Another two weeks of training had passed and everyone who was injured in the previous battle were now back to decent fighting condition. Well, aside from Tran who sported a still-healing right shoulder and left arm injury, of which, he did not explain, not even to his fellow humans. Everyone of the recruits that made up the battalion, since all of them were chosen from previous military units army wide, were prior active duty soldiers. This meant that they didn't have to be passed through basic training and had an already built up basic set of soldier skills. This experimental battalion was essentially extra training on top of what they already knew. Extra training that, compared to anything else any of them had experienced, more advanced than what they had ever seen/experienced.
Even better news, the battalion of soldiers were now properly equipped. It had taken quite some time and money, but all sixteen hundred soldiers were now ready for war, in terms of gear. All of them now had their own sets of REA combat gear, modified to fit their body type, per the human's request. Even better, they now had steel helmets and plate carriers with a single steel plate in the front and back to protect their torso from rifle threats. The plate carrier itself was built upon a very thick hardened leather base, reinforced with thick canvas and cotton, to possibly stop minor shrapnel or blade slashes. Everyone in the battalion had their own set of body armor, no matter the role, even fliers. The only exception were the yaks who wore a full body suit of steel plate armor. No matter what species they were, they had to wear thick rubber soled, leather boots on their rear legs.
Weapons wise, the choice of weapons given to them would have raised some eyes amongst the rest of Equestria's military units. One interesting thing any common soldier would immediately notice was that every single soldier was armed with a sidearm. Typically, only officers or specific combat roles were armed with pistols but with this experimental battalion, every soldier, down to the lowest ranked soldier, had a revolver. One decision in choosing their armaments was the ease of acquisitions. For example, everyone in the battalion couldn't each be given an M4a1 because Equestria would have to invent the rifle, the cartridge, and then get it into production. This would require building up a tremendous amount of infrastructure that would take a lot of time, money, and resources. Instead, the chosen weapons were ones that already existed in Equestria's inventory, some having to be bought on the commercial market.
The only ones who wouldn't raise eyebrows were Eric's machine gun teams, which were primarily armed with a five round carbine version of Equestria's standard bolt action rifles which were usually reserved for reserve roles. However, they definitely would be surprised to see every yak and every fifth pony carrying a full sized machine gun, the Model 14 HotchKiss, chambered in 8x50mm. Instead of being fed from 30 round metallic strips, like the rest of the ground army, they were fed from disintegrating links of belted ammunition, typically only used by airship machine guns. Each team was made up of seven members, a heavily armored yak armed with a low velocity 20mm cannon and a machine gun, a large well-built earth pony that was also armed with a machine guns but no cannon and instead only a backup carbine, at least two unicorns with carbines, and three other ponies of any other race. The yak and large earth pony had the important role of bringing a machine gun into a good position. They could then be supported by one of the unicorns (or disguised changeling) to fill in the role as assistant gunners whether it be by helping in reloading or protecting them. The three remaining ponies were there to protect the machine gunners and carry spare ammunition. They were all armed with carbines chambered in the same round as the machine guns and in prolonged engagements, they could share ammunition. Eric's section had the most changelings as almost every single team, the non machine gunners, were almost all changelings. They were to be disguised at all times but in emergencies, they could become a unicorn and be the assistant gunner.
Naturally, Eric's section of the battalion took up the most soldiers, significantly more so than Wilson's. Wilson's section was primarily the support element, the medics. They were composed in six pony teams. Two of the ponies were unicorns that were the actual medics themselves and all of them were disguised changelings that were very knowledgeable in pony biology and medicine. The remaining four ponies in the teams could be any of the other three pony races. Aside from their pistols, every single member of the teams were also armed with the same bolt action carbines that Eric's section was armed with. However, the medics wore significantly less ammo than Eric's soldiers. They were more supposed to act as medics and support line, not the primary combat soldiers. They did, however, carry a lot more medical equipment than the REA's combat medics. Some of their medical equipment was either REA standard or changeling issued, but none of the ponies knew that.
Then, the second largest section of the experimental battalion was Tran's. All of the zebras in the battalion were part of Tran's section and none of them were disguised changelings. The zebras were part of a four man scout team meant to provide reconnaissance. Every member of the team were people that Tran had picked out, ones that had an aptitude for stealth, communications, or scouting. Two members of these teams were pegasi(or a changeling disguised as pegasi) so that they could relay battlefield information quickly by flying to hand deliver information.
Surprisingly to the ponies that knew Tran personally, he did not train snipers. If they had the time, he would have trained snipers but that would require months and with Tran being by himself in that venture, he'd only be able to train very small batches at a time. These scouts were armed with lightweight lever action carbines that fired a pistol cartridge (.44-40). The scouts need a small, lightweight weapon and this weird choice fits that role. Consequently, if they had to engage an enemy element, they could quickly unleash a lot of firepower, but only to disengage. They were not intended for protracted or long distanced engagements. The scouts' primary purpose was reconnaissance. Each of their pistols, for ease of logistics, were revolvers chambered in the same cartridge that their carbines fired. Applejack, was breathtakingly jealous that she wasn't a part of Tran's section, for not being issued a lever action carbine and revolver in addition to a bunch of free ammo to shoot them with.
Tran's section also had the most pegasi. Most of the designated fliers, whether they be bombers or dogfighters, were pegasi. Specifically, they were pegasi that were extremely skilled fliers. Some of the fliers were disguised changelings but a grand majority were actual pegasi because a changeling had to have considerably more aerial skill and or wingpower to match a decently skilled pegasus's flying ability. There were two flying teams, air superiority or bombing. The air superiority teams were composed of four pegasi. They were to help maintain dominance of the sky so other air operations could be held. If they had to engage other air elements, air superiority teams were to split off in pairs and engage targets one at a time, no matter what. At all costs, these air superiority teams had to protect the bombing teams. Bombing teams were composed of six fliers. Four of the six were fliers that carried bombs and most of the changelings disguised as pegasi were bombers. The two remaining team members were fliers to protect the bombers. No matter the role or team, every flier was armed with a 12 gauge pump action shotgun that fired #4 buckshot. This made it easier for them to fight in air engagements and using #4 instead of 00 buckshot gave them a better chance at hitting another aerial target while giving enough stopping power to disable a griffon if it hit flesh or wing.
