I rush home and try to occupy my mind. I need to do something so I can think clearly. Do the dishes? No, that won't work, not when there's only two at least. Maybe I could just start cleaning the house? But it's already clean, so that would just look suspicious. Plus, usually the robots do that at night, so I wouldn't know what to start with. Maybe I should just go to Canterlot and start doing paperwork. Nopony there would question me. Yeah, I like that plan. I head upstairs to teleport to the castle when Miles opens the door before me.

"MILES!" I yell, jumping back having scared myself with my own voice. He's in his alicorn form again, which can only lead to bad things right now."U-uhm, wh-what are you doing here? Right now? What are... what are you doing... here?"

"Sorry to scare you like that. I had to grab somethings from inside. Apparently, I need to go get Steel a hooker because he-"

"WHAT!?" I yell again, scaring the both of us again. Miles stares at me for a second before continuing.

"Yeah... I told him what I knew and what might happen and, long story short, he doesn't want to die a virgin. I couldn't really argue against him since... well... been there done that. So now I have to go and... yeah."

"Except no," I tell him, my mind racing. He can't show up there, ever! There would be questions! I can't let this leak out right now, I can't! Miles gives me an odd look before sitting down.

"Right, and why is that?" he asks calmly.

"Because... that isn't moral?" That didn't sound too confident. I need to get my act together if I'm going to get through this.

"Moral... I mean, sure, we can argue that all we want. But, fact of the matter is, it's legal and it's his, and hers too, choice. He could have as little as a few days left to live, and as I am mostly responsible for this-"

"How are you only mostly responsible?"

"- I am not going to stop, nor judge, the choice that he has come to. He can't have a last meal, he has no one to confide in that could be allowed to see him, and he has nowhere he's allowed to go to have what could be his final thoughts. So why, with all of that going on, is this suddenly a question of morals?"

I stare back at him and try to think of something to say, but there isn't anything I can say. I can't lie to him. Maybe not now, but he'll figure it out eventually. And then what? And then I murdered somepony and lied to him. I'll tell him the truth and... and face him like the mare I should be. My pride isn't worth our trust.

"You can't go to the brothel because I just left them. I met the pony auditing the Apples... and snapped his neck... on accident... I think."

He doesn't say anything at first. He barely even reacts. He just stares at me, as if he's trying to see if there's some form of a lie in what I said. But I'm telling the truth, and he'll see that soon enough. So, I'll just wait here and let what comes come.

"Where there any other witnesses?" he asks calmly. I swallow the lump in my throat as I try to think of all the possible answers to that question.

"Possibly. There was a second auditor he was here with for sure. There was also an escort that knew of my being there as well as the bartender. I cannot confirm if any of the other workers knew if I was there or if anypony else was aware. Though, I do not know how much any of them know." He lets out a quick breath and looks down to think. I can feel my knees starting to shake as I try to stand tall. But all the shame I'm feeling is weighing me down too much. I can't believe I did this. Was this even my doing? Is Nightmare Moon making some sort of come back? Is this how she's going to make it all start? By making me murder an innocent pony? Why did I think I could do this by myself!?

"Okay," Miles mutters, breaking my chain of though. "Okay... I'm... I'm going to take care of this."

"Miles," I mutter back in disbelief. "There is nothing to take care of-"

"Luna," he cuts me off, looking me straight in the eyes. I can see now the resolve he has for this. I don't know what he has planned, but I doubt that I will change his mind. "You once told me that it didn't matter if I was scared or if I lost control. That my duty is to this country. And that extends to you too Luna. I'm not doing this because you're asking me to. I'm not doing this because I am your husband and I love you. And I'm not doing this because I have the power to do this either. I am doing this because there is a bigger picture at stake."

"We are at the precipice of war Luna. And like it or not, we do not get to decide when that war starts. We can sit here and plan all day, make all the preparations for whatever plans we think they might have, and none of that will matter. Because they get to pick when they attack. It is no longer a matter of what happens. It's a matter of when will it happen and how prepared we are when it does. And for that fact alone, I need you here. I need you running the country. I need to know that you are safe and free to run and make whatever escape you need to make should the worst occur. I need to know that you will have my back Luna."

"I'll be forthcoming with you; I didn't have a plan for these auditors. Not entirely at least. With this at least my choices are limited and forces me to make a decision. And with a clear path ahead of us I can at least start to move forward. Luna," he takes my hooves and holds onto them, pulling me closer. "I killed him to make a statement that Terradisia could show the world that it will not be pushed around."

"Miles, no-" I weep, getting him to pull me closer.

"I killed him to enact some sort of scheme I've concocted. You had no part of this whatsoever. You were home getting ready for work."

