Fall of a Legion

Celestia and I found Luna, and regathered that ragtag group of misfits they call friends, as well as Celestia's niece, Cadance, and Cadance's husband who is also Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, then we had a little meeting. "Alright, I'm sure you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today."

"Because Equestria's gonna be invaded by an enemy we have absolutely no chance of beating do to the likelihood of their numbers being superior to ours, the brutality and efficiency of their commander, and their near unrivaled logistical capability in our world?" Pinkie Answered.

"... The loud, bubbly, pink-haired one is right! In reality, you're screwed."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Twilight remarked.

"Shut it purple, yes, I have no confidence in your ability to beat the Legion, three months old, or no. Hell, the NCR couldn't beat the Legion."

"What kind of advantage did this NCR have over us?" Shining asked.

"Weapons, armor, training, logistics, a long standing hatred of slavery, and a professional army."

"We have a hatred of slavery, and a professional army."

I looked around, all I saw was a few men and women in gold armor, malleable, not good for fighting. Also, gold spears, that could work if they managed to catch a Legionnaire off guard while he was taking a piss in the fog during a thunderstorm. "Where?"

"Look at the men and women guarding Princess Celestia, they are the best Equestria has to offer."

"Yeah well your offer has been declined. These people will die instantly, you will be invaded, then, there won't be an Equestria anymore, because some foreign soldiery came took your women, and slaughtered your men for sport."

"What do you mean? They are elite warriors."

"They would be children playing war."

"Hey!" One of the guards spoke up. "Why don't you say that to my face?" I walked over to her, and stood over half a foot over her. "Fight me." I raised an eyebrow. "What? You afraid to hit a gir-" I kicked her in the shin, then when she was distracted, I landed a punch on her gut, leaving a dent in her armor the exact shape, and size of my fist, she was on the ground before anyone realized I moved.

"What the hell? You come in here insulting Equestria, then you assault a royal guard? You should be tried for this!" Shining yelled.

"No, Shining." Luna came to my defense. "He's right."

"What do you mean?"

"If this 'Romulus' is who Lucius thinks he is, then he not only is stronger than any soldier we have, he's also smarter, better trained, and has a mind developed for war. Lucius, do you have any idea what we could do?"

"Just one. Earlier, you brought up magic?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"Explain it to me."

"Do we really have time for this?"

"Please."

"Alright. Magic is the force that connects all living things in this world, I say this world because when we found you, we had to physically load you into a wagon because levitation magic just wouldn't work. Neither did any other form of magic we tried using on you."

"Ok, explain forms of magic, you mentioned levitation, what else can you do?"

"Telekinesis, manipulation of inanimate objects, teleportation."

"Teleportation! Explain that, that sounds promising!"

"Well, magic is used to rip open a hole somewhere in reality, and open another hole somewhere else, which someone can walk through. Why?"

"Do you think that you could open a hole, in another reality?"

"I suppose it's 'theoretically' possible. What are you getting at?"

"If you could open a hole to my world, I could get the NCR to send military assets here."

"But weren't they defeated last time?"

"Yes, and the public will not allow them to go to war with the legion again."

"Then why are you suggesting it?"

"Because the public doesn't have to know."

"How would they not? It's nigh impossible to move an army without the people noticing."

"I'm not gonna ask for an army."

"Then what?"

"An Arizona Ranger,” I paused, and looked Luna directly in the eye. “with a big iron on his hip.”

-

“So, these ‘Rangers’, are special forces?” Celestia asked after I finished explaining what the NCR Rangers were.

“Yes, they’re handpicked from the rest NCR military, and are known as much for their shrewd reconnaissance capability, as their prowess in combat.”

“If they are that powerful why weren’t they sent to defeat the Legion before Romulus came here?”

“Because congress is in no hurry to risk another war, and my uncle was a Ranger when the NCR last fought the Legion so he has no desire to send them in unless he knows exactly what he’s sending them into. This time he does know.”

“What’s a congress?” Luna asked.

