For many days, they crossed over bridges, through towns, and over mountains. On some days, their only sign of Roman civilization would be the very road that the First Legion of the Gods traveled on. As far as anyone from the higher ranks was concerned -- including the “gods” -- they were making good progress once they passed through the Alps. But soon after, they entered the road where only greens ruled. Wild grasses and pines were becoming more frequent as the day passed.
It wasn’t too long before they soon saw the border wall that seemed to stretch on for miles. The towering wall was made of pine with the tops sharpened to points and hammered into the ground. “Behind that wall is the river,” General Cato told the two ponies, “and across it is the land of the barbarians.”
Lightning turned to the Drill Sergeant. “Can you sense the cloud from here?”
Spear lit his horn for a brief moment. “Nothing yet, but I think I’ll be able to let you know soon enough.”
The pegasus looked again at the expansive wall, almost looking as if it were a part of the forest. He wondered was this “barbaric” Germanics were really like. Bolt remembered the Battle of Canterlot when the changelings had invaded, and how completely off-guard the Royal Guard was. If the Romans were correct in their descriptions, they all might be facing quite a bigger and harsher enemy for the sake of returning home.
“Hold on,” the unicorn said. “Everyone, stop!” The entire legion ceased their march at the stallion’s command.
“What is it?” Bolt asked.
“Just wait a sec.” His horn glowed brighter as he stood in a meditative state. “There’s something familiar out there… is it…? The cloud! I can sense it!”
“Sir,” someone called out, “what did he say?”
“Mars senses the gateway nearby!” General Cato declared to them before turning to the two gods. “How far do you suppose it is?”
“It’s very weak,” Spear said, “so I think that it’ll be several days of marching, but I need a moment to figure out how fast it’s going so that we can have a good idea of which direction we need to go.”
“Felix,” the pegasus flew up to the General, “where’s the nearest entrance to Germania?”
“Through a fortress,” the scrawny man explained. “We have placed them every few miles to keep eyes on the border.”
“Sir,” Spear Head’s horn dimmed, “I think I have a good idea of where we should go from here.”
“Excellent.” Lightning turned to the legion. “We’ll march until we get to a nearby fortress, and then it’s into the wilderness we go!”
“SIR, YES, SIR!” they proclaimed as the expedition moved forward once again.
About an hour or so later, they came across a fortress that had been built in the middle of the spiky wall. Unlike the wall itself, the fortress was made entirely out of stone. There were banners, guards, and -- as the ponies noted -- large wooden machines on the tops of the walls that faced the Germanic border.
“Hail Caesar!” the General saluted as his horse galloped over the entrance of the fort.
“Who goes there?” one of the guards asked.
“We are the First Legion of the Gods, and I am Senator Felix Cato. On behalf of the people of Rome, Emperor Titus, and the authority of both Jupiter and Mars, we hope that we may pass through your gates into the barbarian lands.”
The guards at the front gate asked for proof, to which Senator-General Felix handed them a scroll. Even though the scroll held the seal of the Empire and seemed to be a legitimate passport, there was a sense of uneasiness from the guards. One of them left to go tell the superiors of the fort about the legion.
Cato entered when the superior asked him to enter. Several minutes went by without a word until the General came outside to tell the legion that they were cleared for entry. Lightning Bolt, who was staring at the clouds above, quickly came up with an idea.
“Hey, Felix,” Lightning flew up to him, “before we go over the border, I think we need to give everypony orders to stick together. By that, I mean that nopony is allowed to be outside of anypony’s sight.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And one more thing. Since we’re going into uncharted territory, I think that he,” Bolt pointed at the unicorn, “should be in front of both of us in case something goes wrong. I shall take the clouds above us and use them as an observation point as we travel, while he will lead on the ground. If I happen to spot anything from the forest, I’ll kick a thunderbolt from my cloud to alert everypony. As we march, make sure that everypony sticks close together and to have their shields at the ready. Oh, and have the cavalry surround the legion. Again, make sure that none of them are out of sight.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me.” Cato spread the new rules to his other officers, who further spread it throughout the legion.
Meanwhile, the pegasus flew to the skies and started to collect the nearby clouds. Once we gathered as much as he needed, he stood on the somewhat low cloud cover and got a good view of the horizon. There was a sea of evergreens, hills, and mountains with islands of lakes along the way. Immediately, he could tell of several advantages and disadvantages his vantage point had. He could see straight below, but some of the pines blocked his view of the ground, leaving random patches of grass and bark spread throughout the forest.
Then, from below, the legion started to move through the stone fortress and across the lone bridge. Once they were across, they assembled themselves in the order that Lightning had described earlier. Using his wings, he moved his cover over the army, which started to move into the unknown.