Tribunus Marcus Maximus and the 50th Legion find themselves in a land stranger than those in Germania.
The legion was lost and under constant attack by barbaric Germanic tribes. Under the temporary command of Tribunus Laticlavius Marcus Maximus, the 50th “Imber” Legion cautiously made their way out of the death trap they were in, reaching the edge of the forest of death. But instead of the welcoming sight of Roman territory, they find themselves in an unfamiliar and cold barren land, where ponies talk and warfare just as brutal as the one they had tried to escape.
Roman legions were known for their flexibility and ability to adapt, but will they be able to do so in this strange land far from home?
“Curse those damned guides.” Marcus Maximus, Tribunus Laticlavius of the 50th “Imber” Legion, angrily muttered to himself “Curse them and their barbarian kin.”
It had not been a great day for him and the legion. In fact, it had not been a great day for the whole army of Publius Quinctilius Varus.
Just the day before, under heavy rain and a hail of projectiles let loose by unseen foes in the forest, the four Roman legions under Varus were blindly marching West, trying to find a way back to Roman territory, as they marched along the increasingly hostile Germanic land. Sent out to crush a Germanic uprising, and aid the Germanic tribes allied to them, Varus had sent his army along a path that would supposedly bring them to the rebellion. But, as every man in the legion would quickly learn, the route they took was nothing more than an ambush.
Led into a forest, and abandoned by their Germanic scouts, the four legions found themselves surrounded by barbarian warriors, who constantly harassed them with projectiles and attacks. Although the Romans were able to hold their ground against the attacks made against them, with the well-trained and well-armed legions forming strong lines that pushed back the savage barbarian charges, the constant harassment still managed to take its toll on them. Little by little, as the legions did their best to move along the narrow path, men would fall victim to a lucky shot, or end up in the unlucky end of a quick barbarian charge.
It was awful, and Maximus remembered how Legatus Legionis Gaius Rufus, the commander of the 50th Legion, died after rushing off towards a leaderless Cohort, whose senior centurion died during the initial stages of another sudden attack. Dismounting his horse and recovering a scutum from a fallen legionnaire, he joined the ranks, hoping to inspire the cohort to reform and hold the line, but instead ended up getting killed by an arrow that landed right on his neck.
Thus overall command of the legion was left to the second in command, him, Tribunus Maximus. To say it was never his dream to command a legion would be a lie, but given the circumstances that led to his sudden command, Maximus wished that the responsibility was never suddenly entrusted to him.
Now, at the head of the remains of the 50th Legion, and marching along a forest where he had no clue what was in front of him, Maximus prayed to the gods that he could make it out of this alive.
Angry, tired, and disheartened, he did his best to keep his composure, as the shattered remnants of his command trudged along the muddy path. Maximus himself moved on foot with them, his horse shot from under him early in the battle. In a way, he was thankful to be on foot, as the barbarian archers had the habit of shooting at anyone who was mounted. Stil, that didn’t make him happy at having to lug himself with his own legs, as they made their way along the awful path to nowhere they were in.
Gazing forward and trying to see what lay in front of him, he did his best to figure out where they were heading to. But with the thick fog that suddenly came in obscuring his surroundings, it was basically impossible to view anything ahead. He did, however, see the silhouettes of a dozen men move along in front of him, and for a second Maximus was ready to give the order for the cohort behind him to form up and resist another attack.
But after careful examination, and a patient and thoughtful mind, Maximus soon distinguished the unmistakable look of the Roman galea protecting the silhouette’s heads, quickly realizing that these were the scouts he sent out earlier to survey their front.
“Any news?” Maximus asked, as Centurion Felix Agrippa moved towards him.
Agrippa shook his head, and a frown could be seen plastered on his scarred face.
“The path continues and leads us to nowhere, it seems.” He ultimately said. “Narrow roads, rough terrain, and forest on both flanks. That’s what is ahead of us, sir.”
“That’s what we have behind us and here right now with us.” Maximus grimly said.
He hated this place as much as anyone else in the Roman army. Legions were trained to fight where they could maneuver. Although they were thought to be flexible and adapt to the land and terrain they were in, the environment they were in now made it nearly impossible to adapt. The hills and muddy ground essentially boxed them in and slowed them down, making any movement nearly impossible. Add the fact that commanders could barely coordinate their scattered units, then the whole thing was essentially a brawl, and not an organized battle in which the Romans were more used to.
Agrippa just shrugged at the Tribunus words, the veteran Centurion having nothing better to add.
“We would have moved further to see if there were any villages or possible defensible position for the legion-“ He ultimately admitted. “-but with the fog thickening, we decided to move back, or else risk going too far and getting jut off from the rest of the legion.”
A good move, something that was always expected from a career officer like a centurion. With the sudden barbarian attacks, terrible path, and now the sudden fog plaguing the marching column, the normally organized legion ended up having its units separated and isolated. The neat close-order marching lines, that usually aided in organization and defense, were now ruined, with the various cohorts either clumped up or seperated from one another.
With Maximus were at least five of his cohorts, all massed together as easy targets for the projectile attacks of the unseen foe that lurked along the forest around them. The rest of his cohorts were behind them, unseen at the moment because of the fog. They had been separated from the main force by a sudden attack that drove a gap between them, one which was never plugged because of the low visibility caused by the fog
Maximus had to wonder what situation those separated cohorts found themselves in, and he hoped that those five managed to stick together. If they were unlucky, then further attacks would have split them up further, with the last, and unluckiest, cohort either left isolated or bumping into the legion behind them. The legions of Varus’ army were equally lost and separated, leaving the whole force cut-off from one another.
Many times, Maximus halted his column so that the rest of his cohorts could catch up to them. But each time he stopped, large bands of barbarians surrounded their position and made a fierce attack against them, forcing them to fight for their lives and endure casualties. To stop would mean they would become vulnerable targets, and as frustrated he was at the thought of being cut-off from half his legion, he had to move forward.
If he had the ability to, he would have stopped and made a heavily fortified marching camp in the next clearing they encountered. With his legion in the lead, he could create a fortified position in which the rest of the army can rally on. But the means to make a fortified camp had been left behind earlier that morning, when Varus ordered the legions to leave behind the wagons that carried the tools and supplies so that his army could move lighter and faster.
Once more Maximus cursed their situation. They were trapped here, and it seemed that there was no way out.
Looking ahead, he squinted his eyes and saw the ever thickening fog getting worse by the second. He could barely see anything that was a few yards in front of him.
“Nowhere to go but forward, sir.” Agrippa told Maximus, the Centurion barely visible, despite being almost beside him.
“Aye, it seems like that’s the case.”
War Mistress Luna stood atop the frozen hill, her escort of Lunar Guards keeping their eyes peeled, as they kept careful watch against any possible threats. Despite being clad in steel plated armor, with only a thin wool padding inside, the Lunar Guards kept a stoic poise, betraying any possible signs of cold brought on by the freezing elements around them.
Luna herself was adorned in her own regal and warlike armor, with the dark steel forged from Hollow Shades remaining without any padding inside, as she was unfazed by the freezing sensation of the northern lands of the Crystal Empire. The War Mistress was used to the cold, and the countless amounts of high altitude night flights she had made over the years had made her so accustomed that it almost felt like it was her own environment
But that wasn’t the only environment she knew she felt at home at, for, as she surveyed the land ahead of her and studied the large stone fortification in the distance, her mind worked continuously, as it smoothly planned out the tactics, strategy and logistics needed to capture the enemy stronghold. This was her second environment, one where the engines of war reigned.
The title of War Mistress suited her the same way as being the Princess of the Night.
When she was younger, like any other foal, tales of adventures and battles fascinated her. However, as she grew up, the interest and the desire to study the action and art of it all only grew and grew. It started with fictional books of characters marching off to war to fight battles that never were. But then it became more close to home than fantasy, as she traded fictional books for historical ones.
Soon she was reading about leaders of the past and how they planned and fought their battles, how they inspired and led the warriors, how they won victories and recovered from defeat. Over time her mind was molded and exercised in the art of war.
As she grew older, her interest in how war is waged was soon joined by her body's itching desire to test out its powers. She was an alicorn afterall, a species equivalent to that of a God. Blessed with these powers after magically binding herself to the moon, a task nopony had ever done before, she ended up being gifted with wings to complement her horn, and a sheer strength and power within her body, both magically and physically.
Having been a unicorn mage before, the magical powers were easy to contain and master. The physical ones were much more difficult, however, and she found it hard to control her strength and prevent sudden bursts that could hurt others or damage her surroundings. She needed an outlet to let it out and learn to control them. Her interest in war led her to learn how to fight, mainly the art of fighting with the blade.
