the butt mark from the now dead Vultures.

“Deputy.” Static said from behind as he walked towards Turner. “I called the Terries like you asked, they’ll be rolling into Silver Lake in about an hour…” The stallion stopped and briefly looked down from the embankment. “Sonovabitch… Just what I didn’t want to see.” The older stallion scowled and looked away, his eyes settling on the rifle in Turner’s hand. Trying to purge his thoughts of the dead body down the embankment, Static decided it best to change the topic of discussion to literally anything else. “Anyway, Buckeye said she’ll be waiting there for ‘em.”

“I take it she weren’t too happy about that?” Turner asked, Static nodded and started walking back towards the Wagon. Turner meanwhile was having trouble keeping his eyes off the body below, specifically the area around the body.

“Turner, get back down here!” Sheriff Long Wire shouted up from the creek bed, Turner started down the embankment once more, this time making it down a bit more quickly than before. He walked towards the body once again, the smell filling his nostrils as he got closer and closer. “Looks like there’s some tracks around the body, they ain’t mine or Meadowbrooks, they ain’t scavengers, and they ain’t yours.” The stallion removed his stetson and wiped his brow. “Think you could track them?”

“Sure can try.” Turner replied, walking with Long Wire towards the tracks in question. Turner knelt down and examined the dry sand, looking over the pattern of the hoofprint. “Well, you’re right, this wasn’t you or Meadowbrook… Or Miss Yearling, the witness. Print’s too big for any of you.” He looked off up the dry creek bed. “Looks like they head up that way.”

“Get on it then.” Long Wire stated, Turner nodded and stood up fully. “And Turner, load more than one rack in that rifle of yours.”

“Sir?” Turner replied, prompting Long Wire to take his rifle and rack the lever more than once.

“It’s a multi-charge rifle, haven’t seen one in a while so I wasn’t sure at first when you brought it in from Haste’s farm.” Long Wire finished racking the lever ten times, which took him about eight seconds to do. “Got phased out since it was quicker to reload with spellrounds, but out here it could be your best friend. Max you can charge this thing is ten times, one time makes it basically a pellet gun, and ten… Well.. Ten’ll practically stop a brown bear in it’s tracks.” Long Wire handed the rifle back to Turner, who gripped it carefully. “Whoever did this may still be out there.”

“I’d feel better about this if I wasn’t going out there alone.” Turner replied as he looked over the rifle, Long Wire nodded.

“Yeah, so would I, but we don’t have a choice until the Terries show up. The longer we wait the colder that trail gets.” The Sheriff said with a sigh, Turner started walking along where he saw the tracks. “And Deputy Turner?” The man stopped and looked at Long Wire. “I may not be able to call Mourning in to help in town, but I’ll see what I can do about getting him up here to help you out.”

“I’d appreciate that, Sheriff. I may be good, but he’s better.” Turner said with a nod, with that he was off once again following the tracks in the sand. As he walked he was sure to vary his attention, focusing to much on one sense would leave him deficient in others. The sounds, the smells, the sights. As the tracks left the sand they started up a small hill populated by saplings and older trees, Turner stopped for a moment, looking over the area for the subtle signs that someone had been there.

The birds chirping in the distance drew his attention momentarily, as he refocused he noticed something about the saplings. With his usual caution Turner walked towards what he saw, specifically several branches that had been broken on the end. Saplings were by nature pretty malleable, more likely to bend than break unless something hit them with sufficient speed or force. That, coupled with the tracks, sent Turner up the hill. Other things he noticed as he moved along were the occasional scuffs in the tree bark, as if someone had smacked into it at a decent clip of speed. So they were big, fast, strong, and somehow skillful enough to dismember a body, but clumsy enough to smack into trees…

“Unless it was dark…” Turner said under his breath as he looked around him. “Otherwise they’d have gone around, or knocked it over fully.” The man quietly put his hand on the tree, feeling the bark as he panned his view over the area. A speck of green caught his attention, it was a little too green. The Deputy approached a larger tree, snagged on a branch was a piece of forest green fabric with a slight pattern to it, like it had come from a camouflage shirt that was more style than actual camouflage. Not something a hunter would’ve worn.

This went on for an hour or so, each step was taken to be as quiet as a fox, each movement as fluid as possible. The creekbed gradually became less visible through the trees, Turner was heading a bit further up the mountain. Every now and then he’d find a scrap of cloth, a scuffed tree, snapped twigs, or brush that had been pushed aside. These were all rookie mistakes, or those made by someone who didn’t care if they were tracked. The Deputy paused once in a while to reorientate himself, from what he could recall about the area he was coming up on a service road.

As he worked his way further up the ridge the trees thinned out, until finally the service road became apparent. It was overgrown for the most part, the grass had started to reclaim it and there were flowers blooming there as well. Turner could see where the tracks lead through the grass, until they stopped abruptly at another familiar set of tracks. A carriage had been pulled through recently, its wheels had cut through the grass and foliage like knives. As Turner stood there and looked around, he found himself thinking about something… Something very odd.

“Blood was everywhere at the crime scene, the killer would’ve been covered in it, so why wasn’t there any residue along the trail?” Turner asked himself, he squatted down near the carriage tracks. “Unless the killer was a unicorn, they could’ve done it from a distance.” The man looked near one of the tracks in the sand and hummed, then reached down and lifted a tiny ball of white and tan paper which had been crumpled up. There was a dozen or so of them. “Cigarettes… Field stripped, and a lot of them.” Turner noted the side of the tracks they were on, indicating they were likely from the driver, which helped him determine which direction they had come from to begin with.

Turner froze for a second as something else stuck out to him, slowly and fluidly he straightened up in his squat and cupped his hands over his ears, his elbows out to the side. He looked like a nut for all intents and purposes, but in actuality he was helping to funnel sound to his ears. After a couple seconds of listening Turner slowly lowered his hands, grabbed his rifle from the ground, and stood to his full height. After a couple moments he turned towards the other side of the road and raised his weapon, taking aim at a bush.

“You got ‘til three to come out of there!” Turner shouted, a soft chuckle emanated from the bush before it burst into a ball of green flame and a Changeling took it’s place. The man let out a gasp of shock and quickly pointed the gun away. “Mourning Cloak! Son of a bitch, I almost killed you!”

“With that thing? I saw you shooting it earlier, you could barely knock over a tin can.” Mourning replied, Turner quietly pointed the weapon at the ground, away from something he didn’t intend to destroy.

“I just was informed it’s a multi-charger.” Turner said flatly, which caused Mourning’s grin to slowly diminish. “Yeah, and it’s set to full, which apparently can kill a bear. Anyway… Flash.”

“Thunder.” Mourning replied quickly, the two of them had long ago established a series of signs and countersigns, as Turner had pointed out the possibility of a changeling masquerading as another changeling could very well be possible. “So, the Sheriff called, told me you were out here… What’ve you learned so far?”

“Killer’s big, like an Earth Pony, but they either have really long legs or they’re a unicorn as well.” Turner said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “They had an accomplice waiting here, which tells me that this wasn’t a random killing… The came from the North, judging by the cigarette butts.” The man looked around quietly. “One of them’s local, the other isn’t.”

“How can you tell?” Mourning asked, more like a teacher asking a student. Turner put a hand on his hip and gestured to the area around them.

“Only a Local would know this service road is even here, look how overgrown it is… But the killer wore that cheap ‘Fashionable Camouflage’, y’know?” Turner said, sweat was starting to form on his brow in the Summer heat, prompting him to start undoing the top buttons of his shirt. “I think they also might’ve struck at night, used some kind of Night Vision spell, kind that gives ya poor sense of depth perception. Good portion of the trees on the way up here looked like a big motherfucker ran into them.”

“Okay… On your unicorn theory. What if the killers changed their clothes and carried them with them?” Mourning replied, Turner looked at him for a couple moments before nodding. “I agree, it’s likely at least one of the ponies here was Local. Now, tell me something… What does the kill say to you? Dismemberment is very particular.”

“It wasn’t to hide the identity, the butt mark and head were still at the scene…” Turner mused while listening to the birds chirping in the forest around him. “It happened while the victim was still alive, if that ain’t overkill I don’t know what is…” Turner stopped and looked at Mourning Cloak. “This was personal. Whoever did this spent time thinking about it, they came prepared… Tells me that at least one of the killer’s and the victim knew each other.” He paused for a moment. “You have any sandwich bags on you by chance?”

“I figured you would need some…” Mourning replied, he lifted one of his wings and levitated out a couple plastic bags, which Turner used to secure the cigarette remains, as well as the other bits of evidence he’d recovered. “And I think it was a single killer.” Mourning said simply. Turner looked at him with a raised eyebrow, prompting Mourning to walk over to the spot with the cigarette remains, he gestured to some which were flatter than the others. A hoofprint was there that Turner hadn’t seen before, much smaller than the others. “Two sets of tracks moved away from the carriage, only one came back.” The changeling gestured to some lighter tracks that went a little further down the road. “One murderer is tough to believe as is, but two? One is more likely… Though what it was they were doing out here is still a mystery to me.”

“All I can say with any certainty is that whoever did this, if they aren’t local, probably hopped the first train south this morning.” Turner said with a bit of a grunt. “Unless they’re very stupid.”

“Or very smart.” Mourning added. “As any changeling will tell you, sometimes the best place for someone to hide is in plain sight.” Turner sighed and once again looked around the area, following the tracks the carriage had made. “Where now, Deputy? What do the tracks tell you?”

The man took a couple seconds to look at the wheelbase of the carriage, the width between the tracks told him it was narrow. The wheels were also narrow, more akin to a set used by a carriage that rarely left the road. After which he tucked the plastic bag containing the evidence into his pocket.

“Getting out here would’ve been a rough ride for them, this road is pretty much overgrown.” Turner started to quietly walk North, following the tracks left by the carriage as it had made its way up the road. Mourning walked behind him, silently observing the human as he tracked the carriage back. The heat was becoming rough on both of them, but at this point Turner was committed to his task. He removed his uniform shirt and was down to a white tank top, the shirt was tied around his waist while he merely pinned his badge to the tank top.

As the two of them followed the tracks Turner became acutely aware of his surroundings, the trees, the animals, the wind… All of it seemed to coalesce in his senses, and it was because of that he noticed something that didn’t quite belong alongside the road. The man stopped and knelt once more, observing a patch of the dry grass which appeared burned. It had burned itself out thankfully, but that wasn’t what was important. Turner reached down and picked up a matchbook which had been fully used.

“Ever heard of someplace called The Smoked Oat?” Turner asked, looking over his shoulder and showing the matchbook to Mourning, the Changeling hummed to himself and levitated the bit of cardboard closer.

“It is a restaurant in Canterlot.” The Changeling replied as he handed the matchbook back to Turner. “I recall it rather well, it’s on restaurant row. During our failed invasion I happened to be one of the wing commanders in that area.”

“Right… You’re gonna have to run me through the invasion thing again one of these days.” Turner stated while gesturing for another bag, Mourning levitated out another bag from under his wing which the deputy used to secure the matchbook. “By the way, storing evidence bags under your wings? Maybe don’t do that anymore? Why aren’t you wearing your usual gear?”

“There’s Terries on the way.” Mourning replied, glancing around them. “How do you think they’d react to a Changeling Holdout in full combat gear?” Turner paused, then nodded in understanding. “Besides, that was the last bag I was able to bring, so you don’t have to worry about anything.” Turner tucked the bag into his pocket again and looked at the sun above, then walked off the road to take a seat in the shade. He reached to his belt and removed his radio.

“Sheriff, it’s Turner.” He said into the radio, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. “Out here on the old North Peak Service Road, got some evidence up here. If you could have Buckeye come pick it up I can keep tracking, and maybe bring some water and some more evidence bags just in case.”

”Deputy Turner, this is Lieutenant Agendum of the Territorial Garrison.” A rather obnoxious sounding voice replied over the radio, Turner immediately groaned to himself as he listened further. ”The Sheriff is currently filling out the necessary documentation to receive the documentation to be filled out so that we can begin our operations. Please do not interrupt.”

“Paperwork to fill out more paperwork?” Turner said to Mourning in disbelief, the Changeling rolled his eyes and took a seat under the shade as well. He put the radio to his lips again. “Fine… Buckeye, it’s Turner, could you do what I just asked the sheriff to ask you to do?”

”I’m afraid she’s also filling out paperwork, so again, don’t interrupt.” The voice replied over the radio, Turner growled under his breath.

“Fuck this.” He stood up and started walking back towards the trail he had followed from the crime scene. “Come on, Mourning. By the time these pricks are finished with their damn paperwork we’ll be dead from dehydration.” The Changeling nodded and hopped up onto his hooves, following Turner as once again the two of them started back through the forest.

---

Turner had dropped off Mourning Cloak on the edge of town, as him and the Territorial Garrison weren’t on the best terms. The walk through the forest had yielded more support for the changeling’s theory on the killer knowing the victim, but there was no further evidence other than some more broken twigs. They’d reached the truck without incident, having decided to navigate around the crime scene and by extension the Terries that had been sent to examine it for themselves. Turner was just glad to be back in his truck, in the sweet embrace of the A/C, with access to the water jugs he kept in the back of his pickup truck.

Turner had decided to leave his beige shirt off for the moment, opting to just wear the tank top with his badge on his leather lanyard. As the truck was driving through town Turner became acutely aware of the amount of traffic that had formed, normally not a problem, but he was enroute to deliver evidence that could prove crucial in solving a murder case… So there was that. Increased tourism meant increased traffic, but that wasn’t the worst of it. The Terries had their own flying chariots, they were supposed to be parked near the Sheriff’s office or literally anywhere that wasn’t the main street.

The Deputy groaned as he came to a stop behind several Terrie chariots that had all decided to stop in the middle of the road, Turner hadn’t been having that good of a day. He’d seen someone dismembered, hiked up a mountain tacking the killer, then hiked all the way back down. It was safe to say his patience was running short, he was about to get out and give those Terries a piece of his mind. Just as he was reaching for the door he caught sight of something hanging from his rearview mirror, his rosary. The man took a deep breath and leaned his head back, exhaling through his nose.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can’t change; the courage to change those I can, and the wisdom to know the difference…” He said under his breath before he looked ahead at the carriages that were still blocking his path. It wasn’t like getting up set would change that he needed to get around them, but he could change how he went around clearing the way. Turner opted to look at a the switches for the light bars and sirens, he flicked on the lights first before chirping the siren a couple times. The Terries took notice and looked over their shoulders at the truck, at which point Turner gestured for them to move their vehicles.

Hesitantly they pushed the carriages out of the way, allowing Turner to drive past without further incident. The rest of the drive went pretty well, he didn’t encounter any more illegally parked chariots at the very least. At least, not until he got to the Sheriff’s Office. There was a Terrie chariot parked in Turner’s spot, which was irksome, but not worth getting upset over. He simply parked next to it and got out, he grabbed the evidence bags off the seat beside him before walking up the steps to the door. As he pushed the door open he could hear at least a dozen voices chattering inside, within he saw many ponies wearing either Territorial Garrison badges on lanyards or straight up golden armor.

“Sheriff!?” Turner shouted over the noise, he couldn’t see the Sheriff among the crowd. Once again the Terries seemed too busy to notice. Seeing as shouting was getting him nowhere, Turner instead put his fingers up to his lips before he whistled loudly. After a couple seconds the stallion’s stopped chatting and looked at Turner. “Where’s the Sheriff?”

“Turner! Back here!” Long Wire shouted from somewhere in the back, the man walked through the crowd that rapidly was getting back to their chattering among one another. The Sheriff and Buckeye were both crammed behind Turner’s desk, each looked rather annoyed at the situation. “Tell me you have something.” The Deputy tossed the evidence bags down on the desk, some containing the fabric scraps, some the cigarettes, and one containing the matchbook from ‘The Smoked Oat’.

The Deputy also passed on his theories about what he’d seen so far, one of the ponies that had gone out there was a local, one wasn’t. From the matchbook they could’ve been from Canterlot, from the amount of disturbed foliage it could be assumed that they had been using some sort of night vision spell with poor depth perception. He added the other parts of his theory, and the things that Mourning Cloak had picked up on, all the while Long Wire nodded quietly and examined the evidence bags for himself. When Turner had finished the Sheriff let out a sigh and looked around at the Terries.

“Well, we have a name for our victim. Turns out it was a mare, Doc Meadowbrook also found remnants of her horn, so you were right about a unicorn being involved.” Long Wire said as he eyed the matchbook. “Victim’s name was Emerald Aura, we found what was left of her ID in one of the vultures you took down… As well as the cutie mark. She’s local, for all intents and purposes. Was a doctorate candidate that was working on research over the Ley Lines. Time of death was midnight last night.”

“So that means our killer is probably an Earth Pony… A big one.” Buckeye said with a bit of certainty. “If they were a pegasus they would’ve flown back to their carriage, there was a full moon last night, visibility couldn’t have been clearer.”

“I appreciate the work, Turner.” Long Wire said with a nod as he picked up the evidence and gathered it in a small pile. “I interviewed Miss Yearling, turns out she wasn’t involved… Just happens to be some sort of famous author that wanted some privacy. So our suspect pool is pretty much empty.”

“Good thing we’re here then.” A familiar, but equally irritating, voice spoke up from the right. The three Sheriff’s officers turned to see a white pegasus with a short blue mane, he was wearing guard armor but no helmet.

“Deputy Turner, this is Lieutenant Agendum… Lieutenant Agendum, Deputy Turner.” Long Wire said, introducing the two as peaceably as possible. The stallion offered his hoof, which Turner shook despite his earlier irritance. “As I recall, Lieutenant, the Territorial Garrison is only here to aid us in day to day operations. Murder cases are outside your jurisdiction unless we invite you in.”

“That’s true…” The stallion said with a nod, he looked at Turner and sighed. “I apologize for my bluntness earlier on the radio, I sometimes forget that there’s more to police work than filling out paperwork.” Turner gave a slight shrug. “I understand you were able to track the killer through the woods, may I ask where you learned to do that?”

“A friend taught me, though he asked to remain nameless.” Turner replied, again the stallion nodded.

“Turner, first and foremost… Go home. Take a shower.” The Sheriff said, steering the conversation back towards the issue at hand. “No offense, but, well you stink.” Turner paused for a moment, he guessed he hadn’t noticed. “Second thing, you got a package while you were out.”

“I did?” Turner asked, Long Wire nodded and opened the top desk drawer. Inside he withdrew a small box with a postmark from Canterlot. The man picked it up and looked it over before pulling off the tape and opening it. Within was what looked like a smart phone from Earth, with the distinct difference that it had a glowing gemstone in the back where a camera would’ve been. “Huh… Is this one of them new cell phones Static mentioned today?”

“Yeah, though I heard they still weren’t out in stores yet…” Agendum spoke up, looking at it with surprise. “Only ponies who work at the company or know someone there have them so far…” Turner looked at the stallion with a raised eyebrow. “The ads aren’t here yet, but trust me, in a month everypony and their mother is gonna want one of these things.”

“Regardless, Turner, go get cleaned up. When you get back I want you to bring the Lieutenant up to speed on your usual patrol duties…” Long Wire cut in again, the Deputy nodded and slipped the phone into his pocket.

“Sure thing, Sheriff.” Turner said before he started walking out of the building, what followed was another quick drive to his apartment. It seemed Sam had sent him something in the mail, which wasn’t out of the ordinary. Maybe she didn’t much care for writing letters like Turner did, which would explain why she just sent him a phone. He couldn’t help think what that must’ve cost her, unless of course it was free, he wasn’t to clear on whether or not she owned a tech company or what.

As he pulled in to the parking lot the man cleared his mind, only when he parked did he consider taking the phone from his pocket. He cut the engine and hopped out of the truck, grabbing the remnants of his lunch before taking the phone from his pocket and pushing the button on the side. When it turned on he swiped up on the screen, it seemed it worked just like a normal phone. As he walked he quietly selected the phone icon, it seemed there was already a number programmed in that simply read ‘Sam’ with a little smiley face next to it. Turner picked that one and put the phone to his ear as it started to ring.

---

Canterlot, a bustling center for commerce and culture. The city stretched out in all directions around the downtown area, at least as far as it could considering it was on the side of the mountain. Reaching up out of downtown were more than a few highrises, though they couldn’t hope to rival those that came from the royal castle. Off to the east of said castle were larger houses and mansions, many of which had pools in the background. Home to many nobles and those who could afford to live there. The Neighborhood was pretty much made up entirely of pegasi and unicorns, with some Earth Ponies being present. However, one house happened to be home to three very different persons.

Sitting out back around the pool were two human women, Samantha and Gwen. Sam was relaxing in a reclining seat, wearing a bikini as she enjoyed the warmth of the sun while she read one of her romance novels. It was no coincidence that this one was set in Dodge Junction and involved a roguishly handsome Sheriff.

Gwen, a far more pale redhead, was seated beneath an umbrella further from the pool. Unlike Sam, she was looking over expense reports and proposals from her Ad Firm. The two hadn’t really discussed Sam’s visit to Silver Lake, only that it was confirmed that there was indeed another human out there and that he seemed pretty nice. Of course, Gwen had her doubts that was all that had happened… After all, Sam had been a lot less… Well.. Sam lately. More upbeat, more engaged.

Sam quietly turned the page on her novel, biting her lip slightly as her eyes danced down the page. Just as things were starting to really heat up she heard a noise of to her right, one that initially annoyed her. Her phone was vibrating on the glass table beside her chair, with a grunt she put down her book and picked it up. WIthout looking at the caller ID she answered it and put it to her ear.

“What?” The woman said rather sharply, prompting Gwen to look up from her report to see what was going on.

”Uh… Sam? Is this a bad time?” A familiar twangy voice replied from the other end, Gwen noticed her friend’s posture relax considerably and a bit smile crossed Sam’s face.

“No, no, this isn’t a bad time at all! I thought you were someone else is all…” Sam replied warmly, twirling a strand of her hair with one of her fingers. “How’s everything going down there?”

”Not so good, actually… Can’t go into details, but we caught a doozy of a case down here.” Turner replied, Sam paused to listen a bit closer. ”It, uh… It weren’t pretty. Was actually pretty messed up, if I’m bein’ honest. I’m pretty glad you sent this phone when you did, I needed to hear your voice.” Sam could hear him grunt in the background, as if he was walking up the steps to his apartment. The odd part was she hadn’t sent a phone, in all honesty she’d actually enjoyed corresponding via letter. Her eyes glanced over at Gwen, the ad exec was smiling knowingly.

“Well, I’m glad I could help.” Sam said as she sat up in her seat, she could imagine herself there in Turner’s apartment if she really concentrated. “You sure you can’t tell me what happened?”

”You honestly are better off not knowing.” Turner replied, Sam stood up and quietly walked over towards where Gwen was sitting, taking one of the seats beside her under the umbrella. ”Look, I ain’t got a lot of time, we got the Terries involved down here and there’s all sorts of stuff I need to bring them up to speed on. Just wanted to call and let you know I got the phone, and that I miss you.”

“Aw, well I miss you too. Go do what you need to do... And Paige? Please stay safe!” Sam said insistantly, she heard a slight chuckle on the other end of the line.

“I will… Bye!” Turner said, Sam replied with a quick ‘Bye!’ of her own before she heard him hang up. Sam put her phone down on the table and looked at Gwen with a bit of an unbelieving expression.

“Did you send him a phone with my number in it? Without telling me?” She asked, Gwen nodded slightly, her grin growing wider. “Why?”

“Because otherwise you would’ve agonized over whether or not it’d be overstepping for a week before ultimately just coming to me for advice and eventually sending the phone anyway.” Gwen replied, she had a slight Canterlotian accent from all her time spent talking with the ponies of the city. Her brilliant green eyes were hidden beneath a pair of darkly tinted glasses, though she pushed these down slightly to look over the top at Sam. “Come on, I make a living on reading people. You think I didn’t know there was more going on then you just being pen pals? You would check the mailbox thirty times a day when you were expecting a letter from him, a blind man could’ve seen it.”

“I didn’t realize it was that many times.” Sam replied, blushing faintly as she looked at the phone on the table. Gwen quietly removed her glasses and closed her open expense report before leaning forward, adjusting her bikini top slightly as she looked at Sam with a curious cheshire smile. “What?”

“Is he cute?” Gwen asked, Sam blushed a bit more and looked off to the side.

“Kinda? He’s a big guy, like six feet tall, really wide shoulders… Kinda reminded me of that guy from ‘The Punisher’, the Netflix one...” Sam replied, Gwen paused for a moment as she tried to remember the actor. “Jon something…”

“Bernthal?” Gwen replied, Sam nodded quickly. “So he looks kinda like Jon Bernthal? How so?”

“Similar build, more straight than curly hair, and his nose is a little smoother… And his eyes, they’re really blue, like I can’t even exaggerate how blue they are. It’s like looking into an ocean.” Sam said wistfully, leaning back in her seat as she looked thoughtfully off into space.

“I see.” Gwen said with that same knowing smile on her face, Sam hated when she smiled like that, because most of the time it meant that Gwen was predicting what was going to happen and likely going to try and influence the outcome as she saw fit. “So, I take it things with him are pretty serious?”

“Well, I don’t know...” Sam replied as she looked at the phone again. “He doesn’t strike me as the ‘Just a fling’ type of guy.” Gwen hummed once again, quietly she picked up Sam’s phone and looked it over. “Why do you care so much?” Gwen quietly thumbed through the features on the phone until she seemingly grew bored and put it back on the table.

“Hmmm, only four humans on the entire planet and two of them are in a relationship with one another? Can’t see why that would be worth looking into.” Gwen said flatly, Sam frowned and picked up her phone, being sure to keep it out of Gwen’s reach. “It’d help if you told us more than ‘He seems okay.’ when you came back.”

“You’re so interested, why don’t you go and talk to him yourself?” Sam retorted, Gwen gestured to her expense reports and projects that needed approval. “Oh, so my personal life is important, but only until it interferes with your job? Typical, you always do this.” The woman crossed her arms and looked at the ground with an annoyed expression. Gwen remained quiet for a moment, putting on her usual poker face as she looked between her expense reports and Sam. The silence between the two of them was growing uncomfortable, for Gwen her entire goal was selling things to people, and silence didn’t sell very well.

“I assume they have a post office in… Wherever he is, considering he got the phone.” Gwen said as she quietly closed the folder on the table. “Fine… I can finish these on the train I suppose. Go grab Thomas, we’re taking a household vacation.” Sam brightened at that, standing up from her seat, she stopped for a moment as she looked at Gwen, then her phone. Gwen was gathering up her files and had pushed her glasses back on her nose without so much as another word.

“Great, I’ll call him and let him know.” Sam replied, Gwen merely shrugged as she stood up and started walking towards the house with her files. Meanwhile Sam browsed through her phone until she found Turner’s number again and hit dial. She put it up against her ear and listened as it rang, after a couple rings it stopped and was replaced by Turner’s voice.

”You’ve reached Deputy Turner of the Evergreen County Sheriff’s Department. Leave a detailed message after the tone and I’ll return your call as soon as possible.” The answering machine said in a somewhat friendly but professional tone, at least he’d taken the time to set up his outgoing message. She waited patiently until she heard the beep.

“Hey, Paige! It’s me! Uh, quick heads up. Gwen decided she wants to come meet you, and she’s bringing me and Thomas too… I hope this isn’t too sudden! So… Uh… Yeah, call me back when you get this! Okay… Bye.” Sam’s message was a little unfocused but it got the point across well enough, she hung up and began walking towards the house as well. While she wasn’t consciously aware of it, she did have a slight spring in her step.

Black Briar Trailhead: Part II

Turner stood in front of his truck on the very same dirt road he had tracked the killer to a day before, the area was much less hot than it had been previously as a large amount of clouds had made the day an overcast one. The cool mountain air blowing against his skin was something he looked forward too every year, the transition between summer breezes and autumn winds. It was oddly poetic, in his opinion, that the seasons should be changing as the town faced the first murder case in over fifty years. The pressure was on from Long Wire to find something, anything, that could give them a chance at making an arrest.

Something about this road didn’t make sense to Turner, if the killer had wanted to kill Emerald Aura someplace isolated there were at least a dozen easier locations to get to. What was more, the road wasn’t marked on any maps, the entryways to it were almost completely overgrown up until the killer’s carriage had gone through them. The victim had been a doctoral candidate, working towards a PHD in geography and geology, but specializing in ley line surveys. This was the type of road she would know, but not her killer… Not unless she’d brought them here before.

“I’m the killer…” Turner mused aloud as he walked forward from his truck a bit. “I’m a hateful angry sonofabitch, big as a house and strong enough to saw through bone… But somehow, I’m not threatening to her…” Turner looked around. “Did she bring me out here, or was this my idea?” The man stopped walking, looking around the sides of the road as he did so. There was something he was missing, something that could be big. “Let’s run through it again… Miss Yearling happens upon the body while searching for the Double Ott treasure, calls us in… We get there, find the body…” The man trailed off, talking to himself would get him nowhere. He opted to try and reset his thoughts by distracting himself momentarily.

From his pocket he withdrew the phone Sam had sent him, he looked it over and unlocked it. There was an indication that he had a message from Sam, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out how to check it. Setting up the mailbox had been easy, but actually listening to it… Well, it seemed finding Double Ott’s treasure would be easier…

“Wait a second.” Turner said to himself as he looked around the road once more, then took his radio from his belt. “Buckeye, can you look into something for me real quick?”

”Sure, what is it?” The mare replied over the radio.

“The land that the vic was found on, has anyone pulled the paperwork on it recently?” Turner asked as he walked off the road and began looking at the trees, knowing exactly what he was looking for. “Specifically geological surveys, ley line surveys, and so on.”

”I can do that for you quicker, Deputy.” Agendum’s voice cut in over the radio, Turner was about to reply with something along the lines of ‘Take your help and shove it.’. He stopped himself though, this wasn’t about a jurisdictional pissing contest. Someone had been murdered in Evergreen County, his county…

“Appreciate it.” Turner said flatly as he continued looking at the trees, frantically examining each one for what he was expecting to find. Then, at long last, he saw it. Thirty feet from the road, a bright pink plastic ribbon tied around a tree trunk.

”I checked with our records people in Dodge Junction, that entire area was just purchased by Mil and Spec Mining. Geological Survey on it is still pending, but they bought it anyway.” Agendum said about ten minutes later over the radio, Turner examined the ribbon from afar before he approached. He listened to the stallion on the other end, paying attention to every word. ”Let’s see… The Survey was being conducted by… Whoa…”

“Emerald Aura.” Turner finished for him as he stopped in front of the tree and looked it over, now that he had found it he had a bit of an easier time spotting more trees like it through the forest, all of them bearing the same pink ribbon. “How much did they spend on this land?”

”Looks like thirty million bits, they were looking to have it rezoned for mining use.” Agendum stated, Turner reached out and grasped the ribbon quietly. “Preliminary survey said it was worth at least twenty times that in the amount of Alicornium they could’ve mined there.”

“Except the land’s worthless.” Turner said bluntly as he looked over the ribbons. “Just found a survey marker here, it’s pink.” The man quietly lowered the ribbon and started walking back towards his truck. “Before I was a deputy I used to guide ponies through the woods, including a couple survey teams…” The man stepped out onto the road and walked up to the driver’s side, opening it and reaching inside for his rifle. “According to what I heard from them, Survey Guidelines indicate pink survey markers mean minimal alicornium in the ground.”

”So that’s thirty million reasons to kill Emerald Aura, from what I see here Mil and Spec basically invested everything into this deal.” Agendum said in surprise, Turner closed the door to his truck and looked around again. ”Her financials indicate she was paid nearly eight grand a month, most of that went to college though…

“If the land was worthless those juicy paychecks would'a stopped coming in and she could kiss that doctorate goodbye. Doesn't seem like a stretch to think she was falsifying her reports.” Turner began walking back up the road towards the survey marker again. “If she bankrupted her employers in the process our suspect pool just became considerably smaller. Pass this along to the Sheriff, alright? It’s gonna take some double checking by professionals, but I’m gonna see if I can confirm my theory a little more.” As usual, Turner heard the usual quick ‘Roger’ from the radio, leaving him once again in silence as he stood next to the tree.

The man quietly looked at his rifle, he’d charged it to max capacity before coming up here. Down in Silver Lake where he’d charged it, the level of Alicornium was pretty average compared to the rest of the county. Slowly he shouldered the rifle and took aim at a tree around twenty yards ahead of him. With an exhale he squeezed the trigger, prompting the weapon to kick back against his shoulder as it emitted a thunderous ‘Crack!’. He winced in pain, it had been a while since he’d fired a rifle quite that powerful… It reminded him of a .45-70 he’d fired at a gun expo more than anything else. The man lowered the weapon and walked towards the tree, examining the three inch deep hole he’d put into the wood before looking back at his weapon.

Without a word he racked the lever ten more times and walked back to the same spot as before, as his rifle drew power from the Alicornium in the area it was charged he figured that the less Alicornium there was the less effective it would be. If this area was rich in Alicornium the shot would probably go clean through the trunk and vice versa. Calmly the man raised the weapon to his shoulder and aimed around a foot below the first hole, when he fired he barely felt an appreciable kick. It was more akin to a 7.62, and the sound was far less distinct. That was his first clue towards his theory, and as he examined the hole in the tree he found it only went around an inch and a half deep.

“Figures… One of the oldest motives in history.” Turner mused with a scowl as he examined the hole, then looked back at his rifle. Quietly he racked the lever ten more times and began walking back towards his truck, the sound of his feet crunching the pine needles on the forest floor echoing in the area around him. The man came to a total and complete stop when he reached the edge of the road, listening to the area around him. There was another set of footsteps out there, near his truck. The man gripped his rifle calmly and stepped into the open, looking towards his vehicle. There was someone over on the other side of it, what they were doing was a mystery. “Sheriff’s Department!”

The pony stopped and quietly walked into full view, he was a bigger Earth Pony. Unlike most earth ponies he wore clothes, his face displayed a smile but his eyes were cold. Turner quietly walked towards the stallion, still gripping his rifle with each step he took. The stallion had a light blue coat, his mane was crew cut, not a hair was out of place.

“Well… What have we here?” The stallion asked with a rather mirthful tone. “Just the person I wanted to talk to, it seems someone has been trespassing on my land. You, to be precise.” Turner stopped around thirty yards in front of the stallion, looking him over closely.

“A crime was committed on your property… Someone got killed. Can I assume you’re either Mister Mil or Mister Spec, of the mining company?” Turner replied maintaining his distance from the stallion near his truck.

“Mil Spec is my full name, I added the ‘and’ to the company name to give it more weight…” The stallion replied, still smiling like a shark. “And last I checked, Trespassing is also a crime.”

“Yeah, it normally is, where I come from you’d be right and I wouldn’t be allowed out here.” Turner replied, not once letting go of his rifle. He looked behind his truck and sighted a carriage, more designed for streets and city driving than anything else. “But Evergreen County has this neat little law about land with crime scenes on ‘em. Surprised you didn’t know about it, considering you bought property here.”

“We’ll see how that law plays out when my company begins mining here.” The stallion replied with a grin, Turner raised an eyebrow at him.

“You still plan to mine here? Even knowing the land is worthless?” Turner asked, he gestured to the survey marker wrapped around the tree. Mil Spec’s smile gradually faded into a flat expression, slowly he reached into the pocket of his forest green polo shirt and withdrew a cigarette.

“Well, yes… This town is still rich in Silver-” The stallion said as he lit up.

“No, it ain’t.” Turner replied, walking slowly closer to suspect numero uno. “Silver dried up, ain’t no coal, ain’t no alicornium, ain’t nothin worth anythin’ out here.” The stallion didn’t step back as Turner got closer, his grip remaining on his rifle. “You already would know that, wouldn’t you? I mean, you had to have a surveyor, right?”

“Of course, Emerald Aura... She was quite experienced, close to getting her doctorate.” Mil Spec replied, his expression remaining calm as Turner leaned on his truck. The six foot man loomed over the waist high pony like a grizzly bear.

“Was?” Turner asked with a cocked eyebrow. “You know, Mister Spec, I find it quite odd that you didn’t flinch at the mention of a death on your property… Didn’t even ask who the victim was.” The man drummed his fingers lightly against the truck, creating a rhythmic continuous noise. Mil Spec puffed on his cigarette and exhaled, taking a deep drag each time as the pressure mounted. The stallion quietly looked at his fingers, then back at the neutral expression on Turner’s face as he examined the pony up and down. He noticed a couple smudges of makeup under the stallion’s eye, it didn’t match his fur color. “Emerald Aura, she’s your employee?”

“Yes. She’s my chief surveyor.” Mil Spec replied as he finished his cigarette, Turner watched him squeeze the butt and push out the filter which he pocketed… Then crumpled up the paper and dropped it.

“I thought you said she ‘was’ your employee. Past tense…” Turner replied calmly, his fingers still drumming against the metal of his truck as he continued watching the stallion intently. “I’ve been studying your language recently, got grammar on the brain…” The man knelt down for a moment and picked up the piece of paper that Mil Spec had dropped. “You know what else is a crime, Mister Spec?”

“Littering?” The stallion replied as Turner took a bag from his pocket and placed the piece of paper in it. It was very clearly marked ‘Evidence’.

“Murder…” Turner said as he sealed the bag and put it back in his pocket. “See, that’s the crime that was committed here. A real nasty one. Emerald Aura was the victim.” Turner noted the stallion’s facial features, he didn’t even flinch. “Y’all play poker where you come from, Mister Spec?” The man continued drumming his fingers on the truck, Mil Spec continued to look at them more and more frequently, as if he could feel them walking up his back. “You familiar with the concept of a ‘tell’?”

“No… Can’t say I am.” Mil Spec replied, Turner leaned back slightly, tapping the truck with his full hand now.

“Well, it’s this neat little bit of behavior, translates over from humans to ponies… On you guys it’s quite easy to spot, it’s those big expressive faces of yours.” Turner sounded almost whistful, lulling Mil Spec into a bit of a more calm mood. “When we’re stressed, when we’re nervous… When we’re lying… Our tell shows. It’s beyond our conscious control, ain’t that fascinating?”

“Quite… What does this have to do with my mining operation, or Miss Aura?” Mil Spec asked, Turner stopped drumming his hand and looked the stallion square in the eye.

“Well… Everything, Mister Spec.” Turner said with a genuine tone. “A man can lose a fortune if he can’t spot someone who’s lying.” Mil Spec looked around the woods, and then his eyes darted back to Turner’s tapping hand. “I can, though… I grew up with a family of liars, Mister Spec. It taught me to pay attention to detail, which I suspect helped me to learn how to track and inclined me to a career in law enforcement… Like, for instance your mane.”

“It’s short, cut to a strict length and style… Even your name, Mil Spec… I reckon it’s short for Military Specification.” Turner continued, the stallion started reaching for his pocket for another cigarette. “You fieldstrip your cigarette butts, further points to you having some form of military background… But not in the field. Since Mining Companies normally take a while to earn thirty million dollars in profits, I suspect it was family money… You were a desk jockey.”

“How can you tell?” Mil Spec asked in a quiet voice, the area around them was dead quiet, the tension in the air was thick enough it could be cut with a knife. Turner leaned a little closer and wiped some of the make up from under the stallion’s eye, revealing a rather nasty looking purple bruise.

“Because you didn’t cover your tracks…” Turner said with a grim expression, Mil Spec gulped and started to go white. “I was able to track you all the way back here, I found all your fieldstripped cigarette butts, your wagon tracks, your hoof prints, bits of your shirt…” The man stopped tapping the truck, leaving the two of them in deafening dead silence. “I know you ran into almost every tree on your way back because you had no experience running with a night vision spell cast over you...” The man quietly reached to his belt. “Did you even have the decency to knock her out before you started cutting?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking abou-” Mil Spec began, he looked much more rattled, his eyes glued to Turner’s hand as it slowly gripped a pouch beside his holster.

“Did she scream for help? Did she beg? Offer you money? Apologize?” Turner asked in an almost casual tone, his expression just as cold. Mil Spec had never encountered a human before, he’d heard of them, but only now did he know why there was such a fascination with them. Their eyes were the window’s to their souls, Mil Spec could see utter contempt in the Deputy’s eyes. “We have your DNA, we have motive, and we have opportunity… But I’m curious about the how… How could you do something like that to someone while they were still living!?”

“I didn’t know!” Mil Spec blurted out, his heart pounding as he looked at Turner’s hand. The deputy opened the pouch and reached inside. “I… I didn’t know.” The Deputy quietly withdrew a pair of hoof cuffs from his belt. “She woke up almost as soon as I started… I panicked. I didn’t go out there to hurt her, honest… But when she told me what she was doing with the Survey, after I’d already bought the land… I flipped out and hit her, I thought she was dead so I tried to… Well...”

“Mil Spec, I am placing you under the rest for the murder of Emerald Aura.” Turner said as he pushed the stallion up against the truck and cuffed his forehooves. “You have the right to remain silent, if you give up that right anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law… You have the right to an attorney, if you can’t afford an attorney one will be appointed to you by the court. Do you understand these rights as I’ve recited them to you?”

“I do…” The stallion said with a small sob. “I didn’t want to hurt her… I was just so… Angry.” Turner started moving him towards the truck and pushed him into the passenger sheet, then he slammed the door shut and walked around to the driver’s side.

“Sheriff… It’s Turner, I got him.” Turner said as he climbed in and started the truck… “He confessed to everything…”

”How’d you get him to do that?” The Sheriff replied, Turner briefly looked over at the stallion who was crying before he looked back to the radio. Thoughts flashed through his mind, days long forgotten about were brought back to the forefront. Truth be told, he had taken a tremendous gamble, the stallion easily could’ve lawyered up. The Deputy had momentarily let his urge to find the killer blind him, it was only by providence that he had been correct.

“I did something stupid and it paid off…” Turner replied in a bitter tone as he put the truck in drive and began driving down the service road. “I got lucky and didn’t fuck up, but it could’ve gone wrong in a bunch of ways... I can assure you though… I won’t let it happen again. I’ll explain more when I get there.” In truth, he had had a hunch about Mil Spec when he first saw him… What followed was a mix of bluffing, praying, and pulling bits and pieces from the police procedurals that he had seen growing up. It was reckless and stupid… But at the same time, if he hadn’t followed his hunch a murderer would still be free. At the end of the day, Turner was just glad the whole affair was over… It wasn’t like murder was common in Evergreen County.

A Train From Canterlot

The wail of the train’s engine pierced the air as the locomotive was pulling into the Silver Lake station. Sam quietly sat in her seat, looking out the window at the small town as thunder boomed overhead. Meanwhile Gwen was gathering up her bags from the rack above Sam’s head, Thomas was already set with his big green duffle bag. The big man wore his usual jeans and button down shirt, his deep brown eyes roved around outside the window as he leaned down to get a look while the train pulled into the station. The train whistled loudly once again just as it came to a complete stop, the three of them took that as their cue to disembark.

“So, this is Silver Lake?” Gwen asked as they passed through the front door of the rail car and descended the steps to the station platform. The thunder rumbled overhead as the overcast sky began to darken further. Gwen had opted to look more professional, choosing a suit and skirt combo to accent her glasses. “Where is he? You called, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but I only got his answering machine…” Sam replied as she started walking along the platform towards the edge of it, more ponies were getting off the train and likely would want to swarm the three humans if they weren’t careful. “Did you send instructions on how to listen to voicemail?”

“Shit… I forgot.” Gwen replied as she and Thomas followed Sam’s lead, she was carrying her own small messenger bag. Truth be told she’d left a few clothes behind for just such an occasion. “Try calling him again.”

“Alright…” Sam said as she reached into her pocket and withdrew her phone, the woman unlocked it and looked through her phonebook until she settled on the one with a picture of a Sheriff’s badge next to it. With that she put the phone to her ear and listened as the phone rang on the other end.

”Hey, what’s up?” Turner replied as he answered the call, he sounded tired and rather distant. Sam and the others continued walking through town with their bags. They’d soon be upon the Sheriff’s Office and after that Turner’s Apartment.

“Not much, is this a bad time?” Sam replied, as they passed by a couple other ponies and the first building in the town, the General Store. Sam could hear Turner sigh on the other end of the phone.

”No, actually I was just about to call you. I saw you called but I was so busy today I didn’t get a chance to until now.” Turner replied, Sam smiled faintly as they passed closer to the Sheriff’s Office. A group of stallions in royal guards were just pulling out of the area with chariots mounted to them, it looked like they were loaded down with gear… And a single Earth Pony in one case, they departed the area once they were in the air. ”Truth be told, I had a pretty bad day… I wish you were here.”

“Well, that’s actually why I wanted to call you.” Sam replied, smiling a bit as she and the others finally passed by the Sheriff’s Office. Turner’s truck wasn’t parked outside, which meant he was likely back at his apartment. “Gwen and Thomas wanted to come see you, so we came down for a visit… I hope you don’t mind.”

”Huh? Oh, no I don’t mind. I said you guys were welcome anytime and I meant it.” Turner replied, Sam could hear him stand up in the background. The familiar sound of his chair moving across the floor was what tipped her off. ”Where are you guys right now? I can come pick you up.”

“We’re already almost to your apartment, don’t worry about it.” Sam replied as they turned down the street, she could hear Turner on the other end as he sighed and went back to his seat. “So, tell me about this bad day you had.”

”I’d rather not discuss it over the phone, I’ll tell you about it later when we have some time to ourselves.” Turner replied in that same tired voice, Sam hummed as she and her group finished their walk and found themselves standing in front of the Apartment buildings. The truck was parked outfront where it usually was, thunder rumbled overhead once again, this time far louder than before. ”You guys might want to hurry, we’re scheduled for a real downpour.”

“Alright, be right there.” Sam replied as she, Gwen and Thomas moved up the steps to the Apartment building. For Gwen the trip through town had been enlightening in several ways, she had seen what sort of place the mysterious ‘Turner’ lived in as well as where he worked and what he drove. From what she could tell he was from a relatively low income bracket, and judging by the fact he owned an older model Ford truck he valued versatility over style.

Thomas meanwhile was just glad to see a truck in general, especially in such a rustic setting. It made him think of Earth for a couple seconds, silently the man followed Sam and Gwen up the steps to the apartment while occasionally he would glance down at the truck. Sam knocked on the front door and hung up, after a couple seconds the door opened inward. Sam smiled at Turner when she saw him, he was wearing a grey tank top and jeans which made it possible for Gwen and Thomas to get a look at the man’s tattoo on his shoulder.

“Hey!” Sam said warmly, Turner smiled and hugged the woman tightly, lifting her up slightly as he stepped back into the apartment to let her friends in as well. “Paige! Too tight!”

“Sorry! Sorry! Just glad to see ya.” Turner said as he let go and watched Thomas and Gwen step into the apartment with their bags. “Go ahead and just leave the bags by the door, I’ll find space for ‘em.” The man quietly turned and walked towards his new guests. “So, I take it you guys are Gwen and Thomas?”

“That’s right.” Thomas said with his rather high pitched voice, stepping in front of Gwen and shaking the man’s hand firmly. “Which means you must be Turner, right?” Turner nodded. “Gwen and I wanted to come and see what it’s like down here in Silver Lake, seems pretty good so far.”

“Yeah, well… We do our best.” Turner replied as he stopped shaking the man’s hand and looked at Gwen, the redhead was quietly examining the room. Sam had been right, Turner barely had any decorations in here other than some cheap looking paintings and a mat near the door that looked more like it served as a place for someone to wipe their boots than anything else.

“Nice to meet you.” Gwen said, offering her hand as well. Turner gave her the same firm handshake he’d given Thomas before peeking out the front door as he heard the thunder boom overhead. “Oh, should probably close this.” She closed the door just before the sound of rain thudding against the roof became apparent.

“Pleased to meet’cha as well.” Turner said as he finished shaking her hand and looked around. “Well, uh… Go ahead and relax, sit, settle in. I was just working on dinner when you called.”

“Want some help?” Sam asked, Turner looked at her and smiled.

“Sure.” He replied, then looked at the others. “I guess we’ll be right back, sorry to leave you guys hangin’ right when you get here...” Gwen and Thomas watched as Turner and Sam walked into the kitchen. The newcomers examined the living room and it’s furniture, it was quite spartan even by Thomas’ standards.

“So, he seems nice.” Thomas said with a shrug as he looked at the radio which had been set up near the couch. “Maybe needs a decorator, but aside from that he seems pretty normal.” Gwen hummed as she examined the couches, they were well made, looked like they’d been done by hand. Considering Turner’s income bracket she had to assume these had been given to him as they were a relatively big ticket item.

“Perhaps a little cheap, the average income for a Sheriff’s Deputy would be enough for him to afford to make this place a bit more homey.” Gwen said as she ran a finger along the table beside the couch, to her surprise there was very little dust. It seemed that this place was well kept, perhaps Sam’s habits of keeping the area clean had rubbed off on Turner.

“It’s always about money with you, ain’t it?” Thomas asked rhetorically as he examined the radio, his eyes settling a couple newspapers resting on the table near it. “Besides, what’s wrong with saving money?” Gwen held up a finger, as if to signal that he had a point. The smell of garlic and onions wafted out of the kitchen, it was soon accompanied by a somewhat smokey molasses scent. “Mmm, that smells good… Whatever they’re making.”

“At least he can cook, if not decorate.” Gwen hummed as she once again looked at the paintings on the wall, they were quite well done if a little bit small for her tastes. “I’m not trying to rag on him, Thomas. I just worry about Sam, you and I have been here the longest and I always kinda thought it was my job to look out for her.”

“I get it.” Thomas replied as he walked over to the loveseat and sat down, he removed his boots before he put his feet up on the ottoman. “At the same time she’s twenty eight, she’s not a kid.” Gwen nodded with a slight frown before she decided to go have a seat on the couch, she unbuttoned her suit jacket and removed it. With it resting beside her she felt a bit more inclined to relax, her glasses slowly slid down the bridge of her nose.

In the kitchen Turner and Sam were a bit too busy to overhear what was being said out in the living room. Sam was busy laying out a couple racks of ribs on a baking pan while Turner was simmering his own special recipe of Barbeque Sauce. As most ponies were vegetarian by choice there wasn’t really any sort of ready made sauce available, so Turner had been forced to reinvent the wheel a little bit. The kitchen was warming up as the oven was being preheated, and maybe because the two of them were so close to one another.

“So, what was up earlier?” Sam asked as she brought the rib laden pan over and set them on the counter next to Turner. The man sighed briefly and looked at her, then looked back at the sauce he was working on.

“Just… A difficult case.” Turner replied with a slight grunt, his eyes fixated on the sauce in the pan. “I took in a murderer today, Sam…” The woman paused and looked at Turner’s expression, his eyes seemed distant despite looking right in front of him. “I was the one what first responded to his handiwork, he did some bad shit…” Sam put a hand on Turner’s shoulder and leaned against him as he continued his work. “Then after I brought him into the office I had to take his statement, his confession… He didn’t leave out a damn thing, went over every detail at least three times. I don’t know what it was about him, but the way he described it…” The man let out a sharp gasp as his hand brushed the edge of the pan. “Dammit!”

“Hey, why don’t you let me handle the stirring, okay?” Sam said, gently pushing him aside. Turner went to the sink and began running his finger under cold water, his eyes peeking out the window as the rain continued to pour down outside. “I’m sorry to hear what happened, Paige… But you caught him, right?”

“Yeah, because I got lucky.” Turner replied, hanging his head slightly as he continued to run his finger under the water. “I knew that something like this might happen, but what he did was worse than I ever imagined.” After a bit more running under the water Turner stepped back and shut off the sink, drying his finger as it throbbed momentarily. “I dunno, maybe I just need to clear my head for a bit. That’s why, well… I asked for some time off.” Sam stopped stirring the sauce for a moment and looked over her shoulder at him, the way he’d said that and the expression on his face almost made it seem like he was ashamed of himself. “Not a lot, just a couple days…”

“You don’t need to explain yourself like that, Paige. If it were me I’d need a lot longer than a couple days.” She said warmly before looking back to the pan. “I think the oven’s ready, mind walking me through what to do next?”

“Well, normally I seer the ribs first, but I just couldn’t be bothered today… So we’re just gonna bake ‘em.” Turner walked towards the stove and pulled on an oven mit before he gripped the handle of the pan with the sauce in it. With that in hand he drizzled around half the sauce over the ribs before setting it back down on the stove and setting the heat to low to keep it warm. Afterwards Turner took the ribs and popped them in the oven, he took off the mit and grabbed a timer from beside the oven which he set for about four hours. Afterwards he turned off the burner under the sauce and put a lid over it to keep it fresh.

“Hey… Paige, look at me.” Sam said as she led him a bit further away from the stove towards the kitchen sink. “If there’s something bothering you I want you to talk to me about it, okay?” Turner nodded quietly and looked at the floor. “You don’t have to bottle it up inside, if you do it’ll tear you apart.”

“I know, Sam… I’m still just processing it all.” Turner replied softly as he leaned in and rested his forehead against hers, she put her arms around his waist and pulled him into a gentle hug. “I’m just trying to put it all in perspective, I’ll be okay.” He hugged her close against him. “Thank you.” Sam smiled faintly as she felt his arms around her, after a couple moments they let go of one another. “Wanna go sit with your friends for a bit? Be social?”

“Heck yeah! I’m glad you guys are getting to finally talk.” Sam replied warmly as she gripped his hand and lead him out into the living room again. The two of them stepped out of the kitchen to find that Thomas and Gwen were chatting among one another, Turner couldn’t help but feel like he was meeting more than her friends. He’d dated once or twice before he came to Equestria and honestly it felt more like he was meeting her parents than anything else. Thomas and Gwen had shifted position, both of them were now sitting on the loveseat which left the couch open for Turner and Sam to sit on unimpeded.

“Dinner’s in the oven, should be done in about four hours, which gives us plenty of time to talk.” Turner said as he sat down beside Sam, she leaned back against his side as she got comfy on the couch. “So, Gwen, Sam tells me you’re some sort of advertiser or somethin’?”

“Yes, I run an advertising firm in Canterlot.” Gwen replied with a smile as she looked at Turner, taking note of the Sheriff’s Department badge tattooed on his shoulder. “We’re currently preparing for the launch of cellular phones, test audiences love our ad campaign. Projections are through the roof. It’ll be like having a license to print money.”

“Well, I’m mighty glad to hear things are going well, even if I don’t understand all the particulars.” Turner replied with a genuine smile, the feeling of Sam leaning against him was doing wonders to help get his mind off his day. “What about you? I never really got the particulars on what you do, Thomas.”

“Oh, I do work that’s similar to yours I suppose.” The man replied as he leaned back in his seat and undid the top button of his button up shirt. “I accompany Princess Twilight most of the time on fact finding missions and such, do a little cursory investigation, generally get a feel for what a problem might be.” Thomas looked at Turner and what he saw was a rather tired looking and maybe even overworked Sheriff’s Deputy, it was a nasty habit of his to see people as parts of a situation rather than actual people… Something Thomas was working hard to break himself of. “Politically speaking, at least. She has her own team for other problems.”

“You mean the friendship problems, right?” Turner asked, Thomas nodded. “I met a couple of ‘em before, that’s how we come to learn about each other.” The smell of ribs cooking in the kitchen continued to fill the room with it’s heavenly aroma while the sound of rain thudding against the roof added to the ambience. “Y’know, if I’m bein’ honest, I wish you guys had sent them with their own escort.”

“Why’s that?” Thomas asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t want to get in a whole thing, it’s a rather political issue and I prefer to avoid it.” Turner replied as he shook his head. “I shouldn’t have even brought it up.”

“Come on, it’s my job to listen to that stuff.” Thomas replied, Gwen and Sam looked at each other and rolled their eyes almost simultaneously. This was what they’d predicted, Thomas and Turner were sure to go on for hours now just talking about the state of things. Turner gave a slight shrug before clearing his throat.

“Well, we’re pretty short handed here as is. There’s just the Sheriff, me, and another Deputy covering the whole county, with occasional volunteer support.” Turner replied with a tired expression. “We cover everything from cargo inspection to patrolling forest preserves, and there’s just three of us. Honestly, nearly all our budget goes to maintaining the three Sheriff’s Carriages, I have to pay to get parts fabricated for the truck out of my own pocket.” Turner leaned back with another sigh. “Shit, I had to take a serious pay cut for this job, I’m makin’ about a third of what I should, that’s barely enough for my basic expenses.”

“Is it a question of only money?” Thomas asked, Turner shook his head. What he’d said had struck both Gwen and Sam by surprise, Sam was surprised that he was essentially living hand to mouth while Gwen was stunned he’d willingly take such a decrease in pay.

“No, sir. That’s a big part of it, but it’s the lack of any respect from Dodge Junction. They’re the city we submit all our budget requests to, we’re lucky if we even get a reply telling us we’ve been declined.” Turner said with a slight groan. “Look, I really don’t want to get political about all this… Because you know we’ll both be talkin’ our heads off about it, and I don’t want to subject Sam and Gwen to hours of us chewin’ the fat.”

“Thank god.” Gwen said in an exasperated tone as she leaned back and sighed. “Still, I suppose it’s good to know that you care enough to do the job as best as possible.” Honestly, that endeared Turner more to her than anything else. If she didn’t think he’d outright refuse she would’ve tried offering him a job working security at her company. Not just because she likely would have been able to pay him dirt cheap either. Not that she’d do that. Probably.

“Can I ask you guys some questions?” Turner asked with a raised eyebrow, Gwen and Thomas looked at one another before nodding slowly. “Okay, so Princess Twilight mentioned that you’re from Eagle Creek, Thomas. I know Sam’s from California. I’m curious where you’re from, Gwen.”

“Oh, I’m from Milwaukee Wisconsin, don’cha know.” Gwen replied with a slight smile as she put up a pretty thick accent, she shook her head a couple seconds longer before dropping the accent. “Contrary to popular belief people from there don’t sound like they’re straight out of Fargo, for the most part.”

“Huh, I was expecting Boston or New York or something.” Turner said with a genuine tone, Gwen merely shrugged. She couldn’t fault him for that, generally that’s where ad execs tended to come from… Or LA. “Next question I have is in regards to how we all came here, I was driving, so was Sam… Were you guys?”

“I was.” Gwen replied with a nod. “I’d flown out to meet a potential client, decided to splurge a bit and rent a convertible. Was driving down this mountain road, and then boom…” The woman made a gesture with her hands to accentuate her point. “Portal opened and I ended up tearing through some farmer’s field. The car was okay though.”

“I was out checking the fence on our ranch on this old dirt bike, pretty much the same thing happened.” Thomas added, Turner hummed briefly and looked at the floor. “I dunno why it happens when you’re driving, but hey, at least I didn’t wipe out.”

“What about you? When did it grab you?” Gwen asked, Turner paused for a couple seconds as if unsure he wanted to talk about it. Truth be told he just wanted to forget it had ever happened and get on with his life here, but he was the one that had asked, so he felt obligated to answer somehow.

“I was just heading home, then there was a flash or somethin’ and here I was.” Turner said simply, that seemed to be enough for Gwen and the others.

As the time carried on and the group continued to talk with one another it became clear to Gwen and Thomas that Turner seemed like a decent fellow. Perhaps a little lacking in education and math skills, but not in critical thinking. Thomas found it a little easier to see what Turner was saying about just how bad things were in Evergreen County in regards to funding and equipment after spending more time discussing the day to day life of Silver Lake.

Gwen, meanwhile, took a particular interest in how Sam saw Turner. It had been pretty well established to Gwen that the chemistry between her friend and the deputy was there, but there was still the matter of what to do with that information. Most of the time, when she had an opportunity to manipulate something a certain way she would take it without thinking. She easily could’ve done that… But Sam put up with a lot of her behavior that other friends wouldn’t even consider. Out of respect for her, Gwen would do her best to stay out of things.

---

The sound of rain on the roof was still quite present even several hours after dinner had been eaten, the dark of the night had settled in over the town of Silver Lake. Gwen and Thomas had decided that after a long day of travelling they wanted to get a bit of rest. Gwen would take the pull out bed from the couch and Thomas would take one of the sleeping bags that Turner took with him when he went camping, at least until they could stop at the General Store the next day to buy him a proper cot. Meanwhile Sam had made it clear she would be sleeping in Turner’s bed with him, which helped reduce the issue of who was sleeping where considerably.

Turner was quietly sitting on the edge of his bed, wearing his boxers and tank top. Resting on his bedside table was his Deputy’s Badge, his eyes were pretty much stuck looking at it for the moment. The events of the day were still fresh in his mind, he’d been able to hide his worries away for the most part earlier. Now that it was just him and Sam he didn’t have to keep it to himself as much.

