Absolutely everything went crazy. Princess Twilight lit up her horn and and went bright as she started casting a spell and Princess Cadance took up a position behind her husband for safety. Prince Shining Armor also lit up a horn and a bubble shield covered up himself, his sister, his wife, and the other crystal ponies in the room. He also drew his sidearm, as did every one else in the room. There were no demands or threats or questions as he took aim at the closest changeling in the room and fired. Luckily for the changeling her fired at, Tran had stepped in front of the changeling, shielding the lucky changeling from the bullet, taking the bullet to his body armor covered chest.
Having taken a bullet to the chest, Tran drew a handgun in each hand and had one aimed at Shining Armor and the other at one of the crystal pony auxiliary guards, who were aiming their weapons at either Tran or the changelings. Joining in with their fellow human, Wilson had drawn pistols of their own and were aiming it at random ponies. The changelings also drew weapons and were aiming them at the crystal ponies or princesses. Meanwhile, the ponies (and Jaeger) that were assigned with the humans, had weapons drawn but not aimed at any pony in particular. The yaks, unsure of what was going on, were aiming their cannons at literally any pony or changeling in the room.
"Out of the way!" Shining Armor demanded.
Tran, despite having just been shot by the stallion, remained unmoved and stared the stallion back down. "We are gonna come to an agreement or half of us aren't walking out of here," Tran stated.
Eric took a few steps forward so that he could be better noticed by the other ponies in the room. In both of his hands were hand grenades. They had the pins pulled to them but he was holding the spoons down on them so they couldn't explode it. "I wouldn't hedge your bets on you coming out of here unscathed," Eric said.
Shining looked around at all of the guns raised in their direction before looking to Twilight. "You've been working with changelings this whole time?!"
Twilight looked at the humans and balked. "I-It can't be. I've ran scans. They can't be!"
Eric raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what changelings are but we aren't them," Eric answered.
Tran nodded. "Do whatever you need to confirm. I'm not a changeling."
Twilight lit their horns and beams came from their horns and hit Tran, Eric, and Wilson. Then, she repeated the same spell with one of the changelings in the room. "They're still not changelings but the rest of them definitely are."
Shining snarled at the changelings in the room. "So, you're trying to take over Equestria? Again??!" he demanded.
The changeling that had been wearing the colonel's uniform shook her head. "No! At the behest of him," the changeling said while pointing at Tran. "We've gathered here to discuss. A treaty, of sorts."
Tran slowly holstered his pistols. "Can we be civil?" he asked. The ponies in the room weren't convinced and kept their weapons up. Tran frowned and took a step forward towards Shining Armor.
"Stay back!" Shining Armor demanded.
Tran look at the magical bubble shield that housed her, Shining, Cadance, and the other Crystal Ponies. "If you want a enemy, go right on ahead," Tran said while taking another step forward. Shining aimed his pistol directly at Tran's face who remained unwavering. He took another step forward and went right through Shining's shield who was astonished. "Do you want this fight?"
Shining looked at the human standing inside of the bubble shield with him and the others and then to the two other humans in the room, who were still aiming their weapons at them. He looked back at Tran and then let out a frustrated scream. He stopped aiming his revolver at Tran. "You want us to work with them?" Shining asked while pointing at the changelings, who were still aiming their weapons.
Tran nodded. "Would you rather be working with them or fighting them?" he asked.
Shining looked at the lead changeling. "Where is she?!" he demanded.
The changeling wasn't quite sure of what he was asking? "Who?" she asked.
"Chrysalis," Shining spat out with disgust in his voice.
The colonel shook her head. "She's not with us. We are changelings that refuse to be shackled by her tyranny." She turned towards the other changelings in the room and waved a hoof at them. Much to the ponies' surprise, they lowered their weapons. "We wish to fight for Equestria, if we are allowed a place in Equestria."
Princess Cadance walked out from behind the safety of her husband and up to Tran. She looked up and down at the human, taking in his features. "You have been fighting on our behest since you've arrived, correct?" she asked. Tran nodded. She turned to look at Twilight. "Can they be trusted?" Twilight looked at the other humans in the room and then back to Cadance. She nodded.
Prince Blueblood walked up towards the bubble shield. "They've made great progress for the REA. I can personally attest for their actions. If it weren't for them, I would be dead and Equestria would have failed in many of her fights," he stated.
Cadance nodded and turned to her husband and nuzzled his neck. "Let's hear them out," Cadance said.
Shining was surprised by his wife's words. "Even after what they did to us?"
Cadance nodded. "They did more to me than you. Let's humor them," she answered back. Shining paused for a second before lowering his pistol. He gestured at the other crystal ponies in the room and they also lowered their weapons. Cadance coughed and pointed out the shield he was still holding up and with much disdain, he dropped the shield.
Shining looked at the changeling colonel. "Where is Chrysalis if she's not with you?"
The changeling colonel gesture towards Gilda. "She and her supports fight for the griffons."
Shining frowned. "Great. More soldiers we have to fight."
The colonel shook her head. "No, not soldiers. Spies."
Shining, Twilight, Cadance, and Blueblood balked. "Spies?!" Shining exclaimed.
Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof. "That would explain a lot."
The colonel nodded. "They aid the griffons by providing valuable intelligence and sabotaging the Equestrian war effort."
Shining scowled. "Great. And what are you here for?"
Tran took a step back away from the prince and walked up to the changeling colonel. He grabbed the changeling's uniform. "They want to fight, just like the others. They've been fighting this whole time and none of you noticed it."
