Acropolis slunk into the darkness just down the hall from the wardens office. The blind pony had followed him almost all the way up, calling and chiding for him during the slow ascension. Losing him on the last floor when he had to climb up the broken stairs. The only clean windows in the building were here in the hall, and through them Acropolis could see a grey stallion, untouched, in clean white robes, talking into a communication crystal. He scanned the room, the furniture was clean and neat, some were even repaired. Bizarre paintings hung on the wall and a bookcase in the corner was stocked with books which surprisingly still held all their pages. This isn’t what I expected. he thought. Then he noticed the desk, on it was a plate of what looked like cooked meat.  Where did he get meat down- oh, that’s gross. He tried the door silently. It wasn’t locked.  This is too easy. Pushing the door open he crept into the room coming up behind the robed stallion.

“My children, do not fear for me for I hold the eye of god.” The stallion turned around to face Acropolis. A purple rock hung around his neck, a crazed smile on his face. Acropolis' eyes find their way to the stone and they lock onto it. Frozen in place, his mind races every thought he’s ever had. A familiar sensation. “And the eye will protect me from my enemies.” Acropolis’s vision begins to fail him. “And drive my foes into the arms of Luna, into the grip of madness…” His voice fades away as the world blows out to white. Acropolis loses consciousness slipping into the white void of his mind.

***

“Gah!” Rune shift flinches from the connection with Acropolis being suddenly severed. Reclaiming the keys she had dropped she unlocks the cafeteria door. Opening the door she slips quietly into the large room. Before her was a large mushroom farm, with one very deformed pony tilling the, filth?  Oh, what are these growing in? it smells like- never mind, I don’t care. Passing through the farm while keeping our of sight she comes to another large room with another farm. This one is some kind of moss she doesn’t recognize. The pony tilling this room is just as deformed as the last, and so is the filth.  Okay they live off of mushrooms and moss, got it. Now I have to destroy this farm. Slipping past the farmers she makes it into the kitchen area. oh my. The cookers were working, only instead of mushroom soup Rune could see body parts bobbing up and down in the pots. In that moment a caged elevator next to her lights up indicating somepony was coming up. Quickly she hid behind the fowl cooker.

“Pastor, caught one of them I see.” One deformed pony said.

“Yeah,” A much deeper pony replies. “I got ‘em in the sack.”

“Yes, I did.” A regular ponies voice chimed in.

“Pastor.” The other two replies in unison.

“Quickly now, I have another guest to greet in the basement.” They board the elevator and with a rattle, clank, and a slow grind the elevator descends.

Luna! And they captured Acropolis! Buck, could this get any worse?

***

Luna silently crept though the machine room searching for the proper control panel to restart the machine. Without warning the lights in the room come blinking on. Luna calmly resigns the fact that they now know where she is as the speakers in the room crackle to life.

“Why have you come?” The Pastors voice comes over the speaker.

“To reclaim my prison.” Luna replies calmly.

“Your prison?” The lights to what Luna assumes is a control room flicker above her. “YOUR PRISON!?”

“Yes, I am Princess Luna!” She flies up so she is level with the windows, “And this is my prison!” Inside she can see three ponies, two deformed ones and a clean grey one. And another, tied to chair and wrapped up in a sack.

“Princess? Hah!”

Princess? Runes voice come over the link. Luna can hear the elevator clatter behind them.

Rune Shift? What is your progress?

Gas leak in the kitchen will burn out the farms in there next time one of them starts a cooker. Luna can see Her down the hall from the ponies facing her.

Good, stay there for now, where is Acropolis?

I believe he is in the sack. Runes tone is sad.

“Our princess died in the before time!” The Pastor shouts slamming his hood into the console.

Perfect, Ideas? Luna asks over the link.

Wreck these psychotics?

“I am your Princess, you will restore power to this facility, return to the ward, and surrender yourselves to my rule.” Luna demands as her horn lights up preparing her magic.

“Not so fast false princess!” the Pastor pulls off the sack, revealing and unconscious Acropolis beneath. “Surrender to me, or I will kill this one, he is one of yours? Correct?”

“Correct.” Luna dispels her magic. Rune how do you feel about some danger close magic?

Danger close?

Yes, I give you a feel of the room though the link and you cast your magic to take them out. Luna looks down the hall pretending to think but really making eye contact with Rune.

“Well, false princess?” the Pastor grabs Acropolis’s head jerking it back.

Rune?

Yes! Ill do it!