A quick learner, she sought out the best sword masters, and read ancient literature about the skill. It didn’t take long for her intelligent mind and powerful body to coordinate with one another, ultimately making her into one of the best sword fighter in the land of Equestria.
These combined knowledge in both the art of war and the art of the sword proved useful in the fight against the Chaos God that ruled and terrorized the unstable nation of the Confederation of Ponies. Viewed by many of a goddess comparable to Faust herself, Luna, along with her fellow alicorn and sister, Celestia, united the three pony tribes in a rebellion against Discord, the powerful draconequus that held power over the confederation through the might of his chaos powers.
With Celestia as the diplomatic leader that appeased the various demands of the three tribes, and Luna as the top general who formed the first united pony army in history, they marched against Discord and surrounded him. Welding magical artifacts, they managed to imprison Discord by turning him into stone, dethroning him and taking his place as dual monarchs of a reborn nation that was declared as the Kingdom of Equestria.
The years of peace that followed was a prosperous one, with the chaos brought on by Discord disappearing, allowing the land to provide bountiful riches that assisted in the growth of the new Kingdom. During this time, Luna was happy to know that the tyrannical monster of the land was ousted, but felt an uneasy longing within her.
Although she was a leader as equal to her sister, she didn’t feel the power that came with it. No, the power held as a leader in time of peace was different to that of a leader in war. It just wasn’t the same, and she felt guilty knowing that her mind was desiring war so that she could be at the lead of another army.
Gazing out at the enemy fortress and knowing how many lives would be lost in trying to take it, she felt even guiltier now than she ever did before.
But she did not let that show.
Keeping a stern expressionless face, she continued to plan, not letting her emotions get to her. Emotions were for later, when the battle was done, and when the war was over.
Turning her head to the left, she saw a frozen forest that spanned all the way to the horizon of the west. It was a sudden change to the normally barren landscape of the frozen north, and Luna began to wonder how she could use it to her advantage.
The cluster of untamed trees there seemed like a perfect place to hide an approaching assault force. With a portion of the forest extending towards the western face of enemy fortification, the forest seemed like a good place to move a portion of her army, so that they would remain hidden and safe from projectile fire. It was, however, tough terrain, which would cause problems of its own, with any force moving through finding difficult movement. She made a note to herself to send scouts there later to survey the area and outline a trail a future attacking force could use.
Nodding to herself and satisfied at the quick survey of their future field of battle, Luna turned to the Captain of her guard escort, who stood patiently behind her. She was just about to give him the order to move out and head back to camp when a curious sight towards the east caught her attention.
Quickly, she turned her gaze towards a clump of hills a mile or so from their position. Looking intently, she noted something bobbing up and down the crest of the hill, occasionally popping up to reveal themselves before disappearing. Curious to this, she kept on observing, wondering if it was just a trick of the eye. The hills itself were barren, just like the landscape around it, and Luna doubted that this was a wild animal who just so happened to live there. No wild animal would ever dare live in such awful land that could not support life.
“Dusk Hunter.” Luna said, calling the attention of her guard Captain, who immediately took a step forward towards her. “What does thou make of that?” She then gestured towards the hills, where, by now, various figures were bobbing up and down from the crest.
“I’m not sure, your Majesty.” Dusk Hunter initially said. “From what I can tell they seem to be nothing more than-“ His words were immediately cut-off when a sudden realization came upon him. “By the moon, those are Dark Hoof Cavalry!”
Almost immediately the adrenaline was injected into Luna’s bloodstream, as her heart pounded faster to spread it around. Dark Hoof Cavalry were a notorious light cavalry unit in the enemy army’s ranks. Unlike other units, whose soldiers were Crystal Ponies enslaved and mind controlled to fight for the brute King Sombra, the Dark Hoof Cavalry were instead composed of willing volunteer earth pony Crystal Ponies. Known for their swiftness and powerful sudden charges, they were notorious for lightning quick raids that happened so fast that nopony was able to react quickly enough.
Observing the hill thoroughly, Luna now saw the figures from earlier fully reveal themselves, as they went up the crest before raising down the hill. They were indeed Dark Hoof Cavalry, with their charcoal black enchanted armor being unmistakable and easily recognizable.
Luna cursed herself for not spotting them fast enough and wasting too much time ogling. It seemed that the recent victories and success of the campaign had gotten to her head and made her so much more careless than she had before in the past. This was a lesson for her not to become overconfident.
She had thought that no one would dare attack a powerful alicorn like her, but then realized that her light scouting party still presented a juicy target for a contingent of patrolling Dark Hoof Cavalry, alicorn at the lead or not.
From what she observed, she estimated there were ten squadrons worth of them, all heading their way. With their enchantmented armor that gave them great swiftness, combined with their natural earth pony strength, they could easily cover the small gap between the clump of hills and their position.
“Orders, your Majesty?” Dawn Hunter asked, showing no hint of fear despite the rushing mob heading out towards them.
Luna quickly pondered what to do, but she knew what the only solution to their problem was.
If they made an attempt to retreat now, then they would be left vulnerable and easy prey. If they made an attempt to fly, the Dark Hoof Cavalry units could easily occupy the high hill they were currently on and fire on them with their accurate poison tipped arrows. It was rumored that some of those arrows have been cursed and poisoned to kill alicorns. Choosing the other route of escape, by hoof, was also not an options, as they would easily out gallop them and surround them.
That left her with one option that would take advantage of their high position.
“Captain, order thy guards to prepare to receive the foe’s charge.”
Luna stood at the center of the single ranked inverted crescent battle line, her broadsword levitating right in front of her. Far ahead of her, and closing in fast, the hostile Dark Hoof Cavalry formed and charged towards their hilltop position.
There were at least ten squadrons of them, two thousand crystal earth ponies, give or take. Against them were her and her escort, composed of a syntagma from her Lunar Guard taxeis, one hundred and fifty bat ponies.
It was all too clear that the odds were against them.
But, they did, however, have two advantages.
The first was their position. With such a good defensive area on top of the hill, they held the high ground in which they could bear their weight, and shoot their arrows down upon the attacking force. Any good officer knew that having such advantage was a great force multiplier.
The second advantage was her, an alicorn with the strength to fight off a regiment’s worth of ponies. She knew her powers and what she was capable of, and although the enchanted armor and poisonous arrow tips of the enemy would mean she would have to be cautious in fighting, she still had the advantage of sheer strength and magical power.
The fight won’t be easy, and may turn sour with a wrong move, but Luna always loved a good challenge.
“Archers!” She commanded, her voice booming in the air. “Aim thy arrows at their officers. Loose!”
The sound of bow strings giving off the energy hummed in the air, as the thirty archers of the company let out a volley towards the nearing enemy. Following the flight of one of the arrows, she watched it glide through the air, before finding its mark right between a gap in the neck armor of an officer. Stumbling onto the ground, the pony fell and was trampled upon by his subordinates, as the next ranking pony in that unit moved forward to assume the fallen officer’s role at the head of the charge.
The rest of the arrows landed with varying degrees of success, with some landing on the ponies beside their intended target. Despite this, all arrows managed to find something to hit, with the large clump formation making it impossible to miss anything.
More and more volleys were therefore sent out, each landing and hitting, slowly chipping away at the mass force. However, those taken down were only a small part of the enemy attack, leaving little effect against their enemy. Luna knew that only those arrows that hit officers had any real effect on the organization and morale of the charging ponies of their foe.
Still, on the enemy cavalry went, and the distance was quickly closing. The rumble of their hooves grew louder and louder, as horns and officers urged their command faster.
“Get ready!” Shouted Dust Hunter from Luna’s right. Immediately, the bat ponies of her guard unsheathed their swords and firmly held them in their jaws. All were veterans, all had seen more than five major engagements. They were some of the best of the best. But would they be good enough to fend off a force fourteen times their number?
They were about to find out.
With her standing and fighting beside them, she knew they would fight hard. There was an old saying in the Lunar Guard, “We carry no banner for the Lunar Princess is our only standard”. A good soldier always fights for their standard, and because of that they would fight and die to protect her.
Although she never said it enough, she was always ready to fight and die for her ponies. So fight she will.
With the enemy cavalry only a few yards in front of them now, Luna closed her eyes and honed in all the magic within her. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing blue, as her horn lit to a brightness that could rival the hottest flames. Aiming forward, she let out a powerful burst from her horn, a widening stream of magic surging towards the center of the enemy mass. In the blind of an eye whole rows were burnt and annihilated, the victims of an alicorns magical abilities.
It was one of her signature battle spells, one she often used against careless and vulnerable charging masses. Such opportunities to use it were rare, however, since most battles had enemy mages casting energy shields to absorb enough of the power to make the attack almost ineffective. The all earth pony cavalry force, however, proved as a perfect target, and because she waited for the last moment, the dispersal of the magical blast took out a good chunk of them.
