Legion of Mars

Lucius sat in his chair, his mind ablaze with questions and impossibilities. Never in his years of being garrisoned in Brittania, and later campaigning in Syria, Armenia, Anatolia, Greece, and Thrace, had he face a problem such as this. Don't get him wrong, he is called to be Legate of the Legion for a reason. He had proven time and time again that he was just as capable of commanding his legion as the next senator with dreams of ambition. He was not Julius Caeser, nor was he as smart as him in terms of tactics. However, he did know the difference between what to do and what his legion wants. His survival in the Roman army for so long could be chalked by the will of the gods or out of pure shitty luck. However, he knew that Fortuna's blessing would take its toll on itself and he would find himself in a situation he could not get out of. He was mentally prepared as any man to pay the toll should it come.

He had not anticipated this, however. It seems the will of the gods is more like them pissing on his head right now.

"I see." He said as calmly as one could be when faced with a situation both unsettling and impossible to explain. He was far from calm, however. The entire situation and the fact that he and his legion were far from home was most unsettling to him. Any normal man would have panicked and a domino effect would happen on his legion should he show his distress. Still, he remained calm for now. "You are to tell me that we are neither in Germania or the Roman Empire itself? Am I correct in this assumption?"

The pony in question, who called herself 'Tempest Shadow', nodded to him. "That is correct." He was afraid of the answer he was given. He knew deep down that something was wrong from the moment he and his legion appeared in the woods. He needed his suspicions confirmed of course.

They were in his tent explaining the situation with him and the rest of his company. Validus was off in the side with his left hand drawn on his sword in case the ponies tried anything. Albinus was off in the side as well listening attentively to the ponies too. Oriana was by Lucius's side glaring at the two ponies who stood next to Tempest during their attempted to take him hostage. After their entanglement against the group how called themselves "ponies", they have managed to negotiate some sort of deal, said negotiation with a sword to Tempest's throat. After some tense moments, he agreed to let Tempest go in exchange for coming back to the camp with them. Both the mares and the stallion agreed to go with him. They both walked back to the camp without incident. Validus and Albinus came at the entrance of the camp to find him and Oriana with some visitors. He explained how he met them and ordered them to meet him at his tent Every legionnaire they passed along the way gave the ponies strange looks, including the two females. Once they got settled in, he introduced himself and his constituents, where he is from, and why is here. In turn, Tempest introduced herself and her other two constituents, where they are from, and where he and his army are at.

Suffice to say, it was worse than what he had believed before.

The land he and his legion set foot upon is called Equestria. In more accurate terms, they were inside a forest called "Everfree Forest", in which the ponies tend to avoid due to all the dangerous animals and strange magic going on in there. He was skeptical when Steel Heart, the pegasus mare, told him that the clouds moved on their own in the forest. He raised an eyebrow and told her that clouds moved on their own where he came from. There was a bit of shock when he said that, but he told them to continue their explanation. The ponies, as the species call themselves, inhabited these lands for thousands of years. They were divided into three subraces: Earth ponies, Pegasi ponies, and Unicorns. Each of these races had different powers that some in Rome would call god-like, but in truth happens every day in their own world. Unicorns can cast magic ranging from "telekinesis", lifting objects off the ground, to casting destructive spells like fire and ice balls. The pegasus could manipulate weather patterns to suit their needs but simple dragging clouds away. They also have a factory that made weather clouds on a daily basis up in a place called "Cloudsdale". At first, he was skeptical that Tempest was telling the story of her species and might call her crazy, but he sat in his chair quietly while she kept on explaining. The Earth ponies, while they don't have special powers like unicorns or pegasus, they have somehow a connection to the earth itself. This meant that they could plant and grow crops faster than the average farmer in the empire. She did go on this long lecture before he cut her off midway and told her to get to the point of all this. There was also a fourth race called the Alicorns, but those were far and few in between. The only ones that they know were four princesses that go by the names Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Cadence. The two princesses could move the sun and the moon on their own, while the other, Cadence, is the "Princess of Love". He almost laughed at the whole 'princess of love' concept.

