Chapter Two: Familiar Faces.

All around me are familiar faces,
Worn out places, worn out faces.

Bright and early for the daily races,
Going nowhere, going nowhere.

Their tears are filling up their glasses,
No expression, no expression.

Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow,
No tomorrow, no tomorrow…
Tears For Fears, Mad World.

***

The mare sighed, not responding for a moment, before looking back up to the man. She asked:

"Is that the judgement of a man who can't remember?"

He chuckled slightly at that, as though this were somehow amusing, before replying:

"No. It's the judgement of a man who can."

She narrowed her eyes at him before querying:

"But what did you remember before?"

He shrugged as he replied:

"Fragments. Bits and pieces. Enough."

She took the fragment of a sentence and ran with it:

"Enough to know where you were?"

Though his voice was light with his reply, his eyes were dead as he spoke:

"Enough to know who to kill."

***

Sam.

His day had started normally, for him. He had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that it might stay that way, but fate was not particularly inclined to let that be the case.

Sam Lake, Commander of the Fourth Iron Clad battalion, had woken up that day with a strange feeling. It had been three days since he had spoken with his special advisors about their plan to summon help for the war and given it his tacit approval. Truth be told, he still wasn’t sure he trusted it, but it wasn’t as though they had much choice. The conflict had returned to London this week, for the fifth time since the war began. The city needed to stand because of it’s strategic importance, but the city was by now reduced to piles of rubble and the skeletons of buildings, with very little left that was truly intact. If things carried on… well, they didn’t have a prayer in this war.

The day for Sam began by strapping himself into the Mark III Paladin armour he was given. The armour made some of the more esoteric changes to his system at the hands of the scientists and magi-tech experts in Scotland easier to deal with, including the magic burnout. It was also tough enough to withstand... most punishment.

After that, he checked the in-built buckler was still attached to his vambrace, making sure it was still functional. That done, he put his helmet on, finalised his equipment checks as he did so, and then marched out.

Soldiers were bustling around the forward position, looking busy and harassed. The battle had been nigh constant for weeks, so that was hardly surprising. Sighing, Sam grabbed his Lance rifle and checked his sword was still strapped to his side.

"Commander!" the voice of True Grit, his Resistance liaison, said with a panicked expression. "We’ve had reports of more Guard landing in the city - we’ve lost contact with at least three teams."

"Understood," Sam said shortly, his HUD coming up with information on the matter. The HUD was pretty primitive - simple text information - but it served its purpose.

His HUD reported that the locations of the teams were deeper in the city, and he clicked his tongue: he wasn't exactly keen on moving into the city unsupported. He might have been tougher than in the old days, but...

Irrelevant detail.

His HUD showed the location of other Iron Clads nearby.

"Inform units three and four that I’m moving into the city," he said shortly. "I want them to link up with me as we engage the enemy."

"Yes sir, we’ll get the message to them," Grit said. "What should we do in the meantime?"

"Reinforce critical locations," Sam said shortly. "Request additional reinforcements of our own. This city will not be another Plymouth."

"Sir," Grit said, before rushing off to give orders. Sam immediately started jogging toward the first location his HUD gave him, an intersection designated Three Seven Alpha.

***

When he got to Intersection Three Seven Alpha, he found units three and four - Iron Clads like himself, named Elise McGuinness and Alex Everett - fighting a large squadron of Royal Guard. McGuinness had her buckler out, and her combat blade - a foot-long shortsword as opposed to a standard "Flaming Bastard" sword like Sam’s - was out, lashing hither and thither. Everett, meanwhile, was firing his Hellfire Coilgun at medium range, the heavy weapon literally tearing through the Guards, often killing three or four with every shot. Sam readied his own Lance rifle and started picking Guards off, one by one.

"Another one!" one of the Guards yelled. "Take him down!"

"As if," Sam muttered. He started pumping round after round into the Guards, and their armour couldn’t stand up to the magically augmented rounds.

After a moment, the Guards were all dead.

"Situation?" Sam asked.

"Lots of Guards," Elise said shortly, a vicious grin on her face. "Not so much anymore."

"We’ve been pushing away at them slowly and surely," Everett said quietly, the man looking pensive and thoughtful. "These guys aren't much threat to us except in large numbers, but they've got that."

"Still," Elise added, still grinning, "we've got a few tricks they don't."

"There might be bigger stuff on the horizon," Sam pointed out to her. "Stay on your guard."

Everett and Elise nodded. Sam sighed and prepared to order them to move out: just then, however, a low rumbling started, that gradually got closer to their position.

"Ah, shit, now what?" Elise said with a scowl, tensing slightly. Everett hefted his Coilgun, eyes scanning their immediate perimeter.

A moment later, the front of one of the nearby buildings erupted out into the street, showering the road in rubble and wreckage, as three giant crystalline forms appeared. They were built out of misty pink and white crystals roughly carved into various geometric shapes. These shapes had then been fused together to form vaguely equine bodies in the case of two of the creatures. The third was shaped more like a Minotaur, wielding a giant crystalline club. All three of them shimmered with ethereal light that gleamed from within their opaque skins and the ground shook under their heavy footfalls. Behind them, three Unicorns in simple red and gold chitons and three Guards (two Earth Ponies and a Pegasus) stood, looking shocked to run across three Iron Clads.

"Golems!" Sam yelled. "Target the handlers!"

Immediately, Everett brought his Coilgun up, pumping the nearest Crystal Golem full of high-powered rounds. The handlers, looking panicked, seemed to order one of the Golems - a large, equine shaped one - to act as a shield. The thing was chipped and cracked by Everett’s firepower but held firm.

The Minotaur-esque construct charged forward, and Elise, a grin on her face, charged right back at it. She blocked the first blow of its club with her in-built buckler, but the blow was strong enough to break the shield. Growling, Elise activated a fire-rune on her sword, and she lashed out, carving chunks out of it. She dodged another blow, leaping backwards with enhanced agility, before jumping on top of the Minotaur and stabbing her sword down into its head. This succeeded in doing nothing except apparently angering it, and it swatted up at her, forcing her to jump down again, leaving her sword embedded in the Golem. Growling, she drew her pistol - a modified Desert Eagle - but the bullets bounced off of the Golem, and it responded by lashing out one final time with its club, hitting her with bone-crushing force and sending her tumbling down the street, where she lay still, her armour caved in by the blow.

"Bastard!" Everett yelled, though he continued firing at the shielding construct. "Lake, need help!"

Sam had found himself fighting the second equine-shaped Golem. He had leapt onto it, and it had resorted to trying to buck him off like the proverbial bronco. At Everett’s cry, he drew his sword and, activating a rending rune, sliced the Golem vertically, cutting it in two. The thing wouldn’t be dead for long, but hopefully long enough. He grabbed a grenade from his belt and, timing himself carefully, threw it over the shielding construct. He heard a brief exclamation of shock from the Guards and handlers, and then there was a large explosion, gutting what was left of the building and blowing the shielding Golem - and bits of the ponies behind it - out into the street.

Now all that was left was the two remaining Golems. Sam turned to look at Everett, only to see the man rolling away from the Minotaur-construct, his gun broken in half. He had drawn his own sword and was standing up… but had neglected to pay attention to the restored equine-Golem, which had come up behind him. In a single move, it reared up and smashed down on him, crushing his torso beneath its hooves and making him spew blood and liquefied organs from his mouth, his eyes wide in shock and pain.

"Bastard!" Sam yelled. He brought his rifle up and fired, the high powered rounds blowing the equine-Golem’s head off. He aimed next at the Minotaur, but it was already charging at him. He scowled and dropped his rifle, drawing his sword and blocking the first blow. He riposted, before slicing the thing’s head in two. It took a moment for the thing’s body to register that it and just lost its (admittedly rudimentary) mind, and then it slowly collapsed, leaving Sam tired and drained.

"Bastards," he said again, quietly.