The spectacle, however, was not enough to fully halt the momentum of the oncoming attack. For the hundreds that were killed by Luna’s magic, there were still more than a thousand charging on towards the small scouting party.
Knowing their precarious situation, Luna made use of her magic once more, this time summoning a tall enough magical wall in order to stop the enemy dead in their tracks. Slamming hard against this surprise, the front ranks of enemy cavalry were pressed up against it hard, first by their own momentum, second by their comrades pushing against them from behind.
Sandwich between the magical shield and their comrades behind them, the poor ponies were easy picking, as they were unable to maneuver or fight back. Taking advantage of this, the ponies of Luna’s guard took a few steps forward and lifted their heads over the wall, which was just high enough for them to stick their swords and poke the trapped enemy from above.
Desperately, the ponies of the Dark Hoof Cavalry tried to fight back, only to find their efforts futile, as the weight of pushing ponies from behind made it difficult to raise a sword above the wall.
Joining in the fray, Luna lifted her broadsword, with her remaining magical energy, and swung it wide against the enemy crystal earth ponies that trued to climb her magical wall. Clumbering above the bodies of their comrades, they stepped over their heads and rushed towards the magical wall. Most of them were picked off by her guard’s archers, but some where getting close enough that they had to be stopped by the sword.
Adjusting for this circumstance, Luna used more of her magic to raise the wall higher. But this just made things difficult, but not impossible for them, as the enemy force just began to work with one another, pilling up to create a living ramp that led to the top.
Coming over the top by a tricke, they were individually cut down by her sword, and the swords of her guard, as they jumped and landed all over them. But, as more and more enemy ponies went up their makeshift pony ramp, the volume of arriving foes started to become more than they could handle.
To make this worse, the flanks of their battle line were starting to feel heavy pressure, as mobs of Dark Hoof Cavalry began swarming these exposed areas that were left unprotected by her magical wall. Seeing this, Dusk Hunter diverted some of his guards there, which helped ease the pressure on the exposed areas, but left the center even more vulnerable to the ponies coming in after scaling the magical wall.
This situation could not hold on forever, and Luna feared that they would soon be overrun by the sheer numbers that were pressuring them. She had to act to prevent the line from collapsing, and she had to act fast.
“Order thy syntagma back. Reform.” Luna ordered Dusk Hunter. They couldn’t hold this position, so they had to trade space for a more advantageous fighting line.
Almost immediately, Dusk Hunter barked out his orders, and under the cover of the archers, they backed up the hill and formed a second line there. Stepping back with her ponies, Luna continued to generate the wall, all the while fending off charging foes with her broadsword. The trickle that jumped from above the wall had grown to become a waterfall, and with nopony to guard the flanks, the enemy there began rushing out with strength and confidence.
With her concentration and skill, however, she managed to take out a good number, while the archers took out the ones she missed.
Once everypony was safe in the new line, Luna gazed once more at the wall she created before releasing the magic that generated it. Immediately, the result of this action took effect, as the ponies that were leaning against it to form the pony ramp began to fall and tumble down. Like a wave they crashed on the ground, causing disorder among the ranks of the enemy. Some of them even ended up falling on top of their comrades who skirted on the flanks, causing them to fall off their hooves and lose their momentum.
Dazed by the sudden crash, they were unable to organize themselves and became victims of arrow volleys from the Lunar Guard’s archers. This hail of arrow fire was soon supplemented by another powerful blast of magic from Luna, taking out a good chunk of the massed enemy, while at the same time teaching their officers not to go against an alicorn without the proper magical counters.
Those who remained were quick to exit the fight, falling back towards a rocky formation close to the base of the hill. From there, they could reform their force, while at the same time keep a careful eye on Luna and her guards, ready to stop them if they did anything.
After that initial engagement, which, to Luna’s surprise, lasted less than ten minutes, her smaller force was able to push back and massacre the larger contingent. From her estimate, those left were barely above a thousand ponies, with much of the earlier for having been decimated by her own magic.
It was a soulless thing to do, she knew. To kill so many ponies with a single burst of magic. But war was war, and she felt no guilt, at least not yet. The battle was far from over, and the ghost of those she killed would not haunt her till the fighting was done, when she was alone in her personal quarters, in her vulnerable lonesome time.
She hated those moments, and wished war never came with it. But there was nothing to be done, and this was no time to think about it now. The enemy was still strong and could still do heavy damage against them if they weren’t careful.
Taking account of her own force, Dusk Hunter informed her that they only had light casualties. Five dead, and ten light injuries.
Luna made a mental note to be there for the burial ceremonies of those who died for her. She loved her guard and the ponies who fought for her. She always made sure to honor those who fell for her name by attending their funeral, no matter who they were.
She hoped that those five would be the only ones who would fall for her that day, but as she studied the enemy position on the rocks, she knew that there would be more. With the Dark Hoof Cavalry positioned so near them, the idea of falling back to camp was still impossible.
To make matters worse, Luna noticed a couple of ponies galloping from the rocky position and head straight towards the distant enemy stone fort. There was no doubt in her mind that those ponies were carrying messages of help, and in an hour or so, a force from the fort would be marching out to reinforce the Dark Hoof Cavalry. They would most likely bring mages too, ones who can shield their forces against her magical attacks.
The fight had just begun.
Maximus never thought it possible, but they were more lost than they were earlier.
Losing the path because of the fog, he and the remains of his legion somehow managed to stumble their way to a denser portion of the forest, with trees popping up left and right of them in a never ending course. This did no favors to the formations of his various cohorts, as the columns weaved their way around all the trees that stood in their path.
“Damn fog made it impossible to see anything, sir.” Agrippa said, a hint of frustration in his voice. It was his cohort that was in the head, so it was his duty to lead the legion through the forest. The failure to follow the path was thus his personal mistake, or so he believed. “There must have been a damn turn we missed somewhere.”
Maximus sighed at this and considered what to do next. There might have been a turn in the path, but then again the oath could have just abruptly ended and maybe there really wasn’t anywhere else to go but into the compact denseness of the forest. But there was no telling which one it was, since the never ending fog made any vission beyond a few yards impossible.
At least the barbarian attacks have stopped. It’s been an hour since the last their contact with them, and although he found their sudden silence suspicious, he was at least thankful for the respute it gave his force. Taking the opportunity, Maximus had ordered his cohorts to rest and reorganize, as they tried to find their bearing and figure out where to go from there.
He would have preferred to have built a marching camp then and there, so that they would have been safer. But the lack of room in the area and lack of tools with them made it impossible.
He, nonetheless, ordered every centurion to keep their men’s eyes peeled, and swords ready. There was no telling when the next attack would fall upon them, and he didn’t want to be caught completely off guard.
Summoning the remaining senior officers of the legion, Maximus held a consilium, so that he could get their advice and get the column moving as soon as possible. Staying in the forest was not a good idea, and the sooner they got out the better.
“In my opinion, we should turn back.” Maximus announced, once all the officers and senior file closers were present. “We have no clue where we are, and are blindly poking our way deeper into unfamiliar territory.”
“I beg your pardon, sir, but the way behind us is as equally unfamiliar as our front.” Agrippa informed him. He was the one who had been scouting ahead for most of the day, so if there was anyone who knew the land better than anyone else, then it was him. Although he might have been the one responsible for the blunder that led them here, it was a mistake that was not completely his fault.
The fog would have blinded and deceived any good scout, even one who would have grown up in this area. In fact, part of Maximus thought that the reason the barbarian attacks stopped was because their own force was blinded by the fog also and lost track of the Roman legion.
“I understand your concerns, Agrippa, but what are we to do?” Maximus asked. “Continue on forward, march through tough terrain, weaving among the trees, in hopes of finding what?”
“A clearing, sir.” Agrippa said. “Or maybe even an end to this damn forest.”
Maximus thought about this, while the rest of the consilium remained silent, tired or having no better option to offer.
What Agrippa was saying was wishful thinking, but what the options they had were indeed limited, and his suggestion was the simplest to perform. In the end, wasn’t the simplest plan always the best one?
He still had his doubts though.
The judgements of his Centurion may have been right and proper, but he was still the Tribunus in command. Yes, Agrippa would say would be based on the many years of experience and campaigning, but as the most senior officer in charge, he couldn’t help but assert his dominance.
It was in his blood to do so, and although he was humble enough to accept advice and gracefully admit when he was wrong, there was still a part of his Equites heritage that wanted to show off the natural leadership skill that came along the line.
He had to remember though that not all leaders made right decisions, and although asserting his position was important, he shouldn’t be prudent in ignoring any sane advice given to him. Maximus was young and inexperienced, and the gentle taps of a centurion towards the right path should never be ignored. With that in mind, however, he still did his best to explain what he thought was a good idea, wanting to hear what was wrong to his seemingly sound plan.
