Matthew was in his office, looking over the blueprints to the CHECKMATE weapons he had obtained from the Challenger. On his desk were three blueprints depicting an SMG, an assault rifle, and a sniper rifle. On the back wall of the office were several large filing cabinets and a heavy duty safe. Matthew used the cabinets to store all of the reports from the scouts to stay organized and used the safe to keep the blueprints protected while he wasn’t using them. Princess Celestia had begrudgingly agreed with the blue eyed commander to keep the discovery of the Challenger and the weapons inside a secret from the rest of the world for now. However, the princess insisted that the high ranking officers at least know about the discovery of the Challenger. Although the fact that Equestria now had more technologically advanced weapons than any other nation in the world, there was still the problem of modifying the weapons so that they could be effectively used by ponies, and training ponies to use said weapons. Not only that, but it appeared that they were still no closer to finding their enemy. That was until a certain fiery mare came running into the commander’s office.
"Sir, you're not going to believe this," Spitfire said as she ran up to Matthew's desk.
"What is it, captain?" Matthew calmly asked.
"Our Scouts have found the Changeling Hive. They're set up in a cave system about five miles away from the crash site of the Challenger. The scouts also report that the hive is low in numbers. They estimate no more than 1,000 Changelings are there."
"Have General Swift Strike mobilize 1st Army," he ordered. "And inform the general that he is not to engage unless I give him permission to do so or if he is attacked first."
"Yes sir," the mare replied.
"And be sure to inform the princesses of this new development." Spitfire nodded and left the room to do what the commander had ordered her to.
The rest of the day was uneventful for the gray commander. Captain Spitfire had briefed the princesses about the recent discovery and the steps he was taking. The sun had gone down hours ago and Matthew was in his bedroom looking out his window thinking about the Changeling discovery. What bothered him about this all was the fact that the scouts were not attacked or pursued by the Changeling Hive. If Queen Chrysalis was planning an attack against the kingdom, then it would make sense for her to do everything in her power to ensure her hive wasn't discovered. This either meant that Chrysalis wasn't planning an attack or she was just incredibly stupid. Regardless, Matthew had every intention on wiping them out once the 1st Army was in position. To him, it would be too dangerous to let the Changelings live even if they weren't planning an attack.
A sudden knock on the commander's door snapped him out of his thoughts. "It opens," he said, turning around to face the door.
Princess Luna opened the door and slowly walked over to Matthew. "We haven't seen you at all for the past few days, not even for dinner. Is everything all right?"
Matthew could see the genuine worry on her face. Over the past year the two of them had grown very friendly with each other. "I hope so," Matthew sighed. "This whole discovery of the Changeling Hive has just gotten me on edge. If the Changelings actually are planning on attacking us, we'll end this war before it escalates any further. If they aren't, we're in serious trouble."
"I'm sure everything will be ok," Luna reassured, putting her hoof on the stallion's shoulder.
Despite the gesture, it didn't do much help for Matthew. "I have worked too fucking hard to build and lead what will soon be the most powerful military force in the world. I'm not going to let anypony undo everything I've done."
"I'm curious. What will happen to the Changelings if they aren't behind this?" the princess of the night asked.
"Fuck 'em," he bitterly replied, shrugging off Luna's hoof. "We'll kill them all anyway. It'll be one less thing for me to worry about."
Luna frowned at this statement. She and her sister had made it abundantly clear that Matthew was not allowed to kill anypony he believed was a threat to the kingdom without solid proof. The fact that he was openly stating that he was ready to go against their order made Luna nearly lose it. "Do that and I’ll see to it that you’re banished for killing an entire species without just cause," she threatened as she gave the commander an equally threatening stare.
"You know, the point of a threat is to make it believable," Matthew said, unfazed by the princess.
"You think I won't?"
"I know you won't," he challenged with a small grin on his face. "You need me. I’m the only one who knows how to lead an army of this size and only I have the knowledge to train these ponies in how to use the CHECKMATE weapons." Luna didn’t respond, but her glare never faltered. By the now the two of them were just inches away from the other’s face, glaring daggers. "This conversation is over. Now get the hell out of my room."
Luna stormed out of Matthew's bedroom, slamming the door behind her as she left. Once he was sure Luna wasn't coming back, the stallion let out a heavy sigh. "Celestia is going to be pissed at me tomorrow."
Matthew awoke with a frown on his face, knowing that he was more than likely going to be nagged and lectured by Princess Celestia. He took his time taking a bath and making sure he looked presentable, hoping to kill as much time as he could before he would have to go to the dining room and see the royal sisters. Upon entering the dining room for breakfast, Matthew saw his two superiors had been waiting for him. Matthew took his seat on the side of table opposite from Celestia and Luna. Celestia stared at the gray pony with a judgmental stare while her younger sister just avoided eye contact with him. When neither of them said anything, Matthew decided to break the silence.
"So are we going to talk or are you just going to give me the silent treatment?" Matthew questioned before taking a sip of his coffee.
"I thought I could trust you to honor the agreement we made after the death of King Forte," Celestia calmly spoke. "Clearly I was wrong. It seems that you are still willing to go against our orders simply because you don't agree with them."
Matthew rolled his eyes at the comment. "Listen, odds are the Changelings are behind this plot to attack our kingdom, so I don't see what the problem is."
"The problem is that you only care about the ponies of Equestria and nopony else," Celestia accused angrily.
"Because that's my job!" Matthew countered, raising his voice in anger. "My job is to protect the ponies of Equestria by any means necessary, even if that means others must die."
"Matthew, you will not attack the Changelings unless you have proof that they are an immediate threat to this kingdom," Celestia ordered. "If you defy these orders, I will have you fired and imprisoned. And just so we're clear, I am not bluffing."
Matthew was glaring intensely at the white princess. "I will have Swift Strike determine what the Changeling's intentions are," he said, his voice significantly calmer than it was just a few seconds ago. "In the meantime, I will continue to go over the blueprints for our newly acquired CHECKMATE weapons to make modifications." The stallion got up from his chair and was about to start walking out of the dining room, but Celestia spoke before he could leave.
"I'm not done talking with you, Matthew," she said. Matthew gave an annoyed sigh as he sat back done. "You've been increasingly distant with us for the past couple of days. Why is that?" the sun goddess asked.
"Let's just say that my responsibilities haven't been leaving me in a very sociable mood lately," he answered, his glare softening just slightly. "As much as I've enjoyed this discussion, I have a lot of work to do." Without saying another word, Matthew Harris got up to leave the dining room once again with his white mug of coffee in his magical grip.
Once Matthew was gone, Celestia let out a sigh. "Well that could have gone better," she said to her sister.
Luna lifted her head and turned it towards Celestia. "I'm worried about him, Tia. This search is really taking a toll on the poor stallion, both physically and mentally."
"I know," the older sister agreed. "He looks like he's five years older than he was just a year ago and his attitude has been getting a lot worse lately."
"I truly hope that the Changelings are behind the plot to destroy our kingdom so we can just be done with all this."
"I hope so too. Matthew could really use a break from all this stress."