A few days after the battalion was fully equipped, the humans and their caretakers were given a request. Luna's Night Sentinels had managed to track down some of the sources of the espionage in Ponyville and the rest of Equestria, with the help of the allied changelings. With the destruction of a few changeling nests, the Night Sentinels had managed to get a lead on a major hive of changelings. This possible hive was located south, between Appleloosa and the Badlands. Princess Luna wanted to get rid of the vile parasites as soon as possible and the rest of the REA chain of command agreed. The experimental battalion was the closest large military unit to Appleloosa and while they only had a month of training so far, its soldiers still had their prior active military service and training they had prior to joining their current unit. The three humans easily agreed to the task at hand. Better deal with the problem before the changelings find out they'd been had. Or, if they had been had, better deal with it before they've had time to move.
The humans, their pony (and griffon) friends, agreed to it after a healthy discussion. All of them gathered up their equipment and gear and got ready for a trip. They rallied their battalion and boarded several airships and made their way to Appleloosa. The trip would only take a day at most. The humans and their battalion chose to travel via airship despite the higher risk. Train travel was a safer choice but now, speed was an important factor. They didn't want to give them time to prepare and given the espionage problem, they'd eventually find out.
To help mitigate the risk, they took several airships and were escorted by a little over a thousand pegasi. Safety in numbers. Luna and her Night Sentinels joined the humans in their task to provide security during travel and to help track down the hive once they were at Appleloosa. For now, they just had to relax as they traveled.
-X-X-X-
Tran stood on the deck of the airship, taking in the sights. His presence was joined with Rainbow Dash, Gilda, Princess Luna, Soarin, and Spitfire. Spitfire and Soarin were right beside each other, cuddled up leaning against the airship's railing with both of them having one wing wrapped around each other. Princess Luna was slightly unnerved by Gilda's casual presence, especially as her red scarf whipped in the air. The princess was still unsure of the former Jaeger's loyalty, thoughts of betrayal still theorized.
Just as they were sightseeing, a pair of soldiers approached the group, the two of them carrying a large wooden chest between them. "Sergeant," a pair of ponies greeted as they dropped the chest. Tran handed each one something and they smiled as they trotted away.
Princess Luna turned to Tran and tilted her head. "Pray tell, what did you give them that earned such merriment. Ordinarily, most have a degree of trepidation before you?" she asked. Tran fished out another of what he had given the soldiers and handed it to the princess. Princess Luna looked at the object she had been given. "Cigarettes?"
"Soldier food," Tran responded.
The princess scrunched up her nose. "A foul and disgusting habit," she muttered.
Tran ignored her and turned to Rainbow Dash and Gilda. The two of them had their attention to the human, having witnessed the interaction. Tran held a hand out to Rainbow Dash. "Weapon," he demanded with his usual calm demeanor.
Rainbow Dash was curious as to what he wanted but shrugged. She was decked out in her usual combat gear. Her prior service rifle, her griffon-captured rechambered Harpy Model 06 semi automatic rifle, was lost long ago back in the Dauntless train incident so she had switched over to a pump action shotgun like the rest of Tran's flying section. She unslung her pump action shotgun and hoofed it to Tran. When he had it in his hand, Tran immediately threw it overboard. Dash was shocked for a second but then flared out her wings to go and fly after it. However, a hand gripped tight on the collar of her uniform stopped her. She pulled against the human. "What the hay?! What gives?!" she demanded.
Tran ignored her and turned to Gilda who was busy laughing at the pegasus. Gilda was armed with the 9mm submachine gun that she always used. She had her original one, Tran having given it back in trade for the one she captured. Tran then held out his hands, to which Gilda immediately stopped laughing and clutched her submachinegun for dear life. "Hand me the drums for that," he demanded with the same calm demeanor. Gilda was hesitant to do as he requested but from his unrelenting glare that seemed to worsen over the next few seconds, she eventually handed over the two drums she carried on her body. "Including the one in the gun." When Tran had all of Gilda's submachine gun's drum magazines, he chucked them overboard like he did with Rainbow Dash's shotgun. Gilda wanted to go fly after and retrieve them but she didn't go through with it, instinct telling her that it wouldn't work out.
Tran turned to the chest that was delivered and opened it. Rainbow Dash tried to get a look into it but Tran kept its contents a mystery. He quickly pulled out and handed Rainbow Dash a copy of Gilda's submachine gun. It took her a few seconds to realize what she had been given but once she did, her eyes widened. "I made a copy of her and my submachine gun for you to use," Tran finally answered. "Personally, by hand."
Rainbow Dash shot forward and hugged Tran, standing up on her hindlegs. "Awesome! Thanks dude!" she gleefully bellowed. Tran let her have the moment for a few seconds before pushing her off of him.
He then dug through the chest and pulled out several long stick magazines. He handed a few to Rainbow Dash and then a few to Gilda. Gilda grumbled and loaded the stick magazine into her submachine gun. "Thanks? I guess? But I liked the drums," Gilda complained.
Tran frowned. "These stick mags are better. They're easier to carry more of and they're more reliable," Tran replied.
Gilda looked at the stick mag in her gun. "Yeah but the drums held more rounds," she responded.
Tran shook his head. "No they don't. The drums hold 32 rounds. These hold 60," Tran retorted.
Gilda froze for a second and then ejected the magazine from her gun. On the back of the magazine, there indeed was a witness hole for 60. "That's fucking awesome, dude!" she finally announced, joining in on Rainbow Dash's celebration.