Sam was in the bathroom brushing her teeth and putting on her pajamas, which left Turner pretty much alone with his thoughts for the moment. Every word that the killer had said to him ran through his mind on continuous loop. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the sound of the rain on the roof, hoping that focusing on literally anything else would deafen each depraved act he recalled from the killer’s confession. The outside world became less and less relevant as Turner’s mind drilled deeper and deeper in it’s search to find some sort of rational explanation for what had happened, he couldn’t understand how losing money could lead to someone killing someone, let alone dismembering them. The image of the body parts was still fresh in his mind, the stench, the blood, all of it…

“Paige?” A voice called out, Turner didn’t respond at first. “Paige!” Turner’s spiralling thoughts slammed to a halt as he snapped out of his rumination and looked at Sam, the woman was wearing her usual bedtime ensemble of a tank top and sweatpants. “Are you okay? You had this thousand yard stare thing going on.”

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine.” Turner said, practically lying through his teeth. He looked Sam up and down, the concern on her face was still very much present. This was someone who cared about him, she deserved the truth. “No… Actually I’m not okay, I’m pretty far from okay.” The woman crossed the room with her usual silent grace before she sat down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. “The murder case I told you about… It’s messing with me bad, Sam.”

“I’d be a bit more concerned if it wasn’t bothering you.” Sam replied softly as she leaned against him. “You caught the guy though, so there’s something.” Turner nodded quietly before he put his head in his hands and dragged them down his face.

“This guy… He did some messed up shit, and he didn’t leave out a single detail of what he did…” Turner said, his voice muffled as the tips of his fingers were still covering his mouth. He rested his hands on his knees afterwards. “I had to write it all down three times because he forgot a couple things and had to start over, now I can’t get it out of my head no matter how hard I try.”

“Then don’t try...” Sam said flatly Turner looked at her briefly as if unsure of how to respond. “Like it or not, this is going to stick with you, thinking about how much you want to forget is only going to give it more power over you.” The woman rubbed up and down his back with her hand, prompting Turner to let out a slight sigh.

“I know… I just wish it were easier.” Turner leaned his head against Sam’s side as she put her arm around his shoulders. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight… It’s all still so fresh, y’know?”

“It’s okay, Paige.” Sam replied before she leaned in and kissed his forehead. “Not my idea of staying up all night with you, but…” The sudden quip prompted him to start giggling, more than he usually would’ve. He’d needed that release of stress and Sam knew it, they were all either of them really had in terms of an intimate relationship, they’d need to support one another because literally no one else could. “Say, did you hear the country boy who got accepted into Harvard?” Turner looked at her with a raised eyebrow and shook his head.

“Well, his first assignment was to do a paper on a famous person, but he didn’t know where to begin, so he figured he’d try the library…” The way she was setting up the joke got Turner to relax a bit, a small smile playing across his lips. “So he goes up to a professor and asks ‘Do you know where the library is at?’. The Professor looks back at him and says. ‘In Harvard we never end a sentence with a preposition.’.” Sam could see Turner’s smile grow a bit more as the anticipation grew. “The country boy replies in a cordial tone. ‘Oh, I’ll try again. Do you know where the library is at, asshole?’.”

Turner’s smile grew a bit wider and he started to laugh a bit more, in all honesty it wasn’t as funny since he didn’t really know what a preposition was. Still, it was enough to help him somewhat relax. He laid back on the bed as Sam got up and moved to her side, both of them got under the covers as Sam reached over to her bedside table and turned off the lamp. Turner found himself staring up at the ceiling while Sam slid up next to him and draped an arm over his chest.

“Hey, Paige?” Sam asked quietly, the man hummed as he looked over at her. “I’ve been thinking of moving to Silver Lake.” He cocked an eyebrow at her in slight disbelief. “I know it seems a little sudden, but… Honestly, I’m tired of living with Gwen and Thomas.”

“Not that I’m against it, but… Why not just move some place else?” Turner replied. Sam looked thoughtful for a couple moments, composing her response in her head.

“Well… For starters, you’re here.” Sam said simply. “Secondly, I’m tired of being in a big city. Thirdly, the ponies here don’t treat me different, and that’s a big thing for me.” Turner hummed to acknowledge he was listening, letting her sort out what else she was thinking about. “I dunno, seems like I can relax more here than anywhere else.”

“All valid reasons, but what would you do here? You said you were looking for a career, Silver Lake is pretty much the last place you can hope to find something like that.” Turner replied with a questioning tone. “Don’t get me wrong, I would be happy to have you here, but I don’t want you to be miserable, y’know?”

“I know...” Sam replied softly as she closed her eyes and leaned her head on Turner’s chest. “I don’t really ‘need’ a career, I just need something to do so I don’t go crazy doing nothing.” The woman smiled faintly as she felt Turner rolled over slightly so he could look at her more directly, even in the dim light cast in through the window she could see his bright blue eyes staring back at her. “I’m sure I can find something…”

“Sounds like you aren’t thinking about it anymore, sounds like you already decided.” Turner said simply, Sam shrugged with a nod. “Kinda impulsive, isn’t it?”

“Oh, definitely, but I still feel right doing it.” The woman replied warmly, she leaned closer and kissed Turner on the cheek. “I want to live someplace with a big yard, know any good places, maybe out near the mountains?”

“Yeah…” Turner replied, he noticed as Sam yawned quietly. “We can discuss this tomorrow if you want.” The woman nodded quietly and simply rested her head against Turner once more, the man put his arm around her waist and held her close.

“Paige?” Sam said softly, he replied with another hum. “I love you…”

“I love you too, Samantha.” Turner said back, kissing her once again before he closed his eyes. Both of them were screaming internally at what they’d just said to one another, mainly because that hadn’t ever really happened before. In Sam’s case it had been a calculated risk, in Turner’s case it had been a visceral response. He hadn’t had time to think of response other than the honest to goodness truth.

Grave Eagle Trailhead

The air was starting to take on a considerable chill following the last big rainstorms of the Summer season, Turner had felt it necessary to wear his brown bomber jacket adorned with Sheriff’s Department patches and his badge. Thomas had borrowed a pair of Turner’s warmer cargo pants and a turtleneck, though the main source of his warmth was a grey suede jacket. It had been a couple days since Gwen and Thomas had come down with Sam, as it stood things were going well. Sam and Gwen were having a ‘Girl’s Day’, while Thomas had requested to go on a ride along with Turner to get a better idea of just what the Sheriff’s Office was facing.

So far, Thomas had spent three hours driving along in the cab of the truck as Turner ensured that campers were clearing out for the end of season. He’d also had to close several trails in the mountains, all while balancing his usual duties of patrolling the county. The workload was just on the borderline of undoable, but the day was still young. The sun was low in the morning sky, it wasn’t any later than eight in the morning. However, that wasn’t even the beginning of the Deputy’s duties. There was also a clipboard resting on the dashboard which was oddly enough in Equestrian, Turner had picked up enough of the written language to get by without translations.

Thomas sat in the cold cab of the truck, his breath quite visible, as he watched Turner walking down from the Grave Eagle Trailhead. A large sign reading ‘Trail Closed’ had been erected right on the path. Turner had also taken to wearing a black knit cap for warmth, it was almost as if the season had changed on a dime, not uncommon in Equestria… But then again, that was usually due to magic.

“Alright… That’s the last one.” Turner said with a grunt as he climbed up into the freezing cold cab and rubbed his hands together a couple times. “Fuck, I hate winter…”

“It’s only fall.” Thomas said correctively, Turner looked at him flatly. “But I see your point...” Thomas looked at the fan settings on the dashboard, while the Air Conditioner worked just fine, the heating coil had blown around two years ago. As it wasn’t entirely necessary Turner had forgone having the new part fabricated, after all it had between new shocks or the heater.

“Having fun yet?” Turner asked rhetorically as he put on his seat belt and grabbed the clipboard off the dashboard to look it over. “Let’s see… Oh, this is gonna be fun.” The Deputy offered the board to Thomas to let him take a look. “You ever done a repossession before?” Thomas quietly shook his head. “Well, today’s your lucky day.” Turner put the truck in gear and took off down the road, he reached to the stereo and switched it on. The familiar twang of guitars filled the cab as Turner let out a tense sigh. “So, where were we?”

“Waylon Jennings or Johnny Cash.” Thomas replied simply as they slowed down to stop at an intersection before Turner took a right turn that took them towards Blue Mountain. The deputy hummed for a moment before shrugging.

“Cash.” Turner said simply. “I mean, I like both, but I before I came here I owned more Cash albums than anything else.”

“Respectable answer.” Thomas replied as he looked over the clipboard. “So you patrol the forest areas, you handle cargo security at the train station, you do regular police work… And you repossess property?”

“Yup.” Turner replied with a sigh. “Not my favorite part of the job, but that’s why it’s called work and not happy fun time.” They hit a bump as they drove along the country road, a bit of frost had formed on the ground and the tall grass on either side of the road was relatively uninteresting other than the way it swayed in the morning breeze. “Heck, I’m an old hand at repos, it’s one of the things the county hired me for that got my foot in the door for this job.”

“And when you just did repos you made more money?” Thomas asked, slightly shocked by the revelation.

“Yup! I went from doing twelve hours of work a week to around fifty hours and I actually lost money. Kinda fucked up, ain’t it?” Turner shrugged as he leaned on the steering wheel and braced himself for an upcoming bump. “But hey, I prefer doing this to just repo any day.” The truck thudded heavily as it hit the bump, prompting Thomas to whack his head against the ceiling with a grunt. “Shocks are starting to go, so get used to that…”

“Thanks for the warning…” Thomas said flatly, the pair continued driving for around thirty minutes before they reached a driveway that branched off the road. Turner slowed down as they approached and came to a stop at the end. “So, I take it we’re here?”

“Yup.” Turner slowly pulled the truck up the driveway, after a couple minutes the man turned off the radio.

Thomas looked out the window, there were more trees here than he’d expected, and a distant looking field with a couple ponies working out in it. As they passed a large grove of trees a small farmhouse came into view, it was painted mustard yellow with white accents. Parked out front was a large carriage, it looked like a fruit stand on wheels. The carriage was painted green and had various images of happy looking vegetables depicted on the portion that would face customers. An older stallion was working on painting a new sign on it when he heard the rumble of the truck pulling up behind him and turned around. The stallion was an Earth Pony with a green coat similar to that of the carriage, his mane was varying shades of gray and he had large bags under his eyes.

“Well… This is gonna suck.” Turner said under his breath before he looked over at Thomas. “Wait here.” Thomas nodded and watched as Turner took the clipboard and turned off the engine, after which he got out of the truck. Thomas turned the key forward a bit so he could roll down his window and listen, but the engine remained off. Turner quietly removed his knit cap and tucked it into his jacket as he approached the stallion who was now standing in front of his carriage with an uncertain expression.

“Deputy…” He said as he adjusted a scarf around his neck. “What… What brings you out here?”

“You know what, Harrow. I gotta take possession of your property.” Turner said as he put a hand on his hip, he looked at the clipboard in his other hand and examined a series of numbers painted on the carriage. They matched the numbers on the repossession order. “Please, I need you to step away from the carriage.”

“I just need two more days, Turner… Can’t you give me ‘til then?” Harrow replied, Turner quietly shook his head as he lowered the clipboard.

“I want to, Harrow, you know I do…” The man said as he took the Repo Order from the clipboard and folded it up. “I gotta do this, Harrow.” The stallion looked at the folded piece of paper as Turner held it out to him. “You can pick it up at impound when you have the money.”

“How am I supposed to do that, Deputy?! Yer takin’ my livelihood here!” Harrow shouted at him, the older stallion took a step towards Turner and bitterly grabbed the sheet of paper. “You can take this and stuff it!” The stallion threw the paper on the ground, stamping on it several times. “I ain’t letting you take nothin’ from me!”

“Harrow, this doesn’t have to be any more difficult than it already is.” Turner replied calmly, he set the clipboard on the hood of the truck and held a hand out to try and calm the stallion down. “We both work hard, Harrow, we both have our jobs to do.” He tried to keep about twelve feet between himself and the agitated stallion, his eyes roved over the area for anything of note. What first caught his attention was an open tool box, which had various screwdrivers, hammers, and other instruments exposed.

“If I don’t sell the last of our harvest my family’s not gonna make it through the winter!” Harrow replied, Turner could see that most of his hostility wasn’t from anger, but desperation, which wasn’t the best circumstance to be dealing with. “You don’t care! No one does!”

“That’s not true, Harrow. We both know that’s not true.” Turner said, maintaining his calm tone. He watched Harrow very clearly look towards the toolbox, then back at Turner, then back at the toolbox. The desperation on the stallion’s face was clear as day. “Harrow, you know that won’t end well. Your family needs you, man. You go for something in that box and I have to haul you in, I don’t want to do that.”

“Damnit…” Harrow said defeatedly as he looked at the floor. “Fine, take it…” Turner watched the stallion reach down and pick up the paper he’d stomped on. He dusted it off and put away his tools, a deeply worried look on his face.

Turner hopped in the truck and started the engine, then turned the truck around to line up the towing hitch with the trailer. Once it was in place Turner got back out and walked around to the back, by this point Harrow’s family was coming in out of the field to see what was happening. Turner ignored them as best as he could, he hitched the trailer up to the truck before pulling on his knit cap once again and getting in the truck. All the while Thomas had been quietly observing and listening, repossessions weren’t uncommon in Canterlot but usually they ended in a lot more shouting or occasionally a physical confrontation if the debtor was present.

“Let’s get goin’.” Turner said as he started the truck and started driving down the driveway with the carriage, he sighed as he saw the family all watching the truck driving away in the side mirror. “That went a lot better than it could have.” Turner looked ahead as they pulled back onto the main road back towards Silver Lake.

“How so?” Thomas asked, Turner looked at him briefly.

“No one got arrested, or worse.” The Deputy simply stated, the chilly morning air made his breath visible as the two men drove along the road. “Harrow’s a good guy, had a run of bad luck this year. I really hate having to do this.” The man drove a bit slower on the way back, taking bumps more carefully than he usually would. “So, any thoughts so far? Questions? Comments?”

“Who taught you Conflict De-Escalation?” Thomas asked, Turner hummed for a moment before looking out the windshield.

“Changeling Holdout by the name of Mourning Cloak, he and I go back a ways.” Turner’s simple reply earned him a raised eyebrow from Thomas. “He and his group mostly want one thing, and that’s to live their lives like before King Snorlax or whatever took over. Relatively speaking.”

“Thorax, Turner. King Thorax.” Thomas corrected him. “What they did before Thorax took over was pretty bad.”

“You know what I mean, Thomas. They don’t want to change into those weird greenish turquoise ones, and frankly I don’t blame ‘em. I’d go nuts if I had to live in some hippie commune full of that pacifist feeling circle crap.” Turner said flatly as he rolled down his window and rested an arm against the door. “You’d be amazed what you can figure out when you actually know how to read.” Thomas looked out his own window as they drove past a sign for Grave Eagle Trailhead. “Anyway, if you happen across Mourning or any of his guys, may be best to just leave out the part where you work for Princess Twilight.”

“I suppose I see your point.” Thomas said with a shrug, after a couple minutes he spoke up again. “Since it’s just us out here I can be honest. I don’t much care for how Thorax runs things either.” Thomas grinned a bit more widely. “Look at us, a couple of rednecks talkin’ shit about the government. Almost feels like I’m back in Eagle Creek.”

“You seem like you’d be more suited to this sort of work than ‘Fact Finding’.” Turner mused as they continued their drive, occasionally the trailer would thud from side to side, but not anything to be alarmed about. “Or is it because you and the Princess are, y’know…”

“What?” Thomas asked with a raised eyebrow, after a couple seconds he realized something. “Oh, uh, no we aren’t together… What made you say that? Did… Did she say something?”

“I cannot confirm or deny… But yes.” Turner replied simply as they pulled onto the main dirtroad back to town. Thomas looked rather thoughtful after that, as if he’d just been told some hidden truth about the universe itself. “Look, I only tell you so you know. That’s the worst feeling, I’ve found… Not knowing.”

“Yeah… Yeah, I get it.” Thomas replied after a couple more minutes of thought, he looked out the window as the road came up alongside the train tracks. “So, what’s on the other side of the tracks? Anything?”

“Silver Lake, the actual lake. It’s about twenty miles west of the tracks, but it’s the first thing that settlers around here named, so that’s the name they chose for the town.” Turner explained, Thomas hummed slightly as the cold air bit against his cheeks. The Deputy meanwhile seemed far less perturbed by the weather. “I go fishing there from time to time, but without a boat you don’t catch much more than lake trout.” The pair lapsed into silence as they each ruminated on their conversation so far. “Gonna have to hook up the plow soon…”

“Shit, you plow too?” Thomas asked, Turner nodded. “Jack of all trades, eh?”

“Nah, man. There’s work that needs doin’, so I do it. Simple as that.” The Deputy grinned as he responded. “Besides, I’m gonna need the extra hours if I’m gonna be able to afford the heating bill this winter. Probably gonna have to go without electricity to balance things out.”

“Really? It’s that bad?” Thomas asked, Turner nodded after a couple seconds. “Sounds like you’ve done that before.”

“Not here, but back on Earth it happened a couple times.” Turner shrugged. “I’m more concerned about families like the Harrows, honestly.” The man looked off out the windshield with a conflicted expression on his face. “I can hunker down with some survival gear if need be, but they can’t… Can’t afford to get dry firewood neither, not without this carriage.” He shook his head. “Fuck it… I’ll help ‘em.”

“You just said you-” Thomas began.

“I’ve got some money squirreled away, and if I fish and hunt my own food I can put the food budget towards some warm clothes. I can probably still get a cord of wood for them. Not much, but it’s something.” Turner thought aloud, he stopped as the town came into sight. “Fuck, man, it’s not like I can just sit at home while they freeze.”

“True, but you can’t beat yourself up over this either.” Thomas cut in. “Look, it sucks, but this is shit that we’ve been seeing all our lives. In Eagle Creek, even in Eustace, bad stuff happens to good people.” Turner remained quiet, after a couple minutes he nodded and sighed. “You need to look out for yourself, like you been doin’. You’ve seen some serious shit a couple days ago, don’t let it cloud your judgement.”

“You’re right…” Turner said with a sigh. “Still, I ain’t gonna sit idle. I have a little time before the first snow falls, I’ll figure something out.” The truck passed the first couple buildings and the train station as the two of them pulled in to an area behind the Sheriff’s Office. It was fenced in and the two other Sheriff’s vehicles were parked there, as well as a couple other impounded carriages and carts. Turner pulled through the open gate and oriented the truck, after a couple minutes of work he had backed the carriage into a parking space before he hopped out and started undoing the trailer hitch.

Thomas got out as well, rubbing his hands together as he walked back and watched the Deputy finish undoing the hitch. He walked back to the driver’s seat and pulled the truck forward a couple feet, leaving the carriage in its own parking spot. Thomas walked around behind the truck and then up to the driver’s side door as Turner cut the engine and climbed out once more.

“Well, it’s now officially repossessed.” Turner said tiredly as he closed the door, he took his phone from his pocket and looked at it briefly. “It’s about eleven, and I’m starvin’.” The man took his radio from his belt and brought it to his lips. “Dispatch, Unit Two. Just finished the Harrow Repossession, I’m goin’ on meal break.”

”Affirmative, Unit Two.” Deputy Buckeye’s voice replied over the radio before Turner put it back on his belt.

“So… Burgers or burritos? That’s about the only choice we have ‘round here.” Turner asked, Thomas would have to think on that one for a minute.

---

Downtown Silver Lake was a little quieter with the cold snap that had hit overnight, despite the rather small size of the town Gwen and Sam weren’t having any trouble finding something to do. As the day continued and it gradually started to warm up the two of them were walking among the market in the downtown area. The last vegetables of the season were being sold off, however, there were also quite a few tough looking stallions with thick beards and various scars. These ponies were selling fur and leather products. They were decked out from head to hoof in warm looking clothing, to be honest Sam was a little put off by the amount of fur they’d acquired.

She wasn’t wanting for warmth though, she was wearing a nice red wool jacket with double breasted buttons, a scarf, jeans, boots, and a pair of black earmuffs. Over her shoulder was a rather old looking brown leather purse. Gwen had forgone her usual business attire for something a bit more casual and conducive to the weather. Her jacket was more puffy than anything else, with her right hand tucked in her pocket to ensure her wallet was right where it should’ve been.

The market was made up smaller stalls with many displaying vegetables or other products, but the fur trade ponies had probably the fullest looking stock. A couple mares also stood there, though they seemed a bit more focused on tending to the leather and fur clothing rather than the pelts themselves. As both Gwen and Sam approached the first stall the stallion standing there adjusted his fur cap making it easier to see the unicorn horn and light brown fur he possessed, one of his eyes appeared rather milky.

“Well, this is a sight I ain’t seen before.” He said in a rough voice, a smile becoming viewable even with his beard of epic scale. “I take it y’alls friends of Mister Turner, been a minute since I seen ‘im.” The stallion gestured to the furs on the table. “Been out past the east basin for, what was it honey?”

“Goin’ on six months.” The mare working behind him replied, she wore a more tasteful and homely ensemble, her pale white fur accented by a long black french braid. “And it’s Deputy Turner now, remember?”

“Right…” The stallion replied thoughtfully before looking back at Gwen and Sam. “Anyways, name’s McSnare, that gleamin’ pearl of a mare behind me is my wife.” The stallion offered his hoof to the women with that same smile of his.

“Nice to meet you.” Gwen shook the stallion’s hoof with a tone of calm interest, Sam followed suit, though once again she was a little uncomfortable with just how much fur it seemed McSnare was able to stock. “You’re right, my friend and I are visiting Deputy Turner… But seeing as he’s at work we thought we’d take a look at your wares. Is all your fur locally trapped?”

“Yup, all within about a hundred miles of here, actually. S’big county.” McSnare stated with a proud expression. “Seein’ as you appear to be a… uh… human mare?”

“Woman, dear.” McSnare’s wife shouted from the back as she began to fiddle with some leatherworking tools.

“Right! Seein’ as you appear to be a woman what knows her stuff, I can confirm that each fine pelt you see before you is coyote, rabbit, elk, and I have one bear on hand as well.” The trapper continued, leaning against his stall. “Now, the elk and the bear are limited supply since we’s only allowed to hunt or trap a set amount, however the coyote and rabbit are in a far greater supply.”

“Why is that?” Sam asked as she examined one of the coyote pelts, noting that most of them had similar marks near the base of where the neck ended. “What are these marks?”

“Oh, well, Coyotes and Rabbits been havin’ what’cha might call a population explosion… So to keep their numbers sustainable and stable there’s no limit on how many you can claim.” McSnare explained as he picked up the pelt in question and looked it over. “That there mark is where we put these little fellers to rest with a spell what my great great grandpappy come up with over a hundred years ago. Quick, painless, humane.”

“We also make sure to use every part of the animal we can, nothin’ goes to waste!” McSnares wife piped up once more from the back of the stall, Gwen could see she was working on some sort of jacket. Her tools were illuminated with a faint glow of orange, her horn only barely visible through her thick mane. They moved with the grace and finesse that could come only with years of arduous practice. “Speakin’ of, we got coyote and rabbit jerky for sale if’n your interested!”

“I may take you up on that.” Gwen warmly state while putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder, she turned to look at her slightly more squeamish companion. “I don’t suppose you have any clothes suitable to folks like us?”

“Actually…” McSnare slowly trailed off before he crouched down and reached under the stall counter before grunting and standing back up. His horn glowed and a trunk levitated out from where he’d had it stored, he cleared space in front of the counter before setting it down at the feet of the women. “Deputy Turner has occasionally put in requests for clothes, and to be honest, my wife likes a challenge… So we have plenty of thing’s she’s experimented with. Figured we might be able to start selling to minotaurs, but that seemed a bit in poor taste…” McSnare opened the trunk to reveal its contents. “You’re welcome to take a look, heck, I’ll give it to ya at a discount, seein’ as your the only folks what took an interest in it.”

“Thank you, we’ll take a look.” Gwen politely said with smile, Sam looked the redhead with uncertainty before looking down at the trunk that had been set down. It wasn’t just leather or fur that was present, as it seemed McSnare’s wife was quite the talented seamstress as well. She seemed to have quite a lot of different ideas of what human clothing looked like, an unsettling amount actually. “I think she might’ve been paying attention to those modelling shots you did a couple years ago when she made some of these…” Gwen held up a rather risque looking bit of attire.

“Oh, god…” Sam said as a large blush spread across her cheeks before she grabbed it quickly out of Gwen’s hands, she stuffed the garment deep down in the trunk. “Why, may I ask, are we even looking through this stuff?”

“Well, for starters, I’m always looking for new inspiration…” Gwen replied as she held up a fur cap that looked like it was designed for a human head. She pulled it on and found it was a bit larger than she’d first imagined. “I’m predicting next year it’ll all be about ‘rugged’ and ‘tough’ campaigns, doesn’t hurt to do a little studying ahead of time.” Gwen put the hat back in the trunk and reached a bit further down. “Secondly, and this is a bit more important, I want you to know all about bartering here. If you’re going to move here you’ll need to be comfortable with the customs and means of trade that tend to come from such an… isolated locale.”

“How did you…?” Sam started to ask in disbelief. “Did Pai-... Did Turner tell you?” Gwen stopped and looked at her, the redhead let out the most genuine laugh Sam had heard from her in a long time before she shook her head.

“No, he didn’t… And why don’t you just call him by his first name?” Gwen asked with a grin while she continued to examine the clothing in the trunk.

“Because he doesn’t want a lot of people to know it.” Sam replied flatly, she paused and lifted up another hat. This was very similar to a montana style hat, made from brown felt. There was a band around it which seemed to have coins stamped into it. It actually looked rather nice, at least it would if the coins were removed. “Still didn’t answer my question.”

“I’ve known you for nearly a decade and not once have I seen you as… Sprightly.” Gwen mirthfully looked around them, the market was still relatively quiet and the air still had a notable chill to it. “Also I may or may not have overheard you two talking a couple nights ago…”

“You were eavesdropping?” Sam stopped everything else and looked at Gwen with an annoyed expression. “What if we’d been… You know?”

“What? No, I was going to the bathroom, which is in the bedroom.” Gwen defensively leaned back a bit. “Look, Sam, I actually want to see this work out for you… Really, I do.” There was a couple moments of tense silence before Gwen pulled Sam into a hug, this caught her by surprise but hesitantly Sam returned it. When Gwen broke the embrace she spoke once more. “It’s good you’re getting out and looking to start a life somewhere else, honestly I was worried you were starting to turn into a hermit like Howard Hughes.”

“Even if that life is pretty much in the middle of nowhere?” Sam asked rhetorically before she presented the hat she’d become interested in to Gwen. “What do you think of this? Do you think Turner would like it?” There was a second of brief silence as the redhead grabbed the hat and examined it a bit closer.

“If the coins were removed, yeah… They’re a little gaudy. Other than that he’d look like a regular Dudley Do Right.” Gwen ran her fingers over the coins on the hatband. “These actually seem like they might’ve belonged to Turner at some time.” She showed the coins to Sam. “They have George Washington on them.” Gwen stood up with the hat and looked at McSnare, who was not to subtly trying to overhear their conversation. The woman ignored that and showed him the hat in question. “I kinda assume this is something Deputy Turner ordered, judging by the coins.”

“Nope, he just was cleanin’ out that big truck of his and gave us a bunch of them tiny metal coins.” The stallion replied as he looked over the hat. “Why, do you think he wanted them back?”

“No… But I’d like to buy this, that is if you’d be willing to change the hatband to something a little simpler for me?” Gwen asked, McSnare rubbed his beard of ages for a couple moments in thought before nodding. The stallion levitated the up out of her hands and walked back into the stall. Gwen knelt down once again and started looking through the trunk again. “We need our clothes made specially, remember? First thing you should do before moving is familiarize yourself with local services… Like tailors, seamstresses, or where you’re going to be buying your food and other essentials.”

“You think that’s really going to help?” Sam asked as she quietly reached into the trunk and lifted out a couple of the other ‘woman’s wear’ that had apparently been made by McSnare’s wife. “To be fair, though… These look almost exactly my size. You might been onto something.” Gwen smiled from ear to ear as Sam stood up with the clothes. “Listen, I’m not buying these for any reason other than I just want them out of the public eye. That’s it.”

“Riiight, but private eyes are fine.” Gwen’s airy voice and cheshire grin was something that Sam had gotten used to over the years. In fact, it was getting to the point where Sam could give as good as she got in some cases. Though perhaps without the same eloquence or sophistication of, well, whatever it was that Gwen did.

“You have a point… Maybe you should look in there again, I think a saw a bridle that was about your size.” Sam offhandedly commented, that prompted a rare and very deep blush across the normally pale redhead’s cheeks. “You really should close your door all the way when you have company over…”

“I’ve taught you well…” Was the only reply that Gwen could muster as her cheeks continued to burn a bright shade of crimson. Sam was the one grinning from ear to ear, watching as McSnare and his wife were working in the back of their stall on the hat in question. Both their horns were glowing, and to Gwen and Sam it was like watching some sort of ballet. While McSnare might’ve looked gruff clumsy, it seemed his magic was just as practiced as his wife’s when it came to leather working. It took them only around ten minutes to finish up their work, McSnare walked back with the finished brown felt montana style hat floating in his magical aura. Gwen took it and looked it over.

“I think he already has one of these, but… I think he’ll like it anyway. I’d also like to get these.” Sam admitted while she placed the clothes she’d taken from the trunk, afterwards she began to reach for her purse. “What do I owe you, Mister McSnare?”

“Oh, forty bits outta do it.” McSnare replied, Sam smiled as she reached into the purse and withdrew a small sack of bits. The stallion meanwhile was examining her purse with curiosity, noting its age and rather weathered appearance, just out of curiosity. “Couldn’t help but overhear you might be moving out our way, if’n your lookin for a decent tailor that’s not out in the wilderness half the year I might recommend Pintuck down by the general store. He’s the one what makes all the clothes for your Deputy friend.”

“Really? Well, I’ll have to see about going to see him then.” Sam counted out the appropriate coinage before handing it to the stallion. With a grin he levitated her purchases into a brown paper bag, with the exception of the hat, that he set right on her head. That prompted Gwen to start giggling as she looked the woman up and down. “What?

“You look like a Canadian mountie.” Gwen replied as she and Sam started walking away from the market stall, with the latter of which turning to wave goodbye to McSnare. “The red coat and that hat just…” Sam quietly looked up at the hat that had been placed on her head, it was a size or two too big, but it was also quite warm. “Come on. Let’s go check out that General Store, maybe they have something to eat… At the very least it’ll be warmer in there.”

“Yeah…” Sam said with a nod, as they were walking towards the road they heard a familiar blaring sound in the distance. The wail of sirens getting closer, Sam and Gwen came to a stop and looked down the road towards the Sheriff’s Office. The screech of tires echoed through the small town as Turner’s truck skidded into view off a side road and tore down the street that ran past the market. The flashing blue and red lights, the blaring noise, and the sheer speed all pointed towards something going wrong. The vehicle tore past the market, kicking up gravel as it sped off towards the Basin and catching a little air when it hit an occasional bump. “That… That didn’t seem good.”

“I’m sure he’ll be okay…” Gwen said as she put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Come on…” Hesitantly Sam nodded and started walking with her companion towards the town’s general store.

Author's Notes:

I haven't been leaving as many Author's Notes as I used to, for that I'm sorry. I've been working a lot to get a good number of chapters done ahead of time so I have something to post in case I get hid with writers block. Even still, I'm sorry if my updates are slower than I'd like.

As always please leave a rating, and please please comment. I love reading what you guys have to say, it helps me get a better idea of how things are being received.

The South Basin Road

Thomas yelped slightly as the truck flew over a bump, it had been years since he’d done anything remotely close to offroading. While technically they were still on a road, the way it was maintained it may as well have been. The blaring sirens cut across the grassy landscape, eclipsing even the tremendous roar of the big block V8 that spurred the vehicle along. Clouds overhead gave the area an air of gray overcast light. The call that had come in over the radio had been very quick, and Turner had started the siren with such speed that Thomas couldn’t even ask what was going on. They’d at least gotten a chance to eat before the call came in, otherwise Thomas was quite sure their burgers would’ve been splattered all around the cab.

They’d driven to the basin, skidded southbound at a crossroads, and were now thundering alongside the Switchback River. In some cases they came close enough to the edge that Thomas saw water splash up on the window. He looked over at Turner, the man bore the composure of a steely eyed missile man. They’d covered a ride that normally would’ve taken a good four hours of slow and careful navigation of rough terrain in nearly thirty minutes. When the road became to rough he would drive through fields and dirt, tearing up plants and shrubs with reckless abandon. They blew past numerous houses, sirens blaring and lights flashing like it was the end of the world.

“Turner!” Thomas shouted as he finally found a moment when the siren wasn’t louder than he was, the Deputy briefly glanced over at him. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?!”

“Home Invasion!” Turner replied loudly as he leaned forward, Thomas now understood what the reason for such urgency was. After another two minutes the Deputy looked at his passenger and shouted. “Hold on!” Thomas did as best he could before Turner slammed on the brakes while the truck went up a driveway. It skidded to a stop just twenty feet from a large stucco covered mansion type home, Turner cut the siren but left the lights flashing. "Unit two on scene! Entering the residence!” He said into his radio before looking at Thomas. “You said you were a royal investigator, do you have law enforcement status?"

"Yeah, but I've never had to use it before..." Thomas uncertainly answered.

"You any good with a gun!?” The Deputy pushed his door open and started to get out.

“Yeah!” Thomas replied as he opened his door as well. “Why?” Turner took his sidearm from his holster and tossed it to the man beside him, then grabbed his rifle. “Oh… I got your back!” Turner cocked the rifle five times as he and Thomas ran up the river stone steps towards the front door, the house seemed to have flashing lights and loud music inside. Turner recalled that this was someone’s vacation home, supposedly they’d already gone home. What was even weirder was there seemed to be nearly a dozen carriages and chariots parked near the house. Without hesitation the men rushed the front door, with turner practically bashing the piece of oak clean off its hinges.

“Sheriff’s Department!” The Deputy loudly announced as he and Thomas burst through the door, expecting to find the home to be a wreck. That was partially true, there were overturned bits of high end furniture and hundreds of red plastic cups all over the place… This was because there were at least forty ponies drinking, dancing, and doing all manner of other things inside. To his and Thomas’ surprise, they cheered loudly and held up their cups when they saw the two men standing there with confused expressions… Some of them were even laughing.

“What the fuck…?” Thomas asked as he looked around, holding the weapon down and pointing it only at the floor with his finger safely off the trigger. Turner’s confusion dissipated far faster than his compatriot’s however, and the expression on his face became one of anger. After a couple minutes the music came to a stop.

“Whoa! Hey, guys! There’s two of ‘em!” Shouted a stallion from somewhere in the crowd, realization slowly started to dawn on Thomas and he too began to become annoyed.

“Who called in a home invasion?” Turner asked as loudly and as calmly as he could, his voice carrying over the entire room. No one spoke up, after a few minutes a very beleaguered and sheepish looking earth pony mare pushed her way through the crowd. Turner recognized her vaguely, she’d been one of the occupants when he’d first come to this house.

“Um… Hello, officer.” She said, the crowd began to murmur among themselves. “I think one of my friend’s guests might have put in a call to your department? It was a mistake…” Turner’s expression didn’t soften, not one bit. Quietly he reached to his belt and grabbed his radio, then brought it up to his lips.

“Dispatch, Unit Two.” He said as calmly as he could, though Thomas thought he could see the man’s eye twitching.

”Go ahead, Unit Two. Sheriff is on the way.” Buckeye’s voice replied over the radio.

“Good… Good…” Turner trailed off after a couple seconds he took a deep breath and sighed before continuing. “The call turned out to be a prank, there’s some sort of party going on out here or… whatever.” The mare standing in front of him began to speak but he quietly held up a finger, meanwhile the crowd of ponies was starting to appear more antsy.

”Seriously? Uh… Roger that, Unit Two. Ten-Four, will advise the Sheriff..” With that last reply Turner put the radio back on his belt, then put his hands on his hips as he took his sidearm from Thomas and slid it into his holster.

“I’m going to need to see the IDs of everyone here. Now.” Turner stated while he took yet another deep breath. From somewhere in the crowd he heard someone yell ‘Scatter!’, at which point the ponies started scrambling for whatever exits they could. If Turner wasn’t as upset as he was, he would’ve been impressed at the short amount of time it took for them to vacate the premises. Twenty two seconds by Thomas’ count. In the end, the room was practically empty, save for Turner, Thomas, The earth pony, the white unicorn mare with the electric blue mane that also lived there. In addition, there was also a pair of unicorn stallions whom both had their ears caught in a glowing reddish aura being cast by the unicorn mare’s horn. They looked particularly inebriated, each sporting similar Merlot red fur and light green manes.

“Uh…” The earth pony said nervously, her hair was somewhat frazzled. Turner quietly stood there, tapping his foot while he fought to calm himself internally. “Okay. Give me a second, mine’s upstairs, and so is hers…” She quickly rushed off to the stairway and disappeared up them, the white unicorn approached with the two stallions wincing in her magical grasp. Wordlessly she slid them forward in front of Turner and Thomas.

“They did it, I saw them do it earlier… I wasn’t able to stop them.” She said simply, unfortunately for Turner that wasn’t enough for him to take them in. Quietly he rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked at Thomas, wordlessly he handed the man his rifle so that he could take his pen and notepad from his pocket and begin jotting down what had happened so far.

“Oh, come on… We was only playin’ around… It was one lil horn call...” One of the unicorns said drunkenly, he looked at the stallion that looked rather like him for a moment and not so quietly slurred. “I shink… I shink they bought it…”

“C-Come on, flathoof… foot… thing… Have a sense of humor…” The other implored, Turner merely jotted down everything that they’d said. After a couple minutes of listening to more of their drunken slurring the Earth pony from before returned from upstairs with a pair of wallets, each she presented to Turner with a sheepish expression.

“Let’s see… Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch. Can you identify these two… individuals?” Turner asked, gesturing to the stallions who had now started giggling and pointing at the Deputy’s fingers, each time he would move one they’d giggle more. Despite all this, Thomas saw the man was remaining as calm as could be on the outside. His tone, while a little irritated, was still professional.

“This is Silver Mallot and Bronze Hammer.” Octavia said quickly, prompting Turner to nod quietly, Thomas was back to his usual observer status by this point. “I am so so sorry about this, Deputy…” Turner didn’t respond with more than a simple grunt.

“I’m writing the two of you a summons for the disregard for the maximum occupancy and fire safety code of Evergreen County, the most a two story private residence of this size may host is twenty people, of which at least one third must be sober.” Turner said as he took his ticket book from his back pocket and began writing out the summons. Octavia winced as the man ripped the summons from his book and handed it to her, her eyes became much wider as she read the fine.

“Five hundred bits! Are you serious!?” She asked in shock, the flat expression Turner gave her told her he was in fact very serious. “At least tell me that the county’s going to cover the replacement of the door.”

“You’ll need to contact the Municiple Offices of Evergreen County to put in a request, that’s all I can really say.” Turner said before looking around the room, the cool air was blowing in from the door and various windows that other ponies had fled through. Octavia was about to retort, but stopped herself… At least she and Vinyl weren’t going to jail, unlike to other drunk stallions. “As for you two, I’m placing both of you under arrest for Felonious Misuse of Police Resources, under Evergreen County Municipal Code 3409-2A....”

“You have all the code’s memorized?” Thomas asked, Turner looked at him before quietly responding.

“Not all of them, but seeing as most of our recent calls have been in regards to that code It’s stuck with me… Anyway.” Turner looked back at the two stallions and reached to his belt for his cuffs, at this point Silver Mallot reached out and put his hoof on Turner’s stomach. Thomas watched as Turner froze and looked at the stallion with a stoic expression. “Remove your hoof from my person. Now.” Silver Mallot responded by pushing Turner back with enough force to send him back couple steps, the deputy took exception to that and slapped the cuffs on him faster than the drunk stallion could process. “You just added assaulting an officer and resisting arrest to the list.” Thomas could tell that it was going to be a long ride back to town.

---

Nearly five hours later it was dark out, Turner and the Sheriff had rendezvoused on the road and handed off the prisoner’s to the Sheriff as he had a carriage that had more space than the truck. Now both of there vehicles were at the station. Thomas had opted to wait outside as Turner and the Sheriff filled out the paperwork, took the statements of a couple other ponies from the party that had turned up, and eventually were able to settle everything. At around seven thirty at night, Turner finally emerged from the Sheriff’s Office with a noticeable slump to his shoulders.

“So, what happened?” Thomas asked, Turner remained quiet as he slowly walked to the driver’s side door and opened it. “Turner? Did they confess? Are there any more charges?”

“Yes, they confessed.” Turner said tiredly as he pulled himself up into the cab, Thomas soon joined him via the passenger seat. “No, there aren’t any more charges… There aren’t ANY charges, in fact.” The man let out a very tense sigh as he took his key from his pocket and put it in the ignition. “Turns out their dad is a judge in Canterlot, they made one phone call and half an hour later we got a letter teleported to us from Canterlot. Some guy by the name of Prince Blueblood gave them both a full pardon.”

“That sack’a shit?” Thomas asked, Turner nodded. “I’m gonna have a word with Twilight about that when I get back, don’t worry… I have a lot to tell her, actually.” The deputy just grunted in response and slipped his key into the ignition, he turned the key and the truck rumbled to life once again… For all of about twenty seconds, until he put it in drive. Afterwhich there was a harsh grinding noise and the ‘Check Engine’ light came on. The man quietly put the truck in park and turned off the engine, his hands resting on the steering wheel as he stared intently at the dashboard. “Turner…”

“This truck has five hundred thousand miles on it… Can you believe that?” Turner asked rhetorically as he sat there in the quiet of the truck and put the keys in his breast pocket. “I think the transmission or the driveshaft might’ve just gone, which means I’m gonna have to get a new one fabricated and installed… Somehow.” Without a word the man opened the door and grabbed his rifle before he stepped out, then closed the door. Thomas scrambled out of the truck too, watching as the man placed his rifle on the hood of the truck.

“Turn-”

“God fucking damnit motherfucking cocksucking fuck!” Turner suddenly screamed loudly before he kicked one of the tires out of anger, this of course lead to him hurting his foot immeasurably, which in turn lead to more swearing. After nearly two minutes of him spewing obscenities that were far too graphic and disturbing to ever be repeated within the pages of this story he finally managed to calm himself down enough to grab his rifle and start limping home. Thomas followed behind him quickly, listening as the deputy quietly muttered to himself.

“I know this seems bad, but I promise you, the Princess is gonna hear about this!” Thomas said, trying to calm the deputy down. By this point they were around halfway to the apartment, Turner stopped walking and turned to face Thomas.

“Whoopty fuckin’ do.” Turner flatly stated. “We’ve tried going to them before, hell Sheriff Long Wire once went all the way to Canterlot to try and get this shit sorted out, even spoke to them in person. You can see how well that went!” Thomas quietly stood there as Turner gestured to the area around them, he could see the bags under the Deputies eyes. “We got drunk fuckin’ tourist kids calling us out all over the place more and more lately, they don’t have any respect for us or the law! God forbid someone actually needs our help while we're responding to one of those bogus calls!”

“So please... Forgive me if I don’t bust out the trumpets and balloons, but for now I have to worry about replacing whatever the fuck just broke in my truck.” Turner gestured in the direction of the Sheriff’s Office. “I also have to find someway to help keep the Harrow family from freezing to death this winter, and to top it all off I have tweedle dumb and tweedle dumbass back there laughing their asses off all the way home because of some fuckhead in Canterlot. Not to mention everything I need to do on that list needs to be done on a third of the salary I normally should be making!” The man sighed. “Look, I try bein’ an optimist, but lately there ain’t much to be optimistic about… Unless I see the Princess ride in on some gold fuckin’ chariot carrying bags of money, guns and the keys to a new truck I ain’t gonna celebrate.”

“You know you could solve a lot of those problems if you just asked Sam for help, right?” Thomas replied equally as flatly. “You know she’d help, heck, even Gwen would help!” The man walked towards Turner and looked him square in the eye. “I get it, you’re used to not relying on people, I was the same way… But you owe it to yourself and your community to exhaust every option open to you, right? Swallow your pride.” Turner looked at the man opposite him for a couple seconds, after which he sighed.

“You sound like my dad…” Turner said quietly as he turned and started walking again, Thomas began to follow him one more as well. The way he’d said it was odd to Thomas, it wasn’t angry, or spiteful, or nostalgic or joyful… It was just, well, a statement. After a couple minutes Thomas could hear the man mumbling something quietly. The rest of the walk home was spent in silence, the wind kicking up dust as the dim light from the town’s shops began to fade. The two men wordlessly ascended the steps, Turner opened the door to the apartment and left it open for Thomas to follow him through.

Thomas closed the door behind him as Turner took off his jacket and tossed it onto the loveseat. Gwen was sitting on the couch, and was honestly rather surprised that neither of them had said anything. She looked at Thomas with a raised eyebrow, the man simply shook his head subtly while quietly mouthing ‘I’ll tell you in a minute.’. Meanwhile Turner continued on to the bedroom, still carrying the rifle, he wasn’t about to leave it behind in his truck. He’d gotten into a poor habit of doing that, but recent events had made him keenly aware of how important it was to keep it safe and secure.

As Turner pushed the door to his room open he was surprised that Sam wasn’t there, but he could see the bathroom door was closed. Quietly he approached his closet and placed his rifle on a gun rack within, then started taking off his uniform with a tired sigh. He was tired, tired from all the driving and running, tired from getting so upset earlier. He stood there in front of his closet getting ready for bed while his mind raced with all that had gone on over the course of his day, sprinting once again towards the cliff of obsessive thought. He didn’t even notice when the door to the bathroom opened.

Sam emerged from the bathroom wearing her pajamas, she hadn’t heard Turner’s truck pull up or his entry into the room. When she looked around the room she saw him standing in front of the closet, one arm leaning against the door frame as he stared off into space. She walked a bit closer to see his face plastered with an absolutely baffled expression, occasionally he’d move his head a little, as if trying to figure something out.

“You okay?” Sam asked softly, the man jumped in surprise, which in turned caused her to jump as well as she was surprised by his surprise. After a couple seconds Turner looked at her and nodded, though his expression still looked quite stressed. “What happened?”

“It was… Uh… It was a home invasion call, but it turned out to be a bunch of drunk ponies playing a prank…” Turner replied as he looked at Sam for a moment before he walked to his side of the bed and sat down, he put his head in his hands and sighed loudly. “Man, this job is not what I thought it would be.” Sam quietly walked over and sat next to him, she’d noticed he was becoming a bit more stressed and anxious lately. Staring off into space, not realizing someone was talking to him. “I had to repossess someone’s only means of income, that was fun. Then we got dragged out to some house party and the jackasses that called us in got off without so much as a warning, that was followed by hours and hours of paperwork.” Turner rubbed his temples. “To top it all off, I think the Transmission in the Truck is shot, or the drive shaft, both are going to be a pain in the ass to fix… Especially since I can’t afford the parts.”

Sam noted the man paused after the last bit, his posture changed as it had the first time he’d told he had asked for a couple days off. She could see an ashamed expression cross his face before he looked over at her.

“I… Uh… I don’t… I need…” Turner fumbled with his words, but stopped when Sam put a hand on his shoulder. “I need help, Sam. I’m barely keeping my head above water here, and until things change I don’t have anywhere else to turn to.”

“It’s okay, just… Tell me what you need.” Sam gently squeezed his shoulder, something she found helped to calm him down immensely.

“I will do whatever I can to pay you back, I swear-” Turner began, but stopped as Sam moved her hand from his shoulder to his lips. After a couple seconds she placed it back on his shoulder and allowed him to continue. “I won’t know for sure until I figure out what needs fixing, but… At the very least a thousand bits… I also need five hundred or so, I had repo someone’s market carriage today, they didn’t have a chance to finish selling their crop and they don’t have any way of supporting themselves for the winter because of it… I get it, it’s my fault, I should be the one to-”

“Paige.” Sam cut him off. “You're not the one that didn’t make the payment on the carriage, if it hadn’t been you repossessing it it would’ve been someone else.” Turner looked at her for a couple seconds, then looked at the floor with a look of deep thought in his eyes. “So, you need fifteen hundred bits?”

“I know, it’s a lot of money. I shouldn’t be asking… I’ll just find another way.” Turner started to get up, but Sam was having none of that and pushed him back down where he was sitting on the bed.

“Stop. You're not alone anymore, remember? That’s what this whole thing between you and me is about.” Sam said in a vaguely stern tone. “If I came to you needing help you’d help, right?” Turner silently nodded. “That’s a two way street, got it?”

“Yeah…” Turner said as he looked off to the side. “Thank you.” Sam responded by pulling him closer and giving him a big kiss on the lips, after a couple seconds she pulled back and looked him in the eyes.

“I love you.” She said firmly, and almost aggressively. “Now, are you too tired to stay up a bit longer?” Turner looked at her as she bit her lip, and after a couple seconds he shook his head. “Good, because I wanted to do something special with you, as well as something special to show you.” Turner’s calm exterior was a far cry from what was going on in his head, and after a couple moments he gulped. Sam stood up and walked to her side of the bed, then got down on the floor and reached under the bed. After a couple moments she returned with a plastic binder and what looked like a brown paper bag…

Turner decided he needed to drastically change what he’d thought of when she’d said ‘Something Special’, Sam meanwhile smiled as if she knew just where his mind had gone before she climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up to her chest. Turner quietly joined her in getting in under the covers. The two of them were sitting up a bit, getting comfortable as Sam opened the plastic binder and showed it to her companion. They were property listings, quite a few of them actually.

“I’ve been looking at some homes in the area, and properties without any structures on them as well, just to keep our options open.” Sam said as she began to run through the properties that she’d gathered quite a spread on. A lot of them were off in the boonies without any road access, which was a must according to Sam. It wasn’t listed information, but Turner was familiar enough with the area to know which were and which weren’t good candidates. As the hours passed the two of them went through the whole binder, near the end there were two finished homes as well as a couple plots of land near Silver Lake.

“What do you think? Would you want to live there?” Sam asked as she pointed to a nice looking cabin that had made the cut, as far as Turner knew there’d never been a crime committed there, there weren’t any liens on the property, and it was only about twenty minutes outside of Silver Lake resting on a bit of land that had access to the Macintosh River.

“Doesn’t matter what I think, it’s your house.” Turner replied with a shrug, Sam shook her head and cleared her throat.

“Our house.” She warmly corrected him, Turner’s expression became one of uncertainty. “I know, it’s sudden… I'm impulsive, as you called it, but come on... It’ll be an adventure.” Turner looked at the cabin, then looked back at Sam.

“You haven’t even seen it yet. Assuming I say yes, how do you know it’ll be right for us?” The man asked, Sam hummed for a moment. “Alright, we can have a look at it, okay… As for it being ‘Our House’... Let me think on it? I’m still a little frazzled.” After a couple seconds Sam nodded and closed the binder, that left one more thing, the bag. “What’s that?”

“Open it!” Sam said with a smile, Turner quietly compiled and reached into the bag. From inside he withdrew the hat that Sam had purchased at the market from McSnare. “It kinda seemed your style.”

“Thank you… I really appreciate this.” Turner said as he put it on his head, to his surprise it fit perfectly. “And it fits like a glove, the other one I have was meant for a pony… It’s a little snug.” He smiled and removed the hat before setting it on his nightstand. “I’ll put my badge on it in the morning, for now though…” He leaned over and gave Sam a kiss on the cheek. “I need to get a little sleep, my eyelids feel like they’ve got weights on ‘em.”

“Alright… I’m a little tired too.” Sam replied before she leaned over and turned off the bedside light, the room was shrouded in darkness and the two of them slid down a bit more under the covers. Sam, as usual, put her arm over Turner’s chest and cuddled up beside him. She sighed contently, for her there wasn’t anything that could’ve made her happier in that moment. Turner meanwhile was staring up at the ceiling, a contemplative look on his face.

“Sam?” He asked, his voice resonating in the darkness. Sam replied with a small hum. “Do you think we might be goin’ a little too fast? I feel a little out of my depth…” The woman opened her eyes and looked at him. “Don’t get me wrong, I love you… It’s all just very new to me, the fast pace I mean. I’ve dated before, but most of the time it was a while before we even considered sleeping in the same bed together on the regular, and it never got to a point where we’d move in with one another…”

“I feel like we’re moving just fine…” Sam replied softly as she traced a finger along his chest. “Maybe you need a little more impulsivness in your life, something to shake things up.” Turner remained quiet for a couple seconds before he nodded.

“I guess, seems like doin’ the same thing over and over again and expecting different stuff to happen is kinda nuts…” He said with a shrug before he turned over and put his arm around Sam’s waist. “I suppose as long as one of us has their hand on the wheel we can afford to hit the gas…” Sam quietly nodded and closed her eyes again, after a couple more minutes of thought Turner also let his eyelids fall shut. All he needed now was eight hours of uninterrupted sleep….

Silver Lake Coach Works

The roaming hills and mountains of Evergreen County were settling into the cooler months of the year, with the air consistently becoming more frigid it was only a matter of time until the first snowfall settled across the landscape. It had been nearly a month since Gwen and Thomas had returned to Canterlot, with Sam deciding to stay behind so that she could look at properties and spend some time getting used living with Turner. The Deputy in question was standing beneath a carriage lift wearing his heavy cloth jacket, his warmest pair of black cargo pants, three pairs of socks, and long johns. Above him was the truck, with Sam’s help he’d been able to afford a new transmission and a new driveshaft.

After a week of careful planning and reading every single word in the Owner’s Manual, he had finally felt confident enough to undertake the task of putting in a new transmission and a new driveshaft. The man had taken the vehicle to the local Coach Works to do the repair, as they were the only one with tools and equipment comparable to an automotive garage. Unfortunately they had to leave the garage door open to allow fumes to ventilate, which was why Turner was still freezing his ass off despite all the layers he wore.

Snow was blowing past the garage at alarming speed, there was nearly two feet already built up out there and it had only been two hours since the storm had settled in. The sunlight was dim, and visibility was only around two hundred feet if you were lucky. As Turner adjusted a couple nuts under the vehicle he found himself thinking about how he was going to get home if the vehicle didn’t run right. How was he going to clear the roads? It would take ponies weeks to dig their way out if what he’d seen over the past seven years was anything to go by. The man sighed as he finished tightening down the nuts and examined his handiwork, as far as he could tell everything was where it had to be. It had been a week of work by himself, but finally it seemed done.

To be on the safe side Turner decided to examine the entire underside of the truck, searching for anything else that might be wrong. He double checked the new shock absorbers that he’d also installed, again with Sam’s help. Fabricating the parts was the real issue, as there was no mass production of automobiles like his… At least as far as he knew. It posed another question to him though, one that he had been doing his best not to think about over the last couple years. The truck had just over five hundred thousand miles on it, the odds of it lasting another hundred thousand were pretty slim. Turner ran his hand along the side of the truck above him, feeling the smooth white paint beneath his gloved fingers.

”Unit Two, Dispatch.” The buzz of Buckeye’s voice over his radio caught his attention, prompting him to walk away from the truck to where he’d rested his equipment on a nearby table. ”Unit Two, Dispatch. Respond, please.”

“Unit Two.” Turner replied after picking up his radio, he leaned against the table while turning around to look back at his truck.

”Sheriff needs you to head over to the Train Station, apparently we’ve got an unexpected arrival.” Buckeye explained, Turner sighed and ran a hand over his head. ”Also, your girlfriend called. Told me to tell you that you’re out of milk.”

“A-Firm, Dispatch. Unit Two responding.” Turner said as he approached the lift controls, he made sure he cleared out any tools under it before he lowered the Ford from above. It touched down on the floor with ease, with new shocks it was sitting a little higher than before. He opened the driver’s side door and climbed in, his rifle was already in the gun rack and his hat rested in the seat beside him. “Please God… Please start.” Turner took his key from his jacket pocket and slipped it into the ignition, after a couple seconds he turned the key and saw the dashboard light up. After another second he turned the key, it took a couple seconds to turn over but eventually that same familiar rumbling filled his ears. “Okay, now… Please don’t blow up…”

The Deputy cautiously gripped the shift lever and hit the brakes, then slowly shifted it from reverse, to neutral, and finally into drive. It went as smooth as butter, easier than it had before in fact. With a final deep breath Turner took his foot off the brake, the truck slowly rolled forward without any sort of problem. Once it was off the lift he put it back in park and gripped the four wheel drive lever beside his right leg. He proceeded to pull the lever back into 4 High, prompting the yellow ‘4x4’ light to appear on his dash, then hopped out. He walked around to the front wheels and locked the hubs in position for four wheel drive. With that he got back in the truck and put his foot on the brake once more. As he wasn’t going to go fast he pulled the four wheel lever back further, putting it into 4 Low. He wouldn’t be able to go over thirty miles an hour, but in that snow who would want to?

With everything set Turner put the vehicle into drive once again and pulled out of the garage, the wind and snow buffeting against the outside. The Deputy rolled onto the main road, all four wheels driving the truck through the two feet of unplowed snow. In the interest of making sure he could be seen and therefore avoided by any pedestrians he flicked on the lightbars, red and blue light lit up the flying snow as the beast of a truck made its way to the train station. After seven minutes of arduous driving he finally arrived at the platform, pulling in beside it and parking. He left the lights flashing and got out, grabbing his hat from the seat beside him and putting it on. The shining badge on the front reflected some of the flashing lights as he closed the door and walked up the steps to the train station.

Someone had shoveled most of the area there thankfully, sitting on the tracks was a large steam locomotive which seemed to be hauling cargo rather than passengers. It was massively tall, and plumes of steam were forming quickly in the cold air. A bright headlight cut through the snow and fog ahead, the engine’s valves opening and closing almost sounded like a heartbeat. As Turner got closer he saw that the Sheriff was talking with the engineer and conductor beside the locomotive, both of whom looked rather nervous.

“What’s the story, Sheriff?” Turner called out over the wind as he walked closer, Long Wire adjusted his own long winter coat and gestured to the large train resting beside the platform.

“They blew past a red signal and somehow ended up on a track south when they’re supposed to be headed west.” Long Wire said with a bit of annoyance as he looked over at the large train. “Don’t ask me how they managed to get lost driving a train, I honestly can’t fathom it myself.” The Sheriff looked over to Turner and sighed. “I need you to check the cars for any unauthorized riders… All twenty of them.” The deputy let out a slight groan but nodded.

“Whatever you say, boss.” Turner rolled his neck and started making his way back to his truck, walking seventeen cars in two feet of snow in a blizzard was just asking for trouble. He climbed in the cab and drove up beside the train before hopping out and starting with the first car, a boxcar with a padlock on the door. Turner grabbed a maglight from under his seat, the powerful beam of light cut through the dark underbelly of the car and revealed there wasn’t anyone hiding under it.

He checked four cars, each locked and devoid of any unauthorized riders. Turner walked back to his truck and drove ahead to repeat the process, as he expected most of the cars were locked and secured. The last four cars were different, as Turner walked ahead of where he’d parked the truck he took note that a couple of the doors were unlocked, one was even slightly ajar. The Deputy approached the first car and lifted the latch before sliding it open and shining his light inside. There were several wooden crates marked ‘Farm Equipment’, as well as a couple sacks of seed. Nothing out of the ordinary. He shut the door and moved on to the next one, this one was similar though it was hauling what looked to be two tons of potatoes.

The third car had a lock, so he didn’t bother opening it but still checked underneath. That left one car, the car with it’s door slightly open. As Turner approached the door he couldn’t hide the sound of his boots crunching the snow made while he waded through two feet of the thick white snowbank. The freezing cold was starting to make his fingers go numb, prompting him to rub his hands together a couple times before he reached out and gripped the door. With a grunt he slid the door open the rest of the way, it was mostly empty from the look of it. Turner quietly pushed himself up into the boxcar and looked around, shining his flashlight on the few crates and barrels he saw within.

“Sheriff’s Department.” Turner announced aloud as he walked towards one end of the car and examined some of the crates, just in case someone was there. The crates were pretty much nondescript, made of wood and nailed together. It appeared, however, that they had been tampered with, as if someone had slid them out of place. He quietly turned and walked towards the other end of the car, his free hand now resting on his holstered sidearm. The Deputy flashed his light around the crates, they appeared like they’d been moved as well. On the floor near one of the crates was an odd purplish dust substance, it appeared to be spilling out from a slight hole that had been busted in the side of the crate when it was loaded.

