Chapter Twenty Eight: Albion Awakens.

***

Leeds Royal Armouries Infirmary, March 12th, 2030.

Hell Blazer dropped his cigarette and stamped it out wordlessly, eyes wide in shock at what he had just heard - or what he thought he had just heard.

"That's better," the quiet voice of David Elliot mumbled. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving apart from his head lolling to the side slightly.

"Dave?" Hell Blazer said quietly. "Dave, are you awake?"

***

The MindScape...

David Elliot blinked as he found himself back in the MindScape, now in the form of a lake in the middle of the countryside. For the past few weeks, his training here had gone well. The figure he had met in this mysterious place helping him learn how to better control the Avatar's power, allow it to build up in such a way that it didn't overwhelm him.

He had, for a brief moment, been aware of the outside world: this was the first time this had happened during his time here, and he was slightly concerned at the thought that he might have left too soon,

"Are you there?" he called out.

Yes, the voice said, sounding again like a woman, though Elliot could see no sign of anyone else present. I am here.

"I just woke up for a moment," Elliot said, feeling foolish for talking to thin air. "Should I have? I mean..."

He blinked, and suddenly he saw a figure sat by the lake. She was a golden haired woman, fair skinned, with green eyes and a soft smile, wearing a long, flowing silver dress. She was sat, barefoot, on the bank of the lake, and waved at him to come join her. Feeling even more foolish, Elliot walked over.

"Is this better?" she asked, her voice quiet, innocent and strangely melodious. "Your kind always prefer having someone to talk to face to face."

"Yes, I suppose we do," Elliot said. He frowned. "You're the same person as the knight."

"I'm not really a person at all as you would understand it," the woman replied mysteriously. "We have many forms. The Lady in the Lake. The sword in the stone. The King who wields that sword. All have been us, and we have been all in return."

"Enigma aside..." Elliot said, frowning slightly. "Is it time for me to return?"

"That depends on you," the woman replied with a shrug. "Your body is clearly ready. You are now no longer in a coma, but merely asleep. Do you feel ready to return to your people once again?"

"I feel I've been here too long," Elliot said. "I can't abandon Britain, my people... my friends."

The woman smiled, and Elliot felt a bit better, feeling as though this had been the right thing to say.

"It is your devotion, not merely to your duty but to your people, that make you a worthy Avatar in spirit," she said. "That may yet be enough to aid you."

"Then I can return?" Elliot asked.

"You can," the woman said quietly. "But before you do, I must tell you of some things that may aid you and your allies in the days to come."

***

Hell Blazer was starting to think he'd gone mad. Elliot hadn't moved since he'd spoken, and now the yellow pony was starting to doubt he'd ever spoken at all.

"Bloody hell," he said quietly. "I'm going insane."

He was torn between wanting to get another cigarette out and going to get a nurse, just on the off chance that his friend had in fact managed to wake up briefly. He reached forward, feeling vaguely absurd, and poked David in the arm.

"I'm definitely going insane," he said to himself, shaking his head.

"Was there ever any doubt?" the voice of Elliot replied.

"Bloody hell!" Hell Blazer yelped, jumping backwards. He blinked as Elliot pulled himself into a sitting up position, the man smiling softly at his very confused friend as he did so.

He looked a little haggard, a tiny bit thinner than he had done. He had a full beard on from having not shaved, and his cheeks were somewhat sunken. Worse still, his hospital pyjamas looked entirely too baggy on his frame for Hell Blazer's liking, the consequence of a month and a half left for his muscles to atrophy. But other than that he looked as alert and healthy as ever. He yawned, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Where am I, and what time is it?" he asked nonchalantly, looking around the room.

Hell Blazer blinked in shock: of all the questions his friend could have asked after a month and a half of being unconscious, he asked that? Well, the yellow Earth Pony mused sourly, at least - despite his coma - he'd retained his propensity for being a random pain in the arse.

"It's about nine o'clock in the morning," he said after a moment, feeling somewhat ridiculous that he was actually answering this question. "Um... you're in Leeds Royal Armouries, the infirmary obviously. And it's March 12th, in case you're interested."

"Huh," Elliot said softly, tilting his head thoughtfully. "Less time than I was expecting after my little stunt outside St Paul's."