In his mind, he was glad that Rome had not met such a species like them. He shuddered to think what would happen if they both went to war against each other. The damage itself could be catastrophic, either to the Empire or Equestria. However, those thoughts would have to be on hold as he tried to understand the grim situation he was in. His legion had mysteriously appeared in a foreign land with no way of contacting Rome, and low on supplies. To top it all off, they were in a hostile forest that, according to Tempest, were full of dangerous animals that would either rip apart or eat his legion. Or both in the matter.

And yet, It was not the worst part.

Aperantly, Equestria was invaded by another species called the "Caribou." They were lead by a king named Dainn, and set forth on a campaign of conquest. The ponies had tried to defend their homeland, but they have ultimately failed. This was because that they had been at peace for a thousand years. He scoffed at the notion of an entire species being at peace. There was no peace in this world, as he had figured out the hard way during his younger years. They had managed to overrun their capital and taken the princesses as slaves. The way Tempest describe them reminded him of the Germanic barbarians he had to deal with in Thrace once. They were wild, unchecked, and prone to violence at a quick notion. Yet, there were differences between the caribou and the Germans that seemed different. This Dainn had planned out his conquest before, unlike the Germans who just raid an pillage without a plan. He tricked a spirit of chaos called "Discord" into a parley and then stole his powers. How? The ponies themselves have no clue. Regardless, their defenses fell very quickly and Equestria surrendered in a matter of days. Celestia, Luna, and Twilight Sparkle were turned into Dainn's little sex slaves. Again, he mentally scoffed at them for letting such a barbaric tribe take control of their country. If it were up to him, he could have easily defeated them with smart planning and espionage. They were no different from the Greeks when they submitted to Rome.

He then invaded another country called the Crystal Empire and instilled something called the "Crystal Cock". Again, he mentally scoffed at the name. She went on a long rant about it, some of which he didn't understand but understood what it did. Anyway, this magical artifact somehow controlled the minds of stallions, turning them into highly sexual beasts, with the exception of a few like Color Scheme who resisted them mind control. What perplexed him the most was what Dainn had done after his conquest. Instead of just enslaving the ponies as any conqueror would, he only enslaved one gender of ponies, the females. The stallions were free to go and do whatever they want while the mares themselves were submitted and used as objects of pleasure and lust. It was a strange practice to be sure. Rome was no stranger to slavery itself, as they have conquered hundreds of tribes and city-states and nations under their banner. He knew the women in the Empire lived strict indoor lives much like the mares, but they were still free to do whatever they want.

Regardless, this was bad news for him and his legion.

After her explanation was finished, Lucius rubbed his fingers on his forehead, feeling a migraine coming in. "Forgive me for not being surprised or frightened by all of this. This all seems.....far fetched." He finally said. While he was reluctant to believe any word a foreigner had to said, somehow he still believed her. It's not every day a legion ends up in a forest far from their empire and encounters a strange species that resemble bipedal horses.

"It's the truth." Tempest said, gazing her eyes into his. The posture and the look reminded him of how he would look at a legionnaire during an inspection. Attentively, calm, and fearless. Just like any soldier from Rome should be. "I know it may sound crazy to you, but that's what it is. Honestly," She continued to say. "we didn't expect anyone to be close to our position so soon, not when we were beginning to rally up the resistance."

"This 'resistance' you are gathering," He said in a more inquisitorial tone. "are you sure it is strong enough to challenge his "King Dainn" and his sons?" From what he had heard from Tempest, this Dainn is as more dangerous to the ponies resisting him as any other matter. He had already crushed any early attempts at opposition, either through brainwashing, cruel torture methods, or outright killing them. His theory was that this resistance would end very soon than what Tempest believed in.

"We have a plan in place." Tempest said. "It's very risky, but we think it would work in the long run."

