Spitfire's eyelids started to flutter open. She felt cathartic. Consciousness started to flood her brain as the next day's light assaulted her vision. The first thing she saw was that somepony's arms and wings wrapped around her. They were light blue forelegs and wings. Memories came to her as she remembered last night. She untangled herself from Soarin's limbs, rousing her cuddling partner from his slumber. Both of them sat up on the same cot beside each other and looked away from other in awkward silence.
Soarin held out his fake leg in front of him, looking at the bullet hole that Tran made in it. "So uh, that happened," Soarin said, breaking the ice.
Spitfire leaned against him. "How far are we gonna take this?" she asked.
Soarin draped his wing on her. "As far as we'd like to," Soarin replied. Soarin set his head on Spitfire's head and closed his eyes. "I've always was living the rock star life but I want this to work more than anything else."
Spitfire nuzzled Soarin's neck and then reached back to kiss him on the lips. When the two broke apart, Spitfire looked him in the eyes. "Last night would be a strange start to it but let's give it our best performance."
Soarin chuckled. "Just like the bolts?"
Spitfire smiled back. "Just like the bolts," Spitfire replied. Spitfire looked to the other cot in the room. Even though this was technically Rainbow Dash's tent, she was absent, along with Gilda. "I'm surprised you gave that griffon a shot."
Soarin had an embarrassed, sheepish look on his face. "I mean, she was pretty rough, in a fun way. Are you fine with her and?"
Spitfire's face flushed red. "Those hands of her, they are magical." More memories from last night came to her mind and she blushed further. "Just them and nopony else, got it? You're mine."
Soarin pulled Spitfire further into his comfort. "No more rock star life from this pony."
As the two embraced each other, the tent flat was ripped open, filling the inside stale air with the fresh smells of the morning. In stepped Eric, who's face was immediately wrinkled with disgust as the tent's inside stench filled his nose. Eric covered his face with a hand as he immediately started coughing. "Holy fuck, it smells like a fucking Thai brothel in here!" Eric yelled out.
Both Spitfire and Soarin took into the air in shock. The two of them realized who it was and settled their hooves back to the ground and they immediately started grabbing their clothes. "What?!" Spitfire demanded.
Eric took a step back out into the fresh outside air while keeping the tent flap open. He was also busying himself by fanning the air away from his face that he nearly didn't hear her question. "Hey, we got a meeting."
As Soarin donned his familiar dress coat, he grumbled at the human. "Can it wait, we're busy with... Something."
If Eric was showing his face, he would have been showing a lot of doubt on his face. The smell might have convinced him otherwise. "All hands on deck, now."
-X-X-X-
Much to the surprise of everyone, a trio of large airships and thousands of pegasi landed down at the main REA defense area. This was a complete surprise to everyone around and the general moral of the REA forces here went up, every pony thinking it was a large number of reinforcements. Once it was found out that two of Equestria's princesses, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and the only other prince of Equestria, Prince Shining Armor (who was a field marshal which made him even more important), arrived, things went even crazier. All of the REA's defense defenses was excessively reinforced, guard patrols and positions being tripled up. With such important VIP ponies present, no chances were to be taken.
The two princesses and prince, once they stepped out from their airship, sought out the presence of the humans in addition to all of the VIP ponies that were attached to him, such as Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Scootaloo, Rarity, and Prince Blueblood. The biggest command bunker was temporarily borrowed, having been emptied of soldiers and officers that worked in it, much to the owners' dismay, so it could be used for this meeting. Everyone was dutifully waiting peacefully while the yak diplomat with them was pacing around, growing ever more impatient and making a mess of random furniture or junk. Aside from said VIP's, the only other strangers inside the bunker were four of the yak diplomat's guards and two of Princess Cadence's and Prince Shining Armor's Crystal Empire's auxiliary guard troops. The remainder of the royal couple's guards and the Sir Grovious's guards were waiting outside the bunker.
Only Wilson was entertaining their presence, at the moment. Judging Wilson from his outside appearance, the yak's didn't have an almighty opinion of the humans. To the Yak's, the humans were like the minotaurs, only smaller and seemingly weaker. That was when Eric entered the bunker, along with Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Soarin, and more importantly, Gilda. Twilight, Cadance, Shining Armor, and the crystal pony auxiliary guards were alarmed at seeing the Jaeger. Gilda, despite wearing a REA combat coat, was still wearing her combat gear and scarf, and most importantly of all, a griffon! She didn't have her submachine but was still clearly wearing a bayonet and holstered pistol.
The crystal ponies raised their weapons, in addition to their prince who drew a revolver from his coat. Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Soarin stood in front of the Jaeger, hinder their aim. "What is the meaning of this?!" demanded the prince.
Twilight Sparkle, noticing Rainbow Dash's decision trotted over to her brother. She raised a hoof and used it to lower Shining's raised sidearm, who was tentative at the decision but lowered it. The other crystal ponies were still poised to strike though. Twilight met Rainbow Dash's gaze. "What are you doing?" she gently doing.
