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 Note

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.