Silver Lake

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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