“Say we do move forward and continue through here-“ Maximus said, as he considered the option. “-wouldn’t that leave us cut-off and separated from the rest of the army? What if they noticed the supposed turn that we missed? Wouldn't they follow that path instead?”
Agrippa was silent, but the legion’s Praefectus Castrorum, Publius Epidus, soon broke it. Although the Praefectus Castrorum was a rank lower than Maximus, he was nonetheless the most respected legionnaire in the whole unit. Because of this, his advice was often headed. Promoted from the ranks of the Centurions, the ranks often called for a man who had served for long years and had many campaigns under his belt. Publius Epidus was no exemption.
“The rest of the army is surely behind us, albeit scattered. They’ll be following our tracks and no matter where we go, sir, they’ll surely be in our rear. Turning back to retrace our steps would only lead us back deep into the forest and would tangle up the whole marching column. I agree with Centurion Agrippa, we should just continue marching forward, we’ll be bound to find the edge sooner or later.”
Maximus pondered this for a moment, before turning his gaze towards the other gathered men with them. “Does everyone agree with this suggestion?” He ultimately asked.
Scanning the faces before him, his eyes soon fell upon Titus Junius, the Primus Pilus, the Centurion that commanded the elite First Cohort.
Noticing the stare and thinking no better option, Junius just nodded. “Better to go forward than go back to the killing space in our rear, sir.”
The Centurions, and Praefectus Castrorum, and their combined voices cannot be ignored.
With all his senior and most experienced officers in agreement, and being convinced himself that the way forward was the better option, Maximus nodded to Agrippa, symbolizing that he accepted his plan. What better could they have done anyways?
Besides, they surely can’t blunder worse than Varus already has.
The enemy that was marching for them was far greater than they had faced earlier, and in normal circumstances one syntagma of Lunar Guards would not have held them off. But these weren’t normal circumstances, and Luna was amazed how the guards managed to hold their courage by knowing that she was there with them.
Advancing a few paces forward, back to their initial position, the small contingent watched from their hilltop as a force of four taxeis, around five thousand heavy infantry, marched out from the distant enemy fort to join the Dark Hoof Cavalry at the base of the hill. Due to the distance Luna knew that they had a lot to go, but sooner or later they would be here, and her force could do nothing to impede their movement.
She gave it an hour before they got here, and another hour to reorganize and plan for an assault upon them. That gave her two hours two plan something, not that they had kuch options anyways, since all they could do in their precarious position was to wait and watch.
At one point, Luna had been tempted to sally out with a small force and disrupt the movement of the approaching enemy reinforcements. With a couple of lucky shots with her magic, she was sure she could have taken out a good number of them.
But she ultimately decided against it, as the risk it brought and the enemy’s ability to counter her powers were too great. With the approaching reinforcements most likely carrying unicorn mages, a strong enough energy shield could have been formed by them to protect the force from her attacks. It also didn’t help that any sally from their hilltop position could easily be seen and prepared against, giving the enemy enough time to position themselves and generate shields. Add that to the fact that her absence in an attempted sally would leave the remaining force on the hill vulnerable to an attack from the Dark Hoof Cavalry, then it was clear that such a plan would just end up in disaster for them with little gain.
So instead they sat there and waited, hoping that the main camp of the Equestrian Army would notice their prolonged absence and would have already sent out a strong search force to find them. That force, however, would take hours to get here, and she was still uncertain if such a force had already been sent out.
In her long military career this was the first time she had ever found herself in such a situation where almost all the odds were against her. She was holding on through sheer power and lucky, and although her power was still strong, her luck seemed to have already ran out.
“How art thou, Dusk Hunter?” Luna asked, as she moved towards the Captain and joined him in looking down at the hill against the slow recovering Dark Hoof Cavalry at the base of the hill. After their disastrous attack against them, the Dark Hoof Cavalry had been slowly tending themselves after the defeat, trying to reorganize and get their morale together.
“I’m fine, your Majesty.” Dusk Hunter said. “Although I might not be totally fine, because I just thought of the most insane idea ever.”
“Oh?” Luna asked, giving him a curious look.
Dusk Hunter nodded, hesitating, before letting out a sigh. Whatever he had in mind, it must have been something so bold that the pony felt it too hard to easily express.
“You see, Princess, once those ponies from the fort get here, then the bloody Dark Hoof Cavalry would have magical support, right?”
Luna nooded, as Dusk Hunter continued.
“Well, that had me thinking. Those earth ponies down there, they don’t have unicorns right now, and they won’t have them for maybe another hour or so.”
Almost immediately Luna’s expression lit up as he stared at Dusk Hunter with a smile growing on her face.
“Captain, and thou a genius! Rally the guard!”
“My pleasure, your Majesty.”
In no time Dusk Hunter managed to gather his command and form them up in a square column that was six ranks deep. At the head of the formation was Luna, with Dusk Hunter standing right beside her, swords drawn and ready.
Down at the base of the hill, at the rocky area in which the Dark Hoof Cavalry had taken position, Luna could see that their enemy was still busy tending to their wounds. The massive loss they took earlier took a massive hit against the various units within them, and there was no doubt in her mind that they took heavy losses on the numbers of officers and rank filers. Their slow recovery was already an obvious sign that this was the case.
This left them vulnerable and perfect for a quick and heavy attack. But they had to act fast, since the longer they waited, the more time the enemy would realize what their plans were. Already, some of the Dark Hoof Cavalry’s picketts were noting their change in formation. It was only probably due to the broken chain of command, due to a heavy loss in their leadership, that prevented them from responding as quickly as they should.
Turning her head to face her loyal guard, Luna gave them a determined look, as she levitated her sword up high for all of them to see.
“Loyal guards!” She shouted. “Follow thy Princess into the fray! Follow thy War Mistress in this charge to glory!”
With that she glanced back forwards and took her first step before starting to gallop and gain momentum as she charged down the hill. She didn't need to turn her head back in order to check if her ponies were following, as the massed sound of hooves stomping and battle cries calling were enough to tell her that they were there.
“For the Night Princess!” Came cry from behind her, followed by the sound of a sword unsheathing.
Soon enough the whole syntagma was charging down hill, staying in formation as best they could as Luna led them to the now aware Dark Hoof Cavalry, who were beginning to form a line to meet them. Cursing inwardly, Luna was surprised at how fast they were able to form. They still had some fight in them left, and despite the disorganization within their ranks, they still moved swiftly and coherently.
Knowing that the line the enemy formed was enough to impede the charge they were making, Luna took immediate action and started charging up her magic. Horn glowing, and eyes set on the target, she quickly let loose her powerful eradicating beam, aimed directly at the center of the enemy formation. As effective as ever, it did its job of clearing a path, as earth ponies were obliterated by the magic, leaving a gap in the line.
Before the enemy could react and close this gap, Luna began galloping faster straight for it. Behind her the Lunar Guards followed, trying to keep pace with their faster alicorn monarch.
Levitating her broadsword forward and keeping it steady, she swung it as hard as she could and had it slash hard against a foe who was rushing in to plug the gap she had created. The blow was powerful, stronger than any unicorn could do with a sword of the same weight. In one swing, she was able to penetrate the enchanted armor of the enemy earth pony and strike the flesh it tried to protect. He went down almost immediately.
Behind her Dawn Hunter and the rest of the Lunar guards charged into the gap, following their Princess into the thick of the fight. Swords clasped tightly between their jaws, they swung and slashed the enemy before them, doing their best to inflict the same damage as the alicorn had.
Each individual pony managed to take on at least one foe in the initial contact, with the shocked and dazed earth ponies of the enemy reacting too slow, allowing them to stab at the weak spots and gaps on their armor. However, as the seconds passed, and the enemy’s wits returned, the battle turned into one that tested skill and endurance, as sword met sword, while armor did their best to protect, as the fight consumed the two sides.
Pressing on and trying to keep the momentum, Luna used her strength to swing her sword and chop down the mortal ponies that got in its path. She needed to inflict enough damage to make the enemy retreat and route.
As she gathered more energy for her magic so she could fire another powerful burst, a horn from within the enemy’s ranks blew out, a loud cry for help so that the oncoming reinforcements would come faster.
The legionnaires quickly got into action and closed their ranks to form a strong shield wall the moment they heard the horn cry out. It was a force of habit by now, and one that cannot be ignored or complained about. Ever since they entered this forest of death, the sound of horns were often followed by either a volley of missiles or a charge from the barbaric tribes.
Forming up behind the lead cohort, Maximus pointed and shouted, as he ordered his men to form a square formation. The horn may have been sounded from the front, but there was no way of telling for certain if there weren't any barbarci mobs lying in wait on the flanks.