“Hey, Sheriff?” Turner said as he took his radio from his belt and crouched down to get a good look at the dust more closely. “I’ve got a couple crates here in the last car, one of them’s busted slightly and there’s purple dust spilling out.”

”Is it glowing?” Long Wire replied, Turner paused for a second and turned off his maglight. The dust was emitting a soft purple glow as he observed it, which surprised him slightly. He flicked the light back on.

“Yeah, how’d you guess?” Turner asked in a surprised tone as he stood back up to his full height.

”Because I’ve seen stuff like this before. Wait there, Deputy. Make sure the car is empty, and no matter what you do, do not touch the dust.” Long Wire’s voice was more serious than Turner was used to, it really put into perspective just how important this dust must’ve been. The Deputy drew his side arm and flashed his light through the car, he even went as far as to make sure that no one was hiding on the ceiling with some sort of wall climbing spell.

Turner stood there, watching as night began to settle in, the wind of the blizzard began to grow even stronger while visibility continued to go down. The only source of light outside was the flashing lights of Turner’s parked truck, the wind whipped around inside the boxcar. Turner could see some of the purple dust blowing into the corner, but no matter how curious he was he didn’t go near it. Outside in the cold freezing night he couldn’t see anything, no stars, no hills, just snow and the abyss. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he quietly slipped his sidearm back into its holster and hopped down out of the car. He only went as far as his truck, keeping the open car in sight at all times. Pulling it closer to the car made him feel less exposed, and it afforded him the chance to grab his rifle.

There he stood, no more than a quarter mile from civilization, but in that night it might as well have been a thousand. He could hear wailing on the wind, like the souls of the damned calling out towards him. Nonetheless, he stood his ground and cocked the lever ten times. The tension in the air was immense, Turner hadn’t felt this unnerved even when he was facing down the killer that had come to be known as the Black Briar Butcher. There was something out there, he could sense it… Something was stalking him. Was it after him? Was it after what was in the car? Did it matter? His mind began to run wild, at the edge of his vision he could see movement. Was something pacing out there, watching him?

“Sheriff… Wherever you are, please hurry.” Turner said into his radio, only lowering his rifle for the brief moment it took him to speak. He expected a reply, or a chiding remark about being afraid of the dark. There was nothing... Nothing but garbled static. He couldn’t tell if it was the cold or fear that had him shaking, but whatever the reason he didn’t like it.

There was something about blizzards at night that unsettled him to a certain extent, not knowing what was lurking out there beyond the veil of mist and snow was like jet fuel to a mind so prone to running wild with fear of the unknown. However, as he stood there with his rifle at the ready he found his thoughts drifting somewhere else. The sound of the wind whipping around him faded as he thought about what he would be doing after this. Undoubtedly there would be some paperwork, but after that… He would need to go to the General Store, after all, Sam needed him to get milk.

They hadn’t had a chance to look at the houses on their list yet, both Turner and Sam had been busy with their various tasks around town, but they were going to get a chance to some time in the coming weeks, at least he hoped. As Turner stood there waist deep in what was now more like three feet of snow he reflected on just how much his life had changed in recent months, sometimes for the better, other times for the worse… But no matter what, Sam was there. The thought of sharing a house with her wasn’t so far fetched to him now.

Grunting along the side of the train drew his attention away from his thoughts and back to the task at hand, Turner looked and found that Sheriff Long Wire was trudging through what was to him neck deep snow. Despite that he didn’t seem to look annoyed, just determined.

“Alright… Show me the drugs.” Long Wire said, panting as he stopped in front of the boxcar and hoisted himself up. Turner raised an eyebrow but followed him, then gestured to the box where the dust was spilling out. “Damn… Good thing I had you check the cars out.”

“That’s a drug?” Turner asked, Long Wire nodded as he examined the shipping crate.

“Yup, Zebrican Night Terror. I haven’t seen any in my county for goin’ on ten years.” Long Wire replied before he looked at Turner. “I doubt the engineer and conductor are in on it, the rail line basically will rent a car to anyone that can afford it, and they don’t normally check the cargo beyond the manifest. From what I see, these were meant to be shipped to Las Pegasus.”

“I take it we ain’t gonna let them get there?” Turner asked, Long Wire looked up and simply nodded.

“Nope, we ain’t. Go back the truck up to the door and lower the tailgate. We’re impounding everything in this car.” The Sheriff ordered, Turner nodded and made his way out of the car. What followed was an hour and a half of both Long Wire and Turner loading the contraband crates into the back of the truck, taking statements, and eventually sealing the boxcar in question with crime scene tape. The next town down the line would be responsible for processing it, as they were the closest town with sufficient equipment for processing drug evidence. With the last crate loaded and the boxcar padlocked shut Turner and Long Wire drove back to the train station where the engineer and conductor were waiting.

Turner and the Sheriff parked in view of the locomotive, though Turner remained behind to guard the truck as Long Wire went to talk with the two train operators. He watched them chat for a minute before he got out of the truck and leaned against it. This was the first chance he’d had to see the locomotive up close, unlike the trains that normally came through Silverlake this was a big one. It reminded him of the old Union Pacific Big Boy model he’d had growing up, massive and imposing, a testament to engineering…

After a couple minutes the two crewmen climbed back into the engine, Turner could see the firepony that had been stoking the fire box lean out to look at them before he disappeared back inside the engine behind the steam. Long Wire meanwhile was walking back towards the truck, as he did so the bell at the front of the locomotive began to ring loudly across the vast dark landscape. If there was any engine that could handle the harsh conditions of winter, Turner figured it was that thing.

A loud, deep wail echoed from the whistle across the fields and hills for miles around. It blew several times as the train began to roll forward, it’s boiler echoing as smoke and steam billowed from the stacks. By the time Long Wire had reached the truck the train was pulling out of the station, it’s whistle continuing to blow in the distance as it drove off into the night. Turner climbed back in the truck and waited for Long Wire to join him, once the two of them were in the truck they made their way to the Sheriff’s Office to fill out the paperwork and secure the contraband until it could be safely transferred to Canterlot for testing and disposal.

---

Sam quietly sighed as she sat on the couch in the living room of Turner’s apartment. Two plates had been set out for dinner, but she’d eaten hours before. Turner’s meal was covered in foil and waiting for him, Sam had already washed her plate in the sink and put it away. The radio was on in the background, softly playing country music that sounded all the same. Sam had to admit, it had taken a little getting used to, but she would be able to listen to some different types of music when she moved her CD player and other belongings down from Canterlot. There was so much that she’d need to bring down, how she would do it was unknown… Likely by train.

She looked to the clock, it was nearly eight thirty and still no word from Turner. A while ago she’d heard the whistle of a train blowing from the station, louder than what she normally heard during the day or night. It was even audible over the gusting wind and storm, a storm which didn’t do anything but worry the woman more. She knew that Turner had expected to finish working on the truck that day, but what if he hadn’t? What if he’d had to walk home in the snow and ended up getting lost, or frost bitten, or worse. It was a worry that she wasn’t used to feeling, and not just from the storm.

Turner had told her many times that comparatively speaking, being a Deputy in Evergreen County was pretty safe. That didn’t stop her from worrying though, every time he put on his hat and badge, every time he walked out that door and gave her that same little grin… She couldn’t help but worry it was the last time. After twenty more minutes of sitting there she stood up and started pacing, usually it was Turner that couldn’t reign in his imagination but here she was thinking of every possible terrible thing that could've happened. Just as she was about to go get her coat to go looking there was the familiar sound of a key sliding into the front door.

Cold wind blew in from the outside as Turner pushed the door open, quickly getting inside before closing the door quickly. He was covered from head to toe in snow, in both hands he was holding various grocery bags, and as always his hat was resting on his head. As he stood there looking at Sam he could tell that she’d been worried, in hindsight he probably should’ve called…

“Hey, I’m sorry I’m late.” Turner said as he adjusted his grip on the bags in his arms, Sam looked at him with a raised eyebrow as she looked at the bags. “We had a big train come in unexpectedly, it somehow got lost. We also captured about two hundred kilos of Zebrican Night Terror… Some sort of drug.” Turner wiped his boots and walked towards the kitchen, quickly putting the bags on the counter before coming back into the living room. Sam was just looking at him quietly, crossing her arms and giving him a slightly annoyed expression. The man removed his hat and put it on the rack by the door before hanging up his jacket. He then took off his gloves and tucked them into his jacket pocket.

“You didn’t call…” Sam said simply as she looked at him, Turner nodded quietly as he put his hands on his hips and looked at the floor. “I was worried sick! I didn’t know if you’d gotten lost out there or something.” She pushed a bit of hair out of her face and looked off to the side, Turner quietly walked close and put a hand on her shoulder. She gasped slightly but didn’t pull away. “Your hands are cold…”

“Yeah, sorry…” Turner said, he looked at her apologetically. “And you’re right, I should’ve called. I’m sorry about that too.” Turner left one hand on her shoulder while his other hand went down and took hold of hers. “I been doin’ a lot of thinkin’ tonight.” Sam felt him begin to sway with her, in time with the music playing in the background. That was one of the ways he’d make things up to her, as it seemed the radio only ever played slow songs after dark. Whenever they’d be fighting, no matter how heated it became, he’d come and dance slowly with her.

“What about?” Sam asked as she reluctantly began to sway as well, none of the guys she’d ever dated before had even considered dancing with her unless there was club music blasting in the background. Granted, Turner was pretty bad when it came to slow dancing, or dancing in general, but it was the thought that counted. He gradually moved his hand down from her shoulder down to her waist and pulled her a little closer.

“You, me… Us.” Turner softly replied as the two swayed to the slow romantic song playing over the radio. “I came to the realization that I like this… Coming home and not being the only one living there.” Sam smiled faintly as she leaned a bit closer and rested her head against his while they continued to move in time with the soft melody. “So, I’m onboard… I’ve got a little money set aside, I can help with the down payment or whatever it is we end up doing in whichever house we end up living in.”

“You don’t need to do that, Turner… I’ve got more than enough.” Sam said with a slight giggle, Turner shook his head slowly as he closed his eyes.

“I know, but it’s going to be our home, right? I should contribute too.” Turner said softly, Sam quietly thought about it for a couple moments before she nodded her head and looked at him with a bit of a grin. Eight years ago when she first came to Equestria guys like him were at the top of her list of people to never spend time with. To her he would’ve been just some dumb redneck hick, and someone in law enforcement at that… Granted, her options were limited here in Equestria, but despite that the old hatreds that had brewed between Blue and Red, Left and Right, had long cooled over. She just couldn’t get over how odd it seemed, but she supposed as she got older her priorities changed.

“Do you think I’m old?” Sam asked aloud, Turner looked at her with a rather baffled expression, though he didn’t break his stride to his credit. “I mean… Is twenty eight old to you?”

“No.” Turner said quickly, though it was clear he wasn’t sure if he’d said the right thing. “I mean, I’m twenty seven… I think, kinda lost track, but I don’t consider myself old.” Sam smiled at him faintly and kissed him on the cheek.

“Good answer.” She whispered before putting her arms around his back as they continued to sway. After a couple moments she paused and looked at him. “Wait, what about the groceries?”

“Shoot.” Turner said as he briefly looked towards the kitchen. “I totally forgot, wait here…” Sam watched as the man in the Deputy’s uniform made his way into the kitchen. She looked at the radio for a moment before she sat down on the couch beside the lamp that illuminated the whole room. She listened as the man put the groceries away, but it dawned on her that she’d only asked for him to get milk.

“Paige! Honey?” Sam called out, there was a quick ‘Yeah?’ from the kitchen. “What all did you get at the store aside from milk?”

“Essentials and provisions, there projecting four to five feet of snow total, we might be snowed in for a couple days. Also a little something special.” Turner said, his voice muffled as he was leaning into the fridge and putting something away. Sam was a bit floored by the casualness he’d said that, so that was Gwen meant by knowing what she was getting into Five feet of snow in one night, how could anyone stand such a thing? After a couple minutes Turner returned from the kitchen with the plate of food that she’d set aside for him and sat on the couch beside her with it. He removed the foil and looked at the plate, from the looks of it it was… meatloaf? At one point it had been, at least. Maybe a meatloaf that had been used to reenter Earth’s atmosphere.

Quietly he used his fork to break off a piece of the loaf and put in in his mouth, he chewed a couple moments before swallowing, all while Sam was watching his reaction. After a couple seconds he started coughing and pounded on his chest a couple times.

“It’s g-great!” Turner said sheepishly, Sam just smiled and shook her head.

“No it’s not, it was like eating a charcoal briquette.” Sam admitted as she laughed and watched Turner quietly looking at the plate. “Look, I can handle some criticism, if we’re gonna live together we both need to be able to.”

“Okay… Yeah, that’s pretty bad.” Turner said between coughing fits, he stood up with the plate and made for the kitchen. “Good thing I stopped at Bubba Gum’s Diner on the way home, I wasn’t sure if you’d eaten or not so I got you that turkey wrap you like.”

“God, I love you!” Sam said loudly as she also stood up and followed him into the kitchen to get her meal. Turner had left it in the fridge as he was planning on saving the meals for lunch the next day if they didn’t eat them that night. Thankfully they got to them soon enough that they were still warm. Just as they were sitting down to eat the lights flickered, a couple seconds later the power went out. “Did you pay the bill?” Sam asked sarcastically.

“It’s the snow, must’ve busted one of the power lines.” Turner replied from the darkened side of the table. “I’ve heard of low light dining but this is ridiculous.” Sam giggled a little bit as she heard Turner get up and walk to the kitchen, followed by a thud. “Dammit… Stubbed my toe.” A couple minutes and some rummaging later she heard him come back and sit down, her eyes were adjusting to the dark enough she could see him as he set a couple tea candles on the table. He was also holding a book of matches, which he used to light the candles. “That’s better.”

The two of them quietly ate their meals, the silence that settled over them was comfortable, as they were both rather hungry and more focused on their food than idle chit chat. As usual Turner went for the cheeseburger while Sam had her turkey wrap, in around ten minutes each of them had finished…

“So… Drugs?” Sam asked, Turner paused before he nodded. “A lot of them? Were they going here?”

“Nah, Las Pegasus, the train got diverted on the wrong track because they ran a red light.” Turner leaned on the table, looking at Sam’s face as it was illuminated by the softly flickering candle light. “I dunno, I think there might be more to it…” Turner picked up the aluminum tin that his food had come in, as well as Sam’s, before he walked into the kitchen to get rid of them. Afterwards he came back and sat back down across from her, his eyes drawn to her features accentuated by the glow. “How was your day?”

“It was alright, I was just looking through some of the local papers at the jobs that might be open.” Sam said as she leaned on the table, her eyes drawn to Turner’s well groomed face. "I thought about maybe applying to work at the tailor’s shop, Pintuck I think her name is.” Turner nodded supportively, his expression was one of somewhat tiredness. “Though, maybe raising chickens and pigs would be good too…”

“You? Raising chickens and pigs?” Turner asked with surprise, Sam nodded quickly. “You never struck me as the ‘chicken and pig raising’ type.”

“Well, I never thought I was either… It’s just an idea, I’m not dead set on doing that.” Sam shrugged, the two of the lapsed into another comfortable silence with just the wind blowing outside to fill the void.

“You know, no matter what you do, as long as it makes you happy you go ahead and be the best damn pig and chicken farmer you can be.” Turner spoke after a couple minutes, a slight smile. His eyes glanced over to the nearby wall clock, barely illuminated by the glow of the candles. “Shoot, it’s nine already?” Sam looked over and hummed her own surprise. “Guess we should turn in.”

“We don’t have to… Not right away, at least. If you catch my meaning.” Sam replied with a smirk, twirling her hair slightly as she looked at Turner across the table. The man looked at her with a bit of a surprised expression, there was excitement… But it was followed by a bit of apprehension.

“Hey, I would love to… But…” Turner quietly looked off to the side. “What about the risk? They don’t make condoms designed for humans and I know they don’t have a pill that works with humans…” It was a discussion they had had a couple times in the past, and Sam could see his point. She also knew there were two other solutions to that problem which he hadn’t perhaps thought of. At least he was confident enough to talk about it with her like an actual adult instead of dancing around the issue.

“I get it…” Sam said as she stood up and blew out the candles. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a couple ideas if you’re willing to hear them. Let’s go to bed.” Turner stood as well, unsure of what she had in mind. The two of them walked through the darkness of the apartment, feeling their way along the walls until they reached the bedroom where they’d turn in for the evening.... Eventually.

The Apartment (Warning: Adult Content)

Sam and Turner had made their way to the bed with relative quickness, even in the pitch blackness of their bedroom they had its location memorized. The cold wind outside was a stark contrast to the heat between the two of them as each started to strip out of their clothes with reckless abandon. Sam pulled Turner close as she tossed her shirt to the side, kissing him passionately while he slipped a hand down to his waist and began to undo his belt and pant buttons. This wasn’t the first time things had become a hot and heavy between the two of them. They had discussed what they were and weren’t comfortable with before, and there had definitely been some intimate relations, even if they weren’t in the usual sense.

They had showered together before, watched one another masturbate, even helped in some cases. However, neither had actually come close to actual penetration, as both of them were well aware of the risks involved since they didn’t have protection against pregnancy. Still, over the weeks and months they’d known each other it had become more and more difficult to fight the urge to just rut like animals. Tonight, it seemed, they had very likely reached the limit to how long they could put off the temptation.

Turner pushed Sam back onto their bed as he slipped out of the remainder of his clothes, the woman followed suit and in a matter of moments both of them were completly naked. Their bare skin against one another was simply electrifying, Turner couldn’t see Sam in the darkness but he could feel her soft skin against his own. Without any light he had to feel his way up her entire body before he found her right breast, with his hand he squeezed it softly prompting Sam to moan into his lips. She could feel his stiffening member against her stomach and lower abdomen, the pulsing piece of flesh was something she could hardly resist.

“Paige, I need you inside me!” Sam cried out while leaning her head back, her body quivered at the thought of finally having someone fuck her after nearly a decade of just using her fingers or dildos. Turner pushed himself up at Sam’s request, gripping her hips as he stood beside the bed and pulled her closer. His cock was ready and waiting, fully erect as a result of just the anticipation of what was to come. “Just make sure you pull out…”

Turner gripped his member with one hand while he felt down Sam’s stomach in the darkness with the other, sliding past her belly button lower and lower until he felt the smoothly shaved patch of skin that told him he’d located her pussy. With a slightly animalistic grunt, the man slid his cock into her waiting body. She was wet with anticipation already, making it easy for him to push himself deeper inside. Sam let out a shrill moan of delight, it was everything she had been missing since she’d come to Equestria. Turner moaned as well, as he was having an equally pleasurable sensation.

“F-Fuck, you’re tight.” Turner grunted as he slowly began to pull out before thrusting back in, he bit his lower lip while using both hands to grip Sam’s legs for better support. “Fuckin’ tightest woman I ever met!”

“That’s it! Just-Just like that! Yes!” Sam cried out as she brought her hands to her bare tits, fondling one while lifting the other to her lips to give her own nipple a bite. Turner’s movements began to pick up speed, and with that speed came more force and more pleasure than Sam had felt in years. Something about being fucked by another human being enhanced the experience for both of them, as it became evident that their long dry spells had finally come to an end.

The bed creaked and groaned with each movement they made, the air becoming warmer and warmer as things progressed. The window to the outside began to fog up, making the dim light in the room even dimmer. That didn’t stop the two humans from rutting like beasts, the floodgates had opened and neither of them could stop the coming tide. Even if they could, they wouldn’t have.

“Flip me over!” Sam called out after a couple minutes, her request was answered almost immediately as Turner briefly pulled out of her completely. She felt his hands grip her ass, his somewhat calloused fingers digging into the soft smooth flesh. It took only ten seconds for him to flip her onto her stomach, at which point she moved and got onto her hands and knees. This allowed Turner a much better angle than before, one he happily capitalized on. Sam cried out once again as she felt her man’s throbbing member slip back into her sopping wet love canal.

The two of them carried on like this for several minutes, Turner leaned forward as he continued to pound deeply into Sam. His hand coming around her waist and resting on one of her breasts, which he gave a firm squeeze. The softness of her skin was something that drove him wild, the effort she put into maintaining her beautiful olive skin was astounding. Sam meanwhile had leaned her head to the side, loud throaty moans echoed past her lips as each of Turner’s thrusts plunged deep inside her and pushed her shoulders into the mattress.

Sam was the first to reach her peak, her moans becoming more and more ragged until the culminated into a long and loud cry of ecstasy. Her walls clamped down on Turner as he continued to thrust into her, the added tightness made it even harder for him to hold back, but he was able to get himself under control. He pulled out of her as she finished coming down from her orgasm, stroking himself while Sam blearily slid off the bed and onto the floor in front of Turner. She was on her knees, and despite the darkness she knew exactly where to go.

Turner moaned in surprise and contentment as he felt her warm lips wrap around the head of his cock, Sam’s tongue swirled around the tip as she began to bob her head quickly up and down. She could tell Turner was close to his own peak, and if he couldn’t finish inside her pussy then she figured she could let him finish inside her mouth. Her blowjob skills were a little rusty, but she could still tell they were having a good effect on Turner. She knew it wouldn’t be long when the man put his hand on the back of her head. Turner let out a final loud grunt as he leaned his head back, Sam felt the thick ropes of cum erupt into her mouth. She stayed there, waiting until he was finished before finally swallowing it all.

Turner, considerably spent, collapsed on the bed. Sam joined him soon after, they were so exhausted, so utterly drained, that all they could do was wrap their arms around one another before passing out into a state of deep satisfied sleep.

Author's Notes:

I haven't written something like this in a while, so forgive me if it isn't that good... or long... Anyway, later taters!

Mister Turner Goes To Canterlot

Turner quietly adjusted his jacket as he stood beside his truck, his sunglasses resting on his nose as he stood in three and a half feet of snow. It had stopped snowing thankfully after around two days, but the temperature had yet to get warm enough for any of it to melt. The sun overhead reflected off the vast fields of white, which is why Turner was compelled to wear his sunglasses. Currently he and his truck were parked near the train station, a large steam locomotive was pulled up down the line aways while the passenger cars were being loaded and unloaded.

Those weren’t the cars that Turner was interested in though, as he stood there with his rifle in hand he looked out over the landscape while several stallions wearing Guard Armor loaded crates of Zebrican Night Terror off the back of his truck into a secure government cargo car. Sheriff Long Wire was supposed to be there as well, but the older stallion lived a good thirty minutes out of town on a good day. With the snow as high as it was he wasn’t likely to get in for another two hours.

The locomotive hissed with steam as the bright sun glinted off it’s polished black paint job, the train was set to leave within the next ten minutes. At least Turner was able to make the evidence transfer with the Narcotic Enforcement Bureau, they had already loaded the first four crates with only the damaged one remaining. Turner watched as the stallions pulled on protective equipment before picking up the crate which was leaking the purple dust. They placed it in a special bin before a unicorn used his magic to gather up any of the dust that had been left behind in the bed of the truck or had fallen on the ground in the movement.

“Alright, Deputy… That’s the last of it. Just need your Sheriff to sign for it.” One of the grey colored NEB Agents said, Turner looked at him for a second before he shook his head.

“He ain’t here, it’s likely to be a couple hours before he gets through the snow. Can’t I sign?” Turner asked, the stallion paused for a second before he disappeared back in the car to talk to someone. Turner meanwhile got in his truck and pulled it a couple feet away from the train, just so it wouldn’t be too close when it departed. Once he’d finished and put it in park he got out again and trudged back towards the train car. By that point the NEB Agent had reappeared, the Deputy could see on his face that the answer was something he wasn’t gonna like.

“We need the Sheriff’s Signature or someone to verify it’s contents upon arrival, chain of evidence has to be airtight.” The stallions aid apologetically before he continued with an explanation, his gold armor was glaringly bright with all the light it was receiving. “We’ve had problems with evidence going missing or being tampered with before.”

“So, someone has to physically go with that stuff or else you need to offload it?” Turner asked, the stallion nodded. “Well, shit, why didn’t just say so?” The Deputy took his radio from his belt and cleared his throat before speaking. “Dispatch, Unit Two.”

”Unit Two, Dispatch. Send traffic.” Buckeye’s voice replied, lately the mare had been getting into the role of dispatcher and ensured everyone was using proper radio protocol… It could be annoying at times, but it was also efficient.

“NEB Agents need the Sheriff’s signature or someone to accompany them until they drop off the evidence or else we gotta unload all this stuff. I figured since I’m right here…” Turner trailed off as he leaned against his truck, listening as the train’s bell started to ring slowly. The train would need to depart in five minutes or else they’d have to unload everything and mess up schedules for at least a dozen other trains. “They gotta head out in five minutes.” He added.

“Roger… Accompany the NEB Agents as long as they need you, I’ll fill in the Sheriff when he gets here. I can hold down the fort. Want me to contact Sam and have her pick up the truck?” Buckeye’s timely response wasn’t even half done by the time Turner had made his way over to the train car and was climbing up into it. Once he was up he responded over the radio.

“Negative, Dispatch. I’m gonna call her and let her know what’s up.” Turner finished, Buckeye responded with a quick ‘Roger.’. before the radio went off. The Deputy reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone, in the background he could hear the locomotive’s engine begin to ring its bell. Sam was on speed dial, within a couple seconds he had started a call. The NEB Agent, content that someone would be accompanying the evidence motioned him away from the door before he slid the metal aperture shut and secured it with several latches. Turner, still holding onto his rifle in one hand with his phone in the other, went towards a couple chairs set up in the dark and dingy rail car.

It was similar to a mail car, though it was far more secure. Metal reinforced walls, metal bars over the windows and what looked like a spellshield as well. There were chairs for the agents, a couple tables, and the area where the evidence had been secured off in the corner. Turner walked towards one of the tables and sat down, leaning his rifle against the wall as the bell continued to toll outside.

”Paige! I was just thinking about you.” Sam’s voice said joyfully over the phone as Turner heard her pick up. ”Specifically what you could do with those handcuffs of yours…”

“Hey, not while I’m working.” Turner replied in a hushed tone. “Last time you talked like that I couldn’t get up from my desk for thirty minutes.” Sam simply giggled as Turner let out a sigh and looked out one of the barred up windows before removing his mirrored aviator glasses and the hat that Sam had given him. Both of which he went about setting on the table. “I was just calling to let you know I’m probably going to be late tonight, I’ll explain more once I get back… Listen, I need you to head to the train station and pick up my truck.”

“Oh? Oh, okay, yeah no problem.” Sam replied with a chipper tone, Turner smiled and leaned back in his seat as the bell continued to ring from the front of the train. “You left the keys, right?”

“Yeah, they’re under the driver’s seat next to the tire iron… You remember how the four wheel drive works?” Turner asked, Sam let out a little scoff before once again speaking with mirth in her voice.

“Yes, I remember. Don’t worry about it, I’m getting my coat on now so it won’t be waiting long.” Sam’s voice was soothing as always, lately things had been smooth sailing between the two of them. They were communicating more, being more open about how they felt, all thanks to one night when the lights went out. “Do you have an idea what time you might be getting back?”

“Nope, this is the first time I’ve ridden a train anywhere. I’ll call you if I get an update, don’t worry.” Turner said as he stood up and stretched a bit, the NEB Agents were off at their own places doing whatever it was that NEB Agents did. “I gotta go, hon. I love you.”

“I love you too, be safe.” Sam replied, her concern was evident in her voice. To lift both their spirits she followed it up with something a little less dour. “Hurry back, we’ll celebrate your first trip out of town.”

“Sounds good, I’ll talk to you later.” Turner heard Sam give a slight hum before she hung up, he lowered the phone from his ear and slipped it back into his pocket. While phones were still rather rare to see in Equestria, as Gwen had predicted when they hit the shelves they’d become wildly popular. As he looked around he could see some of the NEB Agents were on their phones, doing what he didn’t know.

From the front of the train he heard the familiar howl of the steam locomotive’s powerful whistle, ever since that first train had been accidentally diverted to Silver Lake it seemed that the rail companies had been sending bigger trains, presumably because they could handle more cargo and cars. This train, for example, was around fifty cars long, mostly made up of cargo cars with only fifteen passenger cars in the rear. The train lurched forward as the locomotive started pulling ahead, despite that Turner didn’t stumble. As the train began to roll down the line he walked towards the lead NEB Agent, a unicorn mare by the name of Blazing Flare.

Unlike the other stallions who were varying shades of grey and wearing shined golden armor, Blazing Flare was wearing a blue jacket with the letters ‘NEB’ on the right breast portion of it and larger letters on the back. Her fur was an orangish red while her mane was a short crop of even darker red. As Turner walked closer he unzipped his jacket, as it was rather warm in the train car. His Deputy’s uniform was buttoned up as usual, as he knew that some higher government types could be sticklers for protocol. The Mare looked up from her clipboard as she noticed the man walking towards her, turning to face the Deputy with a neutral expression.

“‘Scuse me… Mind if I ask how far I’m accompanying this evidence?” Turner asked, gesturing to the crates in the Evidence lock up. Blazing Flare looked at him for a second before she lowered her clipboard.

“All the way.” She said simply, Turner raised an eyebrow at her prompting her to sigh. “All the way to our headquarters…” When that still left him with an unsure look on his face the mare took a deep breath. “In Canterlot.”

“Shit, that far?” Turner asked rhetorically, he looked around the room for a second before putting his hands on his hips in thought. “Well, guess it had to happen some time… Alright, any ETA on when we’re gonna be getting there?”

“We’ll get there when we get there.” Blazing Flare replied in an annoyed voice as she looked back at her clipboard, Turner merely rubbed his chin and started walking away. She was abrasive, of that there was no doubt. As he walked he could hear her mutter. “I guess even humans have hicks.” Turner briefly stopped, half tempted to turn around and give that mare a piece of his mind… Instead he closed his eyes and said the Serenity Prayer in his head, then walked over to the seat he’d chosen and removed his jacket. He rested the jacket on the back of the chair before sitting down and looking out the window as the train picked up speed, nothing but bright reflective white snow for miles in any direction.

The first hour or so he recognized the area and what they were going past pretty well, as they continued on the train began passing areas he was less familiar with. Mostly large rolling plains with patches of trees jutting up out of the snow. It wasn’t that dissimilar from riding a train in Wyoming, he couldn’t take his eyes off of just how far it all seemed the stretch. By the two hour mark they were flying down the tracks at sixty miles or so, the snow was a lot shallower which allowed the train to go a bit faster than it had been going before. Turner took that time to text the details he’d gotten from Blazing Flare back to Sam so she’d know what time to expect him home.

Hour number three hit, by that point Turner was leaned back in his seat with his hat pulled down over his eyes trying to get a little sleep. It wasn’t working, but the NEB Agents didn’t know that. Thinking that he was asleep he could hear them chattering together in hushed tones, still he heard them clear as day.

“So that’s the new human?” One of them asked quietly, Turner tilted his head ever so slightly so he could get a better idea of what was being said. “He’s bigger than I thought he’d be…”

“Well, yeah… He had to be to take down the Black Briar Butcher.” Another one replied, from the sound of his voice Turner could tell he’d likely heard some exaggerated story of how he’d taken in Mil Spec. It was not a fond memory. “He looks like one of those cowboys in the comics that my kid brother reads.”

“Comics based on humans aren’t real comics.” Another stallion piped up. “Have you read that one about the zombies and the guy with an army that destroys Equestria in two days? Totally unbelievable.”

“Not the point…” The first stallion said in an annoyed tone. “Still, if he was out there for six years without anyone noticing… Kinda makes you wonder who or what else could be hiding under our noses.”

“Like two hundred kilos of ZNT.” Blazing Flare’s voice cut in above the rest of the group, that caught Turner as strange. The clickclack of the railcars as they thundered down the tracks helped to soothe his nerves while he listened in, his eyes still hidden by the hat pulled down over his eyes. “It’s just a good thing that the train got diverted, otherwise who knows how long this operation would’ve gone unnoticed.”

Beyond that Turner lost interest in the conversation, and he actually did managed to fall asleep for a time. Three hours later he was awoken by the sound of the train’s whistle, the Deputy stood up and set his hat on the table before taking a look out the window. By this point he was long out of his depth, they’d passed through at least two more counties while he was out. There wasn’t a speck of any snow here, in fact it looked more like autumn was supposed to look. Leaves that were brown and red and yellow, as the train thundered past a row of trees it kicked up swirling vortices of leaves in its wake.

The trees gave way to something far more alien to Turner, a very large city. There were tall buildings that towered at least seven stories tall, and dozens of thatch roofed houses. Most notable was a massive crystal palace on the outskirts of the city, it stuck out like a sore thumb against the changing colors of fall. It had to be at least ten stories tall, it could’ve rivaled White Hall in Laramie. There had to be at least a couple thousand people living in that town, maybe even ten thousand. To his surprise the train wasn’t slowing down, either. This sprawling metropolis didn’t seem to be Canterlot, as he recalled Canterlot was located on a mountain…

He knew that there were big cities out there, like the one they were passing by out the window, but coming from Wyoming where the population of the state was estimated at only five hundred eighty thousand it was quite a big deal. As the train continued on it’s last hour towards Canterlot it began to wind its way up the mountain. Somehow a train of such size was going to be able to fit up to a city of over a hundred thousand residents, then somehow turn around and repeat the process only going down instead of up… That had to be one seriously big mountain side.

He was certainly not surprised to see that he was right, the mountainside that made up Canterlot was actually quite large. Large enough for the whole city to sit precariously perched on the edge of a tall, sheer rock face that just went down for around ten thousand feet. To top it all off, as the city came into view Turner could see structures massively tall buildings, one of which stretching a hundred stories or more in the air. The Deputy could only stand there, mouth agape, as he took in the sight of such a massive engineering achievement. The train was starting to slow down at this point, its’ whistle blowing every now and then as it went past railway crossings and passed further into the city.

“Fuck… Those are tall.” Turner mumbled as the train began to slow down considerably, its brakes were squealing as it started to pull its way through the train station. The whistle blew loudly a couple times more as the rail car gradually came to a stop. The Train station had a huge vaulted ceiling with a glass roof that he could see clear through, Turner looked around for a second before he went and put on his jacket and hat. He tucked his sunglasses into his breast pocket before grabbing his rifle and walking towards the door where the NEB Agents were preparing to unload the evidence.

“You don’t need to help.” Blazing Flare said sharply as she looked the Deputy over, Turner scowled but if she wanted to spend more time carrying heavy objects who was he to judge? One of the NEB Agents unlatched the heavy steel door and slid it open, allowing the loud chattering voices of the hundreds of ponies and other creatures roaming the station to reach Turner’s ears. A cart was pushed into place by a group of guardsponies while the NEB Agents offloaded the evidence, Turner watched closely as they took each one from the train and placed it on the well guarded cart. Once each crate had been set on it the NEB Agents disembarked with Turner not far behind them. “Deputy Turner.”

“Yeah?” Turner replied as he stood there, leaning against the train while looking down at the unicorn.

“For the Record, can you confirm that these are the evidence entrusted to us by your department?” Blazing Flare said firmly, Turner simply nodded which prompted a scowl from her. “I need you to say it, and then sign… This.” She levitated a clipboard over and held it up, as well as a pen. “With your full name.”

“To the best of my knowledge this is the evidence, yes.” Turner said in a slightly annoyed tone before he took the pen and clipboard, he read over the document which basically said that as far as he knew nothing had been tampered with under the threat of being charged with perjury yadda yadda yadda… Reluctantly he signed his name, his full name.

“Thank you, Deputy…” Blazing Flare took the document and looked it over. “Paige Turner? Your name is Paige?”

“Yes. My name is Paige, though I prefer just Turner.” Turner said flatly, the mare seemed to be holding back a giggle which prompted a sign from the Deputy as he adjusted his jacket. “Look, I escorted the damn evidence now can I go home? At this rate I’ll be lucky to get back by ten o’clock.”

“We’ll arrange for a ticket for you, the earliest that can be done is tomorrow.” Flares said as she handed the clipboard to one of the NEB Agents. Once again, Turner sighed and put his hand on his hips. “You should also be careful with that rifle of yours, it may be common in Evergreen County to carry something so openly but you’ll find the ponies of Canterlot a bit more… Skittish.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Turner said flatly before looking around. “Can I at least get a ride to… I don’t know, somewhere?”

“We can arrange for that, the earliest that would be is…” The mare said in that same dull tone of hers.

“Tomorrow, yeah, I get it…” Turner groaned. “Fuck it, I’ll figure something out… Do you need me for anything else or can I go?” Blazing Flares simply responded with a nod and actually shooed him away. With that little bit of encouragement Turner set off through the throngs of ponies and all other manner of strange creature. He didn’t pay them much mind, walking as he normally would towards an information counter. The ponies, however, were stopping to stare as the man casually walked past so casually. As he came up on the counter he noted that the mare behind it was chewing gum and looking down in her lap… Likely at her phone. “‘Scuse me… Can you point me in the direction of an exit?” Without looking up the mare pointed with her hoof at a door to the right of her, she didn’t say a word and just continued to chew her gum.

With a shrug Turner walked up to the door and pushed it open, stepping out into the bright sunlight and the bustling cacophony of noise that came from a big city. As Turner looked around at the massive crowds and cramped streets of the city he felt a strange sensation of anxiety wash over him. Like invisible walls had been set up to block any chance of escape, it felt like if he went anywhere near the crowds he’d be overwhelmed. With a sigh he reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone, then looked through his contacts. There weren’t many. He picked Gwen first, figuring that it seemed likely she’d be in one of the downtown buildings that seemed to be all around him.

”Hello?” Gwen’s voice said over the phone, she sounded confused.

“Gwen, it’s me Turner… You got a second?” The Deputy replied, there were a couple seconds of silence before Gwen responded.

”Sure, where are you? I hear a huge crowd in the background.” Gwen asked, what followed was a quick rundown of events that already had occurred. Turner left out a couple bits, like how the phone call with Sam had first started and the bit where he fell asleep, but other than that it all pretty much came out as it happened. ”Well… Shit, I don’t really know what to do here. I’ve got a meeting in ten minutes otherwise I’d come pick you up. You should start making your way to the Castle, that’s where Thomas is… And call ahead, the guards over there get twitchy.”

“Alright… Later.” Turner sighed as Gwen hung up and once again he was on his own. Thomas’ number was next to be dialed as Turner started walking through the crowds, taking deep breaths and doing his best to remain calm. He’d never been in crowds so thick, unruly mobs of ponies and what he assumed were griffons or something seemed to unnerve him more than would be normal. As the phone rang and Turner kept walking more ponies would stop and stare at the Deputy strolling through their cosmopolitan streets… A stark contrast to the upscale nature of Canterlot as a whole.

”Hey, Turner. What’s up?” Thomas asked as he picked up, once again Turner relayed the story of what had happened as he had to Gwen. All the while he was making his way through the city, following street signs and his intuition. He could see the castle gates about ten blocks away as he walked past street vendors and shops. ”I see… Well, yeah you should definitely come here. This actually worked out really well, my boss and I were just talking about you.”

“Your boss? Twilight’s there?” Turner asked in confusion as he continued pushing his way through the crowd, he made sure that he kept his rifle secure in his hand with the safety on and the barrel pointed towards the pavement. Carriages and carts were being pushed and pulled along on the streets beside the sidewalk, all very busy and in a hurry to be somewhere.

”Oh, no she’s not my boss anymore. Since we’re in a relationship now HR made me move to a new princess’ staff, I work for Celestia.” Thomas explained, in the background he thought he heard someone speaking. ”She says ‘Hi’, by the way. Looking forward to meeting you.”

“Uh huh…” Turner said in a rather unbelieving tone, he stepped out into a crosswalk right as a yellow carriage was about to run a stop sign. It practically hit Turner, prompting him to smack the front of the carriage in frustration. “Hey! I’m walkin’ here!” The carriage driver looked at him in surprise before sheepishly nodding. Turner resumed walking while the carriage driver continued on his way. “Anyway, I’ll be there in about five minutes? Maybe? Just make sure her highnesses goon squad doesn’t light me up, okay?”

”They aren’t a goon squad… But yes, I’ll tell them. See you in a few.” With that Thomas hung up and Turner tucked his phone back into his pocket, as he continued making his way through the city he found himself more and more enthralled by the marketing everywhere. No doubt it was Gwen’s handiwork, and it seemed to be doing its job considering how many ponies seemed to be out shopping that day. After five or six minutes they thinned out considerably, replaced instead by ponies with cameras and wearing fanny packs who were snapping pictures of the looming Castle.

Turner stopped a couple yards in front of the gate, just admiring it for himself. It was big, made of marble, and it looked expensive as hell to maintain. He was just glad he didn’t live in Canterlot, the taxes for upkeep of that estate had to be astronomical. With that last thought he started walking towards the gate again, some of the ponies stopped snapping pictures of the castle and instead started snapping pictures of him. Again, he didn’t really notice, and if he had he wouldn’t really have cared. The guards standing at the front gate straightened up a bit as he got closer, word had only come down a couple minutes prior about the Deputy’s arrival.

“Deputy Turner?” One of them asked.

“Yeah.” Turner replied as he took his wallet from his jacket pocket and displayed his ID to the stallions. “So… I can just go in?” The guards looked at his ID, after a couple seconds one shrugged. He, being a unicorn, undid the lock on the gate and pushed them open.

“Go on ahead, but we ask that you leave your rifle here… You can keep your sidearm. It’s just, there’s kids on tour in there….” One of the guards asked, Turner briefly looked at his rifle for a moment before hesitantly handing it over to the guard. “Thanks, I’ll have it sent up with the next patrol when there aren’t any civilians around.”

“Appreciate it, have a good one.” Turner tipped his hat briefly before he just walked through the gate. What was so odd for the guards and pretty much everyone else watching was the fact that the front gate was hardly ever used, only heads of state or the Princesses themselves ever walked through the front gate. Anyone who wasn’t one of those usually had to be screened for hours at a time, but here was Turner just walking up the front driveway like it was nothing. Honestly, Turner found the castle grounds to be a bit too… manicured for his tastes. There were plants and bushes and trees sure, but they were all too perfect. Every leaf in place, every blade of grass cut to a precise height, it just didn’t sit right with him.

There was a notable chill in the air, but not as bad as it had been down in Evergreen County. The massive castle loomed ahead of him, spires climbing hundreds if not thousands of feet in the air and tall walls that towered around the area. The driveway was paved with cobblestone, his boots thudded against them while he continued to examine the shining white exterior. After a couple minutes he came upon a set of massive doors that lead presumably in the castle, seeing as there wasn’t any sort of doorbell Turner opted to just push on one and see if it opened.

It was surprisingly easy to push the massive slab of wood and metal inwards, he was quick to slip through and close the door behind him. The room he entered was less brightly lit than outside, there were massive paintings and tapestries hanging from the marble walls. Large stone pillars reached from the floor to the ceiling, some of them inset with gold or silver. The floor was marble as well, and a series of red carpets were spread out. The room seemed to be a T Intersection of sorts. One hallway stretched right in front of Turner while another ran perpendicular to that one.

Seeing as he had no idea where to go, he instead opted to wait where he was until someone came along that he could ask for directions. If need be he’d just call Thomas. In the meantime he took his phone from his pocket and began to type a text message to Sam, he was still getting used to that aspect of communicating with her, he’d never been a big texter. After around five minutes of typing he had summed up what had happened and that he’d likely be gone until tomorrow.

“Aaaand… Send.” Turner said aloud before tapping the little button on his phone, at which point he shut off the screen and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He looked up and sure enough there was some pegasus mare wearing a maid uniform walking towards him. It must’ve been a sight to see. A sheriff’s deputy standing in front of a pony dressed as a french maid while standing in a gilded castle. “‘Scuse me, I’m a little lost.”

“Oh, I know. The Princess sent me to collect you, follow me.” The Mare replied, adjusting her little bonnet, her grey fur was oddly familiar. Turner couldn’t quite figure it out, why did most ponies working at the castle or for the Princess in general come in varying shades of grey? Was it racism, or more accurately… Pigmentism? This was what consumed his thoughts as the mare lead him up a flight of stairs, then another flight of stairs, and another, and another… By the time they stopped Turner was feeling a bit winded. As expected, the castle looked just as gilded and fancy as it had since he first walked in, though Turner paid less and less attention to the decor as time wore on.

“Hey, question.” Turner said as he followed the Maid towards a large set of doors, the mare hummed in reply. “Why do all the ponies that work here and all the guards have like… White or grey fur for the most part?”

“Magic.” The mare replied simply, she adjusted her bonnet for a moment and lifted it a little. A wave of color washed over her, revealing her fur was actually more of a soft cranberry color. “Enchanted uniforms… Grey and white just match the marble better.” She lowered the bonnet back down and her fur went back to it’s shade of grey. “We get to choose what shade of grey though.”

“Uh huh… Good to know.” Turner said quietly as the mare stopped in front of the large doors and gestured to them. “They’re in there?” The mare nodded. “You don’t talk much.”

“Only when I’m working…” The mare replied with a shrug. “Anyway, they’re waiting on you.” Turner nodded and gave her a slight wave as she started to walk away, the Deputy then turned towards the double doors and pushed them open. They were far less easy, which was odd because they were considerably smaller than the front door.

“Magic, I guess…” Turner muttered as he finally shoved the doors open. “It’s always magic.” He stepped forward into the room and looked around while close the doors behind him. “So much magic why don’t they put in some elevators or something?” He took note that the room was much smaller, like a sitting room of some kind with a large window that looked out over the front of the castle and the driveway where Turner had come up. There were a couple couches there that looked like they were right out of Buckingham Palace, as well as a coffee table which had a pair of mugs resting on it. Turner quietly removed his hat and walked towards the window, peeking outside at what there was to see.

There was a door off to the side which is where Turner assumed that Thomas and the Princess were. The walls were decorated with blue and light blue vertical stripes, white molding up near the ceiling and at the floor. A couple chests and tables which bore busts of ponies or other knick knacks… Honestly, it reminded Turner of his aunt’s house… Minus the creepy collection of garden gnomes. He also took note of a couple paintings which were just as high class as the rest of the palace, images of noble ponies no doubt. The door opened just as Turner was leaning closer to one of the paintings across the room which depicted a light green mare with her mane in a tasteful bun, doing his best to read the signature at the bottom of the painting.

“That’s Lady Cucumber… Fan of the painting?” Thomas asked as he stepped into the room, Turner leaned back from the painting and turned to look at the man.

“Nah, should I be?” The Deputy replied as he adjusted his jacket, it was honestly a little warm now that he was inside. Thomas merely shrugged as he watched Turner take off his jacket and toss it onto one of the couches casually, he set his hat on top of it with far more care. He then adjusted his uniform shirt and straightened his Deputy Badge.

“Most ponies say they are.” A Mare’s voice filled the room, Turner put his hands on his hips as he watched a large alabaster alicorn walk through the door with her mane flowing in an atherial breeze. There were poems written about her beauty, her grace, her poise. Princess Celestia, the regent of the sun, the Ancient Savior of Equestria. Of course, none of that really mattered to Turner. “Deputy Turner, I’m glad we can finally meet. Thomas has told me many things about you. I am Princess Celestia”

“Yeah, I figured as much. The crown kinda gave it away...” Turner gestured to the mare’s shiny gold crown while speaking with a casual tone, Thomas looked rather nervous but relaxed when he heard the Princess start giggling.

“I like him already.” She said as she walked to the couch closest to the window and took a seat, Thomas sat at the other end of the same couch while Turner shrugged and took a seat on the couch that had his jacket resting on it. “So, Thomas informs me that you’re here for work, something about transporting evidence?”

“Yeah, apparently since the Sheriff couldn’t sign for the evidence someone from our department had to accompany it all the way here.” Turner replied as he leaned back and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt while trying to get comfortable on the couch. “Honestly, kind of annoyed by that. You can probably guess why…”

“I don’t know, actually.” Celestia replied, prompting Turner to look at Thomas. The man looked a little sheepish and tugged at his collar.

“The issue facing Sheriff’s Departments… The report’s been on your desk for the past two weeks.” Thomas informed her, Celestia looked at the man for a minute before looking back at Turner. “You told me you read it.”

“I did… I was still undecided on what to do.” Celestia’s tone was quiet and measured, but Turner could still hear her easily. “I hadn’t realized that your departure for one day was such a hassle to your department. Thomas has a tendency to exaggerate the severity of certain issues, particularly those that he has a personal connection to. All the better you’re here, you can tell me first hoof… or hand in this case.”

“I tried, Turner. I really did.” Thomas said, the Deputy just nodded quietly and leaned forward with a rather annoyed expression on his face.

“There’s just me, a deputy, and the sheriff to patrol a county that’s at least the size of the state of Delaware. Granted ninety percent of that is wilderness, but we still have to patrol it all the same.” Turner said quite flatly as he looked the Princess over, reading her facial expressions as best we could. “On top of that we barely have enough funding to maintain our vehicles, let alone pay our salaries, and even that isn’t entirely accurate because I have to pay out of pocket for my vehicle repairs.”

“Can you give me an example?” Celestia asked, Turner nodded and leaned back in his seat.

“A month ago the transmission and driveshaft on my truck needed to be replaced, it totaled around a thousand bits to get the transmission fabricated and another four hundred for the new drive shaft.” The Deputy let out an exasperated sigh, he’d told the same issue to half a dozen ponies in the past, he and the rest of the department had written a dozen letters or more, and still no one took them seriously. “Add to that new shock absorbers and you’re looking at a repair bill of over two thousand bits at the very least. That’s not counting time I have to take off to do the repairs myself.”

“I see… Is that everything that’s wrong? A lack of funding?” Celestia asked, her horn glowing as she levitated a pad and pen in through the doorway. A couple seconds later she’d also levitated a pair of black rimmed reading glasses through, which she perched on her nose before starting to write down notes.

“No, we either need more personnel or less county to patrol. There are roughly only five hundred ponies in Silver Lake, and a couple hundred or so living in the surrounding hundred miles.” The Deputy watched as Celestia continued to write down what he was saying, her eyes glued to her notepad. That was odd to see, someone like her taking her own Notes. Honestly, if Turner didn’t know better he would’ve thought she was actually paying attention. Of course, that belief was tempered by the fact that he knew Sheriff Long Wire had likely had this same conversation with the Princess at one point with no results other than a wasted trip. “Now, that’s still a large area but it’s way more manageable than a county the size of an entire state.”

“Worst of all, however, is our equipment is basically shot.” Turner said flatly, his expression becoming a bit grim. “My truck is the fastest thing we have, it has over five hundred thousand miles on it and still runs like a champ… Which is practically unheard of on Earth for a truck that old. There will come a time, however, when it becomes too far gone to fix… Then our response times will go back to hours instead of minutes.”

“So, it appears Thomas wasn’t using hyperbole when he said the situation was dire… Tell me more, I’m sorry I didn’t take it as seriously sooner.” With that, Turner, Thomas, and the Princess spent the next couple hours just talking about what was and wasn’t working. Eventually they moved on to the basics of how Turner was doing, what he liked and disliked… Honestly, for Turner it was getting a little tedious to explain his life story to every pony that asked, still, he supposed it was worth it if he could help out the Sheriff in getting some more supplies.

---

Electricity in the Sam and Turner’s apartment was still intermittent at best, as a result Sam was sitting in the living room lit by not only the sunlight but the light reflecting off the snow outside. It was surprisingly effective, and she had no problems seeing the papers laid out on the ottoman which had various notes scribbled on them. There were some official looking documents from her bank, Royal Crest Finances, the margins of which were also crammed with little notes. In addition to documents from Sam’s bank were some papers from Silver Lake Savings, these documents were in regards to Turner’s own account.

It was a very odd thing to see the difference between the two of them, Sam’s account listed her current balance in the hundreds of millions. All thanks the various technology she’d sold to the highest bidders in the country and her stake in Gwen’s ad firm. Turner’s account on the other hand, well, there was a grand total of four hundred bits in his account as of recently. For Sam, it was a stark reminder of her own childhood. Her family had always been well off, and from what Turner had told her his family had been essentially living paycheck to paycheck. It just didn’t sit right with her, that even here in Equestria that dynamic was still in place.

The purpose of her acquiring the documents in question was to prepare for when Sam and Turner settled on a place they liked, getting their paperwork in order beforehand to minimize the headache later. So far she had done just that, if they did find a house or property they liked they could easily close within a couple weeks. With a couple last glances over her work she concluded that she had done essentially all she could for the moment. Out of habit the woman gathered up both sets of documents as well as her nots and set them in a neat pile.

Digging through Turner’s bank statements had been about as easy as pulling teeth, he wasn’t kidding when he said he was bad at math. There were plenty of notes in the margins of his statements in his sloppy handwriting with entire long equations that could’ve been simplified to get the same result, or were flat out wrong and redone over and over again. At times it seemed he had misread one of his previous numbers and as a result added the wrong number and got a wrong answer.

Handwriting and math skills were just another couple things in the long list of things that were different between them, not necessarily bad, just different. Sam was just glad he had managed to catch most of his mistakes and hadn’t overspent… At least, not too often. Now that they were together she had taken up the job of balancing budgets, while Turner would often take care of things like cooking. It wasn’t rare that he would be kept out late, but for the most part he did all he could to get home before six every night.

Sam quietly stood up from the couch and grabbed the papers, then walked towards the dining room table where the binder with all their prospective homes was resting. She quickly tucked the documents inside before walking into the kitchen and looked out the window at the town. Outside she could see the various ponies going about their business, trudging through the snow as if it was just a fact of life. In Canterlot there would’ve been traffic jams everywhere with so much snow, the entire city would’ve been in complete gridlock.

With a slight smile, the woman turned from the window and walked over to a cabinet which served as the pantry. She opened it and peered inside before reaching past a couple cans of baked beans and boxes of pasta towards what looked similar to a coffee can. It’s orange wrapper made it apparent that it was not for coffee though, as Sam pulled it out of the cabinet and opened the lid a familiar smell met her nose. It was chocolate powder which could’ve been used for hot chocolate or chocolate milk… On earth it was commonly referred to as Ovaltine. It was one of the many foods that Sam had also introduced to Equestria, each can sold netted her a fairly sized percentage.

As Sam walked to the stove with the can in hand she found herself thinking about that percentage, that alone would have been enough to set someone up for life. The woman set the can on the counter and grabbed a pot from a rack hanging above the stove, after which she went to the fridge and quickly withdrew the milk. The door was closed quickly, minimizing the amount of cold air that escaped. If the power didn’t come back on Sam would need to start storing things out in the snowbank next to their front door.

That wasn’t important though, as Sam poured some of the milk into the pot and turned on the stove she found her thoughts wandering back to the can of chocolate powder resting on the counter beside her. She placed the milk down, letting the fluid in the pot come up to temperature as she continued to ruminate on just how odd it was. Every bit she made was with hardly any work on her part, meanwhile people in towns like Silver Lake were working themselves ragged with only minor returns, if any at all. It was a thought that she had had multiple times, a feeling of guilt that had formed after seeing just how much the ponies were willing to pay for human technology.

The hiss of milk boiling over in the pot snapped her out of her thoughts once again, she quickly turned off the stove before cursing under her breath as she saw the mess that had been made on the stovetop. Not a lot of milk had gone over the top, but it was enough to be a pain. With a sigh she continued what she’d set out to do in the first place and made herself a mug of hot chocolate. She was sure to put the milk away before doing anything else, Sam would need to wait for the stove to cool down before she could clean up the milk that had spilled there. With her mug in hand Sam made her way back to the living room and sat down on the couch, sipping her drink while wondering just what it was she would be doing once she moved to Silver Lake.

As she sipped her mug of hot chocolate her eyes moved over to the hat rack near the door, hanging on one of the pegs was the hat that Turner had replaced with the one Sam had given him. There was still a badge pinned to the front, glinting in the sunlight from the window. Sam briefly considered applying to the Sheriff’s Department, only a couple seconds later she started giggling and shook her head. As she sat there ruminating on the absurdity of that the radio flickered on, the power had returned once more. For how long was yet to be determined.

”...orecast for tonight is for snow, with a low of negative twenty. Tomorrow the high will be five degrees. That’s the weather for the evening, you’re listening to ECPR. Brought to you by contributions from listeners like you. On with the countdown!” The radio buzzed before the usual sound of country music filled the room, Sam sighed at the forecast. It meant she’d need to shovel the balcony walkway in the morning, something Turner had done the first time. She was from LA, she’d never shoveled snow in her life or even seen it in such massive quantities as there were in Silver Lake until recently.

She placed the mug back down on the ottoman before taking her phone from her sweatpants pocket and swiping it open. Sam browsed through some of the applications there before settling on the text messages, Turner’s last text was still there looking back at her. With a smile she began typing a new message, after a couple words she erased the whole thing and started again. Just a little something telling him how her day was going, and how she wished he was there to help her keep warm during the night. With some finality she typed a little heart using the less than sign and a three, with that she hit the send button. With a surprising amount of anticipation she watched the little icon that said it had been received, and finally read.

---

Turner smiled faintly as he looked down at his phone, he and Thomas were walking down the sidewalk of a rather upscale neighborhood. The castle was only around half a mile a way, every house had some form of large fence with a manicured lawn behind it. Many of the houses looked rather different, but there was also a good deal of them that looked the same. Turner and Thomas had stopped at a sporting goods store not long after departing the Castle to acquire a proper gun bag for Turner’s rifle, this bag was slung over his shoulder with care. This was to prevent the denizens of this particular neighborhood from overreacting, unsurprisingly this particular city wasn’t as supportive of spellguns as Evergreen County. This had put Thomas and his neighbors at odds.

The Deputy typed a quick reply to Sam’s text, after which he tucked the phone back into his pocket. With nothing else to occupy his attention his eyes roved over the area, the city in general was something he just couldn’t wrap his head around. So much concrete and steel in one place, taking up so much space, even Cheyenne hadn’t been this big. What was more, so many people living so close to one another, he didn’t think he’d ever be able to stand living that close to others for an extended period of time. No space to spread out, no space to do anything with the fear of someone looking over his fence to see what he was doing.

“Am I a hick?” Turner asked, catching Thomas by surprise as they continued to walk towards a house on the end of the street. The other man paused for a moment to look back at the Deputy, his expression was uncertain.

“Honest answer? A little bit, yeah…” Thomas said with a slight nod. “I mean, it kinda depends on how you define hick.” Turner shrugged, he didn’t seem that upset by the revelation. “Why do you ask?”

“One of them NEB Agents said I was one, I never really gave much thought on it before that.” Turner said with a shrug as they came up to a gate, Thomas punched in a couple buttons on a keypad before it began to slide open. “How do you define hick?”

“Well, someone who didn’t finish high school… Doesn’t mesh with more cosmopolitan types well. Maybe someone who has trouble with certain concepts…” Thomas sounded like he was trying to be as gentle with his explanation as possible, though Turner still didn’t seem that upset by it. “You kinda fit all three…”

“Yeah, I suppose so…” Turner said with a shrug as the gate finished opening and the two of them began walking up a pave driveway which sat beside yet another manicured lawn. The house ahead of them was only one story tall, it had really large front windows and a lit up path of rocks to the front door. “Do you think Sam minds?” Thomas stopped around to see that Turner had stopped and was looking at the ground thoughtfully. “I mean, shit… She’s one of the most cosmopolitan types I know.”

“Turner, just because some NEB Agent-” Thomas began, out of nowhere Turner cut him off.

“Who the fuck am I kiddin’, man…” The Deputy said with a sigh. “I don’t know why the hell this is just hitting me now, but damn. Do you really think it’s real between us, or is it just ‘cause she’s outta options?” Thomas was honestly a little speechless there, considering how well he knew Sam he knew that her feelings for the Deputy were quite real. At the same time, Turner had a point. On earth, it was likely Sam would’ve never in a million years even considered a guy like him.

“Let’s head inside, out here’s not the best place to talk.” Thomas said, Turner sighed but nodded and the two of them finished walking up the path to the front door. Thomas unlocked it and let both of them inside before he closed the door behind them, the inside of the house was just as high end as the outside had been. There were fancy couches, a fancy fireplace, fancy everything. Turner, out of habit, leaned his rifle near the door before removing his hat and setting it on a table nearby. “Now, look… Sam is many things, but a liar isn’t one of them. If she says it’s real, it’s real.”

Thomas walked towards a couch and sat down while Turner took off his jacket and tossed it over one of the seats. The Deputy walked to a free couch and sat down, they were set up in a reversed ‘C’ pattern, facing out the window while there was a flat screen TV sitting on a table on display. Turner gathered this was one of the things that Sam had had with her when she was brought to Equestria, as it bore the logo of an Earth company.

