Chapter Thirteen: London's Burning (Part 3).

***

Elliot had explained everything (again, he thought with an internal grimace, vaguely wondering how many times he’d have to) but though Errant Flight had believed him about the ponies origins and their reason for being here, he still wasn't happy about the entire thing.

Truth be told, Elliot hadn't really expected him to be happy about it. Had their positions been reversed, Elliot knew he wouldn’t have been altogether happy about any of this either. But whatever Elliot had expected from Errant Flight, he definitely hadn't expected him to be so... quiet. It was hard to convince someone to see your point of view if they didn't say anything to refute it per se. At least Hell Blazer was vocal about his dislike of this plan, which made it easier to engage with him.

Errant Flight was now studiously ignoring not only the Element bearers but also Lyra, True Grit and Ditzy. If he were being honest with himself (something he seldom was anymore), he had no idea how to deal with their existence and so, for now, he was avoiding having to.

The small band of humans and ponies stood in a small grassy area, none of them speaking - none of them sure what to say. Errant Flight shook his head slightly as he stood with the group, clearing his head of the disturbing thoughts running through it.

Elliot had enlisted Lyra and Twilight to help him dig a grave for his Lyra, the Lyra who had fought alongside him for years against the Empire. They had been - well, not exactly happy to help (that implied a sense that happiness belonged in this world, and neither of them were willing to go along with that), but they understood the need. They used their magic to dig the holes, the strain only slight for the two unicorns. Soon - perhaps sooner than Elliot would have like- they had finished, and it was time to go.

Elliot said nothing as he placed Lyra's corpse into the rough hole, sans her uniform shirt (which he removed gently), and then said nothing when the dirt was piled upon the body by the two unicorns. He said nothing as he grabbed a discarded rifle from nearby and rammed it, bayonet first, into the ground, and he said nothing when he wrapped Lyra's shirt around the stock end, where it waved in the gentle breeze like a tattered, dirty flag commemorating the mare's resting place. He said nothing as he walked away, heading once more in the direction of St Paul's cathedral.

The ponies watched him go. Though they had all lost people, it had never been in circumstances quite like this, and none of them were sure how to react, what to say, or even whether saying anything would be wise. The group began following him quietly.

"Is he always so quiet about this sort of thing?" Twilight asked Hell Blazer after a little while, her voice quiet. The yellow pony sighed.

"He's lost a lot of friends," he replied shortly. "Gets to you after a while."

"We've all lost people," Errant Flight added quietly, his eyes straying briefly to Ditzy, who stood nearby, for the first time since he had joined the group.

"Errant," Elliot said sharply, getting everypony's attention. "I take it you're heading to St Paul's?"

"I was, along with what was left of Red Squadron after that debacle over the channel," Errant said quietly, looking up at the tired man.

Elliot nodded slowly. "They put you in charge of Red then, after Firelight died?"

"Well, training the new recruits doesn't have the same impact as air combat," Errant said with a sigh. "Air Commodore Tide thought I should… well. 'Get my wings back'."

Elliot chuckled grimly. "Well, that's something at least."

Errant said nothing.

"Where's the rest of the squadron?" Elliot asked, unconsciously searching the skies for friendly Pegasi. "We could use the air cover once we get to St Paul's."

"They're dead," Errant sighed, looking morose.

Elliot looked back at him, eyes wide.

"We were on schedule," Flight continued dully. "But then we got caught by the Guards over the Thames, somewhere near where the barrier used to be. The rest of the squadron went down, I think, and I ended up dodging the guards for a while. That's when I saw that patrol heading towards these parts: I followed to see whether I could mess their day up." He smiled, but it was a tired thing, full of weary humour and regret. "That's when I found you."

There was a moment of silence after Errant had finished his story, as those who knew who Red Squadron were paused to think about the group. Red Squadron had been one of several Pegasi squadrons assembled around the same time as Ditzy Doo's now-famous Grey Squadron. While Red had never had the legendary reputation Grey had managed, they had been known as solid, dependable ponies.

