Matthew always hated the cold. The fact that he was hiking through a blizzard didn’t help either. When he saw the entrance to cave the Changelings were hiding in he let out a sigh of relief. He took his SMG out of his saddle bag using his magic, ready to shoot anything stupid enough to attack him.
“That bug better be here,” Matthew muttered as he entered the cave and used his horn to illuminate the darkness. As he continued exploring the elaborate cave system, the dark colored stallion started seeing piles of dead bodies. “Poor bastards starved to death.”
“So this is the intruder?” a feminine voice said. “Just one pony?”
Matthew turned around to see the Queen of the Changelings standing just a few feet away from him. “You know you should probably clean up all these bodies, the stench is terrible,” he commented in an uncaring tone.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you here and now,” Chrysalis growled, taking offence to Harris’s tone.
“Because we can help each other out,” he replied. “We’ve been watching you long enough to know that you’re all dying. What if I told you I could end your starvation forever?”
“Who are you?” the queen demanded.
“My name is Matthew Harris, Commander of the Armed Forces of Equestria. I’m here because Equestria has fallen to Star Swirl the Bearded. I need your help to stop him.”
“Give me one good reason why I should help the ponies that nearly killed me.”
“Because if you don’t, I will have you and all of your subjects skinned alive,” Matthew threatened, his patience starting to go thin. “I have five thousand soldiers sitting in the Crystal Empire at my command. It would take nothing to kill you.”
“What do we get if we do help you get your kingdom back?”
“You will all be given the food you require and a place to live.”
“How do I know you won’t stab me in the back when this is over?”
“The princesses made it clear that if I do betray you, there will be severe consequences.”
Chrysalis noticed the commander’s annoyed tone clear as day. “I take it you aren’t very fond of them,” she said suggestively.
“When I’m given an order I say ‘yes sir’ and I do my damnedest to carry it out.” The gray stallion let out a sigh before continuing. “But when of your superiors is a pacifist, it makes life a bit complicated. However, that is a story for another time. Are you going to help us?”
Chrysalis remained silent for a few moments, thinking over her options. “If I agree to help, I want a nation for all my children on top of what you’ve already promised.”
Matthew frowned. “That’s not going to happen. What I can do is give all of you citizenship. You will be guaranteed the rights of every Equestrian, but you will need to forfeit your title as queen.”
“To what? Princess?”
“You’ll have to take that up with Celestia and Luna, since that would be more their decision than mine,” Harris admitted. “Do we have a deal?”
“For now,” Chrysalis said. “But my children are in no shape to leave due to their starvation.”
“Well then you can figure something out with the princesses once we get to the Crystal Empire,” Matthew told the queen.
Matthew was standing next to the closed door leading to the throne room of the Crystal Palace. He had brought the Changeling Queen in the early morning. Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Chrysalis were on the other side discussing the terms of the queen’s help in retaking Equestria. Before the meeting began, Luna promised Matthew that Cadence would behave for the duration of her stay.
“I take it you didn’t get an invitation to their little party?” Swift Strike joked as he walked over to where Matthew was waiting.
“I decided it would be better to let the politicians handle the politics,” Matthew stated.
“Do you trust Chrysalis?”
“Not one bit,” Matthew bitterly replied. “I want eyes on her at all times and she is not to leave the castle unless I authorize it.”
“Very well. Since the rest of her hive isn’t here I’m going to guess that her subjects are in pretty bad shape.”
“We need to figure out how to give them the energy they need without moving them. Hopefully that oversized bug has an idea on how to do that.”
“My question is how you intend on feeding those things. They feed off of love. The public isn’t going to like the idea of giving love to those things,” Swift pointed out.
Before Matthew could respond, the doors to the throne room opened and Luna, Celestia and Chrysalis walked out.
“Is there a reason you’re here, Matthew?” Celestia asked.
“Actually there is,” Matthew said. “I need to know how we intend to give a sufficient amount of love to a thousand changelings in a reasonable timeframe.”
“If I can get enough love, I can distribute it to the rest of my hive,” Chrysalis informed.
“Well that certainly makes things easier,” Matthew commented. “But I hope at least one of you three has a plan on how Chrysalis is going to get enough love.”
“Well that certainly makes things easier,” Matthew commented. “But I hope at least one of you three has a plan on how Chrysalis is going to get enough love.”