“The Republic’s legislative body, I don’t know what you might compare it to. It’s made up of two houses, the Senate, which is the upper house, and the house of representatives, which is the lower house. Their job is to create laws, and they have the power to declare war.”

“If they’re the ones who declare war, then why can your uncle send military aid?”

“He’s the President, the head of state. If congress’ job is to create the law, then his job is to enforce the law, he is also the commander-in-chief of the nation’s armed forces. It also helps that he’s buddy-buddy with the Army’s top general.”

“You mean, Celeste?” Celestia asked.

“Yep, and I hate her, I hate her with every goddamn fiber of my being.”

“Yet, you associate with her?”

“Yeah, I kind of... Slept with her sister...” The moment I finished the sentence, Luna was blushing, covering her chest with her arms, and backing away, while everyone but myself and Celestia stared at her.

“Y-y-y-you mean, you’ve!?!? ... GAahh!” She fainted.

"... Wow," Pinkie popped in. "This almost seems like some two-bit story written by a sub-par author who only has three jokes in his head."

"Oh hell yeah." I said. "Shining Armor, was it?" I knelt down to make sure Luna was alright.

"Yes, what do you want?"

"Can you get me a map of Equestria, and the area surrounding it?"

"Yes, why?"

"I want to find out where the Legion is hiding, and where they're likely to strike."

"Fine."

"I'm glad we've come to an understanding."

"We 'haven't' come to an understanding."

"I know, I'm trying to be civil."

"Alright. I'll accept that for now."

"Just get me the damn map." While Shining Armor marched off, his wife walked up to me.

"I'm sorry about him. He's always been a little harsh with new people."

"It isn't a problem miss, Cadence, was it?" A stood to look her in the eye, a show of respect if nothing else.

"Yes, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but Cadence is fine." She giggled.

"I'm sure you've been told, but I am Lucius Junius Brutus." I gave a small bow.

"So, what's your world like?" She asked almost too sweetly.

"Everything sucks, everyone's dead, and dogs are robots."

"... What's a robot?"

I sighed. "This is gonna be a long, long, time."

-

Shining Armor came back twenty minutes later with a large map, on it was Equestria and outlying areas, as well as resources like ore, and timber. It showed two mountain ranges, one to the northeast, and one to the southwest, the northern towards timber, and southern near ore. Both prime locations for Romulus to set up shop. More interestingly though, was that to the north, a non-equestrian territory piqued my interest. "This, right here. This is where Romulus is."

"How do you know?" Shining asked me.

"This." I pointed to the neighboring state on the map. "The Northern Griffon Tribes."

"Why would he be there, they aren't even civilized."

"One, don't throw that word around too often, it'll get you killed. Two, the legion loves assimilating tribes to gain soldiers and citizens."

"Why? Don't they have enough?"

"They've had enough for years, but it's legion procedure to always want ten times more than you already have."

"That doesn't make sense. Why would they waste the lives of their people?"

"Because they'll always be able to get more."

"Well what happens when they run out of tribes?"

"Then they aim for nation-states."

"And after all of those are gone? How will they get their soldiers then?"

"They won't need anymore soldiers, just enough to crush any rebellion. After that they'll be perfectly happy subjugating everyone."

"Gods, why did your people let something like that exist?"

"'My' people had no way to stop it, and the NCR didn't even know the legion existed."

"What do you mean your people, you're from the NCR, aren't you?"

"No, I'm a wastelander."

"What is that?"

"People who are born and raised in the atomic wasteland. What's left of Earth, after the Great War."

“That again? I heard you talking about it earlier, what was it?”

“It was the war that destroyed the world.”

“Obviously it didn’t destroy the world, or you wouldn’t be here.”

I rolled my eyes at the comment. “It destroyed the ‘Old World’.”

“What do you mean by Old World?”