"I'm sorry about Red," Elliot said quietly after a moment's reflection. Errant Flight shrugged tiredly.

"I've lost entire squadrons before. Seems to be my curse that any friends I have end up dead," Errant said, his eyes dead and his tone emotionless.

"I'm just surprised you dodged the guard formations," Hell Blazer said, frowning. "Those guys are thorough as all tarta - hell."

"What can I say?" Errant said, smirking slightly at Hell Blazer's faux pas. "They were good, but none of them were Grey Squadron."

"No, I guess no one compares to that group," Elliot said in an odd tone. "Speaking of, I have a proposal for you when we get back to St Paul's."

He said nothing more, and continued walking. Errant fell behind slightly, moving to walk near Hell Blazer. The two weren't friends, but they had met a few times.

"I have a feeling I won't like his plan," Errant said quietly.

"I have a feeling you won't, too," Hell Blazer said, a small smile on his face. "Cheer up mate: at least somebody's got a plan. Bears the early days of everyone running around like headless chickens while the Empire repeatedly tried to shiv us."

"Yeah, I guess," Errant Flight mumbled irritably. "It's just a question of precisely how much I'm gonna hate his plan, and I’ve a horrible feeling it’s gonna be a lot."

***

The small group continued their walk: there was less conversation - Pinkie and Dash were keeping Applejack up, the cut in the orange pony's side making her slower than she would have liked. She and Dash had shared a glance, both of them now having been responsible for death. Pinkie didn't seem fazed by the fact that she too had contributed to death, but any talk of it was quickly silenced by an over-eager grin from the pink party pony, which told her two friends that she, too, was affected by what she had done.

True Grit, Lyra and Ditzy were walking with Lockett and her remaining trooper, a man who introduced himself as Dutch. Dutch was taciturn and blunt, but he seemed ambivalent about the Element bearers, saying "if you don't shoot me, I won't shoot you", which seemed fair. Fluttershy was still in something resembling shock over the deaths she had witnessed, and she was almost certain that if she were to be involved in a fight, she would not be able to handle the pressure.

Behind these two walked Hell Blazer and Errant Flight, both of them silent, both equally concerned about bringing the six Element bearers to a hotspot of people who'd most likely want to kill them if they realised who they were dealing with. Still, they trusted Elliot, even if they didn't like this idea very much.

At the front of the group walked Elliot himself, Twilight and Rarity with him. Rarity seemed intent on sticking near Twilight, presumably because she felt like Twilight was the only one with a handle on what was going on here. Elliot had been silent since burying the Lyra of this world, clearly lost in thought.

After a while, the group arrived at St Paul's cathedral itself, a grand white domes building. Twilight couldn't help but stare at the giant building in something resembling awe: though it was battered and there were more than a few dents in the masonry, the building was still majestic and grand. It was unfortunate that the effect was marred by the sandbag emplacements and armed guards waiting for them.

"It's beautiful," Rarity said from behind her as the group ascended the stairs towards the emplacements.

"It's stuff like this that we fight for," Elliot told her softly, speaking for the first time in a while. "This, this cultural icon and everything like it, is what Solamina wants to destroy forever. We can't let it happen: so much beauty has already been lost. Not again."

"I think we can all appreciate that," Twilight said quietly.

"Halt!" a strident voice called out, and Elliot held up a hand, stopping the group. They found themselves facing a large number of armed soldiers, all in the same gas-mask and enclosed suit arrangement that Lockett and Dutch wore. Some of them had a symbol on their jumpsuits, a stylised flayed skull over a red, white and blue flag of six inter-crossed bars. Their weapons were trained, not on Elliot, but on the ponies.

An Earth Pony in a battered brown leather jacket with a brown mane streaked liberally with grey, a red coat and a beard walked towards the group from the emplacements. He wasn't armed, but he looked as though he had seen his fair share of conflict. His eyes met Elliot's, and then scanned the group he had brought with him, settling only briefly on Ditzy, who didn't notice. He then looked at Elliot again.

