Silver Lake

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.