Silver Lake

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.