"And this plan is..." He said, waiting for her to unveil her 'brilliant' plan.

"I can't say it to you." She said. "You may not be working for King Dainn, but that doesn't mean we could just suddenly trust you."

"Plus, you guys are just plain weird. You have no fur on you, you have weird sounding names, and your armor looks bad on you. I mean, red and gold don't mix well together and all." The unicorn stallion, Color Scheme, said as he pointed out. Everyone in the tent was now staring at him. "What?"

"Permission to kill this fuck?" Validus growled as he sheathed his gladius from his belt, holding it up to Color Scheme. He was asking both him and Tempest for the permission. Color Scheme looked at the sword in a wide-eye expression, his legs trembling with fear.

"Stand down, Valdius." He said, trying to make sure no one dropped any blood for one day. "No blood will be spilled this day." Tempest nodded in agreement with him. He put his sword back in his holder, letting the shaken and stricken Color Scheme live another day. Steel Heart slapped Color upside the head. "Now," He continued the conversation. "I understand why you don't trust us, and I don't blame you. We are strangers in a strange land, your lands to be exact. I'd like to make one thing clear." He leaned in. "We have no business of being here. We don't know how we got here or how it happened that we arrived in this forest, but we do not belong here. The last thing I want is to have my men being eaten by some gods damned creature that this god's damned forest is producing. All I want is to get my men out of here and back to the Empire in one piece. If you would point us to the nearest port, then we will be on our way back to Rome and you will never hear from us ever again." This was somewhat true. While he did promise he would never see them again, he couldn't say the same for the thousands of legions in Rome ready to invade if they discovered this place first.

The next time they meet, he feared, would be on the battlefield.

Tempest Shadow frowned, but he could see that she understood. This is not their war, and she would not drag some other species into the conflict. "If you really want to get out, then I'm not going to stop you."

"Like hell you are!" The pegasus mare known as Steel Heart snapped, pointing an accusing finger at him. "If you think you can just walk away from here like there is nothing wrong, then you got another thing coming!" He didn't faze one bit from the angry mare ranting. "You have literally an army at your disposal. A FUCKING ARMY!!! You could help us win this war against the caribou. You could help us take back Equestria. But instead, you turn tail and run like the little bitches that you are." In the corner of his eye, he could see Valdius putting his hand over the hilt of his gladius, readying him in case things escalated too quickly. "You could stay and fight with us. With you, we could finally defeat King Dainn and his monsters he calls sons!" She slammed both of her hands down on the table and leaned in close to him. "So why don't you get your finger out of your ass and FUCKING HELP US!?!?!?!" She yelled the last one right in his face.

Everything was complete and utterly silent for that few tense moments. Nobody in the room had made a sound save for the legionnaires working outside the tent. Both Lucius and Steel Heart were having a staring contest, the latter of which is glaring at him. To his credit, it was cute that she was trying to upstand him just because she was now wearing armor and thinking herself a soldier in a war. Near the corner of his eye, he could see the two legionnaires, along with Valdius, have their swords out during the shouting, ready to slaughter the intruders.