“If it wasn’t real she wouldn’t be moving to Silver Lake with you.” Thomas added, Turner looked at the floor for a couple seconds while he thought about what Thomas had said so far. Outside it was starting to get darker as the sun started to go down. “Now, I admit we ain’t known each other all that long, but I hope you trust me enough to believe that.”

“I reckon you have a point there, Tom.” Turner replied while rubbing the back of his neck. “Shit, didn’t think that was gonna bother me as much as it did. Sorry I got all weird on you there.” Thomas shrugged, though he could still see some uncertainty on Turner’s face, he figured that given enough time that uncertainty would fade. Like all things, time would eventually prove one way or another how things were meant to be.

“Hey, you wanna watch a movie or something until Gwen gets back? Sam has bunch of them.” Thomas asked, Turner’s expression shifted to one of interest at the prospect. Thomas could see the Deputy’s attention shift from the worry that had been present minutes earlier to something a bit more positive and calm.

“I doubt it’s there, but do you think she’d have a copy ‘Once Upon A Time In The West’?” Turner asked with a raised eyebrow, Thomas paused for a second before he stood up and walked to the table that the TV was resting on. It had a large drawer beneath it which he pulled out and began to look through them. After a couple seconds the man held up a case depicting the film in question, judging by the cellophane wrap it hadn’t ever been opened or watched. What followed was a couple hours of watching the movie in question, Gwen came home around eight thirty and Turner was asleep in by ten. Sam had texted that he could sleep in her room while he was there, it was better than sleeping on the couch…

Out In The Valley

The rhythmic hiss of the steam locomotives coupled with the clacking of the wheels on the tracks was becoming a far more common sound in Silver Lake as the autumn months rolled in at full force, thankfully there hadn’t been any major snow storms since the night before Deputy Turner had returned from Canterlot. Now that he was home he was working more hours, as he was the only one that could operate his truck and use it to get to calls with any modicum of speed. His shifts had gone from eight hours a day to ten, yet somehow he still managed to come home with a smile on his face.

At the moment, however, he was simply relaxing at his desk. It was clear of any pending paperwork, neatly organized as always. Sitting on the edge was a framed photograph of Sam that she’d given him to ‘Personalize his workspace’. Buckeye was at her desk as well, she was filling out a couple noise complaint reports that had been filed by some neighbors of the ponies that owned that large house in the South Basin. Sheriff Long Wire was reading a mystery novel at his desk, though that was likely to change soon as it was his turn to go out and patrol the town.

To relax Turner was playing a slow rendition of ‘Red River Valley’ on a harmonica, he hadn’t played in a couple years, but recently he’d found a renewed interest in the instrument. Likely due to his recent viewing of his favorite western, which depicted a harmonica playing gunslinger. He was by no means a master of the instrument, but he could carry a tune. Things seemed to finally be getting back to normal in Silver Lake.

The tourists had stopped almost as soon as the snow had fallen, and with them went the increased false alarms and prank calls in order to get a look at the human deputy. Fall and early to late winter in Silver Lake tended to be the slowest months of the year, hardly anyone could go anywhere with all the snow that lined the roads. While Turner could plow the main street and the roads immediately out of town, he wouldn’t be able to reach all the rural paths that needed clearing. Now all there was to do for the Sheriff’s Department was to sit around and hope that nothing warranted a call to them.

The harmonica’s soft tones wafted through the office, and Buckeye was unknowingly swaying her head to the slow tune. Turner’s eyes were meanwhile more focused on the picture of Sam on his desk, today was a day that both had been waiting for. They’d finally been able to get a chance to look at one of the properties that they were interested in, after Turner’s shift was over the two of them would be going to see the house together. Turner smiled as he continued to play, all in all things seemed to be going pretty good. The past couple months had been some of the happiest of his life, including the time before he’d come to Equestria. There was occasionally a lingering doubt, but Turner for the most part had moved on from the irrational fear.

“Turner…” Long Wire said from across the room, Turner looked at him and lowered the harmonica. “You only got, what… Ten minutes left here? Why don’t you go ahead and head out, Buckeye and I can hold down the fort.” The man looked at the Sheriff with an uncertain expression. “It’s not like we’re drowning in cases here…” The stallion knocked on his wooden desk a couple times.

“I… Thanks, boss.” Turner replied as he stood up out of his desk chair and tucked his harmonica into his shirt pocket. He took his bomber jacket from the back of his seat where he’d draped it, pulling on the warm garment before walking towards the door. “See y’all tomorrow.” He took his hat from the hatrack near the door and placed it on his head, the glimmering badge on the front displayed proudly. With a quiet nod he adjusted his gunbelt before stepping out the door into the cold evening air. It was just about six o’clock, as Turner walked down the steps towards his truck he became aware that Sam was there already, sitting inside the cab on the passenger’s side.

“Hey! You’re early!” Sam said joyfully as Turner opened the driver’s side and started to climb in, the truck was a little chilly but Sam sitting in there had warmed it up just a tad with her body heat. “Ready to go?”

“Yup, and you’re ready too I take it?” Turner asked while he slipped his keys into the ignition and started the engine, it’s deep baritone rumble echoed through the town. Sam nodded before she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, one that Turner gladly returned with one of his own. “Was a good idea you had, coming by when I finished my shift so we could just go.”

“Well, I’m just full of good ideas!” Sam replied with a grin, her eyebrows waggling slightly which caused a slight blush across Turner’s cheeks. “Speaking of which, I’ve been thinking about something.” Turner hummed in response, something Sam had come to understand meant he was listening but was busy driving or something similar. The truck lurched as he put it in reverse and backed out of the parking space. “I’d like you to teach me how to use a gun.” Turner briefly put his foot on the brakes in slight surprise, but after a couple seconds he finished backing out and started to drive forward towards the road that lead North towards Blue Mountain.

“Really?” Turner asked with an uncertain tone. “Forgive me for saying this, but… You don’t seem like the pro-gun type.” Sam shrugged as she looked out the window, tucking her hands under her armpits for a bit of extra warmth. She was wearing her usual red wool coat and a pair of very warm pants, accompanied by a new pair of work boots that were well made for snow.

“Well, being out here has kind of changed my perspective…” Sam replied while watching the buildings of downtown Silver Lake thin out until all that was on her side was the train tracks that ran out of town. “I used to say ‘Why not just call the police?’, but the rather lengthy response time I’ve seen around here kind of makes me think that I’d be better off with something to defend myself until help arrived. That’s not to say it’s your fault, I know you go as fast as you can...”

“Well, color me surprised… Shit, yeah, I can teach you alright! This’ll be great! Elk season’s only a couple weeks away!” Turner’s enthusiasm was inspiring, it also reminded Sam of something she still wasn’t totally comfortable with. Hunting. “Though, maybe not the best idea to start you out hunting big game like that… Perhaps start with somethin’ smaller, like tin cans and pop bottles.”

“Yeah, not sure how I feel about hunting yet… But thanks all the same, Paige.” Sam’s smile was in those words, even if Turner didn’t take his eyes off the road to see it. “Anything I should do to get ready?”

“Well, a couple things… Most importantly is studying. There’s four rules you gotta learn by heart, they’re key to the safe operation of a firearm… Or Spellgun in this case.” Turner shrugged a bit as they continued driving, he took a turn at one of the roads Sam hadn’t been down before which was headed East towards the Basin. The address was only about thirty minutes outside of town, but even out here Sam couldn’t see any sign of civilization other than the road. “I’ll write you a list of everything you should get to know.”

“I think my parents would be having a heart attack if they heard me say that.” Sam said with a slightly melancholy chuckle, her smile fading ever so slightly as she watched the landscape moving past her window. “I’ve been thinking about them recently… Do you ever do that? Think about your family on Earth?”

“Not if I can help it…” Turner replied with a sigh of his own, his expression was also a bit more serious at the mention of Earth. “You know my family and me never really… Saw eye to eye. More accurately my mom and me.” Sam looked over at him with a curious expression, getting him to admit anything about his life before coming to Equestria was about as difficult as pulling teeth with a pair of oven mitts. “I’m sorry if I soured the mood there.”

“It’s fine, you don’t need to apologize for saying what’s on your mind.” Sam replied warmly, Turner smiled a bit more as the truck crested a hill. He slowed down a bit as they neared a turn, there was a barbed wire fence running along the left side of the road which stretched for a good distance and a gate that served as the entry to the driveway. Halfway buried outside the gate was a sign from the bank that read ‘For Sale’. Turner made the left turn and began driving up the long driveway, Sam looked back out the window at the expansive territory. “How many acres again?”

“Four hundred fifty.” Turner said simply, Sam was a bit surprised by that. “That’s about average for the farms in the area if my math is correct, which it probably isn’t…” He turned on the headlights as they continued to drive up the driveway, in the snow he could see carriage tracks ahead of the truck. After a couple minutes the house came into view, it was a decent sized ranch with a fresh coat of sky blue paint and a well maintained roof. Off to the side there was a large barn that looked a little worse for wear, the red paint was slightly chipped and the rooster shaped weather vane on the roof was a little crooked.

In addition to the barn and the house there was a couple animal pens and what looked like a chicken coop, these were in need of some serious repair but not beyond saving. Parked in front of the house was a covered carriage with the logo for the local bank on the side, the truck pulled in beside it as the sunlight continued to fade. Sam looked over at Turner, the deputy was smiling widely as if he wasn’t even aware. The engine was shut off, the lights as well, before the two of them climbed down out of the cab. The front door opened and a pegasus mare wearing a smart looking suit, she had chocolate brown fur and her white mane was tied back into a tasteful bun. A pair of thick rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of her nose while her wings shivered slightly when they were exposed to the cold.

“Is there a problem, Deputy? I’m expecting clients.” The mare said as she watched the man walking towards the front door, trudging through the snow, a couple seconds later Sam walked around the back of the truck and became visible.

“Huh? Oh, I’m not here on business, ma’am. We’re here to see the property.” Turner explained, he didn’t really know this mare, he’d seen her at the bank from time to time but she was one of the types that liked to keep to themselves. When the mare heard what Turner had to say the look of edgy nervousness on her face was replaced by relief and surprise. “I’m Turner, this is Sam.”

“Oh! Right! I should’ve realized from the name she gave on the phone… I didn’t realize you were here with Miss Montoya, glad you could make it!” The mare said looking at Sam as she trudged up next to Turner and looked at the house while the mare adjusted her glasses. The lights were on inside, illuminating the surrounding area as it got darker. “I’m Kona Blend, we spoke on the phone earlier… When I ran your credit through the system I was quite surprised... You’re interested in this property?” She was unsure of if this very rich and influential person was seriously considering such a small and rustic location.

“Yes, I am.” Sam replied with a nod, this prompted Kona to shrug and gesture to the structure. “What can you tell me about it?” The mare began walking up the steps of the front porch, there were a couple old looking seats there and a small table, from the look of things they’d been there since the property had been taken over by the bank.

“It might look small but you’ve got two bedrooms, a three piece bathroom…” Kona began as she pushed the door open and lead Turner and Sam inside, the living room they entered looked to be well cared for. The wood floor had been polished and clean, the paint on the walls looked new enough, there was even a brick fireplace in the living room with a decent sized mantle. The kitchen was off to the side, though there was a little counter built in a window in the wall. The tour of the house went well, as Sam had expected, there was plenty of space for her and Turner to move their belongings in.

The downsides were that it was on a well as opposed to being on municipal water like the apartment in Silver Lake, which wasn’t necessarily a super big deal considering the filtration system was already in place… There was also the matter of some pipes that needed replacing under the sink in the kitchen, but Turner was confident he could get that taken care of with minimal amounts of swearing. Kona Blend confirmed that the Macintosh River ran through the south eastern portion of the property, which meant Turner could go fishing right in his own backyard.

The Barn needed some work, but again, nothing that couldn’t be handled with a toolbox and a healthy dose of profanity. Even the animal pens could be salvaged, and upon further inspection it seemed there was a decently maintained back porch area. After all was said and done Kona Blend stepped outside to ‘Take a call’. That left Sam and Turner on their own, allowing them a little time to chat.

“So, what do you think?” Sam asked as the two of them stood in the living room, Turner hummed as he looked around at the walls.

“I like it.” Turner said with a simple nod, Sam looked at him expecting a little more than that, which he picked up on. “It’s a good house, needs a little work but nothin’ worth doin’ is easy, right? It’s got everything we were looking for in spades… That makes me wary of it, to be honest.” Sam raised an eyebrow as Turner walked towards one of the walls and tapped the drywall with his knuckle, listening to it for a second before looking back at her. “I just don’t want to see you get taken for a ride if this turns out to be a money pit.”

“I understand…” Sam said with a nod as she rubbed her chin and looked around the room, she could see where they could set up their furniture in various ways. “Still, I think it’s worth the risk, but we agreed we’d both contribute to this. If you don’t like it, we won’t get it.”

“No, I like it, I’m just concerned it might be too good to be true.” Turner explained while he examined some of the lighting fixtures and electrical outlets. “It looks like they’ve been doing a lot of work to keep this place in good shape, that or whoever owned it before did all this…” The man let out a sigh and put his hands on his hips, after which he looked back at Sam. He could see the hopeful expression on her face, it seemed she really wanted this place… Of course she did, it was a good house. He just couldn’t tell if it was a genuine interest or because of her rather impulsive nature. Despite all that, and his gut telling him that it might not be a good idea, Turner decided to take a leap of faith and do something impulsive. “Alright, what the hell, let’s do it.”

“Really?” Sam asked, Turner nodded, after which Sam let out possibly the cutest, most excited sounding squeal of joy ever uttered by a human. “Paige, we’re buying a home!” She rushed over to him and hugged him tightly, he was taken slightly off balance by her sudden impact but managed to keep standing upright.

“Haven’t you already done this before, with your house in Canterlot?” Turner asked as he hugged Sam back, the woman pulled away with a beaming grin on her face.

“That was out of necessity, it had to be somewhere in Canterlot to keep some nobles happy…” Sam replied with a slightly annoyed expression before she took both Turner’s hands and looked around the room. “This place is different… This isn’t just a house, Paige. It’s a home… Our home.” Turner was slightly taken aback to see her eyes watering, in that instance he knew that he’d made the right choice. Whatever came down the line, even if the house needed to be stripped down to the studs to make it right, he resolved to himself that he would make things work.

After a couple minutes the two of them went and told Kona Blend of their decision, needless to say she was rather ecstatic. Both at making the sale so quickly and because soon the bank wouldn’t need to be paying for the upkeep of the property any longer. The date of the closing was set, in two weeks time Sam and Turner would become homeowners. For Turner it was quite gratifying to finally have someplace that he could hang his hat that he owned outright, over the last ten years he had been living a rather transient existence, both on Earth and in Equestria. Moving every year or so. His apartment having been the most successful venture into housing himself so far. As much as Sam was outwardly excited, Turner found himself just as excited, though he kept that more to himself.

The Homestead

Turner let out a slight grunt as he pulled the barn door open, the morning sun was rising off in the distance while the snow had started to melt a little bit over the recent days. Sam was awake, the Deputy could see her in the living room window relaxing on the couch. It had been a couple weeks since they had moved in, Turner had fixed the pipes that needed fixing inside and now was turning his attention to the barn. As the door opened outward and the morning light rushed in on the dark interior Turner found himself looking at the various items that had been left behind by the previous owners.

He adjusted his jacket and the wool knit cap on his head before he stepped into the dry dirt floor of the barn, there was a workbench off to the left while to the right there were a couple storage lockers. It was unlike most Barns that Turner had seen, in that there weren’t any animal pens or anything regarding livestock. Despite that, a barn was a barn, hayloft above was still a bit of a mystery to him but on the ground floor he could see there was plenty of work to be done. Not only were there tools on one side and lockers on the other, there was also a great deal of junk resting in the center of the floor. Some of which was covered in dust, other parts were covered in aging tarps.

Turner looked behind him at his truck, which he had backed up to the doors just in case he needed to haul anything away. As it turned out this had been fortuitous forethought on his part, as he was indeed going to need to haul some of the junk in the barn away. With little pomp and circumstance he walked back to his truck and briefly opened the driver’s side door to grab something from inside. The object in particular was an old transistor radio that Sam had brought down from Canterlot when they had moved, he ran a thumb over the old plastic before he walked back into the dingy barn.

The man walked to the workbench and set the radio down on the dusty wooden surface, he turned and looked around the barn at the various gaps in some of the wood. There would definitely need to be some holes patched, but the supports all in all looked well intact. A little paint and some minor repairs and the barn would be the perfect workshop or a place to store the truck at night. With a sigh the man extended the antenna on the radio and flicked on the powerswitch, static echoed through the barn as he quietly adjusted the channel. He was on the AM band at the moment, which meant he could only pick up talk radio.

As AM band had considerably longer range than FM he found it interesting that he could pick up radio stations as far away as Canterlot. Even the AM radio in his truck couldn’t get that far, though he supposed it had something to do with the particular radio in question.

”...recent news following the coup d’etat in the Griffon Kingdom, the new regime is being headed by General Gustavo Von Adler. This comes at a time disastrous for policy makers that opposed the recently passed controversial ‘Equestrian Conscription Bill 37’, which allows for more Equestrian residents to be drafted into the milit-” The radio frequency was changed after only a couple sentences, now that Turner had access to news from outside Evergreen County he found himself seeing the world the Equestria inhabited as more ‘human’ than he’d first thought.

After a couple seconds of searching he found himself landing on another station from Canterlot, a music station as it turned out. According to its tagline it was playing ‘Human Music’, that piqued Turner’s curiosity enough to continue listening while he started to clear out some of the junk left in the barn. As the first song came on he froze and turned to look at the radio with a bit of a surprised expression. The song, as he recognized it, was by John Denver… ‘Country Roads’, which as it turned out was one of Turner’s favorite songs.

With a smile on his face Turner set to work, carrying old pieces of equipment that Turner didn’t recognize to his truck. They’d at least be worth something in scrap metal if he couldn’t find someone to buy them in town. It was one of his few days off, but in all honesty there was something relaxing about clearing out that old barn. With the radio playing in the background, his truck outside, and the crisp morning air nipping at his cheeks he felt like he was back on Earth in his hometown of Eustace. That feeling of nostalgia lasted only for a couple moments or so before he remembered that he wasn’t on Earth at all, but to pretend for only a couple moments seemed to be enough.

As minutes passed by and the first hour came and went Turner was doing quite well, he’d already loaded at least half the left behind equipment and other oddities into the bed of his truck. It was times like that which made him glad to have not gone for a crew cab, as well as going with something that could carry more than your average pony carriage. There had to be at least a thousand pounds of stuff loaded in there in the form of old farm equipment, boxes of junk, and various pieces of scrap wood. Of course, the wood would just go on the fire pile…

Turner removed his knit cap and wiped some sweat from his bow, the radio now playing something that was neither country or western, and therefore he wasn’t paying attention to it. It seemed most of the songs had been ripped straight from Sam’s favorite song playlist, because there was music from people he’d never heard of in his entire life up until he’d met Sam. Even then he couldn’t keep their names straight, as it all really sounded the same. At that point he just had to shrug to himself, he couldn’t be bothered to change the station every five minutes.

“It looks like it’s really coming along.” Sam’s voice caught Turner’s attention as he was examining a barrel full of various lengths of metal pipe, flat bar, and the like. The man stood up and wiped his dirt covered hands on his jeans before turning to look at Sam, she was standing in the door of the barn with her usual red wool jacket and earmuffs. “You need any help?”

“I’m actually getting to a point I was gonna take a break, but I don’t mind the company.” Turner said with a shrug as he began to roll the barrel towards his truck. It was far too heavy for him to carry, so he spun it on the edge of it’s bottom. He grunted as he reached the rear of the truck and began to load the metal that was inside the barrel into the bed. “So, how are your stocks doing… Or whatever it is you’ve been up to lately?”

“Just getting some new products running under my own brand, most of the time other people are making the stuff but I like to occasionally produce stuff under the company I set up for tax purposes.” Sam said with a shrug, after a couple seconds she walked over and began to help Turner load the bed of his truck with the scrap metal. “We’re getting ready to start a new product line.”

“Oh? What is it?” Turner asked, letting out a quick breath as he lowered a particularly heavy piece of metal.

“Cars, trucks, and other vehicles.” Sam said, that prompted Turner to let out an interested hum. “Most of the stuff I had I sold off, but I hung on to the rental truck that I was driving when I came here, had my own people going over it…” Sam stood back as the man finished loading the truck and rolled the barrel away from the tailgate. “Gave them a bit more incentive when I told them I needed parts for your truck.”

“That’s actually really good, it should cut down on police response times around the country.” Turner said with a smile while leaning against truck, closing the tailgate with a heavy thud. “Glad to see you’re keeping busy, I promise once I’m done with the barn I’ll start repairing the animal pens for you.”

“They can wait…” Sam said as she walked a bit more into the barn and looked around at the space that had been cleared out so far. “What’s next for today?”

“Well, first I’m gonna drop off these pieces of scrap, then I’m gonna come back and load the truck again, rinse repeat until the barn’s empty.” Turner adjusted his knit cap and began to walk towards the barn, standing next to Sam and putting an arm around her shoulder. “After that, I dunno, I’ll probably take a break.” The woman looked over at him and leaned her head against his shoulder, smiling faintly. “What about you? Just gonna sit around on your gloriously sculpted butt?”

“I was going to do a little yoga…” Sam began, she could practically feel his eyes roll. “I have to keep my gloriously sculpted butt gloriously sculpted, after all.” She said matter of factly before looking around the Barn. “After that, I dunno… Might come out here and decorate this place a bit more.”

“Nope.” Turner said quite quickly. “Barn’s gonna be my workshop, won’t be no place for tea cosies or throw pillows.” Sam smirked faintly at that, Turner saw that smirk and realized she was most likely just messing with him. He hoped so… He couldn’t stand the thought of working on his truck surrounded by throw pillows and other ‘decorative’ knick knacks. “Anyway, I’m gonna go drop this off in town. Want me to pick anything up on my way back?”

“We’re low on milk again, other than that we’re good.” Sam replied as the man pulled her closer and gave her a kiss on the cheek before he started walking towards his truck. “Drive safe!” Turner nodded and gave her a thumbs up as he opened the driver’s side door and climbed in, Sam stood behind the truck as she heard the engine rumble to life. The woman smiled as she watched the man begin to drive away, truck laden with heavy scrap metal and equipment. He disappeared on the horizon as he started to drive down the slightly sloped driveway. With Turner gone Sam was alone with the barn, she adjusted her coat and took a couple more steps inside.

She had never been inside a barn before, even when they had checked out the property before the closing. It was about what she expected, a bit dingy and certainly dirty, but she figured that the structure wasn’t meant for style. Sam quietly approached the workbench where Turner’s radio was set to a radio station playing ‘Human Music’, music that she had supplied the station in Canterlot when she’d first come to Canterlot. After a couple minutes of listening to the music she quietly changed the band to FM and changed the channel to the local country station. She’d never been much of a country fan, but it reminded her of Turner when he was away from home.

The familiar twang of guitars and soulful singing filled the air as Sam walked around the barn, she stopped near the pile of junk that had yet to be moved out of there. With a shrug she began to start moving some of it closer to the open doors, she was quite surprised at just how heavy most of it was. She struggled to carry some of the crates or roll the barrels, but she managed to do it. After moving several crates she needed to stop as her hands weren’t accustomed to carrying that much in such a short period. She took this moment to look through some of the crates, most of them just contained pieces of old metal. It seemed that perhaps the previous owner had been a metal worker of some kind, she had no idea what would necessitate so much extra material…

After several attempts at trying to lift one of the crates closer to the doors, Sam opted to instead close the doors to the barn and make her way back to the house. She walked up the steps to the back porch and wiped her boots on the mat outside before entering the building, the warm air and smell of burning wood greeted her moments later. The fireplace was providing heat quite nicely throughout the house, the wood burning steadily as it’s embers gave off a faint glow. The interior of the house was decorated rather nicely, with several couches that they had brought from their apartment in the living room, a throw rug on the floor, the ottoman also from the apartment, and Sam’s TV that had been shipped down from Canterlot.

The walls were decorated with various paintings, including the ones that had been in the Apartment. Sam had also brought some of her own pieces from Canterlot, those that fit the more rustic appearance of the house anyway. She knew that abstract art wasn’t something Turner really appreciated. On the mantle there were several knick knacks, a small bronze statue of a unicorn, some photographs, and a nice looking clock which had belonged to Sam’s grandmother.

Sam walked towards the dining area, which had one of the many new pieces of furniture they had bought during the move. The dining table was considerably bigger than it had been in the apartment, able to seat six as opposed to barely squeezing in four. She looked at her papers laying on the polished wood surface, various documents and contracts. The woman leaned against the table and looked them over once more. Sometimes Sam found it difficult to read through the legal jargon, but with a handy little cheat sheet from Gwen she had been able to get by.

With a sigh the woman removed her jacket and hung it on the back of a nearby chair, it would take Turner some time to get back from town so she figured it would be best to move on with her day for the time being. With that in mind she took off her ear muffs and went to get her yoga mat from the guest bedroom.

---

Turner sighed as he drove up the driveway, unloading all the scrap in the back of the truck had taken nearly an hour. He’d come away from it with a very full bag of bits, as steel and iron were surprisingly profitable by the pound at the moment. In fact, it seemed any scrap metal was being accepted at a decent, no matter what kind it was. Turner didn’t know the specifics of why metals rose in value or lost them, he had a basic idea but not much else. Briefly he looked over at the passenger seat, sitting there was a bag with the milk Sam had asked for, as well as the mail from their mailbox at the end of the long driveway.

The man stopped in front of the house for the time being and got out, the engine’s rumble dying off as he removed the key from the ignition. With the bag holding the gallon jug of milk in one hand and the mail in the other he made his way up the front steps and pushed the door open. Sam, as he expected, was in the center of the living room doing one of her yoga poses. He didn’t know which one, they all had weird names that he couldn’t be bothered to learn.

“Got the milk, and the mail.” Turner said as he took off his knit cap and tucked it into his jacket before he withdrew the large sack of bits that he had been given from the inside pocket. He tossed it on the dining room table along with the mail, then went to the kitchen to put away the milk. “Gonna load the rest of it in later, then probably take it down tomorrow… You want anything to drink?” He called from inside.

“Nope!” Sam replied with a slight grunt as she finished her yoga pose and straighted up her posture before stepping off the mat and walking towards the table. She looked at the bag of bits that Turner had tossed down. “Did you get all that from all that scrap metal? It’s got to be, what, three grand?”

“Three and a half.” Turner replied from the kitchen, Sam could hear him take out the lunch meat from the fridge which likely mean the was making a sandwich. “Damndest thing, the guys at the scrap drop off were practically begging for metal, they would’a took the truck if I hadn’t stopped ‘em.”

“There’s a shortage on.” Sam replied with a simple hum while she picked up the mail and began to leaf through it. “Griffons used to export a good amount of iron and steel to Equestria, but the coup they had a week or so ago pretty much threw that all out of balance. It’s one of the problems I’ve been having with trying to find producers for those trucks I mentioned.” She could hear turner let out an ‘Oh’ from the kitchen, which was about all she could hope for when she talked politics with him. Most of the mail she saw was junk, there were a couple letters for her from a few of the modeling agencies that she’d worked with before, as well as two very official looking letters.

One bore the seal of the Equestrian Government, it was addressed to Sam, so she promptly opened it. As her eyes roved over the page she began to get a slight sinking feeling in her gut, though it abated somewhat the more she read. In short, it was saying that due to her numerous ‘Connections to the Equestrian Economy’ she had been exempted by the recently passed changes to the Equestrian draft. She sighed and set the paper on the table and looked at the other document, which read ‘To: Mister Paige W. Turner. From: The Equestrian Ministry of Defense.’. Turner emerged from the kitchen with a sandwich on a paper plate, walking towards the table he set the plate down and looked at the letter.

“Huh…” He said as he reached for it. “How’d they figure out I have a middle name?” Sam looked at him with an odd expression, which he quickly caught and cleared his throat. “My middle name is Wilson, by the way.”

“We’ve been dating what, four months? You didn’t mention it until now?” Sam asked while still holding the letter.

“You never asked.” Turner replied with a shrug, prompting Sam to roll her eyes and sigh before she handed him the letter. “Let’s see what the government wants, probably asking for me to buy bonds or something…” Sam sat at the table and continued to look over the letter she’d recieved, listening as Turner ripped open the envelope and withdrew the letter. “To Mister Paige Wilson Turner of the Evergreen County Sheriff’s Department, in light of your recent exemplary service to law enforcement, the Department of Defense has...” Then he stopped.

“Has what?” Sam asked, looking at him. She saw a look on his face that she’d never seen before, a mix between shock, uncertainty, and just a hint of terror. After a couple second his expression became more resolute. “Paige, what does it say?”

“Has decided that your skills would serve the crown better overseas…” Turner read aloud, leaning against the table with one hand while holding the letter with the other. “While you are not currently being called upon, there may be a time in the future when your service will be needed… Enclosed is your new… Your new Draft Card.” Turner lowered the paper and set it on the table, still leaning on it for several seconds before she saw one of his knees buckle. Sam stood up quickly as Turner dropped to one knee, his face quite pale. “I need a minute…”

“That can’t be right!” Sam said as she picked up the letter and began to read over it for herself, and then re-read it, but no matter how many times she tried to make the words change she couldn’t. “I… Wha… It’s okay… I can fix this. I can fix this… I can get you out of this.”

“No…” Turner said as he wiped his forehead and pushed himself back up on to his feet. “Don’t… Don’t do that.” The man sat in a nearby chair, rubbing his head while the color slowly began to return to his face.

“Why the hell not!?” Sam shouted, both out of surprise and anger. Not anger at Turner, but just… Anger. “It isn’t right that they get to just… arbitrarily decide who has to fight and when!”

“You may not think it’s right, but it’s the law.” Turner said as calmly as he could, leaning his head into his hand while Sam continued to clutch the letter tightly in her hand. “Like or not, if they call my number I have to go, Sam.”

“Not if I talk to some of my friends, they can get you out of this-” Sam began talking quickly, she came to an utter halt when Turner’s voice boomed throughout the room.

“No!” The man was still obviously reeling from the letter, but the look on his face told Sam that this was an issue that had struck a particularly strong nerve. “I ain’t gonna make some other sorry sonofabitch take my place, you want to talk about things being right? Does that sound right to you?”

“You could get killed!” Sam shouted at him, finally tossing the letter down on the table. “It’s hard enough watching you go to work every morning, and that’s in Evergreen County! I don’t think I could handle watching you leave and never coming home, Paige!”

“Well I ain’t to keen on it either, Samantha, but the law is the law!” Turner shouted back, the two of them were now standing. Each of their faces was growing considerably redder, for Turner he couldn’t stomach the idea of trying to get out of this situation. If he did, they’d find some other guy to go in his stead and that didn’t sit right with him. Sam, on the other hand, was outraged that such a thing could even happen, and infuriated that Turner was refusing to let her sort it out for him. “How would you feel if because someone else got out of going I got sent instead, huh? You want to make someone else’s family go through that?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean I have to like the idea of you going either!” Sam shouted back, both of their tempers had run hotter than expected. “I lost everything and everyone I loved when I came here, Paige! I won’t lose you too!”

“I understand that, but I’m not about to make someone else go through this shit just so I can stay home while their kid gets sent off to god knows where! I don’t want to lose you either, Sam, but I can’t just dodge this!” Turner replied, their tempers were shifting from anger to desperation. It seemed that most of their shouting had come from the suddenness of the revelation, now as more time passed they began to calm down. “Look, it’s not like I was actually drafted, okay? They’re just saying I could be, which to be fair, was a possibility on earth too.”

“I… I just… I want you safe.” Sam said as she looked at the table, Turner quietly put a hand on her shoulder as the two of them sat back down. “What do you mean it was a possibility on earth?”

“The US still makes guys sign up for the draft when they turn eighteen, it’s called Selective Service.” Turner said simply as he leaned on the table. “I understand you want me safe, I want to be safe too, but at the end of the day I swore an oath to uphold the law… This is the law, so I’ve got to abide by it or I don’t deserve to wear my badge.”

“Did… Did we just have our first fight?” Sam asked, Turner looked off to the side with a thoughtful expression.

“What about the thing with the paint in the bedroom?” He asked, Sam shook her head.

“I don’t recall us screaming at each other over which shade of blue we wanted the wall to be…” Sam said flatly, prompting Turner to give a slight nod. “I… I don’t know how to feel now, I’m still really angry… I don’t know who to be angry at though.”

“Just take a deep breath…” Turner said as he took a deep breath himself, Sam reluctantly looked at the table and took a deep breath. “Now let it out…” The two of them exhaled slowly, which made Sam feel a little better. “I know you aren’t the most religious person, Sam… But just listen to me, okay?” Sam nodded quietly as Turner squeezed her shoulder a little tighter. “God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change those we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

“That helped a little…” Sam said as she took another deep breath. “I’m sorry I yelled.”

“I’m sorry I yelled, too…” Turner replied as he put his hand back on the table and picked up the envelope which had contained the letter. From within he withdrew a small laminated card which bore the usual ID information and the photograph of Turner that had been used for his Sheriff’s Deputy credentials. “It’s not all bad… At least they used a decent picture.” He said in a deadpanned tone, Sam let out a quick giggle before her expression became a bit more serious. “Sam.”

“Yeah.” Sam replied in the silence of their home, the only other nose being the crackle of the fire in the fireplace.

“It’ll be okay.” Turner looked her in the eyes, she looked back at him and smiled faintly for a couple seconds. “I love you.”

“I know…” Sam said quietly, the two of them sat there quietly as the fire continued to crackle behind them. The day continued from that point on with muted intensity, both Sam and Turner found themselves a bit more distant as each wrestled with themselves over the curve ball they’d been thrown. Eventually some semblance of normalcy returned, they laughed, they talked, they watched the occasional movie. All the while, the fear of what could happen loomed over them in the recesses of their minds… They were young, after all… At least young enough to still think themselves invincible.

Author's Notes:

EDIT: Did a couple small edits since I noticed a couple typos and a minute continuity error after posting the first time.

North County Road 73

The midday sun had melted through a decent portion of the snow on the ground in recent weeks, though the air was still considerably chilly and snow storms were common. For the Evergreen Sheriff’s Department this meant one thing. Mud. Lots and lots of mud. As if policing portions of the county weren’t hard enough, they now had to limit their hoof patrols considerably as walking through that sheer amount of mud was quite frankly dangerous for equines. As such, the duty of patrolling the various roads outside of town fell to Deputy Turner and his truck.

Turner had been assigned the northernmost route in Evergreen County, the road that ran from the county line along the train tracks down through the mountains and eventually feeding into Silver Lake. Considering how long the journey was, the Deputy had packed a tent, sleeping bag and other necessary supplies. Normally the Sheriff wouldn’t have bothered, but the winter months were pushing along and several holidays were coming up. In that regard the Sheriff needed to make sure that no one traveling for the holidays by road was stranded or in trouble. In the years since Turner had arrived he had served in a merely ‘good samaritan’ role, this would be his first time running the County Line in an official capacity.

The man sighed and adjusted his mirrored aviators as he continued to roll along the road at around forty miles an hour. He’d passed through the mountains a day before and was now simply driving across mostly flat plains. The distance wasn’t that far, at least not by the way that the crow flew. It only totalled around perhaps two or three hundred miles, which Turner was pretty sure he’d never gone past until his recent brush with Canterlot… Of course, his memory got a little fuzzy when it came to exact distances. The reason it took so long was in part due to the winding road and also due to the necessity of going slow enough to get a good look around.

Out here all that Turner could see was the wide open expanse of the plains, his only company came in the form of the truck’s radio. At this range with the mountains in the way he wasn’t likely to get in contact with anyone via his CB so all he could do was listen to music and hope he didn’t need back up… Not that it would get there any time soon if he could call for it. As Turner looked out over the landscape he nodded his head to the song on the radio, Sam had sent the ‘Human Radio’ station in Canterlot some of the songs that Turner liked to help diversify things.

“Man… I gotta find something else to do out here, liable to end up talking to myself…” Turner grunted as he adjusted his position in his seat, the song ‘Eminence Front’ playing at a decent volume on his speakers while his truck went up and over a small hill in the road. There was little in the way of shrubbery, very few trees, most of the plant life was covered in one way or another with snow with patches of dead brown grass scattered about where the sun had cleared away the drifts. “Good thing I’m sane… Otherwise I’d go crazy just looking out at all that flat land all day…”

Very little occurred from midday to the evening, nothing ever seemed to happen when he did this bit of service to the county. He always worried something would, but the staggering truth of it all was that this place was wide open and empty, he had no idea how far it all stretched. Far enough, he supposed. What could be out there with him? Was anything alive? He always wondered what made its home out in these plains, he’d never seen hide nor hair of anything larger than a jackrabbit. In the distance he saw clouds rolling in, thick and heavy as usual. They looked mighty fierce, dark and foreboding.

“Fuck me…” Turner muttered as he pulled off the road and parked beside the road, the sunset had already started. “Nope… Not sleeping outside tonight.” Turner shut off the truck and walked around to the back of the truck, adjusting his bomber jacket over his uniform. From the bed of his truck he grabbed a sack that he’d kept under a tarp, which contained a heavy wool blanket, a pillow, and one of Sam’s ‘Bedtime Blindfold’ things… It was surprisingly comfortable, like pillows for his eyes. Of course, he’d never admit that.

The wind began to pick up, catching snow that was on the ground and carrying it like dust in the gusting breeze. Turner worked quick, grabbing all the kit he would need for the night before closing the tailgate and quickly getting back in the cab of his truck. The clouds began to roll in faster than normal, galloping overhead like the riders of the apocalypse themselves were behind the reigns. Turner made sure the doors and windows were closed, then locked them shut. He’d only looked away for a second before the first snow flakes began to fly past the windshield. The wind buffeted the truck, as more and more heavy snow began to fly practically sideways as it poured down across the landscape.

“It’s a rogue…” Turner grumbled as he zipped up his jacket and took the blanket from his bag, he could tell from the ferocity that this would be a long night. The storm was one that had likely gotten away from its weather team handlers, gathering up speed, ferocity and power as it rampaged on its own. They happened once or twice a year, usually there was a little advance warning. Such storms were aptly called ‘Rogues’, and they were not something that you wanted to get caught in the middle of at night. The sun gradually began to fade as the storm progressed, within minutes the storm was all around Turner. Visibility went from all clear to barely ten feet in the blink of an eye.

Turner quietly removed his sunglasses and set them on the dashboard, then went about looking through the supplies he had grabbed from the bed of the truck. His blanket and sleeping kit were in order, as well as a cooler with his mess kit and the extra warm clothing he had packed for just such an emergency. Turner quietly started the engine, the usual rumble of the truck was easily drowned out by the gale force winds outside. The heat he had neglected to fix all this time still would not be any help here, but at the very least he wouldn’t have to sit there quietly listening to nothing but the wind. The music that came in on the radio was soothing, a bit of fifties music. Not his first choice, but it would have to do.

So there Turner was, sitting alone in his truck, huddling under his blanket and eating a meal of slightly soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while listening to the greatest hits of Billie Holiday and the Ink Spots. It was as if someone had uploaded their entire ‘Fallout’ playlist to this station, if Turner had to guess Thomas was the most likely culprit. The chill in the air was growing more noticable, the deputy could see his breath and not much else in the light given off by the radio’s screen. Things were going fine for the first couple hours, Turner spent the majority of that time trying and failing to get to sleep. By eight o’clock he had opted to wait to try again, the only source of light for miles was the small glowing screen on his radio… He could barely see anything outside the truck.

As a song came to its end Turner shut off the radio, extinguishing the last bit of light from within the cab and plunging it into near total darkness. The wail of the wind made it difficult to try and sleep, so Turner sat there in silence staring out at the darkness that surrounded his vehicle. His eyes seemed to be playing tricks on him, he thought he could see movement out there other than the whirling snow. He sincerely hoped that was the case, because if something or someone was out there then he would have to get out to investigate. With a sigh, Turner reached up near the dashboard and pulled out the knob that controlled the headlights, he also made sure they were switched to the high beams for maximum illumination.

Brilliant white light washed over the area in front of Turner’s truck, to the deputy’s surprise he saw nothing outside… Not at first. Upon closer inspection he did notice odd depressions in the snow, depressions that were oddly big and foot shaped. The deputy shook his head, refusing to believe those were anything more than just oddities in the snow. He turned off the lights and attempted to hunker down for the night again… No matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn’t stop staring out the windshield at the area where he had seen the depressions. In the darkness he couldn’t make out any details, the more he stared at the area the more he thought he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye.

“Saint Michael, defend us in battle.” Turner said quietly as his hand slowly slipped down to the spellgun resting in its holster. “Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.” He drew his weapon, gripping it tightly as he began to scan the outside windows for movement. The blowing snow was too thick, the wind too loud, anything in the distance was practically drowned out. His heart began to race when he did hear something however, as that meant it was closer than it had any right to be. “May god rebuke him, we humbly pray-” Turner pulled the light switch again, this time the light didn’t go nearly as far… “Holy shit! Holy fucking shit!”

The light hadn’t gone as far because something was in the way, something big, hairy, and tall. Taller and wider than a bear, it stared at Turner through the windshield with an almost curious expression. After several tense seconds of staring at him, it slowly raised a hand. Turner clicked the safety off his weapon, at a moments notice he could bring it to bare on the creature, he could feel his heart pounding in his ears. Then to his surprise, the massive furry biped… waved at him. Turner’s jaw dropped a little as the creature lumbered slowly over to the side of his truck and knocked on the window, Turner kept his grip on the sidearm but hesitantly rolled it down just a tad… He would much rather be curious than panicked, and in the back of his mind he knew that this was Equestria. A land of talking unicorns. Bigfoots weren’t exactly a stretch.

“Hello, Officer!” A somewhat cheerful voice called in through the window as Turner looked over and turned on the cab light. “I apologize if I startled you, I was merely worried you were in distress.”

“You damn near gave me a heart attack.” Turner replied as he clicked the safety back on his weapon. “I’m sorry, I’ve never seen someone like you before.” The man slipped his piece back into his holster, the creature didn’t seem to mean him harm. From what he could tell from its size, stature, and frankly it’s lack of clothes Turner could tell it was a male. “What brings you out here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, officer.” The creature replied in that same cheerful tone. “There isn’t a town for nearly a hundred miles in either direction, and obviously you’re from Evergreen County.” He pointed the various markings on the truck.

“I’m doing a patrol of this stretch of road, we’re getting close to holiday season. Don’t want anyone to get stuck out here.” Turner replied, he leaned against the back of his seat and rolled the window down a little more. The creature’s massive body managed to deflect a good portion of the snow that would’ve blown in otherwise. He was bending down to look into the vehicle, allowing Turner to see his face. “Mind if I ask your name?”

“I’m Bob, I’m a squatch.” Bob said in that same oddly intellectual tone of voice. “I was on a ‘patrol’ myself, I suppose. I saw you here and came to investigate.” His face was mostly covered in fur, Turner could see Bob had big blue eyes. “Say, do you want to come with me? Walk with me, I mean.”

“I can’t, sorry.” Turner replied with a shake of his head. “I gotta get some sleep, big day tomorrow.” Bob nodded quietly and looked off down the road a stretch. “You need help getting home?”

“Nope! If you want to walk the road with me, though… Let me know. I’ll be around.” With that, Bob the Squatch stood to his full massive height and began to walk away. Turner watched for a couple seconds before rolling up his window, the massive figure disappeared into the snowy mist and Turner once again shut off his headlights. Turner relaxed a bit under his blanket and tried once more to get some sleep, for the next few hours he managed to do so… It was restless, he didn’t dream, but he slept at least.

Around eleven o’clock Turner was awoken by the sound of something heavy thudding against the ground outside, it was big and frankly a little too close for comfort. The deputy jolted up in his seat and looked around, nothing to be seen in the pitch blackness of the storm. The air was chilly, so very chilly, but his blanket kept him warm for the most part. As he was starting to relax again he heard another thud, this one louder than the first.

“What the…?” Turner looked around as best he could in the darkness, his head was aching and his stomach grumbled. He hadn’t ever been this hungry before in his entire life, he felt like he could eat an entire cow and still have room for dessert. He looked around, it sounded like the thudding noise was coming from all sides of the truck. With a bit of nervousness the man turned on the headlights once more, and once more he was staring at another furry creature. “Bob?”

Bob’s fur had been brown, this one was grey, and this one didn’t wave… It just stood there, staring at the truck. Turner couldn’t see any sign of what had been thudding around, at least until the creature grabbed a rock and chucked it at the truck. It hit the hood, leaving a slight dent in the metal, after which the creature ran off into the darkness. Turner began to start moving towards the door latch, but he was so cold… He just didn’t care about anything else at that moment. As he sat there he found himself unsure of what he was even doing to begin with, all he knew was that it was very cold and that his blanket offered warmth. With that in mind, he curled back under the blanket and shut off the headlights.

Turner reached for his weapon again, just in case… For the life of him he couldn’t figure out how to turn off the safety. The man slowly lifted the weapon up to look at it, his hands were trembling from the cold.

“Fuck…” Turner said as he saw his hands, they weren’t too far gone but they were certainly taking on a more pale hue. This revelation made him question everything that had happened so far, he was beginning to show signs of hypothermia, which included symptoms like deliriousness and an inability to perform complex tasks. The Deputy sat himself up and began to run his hands together, the friction from which provided a little heat to get the blood flowing again. As fast as he could, Turner grabbed whatever warm clothes he had brought with him and surrounded himself with them. All the way up to his eyes he wrapped himself in sweaters, scarves, and a pair of long johns. He couldn’t drive ahead, not in that condition.

“God… Am I gonna die out here?” Turner asked as he looked around the cab, he couldn’t be sure of anything that had happened that night. He was pretty sure that the ‘Squatchs’ he saw weren’t real, that his truck wasn’t damaged… Then again he couldn’t be sure of anything other than he needed to keep his core body temperature up. Sleep became the enemy, if he fell asleep he couldn’t warm himself up. “No one is out here for miles… Who’s going to help me if I need it?”

Turner looked off in the distance, he wasn’t far from the train tracks that ran parallel to the road. With that in mind the man started the truck’s engine once again and flicked on the light bars, the red and blue lights illuminated the area around the truck while Turner turned on the headlights as well. It was a long shot that anyone on a train would see it, even slimmer odds that they would stop an entire train to investigate, at the very least he had tried. He picked up his radio from the seat beside him and changed the channel to ‘9’, then brought it up to talk into it.

“Emergency broadcast… This is Deputy Turner with Evergreen County Sheriff’s Department…” Turner said slowly, thinking over each word he said carefully. “I’m… I’m not doin’ too good out here on County Road 73, gettin’ pretty cold… Anyone on this wave?”

Turner lowered the radio and did his best to get warm again. It was a losing battle, the storm outside was doing it’s damndest to freeze him to the bone as the night wore on. As expected, no one responded to the radio call, and now that he was warmer he hadn’t seen any more ‘Squatchs’. What was more the dent in the hood had miraculously vanished, more evidence that the encounter had been a hallucination.

“Fuck... Gotta stay awake.” Turner said through gritted teeth as he reached out briefly, his hands covered in two pairs of socks. He attempted to turn on the radio, but the socks warming his fingers left little in the way of dexterity. All he managed to do was mash his hand against the stereo. After a couple seconds he withdrew his arms and tucked them back under his fortress of warmth. “Okay… Okay… New tactic… Talking, just keep on talking… Yeah, that oughtta work.”

The man rubbed his hands together under the blankets, by now a decent amount of heat had returned, most importantly he knew his toes were okay because he had packed the warm fabric around them so tightly that they were actually started to sweat. The lights flashing began to blur and his eyes began to grow heavy, he forced himself to stay up by flicking on the siren for a couple seconds. The blaring noise echoed across the misty snowy landscape while also serving to keep him awake.

“Sam still wants to learn how to use a gun… Okay, so when I get back… Gotta teach her.” Turner muttered as he sat their shivering, wrapped up to his eyeballs in whatever he could get his mitts on. “Should start taking more interest in what’s going on outside Evergreen County too…” He looked briefly out the window towards where he new the train tracks were, but there was no sign of any headlight that might’ve been illuminating the tracks. “Fuck, what’s gonna happen to Sam if I don’t get through this… No… No... can’t start thinking like that…”

“What do you think? She’ll move on.” Turner looked over at the seat beside him, Bob was sitting there hunched over due to his rather large size… Except he wasn’t real, which told Turner he was still far too cold. “You think you’re special to her? She’s only with you because you’re literally the last person on the planet.” The Squatch put a hand on his chest. “That’s not me being mean, just telling you what I see.”

“Go away… You aren’t real. Your just my mind playing tricks on me.” Turner replied with a grunt, rubbing his hands together under the blanket to try and get more warmth.

“No, I’m your mind trying to tell you the cold hard truth, and the truth is you know this isn’t going to last. What’re you going to do? Marry her? You saw how it ended with your own parents, you really think this is any different?” Bob said with a raised eyebrow, Turner closed his eyes and breathed into his shivering hands before rubbing them once more.

“S-She ain’t a drunk like ma...” Turner replied as he started to curl in closer on himself to try and warm up that way. “I-I ain’t gonna walk out like dad neither.” Bob let out a slight chuckle and put one of his large, fuzzy, non-existetant hands on Turner’s shoulder.

“That doesn’t matter. I know you’re shitty at math, but don’t tell me you think the only reason your parents split was because of your mom’s drinking.” Bob stated firmly, Turner ignored him and tried to focus on warming up. “It was partially your fault too, remember? Galavanting around the county with those friends of yours, abandoning your own mother…”

“D-Didn’t a-abandon her, she’s an adult! She can make her own damn decisions, and so can I! If I want to date Sam that’s my god given right you ugly furry sonofabitch!” Turner yelled at the Squatch, his voice booming in the cab of the truck. “I don’t gotta listen to you no more you sanctimonious jackass, what the fuck was my brain even thinking, making a hallucination out of an ugly motherfucker like you! Fuck you, and the horse you rode in on!” Turner saw Bob looking at him, he noticed the coloring of the large furry creature’s eyes shift… Yellow and red. “Why is that familiar…?” Turner asked himself as he looked back towards the dashboard, ignoring the large creature sitting next to him.

“Quite the temper there, you sure you aren’t going to go off like that on Sam-” Bob began, but was cut off as Turner hit him with a cross jaw. Even in the cold state of hypothermia, Turner would take no shit. “Ow… You struck me, Thomas never struck me.”

“I’m not Thomas...” Turner said with a scowl, looking at the figure sitting beside him. “And you ain’t ‘Bob the Squatch’, are ya?” Bob got a small smirk on his face and snapped his fingers, there was a small flash of light and the furry beast was replaced by a more compact draconequus. “I remember you now, they put your face out on a wanted poster about two years ago… Funniest looking motherfucker I ever saw. Disco.”

“Discord, not Disco.” Discord replied with a slight huff, the serpentine figure appeared for more comfortable now that he didn’t have to scrunch down. “So, you figured out it was me, what do you want? A gold star?”

“I’d settle for a heated blanket.” Turner grimly joked through his chattering teeth. “What do you even want, asshole? Just to watch me freeze to death?” Discord shook his head, snapping one of his fingers and prompting a warm looking mug of hot chocolate to appear in his talon.

“You’re dating a human, the others all dated ponies up until you got here… Except for Sam, of course.” Discord said while sipping the mug, Turner watched the steam pouring off of it with slight envy as he continued to try and warm his freezing body. “I’m here because, to put it mildly, I can save you… All you need to do is one thing, one tiny little thing.”

“What’s that?” Turner asked, watching the draconequus sip the mug of warm coco, his fingers were beginning to get numb no matter how hard he tried to keep them warm, eventually he settled on stuffing his hands under his armpits.

“Break things off with Sam.” Discord said flatly, his expression becoming oddly serious. “She deserves better than you anyway, and you know that.” Turner didn’t say anything and instead looked at the steering wheel, shivering as he felt the heat in his boots starting to wane. “What can you offer her? A life of mediocre existence in such a boring locale as Evergreen County? Please, she deserves far more.” The sarcastically glib tone that Discord took after that was almost as annoying as the cold.

“No.” Turner said flatly, looking back over at Discord, the serpentine figure finished slurping the mug and poofed it away before he snapped his finger again. This time, Turner found himself falling and landing in a drift of snow around three feet deep. He stood up and looked around, the draconequus had teleported him just outside his truck and locked the doors on him. The man stood up and walked to the driver’s side window, freezing even faster as the cold wind buffeted him directly.

“Break it off and I’ll let you back inside!” Discord taunted from inside, Turner began to bang on the window but nothing happened.

“Fuck you!” The deputy shouted back as he began to shiver uncontrollably, his legs felt absolutely frozen at this point. “You can go to hell, I ain’t backin’ down!” Turner collapsed into the snow, shivering as he started to crawl under the truck. The engine was running and giving off some warmth, if he could get to it he could maybe stave off the cold a little longer. Even so, the snow was high, and he could tell it would only be a matter of time until he passed out.

“Why are you so stubborn? Are you willing to throw your life away just for some girl?” Discord asked, appearing as a much smaller version of himself beside Turner as the man felt himself starting to lose consciousness. “You’re more stupid than I thought, a perfectly reasonable solution to your litteral death and you tell me to go to hell! You humans are so… Dramatic.”

“I don’t r-rightly care… W-What you think…” Turner stammered as he reached to his pants for his wallet. “Y-You might be right… I m-may be the wor-worst p-person for S-Sam… B-But I love her… I-I won’t hurt her j-just to save my own skin…” The man gripped the wallet with his trembling hand and began bringing it out of his pocket. “I-If I’m g-gonna die… It’s g-gonna be on my own goddamn terms!” With what little strength Turner had left, the man brought the wallet up near his face, the flashing lights of his truck giving him enough illumination to see. He opened it up and withdrew a small polaroid picture of Sam, smiling faintly he looked at it for a couple seconds before he closed his eyes. “G-God… G-Give me the s-serenity to accept the t-things I c-cannot change, t-the courage to ch-change those that I c-can… And the w-wisdom to know the d-difference…”

“You’re just going to let yourself die? You could save yourself! Why don’t you!?” Discord shouted one last time, Turner ignored him and merely gripped the photograph tighter. “I could make you forget it ever happened, none of you would be hurt!”

“S-Suppose t-these might be the last w-words I ever s-say…” Turner said with a trembling voice as the snow began to gradually fill in around him. “G-Go fuck y-yourself…” Discord’s expression went from one of malice to serious concern. “S-Sam… I’m s-sorry…”

The draconequus entire demeanor changed in that instant, with a snap of his fingers Turner was no longer laying in the snow under the truck. The man was once again in his truck, and to his surprise, not dead. He was also, surprisingly, warm. What was more, hot air was blowing from the vents in the truck.

“I’m sorry…” Discord said as he sat beside the Deputy, the man had much more energy than before as he wasn’t freezing to death. “I had to be sure I was right about you-” He was cut off once more as Turner lunged at him and punched him square in the face. “I had that coming.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Turner said flatly as he sat back in the driver’s seat, putting both hands on the wheel and stretching slightly. “What was that really about, asshole?”

“Well, it’s all very complicated and there’s a lot I’m not supposed to tell you, but suffice to say… That was a test of sorts.” Discord said with a slight shrug, Turner looked at him with an extremely angry expression. “If it’s worth anything, you passed.” Discord snapped his fingers, prompting little party streamers to appear and a pair of party hats to appear on both his and Turner’s heads.

“Get the fuck out of my truck.” Turner said as he pulled the hat off his head and threw it at Discord.

“Alright… But if I may say one thing, for whatever it’s worth?” Discord stated, snapping his fingers again and making the streamers and hats disappear. “You and Sam, what you have is special, and very very real.”

With that, the draconequus snapped himself away and out of the truck. Turner was left sitting there tired and angry… But warm and alive. The heat was still on, it seemed Discord had been kind enough to fix it. Turner shut off the lights and did his best to relax. It took some doing, but Turner eventually was able to get to sleep… Six hours worth, though he woke with considerably less back pain than he would’ve thought possible.

The morning had come and the storm had passed, Turner could see the snow was deep enough that it came halfway up his door, which considering how high off the ground the truck was was quite a feat. The Deputy quietly sighed and rubbed his temples, the night before had been extremely stressful. He still had a fair bit of road to travel down, even if he couldn’t see it under the snow. With that in mind he put the still running truck into four wheel drive and gave it a little gas, the truck lurched forward slightly in the deep snow and rolled for a couple feet before it got bogged down in the snow.

The man sighed and parked the vehicle before he opened the door, pushing outward against the snow was difficult but not impossible. He closed the door behind him and walked around to the side of his truck, the snow had filled in the bed considerably and he was forced to sift around a bit in the cold before he found what he was looking for. He eventually removed the entrenching tool from the bed of the truck and began to clear the snow away from the tires as best he could. It was going to be a long ride no matter which way he ended up going, whether he went home from there or continued to drive the long snowy road, he would still be going up against drifts of snow that were possibly deeper than what he found himself currently resting in.

It was peaceful out there, the soft wind blowing by as Turner worked to dig himself out of the snow. Snow stretching for miles in both directions, the sky now mostly clear of clouds while the sun reflected off the glistening white surface. The Deputy quietly looked up as he heard a noise approaching, he looked around for a bit before spotting the source. On the train tracks was a massive looking locomotive slowly plodding along with a spinning opening on its front, it was spraying large amounts of snow off to either side of the tracks as it cleared the path for other trains to follow.

Turner didn’t think he would be able to safely continue considering the amount of snow, so he picked up his radio and switched through the channels until he heard the one being used by the train crew to communicate.

“Snow clearing train eleven-twenty-seven, this is Deputy Turner of the Evergreen County Sheriff’s Department, you read me?” Turner asked as he trudged around his truck to get a better look at the locomotive’s identification number.

”Affirmative, Deputy. You’re coming in lima charlie. What can we do for you?” The operator of the train replied as the train continued moving closer.

“You guys got a long range on board I could borrow?” Turner asked, the locomotive began to slow down as the crew of the train spotted the sheriff’s truck buried in the snow.

”Affirmative, Deputy. We got eyes on you, don’t come to us we’ll come to you.” The operator replied, Turner lowered his radio and tucked it onto his belt as he watched the train come to a stop on the tracks closest to him. With that he trudged his way over to make the call that he would need some help getting him and his truck back to Silver Lake.

---

Sam was trudging her way through the snow behind the house with a shovel, clearing a path through the vast snowy wasteland for the sake of being able to make it to the driveway. It had become common place for them to use the back door more than the front, simply because Turner had taken to parking his truck in the barn. She wasn’t expecting Turner back for a couple more days, perhaps longer with the massive snow storm they’d had. That’s why she was surprised when she heard the tell tale sound of the truck’s engine rumbling up the driveway, the midday sun reflecting off the bright snow made it difficult to see the truck as it made its way up the driveway.

Turner’s truck came into view, and with it came the man, sitting behind the steering wheel as he usually did. Rather than pull all the way up to the barn, the man put the truck in park almost as soon as he saw Sam behind the house. She stood there, holding the shovel while adjusting her warm clothes and red wool coat, watching as the man killed the engine and hopped out of his truck. He began moving towards her with speed she didn’t think possible in such deep snow.

“What’re you doing home so ear-” Sam was cut off as the man wrapped his arms around her tightly, she was taken a bit by surprise as she was lifted off the ground and bear hugged by the taller man. “Paige! Tight! Too tight!” She called out, prompting Turner to put her back down. “You came barreling over here crazy fast… Is everything okay?”

“It’s a long story…” Turner said, the birds in the distant mountains chirping in the background while he put his hands on Sam’s shoulders and kissing her forehead. “Just know I’m not goin’ on anymore extended patrols until the snow melts a bit.” Sam smiled and hugged him back, though she still didn’t understand how fast he had gotten back. “I love you, Sam.”

“I love you too, Paige.” Sam said as she looked up at him, Turner could see it in her eyes, what he had been through had changed his perspective on a lot of things. He wasn’t going to let his doubt interfere anymore, he was going to love her and trust that she loved him just as much. “What happened? You seem… Off.”

“I’ll tell you all about it inside…” Turner said quietly, leaving one hand on her shoulder as they began to walk towards the house. The deputy could feel a slight welling up of emotion in his heart that made it easier for him to stay awake, considering how many hours he had slept compared to how many hours of work it had taken to get his truck onto a train and down to Silver Lake he was exhausted. He wasn’t one for big dramatics, he just hoped that Sam wasn’t too cross with him for taking a less than very emotional approach to what had happened the night before.