Rainbow turned to look at Gilda before looking back at Twilight. "She's one of us now!" Rainbow declared without a second thought.
Twilight looked at the Jaeger for a few more seconds before turning to address the crystal ponies. "Lower your weapons," she commanded. The crystal ponies were anxious at the command but after a few more tense seconds, they did as they were told. Gilda did her best to look as peaceful as she could, not making any sudden moves, but it barely helped.
Eric loudly coughed to get everyone's attention. "A-hem. Tran's on his way. Once he's here, we can get started," Eric stated.
Just as he had said that, a number of ponies started entering the bunker. All of them were REA soldiers of various ranks, enlisted and officers. Shining Armor turned his attention to these new troops. "This is a private meeting. You have to leave until its finished," Shining Armor commanded. None of these unfamiliar REA troops did as he said and more continued entering.
When the last of them entered, a high ranking officer, a colonel entered. Behind the colonel was Tran. All of the unfamiliar REA soldiers seemed to be uncomfortably following the human and he seemed unbothered by the fact. His presence wasn't a friendly one as every one inside, aside from the other two humans, were very anxious with having him here, more so than the other two humans. Something about Tran made him rather, mentally agonizing to be around. "We're all here," Tran said.
Twilight looked at the unfamiliar troops and then to Tran. She noticed a particular some one was missing. "Where's the fourth?" she asked. "Logan, I believe?"
Sorrow filled Tran's mind, filling the face's of the other humans and some of the ponies that accompanied him. Twilight noticed Applejack take off her trusty stetson and holding it to her chest. "He's dead," Tran reported. Shock filled Twilight's face as the implications came to her. At least this answered a question she had. These humans were in fact mortal and killable like the ponies. "He and I were successfully assassinated by a pair of Jaegers assassins."
The revelation was surprising to Twilight but then the meaning of the statement came to Twilight. "Wait, you're still here," Twilight commented.
Tran nodded. "Yes, they succeeded in killing me and I was in fact dead for a good moment but, I refused to stay dead," Tran replied. While Twilight, Cadance, Shining Armor, and the crystal ponies were looking at Tran with a look of shock, the yaks were looking at him with a look of interest.
The yak diplomat snorted. "Yak think you lying!" he said while giving a light snort.
Tran showed no reaction on his face, having the usual dead expression he usually had. "I don't give a flying fuck, we have more important issues," Tran said.
The armored yak was immediately thrown into a bout as anger as he immediately charged towards Tran. As he closed the distance, Tran subtlety moved his hand towards his hand cannon. "Even if you and other one die by assassin, that means you all bad warrior!"
Everyone went tense as the two were almost face to face, ready to fight. "Still don't care. Do whatever you want," Tran challenged. The yak smiled and immediately rear back and... Threw a head butt. Tran had actually expected this, having remembered the descriptions of the yaks back when they were briefed on their diplomatic mission before their trip on the Dauntless. Having predicted something of this attack, Tran had stepped back and threw a left hook at the charging yak's armored face. Normally, punching a charging, possibly half ton creature's helmet protected head would render said puncher's fist into dust but when fist met helmet, a loud CLANG resounded through the air. There was a distinguishable dent where fist met helmet and said puncher was completely unmoved while said yak noticeably bounced back.
While the yak diplomat was dazed, Tran darted forward and grabbed an exposed area of the yak's neck, under where the helmet's ended under the chin. Somehow, the half ton creature was pulled upward and the yak's front hooves left the ground as both participants were now eye to eye, mere centimeters away from each other. No one could see Tran's face now but the yak diplomat could. The diplomat could see into Tran's eyes and was scared and... He felt something else growing inside the yak where the human was holding him. "Let go of yak!" the yak diplomat screamed in fear. The yak diplomat tried to get out of Tran's grasp but it was impossible, as if he was trapped in a metal statue's grasp.
The diplomat's guards wondered if they should get involved as the two were locked together. Normally, physical confrontations were normal in yak society but this was getting to a point that none of them had ever seen. As the diplomat struggled more and more, screaming and nearly bursting into tears, it all ended when Tran suddenly dropped him. The yak diplomat looked up at the monster in terror, backing up to put any distance between the two. Unfortunately for the diplomat, Tran stepped forward along with the yak, forcing him to face the monster.
When the diplomat wasn't able to back up anymore when he reached a wall, Tran stopped, leaving only an arm's length between the two. The diplomat was subtlety shaking in terror as he was forced to face the monstrosity. As usual, Tran had the same dead expression on his face. "Anything else you would like to do?" Tran asked. The yak shook his head as fast as he could to answer the being, then Tran finally letting up, taking a face steps back. "We have more important issues to discuss." Tran turned around and started walking back to where he originally was, with the unknown REA soldiers. As he walked back, he turned to look at Wilson who was standing by himself. For the shortest of moments, Wilson could see a smirk of schadenfreude on Tran's face before it returned to his usual dead expression. Wilson smirked with his friend before it returned to his usual resting-bitch-face expression.