Luna frowned at the griffon's adulation. "Is it the wisest of decisions to be assisting her prospects of combat?" she asked.
Tran closed up the chest and went back to the railing to continue sightseeing, taking up a position next to the princess. "I've killed seven scarves. She's not gonna try anything anytime soon," Tran answered.
Luna's eyes widened for a second but she regained her composure. "I'll support your decision. I just worry, for it is my job to be wary," she said. Her eyes wandered to Soarin and Spitfire who were completely unfazed by the whole thing, still just enjoying each other's company. "Ah, young love. "
Speaking of which, their group was then joined by Rarity, Blueblood, Applejack, and Wilson. Of the three ponies, only Applejack was fully decked out in her combat gear. Rarity and the prince were just wearing their combat uniforms. Wilson wasn't wearing his combat gear but did have a bag of his medical equipment with him. Tran eyed the medic and smacked his lips. "Time already?" Tran asked.
Wilson pulled out a vial and needle. "Got it right here," Wilson replied. The medic walked over to Tran who sat down on the chest and rolled up a sleeve. Everyone's attention was drawn to the humans as they wondered what was going on.
Since they were there, Wilson handed the vial and needle over to Rarity to temporarily hold in her magic. As Wilson prepped Tran's arm, Rarity read the label on the vial. "Morphine?" she read out loud. She realized what this meant and looked at Tran with worry. "Oh my, are you experiencing pain, darling?"
Tran nodded. "I got stabbed twice, a week ago. What do you think?" he sarcastically answered.
Wilson took back the vial and syringe and started to prepare a dose. "Yeah, you never explained what happened," Wilson said, not taking his eyes off of his task.
Tran and Luna exchanged a short look, of which Luna was pleading with him with her eyes. "The princess and I got captured by changelings. We fought. Now, we're following a lead on them to here," Tran half-truthfully answered. The painkiller coursed through his veins and he closed his eyes as it took its course.
He felt someone shake him and when he opened his eyes, he found Blueblood's hoof. "Should you be joining us in our combat endeavor if you're still wounded?" he asked.
Wilson scoffed. "Being stabbed has never stopped him before," Wilson added in. He turned to look at his friend. "Stay in the rear this time. I mean it."
Tran nodded in agreement. "I'm not getting directly involved this time. I'll prolly stick by Luna helping with security."
Wilson stuck the used syringe in a container so he could dispose of it later before putting the used items away. He took a seat beside Tran and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He offered one to Tran but he refused, just wanting to relish the morphine's effects. Wilson took a glance at the night princess's plate armor. "Yeah, protection from a medieval knight. Best idea ever," he sarcastically remarked.
The princess frowned at the short human's comment. "My combat ability is not to be belittled, ask your colleague!" Luna demanded. All the while she spoke, she was giving Tran a pleading look, with eyes that would rival that of Sweetie Belle's.
Tran didn't relent. "You needed my help to get into your armor," Tran said, betraying the princess.
Luna threw her hooves up in frustration. "Turncoats, I am surrounded by!" Everyone present chuckled at the princess's frustration but it didn't anger the princess, she understood the comradery. She got back down on all four hooves and adorably scrunched up her muzzle at Tran. "If you are to spend the campaign in my presence, you cannot molest my hindquarters as you did last time!"
All chuckling, except for Wilson's and Gilda's, died in an immediate halt. The ponies there all had their eyes almost shot out of their head as they looked to the human for answers. Of note, Rarity feigned feinting, falling into Prince Blueblood's forearms. The prince shot a questioning look at the human. "What did you get into with the princess?!"
Tran did not say anything. Instead, he stood up and walked over to Princess Luna. She opened her mouth to ask what he wanted but before she could speak, she got her answer. Tran had the gall to give her a hard smack on her hindquarters. Even though her plot was covered in armor, she went 'EEP' and reared up. The laughter exploded into laughter as Luna's face went from blue to crimson. Once all four of her hooves were touching the deck, she gave her compatriot a rather cute glare. She had thought about giving him a buck but decided against it considering his wounded status.
Tran went back to the chest and sat next to his fellow human. He gave his friend an elbow to get his attention. "I've been working with her since she arrived, security should be fine even against changelings," he finally relinquished.
Luna and her Night Sentinels had set up a decent system to make sure enemy changelings couldn't spy on them. For important meetings and briefings, everyone present would be tested to make sure they weren't rogue changelings. For general security, a system of challenge and pass phrases was setup. If someone couldn't properly respond with the right password, they would be detained until they could be determined that they were an enemy or not. Pharynx was assigned to Luna's security network to help determine if a changeling was a clueless ally or a true rogue element. He was also a significant help in finding disguised changelings aside from Tran's almost supernatural ability in doing the same. To make sure changelings couldn't infiltrate them, everyone went in groups of four and even then, groups were challenged before they went to major areas.
After a little more socializing, everyone left on their own accord to continue waiting for the trip to finish. They should be arriving the next morning so that gives them a little chunk of freetime to themselves.
The Next Day
The airships landed in Appleloosa at a small military outpost where everyone was offloaded, along with their equipment. A few days prior to the aerial departure, a train had been sent here with additional equipment and support. Everyone and the battalion equipped themselves as if they were going to war. Full gear and ammo was the requirement and it was not to be shed until we were back in Ponyville. Being here, everyone was to act like they were on the frontline. There would be no lollygagging and everyone was to expect anything nefarious.
This military outpost also doubled as a POW(Prisoners Of War) camp. The griffons and minotaurs captured would be sent here where they would work until the war's end. It only had the bare minimum amount of REA personnel to function and they were mostly armed with shotguns. They were quite wary of the sight of thousands of soldiers as it meant they were here to do some pretty serious business.