Shining looked at the uniform that the colonel was wearing. "It can't be, we would have noticed extra soldiers just appearing out of nowhere."
Tran let go of the changeling's uniform. "Therein lies the problem," Tran stated.
The changeling colonel fixed her uniform before magically turning into the same appearance that she had before, that of a Equestrian unicorn. "We take up the identity of ponies who have gone missing or become a victim of the war."
All of the ponies and humans were aghast upon this being revealed. Shining Armor marched up to the changeling colonel and aggressively shoved his head into the changeling's. "No!"
Cadance's horn lit up and she pulled Shining back with her magic. She looked at the changelings with a down trodden look. "Is it to gather love?"
The changeling colonel sighed and nodded with much guilt wracking her face. "Yes," she answered. "We don't gather enough to harm our donors. There are changelings who depend on what we bring back. The elderly, children, even changelings who have been crippled from fighting in the war."
Cadance looked into her husband's eyes and. "We can't let them starve."
Shining was tentative at his wife's request. "And what? We're their livestock?"
Tran crossed his arms. "Yes and no. If the griffons succeed, there will be less ponies for the changelings to gather from. If they fight, they are earning what they gather. A trade, of sorts."
Eric looked at how many changelings there were in the room. "How many of you guys are out there? "
The changeling looked at Eric and opened his mouth to answer. She had the answer to give but that was a huge tactical truth, one that could be used for nefarious purposes if the Equestrians desired. "A few hundred thousand. Maybe half are full fledge infiltrators and soldiers."
The answer sat heavily in Shining's mind. While the Equestrians outnumbered the changelings several times over, both in military might and the civilian population, it wasn't a number that couldn't be ignored. If they were truly an enemy to Equestria, any small number of them could wreak havoc on Equestria's war effort. Worse, that meant something else. "Chrysalis," Shining Armor asked, again with disgust in his voice. "How many side with her and the griffons?"
The colonel smirked. "Just as many. That means you face double the threat if we're also the enemy," she stated. Manipulation, that was one of the many skills that changelings were skilled at. This was a very bold faced attempt at it and every pony and changeling in the room noticed.
Princess Cadance had a sullen look on her face. "That was a low blow, but the truth, nonetheless." She sighed. "We can't afford to deny the offer."
The changeling colonel smirked. "After this war, we want a peace treaty. Changelings are freely allowed in Equestria when this war ends."
Eric scoffed. "If this war ends," Eric commented. "If you fight for the Equestrians, you will also help find the changelings that are fighting against Equestria.
The changeling colonel looked up at Eric and took in a deep breathe. "We can... Do that," the colonel said with pain in his voice.
Tran folded his arms. "No more stealing the identity of another soldier," Tran added in. "The soldiers who have paid the ultimate price deserve the honor they have earned."
The changeling colonel looked down at the ground in shame and nodded. "We understand but if we are to abandon our... Practice, we cannot show our faces. How are we to serve Equestria while serving our people?"
Princess Cadance trotted up to the changeling colonel and used her hoof to lift the colonel's head up from her sullen bow. The colonel was confused and even further so when Cadance kissed the changeling colonel on the lips. Their lips stayed connected before Cadance broke first. "A gift," Cadance cheekily whispered to the colonel. "Earn your love, as changelings."
The colonel blushed from the contact and felt quite full, love wise, from the kiss. "B-but we can't show ourselves without scaring anypony," the changeling replied.
Eric scoffed. "Who you fight with, becomes your family, regardless of something as stupid as blood," he said. "Fight with them, as yourselves, no lies up front, and you will get what you need."
Cadance gave the changeling colonel a warm smile. "We will make sure all of you have a chance to prove yourselves, as changelings. We will give it you a chance if you take the chance," she cooed.
Wilson walked up to Eric and smacked him in the side to get his attention. "Say, I have an idea," Wilson said. He turned to the changeling colonel. "Since your people are natural infiltrators and soldiers, how are your medical skills? With ponies?"
The colonel was confused for a second but she then took a second to think. "We are taught everything on Equestrian biology to help us infiltrate Equestrian society."
That last bit, while it made everypony in the room uncomfortable, cemented Wilson's idea. Wilson turned to Shining and pointed at him. "Medics. You don't fuck with doc and when he's your savior, he's your best friend and favorite brother."
Eric rubbed his chin with a hand. "Now that, that could work." Eric turned to Princess Twilight. "Can you have them fall under us?"
Twilight did some mental planning and then nodded. "We can arrange something."
Eric turned to the changeling colonel. "Your people, we'll lead you and if anyone has anything to say," Eric said.
Tran drew his hand cannon for emphasis and brandished it for everyone to see. "They can take it up with us." Tran looked at the yak diplomat. "Do yak warriors want to fight with us or ponies?"
The yak diplomatic performed a rather attentive hop into the air before raising a foreleg up into the air. "Yak will fight with not-minotaur warriors and not small, weak pony warriors!" the yak diplomat loudly exclaimed. Many ponies took offense to that statement (namely Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Spitfire, Soarin, Prince Shining Armor, Prince Blueblood, Princess Twilight, Princess Cadance, and the crystal pony auxiliary guards) but Tran raised a fist into the air to join the yak in his jubilee. The yak diplomatic cheered before stomping the leg back down, causing a slight tremor to go through the ground.
Tran turned to face Twilight. "When we get back to Ponyville, I want all of your princesses and princes for a diplomatic meeting," Tran said before turning to face the changeling colonel. "And you will send your rulers." He then faced the yak. "And you too." The princesses and princess, yak diplomat, and changeling colonel looked amongst each other before facing Tran. They all agreed.