Hearths Warming in Silver Lake

Moonlight barely pierced the thick cloud cover as snow fell across the landscape of Evergreen County, the mountains to the north loomed hidden almost completely by the cold mist while visibility in the rest of the county remained relatively high. It had been a couple weeks since Turner’s extended patrol, the Sheriff had agreed that perhaps it was best to simply close that portion of road for the time being as most traffic came by rail anyway and it had put his Deputy’s life in considerable risk. Of course, Turner pointed out that if he had fixed the heat in his truck it wouldn’t have been as big a problem, but it was hard to argue with the five feet of snow that had bogged down the truck.

So, there Turner was, sitting in his truck with his harmonica resting on the dashboard. The Deputy had been given the short end of the stick as he was the newest member of the department, he was the one that had to stay on duty for Hearth’s Warming Eve. It wasn’t all bad though, Sam had ordered a very fancy turkey from Canterlot and he’d managed to snag a leg and a couple slices before he had to get in to work. The town was dead quiet, allowing him to enjoy the turkey leg in relative peace. Silver Lake hadn’t been hit as hard as further north, there was only around three feet of snow on the ground.

“God… This is beautiful.” Turner mused as he examined the falling snow from his seat after finishing off his turkey leg, the radio playing softly in the background. The human radio station in Canterlot had an odd assortment of Christmas songs playing, at the moment it was playing ‘Colorado Christmas’ which helped to set the mood rather well. “I should be home.” The man sighed and looked at the picture of Sam he had taped to the dashboard, she had taken the news of what had happened on his extended patrol about as well as he expected. As usual he was wearing his bomber jacket and the hat that Sam had bought for him months ago.

She had been upset, mostly at Discord, but somewhat at Turner because of how calm he seemed to be. Turner didn’t much understand that bit, but he supposed she was used to people being a bit more open with their feelings around her. He had hoped that she would’ve come to know that he wasn’t hiding things from her, he just chose not to look at things as bleakley as others might. Still, he got why she was upset, at least he thought he did… Sam was always a little difficult to get a read on when she was upset about something.

”Unit Two, Dispatch.” Turner’s radio crackled with a mare’s voice, the deputy wiped his mouth with his sleeve before picking up the radio to reply. Dispatch for the county had been shifted over the Territorial Garrison for the holidays as they could handle the influx of calls a little better and because Buckeye didn’t feel like spending her evening in the dingy office.

“Go for Unit Two.” He said while turning on the headlights in preparation for what he assumed would be a call to go check on some abandoned house. Crank calls were always a bit more common around the holiday season.

”Report of a 12-49 on Blue Mountain, address is 4819 Grave Eagle Road.” The mare dispatcher replied, Turner’s instincts were spot on as he flicked on the lights and sirens and started tearing up the north road towards Blue Mountain. ”Caller reports the victim is not breathing, medical has been dispatched. How copy?”

“Affirmative, Unit Two responding. ETA fifteen mikes.” Turner said before lowering the radio and sighing, his optimism for the evening was shattered as soon as he’d heard it was a 12-49. In the radio code book of Evergreen County, that was the shorthand for a drug overdose. He wished he could say this was the first time he had had such a call, but having one happen on Hearth’s Warming Eve hit him a bit harder than he cared to admit. He took great care as he sped along the snow covered roads, the best he could average was around forty miles an hour, each of those fifteen minutes felt like an eternity.

The man cut the siren after he skidded to a stop outside the house where the call had originated, he took the keys with him as he made his way to the dilapidated old farmhouse. He could see lights on inside and the front door was slightly open, the cold wind occasionally causing it to sway back and forth on the rusted hinges. The lights were still flashing from his vehicle as he approached the front of the house and took up a position to the side of the door.

“Sheriff’s Department!” He called out, there was no response from inside the house. “Comin’ in!” The man drew his weapon, holding it pointed towards the ground with his finger off the trigger, before he pushed the front door open and entered cautiously. He checked the corners first, but so far all he saw was run down furniture and scuffed up wooden floors. The air stunk of burnt plastic, something that was relatively associated with Zebrican Night Terror. Turner gripped his weapon with one hand before taking his radio from his belt. “Dispatch, Unit Two.”

”Go, Unit Two.” The dispatcher replied.

“On scene, is the caller is still on the line?” Turner asked while he moved slowly and cautiously towards the kitchen area of the house.

”Affirmative, Unit Two… Report says the caller is a colt, he’s hiding in the living room closet.” The radio replied, Turner looked around the room and spotted the door to the closet in question, it was solid so he couldn’t see inside through any slats. ”Do you require back up, Unit Two?”

“Roger, they’re gonna need to come in by air, the ground is pretty badly covered in snow.” Turner said as he cleared the kitchen of anyone that could be hiding there.

“Territorial Units dispatched, ETA five mikes. Medical should be on scene sooner. Advise us if you require additional support.” The radio crackled.

“Copy, Unit Two out.” Turner put the radio back on his belt, the man gripped his weapon a bit tighter as he approached the the closet door. He stood to the side of it, as he had with the front door, and knocked on it a couple times. “Sheriff’s Department, could you open up?” Turner would’ve gone looking for the person who had overdosed, but his main priority was ensuring the child was safe first and foremost. The door slowly opened outward, prompting Turner to peek inside. An Earth Pony colt was looking up at him with bleary bloodshot eyes, he had been crying for a considerable amount of time. “Howdy there, kiddo… I’m Deputy Turner. Did you call for the police?” The colt nodded. “You said someone is hurt, where are they?”

“Mommy is in her room… She won’t wake up.” The colt said nervously, Turner holstered his weapon and gestured for the colt to come outside. “Are you going to help her?”

“I’ll do what I can, but first I have to make sure you’re safe, okay?” Turner said quietly as he knelt down so he was more on the colt’s level. “Is there anyone else here in the house with you?” The colt shook his head, he was pretty frail looking, his navy blue fur was matted and he smelled like he hadn’t had a proper bath in a week. “Okay, I need you to come with me, okay? We’re gonna go somewhere a bit more safe.”

“O-Okay…” The colt replied as he walked out of the closet, Turner picked him up in his arms, the man was stunned by how light the little pony was.

“What’s your name, bud?” Turner asked as he walked the colt outside towards his truck, in the sky above he saw the flashing lights of the medical ponies that had been called, also dispatched by the Territorial Garrison. They touched down a few feet from the truck, prompting Turner to make his way to them.

“I’m Sea Mist…” Three ponies hopped out of the chariot while the fourth unhooked himself, Turner stopped in front of them as one moved towards him and the colt.

“Okay, Sea Mist? I’m gonna leave you with this nice mare here while I go check on your mom.” Turner said before gently handing the colt off to the pegasus mare who happened to be wearing blue paramedic coveralls. The colt was reluctant at first, but didn’t resist. Turner walked back into the house with two other paramedics, making his way to the bedroom where Sea Mist’s ‘Mommy’ was. It was not a pleasant sight, in fact Turner was quite sure that it was one of many that would stay with him for as long as he lived. The room looked like a bomb had gone off, clothes and furniture haphazardly tossed about except for the mattress resting on the floor at the center of the room.

Turner walked to the foot of the mattress as the two paramedics moved to work on an earth pony mare lying face up at his feet. Her eyes were wide open, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that she had aspirated on her own vomit, a syringe was still stuck in her foreleg. Her purple fur was matted just like the colts, her light blue mane straggly and stringy like a bird’s nest.

“She’s in rigor...” One of the paramedics said after doing a couple checks. “She’d have to be like this at least two hours to get this stiff… Maybe three. Nothing we can do.” Turner shook his head slightly and looked at the floor while the paramedics began to pack up the supplies that they had taken with them into the house. Turner rubbed his chin as he looked around the rest of the room, there were signs that at one point this house had been a happy one. Pictures on the walls depicted the mare on the mattress, smiling widely with the colt he had just seen.

“God damn it…” Turner said quietly as he began to take stock of the scene, writing down everything he saw on his notepad as the other Terrie units arrived and began to take their own look at the scene. Evidence was bagged, photographs were taken, but in the end it was pretty clear that the mare had overdosed. Still, that didn’t stop Turner from being as thorough as possible. He went through the closets, finding mostly forgotten pictures and dusty cardboard boxes that had likely been sealed for years. What hit him hardest was looking through the kitchen and finding at least three dozen different bottles of alcohol, most of them empty or near empty. Years before, on Earth, he had had a similar experience in his own home.

They found the mare’s stash of ZNT hidden under the mattress, as well as the rest of the kit she used to get high. Her name was High Wire, for whatever it was worth. During his search of the house he found the colt’s room, it was lined with a lot of toys, many of them fuzzy and cute despite the disarray. The bed was made, mostly… The room was clean, for the most part… It didn’t make things easier that he would have to be the one to deliver the news, on Hearth’s Warming Eve no less, that the colt would never see his mother again… Alive, at least.

The man quietly grabbed one of the toys off the colt’s bed, from the amount of patches in the stuffed alicorn he could tell that it was likely his favorite. Turner walked through the house, his boots echoing against the wood floor as he stepped outside where a couple more chariots had landed. Turner walked towards the medical chariot where he had left the colt, as he expected the paramedics were tending to him. His boots crunched the snow as he slowly removed his hat with his free hand, the man stopped near the chariot and offered the colt the stuffed alicorn toy. As expected, Sea Mist grabbed it right up and hugged it tightly.

“Is mommy okay?” He asked, the paramedic looked between the colt and Turner. The Deputy swallowed the lump in his throat and quietly knelt down so he was eye to eye with the stallion, holding his hat under his arm. “Can I see her?” Turner forced himself to maintain a stoic expression, it was the first time he would be telling someone their loved one was dead and it had to be a kid of all things on that night of all nights. “We need to be in bed so we can get presents tomorrow.”

“I’m… I’m afraid I have some bad news, Sea Mist.” Turner said quietly as he looked at the ground briefly, before forcing himself to look back at the colt. “Your mom isn’t okay…” He was in the reeds here, but he had to step up here, he had been the first one on scene… It was his responsibility. He decided to give him the same talk his father had given him about his grandfather’s death when he was young, it was the only thing he could think of. “Your mother is dead, Sea Mist. I’m sorry, everything that could have been done was done. The most important thing you need to know is that she loved you very very much, and that this is in no way your fault.”

“B-But… What about Hearth’s Warming?” Sea Mist asked, Turner was surprised to see that the colt seemed to barely register what he had just been told. “Mommy said that if I was really good I could ask for anything… I was good, I want my Mommy…” Turner almost lost his composure there, the boy’s statement had practically crushed him. “Was I not good enough? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no you didn’t do anything wrong.” The paramedic cut in, Turner looked at the mare and nodded his thanks, she could see on his face that he needed a couple seconds to sure up his expression.

“Where am I gonna go?” Sea Mist asked, his eyes starting to well up with tears. “I want my mommy… You were supposed to save her, why didn’t you save her?” The colt quietly hugged his stuffed alicorn and did his best to bury his head into the paramedic’s side. The mare gave Turner an expression that told him that he should go, all in all it seemed she was okay with what he had said… Now it would be her job, and the job of the councilor at the closest hospital, to help Sea Mist make sense of everything. The paramedics had arrived from the Territorial Garrison, which was far closer than the hospital, so it was likely to take some time.

Turner in the meantime walked back to his truck and hopped inside, he gripped the steering wheel quietly as he put his hat back on his head. In silent contemplation he sat there for a couple minutes, watching as the paramedics wheeled a black body bag out the front door while Sea Mist looked on from his place near the medical chariot. The deputy picked up his radio and quietly spoke.

“Dispatch, Unit Two…” Turner stated.

”Go ahead, Unit Two.” The mare on the other end replied.

“Backup on scene is wrapping things up, I’m RTP, how copy?” Turner’s eyes were glued to the scene ahead of him, after a couple moments he heard the radio crackle.

”Affirmative, Unit Two. RTP forthwith. Closing out the call.” Dispatcher’s voice cut out once again, leaving Turner to sit there in silence as he turned off the flashing light bars and reached to start the truck. He would RTP, or Return To Patrol, shortly… For now, he needed a minute to process things. This was the latest in a string of similar cases of overdoses, all on Zebrican Night Terror, it had started after that first train had arrived that fateful night. Turner’s eyes narrowed and his face began to grow taut with anger.

“Whoever the fuck is putting this in my county… They crossed a fuckin’ line.” Turner said under his breath as he turned the key, the engine rumbling to life before he put the truck in reverse. He pulled back out of the driveway and back onto the road, his grip on the wheel was tighter than usual. White knuckled and frankly pissed, Turner began to drive down the road once again towards Silver Lake. The Sheriff had been doing his best, they all had, but with only three people they were fighting a losing battle… They needed more deputies, more equipment… More everything.

They had tried going through channels, they had tried talking to Princess Celestia herself, but the result was the same inaction… Now ponies were overdosing and it was affecting families, it wasn’t right. As the night went on their were thankfully no more calls for him to respond to, around one in the morning his shift ended. He returned to the Sheriff’s office to finish the last reports and clock out, yawning slightly as he rubbed his eyes.

The night’s events were running through his head while he waited, he couldn’t get over just how light that colt had been… Like he hadn’t had a good meal in who knew how long. He wished he could’ve stayed and helped, but once the Terries were involved protocol said he had to get back to his patrol. What shook Turner the most was the fact that this was the first time he had seen a dead body and not had the urge to leave the room. He just did his job, like it was routine. In his mind he knew that getting upset wouldn’t have solved anything, but in his heart he felt like he had lost something...

Turner adjusted his shirt and looked at the clock on the wall, waiting for the Sheriff to come in and relieve him. His paperwork had been all but finished, all he needed to do was check his grammar. At around one twenty the door opened and the Sheriff stepped in, wiping his hooves on the mat before removing his stetson and hanging it up on the hat rack. The older stallion was carrying a thermos of what likely was either coffee or soup, his badge in full view on his long oilskin duster.

“Mornin’, Turner.” Long Wire said as he walked to his desk and put his coat on the back of his seat. “Busy night?”

“Just one call… Another 12-49.” Turner replied tiredly as he corrected a spelling mistake on the sheet of paper in front of him. “Vic was a twenty five year old female earth pony, looked like she aspirated on her own vomit but we’ll need the Terrie’s coroner report to be sure.”

“Son of a bitch.” Long Wire said with a growl as he leaned against his desk.

“Family Services will get us a report on her son too…” Turner added, which made Long Wire’s expression become a bit more sour and grim. “From the looks of it, he hasn’t had a decent meal in a week, maybe more? I ain’t no doctor.” Turner put his pen down quietly, staring at the page ahead of him before he leaned back in his seat. “What the fuck are we gonna do about this, Sheriff? Whoever’s pushing that shit is getting away scot free and the bodies are piling up!”

“I don’t know…” Long Wire said while examining the various awards on his desk. “I got at least a dozen fugitives back into custody, all they gave me was these damn plaques.” The Sheriff picked up the first award on his desk and looked it over disdainfully before he tossed it back down. “We need more eyes on this, local eyes... Not those Terries or NEBs.”

“We have Mourning Cloak and his guys, if anyone could help us track whoever’s pushing this shit it’s them.” Turner suggested, the Sheriff looked at him with an uncertain expression before sitting at his desk and reaching back to his coat. He removed his badge from the coat and looked it over in his hooves, then set it down on his desk. “Damnit, Sheriff. He’s got some of the best trained guys in the county.”

“I start deputizing changelings and the Terries will be on our ass faster than you can say Security Risk.” Long Wire replied with a sour tone, his eyes turned to the badge on his desk once again. “You know how long I been doin’ this, Turner?” The Deputy shook his head. “Goin’ on forty years…” The Sheriff set the badge down on the desk and sighed, running a hoof over his grey mane. “Next shift, I want you to head out to the Buffalo Tribal Police, see if they have anything in their files that could help.” Turner nodded quietly and began to get up from his seat, then started walking towards the time clock. “Deputy Turner…”

“Yeah, boss?” Turner asked, turning around to look at the Sheriff again.

“If you happen to accidentally mention any of this while you’re chewing the fat with Mourning Cloak, best you not tell me about it. Comprende?” The Sheriff asked, Turner paused before nodding quietly and punching his time card. “Alright, now get home.” The Deputy began walking towards the front door. He stepped out into the cold winter night, placing his hat atop his head and taking his coat from the rack. It was officially Hearth's Warming Day, but Turner found himself lacking any sort of warmth as he made his way to the truck even after pulling on his leather bomber jacket.

With a stoic grim expression, Turner started the engine and began the trek home. In his head he repeated his montra, the Serenity Prayer, over and over again… Despite that, he didn’t feel serene. A boy had lost his mother, on this day of all days, and that was something Turner didn’t think he’d ever be able to forget. He neglected to turn on the stereo, and turned down the volume on his radio. The only sound in the cab was the rumble of the engine and the crunch of snow outside the cab as he made his way home. He nearly missed the turn to the driveway as he went through the deep thoughts in his head, sifting through them like the ashes of a house fire for anything that could bring him solace.

The man parked the truck behind the house as usual, then made his way through the path in the snow he had walked many times. The snow was still falling from earlier, the scent of burning wood greeted his nostrils as he got closer. From the chimney on the side of the house he could see the smoke was rising in the light given off from inside the house. Turner walked up the steps onto the back porch and wiped his shoes before opening the door and going inside, the air of the room was warm and inviting. He stood there for a couple seconds, eyes panning across the room at the various little bits of decoration that Sam had put up for the holidays. The most notable part was a decently sized tree in the corner which was decorated with homemade ornaments.

Turner closed the door behind him and hung up his coat and hat near the door before walking as quietly as possible to take a seat on the couch in front of the low burning fire. The man untucked his shirt and removed his belt before leaning his head back for a couple seconds and looking up at the ceiling. For several minutes he sat in silence before straightening up again and turning his attention to the fire, briefly he got up and tossed a couple other pieces of wood on from the pile.

Once he was sitting back on the couch, Turner reached into the breast pocket of his uniform shirt and removed his harmonica. The soft notes of ‘Silent Night’ floating up from the instrument gradually filled the room, and eventually made their way down the hallway towards the slightly ajar bedroom door. Turner’s eyes remained focused on the fire, the dancing flames and crack of burning wood transfixing him almost as much as the music he played. There was no way he could sleep, not with the pent up nervous energy that had formed, playing soothed his nerves and his mind.

The man was slightly surprised when someone sat down right next to him, but he didn’t stop playing for a moment. Sam, wearing her nightgown, had come from the bedroom and was sitting beside him on the couch. Well, more leaning on his side than sitting. She didn’t speak, she just listened to the music and the soft sounds the fire put off. After a couple minutes Turner reached the end of the song and lowered the harmonica from his lips, tucking it back into his pocket before putting an arm around Sam.

“Rough night?” She asked quietly with a tired expression, Turner nodded and looked at the floor with a rather distressed expression. Sam watched him start to wring his hands, his calm face starting to give way to a more emotional one, his eyes watered and he took a couple deep breaths. “Paige… What happened?”

“Another OD…” Turner said quietly, wiping his eyes. “T-The lady’s kid called it in…” Sam heard Turner sniffle slightly, he was holding back so much. “T-This little colt… Barely weighed a thing, hadn’t eaten a good meal in god knows how long…” The man leaned forward, scowling dejectedly. “I… I had to tell him ‘Mommy isn’t okay.’. The first time I ever have to inform someone’s family and it’s to this lady’s goddamn kid on this night of all nights…” He looked over at Sam when she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry I woke you…”

“I was planning to get up when you got home anyway, at least for a little bit…” Sam replied, continuing to hug him tightly. “I wouldn’t want you out here alone while you’re thinking about this stuff.”

“I’ll be okay, I just… Need to process some things.” Turner admitted as he leaned against Sam and hugged her back. “I love you, Sam…” Sam smiled softly as the two of them began to relax against one another on the couch while the fireplace continued to fill the room with warmth.

“I love you too, Paige.” Sam replied softly as she let out a little yawn. “Now, shut up so we can get some sleep…” Turner let out a soft chuckle but didn’t say a word, the two of them eventually drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms on the couch. They’d likely wake up with sore necks, but that didn’t seem to occur to them at the time. The day to follow would likely be spent at home, though they didn’t much care to call it Hearth’s Warming Day, it was more apt to call it Christmas.

A Hike Through The Snow

The wind was blowing softly across the plains in the Horseshoe Basin, snow was being carried along on the wind as clouds loomed over head. It was around thirty degrees out even at midday, which was why Turner was bundled up heavily as he walked through the snowy plains. He wore a white jacket and similarly colored fatigue pants, as well as a white knit cap on his head, his rifle was slung on his back while his badge hung around his neck by a leather lanyard though it was tucked inside his jacket. He also had a pair of binoculars hanging from his neck, modified to reduce any glinting in the sun that could arise during the daytime.

Not far behind him was a changeling wearing similar white clothing, Mourning Cloak didn’t carry any other equipment other than their canteens and some spare basic tools. It had been a couple days since Hearth’s Warming, Turner had spoken with Mourning Cloak about getting help tracking down the source of the drugs being run in Silver Lake. As it turned out, those responsible had thought that Changelings would make good guards for a ‘secret project’. Of course, they told the ponies that had come calling to scram, but Mourning had them followed nonetheless. They tracked them about ten miles south of the Changeling compound, at which point the scouts turned back due to poor flying conditions.

Turner and Mourning had parked where the scouts had lost visual and started walking south, there wasn’t a lot out this way in the terms of buildings or structures, but Turner had a couple ideas of where they could be. Sheriff Long Wire had tasked him with tracking down any leads regarding the ZNT peddlers, explicitly saying that nothing took precedence over it. The two of them had been walking for nearly three hours searching for any sign of a larger operation, so far they’d come up with little more than very cold noses.

“There’s not much out here… But they would need some serious space to do what they’re doing.” Turner said tiredly as he stood atop a hill and surveyed the surrounding areas. “Mourning… If you were running an illegal drug ring, where would you hide it?”

“Underground.” Mourning replied as he too crested the hill before walking down it slightly and gesturing for Turner to follow suit. “You’re skylining, get down before you give our position away.” The Deputy quickly nodded and moved down off the hilltop, his silhouette now far less easy to detect against the white snow considering his white clothing. “However, there isn’t anywhere all the way out here suitable for tunneling… I would know.” The Changeling’s eyes scanned over the horizon as well, occasional patches of dead shrubbery poked up out of the snow while the mountains in the distant north were hidden by mist.

“The only places I can think of we checked and rechecked, no abandoned houses, no facilities.” Turner quietly raised his binoculars and began to look at the more distant land. “We only have a couple more hours until we have to turn back, don’t want to get caught out in another storm.” Mourning Cloak quietly picked up his canteen and took a sip from it before he adjusted his coat.

“It could be the place we’re looking for isn’t on any recent maps…” Mourning stated while screwing the cap back on his canteen, the two of them began walking again while taking care to keep their eyes peeled for something out of the ordinary. “So… You never told me what happened with Discord, the details I mean.”

“What’s there to tell, the asshole wanted me to break up with Sam, I told him to go fuck himself.” Turner replied quickly as he trudged down the hill further towards the bottom, Mourning shook his head quietly.

“You and I know that’s not all that happened. I’m a changeling, remember?” The changeling stated, Turner briefly stopped in his tracks and looked over at his friend with a neutral expression. “There’s no one else out here, no bravado to keep up.” After a couple seconds Turner took off his watch cap and wiped some sweat from his forehead.

“I nearly froze to death…” Turner said quietly before pulling the hat back on. “Discord said that if I broke things off with Sam he’d save me, but I told him to go fuck himself. I still refused, and at the end he saved me anyway, said it was some sort of test that I passed.” Mourning hummed quietly before he began walking again, merely nodding his head. “That’s it? No sage advice? No comment on how foolish that was?”

“Was it?” Mourning merely asked as he reached the bottom of the hill and started up the next smaller one. “There’s an old saying among my people… ‘Love is selfless, it is prepared to sacrifice.’.” The changeling walked up the hill a bit while Turner stood there quietly, looking at the ground. “Or maybe I’m wrong, maybe you’re just a stubborn sonofabitch that isn’t inclined to give in to the whims of a chaos god.”

“He’s not God.” Turner stated firmly as he started walking up the hill behind Mourning Cloak, the two of them trudging up through the snow. “So that leaves the first thing you said, which doesn’t really tell me much… I already know I love Sam.”

“Did you?” Mourning replied, the Deputy narrowed his eyes at him.

“Yes… I just said as much.” Turner stated flatly.

“Did you really?” Mourning asked over his shoulder as they headed up the hill further, the chilling air biting against their faces despite the warm clothes they wore. “I recall sensing some doubt from you when you first started going out with her, not sensing it anymore. Your emotional equilibrium is quite intact and balanced.”

“Correlation doesn't imply causation…” Turner stated quickly as they crested the next hill to look around. “See? I can use big words too.” Mourning Cloak shrugged and looked over at Turner.

“You’re a real contrarian today, you know that?” The changeling said flatly, Turner stared at him like he had lobsters coming out of his ears. “It means you’re doing things the opposite of other people out of spite.”

“Nuh uh.” Turner said flatly, Mourning merely rolled his eyes as they began to descended the hill once more and walk up the next one which was taller than most of the berms they had passed recently. “So, changing the subject, how did you and your guys take the draft letters?”

“What draft letters?” Mourning asked, Turner nodded. “What draft letters?”

“The letters the government sent out, the ones with the draft cards in them.” Turner replied simply, Mourning looked very much confused. “Unless you didn’t get any…”

“We didn’t, why? Did ponies get them?” Mourning asked, Turner nodded as they continued walking up the hill.

“Not just ponies, I got one too. Sam would’a got one, but she’s ‘important to the economy’ so she got a pass.” Turner’s blunt statement caught the changeling off guard, not only had the framework for a draft been set up but they were planning to even call upon oddity species like humans to do it. “Did changelings have a draft?”

“Sort of…” Mourning stated distantly while still taking in the news he’d just been given. He was about to respond until the two of them began to crest the top of the hill, at which point both of them dropped to their stomachs as fast as possible.

Below in a deep valley was a rundown looking industrial building, one that looked like it had been built at least sixty or seventy years prior… It wasn’t on any of the maps, likely because someone had forgotten about it. The road in and out of it only looked recently cleared, and judging by the equipment Turner was betting it had at one point served as some sort of warehouse for the Silver mines that used to be common in the area. What made it special was the fact that it wasn’t abandoned anymore, far from it in fact.

The structure was two stories tall, delapidated and made from thin sheets of metal that looked like they belonged in a scrap heap. Despite that it was sitll standing, somehow. Cracked windows provided brief glimpses into the dark interior while the surrounding area was mostly flat as if to allow carts or other vehicles to be parked there for loading and unloading. It wasn’t large, only about the size of a small aircraft hangar, but it appeared that whoever was using it was utilizing the space efficiency. There was also a considerable amount of smaller buildings, all one story, which at one point had likely been offices or other logistical support structures.

There were at least seven or so figures moving around the compound, many of them wearing odd looking suits and respirators. From the looks of it they were unicorns in the process of loading pallets of boxes onto a couple waiting carts, Turner brought the binoculars to his eyes and looked at the boxes which were shaped oddly like coffins. His view rapidly shifted to three of the figures standing outside near the carts, unlike the ponies loading the boxes these were mostly zebras and earth ponies armed with some serious hardware.

“I count three armed guards, the rest look unarmed.” Turner said under his breath as he lowered the binoculars and offered them to Mourning, the Changeling took the binoculars and examined the scene for himself.

“I don’t think they’re just moving their product through Evergreen County…” Mourning Cloak mused quietly while watching the crates being loaded, he moved his view over to the building itself and confirmed his theory when he spotted numerous lamps through some of the windows. The lights were pointed at several lines of plants with odd looking purple flowers budding on the various stems, there was a pair of ponies standing near them in respirators… He assumed they were tending to the plants. “This is a ZNT production facility…”

“Fuck…” Turner said under his breath, he took the binoculars back and examined the compound again. “They’ve been putting the drugs in coffins, no one's gonna desecrate a coffin to check for drugs. That’s how they’ve been getting it through inspection.” The man looked over at Mourning with an uncertain expression. “That still doesn’t explain how they’ve been getting it out of town, we would’ve noticed a ton of coffins.”

“The county road. Hundreds of miles of unpatrolled land right near the rail lines.” Mourning replied quietly as the two of them went back to watching the crates down below. “Still doesn’t explain how it’s been getting on to the trains.” Turner watched the last crate be loaded on the carts below, at which point the two of them began being pulled down the road away from the facility.

“Got a couple more hours in ya?” Turner asked quietly, Mourning nodded and the two of the watched the carts gradually leave.

Once they were underway Turner and Mourning began to shadow them as they made their way through the wilderness by way of a long forgotten access road that lead to the County Road. At one point Turner had to leave to move the truck back up, it took him about an hour to get to the truck before driving it through the wilderness a bit closer to where they were. When he returned and caught up with Mourning he hadn’t missed much, other than the carts seemed to have lost their cautious stance and now looked more like they were trying to play a part.

The sun was starting to set when the carts finally reached the county road, they walked a bit further south before coming to a complete stop beside an area of track siding. Turner and Mourning watched from atop a hill as the carts seemed to be waiting for something. The cold was starting to settle in for the coming night, but the ponies at the carts didn’t seem concerned about being out in the open for too long. Turner briefly looked at his watch, it was nearing four thirty… With as much stealth as he could muster he briefly texted Sam that he would be working a little later than usual, then turned off the phone entirely. Just as he tucked the phone back into his pocket Mourning and Turner heard something in the distance. The howl of a steam whistle.

“Sounds like the four o’clock Freight Runner is on time for once.” Turner mused quietly, briefly looking at the train moving down the tracks. Unlike most of the big trains they saw during the day, the freight runners that ran around morning and evening were generally smaller trains with only around four or five cars in their care at a time. “We been getting complaints from down the line, four o’clock is almost always late.”

The two of them watched as one of the ponies at the carts approached the track lever and gave it a hard yank, switching the track over to the siding as the Freight Runner began to slow down. It’s whistle howled three times as it pulled onto the siding and came to a stop not far from where the carts loaded with the drug laden coffins were waiting. The engineer briefly leaned out and seemed to be talking to the ponies at the carts before gesturing to the last car. At which point the ponies working the carts opened the last car and began tossing out the original contents, what looked like sacks of seed. After which, the ponies loaded the coffins into the car and slid the door closed. They loaded the sacks on to their carts and gave a signal to the engineer, changing over the track alignment once again so it was as if nothing had happened.

“That explains why they’ve been late…” Turner said quietly, he and Mourning had been taking note of every step of the operation below. When the train blew its whistle the carts began to trek back towards the industrial facility, while the freight cars rolled down the track with no one on the other end the wiser. “This is bigger than the two of us can handle on our own.”

“I agree… We should head back to town, you may need the Terries for this…” Mourning replied quietly as the two of them began crawling backwards down the hill to start their journey back towards the truck. “The NEB should also be informed.”

“Yeah… Sheriff’s gonna be pissed.” Turner added as the two began to quietly skulk back towards the vehicle, it was parked about half a mile away in a gulley out of sight of the path the carts had taken. As they were starting to move up a smaller hill Mourning reached out with his magic and grabbed Turner, forcing him down into the snow as he too jumped into the white powder.

“Someone’s out here…” The changeling whispered, Turner remained quiet as the changeling looked at the sky overhead. “Very faint, listen…” Turner turned his head slightly, sure enough he could hear flapping from overhead. The sky was starting to darken, but he could barely make out the faint outline of what looked vaguely like a pegasus flying overhead. “Don’t move…”

“Getting any emotions?” Turner whispered softly, Mourning shook his head. His vision was more adapted for seeing in the dark, to him the silhouette was clear as daylight. It helped greatly, as the pegasus didn’t seem to realize that there was a changeling on the ground. The way they were flying, it was clear they saw something. They dodged from cloud to cloud, never staying in place for too long. To an eye like Turners it would be almost impossible to see, but for Mourning…

“Get ready to move…” Mourning whispered, Turner nodded and slowly moved his arms to his sides to get ready to push himself up. Mourning’s horn glowed softly, after only a second an arc of green light went up into the sky. There was a surprised groan from above, after a couple moments Turner saw the clear form of a pegasus tumbling from above. Not falling out of control, their descent was easily slowed. Turner got up with Mourning and moved towards the site where the pegasus had landed in the snow, Turner took his rifle from his back as they got closer in case the pony happened to be armed. Laying in the snow, dazed with some ruffled feathers, was a white pegasus with a blue mane, he was wearing navy colored coveralls.

“Evergreen County Sheriff’s Department.” Turner said calmly, holding his weapon steady as the stallion looked around and took note of the human and the Changeling standing above him. “Hooves up.” The stallion blinked but slowly raised his hands, after a couple seconds he shook his head and let out another groan of pain.

“I’m going to reach very slowly into my pocket, okay?” The stallion said nervously, Turner nodded quietly while Mourning hovered in the air to get a look around them and make sure no one else snuck up on them. The stallion reached into one of the pockets on his coveralls and withdrew a wallet, he opened it and showed it to the Deputy. “I’m Agent Bust of the NEB…”

Turner took the wallet from him and examined it quietly, it was too dark for him to see any real detail. He handed it back to the stallion and quietly gestured for him to stand up.

“Too dark to tell if this is real… Get up, we’ll walk you to our vehicle.” Turner ordered, the stallion nodded quietly and got up. The group began to trudge through the snow towards the truck’s location, taking a roundabout path to get their just in case anyone had staked out their original path. When the arrived Turner cuffed the stallion claiming to be Agent Bust to the front bumper of the truck, then took the wallet with him to the cab and grabbed his radio. They were just within range of town, which made things a lot easier. “Dispatch, Unit Two.”

”Unit Two, Dispatch. We read you, a little fuzzy. Send traffic.” Buckeye’s voice replied over the radio, Turner smiled slightly as he heard the familiar voice. Something about getting stuck outside in the dark surrounded by snow was still a little jarring considering his last encounter with Discord.

“Got a stallion here, was shadowing us on our investigation of that report the holdouts made. Claims he’s Agent Bust of NEB, but I don’t recall anything about there being NEB agents operating in our county.” Turner explained, there was a silence on the other end before Buckeye’s voice returned.

”NEB has several agents operating in the county, apparently… Agent Bust is among them. Ensure he’s on the level. Sign is Knight, countersign is Paladin.” Buckeye said, Turner nodded and walked around to the front of the truck where the stallion was waiting patiently.

“Knight.” Turner said simply, Agent Bust looked at him for a second before quickly blurting out his reply.

“Paladin! Paladin!” The pegasus said quickly, Turner shrugged and uncuffed him, appearing somewhat annoyed by his presence. “Thanks…”

“The fuck are you doing in our jurisdiction?” Turner asked bluntly as the stallion rubbed at the points where he’d been cuffed, the Deputy put his hands on his hips while Mourning was keeping three sixty security from the bed of the truck. “NEB wasn’t invited in.”

“We weren’t sure that your office could handle the caseload that comes with drug trafficking…” Bust said with a shrug, Turner scowled and looked over at Mourning. “Besides, if you’re actively working with changelings, it seems your office might be in need of some help.”

“Fucking feds, man…” Turner said with an annoyed expression as he kicked the snow, then looked back at the Agent. “Get in the truck, Sheriff’s gonna have some serious words with you when we get back to town.”

Bust reluctantly complied, and ended up sitting in the middle between Turner and Mourning. He appeared uncertain of what was more uncomfortable, being seated next to a human or being seated next to a changeling. Either way, he’d have to deal with it for the entirety of the four hour drive back to Silver Lake. Adding to his displeasure was the addition of the western radio channel playing on the truck’s stereo, but Turner and Mourning didn’t look like they were in the mood to change the channel of asked. Both of them had sour looks on their faces, occasionally looking at Agent Bust with minor disdain.

“So… You get anything nice for Hearth’s Warming?” Mourning asked, looking past Bust at Turner. The Deputy nodded quietly as he gripped the wheel of the truck, occasionally as the truck hit a berm Bust would bump up against him.

“Sam got me some new tools for the barn, hinted at some other stuff that ain’t got here yet.” Turner explained, Mourning nodded quietly and looked out the window. “Weren’t sure what to get her, thinking about getting one of them new shotgun type spellguns but I settled on a purse what McSnare’s wife makes.”

“She does good work…” Mourning mused distantly, the conversation was needless to say awkward as the Agent was sitting quietly in the middle of the two of them. “Probably good you waited on that spellgun, let her get familiar with handhelds like your sidearm first.”

“Mhmm.” Turner said with a nod as he turned the wheel, the truck turned onto a road that would eventually lead them back to town. “General store got that cornbread coming in from Basin County this week, reckon y’all should stock up for the rest of winter.” Agent Bust looked between the two of them, his expression somewhat perplexed by what he was listening too. Neither of them were willing to discuss the case in front of him, for the simple reason that it was none of his business as he’d violated jurisdiction already just by being there. “How’re the kids? Been meaning to ask.”

“Doin’ pretty good, all things considered. Growing like weeds, lemme tell ya.” Mourning said with a slight chuckle, he looked back over to Turner for a second before stopping as Agent Bust was staring at him. “Aphid’s wondering if you could teach Morpho how to play harmonica, he’s been driving her crazy and she wants him to have a hobby or something.”

“I’ll see what I can do…” Turner said with a nod, at this point Agent Bust let out an annoyed sigh of his own and cleared his throat. Turner and Mourning quietly looked at him, waiting for him to say something.

“For the love of Celestia.. Shut up, please.” The Agent said with his hooves crossed. “I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me here, but if I have to hear you yokels talking about ‘that darn cornbread’ for any longer I’m gonna shoot myself.”

“Yokels?” Mourning and Turner said in unison, Agent Bust winced slightly at that.

“The Sheriff’s gonna love this guy.” Mourning said with a slight chuckle as he shook his head, Turner merely nodded and continued driving along. Turner chuckled himself and looked ahead at the road as it was getting considerably darker. The Deputy and the changeling both remained mostly quiet for the rest of the trip after that, seeing as anything else they said would likely warrant more complaining from the Agent between the two of them. After four hours or so the truck was rolling past the buildings on the edge of Silver Lake and rapidly closed in on the Sheriff’s Office. When the arrived Turner hit the brakes, stopping just out front of the building before throwing the truck into park.

He stepped out of the truck while Mourning got out the other side, at which point Agent Bust reluctantly got out as well. Turner closed the door firmly after grabbing his rifle from the gun rack inside and adjusting the knit cap on his head, the Agent found himself feeling rather nervous as he was lead up the steps to the door. The human deputy was whistling an odd sounding tune, it wasn’t Equestrian as far as he knew. In fact, it was a Civil War song known as Kingdom Coming. Turner didn’t care for the lyrics, but the melody was certainly upbeat. He pulled off his knit cap just as they were walking through the main door, then leaned his rifle up near the door.

“Sheriff, look what we found.” Turner called out as he ran a hand over his hair, the Sheriff was sitting at his desk. When he saw the Agent standing with Mourning and Turner he went several shades of red and purple that the deputy had never seen before. “We got some info on where them drugs is comin’ from too, an’ how they movin’ it round the county. Was on our way back when this’n started flyin’ overhead.”

“Damn NEB Agents have this notion that jurisdiction is just a suggestion, y’all are rapidly becoming more trouble than you’re worth.” Sheriff Long Wire said with a groan as he looked at Agent Bust before he turned his attention back to Turner and Mourning. “Mourning, I appreciate you helping Turner out with this. I just need you and Turner to fill out some paperwork, then you can get on out of here.”

“Alright, Sheriff.” Mourning said with a nod as Turner and he walked over to his desk, Agent Bust meanwhile sat down at the Sheriff’s desk where he was about to receive a dressing down the likes of which he had experienced since his first couple days at the academy. Over the course of the next hour and a half Turner and Mourning filled out the various paperwork and made as detailed notes as possible about what they’d observed over the day. At that point it was nine thirty, Mourning finished his work and gave Turner a nod before taking off for home. Turner, meanwhile, had to stick around until the Sheriff was done with the Agent so that he could give his full report.

He passed the time as he usually did, pulling his harmonica from his shirt pocket. He played softly enough that it didn’t bother the Sheriff as he talked through everything with the Agent, most of the songs he played were from the Civil War. They were easy enough to learn, and they had a nice bit of history behind them. After finishing a rendition of ‘Turkey in the Straw’ Turner set his harmonica down and took his phone from his pocket. He turned it on and checked for any new messages, Sam had sent him one or two acknowledging his previous messages.

“Turner.” Long Wire called out from across the room, the man turned just as he was about to start typing a message to Sam on his phone. He stopped and tucked the phone, as well as his harmonica, back into his pocket. Agent Bust looked like someone had just read him the riot act, Turner hadn’t really paid attention to what was said but the tone in the Sheriff’s tone said he wasn’t in the mood for bullshit. “First things first, I want you to escort our ‘guest’ here to the train station. Make sure he’s on the next train out of town. Don’t care where it’s going.”

“Okay, boss.” Turner said with a nod as he walked towards the Sheriff’s desk.

“Next up, seems that this fine Agent here filled me in on the details of what you saw today… So tomorrow I’m calling in the Terries to put that drug den out of commission. I want you out there with ‘em, make sure they don’t get lost.” The Sheriff said firmly, Turner nodded once again quietly. “I want it deep sixed for good, Deputy. Burned to the ground. I’d go myself but I’m too damn old to be any good that far out.”

“There won’t be nothin’ but ashes left, boss.” Turner said determinedly, the Sheriff wordlessly gestured to the Agent before he went back to his own paperwork. “Come on, you. See ya later, boss.” Long Wire nodded quietly and hummed while Agent Bust stood up sheepishly, the stallion followed Turner out the front door of the Sheriff’s Office towards his truck. He grabbed his rifle and pulled on his knit cap once again. “Git in.”

“I’m goin’.” Agent Bust replied with an annoyed tone of voice, he struggled to open the passenger side door for a moment but managed to get it and climb in. “So, when’s the next train?”

“‘Bout twenty minutes, give’r take.” Turner said with a shrug as he started the truck and backed out of the parking spot, the ride over to the train station was about as eventful as usual. They came to a stop next to the platform, at which point Turner parked the truck and took his phone out again to text Sam a quick update of what was going on. With that done, he looked over at the stallion who was watching the train tracks quietly. “What’s yer guys’s deal?”

“Our ‘deal’?” Bust replied, Turner nodded quietly. “What do you mean?”

“Well, most NEB agents I’ve dealt with turned out to be pricks… That part of your hiring policy er what?” Turner asked simply, Bust narrowed his eyes at him in brief annoyance. “Look, y’all come out to our county and conduct investigations without telling us, damn near got you killed earlier today. How’d you feel if’n we rolled up on one of yer cases and said ‘Nah, we got this.’.”

“I suppose I see your point…” Bust mumbled as he looked down the line, the light of the next train from the north was very barely visible. “You guys have a small department and a huge area to cover… As I told your Sheriff, we just want to help.”

“Shit… Most terrifying words ever uttered by man were ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’.” Turner spoke in a flat and somewhat irked tone. “Ya got in our way today, damn near gave us a heart attack. Weren’t for Mourning you’d likely be in a lot worse shape than just gettin’ yer feathers ruffled.” Bust remained quiet at that, just watching the train coming down the line. “We got the Terries if’n we want the government’s help, and if that don’t work we got each other.”

“You’ve got to face facts, Deputy. This is bigger than Evergreen County, whoever’s running this ring is all over Equestria.” Bust explained as the train started to get closer. “You’re a human, right?” Turner nodded. “You don’t… Uh… Don’t talk like a human.”

“Yeah, that’s cause ya ain’t known me long enough.” Turner shrugged, Bust looked slightly perplexed by that. “Ya spend enough time with a person, get’s easier to understan’ what they actually sayin’ as opposed to what it sounds like, y’know?”

“I suppose? Never gave it much thought.” Bust hummed quietly, by now the train was getting closer and he could hear the whistle blowing in the distance. “Deputy, I called you a yokel earlier, I’d like to apologize. It was unprofessional of me.”

“Accepted. I apologize for the whole blastin’ you out of the sky thing, so I’d say that makes us even.” Turner said with a slight shrug as he opened his door and got out, Agent Bust followed suit and followed the Deputy as he walked up onto the station platform. The two stood next to one another as they waited for the train to pull into the station. “You mean what ya said earlier, ‘bout this bein’ bigger than Evergreen County?”

“Every word.” Bust said with a nod. “ZNT has been popping up like wildfire all over the country, Evergreen County isn’t the first, or the worst.” Turner quietly adjusted his knit cap and wiped his forehead briefly before looking at the pegasus who was watching the train coming in closer. “Seems like your department has a serious hatred for these guys though, burning down an entire building is a little overkill… Even by my standards.”

“Y’all up in Canterlot don’t get it, everythin’ affects everyone in a town like this.” Turner explained as the train began to get closer and closer still. “We fix our own problems, if’n we had the right tools for the job we’d be in much better shape…” The Deputy’s expression turned to a small frown. “That’s what irks me about you bein’ here, the money they spent sending agents into our jurisdiction without our knowledge could’a helped us a lot.”

“I’ll pass that along…” Bust said, Turner merely scoffed and shook his head. “What? I can go to my superiors and tell them you need more funding.”

“We already done that. Sheriff and I went to Canterlot on two separate occasions... Not at the same time.” Turner’s exasperated tone told Bust that he wasn’t kidding. “Each time we talked to the Princess herself, each time she says ‘We’ll take it seriously’, and each time we’re left swingin’ in the wind.” The Agent was a little perplexed by that, surely if the Princess knew what was happening she would’ve sent more help. The train was closing in by now, its brakes squealing and scraping as it slowly came to a stop.

“This my ride?” Bust asked, Turner nodded and gestured to one of the passenger cars. Meanwhile, the crew of the train was getting out to top off the water in their engine at the water tower. “How do I get back to Canterlot from here?”

“Take this down ‘bout two more stops, which point you’ll be at the Sand Dune County switching yard. Tell the station master what’s up, he’ll set you in the right direction from there.” Turner said quietly as he lead Bust towards one of the rail cars and gestured for him to get on. “Sheriff doesn’t want to see y’all in town again, ‘less you got a damn good reason for comin’ back it’d be best to just stay out.”

“I’ll try to remember that, though I’m not sure my superiors will care either way…” Bust said as he stepped up onto the train. “Thanks, I guess… For seeing me off.”

“Don’t thank me, I’d sure as shit be happier on my way home right now.” Turner said as he tucked his hands into his pockets. “Still… Happy trails.” With that he turned and began walking back to his truck, looking over his shoulder every now and then to make sure Agent Bust stayed on the train. Not that it’d do much good, the stallion was a pegasus after all, but it was the best Turner could do.

He climbed into his truck just as the train was starting to blow its whistle, it started to pull out of the station and with that Turner put his truck into reverse and pulled out so he could get back on the main road. Tomorrow was going to be a doozy of a day, with the Terries coming in to bust up that drug den it was sure to be a big dust up. For now, though, Turner focused on just driving home. He wanted to be with Sam, take a bit of time to rest his bones after a long day of hiking. With that as his motivation, he drove off into the night…

The Raid

White fluffy clouds, those were the first things that Deputy Turner noticed as he and a group of Terries drove through the snowy plains far to the south of Silver Lake. Turner wore his Deputy attire while the Terries opted for whitish fatigues. Turner and Lieutenant Agendum sat in the cab while the group of eleven other Terries road in the bed of Turner’s pick up truck. The radio buzzed with activity as reports were coming in from Pegasi that were scouting ahead at the compound, though Agendum was the only one that was paying attention. The engine rumbled across the landscape as the Deputy kept his eyes fixed on the horizon, though his mind was far back in Silver Lake… More specifically, his home.

Sam hadn’t been keen to let him leave that morning, she didn’t want to see him get hurt… Ultimately though, Turner had been able to convince her that he would be safe and that she didn’t need to worry. Despite that, as he was leaving he recalled hearing her start reciting Saint Michael's prayer. Considering how Sam wasn’t the religious sort it meant a lot to Turner. As time wore on Turner started to recognize the various landmarks that he and Mourning had passed the day before.

“You guys ready?” Turner asked as he gripped the wheel a bit tighter, Agendum looked over at him with a nod. The Terries had come strapped like a SWAT team with all the trimmings, it seemed that they had a bit of experience in situations like this. Honestly, that made Turner feel a lot better. This was his first time on any sort of big drug bust, however with the support of the Terries he was pretty sure he’d come out okay.

“Stop at the base of this hill here.” Agendum said, Turner nodded and came to a halt at the base of the hill that he and Mourning had crawled up the day before. “Alright, speed is going to be key here. The faster we move in the less time they have to muster a defense. You think you can get us in there quickly with your truck or should we go on hoof?”

“I can get you in no problem.” Turner said with a nod while taking his rifle from the gun rack behind him and resting it in the well of the center seat. “The second team is gonna be coming in from the other side of the compound, right?” Agendum nodded. “Gonna be wearing the same kit as you?”

“More or less. Don’t worry, these things usually get resolved without any shots fired…” The stallion said reassuringly, Turner had to admit the Lieutenant was less of a nuisance now that he had come through for Evergreen County on more than one occasion. “When I give the word roll in with lights and sirens.” Turner adjusted his cap and took a couple deep breaths to steady his nerves, his eyes focussing on the rosary hanging from the rear view mirror. The Lieutenant picked up the radio and spoke quickly. “Team One in position.”

”Roger that, Team One. Team Two is in position. Ready on your go ahead, how copy?” A stallions voice replied from the other end of the call.

“Copy Team Two, should be pretty easy to spot the signal.” Agendum said before he looked over at Turner and nodded his head. “Hit it, Deputy.” Turner put the truck into drive before he flicked on the light bars.

The engine roared as the man floored the gas pedal and tore up the side of the hill, when the vehicle crested the hilltop he hit the sirens. At the base of the hill Turner could see the ponies in the compound freeze for a second before they started running in different directions. On a hill on the opposite side of the structure Turner could see Team Two moving down the hill on hoof. Meanwhile Turner rolled down the hill at a decent clip, the truck skidded to a stop sideways near the warehouse portion of the complex. Within a couple seconds the sirens were cut off and the stallions in the back of the truck had dismounted, Agendum and Turner each opened their doors and hopped out as well.

Turner grabbed his spellrifle and racked it five times, then took up a position around the front of the truck behind the engine block. Agendum moved with his team into the compound while the pegasi that had been circling overhead descended and began locking down all avenues of escape, Turner was among those that would be keeping the area secure from escape as well. Inside the warehouse he heard several bangs, it appeared that they weren’t going to go quietly, which made the Deputy’s heart start racing even faster. He rested his rifle on the hood of the truck, the heat from the engine burning his hand slightly through the metal.

An earth pony ran out of one of the buildings, he was light blue with a lemon yellow mane. The stallion was wearing a hooded jacket and other warm clothes, but more importantly carrying a compact automatic Spellgun. Turner took aim as the earth pony started running towards the truck, the Deputy gulped and took a deep breath as the stallion caught sight of him and started to raise the weapon.

“Sheriff’s Department! Drop your weapon!” Turner shouted loudly, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. “Drop it now!” The stallion didn’t drop it though, Turner felt chills down his spine as the barrel of the spellgun became fully level. In that instant many things ran through his mind, growing up in Wyoming, his first days in Equestria, his first day as a Deputy… Most importantly he recalled the feeling of Sam’s arms around him, her smiling face. He was going home to her, no matter what. His finger moved onto the trigger, he took a deep breath, and prayed he hadn’t waited too long.

The crack of the spell rifle cut through the air like a thunderbolt, the recoil came back and hit Turner in the shoulder with all the same force it usually did. Years of practicing his aim, hunting and training, it had all been so fluid. He was relieved for a moment, in that split instant he knew he had gotten his shot off. On reflex his eyes moved to the target, only this time it wasn’t a tin can, or a deer, or even an elk. The stallion holding the weapon was standing upright still, looking down at his own chest before looking back up at Turner with a surprised expression…

The stallion’s weapon barked out its own loud retort as he crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes, he held the trigger down the entire time and went down shooting. Turner watched blood ooze from the wound in the stallion’s chest, steaming in the cold winter air as the earth pony gasped for air. For several seconds Turner wasn’t sure what was happening, his body moving from memory of every training scenario that Long Wire had made him memorize before deputizing him. Firstly, he left his rifle behind the truck and drew the more compact sidearm from his gun belt. With it pointed towards the ground he moved out from around the truck, then towards the downed suspect.

Turner kicked the stallion’s weapon away before rolling the bleeding pony onto his stomach and quickly cuffing him so he couldn’t move. The Deputy was just that, a Deputy. Not a doctor, not a paramedic, for all he knew the suspect still could’ve posed a threat to himself or other officers. As he looked around him he saw that the Terries were leading a group of ponies out in cuffs of their own, the gunfire had subsided. Only after a couple pegasi moved in to help him secure the suspect did Turner snap back to his senses.

“Oh god… Fuck.. What did I do?” Turner asked as he looked up at the sky, noting the arrival of a couple medical chariots that had been on standby. In a blur of activity they landed and moved towards the stallion, but after a couple seconds of checking they merely shook their heads. He read their lips, he didn’t hear what they were saying… In fact, all he could really hear was a ringing in his ears. The man holstered his weapon and wiped his forehead, temporarily removing his hat to run a hand over his hair. As he was starting to put it back on he noticed something… off about it.

There was a pair of holes near the top of the hat, just an inch or so where his head normally rested. The Deputy quietly put his finger through one hole, then the other, before holding it up and looking through the first one. They were in a straight line, which was odd… It clicked in his head how they got there a second later, he had come inches from getting domed by one of the stallion’s sprayed shots. That revelation prompted Turner to quietly walk back to his truck and sit slumped against the front wheel, the cold snow greeting him as he did so. His eyes looked back at the stallion who was now being uncuffed and examined more in depth.

“What did I do?” He asked himself again as he looked back at the holes in his hat. “God… I told him to drop it… Why didn’t he drop it?” Conflicting emotions ran through Turner’s mind at that point, on the one hand… He had just killed someone, on the other, that someone had almost killed him. The first thing that hit him was anger, the man pushed himself up off the ground again as the body was carted away. “Damn idiot forced my hand. Stupid mother fucker!”

He kicked a bit of snow before turning and punching the side of his truck, only to immediately regret that decision as pain throbbed up his arm. The anger wasn’t particularly directed at anything, he was just angry in general. Turner rubbed his throbbing knuckles with his uninjured hand while taking sharp gasps of pain, at least he had something else to focus on besides the maelstrom of conflicting emotions and realizations raging in his head…

---

Things were going well for Sam as she quietly looked over her latest portfolio of reports, there had been some minor hits in the wake of the recent steel shortage but all in all she had come out of the financial turmoil relatively unscathed. The woman was sitting at the dining room table with a cup of warm tea steaming beside her, her foot tapped rapidly on the floor and her eyes continued to glance towards the clock. It was nearing six o’clock, Turner was due home soon. Her eyes went back to the page in her portfolio, she had to have read it at least a dozen times, but the words just didn’t stick with her. Her eyes flicked back to the clock time and time again, her foot tapping audibly through the room.

She adjusted her sweater, it was a little warm and scratchy but it did it’s job in keeping the chill at bay. Even with the fire burning in the fireplace she still felt like the air was cold, her entire being was chilled to the bone. The second’s hand on the clock ticked loudly with each passing second, each second that she was alone in the home with no idea as to what was happening in the outside world. Sam let out a loud yelp of surprise when she heard the familiar sound of ‘Battle Cry of Freedom’ from her cellphone, one of the many songs that Turner had taken to playing recently. Whether it was nostalgia for a time long past or just that he didn’t know many contemporary pieces, it was still a sound Sam welcomed. Then more than ever.

“Paige?” She said almost as soon as she had picked up the phone and put it up against her ear.

“I’m here, Sam…” Turner’s voice replied, though he sounded obviously stressed. “I couldn’t call earlier, some protocols had to be followed before hand.” Sam let out a sigh of relief and rubbed her forehead, just hearing his voice was enough to lift the stress off of her shoulders. “I’ll be home in about twenty minutes.”

“Okay…” Sam said while standing up and walking towards the couch to take a seat. “Are you holding up okay? You sound… Off.”

“I… I… There’s… I just want to get home, Sam… I’ll tell you everything once I’m home. I gotta hang up though, cause I’m driving, y’know?” Turner’s tone of voice was strange, like he was far more distant than ever before. Sam could tell that something had to have happened, she just couldn’t place what.

“Okay, just get home safe. I love you...” Sam said with a nod, she waited until she heard the tell tale click of Turner hanging up on his end before she put down her phone. She sat there watching the fireplace as it crackled and popped before she stood up and walked closer. She grabbed a couple pieces of firewood and put them in, boosting the heat and ensuring the house wouldn’t get too cold. When she sat back down on the couch she began to think on what could’ve happened, it consumed the woman’s thoughts up until she heard the sound of Turner’s truck rolling past the house and towards the barn. This was followed by crunching snow outside and the thud of boots trudging up the back porch.

Sam turned to face the door as Turner opened it and stepped inside, his hat in one hand and his rifle in the other. He leaned the rifle against the wall by door and hung up his coat, the look on his face was unlike anything Sam had seen before. The Deputy walked over to the couch, before wordlessly sitting down and placing his hat on the coffee table. Sam quietly examined it for a moment, then came to the same conclusion as to what happened as Turner had when he’d first noticed the holes himself.

“Are those…?” Sam asked as she pointed to the hat, Turner only nodded. “Did… Did any of them hit you?” The man shook his head and leaned back in his seat, bringing a hand to his face and rubbing his eyes. “Is that what’s bothering you?” Deciphering the various nuances of Turner’s body language was something that Sam had become quite adept at, he was obviously agitated… When he shook his head at her last question she was somewhat surprised, what could be worse than getting shot at?

“We… We raided the drug den, just as planned…” Turner said quietly, his voice heavy with emotion as he unbuttoned his shirt collar. “I was supposed to watch the perimeter, make sure no one got out… Which I did, just as planned.” Sam could tell he was building up to something, the emotion in his voice was getting harder and harder to hide. “Sam… This pony, couldn’t be more than eighteen or nineteen, basically a kid... He came out of this building towards me. He was holding an automatic, same one what put the hole in my cap there…” Turner gestured to the hat before he looked at the floor, his voice cracked as he wiped his eyes quickly. “He raised it at me, Sam… I told him to drop it, I did… He just kept comin’ at me.” Sam saw something she hadn’t really seen Turner do often, he was wiping tears away from his eyes. “I… I… I did what I was trained to do. I took aim at this kid… Pulled the trigger…”

Sam sat there somewhat dumbstruck as she took in the words he was saying, something she had never prayed she would ever hear in her entire life. What hit her hardest was seeing what it had done to Turner, Sam couldn’t say she knew what the family of the dead stallion looked like, but if it was half as destroyed as the Deputy beside her she couldn’t imagine what it felt like.

“He just stared at me, like he didn’t believe it… Then he goes down shooting, gives me that.” Turner gestured to the holes in his hat. “I told him to drop it… I told him… I keep playing it over and over in my head…” The man wiped his eyes as he started to sob. “Why…? Why didn’t he drop it?”

Sam quietly leaned over and pulled Turner into a tight embrace, feeling him sob against her shoulder was a sensation she hoped never to feel again. All the while, she was thinking about what to do. On Earth, she likely would’ve been part of some protest march against Turner, but now… Now she was on the other side of the wire. Sam quietly shook her head, kicking herself for even thinking about such things at that time. She didn’t know what she should do, so she did all she could to help Turner. For hours the two of them sat on the couch, the fire slowly dying down to embers as night replaced the twilight of day outside.

“Paige…” Sam finally spoke up, Turner nodded quietly as he rubbed his eyes and looked over at her from his position on the couch. “I love you, no matter what. You’re home… Safe. Alive.” She sat up a bit more and hugged him again. “I don’t know how to help, or if I even can help… But if you need anything, I’m here…”

“I know, Sam…” Turner said tiredly, his expression somewhat sunken as he looked at the floor. “This… This is something that I just… Need time to process.” The man looked over at her with an uncertain expression. “Sheriff Long Wire gave me a month off, but… I’m not sure what I’ll do after that.”

“We can cross that bridge when we come to it, but for now… Maybe take things day to day?” Sam suggested, Turner nodded softly and looked back at the floor. “Why don’t you go head to bed, okay? I’ll be in soon.” The Deputy nodded quietly and stood up, he undid his gun belt and rested it on the coffee table beside his hat before quietly kissing Sam on the cheek and wordlessly making his way to the master bedroom.