“The world full of hatred and corruption, when everyone had their lives handed to them. People lived in excess and fought over the most trivial of things. Two-hundred and twenty years ago, Earth’s two great powers, The United States, and China, went to war over the planet’s ever dwindling resources. The conflict culminated in nuclear war, scarring the planet for centuries to come. We live, just trying not to step on the pieces. That, is what the Great War was." I gave him my most annoyed look, hoping he’d get the message.

“Oh gods, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” He said, mouth agape.

“It’s alright, you couldn’t have. Anyway it doesn’t matter right now. Right now, what matters is that you get scouting party gathered, eight people, fast and agile.”

“Why?”

“We need to know exactly what the legion is doing, how many men they have, what kind of weapons they’re working with.”

“That’s a good point, when are they leaving?”

“We.”

“What?”

“We’re leaving, you’re coming with.”

“Surely you don’t ‘need’ me to go with you.”

“Why are you so averse to a little field work?”  Shining bowed his head, hoping he wouldn’t have to say it. “You’ve never been sent out on a mission, have you?”

“... No... No, my entire career consists of sitting behind a gods-damned desk, or guarding a door with three other men.”

“Hmm... Well consider this your intro to scouting an enemy territory. Get a team, get back here. We leave tonight.”

-

“I DON’T GIVE A DAMN!” Layla yelled. “Just get the fucking thing figured out!” She was furious, NCR scientists gave her their theory on what happened to Romulus and I, and explained that they could replicate the effects, but it would be extremely expensive. Layla didn’t care though. Layla wanted to hit me for disappearing. Michael agreed. So smart assholes had their money, but they ran into a few problems along the way. “You’ve had two-hundred years to figure out stealth-boys, WORK ON IT!” She stormed out, and slammed a door, knocking pictures off the wall and shattering vases.

She stormed back to her room, attracting the attention of Michael, who was equally worried about me. He followed her, when he got to her room, she was already sobbing. "Layla, Layla open the door so I can talk to you."

"No, go away!"

"I'm not leaving until you open up the door."

"Then starve out there!"

"Ouch... Layla, I swear to God, I will get your sister an-" Before he finished his sentence, the door was yanked open, nearly tearing it off its hinge.

In the doorway was Layla, with her tear soaked eyes, wide open in horror. "Please, I never want to see that again."

"Good, now talk to me."

"Talk to you about what?"

"Why are you so upset about this? I thought you hated Lucius."

"What? I thought he'd told you."

"Told me what?"

"Before he dissapeared, we were... together. He promised he'd come back..." She began to cry again, Michael pulled her head into his shoulder, and offered solace.

"It's okay buddy, Lucius is part of my family, he'll be fine."

"How? How can you know that?"

"Because, our family," He let go of Layla, and stood up. "We kick reason to the curb, and do the impossible! We pull fate into our hands and slap it like it owes us money!" He made an incredibly flamboyant and inspirational gesture, pointing to the heavens themselves.

Layla giggled. Wiping her tears, she spoke. "Thanks, Michael. You always did know how to cheer me up. Even if it does involve everyone questioning your sexuality."

"Anytime kid." He patted her on the head, and walked to the door. "And by the way. What I said about my family, doing the impossible, I meant every single word of it. He'll come back. He'll come back, and he'll be stronger than ever. Just. You. Watch." He gently closed the door behind him, leaving Layla to think.

"Stronger than ever, huh? He'd better be."

-

"You're what?" Luna asked, as I told her my plan.

"I'm taking Captain Armor, and a small scouting party, are leaving to scout the Northern Griffon Tribal land."

"You know, Luna," Celestia interjected. "That may be a wise idea. We haven't received word from Chief Bravetalon for three months. If Romulus is assimilating tribes, his is the most powerful, and would likely be putting up the most resistance."

"A good place to start if we want allies against the Legion." I said, excited by the prospect.

"Yes, in fact he is the leader of the Griffon Tribal Council. With his word, all Griffons would be at our side."

"The Griffon Tribal Council?"

"The attempted peaceful union of all griffon tribes, it was created by Bravetalon's great-grandfather, Wisewing. Ever since, there hasn't been a single clash between the tribes."

