The Streets of London, January 21st, 2030.

Brave Heart had fled Equestria with her mother for safety a few years ago. She didn't know why. To her, everything was as it had been. The gift of youth is being oblivious the world at large. Both Brave Heart and her mother were earth ponies from Ponyville. Brave Heart shared her mother's kind heart and chestnut fur. Brave Heart's world had become twisted in its thinking. More to the point, their leader had become corrupted by something. Fair Heart, her mother, looked on at the "acts of kindness" they were doing to the "humans" and realised how unnatural it was to force change. It didn't make any sense. The reason they had done it before was because of the barrier. The barrier had continued to destroy countless human lives, so it made sense to make them ponies in order to save them.

But the barrier had stopped. Why didn't they stop converting? Why did the carnage have to begin? Why, in the name of all that was good and pure, were most ponies okay with it? Fair Heart took her daughter away from those questions. She took her to a place the humans called "Britain". Fair Heart thought that they would be safe amongst the core of the human's army.

Then the invasions began. Bombardments shook the city, the sound of thousands of galloping enemy hooves echoed down its passages. Night after night she comforted Brave Heart, told her that it would end soon, told her that the mighty Albion would save them.

You should have heard the stories that Brave Heart was told about Albion. To this little filly, Albion meant the end of being scared. He meant the end of so many cries in the middle of the night. He would make her mother happy to go home once more.

Fair Heart could only watch now, as her daughter hid from more attacks. She looked on at Brave Heart through nearly lifeless eyes. The last ounce of life was leaving her, soon she would join Luna in the next life. In the midst of another fight, a spire from a church had given way. It fell down to earth and crushed the earth pony. The blood from her wounds framed her heart shaped cutie mark as she gave her daughter one last piece of advice.

"Run!" she cried out with a dying whisper.

With that, she was no more. With that, the future was no more. For Brave Heart, there was now only just escape. The only thing she had left were the sounds of magic and steel clashing. Brave Heart waited. She waited for somepony, someone or something to help her. To be her guiding light.

Not a single being came to help her. Now more than ever, she was on her own in the cold. Brave Heart's tears did little to help her but what more could she had done. She did not know what she could do. The thought of leaving her mother, the woman who had been beside her through this madness, was like an act of betrayal to her. It was out of the question. It would take forces beyond imagining to get her to move from her still mother's side. Sadly, Fate has a way of filling that vacancy quite well.

The clashing got closer. Soldiers were bringing their battles closer to the mourning filly. Louder and louder their voices became. Each yelling about how the other was an abomination. Some of the voices didn't sound too convinced by their own arguments.

From behind her cover of another fallen part of the church, she saw them come into view. The humans were different then the one's she had seen. These still had the shape but were far bulkier and the faces were gone, only their eyes could be seen. The eyes were filled with the emotions of war; Anger and Fear. Brave Heart only had the latter of these, much to the irony of her name. The ponies that fought for Solamina wore her crest on their armour. They didn't seem to hesitate to attack one of their own kind. Pony against pony; Brave Heart could scarcely believe it. Again, the gift of youth in effect. That gift though had been ripped from her hooves in that instant. Brave Heart began to know, or at least get a better idea of, exactly what had caused her to move.
The last of the allied side from that little battle had fallen. A cheer rang out for Solamina's troop. Brave Heart edged back slightly, misplacing a hoof and giving the stones beneath her a voice. The ponies, a troop of four now, stopped cheering and glanced around. Nothing was insight.

"On your guard!" said a one eyed red unicorn. He readied his magic for a lethal blast. They searched the ally for what had caused the sound; She was stood paralysed out of sight. Brave Heart could only watch as the troop looked for her. What were they going to do to her? Dozens of scenarios played out in Brave Hearts head, none of them hopeful. The only thing she could do to calm herself was to think of her mother's nightly message.

Albion will save us. Just wait and see what he'll do.

One soldier found Fair Hearts body. She dipped her head down for the fallen pony. This was a war for soldiers, not civilians. Why was she lost in all of this, turned to the dark side of the apes? After a moment, she continued looking for it.

Another wrong move by Brave Heart. She had stepped once more, now she was in sight. Before the troop could act, the shots came. For a moment the world seemed to slow down. Brave Heart saw the leader of the troop spot her, have his eyes filled with concern, hear the gun fire, feel the shot through his skull and then slam to the ground. The troop had been caught off guard at the right moment for something to attack them. One by one they fell to whatever was coming Brave Heart's way next. Her heart pounded so much she could feel it as clear as every movement she made. Her mind was emptied and she took in the sight she beheld. A storm of bullets filled the ally way, leaving their marks in the walls and on the still bleeding body of Fair Heart. As quickly as it had arrived, the bullets stopped. For a moment, there was nothing left. Fair Heart's body had some company in that ally. Then they came. Judging by the footsteps, another allied faction. More bulky humans came into fray. The battles in the distance ceased. The glory of a warless Britain had been returned for the time being, or at least the illusion of one. A soldier in that war tended to take that illusion as a small mercy.

