Chapter Seven: Elliot Explains.

***

David Elliot sat against a wall, the cold hard floor of the training room ever-so-slightly irritating, though he was able to ignore it (since he had sat in far worse). He marshalled his breathing, trying to remember that the group of ponies he was about to meet was almost certainly not the group of ponies whose various members he had spent months finding, hunting and killing. He knew that all too well: it was even part of the reason he had asked for them to come here in the first place.

And yet.

Seeing them alive upset him in a way he couldn't really describe. It was almost like everything he had fought for, everything he had lost, everything he had suffered since the war began, had all been for nothing. It was an irrational feeling, he knew, but he couldn't help it.

He had fought them before, killed them before, and every time he had killed one he had savoured their deaths: one step closer to victory, one step closer to peace... and then there was the other part of it too, that violent, nasty little part of every sentient being that so desperately wanted to hurt those who had hurt it. Elliot didn't like admitting that killing the Elements - even little Fluttershy - had made him feel good. There was always the little voice in his head that told him that, in some way, his vengeance was justifiable. Even if it were not, it was enjoyable, killing them. That way was where damnation lay, waiting to claim him. It was only so long before broken men like him became monsters, twisted beyond recognition.

He was never one of the fanatics who believed all ponies were as bad as Solamina. Unlike the hardliner HLF, he had no problem working alongside Equestrian Resistance members - hell, True Grit and Lyra had become good friends of his in the fullness of time. Still, working with these ponies, even being in the same room as them... he shook his head.

"I'm the damn Avatar of Albion," he said quietly to himself. "I've fought Celestia in her palace and lived, even when Luna was helping her. I killed five of the Elements of Order, I killed Shining Armour, I held off Sparkle's entire army at Cornwall. I can do this."

And yet he felt as though he could not. He wasn't sure if his self-control, discipline and training would hold when faced with them and no Barrier.This wasn’t a fight to the death like it had been last time he met their gazes, this was not even close. There was no other choice but to hold back before going too far. They may have the faces of the enemy...but these ponies were innocent. He remembered every horrid thing they had done, every battle he had fought because of them. And now he was going to speak to them: actually explain what had happened, why he was here.

The door to the little room opened, disrupting his train of thought. Elliot looked up, to see Celestia stepping inside, quickly shutting the door behind her.

"Elliot," she said softly, trying to sound sympathetic - probably because she could almost tell what he was feeling (or was just guessing, he wasn’t sure). "They're here."

"I see," he replied, not moving.

"Are you prepared to speak with them?" she asked, tilting her head as though trying to gauge him.

"I asked to, didn't I?" Elliot pointed out, probably more belligerently than he needed to. Celestia sighed.

"I have seen your memories," she said softly. "I have seen the battles you have fought. Speaking to these ponies..."

"I did it before," he pointed out, though he didn't sound convincing.

"Yes, you did," Celestia said, "but from what I can guess, that was an adrenaline fuelled moment, where you were prepared to fight them, or else you were preparing to attack me. This is different."

"Just bring them in," Elliot said sourly. Celestia sighed.

"Very well," she said. "Twilight. You can come in now."

The door opened again, and there they were. All six of them, even in formation. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, memories assaulting him once more...

***

Hull, February 19th, 2025.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Sam swore from next to Elliot as he ducked behind the wrecked wall they were using for cover. From down the road, there was a force of Royal Guards, three of them - all Earth Ponies - armed with bulky contraptions slung on their backs, several unicorns stood behind them for some reason,

"The hell even are those things?!" Elliot said angrily. "Some kind of artillery?!"

"Looks like they're focusing the magical energies!" Sam said, pointing at them in action. As they watched, the "support" unicorns' horns began glowing, before hitting the contraptions on their colleagues' backs. Suddenly, the contraptions belched large bolts of magic that acted like missile launchers: the bolts impacted at an emplacement and an explosion shook the ground, killing several defenders.

"Ah bollocks!" Elliot exclaimed. "How'd you guess?!"

"You'd be surprised how used you get to this shit," Sam said, a wry grin on his face.

"Well, Mr Used-To-This-Shit," Elliot said, ducking as a spray of rubble landed around them from another shot, "do you happen to have any bright ideas about how to not die?!"

"None," Sam replied. He checked his rifle, making sure he still had plenty of ammo in. "But it's pretty clear we need to stop the advance."