"Parallel versions?" he asked simply.

"How'd you know that, Doc?" Elliot asked with a slight grin. The pony shrugged.

"I have more experience with such things than I would like," was the simple reply. The pony turned to the guards. "This group can pass!"

The grim looking human guards in their gas masks lowered their weapons a fraction, the only change in their posture. Elliot waved at them as he passed, but the ponies tried not looking at them, still not convinced that the guards didn't want to open fire on them.

"How are we holding up, Doctor?" Elliot asked the jacket-wearing Earth Pony as they walked.

The pony shook his head sombrely. "We've been worse. Most forces have retreated to this and other major defensive points: extended defences can't hold up against the sheer numbers we're facing."

"Figures," Elliot said with a frown.

"Lyra?" the pony - the Doctor? - asked. Elliot gave him a look, and the old pony sighed, shaking his head.

"We've lost so much," he said softly.

"And we fight for vengeance as much as survival," Elliot replied grimly. "We'll get them back for her, Doc."

"I shall take your word for it," the Doctor said softly.

Elliot sighed, before looking around, his eyes narrowing somewhat.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm..." Elliot began, before trailing off, still searching the horizon. "Surprised there's not more activity. We only had one skirmish with a patrol group on the way here."

"That's the unfortunate thing," the Doctor said with a humourless smile. "We think they're building up to a major attack."

"I see," Elliot said, frowning. "You think they'll try to attack the major defensive centres?"

"I believe so," the Doctor said. "And the unfortunate thing is, this is their likely first target."

"Why is that?" Twilight asked, confused. "Surely if they've got the soldiers..."

"Several reasons," the Doctor cut her off, sounding slightly colder when speaking to her. "This is the most exposed position. Furthermore, by now they will know that Pinkie Pie and Shining Armour - their Pinkie Pie and Shining Armour," he clarified, noticing Twilight's stricken look at the mention of her brother's name, "were both killed near this location, and they know that the only individual capable of such a feat is the Avatar of Albion. Therefore, this will be their priority target. They will charge and they will wipe it off the face of London to kill him."

"Good," Elliot said, smiling grimly. "I'll be waiting for them."

"The likelihood of us surviving an engagement of that magnitude..." the Doctor began, sounding concerned.

Elliot held up a hand. "Trust me, Doctor. I've got a plan." He didn't look entirely happy about that.

The Doctor frowned, before turning to Hell Blazer and Errant Flight. "Am I the only one who gets worried when he says that?"

"Nope," Hell Blazer said.

"No," Errant added.

"Thought not," the Doctor said with a nod. "Ah well."

***

The interior of the giant cathedral must once have been as ornate and beautiful as the exterior, but the ponies' eyes were not looking at the architecture: rather, their gaze was fixed on the multitudes of ponies and humans wandering around.

Many humans were injured and lying down on the cold hard floor or on makeshift beds, many of them suffering from laceration injuries or spell burns. More than one of the prone bodies was covered entirely: the ponies didn't know the custom of covering a dead body, but they were able to guess.

"So much violence," Rarity said quietly. "So much pain. It's just dreadful."

"We gotta do somethin'," Applejack added, looking around with a pale expression, still limping slightly from her wound.

"That's why we're here, girls," Twilight said to them softly. "We're gonna help, however we can."

"Albion!" a young voice called out, distracting them from further discussion. The ponies turned to see a young Earth Pony filly charging at Elliot, who bent down and hugged her.

"Hey there, Brave Heart," he said, sounding warmer and friendlier than he had the entire time the ponies had known him. "How are you?"

"I'm ok," the little filly said, sounding slightly less chirpy. She was small, haggard, but she had a smile on her face.

"Cool," Elliot said, smiling as well. "Don't forget though, it's good to be sad. Bottling it up doesn't do anypony any good, does it?"

"Nope!" the little filly said enthusiastically. Her eyes drifted to the ponies behind Elliot and her smile faded slightly. "Who are they?"

"Some ponies who've come to join the fight," Elliot replied softly. He smiled again. "Don't worry. They're on our side."