Sam quietly sat there, minutes ticking by as she came to terms with what she’d heard herself. It was odd, she was more upset at that Turner was so distressed than she was at the prospect of what had brought that distress on in the first place. As the woman stood from the couch and looked at the glowing embers in the fireplace, after a couple moments she looked down at Turner’s gun belt. Cautiously she reached down and removed his sidearm from his holster, then walked over to his rifle and grabbed that as well. The woman quietly walked to the bedroom with both weapons in hand, Turner was already laying under the covers and facing away from the door when Sam walked in.

Carefully she took both weapons and secured them in the gun safe that they’d recently purchased after moving in. Her eyes looked nervously over at Turner, afterwards she locked the safe and input a new combination… One the Deputy didn’t know. She wasn’t afraid of him by any means, on the contrary she did this for his own protection. Honestly, in the wake of what she had seen… Sam was afraid that her beloved mountain of a man would try to hurt himself, or worse… She wasn’t about to let that happen.

With that, Sam quietly made her way to the bed and crawled in beside Turner. She put an arm around his waist and hugged him tightly, it was easy to tell he was still awake. What he would do in the coming month was a mystery to the two of them, but Sam was determined to help Turner ride things out… Just as he was determined to make her happy. She wanted to stay up all night, but against her efforts she ended up slipping into sleep.

Turner rolled onto his back as he stared up at the ceiling of the room, the events that had followed the raid still playing out in his mind. There had been at least four Terries that had seen the shooting play out, all of them agreed that he made the right call. Sheriff Long Wire had been pretty convinced that there didn’t need to be much more investigation beyond that… Considering the holes in Turner’s hat, he took it on faith that things were above board.

Turner didn’t doubt his decision either, if he had waited an instant longer he could’ve very well not been the one to tell Sam what had happened. That’s what he kept telling himself anyway, but despite all that he couldn’t get the image of that stallion hitting the ground like a sack of cement out of his head. He knew that image would stay with him for the rest of his life, but Turner had to move on. That much was clear. So, he would spend the next month getting his shit together, and then… Then he’d get right back on the horse, so to speak. Of course, that was easier said than done... For the moment, all he could do was try to wrestle his conscience into submission so that he could get some sleep.

Author's Notes:

A brief note: You may notice I reference a lot of songs from the Civil War, Folk songs, and songs from the early 1920s occasionally. That's mainly because they're in the public domain, I figured I'd clear that up.

The Barn

The howl of wind blew through the barn, the doors rattling on their hinges as flakes of snow blew in through the few cracks in the wood planks that made up the outside shell of the structure. The sound of the blues was playing from the radio as the storm outside began to roll in. Turner’s truck was normally parked in the middle of the barn, but today Sam had borrowed it to go in to town and run a couple errands. Apparently she needed to see about some package she had ordered.

Meanwhile Turner was standing near the workbench he had set up in the barn, his expression neutral. He wore overalls and his work boots as he looked over what he was working on carefully in front of him. It had been a couple days since the shooting incident, and Turner had finally convinced Sam that he was okay to be on his own for a bit. His project had started out simply as him trying to find a new way to cope, just playing harmonica wasn’t enough in this case. He fell back on something he had done when he was far younger, when life was a lot less complicated and the most he had to worry about was whether he wanted to watch cartoons or play with action figures.

Normally the latter won out, mainly because his parents would capitalize the TV most of the time. That was what lead him to start making things to go along with his action figures, it had started out simply enough with some cardboard and tape. After some practice though, he was making some pretty neat things from foam board left over from school projects and hot glue. That was what had inspired him to start work on his latest project, the intricacies involved in making it work helped to keep his mind off the things that bothered him.

What sat on the table in front of him was a model of a biplane that seemed to be hybrid between an American Pietenpol and a British SE5, it was just about finished though it needed some finishing touches and a decent paint job. It had been difficult to get the scale right, he’d mostly had to go off of screen images from some of the movies that Sam had in her collection that featured biplanes. With some cursory sketches and a couple pictures for reference Turner had managed to work out the sizes on the wings well enough. The plane was constructed out of a foam board insulation left over from the renovations he’d done to the roof of the barn, as well as a few barbeque skewers and popsicle sticks.

The servos he was using had been cannibalized from an old model ship that he’d found in the loft storage of the barn, it only took a little tweaking to get it’s motor to spin a prop instead of a propeller. The work was helping him to work through things rationally rather than emotionally, every part was important for the model to be successful, each bit of construction had to be planned out. Running through the shooting in a sort of slideshow made it easier for Turner to come to terms with what he’d done, and now that he knew he was capable of defending himself with lethal force he honestly felt a little better. At least, that’s what he told himself...

As Turner added a couple fishing weights to help adjust the plane’s center of gravity he recalled the first time his father had talked to him about the concept of shooting someone else. At around fourteen years old it stuck pretty well. He had gone hunting with his dad before that, he’d taken his share of shots on rabbits and coyotes. The concept of shooting another human being was far from his mind though, as he had had it drilled in him that you never EVER pointed the gun at anything you didn’t intend to destroy. His father’s words to him resonated even to this day, the baritone raspy voice of his old man was clear as crystal in his memory.

“You’re old enough, I think, to hear a few things.” His dad had said, Turner gradually tuned the music in the background out while he focused on balancing the model a bit more. He could still remember the smell of the grass by the creek in Eustace, Wyoming. It had been a warm spring day when his father and him had a talk. “You know what hunting is all about, feeding your family is important. What’s more important is making sure you’re still around to feed your family, understand?”

At first Turner hadn’t understood what his old man had meant by that, but as his father would go on to explain to him, at some point he could very well possibly have to kill, to ‘Destroy’, someone so that they didn’t hurt him. His father had made it clear that doing so wasn’t always the answer, that words had their place, but when the chips were down if he ever had to make that call it was better to be judged by twelve than carried by six. At which point his father had to explain the concept of juries and pallbearers in greater detail in order for his metaphor to make sense.

As Turner finished working on the balancing of the plane he paused to look at his hands, they didn’t look any different than they had before the incident. They didn’t look any more sinister or evil, they were just the same. The same hands that had renovated the barn, the same hands that had made the very model he was working on, the same hands that held Sam close at night… And now, the same hands that had taken someone’s life. The man took a deep breath as he placed both hands on the workbench, it took him a second to realize that he was literally shaking in his boots. He quietly reached over and turned off the radio, his hand trembling as he felt his knees start to wobble.

His chest felt tight, a couple seconds later he was sitting on the ground against the workbench. Turner’s eyes ran hot as he started to tear up, there was no one in the barn with him, he didn’t need to hold back. Even if he did, he wouldn’t have. There, alone in the barn, he sat curled up against the workbench sobbing again. He couldn’t stop himself, he didn’t even try. Time passed, though how much time it was was a mystery to him. Turner thought he had gotten everything under control, but the truth was he was far from it.

The door to the Barn opened after what felt like hours, prompting Turner to look over, bleary eyed. He wiped his eyes as he saw a pony standing there, they closed the door and started walking towards him. With his eyes cleared he could see the form of Doc Meadowbrook, the look on her face was one of concern. It had been a while since he and her had talked, in part because now he talked with Sam about most of the stuff he used to talk to the Doc about.

“Sheriff send you?” Turner asked, the mare nodded as she walked closer and sat across from Turner on the floor.

“Well, the Sheriff and the Territorial Garrison. The Lieutenant and his troops conducted the official investigation, but considering what I heard the outcome wasn’t really in doubt.” Meadowbrook said with a nod while she looked around the barn, briefly her eyes fell on the model resting on the bench before she looked back at Turner. “It was a good shoot, by all their accounts, even your own…” Turner looked at the floor quietly. “The stallion you shot had already taken a shot at the Terries clearing the building.”

“I know.” Turner said as he wiped his eyes and wiped his hand on his pant leg, his eyes were bloodshot and ached, but the tears didn’t stop. “I know… I know it was ‘justified’. Everyone keeps telling me I did the right thing, I told him to drop it... More than once… He still didn’t listen.”

“There wasn’t anything you could’ve done differently, Paige.” Meadowbrook said as she watched the Deputy lean his head back against the workbench and gasp slightly. “I talked to Sam in town today, she’s worried about you. I’m worried about you…. I want you to talk to her, or me, no matter what? Don’t bottle it up.”

“Talk to her about what? Huh? What it felt like when the gun kicked back against my shoulder? How… How his blood steamed up in the snow…” Turner sounded angry, but the expression on his face was pain. Deep emotional pain. Meadowbrook had never seen such a look on his face before, a desperate sort of agony. His voice rose in volume as he continued to talk. “How scared his eyes were as the life drained out of him?! Is that what you want me to talk about?! How I did that to another living, breathing person and then everyone says it was Justified before the body’s even cold!?”

“You don’t think it was justified?” Meadowbrook asked quietly as she watched Turner put his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes again. The man sighed after taking a couple deep breaths, then looked back at Meadowbrook.

“I… I had to do it, I know that…. I just…” Turner trailed off as he sat there, after a couple minutes of silence he stood back up and wiped his eyes again. “That stallion, he was a kid… Y’know? He probably had dreams, probably thought he was invincible… Hell, I did when I was his age.” Meadowbrook stood up with him, her expression somewhat neutral, as neutral as she could make it at least. “I dunno, I just wonder… What if I’d waited a second longer? What if I’d told him one more time. Fuck… I don’t even know his name.”

“Walnut Swirl…” Meadowbrook’s tone was calm as before, she watched the man’s face as he took a deep breath and leaned back against the workbench. “His name was Walnut Swirl.” The man sighed quietly and looked at his model airplane sitting on the bench, his expression becoming a bit of a frown. “You put your badge on in the morning willingly that day, you took your life in your own hands… He did the same thing when he picked up that automatic.”

“Doesn’t change what happened though, no matter how much I rationalize it.” Turner muttered as he turned back towards his model plane and held it up to examine it a bit closer. “I’m… I’m honestly not sure if I can ever put the badge on again, Doc… This job, it’s what I worked towards for so long, and now… Now I don’t know if I can do it anymore.”

“So?” Meadowbrook said with a raised eyebrow, catching the Deputy by surprise. “Quit, don’t quit… Put on the badge, don’t put on the badge…” The mare approached the workbench and examined the model plane after Turner placed it back down beside the other building supplies. “I’ve learned many things in my long life, so allow me to impart onto you some advice of my own.” The mare picked up the model and looked it over for herself, she had never seen a plane before. Only heard of them from stories Turner had told her.

“It’s not the stethoscope that makes me a good doctor, and it’s not the badge that makes you a good deputy. It’s this… Right here.” Meadowbrook tapped Turner’s chest with an expression of certainty written across her features. “You’re smart, you’ve got good instincts, but all of that is wasted if you haven’t got a good soul to use them.” The mare smiled faintly as she put the model back down on the bench and gave Turner a strong hug. “Trust me, Paige. That’s one thing you have in spades, this wouldn’t be tearing you up if you didn’t.”

Turner stood there silently, his expression somewhat uncertain as he returned the embrace that Meadowbrook had flung upon him. The Deputy quietly let go of her and looked at his model biplane, things were shaping up, all that really needed to be done was hook up the arcane battery and take her for a test flight. The man quietly picked up the plane and hooked up the battery, then grabbed the controller that had originally been used on the old model ship he’d used for parts.

“If that’s the case, then I wish I didn’t have such a strong soul… Because it’s making me feel like shit.” Turner’s tone was flat, but a humorless joke was better than nothing in Meadowbrook’s eyes. She walked with him as he walked out of the barn, pushing the door open and looking around. “Storm’s going to be picking up soon, won’t have long for this.”

He closed the door and walked about thirty feet away from the barn. Meadowbrook stood next to him in the knee deep snow as he held the plane in one hand and tested its controls with the other. When he was satisfied with the results he took a deep breath and pushed the throttle up to a decent speed. The engine revved and whined as Turner tossed it into the wind, then took control of the plane completely. It was a little difficult to control at first, Turner hadn’t done anything remotely like this in over ten years or so, but he hoped it was like riding a bike.

The biplane banked and circled around, diving and climbing as Turner messed with the controls. For the first couple minutes things seemed to go okay, the biplane looked down right cool, like something out of a movie… At least, it would if not for the lack of paint. The engine was barely audible, he could barely hear it even when the wind died down from time to time. Despite his earlier success Turner was still pretty rusty, as evidenced when the biplane nosed over and planted itself firmly into the snow after he gave it a little too much power and not enough elevator control. Quietly he walked towards it, all the while Meadowbrook watching as he picked it up and dusted it off… It seemed fine, the foam construction and the snow had cushioned the blow.

“At least it works…” He said as he looked over the plane, Meadowbrook could still see that he was feeling a great deal of stress. Despite that, he seemed to have reigned it in enough to test out his model. She had to admit, watching it take off had been rather odd. She’d only ever really seen birds and pegasi fly, or the occasional paper airplane… “Look, Sam is probably going to be home soon if you want me to give you a ride back to town… I feel bad that you had to walk all the way out here.”

“Thank you, but I think it’d be best if you just stayed home for now. I’m sure I can convince Sam to take me back to town.” Meadowbrook said as she and Turner began walking towards the house and away from the barn, Turner still had his model in hand.

Once inside Meadowbrook began to take stock of the house, she had only visited a couple times before. Meanwhile Turner put his model away and went into the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror and turned on the sink, the pressure of the running water and the sound it made as it splashed down in the basin was mesmerizing. He stood there for a second, looking at his reflection. Tired eyes stared back at him, eyes that hadn’t slept well in four nights. A good deal of stubble had formed on his cheeks, he just hadn’t had the motivation to shave lately. After a couple seconds he blinked his eyes and splashed water on his face, trying to wake himself up a bit more.

He quietly shut off the sink as he stood there, water dripping off his face as he stared into the haggard face of someone he hardly recognized as himself. After a couple moments he sat down on the floor, leaning up against the bathtub. His hands were shaking again, his breathing labored as his chest once again felt like he was being stepped on. He briefly considered going to the kitchen and grabbing the first bottle of alcohol he could find, but quickly he dismissed that urge. That had been how his mom had handled her problems, how so many people in his family had handled them… He wasn’t going to start down that road, he had already strayed too close before.

Alone, in silence, he sat on the floor with his knees up against his chest. The man stared at the back of the wooden door, the grimly familiar burning sensation of tears running down his cheeks. He was home, warm, safe and sound with people who cared about him… What about Walnut Swirl, the stallion he’d killed, what about those that cared for him? Where were they while Turner sat there still breathing, still living. His mind wouldn’t leave him alone, he couldn’t make it stop. He rationalized over and over again, logically he had made the right call, he had done everything right.

“God…” Turner said as he looked towards the ceiling. “God, I… I need your help.” The Deputy looked back at the floor. “I don’t know how to make sense of this, I don’t understand…” He leaned his head against the wall and rubbed his brow. “This job, it’s the only thing I’ve had that kept me going for the longest time. Now, I’m not sure I can ever do it again.” He sat there quietly, as if waiting for some answer, but no answer came. “I’m not alone anymore, thank you for that… That still doesn’t seem to help with dealing with this… Granted, it’s only been a few days…”

“I don’t want this part of my life to be over… I like this job, even after this…” Turner continued, his eyes watering as he wiped his face and listened to the buzz of the fluorescent lights above. “Is that wrong? I love what I do, even after taking someone’s life… Is… Is there something wrong with me?” The Deputy’s question once again went unanswered, at least in the traditional sense. He sat there in silence for an eternity, his thoughts gradually straying to darker and darker reaches of his mind.

“How can Sam stay with me now…?” Turner asked aloud, speaking to noone in particular. “How can she look at me the same way? It won’t be long until she realizes that I’m a shitty person, and she’d be right… I hate me too.” Turner quietly looked down at his hands again, opening and closing them. He felt more distant from himself in that moment than he ever had before. “How can I love what I do after this? What kind of fucked up person am I?” Turner heard the door knob turn, slowly it opened inward to reveal that both Sam and Meadowbrook were standing outside the door. He could tell from the looks on their faces they had heard almost every word…

“Paige…” Sam said as she wiped one of her eyes and walked closer, it was clear she had probably been listening through the door. He hadn’t even heard her enter the house, yet here she was, crouching down beside Turner and resting a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t hate you, and I don’t think you’re any kind of fucked up.” Turner looked at the floor quietly as the woman held him closer, he could feel her trembling as she did so. “You… You need help, more than I can provide on my own or even with Meadowbrook’s help... That’s what you’re going to get…” Turner didn’t know what to say, so he just leaned his head against Sam as he tried to quell the maelstrom of emotions whirling inside of him once again. Somewhere all the uncertainty and fear, all the anger at himself and self loathing, all the anxiety and panic… Hidden away, sequestered from the darkness, was a glimmer of hope that maybe… Just maybe… He could come away from all that had happened in more or less one piece.

There's a confidence boost...

Two months had passed since the shooting incident, in that time Sam had used her considerable connections to set Turner up with one of the best psychiatrists in Canterlot. Turner of course wasn’t too keen on the idea of seeing a ‘shrink’, but after the first couple sessions he honestly felt like they were working. The trips to Canterlot proved to be an annoying part of his life, as he was often away from home for three days a week. It was all necessary though, in order to help him get back to some form of normalcy. After the first month he had gotten the shakes under control, and by the end of month two he was able to carry his gun again without breaking down.

Sam had been busy as well, the trucks that she had been working on producing were finally up for sale. They were selling very well, mostly among farmers and moving companies, but Sam knew that would only be the beginning. Indeed, she had even received several requests for more information from the Equestrian Government as a whole. Every trip she made to Canterlot usually had her talk to at least one pony looking to get in on a piece of the action. However, most of her concerns weren’t on the considerable profit she was making, or even the possibility of scaling up Turner’s model airplanes to full size…

The clouds over central Evergreen County were heavy and dark grey, thunder rumbled in the distance and every so often a bright flash of lightning would fill the horizon. Silver Lake was mostly shuttered, stores were closed and the mainstreet was completely empty. Even the Sheriff’s Office was surprisingly bare. The only pony inside was the Sheriff himself, his eyes locked on the front door.

North of town a ways, the barn on the Human Homestead was far less vacant. Within the building, Deputy Turner was feverishly hammering wooden planks up onto some of the smaller holes in the ceiling. He held the nails in his teeth as he quickly put up board after board to ensure that any leaks he had missed wouldn’t get worse. The loft he stood in was covered in tarps, he had already set down a couple buckets in the trouble spots, and down below his truck was parked safely and securely beside his workbench.

“Paige! Hurry up! The storm’s way too close for comfort!” Turner heard Sam’s voice call up from below, he looked over and saw her standing in the doorway of the barn. The man looked back at the plank he was working on, it was the last one he could manage to finish. He’d have to hope the rest of the roof was leak proofed enough. He tossed the rest of the nails into one of the buckets and climbed down from the loft, once down he tossed his hammer onto the workbench. Outside he could hear the intense roar of thunder, the distant sound of falling water told him that soon the torrential rains would be upon them.

“Let’s go!” Turner said, walking towards the door while adjusting his overalls and grabbing his jacket from a nail that served as a hook near the door. “Come on!” Sam walked with him as he closed the door to the barn behind them, the rain was starting to come down rapidly at that point. With a grunt he held the jacket over Sam, keeping her dry as they swiftly made their way back to the back porch, up the steps, and into the house. Freezing cold rain began to pour down outside the house, almost as loudly as the thunder it splattered against the ground. The sound of the downpour was akin to a steak sizzling as it cooked, accompanied by the fanfare of thunderclaps and the flashing lightshow of lightning.

“Those guys at the weather factory need to seriously work on their quality control. This is the second rogue storm we’ve had this year.” Sam said as she removed her slightly damp cloth jacket, she ran a hand through her hair and turned to look at Turner. She giggled slightly when she saw that he was soaking wet, a bit of his hair had been matted down over his eyes. With a huff he blew a bit of air up and cleared it out of his vision, then rubbed his somewhat stubbly chin. “You can’t sit on the couch, not soaking wet.”

“Can’t I just stand here for a bit?” Turner said with a sigh, Sam shook her head.

“You’re dripping all over the floor!” She replied, Turner looked at her for a moment before he sighed and nodded. “Come on, there’s clean towels in the bedroom. I’ll start heating up some soup and we can settle in to watch a movie.” Turner briefly thought about it, then nodded with a shrug and started to walk towards the bedroom. “And Paige?”

“Yeah, hon?” Turner looked over his shoulder at her.

“I love you!” Sam said with a warm smile, Turner smirked quietly. “Now go, you’re still dripping!” With that the Deputy turned and made his way through the house, he passed down the hallway towards their bedroom just as he usually did. The hallway was lined with a couple paintings, the very paintings that had hung in the living room of his apartment before he had moved in with Sam. The thundering noise outside told him that this rogue storm would be a long one, it would likely last through the rest of the day and the whole night. A night alone at home with Sam, likely huddling around the fireplace or watching a movie, Turner liked the sound of that and where that might lead.

Once in the bedroom Turner stripped out of his wet clothes and changed into a simple white tank top and a pair of sweatpants, after all he didn’t plan on going outside that night. With that taken care of he walked to the bathroom to comb his hair a bit more presentably. His Sheriff’s Deputy tattoo still looked good, at least to him, which prompted him to briefly consider getting another… Of course, Sam would likely freak if he did, unless… No, he didn’t have time to think about stuff like that. With his hair in order and everything else complete he tossed his wet clothes in the hamper and walked back out into the living room.

In the kitchen it seemed Sam was heating up a bit of chicken soup that they had left over from a couple nights prior, which prompted Turner to walk towards the fireplace and kneel down in front of it.

“Hey, you want me to start a fire?” Turner called over his shoulder, as expected he heard the familiar muffled ‘Yes’ that came from the kitchen. With a slight smile he grabbed a couple pieces of wood from a stack near the brickwork of the chimney. He put the logs in place and added a bit of kindling from a nearby burlap sack which contained dried twigs and the like. With a practiced hand he lit the kindling and blew on it a couple times until it was burning. Not long after he had placed it back into the fireplace the pieces of wood were starting to catch alight. The man rubbed his hands on his pant leg for a moment, with a sigh he walked to the couch and took a seat while watching the flames grow brighter.

After some time passed Sam walked out of the kitchen with two bowls of soup, which she gingerly placed on the dining room table. Turner stood up and walked over to take a seat while Sam put down a couple spoons. The thunder and rain outside was louder now than it was before, and it seemed it would only get louder as the day went on until finally the storm passed. They sat across from each other, the steam rising from the bowls of warm broth placed before them.

“So, I was talking to the Sheriff when I was in town earlier today.” Sam said, prompting Turner to look at her with a raised eyebrow. “Seems that they’re finally starting to see some new funding, you might have some new deputies when you go back.” Turner nodded quietly and blew on his soup before picking up his spoon and taking a spoonful. It was a little hot, but not too much, just perfect.

“That’s good…” The man said, staring down into his bowl quietly. “I’m glad he’s getting help, I hate being out of work this long.” Sam sighed sympathetically before she too took a sip of her soup, the warm broth was just as good as it had been the first time they had had it. “Doctor Clear Sky says I’m still at least four months away from full duty…”

“Personally, I’m glad you’re home.” Sam said as she enjoyed her soup, she watched Turner quietly stir his, something he occasionally did when in deep thought. “I get to spend a bunch more time with you, and I haven’t been getting any complaints about you spending more time with me.” The woman waggled her eyebrows at him, he smiled back at her and stopped stirring the soup in his bowl.

“It has been nice, but we both know that we’re both going to go crazy if I’m stuck at home for too long. There’s not really a lot for me to do.” Turner replied, Sam shrugged her shoulders as she heard him say that. In all honesty she enjoyed his company now that he was home more often, but she knew that it couldn’t last forever. “I have enjoyed helping you with that plane idea you had, though I still think you should start with something smaller… Like an ultralight.”

“Well, tell you what, if you build me a working ultralight I’ll have a better idea of what kind of materials and processes are involved.” Sam said with a smile, lately she had been giving him tasks to help him drive out the dark thoughts that pervasively infested his head from day to day. The Doctor had made it clear that until they could get his thoughts under control the best they could do was minimize the amount of time Turner spent thinking about them. “Just… Don’t take it for a test flight while I’m here.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, if I decide to make it.” Turner nodded as he continued to eat his soup, the conversation from that point on shifted to some of the more mundane subjects of the day. Did they have enough milk? Had Turner heard the latest gossip around town? All topics that helped pass the time as the eventually finished off their soups. Even as their bowls sat empty on the table Turner and Sam talked the the hours away. The sound of the round outside accented their conversation as the light gradually started to fade outside. Turner would occasionally get up to tend the fire, and eventually the two of them moved onto the couch to continue their discussion.

“Did you read the paper today?” Turner eventually asked, that had been a subject that Sam had intentionally been avoiding. Mainly because the headlines were somewhat concerning, at least to her.

“Yes… I saw, though… It doesn’t really affect us.” Sam said, Turner raised an eyebrow at her, as if she had somehow read a different article than him. “What the Griffon’s do in regards to their neighbors isn’t our business.” She briefly looked over to the paper which she had placed on one of the unused dining room tables.

“It’s not some dispute over who has the prettiest garden, Sam…” Turner said in a somewhat serious tone, which made it all the more surreal for Sam. The headline in question had to do with an incident between the Saddle Arabians and the Griffons, specifically the Griffons had stationed at least four thousand combat troops on the border for ‘War Games’. The Saddle Arabians had seen it as a threat and so they moved their own army in to defend against a possible invasion. Tensions had risen, several shots were fired, but cooler heads prevailed and the incident didn’t devolve into a full on shooting match. “A border skirmish is pretty serious, that’s why we have fences. Good fences make good neighbors. That’s the kind of thing that needs to get nipped in the bud, maybe send a couple of our own troops over there to make sure they play nice.”

“My mom would flip right now if she heard that… I can hear her now. ‘My daughter is dating a right wing knee jerk reactionary! Where did I go wrong?’.” Sam replied, Turner chuckled faintly and put an arm around her.

“You seem to really care about what she would think of me… Does it really bother you that much?” He asked, Sam nodded quietly. “Why?” The crackle of the fireplace filled the air with soothing warmth, even as the rain poured down outside Sam felt comfortable enough to talk.

“My parents were just really critical is all…” Sam said with a sigh. “Everything I did had to be perfect or else it wasn’t good enough. ‘You got an ‘A’ on a test? Why isn’t it an ‘A+’, Samantha?’.” Turner hummed quietly, his eyes looking deep into her own. “I kinda do wish they were here though… Mainly so I could watch their heads explode.”

“I'd even be wearing a full uniform while you told them, if you think that'd help.” Turner hugged Sam closer, prompting her to smile and nestle in against his shoulder while the night fell around the house. The darkness of the room was only broken by the flames in the fireplace, the crack and pop of the burning wood was just as soothing as the sound of rain outside. “So… Do you want to put on that movie?”

“Nah…” Sam nestled a little closer as she spoke, Turner didn’t protest and put his arm around her in a gentle embrace. “We could do something a bit more active though…” She was looking up at Turner with her bedroom eyes, her hand moved to his cheek as she leaned up and kissed him. He kissed her back, putting a hand on the back of her head and holding her as their lips continued to press against one another. After a couple minutes Sam pulled back, her cheeks flushed. “Do you want to do this here, or in the bedroom?”

“Here is good…” Turner’s voice was somewhat confident, and Sam could tell that he needed to blow off some steam. As it turned out, so did she. With a smirk Sam leaned back in and started kiss him once again. Perhaps the rogue storm wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

...and then there's a CONFIDENCE Boost. (Warning: Adult Content)

For Turner and Sam the first thing that normally happened when things heated up was them shedding their clothes like a husky in summer. Kisses were interrupted only briefly as Turner pulled his tank top off over his head, or when Sam leaned back to remove not only her shirt but her bra as well. Her breasts lay bare in the warm glow of the fire, Turner’s hands rapidly moving to them while Sam wrapped her arms around his back. The two of them managed to get their pants down without using their hands, which left them free to explore one another’s bodies as they had many times before. Turner’s boxers and Sam’s panties still remained, but they would be dealt with in time.

Ever since the first time the two of them had sex it had been something special, in the various relationships that they’d had prior to meeting one another it had felt different. The two of them together just felt right. Sam loved the feeling of Turner’s muscles as she ran her fingers up and down his back, Turner loved the supple soft feel of Sam’s breasts, and this was only the prelude of what was to come. The heat from the fireplace was nothing compared to the heat between the two of them. Gradually, and almost hesitantly, Sam began to kiss her way down Turner’s neck, then down to his chest, before she eventually slid off the couch and onto the floor in front of him.

“I love this part…” She said in a lusty tone as she rested a hand on Turner’s boxers and felt his stiffening cock beneath the fabric. “Have I ever told you my favorite thing to do in the bedroom is suck your cock?”

“Y-Yes, many times.” Turner replied as he looked down at her, her bare breasts coupled with her deeply colored eyes in the soft glow of the fire… It was perhaps one of the most erotic images he could think of at the time. “Almost every time, actually…” Sam smirked up at him as she gripped his member through the boxers and leaned forward, kissing the shape it made in soft cotton fabric. “Fuck…” The man leaned his head back and sighed in anticipation.

“It’s because it’s true.” Sam replied before planting several kisses along the length of his now fully hard cock. She reached up a bit and pulled down his boxers, then smiled as her prize sprang free from its cloth prison. Turner looked back down at her, feeling the somewhat cooler air against his skin. It was soon joined by the hot warmth of her breath as she moved closer still. “And this is my second favorite.” She began to stroke the shaft before leaning towards the base of Turner’s cock where his balls awaited. With a content hum she began to suck on the sack, all while looking up past Turner’s manhood and into his eyes.

Turner reached out quietly and grabbed hold of her hair, moaning for a moment as he watched Sam quietly move further up. Planting kisses from his sack up the length of his shaft until finally she reached the head where a small bead of precum had formed. The woman softly took the head into his mouth, savoring the brief taste of precum as a mere appetizer for what was to come. Turner subconsciously gave a slight tug on her hair as he let out a gasp of satisfaction, Sam responded by starting to bob her head up and down. Slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed as more of her spit transferred from her mouth to the slick member between her lips.

Sam stuffed one hand down between her legs, slipping a couple fingers into her now sopping wet pussy and in the process working her panties down around her knees. Her other hand was meanwhile occupied by stroking Turner’s cock in tandem with her oral machinations. Though as she gradually started to deeper and deeper she simply put it on Turner’s thigh in order to keep it out of the way. Her skill was far better now than it had been their first time together, and without much effort she was able to suppress her gag reflex and take the entire length down to the hilt, a small bulge forming in her throat each time she did so.

The soft ‘gluck gluck’ she made with each downward bob of her head added to the myriad of sensations running through Turner’s mind and body. He had his hand now fully rested on Sam’s head, her hair somewhat of a mess at this point. She briefly brushed it back with her free hand, not once letting it interrupt her task. The taste of precum was a bit more prevalent now that she was going at him in full, the somewhat salty fluid was something that she had become quite fond of. Seeing as there still wasn’t any real way of ensuring that she didn’t become pregnant there were only two real options for them, and one of them often left her unable to walk funny for a day or so.

So blowjobs had become her favorite form of sex, and a mouthful of hot sticky cum was her favorite reward. The sensation of Turner’s cock in her throat was welcome, she could feel every pulsing vein with her tongue. She was briefly put off balance when Turner pulled her head back for a moment, leaving her panting and looking at him with surprise. This surprised expression changed to excitement as the man stood up off the couch and gripped her head with both hands.

“Oh, baby… Are you gonna fuck my thro-?” Sam was cut off as Turner pulled her head back down onto his cock with a considerable amount of force, her nostrils flared somewhat as she relaxed her throat and allowed him entry. Her fingers were now crammed into her pussy, and she was dripping with excitement. The feeling of Turner thrusting into her mouth and down her throat was exquisite, gradually the man picked up speed and Sam’s eyes began to water more and more. Her nose was filled with his scent each time she took him to the base, by now she knew that his stamina would keep him going for some time.

After a few more minutes Sam cried out as her fingers brought her to her peak, but she could tell Turner was far from finished yet. His grip on her head was firm, but not too firm. Tears ran down her cheeks, not from any emotional distress but instead from the physical toll that swallowing that much cock over and over again took on Sam. Eventually she felt his grip tightening on her head, his grunts becoming more haggard. Sam looked up at him as his expression became one of concentration. After a couple moments more she saw his composure break, he let out a loud grunt of pleasure and stopped thrusting into her mouth.

She felt the warm liquid begin pooling on her tongue as Turner let out a final moan of ecstasy, Sam smiled faintly as the man pulled himself free from her lips. The flavor was as she expected, and after a couple moments of letting it rest on her tongue she swallowed the load. Turner collapsed on the couch, panting and sweating heavily. Sam climbed back up on the couch and cuddled beside him, both of them basking in the post coital bliss.

“That was fucking awesome.” Sam said, wiping her eyes. Turner put his arm around her quietly, leaning his head against hers. “I love you, Paige… In case you hadn’t gathered that by now.”

“I kinda picked up on it, yeah…” Turner replied sarcastically, wiping the sweat from his brow, prompting Sam to chuckle slightly and give him a slight elbow to the ribs. The storm was still raging outside, the fire was starting to die down, and both of them were practically exhausted. They sat there quietly for what felt like hours, gradually the room became darker and darker as the fire died down to embers. Turner shifted slightly, then looked at the fireplace quietly. Sleep came eventually, both of them fell asleep in one another’s arms, still stark naked. The mess they’d left would have to wait until morning before it could be cleaned up.

Volare.

The barn of the Turner Homestead smelled of burnt metal and epoxy, it had been three and a half months since Turner had been put on psychiatric suspension. In the time since the rogue storm had hit he had thrown himself into his latest project, when he wasn’t in Canterlot or spending time with Sam he was out in the barn. Sam had suggested that he make her an ultralight, so that’s what he planned to do. At first it had been difficult, his first prototypes had failed miserably. He’d started trying to build it out of wood, but the tools he had limited his success with that. The wing he had tried making from foam at one point, but it seemed too flimsy for his taste. It was far harder than simply scaling up a model airplane.

The aircraft he had a cockpit which was about the size of a gokart with a wing span of around twenty five feet, the frame was metal while the wing surfaces consisted of a type of canvas typically used in sailing ships. It had a tail with elevators and a rudder, as well as ailerons on the main wings. The propeller was mounted to a rear facing engine he had converted from a rather small parade float, something that surprisingly existed despite there not seeming to be any other form of internal combustion engines. Equestrian engineers sure seemed to have their priorities in some weird order if Parade floats had come before generally accessible automobiles.

Turner was busy checking over the wing surfaces and the welds he had finished over the last couple days, the smell had lingered in the barn for some time despite that. By all accounts the only thing that it needed now was a testflight. As Turner was examining the right aileron he heard a knock on the barn door, that told him it wasn’t Sam since she normally just came right in. With a sigh he looked away from the wing and cleared his throat.

“It’s open.” He called out, immediately going back to his checking and rechecking of the wing surfaces which had been painted olive drab. The barn door opened, the midday light shining in as the beautiful summer day made its presence known. Standing in the doorway was an older looking stallion, Sheriff Long Wire. His hat was off, but his badge was still present on his oilskin jacket. “Hey, Boss. Wasn’t expecting you here.”

“I wanted to see how you were doing myself, wasn’t sure I was getting the whole story out of Sam when I bumped into her in town.” Long Wire replied as he walked into the barn, examining the ultralight with an uncertain eye. “What’ve you been up to?”

“Seeing my doctor, tinkering… I taught Sam some stuff about guns, still haven’t actually taken her out to the range yet, though.” Turner replied somewhat absentmindedly as he checked the tension on one of the control cables.

“Good to hear…” Long Wire sounded somewhat awkward, which prompted Turner to stop looking at the aircraft and back at the Sheriff. “Truth be told, there’s another reason I came here to see you. You know I want you to come back when your ready, but have you given any thought to whether you actually want to come back at all?”

“You been talking to Sam a lot, huh.” Turner replied with a slight grunt, he wiped his hands on his old grease covered overalls and walked towards his workbench. “Truth of it is I have considered hanging up my hat… But I’m not sure I can.” The man sighed and leaned against the bench, then gestured to a small cooler resting on the top. “Root beer?”

“Nah.” Long Wire walked around the ultralight and leaned against the workbench, he watched as Turner took his own drink from the cooler and twisted off the bottle cap. “I’d be sorry to see you go, Turner. You’re a good Deputy, and with some of the new funding finally coming in we’ll need some guys to keep new officers on the straight and narrow.” Turner looked at the Sheriff with a raised. “We busted open a narcotic operation when the NEB couldn’t, they couldn’t ignore us anymore after that… At least, I hope that’s the reason. Either way it means we can hire more deputies. I even put in an order to that company Sam owns for some trucks of our own.”

“That’s great, Boss! Glad they finally listened, let’s just hope you don’t need to take down another crime ring next time you need a cost of living raise.” Turner said, taking a sip of his drink while looking at the Sheriff. “But if you’ve got new guys do you really need me back, I’m sure there’s plenty of ponies to cover the patrol routes.”

“Yeah, we have enough deputy recruits and some auxiliaries as well, about twenty or thirty total as I recall… But that’s not what I mean, Turner.” Long Wire cleared his throat, as if uncertain of himself. “I want to offer you a promotion to Sergeant, I know it’s a bit early in your career but unofficially you’ve been helping us out for more than the required three years… That counts in my book, and I’m Sheriff so I can wave that requirement.”

“It’s also a desk position, as I recall.” Turner said somewhat flatly, looking at Long Wire as he sipped his drink. “You know how well I handle sitting around, boss…” The Sheriff looked around the barn, noting the various little doodads and tools that had been either purchased or fabricated on site.

“Not always, I wasn’t planning on having you sit around all the time. You’d be of more use to me out in the field, training some of these new guys.” Long Wire’s tone was somewhat insistent, but he could see on Turner’s face that the man still wasn’t sold on the idea

“I killed a man, Sheriff…” Turner said quietly, setting the bottle of root beer down on the workbench. “You say the promotion is because you need me, but to me it feels like you’re trying to reward me for taking someone’s life.” Long Wire was a bit surprised by the man’s bluntness, though he supposed that there was plenty to be surprised about. “If you want me to take this promotion I need to know that ain't the case.”

“It isn’t, Turner. I ain’t ever lied to you before, and I’m not gonna start now… With the exception of the other human thing, but other than that… Never.” Long Wire said firmly, Turner looked at the ground as he listened to the Sheriff. “I have more deputies now, but I don’t have experienced officers to train them. Put simply, I need you.” The man looked at him for a second, then back at the aircraft he had been working on earlier. He had thrown himself into that task to keep his mind from confronting what he had done, but now came the time face what he had done, accept what happened, and keep moving forward.

“I’ll consider it…” Turner looked over at Long Wire with a genuine expression of honesty. “I have a few conditions though.” The Sheriff nodded quietly. “I want to be out of work by five or six at the latest, and I would like a raise in addition to the salary cut I took when I first joined the department.” The Sheriff looked thoughtful, but nodded again. “Last but not least, I’d like something rather important…”

“What’s that?” Long Wire asked, raising an eyebrow as he considered what the Deputy wanted.

“I’d like to be reimbursed for the parts and labor I did maintaining our only motorized police vehicle.” Turner explained somewhat calmly, which caught the Sheriff off guard. It was quite a sizeable amount that Turner had put into the truck during his time with the department, he had saved the receipts in case there was ever a time that the Department could reimburse him. “It was all out of pocket, and now I need the money for something…. Personal.”

“That’s almost thirty thousand bits, Turner!” Long Wire loudly spoke while he appeared to be in some mild form of shock, Turner quickly shushed him. “I suppose can do that, but not all at once… What do you need that much money for anyway?” The stallion stopped for a moment, then thought for a second, before a look of realization crossed his face. “Sam… You need it for something for Sam.”

“Yeah…” Turner looked at the Sheriff. “We’ve been going out for almost a year or so now, Boss… I can’t imagine life without her. I already got a ring and something else, but it kinda wiped me out savings wise… I want to set up a nice night at a fancy restaurant. Not exactly something I can ask Sam for help with, y’know?” Long Wire got a great big fatherly grin on his face, as if this was something he had been expecting for a long time. “So, can you get it for me or not?”

“I’ll see what I can do… I assume this means you’re coming back?” The Sheriff asked, Turner picked up his root beer and quickly finished it before wiping his lips and sighing.

“Fuck yeah I am… Not gonna leave you and Buckeye to deal with a bunch of recruits who don’t know a citation booklet from a hole in the ground.” Turner tossed the empty bottle into a nearby bucket which contained more trash, he then crossed his arms and looked back at the ultralight taking up the majority of space in his barn. “I appreciate you letting me take as much time as I have, Boss.”

“Don’t mention it, I know this has been rough on you…” The Sheriff said with a slight sigh, as if he had some personal experience with what had happened. Turner figured that over the course of a career spanning forty plus years it was likely that the Sheriff had been placed in the same position. “Can I level with you for a moment, Turner?”

“Go ahead.” Turner said with a shrug.

“I’m not just promoting you because you deserve it…” The Sheriff said with a bit of a neutral tone. “I’ve been at this for long time, missed a lot of years with my family. Did you know I have a granddaughter? I didn’t, at least, not until recently.” The stallion walked towards the ultralight and looked it over, as if trying to figure out how such a contraption would be able to fly. “My vision ain’t what it used to be either, so once I’m sure our new deputies are up to snuff I’m gonna retire.”

“So Buckeye is gonna need a right hand, I get it.” Turner deduced, but the Sheriff shook his head. “Sheriff, if it isn’t gonna be Buckeye replacing you who is it gonna be?”

“I ain’t decided yet, that’s part of the reason I promoted you…” The Sheriff ran a hoof along the wing of the ultralight, he was surprised at the apparent strength of the fabric that covered the wings. “It’s another reason I came out here, do you want to toss your hat into the ring? I wouldn’t appoint you unless you wanted the job.”

“As it stands I don’t get to see Sam all that often when I’m working, even if I start getting out at five or six… Not to mention it’s a political position too, and you know how I feel about those types of things...” The man quietly walked towards the rear of the ultralight and grunted as he started to push it outside of the barn. “It’s a big decision, can I have some time to think on it, talk it over with Sam? It’s something that’d affect both of us.” He grunted as he talked and pushed, the tires rolling over the somewhat uneven ground.

“I understand, but I figured I’d keep you in the loop all the same.” The Sheriff said with a shrug before he began helping Turner push the ultralight out of the barn. “How the heck is this thing supposed to work, anyway?”

“Oh… Like a bird flies, or a pegasus, or my models. Air moves over the wings and creates lift.” Turner explained as the man rolled the ultralight out into a path of pasture that he had cleared of any grass. “The engine turns the propeller, that creates thrust, which pushes the plane forward and thus moves the air over the wings.” Long Wire looked at his Deputy with a raised eyebrow, Turner normally wasn’t the one that knew things about science. “I adjust the control surfaces, the ultralight does different things… Wanna stick around and watch the test flight?”

“You sure this is safe?” Long Wire asked, Turner paused for a moment, then nodded with a convinced look on his face. “Have you ever flown anything like this before?”

“Totally, yeah! Sort of…” Turner said with a shrug. “I played a lot of games with airplanes and flight sims growing, and I can fly the model pretty well… How hard can it be?” The man climbed into the seat and began looking over the control gauges, he wouldn’t be able to tell how fast he was going since he hadn’t figured out how to make an accurate method of checking it in his barn. All he had was a temperature gauge, an Arcane Fuel gauge, and a RPM gauge attached to the metal spar that ran down from the top of the center wing down to the small nose of the aircraft. “Pull back on the stick to climb, push forward to descend. Push on the pedals to adjust the rudder.”

Long Wire watched the Deputy as he ran through his mental checklist, the elevators moved up and down as he pulled and pushed on the stick. The ailerons seemed to work fine as well, and the rudder was smooth as butter.

“Hey, what’s this thing called?” Long Wire asked as he walked around the front of the ultralight. “I know it’s an ultra-whatever… But it oughtta have a name.” Turner briefly looked at the Sheriff, then got up out of his seat.

“You’re right! I totally forgot, I had something for this! I’ll be right back.” Turner got out of the seat and rushed back to the barn, leaving Long Wire to examine the aircraft. It’s olive drab paint scheme blended rather well with the grass that had sprung up on the pasture.

The land had once been farmed, but Long Wire supposed it was nice just having some natural grass popping up on it. The Sheriff sighed, hoping that when he retired he could enjoy the similar view out his own porch. The stallion’s attention was drawn back to the barn as Turner came back carrying a can of red spray paint and what looked like a stencil of some kind, as well as some masking tape. The man walked around to the right side of the nose and taped the stencil in place before giving the spray paint sufficient amount of shaking.

“What’s that say?” Longwire asked while trying to get a peak at the stencil over Turner’s shoulder. The man didn’t waste any time filling in the stencil with the spray paint, after which he removed the stencil and took a step back. “Senor… Seno…”

“Senorita Rebelde.” Turner said as he put the paint and other tools back near the side of the barn. “It means ‘Miss Rebel’, in Spanish. Sam’s family is from a place called Mexico, she speaks Spanish pretty well from what little I’ve heard…”

“What you’ve heard?” Long Wire asked as he looked over the stenciled words with a raised eyebrow. Turner shrugged. “She hasn’t said anything in Spanish around you? Seems odd.”

“I wouldn’t know Spanish from Griffish, Boss.” Turner said with a shrug as he walked back over and looked over his work. “I figure she just doesn’t want to go through the trouble of teaching me another language, she already helped me read Equestrian good.”

Turner left out another idea he had, Sam only ever seemed to slip up when she was really mad and thought she was by herself. He worried that bringing it up might hit a nerve, but he figured naming the ultralight the way he had was harmless enough. The Sheriff and Turner stood there, talking briefly about all the new duties he would be assigned when returning as a Sergeant. For one, taking recruits on patrols with him. On the other hand, he’d get to pull a couple shifts as Desk Sergeant every week. While he hated paperwork, he still enjoyed days where he didn’t have to go galavanting around the county looking for trouble.

“Alright, paint’s dry. Let’s give this thing a go!” Turner rubbed his hands together with a look of excitement on his face as he walked back over to the ultralight and climbed into the single person seat. “Let’s see how this goes, this is the furthest one of my prototypes has made it!” The man double checked the connections to the control surfaces, meanwhile the Sheriff stood back from the vehicle. If he was thought he to intervene he would, but he trusted that Turner had a better idea of what he was doing than he let on. “Stand back.”

The man looked over his shoulder to ensure no one was standing near the propeller. He flipped the power switch and pushed the starter button, the aircraft started to vibrate as the engine started right up, rumbling quietly as it spun the propeller in its idle setting.

“Wait! What do you mean this is the furthest you’ve made it so far!?” The Sheriff shouted over the engine. “Are you sure you can do this?”

“What!?” Turner yelled back, unable to hear what the Sheriff is said. The vibrations smoothed out once the engine had warmed up, the man did one final check of his control surfaces before finally giving a quick salute to the Sheriff. With that Turner gunned the engine, the propeller spun up and began to put off a ton of wind as it started to push the ultralight down the makeshift runway.

Turner was jostled by the uneven ground for around thirty seconds or so before he pulled back on the stick. He was honestly surprised when the ultralight lifted slowly off of the ground and into the air. The feeling was certainly something he hadn’t expected, he had never flown before, even on Earth he had always driven. The man looked down as he rose higher in the sky, levelling off at around a hundred feet up. Below he could see the county stretched out before him in all directions. The roads, the train tracks, and Silver Lake off in the distance.

“Fuck yeah! It fuckin’ worked!” Turner shouted happily, though no one could hear him. He took a couple seconds to adjust the controls, banking left or right and testing the effects of the rudder and elevators. If the Wright Brothers had done it without any training then why couldn’t he? “Okay, that climbs… That descends… Sweet.”

The man banked towards the road that ran along the edge of his property, following it as it went towards the town. Seeing the county from even this slight vantage point was a new experience, it put all the things he saw into perspective. Things were small in the scheme of things, and worry about them wasn’t doing him any good. He could of the warm summer wind against his cheeks as he flew along at what he guessed was around thirty miles an hour. The invigorating sensation was something Turner probably wouldn’t be able to forget… Or get enough of.

As he flew along the road he looked down at the train pulling into the train station, a freight train with a few passenger cars from the looks of it. What caught his attention was the cargo, he counted at least fifteen trucks strapped to flatbeds. They looked like Ford Broncos, and even from a hundred feet up he recognized the emblem of the Evergreen County Sheriff’s Department painted on the doors. It seemed that Sam’s bid to make trucks and cars common in Equestria was paying off. A couple of the trucks were present on a few more flatbeds to the rear, though they lacked any markings.

Below he saw his own truck parked near the train station, he could see Sam talking with a couple ponies with clipboards. The ponies and woman alike looked up when they heard the buzzing of the engine of the ultralight. Turner quietly held out his hand and waved at them before banking to the right and circling overhead. The controls were smooth, he could fly one handed if he wanted to. He orbited over the train station for a couple minutes before levelling off and making his way back towards the house.

The green and gold fields below replaced the small town and the flatbeds rapidly faded back into his mind. Turner looked to the left and found himself looking at the planes in a way he hadn’t seen them before, a look to the left found him looking at the lake for which Silver Lake got its name in the distance. It glistened like a bed of jewels in the summer daylight. He was still only one hundred feet in the air, he could only imagine what he would see if he could fly higher. That, however, was a goal was for another time. For now he had a far more simpler but all the more important objective in mind. Taking off and flying was one thing, but landing… That was where things could go wrong.

“Okay… Okay… Let’s see… First and foremost, gotta line up with the runway…” Turner mused to himself as he adjusted his course towards his homestead. He could see the area he had cleared away, it seemed far smaller now that he was in the air. Despite that he lined up with it as best he could. The rush of freedom he had felt at the beginning of his flight was now replaced by a sensation of urgent anxiety. “What next… Start descending?”

Turner nudged the stick forward slightly, the ground began to get closer as he began the descent. The man was calling on all his memories of flight sims and dog fighting games, he also recalled the various documentaries he had watched about the NTSB investigating plane crashes… Something he wished hadn’t popped into his head at that time.

“Okay, descending smoothly…” Turner could see the strip of grass getting closer with each passing second while he descended, he took deep breaths and tried to control his nerves as the ground began to get closer. He looked over to the side at the ground, he judged he was around fifty feet from the ground at that point. He levelled off briefly, otherwise at his current rate of descent he would hit the ground short of the runway. “Almost there… Stay on target.”

Turner could see the Sheriff, a small speck beside the barn, watching as the ultralight came closer. Turner drew back on the throttle and began descending again. At twenty five feet from the ground he gripped the throttle with one hand while holding the stick with the other, his knuckles were white and his teeth were gritted together. Almost as an afterthought he began talking again. “God… We haven’t talked in a while, but if you’re listening… I could use a hand here.” The man let out one final pent up breath, he could practically feel the grass scraping up against the wheels of the aircraft. “Okay, it’s practically down already. Let’s seal the fuckin’ deal!”

Turner pulled back on the stick, raising the nose of the ultralight and flaring the aircraft. It slowed ever so slightly and touched down on the runway. He had overshot the end by twenty feet, but as soon as his wheels hit the dirt he cut the engine entirely back to idle. The landing was bumpy, and by no means perfect, but Turner eventually coasted to a stop next to the Barn almost exactly where he had taken off from. The man killed the engine and climbed out of the seat, fear and anxiety giving way as adrenaline coursed through his veins.

“Fuck yeah! I knew I could fuckin’ fly that shit!” The man looked over at the ultralight, then over at the Sheriff who had watched the entire landing from the barn. “God damn, Boss. That was intense!” Long Wire smiled and walked towards the ultralight, examining the aircraft with a bit more curiosity. “It worked, it actually fuckin’ worked! Thank you, god!” The man felt like he had just won the lottery, and despite the concern he had felt on his landing, he wanted to hop right back on the controls and get back at it.

“You looked like a Pegasus coming on on that approach there, well, your contraption did.” Long Wire commented, Turner looked down the runway and then back at the ultralight. “Damn happy to see you getting some confidence back. I’m even gladder that I’m not scraping you up off the ground with a spatula.” The Sheriff sighed quietly as Turner looked back towards him and put his hands on his hips. “I gotta get back to it, as much as I’d like to chew the fat.”

“I get it, Boss. Glad you stopped by, see you whenever they clear me to come back, or before that. Who can say?” Turner nodded before shaking the stallion’s hoof. The Sheriff nodded and with that began walking off down the driveway, Turner meanwhile went back to examining his ultralight. The welds looked in good shape, but the tail could use a little work. The landing had been a little difficult, so he was considering converting it to a taildragger. Mostly however he was riding the wave of satisfaction that his design had not only worked, but that he, a complete novice, had been able to fly it. The sound of an engine that sounded like his truck pulling up the driveway soon echoed from around the front of the house, but oddly enough it was accompanied by two other engines.

Turner walked around the front of the barn just as three vehicles came into view while passing by the house. One was Turner’s truck, he could see Sam sitting behind the wheel. The other two that looked like Broncos lacked markings, just like the ones he had seen on his flight. One was forest green while the other was black, driving them was none other than Thomas and Gwen. Turner recalled Sam mentioning that they might come for a visit, but he hadn’t expected them to be driving up. Sam stopped in front of the barn while Gwen and Thomas stopped behind her, they all turned off the engines and exited at just around the same time.

“Hey, Sam!” Turner said cheerfully, waving at the woman. She walked around the front of the truck with great speed, before Turner could say anything else she wheeled back and slapped him hard. “Sam, what the fu-” He was once again cut off as she pulled him into a passionate kiss. Turner was… Happy? But mostly confused. When she pulled away Turner could finally catch his breath.

“You actually did it!?” She shouted, Turner paused for a moment, then let out a slight ‘Oh!’. “What do you mean ‘Oh’?! You could’ve been killed, you’re not a pilot!”

“Well, yeah, but you said come up with a design that worked…” Turner said simply, gesturing around the side of the barn to the ultralight. “How was I going to know it was going to fly unless it, y’know, flew?” Sam looked at him for a second, as if she was trying to figure something out, Turner wasn’t sure of she was gonna smack him or kiss him again. Eventually she sighed, and rather than look upset she looked impressed. “Uh, Sam? You’re kinda sending me some mixed signals here.”

“I just… Was not expecting to look up in the sky today and see you flying around.” Sam said with a sigh as she put her hands on her hips. “Anyway, Gwen and Thomas wanted to come visit, and I had a surprise for you but… Well, you saw them while you were up there. Merry Christmas.” Now it was Turner’s turn to look confused. “I pulled a few strings, since I own the company that makes them. They were supposed to get here for Christmas, but with the Griffon Steel embargo…”

“I get it.” Turner said with a smile before waving at Thomas and Gwen, who both awkwardly waved back. “You didn’t have to do that, Sam. I’m good driving my truck.” The woman shook her head firmly.

“Maybe, but I know how much you love your truck… And I have to admit I kinda like it too. I want that truck to be around as long as possible. Best way to keep it that way is to drive something else, hence… Another truck.” Sam explained, Turner looked at her quietly, as if he was having a moment of clarity. She bought him a truck, so that he didn’t have to worry about his other truck breaking down. His mouth hung agape for a moment, but he eventually picked it up off the ground and was able to speak again.

“You may deny this, but there’s a bit of a redneck in you. You know that?” Turner said with a smirk, the lidded eyes she gave him after that caused a slight blush across his cheeks. “You know what I mean! Jeez, besides… That bit of redneck’s only in you at night.”

“Uh, we’re standing right here. We can hear everything… You know that, right?” Thomas spoke up from the background, both Sam and Turner looked at their guests with a little embarrassment. Thomas seemed to shrug off any awkwardness that might’ve been filling the area and forged ahead. “Hey, Turner! I’d ask how your hammer’s hangin’, but I’ve got a pretty good idea. Nice flyby earlier, by the way!”

“Thanks, Tom. Good to see you too, and you, Gwen!” Turner smiled as he put an arm around Sam’s shoulder and began walking towards the two trucks. “Hey, I get one truck is to replace the other truck, but what’s the third truck for?”

“That one’s mine.” Sam said simply, Turner kissed her briefly as she said that. If she wasn’t his soulmate she was damn close to it. Sure she was from Las Angeles, but no one is perfect. She drank, she was funny, she could carry a tune… She liked trucks, and country music, but most importantly Sam gave Turner something he had rarely had growing up… A feeling of family. “Hey, Paige? You in there? You kinda looked like you were off somewhere else.”

“Yeah, yeah… I’m here. Sorry, was just thinking about some stuff.” Turner said while rubbing the back of his neck. “You guys head in, I just need to put a few things away in the barn.” Thomas quietly leaned to the side in order to get a look at the ultralight that was sitting next to it.

“I’ll give you a hand, that looks heavy.” Thomas said, walking towards the ultralight while Sam and Gwen shrugged and started walking inside together. Turner quickly caught up with Thomas, only when they were out of earshot of the women did Thomas speak. “I gotta talk to you about something”

“What’s up?” Turner asked as he and Thomas stopped beside the Ultralight. Taking it into the barn wasn’t as important as their discussion, so they simply stood there. Thomas briefly looked over his shoulder at the house before looking back at Turner.

“Remember that thing with Discord?” Thomas asked, Turner simply nodded as he leaned against the barn. “He’s a shitty record keeper, but I think I have a lead on who sent him after you. It was Princess Luna.”

“Luna? Which one is she again?” Turner asked with a raised eyebrow, his expression was relatively neutral despite the news. Thomas was a little unsettled by that, he had expected the Deputy to seem a little more upset.

“Princess of the Night.” Thomas explained, the man crossed his arms and looked out over the grass covered property. “She’s always been a little shady to me, even after the whole Nightmare Moon Reform thing.” Thomas looked back at Turner, taking in the Deputies rather scruffy appearance. The stubble and stained denim of his overalls was something he wasn’t quite accustomed to seeing from the usually straight laced officer. “Discord’s mostly harmless nowadays, if he took things as far as you said he did… It had to be on someone else’s orders.”

“Man, it doesn’t surprise me.” Turner muttered as he looked out over his own property. “I appreciate you looking into that for me, Tom. I got enough shit going on out here without looking into whatever ivory tower puppet master set me up out there… Twilight excluded, of course.” The man let out a deep sigh, blowing off some steam with someone who shared his particular disdain for the government as a whole was somewhat cathartic. “You’re into all that political stuff, no offense... Mind if I run something by you?”

“Shoot.” Thomas replied.

“Those draft cards they sent out a couple months back…” Turner walked over the the Ultralight and began to push it back towards the barn, Thomas joined him. He grunted slightly before he continued talking. “What’re the odds of those got them getting called up?” The two of them had little trouble pushing the ultralight back into the barn, at which point Thomas felt free enough to answer.

“Normally, I’d say there’s nothing to worry about… Except I got one too, so there’s plenty to worry about.” Thomas said as he wiped his forehead, Turner closed the doors to the barn with a light thud. “The Griffs have most of their continent on the ropes, I gotta feeling they’re gonna start gobbling up their neighbors until they control every inch of that island right to the bridge that connects us to them.”

“So we’re fucked.” Turner flatly spoke, Thomas nodded. “Well, who knows, maybe the Princesses won’t pull a Chamberlain.” Thomas looked at Turner with a rather surprised expression. “What, I can’t be smart?”

“You can, I just didn’t think you knew who Neville Chamberlain was.” Thomas shrugged as the two of them started walking back towards the house. “Anyway, another thing I wanted to mention, Twilight was kind enough to issue me a special hunting permit, if your interested.”

“We’ll see, Tom. I haven’t fired a gun in a while, and as much as I know I gotta do it eventually, I’m not too keen on the idea. I’ll think about it though.” Turner’s reserved expression spoke volumes about his hesitance, it was clear that in his rational mind he knew that to get back to work he needed to recertify on his weapon… It’s just his brain and his mind weren’t on the same wavelength, his mind was fine with the idea of going to the range. His brain, on the other hand, responded by issuing a strong sense of fear every time he even thought about it. Fighting his own brain for control was both difficult and demoralizing. Despite that he knew he’d prevail, he just needed to take the first steps.

The two men walked up the steps to the back porch, inside they found Gwen and Sam were chatting on the couch in front of the fireplace. Turner and Thomas joined the two of them, catching up with one another about what had happened in their respective provinces of Equestria. For Turner, the day had been an interesting one. Not only had he managed to make his design work, he had been promoted and gotten a new truck. Precisely because of that good fortune he couldn’t help but hear Murphy’s Law riding in somewhere from off in the distance. Still Turner didn’t feel too concerned, he had gotten through plenty of bad spots.