The first thing that was ordered out were the start of the flying patrols. A random section of the desert would be searched, from the air. Teams of eight pegasi were given their own section that totaled twenty square kilometers. No one was to go on their own without a pair of ponies with them, not even to do the littlest task. Once they were done with their patrol, they were to return and get another section of the desert to scout out until everything within 300 kilometers of us was searched. We had a thousand-ish pegasi that escorted us no longer doing anything so we sent them out in addition to the battalion's airborne units. Teams, once they were assigned sections of the desert, were recorded when they started and finished patrols. If we didn't find anything today, we'll fly our airships out to make a base at the next section of the desert before continuing our search.
The battalion's chain of command was handling everything else that was relatively important so that gave the highest up leaders some minor free time. Of note, Applejack was leading Tran, Rainbow Dash, Gilda, Soarin, and Spitfire somewhere into town. As they walked, Tran noticed, mixed in with the ponies, the occasional large buffalo. That was the first time he had seen a buffalo since coming to Equestria. They reminded him of the yaks, only bigger. Appleloosa wasn't as big as Ponyville, both in terms of population and number of buildings. It was a small town that was centered around food production, most of which was sent to the war effort.
Before long, Applejack had found where she had intended to lead them to, an Apple orchard. Spitfire raised a brow upon seeing the apple trees. "Ugh, Applejack? We've seen an apple orchard before," Spitfire said.
Rainbow Dash smirked and turned to look at Spitfire. "Give it a second," the speedster retorted.
Then, a bell started ringing and from behind some apple trees, two people appeared. One was a yellow earth pony stallion wearing a vest and stetson and the other was a small, young female buffalo wearing a purple/white headband with two feathers sticking out of it. The duo ran up to their group and when the two arrived, the yellow stallion reared up with a smile on his face. "Howdy, cousin Applejack!" the stallion greeted.
Applejack ran up to the stallion and hugged him. "Cousin Braeburn. It's always nice meetin' family!" she greeted back.
The two broke off from their hug and the stallion looked past his cousin and at the group she came with. "Well, why don'tcha introduce me to yer friends?" he said as his eyes went from pony to pony. He then noticed the human and he immediately had several questions. It got worse when he saw Gilda. His eyes went wide in shock and he reared up again, this time to stand up to draw a holstered Colt Peacemaker.
Fortunately, Applejack grabbed him to keep him from doing so. "Ah'll explain if you stay calm," she said to her cousin. Braeburn was hesitant but he nodded and Applejack let go of him. She turned to the group she arrived with. "So, we're here on official army duty and yes, the griffon is workin' with us. Her name is Gilda." Said griffon gave a slow, friendly wave. She pointed to Tran, next. "And that there is Tran. It's hard to explain what he is but think of him like a minotaur but meaner." She pointed to Spitfire and Soarin. "They're some Wonderbolts who's helpin with all the flyin' and whatnot." She finally pointed at Rainbow Dash. "And you've met Rainbow before."
Braeburn looked between the curious assortment of creatures his cousin arrived with. "Well, Ah can't say I expected your choice of company but ah guess ah'll hav ta give em the ole Apple hospitality!" He tipped his hat at Applejack's followers and then reared up while swinging his hooves in front of him. "Welcome to Aaaaappleloosa!" he greeted in a long drawn out manner.
While the ponies and griffon were quite amused at the stallion's display, one person wasn't. Tran already had his usual unfriendly dead expression on his face and the stallion was quite unnerved from it. "Don't do that again," the human told the stallion, immediately after he finished pronouncing 'Appleloosa'.
Braeburn tried his best to keep a friendly outlook, resulting in a rather awkward forced smile. He turned to face his cousin. "Well cousin, whatcha brings yah to the good ole family orchard?" he asked. "I reckin' it has to do with all of them airships we saw comin' in?"
Applejack gave him an awkward smile. "While ah'd love ta say that I wanted ta visit family, the REA is searching for a mighty big group of no good someponies out in the desert. I was wonderin' if yer buffalo friends might a seen anythin' strange out in the badlands?"
Braeburn gave a tentative look back at the people that were with Applejack before turning to the buffalo he was with and gave her supportive nuzzle. The small buffalo cautiously stepped forward, carefully watching the griffon and human. "My tribe, they stampede all across the badlands. But... Lately."
She started giving information about how her family and fellow tribes buffalo traveled all across the unsettled parts of the badlands and area surrounding Appleloosa. However, because of the war, things had been tense. Now, when they performed their traditional cultural stampedes, they did it much slower and filled with paranoia. The buffalo were a peaceful sort and didn't want to involve themselves in the conflict, afraid it would curse them with violence for eons. Apparently, all of this fighting gave a miasma of 'bad spirits' that the buffalo said they could feel.
More importantly, certain areas were much worse where they would feel the 'bad vibes'. In certain sections of the Badlands where there were mountains, dragon dens had been spotted. The bison, when they roamed in packs, didn't get any animosity from other ponies but that didn't mean that ponies were friendly to them either. Ponies had very little reason to go into the badlands. Most were prospectors who were searching for gold, silver, or other important resources or were researchers/adventurers that were searching for an 'interesting find'. The bison would notice the occasional pony or groups of ponies as they roamed but the bison wouldn't stop to interact nor would the ponies try to catch up to interact either.
Judging from the size of the hive from the information that the Night Sentinels had gathered, the hive should have numbered in the hundreds. A population in those numbers meant large requirements and out here in the desert, even the most basic resources like water was needed. Appleloosa was the only major settlement for miles meaning it was the only place where anyone could get large amounts of resources.
The group relayed some questions to the small bison and Applejack's cousin about whether they had noticed any frequent visitors coming to town often to buy large amounts of goods but never actually being seen staying in town? Naturally, Applejack's cousin and family members were always present in town to see anypony new in town and aside from the usual town's residents, this settlement was shouldn't be popular enough that they were constantly meeting large numbers of new ponies visiting town every day. Which meant that the fact of them having an inordinately large number of new visitors in the last year or so, was a strange coincidence. Combined with this fact; The town's various general goods stores were needing frequent restocking because they were constantly selling off all of their inventory faster than they would expect, even after accounting for the usual town's residents and the occasional wayward travelers.