"Miles, don't do this," I cry, holding onto his cheeks. "This isn't going to end well for anypony. We can figure another way around this. There has to be another way, please!"

"You are going to go to Canterlot and go straight to Celestia. You are going to take her to the throne room and wait there. I'm going to make a move that will sever all connections between Equestria and Canterlot. You need to be strong for this. You need to show the world that Equestria can stand against anyone, anyone. I know you can do this Luna. I know you're stronger than you're willing to admit. Lead this nation Luna."

"Miles, please don't do this!" I cry out as he starts to leave. I grab him with my magic and pull him back. He doesn't fight me, but he keeps his gaze elsewhere. "I will not allow you to make yourself into the enemy! If you make any sort of move against Equestria I will never forgive you! This is your home! This is where your son lives! We can't lose you now! There must be another way for this to work! Don't be so reckless Miles!"

"Luna, a government official has been killed. There are too many witnesses to get away cleanly. They've probably already started to ask questions. One of us has to make a move, and I'm not going to let them drag you down-'

"And I'm not going to let them drag you down!" I yell back at him, pushing his shoulder roughly. "We can think of a better plan! Don't just take the first easy out you think of! We need to be smart about this!"

"Then what's your plan? Tell me what to do then! Because we're running out of time! We need to act now!" I stand up and start to pace around. He's right about that, we need to act. We need to stop ponies spreading any more rumors first. That means we need to collect those that know and those that might know something and bring them... where? Somewhere discreet. Topaz? That'll have to do for now. We can figure the rest out as we go.

"Okay, our first step is collecting all of the ponies that might know what's going on and bringing them to Topaz Falls. From there we can see about silencing them. From there... I don't know. We'll take it one step at a time." He nods to me, thinking to himself for a moment.

"You should head to Canterlot. We need to take as much of the heat off of you-"

"Miles I am not-"

"-going to argue," he cuts me off sternly. "I can get out of this, you can't. There is no argument you can make with that auditor that will end with him agreeing with you. He'll believe that I did it easily."

"And then what? How does that help our case? If he'll so easily believe that you murdered his colleague, why would he agree to keep quiet?" He stares at me for a moment, keeping silent. It slowly dawns on me what he's planning. He intends to kill him. I want to argue with him, tell him that this isn't the way to do it. But what good is my word right now? We're only in this mess because I murdered somepony. But does that give him the right to make the same mistake? No, no it doesn't.

"Miles, murder is not the answer." I tell him slowly.

"I never said I was going to kill him. I didn't say anything," he tells me, trying to use his trademark political lingo roundabout lies.

"Your silence was enough to infer what you intend to do. Miles, there has been enough murder already. We can do better than this."

"I agree, we can do better than this. We can start by you leaving for Canterlot. If they've been to the guards already then Canterlot has probably already received word about this whole incident. That means we need to clear your name now. I can have the Spartans covertly take care of everything else. This is step one. We'll worry about two when it arrives. But I need you to trust me when I say that you need to leave. We get nowhere if they pin this on you. I have the leniency of being from another nation. The world already thinks I'm a warmonger, selling them a snuff story will be easy. I can dance around this, but I'll need your help to do so. And that starts with you going to Canterlot right now as if nothing happened. If anypony asks, you didn't see me. You woke up alone, assumed nothing was wrong, and went to the castle as if it were any other day. This is what must happen. I'm going to start my portion of this mess, we'll talk as soon as possible."

He doesn't wait for me to say anything. To him, this is the end of the conversation. I can't really argue with him though. Not right now at least. Not when he's right, for the most part. If this leads to me there isn't much he can do to help. I'd lose any credibility with the Equestrian people. So, for this part, I have to act as if nothing is wrong. Fake smiles, unassuming voice, distant, and all business. It's just another day at the castle.

How am I going to make it to the end of the week?

---

I teleport to Mooseden and make my way towards town hall. Most of the Spartans should be there already, as I signaled them on my way over here. A thousand thoughts are racing through my mind at the moment. I can't believe Luna did this. I never thought in a thousand years she could murder somepony. Then again, was it actually her?

No, don't dwell on that. We can talk about this later. Right now, we have an objective to achieve. Round up those that are aware of what's going on and bring them to Topaz. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get the others to do this without questioning me too much though. Maybe if I can just tell them to act now and fill them in later that might work. Yeah... that might work. I might have to smack a few heads in order to get things rolling, but what else is new?

I open the door and enter quickly, shutting the door and locking it behind myself. I turn around and pause when I notice all of the Spartans staring at me with a... certain look about them. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something is up. Before I can say anything Sledge steps forward and addresses me.

"So who did Luna kill?"

"Who the fuck said that!?" I demand, blown away that they know. How could they possibly know about this already!? It's only been... actually, I don't know how long it's been.