"I'm so glad for you," Hell Blazer said sarcastically, frowning in irritation. "Nice to know we were all worrying our heads off over nothing."

Elliot cocked his head as though listening to something, and Hell Blazer listened too - he could hear the sound of battle outside. It was only then that Hell Blazer remembered that a raid was going on outside.

"Horsefea- shit!" he said, managing to correct himself (just). "We're under attack!"

"I can hear that," David said, grinning slightly at his friend's near faux pas. "Don't worry, I'm sure the defence forces have it in hand."

"Don't worry?" Hell Blazer said. "You're pretty confident for somebody who's spent a month and a half in a bloody coma! Are you even strong enough to defend yourself?"

Elliot raised an eyebrow, then glanced around the room, his eyes settling on a small plastic cup of water. A moment later, the cup disintegrated in a golden flash. Hell Blazer started, gazing at the charred table in shock.

"Hope they don't make me pay for that," Elliot said idly.

"Are you insane?" Hell Blazer asked. "That's the sort of thing that knocked you out! You...!"

"I know, John," Elliot said, holding up a hand to forestall his friend's yelling. "But I think I've cracked it John, I think I finally have."

"Cracked it?" Hell Blazer said, frowning softly. "What do you mean 'cracked' it?"

Elliot stood up, flexing his arms. Suddenly, the golden glow of Albion surrounded him, and his eyes burned with inner fire. Hell Blazer stepped back, eyes wide.

"David!" he called out, shocked beyond measure. A couple of guards and a pony nurse raced to the little room, but they stopped in their tracks when they saw Elliot glowing. Suddenly, the glow receded, leaving David Elliot, looking as strong and healthy as he ever had, smiling at a bunch of entirely bewildered people and ponies.

"Exactly what I said," he replied with an infectious grin. "I've cracked it, John!"

***

The cleanup operation was already underway by the time Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had regrouped with the other members of Grey Squadron. They had made sure True Blue got seen to by medics, but the grim look on the green-cross wearing human hadn't filled either of them with much in the way of hope.

"He'll be ok," Rainbow Dash kept saying, but her heart wasn't in the platitude, her mind still focused on the rage and hate filled face of this world's Scootaloo. She still couldn't believe that Scootaloo - of all ponies, Scootaloo - had become part of Solamina's regime. It was still a massive leap for her to see the pony whose face had been filled with such anger as being the same little filly she had known.

"True Blue will be fine, Rainbow," Fluttershy said quietly.

"I know he will," Rainbow said quickly. "I... I know he will."

"Rainbow Dash!" she heard somepony call, interrupting her. She turned to find Errant Flight waving her and Fluttershy over. "Get over here!"

She and Fluttershy trotted over to Errant, who looked faintly flustered but otherwise in good spirits.

"Well," he said with a slight smile. "We held the buckers off!"

Nopony in Grey Squadron looked very enthusiastic, despite Errant's obvious happiness with the situation.

"We lost Silver Spire and Swift Strike," Fluttershy said meekly. "And I don't think True Blue will be able to fly again for a long time."

"I know," Errant Flight said, his voice less exuberant. "And we'll remember their sacrifices. But this war has caused a lot of death: what's important is that we won. We held our line, we gave far more than we got and we drove those buckers off!"

"I don't understand it," Dark Wing said quietly. "I saw their forces, they were going to overwhelm us in the sky - then they just ran off."

"I saw that too," Bright Wonder said, looking unusually thoughtful. "What gives?"

"I know one thing; it wasn't any hit we gave them," White Blossom said softly. "Sure, we took down a bunch, but there must have been the entire graduating class there this time!"

"Actually a little more, I would have thought," Dream Flyer said quietly. She seemed downhearted, most likely the squadron's losses - especially Swift Strike, who had been with the team since London.

Rainbow Dash looked at the ground, feeling even more downcast than she had before. Most of the squadron didn't seem to notice her mood, but Ditzy Doo - ever perceptive to the emotions of those around her - did.

"Rainbow Dash?" she asked, looking over at her when she noticed her expression. "What's wrong?"

And suddenly, the entire squadron was looking at Rainbow, which only made her feel worse. She felt sick and tired and wanted nothing more than to forget everything she had seen up to this point, though she knew she never would.