To someone that wasn't a native to this town, their descriptions sounded like there was a nearby town that they were supporting and regularly getting visitors from. That was an unsettling thought considering the nearest town was Dodge City and that city was a major military hub that supported the war effort to the north of itself which meant that the only visitors from Dodge City would have been large groups of military folk and resource requirement wise, Dodge City would receive everything it needed by train.
Applejack and her posse didn't tell this revelation to Braeburn and Little Strongheart, but they couldn't exactly leave suddenly or that'd tip anyone off of something. Applejack took a glance at Tran and back at her cousin and grinned. She drew her peacemaker and checked to make sure it was loaded. She then closed the loading gate and gave the cylinder a spin. "Hey cousin, where can I show off mah skills? I gotta prove that I'm still the Apple with the fastest draw."
Braeburn scoffed and smirked at her cousin. "As if! You're only the fastest mare in Ponyville and that's only cause Granny Smith doesn't want to hurt your feelings," Braeburn taunted back.
Applejack snorted and dug into the ground with one of her back legs. "Well why don't ah show you then!" she yelled back.
Braeburn let out a friendly chuckle and turned to trot away. "Come on, let's go get Jonagold so she can teach you a lesson," he said as he started trotting away with Little Strongheart.
Applejack started to trot along with her cousin and while she did, she turned back to look at her 'posse' and gave them a wink. The rest of them started to follow along with her. However, Tran, Soarin, and Spitfire walked slower than they did, creating a decent distance. Once he was pretty sure no one else could hear them, he leaned down between Spitfire and Soarin. "Have them watch the town's general goods and supply store. Anyone leaving town in groups larger than two or with lots of supplies, have them tailed, covertly," Tran whispered.
Spitfire nodded and she and Soarin trotted off in a different direction while Tran played catchup with Applejack and the rest of them.
-X-X-X-
Braeburn, Little Strongheart, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Gilda, and Tran stood at a 'shooting range'. The term 'shooting range' could be barely used to describe what this was. It was more like a small area where there was random junk piled on top of barrels at random distances, for people to shoot at. It wasn't the best but it would function.
Braeburn was the first to start. He sized in on the closest barrel, which was a mere six meters away, and quick draw-ed his Colt Peacemaker and fired a round, from the hip, fanning the hammer to do so. His shot hit the barrel, just barely so at that. To be fair, he had drawn and fired at a relatively decent speed.
Applejack gave a playful smirk upon seeing her cousin shoot and then stood up on her hind legs. Her right hoof hovered over her holstered revolver for a few seconds and then, she drew. Significantly faster than what her cousin had performed, her round hit a glass bottle that had been sitting on the barrel that Braeburn had shot. She held up her revolver's muzzle in front of her face and blew the smoke coming off of it before giving it a nice twirl and then holstered it. She turned to her cousin. "Definitely still faster than you could ever be," she boasted.
Braeburn grumbled indignantly but his face grew the happy go lucky expression as he saw somepony approaching them. Everyone turned to see another earth pony approaching them. "Howdy Jonagold! Come to join the shootin?" he asked.
The mare in question was a yellow mare with a two tone orange mane tied up in pigtails accessorize with a bow on the end of each pigtail and her tail. Judging from the three green apples that she had as a cutie mark, she was probably a member of the apple family. She was also wearing a stetson and carrying a Colt Peacemaker on a right side hip draw holster.
Rainbow Dash eyed the Colt Peacemaker that Jonagold that she was carrying. She turned to look at Applejack's Colt Peacemaker and then Braeburn's Colt Peacemaker. "Are all Apples born with a stetson and gun?" she asked.
Applejack chuckled and drew her Peacemaker, spinning it in the air. "Can't deny it, they're good guns," she said while using her other hoof to tip her hat at said pegasus. "You're just jealous that you can't shoot like us Apples."
Rainbow Dash trotted up to Applejack and reared up, putting her head against Applejack. "Oh yeah! I bet you're just scared I'd be faster than you!"
Meanwhile, Gilda leaned closer to Tran. "Fastest mare in Equestria?" she whispered to Tran. Tran said nothing back and luckily, Rainbow Dash heard nothing.
Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a playful, knowing smirk. She unbuckled her gun belt with gun and held it out for Rainbow. "Go ahead. Show me, you're faster. Ah'd bet mah left hoof yah can't even hit the ground in front of you." Rainbow Dash frowned and grabbed the belt and wrapped it around her waist, flying into position. Applejack, meanwhile, trotted over to Jonagold. "You'll get a kick outta this."
Rainbow Dash gave Applejack a glare. "I heard that!" Rainbow Dash yelled back. She turned to face her target and tried to focus on the closest barrel where there were other glass bottles perched on top of it. She quick-drew the revolver, with speed that, while it wasn't faster than Applejack's, was impressively speedy for somepony who had never practiced quick draw before. However, the bullet didn't hit anything and went flying off into the distance where it landed somewhere no one could see. "That was a practice shot!" Rainbow Dash shot out.
Applejack grinned. "If'n ya say so," she shot back.
Rainbow Dash grumbled and holstered the revolver. She repeated the quick draw, faster than before, but this time, the bullet hit the ground, barely a meter in front of her. She glared at the revolver in her hoof. "Your gun's broken!" she screamed out.
The three members of the Apple clan laughed at the mare's refusal to face the facts. Gilda flew over to her fellow speedster. "Here, let me give it a shot," Gilda asked. Rainbow Dash ripped off the gun belt and threw it to the griffon in frustration, flying away from the shooting line to sulk. Gilda donned the gun belt and stood up on her hind legs. She gave it a good attempt at a quick draw but it was much slower than anyone else's and when she fanned the hammer, the gun didn't go off. She looked down at the gun and holstered it. "Yeah, I already hate this," Gilda groaned out.