"Yeah, true," Elliot agreed. He sighed, realising they had only one option. "Charge?"

"Charge," Sam said with a nod, his face grim.

Elliot laughed - a grim, mirthless sound. "Well, we always expected to die for King and Country."

"Yeah," Sam said softly. "On three?"

"On three," Elliot agreed.

"Right," Sam said, readying himself. "Three!"

The two of them launched from behind cover, charging the heavy weapons. Luckily, the Unicorn teams didn't manage to get any shots off from their horns - and any shot from the 'missile launchers' was too inaccurate at this range. Elliot shot the first one as they charged. The second one fell to Sam kicking him to the ground, before shooting him with his rifle. The last fell to Elliot's dagger.

"Look out!" Sam called. Elliot span, blocking an attack by a Unicorn Guard with a spear, his dagger pushing the spear out of it's intended direction - his heart. He closed up with the Guard and stabbed him in the neck. He turned, to find another soldier - what looked like a converted Militia Earth Pony, judging by the uniform and the mad gleam in his eyes - charging him, pony sword in mouth. Snarling, Elliot braced himself as the pony reached him, blocking his blows - but whoever this guy had once been, he had some serious skill.

"Dave!" Sam called, tossing Elliot his own dagger. Elliot grabbed it, lashing out and forcing the Militia pony on the defensive, before managing to skewer him in the throat, the wide eyes of the Earth Pony staring at him, wide and full of shock. Elliot threw the body off of his dagger with a grimace of disgust.

He span the two daggers he held, looking at them with something resembling appreciation for the way the two weapons balanced in his hands. He had never considered going for a two-blade approach, but it seemed pretty awesome.

"Nice," Sam said with a whistle. Elliot offered him his dagger back, but Sam held up a hand. "Keep it. I don't even use them much."

Elliot grinned gratefully, but his grin died when he saw what was approaching down the street.

"Shit," he swore. Sam turned - to see six familiar looking ponies advancing down a nearby street, magical spells shooting from the tips of the two unicorns' horns, killing defenders with every blow.

The Elements of Order were here.

"And just when this battle looked like we could win it," Elliot said darkly. "Come on."

He grabbed Sam's arm, and the two of them raced down the street they had just come up, only to find their way blocked by an armoured, cyan-coloured Pegasus.

"Hey, fellas," she said with a dark grin. "Where you going?"

Without warning she launched at them, but Elliot and Sam managed to dodge her.

"Sam, go!" Elliot yelled, whipping his daggers out. Sam didn't look happy, but he bolted.

"Fighting me alone?" Rainbow Dash said, scoffing slightly. "Don't you know who I am? Don't you know how awesome I am?"

"Not awesome enough to impress me with your boasting, you winged bitch," Elliot said with a snarl. Smirking, Dash charged at him, but he managed to dodge her attacks, though barely. She moved fast, but she was also predictable, relying on her speed to give her the advantage rather than her skill. He lashed out with Sam's dagger as he dodged another attack, managing to nick her arm.

"Horseapples!" Dash swore, kicking out and sending Elliot down the street. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the burning pain in his ribcage. He sheathed one of the daggers and unholstered his sidearm, aiming it at Dash. He fired, but Dash was, as he should have realised, too fast - the few shots that impacted hit her armour, and it was strong and managed to block the bullets, though he left a few good dents.

"Is that all you have?" Dash said, smirking again. From the top of the street, the other Elements appeared, spells starting to shoot at Elliot and impacting in the dirt and rubble around him. He fired back at them, but didn't manage to do anything.

Suddenly, a blue bolt of magic hit a building near the Elements' position, showering them with rubble. Dash tensed in shock.

"You!" she said, the word imbued with hatred. She looked like she was about to attack again, but a second bolt hit her before she could, throwing her into a wall and stunning her.

"Come on!" a female voice called.

Elliot didn't need telling twice, turning tail and running, firing his pistol down the street as he did so. He reached the far end of the street, before realising who his saviour had been.

"Hi," Lyra Heartstrings said, the turquoise mare smiling softly at him. "Nice to see you again."

Sam was stood next to her arms folded and a wry smirk on his lips. Behind them were fresh reinforcements - entire groups of BDF soldiers taking up positions, firing down the street at the Element bearers, who were retreating under a shield spell cast by Sparkle. Impossibly, amazingly, it looked like they had held.

