Star Swirl nodded. "I did. There were few options available, and this is the one I took."

"Put it back!" she yelped, backing another step before stopping, trying to compose herself. "Sir, while I disagree with the violence of your people very strongly, kidnapping is not typically how we go about our business." Flurry gave a single distressed cry, detecting that her mother was upset.

The doors burst open, admitting Twilight. "I'm ba-- What?" She did not expect a human there. "Oh? Have peace talks advanced without me? I'm almost disappointed, but I'll take it."

"Twi!" Rainbow took off with a rainbow streak, tackling Twilight in a flying tackle.

This only got a laugh from Twilight, wrapping an arm around the clinging pegasus. "That seems to be the response I encourage in all my friends today. Good to see you too."

Cadance's frazzled edges toned down a little. "Twilight, is that? It is, oh thank Harmony... Where have you been?"

Twilight? That was a name he knew. She had wings, and a horn.... Crane pointed at her directly. "Are you Princess Celestia's agent?"

Twilight perked right up. "Wha huh? I mean, yes, often." She nodded towards the human. "And you are...?"

Cadance let out an exasperated sigh. "Twilight, meet the leader of the humans, Crane."

Twilight's eyes widened. "They were right... we did take him..."

"We did."

"I did," corrected Star with a soft snort. "Good of you to join us, Twilight."

"This will not do!" Twilight advanced forward, leaving Rainbow to trail behind. "Crane was it? Nice to meet you. I know where your people are, shall we get back to them?"

Was it really that easy? "I would be delighted."

"Twilie!" rapid clip-clops announced the arrival of her brother, headed towards her at a full gallop, tears flowing freely from his relieved eyes. "You're here!"

Luna was underground, she was fairly certain. She was in a small room, bare except for a single light that hung suspended over her, shedding bright white light in a harsh glow. This was not a friendly place. She was not alone.

There were two humans with her. One was standing next to her, the other was standing in front of her. Neither looked friendly.

"Where is leader?" asked the one in front of her in slow and unpracticed Ponish.

Luna inclined her head. Well, that was Ponish, an improvement. Now if only she could stop hurting, and maybe go home... "Here." She pointed to herself as best she could, her hooves still shackled firmly. She felt certain she could magic them away, given a chance, but that was what the other human was there for, to make sure she never had that opportunity.

"Where our leader?" rephrased the human with a frown.

In another room, the exchange was monitored by several others. A female tapped at the screen with a pen. "(Did she just say she was a leader?)"

"(A leader of terrorists,)" noted a male with crossed arms.

"(We should find out,)" argued the female, reaching for her headset. "(Ask her what she's the leader of.)"

In the interrogation room, the one across from Luna took a step forward. "What you lead?"

Luna inclined an ear, that left two questions. "I don't know, and my people, the ponies. I'm tired and sore, permit me to rest."

The one standing beside Luna scoffed. "You hurt us." It was hard being bitterly scathing with such rudimentary grip of the language, but he certainly tried.

The other raised a hand. "No mind." "(We're here for answers)," he reminded his associate in English. One did not typically do interrogations with dictionaries at hand, but there was no translator at hand for Ponish. So he checked his, trusting his friend to keep attentive of any attempts of magic. "Rest... later. Answers now."

Luna let out a soft sigh. She should not have been so easily captured...

Twilight accepted the third tackle-hug of the day, laughing as it happened. "I wasn't expecting, nevermind, good to see you too, but I have to go again."

"What? No!"

"Yes." She put a hoof on his lips. "Crane here needs to be returned to his people, now. If he would indulge me in a nice chat afterwards, that would be lovely, but he owes me nothing. He owes you all nothing." She waved her other fore hoof a bit wildly. "What has been going on since I left? Nevermind, no time for that."

Rainbow inclined her head. "Yeah, no. You're at least taking me with you this time. I am not letting you go off into the middle of their clutches alone again."

"They were perfectly reasonable," she huffed. "Let's return the favor. Mister Crane, are you ready?" Her horn began to glow softly.

That was when he remembered, they had Twilight Sparkle in captivity, and yet there she was. They clearly did not have her nearly as securely as they had thought... "The sooner, the better."

"I couldn't agree more." With a bright flash, she was gone, as was Crane.

Cadance looked around. "Where did Rainbow Dash go?"

It seemed they had a passenger.

Derpy landed lightly on the runway, coming to a skidding halt as if she were the smallest, possibly cutest, little jet to make use of the base's strip. "I brought you a letter!" she proudly announced, looking around.

Soldiers were already on the way towards her. It wasn't as if a pony couldn't be seen via radar. They did not have guns pointed at her, however. She had visited that particular base before, and they knew her.

"Hello," greeted one of them. "A letter?"

"Yep!" She coiled and pulled out a fresh envelope, not so frost-tinged without the extended harsh trip on the wing of a jet being involved. "Here you go. Do you want me to wait for a reply again?"

There was a pause as the men worked together to quickly slap-dash a translation of her spoken words. Some few shouting matches broke out until they got her to repeat a few of the words. They worked it out though. "Yes, please. You can stay in a nicer place this time."

"That's good." She followed them off to a lounge instead of a cell, where she would finally get her coffee.