The Apple family members started laughing harder, Braeburn slapping one of his legs. Tran stayed silent and gave Applejack a glance. "May I?" he asked.
When Applejack regained her composure, she nodded. "Sure, Ah don't mind," Applejack replied.
Tran walked up to the firing line where Gilda handed off Applejack's gun belt rig. Tran donned the belt and drew the revolver to give it a decent once-over. Applejack's Colt Peacemaker was very, very similar to the Colt Peacemakers from the human world. The only difference between the human and pony Colt Peacemaker was the trigger and the trigger guard. The Colt Peacemakers from the human world had a trigger designed for one finger with a just as small trigger guard while the pony Colt Peacemakers had a trigger that was as long as a grip, to accompany hooves, with a trigger guard just as big. He could fit all four fingers on the pony Colt Peacemaker's trigger and to pull the trigger, he just had to squeeze his entire hand.
He holstered the revolver and adopted a relax stance, hands hanging by his side. As everypony (and griffon) waited, the human just stood there, almost frozen. Then, faster than anyone could blink, the Colt Peacemaker was gone from its leathery home and a shot rang out. One of the glass bottles that had been sitting on the closest wood barrel had exploded. Tran looked down at the revolver as everypony was shocked, eyes wide and jaws almost touching the ground.
Tran walked back to Applejack while taking off the gun belt. "It's not for me," Tran said, handing the gun belt rig back. "I prefer a lefty rig."
Braeburn gave a whistle. "Damn son, you outdrew your shadow!" he complimented.
Tran reached up with his left hand and rubbed his right shoulder which was still recovering from the injury. "I'm faster with my left," he stated.
Applejack redonned her gun belt and looked at Tran with a look of awe. "That was fast. Hell, that was Granny Smith fast!" she exclaimed. She put a hoof on the grip of the gun to make sure it was a good fit. "Seems like somethin you're good at, like ya've done this before."
Tran let out a sigh as memories filled his mind. Memories of... Better times. "When I was younger, I did a lot of cowboy competition shooting. Was some of the most fun in my life," he reminisced. For some of the ponies there, they saw the smallest semblance of a true smile on Tran's face. It didn't last long and he soon returned to his usual dead expression.
Applejack walked over to Tran and patted him on the back. "Why don'tcha join the family in some shootin, some time? Not training shootin but just fun shootin? Ah think Apple Bloom would love-ta have yah around."
Tran shook his head. "Busy with work," he responded.
Applejack thought back to every time she had spent time with the humans, when they weren't 'workin' and couldn't recall when Tran hadn't been working. The few times she hadn't seem him work, all he did was drink but she hadn't seen any of that recently. "Ya gotta spend some time on yourself," she offered.
Tran shook his head once again. "I'll take the day off when I'm dead," he grimly responded.
Jonagold trotted up to the firing line, feeling inadequate. She wanted to raise the mood of the group after what he had said. But before she could do or say anything, a team of four pegasi arrived. They went over to where Tran, Rainbow Dash, and Gilda were standing. Tran, Spitfire, Soarin, and the team of pegasi distanced themselves from everyone else to get some privacy. "Speak," Tran commanded.
One of the new pegasi stepped forward. "To the southwest, there are small mountain ranges with caves that are possibly dragon dens. No dragons have been spotted but no teams entered the caves or went close enough to see inside," the pegasi started out saying. The risk of going too close to a dragon's den was too high. A dragon had the chance of chasing down a pegasus, especially if it was fully grown. By now, a few hours had passed so some of the pegasi teams should have finished some of the scouting missions. "Nothing significant has been spotted but some caravans of supplies and ponies have been spotted headed to the southeast, where the mountain ranges lie."
Tran pursed his lips. "The caravan, what were its people composed of? Military age adults? children? Were they armed?" Tran asked.
One of the new pegasi handed a scroll to the one that was speaking with Tran. He opened up the scroll and quickly went through it. "Four caravans heading southeast. Three caravans containing children. Possibly settlers. Fourth caravan, adults only. Possible prospectors or adventurers. All four caravans containing no less than two dozen ponies. All four caravans utilized carts and carriages. No armaments' spotted," the scout read out loud.
Tran turned to Rainbow Dash. "How often are ponies going out to search for treasure or adventure?" Tran asked.
She shook her head. "Its a very common venture. With how many magical artifacts and treasure left over from the post lunar rebellion period, ponies would go out to try to strike it rich," Rainbow explained.
Gilda tapped Rainbow on her side. "Wait. The ponies that would go out for adventure, wouldn't they have joined the army thinking they'd get the 'Grand Adventure'," Gilda explained. Her face went grim as she looked at the ground. "Fools we were. All we got was death and wet mud."
Tran blinked twice. "And, wasn't there a draft for all able bodied adults? And that 'type' wouldn't they all have joined up on their own anyways?" he asked.
Rainbow narrowed her eyes. "There's the chance those adventurers are just unpatriotic or greedy ponies," she responded back. She grit her teeth upon realizing those ponies were the exact type of ponies Equestria didn't need. They had no loyalty to the country. She trotted up to the team of pegasi. "Have them tailed just in case but do it from a distance and covertly."
The pegasi saluted Spitfire and prepared to fly off but was spotted when Tran grabbed one of them. The human looked the pegasi in the eye with the usual dead expression he had, terrifying the scout. "Red," Tran said.
The pegasus was terrified from the human's actions and he opened his mouth in confusion. "W-What?" he asked.
One of Tran's hands gripped his sidearm. Rainbow and Gilda were anxious from what the human was doing. "Red," Tran said again.
The pegasus looked like he was gonna piss himself and one of the other pegasus slowly stepped up. The other pegasus looked to his fellow scout. "The pass phrase, Berry," the other pegasus said.
Berry was still confused for a second but then realized what was going on. He gulped and opened his mouth. "T-Tusk," he finally replied.