Good! Luna’s eyes light up blue as her vision fills Runes mind. The world slows down to a crawl as Rune’s vision is pulled from her own a shows what Luna is seeing. Quickly memorizing their positions Luna dispels the vision share before the Pastor realizes.

“Wait!” Luna calls out.

“Do you surrender?” Pastor asks.

“No, what do you want on your tombstone?” Luna asks with a half smile.

“What?” The Pastor barley get the words out when magic runes appear all over the room. Thin wires shoot out of the runes passing through the room quickly and dispersing just as quickly. They lock up in shock unable to move. Rune slowly walk into the room dispelling her magic.

“What did you do?’ Luna asks. An explosion rings out over head, clearly some pony turned on a stove. The slight rumble makes the trio slide apart into bloody slices. The gory mess sliding into piles in the control room. Luna just hovers there watching as they slide apart like some sick slinky. “Oh, well that’s different.” Rune walks over and hit’s a rather large red switch. With a loud slam the machine room buzzes to life.

“I do believe, we have accomplished our mission.” Rune comments as she collects up the recovering Acropolis.

“Agreed.” Luna flys in and lands next to the diced pastor. Noticing the strange stone among the slices.  Gripping it with her magic she pulls it from the mess. “A moon stone?”

“A what?” Rune turns to look at what Luna is holding. Only to have her head pushed away by Luna’s magic.

“Moon stone, put simply an solid chunk of insanity.” Luna destroys the stone, releasing Runes head. “My apologies, but to view the stone would drive most ponies mad, and I don’t feel quite like carrying you both out of here.”

“Carry?” Rune smiles, “Bringen mich zurück auf den Anker.” and she vanishes with the unconscious Acropolis in a flash of blue light.

“Oh, I had forgot about that.” Luna turns to the panels. Moving some levers to ensure a steady functioning she steps back. Looking down at the dead ponies before her she shakes her head slowly. “Bringen mich zurück auf den Anker” and vanishes in a flash of blue light.

***

“Acropolis?” Runes voice echoed in his head. “Acropolis?”

“Rune, I can hear you.” Acropolis said as he regained consciousness. The bright lights of the medical ward made him wince. “What happened? I remember approaching the pastor and then, nothing.”

“He had a moon stone,” Luna made her presence known, “Literally a physical manifestation of madness.”

“Where is it?” Acropolis asks weakly.

“I destroyed it, such things should be left in our world. Get well soon Acropolis.” And with that Luna left.

“She gets weirder and weirder.” Acropolis chuckled. Brigade enters the room saluting Luna as she passes. “Brigade. Sight for sore eyes.”

“I heard you were knocked out? Not a good rumor to hear about the Lunar Captain.” Brigade seemed in higher spirits than usual.

“Yeah, ill be fine.” He sit ups in his bed, “So, how’s our little changeling?” he says switching up the conversation.

“Im more interested in the house of madness in a cave deep under Canterlot.” Brigade replies chuckling.

“It was unpleasant.” Rune said somberly. She could kill, but didn’t care much for. But bugged her was how more violent her spell choices were getting.

“VERY, unpleasant. Ill give you a copy of the report.” Acropolis paused waiting for his initial question to be answered.

“You knew I couldn’t leave her alone, didn’t you?” Brigade’s tone is harsh.

“Yep, and I knew you would peruse the matter into the labs, and convince the good doctor into treating her more as guest than a science experiment.” Acropolis smiled at his master manipulation of his friend.

“You son of a-, I guess, all well that ends well.” Brigade chuckled.

“That and like I said I wanted somepony I could trust, to watch her, and now to watch Doc.” Acropolis added.

“Doc?” Rune squeaked.

“Yep, hes been biting at the chance to study a live changeling nymph, I cant be there constantly so, Brigades visits should help deter his more, interesting, information collection techniques.” Acropolis sighs, “That pony is truly out of his mind. That and I have my own plans for her.”

“You what?” Acropolis’s statement took Brigade by surprise.

***

Glint soaked in the muck of the swamp chewing on a bug she had caught. Filled up from Brigades earlier visit she relaxes looking up at her fake night sky. Giving a deep sigh she closes her eyes. Thinking back on the days while she was in disguise in Canterlot. She liked it here. That was until they caught her. She couldn’t feel the hive, and she didn’t mind. Suddenly she felt a familiar presence causing her to sit upright in her muck.

“Not good.” She says in changeling, hoping that Brigade would come back so she could tell him that a very dangerous changeling is in Canterlot.