Chapter 5:
Its a Trap

---- Ponyville 20 hours after drop ----

Harbinger marched slowly into Ponyville, his service rifle raised and headlamps on. He wasn't hiding this time, this time he was making himself plain as day with the thought of gorilla warfare in his head. Eyeing his surroundings he already knew of eight ways he could out flank his foes using only the buildings around him, there was only one problem, he couldn't find his foes. The town was deserted of everyone but the dead bodies of unfortunate ponies.

"Harbinger!" a gruff voice shouted from behind making the Deltan spin around ready to strike with the fury of his ancestors.

"Who goes there?" Harbinger inquired, his rifle raised and ready.

"It is only your reinforcements general." the same voice that sounded vaguely familiar to old soldier replied.

"I didn't call for any." he replied, his rifle still raised as he looked around to find the possible hostile.

"Command sent us, said you could use the help." the voice replied.

"Commander Tarket?" Harbinger replied as he placed the voice and the said Elite de-cloaked, his midnight black armor seemingly negating all light surrounding him.

"In the flesh." he replied as nine more elites in the same armor, though significantly younger than his, materialized.

Harbinger lowered his rifle as he recalled his many missions with this Shengheli, under his helmet he began to smile, but then noticed that a nearby pony was freshly dead due to a energy sword.

"Surprised to see me old friend?" Tarket asked as he approached Harbinger, his heavy foot falls shaking the ground.

Harbinger moved with surprising speed as he closed the gap between him and his old friend, his service rifle tight in his grasp. Tarket and Harbinger stopped mere feet from each other, Tarket looking down upon Harbinger as the latter stared up at him, knowing something wasn't right.

"What is the status of the hostiles?" Harbinger inquired, still unsure of if he should trust Tarket.

"They have vacated this area major." the Elite replied, confirming Harbinger's suspicions.

"I hadn't realized that I had been demoted." the old soldier replied, taking a few steps back from his old friend.

"Now why would you say that my friend." Tarket asked as a white and blue pony ran from her shelter, and stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth moving as if to say 'Oh Celestia no' but without sound coming out of it.

Harbinger paid her only a moment of his time as he noted the nine other Elites drew their weapons. Harbinger himself actually put his rifle away upon his belt, and without them noticing began to prime his wrist mounted mini-guns hidden inside his armor. The pony turned around and saw two Elites slowly walking towards her with black energy swords drawn, she backpedaled into Harbingers leg and looked up, her shattered blue glasses showing her frightened red eyes.

"Halt!" Harbinger bellowed, raising his arms towards the approaching Elite traitors.

"End them." Tarket said as he vanished into his cloak and the Elites charged.

Harbinger cut loose his streams of fire from his arms, forcing the two Elites to move away from the pony. He turned in time to block a plasma sword with his arm brace as he used his left fist to knock the hostile back a few feet.

"When I say run, I am going to give you cover and you must move for Canterlot!" Harbinger said quiet enough for the pony to hear, but with an amount of urgency that she had no questions.

The pony nodded back as she tried to find the best way out of Ponyville, only once Harbinger was certain she was ready did he deploy his hardlight blades and charge.

"RUN!" He yelled slashing at an Elite before thrusting back and parrying a strike that would have killed the small pony.

The pony ran out of sight and Harbinger tracked her on his scanners, once satisfied that she was out of harm he came to a complete stop and waited for the traitors to attack. Glancing down he saw a grey earth pony mare with a small bow upon her neck that had just freshly died, steeling himself he raised his blades and prepared for combat once more.

"Harbinger, why fight us when all we are trying to do is obtain order?" Tarket asked, once again materializing.

"Order? You have forsaken the Mantel, you shall have no mercy for what you have done!" he growled back, his anger finally showing through.

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this old friend." Tarket replied, his team surrounding him.

Harbinger stayed silent, flexing his left fingers up and down toward Tarket and his Elites. They advanced at incredible speeds indicating augmentations had been applied. The old soldier spinning about as he parried each attack, coming out of it with a rushing stab into Tarket's second in command. Ripping his two blades from the staggering Elite who held his wounds he charged once more and decapitated him with ease, landing several feet behind him. Standing to his full height, Harbinger shot a stare off to Tarket as he dared him to try again, the blood of the dead Elite slowly spilling out towards his the Commander.

"You shall pay for that Harbinger!" Tarket calmly stated as his team backed off.

"Make me." Harbinger calmly ordered as he moved to charge, but stopped when he heard the might roar of a giant.

"Oh we shall, for Master Death has more than just my team behind him." Tarket laughed wickedly as a full grown Equestrian Dragon descended down into the middle of Ponyville.

Harbinger spared a quick glance at the mighty beast before looking back to where his foes had vanished, "I'll deal with you nine later." he responded as he took off to defeat the dragon.

---- Canterlot Castle ----

"Sister, how do I look?" Luna asked as she entered the war room where Celestia and the elements stood around a massive round table.

"Luna, what are you wearing?" Celestia gasped.

"We cannot leave Equestria to be protected by a lone warrior, even if he has an impressive track record." the Princess of the Night replied.

"But how did you?" the Day Princess inquired.

"Harbinger has granted us the tools to protect our home, I left the terminal in the throne room, through it we may stand ready sister!" Luna exclaimed, her midnight blue armor shining with two silver Gatling Guns running over her wings and sticking out on either side of her neck.

"That is awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, doing a loop int he air.

Fluttershy remained silent as she cowered behind Rarity, though the latter's expression could not be any more different.

"Why Princess you look dashing!" Rarity gawked.

"Those look like ah mighty fine caliber alright." Applejack couldn't help but appreciate the massive cannons on Luna's back.

"Terminal?" Twilight questioned.

Pinkie Pie merely looked around and turned back to the all with sad eyes indicating she wanted a suite as well. Spike was left speechless alongside the crusaders at the sheer power that radiated from Luna now.

"Take us to the terminal so we may stand ready with our guard to save our little ponies!" Celestia commanded her sister, who smiled the moment she did.

"Spike you stay here with the Crusaders and stay out of trouble!" Twilight shouted as she and her friends followed the Princesses.

Author's Note

Key note:

Tarket was the first Centurion of another species within the Deltan Republic, (Centurion II grade). The other Elites with him are Centurion IV level. What gave him off was that he referred to Harbinger as the rank he had when they had fought back to back on a former UNSC planet that they had been sent to by command, (Whole other story though I may take a few exerts from it during a Luna moment).

As for the Dragon, well you shall have to wait and see.

Sorry if you find this a tad short...