Luna sighed as she ate her lunch. This whole situation was tiring, and she didn't like essentially doing it on her own. She already wished this problem was solved, or that she had somepony to help her. It wasn't fun. She was so busy, only showering every three days, she ate between meetings and hearings, often while walking, and she hadn't slept well in over a week.
As she rounded a corner, she collided with something she hadn't seen, and her sandwich fell to the floor, landing next to a large binder full of notes. "Oh my gosh!" squeaked Spike, scurrying to pick her up. "I'm so sorry, Princess Luna, I didn't mean--"
"Calm yourself, Spike," said Luna, tossing the splattered remains of her lunch into a waste bin and wiping the mustard off her coat with a napkin. "This was just as much my fault. Now, what were you doing rushing around in such a hurry?"
Spike picked up the binder and opened the front cover. "I've cracked the code! I know all the places Twilight is going to visit, and I can guess the order in which she'll go. Look." He pointed to a map. "She was headed here when she left, and the only sightings we've had of her were here, here, and here. That's following this trail exactly, at about the pace of a pony travelling with a cart. If my guess is right, she should be on her way to this lake."
Luna looked at the map. Spike was right, the progression of events lined up nicely. "What makes you think this lake?"
Spike flipped several dozen pages ahead. "The last time these rifts opened, it was solved by ten different creatures coming together. It nearly ripped Equestria apart. They failed at the last minute, but it somehow worked out okay. I'm not sure how, but everything went back to normal. I think Twilight went to research more about this, because this first location she went to was next to some big, ancient library. She probably found all of her information there."
"That doesn't answer my question."
Spike turned a few more pages. "One of the champions came from that lake. There's allegedly some kind of building down there, underneath the water."
Luna examined Spike's notes. "It would seem the rumours of seaponies in the area were perhaps not as far-fetched as we had initially thought." She took a deep breath. "Let's say you're right. Where would she go before and after this lake-bottom building?"
Spike flipped back to the map. "Well, one of the places tends to move around. It's not marked on this map, because it's impossible to know exactly where it is. It's like Cloudsdale, but less populated. As for the more permanent points, before this, she would have made her way through the Lifewood Forest, and her next destination would be the Hidden Haven."
Luna furrowed her brow. "I know of the Hidden Haven, actually. Ages ago, they asked me to join them in the shadows. I opted out, as it was a bit more dark than I would like. I never knew its location, and in fact, we'd thought it lost to the ages. We've seen neither hide nor hair of them since I was sent to the moon. Celestia is still invited to the Sun Temple sometimes, but she can't stand them. All of them are fanatics who will let small imperfections rip them apart. We learned long ago that the only way to attain peace was to meet in the middle."
"Right, ummm..." Spike shook his head. "Anyway, if she's going to either the Hidden Haven or the Sun Temple, she'll be going to Belicos, and the last place we can catch her in Equestria is at this little border town." He pointed to a tiny speck on a more recent map. "It used to be a military checkpoint, but when Belicos fell apart with the civil war, it became a safe space for refugees. A lot of them started families here in Equestria and the vast majority are legally considered citizens. I, uh... I actually knew that from an earlier research project."
Luna scratched her chin. "Then the best chance we have of finding her is to set up an ambush in that town."
"You don't mean to hurt her, do you?" Spike looked worried.
"Not at all," Luna said, shaking her head. "However, we've been unable to contact her by any means. I'm going to have to have some guards bring her in if I'm going to have any amount of civil conversation with her to find out what her plan is."
"There's more," said Spike, grabbing her shoulder as she turned to leave. He flipped to the back few pages. "The ponies chasing the champions back then look just like the ponies that invaded Ponyville. They killed some of the champions, and I think they mean to kill Twilight and Fluttershy, too. After visiting all of the locations, there's one more place they have to go, and they'll need all the protection we can give her, or the whole world will fall apart. We have to protect that zone if we're going to keep them safe."
Luna sighed and nodded. "You can tell me more on the way." She lifted Spike onto her shoulders and took off down the hall.
Spike clung to her neck tightly. "Where are we going!?"
Luna's chariot landed hard in the middle of the military camp, a fact she didn't mind at all because she has grabbed Spike and jumped off before it touched the ground. She rushed around until she found the pony she was looking for. "Sister!"
Celestia looked up from her conversation, scowled, and dismissed the officer she was talking to before turning to Luna. "What are you doing here? You know it's too dangerous for us to be together right now. What if this area were to disappear?"
"It's good to see you, too," smirked Luna. "I won't be long. I'm just here to give you your new orders. Or rather, I'll leave it to your new commanding officer." Picking up a mildly airsick Spike off of her back, she scooted him and his binder forward. "He will save all of Equestria and beyond, he just needs the right support. That's where you come in." She turned and waved as she left. "I'll see you on the battlefield!"
As Luna took off, Celestia turned to Spike and raised an eyebrow. He chuckled nervously under her gaze. "I uh... I guess I should tell you what I found..."