Getting the legion ready, Maximus did his best to give out commands in the thick fog. In the air, his shouts were accompanied by the gruffer orders made by Centurions and file closers, as they got their units together and moved them to where they should be.
As the good legionnaires they were, the men managed to form up properly without too much confusion, the drill having already been planted into their minds and countless practiced by their bodies that it allowed them to move even in the most awful of conditions. Centurion Agrippa had once told him that the men could practically change from one formation to another in their sleep, and Maximus didn’t doubt him for a second.
It was essential for any legion to have their men well-drilled and trained. To be able to hold the line in a fight, a unit must be able to form the line itself, without any gaps or weaknesses. Any holes could mean the end of the whole formation itself. That was why legionnaires were thought to move as one, with the whole unit keeping together no matter what, so that no portion of their line could be exposed. Because of this, unit cohesion and organization was always top priority in the drills, second only to the skills of fighting.
It was the mastery of these important aspects of fighting that made the Roman war machine so powerful, and it was their ability to have men capable of perfecting suck skills that made the legions the best fighting force ever created.
However, as the legionnaires of the 50th huddled together behind their scutums, they didn’t feel that they were the best at all. The Germanic tribes managed to get the better of them, and an arrogant and overconfident march into an uncharted forest led them to the horrors they were in now.
Now, doing their best to see beyond the fog, staying quiet so that they could listen for any sound of footsteps or war cries, the legionnaires waited nervously for the imminent attack.
But none came.
The moments went by, and Maximus felt beads of sweat run down his face as he anxiously waited for the barbarians to come out screaming, charging against their ranks in a blood thirsty desire to eliminate every last Roman.
But as they waited and waited, no attack came at them.
“Sir, I would like to report.” A legionnaire said, as he stood next to Maxmimus, who was still alert and waiting for an attack to come.
“Yes?”
“Centurion Agrippa reports the sound of fighting to his front, sir.”
To his front? Now that was odd to hear, and for a moment, Maximus was confused.
But as the legionnaires kept silent, allowing the sounds of their environment to be blown upon him, he soon heard the wound of metal clashing, which was joined by the call of the horn they had heard earlier. Maximus may not have been as seasoned and experienced as the centurions, but the past few days of fighting in the forest has taught him well enough what the sound of a battle was. The faint, but distinct, sound of metal meeting metal could just be heard in the distance, and Maximus had to nod slightly and agree that there was a distant battle indeed going on. But instead of confirming things, this just made him more confused.
Who was doing that fighitng?
As far as he knew, they were the lead legion in the army’s marching column. So who in the world managed to get in front of them and become the next target of the barbarians?
Was it possible that in the confusion of battle, the blindness brought upon the fog, and the random and winding path, that a unit from behind them managed to overtake them and stumble upon a barbarian ambush?
Although not impossible, it seemed unlikely, since all the various legions, and their cohorts, were just doing their best to follow one another. No group of Romans would have overtook them without stumbling upon them first. He also doubted that they strayed out of the path and marched along the sides, since the marshy and forested landscape on their flanks would slow them down, bringing them farther into the rear than the front.
So if it weren’t Romans, then who then? Who else was in this forest to be unlucky enough and get into a fight?
Maybe it was the barbarian tribes themselves? In this thick fog where you can barely see a thing a few feet in front of you, it was quite possible that one mob of barbarians mistook another mob as Romans.
There really was no way of telling, unless they went there themselves to see what was happening.
As Maximus wondered who was out there fighting, Praefectus Castrorum Publius Epidus came towards him.
“Sir.” He began. “I don’t know if my old ears are failing me, but I think I hear the faint sound of a fight in front of us.”
Maximus grunted at this. Epidus had been at the rear of the tattered legion’s column, keeping watch and maintaining discipline to the cohorts there. He was one of the farthest person from the sound, and yet he easily heard it, as if it was a shout directly in his ear. The tribunus sometimes had to wonder if veterans like him were blessed by Mars himself to have superhuman abilities that placed them a tier above their comrades.
“No, Epidus, your ears are still fine.” Maximus finally said. “Agrippa had just reported the sound of battle being heard far to his front. Who it is, only the gods know.”
Epidus nodded then glanced towards the front. Maximus wondered if he was also blessed enough to see through the fog, but after a frustrated shake of the head from the Praefectus Castrorum, he knew that it wasn’t the case.
“Probably a quarter of an hour's march from us.” Epidus concluded.
“You think we should go towards it?” Maximus questioned.
Epidus shrugged. “If you ask me, sir, I think its better than aimlessly wandering the forest. At least the sound is a point of reference we can follow, and maybe use to get out of this forest.”
Maximus nodded, agreeing with his sound logic.
“Who do you think it might be out there fighting?” He then asked.
“Probably the damn barbarians.” Epidus said, and through the fog, he managed to see a hint of a grin on the veteran’s face. “One group must have stumbled against the other and thought that whoever was in front of then was us. I tell you now, sir, those barbarians may own and know ever part of this forest, but even they can’t see properly in this fog. If they can’t see, then they can’t find their landmarks and properly navigate. I can bet you now that they’re more likely to run into fellow barbarians before running into us. And up ahead, I believe that’s what exactly happened there. And if that indeed is the case, and we managed to get there while they’re still confused, then we can get some revenge for what they did to us.”
Thinking about it for a moment, Maximus nodded, trusting the Praefectus Castrorum’s words. If there was anyone in the legion who has seen it all, then it would be him. Although his rank’s duties entitled him as a master of the camp, an officer in charge of erecting the structures and maintaining the order and safety of the legion’s marching camp, the man was nonetheless very knowledgeable when it came to military affairs, whether it was strategy or tactics.
Men like Epidus had risen from the ranks, with years of personal experience guiding his remarks and opinions. It was this man’s advice that a legionary commander would normally trust, and the words of Epidus were ones that Maximus would always trust.
“Very well, I guess it can’t hurt us more if we go and investigate.If you’re right on what you think is happening there, then we will indeed get our revenge..” Maximus said, a smile on his face. However, a frown soon took its place. “But what if it's an ambush? Maybe it's a lure to draw as in.”
“An ambush here, there, or in any other part of this damn forest aren’t different from one another. As long as we’re in here, we’re guaranteed to be ambushed, sir.” Epidus said. “What matters is that we’re ready for an ambush. We must always be swift in forming our line the moment an attack comes. So, in the event this is a kure to an ambush, I’ll make sure we’re ready, sir. I’ll keep the men on their guards, and make sure we’ll be ready for any attack.”
Maximus nodded.
“Very well, Epidus. Alright, let’s get this column marching again. We’re heading for that sound.”
It didn’t take long for them to get real close to the source of the sound. Like Epidus said, it was a fifteen minute march towards the place.
Moving closer to the front, his level of curiosity high and at its peak, Maximus strode next to Agrippa, as the centurion’s 8th Cohort led the way and scouted for the legion.
As they moved forward, with the continuous sound of the fight still continuing, Maximus started to notice that the world in front of him was looking more and more clear. Soon enough, he was able to see farther than he did before, as his surroundings began to show itself, as the fog seemingly began to drift away.
Thankful for this, and feeling his excitement rise as their destination drew closer, Maximus looked around, examining their surroundings and checking if the fight was already within sight.
That was when he noticed something strange.
The trees around them, although as dense and as thick as the ones before, were now leafless. This was odd, since all the trees they passed by earlier were thick in leaves and flourishing. These, however, were as bare as trees in winter.
The thought of winter made him realize something else. It was colder now.
The sudden change in temperature wasn’t small, nor was it gradual. One moment their environment was cool, but not freezing, the next it was frosty, the stinging pain of the cold being all too obvious when a sudden breeze came upon him.
But out of all of these strange occusings, it was the last one that finally made him halt on his tracks. There was now a light layer of snow on the ground.
Looking down, and stomping his caligae on the ground, the soft layer of cold snow gave way, and as he lifted his foot, the march of the caligae and its hobnails was left imprinted.
Knowing the time of the year, the tribunus was certain that they were nowhere near winter. Yet, beneath their feet was snow. This wasn’t right.
What kind of strange area of this cursed forest have they walked into?
Speechless, and trying to comprehend the strange occurings, Maximus halted the legion and tried to get a bearing of the things around them. There was something really wrong with their environment they were in now, and he wasn’t willing to march his force into the unknown.
“Germania certainly is a strange place.” Agrippa said, as he gazed at the winter-like place they now found themselves in. “Or is it just this forest?”
Sighing, Maximus shook his head. “The more we march into the forest, the more it feels like a world found in the myths and legends.”
“Yes, sir, I can’t argue with that.” Agrippa said, before gazing far out into the distance and suddenly grinning. “Although, it seems like our time in this cursed forest is about to end soon, sir. Look!”