"Rainbow?" Ditzy asked, her eyes wide and innocent. Dash sighed.

"I think I know why they retreated," she said quietly after a moment.

There were various exclamations at that. Solid Hoof raised an eyebrow, and Bright Wonder and White Blossom exchanged glances filled with eager enthusiasm - that was the worst thing. They must have thought there was some grand tale to tell.

"What happened, Dash?" Errant Flight asked, frowning slightly at her, his eyes filled with curiousity.

"I fought with the leader of the Wonderbolt squadron," she said quietly. "It was Scootaloo. A little filly... I guess now she's a mare... that I used to know."

Errant Flight nodded in understanding, looking solemn. "Did you kill her?"

"No," Rainbow said quietly, "I spoke to her. I think I managed to convince her that she was doing the wrong thing."

Errant frowned. "Talked to her?"

"I wasn't about to kill somepony that's still a filly to me!" Rainbow said angrily, interpreting his words as a criticism. "Back where I come from, she looks up to me! To see her like that..."

She trailed off, her eyes watering. Any attempt to suppress the tears didn't work, and within minutes she had broken down and was sobbing into her forehooves, Fluttershy comforting her. After a moment, Ditzy moved over to her, putting a hoof on her shoulder as well, her eyes downcast.

"Damn this war," Solid Hoof suddenly exclaimed, the gruff pony sounding angrier than anypony had ever heard him. "It makes us fight our own."

"Brothers, sisters, cousins, friends... parents..." Dark Wing added, looking forlorn.

Errant Flight sighed, before walking up to Rainbow and putting a hoof on her shoulder.

"I didn't expect you to kill a friend," he said quietly. "And I'm sorry if it sounded like that. For what it's worth, you may have saved a lot of lives - on both sides - by convincing her to retreat."

Shaking herself slightly, trying to get a grip on her emotions, Rainbow Dash looked up and smiled softly.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"In any case," Errant added, speaking louder, "with three members of the squadron down, we're gonna need to do some restructuring of the team, and I'll need to find some new flyers." He looked back at Rainbow. "One thing's very clear: in your current position, you're wasted. Consider yourself my new Grey Four, and new leader of Two Flight."

Rainbow blinked. "Seriously?"

"Unless you don't want the job," Errant said with a slight smirk. Rainbow smirked back.

"Not on your life," she said quietly.

***

Twilight Sparkle sat staring at the body of Jennings, her eyes unfocused. All around her, soldiers were clearing away bodies and resetting defensive positions ready for the next attack with the efficiency of people who had done this exact same thing countless times before.

"Ma'am," she heard a voice say to her, seemingly from far away. "Ma'am, you can't stay here."

She looked up, and found True Grit staring at her, looking sympathetic but also resolute.

"You killed him," she said softly. "You killed him."

"He asked me to, ma'am," True Grit said without missing a beat. "And I think he would have preferred death to being converted."

"How did this happen?" Twilight whispered. "How did ponies become this? How did ponies decide that this was the way?"

"I don't know, ma'am," True Grit said evenly. "But I do know that we're going to stop them."

Slowly, Twilight stood up, trying desperately to not feel even more sick than she already felt. She turned, to see where the rest of her friends were.

Rarity was standing in the middle of the courtyard, looking shocked, her eyes glancing upwards at her horn every so often, before returning to the charred body of a Pegasus, as though uncertain how her horn could have done anything of that sort to him. Pinkie Pie was crying, hugging Applejack tightly and wailing into the air. Twilight envied her - her emotional forthrightness might well be the only thing keeping her sane.

Finally, her eyes turned to Lyra, who was helping move bodies with her magic, her face grim and resolute as well, though she looked sallow-cheeked and haunted. A fresh cut had found it's way onto her cheek, and for a moment she looked far more like the tired, emotionally hollow mare that had died on a desktop in London than the bubbly, human-obsessed pony Twilight had come to know in Ponyville and had known even in school. Then she turned to Twilight and gave her a smile, the same smile she always had, and Twilight almost believed that she was alright... except that the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Twilight smiled back, the feeling of her muscles pulling back almost foreign to her.

How could anypony smile after everything that had happened here, everything they had seen?