As fast as his hooves could carry him, the yak diplomat returned to the safety of his bodyguards before turning around to continue the meeting. The yak tried to show a face of resolve, but every pony could see that his very being was shook. Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor were mouth agape, having had to deal with the yaks for quite some time. Tran's attention was immediately turned to look at the yak, his head turning as fast as lightning. All of the yaks flinched as the human's ice cold eyes looked at them. "Yak want to say anything?" Tran asked while attempting to mimic the Yak's accent.
The yak diplomat quickly shook his head in fear. "No, yak d-diplomat, understand!" the diplomat said. Tran stared down the yak before he took a few steps towards the yak again, again causing the yak diplomat to flinch upon the taking of the first step. The yak was already, ready to bolt.
Tran reached behind himself and unslung a weapon that he was carrying on his back. The diplomat's guards got ready to react as a weapon of lethal deadliness was finally being brought into play. Tran moved slowly as he held a shotgun, Logan's shotgun, in front of him, presenting it to the yak. "A gift for you," Tran said.
The yak was incredulous at the human's actions. He took a few slow, fear filled steps forward and looked at the shotgun and then back at the human. "Yak don't understand?" the diplomat stated.
"An apology for my behavior," Tran replied. "This belonged to my friend, my comrade, the one that died in the assassination attempt."
The yak looked back at the shotgun with a face full of understand and nodded. He threw it across his back before bowing to the human. "Yak, Sir Grovious, apologize for insulting friend," the diplomat said, regret marring his face.
Tran nodded back. "I, Tran, accept your apology. We all make mistakes," Tran said before he bowed back.
When the yak recovered from his bow, followed by Tran, the yak looked at the other two humans in the room before looking back at Tran. "Why not-minotaur warrior fight for ponies?" the yak asked.
Tran looked to his fellow human friends and then to the new pony friends he had made so far. "To fight for one's country, that is duty, the patriotic action to take. We fight for someone else's country so they may have a chance at survival and the continuance of their culture and people. To sit aside as someone else dies, is cowardice," Tran said, spitting out the last word with disgust. "And we are no cowards." Tran turned to address the yak diplomat. "Are you?" he asked.
The yak diplomat was inclined to head butt him again from the implied insult but refrained from doing so, remembering what happened last time. "Yaks no cowards!" the diplomat announced back.
"I don't see no yak's fighting," Tran commented.
No pony would usually dare say something like this to a yak's face so the yak diplomat was quite surprised upon finally hearing a challenge of sorts. "Yak will show ponies who best warrior!"
The words sat heavily on Princess Twilight and Cadance's mind, the meaning hitting them like a freight train. Princess Cadance stepped up to bring more attention to herself. "Sir Grovious, are you saying the yaks will join Equestria in the war effort?"
The yak diplomat turned to look at the princess of love with a look of determination. "Yaks will send best warriors!" the diplomat replied, answering the princess. "And yak's will show that yak weapons, best!" The yak diplomat turned to address his guards. "Show ponies, yak weapons!" The yaks had in fact, been carrying weapons. Aside from being covered horn to hoof in enough metal to make a smelting factory jealous, they were wearing saddlebags and cloaks across their backs. When the cloaks were torn away, the yak bodyguards all revealed that they were carrying literal cannons across their back. They were small cannons but still big enough that any of the humans could probably fit a few fingers down the muzzle. However, they all appeared to be a very old design.
Gilda whistled at the sight of the cannons. She turned to look at Rainbow Dash who was just as surprised. Gilda elbowed her friend. "That or the bazooka?" Gilda asked.
Dash shook her head immediately. "You kidding? Bazooka, easy."
Tran turned to address the two princess and prince in their presence. "But I have recently discovered an important matter Equestria is plagued with. Something that has gone under all of your ponies' noses. Something that only I have now discovered," Tran stated.
Princess Twilight Sparkle and Cadance and Prince Shining Armor and Blueblood looked amongst each other with shared looks of worry. What could they have not known about this whole time? The war effort had taken most of Equestria's and her ponies' attention so a lot of things could have gone wrong that they had missed already. What else had they missed? "What have you discovered?" Twilight asked.
Tran turned and point at the various unfamiliar REA soldiers that had followed in with him. The various REA soldiers looked nervous as Tran brought everyone's attention on them. "Normal REA soldiers, correct?" The royal ponies scrutinized the various REA soldiers and found nothing wrong with them. Just as he had said, they seemed to be normal REA soldiers. Even to Shining Armor, a field marshal of Equestria, he could find nothing wrong with them. Tran raised up a hand and then brought it back down quickly. All of the REA soldiers in the room were all sheathed in green fire and transformed into changelings.