Tran let go of the pegasus and took his hand off of his revolver. All of the passwords were based around things from his homeland. This made it so that no pony or changeling could figure it out. This password was about the Red Tails, IE the Tuskegee Airmen. This team of scouts were part of the security escort that accompanied them. They weren't part of the experimental battalion. "Don't seize up next time. MY soldiers might react worse than how I was," Tran explained.
The pegasus tried to regain his composure, still terrified of the human. "Y-Yes sir," he replied. Tran pointed at the rank patch that was on his plate carrier and Berry looked like he was about to shit himself. "Y-Yes sergeant."
Tran folded his arms and kept the usual emotionless expression on his face. Rainbow stepped in front of Tran with a frustrated look on her face. She faced the team of pegasi. "Go, while there's daylight," she ordered. All of the pegasi saluted her and then finally flew off. She turned to Tran. "Was that necessary?"
Tran snorted. "There are shapeshifting imposters? What do you think?" he responded. He did a 180 and started walking off. "Go join the others, I'm going back to the airships," he said.
Some Time Later
It took Tran a good while to walk back to the airship. The meeting with Applejack's cousins and the buffalo gave them a good amount of information they could use. The fact that Braeburn knew how Appleloosa worked was quite helpful. Tran's intended destination was the airship that was being used as the primary command and security station. Where the airship was parked, all of its dismounted soldiers and escorts had already setup a defensive perimeter. Sandbags and defensive holes were made and guard posts were setup while the skies were filled with constantly roaming pegasi guards.
As Tran walked up to one of the guard posts, every pony present directed their attention to him. The guard post he walked up to, a team of four ponies staffed it and two of them trotted out to intercept him. Both of the two ponies that trotted out were armed and of the two, one of them held out a hoof. "Halt!" the pony demanded. Tran stopped where he was, hands by his side, taking up a leisurely stance as the pony dropped his hoof. "Base!" the pony then called out.
The pony had issued one of the challenges passphrases. Tran narrowed his eyes at the pony. "You think I could be an imposter?" Tran asked. He looked down at himself with all of his gear and his signature hand cannon side arm that could be easily seen by all of them. "Really? Me?"
The pony in question looked like he was trying to shrink himself down so he could be unseen, as if he was unsure of himself but he stayed where he was, still blocking the human. His ears fell flat to his head and he almost seemed to be shaking in fear. "Y-Yes sir," he stammered. "Base!" he called out again.
Tran was a good ten meters away from them and when he took another step forward, shrinking the distance even further, the guards all seemed to get more anxious. "Halt!" the same guard pony called out again. "You are not allowed to enter!"
Tran stopped walking as he stared down the guards manning the security entrance. He hovered one of his hands near his signature sidearm and the fur on all of the guards in the guard shack stood up as every one of the ponies started readying their weapons. The guard that was addressing Tran pointed his weapon at Tran. "If you cannot verify yourself, you will be detained!" the guard threatened.
Tran froze as he stared down the guard that was aiming a rifle at him. This soldier, an earth pony, was one of the soldiers from his experimental battalion as were the other three guards manning this checkpoint. Tran looked the pony in the eyes. "Jumper," Tran finally said. Right as he said that, the guard gently lowered his rifle while taking what seemed to be the deepest breath he could muster. The other guards visibly relaxed and Tran walked forward, dropping the distance between him and the closest guard. Once he and the first guard was a mere arm's length away, Tran stared the pony down, unnerving the poor guard. "You think you can challenge me of all people? Who do you think you are?"
The guard gulped and nodded. "S-Sir, we have to challenge everyone, no matter who they are," the pony stammered out.
Tran stared the guard down for a few more seconds. "Good," Tran answered. "You're doing your job. Keep up the good work." The guard almost seemed like he had an aneurysm as he processed what he had been told. He opened and closed his mouth like he was mimicking the behavior of a fish. "If you hadn't have challenged me, I would have really been pissed." The guard seemed to still be frozen in place so Tran walked away, leaving the pony to wallow in the sheer amount of mental anguish that came from the interaction.
-X-X-X-
Princess Luna and some of her Night Sentinels were gathered around the loading deck of the primary command airship. The princess was currently engage in melee combat with a pair of her personal guards, all three of them fighting with swords. The princess deflected a sword lunge as she turned her head to look at their visitor. "Ah, my fellow martial brawler, we received the information you garnered from the local population!" she said, lowering her sword. The two thestrals she was sparring with lowered their weapons and retreated as their princess walked over to the human. "And how does your health fare?"
Tran shrugged. "Same as ever," he replied.
The princess nodded. "And I appreciate your continued silence in the truth of the perpetrators," she lauded.
Tran reached up to rub the site of one of the wounds before stretching his neck. "As long as they don't show themselves again, you will have my silence."
The princess scowled. "They are an exceptionally rare threat. You shan't expect their presence again, my Sentinels and SMILE will make sure of it," she replied.
Tran eyed the various weapons the princess was equipped with and drew his 1911, holding it out for the princess. "When are you going to equip yourself with a weapon appropriate to modern combat?"
The princess scoffed and drew the great sword off of her back by hoof and held it out for the human. Tran grabbed the sword and the princess, likewise, did the same with Tran's pistol. The pistol enveloped just the grip of the 1911 as she gave it a thorough examination. "When I need the usage of one, I will but for now, I will leave it to my men." Tran gave Luna's great sword a few practice swings, testing out its weight and handling. He had used it before when the two of them were captured but that had been his only experience with it. "It certainly fits your reputation," Luna said, as she watched him play with the sword.
Tran shrugged and set the tip of the sword on the ground, putting a hand on the pommel, using it like a cane. "What happens if someone is shooting at you? You'll still use a sword?" Tran asked.