After tense moments passed before he spoke again. "Let me tell you something, girl." He started to growl in front of her face. "I don't care for your little revolution, nor your petty squabbles. I don't care if you live or die. But most importantly, I don't care if you die at all." Her glare wavered as he looked into her eyes, the fierce determination it once had now reduced to that of a child caught stealing eggs from the neighbors. "Want to know why?" She, on her part, shook her head. "It's because I have seen this happen a thousand times before. I have faced down savaged tribes in Britannia and Thrace, and faced the brunt of the Sassanid horde in Mesopotamia. Many that faced or rise up against Rome are reduced to nothing but dust in the wind. These caribous have every right to conquer you because you are all nothing more than a bunch of weaklings. For a nation to have no military is laughable at best. Perhaps they were right to conquer you." At this point, he stood up and started to lean against the table, locking eyes with Steel Heart. She was wide-eyed and shaking. "You think just because you have armor on and a sword at your hip makes you a soldier? I have seen battles where many of my fellow Romans were killed, and I barely survived one myself. Your nothing more than a dumb child playing soldier. I didn't climb to the rank of Legate just by my wealth and my connections to the Senate. My family are, and still, a family of military geniuses and soldiers. We may not have many famous generals under our belt during our existence, but we are still well respected among both the Senate, the Emperor, and the people of Rome itself." He was now eye to eye with Steel, his breath washing over her. "Your revolution will fail. It was bound to fail. I will see my men out of this nation even if it kills me in the process. I don't care if I have to burn down this entire forest just to get out!" He returned to his seat breathed in a breath of air, forcing himself to calm down. "That being said, I do not wish to join you on your revolution. I only wish for me and my men to leave this strange country and return to Rome if possible. And if you stand in out way, I'll make sure that I cut you down and throw you to the dogs as food." He wanted out of this mess as soon as possible, but he dreads the moment that he enters back into the empire without completing his mission. Most likely, he would be crucified the moment he reported back to Rome, blamed for not only completing the mission, but for some other ridiculous thing like helping the tribes.

He could tell that Steel Heart wanted to say more, but he could see into her eyes that she was shaken up by his intimidation. Perhaps that will teach her not to yell at someone more experiance in battle.

Tempest cleared her throat, all eyes on her now. "We.....respect on what you are doing. We won't stop you or your men from getting out of this forest and out of Equestria. I don't particularly blame you for wanting out of this mess. Some of us want to leave the nation as well, to go someplace else. But I'm afraid that getting out would be impossible."

Lucius looked at her with an incredulous look. "And why is that?" Surely, it could not be that hard to get out of the nation?

She bit her lip as her eyes looked at the ground like it was the most precious thing there is right now. What was surprising was that her face felt like she had made a wrong decision in life. "We.......may have kidnapped one of Dainn's sons and now he's blocked-off several port cities."

He blinked as she said the words, his mind a wind of activities. "......what?" He questioned.

"We learned that one of Dainn's son's, Higvar the Raven, was returning from the Crystal Empire on a business trip. We lay down a trap for him and took him alive. He is currently being held at our stronghold deep in this forest. We already had three whole armies coming into the forest to find us, so you could see why I questioned you at knifepoint. We managed to deal with them, but now they know where we are. Even if we managed to leave Equestria, there are still ships out there under Dainn's grasp to stop us. Dainn thinks that we might leave Equestria with his son in toll, so he set up ships to intercept others and inspect their cargo. Not to mention that they have powerful mages that can detect any kind of magic.

"What are you saying?" He said in a calm matter. Deep down, he was both angry and afraid of the answer to his question.

"What I am saying is that you are unable to leave Equestria for the time being." She said with a shrug. "You're stuck with us for the time being."

Lucius felt a wave of emotions coming to him at one like armies clashing against each other. He was relieved, for he will live another day. Anger, for the predicament he is now in. Sadness, for he may never see the Empire or his home ever again. And finally regret, for accepting the mission in the first place. He could have flat out refused to go to Germania in the first place and they could have picked someone else to go in his stead. If that were the case, he would have still been back in Brittania slewing any tribe foolish enough to rampage into Roman territory. Just one more year and he could retire back in Rome or Athens.

The gods really love fucking him in the ass.

"I....see...." He said as he slowly stood up, feeling the bones on his back crack as he stretched his back. "Then I guess we are stuck here then, with you." It was not good in the long run. Trapped in enemy territory with no way home seemed grim indeed. A thought soon came to him. "What's to stop me from joining the caribou?" He asked.

Both Steel Heart and Color Scheme gasped, surprised at his question while Tempest expression didn't change. Valdius looked at him with a mild expression on his face that says "The fuck are you talking about?" Albinus had a horrid expression on his face that tells him "you are not serious, are you?" He couldn't blame both of them for this trail of thinking. Even he was reluctant to ask these "caribou" for a way out. From what she had described of them, they would make the Germans look like weeping milksops. Sometimes, however, you have to deal with the cards you have been given with.