"Ok," the little filly said, smiling again. "I'd best get going: Miss Scratch wanted my help moving some stuff for after the fight."

"Ok, you run along then," Elliot said. He smiled as she ran off, before catching the questioning looks on the faces of his companions. "I saved Brave Heart from some of Solamina's troops a few days ago. She saved me from getting hit by a spell. Got her cutie mark in the process." He smiled. "Brave kid."

"Are there many people you’ve saved like that?" Twilight asked.

"I try," Elliot replied, and his smile dropped. "I try."

"Albion!" another voice called out. Elliot turned to face the speaker, this one a wiry red-headed man in lab coat, t-shirt and glasses. "We got radio contact from every fucker between here and Dorset: every Royal Guard and Militia pony in London is inbound to our location. I guess they..."

"Know I'm here," Elliot finished. "Yeah, I know Danny, the Doctor told me."

"Oh," 'Danny' said, looking slightly mollified. "Guess you've got a plan for it?"

"Kind of," Elliot said, smiling slightly sheepishly. "Need you to get the Major. There's some things the PTB need to hear."

"Gotcha boss," Danny said heading towards a door at the rear of the cathedral. Elliot turned to the ponies.

"Ok," he said. "Hell Blazer, take these guys and keep them safe. I'm gonna go prepare for my big plan."

"Do I wanna know?" Hell Blazer asked, narrowing his eyes at his friend.

"Not really," Elliot admitted with a shrug. "Errant, I want you to come with me. We have to have a chat."

"Right," the Pegasus said in a monotone.

Elliot turned to the rest of the ponies. "This building is gonna be attacked soon, and though I'm sure most of you would be willing to try, I'm not banking on any of you surviving a full battle, so I want you to stay in here."

"Sir," True Grit said, frowning. "I can fight. I'm trained to..."

"No," Elliot interrupted, holding up a hand. "You, Grit, aren’t ready for this, and the rest of you need basic training before you can fight in a full battle. I'm sorry, but I won't risk your lives if I don't need to."

"Sir," Grit said, looking unhappy.

"Ok, John, stay with them," Elliot added.

Hell Blazer nodded. "Gotcha, Dave."

With that, Elliot nodded and walked off, leaving the ponies with Hell Blazer, who sighed heavily and lit up another cigarette.

"I don't know about all of you," Rarity said after a moment, "but I'm glad to not be fighting."

"I'd drink to that if there were any alcohol around," Hell Blazer commented. Rarity wrinkled her nose slightly.

"Alright," Twilight said softly. "Mr Hell Blazer: I need to ask you a few questions."

Hell Blazer groaned.

***

Errant Flight and Elliot walked down the centre of St Paul's. Errant had a bad feeling he knew what Elliot wanted to talk about, but he decided to keep quiet for the moment.

After a little while, Elliot sat on a bench, motioning for Errant to sit next to him. The pony did so, feeling more than a little apprehensive about what the human might have in store for him.

"So," Elliot said after a moment. "That skirmish."

"What about it?" Errant asked.

"I want your opinion of Rainbow Dash in that engagement," the Commander said. "Her skills, etcetera."

Errant blinked. "Why?"

"Just give me your assessment." Elliot sounded slightly annoyed at Errant Flight's reticence, but Errant didn't care: he was being asked to assess the skills of somepony who was A) an enemy (or so similar to an enemy that the difference was pretty much negligible), and B) he was being asked to assess the skills of somepony who was dead. Still, he followed orders, and so he began thinking about Dash's moves in the fight.

She had been a raw fighter, but a surprisingly effective one: her skills weren't exactly brilliant, but they hadn't been bad for what Elliot told him was a Dash who had never fought in aerial combat, and in fact had never killed anypony. In fact, considering Elliot's information that Dash had been fighting a case of shell shock from her first kill not an hour before the skirmish, that she had managed to fight at all was impressive.

"She was good," he finally said, somewhat grudgingly. "Raw, sure, but I've seen flyers who were worse."