"Night Fury called it in," Storm informs me, stepping forward. "He was monitoring the communications hub at Canterlot when he heard the call come in from Ponyville. He took care of it on that end for now, but we need details. What's going on?" Well... this is it then.

"Luna didn't kill anybody... I did." A few of them look shocked, but most seem unconvinced. The main one being Storm. He's known me the longest, so go figure he'll be the most difficult to lie to. "I knew Luna was talking to this person and was making slow progress. I went in her place to a meeting they were having and... well..."

"You blacked out?" Big Mac asks. I keep quiet for a moment as I consider that. I could use that as my excuse. Blame it on a medical condition that no one understands. Who would know better? But this could lead to some bad places. If they think I might snap at any moment and kill them, why would they continue to follow me? But if I put it all of this, there's nothing they can say to press the issue.

Time is of the essence right now. If they're already sending messages to Canterlot then we're already falling behind. We need to act now.

"Yeah... yeah I did. I have no recollection of what happened to that auditor. All I know now is that he's dead and we need to act if we're going to make the most of this situation." They murmur among themselves for a moment, clearly unsure about what's going on. Keeping their trust if a tightrope act. If they believe I won't aid them in their cause, I'll lose my ability to command them. Without their trust, we'll fall apart. I need to tread carefully now, more-so than ever before.

"So... what now?" Jonathan asks, tapping his claws against his bench.

"Are we taking Canterlot?" Yinbie asks; a little too eagerly.

"Even if we did that would end disastrously you simpleton!" Si Ye yells at him, standing to his feet. "There is only one way we can get out this without losing our main trade partner. We need to change the conversation to something that will eclipse this completely. Silence those that would speak out against us and stifle those that would oppose us. We need to show the world that the Spartans will not be trifled with!"

I stare at the chimp for a moment before realizing what he's talking about. I don't know how he came to this conclusion, but it's not a bad one. You can do a thousand bad deeds as long as they each outdo one another, at least in the short run. If they populace only has one topic to talk about, why let them think about it? But... I don't know about this. Operation Unthinkable is still a bit shaky.

"Everyone knows a war is going to happen," Si Ye continues, preaching to all of us. "Why wait? We are Spartans! If there's going to be a fight, it will be on our terms! We will dictate the fight! I am tired of waiting for them to stab us in the back! No espionage! We are front line fighters, let's take the front line to those we know are responsible for all of this. Let's get this war started and end it before they even have the chance to raise a fist. I suggest we enact Operation Unthinkable."

All the Spartans give a loud cheer of approval. Some of them clap, others start pounding their benches, but one thing is consistent. They want a fight. If we do this, there's no going back. If we do this, everything changes. And if we do this, I save Luna from our own people.

I want to say that I'm sad to make this choice. I want to say that making such a decision would cause me great unease. But, in all honesty, this is liberating. Si Ye is right. I haven't been acting as a Spartan would. I've been playing by their rules for too long. It's time we changed that. It's time we made the world understand what they are truly up against. But, I need to make sure the others are aware of the consequences of what we are about to do. Because there's no going back after this.

"Si Ye, everyone, think about what you are suggesting for a moment. There's no going back after this. Where did all of this even come from anyway?"

"I am not blind to the world Captain. The new world order will either be led by us or the Unfamiliar. And I do not intend to lose my home world to these creatures. This is our home just as much as it is yours. This is not a sudden thought of mine, nor anyone else's."

"Yeah Capt'n!" High Flyer cuts in, standing with Si Ye. "Let us take the fight to them! We'll be better able to protect our own people if the fighting takes place somewhere else anyway! This is the best chance we'll have! Every day we wait is a waste of time!"

"We're ready Miles, just give us the okay!" Butterscotch adds. I consider all of them for a moment before I start to smirk.

"Alright. Operation Unthinkable is a go then," I tell them, getting a resounding cheer from them. "But we're going to have to make some modifications first. Get Night on the line and let him know we'll pick him up along the way. Si Ye, Jonathan, Ellzy, Tiber, you're in the air. Beserkers are on point with Jumpers taking flanking positions. I want everyone in position in thirty. In the meantime, Shifted, I need you to run a special mission. Crypteia clearance."

---

Orders received, verifying...

Orders accepted.

Mobilization initiated. All available units will be converted for military functions.

First army initiating...

Second army initiating...

Third army initiating...

Fourth army initiating...

Fifth army initiating...

Sixth army initiating...

Seventh army initiating...

Eighth army initiating...

Ninth army initiating...

Tenth army initiating...

First air corp initiating...

Second air corp initiating...

Third air corp initiating...

Fourth air corp initiating...

Military grade bots initiating...

Unit orders received. Engage.

Next Chapter: Chapter 247 Operation Unthinkable Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 40 Minutes