Glancing towards where the centurion was pointing at, Maximus soon joined his cheerful mood, as a feeling of joy suddenly burst inside of him. He didn’t believe he had felt so relieved and happy ever before in his life.
Just a few yards away, right in the distance, was what looked like the edge of the forest. From what Maximus could see from his position, the trees began to thin out there and reveal an open field. Although the field itself was also covered in snow, the benefits of finally being out of the forest was something that brought good news to the endless bad luck they had been having.
A field would be a better place to fight in, where maneuvering was easier, and there would be no trees that could be used by the enemy for concealment. Here, the legion could move in and fight the way there were supposed to. There would be no more trickery and difficulty of ambushes here.
A cheer soon came from around them, as the legionaries of the 8th Cohort saw Maximus and Agrippa had seen. Relief filled their voices, as salvations seemed to have been found at last.
Indeed, Maximus believed that their salvation was indeed here. In such a place, the barbarians would not dare attack them, as the legion’s full strength and power could be deployed in such an area.
A fight here would almost always be a guaranteed win for them.
That was when Maximus remembered about the noise of battle, the one that was near and loud now. They still had to check that out, and deal with any enemies who they might find there.
But for now, he was just relieved to see that wherever they were going, it was at least safe, knowing it had a field where the legion could fight the way they should. He could tell that the men were thinking the same thing, based om the cheerful and hopeful looks on their faces.
The strange occurrences they noticed in this place seemed to have been shoved to the side and replaced by the thought of finally finding safety. Let them all wonder about such things later, when they were safe and out of the deadly forest.
“Alright, let’s march them out.” Maximus finally said. “The sooner we can get out of the forest means the sooner we could be safe to plan our next step. Remember, we still have those fellows causing all that noise to deal with.”
With that, the 8th Cohort advanced towards the edge of the forest, followed by the other cohorts, who quickly cheered once they saw that they were finally getting out.
But as Maximus and Agrippa led the way, they quickly saw something that turned their hearts upside down.
Standing at the edge of the forest, and gazing out at the wide open snowy field they now had in front of them, the two were shocked to a strange sight ahead in the distance.
What they had expected were poorly organized, poorly armed, and barely armored barbarians. But what they saw were soldiers marching in rhythm, fully covered in armor, and carrying long and deadly pikes.
“Thou Princess commands thee to push thy foe back!” Luna shouted, her voice echoing in the air as she stood in the middle of the fray. With her magic, she swung her broadsword against a charging clump of crystal earth ponies, slashing the life off of them and tossing their bodies to the ground.
“You heard the Princess, not one step back!” Shouted Dusk Hunter, before grabbing the grip of his sword and pulling it out of the neck of his victim. The ever loyal Luna Guard officer had stuck by Luna’s side throughout the entire engagement, ready to take and give out her orders, while at the same time covering the Princess’ throughout the fight, keeping an eye on anypony that might have slipped her sight.
Not that there were many, or any at all, that managed to get past the alicorn’s hawk-like eyes. Left and right, she targeted pony to pony, lashing out her power against them, as they remained helpless against the wrath of the powerful goddess. This was the strength of an alicorn, one unmatched by any fighter from any race.
With swings of her sword, burst of powerful magical rays, and the spawning of magical barriers against enemy charges, Luna managed to bear enough power to allow her syntagma of Lunar Guards to successfully hold against ten squadrons of cavalry. In the ensuing fight, they had managed to push the Dark Hoof Cavalry back, driving a V shaped wedge within their lines.
Committed to the fight and still believing that they had advantage in numbers, the Dark hoof Cavalry continued the fight, refusing to fall back or regroup while engaged by such a small force. This, Luna knew, was a mistake, since their clumped up formation gave her perfect targets for her signature magical attack ray. They were fools to continue the fight.
No matter how large the enemy’s numbers were, her power would be able to match them. It was foolish of them to think that they could win a battle against an alicorn, without any support from mages.
Arrogance has clouded their minds and corrupted them away from sound military thinking, Luna thought.
Then again, were they really fools?
Luna thought of this as she watched one of her Guards be stabbed by an enemy sword. Busy with the enemy in front of her, she had missed what was happening there and was too late in creating a barrier to protect him. She cursed herself, knowing that the Guard’s protection was in her hooves and she had failed him.
She cursed again, realizing that this was their twentieth casualty in the fifteen minutes in which the fight had been raging. Their line was beginning to thin down, and not even her powerful magic was enough to make up for all the losses.
Once more she wondered, where they fools to continue the attack or just cold hearted tacticians.
True, they would not be able to break the syntagma while she was there, but they were still able to nibble it down, all the while keeping them pinned. By keeping up the fight, and using their numbers to surround them and keep them engaged, the Dark Hoof Cavalry essentially made sure that they wouldn’t escape.
By keeping up the fight, they had essentially trapped Luna and her Guard, keeping them busy until their reinforcements arrived.
Frustrated at this realization, Luna lashed out at the next clump of foes in front of her, knocking them over with another wide swing of her sword. With them still having the number advantage, they could just keep on pressing more and more ponies forward, and despite the high casualties, there would be enough to keep them occupied till their reinforcements arrive.
Once more she was trapped, and she desperately needed to get them out of this.
Taking a quick glance towards the distance, she watched as the enemy reinforcements rushed forward their column, pikes held straight up, ready to point straight at them when the moment arrived. It won’t be long, he knew, and estimated that they could arrive and join the fray within the next fifteen minutes.
Shaking her head, she knew that her only hope now is that her own reinforcements would arrive in time. The only problem was, she didn’t know if there were reinforcements in the way.
Seeing her front was clear, Luna allowed herself a very quick glance towards the rear, checking the path they took to get to the front. Studying the road, she desperately tried to look for any sign of a marching force on their way towards them. There were none, and she couldn’t say that she was surprised.
The camp was many miles back, and the ill-trained force she had left there was led by officers who lacked imagination and initiative. Although she had been hopeful that one of the more promising senior officers would have noted her absence and sent a force to investigate her last whereabouts, the lack of a marching force right now was a sign that no such thing had occurred.
Sighing, she glanced once more to her front and cleared it off the enemies with a frustrated surge of magic that engulfed those that got in the ray’s path. Then, looking at the distant enemy reinforcements, she began thinking of ways to attack them, and chip away at their force, while they were still far away.
As she was doing so, a faint glisten of light flashed at her eyes, curiously attracting her attention. Wondering what this was, Luna followed the source of the light and realized it was coming from the forest that was on the west of the field, the same one she had noted earlier.
Concentrating her sharp eyes to this area, she tried to find the main source of the glistening sight. It was then that she saw them.
Marching in a long column, creatures in plated metal armor made their way out from the forest, spears and shields wielded, as they moved in the most professional of ways. With the faint sunlight penetrating the gloomy skies, the light bounced off of their armor and glistened all over, shining upon her and making their presence known.
At first, Luna had assumed that these were more reinforcements for the Crystal Ponies, thus another problem to add to her already growing pile. But noting their banner, and seeing what looked like a golden standard that held a bright red piece of cloth, she immediately realized that this was no banner that was used by the Crystal Empire.
So who were these newcomers entering the field?
It wasn’t just Princess Luna who noted the arrival of the creatures from the forest, as the commander of the marching column of reinforcements also caught the glistening light with his eye. For him, however, the silvery colored armor of these creatures seemed similar to the ones used by the Kingdom of Equestria’s Army. To him, he believed he knew well who was coming out of the forest.
Indeed, he was quite shocked and confused how the Equestrians managed to slip in a force from there without them noticing. But he didn’t think too much of that, saving it for a later time, when he reviewed his own tactics and strategy.
Right now, he knew his priority was to deal with this force, stop them from doing any harm, so that he can divert his main attention towards the trapped alicorn Princess and her syntagma.
Ordering his lighter troops and cavalry to continue their advance to reinforce the Dark Hoof Cavalry, he then detached his heavy infantry to move against the newcomers. Personally taking command, he led a taxeis of pike wielding heavy infantry against the force at the forest.
Tribunus Marcus Maximus did not know who was in front of him, but whoever they were, he did not like what he was seeing. Moving ahead of the column, as the rest of the 50th Legion marched out of the forest, Maximus, escorted by Agrippa, Epidus, and Junius, studied the large mass of mounted armored troops, trying their best to figure the identity of the force.
They were clearly not Roman, they were certain of that. Bearing dark obsidian colored armor, carrying combersome pikes, wielding a dark red standard that bore what looked like a red eye that seemed to glow in the dim light, and being mounted on horses instead of going on foot, this force carried no signs that marked them as a Roman legion.
But if these troops weren’t Roman who were they?
Could they possibly be barbarians? That thought brought a chill in their spines, as the implications of that idea was frightening.