"Good enough for the air service?" Elliot asked, giving Errant Flight a sidelong look.

"Good enough to be a pretty high flyer in the air service, if you somehow manage to discount the fact that she's bucking Rainbow Dash of all ponies," Errant replied slowly. He didn't like the way this was going.

"What about Fluttershy?" Elliot asked. "And Ditzy?"

Errant frowned at that question. "They didn't fight," he pointed out.

"But from what you know of their counterpart's capabilities?" Elliot persisted. Errant sighed and thought for a moment.

"Fluttershy was never the best frontline fighter, but when push came to shove she got it done," he said after a moment. "I served with Ditzy in Grey. Good flyer. She pretty much invented our concept of aerial combat with Pegasi." He paused, frowning at the human, suspicion written in his face. "Why does it matter?"

"It matters because I need a use for these ponies," Elliot said slowly, as though he had put this matter to great thought. "Like I said, we all know what they can do. On our side, they'll be a great asset."

Errant Flight had to admit, Elliot had a pretty big point there. Even Fluttershy might prove useful, if they could train her up well enough.

"So you want me to find a Squadron for the three Pegasi and other positions for the rest of them?" he asked after a moment.

"Not quite," Elliot said, giving Errant a slightly sly smile. "The non-Pegasi need good postings of course, and I want you to see to that if you can, but I have something special in mind for the Pegasi."

"What?" Errant Flight asked, dreading the answer.

"I want you to reform Grey Squadron," Elliot said. "I know you might have some candidates in mind for that already, but I want Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Ditzy on your new roster."

Errant Flight didn't speak for a long moment, his eye twitching slightly at the thought of what Elliot had just asked him.

"Are you bucking insane?" he finally asked, managing to sound a lot calmer than he felt.

"Pardon?" Elliot asked.

"Having those six here is bad enough," the Pegasus continued, his voice rising slightly with every word. "Having them join our armed forces is... questionable. Having bucking Rainbow Dash join Grey Squadron is... it's no less than a bucking insult to the memory of every one of my team who died over Manchester!" he finished, shouting. "A bucking INSULT!"

Elliot blinked at the tirade, apparently surprised, but Errant Flight wasn't finished with his ranting yet.

"You know Rainbow Dash was there, right? I mean you do remember that?!" he yelled, gesturing wildly at the Avatar. "You do recall that she killed some of them personally? That Lightning Dust sacrificed herself just to get that... that utter bitch off of our arses for five seconds so that we had so much as a fighting chance?!"

"I remember," Elliot said quietly, his eyes lost in memories.

"Then how the hell can you justify asking me - asking me, the last member of Grey Squadron, to work with that... that monster?!" Errant Flight shouted. He paused, breathing heavily.

To his surprise, Elliot didn't look angry. He looked hurt, maybe even upset, but not angry. That gave Errant pause: David didn’t look upset altogether that often. The man took a breath, as though steadying his nerves, before speaking.

"I justify it because she can help us," he said softly. "Because she is the best. Because if she had never been our enemy, you know as well as I do that Rainbow Dash was Grey Squadron material to a T." He sighed. "Because we need her to be on that team in order to be the best damn asset she can be to the war effort."

Elliot paused, and then looked Errant dead in the eye.

"And most importantly," he finished, "because she isn't the Rainbow Dash I killed. She is, I think, a good pony, even if she is a little arrogant." He smirked, but it was humourless. "She'll lose that soon enough I reckon."

Errant Flight calmed himself as best he could. He forced himself to listen to what his friend was telling him. In a way, he was right: Rainbow Dash was always one of the best flyers in Equestria. Had she been on their side rather than Solamina's, Errant was sure she'd have been in Grey Squadron, right alongside Cloud Ranger, Lightning Dust, Ditzy and the others.

But she hadn't been, that was the thing. She had been their enemy, their sworn enemy. She had killed his friends, killed good ponies he had stood alongside. This might not be her - but she looked like her.