“We’ve got airborne!” somebody shouted. Elliot looked up to see a vast swarm of Pegasi pulled chariots taking off from behind the retreating shield. It took only a moment for Elliot to realise the chariots were flying away from the city. One that was close enough to see in detail revealed to Elliot that they were carrying wounded away from the battlefield. This was it, the enemy were in full retreat.

Grinning with relief, Elliot laughed. Things weren't going so badly today after all.

***

Canterlot, the Present.

"Bearers of the Elements of Harmony: I present David Elliot, Avatar of Albion and representative of the human race."

Elliot forced his attention back to the here and now, shaking his head slightly to clear the recollections. Celestia had announced his presence, almost as though he were some foreign dignitary and not a battered, most likely shell-shocked soldier. She was now stood near the door, observing matters carefully - most likely waiting to see if anything went horribly wrong.

The six Element bearers were eyeing him suspiciously, none of them looking entirely happy to see him: Fluttershy and Rarity looked apprehensive, Applejack and Rainbow Dash more resolute. Pinkie Pie was merely tilting her head, regarding him as though he were a curiosity, and at the head of them, Twilight Sparkle was staring at him, her eyes hard.

He remembered fighting them all: Sparkle in Cornwall, Rarity at Dover, Dash in Hull, Pinkie Pie in London. He remembered Applejack's fate in the Midlands and Fluttershy's calm acceptance of her death in Sherwood. It had already shocked him before, but now that he truly remembered their deaths... now that he truly appreciated what he was seeing... it was overwhelming.

They were still staring at him, waiting for him to speak. He forced himself to remember why he had asked for them to come here, why it was important that they listen.

"Hello," he said softly, smiling as genuinely as he could.

None of the ponies replied for a long moment, each of them looking rather unhappy about being in the room with him.

"Hello," Twilight Sparkle spoke up.

There was a moment's awkward silence that seemed to stretch on forever, the ponies looking at him as though he were likely to explode and him looking back at them with eyes he was just sure would reflect his uncertainty.

"I suppose you're wondering why you're here," Elliot said after another moment.

"Ya'll might say that," Applejack put in. Elliot gave her a look, trying not to snap at her.

"It's a good question," Elliot admitted, "and I have to say, I don't blame you for being suspicious of me right now." He smirked at their faces, all of which looked shocked. "I know you are."

"Well excuse us if we don't trust the big dumb monkey who attacked us," Rainbow Dash said, sounding irritated.

"You're a bunch of violent talking monkeys. You'd be better as ponies, all of you, but you wouldn't listen to reason..."

He struggled to stop himself for lashing out. His fist clenched loudly, and the ponies glanced at it apprehensively. Celestia coughed once, eyes widening slightly.

"It would be best if we remembered that we are all here to talk civilly," she said. Though she addressed her comment to Rainbow Dash, Elliot could see her looking at him: she knew he was struggling not to attack someone, or something.

"You're right," he said. "We are." His fist unclenched, and he looked Rainbow Dash in the eye. "But next time you call my species 'monkeys', Rainbow Dash, remember that these same 'monkeys' killed you."

His hand twitched over his jacket, as though he were about to move to show the grim trophies within, and then he stopped himself, taking a deep breath as if to calm his nerves. Celestia looked decidedly unhappy, but Elliot wasn't here to kowtow to her, much as she had been kinder to him than he deserved. He took a deep, calming breath again, and tried his best to relax himself.

"I'm not here to intimidate you," he said after a moment, sounding calmer than he felt. "I'm here to explain where I'm from and why I'm here."

Twilight Sparkle suddenly looked interested, as though this were some burning question that had been in her mind, though he supposed that was just her nature. According to those who had known her from Ponyville - Ditzy, the Doctor and Lyra especially - Twilight Sparkle had always been one for knowing everything she could know, sometimes even when it was supposedly unknowable.

"I had a couple of theories," he continued. "I thought I might have been thrown back in time, but that doesn't work out well given other things I've learned."

"Like what?" Twilight asked, sounding entirely sceptical.

"Like the fact that Discord was freed in this world," Elliot said simply. Twilight's eyes widened in shock, and Elliot felt an irrational spike of happiness at stumping her. "Your brother mentioned him briefly. Him being reformed is a major difference with my world, though nothing compared to another, even greater difference."

"Which was?" Twilight asked.

"Your Elements are called the Elements of Harmony," Elliot said. "The Elements I killed were called the Elements of Order."