"We won't stop you if you do join with the caribou." Tempest said with a neutral expression on her face. There was a look in her eye that betrayed what she felt about them. An anger that needs to be quenched. "The caribou are the current rulers of Equestria, and asking them to take you back to this "Roamin Empire" would be achieved. But consider this." She leaned in close to him, though unlike Steel Heart, she kept her distance from his face. "Even if they allow you to leave and return to your empire, he would most likely invade your empire once he's finished with us."

"Then we will beat him and destroy them, like so many enemies of Rome before." He said confidently. Rome had thousands of legions under its belt. What's a king and his band of whores going to do?

"True, you might beat them in a battle, but what about magic warfare?" That question had caught him off guard. He tried to think of something. As far as he can remember, All of Rome's enemies never had any magic under there belts. "That's what I thought. You can't win against king Dainn and his sons if they find out where your empire is." Then a smile crept on her face. "But perhaps we can help you out with your predicament."

Somehow, he knew that she would take advantage of his situation. He was not mad of course. He would give her credit, she was smart, smarter than anyone else presents here. She was a soldier who had once served in the army, so she would know a thing or two situations like this. "Go on then." He said as he sat back down on his chair. "What do you want?"

"You have an army that's well trained and well equipped to deal with anything." She began. "You're a commander that knows every military tactic under your belt. Am I correct?" He nodded. "The resistance could use someone like you. We need more stallions and mares helping us fight this war." She stopped as she looked at him with a questioning look. "You are stallions, right?"

"We are referred to as males, but yes." He said. In the back, he could hear both Validus and Albinus snickering at the question.

"Good." She continued. "Anyways, we need more people and ponies in this war, particularly an assault on one of the port cities. You help us with this, and we'll help get you out of here. Do we have a deal?" She reached out with her furry hand towards his.

He looked at the hand for a second, trying to decide whether to accept her help or not. He was confident that his legion could try to find a way out of Equestria without the help of any side in this damn war. His first thought was that they could build a boat to send off into the sea. However, considering the size of his legion and how much wood they would need, it would take months, even a year, to complete this task. They could march out of Equestria and find another nation that would help them, but that would attract too much attention to him and his legion, and he suspected that the caribou would stop him before he reached the border of Equestria. Plus, he didn't have any maps of Equestria to use in his travels. He desperately wanted his legion home again, but didn't want them to be involved in a war that could come to the empire if the found out his legion was here. While Tempest's plan, whatever that was, could help him get out of Equestria, but the discovery of another species could spread quickly throughout Equestria with King Dainn sending his forces to war against the Empire. He was confident that the empire could win, since they had more men and resources at their disposal. However, since the caribou know of magic, it could be a one-sided fight. He shuddered to think what would happen if the Rome Empire fell to the caribou, and what they would do to the rest of the world.

Either way, it was not a good situation to be in. His legion would have to fight, no matter what.

He looked to the rest of his friends to see what they think. Validus shrugged when he looked over to him. Clearly, he doesn't care about what choice he made, as long as he has an enemy to fight. Albinus, his long loyal friend and servant for many years, had a look that told him that this was a bad idea in the long run, but having no choice in the matter. He looked to Oriana for her decision on the matter. While he was reluctant to even trust a slave in this matter of life and death, Oriana had fought by his side for so long. She looked at him for the moment and shrugged, approving of what he was about to do.