And then she realised, and her smile widened.

"If we didn't smile," she said quietly, "we'd go mad."

"Ma'am?" True Grit said, confused.

"Nothing, Grit, nothing," she said quietly. "Just an epiphany."

"Yes ma'am," the former Royal Guard said, sounding entirely nonplussed. He went off to help Lyra move bodies, leaving Twilight alone. She walked up to Rarity.

"Rarity, are you ok?" she asked.

"Oh, fine," her friend said quietly. "It's just... I was thinking about..."

She trailed off, before looking at Twilight with an expression of confusion, mixed with worry. "What have I done, Twilight?" she asked. "I... I make things, don't I? I don't destroy things..." Her eyes turned to gaze at the body of the Pegasus she had killed. "But here I am, staring at my handiwork first hand..."

"We all did things today that we never expected we'd have to do in our lives," Twilight told her, trying to be comforting. "And if it helps, Rarity... you're not alone. We're with you."

"I know, Twilight," Rarity replied. "And it's more comforting than you know." After a moment, she shook her head. "Well, there's no time for lollygagging. I don't recall coming here to stare at things, no matter how horrifying. I came here to help."

With that, she walked over to where Lyra and True Grit were busy moving bodies, and started helping them. Twilight smiled, the expression feeling bittersweet somehow. Her friend would survive this. Whether she would survive this entirely sane was a different matter. Heck, whether any of them would was a different matter: Twilight was certain that, no matter what happened, the ponies who left this world would not be the ponies who came to it.

Shaking her head slightly, Twilight walked over to Pinkie and Applejack. Although Pinkie's crying had subsided, she was still sobbing on Applejack's shoulder quietly. The farm pony gave her a look that clearly said she didn't know how to help the pink party pony.

"Pinkie?" Twilight asked quietly. "Are you ok?"

Pinkie let go of Applejack and turned to look at Twilight, her eyes red rimmed.

"This wasn't much like a party," she said quietly, before hugging her friend. Twilight, nonplussed, hugged her back.

"No," she said to her friend. "No it wasn't."

***

In the mess hall, a little while later, the newcomer ponies met up, all of them looking haunted. For a while, none of them really spoke, concentrating on eating their dinners and their own thoughts about what had happened.

"It's good that we came here," Rainbow Dash said after a long silence.

"What makes you say that, Rainbow?" Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow.

Briefly, Rainbow Dash explained about the alternative version of Scootaloo she had met, her encounter with her - the rage and hatred she had seen in the mare's eyes, such a twisted, furious thing compared to the little filly she knew from Ponyville.

"Oh no," Twilight said quietly. "Not Scootaloo..."

"Why would such a nice little pony be with the Empire?" Applejack asked, looking horrified.

"Apple Bloom is a contractor," Twilight pointed out. "She's building colonies for the converted..."

"Different matter," Applejack said, though she didn't sound convinced. "Little Bloom's stayin' neutral. I don't reckon I approve of it, but at least she ain't killing nopony."

"Sweetie Belle was the pony on News from Home," Rarity said quietly. The ponies who had listened to the Equestrian propaganda show looked at her in shock, none of them having realised that.

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked.

"She sounded older, but I know the accent and I know her," Rarity said quietly. "It was her, all right."

Everypony was thoughtful for a moment, each of them thinking about the sweet little fillies they had known, now grown into monsters serving a corrupt empire.

"This world is insane," Lyra said after a moment. "This world is utterly insane. Ponies killing humans and other ponies - and for what? How did this Celestia become such a monster? How does that even happen - such a benevolent ruler becoming such a despot?!" She slammed a hoof down on the table. "I'd almost get it if this were the work of Discord, or maybe one of the monsters from legenda like Tirek or the Schmooze... but it's Princess Celestia...!"

"Sometimes it is the destiny of those we would least suspect to walk the darkest paths," a gruff voice said. The group turned, to find themselves facing the gruff Doctor once again, bags under his tired brown eyes and his jacket sporting a couple of new expanses of battered leather.

"Hello Doctor," Twilight said politely, surprised to see him. "What can we do for you?"

"Hell Blazer would like to speak with all of you in the infirmary," he said quietly. "It is a matter of some importance."

