//------------------------------// // Into the Sunshine // Story: Divide et Impera // by Burnt Juice //------------------------------// The courier laid himself down to rest. His new body was not nearly as fit as his human form, so therefor he was forced to take constant breaks. He leaned against a tree as he rested. He was in a heavily forested area, that had surrounded the plain in which the Fort had appeared into this world. The forest floor was heavily shaded. He had traveled several miles since morning, yet the forest just continued. The courier's legs were bruised and scratched from all of the undergrowth and roots. He felt odd. Like, something was missing from his travels. "Ahhh, yes," he recalled. He had managed to travel for about six hours without ever being attacked. That beat his old record by five hours. Though the forest had a certain indescribable eerie feel to it, it was still better than the hell hole back home. After a few minutes, the courier got up and resumed his journey. He suspected that he should arrive at the mountain in a little over a day. How he would get up, he had no clue. But he knew one thing. There was no way he was climbing a mountain without hands. Screeching pierced the air like a straight razor, then fell silent. The courier recongnized this as an animal meeting its demise. He remembered that though he had not seen any other, he was not alone in the forest. He desperately wished he had hands so that he could grip his gun. It simply dangled uselessly on his back, attached to his jumpsuit. He trekked onward, hoping he could escape the forest before something attacked him. ``````````````````````` The moon was in the sky by the time Caesar had managed to calm down his men. Even the bravest among them had been reduced to little more than scared children, screaming and fearing their own shadows. Caesar felt similar, but he would be damned before he showed it. The legion looked on at Caesar, hoping that he would explain why they were some sort of strange animal that didn't even exist in the waste. And where were they? How did they get there? How did they leave? These questioned ran through the mind of every man there. "Legionnaires, we have woken up this morning to a strange new land, in strange new bodies." Caesar paused as nervous murmmuring flowed through the crowd. When it was silent once more, he continued, "We do not know what this new realm brings, but we must survive. We shall not allow ourselves to succumb to the cruel fate that is now ours. But we must stand together, as a legion, in order to survive here. I will not lie to you, I do not know how we have gotten here or how to leave. But i will be damned if I don't find out!" The crowd cheered at his short speech. They believed in their leader, and that he could accomplish whatever he set his mind to. "In the meantime," The crowd quieted as Caesar spoke again, "We must make a living here. If we are to survive long enough to make our way home, we need food, water and shelter. For shelter, we will set the tents back up on the hill. I will set up teams to explore and gather resources." Caesar concluded his basic and improvised plan, and began to put men into teams. He sent out small scout teams to bring in intel of the surrounding land. As he finished picking the teams to go and find a water source, the courier crossed his mind. Where is he? ``````````````````````````````` The courier counted 5 minutes after the tail dissappeared into the depths of the trees before he dared to leave his hiding spot. While he had been walking he had heard a mighty roar. To his horror, that roar had originated about 30 feet away from him. A massive animal stood there, next to a bloody dear carcuss. It seemed to be a lion with wings and a rad scorpion tail. The courier had acted quickly, hiding himself in some brush, before he was seen. After consuming the deer, the creature moved on, leaving the courier alone. Though not the strangest creature he had seen, it looked fairly menacing and dangerous. The courier was relieved that he didn't have to face it down. It was midnight, and the mountain grew closer. In fact, he was making great time. That was probably due to having twice the number of legs. He could no longer make out the city on the mountainside, even though it was a bright night. It made no difference, he had stared upon it whenever he found a break in the tree line. He had memorized the spot it was in and headed in that general direction. He was having trouble staying awake. His eye lids drooped every few seconds, and the courier found it harder and harder to reopen them. It had been a long day, that was for sure. Finally unable to continue onward, he hobbled to the nearest tree. Tearing down leaves, he made makeshift bedding. He plopped down onto his rushed handiwork. It was itchy and uncomfortable, but the courier didn't mind, he had slept in worse. Sleep flooded over him, and he desended into unconsiousness. ````````````````````` An earthquake had erupted across Equestria. Most places simple got a small tremor. Ponyville though, was not most places. The ground shook terribly, buildings collapsed, smoke and debris filled the air. The inhabitants were terrified. Then it stopped. Twilight removed her hooves from her ears. Applejack and Fluttershy, who were over at her house, did likewise. "Everypony awright!" Applejack called to her friends. "I'm ok!" Twilight responded "M-me t-t-too," Fluttershy whimpered. She was visibly shaken, but looked physically unharmed. "Oh No!" Fluttershy yelled as she snapped back into reality, "My animals!" She flew out the door at speeds that would make Rainbow Dash nauseous. "I think she's fine," Twilight said as she watched Fluttershy zoom away. The library remained relatively unharmed as well. Some books had fallen off of shelves, but Twilight quickly put them back into place. Spike came tumbling head first down the stairs. He collided with the ground with a thump. "What was that?" He asked, dazed and confused.