So Lucius Maximus Darius, son of the House of Darius, Legate of the 15th Legion, and Slayer of the Iceni Queen, shook hands with Tempest. "You have yourself a deal." He said. "Whatever it is you have planned, We'll help you with this little rebellion." He noticed the strength of her grip, which wasn't surprising to him. "However," He went on to explain. "Once we drive these caribous out of Equestria, we will leave. No exception." Both Steel Heart and Color Scheme seemed surprised by his choice to join the resistance after the lashing he brought on Steel Heart. Speaking of which...... "I am sorry for my outburst earlier." He said to Steel Heart. "I was.......not myself." He couldn't help but chuckle. "It rarely happens on occasion when I'm stressed out." In truth, this was the first time he lashed out in a while, not since he defended a settlement on the outskirts of Syria when the first wave of Sassanids came in.

Tempest, for her part, smiled at his decision. "You've made a good decision here today." She said as she relaxed her grip before letting go of his hand. "Now, we need to get you and your men back to base so that we can-"

She was interrupted when a legionnaire opened the flap of the tent and almost rushed in. He could tell that from the light armor he wore, he was one of the horse scouts he sent before to find a different path out of the forest. "Legate, sir." He pumped his fist to his chest and raised it to the middle of his chest, a salute for the Roman army. He returned it in kind. "We came back from patrol and spotted an army heading north following the path we were on." He started to say, almost out of breath like he ran all the way back to camp.

"Are they heading towards us?" Lucius said as he stood up from his chair very quickly, his head already coming up with plans and questions. Did these caribou already know his legion was here? Will he make his stand here?

"Yes sir." The scout nodded.

"How many?"

"A small force, sir. Around four or five hundred." The scout said. "They would be arriving here in less than two hours." She mentally sighed in relief at the numbers. It wasn't a big force, that was good. He could easily overrun them if he flanked them at the right time. "We also spot someone of great worth riding among them."

"Who?"

"He's massive, sir." The man spoke as he tried to describe what he saw. "He was wearing golden armor and had a massive hammer on his back. He was also riding some kind of wolf-like creature. He has a scar on his left eye and some kind of dagger for a hand."

At his description, Tempest's eyes shot wide. "H-he's here?!?!" There was an amount of fear in her voice. At the mention of "he", Steel Heart shook life a leaf while Color Scheme did nothing but start into the open space. "Damnit!" She angerly said through clenched teeth. "I thought we would have more time."

"Who are you referring to?" Lucius questioned. He wondered what this individual was that had Tempest Shadow scared.

"One of Dainn's sons, Helgrad. Otherwise known as "The Hammer" to his soldiers." She said with a grim stare. "He's responsible for crushing the earlier rebellions. It's said he tortures his slaves to death before tossing their corpse way to his warbeast for his lunch." She shook her head. "He never lost a battle in......ever."

"WE'RE FUCKED! WE ARE TOTALLY AND UTTERLY FUCK!" Color Scheme finally shouted out the words Lucius himself was thinking. "THIS WHOLE REVOLUTION WAS A MISTAKE! IT'S GAME OVER, MAN! GAME OVER! THE END-"

Whatever he was about to say he didn't get the chance as he fell face first on the floor with a bloody bruise behind his head. Hovering behind him was Valdius with a glare directed at the down pony. The butt-end of his sword showed a little blood. "I always hated that little fuck." He murmured as his sword found its way back to his holster. He then looked into Lucius's eyes. "Give me five hundred good men and I'll teach this fucking Hammer a lesson." He said. Lucius could tell from the look in his eye that he was eager to kill something right now.

"You'll have a chance, Valdius," Lucius said as he stood up once more. He gave this situation a little thought. While he was relucent to send out soldiers to fight against an enemy they know nothing of, he had a feeling that they had an advantage in numbers. Their soldiers may have warriors, but they were nothing against his legion. "We shall ride out and kill these caribou if it so pleases you." Both Tempest's and Steel Heart's eyes widened at his full answer. He pointed to the scout. "Legionnaire, send word to Centurion Gallus Tadius Rufinianus of the Sixteenth Cohort. I want his men ready for combat within the next ten minutes." Another thought came to his mind. "Also, send a message to Centurian Favious Comminus Sarius of the Equities, and Octavianus Dexsius Feitus of the Knossos Auxilary. We may need both calvery and fire support if the situation gets out of hand." 'Or if the men have any second thoughts.' He thought bitterly. He hadn't had a desertion since he took command of the legion, but there was always a Roman or two that thought they could escape while there was chaos, like on the battlefield. That's why every time he goes into battle, he keeps several archers in the back in case such an action happened. During his time in Brittana while facing off against several tribes who had the bright idea of skirting around the Wall, several legionnaires, who thought the battle wasn't going their way, decided to drop their weapons and run away. Instead, they were met with an archer volley in front of them. In the end, they had managed to win the day with suitable casualties. Ever since then, no one was smart enough to escape his command, and no one was the wiser for doing so.