"I think I need this in writing." I laughed. "That sounds amazing."

"I understand how you feel, when Wisewing first told me what he was planning, I thought it was nothing but a wonderful fantasy." Celestia tilted her head back, looking into the shining rays of her sun. "Of course, you must remember, our world was much more aggressive than it currently is. Of course, he made it work. We watched them grow from splintered, warring tribes, into a small, but wonderful nation of people who think, who build." Her happy, reminiscing gaze moved from the sun, to the land below the castle, her face of happy remembrance, became one of anger, and hatred. "They deserve better than subjugation at the hands of the Legion."

I waited a few seconds before doing anything, when I did act, I grabbed my sniper rifle, and slung it over my shoulder, then I turned to look at Celestia. "Don't worry," I smiled, and swirled around on my heels, punching a fist into the air. "I'll kick the Legion's collective ass! The Griffons will be safe, and then we'll drive those bastards back into the deepest depths of whatever hellhole they crawled out of!" I closed my eyes, and breathed for a moment, letting my words sink in, not only for Celestia, and Luna, but for myself as well. "You’d better believe it!” I stood there for what felt like hours, though it was only moments, until both Celestia, and Luna gave me the most sincere smiles they’d given in a long time. I turned and walked out of the room, I had a job to do, and by god, I’d get it done.

I walked for five minutes to the main gate of Canterlot, where Shining Armor had the team together, and all of them sitting on some some weird four-legged creature that resembled a malnourished brahmin without their udders. Or the second head. “What the hell are these things?” I asked Shining.

“What? Never seen a horse before?” He asked, I’m still not sure whether or not that was a rhetorical question.

“A what?”

“Just get in the saddle, you’ll learn how ride quick.” Said a green haired boy to my right, probably about my age. “I’m Spike, Twilight Sparkle’s adopted son, since she hatched me.” He had green, caesar cut hair, that is Julius Caesar not Asshole Caesar, his skin was a very light tan, he had irises that seem like green orbs a flaming passion. Boy was a warrior if I’d ever seen one, and that’s saying something, since in Equestria, warriors are hard to come by.

“Nice to meetcha.” I said, getting on the ‘horse’ as it seemed to be called. It was strange, like Spike said, it was quick job of figuring out how to ride the thing, but even he was amazed at how quickly I took to it.

“Are we ready to go Lucius?” Shining asked.

“Yeah, I think we are. Let’s move out!” We had no idea how lucky we were to leave that night.

-

Celeste had been sitting in her office for nine hours trying to figure out some piece of crap cube invented by some pre-war jackass with too much free time on his hands. It was a bullshit distraction, trying to get her mind away from the notion that she might be worried about me, she hoped that she wasn’t, that she was just pissed that my disappearance hurt her little sister so much. In any case, it wasn’t working. She dropped the cube on the ground, and stomped it, ending it’s miserable existence. She decided to make her way to the kitchen, maybe food would get her mind off of the subject. When she got there however, she was amazed at what she saw. Layla, running around, cooking, with a smile on her face. Celeste was relieved to say the least. “Did you finally get over asshole disappearing?” The moment she finished the sentence, her face was met with a pancake. “What the hell was that for Layla?”

“Don’t be an ass about my boyfriend!”

“So he’s your boyfriend now?”

“Yes, and when he comes back, he’ll have a goddamn sack full of legion skulls to punt off the roof.”

“Oh, he will now, will he?”

“Yes, and if you keep badmouthing him, I’ll punt you off the roof.” Layla said with an almost murderous air about her.

Celeste didn’t know how or why, but in that moment, Layla became the scariest person she’d ever met. “L-Layla, let’s not fight, I know Lucius will come back, I’m just joking with you.”

“You’d better be.” Layla said, holding a spatula next to her face with both hands, with a smile. “Or I’ll kill you.”

“I-I-I’ll just, go find Michael... Bye!” She ran like the goddamn wind.

“Wait! Don’t you want pancakes!?”