Every pony in the room - including Celestia, Elliot noted - looked befuddled and a little uncertain: this was a big thing after all. He had no idea what had caused the difference - truthfully, he had no idea if it was a change that happened before Equestria's portal opened on Earth or after - but it was a big enough difference to be worth his time.

"What does that mean?" Twilight finally asked.

"In terms of Element functionality? Haven't a blessed clue," Elliot said, shrugging, "but in terms of what this place is for me, I have a theory."

He paused, still uncertain whether he should say it, but... what the hell, what could they do?

"I think,” he continued, “that I'm in a parallel universe."

***

Lyra and Ditzy approached the guard in front of the door that Celestia and the Element bearers had passed through. Lyra tried to look as confident as she could, mustering every ounce of self-belief. Today she would meet a human - a human for Celestia’s sake! She wasn’t about to let nerves (or rules, or etiquette, or common sense…) stand in the way of that accomplishment!

Ditzy, on the other hoof, was just trying not to be confused at… well, just about everything she was experiencing. This morning, all she had wanted to do was talk to Fluttershy about some misdelivered mail, and now she was in Canterlot… for some reason. She still didn't quite know how she had ended up here... but she wasn't about to leave Lyra to go off on her own.

Like Ditzy, Lyra often got people unfairly making fun of her (if there was such a thing as being fairly made fun of, though Ditzy was sure there must have been some example somewhere), though in Lyra's case it was her obsessive behaviours more than her physical appearance. Having heard Lyra be mocked for her beliefs, Ditzy felt a kind of strange kinship with her, and was in her own way determined to see things through.

"Are you sure this’ll work?" she asked Lyra quietly as they approached the guard.

"Nope," Lyra replied with a nervous grin. "But it might."

The guard held up a hoof to stop them as they reached him. "State your name and business, citizens."

"I'm Dr Lyra Heartstrings," Lyra said at once, sounding super-confident and intelligent. "And this is my assistant, Miss Ditzy Doo. I'm one of Equestria's leading cryptozoologists, I've been called in to look at the human you've got in here."

"One of Equestria's leading cryptozoologists, huh," the guard said nonchalantly, sharing a glance with some of his colleagues. "And I suppose I've never heard of you because...?"

"Cryptozoology is a very misunderstood field," Lyra replied smartly, not realising that he had meant something entirely different. "We don't get a lot of publicity for our work, despite the fact that it's very important."

"Right. And you say you've been called in to examine our guest?" the guard asked, sounding sceptical, though Lyra didn't pick up on it.

"That's correct," Lyra said, trying her best to sound cool and collected. "After all, there's no one in all of Equestria who knows more about what you've got here than I do."

The Guard didn't look entirely convinced, but he nodded slowly at her words.

"Alright," he said. He turned to a green Guard Unicorn that was sat near him. "True Grit, go inform the Princess that we have a... 'leading cryptozoologist' in to look at the... what did you call it?"

"Human," Lyra supplied helpfully.

"Human," the first guard said. The Guard called True Grit saluted and headed through the door, leaving Lyra and co with the first guard. "If you ladies will just wait here, I'm sure the princess will send instructions on where to take you shortly."

Lyra nodded gratefully, and turned back to Ditzy.

"That worked," she said softly.

"I have no idea how," Ditzy pointed out quietly, looking at the guard who was, for some reason, smirking slightly.

"So cryptozoology," the Guard said, sounding conversational. "That's the study of stuff that no one can prove exists, right?"

Lyra turned to look at the guard, a smile developing on her face. It was so rare that anyone took her seriously enough to have a proper discussion with her about these things.

"Well," she said with a smile, "since you asked..."

***

The looks on the faces of the ponies in the room were mixed. Celestia was nodding slowly, as though she had come to the same conclusion he had. Twilight looked incredibly thoughtful. Most of the rest of the group looked decidedly underwhelmed, though Elliot hadn't exactly expected them to be all that impressed by the term.

"And what the hay is a parallel universe?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking half confused and half annoyed. Before Elliot could answer, Twilight spoke up.

"Another world, much like ours, where a single decision changed something: sometimes the changes are small, sometimes they're huge." The purple unicorn narrowed her eyes slightly at Elliot. "You come from a parallel world fighting a war with a parallel Equestria."

"That's the theory," Elliot said, nodding slightly.

"How did you get here then?" Twilight asked. "And why?"