"I know it's a big ask," Elliot added. Errant snorted at the understatement, but Elliot ignored him. "But I need you to do this. I might not be able to find them a post."

"Why not?" Errant asked, frowning in confusion. "You going somewhere?"

"It doesn't matter," Elliot said quickly. "I just need you to promise me: you rebuild Grey. You have Rainbow Dash, Ditzy and Fluttershy on your roster. You make them the best damn aerial combatants they can be."

Errant Flight sighed heavily. He didn't like this, and there was nothing that Elliot could say that would make him like this, but...

"Alright," he said finally. "They'll be good assets, so I'll use them. I guess we can't afford not to." He frowned. "But understand this: they'll get a hard time from me - I will push them harder than anypony had been pushed."

"If it gets the results," Elliot said with a slight frown. "But don't do anything you wouldn't do with other recruits. I'll know. And I will come down on you like a ton of fucking bricks."

"Got it," Errant said with a sigh. He turned to look over Elliot's shoulder at an approaching figure. "Heads up, Redmond at six."

Elliot closed his eyes for a moment, and turned around, to find himself facing the stern, dark skinned visage of Major Alexander Redmond. The man was frowning at him over a bristling moustache.

"Major!" Elliot said with a smile. "Just the man I wanted to see."

***

Twilight Sparkle… would not shut up.

“So, Elliot can transform into this ‘Avatar of Albion’ figure?” she was asking.

“Yes,” Hell Blazer said with a sigh.

“What does that entail?” she asked. “Magical power boost, obviously, but what about side effects? What kind of power boost are we talking about? How long can he sustain it?”

“I don’t know he replied.

“But you’re the one who cast the spell that… what was it? ‘Summoned’ the Avatar?” Twilight asked.

“Well, yeah, but -”

“Then surely you’d have known the exact effects!” she said, sounding frustrated.

“Not really,” he said. “I’m less of an expert, more of a dabbler, I just -”

“Don’t you have any idea how dangrous casting a spell without knowing the full extent of the consequences is?” Twilight said, her eyes widening in appalled shock. “You could have done any number of things to him, you could have -”

“I bloody know!” he snapped, and Twilight shut up. “Jesus H fucking Christ, let me get a bloody word in edgeways will you?!”

Twilight blinked, a little upset by the pony’s tone. “Sorry. I… sorry.”

“No, I‘m sorry,” he said with a sigh. “It’s not like I particularly enjoy not knowing half this stuff, though, y’know? It’d be great to know what half the really detailed things are for. Thing is, magic on Earth isn’t really documented that way.”

“Why not?” Twilight asked, frowning.

“Because, for one thing, it just isn’t as widespread as it is for you ponies,” Hell Blazer said with a grimace. “Would that it were, we might’ve been able to do something with it.”

“Well, who does know about it?” Twilight asked.

Hell Blazer frowned. “That… you know, that’s gonna take a while…”

***

Elliot didn't particularly like dealing with Major Redmond, if he was being completely honest with himself.

The former member of the American armed forces, now a high ranking member of the BDF - colloquially called "the Last Army" (mainly because it consisted of every single different unit the remaining humans and their pony allies could muster) - was primarily here to co-ordinate the human military forces and liaise with Elliot, who was 'officially' Spec-Ops and not really ‘in command’. In practice, though, his main task was to report their status to the ruling council. It was for this last purpose that Elliot wanted to speak to him.

"Well, well, 'Commander' Elliot," the Major said sternly, his Texan accent even stronger than normal - a sign of annoyance on his part. "I'm hoping you have a report for me."

"Report, Major?" Elliot asked, uncertain what the dour man meant.

"Yes, a report," the Major said, frowning at Elliot's response and folding his arms. "Specifically, a report as to why you abandoned the defensive position you'd taken up, exposing this key defensive point to an enemy counterattack."

Elliot scowled. "We didn't have a choice. I couldn't continue to hold that position with the manpower assigned to me. As it is, I only got back here with three members of my team plus Errant Flight of Red Squadron and a handful of new Equestrian refugees we ran into."