The Gathering Storm

The chill of morning was still in the air in the mountains North of Silver Lake, the sun had barely crested the horizon. Turner and Sam were outside their house, about fifty yards away from the house. Thomas and Gwen were still asleep inside, but for Sam and Turner it was a bit of a momentous occasion. Turner had opted to take Thomas up on his previous offer to go hunting, but he wanted to touch up on his marksmanship. Since Sam wanted to learn to use a weapon she accompanied, finally she would have a chance to learn a new skill.

They had driven down in the forest green Bronco, the one that belonged to Turner, though the vehicle’s name in Equestria was ‘Marshal’. Rather than Ford, it was made by Sam’s company, the Montoya Motor Company. The truck wasn’t important, not compared to what it was carrying. Turner and Sam had taken pretty much every spellgun they had out of the safe in their closet and driven out to a slight ravine in their property. It provided a decent hill, which could catch any stray rounds. Sam was standing by the truck, quietly watching as Turner set up some targets down range against the base of the hill.

Just the fact that he was out here was an accomplishment in her eyes, as Sam watched him set up the silhouettes and the various empty cans that would serve as their targets she found herself thinking a bit more about the time she had spent with him. The ten months had been something of a whirlwind, but they were some of the happiest that Sam had ever had. The rest of the day would be spent with Gwen and Thomas, so for this brief period of the morning Sam had Turner all to herself as she was used to.

Turner walked back from the base of the hill, dressed in his usual casual attire. He wore his overalls and a grey t-shirt, work boots, and to help with the chill a light denim jacket and wool knit cap. Sam was similarly dressed, wearing jeans and a hoodie over her t-shirt. She too wore work boots, though not nearly as well worn as Turner’s. The man gestured for her to follow him as he approached the back of the truck, he then dropped the rear cargo gate and lifted the rear window which granted him access to the rear portion of the Marshal.

From the opening to the rear seat bench were several canvas bags of various sizes, as well as a few locked boxes and a container which held several cardboard boxes of ammunition. Turner’s everyday carry, prior to the incident, had been his sidearm and his multicharge rifle, but that wasn’t the extent of his owned spellguns. In addition to those he had a few older spellpistols and assorted firearms, as well as the spellrifle he used when he went hunting. However, there was one spellgun box that was quite new, but he’d get to that a bit later.

“So, to start you off we should probably go with… There it is.” Turner gestured to one of the locked boxes and took a keyring from his jacket pocket, he inserted the key and opened the lock. Within the box Sam found herself looking at a matte black spellpistol, Turner’s sidearm to be precise, similar in design to an M9. “This is my everyday carry when I’m on the job, it’s a decent gun to train on. Now, remember the first rule I told you?”

“Treat every gun as if it’s loaded.” Sam replied, Turner nodded with a smile and lifted the spellgun gingerly from its case. Then he handed it to Sam, her grip on it was a little awkward at first but after a second she got used to how it was held. “Wow… That’s heavier than I expected.”

“Mhmmm.” Turner hummed before crossing his arms. “Now, I know this weapon isn’t loaded, but you don’t. Not yet, at least. Pull back the slide, inspect the chamber visually first, then slip your pinky in and physically check there isn’t a round in there.” Sam nodded and pulled back the slide with a little trouble, the spring was stronger than she’d expected. Once the slide was all the way back it clicked into place, letting Sam examine the chamber unobstructed. As instructed she slipped one of her pinkies into the chamber and ensured it was empty, all while keeping the barrel pointed at the ground. “Good job with Rule two there, don’t point it at anything you don’t intend to destroy...”

Turner trailed off at that, his mind racing back to the day of the shooting for a brief moment. He shook his head clear, however. While he had never intended to take the stallion’s life, he accepted that it had happened and that he needed to move on.

“Okay, I know it isn’t loaded, now what?” Sam asked, Turner reached into the box and withdrew one of his magazines, unloaded of course.

“Place the gun down and then I want you to load five rounds into this magazine.” Turner said, grabbing a box of appropriate arcane ammunition from the container and setting it down in front of Sam. The woman set the gun down gently and opened the box, then began to try to put the rounds into the magazine. At first she almost put one in backwards, but quickly worked out her mistake. “So, how are you feeling on this so far?”

“I feel okay, Paige. A little nervous, but I have a good teacher so I’m confident.” Sam replied with a smile as she finished putting the fifth round into the magazine. “So, do I put it in the gun now?”

“Yeah, pick up the gun first, then slip the magazine in.” Turner explained, Sam followed his instructions fairly closely. The magazine clicked in place, Sam could see the first round peeking up at her through the slide. “Now that the magazine is in, release the slide.” No sooner had he said it than Sam released the slide, it snapped forward smoothly with a slight click. “Now what do we do? Do you remember?”

“Glasses and ear protection, right?” Sam asked, Turner smiled and nodded again. Turner grabbed a couple foam earplugs from his pocket and offered a pair to Sam before putting his own pair in, then he grabbed some glasses from the same container the ammunition was stored in and handed them to Sam before putting them on himself. “Okay, rule three.”

“Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire.” Sam said simply, Turner smirked and gestured for her to follow him around the side of the Marshal so that they were facing the targets. “Okay, and since there’s just that big dirt hill there it’s safe to shoot, which is rule four, right?”

“Exactly, know the target and what’s beyond. You’re a natural at this.” Turner replied supportively, Sam grinned and quietly took up a well planted stance while Turner moved to stand behind her. “Okay, now, are you ready to shoot?” Sam nodded. “Okay, go ahead.” Sam nodded, leveled the spellgun at one of the tin cans set up down range near the grassy hill, and squeezed the trigger… Nothing happened, however. “Forget something?”

“Safety.” Sam muttered before she flipped the safety off and took aim again. She took in a deep breath, and let out a slow exhale, something she had picked up from watching and listening to Turner before the incident. The woman yanked the trigger, and a loud pop rang out across the area. Sam looked down range and saw a puff of dirt come up next to the can she’d been aiming at.

“You tensed up a little there.” Turner said, Sam sighed. “Do you want some help?” The woman wordlessly nodded. She felt him come up closer behind her, his arms moved to help steady her grip. “Now, don’t yank the trigger, squeeze it nice and slow. Your breathing was perfect, but you need to follow through like this.” Sam blushed a little as she felt him so close behind her, his arms showing her what he meant by follow through. She could practically feel his breath on her neck. “Ready?” Sam nodded quietly. “Okay.” Turner let go of her arms and stepped back, Sam took a second to compose herself before breathing deeply in and exhaling slowly once again.

The weapon once again barked as the spell was cast through its crystal matrix barrel, this time the spell found its mark and struck the can, which pinged loudly as a pair of holes were drilled clear through it. A puff of dirt kicked up from the hill behind the can, the final indicator that Sam had hit her mark. Turner didn’t interfere, so Sam repeated her previous actions and squeezed the trigger three more times. A bit more quickly this time, two of the three rounds hit the can in a rather tight grouping while the third grazed the edge and left a slight gash in the metal.

“Great! That’s basically all there is to it for the most part, just a lot of practice on the same stuff.” Turner said as he patted Sam on the shoulder, the woman lowered the weapon and kept it pointed at the ground. The slide had locked back after the last round had fired, allowing her to look into the chamber and verify that the weapon was indeed clear. “How’d that feel? Good?”

“I want one.” Sam replied, gesturing to the spellgun. “I know why you have so many of them now, that’s a helluva rush!” She sounded excited, which made Turner feel a bit better considering what had just happened.

“We can head into town later and take a look at the general store if you want, for now I wanna take a crack at this.” Turner replied, Sam nodded as she and the man walked back towards the Marshal. The man unlocked almost all the other handgun cases, all except the oldest most beat up looking one. In total he had a couple other weapons, one was a vintage piece, an early Equestrian six shooter similar in design to the Colt Single-Action Army. The other was more like a Schofield revolver. The Equestrian’s oddly close design choices to human weapons were sometimes a bit out of place, yet somehow there were spellguns that looked like human inventions.

Turner picked the Schofield looking one and broke it open, then slipped the six rounds into the cylinder. He closed the weapon and made sure the mechanism was secure, meanwhile Sam was reloading the magazine from his service weapon. The two of them walked back to the targets afterwards, the sun was rising higher in the sky and bathing the landscape in its warm glow. Turner couldn’t believe that almost a year or so ago he had been in such a different spot, things had changed. Some for the better, others for the worse, but all in all the more they changed the more they stayed the same.

“So, you were a little quiet last night... What did you think about that Sergeant and Sheriff thing?” Turner asked as he and Sam stood next to one another, the woman looked over the pistol in her hand and made sure the safety was on before pulling back the slide and chambering a round.

“I think it’s a good idea, after all the work you’ve put in for the department you’ve earned it.” Sam replied before she leveled her weapon at the can down range, she flicked off the safety and took a deep breath. As Turner had showed her she let out a slow exhale and squeezed the trigger. Three shots rang out, this time all three of them hit the can. Three holes were left in the tin, clear through the the hill behind it. “Now, the Sheriff thing is a little different. That’s a very political position, and I know how much you hate politics…”

“Yet another reason I’m not too keen to take the Sheriff up on his offer, but still, needed to get your opinion regardless.” Turner’s tone was somewhat less serious than usual, he raised the revolver and took aim at one of the silhouette targets down range. The man drew back the hammer, just as he had every time he had fired a weapon before. His heart began to race in his chest, the silhouette of the target was remarkably similar to the stallion’s he had shot. The man narrowed his eyes and steeled his nerves. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then squeezed the trigger.

The shot rang out across the field, it was followed by two more squeezes of the trigger and two more shots. Turner quietly lowered his revolver and looked at the target, two rounds were clustered in the silhouette’s chest while the third had punch a hole right between where the eyes would’ve been. Turner raised his weapon again and fired off three more rounds, all of them grouped up around the silhouette’s ‘heart’. Sam watched as Turner lowered the revolver once more, the look on his face was one she hadn’t seen before. Narrowed eyes, furrowed brow, he looked like he was a lawmen straight out of a spaghetti western. After a couple seconds he seemed to relax, shaking his head softly and taking a deep breath.

Sam wasn’t sure what was on his mind, but he seemed like he was trying to psych himself up for something. She figured it was just the stress of being in an uncomfortable position, after all, this was the first time he’d even fired a gun since the incident. Whatever the reason, she was glad to see him starting to relax. For the next hour or so Turner helped familiarize her with all the spellguns that he owned, except for one that he kept in a locked plastic case. By the end of it she felt confident that she knew the safety steps by heart, but just to be safe she’d continue to keep a copy of them around to memorize.

The two of them began putting the weapons back in their cases around the end of the hour, Sam’s shoulder was a little sore from firing Turner’s hunting rifle a couple times. She would’ve been knocked flat on her rear if Turner had been standing behind her the first time she pulled the trigger. The recoil had been more than she expected.

“There’s one last thing I want to show you…” Turner said, Sam raised an eyebrow and looked over as Turner took the lock box that had been closed for the duration of their excursion out into the field. He took the key from his key ring and slipped it into the lock, with a quick turn the lock popped open. The man flipped the lid open as Sam got a closer look, inside the box was a weapon that looked like a Colt M1911 from Earth. In fact, that’s exactly what it was. “This was my daily carry before I came to Equestria, belonged to my uncle, and my grandad and great grandad before that..”

“Can I...?” Sam asked, Turner nodded. The woman carefully picked up the pistol and looked it over, her eyes examined the various knicks and scratches on it. “This looks pretty old… Not like any of the guns I remember from Earth. I mean, it’s familiar, but...”

“Well… It was one hundred and four years old when I left earth seven or eight years ago.” Turner explained as Sam pulled back the slide and looked in the chamber, as she expected it was unloaded. “My great grandad carried it with him in world war one, grandad carried it with him in world war two, and my uncle carried it in Vietnam.” The man smiled at her briefly, then reached into the box where he had taken the gun out of. “I ran out of ammo for it a couple years ago, Equestrian stuff doesn’t work with it. Still, I keep it clean. I… I want you to have it.”

“Paige…” Sam trailed off as she rested the handgun down in the back of the Marshal. “You have such funny ideas of gifts for me... I love that.” She reached out and hugged him tightly, something that Turner returned with just one arm. “Is this what was in that footlocker under our bed? I’ve been wondering about that ever since I first moved in with you.”

“Well, sort of… I keep all my Earth stuff in that footlocker.” Turner explained before he paused and cleared his throat. “I have something else I want to say…” The man squeezed the object he had taken from the gun case, the little felt covered box was making his palms sweat, or maybe it was just what was inside the box that was making him so nervous. “I love you, Sam… More than anything.”

Turner took one last deep breath, as if he was about to pull the trigger all over again. It felt like he was about to go skydiving without a parachute. The man quietly took a knee and brought the small felt box up into full view. The look on Sam’s face was one of surprise, he could see she was trying to process what was happening, that look was amplified when he opened the box. Turner had purchased the ring from a jeweler in Canterlot one day when his session with his therapist had ended early. It was made from a fine looking gold, and a faceted aquamarine gem was set in the center. Aquamarine was Sam’s birthstone, something she had mentioned at a time when she had had just a little too much wine… Still, Turner remembered.

“You came into my life and made it so much better, Sam… I can’t imagine my life without you, and I don’t want to try.” Turner said, he could see Sam’s eyes tearing up as he spoke. He hoped beyond hope that they were happy tears. “I ain’t too good at speechifyin’, but… What I’m trying to say is… Well, shoot, I wanna marry you. Do you wanna marry me?”

“Yes! Yes! Of course!” Sam said as she leaned down and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek. Turner stood up with her hanging off of him so that he could have a bit more leverage to embrace her back. Sam leaned back long enough to take the ring and slip it on her finger, the fit was a little loose but other than that it was perfect. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked at the ring, after a few seconds she looked back at Turner and kissed him passionately.

The man felt his heart beating rapidly, and not from nervousness or fear this time. Turner felt happy, the joy that came from hearing her answer blotted out the dark feelings and thoughts that usually plagued him. His initial plan had been to make some grand romantic gesture, but that morning when he had woken up beside Sam it occurred to him that grand gestures didn’t seem to be Sam’s style. The woman seemed happiest when they were doing little things, whether that was watching movies or going into town.

“So… Uh… What now?” Turner asked, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “I had only planned up to about this far…” Sam wiped her eyes and let out a small laugh, she looked to the back of the truck before looking back towards the house. She could see movement inside, it was likely Gwen and Thomas had been awoken by their trip out to the range. In hindsight, perhaps they should’ve waited, but Sam didn’t care considering what had just happened.

“How about… We get this stuff put away, then we can go and tell Gwen and Thomas.” Sam’s suggested seemed like a good one, Turner nodded and the two of them went about making sure that each weapon in the back of the Marshal was properly stowed. With that they climbed in, Turner was still getting used to driving the vehicle but the controls seemed to be mostly the same. The truck started with a little less rumble than Turner had come to expect from his own vehicle, but it was harty nonetheless. “I’m so excited! I can’t believe it, Paige!” The woman was practically bouncing up and down in her seat the entire short drive back to the house.

“Believe it.” Turner said with a smile as he hit the gas and they drove along the bumpy ground towards the house. “It’s a new life, and I’m glad to say I’m honestly feeling great. I fuckin’ love you, y’know?” He put the truck in park when they got there and hopped out, turning off the engine in the process. The man twirled the keyring around his finger for a moment before slipping it back into his pocket. He and Sam grabbed the cases from the back of the truck and walked past the barn and up the back porch steps.

The air inside was a little warmer than outside, but soon the sun would reach its full height and it would be like any other summer day. The smell of garlic and the sound of something frying in the kitchen confirmed immediately that at least one of their two house guests was awake. The radio was also on in the kitchen, playing a rather jaunty tune that sounded like it came from the nineteen forties. Turner took the cases from Sam and quietly made his way to their room, assuming Sam would want to greet whoever was in the kitchen. It didn’t take him long to slip the various cases into the gun safe and lock it up tight, within around seven minutes he was walking out of the bedroom and making his way back towards the living room.

He could hear Sam and Thomas chatting in the kitchen and decided to pop his head in to see what was going on. Thomas was standing at the stove cooking what smelled like hash browns, resting on the counter beside the stove was the radio which was the source of the joyful accompaniment of the morning. Judging by the somewhat surprised expression that Turner noticed, it was clear to him that Sam had told him the news. Before Turner could say anything Thomas looked at him with a big congratulatory smile.

“You really proposed to her at the gun range?” He asked somewhat incredulously, Turner nodded. “You’re a nut, you know that? You really are.” The man looked away from the frying pan and came over to give Turner a pat on the shoulder. “Congrats, you crazy kids. I’m glad I was the first to find out, I can’t wait to see Gwens face…”

“Her head’s probably going to explode.” Sam replied, the three of them let out a couple laughs while the radio continued to set the cheerful mood. “Hey, do you think you could get us a chance to rent out the castle?”

“Rent the castle? I think it’d just be cheaper for you to build a new one.” Thomas replied, looking at Turner and Sam with a shrug. “She’s already planning everything out, you better be careful.” Turner put his hands up in mock surrender.

“Hey, I don’t know anything about weddings or whatever. She can do whatever she wants, I just want her to be happy.” Turner explained honestly, Sam rolled her eyes and leaned against him, gripping his arm gently. “Seriously, the last wedding I went to was held outside a barn. The dress code was denim and cowboy hats.”

“No denim, but we’ll see about the cowboy hats.” Sam joked, her eyes widened suddenly as they were drawn to the stove. Several flames were rising up out of the frying pan. “Thomas!”

“Shit!” The man said before turning off the stove and blowing out the flames. The potatoes were unfortunately beyond saving, resembling one big jumply black hockey puck. It seemed that in Equestria when you burned food you really burned food, as if for comical effect. Whether or not the situation was comical or not was another story entirely. “Thanks… Well, looks like hash browns are off the menu, sorry I used the last of your potatoes. I’ll make some eggs to make up for it.” Turner shrugged as Thomas dumped the burned hashbrowns into the trash and began to wash out the pan.

“Let’s get out of here, I don’t want the entire house to burn down because we were all chatting.” Sam said, she tugged on Turner’s arm and pulled him out of the kitchen into the dining room. All while he shrugged at Thomas. As soon as they were out of Thomas’ view Sam began to giddly bounce up and down again, which earned her a confused look from Turner. “I’ve been dreaming of this day since I was a little girl! Not exactly how I expected it, but… I’m just so excited!”

“Well, don’t hold back on my account. If you’re happy, be happy!” Turner replied, Sam smiled wider than he expected and jumped up to hug him tightly. Surprisingly tightly, in fact. So tight that he had a little trouble breathing. “Sam!”

“What?” She asked quizzically, hugging him even tighter.

“Air!” Turner grunted, prompting the woman to let go of him and sheepishly blush. “Jeez, I didn’t know you’re that strong.”

“There’s plenty you don’t know about me, but you’ll find out.” Sam said with a smirk, Turner was about to respond when both he and Sam saw Gwen walking down the hallway from the guest bedroom in her robe and pajamas. The redhead was still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, her usually prim hair was a mess of frazzled strands that could only be described as bedhead. “Oh, good morning, Gwen!” Sam cheerfully chirped.

“Shhh… Coffee first…” Gwen replied somewhat sourly as she walked by the dining room table towards the kitchen. She couldn’t see why Sam was so chipper this morning, especially after all that shooting that had awoken the ad exec from her slumber. So what if she had a nice ring on her finger, that was no reason to be so smiley. Gwen walked over the threshold of the kitchen in search of the coffee pot. “Wait… Could it…? Nah…”

Sam and Turner looked at one another as they heard her poor herself a cup of coffee, mix in a little milk and a little sugar, and eventually walk back out into the dining room. Quietly the woman, who usually had everything figured out the second she walked into the room, held her mug in both hands and stood in front of the couple. She took a small sip, regarding both of them with a neutral expression as if running computations in her head. Here eyes landed right on the ring resting somewhat loosely on Sam’s finger.

“Is that…?” Gwen trailed off, Sam nodded. She pointed at Turner, quietly taking a long sip from her mug. “Did you?”

“I did.” Turner replied simply, Gwen stopped sipping her coffee. In the kitchen, Turner could hear the tick-tick-ticking of an egg timer before it suddenly came to a stop and let out a shrill ringing sound. Almost on cue, Gwen spat out the coffee in a spray with a look of sheer stunned surprise engraved on her face like stone. “Thanks…” Turner said sarcastically as he and Sam were standing in the splash zone and covered by the fine mist.

“You… You’re… He…” Gwen stammered as she put her coffee down on the table. The woman trailed off and attempted to salvage a bit of her composure. “I mean, I knew it would happen eventually.”

“We surprised you, and you know it!” Sam cheered, prompting Gwen to give a somewhat defeated chuckle before she nodded. The woman walked towards Sam and wrapped her up in a tight hug. A very tight hug. “Gwen...Gwen!”

“What? Gwen asked.

“Air!” Sam gasped, prompting Turner to start laughing loudly. Gwen loosened her hug and took a step back. The smile on Gwen’s face was usually one of a predatory cats, but this time was different. Genuine joy was spread widely and thoroughly across her features.

“Congratulations!” Gwen beamed happily while lifting Sam’s hand to get a better look at the ring, it seemed to be up to snuff for her. “I really am happy for you guys, surprised, but happy. Sam, you gotta tell me all about it!” It seemed that Sam and Gwen wanted to chat, so Turner decided to quietly excuse himself and make his way to the kitchen where he found Thomas making a large plate of scrambled eggs. He could hear Sam and Gwen chatting outside, though his attention was more on the radio and the sizzle of the eggs.

“So, did her head explode?” Thomas asked, Turner shrugged as he walked towards the radio and turned it up a bit. “Given any more thought to my offer?”

“I have, but to be honest, with all that’s happened hunting’s the last thing on my mind.” Turner explained, Thomas merely nodded in understanding as he whisked some eggs and milk together for yet another batch. “You know, I finally feel like things are working out…”

“Don’t say that.” Thomas said cautiously, Turner quickly rapped his knuckles against the nearby wooden cabinet. “That’s better. Don’t jinx this by enticing Ol’ Man Murphy to make an appearance at your wedding.”

As if to remind them of the presence of Murphy’s Law, the radio which had up until recently been playing jaunty up beat tunes cut to silence before a the voice of a male’s news anchor filled the kitchen.

“We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a special news bulletin.” The stallion said, Turner increased the setting on the volume knob so that he could hear it better. “Griffon troops have begun to invade the Minotaur Republic by air and ground. The news was just announced by the Princesses in Canterlot. Details are scarce at this time, but will become more available as the story develops.”

“Mother of god…” Turner mumbled under his breath as he took a step back from the counter where the radio was seated. The music returned, jaunty as before. It felt hollow now, as if trying to hide some storm cloud looming on the horizon. “Talk about Murphy.” He looked over at Thomas with an uncertain expression. “Is this it?”

“Likely no…” Thomas replied reassuringly. “The minotaurs haven’t really been on good terms with us. I know the Princesses, they wouldn’t go charging into something like this unless the Griffs came after us.” Turner was less than assured, but it beat being worried. “Still… I’d be ready for anything.” It seemed that the brief lack of music had drawn the attention of Gwen and Sam who came in to listen to the radio. Just as they entered the music cut out again, once more replaced by the sound of a news anchor.

“We have continuing reports of Griffon soldiers moving through the Minotaur Lines with record speed.” The Anchor said with some certainty. “While the news may seem dire, the Princesses are requesting that citizens remain calm. At this time the Griffon Empire and the Kingdom of Equestria are not engaged in hostilities, and peace talks are said to be underway.”

“My god, is this really happening?” Sam asked, walking towards Turner and grabbing his arm as if in need of comfort. It was an odd sensation for Turner, this was the first time he had seen her genuinely scared enough to cling to him. “I knew the Griffons were making demands of their neighbors, but a full on invasion?”

“We now take you to Rolling Presses, our foreign correspondent in the affected city of New Longhorn.” The Anchor stated as the smell of burning food began to fill the air, Thomas had become too transfixed to notice the rising smoke from the pan. He quickly turned off the stove, but his attention never left the radio.

“Pandemonium… That’s the only way I can really describe it.” Another voice said, slightly higher in pitch and with more static in the background. Through it Turner could make out the telltale pop of spellgunfire. “It seems entire battalions of Griffon troops are entering the city, their numbers in the sky boggle the mind, it is as if they blot out the sun.” There was a distant sound of rumbling engines in the background of the call. “By Celestia… It seems… It seems the Griffons have some form of armored self propelled tracked vehicle, armed… armed with what appears to be a cannon mounted to a turret.”

“What the fuck?” Turner and Thomas almost said in unison, looking at one another.

“The griffons have tanks? We barely just got trucks, how the fuck do they have tanks?” Turner asked, but Gwen shushed the both of them loudly before either could speculate on the source of what genuinely sounded like tanks. Turner picked up the radio, which was thankfully battery powered, and carried it out of the kitch to the living room. The four of them, like practically every other person in Equestria, were sitting around it.

The entire nation was spellbound for the next five hours as report after report came in, the Minotaurs were in a full retreat. Cities were left defenseless or in ruins. Civilian cargo freighters and airships were in a mass exodus of the once peaceful Minotaur Republic, with many of them seeming to be bound for Equestria’s shores. Then, to everyone’s shock, it happened again. Not only were the Griffon’s pushing into the Minotaur Republic, but the Diamond Dog Confederacy as well as several other smaller states. Still, no report came of Griffon soldiers attacking Equestria, only news that practically every nation that shared a land border with the Griffon Empire was facing it’s full might.

“While we do not condone the Griffon’s actions, we will still attempt to reach a diplomatic resolution to this conflict.” Came the eventual statement by Princess Celestia, but once again the radio rang hollow. Today had been shaping up to be a great day, Turner had finally found some semblance of balance to his life. His career was looking up, things had just seemed okay in general. Now, however... Now the joyous day had been soured by the drums of war and the staccato clatter of automatic spellgunfire.

Today, had it remained normal, would’ve been like any other for the rest of the world. To the world it would’ve gone unknown that Turner had proposed to Sam, that Sam had yes. He knew that it was mere coincidence that this had happened on the same day, but it still stung all the same. He just hoped that Sam didn’t think this was some sort of omen. The good thing was that as it stood Equestria still was out of the war, though if he went by the history of Earth he knew it was only a matter of time until things took a turn for the worse. Then again, this wasn’t earth, and peaceful solutions were far more common in the ever ‘Friendly’ fantasy kingdom. He just hoped that turned out to be the case, that draft card in his wallet had been seeming to get heavier and heavier as the hours ticked by.

Back In The Saddle

Fall was settling in on Evergreen County, the Summer Months were coming to their close and the air was taking on a distinctly crisp sensation. The trees were going through their transformation and leaves were falling in multicolored droves, at least the ones that had leaves. The pine trees, as usual, were their usual shade of forest green, which always made the county look better in Turner’s opinion.

Sergeant Turner sat in the passenger seat of the Marshal that he and his trainee had been assigned, said Trainee was in the driver’s seat tapping his hooves on the steering wheel in an oh so cheerful mood. Deputy Silver Lining was the officer assigned to Turner for additional training, and it was rapidly becoming difficult for the Sergeant to keep his calm as the sickeningly sweet disposition of his charge. Silver Lining was barely out of high school, a scrawny looking unicorn with silvery white fur and a slightly darker mane.

Most of the new Deputies were similar in regards to their age, a good portion of them had joined because there simply weren’t any other jobs available in Silver Lake. While Turner was glad to have more Deputies in the department, he was skeptical of having people involved if all they wanted was a paycheck. He saw the Sheriff’s Department as something nobler than that… That was one of the few points Silver Lining had in his favor, he seemed to genuinely care about the job rather than the money.

“Hey, Sarge?” Silver asked, it had to be the eighth time in the last twenty minutes. Turner merely hummed as he rolled down his window and reached under the seat to withdraw his lunch in the form of a sandwich and other various items in a plain brown bag. “How’re things going? Am I doing okay? I feel like I could be doing better, we’re just sitting here.”

“Look, park duty is boring by nature.” Turner replied as he reached into the bag and withdrew a large plastic baggie filled with unshelled salted sunflower seeds from his lunch. The truck was parked midway along the road that lead to the majority of nature parks and trails in the county, the perfect location for someone in need of help to find the truck if they needed it. “Usually we end up sitting out here for a couple hours, in that time we maybe see a few ponies… You need to work on your patience.”

“Yeah… Yeah… Patience, how long with that take?” Silver replied rather impatiently, Turner put one of the sunflower seeds in his mouth and cracked it open before spitting the seed’s husk out the window and eating the inner portion.

“Kid, you have it easy. When I was in your place I would’ve killed for a chance to just sit around for a while.” Turner replied before helping himself to another sunflower seed, the familiar crack filled the cab of the Marshal before he spit the husk out the window once more. “Not only did I have to do this while driving around, I also had at least seven other things I needed to do before lunch.” The Sergeant quietly popped open another seed, repeating the process again. “I’m your training officer. You may very well end up out here on your own one day, without my cherub like self to keep you company, best to get yourself accustomed.”

Silver Lining looked over at him for a second with a thoughtful expression. As far as he knew Sergeant Turner was around twenty nine years old now, but he reminded Silver of his dad in a couple ways. Mainly the way he would say things like ‘In my day’ from time to time, but if the Sarge had any idea that was how Silver felt he wasn’t letting on. The stories about the Sarge seemed true, he seemed like the kind of guy that could’ve taken down the Grave Eagle Butcher single handedly… Which Silver assumed made other rumors about him true.

“You’re right, Sarge… Sorry.” Silver replied with a nod, the stallion quietly looked out his window at the flowing fields of grass that were now starting to die off as the air grew colder and colder. Silver Lining looked back at the Sergeant as he heard the man crack another sunflower seed with his teeth followed by the familiar spit of the husk. “While you are here though why not chat a bit? How’re things going with your flying machine?”

“Fine…” Turner said with a nod. “My fiance pitched it to a bunch of developers, they’re working on a bunch of new prototypes based on human designs… Supposed to be a big success.” Turner sounded distant and rather uninterested, casually he cracked another sunflower seed and spat out the husk before leaning his head back against the headrest.

“Doesn’t sound like you’re too happy.” Silver said bluntly, Turner looked over at him with a flat expression. “What? We’re supposed to investigate stuff and question ponies, right? This is good practice.” Turner begrudgingly nodded, though he didn’t speak and merely continued to work his way through his baggie of sunflower seeds. “So… Why do you sound like someone kicked your dog when you talk about your invention thingy being successful?”

“Things in this world just seem so easy, too easy…” Turner replied simply, narrowing his eyes. “It’s been seven, going on eight, years since I left Earth… The Sergeant closed the baggie and put it back in the brown paper sack. “Still, this place sometimes makes me feel like life’s on easy mode. Like I ain’t earned what I got….” He trailed off before looking back over at Silver with a serious expression. “That shit stays between us, Deputy. Feel me?”

“You got it, Sarge. Won’t say a word.” Silver replied with a nod, the Deputy was considering asking a couple more questions though he decided against it. “So, you hear the Griffons captured the Minotaur Capital?”

“Yup… Was in the paper this morning.” Turner replied before quietly reaching into his pocket and withdrawing his harmonica from his shirt pocket. “Word of advice, son. Start stockpiling supplies while you can, ‘cause once this war kicks off and rations become a thing you’ll be lucky to find a quart of butter in the whole damn county.”

“What makes you think the war is coming here?” Silver asked, Turner briefly stretched, prompting several loud pops to echo through the cab.

“Let’s just say the Griffs remind me of a group from Earth, and the way they been handled so far don’t rightly fill me with confidence. Far as I’m concerned, ain’t a matter of if, but when.” The man explained before he brought his harmonica up to his lips and blew a few notes.

Silver quietly reflected on what the Sergeant had said, the man was pretty knowledgeable about things but could he really predict something like a war? The song he was playing was ‘Kingdom Comin’,’ one that Silver had gotten used to after a few days working with Turner as his training officer. The Sergeant had explained it was a song from one of the many wars fought on Earth, which was odd considering its upbeat sound. The two of them sat there, both watching clock and waiting for their period of waiting on the road to end.

“Unit Two, Dispatch.” The radio chirped with the sound of one of the new Dispatcher trainees. Turner looked at Silver and nodded, prompting the stallion to grab the mic and reply.

“Go ahead, Dispatch.” Silver said, briefly looking at the Sergeant who was watching him closely.

“Reports of a Ten-Sixty-Seven along the south basin road. All other units are occupied at this time.” The dispatcher stated, Turner quickly pulled on his seatbelt as did Silver. “Caller indicates the location in question is an ‘Upscale’ house in the area… No address yet. More details to follow.”

“Copy that, Dispatch. Unit Two responding.” Silver said before putting the mic down and starting the engine, in the same motion he flicked on the lights and sirens. The stallion rapidly shifted into drive and hit the accelerator, the tires kicked up dust and gravel as the vehicle did a rapid U-Turn. Now in the right direction, the vehicle flew along the road at nearly fifty miles an hour. Turner and Silver bounced around in their seats as they went over the bumpy surface, but otherwise maintained their composure.

Recently the roads in the downtown area had been paved, and as the truck came up onto the asphalt Silver was able to put the pedal down a little further. Turner was in the meantime looking out the window, making sure that anyone on the road cleared out of the way. As the town came closer into view Silver hit the brakes only a tad to allow any carts or vehicles on the mainstreet to pull over. He went past a dozen or so new shops that had opened in the past couple months, though Turner paid them much mind at that moment.

“Unit Two, Dispatch. Have one additional unit enroute. Residence is marked by several chariots parked outfront. Caller indicates the home belongs to one Octavia Melody and one Vinyl Scratch.” The radio added, Turner quickly picked up the mic and replied with a quick affirmative. By the time he’d picked up the mic and put it back down they had blown through the entirety of the downtown area and were clear on their way towards the Horseshoe Basin. The roads had been better maintained over the last year, so Silver was able to keep up the considerable speed.

“When we get there I’ll take the lead. I’ve been to this house a few times before.” Turner said sternly, Silver didn’t argue and merely nodded. “Pop quiz… What’s a ten-sixty-seven?”

“Someone calling for help or other cry of distress.” Silver replied calmly, Turner nodded and continued to do his best from smashing his head against the roof of the Marshal. Whenever they went over a hill it felt like they were floating from their seats, every pothole shook the vehicle, but it continued on regardless. “Upi been there before?”

“Once or twice, last time was a bogus home invasion call.” Turner explained while looking at their speedometer from his seat. At their current speed it’d take them approximately fifteen minutes to get where they needed to be. He gripped his seat as they went up the large hill that peaked and went down into the basin, Silver seemed to be handling the driving aspect of the Marshal easy enough. They skidded briefly when they approached the crossroads, only slowing enough to turn on the southbound road. The river that it ran along was still close to the edge of the road as usual, Turner could see pebbles and small stones being tossed into the water as the Marshal tore down the gravel road.

Within a few more minutes they passed by a few houses, at which point Turner pointed to the correct house. Sure enough there were several chariots parked outside, as if there was another party going on. Silver pulled up the driveway and shut off the sirens, the lights remained on and the two Sheriff’s Officers unbuckled themselves.

“Dispatch, Unit Two is on scene. What’s the status on that backup?” Turner said into his hand held radio while he and Silver got out of the truck.

“Approximately five to ten minutes. EMS is on its way as well.” The dispatcher replied.

“Copy.” Turner said before nodding towards Silver. “Come on, follow me.” He could see that the Deputy was nervous, the wide eyes and somewhat trembling look about him told him as much. “Deep breaths, remember what we taught you. I’m counting on you to watch my back.”

“You got it, Sarge.” Silver said with a nod, the stallion was just as scared as the Sergeant had surmised, perhaps even more so. Up until that point they had been on simple calls, trespassing, bar fights, a couple illegal campers. This was new, and far more intense… Still, Silver saw how confident the Sergeant was, which helped to calm his nerves. He and the Sergeant began moving towards the house, the human’s boots crunched the rocks of the driveway a bit louder than Silver’s hooves. Turner had his hand resting firmly on his sidearm, though he hadn’t drawn it yet.

“Sheriff’s Department!” Turner shouted loudly, his eyes panning across the surface of the upscale house and its stucco like exterior. There was no pumping bass music, but he could hear several voices from behind the house. “Silver, go around the right side of the house, I’ll go around the left…”

“Sarge I-” Silver began.

“Damn it, I can’t hold your hoof here, son! Nut the fuck up, you can do this!” Turner said in a firm tone, Silver nodded nervously and gulped before he started moving along the right side of the house. Turner meanwhile began to go around the left, as he moved along he could hear the voices in the back of the house getting louder. They sounded panicked, but hushed, as if they were trying to remain unheard. Silver was hearing the same thing as he walked around the side of the house. Every time the grass brushed against his legs he felt like he was going to jump out of his skin, but he kept his cool regardless.

“...they gone yet?” Turner heard one voice whisper, it was followed by a brief ‘shush’. The man took a deep breath and slowly drew his weapon from its holster. A million thoughts ran through his head, his heart was pounding all the way into his ears. The image of the stallion he had shot, burned forever into his mind, was at the forefront of everything. He gritted his teeth, kept his weapon pointed towards the ground, and prayed that he wouldn’t have to use it again.

He and Silver both came around the back of the house at almost the same time, the tall grass of the plains that stretched for miles was replaced behind the house by what seemed to be a fenced off area with more domestic looking green grass. There was an in ground pool, though apparently it was covered. As Silver and Turner looked at one another their eyes looked closer towards the back of the house, there was an area of paving stones which had a grill, a firepit, and an outdoor dining table with the chairs stacked up on top. In addition there were several large stone planter boxes near the glass sliding door inside. Some decorative trees and what appeared to be a cloth gazebo of some kind were also near the doors, providing decent cover to hide out of sight. As it was Fall, most of the plants in the planters were starting to die.

Silver levitated himself up and over the fence as quietly as he could, he gestured for Turner to climb over the fence next. Turner hoisted himself up and over, knowing Silver would cover him. He landed far less gracefully than his unicorn trainee, his boots emitting a heavy thud as they made contact with the paving stones. Both Silver and Turner stood still, listening for a second before Turner began to walk closer towards the house.

“Sheriff’s Department! Y’all best come out, if’n y’know what’s good for you!” Turner shouted loudly and sternly. Silver hadn’t seen that side of him before, the stories he’d heard about the Sergeant were even more true than he thought. He was one tough son of a bitch.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” He heard a voice say suddenly and loudly from between the planters, Turner gripped his weapon tightly as he saw Silver hesitantly draw his weapon as well. The sergeant took several deep breaths, both to steady himself and to keep his emotions in check. He didn’t want it to happen again, he wouldn’t let it happen again. A young earth pony stallion with bright orange fur and a yellow mane ran out into the open, prompting Turner to take aim. “Wait! Wait! Don’t shoot! Please!” The stallion dropped to the ground.

“Damn it, Carver!” Another voice shouted before there was a loud smashing sound of glass and a pair of mare’s screaming from inside. Turner and Silver closed on the stallion who seemed to be giving up, Silver Lining cuffed him while Turner examined the cause of the noise. There were more ponies, and judging by the screaming inside this was no bogus call. Turner could see, once he was closer, that the glass shattering had been from a rock tossed through the sliding door. Inside he saw three stallions wearing ski masks.

They were all unicorns, and upon closer inspection Turner recognized two of them from their coat colorings as Silver Mallot and Bronze Hammer… The two stallions that had called in the bogus call. The third was a brilliant sheen of green. Two of them had the occupants of the house in headlocks, using them as shields.

“Stay the fuck back, biped!” The green unicorn shouted angrily, his horn levitating a knife off the ground. “We’re walking out of here!” The stallion began to move towards the door, but stopped when the sound of the second Marshal pulling into the driveway caught his attention.

“Silver, call this in.” Turner said calmly over his shoulder, lowering his weapon slightly. He looked back at the stallions while Silver began to report the situation over the radio. “Son, you best put that knife down… You’re already in a shit load of trouble.”

“I swear to Celestia! I’ll fucking slice them open!” The green stallion bellowed back, Turner bit his lower lip. He was the ranking officer on the scene, it was his job to deal with this situation. “Tell your buddy to back off, you two legged freak!”

“Silver, take that one back to the car…” Turner said over his shoulder again, he could see Silver opening his mouth. “Don’t argue with me, boy. Git!” Silver nodded nervously and hoisted the cuffed stallion up off the ground, the two of them soon disappeared out of view. “It’s just you and me now, boy…”

“You go too!” The green stallion hissed.

“That ain’t gonna happen ‘slong as you have hostages.” Turner said flatly as he slipped his weapon back into its holster, Silver Mallot and Bronze Hammer looked at one another and then to the green stallion. “You two, I busted you before haven’t I?” They nodded nervously. “Your parents got you out of that mess, but there ain’t a hope in hell for this one. Let those mares go, give yourselves up, I’ll put a word in for you with the DA.” They looked to the green stallion again, then back at Turner. “Walk. Away.”

To the surprise of the Green unicorn his compatriots quietly let go of Octavia and Vinyl, who ran out of the house with tears on their cheeks. Turner couldn’t burden himself with their emotions at the moment though, he had far too much to do and not a helluva lot of time to do it in. The green unicorn wheeled around on the two stallions and grabbed one in a headlock, then levitated the knife up to his throat.

“Hey! Hey! Let go!” Bronze Hammer yelped while his friend and the Sergeant watched.

“Shut up!” The green stallion shouted back, his eyes settled on the Deputy again. “I swear I’ll kill him! I’ve killed tons of ponies!” At that he was surprised to see Turner adjust his stance to a far more intimidating one, every inch of his over six foot tall frame seemed to become as solid as iron. Turner had faced one murderer before, one stallion that had wanted to take his life, and himself after taking that life all those months ago. Countless other criminals had come and gone over his career. He wasn’t some rookie anymore, he could read that stallion like a book, even with his ski mask on.

“You got killer in your eyes, son?” Turner asked in a gravelly voice that cut through the air like the hiss of a rattlesnake. “I don’t see it.” The unicorn with the knife looked into the human’s eyes and saw something he had never expected, a chill ran down the stallion’s spine. In the deepest reaches of his mind he recalled tale of a bipedal lawman that had killed a stallion. Such news was scarce in Equestria, the odds of there being another bipedal lawman with those eyes as cold and foreboding as the Sergeants were slim. Even with his weapon holstered, the green unicorn felt like that lumbering mountain of muscle in front of him would snap him like a twig before he ever got the nerve to attack.

The knife clattered to the floor, the unicorn kicked it away from him and let go of Bronze Mallet, Turner took his radio off his belt and gave the order for the officers outside to move in. The three stallions got on the ground and held their hooves out, willingly letting the other deputies cuff and remove their skimasks them. As Turner watched them lead out he saw Silver Lining walk in, to say the trainee was impressed would be an understatement.

“Sarge! How’d you do that?” SIlver asked, Turner merely shrugged and walked towards the door behind the suspects. When they stepped outside Turner saw the occupants were sitting near an EMS vehicle that had arrived, EMTs were tending to them. The Sergeant only memorized enough about the suspects that he could use in court, at least for the moment. He was more interested in seeing Octavia and Vinyl Scratch being tended to. The relief on their faces after what had just happened made the entire day worth it.

“Now, Silver, we get to do something new.” Turner said, patting the Deputy on the back as they walked down the steps of the house towards the trucks. “Paperwork. Hours and hours of paperwork.” Silver frowned briefly, but his sunny disposition kicked right back in and he found himself looking forward to the hours of getting to learn more from an accomplished officer like Sergeant Turner.

Of course, that was until they actually sat down to do the paperwork. Wrapping things up at the scene alone had taken two hours, interrogating, processing, and locking up the suspects had taken an additional four, and taking statements from two emotionally distressed musicians about the ordeal of being held at knife point in their own home ate up an additional three and a half.

It seemed the incident had started as a simple break in, the stallions figured the house would be empty since it was fall. The screams for help heard by a passerby belonged to Vinyl Scratch who first noticed the stallions trying to break in. The suspects had intended to go in through the front of the house, but ran to the back when they heard the sirens approaching… When confronted by officers they smashed their way into the home and… Well, the rest was pretty much well known at that point.

Despite all the confusion and chaos that had come from a busy day with a shift lasting five and a half hours longer than it was supposed to, Turner still managed to find time to call Sam and let her know that he was safe.

When all was said and done, Turner was able to get up from his desk and clock out knowing that he’d done a good day’s work. The names of the suspects weren’t that important to him now that they were in custody. Best not to give the notoriety. He walked down the steps of the Sheriff’s Office towards where his Marshal was parked. Now that he was out of the office he could let himself relax, as soon as he climbed into the driver’s seat he leaned his head back against the headrest and let out a heavy sigh. His nerves were all but shot after the day he had had, he just hoped that Silver Lining hadn’t caught on. It’d be difficult to mentor him if the stallion thought of the Sergeant as a guy quaking in his boots.

With a slight sigh Turner started the truck, the radio came on playing what sounded like a slow big band tune and the air blowing from the vents began to warm up. The man activated his headlights and shifted into drive to began the drive home, passing through downtown Silver Lake as he had so many times. It seemed, despite the day’s excitement, some semblance of a normal work routine was returning to Evergreen County’s Sheriff Department. Turner decided as he drove out past the last buildings in the town that he wouldn’t mention that he had stood off with a knife wielding maniac with his gun in its holster, something told him that if he did she’d be pretty sore at him… Rightly so.

“That was Glass Filler and his orchestra, live from the Canterlot Broadcasting Service.” The radio announced as the song came to an end, Turner looked at it briefly and considered changing the channel. He shook his head though, every now and then a little different music was okay. “Now for the news… Civil Unrest in Manehattan has arisen as the first Draft Numbers were announced. Several riots came as a result of the incident, though they were mitigated thanks to a previous increase to their Police budget. This all on the same day as the mysterious and yet unseen Griffon Field Marshal Woodham marched his forces through Downtown Minos, completing the Griffon Conquest of the Minotaur Homeland.”

Normally Turner would’ve switched off the radio and just driven home in silence, but ever since the outbreak of war overseas he had been paying attention whenever he could. Sam, for her part, had taken up buying things in bulk and making preserves. There were at least three massive wooden crates in the barn filled with canned goods, preserved fruits and jams. At Turner’s request, Sam had also ordered an entire gross of Grade A wool socks. If, or rather when, he was drafted she would be able to send extra socks if he or whatever unit he ended up in needed them. The news that the draft had started already made that degree of preparation seem more the justified.

“Tensions between Equestrian and Griffon Guards on the Trottingham Rail Bridge are at an all time high, with reports of Armored Vehicles being moved via adjacent rail tracks enmass. Despite this, negotiations between the Princesses and the Griffon Government are ongoing and prospects for peace are still hopeful. In other news… It’s a bird, it’s a pegasus… It’s a… Plane? Yes, another exciting piece of technology taken from humanity’s and Equestria’s brightest minds could have the ability to make Earth Ponies fly… Without magic!-”

“That’s enough of that.” Turner said under his breath before turning off the radio and sighing, a little while later he was pulling up the driveway and driving up to the barn behind the house. He quietly turned off the engine and sighed, after a couple minutes of looking ahead at the barn. He turned off the headlights and stepped out of the truck, briefly looking towards the barn as he closed the door. He would’ve parked in the barn if not for the fact his Ford was already occupying it, and that had only made it in after he had given the ultralight to Sam’s researchers to make room. It wasn’t like he got much use out of it anyway, he was too busy with work.

Turner locked the Marshal and walked towards the back porch, his boots crunching the ground as he saw his breath forming in the chilly autumn night air. As he ascended the frost covered wooden steps he could hear music playing inside, it sounded like some sort of electronic sound or something. Turner quietly opened the back door and stepped inside, hanging his cap up on the rack near the door. The music was louder now that he was inside, he closed the door as normal but it seemed Sam couldn’t hear him.

He walked towards the kitchen, the light was on inside and the music seemed to be coming from within. Turner looked around and noted a smashed glass on the floor, but more importantly… Drops of blood. Turner’s hand slipped to his gun, he drew it from his holster and checked the rest of the living room. Wordlessly he checked the front door, it was locked tight.The Sergeant’s expression remained neutral as he quietly walked down the hall, his weapon pointed towards the floor.

“Sam?” He called out, there was no response. All sense of fear or hesitation was gone, Sam being in danger trumped every other emotion on his list. He checked the closet, then the guest room… Both were clear, no sign of forced entry. It was trippy for him, clearing his own home. The door to the bedroom was closed, slowly Turner opened it and checked the corners. He checked the closet, the gun safe was locked up tight and all of Sam’s clothing was where it belonged. The man looked to the bathroom where he heard running water, as he got closer to the door he could make out Sam’s voice cursing under her breath. Without thinking Turner stood to the side of the door and gave it a swift kick, knocking it open with a loud thud.

“What the fuck!?” Sam shouted as Turner entered the room with his gun in hand. “Paige! The fuck are you doing?”

“Are you okay!? I saw blood in the kitchen, and broken glass, and you didn’t answer when I called out.” Turner explained, upon seeing the room was empty he tucked his spellgun back in its holster. The first aid kit was open on the counter of the bathroom, and it seemed Sam had been using it for something.

“I’m fine! I dropped a glass and cut my hand, it was bleeding pretty bad so I came in here to bandage it up. I didn’t hear you because I had the music up so loud, I guess.” Sam replied, Turner let out a long sigh of relief. Sam was in the process of wrapping her hand in gauze for the cut to her palm when Turner had entered, she quickly returned to that process.

“I’m sorry…” Turner said as he looked at the floor, his eyes were drawn to her palm which had a small patch of red forming in the gauze where she’d wrapped her wound.. “Are you sure you don’t need stitches or something?”

“Positive.” Sam replied, taking a breath of her own. She finished wrapping her palm and secured the gauze with a bit of tape, then began packing away the items of the first aid kit. “How about you? Call me crazy, but you seem like you’re wound tighter than usual. Was it really that bad at work?”

“Yeah… I won’t go into details, but suffice to say I’ve had a doozy of a day.” Turner quietly scratched his head. “I’ll go clean up the kitchen, you finish up in here, then we can talk about our days if you want.” Sam nodded and quietly tucked the remnants of the gauze she hadn’t used into the kit.

“Okiedoke!” Sam replied, Turner began to walk out of the room. “Oh, Paige!” The man stopped and looked back in. “Smile!” Turner smiled right back at her before he left the room and went to the living room, he undid his gun belt and set it on the dining room table before he grabbed a broom and dustpan resting in the corner. The man turned down the volume on the radio and changed the station over to something a little slower. The big band station was the first to come up, which seemed like a nice enough choice. With that Turner began sweeping up the glass, though his mind was still on the trip home.

“Ain’t even at war yet and they’re drafting people…” Turner said under his breath before picking up the dustpan full of glass and dumping it in the garbage. After which he grabbed some paper towels and a bottle of cleaning solution to take care of the bloodstains. “Prospects for peace my ass.”

“What was that about your ass?” Sam asked from the living room, Turner briefly looked out from the kitchen and saw she had returned from the bathroom in her favorite warm floral pattern nightgown. The bandage on her hand seemed to have stopped the bleeding, the red splotch of blood was still visible however.

“Was listening to the radio on the way home is all.” Turner explained as he finished wiping the floor clean and tossed the dirty paper towels into the trash. He made sure to wash his hands thoroughly for good measure. “Might be a good idea to order some more canned goods.” Turner wiped his hands on a nearby dish towel. The man opened the refrigerator and withdrew a plate covered in foil, then grabbed a fork and walked out of the kitchen. Sam smiled at him as he came up and kissed her softly on the lips.

“I’ll stop by the general store and make the order then.” Sam replied as Turner pulled back from the kiss and walked to the dining room table. Sam followed him and sat at the seat across from him, watching as he removed the crinkling tin foil from the plate. “I’ve been doing some more checking on things for the wedding. How do you feel about May?”

“I think it’s a nice month, especially if you want to do the ceremony and everything in Canterlot.” Turner replied as he looked over his plate, Sam had made some of her signature fried chicken it seemed as well as mashed potatoes and green beans. Oddly enough, they were still somewhat warm, as if they’d only been in the fridge for a short time. “The weather’s sure to be great, Canterlot weather patrols top notch.” Turner smiled at her across the table before picking up the chicken leg on his plate and starting to eat his particularly late dinner.

“Great!” Sam said with a smile of her own. “The caterer said things would be good for then too, and the florists…” Sam trailed off. “Is there anything you want? I’ve been so caught up recently it totally slipped my mind.”

“I don’t need much, Sam. Hell, I’d marry you in a potato field if that’s what you wanted.” Turner had finished off the chicken leg and was working on his potatoes. “Though, I do have a question, something we haven’t talked about that we should. At least, it’s important to me.” Sam raised an eyebrow at him. “How do I ask this…? Uh… Best to just ask it. Do you want to change your last name?”

“Huh?” Sam paused for a second before she hummed. “I suppose I hadn’t thought about it. Let me try it out for size.” The woman leaned on the table as Turner continued to eat the food on his plate. “Misses Samantha Turner… Nah.” The woman smiled faintly. “I’m just kidding, I think it’s a nice idea.” Turner smiled back at her, then noted a slight sigh. “I used to think I’d be getting married on Earth, with my family around… Even if they did drive me nuts. The more I plan, the more I think about them…”

“I know what you mean, even if things weren’t the best between my mom and me I’d still want her there.” Turner admitted, setting his fork down on the now empty plate. The two of them sat there for a few minutes in silence, the radio playing softly in the background. Sam quietly reached across the table with one hand while she wiped her eyes with the other. Turner squeezed her hand. “What’s wrong?”

“I just… Wish they were here.” Sam quietly looked at the table. “I miss them.” The woman quietly sighed and wiped her watering eyes once again. “I can practically imagine every way they’d make planning things difficult, but… I…” Turner quietly stood up from his seat and walked around the table to sit beside Sam. She leaned against the Sergeant, feeling his arms wrap themselves over her shuddering form. “I didn’t mean to get so emotional, I’m just tired.”

“It’s our house… If you want you go ahead and be as emotional as you damn well please. I know I will.” Turner said, running a hand over her head. Sam could hear a slight hitch in his voice, yet he still held her firmly. Eventually the two of them would make their way to bed, for that moment however they sat together and shared both each other’s comfort and sadness. A wedding would usually be a happy occasion, but it seemed for the both of them their upcoming nuptials would be bittersweet.

A Coiled Spring

There was an air of hopeful optimism among the citizens in downtown Silver Lake, even as the chill of winter had come to settle across the land. The railroad had recently completed a spur line from the main track just north of town all the way to Baltimare, which had started to transform Silver Like from a small little known backwater to a slightly more well known backwater. Several new businesses had opened, including a ‘Talking Picture Theater’ which could not only show Human Films duplicated from DVDs, but also could show footage recorded by ponies themselves. Many of the older residents saw it as a passing fad, but Turner knew better.

The Sergeant sat alone in a diner across the street from the theater, his Marshal parked out along the now fully paved main street. It was around nine in the morning, and he had just stopped in to get a cup of coffee and a quick bite to eat. Snow was falling from above, blowing rapidly in the wind as the heavy clouds above seemed to be dumping every flake they could muster. It was shaping up to be a blizzard, but nothing the town hadn’t handled before.

Turner sighed and leaned back in the booth where he was sitting, watching out the window while sipping his coffee. The rest of the diner was mostly quiet, though some tourists were talking up a storm with the waitress behind the counter. It was, in all honesty, a greasy spoon kind of place. The wallpaper was old and faded, lots of pictures on the walls, and the seemingly permanent smell of frying oil. The town was changing just as much as the rest of the world, Turner wasn’t sure if the diner he sat in would still be there in a year or so… Or if it’d be replaced by something more ‘modern’.

Sam’s contribution to Equestrian Research had opened hundreds of new markets for human based hybrid products. It was hard for Turner to fathom that the contents of a single moving van could’ve spurred such a massive technological leap forward, and even harder for him to accept the consequences of that. As he looked out the window and saw at least a dozen other privately owned cars and trucks parked on the street where once there were only carriages and carts, it occurred to him that he had watched a similar ‘March of Progress’ before on Earth.

“I don’t much care for it…” Turner said under his breath, talking to himself before taking another sip of his coffee. With all the ‘progress’ coming to town Turner and his fellow officers had been somewhat swamped. Winter’s reputation as a quiet time of year had been dashed, it was just as busy as Summer. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any more knife wielding burglars or drug operations in the recent months. Turner quietly looked up towards the ceiling and noted that the blinds usually used to cover the windows had been replaced by the now mandatory ‘Blackout Shades’ issued by the Equestrian Defense Department.

Turner, being on his break, had plenty of things to think about. Those shades were just one of the many new things implemented by the Equestrian government, not to mention the installation of a Civil Defense Siren on the roof of the Sheriff’s Office. Officially to warn of rogue storms and tornadoes, but Turner suspected it’s purpose was less than meteorological. Especially since the paint was still drying on the town’s new ‘Community Tornado Shelter’, which was buried twenty five feet underground and made of reinforced concrete and capable of storing enough food to feed the town for weeks if necessary.

‘Prospects for Peace’, the words still rattled around Turner’s three months later. It wasn’t just him though, the phrase has become its own running gag. More and more countries were falling under the talons of the Griffon Empire. Even the dragons were falling quickly, much to the surprise of the rest of the world. Turner looked over to the tourists speaking with the waitress behind the counter, both of whom were minotaurs. Very likely they had fled their homeland, though most Minotaurs had signed up in the Equestrian Army almost as soon as they arrived off the boat.

Turner sighed as he finished off his coffee and stood up from his booth, he took his wallet from his pocket and placed the money for his meal down on the table before grabbing his bomber jacket and knit cap. He zipped up the leather jacket and straightened the cap, then walked towards the door. Turner pulled a pair of leather gloves from his pocket, once they were on his hands he stepped out into the cold winter air. Across the street he saw the theater was showing a collection of romantic comedies and a newsreel. The man sighed and reached to his belt, then grabbed his walky talky and turned up the volume a bit more.

“Dispatch, Unit Two.” Turner said, making his way towards his Marshal. “Coming off of meal break, consider me back on the clock. My location currently is Thirty Four Main.”

”Affirmative, Unit Two. Logged.” The Dispatcher replied. ”Unit Two, Dispatch. Good thing you just radioed in. We’ve got a call near your current pos from Forty Eight Main, male and female fighting. Back up already enroute.”

“Roger that, Dispatch. On my way.” Turner put his radio back on his belt and turned around, ignoring his Marshal in favor of his own to feet. He instead began jogging down the sidewalk, it wasn’t that far of a walk. After about thirty seconds he heard the first sign of trouble in the form of angry yelling from inside one of the storefronts, a clothing store. Turner walked up to the front door and pushed it open, stepping inside he took a moment to find the source of the yelling.

The store was somewhat cramped with numerous racks of warm clothing and some clothing for bipeds, as Minotaurs seemed to favor the store from time to time. It also helped provide some variety when Sam or Turner needed new clothing. The lighting was moody, neither overly bright or overly dark, and the aesthetic of the store was like that of a fur trading post. The clerk was hiding behind his counter, when he saw Turner enter he simply pointed towards the back of the store.

Turner walked through the racks of clothing, his hand resting on his side arm. If they decided to turn their attention to him he’d be ready. He didn’t like to think about what would happen if that was the case. He wanted to believe that the two parties fighting would relax, but he’d learned that giving people the benefit of the doubt when they’re fighting could be a fatal mistake. As Turner was getting closer one of the two fighting individuals went crashing through a rack of shirts and hitting the floor. From the looks of it it was a Female Griffon with white feathers and golden brown fur, Turner stepped between her and the one that had hurled her.

Now he could see that the one responsible was a minotaur, a sizable minotaur that looked very angry that Turner was now standing between him and the Griffon who was collecting herself on the floor. The minotaur had almost black fur and wore simply looking clothes, his horns were somewhat dulled but his eyes were big and expressive. He towered a good head over Turner, and was a good deal bulkier in terms of upper body muscles.

“Step aside, calf!” The Minotaur bellowed. “I’m not finished with the pigeon!” He tried to walk around Turner, but the Sergeant put himself in the way once again while the Griffon began to recover and get up on her feet.

“Yes, you are.” Turner replied firmly, the badge on his jacket gleaming brightly in one of the overhead lights. The patches and sergeant stripes made it very clear he was Law Enforcement. If that wasn’t enough, he went so far as to announce it. “I’m Sergeant Turner with the Sheriff’s Department.” The minotaur snorted angrilly and pointed at the Griffon.

