An Elite Guardian

A week has passed since the converted had been covertly freed from their control- a small letter slipped to each in the night by Twilight's magic- and I was in my quarters, meditating, when I heard the door open. "Ruso," I heard Archivist say, "there is something you should see."

"What?" I asked.

"Laval and just about every other pure Ifrit here excluding me," he replied. "They are gone." This got out of meditation.

"How?" I asked as I got up from my kneeling position.

"Mass transit spell," he replied. "From what I can tell, it took them north, to the Empire."

"Damn it," I muttered. "And the aircraft?"

"Still here," he answered. "Just about all Ifrit look down on vehicular combat, and brought them only for converted to use, and it is obvious that is not the intention here." He paused, then added, "There is something else. "There is a large group of dragons on their way here, and I'm sure I need not tell you that they are the only race on Equis who knows the Ifrit exist, and are their enemies?"

"Correct," I said. "Come. It is time for us to mobilize."

"What?" he asked as I walked by, but I gave no answer.

"Simply gather every converted near the airfield. I will handle the rest Archivist," I told him. "I will be waiting there."

"And just what do you have planned?" Archivist asked.

"You will see," is all I replied with before I left my quarters, making my way to where the Banshees were, numbering in the lower hundreds.  As I made my way there, I passed a few converted, each in their original form, all of them looking confused at the lack of the pure soldiers, most not noticing me, the few that did bowing to me.

Now, one thing I learned about these Banshees is that their color could be changed at will by the pilot, and their default color was a clear white. I walked up to the one nearest me, the one near the front of the large group, and put my hand on it, and the crystals making it instantly reacted, changing color from pure white to purple with accents of red and silver, the Banshee now having the same color scheme as the Halo 5 basic variant. I then took my hand off, and saw that it retained the color. "Excellent," I said to myself as I heard steps behind me. A hand going to the energy sword hilt on my left thigh, I quickly turned and saw Fleur, Rainbow, and Twilight, their heights being that of their actual form. That's to say they were normal sized.

"By now, you three should know not to sneak up on me," I said.

"Sorry, sir," Rainbow said. Even free of the control Laval placed them under, they still refused to call me by name, considering the circumstance, when they had done so before. "We were just wondering what's going on."

"Well, for starters, it seems that Laval has decided to leave all of us here to die by the dragons who are currently approaching while marching on the Empire to kill anything not pure Ifrit," I said. "And I have just finished making this fighter craft my own."

"Explains the color scheme," Twilight muttered.

"I assume you want to spur the other converted to protect the ponies?" Fleur said. "You know they will not do so out of their hearts. Only reason we are willing to is because you wish it, sir."

"Oh, I know," I replied. "Now, the three of you, claim one of these craft and have the basic color scheme the same as mine, but have accents on the hood and wings matching your colors. Even if it just us four attacking, we will show that we do so as one."

"Well, that's a little cheesy the way you said it, but why not?" Rainbow said before going to one of the Banshees, touching it with her hoof, and the colors of that one altering to the base color scheme, though the hood and wings now had a rainbow on them. Fleur and Twilight followed suite with their own Banshees, and finished just as Archivist and every other converted-numbering around five hundred total- arrived, and the Ifrit loyal to me walked up.

"I have done as you asked, and brought the converted here, Ruso," Archivist said. "Would you mind filling me in on the plan?"

"It will become clear soon enough," I said. "Twilight, Fleur, Rainbow. Join the crowd and be on the look out for any who may try something to get in Laval's good graces."

"Sir," the three said, saluting, before following my order.

"Archivist, claim a Banshee. Base color scheme to match mine, but hood and wing accents may be whatever you wish."

He growled before replying, "By your order." He then went to claim a Banshee as I turned to face the crowd.

I looked at those who stood in front of me, those that had been converted to Ifrit and were now left behind for being impure. "I know how you all feel," I began. "I, after all, am not an Ifrit by birth, nor am I truly the first Ifrit as prophesied. I know from my past life what it is like to be left behind simply because of something you could not control, what it is like to wish and aspire to be more than you are.

"But right now, that does not matter!" I yelled. "What does is the fact that Laval has left all of us, including the King he supposedly would follow into battle instead of leaving him on a throne, here with an army of dragons knocking at our door, intent of killing us for being within Ifirt ranks! I say we show the traitorous bastard and his pawns just who he is messing with!

"You all may be Ifrit now, but that is not who you are. I may be a reincarnation of the first Ifrit, but I am Ruso Tafam, zealot of the Covenant and Sangheili master of the blade, and I will not be laid low by treachery and put down like a dog! I intend to show Laval I bow to no one but myself, even if it means my death!" I ignited my blade. "But even if I do perish, he will know his mistake." I looked at those assembled in front of me.

"Though many of you are here willingly, and others unwillingly to begin with, I extend this offer to each of you: stand with me and take vengeance, or stay and die without being remembered by any. Fight with me, and be remembered in the decades to come, or die like dogs!" This got a response from the crowd, mostly shouts of anger at the situation.

"But know this: if you decide to follow me, you must cast off the title of Ifrit, of the race which betrayed us, for you will no longer be able to be considered one!"

"Then what will we call ourselves!?" I heard shouted from the crowd, and recognized the voice as Twilight's. "The race we were before won't let us back after this!"

"Simple," I replied. "There is one race which will not consider you traitors! How could it, when it's only being is here now? If you join me, you must then consider yourself Sangheili; warriors of honor and masters with the blade! The Ifrit already resemble my race! Why not insult them by having you, their lower class and those betrayed by them, fight against them as the race they think imitates their appearance, and show them just who they are messing with?!" This received shouts from the crowd, ones which I was able to identify as shouts of rage toward the Ifrit. "Those who wish to join me, change your form to that of an Ifrit, but instead of the skin having a flame look, go for dark brown to black. For armor? Find an armory and change the armor color to what you will it to be, then claim a ship. Basic color scheme to match mine, but add your own little taste to the hood and wings!"

And this is where the surprise came in, as just about all of those present engulfed themselves in red and orange flames. The flames then faded, revealing a mass of Sangheili, each already wearing uniquely colored armor. "Skip the armor step then," I said, which got a few chuckles from the crowd. "Now, someone, get me a damned purple cloak. It is time we show the world that the Sangheili are here!"

A large cheer was let out. "And one other thing!" I shouted over them. "If we live through this, do not refer to me as King! Refer to me as Field Marshal, for that is the rank I hold with the race I come from now: the leader of an army, their well being my responsibility!" Another cheer. "Then what are you waiting for!? Mount up, because today, we strike!"

And here, the crowd let out a large roar as Archivist walked up next to me. "Why a purple cloak?" he asked.

"An old symbol of command among the Sangheili from which I originate," I told him. "If I am to fight what may very well be a god, I will not be seen as a random individual, but as a symbol, and maybe not even that. Really, I'd prefer to be recognized."

He chuckled. 'You are an interesting one indeed, Ruso. Many would prefer to be anonymous when fighting a supposed god."

"Yes, well, I am not many," I said as I glanced at the air field, and saw many Banshees just as Mist, in his Ifrit turned Sangheili form, walked up, a purple cape in hand.

"Drapes from my quarters, Fleid Marshal," he said.

"That will do," I said as I took them and folded the edges into my armor. "I can get a proper one made later." With that, I made my way to my Banshee, touching it, and adding a blood red hue to the hood as well as blue lightning. Nodding at the look, I faced my soldiers. "Brothers and Sisters! Take to the air, and head towards the Crystal Empire! That is where our existence will be revealed!"