One of the humans found Brave Heart. He bent down, offered a hand in comfort. This sign was alien to Brave Heart. The soldier saw this and quickly turned to his friends.

"Jenkins, area secure?" He asked, an air of optimism in his voice.

Jenkins swiftly checked the immediate area. He gave the soldier a thumbs up.

From behind a visor, the soldier smiled. "Good." He lifted his helmet and showed his smile to the traumatised filly. His eyes had seen many things, many horrors, many departed friends. The soldier had seen so many years that his hair had turned grey.

"My name is Walter Minecroft." he said, his voice the first kind thing she had heard in what had felt like eternity "Come with us. You'll be safe."

There was that word again. Safe. Fair Heart said they would be safe in England but that had turned out to be wrong. Her mother had said they would be on their way to a safe place when they had began running on that night; The night that had seen fit to take Fair Heart from the world of the fearful living. Surely tough, soldiers could keep her safe. Surely, Walter could take her to safety. Cautiously, Brave heart crept out of her hiding place and embraced Walter in the loud cries that she had been holding back.

For Walter, moments like that were what the job was for. At the end of the day it didn't matter how many of the enemy he killed or whether or not he was promoted for his efforts. What mattered was making sure all the innocent souls were kept away from the fighting. Walter's family had passed on during the war. His own son, Malcolm, had been converted in the line of duty. Now though, a new life was clinging on to him. Walter wrapped his arms around Brave Heart. All the pain she had felt was his to share. The pain for him, was all too familiar.

"It's okay" Walter said "I'll get you somewhere safe." He picked Brave Heart up. The filly was surprising light. "I promise." He turned to his fellow soldiers. Walter's voice became filled with authority and confidence. He wasn't doing it just for him, he was being strong for both himself and Brave Heart. "You soldiers clear the path. We are getting this little one to a safe zone." Walter Declared

As it turned out the nearest safe zone was a temporary base made up in the London Underground. Brave Heart gave her last wave goodbye to her mother and left in Walter's arms. She would come back. That was her thought. Brave Heart thought that she would come back to her mother and find her a better resting place.

The walk to that safe zone made the soldiers vigilant. They expected that any moment of rest could be their last. Their guns were pointed in all directions. Any sign of hostile movement and they were ready to introduce it to the finest bullets made in Briton. Brave Heart's eyes saw the damage the war had done. In death there were no allies or enemies, simply comrades to the gates of the beyond. Bodies of ponies and humans alike were side by side, sporting various wounds. Some wounds were made by the soulless metal of a blade or the sharp power of a bullet. Other wounds were made with the raw energy of magic or even the savagery of bare hands and hooves. The only light Brave Heart saw in this darkness was that soon, very soon, she would not have to be a world of just brutality anymore. If her heart wasn't still going faster than her mind could think, she could almost have fallen asleep in Walter's arms. Sleep wouldn't have offered an escape either, merely the images of those who had fallen repeated over and over again until she found herself back in the waking world for more images to add to them.

Still, the quiet was a nice rest. As said before though, Fate has a way of filling things. It was Jenkins who caught the first sign. A lone feather floated down from above the dark clouds, it shinned on in the moonlit night. At any other time this would have been considered poetry in motion. Simple but beautiful. Now was the time of war however, that sight made sent Jenkins eyes to the sky. He couldn't see them but he knew they were there.

"Sir!" he whispered. "Above."

The whole troop looked to the sky. Nothing. In war no-one could be sure though.

"Cover...now!" Walter ordered, still in a quiet voice. The troop had entered an older warehouse district. The crates and turned trucks made decent cover for what was above.

What was above had caught their attention. Caught it like a fly in a web. Before a single bullet could find its way into a enemy flyers body. A hundred ice arrows had found their way to the soldiers cover. They had been sloppy, caught off guard because they had focused on protecting one child. For the ones who were hit directly, it was a shock to the system. Their insides were frozen in to such fragile ice. The soldiers could feel their finals breaths freezing over in place. They didn't have to worry about suffocation anymore though, a blast of magic shattered them into pieces on the ground. The ones who weren't so lucky were the ones only partially hit. Jenkins's right arm was frozen over. Not good. Before the magic bolt could hit he shot his right arm off and ducked. One arm was still better than being dead. One arm meant he could fight back. Even if it was for just a few seconds before he got a bolt to the head, scattering his mind into the ground.