Luna smirked and her horn lit up. A magic shield enveloped the two of them, separating them from the rest of the world. As she was still holding Tran's pistol in her telekinesis, she fired three shots and the bullets were stopped instantly when it struck the shield. If a standard combat mage attempted to do the same thing in modern combat, they would have struggled. The average unicorn might be able to stop one or two pistol rounds before their shield would break and the strain would probably give them severe magical backlash that would debilitate them for a week before full recovery. Here, the princess didn't show any sign of strain, as if she were picking up a piece of paper. Something she had also done that Tran hadn't noticed was that she was covering her ears with a silence spell, which she now stopped casting.
Luna levitated the pistol back into Tran's holster and dropped the magic shield. "I'd do that. My sister is the more powerful magic user but I am the superior caster. While she has raw power, I have more skill with complex magical tasks. While this seems like I am trying to show off, as they say, my sister will acknowledge this, as well. And if I were to face somepony too cowardly to engage me in a proper martial dual, I will make full use of my magic to level the playing field," Luna explained.
Tran pointed the great sword at Luna while holding pointing his other hand at Luna like a pistol. "And if I were to engage you with sword and gun?" he asked.
The princess drew her saber and pointed it at the human, while lighting her horn again and covering Tran's finger gun with a magic field. "I will even the match and force you to properly engage me as a proper warrior should," she replied. Tran pulled his finger gun out of her magic field, having been completely unaffected by her magic, which surprised her. She met Tran's questioning look with a frown. "If it were a true enemy," she added in. Tran lowered the sword and gave her a playful shove as if he were attacking her to which she reciprocated. She giggled as her hoof impacted his armored plate carrier. "I'm glad we can be allies, friends, as my sister would call it." She never had an equal to interact/socialize with before. Everyone always acted tentative towards her, even her sister. Tran knew nothing of her imprisonment and ignored her royal status.
Tran slowly nodded. "Have your men found anything so far in following their investigations and searches?" he asked.
Luna nodded. "A few changelings have been found, rogue ones at that. Unfortunately, they've kept silent ever since their detainment," she replied.
And then to interrupt the two of them, a pair of ponies quickly bumbled into their little meeting. The Night Guards had their weapons up from the surprise, to which their guests froze in their tracks. The two ponies were some of the pegasi scouts that had been sent out.
Luna eyed the two pegasi with suspicion. "What is the meaning of this interruption? Explain yourselves!" she demanded.
The two pegasi had their hooves up in fear of being shot, not moving a single muscle. "We bring news! Some scout teams have not reported in and the scouts sent to investigate the issue also went missing," one of the pegasi explained.
The princess's eyes widened and she turned to the human. He had the usual same dead expression on his face but she could see veins starting to show their presence. "Where?" Tran demanded. Even though he had said that in a monotone dead tone and showed no emotion on his face, everyone in the vicinity felt their blood curdle.
"D-Down nearby the mountain ranges, where the d-dragon dens are," the scout finally answered.
There was an spine-chilling silence for a few seconds as Tran stared down the two messengers. "The scouts lost, were they Luna's or mine?" he asked.
This was the million-bit question. The scout teams sent out, did they belong to the security and escort detail that accompanied everyone or did they belong to the experimental battalion ran by the humans? One of the messengers, even though he was commanded to answer, didn't want to, out of fear from the human. He slowly opened his mouth. "T-The lost scouts. B-Both teams, w-were f-from your unit," the messenger replied.
Tran subtlety clenched his teeth, something that only the Princess noticed. "Someone's going to die," Tran said.
Princess Luna had an inkling of what he was going to do from what little she knew about him. She just managed to envelop the human in her magic as he had started walking but it had no effect on the man. She tried to think quickly and held out one of her front legs to stop him but the man shoved her leg away. He had managed to get past her and the instant his hand had touched her front leg, she reeled back in terror while yelping. Surprisingly, he had stopped to turn around to see what had happened as Luna clutched her front leg while he stared her down. She looked at him in fear, feeling as if someone was vandalizing her future gravesite where she was currently taking the eternal rest. "W-What did you do?" Luna asked in a manner as if she were a child being scolded by their parents.
Tran, despite the fact that his face was expressionless like he was dead, had rage coursing through his veins. He slowly calmed down as what Luna had asked finally registered in his mind. "What?" he asked as he examined the princess. To him, it looked like she was clutching the leg he had shoved out of the way as if it was now a major source of pain. He took a step closer to her, to which the princess flinched. "Did I do something. What did I do?" he finally asked.
Princess Luna looked at the leg he had shoved away, rubbing at it, as if she were trying to remedy some imaginary pain. She lit her horn and casted some scanning spells on the leg, but found nothing. It felt worse than dark magic but somehow not tainted or evil. She had no idea what was going on. "When you touched my leg. I-It feels like I am dead b-but not dead at the same time," she answered.
Tran looked down at the hand that he had used to shove the princess's leg out of the way. It had looked normal to him but he hadn't intended to do anything other than shove her leg out of the way. "I did nothing but moved your leg," he answered. He looked back at the princess. She was shaking. She was afraid. "I intended nothing malicious," he added in.
She looked at him like he was the grim reaper, terrified from what she had felt. "Y-You had'th done something. It feels... Vile."
He took another step closer to the princess and she winced. He held up both hands in surrender. "I swear, my hate is for the enemy, not you." He slowly took another step closer to the princess, now within striking distance of her. He slowly reached forward with a hand towards the princess. She wanted to flee but she was frozen in terror. His hand contacted her head and he started scratching her scalp.
She wanted to feel offended from the fact that she was being treated like she was a dog but... The abhorrent feeling in her leg disappeared. In fact, it felt better than ever. She felt alive, in the sense that she was currently experiencing something she cherished like she was a child and getting a hug from her mother. She closed her eyes and relished the moment. When she realized she was moaning from enjoying the experience, she froze and blushed, her eyes shooting open in an instant.
Tran ignored her faux pas and grit his teeth again. "My hate is only intended for the enemy," he said. Princess Luna could see neckveins bulge and she started feeling awful again, only barely but it was growing. Tran withdrew his hand and she felt normal again, instantly. "We have work to do."