Elliot took a deep breath, hoping to summarise the story without missing the important details. "Where I'm from, we're at war with your Equestria."

"That much is obvious," Twilight muttered. Elliot gave her a death glare, and she shut up.

"As I said, we're at war," he continued. There was a pause while he figured out the best way to say the next thing on his mind. "It's going... badly."

"That isn't a very precise term," Rarity pointed out. Elliot gave her a look, but surprisingly, she didn't back down. "Badly can mean a lot of things, sir."

"When the war started properly," Elliot said, his voice coming out in a dead tone, "we had one hundred and ten million people on the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Now we have roughly fourteen or fifteen million, not including Equestrian Resistance, but there's only ever been a few hundred thousand of those. Over ninety million soldiers and civilians have been ponified or killed in the last six years."

Fluttershy gasped in horror, covering her mouth with her hooves, and the others couldn't blame her. Applejack looked sick from the thought of that much bloodshed. Rarity had, if it were possible, paled considerably, her eyes stricken. Rainbow Dash had closed her eyes, but her face remained deeply impassive, as though she were trying to keep herself from showing her emotions - her hoof was trembling though, the sign of a pony's clenched fist. Pinkie Pie had wide eyes, the scale of death so overwhelming her that she couldn't quite react to it. Twilight Sparkle on the other hand looked grim, as though she had realised something.

"We're commanders, aren't we?" she asked. "Soldiers in your Celestia's..."

"Solamina," Elliot corrected idly.

"... in this Solamina's army," Twilight finished, looking vaguely sick now. "That's why you tried to kill me. That's why you killed the other bearers of the Elements in your universe. We were like high ranking commanders, and you were..."

"I was… halfway between an assassin and a commander," Elliot said, frowning slightly. "I command forces in battle… and I was the best chance against the Elements."

Twilight nodded. "So you killed them all."

If there was ever a time to be brutally blunt, it was then.Elliot threw open his jacket, took it off, and laid it lining up on the floor, the five grisly trophies visible for all to see. Every pony in the room took a step back, some cringed, others had looks of total disbelief on their faces.

"Rarity: killed November 10th, 2038," Elliot said, pointing at the deep purple mane. "The battle of Dover, where Albion first arose. I was still learning, still getting used to the power, but I still did it." Next he pointed to a pale pink mane. "Fluttershy: killed in Sherwood Forest, January 11th, 2029. She surrendered to her execution. Applejack: killed in the Midlands during a raid on certain food production facilities, March 10th 2029." He paused, remembering each death. He wasn't looking at the Element bearers anymore. "After her, the Elements got more careful. Rainbow Dash finally died when she attempted to wreck the King's speech, December 25th 2029: turrets shot her down, and I finished the job." He almost smiled, his fist cracking as he flexed his hands. "And finally: Pinkie Pie, killed in the battle of London, January 28th, 2030. Two and a bit days ago, from my perspective, though I'm not sure how long I've been here..."

"About a day and a half," Celestia supplied, her voice quiet.

"Ok," Elliot said, "so that was three days ago." He paused. The Element bearers all looked vaguely ill - but then, he had just describe their deaths. "During the battle of London, my friend Hell Blazer..."

"Wait, that a pony name?" Applejack asked, frowning in confusion.

Elliot smirked. The confusion was understandable. Even as far as pony names went, Hell Blazer was unique "Sort of a pony name. It'd be difficult to explain." He paused, the smile fading. "Point being... look, we always knew the numbers were against us. Before the war started, over four billion humans were converted into ponies..."

"What?" half the Elements said, sounding shocked. Elliot blinked.

"Oh," he said softly. "Forgot to mention that bit." He took a breath. "It's…” He trailed off. “Look, that particular horror isn't relevant. The point is, there were four billion eager new recruits for Solamina's army. We never had a chance to win in a straight up war. We might - God knows, the pony attrition rates are pretty bleak..."

Celestia swallowed, uncomfortable hearing about pony death - much less pony death that she, in a manner of speaking, was partially responsible for - but she didn't speak up.

"... but most tacticians agree, this is a losing war," Elliot continued, his voice seemingly getting quieter and quieter. "The only hope we had was the Tyrant Sun's death."

"And so your friend Hell Blazer had something to do with sending you here?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," Elliot said with a sad smile. "Height of the battle, he and I agreed: it was time to send me to Equestria." He shrugged. "Clearly, I got the wrong one."