Walter put Brave Heart down and loaded his rifle.

"I need you to wait in that crate." he pleaded as he pointed to a metal crate further into the warehouse. " Don't make a sound. I'll be back."

Brave Heart's eyes widened. "Promise?"

"Promise."

As she hurried off and closed the crate door behind her, the sounds of the outside slaughter echoed inside and battered her ears. More gunfire. That seems to be the choir of this war; gunfire and magic bolts. One day it would end. One day both sides could close their eyes and only her the birds in the trees once more. Brave Heart sat in the darkness, waiting to her Walter's voice again. It was covered by the sounds of battle. She couldn't pin point it but she knew it was there. The number of bullets firing started to decrease. Less of them or less of us?

Walter let out a agonised yell. Rookie mistake. He had left his face exposed. A conversion potion was already working its magic on him. Soon Walter was to be no more than just a slave to Solamina's will. In defiance, Brave Heart gathered her courage, gather her anger and charged out of the crate into battle. She was going to save Walter this time. That one thought in her mind gave her a smile. Brave Heart by name, Brave Heart by nature. A brave heart doesn't always work out though. Sometimes that brave heart gives in.

Before the transformation was completed, however, Walter took his rifle, hugged it to his now pony skull and with his last moments of having a hand, pulled the trigger. So ended the life of Walter Minecroft.

Brave Heart was spotted. The firing ceased. She could feel herself being elevated by magic. Brave Heart was surrounded from Solamina troops, looking upon her as merely a naughty child.

"A filly?" exclaimed a wing torn Pegasus.

"Not to worry" calmed the leader, a burned face unicorn. "We can send her home and teach her that Solamina knows best." She moved in on Brave Heart.

This was it. They had got her. Almost all hope had been lost. All except from one name. The name that her mother had held onto for salvation in that madness. The name that Brave Heart herself had used to keep the nightmares away. That name was all she had left. One last try.

"Albion!" Brave Heart cried out with every part of her strength, fighting the magic the unicorn had used to hold her up.

In that instance, Fate was kind.

There were seven of Solamina's soldiers surrounding her. Three were taken out in a few seconds. The leader dropped her grasp on Brave Heart, who stood up firm. Was it?

"You called?" David Elliot, the Avatar of Albion himself, said heroically, a cocky grin on his face.

His hand cannon had taken out the soldiers, and now he whipped out his twin blades. Behind him rushed another unicorn, a green one who wore his battle scars with pride. His horn was still glowing from his shot. Swiftly they both moved in towards the rest of the troop. Watching Albion - the Albion - work was like watching a twisted dance. Each move flowed into the other. With the unicorn by his side they took out three more of them. The leader was all that remained. While Elliot's back was turned, she readied another bolt. Brave Heart saw her chance. She saw her chance to repay him. Summoning her strength once more, she charged straight on into the burnt unicorn. That bolt missed Elliot and only managed to hit a poor bird who was passing by.

"Thanks kid!" Elliot shouted, bringing pride to Brave Heart. She rushed to his side. Elliot's unicorn friend soon came to his side as well. Elliot put away his daggers. A more...dramatic touch was needed. Elliot took one deep breath and focused some energy to his right hand. Brave Heart saw.

It was just like the stories told. In Elliot's hand was Excalibur. The mighty, royally decorated sword was as long as he was. In the dark night, it shined on, half the width of its wielder. It was an honour to be looking at it. In one swift slash, Elliot took down the final enemy. Not that Brave Heart saw it. While she was looking on amazed, the unicorn - whose name was True Grit - covered her eyes.

As Elliot wandered away from his victory he bent down to greet Brave Heart. The filly's heart soared.

"That was quite the move back there," Elliot complimented, giving his best fatherly smile.

"Th...thanks." Brave Heart managed to get out.

True Grit looked on in awe. It wasn't everyday when Elliot talked to children.
Elliot shot him a look before going back to Brave Heart. "It goes with your mark." He gave another thumbs up.

Mark?

Brave Heart jolted her head to her flank. She had indeed earned her cutie mark that day. It brought a tear to her eyes. The sunrise came. It was a new day. Albion had saved a life. True Grit had seen his friend in the eyes of a child and Brave Heart has earned that mark. The mark of a heart forged from a shield.

Author's Notes:

Another Interlude from "The Void": about time there was a vaguely happy story in here, wouldn't you say?

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