If these were indeed barbarians, then that meant that the Germanic tribes had better and more numerous forges, resources, and stores than they had previously thought.
Even from a distance, they could tell that the armor was of good quality, that of which can only be created by the best blacksmiths. To be able to equip such a large force with so much good quality armor, then it meant the barbarians had hundreds of forges with thousands of expert blacksmiths working away, creating such imposing pieces.
Their armor wasn’t the only notable thing, however, as it could clearly be seen that the whole contingent was mounted. From Maximus’ count, there would at least be two thousand, or more, mounted troops in front of them. That meant an impressive amount of horses the Germanic tribes would have to gather and feed. This then alluded to the fact that they must have had a large amount of resources to care for all these creatures, with them probably having large grazing grounds to keep them all fed and ready for battle.
This was a lot to take in, and Maximus couldn’t help but be impressed and frightened, all at the same time.
In any other circumstance, he would have first doubted that the barbarians were capable of creating and massing such a force. He would have doubted that they were skillful or organized enough to be able to create such an army. But after all they have experienced in the forest behind them, after seeing with his own eyes how a barbarian army of united tribes managed to wither and nearly annihilate of Roman army of four legions, Maximus was sure that they were also completely capable of creating a threatening force of heavy mounted troops.
Shaking his head and studying the force once more, he noted the odd tactic of arming cavalry with pikes. Never before had he seen such a tactic done, and the effectiveness of it was questionable. Such heavy and unwieldy weapons were ill-suited for fast and maneuverable cavalry, and he knew that it would only unbalance and slow them down.
He found it really strange that this force chose to combine two things that didn’t go together well, and he began to wonder if there was a secret to it that he was missing.
His thoughts were cut-off though when Junius made a remark that caught his attention.
“Well, whoever they are, they’re no friends to those people on that hill.” Then, following the Primus Pilus’ pointing hand, Maximus gazed at a large hill on their far right to see a battle being fought there.
From what he could see, Maximus noted a small group of cavalry fighting its way down against a large mob of mounted troopers. Due to the distance and dust of the fighting, he found it hard to study the small cavalry force. However, the large mob was far easier to identify, as their massed formation gave him a perfect look at the familiar dark armor that was somewhat similar to those worn by the marching force in their front.
“Maybe they are with us?” Agrippa asked in a hopeful tone.
“They are cavalry.” Epidus pointed out. “The only cavalry we had were those from the Auxillia, the scouts. Those barbarian traitors betrayed us, if you have forgotten.”
“Maybe they are part of a small group that chose to remain loyal and are now facing the wrath of their fellow tribesmen?” Agrippa suggested, still renaming hopeful. “Because, if those black armored troopers are barbarians, then who else are they going to be angry at aside from us?”
“That may be.” Epudis said, thinking it over. “But how are we to be certain that those black armored troops are indeed barbarians?”
“Well, if you want my opinion-” Junius said suddenly speaking up to cut-in. “-I think the fact that a portion of their force is breaking off and forming a battle line against us means they’re barbarians.”
Suddenly turning their attention towards the first group of black armored troops, they noted a substantial portion of their column moving away from the march and reforming themselves to face the Romans. Maximus was impressed at how smooth and organized the transition went. Without breaking up or turning into a disorganized mob, they managed to go from a marching column and into a battle line. All while mounted in horses. All in a short few minutes.
Clearly this group had been well-drilled with the maneuver, similar to how Roman legions were drilled to move from one formation to another. If it wasn’t obvious before, then it was clear to him now that the force in front of him was no ordinary barbarian group.
“I believe that is all the information we need to know.” Maximus announced, as the black armored group began to make its way towards them. “Whoever these barbarians are, it seems they consider us enemies. So we must give them the same treatment and consider them the same way. They dare attack our legion, and so they must be enemies of Rome.”
Glancing once more at the approaching force, he wondered if they really were to be considered as enemies. For all he knew, this force might just be checking them out.
He quickly tossed away this thought, however, realizing the logic of things. If they wanted to check them out, then they would have sent a smaller scouting force, not a whole line, against them. An envoy with an escort was a better scouting force than a whole force of armed men.
Maximus may not know who exactly this force was, but the intent of their actions was clear to him. They wanted to do battle.
Shaking his head, he studied the open field before them and smirked. This was perfect terrain for a fight, with all the room for maneuvering. Unlike the forest behind them, the land here would allow him to form his whole force into a line, a formation that would allow them to use the tactics they were more accustomed with.
There would be no hit and run attacks here. This was a true fight.
“Let's get back to the legion and form them up.” He finally said. “It is time to show these barbarians how the 50th fights in a real battlefield.”
To Maximus’ dismay, he only had five of the 50th Legion’s cohorts with him. The other five cohorts were still lost behind them, still stumbling and making their way in the cursed forest. He had hoped that they were just close behind, that they would appear only moments after they got out. This was not the case, and he had no idea when they would arrive.
For the time being, he was left with five cohorts to fight with. Although he didn’t have exact numbers yet, in regards to each cohort’s strength, the estimates given to him by individual centurions told him that he had a force of around two thousand legionnaires.
Against him was a contingent of more than a thousand heavily armored and mounted troopers. His best guess estimated that there were one thousand five hundred of them at the very most.
This gave him the superiority in numbers, which was a big advantage. But he knew that he shouldn’t feel safe based on numbers alone, so he kept his mind concentrated on doing a proper fight, with no mistakes and the least number of casualties as possible.
Studying the approaching enemy force, he found it strange and odd that they weren’t charging at them at a full force, just how a cavalry focused force would have. It seemed that their tall pikes were indeed impeding their movements, making such fast attacks difficult for them.
Instead of charging at full speed at his formation’s flanks, the enemy force just extended their line to meet the Roman’s line. Moving as one long formation, they advanced stiffly, but menacingly, their tall pikes up in the air as they took their time getting to them.
Seeing their formation, Maximus couldn’t help but compare its similarity to a Greek Phalanx. With their prominent use of pikes, and their rigid application of a battle line, the barbarian attacked came at them the same way he thought a Greek Phalanx would.
Completely destroying the advantages a mounted force would bring, these barbarians chose to limit their force’s capability by having their mounted troops go into line and face the Romans head on. Noting this, Maximus started to doubt if this menacing force was as good as they initially thought. They had the weapons and armor, but their tactics were odd and seemingly ineffective.
He didn’t let this limit his tactics and strategy, however, and he made sure to keep an open eye for any trickery. These barbarians had pulled off a multitude of traps throughout the past few days, and Maximus was going to make sure that he wasn’t going to fall for a new one.
The cohorts of the 50th Legion formed up in the standard linear formation they were familiar with, ten ranks deep and a small gap between each cohort to allow for maneuvering. This was formed quickly thanks to the excellent drill of each unit and the forceful, yet effective, command skills of centurions.
The men’s eagerness to spill blood also quickened their step, as their frustration and hatred was now released due to the opportunity to fight an open battle. This was what they were trained to do, this was where they were at their prime. They were ready.
Pacing the rear of this line, Maximus inspected the legion and made sure that everyone was where they were supposed to be. Not that it was needed to be done, since every legionnaire knew his place in battle. What he was doing was more of a display of authority, to show the men that their leader was not only in command, but was also there for them.
“Good to see that the cursed forest hasn’t weakened the men’s fighting spirit.” Praefectus Castrorum Publius Epidus commented, as he strode beside the tribunus.
Maximus grunted an agreement, as he finished his rounds and gazed back at the enemy. The mounted force was closer now, less than a hundred yards from their line.
“Prepare pilas!” Maximus ordered, which was repeated by every single centurion in the legion. Almost in unison, every legionnaire who still had pilas took hold of their weapon and grabbed it firmly, ready to throw it at the enemy ahead of them. Because of the constant fighting in the forest, many of the legion’s supply of pilas had been expended. But from what Epidus had told him, a good amount of the men still had one or two with him.
Sooner or later they would come into throwing range, and it was then that Maximus hoped that the various volleys of Roman pilas would disrupt the enemy’s formation and ruin their strong frontal strength.
Phalanx formations like this always had a key weakness, and that was the fact that they aren't flexible enough. Because of that important fact, the key to defeating them was to ruin their formation and prevent them from forming a proper solid line. To do this, they would need to create gaps in the enemy formation, gaps that would expose vulnerable areas in the line. Even the slightest of gaps can easily be exploited, and with cumbersome pikes that are hard to reorient, it will be hard for the enemy to cover the gaps quickly enough.
To achieve this, a volley of pilas would need to be used to knock out the front ranks, and expose portions of the line. Dropping the front ranks would make the enemy stumble, forcing those behind the first file to slow down in order to avoid tripping on the bodies of the one ahead of them. It was during this moment of file closing that the formation would be vulnerable, as those behind have to focus on dressing the line.