He let that sink in for a moment. Finally, Applejack spoke up.

"So what were ya planning to do once ya got here?" she asked, her words slow and thoughtful.

"Simple," Elliot replied tiredly. "Kill Solamina any way I could."

Another silence descended upon the room: it was too quiet, a sort of dread hanging in the air. The ponies looked worried, thoughtful, and most of all apprehensive. He decided he couldn't blame them. If someone had come to his world and told him that alternate versions of him were killing innocents and causing the death of millions more, he'd have been surprised - and he was a soldier, and the Avatar of Albion. Death on that scale - while distasteful - was supposedly within his ability to cause. Twilight Sparkle and her friends though... clearly enough, they were innocent to that scale of death and destruction. To hear that they had in fact been the cause of it, even in a parallel world... it was enough to drive anyone to distraction.

Before he could say anything to them though, the door to the training room burst open, and a green Unicorn Guard pony appeared. Elliot's eyes widened slightly at the familiar sight, but he just stopped himself from speaking the name on his lips.

It was True Grit, his old friend... now dead, along with so many others. He had been a Guard, years ago, but he had told Elliot that he had given it up shortly before Solamina declared herself Empress - luckily for him, he had done so right before the Renewing of the Oaths, a ceremony where every Royal Guard had renewed his oath to the crown, unknowingly sacrificing their free will to do so.

This True Grit was younger, and his mane was longer than the cropped mane he had had when Elliot had known him. He looked eager and enthusiastic, almost, and though Elliot had seen him enthusiastic, he had rarely seen him eager. It was... almost heartbreaking, seeing the potential of what he could have been, now forever lost.

"True Grit?" Celestia asked the pony, and Elliot shook the reminiscence off once more.

"Ma'am," True Grit replied quickly, "there's a mare calling herself Dr Lyra Heartstrings with a Miss Ditzy Doo, here to see the... human..." Grit's eyes widened when he saw Elliot. "Oh my."

Elliot blinked: Lyra Heartstrings? Ditzy Doo? He could scarcely believe it...

"Lyra," Twilight muttered, sounding irritated. Elliot felt an irrational flash of anger: Lyra and Ditzy were better ponies than her by far... no. Different ponies. Concentrate, Elliot.

"That's excellent," Elliot said to Grit. Celestia gave him a wary look - she had, one way or another, seen most memories he had of the war. She knew he knew Ditzy and Lyra, and he could tell she didn't think getting them involved in this was a good idea. "I'd like you to bring them here."

True Grit looked at Celestia, seeking confirmation. She sighed.

"Alright," she said slowly. "Bring them here, both of them."

True Grit saluted and then immediately headed off. Elliot smiled. Perhaps today wasn't going to be a total loss...

***

"... and so you see, the Dream Valley legend has to have come from somewhere!" Lyra said, eyes wide as she continued to explain the story of humans. The Guard - a rather lovely stallion by the name of Steady Hoof - was listening raptly, nodding every so often.

"I see," he said, grinning slightly. "So you think that the humans are like... what, a kind of saviour figure?"

"Not really a saviour figure," Lyra said, shaking her head slightly. "Though it's tempting to draw that conclusion, nothing we have can really suggest it. The chances are they didn't really stop the Smooze or Tirek in quite the way that the legends state: bear in mind, these legends are really obscure! Probably written hundreds of years ago. All we can really gleam is that the humans existed..."

Before Lyra could continue, Ditzy tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to face the Pegasus, who pointed to True Grit, now standing by the door.

"Steady Hoof," Grit said, "Princess Celestia wants me to bring these two to her."

Steady Hoof's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Really," Grit said. He didn't look any less surprised than Hoof was. "Miss Doo, Dr Heartstrings, if you'll come with me."

Lyra turned to Ditzy with a grin. "Come on Derpy," she said chirpily, following True Grit down the corridor. "Hope I get to talk to you later, Mr Hoof!"

"You too, Dr Heartstrings," the guard replied, waving a hoof. He sighed. Some days just got really weird.

"So we get to meet the human now?" Lyra asked as she followed True Grit.

"Oh yes," True Grit replied, sounding like he didn't believe what he was saying. "You get to meet the human alright."

Lyra turned to Ditzy and grinned. Ditzy smiled back, though she was a little uncertain about a lot of this. Still, what was the worst that could happen?

Author's Notes:

This chapter was edited 3rd July 2015.