“You’re protecting that flying rat!? After what she and her kind have done to my people!” The minotaur boomed loudly, Turner’s expression remained calm. Minotaurs had a tendency to pick up on weakness, Turner didn’t plan on showing any.

“I’m an Equestrian Citizen, you idiot! I was born here!” The griffon shouted from behind Turner, the man sighed as the Minotaur took that as an invitation to put his hand on the Sergeant. He had the intention of pushing him aside, but found himself tripping on one of the human’s feet and falling face first on the floor. Turner used the minotaur’s weight and position against him, pinning the large bull’s arm behind his back.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Turner said in annoyed tone, outside he could hear the sound of an approaching siren. The Sergeant cuffed the minotaur and hoisted him up on his feet, then looked at the Griffon. “Don’t go anywhere.” He began walking the Minotaur out of the store, the bull didn’t seem to approve because he began trying to pull his handcuffs apart while swearing in his native language. At least, Turner assumed it was swearing, it certainly didn’t sound like a recipe for pound cake. “Hey, calm the fuck down! You’re only making this worse for yourself.” The minotaur glared at him over his shoulder, but after a couple seconds let out a low sigh and nodded. A Marshal had pulled up to the curb and Turner could see Sergeant Buckeye hop out of the driver’s side. “The other one’s inside, this genius assaulted an officer.”

“Got it.” Buckeye replied as she walked into the store, Turner meanwhile bent the minotaur over the hood of the Marshal and spread his feet out somewhat. He noticed the minotaur was wearing some generally normal clothing, some cargo pants and a t-shirt.

“You have any sharp objects in your pockets? Weapons? Anything that could stick me?” Turner asked as he patted down the minotaur’s upper body. The minotaur huffed but shook his head quietly. “You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You’ve got the right to an attorney, if you can’t afford one you’ll be appointed one by the court at no cost to you. Do you understand these rights as I’ve recited them to you?”

“Yes…” The minotaur said with a huff. “And no, I don’t have anything in my pockets.” Turner nodded and began patting the minotaur down, though he was still careful, just in case he had been lied to. “I’ve never been felled by something so tiny as you… What are you?”

“Just your friendly neighborhood Sheriff’s Officer.” Turner replied with a disinterested tone in his voice. “Though, if you’re wondering my species? I’m a human.” The Minotaur hummed quietly as Turner stood him up and turned him around to face him. “You wanna tell me what started that? Actually, let’s start simple. What’s your name?” The man took his notepad and pen from his jacket pocket and flipped to an empty page.

“I am Fyodor… As for what started things, I have to admit it I instigated things…” The Minotaur explained, Turner thought that maybe he was getting somewhere until the bull huffed and stamped one of his hooves. “She’s the one that should be apologizing though! Her kind has the gall to take the lands of the Minotaur on a whim!”

“Does this look like your homeland to you?” Turner asked, gesturing to the town around them. The minotaur shook his head. “That’s because it’s mine, or the closest thing to it! The war is overseas, not here. Not now. So calm the fuck down.” Begrudgingly the minotaur quieted down, Turner looked to the door as Buckeye exited the ship with the Griffon. It seemed Buckeye had cuffed the griffon as well. “What’s the story?”

“She says she started things.” Buckeye replied, Turner sighed as he wrote down several notes in his notepad before he finally rubbed his forehead. Buckeye could tell something was up pretty quickly, something that would gum up the works of their arrest considerably. “What?”

“He said the same thing.” Turner replied flatly, Buckeye sighed. “Alright, let’s at least untangle this mess someplace we aren’t freezing our asses off. You wanna take the griffon and the clerk to the office? I’ll take the big guy.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Buckeye said with a nod, Turner grabbed Fyodor by an arm and began walking back down the sidewalk towards his parked truck. Meanwhile it seemed Buckeye went back into the store to retrieve the clerk. The Minotaur seemed to be exercising his right to remain silent, which Turner was somewhat glad for. Another backup unit arrived to begin cordoning off the area, as it was still a crime scene. The trip to the truck passed without incident, and the subsequent drive to the Sheriff’s Office was also relatively uneventful. Turner merely loaded the Fyodor into the back of the truck, got in the driver’s seat, and drove down the street. When they arrived Turner got out of the truck and took the Minotaur out from the back seat.

“She’s lying, you know.” Fyodor declared loudly as Turner walked him up the steps of the Sheriff’s Office. “I started the fight, not her.” Turner opened the door and walked him inside, he could see Buckeye already had the store clerk sitting at her desk filling out a statement. The griffon seemed to be filling out one of her own, Fyodor caught a look at what she was writing and took exception to it. “Why are you lying, bird! I hit you!”

“Knock it off.” Turner said firmly as he walked the minotaur over to his own desk and sat the bull down in the chair next to it. The Sergeant approached his own desk chair and removed his jacket, gloves, and cap. He tucked the cap and gloves into the pockets before hanging up the jacket and finally taking a seat. He looked to the other Sergeant’s desk and spoke loudly. “Buckeye, clerk give you anything solid?”

“Not yet.” Buckeye replied, leaving Turner to sigh and look back at Fyodor. The minotaur was examining Turner’s desk, taking note of the numerous notes and occasional doodles present there. He seemed particularly interested in the framed photograph of Turner and Sam on their back porch.

“So, you confessed to starting the fight?” Turner asked, Fyodor nodded. “You don’t want a lawyer?” The minotaur shook his head, Turner took a document from a drawer in his desk and set it on the desk. He undid Fyodor’s cuffs briefly, long enough so that his hands were in front of him instead of behind him. “Sign that, this is confirming you’re declining council.” Fyodor didn’t hesitate to sign the paper, which Turner set aside. “Alright, tell me your side of the story.”

“I was in the rear portion of the small pony’s shop, searching for a new pair of mukluks.” Fyodor explained, though somewhat uncomfortable in the cuffs that he still had tightly on his wrists. He didn’t complain however, such a thing would show weakness. “The bird entered the shop, I spotted her quickly… I am from Minos, I barely escaped when the birds were encircling the city, my mind flew quickly to that. That’s when I called her a flea bitten mongrel.”

“You called her a flea bitten mongrel?” Turner asked, Fyodor nodded and watched as the man wrote down what he was hearing on the legal pad on his desk using one of his many pens. The minotaur kept looking to the photograph, but Turner did his best not to notice. “Alright, so you insulted her. What happened next?”

“She responded with a pitiful retort, comparing me to a stubborn donkey.” Fyodor stated, as if proud of what he was saying. Turner merely nodded and kept writing, though a notable pain was starting to make itself known in his head. “That is when I lifted the pigeon off the ground and began to pummel her. We fought, trading blows and insults, until you entered the store and broke us up.”

“Uh huh…” Turner quietly put his pen down on the desk and rubbed his forehead. “Is there anything else you want to add?” Fyodor shook his head, Turner sighed and picked his pen up again. “I’m gonna ask you some more questions.” The man looked at the legal pad and read over it again, meanwhile he could see that Buckeye had finished questioning the clerk and was on to the griffon. “Why do you think the Griffon lied about starting the fight?”

“She wants to keep me from my honor.” Fyodor replied with a huff, leaning back in his seat. “I started the fight, I knew what I was doing was wrong. I do not deny this.” Turner rolled his eyes at the mention of honor, plenty of stupid and nasty things had been done in the name of ‘honor’ both on Earth and now there in Equestria it seemed. “The birds took everything from my people, I felt entitled to retribution.”

“What you call retribution we call assault.” Turner said as he finished taking his notes for the time being. “I’ll be back.” Fyodor nodded and the man stood up, the Sergeant walked over to Buckeye’s desk with his notes in hand. He stood behind her and handed the mare his notes, meanwhile it seemed the Griffon was speaking. The store clerk meanwhile was getting coffee from the nearby percolator.

“So I said… Uh… You smell like an outhouse. Yeah. That’s when I hit him.” The griffon explained, Buckeye finished taking her own notes before examining Turner’s. She wordlessly handed the Sergeant her notes from the interview with the clerk and the Griffon. Turner would need to conduct his own interviews, but from what he was reading it seemed pretty obvious the Griffon was trying to cover for the Minotaur. For what purpose was still a mystery, but the Sheriff’s Office was in the mystery solving business.

“Sergeant Turner, this is Gilda.” Buckeye explained, Turner nodded. “Gilda, the Sergeant is going to take your statement again, just so we have copies. He’s also going to ask you some more questions.” Gilda looked at Turner with an annoyed expression but stood up as Turner walked her back to his desk. He grabbed his legal pad quickly, in the process he returned Buckeye’s own notes.

“Mister Fyodor, could you take a seat with my colleague?” Turner asked, the Minotaur stood up and walked over to Buckeye’s desk. He glared at Gilda but said nothing, once Gilda was seated beside his desk Turner sat in his seat again. “Okay… Comfy?”

“As much as I can be.” Gilda replied with an annoyed tone, Turner nodded and clicked his pen a few times. He cleared his throat and scooted into his desk, the griffon scowled and looked at his desk. “So, your that human I read about.”

“Yup, and if you want I’ll tell you about it later, but for now let’s just go over what you told Sergeant Buckeye.” Turner replied, Gilda reluctantly leaned back in her seat and rolled her eyes. “So you entered the store and saw Mister Fyodor standing in the middle of the store?”

“Yeah.” Gilda replied, she tried to cross her talons but couldn’t as she was still wearing handcuffs. Turner nodded as he continued writing his notes down, occasionally looking up at the Griffon. She would look between the man and the legal pad on his desk, then at the floor.

“And he was looking at the shirts, right?” Turner asked, Gilda nodded again. Turner sighed and clicked his pen closed. “Why are you lying to me, Miss Gilda? You realize that it makes you look more guilty!” The griffon leaned back further in her seat, as if trying to distance herself from him.

“I am guilty! I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about! You can’t prove otherwise!” Gilda snapped, Turner looked at her stoically as he looked over the notepad for a second.

“Mister Fyodor said he was there in the back of the store looking at mukluks, not shirts.” Turner said flatly, Gilda began to open her beak but was cut off as Turner continued. “That’s backed up by the store clerk’s account. What’s your angle, Miss Gilda? What do you gain from taking the fall for the fight?”

“You can’t possibly understand!” Gilda snapped back, Turner set his pen down and reached into his pocket. He withdrew the key for the handcuffs and began to reach towards the Griffon’s talons. “What’re you doing?”

“Letting you go. If you aren’t going to tell me I can’t very well keep an innocent griffon in custody.” Turner said with a shrug, Gilda pulled back before he could slip the key into the slot to unlock the cuffs.

“I’m covering for him because I owe it to him, damn it!” Gilda finally snapped, Turner lowered the key and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Gustavo and his whole Empire building thing is a stain on Griffon’s everywhere! I didn’t want him to get in trouble because of that. If it means getting my ass handed to me or tossed in jail, that’s all I can do. Not like I can do anything else.”

“You realize you could just not press charges, right?” Turner asked with a raised eyebrow, Gilda paused as if to retort. She then looked at the floor as if trying to think of a good reason why she hadn’t thought of that in the first place. “I mean, the store could still technically press charges if they wanted, but destruction of property isn’t as bad as assault.” Gilda sighed and looked at the desk again. “So, you wanna tell me what really happened?”

Turner was filled in on the details, it happened pretty much exactly as Fyodor had said it had. When he interviewed the clerk it only confirmed the story further, with that they released Gilda without filing charges. Fyodor, in the meantime, would be facing destruction of property charges. It seemed likely, however, that he’d be mandated to anger management classes rather than jail time. Once all the paperwork was done Turner was happy to see the two of them part ways, Gilda left while Fyodor sat back in the jail.

A griffon and a minotaur came to blows, and both wanted to accept responsibility for it… If only things could’ve been that simple in the terms of nations. As Turner continued his shift for the day he found himself thinking more and more about what was happening around him. Up until that day the war had been a far away conflict, something to be read about but rarely ever seen. To the Sergeant it seemed clear that the distant conflict of the war was edging closer and closer to Equestria’s shores.

There had been wars in the past, from what Turner had read, but a war of such scale hadn’t been seen for over a thousand years. As the hours passed and Turner finally finished his shift, which thankfully passed quietly for the remainder of the day, he couldn’t take his mind off of what had happened… What was happening all over the Equestria and the world as a whole. As day gradually shifted to night and Turner found himself on the way home, he was once again confronted by a war that was distant no longer.

“While negotiations are still ongoing, so too is the draft around the country.” The radio announced as Turner was driving home, the heat in his Marshal thankfully holding out against the rapidly dropping outside temperature. It was six fifteen, and Turner expected would be driving up to his home soon. “While it was previously only limited to urban areas, it is expected that conscription of rural towns will begin within the month.” In one sentence, one solitary string of words, Turner felt overcome with an odd mix of dread and cynical mirth. “Tensions at the Trottingham Bridge continue to escalate as it seems Griffon Armed Forces are amassing in the nearby areas for what the Griffon’s are calling ‘Training Exercises’. Still, the Princesses remain hopeful for the Prospects of Peace.”

“Bullshit.” Turner said bitterly as he pulled up the driveway and eventually parked in front of the barn. He turned off the engine and exited his truck, the snow was starting to pick up in speed and density. The Sergeant sighed and walked through the deepening snow towards the back porch, it didn’t take him long to make it up the steps. He stopped briefly and looked up in the sky, the chill settling in on his cheeks. “Sometimes I wonder who’s side he’s on…” Turner mumbled before he quietly walked into the house.

The Sergeant could hear the radio playing in the kitchen as it usually did, the smell of cranberries in the air caught him slightly off guard. He hung his jacket up by the door and undid his gun belt, which he promptly carried over to the dining room table and set down. Turner walked back to the kitchen and was somewhat happy to see Sam was busy standing in front of the stove, judging by the mix of empty mason jars and jars filled with a reddish substance it seemed once again she was making preserves. Cranberries, if Turner had to hazard a guess.

“Hey, I’m home.” The man said quietly, Sam looked over her shoulder and smiled.

“Good! I need your help.” She said, Turner nodded and walked into the kitchen. “Could you move the full jars for me? I need more space.” Sam explained, the man nodded and gathered up the various jars. “Just put them on the table, thanks!”

“You’re really getting good at making these things, it doesn’t smell like anything burned this time.” Turner stated in a joking tone as he walked out of the kitchen and placed the jars on the table. “How was your day?”

“Alright, I suppose. How about you?” Sam asked, Turner walked back into the Kitchen and adjusted the volume on the radio before leaning against the counter beside Sam. The man rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of whether he should mention what he had heard on the drive home.

“I had to break up a fight between a Minotaur and a Griffon today.” Turner said, Sam looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “It wasn’t anything serious, just some tension as a result of the war.” The woman sighed and looked back at the stove, her entire reason for buying and eventually learning how to make preserves in the first place had been to prepare for if there were any food shortages, all on account of the war. “That’s not all…”

“I know…” Sam said quietly as she turned off the stove and stepped away from the pot she was using. “It came over the radio before you got home, they’re going to start drafting people in rural locations.” The woman looked at the floor. “I had hoped I’d just misheard, or I could just imagine I hadn’t heard it, but…” Sam sighed and looked at Turner. “I’m afraid, Paige.”

“It’ll be okay, Sam.” Turner said as he hugged the woman gently. “Don’t be afraid, if I have to leave it’s likely they’ll put me someplace safe. After all, it’s not like they’ll have a place for a lone human on the front lines.” He could feel Sam relax in his arms as he said that, but Turner knew that what he had told her wasn’t likely to happen. If they were accepting Minotaurs and other bipeds as draftees, it was likely they had a place for them other than logistics. “With any luck, they’ll forget Silver Lake even exists, might not even issue a draft order.”

“You know they won’t…” Sam lamented as she let go of Turner and wiped her eyes. “Thank you, though, for trying to cheer me up.” The woman walked over to the radio and switched it off, settling a silence throughout the house. “I just need some time to think, okay? Could you do me a favor?”

“Anything.” Turner said with a nod, Sam smiled faintly and walked closer. She reached to his breast pocket and patted it, sure enough she felt the familiar outline of his harmonica. Sam took the instrument from his pocket and put it in Turner’s hand.

“Play something for me, please… I don’t want to listen to the radio anymore.” Sam said, Turner nodded and gave her a quick kiss before he walked out of the kitchen to the dining room. He grabbed a chair and dragged it towards the doorway into the kitchen where he sat down. The man took a few breaths before lifting the harmonica to his lips and tapping his foot a few times to get into rhythm. In the kitchen Sam heard the soft notes begin to filter in through the doorway, a somewhat cheerful yet melancholy tune. It was one that Turner rarely played, ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’, a British song from World War One.

As Sam stood in the kitchen, listening to the notes of the harmonica, she couldn’t help but feel she’d taken the music for granted. Every note was the result of Turner breathing in or out, without his breath the harmonica would be little more than a hunk of metal. The thought of him leaving, and subsequently never returning to play those same songs again, was something that Sam found difficult to reconcile. Even if the war never came, even if Turner was never drafted, the woman would never take the song or the breath that made it for granted.

Sam resolved then and there, listening to the song change to the more cheerful ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’, that she would use every cent she had, every bit of influence at her fingertips, to ensure that if war did come it would be as swift as possible. Not just for the sake of Turner, but for every other mother, wife, or girlfriend that would be watching their loved ones marching away. As she thought about the term ‘wife’ her heart skipped a beat, it had been on her mind a lot lately. She had planned to be Turner’s wife in May, but that was months away.

Even if Turner wasn’t immediately drafted the woman didn’t want to take a chance that he wouldn’t be there for the ceremony. Sam quickly went about finishing the current batch of preserves. It seemed that the distant war, now so much closer, was going to try and take her chance at happiness away from her. She wasn’t going to let it happen, not after finding someone she loved. If she couldn’t keep him from being drafted before the wedding, she’d do the next best thing. After around twenty minutes more she had finished and walked out of the kitchen. It had been a while since she had followed one of her impulses, but this time felt more right than before.

“Paige…” Sam said, looking at Turner who lowered his harmonica and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want you to leave before we get married.” Turner stood up and placed the harmonica on the table. “I don’t care about the flowers or the big ceremony, I just don’t want you to go without doing it. I want to do it as soon as possible, the big ceremony can wait.”

“Are you serious?” Turner asked, Sam nodded firmly. “Alright, if that’s what you want. The County Courthouse in town closed an hour ago, but tomorrow should work.” Sam smiled and let out a slight sigh of relief. “You’ve been on your feet all day. Why don’t you relax on the couch, I’ll make dinner tonight.”

“Okay…” Sam said, Turner pocketed his harmonica before he leaned in and kissed Sam gently. “I’m going to put a movie on, okay? Try and put this whole thing out of my mind.”

“Sure, that sounds good.” Turner said as he walked into the kitchen, Sam meanwhile went to the living room and began rummaging through her collection of DVDs. Turner meanwhile walked to the stove and grabbed a cast iron skillet from a hook on the wall, he set it down and turned up the heat before looking into the refrigerator. He grabbed some butter and a wrapped parcel of steak, it was from a local butcher that had opened among the other shops. As he went about starting to cook it in the skillet his mind wandered away from the task at hand and once again instead to what was on everyone’s mind it seemed. The war.

It was very likely he’d end up in a combat unit, combat meant guns, and guns killed people. Turner wasn’t too keen on the idea of killing, not after what had happened months before, it honestly bothered him to think he’d be put in that position again. Briefly he considered saying he was a conscientious objector, but that didn’t seem accurate to him. He knew that killing was wrong, but he wouldn’t refuse to kill if it was him or the other guy. If he was really against it he wouldn’t have come back to a job where it could happen again.

As he used a spatula to flip the steaks in the skillet he bit his lower lip and looked off to the side, flashes ran through his head of the shooting. It was justified, and he knew in hindsight it had been the right decision to pull the trigger. If put in the same position he’d do it again. Turner sighed, it had been a while since he had last seen his therapist, but he recalled her words to him quite clearly.

“You can’t control the other person, only yourself and your response…” She had explained in their last session. “It’s unfortunate, but sometimes force is the appropriate response.” He wasn’t a big fan of therapy, but she had helped him move on so he could go back to work. The prospect of killing in a war was something Turner would likely never fully be able to stop thinking about, but for the time being he figured he could do it if the chips were down. That was enough, at least for him, to keep him from objecting.

He wasn’t about to have a full on philosophical debate in his head while preparing dinner, it was far too late in the day for that, but Turner had a feeling that he’d end up having trouble sleeping later. The Sergeant hoped to focus more on what Sam had discussed for the next day, it hadn’t even set in yet that she wanted to push up the date of their marriage, at least the official bit. He suspected that if he was drafted then the big ceremony would likely be held in celebration of his return.

As Turner took the skillet off the heat and put it on the backburner the man found himself thinking more and more about his future. What would married life entail, what would it be like to spend the rest of his life with Sam? He couldn’t say with any certainty, but he felt pretty good about it. With his thoughts somewhat more sorted now he began to bake a couple potatoes. The next twenty minutes or so passed without much incident or thought. Dinner was ready, Sam and Turner sat and ate, and the rest of the night went on.

They talked, they laughed, but when they watched the movie Sam had picked it seemed neither of them had their minds on the screen. The two of them were thinking about the various things in their lives that were changing, the storm of war looming on the horizon, and what could possibly lay beyond it once it was over. Neither of them wanted to say it outloud, but they both could feel it in their bones. For Sam, realization had come when she had been forced to put up blackout shades. Turner had always known that the Griffon’s would be an issue if left unchecked, but he was too focused on the prospect of being drafted that he couldn’t seem to find time to say ‘I told you so’.

With no formal declaration of war from either side there was still a sliver of a chance that peace could be reached. As long as that sliver existed Sam and Turner could force themselves to think that maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright.

The Calm

The County Courthouse in Downtown Silver Lake was a building Turner was quite familiar with, the building was rarely seen by the populace as it was located on the outskirts. The stately structure was made of stone and brick, with a domed roof. It was short and stout, like a small church, which also contributed to it’s somewhat unintentionally hidden location. The interior had around five rooms, six if one counted the basement. A courtroom, a jury room, a judge's chambers, a clerk’s office, and finally a records room. Turner had visited each room at least once during his time with the Sheriff’s Department.

Up until that morning his least favorite of them all had been the Judge’s chambers. The Honorable Judge Stare Decisis had the disposition of, for lack of a better term, a battle axe. She was older than Turner cared to guess, and it seemed the only thing keeping the grim reaper from knocking on her door was a fear of being on the receiving end of the sturdy wooden cane that never left her side. The nicest way to describe her view of the law was ‘Traditional’, and her chambers bore that out.

Large bookcases stocked with volumes of legal texts took up almost every wall, the windows were dressed with thin white curtains that allowed a decent amount of visibility when the morning light shined in. The carpet was a tasteful shade of burgundy, the walls decorated with stained wood panels. Places with no bookcase had oil paintings of various statesponies of Equestria’s past. The desk that sat in the center was about as wide as the front of Turner’s truck, every knick knack was in perfect order. From the pens, to the nameplate, even the little crumbs she occasionally missed in her cleaning somehow ended up in an orderly fashion. In addition to her desk there were a couple leather chairs spread about, Sam had placed her purse on one.

Today was different though, today Turner wasn’t there because he needed a warrant or a subpoena. He and Sam had both arrived at the courthouse ten minutes prior to its opening, which was usually still late for Judge Decisis. Turner was wearing his light blue dress uniform rather than his usual more casual uniform, similar to those worn by New Jersey State Troopers on Earth. Sam meanwhile wore a tasteful red dress. He had managed to convince the County Clerk to let them into the courthouse early, and when Turner had entered the Judge’s chambers she’d nearly blown her stack.

The Judge, an older grey coated unicorn, had levitated a volume from one of the shelves nearly quite literally threw the book at him. Before she’d managed to, however, he had explained his reasoning for being there. For the first time ever he had seen the Judge smile, if only for a moment, before she agreed to serve as Justice of the Peace for the purposes of Turner and Sam’s wedding, albeit begrudgingly.

That was what brought Turner and Sam to where they stood in Judge Decisis’ Chambers, it was no grand Canterlot hall or fancy looking gazebo, but for the two of them it didn’t need to be. They stood across from one another at half an arms length while the Judge was standing at the center, standing in the room as well was the County Clerk and the night janitor. They were the only ponies present in the building that could serve as witnesses to the ceremony.

Turner’s heart was pounding in his chest as he stood there, he could feel a lump forming in his throat and his stomach felt like it was rolling on him constantly. Despite that, he was happy. Sam was having similar feelings, though a noted bit of melancholy had wormed its way in as well. The woman wished that her Family could be present, or even Thomas and Gwen, but she knew that eventually they’d have a grand ceremony. For now, it would simply be their own private ‘I Do’.

“We’re gathered here today…” The Judge began, snapping both Turner and Sam out of their thoughts and to the crucial moment unfolding. The two of them looked at one another, and each could tell that they had made the right decision. The location didn’t matter, nor did the ceremony, only that they were committing to one another for the rest of their lives.

“To witness the marriage of Sergeant Paige Wilson Turner and Samantha Montoya. As I’m unsure of how Human Wedding Ceremonies are carried out, I’ll allow you to state your own vows.” It wasn’t the most romantic of ways to start off, it sounded like the judge was responding to an objection in court, but Turner supposed that would just make the story that much more memorable. “Sergeant.”

“Sam, when I first met you I felt like I got socked in the gut. First I thought it was just because I’d been alone for so long, but… Not for very long.” Turner began softly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He was flying by the seat of his pants here, but he figured the best thing he could do was speak from the heart. “You gave me the push I needed to move forward, to take risks I never dreamed I’d take, and when I was at my lowest moment you pulled me up. You saved me, Sam, when even I didn’t think I was worthy of saving.”

“I promise you, as God as my witness, that I will treasure our time together. I’ll be true, loyal, and honest. No matter the distance between us physically, you’ll always be in my thoughts. I’ll stick by your side through anything, and I’ll do it until the day I die.” Turner finished, reaching across and gripping Sam’s hands gently. His voice was shaking somewhat from the emotions welling up inside him. Though he wasn’t sure, he could swear he heard the night janitor sniffle in the background. Sam smiled and wiped one of her eyes, looking off to the side for a second before composing herself and looking Turner in the eye.

“Paige… When I first met you I thought you were some weirdo with a weird name living in a backwater town. I stuck around because I wanted to be away from Canterlot more than anything else…” Sam admitted, taking a breath. “At least, that was until we began to talk. You weren’t some weirdo, just… A person with different priorities. You stayed in Silver Lake because the town welcomed you and you wanted to give back to them what they gave you… Security.” The woman quietly wiped her eyes again, smiling as she did so. “You’re a noble man, sensitive, funny, intuitive, stubborn, and you snore like a bear… I wouldn’t have it any other way, except maybe that last one.” Turner smiled faintly and let out a soft chuckle.

“I’ve seen you come home from work tired and upset, but I know it’s only because you care that much.” Sam continued, sighing as she let her emotions get the better of her. “I’ve dreaded the thought of you being drafted, but I know you wouldn’t stand to send someone else in your stead. You care about me, and there’s no one else I’d want in my corner when life gets rough. I’ll be in your corner too, just like I’ve always been. As long as I draw breath. I promise.”

Turner and Sam looked at the judge, the mare was looking at the two of them with a somewhat misty look to her eyes. That was the only outward display of emotion, however, other than a slight smirk. The old mare cleared her throat and straightened her posture.

“Do you have the ring?” She asked, Turner looked at Sam who simply removed her engagement ring and handed it back to him. “I suppose that works, slip it onto her finger.” Turner nodded, and like a glove the ring was back on Sam’s finger. “How about you?” She was looking at Sam, the woman nervously reached to her purse. She dug around inside it for a moment before withdrawing her keyring. She removed the keys quickly, leaving just the round loop of metal. “Again, I suppose that will have to do.”

Sam slipped the ring onto Turner’s finger, at least partially. His finger was a bit too fat for it to slide more than a knuckle’s length.

“Paige Wilson Turner, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” The judge asked, Turner nodded.

“I do, your honor.” He said, smiling at Sam.

“And do you, Samantha Montoya, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do!” Sam replied quickly, it seemed she could barely contain her excitement. The Judge smiled, it honestly unsettled Turner a bit, though it seemed he was the only one. Maybe just because he knew the judge to almost always be grumpy… He stopped himself, his mind was wandering.

“By the power vested in me by the Kingdom of Equestria, Province of Dodge Junction and County of Evergreen I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The Judge said with a firm nod. “You are now hereby ordered to kiss the bride forthwith.” Turner wasn’t about to disregard an order from a judge, that’d be contempt of court. So, he wrapped his arms around Sam and pulled her into the most passionate embrace he could. Their lips met in that instant, their eyes closed.

Sam could only see fireworks in her mind, her heart seemed to be pounding ten times a second, the feeling of Turner’s arms around her and his lips against hers wasn’t anything new, but to have them around her and know they were the arms of her husband was something completely new. In the background of her mind she could hear the song ‘At Last’ playing. Turner, was having his own moment. Wreathed in the arms of his wife for the first time, he felt like he had come further than he’d ever expected… Even on Earth he wasn’t sure he’d ever find a woman he loved like Sam. No matter what happened after that, he would remember that instant, the moment their lips met, as the happiest moment of his life.

After a blissful twenty seconds the two of them finally parted, the Judge was quietly watching them while the County Clerk and Janitor that had witnessed the ceremony seemed to be hugging each other.

“Thank you, your honor.” Turner said as he looked at the judge, the mare gave a dismissive wave of her hoof.

“One of the few happy parts of my job.” Decisis said simply, she adjusted her mane with her magic. “Now, not to be rude, but I do need my chambers… All the same, congratulations.” Turner nodded and clasped Sam’s hand firmly, it wasn’t just Sam’s hand though… It was his wife’s hand. “Oh, one more thing.” The judge’s horn glowed as a drawer opened on her desk, from within was a crisp white peace of paper, she also levitated a pen. “This is a marriage license, you need to fill it out for all this to be official.”

“Care to help me with this, Misses Turner?” Turner asked with a joking tone, Sam rolled her eyes but nodded. Tears were starting to come and roll down her cheeks, tears of happiness that she had never thought she’d cry. The two of them filled out the paper quickly, barely able to sit still long enough to get to the end. Once they got there the two of them signed their names, the Judge looked it over and floated it over to the clerk in the back of the room.

“Rubber Stamp, sign and notarize this… You too, Scruffy. Then file it.” Decisis said before looking at the newly weds. “As I said before, congratulations. Now, I’m sure you have plenty of newly wed things to do.”

“Right… Again, thank you, your honor.” Turner said with a nod before he and Sam began walking out of the office, the Janitor picked up some shredded documents from a trashcan near the door and began throwing the confettified paper like rice. It was both awkward and sweet at the same time, which pretty much summed up the entire ceremony. Turner and Sam quickly made their way to the front door, only once they were out of earshot of the other’s did they stop to look at one another again. “Well… We did it.”

“I know.” Sam said before she kissed him once again, the two of them stepped outside into the chilly morning air. They were greeted with the usual morning sounds of birds chirping and a breeze blowing through the town, the Equestrian flag flying atop the courthouse fluttered in the wind. “Want to get some breakfast, Mister Turner?”

“Sure, Misses Turner.” Turner replied with a smile, he looked at his finger and noticed just how tight the keyring felt. “First, I think I might need to get this ring resized.” He joked, Sam let out a slight laugh and the two of them began walking towards their Marshal parked across the street.

“Take it off, last thing I want is your finger to lose circulation.” Sam walked towards the passenger side while Turner made his way towards the driver’s seat. “Besides, I need my keyring back.” Turner removed the keyring from his finger, but tucked it into his shirt pocket. “Hey!”

“Come on, you want to use it for keys now?” Turner asked as he got into the truck and closed the door. Sam closed her door as well and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I think we should hold on to it, look back on it as a fond memory. How great would that be?” Sam leaned back in her seat and let out a content sigh.

“Alright…” Sam relented, her face melting into a smile as the two sat there. “I can just picture us in fifty years, sitting around the house looking at things from the past and we find that.” She looked over at Turner, her expression was warm as ever. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Turner replied before he leaned over and kissed her once again, Sam smiled and fished around inside her purse for a second before withdrawing the key to the truck. When she pulled away she handed it to Turner. He slipped it into the ignition and started the Truck. “Is it weird of me to think that just getting breakfast is a kind of weird way of following up something as major as our wedding?”

“If it were a big wedding, absolutely…” Sam said with a nod while she reached towards the dashboard and turned on the heat. “Since it’s just the two of us though, I think it’s fine. I’d be happy doing pretty much anything as long as you were there.” Turner smirked at her and waggled his eyebrows. “You’re mind went right to the gutter, didn’t it?”

“Yup.” Turner replied, Sam gave him a slight punch to the shoulder prompting him to start laughing. He put the truck in drive and did a quick U Turn so that they could drive back into downtown. “I just want to say… What you said back there, the vows and stuff. I really loved that… Even if you accused me of snoring.”

“I appreciate what you said too…” Sam replied with a smile as they took a right turn and headed a bit further into town. “And yes, you do snore.” Turner smiled but didn’t retort, instead he kept driving them until they finally arrived at the town diner across the street from the new movie theater. “It’s still setting in… We’re married! Actually married! Not just dating anymore, or even engaged!” Sam beamed.

Turner smiled as he pulled the truck into the parking spot nearest to the diner and put the Marshal into park. He was happy, he really was, but in the back of his mind there was a nagging thought that soon reality would hit. He wasn’t going to dampen Sam’s spirits though, not on a day so important. He’d force those thoughts into the back of his mind, far away from where they could possibly interfere. The two of them exited the truck and made their way into the diner. Despite being slightly overdressed, they didn’t seem to stick out all that much as most of the morning rush had yet to enter.

They sat in a booth near the window, casually relaxing as they waited for one of the waiters to come over. Sam twirled her hair around one of her fingers while Turner adjusted his uniform to be a bit more comfortable.

“Paige, I’m gonna order some rings for us… Proper wedding bands.” Sam said simply, Turner was about to open his mouth to offer to help pay. He stopped though when he saw the ernest look in her eyes, he knew that she wanted to do it on her own.

“Alright, Sam.” Turner said with a nod. “I’d like that.” Not long after that the waiter arrived, the two of them ordered their breakfast. Turner couldn’t help but smile when Sam ordered a plate of pancakes, specifically asking for a smiley face of whipped cream on them. He meanwhile ordered biscuits and gravy, his usual order when he was on the clock… “Crap, I forgot.” Sam raised an eyebrow as the man reached into his pocket and withdrew his pocket, after a couple seconds of fiddling he put the phone to his ear. “Hey, Sheriff. It’s Turner. I need to take a personal day…” The man paused for a second to listen. “Don’t tell anyone, but Sam and I worried I’d get caught in the draft before our wedding, so we went to the courthouse and… Yeah… Really?”

“Are you sure it’s right…? Tomorrow?” Turner asked, Sam watched him quietly as his expression shifted slightly, becoming a little more serious than it had before. “I see…” Turner quietly looked at the table. “You’re sure it’s right?” Another pause. “Alright, boss… I appreciate you letting me know… Bye.” Turner hung up and quietly tossed the phone down on the table, interlocking his fingers as he looked down. “God damn it.”

“What?” Sam asked with a raised eyebrow, Turner sighed and looked at Sam with a somewhat crestfallen expression.

“Army sent the Sheriff a list of the people they’re drafting tomorrow, in case some folks try to dodge.” Turner explained, his eyes glancing out the window again. “They called me, Sam. Hell, they called half the county. I get the official notice tonight, at which point I’m to report in the morning to the train station for the train to the processing center in Canterlot… If I pass the physical I’ll be sent to an induction center...” Sam looked like she’d just been hit by a gut punch, but before she could start to freak out she felt Turner’s hand grab hers and squeeze it tightly. “We knew this was coming, honey… It’ll be okay.”

“How do you know?” Sam asked as she looked somewhat distantly at the table. “Right when we start to move forward it seems like nothing goes right…” She quietly took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. “It’s not fair.” Turner nodded and let out a sigh, looking towards the counter of the diner as the waiter approached with their food. He set down the pancakes in front of Sam and the biscuits and gravy by Turner.

“Thank’s…” Turner said, the waiter nodded and walked away. The man looked back to his wife, the ink on their marriage license wasn’t even dry yet and already it seemed the road forward would be difficult. Sam looked at Turner as he quietly made a sign of the cross over himself. “God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change… The courage to change that which we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Sam wiped her eyes with her napkin and looked at her plate, the smiley face staring back at her was almost cruel in how joyful it seemed. “Sam, look at me.” The woman looked him in the eyes. “It will be alright. Have faith, now more than ever.”

“I’ll… I’ll try.” Sam said quietly, wiping her eyes once again and sniffling. Turner looked at her plate, then at her.

“Do you want to switch plates?” He asked, Sam shook her head. “Okay… Eat, you’ll feel better once you have a full stomach.”

“How are you so calm?” She asked as she cut into the pancakes, doing her best to calm herself down. Turner took a bite from his plate before looking around as if checking for someone that could be listening in. When it was clear there was no one else listening he leaned closer, cleared his throat, and spoke softly.

“I’m terrified.” He admitted. “Absolutely scared out of my mind.” He leaned back in his seat and steepled his fingers, then took a deep breath and looked at the table again. “If I freaked out every time I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to do my job…” Sam was a little surprised by the admission, and upon closer inspection she could see in his eyes that what he was saying was true. “If I’m calm, the people I’m with stay calm too.” His tone was even, almost bordering on casual, but there was a faint edge to it.

“I… I guess I see your point.” Sam said quietly as she took another series of deep breaths. “As long as I know that your as scared as I am I can deal with it.” Turner reached across the table again, clasping Sam’s hand in his own and giving it another firm squeeze. “Let’s finish here and go home, I want to just curl up under the blankets with you while I can…” Sam’s tone almost sounded tired, Turner nodded and the two of them continued to eat in moderately uncomfortable silence. Both of them tormented with their own fears for the future, both of them looking to the other for strength, and both of them finding it in one another’s eyes.

They paid for their meals, got up, and drove home in that same uncomfortable silence. They passed plenty of ponies that didn’t know what was coming, and they couldn’t say a word. It didn’t matter, by nightfall the entire county would know. The chill of the winter air nipped at them when they arrived back home and exited the truck, as they walked back inside Turner could swear he heard the sound of thunder off in the distance. Clouds were rolling in, it seemed a storm was brewing on the horizon… Wordlessly both Sam and Turner made their way to the bedroom, undressed down to their underwear, and climbed in under the blankets.

They didn’t do much at first, they just laid their together in the bed. Turner had his arms around Sam’s waist, and she was getting as close as she could to him in preparation for what would likely be their last night together in a long time, and yet… It would also be their first night together as husband and wife. As the hours passed by the shock gradually began to wear off, and by nightfall when they heard the knock on the front door both of them had prepared themselves for what was to come.

Sam remained in bed, Turner put on a pair of sweatpants and went to the door. As expected, he found a letter taped to the wood from the Equestrian Government. Turner took it inside and opened the sealed parcel, inside he found exactly what he’d been expecting. The most galling thing about it was the way the letter was written, congratulating him for being such a fine example of what Equestria had to offer. Without another word Turner left the notification on the table and went back to bed, he crawled in beside Sam once more and held her even tighter than before.

That night the two of them did something more gentle than what they usually did in bed together, a private moment of love and passion that, out of respect for the newlyweds, won’t be recorded in the pages of this story. It was, after all, a farewell meant only for husband and wife.

We'll Meet Again.

The early hours of the morning were usually something that Turner enjoyed waking up to, watching the sunrise over the landscape while the birds chirped in the distance had given him great comfort over the years. As he stood in the living room of his home, looking out the window at the sun cresting the horizon in the distance, that comfort was replaced by uncertainty. The orange and pink hues danced across the fallen winter snow, a dance that Turner would likely not see again for a long time. Sam was sitting on the couch, she’d barely said anything since the two of them had woken up.

Turner let out a soft sigh as he took one final look around the room, then turned to Sam and knelt down in front of her. His eyes met hers, he could see that they were glistening with the makings of tears. He didn’t have much time before he had to go, and she knew it. The man softly placed a hand on her shoulder, he could feel his own eyes starting to water when the warmth of her smooth skin met his fingers.

“I will always love you.” Turner said softly, Sam leaned forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his body. The man hugged her back, just as tightly. He could feel the hot stain of tears through the fabric of his t-shirt. “Come on… Don’t cry.” Sam shook her head against his chest as more tears ran down her cheeks. Turner’s voice cracked in his throat, overcome by emotion he felt his own tears begin to flow. “N-Now I’m crying…” The two of them stayed like that for several minutes, the morning light began to shine through the windows as the sun rose higher. “I have to go, Sam.”

“Promise me you’ll write every chance you get.” Sam said into his chest, Turner patted her back and nodded faintly.

“I promise.” He said firmly, he felt Sam’s arms reluctantly relax around his chest as he too pulled back. He then leaned in and kissed her deeply and passionately on the lips, holding out for as long as he could hold his breath before finally breaking it. “I’m going to come home to you, I swear. I love you.”

“I love you too, Paige.” Sam said quietly as she watched the man stand up straighter, the man hesitantly began walking towards the back door where his jacket was hanging. “Paige.” The man looked at her. “I know you think I’m not all that religious… But, for whatever it’s worth, I’ll pray for you.” Turner gave her a small smile as he grabbed his jacket and pulled it on.

“It’s worth more than I can tell you…” Turner zipped up the jacket, he briefly reached for his cap out of habit but stopped when he realized he wouldn’t be needing it where he was going. The man quietly walked to the door and reluctantly pulled it open. “Goodbye for now, Sam.” Sam could only reply with a silent nod as she wiped her eyes. Turner stepped out into the cold morning air and looked towards the sunrise for a few moments before finally walking towards his Marshal. He took his keys from his pocket and slipped into the driver’s seat, he could feel his draft notice in his jacket pocket when he moved.

The man took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes, gripping the wheel with one hand while he started the truck. The rumble of the engine greeted him a few moments later, and with that he was able to put the vehicle into drive and make his way down the driveway. As he drove down the driveway he could see his house getting smaller in the rear view mirror, Sam was standing on the front porch waving. Five minutes after he turned onto the road he could see at least six of seven young stallions walking towards town on the shoulder. He slowed down as he got closer and rolled down his window.

“Hey, are you guys reporting too?” Turner asked, the Stallion looked over with a raised eyebrow. A surprised expression washed over both their faces as Silver Lining looked at his Sergeant. “Silver? Don’t tell me they got you too.”

“Yeah…” Silver said with a sigh.

“You or the other guys want a ride? It’s a long walk.” Turner asked, Silver looked around for a moment at the others who were walking and didn’t seem interested before shaking his head.

“No, thanks… I’d rather walk, take in the scenery one last time.” Silver said, Turner nodded and began to drive down the road again. The ride which usually took fifteen minutes passed far too quickly, it felt like only seconds had passed before Turner found himself pulling into town. A large crowd had formed near the train station made up of two groups, one group was made up of young stallions between the ages of twenty and thirty. The other it seemed was made up of their family, standing between the two were members of the Territorial Garrison, Sergeant Buckeye and Sheriff Longwire.

Turner parked his truck near the station and hopped out, the keys firmly in his hand as he walked towards the group. The ponies in the crowd of families looked at him and seemed upset at first, noting the Sergeant’s stripes and Sheriff’s Department patches on his jacket. They must’ve assumed he was their to aid in keeping the crowd orderly. He stopped in front of Long Wire and handed him the keys to the truck.

“Could you make sure that gets back to my house?” Turner asked, the Sheriff nodded. “Thanks, Boss. Been a damn privilege working with you, you too Buckeye.”

“Good luck, kid.” The Sheriff said with a nod.

“Yeah, see ya.” Buckeye added, Turner gave them a quick nod and unzipped his jacket before taking it off and handing it towards the Sheriff, only stopping briefly to grab his Draft notice from the pocket.

“Keep it… And don’t worry, I’ll look in on Sam from time to time.” The stallion said with a nod, Turner smiled and slipped his coat back on before walking towards the line of soldiers. He recognized one as Lieutenant Agendum among them, he seemed to be in charge. The stallion noted the human approaching him with a raised eyebrow, that is until he saw the man hold up his draft notice.

“Paige Wilson Turner, reporting as ordered.” He said flatly, the lieutenant took the draft notice and looked it over for a moment. The stallion sighed and handed the paper back to the man with an apologetic expression. “Worth noting I saw some guys still on their way in down the road a ways.”

“Alright, join the others on the platform.” Agendum said, Turner nodded and tucked the notice into his pocket once again. The looks of anger on the crowd of family members faded as they realized that he wasn’t there to keep them from their loved ones, he was in the same boat as their sons and brothers. Turner walked through the chattering mass of stallions, making his way towards the edge of the station platform where he noticed an odd face in the crowd.

“Fyodor?” Turner asked, surprised to see the minotaur that he had arrested two days prior for destruction of property. “What’re you doing here?” The minotaur turned and looked at Turner with an equally surprised expression.

“I was offered a choice of jail or joining the army, an army where I may get to kill griffons. The choice was easy.” Fyodor replied with a shrug, Turner hummed and crossed his arms as he looked down the train tracks to the north. “What about you? Were you conscripted?” Turner nodded quietly.

“Yeah, just got married yesterday morning, and last night I got the official notice.” Turner said with a somewhat bitter tone. “So much for a honeymoon, right?” Fyodor hummed and gave him a pat on the shoulder. Gradually the number of stallions on the platform matched the number of draft notices issued, and almost like clockwork the distant whistle of an approaching train from the south wafted over the wind. “Well, looks like this is it.” Turner quietly reached into the pocket of his jeans and withdrew his harmonica, then dusted off some of the lint and put it into his jacket where he felt it would be safer.

The train drew closer until eventually it was pulling into the station, the large locomotive blew by blasting its whistle while steam and smoke wafted up into the sky. Several train cars rolled past that already seemed full of stallions from down the line, Turner could see many of them looked scared for the brief moment that he caught a glimpse before eventually the empty train cars came to a stop at the train station platform.

“Alright, you lot! All aboard! Double time!” A voice shouted from the group of Terries keeping the crowd in check, Turner looked at Fyodor one last time before he stepped aboard the train car followed by the minotaur and several dozen more conscripts.

“When on the road to sweet Athy. Hurroo. Hurroo.” Turner began to sing to himself as he took a seat near the window, watching as more and more stallions were herded into the other train cars. Fyodor sat down across from Turner, it seemed they were the only two bipeds in the car so far. “When on the road to sweet Athy. Hurroo. Hurroo.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew the harmonica once again, looking it over somewhat sadly. “When on the road to sweet Athy,
a stick in the hand, a drop in the eye. A doleful damsel I heard cry ‘Johnny, I hardly knew ya.’.”

The locomotive let out a loud shrill whistle as it was finally loaded, Turner put the harmonica to his lips and began to play ‘Johnny I hardly knew ye’. The song had been one of the first he’d learned to play… It seemed fitting to be the last song he’d play in Silver Lake. The train lurched forward, its whistle blowing once again before the cars began to roll along. Through the window Turner watched the family members of those aboard try and rush the train, but they were held back by the Territorial garrison. He lost sight of them once they passed the first building, by the time they were on the outskirts it seemed there was nothing to look at.

Turner continued to play until finally the town was far back in the distance, when he stopped the car was disturbingly quiet. No one was talking or chattering as they had on the station platform, the stallions all seemed to have varying looks of deep thought on their faces. Turner tucked his harmonica into his pocket as he looked them over, most of them looked like they’d barely graduated high school. Not a soul aboard the train had any illusions about the ‘Prospects for Peace’ that had been touted in recent days. Nearly an hour passed of that tense silence, until finally it became almost deafening.

“So, what’s your name?” Fyodor asked, breaking the cycle. “I know you’re Sergeant Turner, but if we’re going to be on this train it seems better to address each other with less formal names.

“You can just call me Turner…” Turner said as he leaned back in his seat, he could hear more of the car was talking to one another now. “So, you mentioned you were from Minos, left during the invasion.” Fyodor nodded. “Did you get a look at the Griff’s armored vehicles?”

“The iron beasts.” Fyodor said with a nod. “They were unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, them coupled with the Griffons in the air made it an unwinnable battle. As I mentioned, I barely made it out.” Turner nodded quietly and leaned his head against the window, looking at the scenery as it flew past. “Do you think Equestria will declare war on the Griffons?”

“The way they’ve been drafting pretty much anything that has a pulse I’d hazard a guess that’s what’s going on.” Turner said while rubbing his chin. “Let’s just hope that it happens before the Griffons decide to invade us first…” The two of them began to chat about boring things from that point on, neither seemed like they wanted to discuss the prospects of their future. Occasionally the train would stop in other towns and take on more ponies before continuing on towards Canterlot. Turner was used to the landscape now that he’d made the trip a couple times, by the sixth hour he knew they were just about there.

Sure enough the train soon started up the long winding mountain, passing by the various buildings that lined the areas on either side of the tracks. Turner could see the town had changed quite substantially since his last visit, there now seemed to be parts of the city which had sandbags and what looked like anti-aircraft guns in place. That, coupled with the searchlights he saw nearby made it clear the city was gearing up for something. Rather than pull into the train station as Turner originally thought, they instead seemed to take a different line into a railyard… It almost looked like a stockyard intended for livestock and farm animals.

“End of the line…” Turner said under his breath as the train slowed to a halt, several royal guards walked forward from the various animal pens and climbed up onto the train cars.

“Everyone disembark through the front door! Have your draft notice and other papers ready!” The guard that had boarded Turner’s car shouted horsley, as if he’d been doing so all day, before hopping down and walking to another car. Turner and Fyodor stood up, as they were closest to the front door. The two of them hopped down from the car and looked around for an area to go.

“Bipeds to the right, quadrupeds to the left.” Announced a guard standing nearby with a clipboard, he pointed to a doorway to the right where Turner and Fyodor were to enter while directing the rest of the ponies to an area to the left.

The door seemed to lead into what looked like a large warehouse, when the neared the door Turner could hear chattering of voices inside. He opened the door and held it open for Fyodor before following his lumbering companion inside. The building was mostly empty save for several large tables and a couple long lines made up of mostly diamond dogs and minotaurs, with a few dragons added for good measure. Behind the tables were stallions of the Equestrian guard. The room was illuminated by flickering fluorescent lights, and the wooden blockers that kept the lines orderly looked suspiciously like those cattle would’ve been herded through.

The lines were divided up with signs that seemed to be going in alphabetical order of the last name. Fyodor, since he only seemed to have one name, made his way over the corresponding line.

“Until we meet again, Turner.” The minotaur said over his shoulder, Turner waved before making his way to the line that he needed to enter. He was behind a minotaur that was at least seven and a half feet tall, with rugged farmers clothing and greyish brown fur. Ahead the minotaur him was a dragon that was about the same height as Turner with orange scales. The minotaur turned around when he noticed someone was behind him, then looked at the human behind him with a raised eyebrow. He simply shrugged and went back to facing the front of the line, as if not interested in the odd relatively short biped behind him.

The line progressed somewhat slowly, giving Turner an hour and a half to think to himself about what Sam might’ve been doing home. He tried to think she was okay, but the nagging feeling of sorrow in his gut told him that she was far from it… Still, Turner knew she was strong, she’d pick herself up in no time. A few minotaurs filtered in behind Turner, by the second hour he was at the front of the line while the minotaur ahead of him was talking with one of the stallions behind the table straight ahead.

“Next!” The stallion called out as the minotaur walked towards another door in the corner. Turner walked towards the table and took his draft notice from his pocket as well as his wallet. The pony didn’t look up from the clipboard he was scribbling on at first, his pristine white fur and manicured horn seemed out of place in the dingy setting. “Name and species.”

“Paige Wilson Turner. Human.” Turner replied as he placed his draft notice on the table, the stallion levitated the paper and finally looked at Turner. He was surprised to see a human to say the least.

“Occupation?” The stallion asked, flipping through some papers in a box under the table.

“Sergeant in the Evergreen County Sheriff’s Department, chief training officer.” Turner replied as he placed his wallet on the table which displayed his credentials and other important information. The stallion stopped flipping for a second, then flipped to another section and removed several pieces of paper. He placed them on the table as well as a pen.

“Due to your previous rank in civilian service and the commendation stamp on your ID, you’ll be granted the rank of Private First Class until you have completed basic training.” The stallion explained while sliding both the pen and papers to Turner, the man picked up the pen and looked over the documents. “At that point you’ll be promoted to the your previously held rank of Sergeant and assigned to a bipedal unit.”

“Just like that? No physical?” Turner asked, the stallion pointed to the second sheet of paper. “What about mental health exams? I’ve seen a therapist before.”

“You were pronounced fit for duty as of your last physical as indicated on your credentials.” The stallion explained before clearing his throat. “As for mental health, the doctor that signed off on your recent return to duty is on the list of rapid induction. Our resources are limited, so we’ve cut down on the time it takes to induct new soldiers with backgrounds in civilian law enforcement.”

“I suppose that makes sense…” Turner said with a shrug before he filled out the various forms and slid them across the table to the stallion. “So where do I go now? That way?” Turner pointed to the door the minotaur had previously gone through. The stallion looked around for a moment and then shook his head.

“Door to the right, it’ll lead you directly to the transport officer.” The officer stated before levitating a piece of paper from under the table and filling it out rapidly, then handing it to Turner. “From there he’ll direct you to the appropriate transport, if you’re lucky you won’t have to leave Canterlot and can start training as early as tomorrow… If not, you’ll likely end up sent to Fort Hurricane in Ponyville or Fort Humble near Fillydelphia.” Turner sighed but nodded, the note hadn’t told him to pack more clothes, but it seemed he’d need them if it took that long to go anywhere. “Any other questions?”

“Yeah, how long am I, y’know… In?” Turner asked, he had been so caught up in what was going on he’d forgotten to ask possibly the most important question of all.

“Three years, or if war is declared, the duration plus two years.” The stallion replied, Turner sighed and slipped his transport orders into his jacket. “That everything?” The man nodded. “Okay, next!” The man walked towards the door he’d been told to use, a feeling of dread in his stomach. He pushed open the door and looked around, it looked like he was in the cargo area of the warehouse as there were large doors that could be used to load crates onto whatever vehicle happened to be placed nearby. There weren’t many people there, hardly anyone really. There were a handful of minotaurs and dragons, many of the minotaur’s bore the marks of battle, Turner figured they were likely former soldiers of the Minotaur Army. A unicorn walked up to him before he could look around any further. He looked remarkably similar to the stallion he’d seen a minute ago.

“Papers?” The stallion asked, Turner took his documents from his pocket and handed them to the stallion. “You’re in luck, we have another hooman here too. You’ll both be shipping out to Fort Humble, as well as that lot over there.” The stallion casually gestured to the minotaurs and dragons while his horn glowed and he used his magic to make a couple alterations to the documents.

“You said there’s another human here?” Turner asked, the stallion nodded. Before the man could ask any more questions the unicorn had shoved the papers back into Turner’s hands and walked away. The man sighed and tucked the papers into his pocket again before adjusting his jacket and walking towards one of the cargo doors, he leaned against the right portion of the doorfame and looked out at the city of Canterlot. It’s massive skyscrapers glinting brightly in the afternoon sun like spires of gemstone while snow began to fall from the clouds above. The man crossed his arms and shook his head, looking at the town you wouldn’t think anything was amiss… Aside from the various AA batteries.

“So they got you too, eh?” Turner heard Thomas’ voice off to the right, the former sheriff’s deputy nodded quietly as he looked at the city. “Guess we’re both fucked.”

“Yeah.” Turner replied with a sigh, after a couple seconds he looked over at Thomas who was wearing a warm looking overcoat and cargo pants. “Sam and I eloped yesterday, just in case this happened…” Thomas was a little surprised by that, but shrugged his shoulders after a few moments.

“Suppose it doesn’t matter now if you had a big wedding or a little one.” Thomas said as he leaned against the left portion of the door. “A lot of ponies don’t know what’s coming, this world hasn’t had a major war… A really major one… Period.” The man reached into his coat to warm his hands as the air grew colder. “We’re likely to get thrown together in the same unit, Turner.”

“Well, y’know what they say. Misery loves company.” Turner replied before looking over at Thomas. “Mind if I ask you something, and don’t take this the wrong way, but… Have I ever asked you your last name?” Thomas paused for a moment, looking off to the side in genuine thought, after a couple seconds he shook his head. “What’s your last name?”

“Clemons. Full name’s Thomas Lee Clemons.” Thomas replied with a shrug. “Did you really not know?” Turner nodded. “I always assumed Sam had told you… Why the sudden interest now?”

“Well, if we’re gonna be stuck together, may as well know each other’s full names, right?” Turner said with a shrug, Thomas let out a slight chuckle and shook his head. “My full name’s Paige Wilson Turner, in the interest of fairness… I expected a little more anger, to be honest.”

“After the day I’ve had?” Thomas smirked, crossing his arms as the two of them watched a couple carriages driving away from the facility loaded down with stallions and minotaurs. “Twilight didn’t take any of this well, Princess Celestia’s dragging’ her feet on whether or not to hit the Griffon’s first, and Princess Luna’s… Well… Luna.” Turner looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “She’s apparently looking to use bipedal units like us as shock troops, figures most bipeds are ornery enough to put a fear of god in the Griffs if properly equipped.”

“Not sure she’s wrong.” Turner said as Thomas looked a little surprised, gesturing over to the minotaurs and dragons. “You got flying flame throwing lizards that could kill you as soon as look at you, pissed off minotaurs that want payback, and two sorry SOBs from the rockies.” The man shrugged his shoulders. “And that’s just here, there’s gotta plenty of other folks like us and them around the country.” He looked out the door again.

“Do you suppose… No… It couldn’t be.” Thomas said curiously, Turner looked at him once again. “You remember that thing that happened with Discord a while ago?” Turner nodded. “He tested you on your resolve to stay with Sam, pushed you to the absolute brink of death… Meanwhile Luna’s been able to observe me up close, and she only really got an interest once things in the Griffon Kingdom started to spiral.”

“Do you think she saw all this coming years ago?” Turner asked, Thomas shrugged and withdrew a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He took one from the pack and offered one to Turner. “That’s some four-D chess master stuff right there.” The man looked at the cigarette for a moment and, after a brief moment of hesitance, he reached out and took it. Thomas offered him a light from a zippo lighter, then lit his own cigarette. “If this is a chess game to her I really hope we aren’t the pieces… It never ends well for the pawns.” Turner took a drag on his cigarette, the two of them watched as a couple trucks were being driven over to them, likely for transport. The two men looked out over the city, past the towering buildings, up towards the tallest tower of Canterlot Castle…

Celestia and Luna stood on the balcony, staring down at the stockyards and various vehicles going to and from there. Celestia’s expression was noticeably less stoic than her sister’s, it was clear that she was having a hard time watching the city mobilizing for what was to come. Luna on the other hand, was as calm as an undisturbed pond on the outside. Inside she was thinking through as many variables as she could, hoping that she had enough time to ready the country before the inevitable came to pass.

“Well, Luna… Are you happy? Is it done?” Celestia said with a sigh, her mane blowing in the breeze as the snow continued to fall. Luna shook her head quietly, the sound of a flag waving wildly on a nearby flagpole caught her attention. The strong wind had it whipping around rapidly, she could see the edges were already starting to fray. Luna’s eyes flicked back to the massive columns of vehicles ferrying conscripts throughout the city, beneath her stoney exterior was a well of conflicting emotion. She turned away from the balcony and began to walk inside, letting out a soft sigh in the process.

“Nay, dear sister… It has only just begun.”

Author's Notes:

I wanted to take a different direction with this story. Rather than looking at the politics of Equestria and the drama of a human's sudden arrival, I wanted to try and do something to see how they would integrate into a society after all the pomp and circumstance had settled down. How their various decisions would shape not only the world but themselves as well.

I wanted some characters that were just 'Average Joes', or as close as one could come in the world of Equestria. Others that capitalized on their experiences on Earth to line their pockets, and maybe a few in between the two. I think that I've done that, I certainly hope so at least... Now, the stage is set.

In previous stories I've written wars, they were always short and usually ended thanks to overwhelming numbers and superior technology... Usually told from the perspective of the people in charge, generals and world leaders... Rarely from the perspective of an average person, someone who could only watch as the storm grew closer. Normal people, going about normal lives, now adapting to something that many of them hoped would never happen.

I appreciate the time you've taken to read this story, dear reader. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you will enjoy the next one just as much, if not more so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHcunREYzNY