I sit alone in the moon light upon the balcony still in my improved armor; my helm resting at my side. Hours ago I assigned teams to patrol the skies and streets. I hated waiting. I pulled out my log and turn the photo strip of Anna and I over as I start a new entry.

Log Entry: 22/4/1064 ANM

My first orders were taken well. The troops are now patrolling the skies, streets and river. I still feel uneasy about commanding a legion again. Phalanx told me that they asked for volunteers and they received over four hundred of them. Four hundred! I’ve lead armies larger but the last time I did I nearly failed. Even then the problem wasn’t gone. Cipherus is still a threat. I forged my armor last week and it fits well. Reminiscent of what I had back home. Though I forgot that repeated heating and cooling caused iron to turn black. I now reflect what I said before, a Ghost of Rome.

It’s beautiful here in Equestria. I see why so many volunteered for this. Twilight’s words still ring in my ears. I don’t want to take on an army, but I have to. I don’t want to lead hundreds of troops, but I must. I just want Cipherus’ head, that is guaranteed. He will be my down fall though. Discord said so. Nemesis’ Dagger is the only thing I have to ensure he will stay dead. The fields of punishment are to good for him.

I pause before closing the little black book. I flip back a few pages until a date made me stop and remember why I had this photo strip.

Log Entry: 28/12/2010 AD

It happened, a month ago Cipherus was been taken out of power. His reign over New Rome is over. But the Senate has made a grave mistake. They unanimously elected me Praetor. I don’t get it. I was just fighting with Cipherus to try and quell a resistance of demigods and now he has left putting me in his place. My first order was to, believe it or not, ask for a recount. They voted unanimously again.

I suppose it’s not all bad. I get to spend some time with Anna. I haven’t seen her since she was appointed over Samantha from second Cohort by Cipherus. Some say that every time the Praetors are elected, they are destined to be together. The kids in Anna’s barracks are unbearable. I’m starting to think that Venus is just trying to make it harder for me to do my job well. Yeah, Praetors work closely and sometimes end up together. But Anna and I have known each other since we were infants. There’s no way we could ever be a thing.

Log Entry 29/12/2010 AD

Okay, everything I said yesterday is bull shit. I ~~love~~ really like Anna. Sweet Romulus I forgot how great it is to be around her. The HVAC system in our private barracks went out and we were freezing our Latin tows off. The Gods know Venus is watching me write this so I’ll spare the details but… We kissed. For a while… and shared a bed for warmth. I get it, Sons of Mars don’t fall in love. But considering I’ve never been a normal son of his I think there might be an exception. Now I remember why I called her Rose when we were younger. She smells so nice. I need to clear my head before we end up back in the same bed again tonight.

I chuckle. It seems like another life. Even though I’ve only been here for a week, everything was starting to fade from me about New Rome. Home was seeming farther and farther every passing second. And knowing I couldn’t do anything about it, I had to accept that I wasn’t going to be going home or seeing her again.

I look at the strip of pictures again. Four frames of photos. The first three are just us making the dumbest faces we could think of and the last one made my cheeks red still. She kissed me on the cheek in the last frame before we left. I smile remembering the times we had and I would have gotten lost in a daydream if it weren’t for a certain lavender alicorn.

“Who’s that?” Twilight asked looking over my shoulder.

“GAH!” I shout, slamming the log shut on my hand hiding the photo strip. Normally that would hurt like Tartarus is hot, but I had to try and keep profesional. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you to not sneak up on people?”

“Yes, but you weren’t answering me.” she giggled.

‘She seems awful chipper for someone I just ticked off a few hours ago.’ “What’d you want?”

“That can wait. Who’s that in the pictures you have?”

“No one you need to know.”

I’m starting to develop a hatred of all things lavender with a horn and wings. She used her levitation spell to pry open the book and see the pictures herself. “You’re not hateful, you’re homesick.”

“So what if I am? I can’t go back anyways.”

“The two of you seem to be good friends.” she said looking down the strip. She stopped at the bottom and her eyes widened. “Oh, she wasn’t your friend…”

“No, she was more than that.”

“She was special?”

“Daughter of Venus.”

“I thought you hated them?”

“I don’t like them. But Anna was different. She wasn’t froufrou like her sisters or even her brothers. She was strong, independent; hell, a bad hair day for her was when it was done up. She hated looking proper and nice ever since we were kids.”

“You loved her?”

The question caused my heart to stop faster then a Cyclops’ with an arrow in its groin. “I-I. Well- we weren’t- uh…”

“You did.” Twilight seemed to be on the edge of hysteric laughter.

“Shut it! So what? Like I said I can’t see her again so why bother thinking about it.”

“You seemed to be thinking an awful lot just then.”

“She distracts me. She was a curse that I couldn’t live without and she still makes it hard for me to stay focused without thinking about her. Venus wants one of us dead. We’d do anything for the sake of the other. That’s why I’m here.”

“You came here because of her?”

“Sort of. There was a weapon given to me by the Gods and I was told only to use it when the time came. The Gods are dicks like that. And when the time came, I couldn’t risk her dying because I wouldn’t see her again. No sacrifice, no victory. No pain, no gain. All things that I hate about our flaws. Love is a curse to children of Mars. We lose-” Something stops me. The clatter of armor. The patrols weren't suppose to come this way for another hour. “Stay here.”

I pull on my helmet, grabbed my shield and drawl my sword. The drop wasn’t too far. Lonely ten feet. I bent my knees and rolled with a grunt. When I came to a stop with a knee in the dirt roads a humanoid form in iron armor stood ten yards ahead of me. He stumbled seeing me and started to run. With all of my might, I push off and give case in full sprint. The soldier didn’t stand a chance. I was on top of him in an instant. I slam my shield into the back of his right knee and skid to a halt as he tumbles head over heels. Before he can try to run again I put the tip of my black sword to his throat.

“How many more are there, where are they now and when‘s the attack starting?” I ask.

“You can’t win this Jack. You see, we’ve already started.” the soldier told me.

As if on que, an explosion shook the ground beneath my feet and caused me to drop the tip of my sword into his throat. He convulsed, pined the ground and trying to escape. I pull back and slam the edge of my shield into his head to help dislodge my blade from his spine. I leave him where he lay and charged back towards the explosion. Twilight had Phalanx with her, she’ll be fine.

As I pass into town square, just behind the town hall, I see my troops battling with all their might against humans and ponies brandishing daggers and pila. My instincts kick in again. Only this time I push Mars down a bit. A Centurion charged me with his sword over his head and shield out of the way thinking I wasn’t paying attention. I simply put my gladiolus out and watch as he runs neck first into the blade.

“Simpleton.” I say using my shield to help drag my sword out of his throat.

I run, picking my targets. I left my pila back at the library so I had to borrow one. I side step twice as a pony stands holding a pila in his hoofs hoping to impale me with it. Right when he thrust the pila, I spin right and drive the tip of my sword into its back. I lock my shield around my arm and grab the pila before it can fall from his grasp. With a small toss into the air, I sheath the gladius and take the pila in my right hand while taking full hold of my shield in my left. With the weapon of Mars in my hands, I run to the porch of the town hall and survey what I can as fast as I can.

“Regroup on me!” I shout. “Lock shields and prepare to push! We’re not losing this battle! As one!”

“As one!” the troops shout back.

As fast as they can without catching a few arrows or pila, the lock their small shields around the building like a flimsy phalanx. I step down and put myself at the front. Cipherus’ troops advance and are quickly cut down by pila being shoved past their shields. These troops were cocky.

“Ready!? As one! Up!” I shout taking a step forward and plunging my pila into a pony’s chest. The tip was reinforced as to make it a melee weapon rather then a one use spear.

The line followed my lead. Slowly pushing the disorganized troops back. Just as they started to retreat I called for the lines to break and the troops seared forward throwing their spears and charging like mad men. Or I guess mad ponies. I was starting to feel optimistic. We might actually break this charge. That is, until a voice echoed through the night that stopped my thoughts cold.

“Archers! To the ready!” Cipherus shouted.

I turned to see Cipherus himself standing atop a pastry shop with archers at his sides. My hands gripped my gladius and Mars shouted in my head to kill him now. But I couldn’t. If I charged I would be mowed down by archers. To make things worse, hearing their leader, Cipherus’ troops started to reform and become organized rather then attack like barbarians.

“Fall back! Evacuate everyone you can! Fall back!” I shout. I hated hearing those words come out of my mouth. Any other son of Mars would fight until they died, but a sane man would pull his troops back and hope to fight another day. I side with my rational thoughts and follow my troops towards the library

Then something went off to my shielded side. A Grenada. Shrapnel bounced off of my shield but the shockwave blew me off of my feet. My ears rang as I stumble to my feet. I look back and watch as a volley of arrows pass over my head and hit my troops. Another volley was quick to follow but was aimed at me. I raise my shield and block the volley and continue to run commanding my troops to do the same not hearing my own words. I get to the library and I see Twilight’s horrified expression seeing battered and bloody ponies running past. Some civilians some soldiers. I get up to her and I shout at her to get everything she can.

I see her nod and run inside to grab a saddle bag of provisions. I sprint into the observatory, pick up my pack and a few maps with our plans on them. I throw my shield onto my back and grab my pila in my right hand before running down stairs to find Twilight ready to run with Spike sitting on her back. They both looked terrified; I could only imagine how I looked right now.

We step out into the night and see Cipherus’ troops whopping and hollering in victory. My hearing is still nothing but bells as I lead Twilight towards the troops ready to knock the bridges out behind us. Phalanx, bloody, either his own or something else’s, stood waving us to hurry. Before I can reach the bridge, I feel a shield slam into my side and throw me to the ground. My hearing comes back just in time to hear Twilight shout for me. I see a sword come down towards me and I dive out of the way.

“Go! Get out of here!” I shout thrusting my pila blindly into the pony-like figure that tried to stab me.

“I’m not leaving you!” Twilight shouted back.

I hear the marching of more troops converging on the bridge. If I try and cross they won’t be able to drop it before more troops would follow us. “This isn’t a debate. Get out of here and take the bridge down behind you. Now!”

I take my shield off of my back and take my stance right next to the bridge. The pila over the top the shield and my weight on the balls of my feet. Twilight takes one last look before leaving me to my fight. The troops start encircling me as the bridge starts to collapse behind me as unicorns took out the supports. The concrete of the bottom of the bridge makes the ground rumble as it collapses.

The troops all stop about twenty feet in front of me with their shields locked. At my twelve o’ clock, they part reveling Cipherus in his full armor.

“Well brother. It would seem we meet again.” he says pleased to see me with nowhere to go. “I’m actually impressed you were able to do what you did last week. But thankfully, I’m here to fix what you’ve broken like always.”

“I’ve done nothing you tyrant. You only live to enslave. I’m here to protect.”

“You and what army? Last I saw they were running away.”

“You think I need an army to end this?” the drums start to pound in my head and my vision gets a slight red tint to it. ‘Will you kill them all now?’ Mars asks me. “I’ll take you all on!”

“Kill him.” Cipherus said with a smirk.

Troops from my sides advance and everything slows for a second. The only one that I am in control. I bring my right arm over my head and slide it down to the bottom of the pila. Using my neck as leverage, I swing the pila like a bow staff and slam it into the two troops advancing on my sides. The first hit on the right directly on his head, knocking his helmet off and throwing him to the ground. The second was less fortunate and had it just slash their jugular. They fell quickly behind me as the pila made another deadly arch into the first soldier’s head, crushing his skull under the force.

The next two came in from in front of me. As fast as I can I get into a throwing stance and heave the pila into the female soldier’s chest just as she reached me. The second one on my right was less fortunate and met the brunt of my shield. This gave me time to pull my gladius. From behind me I hear a man shout. In my mind’s eye I see someone not as tall as me with a gladius over their head their shield ready to block anything I can throw at him. I put my shield over my head and deflect the downwards stab. I step left and cleave off his shield arm. With my shield pulled back, I ram its bottom into his nose and bring the tip of my sword down just under his helmet and into his ribcage. Another female soldier charges in behind me with no shield wielding a spatha. A longer cavalry sword adopted for front line use.

I put my left foot back and swing my shield like I’m taking a backswing with an ax. The bottom of the shield impacts her chin and throws her off balance. With a powerful tug I free my sword. As its flying back I let it go for a moment and grab it again with the blade facing the bottom of my fist. I bring my right foot past my left and thrust the blade right in between her girdle plates. She gasps and drops her spatha as I withdraw the black and bloodied blade from her body. A pain suddenly shoots up my left leg. As an arrow embeds where my shin guards couldn’t protect.

I shout in rage and block a second arrow with my shield. I reach down, rip the head out of my hamstring and ram the bloody arrow into an advancing pony’s neck. It was able to get a punch in but I was able to throw it into the river behind me as more troops approached me. The one right in front of me brandished an ax without a shield and the two on either side of me had pila. The one with the ax was first to come at me with his ax making a wide sweeping arc to my left. I lean into my shield and stop his strike cold before lobbing off his head and using his body to catch an arrow. The one on my right thrust their pila just past my shield and slashed my left arm just past my cuffs. I slash her throat as I drop my shield.

Blood spilled from my upper arm as the second pila tries to pass through me. With great strain, I side step the pila and grab its shaft. I push back and slam the but of the pila into the attackers stomach. The soldier steps back holding their stomach. I give them no mercy; I drive my gladius through the back of their neck and let them fall from my blade.

“Stop!” Cipherus shouts before anyone else can advance on me. “I’ll do it myself.”

He draws his blade, a stagnant iron sword he stole from Pluto’s palace. I stumble to my shield and take my stance. So much for that prophecy. I prepare to fight a losing battle when I’m suddenly taken from my feet and carried away faster then any Pegasus back home could ever fly. I look up and see Rainbow Dash with her hoofs under my arms carrying me away with a rainbow streak trialing behind her.

“You’re not dying on us that easily.” she said with a cocky grin.

My blood still stains my armor as we fly towards a small mountain range. My hand is clasps my shield and gladius as my eyes roll into the back of my head and I pass out with the wind wiping past my ears.

Author's Note

Me: A bit of a long one and some deuse ex machina, but otherwise fine i think.
Nexus: I still don't think Rainbow Dash would've come back for him.
Me: If Twilight told her to she would have. Element of Loyalty Nex.
Nexus: Are we just going to talk to ourselves or will these actually have some meaning in the future?
Me: Don't get your tail in a twist. The next chapter is starting.