Hello Major,

That's a nice name. You must do something big. Major... Do you have a last name? I hope it isn't trouble! Just a joke.. How are things? I was super excited when your letter came back! Mom says I can't go bothering the princess right now, because of this stupid fighting. Can we just stop that? You sound like a nice pony. I want to meet you. The invitation is still open.

Your New Friend,
Bright Morning

With a shower of sparkles, Twilight appeared on top of the building she had been camping on for so long. "Here we are. This is their town ha--Rainbow! I thought I felt a drag."

Rainbow was singed, bits of smoke rising from her. "That was rougher than usual."

Twilight prodded her in the chest. "That was stupider than usual. Dash.... You could have been seriously hurt! Teleporting is no laughing matter and jumping in without me knowing? You could have been seriously hurt!"

President Crane let them handle their spat. He went to the edge of the roof to get a look at the city he was suddenly in. There he was, in Anchorage. "(Jesus Christ...) Where's the door?" He looked around, there it was, not hidden. "Let's go." He marched for it directly.

Inside the building, in the security office, a man spat up his coffee. The pony was back, with a friend, and... the president of the United States. He squeezed his radio. "(We have a president on the roof! This is not a joke.)"

"(Didn't they literally just say he got taken?)"

"(I'm looking at him. He's trying to get in on the roof access door.)"

"(I'll let him in?)" came the confused reply. "(He alone?)"

"(Two horses are with him, one of them's the purple one.)"

"(Purple? Oh right.)" The Purple Horse had gained some local infamy. That horse that just kinda... wandered into town and tried to make friends. The prisoner that smiled. The one that had the army visiting their town hall.

Cadance left the others. She had something she needed to see. Descending the stairs, she saw Flash standing beside the jail cell. Inside was the human.

The human was not hiding under the blanket. He was dressed in bright colored clothes. Not his. Not the original at least. "Where did he get those?" she asked as she approached, a brow raised. "Everything alright?"

Flash snapped to attention, saluting sharply. "Heya! He's alright. I just got him some local clothes."

She inclined her head faintly. "I know of no store that casually sells their clothing in the area... where did it come from?"

"I asked Rarity to do it custom."

"And she..." Cadance rolled a hoof. "Just did it by eye? She did an amazing job..." The suit certainly looked like it fit perfectly.

"No, she had to measure him." He thrust up his hooves. "Don't worry, she didn't have to go inside. She just floated her measuring tape inside. Unicorn tricks."

"Unicorn tricks..." She turned her eyes to their prisoner. "Hello. I just spoke with your leader, Mister Crane. (Crane)."

That got a jump out of him.

She smiled gently. "It is my sincere hope that, with his return, we can put this behind ourselves." Her gaze returned to Flash. "See to his comfort, as it seems you're already doing. He may be a prisoner, but we do not hate him."

"Nah, he's an alright guy." Flash shrugged. "A little short on words, but he's alright. Ain't that right?"

The prisoner did not reply.

"I will trust you to it then." She departed, confident that the human was being treated well.

"We must assume she is lost."

Shining perked an ear at Star Swirl. "Who is lost? Twilight? She just left!"

He shook his head, stroking his beard. "Luna. There are few good reasons for her to be this delayed. She is either captured, or dead. Considering their fondness for lethal responses, the more likely result seems clear."

Surprised gasps rippled from ponies within earshot. Shining raised a hoof. "Let's not rush to conclusions."

"I have far from rushed. It's been hours, she is capable of teleporting, and she knows where she would be teleporting towards. There is simply no reason for her delay. Captured or dead, those are the only two viable options."

The mood of the others was degrading rapidly, panic setting in with some of the guard. Shining drove down a hoof with a loud clop. "She would not want us to assume. Twilight is returning our captive. Perhaps we can make an exchange of leaders?"

"I doubt that will work well." He stroked his beard softly, looking thoughtful. "The way he spoke, their pride would not allow it, and they are sooner to declare him lost than to make such an exchange. They have a second leader already prepared to take his place, he is of no special value to them."

"Best princess!" wailed a random guard, only to get a rough ribbing by another standing next to them.

"Hey, this is Cadance's castle!" the other hissed.

"She's nice, but she isn't Luna..."

Shining rolled his eyes, not rising to a competition of princesses. "Captured or dead, we must continue. She would not want us, in either condition, to lose control of ourselves."

"Princess Celestia deserves to be informed." A parchment lifted from his robes with a quill, and he began drafting a letter.

Hello Celly,

How long has it been since last I wrote to you? I wish it could have been under better circumstances. Earlier today I took part in a military activity to intercept an enemy attack. We were dreadfully underprepared, and uninformed. I was the only warlock to escape the fiasco. Luna's status is unknown. Likely, she is either captured, or dead, and this goes for the other warlocks equally. As her sister, I thought you should be informed. I will continue the fight.

Yours,
Star Swirl, the Bearded

Author's Notes:

Derpy, like war, never changes. Unlike war, we kinda hope she stays exactly the same.

Luna and the rest of the warlock's absence is noticed.

Twilight rushes to attempt peace. It's a race to the finish line, with the fate of the world dangling all too dangerously in the process.