Because of the important role the pila would play, it was important to have accurate aim, with as many pilas hitting as many of the enemy as possible. Luckily for Maximus, the legion was well renowned for its skills of raining pilas at the enemy. Afterall, they didn’t call the 50th Legion “Imber” for nothing.
Soon enough the enemy line began quickening its pace, trying to quickly close the distance as they got closer. Any doubt in regards to hostile intent was quickly thrown away when the pikes of the dark armored troops were lowered and pointed at them, creating a long wall of sharp ended pikes that slowly made its way towards the legion.
Doing his best to keep his cool, Maximus kept his eyes on the enemy, checking their distance and waiting for the right moment. Step by step, the enemy line got closer until they were only thirty-three yards away, the optimal throwing distance for their pilas.
“Loose!” He orders, which was followed by the echo of the centurions.
Almost immediately after giving the word, a large volley of pilas came flying from the legion’s line, darting through the air and raining down on the advancing enemy.
Penetrating armor and embedding themselves upon the enemy, the long soft iron shank would bend due to the weight of the rest of the pila bearing upon it. This made it hard for the pila to be removed, forcing the enemy to stumble as the weight of the weapon made it cumbersome to move.
From his position, Maximus watched as many of the enemy’s first rank either fell dead from mortal wounds or tripped over due to imbalance. The effect of this was quickly seen, as the menacing wall of piles suddenly had gaps, with areas having less pikes bearing upon it compared to other portions of the line.
“Loose!” Maximus ordered once more, and once again his words were echoed by his centurions.
Another volley of pilas flew to the air again, but this time it was fewer than the first. It seemed that only half of the men had a secondary pila to throw, but the effect of this volley was still devastating. The enemy who had moved up to replace their fallen friends soon fell also, disrupting the first rank once more, as those behind them began to step up. The volleys were effective, and they did a good job at not only weakening the enemy, but also disrupting them.
However, no matter how good the legions volleys were, they were still not enough to completely stop the enemy line from advancing. To defeat them, the Romans would have to get up close and personal.
“Front ranks, lock scutums! Draw gladii!” Maximus ordered, and he heard the centurions echo his words, which was followed by the sound of the wooden shields of legionnaires bumping with those beside them. Then the sound of swords being pulled from their scabbards filled the air, as the thumping sound of the enemy’s steps grew louder as they closed the last few yards.
At this distance Maximus finally got a good look at their enemy. What he saw confused him.
There were no riders.
Despite facing mounted troops, Maximus noted that the enemy force in front of them had no riders on their horses. Instead, it seemed like they were facing heavily armored horses, with piles attached to their sides.
That couldn’t have been though, for it was impossible for a riderless horse to maneuver themselves in such a perfect battle line, let alone control the pikes on their own.
Because of the absurdity of this thought, and because of the closeness of the enemy, Maximus made the quick conclusion that it must have been just the trick of the eye and that he saw things wrong. Quickly shoving aside any more similar thoughts, he returned his focus on the greater battle before him and watched as the enemy slowed down their pace and bared the pikes against his legion’s line.
Looming towards them, sharp bladed ends extended far beyond the enemy line, the points of their pikes soon made contact with the cohorts, a solid wall of shimmering points bared at them like teeth.
Reacting to this and following the training that was though and endlessly drilled to them, the legionnaires of the front rank used their scutums to shove the bladed ends upward, shoving it away from them as they went under the length of the pike. Then, with their gladius in one hand, they began charging forward, keeping their scutum up as they used it as a roof to prevent the pikes from being used against them.
Working together to protect each other from the layers of pikes before them, the legionnaires kept a steady wall and roof of shields against the pikes, preventing the enemy from doing any damage. Advancing under the enemy’s helpless pikes, they soon reached the first ranks of enemy forces and jabbed their gladii on any gaps in the armor they could find.
Pike armed enemies were not new foes for the Romans. They have faced such forces countless times before in Greece, and because of that they had perfected the needed counters against them. Maximus himself had read the various history papers and tactical manuals on facing pikes, and he knew that his legion was trained well by their centurions on how to properly deal with such a formation.
Whatever the barbarians were thinking in using pikes against them, it was clear that their choice of weapon and tactic was a mistake.
In a matter of minutes, the cohorts of his legion ate through the first rank of the enemy lines and went onto the second. Cutting them down one by one, they managed to stab and slash at the weak gaps on the enemy armor. Encumbered by their pikes, they were unable to maneuver in the tight confines of their formation and prevent the onslaught from happening.
Soon enough the enemy line, unable to take such losses and pressure, started falling back. At first it was a slow retreat, with the enemy line slowly backing away. But as they legionnaires stabbed their way at the enemy, those in the rear began turning their horses and galloping away in fear. This was soon followed by the next rank, and the next, and the next, until a catastrophic route of the enemy line followed.
Maximus soon watched as the enemy rode away from his legion, while the centurions of his cohorts shouted at their men, trying to maintain order and prevent a chase from happening. Unless the order from him came, no legionnaire would make a careless pursuit.
Triumphant and victorious from their short, yet bloody, battle, Maximus had expected to hear a chorus of cheers at the sight of the enemy retreating. This had been their first clear victory in days, and for once he and his men were sure that they had defeated and routed their enemy in battle.
But instead of the joyful shouts that he expected, he noticed that his men were quiet, almost speechless aside from the low murmur and whispers they were telling one another. Confused by this, and glancing towards Epidus, who was equally confused, he soon gestured for them to come closer to the cohorts, to try and see what was wrong.
As he got closer though, he could hear one common question running through the ranks.
“What in the name of Jupiter are those things?”
The same question was running in the mind of the commander of the marching column. When he detached his taxeis of pike to meet the reinforcing Equestrian force, he had expected to meet raw untrained recruits. But instead he saw creatures that were unfamiliar to him and his subordinates.
In fact, the fear and efficiency at slaughtering presented by these strange creatures got to the hearts of many of his junior officers, and despite his attempts to stop them, many of them fled for their lives and galloped back towards the fort, taking with them their enslaved command.
The commander knew that such poor performance would be punished later on, and many of them would soon regret retreating after he was done with them.
Deep inside though, he knew that part of the failure was from him too, as he had been careless enough to not bring any mages with him. Thinking that the threat brought upon an alicorn princess required the power of as many mages they could get, he had ordered them all to go with the column that went to reinforce the Dark Hood cavalry. Because of that, he had no unicorns left to protect his force from projectile attacks.
When the javelins started to fall around them, that was when he realized the mistake he had made. It also didn’t help that their armor, although heavy, was never meant to protect them against heavy projectiles such as javelins. With javelins being an uncommon weapon, something mainly used by Minotaurs and Griffons, nopony had expected the Equestrians to use them, thus no protection against them was made. Designed for lighter arrows, the armor was near useless against the heavy projectiles thrown at them.
Whoever these new creatures were, they were a threat that played with new rules.
From their position on the hill’s slopes, Princess Luna and her Lunar Guards watched as the enemy fell back before them. Whether it was from the fear of being attacked from the rear by the new arrivals, or because of specific orders to consolidate and protect the fort against the new force, the Dark Hoof Cavalry they were facing just moments ago fell back to join the rest of the retreating force at the fort.
“Princess, I don’t know who those ponies are, but I do know that I owe them a drink for saving us.” Dusk Hunter remarked, as he used his blood soaked hoof to wipe off the sweat on his forehead. However, all this did was stain his face, which made him let out an annoyed grunt.
“Indeed.” Luna remarked, as she glanced away from the retreating enemy forces and glared towards the well-dressed lines of the unknown force that emerged from the forest.
Whoever they are, they did a great job at fighting and routing the Crystal Empire’s forces. But the question still remains, who were they and what did they want?
More questions entered Luna’s mind as she continued to think about the strange force that came to their aid.
Were they enemies of the Crystal Empire? Will they be enemies of Equestria?
In the end, Luna knew there was only one way to find out. Turning her attention towards her Lunar Guards, she studied their tired, dirty, and wounded forms, feeling sorry that she had brought them to this situation.
They had fought well, and she would reward them for their deeds, but they took a heavy loss because of this. An additional eight dead came as a result of the latest fight, and she mourned the death of each one of her ponies.
Although she was known as a ruthless War Mistress, deep inside she was just suppressing the pain of it all. That was the cost that came to being a commander, and no matter how much it pained her, she knew that she had to build a wall to keep it all inside. Weakness was something that she cannot show now, especially at a time of peril for her nation.
Taking a deep sigh, she shook her head and turned her attention to Dusk Hunter.
“Captain, take care of thy wounded and gather those who have perished in the fighting.” She told him. “Once that is done, your Princess would like to have a small detachment accompany her. We would like to go to that force that came to our aid and thank them properly.”