He heard movement, and turned, only to see a squad of human soldiers appear, led by a grey-haired man.

"Survived then," he said, rubbing his head.

"Mr Minecroft," Sam said, nodding respectfully at the man. "Sitrep?"

"Things are dead," Minecroft joked. The older Sergeant reloaded his gun and checked his surroundings. Nothing. "Sadly, it’s for both sides. Heaven help if we have to face an army of...those."

"How many did you lose?" Sam asked, frowning.

"Even one is too many," Minecroft replied heavily, "but if you want a number to tell the them in the report, I’ve got about a dozen soldiers left."

He sighed and waved for his soldiers to come to him.

"I want you to keep holding this sector," Sam told the man, looking at the troops as they jogged into the area. "I’m going to push ahead and relieve any of our forces I come across. If anything comes up, I’m on channel four, callsign Iron One: clear?"

Minecroft seem to growl as he thought about it. He looked to his troop. They were eager to continue but looked almost like rag dolls.

"Clear," he said finally. "I’m gonna need more medical supplies but we’re clear." Minecroft turned to one of the younger soldiers. "Jenkins!" The soldier saluted. "See to the troop with what we have and then find a place for us to rest for the moment. Okay?"

Jenkins nodded and began to take what little medical supplies they had left out to heal up the soldiers.

Minecroft turned back to Sam. "You’d think Solamina would take days off," he chuckled.

"We should be so lucky," Sam said grimly, sparing a glance for his fallen comrades. "Keep your eyes peeled, Sergeant. One last thing - I want you to implement standard non-retrieval on the bodies."

He pointed at the two fallen Iron Clads.

Minecroft scowled. "I’m pretty sure we can give them a burial while we are here." He shrugged. "Hell, even a burning wouldn’t be out of the possibilities for them."

"Those bodies contain classified technologies and magical augmentations that cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of Solaminan forces," Sam said sharply, frowning. "They knew that when they volunteered. I’d expect the same for me if it came to it. Now follow directives, Sergeant."

"Understood," he relented. "Not liked but understood. You be sure to tell what’s left of their loved ones that my troop would have died without them."

Sam didn’t reply, instead taking off at a jog deeper into the city.

***

His sword passed through yet another Guard. Behind him, he heard more fighting - he had come across a group of Resistance fighters and others who had been bogged down by a Militia attack. They were taking cover behind a makeshift barricade of broken cars and rubble, firing at the advancing pony forces.

"We’re holding them!" somepony yelled, a P220a barking as the pony fired it. "We’re holding them!"

"Don’t get complacent!" Sam yelled. "We’re not out of the woods yet!"

A large spell impacted against the barricade, breaking it apart and leaving a clear gangway open for the Solaminans.

"Hold the line!" Sam yelled, drawing his Desert Eagle and firing at the first three Convies who charged through the breach. He readied his sword and stepped into the breach, slashing and hacking, cutting through the ponies like a hot knife through butter. Behind him, he heard others firing their weapons or drawing their own blades, engaging the charging ponies in hand-to-hoof (or hoof-to-hoof in the case of the Resistance) combat.

"Too many!" someone yelled. Scowling, Sam activated a rune on his armour to absorb excess magic and activated his magic-sink, before slamming his gauntleted fist into the ground, creating a shockwave that knocked half the oncoming ponies over. He brought his pistol out and fired, killing some of them where they lay. The bark of rifled and P220a’s killed more.

Eventually, the tide of Convies and other Militia thinned, leaving Sam standing at the head of the broken barricade, drained but alive. He used a revitalisation spell, leaving him feeling ready for more - there were risks inherent in using too much magic, but his Paladin Armour’s magic-sink was designed to combat the worst of that.

His radio barked static at him. Frowning, he tuned it.

A familiar voice broke through the static. "Iron One? This is Sergeant Minecroft. I need some info from you. Over."

"Minecroft?" Sam said, frowning in confusion. "What sort of info are you needing, over?"

"Identity," Minecroft replied. "I have a soldier here with some gaps in his memory. What he does remember is fighting Archmagi. I thought he might be a friend of yours. Does the name ‘David Elliot’ ring a bell? Over."