He thought it best not to mention who the refugees were for the moment. Something told him that mentioning it to Redmond at this point would not be good idea...

"In case you're not aware, Commander," Major Redmond said angrily, "we have a horde of something like fifty thousand ponies still active out there. We've inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy's attacking forces and forced them to pull a lot of their injured out with escort, but they're still coming. Now unless you tell me that you have a brilliant plan for dealing with that many hostiles, I'm gonna have serious words with command about whether you're fit to continue leading this operation."

Elliot frowned at the man, irritated by his attitude.

"May I remind you of a few things, Major," he said. "Firstly: my rank as a 'Force Commander' is entirely honorary by this point; I've not been considered part of the regular army since I was transferred to special operations, and my official army rank is and was Major, same as you. The soldiers follow me because of my status as Avatar of Albion..." He paused as Major Redmond snorted: the man had never been convinced by the power of the Avatar. "As I was saying, the soldiers follow me for that, not because of my rank. The Council is aware of this fact, and has, despite my protests, frequently exploited it as a propaganda tool."

"I'm aware of that," Redmond said angrily.

"Then you must also be aware that I take my responsibilities seriously," Elliot continued. "That being said, I do indeed have a plan for dealing with the enemy forces inbound on our location. In the meantime, however, I want to speak with the Council."

Redmond's eyes widened. "You never want to speak with the Council."

This was true enough: by and large, the Council had no real military strategy for continued defence of the realm beyond their standard holding plans, and they often left the minutiae up to Elliot or whoever the operational commanders on the ground were at the time. The civilian government representatives weren't particularly bothered about giving Elliot orders since it wasn't their department, so to speak.

"This is important and I need their tacit approval for it to work," Elliot said. "It's about the new refugees."

"What about them?" Redmond asked.

Elliot sighed, unhappy about having to tell the Major this but realising he had no choice.

"They're not really refugees," he said. "During the battle, Hell Blazer attempted to send me to Equestria to assassinate Solamina, to try somehow to halt the advancing enemy forces."

"I take it by the fact that you're here and Solamina's armies are also inbound that you failed?" Redmond said, somewhat snidely.

"Got sent to the wrong world," Elliot explained with a shrug. "Different Equestria. Different Solamina - this one was still going by Celestia, not evil. I convinced her to let me take certain personnel back with me."

Major Redmond narrowed his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?"

Elliot sucked in a breath. "The individuals I selected were Ditzy Doo, Lyra Heartstrings, True Grit, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity."

Redmond blanched at the names of the six Element bearers.

"You are shitting me," he said quietly. "Those six?"

"Yes," Elliot said quietly, nodding. "On our side, they'll be a real asset. I've already convinced Errant Flight to rebuild Grey Squadron with Rainbow Dash, Ditzy Doo and Fluttershy."

Redmond sucked in a sharp breath, and it was clear from his expression that he was thinking about Elliot's plan - and not in the most favourable of terms.

"Alright," he said quietly after a moment. "We'll do it your way. I'll inform the Council that you want an audience."

"Probably a good thing," Elliot said with a slightly off smile. "I'm not entirely certain I'll be around to help."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Redmond asked. Elliot sighed softly.

"Long story," he said. Redmond frowned at him, clearly unconvinced. "Look. Just trust me, ok? My plan might knock me out of action… at least for a while… but we'll survive today."

"Why, what is your plan?" Redmond asked, scowling.

"It doesn't matter," Elliot said, trying to we've him off.

"Yes it does," Redmond insisted. "If we're going to lose an important asset, I need to know what the hell’s going on!"

Elliot grimaced: he knew Redmond well enough to know that the man would never take anything less than the full explanation: he didn't want to say anything, given how important he had apparently become to the war effort and people's morale (far more important than he ever wanted to be), but...

He sighed. He didn't have any choice but to explain.

"I'm gonna Albion up." He shifted slightly, clearly uncomfortable with even saying this. "And hope it doesn't kill me this time."

Author's Notes:

This chapter was edited 10th July 2015.