He was cruel, but he was also fair in regards to his men.

"You must be joking." For the first time, the soldier personality he was accustomed to from Tempest Shadow dropped immediately, replaced with a look of concern. "Many have tried to take on the Hammer and failed, their bodies either six feet under or food for the vultures." She frowned at the prospect. "It's a fool's errand if there ever was one."

"They do have a point." Albinus spoke for the first time since the meeting started. "Even if we outnumber them by a margin, there is still a whole nation and a king to deal with. Maybe we should follow them to the resistance lair and formulate a plan to stop him."

"I believe there isn't enough time for such a thing." He stated as a matter of fact. "If we retreat now, then the enemy could march into the resistance lair with ease and burn it to the ground." He still needed this resistance alive if he was going to get out of Equestria. "We will distract him long enough for your kind to run somewhere else."

"What part of "six feet under" or "food for the vultures" didn't you understand?!?!?!?!" Steel Heart yelled while waving her hands in the air like a maniac. "You'll get yourself killed!"

"That is for the gods to decide." He said defiantly. "If I am to die, then I will die in the heat of battle like all true Romans. Now move! Warn your people while I get my men ready for combat." Both of the mares looked at each other before looking back at him, a concerning look on their faces. He shouldn't need for them to worry about him. He had faced off greater threats before during his service. For him, this was just another day in the Roman Frontier. "Don't worry about me. This is just another day in the shitter." He voiced his thoughts. "I already have a plan in place. Now go." He waved them away.

"I'm coming with you." Tempest Shadow said as she stepped forth. Lucius was about to argue about that being a bad idea before she beat him to the punch. "You need someone to navigate the Everfree Forest and avoid its dangers. I may not have been here long, but I do know what spots to avoid and how to get to your destination faster." She put her hands near her hips as she cocked them. "Plus, you need someone with experience in magic to help you out this fight, and to guide you back to our base when this is all finished."

He thought about her offer for a moment. He did need someone to help him guide this dangerous forest if what the ponies said about it was true. And if these caribou do know magic of their own, then he needed someone with the same experience to help them out. He looked up to her forehead where the broken horn was. From her explanation, it seems that unicorns can do magic just by using their horns. So how was she going to cast spells if she had a broken horn?

"Very well." He finally said. He didn't realize that he was already up and putting on his armor, finishing fasting the last straps in his armor. 'I knew I should have taken that promotion as a guard in Egypt.' He thought inadvertently as he finally reached for his swords. "We will march out very shortly. I suggest you say your goodbyes before we leave." With that being said, both of the mares turned around and left the tent. Steel Heart was the last one out, having to pick up Color Scheme's unconscious body and heaving it over her shoulders. He was impressed by the strength of the mare, having to pick up the stallion with ease. However, he has more important things to worry about.

He waved the two legionnaires by the entrance, dismissing them. They saluted to their Legate before marching out of the tent. "Well," Vladius said as he craned his neck, the sound of bones cracking through the tent. "This certainly was a shitfest if ever I saw one."

"Unfortunately, it is." Lucius said as he felt a migraine coming on him. The fatigue from several hours ago had managed to hit him, despite the fact that it is sunny outside. He felt like they had been walking for days in the forest, when in fact it was only sometime since they arrived. "I have a feeling that it might get worse from here on out."