Twilight shared a glance with all her friends, before looking back to the Doctor.

"Alright," she said quietly.

***

As they walked towards the infirmary, Ditzy trotted until she was walking next to the Doctor.

"Hello," she said quietly.

"Hello," he replied gruffly, not looking at her. He said nothing else, which didn't surprise Ditzy as much as she thought it might.

"You're a Doctor, right?" she asked quietly.

"That's correct," he said, still not looking at her. "I am."

"I was wondering if you knew where Doctor Hooves was?" she asked. "Since you're a Doctor too..."

He didn't respond, merely continuing to walk. After a moment, he looked at her.

"He is elsewhere on the front," he said grimly, his eyes filled with something Ditzy wasn't quite sure she could describe. "Fighting, much as we are here."

"Oh," she said softly, slightly surprised to hear that the Doctor was fighting. "I was just wondering if I'd get the chance to meet him..."

"That would not be wise," the Doctor said to her after a moment.

"Why not?" she asked.

"The Doctor..." the leather-jacket wearing Doctor said, trailing off slightly as though unsure how to say what he wanted to say. He sighed. "He... somewhat lost his way after the death of his Ditzy. He is not in a happy place at the moment." He paused, as if thinking how best to say whatever he wanted to say gently. "To see you would... be very painful for him, I am certain."

"Oh," Ditzy said, frowning slightly. "I guess I can understand that."

The Doctor nodded, looking back to the infirmary. By now, they had reached the door to the building.

"If you would all proceed upstairs to the third floor, room 311," he said quietly to Twilight Sparkle and the others. "Tell Hell Blazer that I will speak to him later."

Twilight Sparkle and the other newcomer ponies, to their credit, said nothing about this. They followed his instructions, leaving him alone outside the building with Ditzy, who waited behind for a moment.

"I never did catch your name," she said, looking at the Doctor.

"That's because I don't give it often," he replied. He smiled at her. "It's Smith."

"Smith?" Ditzy said, frowning. "That's unusual."

"My full name is 'Clock Smith'," he continued, tilting his head slightly, before throwing a glance at his cutie mark. "It is partially the meaning of my cutie mark. A broken hourglass symbolising my skill at mending timepieces."

"Oh," Ditzy said, nodding. "I guess that makes sense."

"It is a wonder anything does," the Doctor said with a smile. "Few things about the pony world make sense."

Ditzy laughed. "The Doctor says that a lot, too."

Doctor Clock Smith's smile soured slightly, and he sighed. "I should be going, and you should head to room 311."

"I'll speak to you later then," Ditzy said, not catching Smith's unhappiness.

"Perhaps," he replied, before walking off. Ditzy frowned after him, not quite understanding what was wrong with him, but by now she knew this war was a horrible, horrible thing: maybe it had been really horrible to him.

She turned and entered the infirmary.

***

Twilight and her friends walked up into the infirmary, which was sterile and white on the inside for the most part, though there were more than a few bloodstains scattered around. Within a few minutes, they were all waiting outside room 311, distinguishable by a red door.

Soft voices could be heard from within, but nopony in the group could hear the words, nor could they tell who was speaking.

"What do you think's going on in there?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight. The Unicorn shrugged, as in the dark as her friends were.

A moment later, the door to room 311 opened. A human figure was stood in the doorway, and it took a moment for all the ponies to register who they were looking at. Finally, Pinkie Pie spoke.

"Mr Elliot?!" she yelled, sounding at once surprised and excited. "You're awake!"

The tall dark haired man smiled. "Hello, Pinkie Pie," he said. He noted her uniform. "I see you've had the training I wanted you to have. In fact," he added, looking at the rest of the group, "I see you've all been through the wringer."

"Just a little, sir," True Grit said, speaking for them all. Everypony chuckled, though a lot of it was without mirth.

"When did you wake up?" Rarity asked.

"Just before the raid ended," Elliot said. "But there's little time to discuss that."

"Why?" Twilight said, frowning in confusion.

"Because we've all got an appointment with the Council," Elliot said with a grin. "I need to tell them the plan."

***

Author's Notes:

My continued thanks to all those who have commented and favourited. Special thanks again to my betas, and to my fiancée Sue who put up with my grouchiness as I wrote this chapter. :-)