Silver Lake

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.