Sam’s eyes widened behind his helmet. He couldn’t have just said...

"Say again, over?" he said quickly.

"David Elliot," Minecroft repeated. "Quite the fighter. The gaps in his memory are weird. It’s not just gaps. It’s changes -"

"I’m on my way to you now," Sam said, cutting him off. "Where are you?"

"Piccadilly Base," Minecroft replied, sounding bemused. "You know him then? Over."

"Just keep him there until I get there!" Sam yelled. "Consider it your top priority! Out!"

He quickly gave the remaining Resistance and BDF their holding orders, and then set off for Piccadilly at a run. It was about a mile away from his current position - he should reach it in the next few minutes if he was lucky and the city was reasonably clear: there was a lot of rubble between there and here. As he ran he activated his radio.

"True Grit, come in, this is Iron One," he said, not even breathless.

"True Grit here," the voice of the Unicorn spoke. "What’s up, over?"

"Need you to send a message to Echo One in Scotland, top priority," Sam said quickly. "Possibility that her big plan might have borne fruit."

"You serious?" Grit asked. "Never mind, forgot who I was talking to. Ok, I’ll contact her."

"Good," Sam said. "I’m gonna go see who our man is… out."

With that, he took off even faster - this, he had to see.

***

When he got to the base - a repurposed building that had hospital rooms fitted - Minecroft was waiting for him, looking pensive.

"Report," Sam demanded when he saw him.

Minecroft gave Sam a casual salute. "Thanks for getting here so quickly," he said. "We were dealing with a Solaminan troop when Elliot gave us a hand. It's weird. He remembers fighting Archmagi and, with his skills, I believe him. He doesn't remember the Resistance at all." Minecroft began to lead Sam down the corridors. "What do you know about him?"

Sam chuckled slightly. "Would you believe 'almost everything and nothing at all'?" he asked.

"Just the everything part would be useful," Minecroft joked.

"True enough," Sam said. "I'll tell you this much - if I'm right, he might be the key to winning the war."

Minecroft held Sam still. They were paused in the corridor as the Sergeant's expression turned stony.

"Pardon?" he asked softly.

"You heard me Sergeant," Sam said shortly. "But for the purposes of security, you didn't hear me. Clear?"

Minecroft nodded slowly. "For the purposes of not being completely lost, I definitely didn't hear you."

They continued to walk until Mincroft pointed to a door coming up.

"He's in that one there," he explained. "I need to meet up with Jenkins in the bay, send Tender Care and Small Mercy to me when you get in there."

"Will do," Sam said. With that, Minecroft walked off, leaving Sam alone.

As the Iron Clad walked up to the room, he heard a buzz from his radio. He tapped it.

"Grit to Iron One," True Grit’s voice came. "Iron One, do you hear me, over?"

"Here," Sam said quietly. "What’s the situation, over?"

"Just got word from Echo One," Grit said. "They’re on their way. Top priority. Should be about two hours as of this transmission, over."

"Roger that," Sam said quietly. "Out."

He continued toward the hospital room. From inside the room, he could hear voices.

"How is that possible?" a female pony voice asked. "Do you know anything about this?"

"I…" an achingly familiar voice replied, sounding uncertain. "No. No, I don’t remember this."

It was at this point that Sam stepped into the room, helmet tucked under his arm and a slight smile on his face.

"Everyone calm down," he said, his voice strident. Everyone in the room looked at him, but Sam only noticed one man.

His friend, David Elliot.

"Sam…?" this Elliot asked, frowning in what looked like surprise. Sam looked at him, surprised as well - of all the faces he had expected to see, his old friend’s was not one of them. Sure, he had heard the name… but this…?

No. He had not expected this.

David looked old - his hair was grey and his face covered in stress lines and age. Whatever world he had been pulled from, his life had clearly not been an easy one.

"Hello, David," Sam said quietly. "You look like shit."