“We have a few ideas, but they would all take too long,” Luna regrettably informed.
“Chrysalis, since you’re the expert here, what would be the fastest method?” Matthew asked.
“The fastest would be getting it from a couple. Obviously I would have to pretend to be one of them. Depending on how much in love they are, I’d say it would take about a week or two.”
“Then that’s what you’re going to do. Tomorrow you’re going to start looking for mares you could impersonate.”
“But how will we keep the mare I’m impersonating from being seen in public?”
“We’ll keep the real one here in the castle for a few days and then let her go once you’re done.”
“Matthew,” Celestia interrupted. “Can I talk to you in private?” Matthew nodded and the two of them walked away until Celestia was sure they wouldn’t be heard. “She cannot leave this castle, she’s too dangerous,” the white alicorn said in a hushed tone.
“I don’t like it either,” the grey commander admitted. “But we are out of options. I’ll have scouts keeping a constant eye on her to make sure she doesn’t cause any trouble.”
“Who’s to say that she won’t try and betray us when she gets strong enough?”
“If Chrysalis tries to do anything that I don’t like, I made it very clear to her that the Changelings would be an extinct species.”
“Do you even know what you’re going to do with the Changelings once their healthy?”
“I have a map in my quarters that should give me enough information to figure out what to do with them.”
“When you have a plan ready, tell me immediately,” Celestia instructed.
“As you wish.”
Matthew Harris spent the rest of the day looking over all the information he had received from his numerous scout teams. Based on that, it was clear that Canterlot was Star Swirl’s biggest priority. Over half of his forces were all in the capitol with other army groups occupying major cities like Manehattan and Detrot. It wasn’t until midnight that Matthew finally decided to get some much needed sleep.
After having breakfast the next morning, Matthew took Celestia and Luna to his room so he could explain his plan to them. Sitting on the desk near the center of the room was a map of Equestria with various markings on it.
“As you can see by this map, most of Star Swirl’s forces are in Canterlot,” Matthew began. “Our scouts estimate that there are around five thousand soldiers there. There’s also groups of around a thousand each in major cities like Manehattan, Las Pegasus and Detrot.”
“So what’s your plan?” Luna curiously asked, observing every little detail on the map.
“Four hundred Changelings will disguise themselves as soldiers and officers in Canterlot while the other six hundred are positioned in occupied cities from Canterlot to the Crystal Mountains,” the commander explained.
“Giving our army a straight path to Canterlot,” Celestia finished.
“Correct,” Matthew said with a grin. “When our army begins the attack, the Changelings will weaken their forces right before we get to each city. This will be an all-out blitzkrieg to Canterlot.”
“How do you expect us to get to Star Swirl with only six thousand soldiers?” the solar goddess questioned. “By the time our forces reach Canterlot, they’re going to have significant casualties.”
“I’m glad you asked. The three of us, Chrysalis and the Elements of Harmony will flank around the battlefields to Canterlot the minute the operation begins. The Changelings in Canterlot will help sneak us behind enemy lines and take us right to the castle.”
“How do you expect us to get just outside of Canterlot without getting noticed by the enemy?”
“We’ll be going in via HALO drop.” The two princesses gave Matthew a confused look, earning a sigh from the commander. “HALO stands for High Altitude Low Opening. For those of us who can’t fly, we will be flown in by a pegasus-flown transport and parachute to the ground. Once we’re on the ground we’ll be met by a small group of Changelings that will lead us past enemy forces and directly to Star Swirl.”
“How high will we be?” Luna asked.
“About ten thousand feet. That will ensure we are not detected by the enemy.”
“What happens if we get caught before we reach Star Swirl?” Celestia asked.
“If we get caught, we will most certainly die,” Matthew grimly stated. “There are thousands of soldiers occupying Canterlot. We don’t stand a chance in a straight up fight with these fuckers.”
“This is quite the operation you’ve come up with,” Luna complimented.
“Thank you,” Matthew said with a small grin before his face became serious again. “I need to make one thing very clear to both of you. This will be a kill, no capture operation. Star Swirl cannot live.” Matthew was pleased when he saw the princesses give him slow yet steady nods of approval. "We should probably bring the Elements of Harmony up to speed. They have a lot of work ahead of them.:"