Elliot laughed, a throaty, tired sound, but nonetheless, he was laughing. Sam actually grinned. At least his friend could laugh. That was something.

Perhaps things were looking up.

***

David.

This Sam turned to Tender Care and Small Mercy, a stern expression on his face.

"Clear the room," he ordered. "Sergeant Minecroft wants to see you in the bay anyway."

At once, the two of them left, leaving the two men on their own. Elliot stood up, before holding a hand out to Sam, still a little unsteady on his own feet but not really caring.

"Good to see you, mate," he said, smiling. "You look... different."

"So do you," Sam replied, grasping his hand and smiling. "More grey for a start."

Elliot frowned in confusion, before catching a glimpse of himself in a mirror. Sam was right - he had gone grey, somehow. But he didn’t remember…

Well, it was clear how reliable his memory was. For one thing, he remembered his friend being dead.

"What’s going on here, Sam?" he asked, frowning.

"I promise, I’ll explain everything," Sam said, holding up a hand. "Some friends of mine are coming. They’re ponies, and I need you to trust them when you meet them."

Elliot nodded slowly. "I think I’m starting to come to terms with that."

"Good," Sam said. "Come on - let’s go."

"Uh," Elliot said, pointing at his hospital clothes. "I’m not exactly dressed for this."

Sam glanced at the outfit. "Good point. Did you come in anything decent?"

"Knackered clothes," Elliot replied. He neglected to mention the coat with pony manes. "Nothing special. Why?"

"Fair play," Sam said, though he looked slightly perturbed. "I’ll have some clothes brought up."

He stepped out for a few moments, leaving Elliot alone with his thoughts for a moment.

He remembered Sam dying, the battle in Whitby, the battle where his friend had been ponified and he had been forced to end his suffering. He remembered… and yet he knew, almost instinctively, that the man he had just been talking to was his friend. He didn’t know how to explain it, but he knew.

"This is too weird," he said to himself quietly. "All of it."

It’s better than some alternatives, he found himself thinking. He frowned - where had that thought come from?

A moment later, Tender Care arrives, a sack levitated in her telekinetic grip. She dropped it and left without another word, and Elliot searched the sack. He threw the tan trousers, plain white t-shirt and boots on quickly, feeling grateful to wear something that wasn’t completely battered and broken. He sighed as Sam entered.

"Ready?" his friend asked.

"Yeah," Elliot said quietly.

"Good," Sam said.

Without another word, he left the room, leaving Elliot to follow.

The two men came across Minecroft, who looked vaguely confused.

"I'm taking this man with me," Sam said.

"I've just spoken with Small Mercy," Minecroft exclaimed. "What on Earth have you lot been up to? Is he rested enough to leave?"

"I am," Elliot said. "And it'd be great if you didn't talk about me like I'm not here."

"Sorry," Minecroft said quickly, turning to Elliot. "Have you figured out how you came to have magic?"

"Not yet," Elliot said with a slight smile, "but Sam says he'll give me answers and I trust him."

"We'll be heading for the temporary command post due north of here," Sam added. "Do you need me to pass on any requests? Backup, supplies?"

"Just the medical supplies," Minecroft answered, trailing off towards the end of his sentence. He thought for a moment before nodding to himself. "I want you to take Small Mercy with you. If I know her, she'll want to see her patient to the end of his care."

"Uh, I'd really rather..." Elliot began.

"Agreed," Sam said, cutting him off. "Have her meet us outside the base entrance with David's weapons."

"Thank you," said Minecroft. He stretched out a hand to Elliot. "It was quite the honour to meet you Mr Elliot. I hope I live long enough to see you again."

"You too, Sergeant," Elliot said, shaking the man's hand. With that, he and Sam set off. Elliot sighed, feeling resigned but still not entirely happy with the situation - and especially with ponies being with them. Still, at least it was going to get better soon, ponies or no ponies.

It was time to get some answers.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to RoyalPsycho for helping with the fight scenes and The Void for help with Minecroft. Thanks to readers, favouriters and commenters. It's starting to pick up now. :-)