The smell of old paper and dried ink filled Acropolis' nostrils. It calmed him, reminded him of quiet nights and of Rune. He opened his mouth to sigh and felt stands fall against his lips. He stuck out his tongue slightly to see what was against his lips, hair. Soft and long, and certainly not his. He opened his eyes slowly, it was dark but he could still see the mess of orange-pink hair inches from his face. Through the mess of hair he could see Runes face, she was sleeping peacefully. He could feel her breath on his face, it was slow and steady. The room was silent besides their breathing. He closed his eyes and listened to it. It had been so long since he had heard silence, real, true silence. No static, no orders, nothing, just his own thoughts. A glass clinking on his table made his burst open his eyes.

"I am disappointed, Acropolis." The glass clinked again. Acropolis could make out a figure sitting on his couch. Rune moaned slightly as she adjusted her position. "I figured you would tear this country apart searching for me."

"Hannibal." Acropolis' voice was raspy.

"Shhh," Hannibal refilled his glass, "You'll wake Rune up."

"Why are you here?" Acro stretched out his wing to cover Rune, just in case Hannibal tries anything.

"I came to ask you a question." The plop of ice falling into his rink seemed threatening somehow.

"Then ask it." Whispering was beginning to hurt his throat.

"Why aren't you chasing me?" Hannibal's question landed hard on Acropolis' mind.

Why wasn't I chasing him? What was so important that I would ignore him? The moonstone, Asyl, his planning to expand, his manipulation of the guard, his plans to use Spinneret, all of it rushed into his mind. Eyes eyes drew wide, shocked at his own plots. What was I doing? Plotting and planning as this maniac roamed free? I was a fool, lead astray by. Wait, the static. I was going mad?

"Luna bottled up her madness, and under such pressure, the bottle cracked." He sipped his drink, "And it leaked into you two. Driving you mad, taking her desires and imposing them on you. Which is why, I waited, waited for you two to regain yourselves."

"Why?"

"Why? Why, for the chase of course. What fun is running from somepony whom isn't chasing you? Im up to four, Acropolis. When I hit seven my task will be done and then we will fight, unless you get me before then." he put down his empty glass. "You two survived nightmare moons influence, something even I failed at. But now you know the madness, the burning desire to conquer, to murder, that Luna burns with every moment of every night. But be aware, the taint of Nightmare Moon may be gone, but her effects linger."

"What are you talking about?"

"Be wary Acropolis, you are in service to the queen of insanity. The best advice I can give you, is to never loose your focus again." Hannibal got up from the couch and moved slowly over to the window.

"My focus?"

"Yes, why did you became a guard, why do you burn with the desire to protect?"

"To stop what happened to me from happening again." As Acro spoke he could see a grin come across Hannibal's face.

"And how do you plan to stop that?"

"By being just as unpredictable." Acropolis ginned in the dark.

"I will kill again in two weeks, and then the hunt is on. I am expecting you this time, chase me Acropolis. Come, kill me, if you can." Hannibal quietly teleported from the room, leaving Acropolis with his thoughts and the still sleeping Rune. He laid back down next to Rune, He reached out with his wings and pulled her in close to him. Her smell once again filled his nostrils. She moaned and wrapped her arms around him in return. He could see her smile through her messy mane.

Celestia sat on her throne reading a letter from Twilight that had arrived that morning. It detailed Luna's reappearance in Ponyville and how she took the recovering Acropolis and Rune Shift from her care. Luna had walked in, grabbed Rune and Acro in her magic, and teleported away, no greeting, no explanation, nothing. But what concerned Celestia wasn't Luna stealing her guards from Twilight, it was  Twilight's description of Luna. Her use of Nightmare Moon-esque disturbed her. Coco and Gumshoe stood at the base of the throne in their civilian clothes. Gumshoe looked angry and Coco was falling asleep, neither of them liked be woken up this early.

"Thank you both for coming," Celestia addressed the guards before her, "It would seem Luna has returned, and in her return, has taken Captain Acropolis and Lieutenant Rune Shift with her." Celestias body language changed, she seemed to tower over them, "Now I must ask you both a very serious question," Celestia leaned down and whispered to them, "Have you seen my sister?" The question seemed more like a threat.

"Princess," Gumeshoe cracked a smile, "I can assure you if we see her you will be he first to know."

"Very well," Celestia looks from Coco and back to Gumshoe, "You are dismissed."

"No need to search for me sister!" Luna's voice echoed through the throne room. She stood alone and in full regalia in the doorway. Everypony just stared at the transformed Luna. Celestia looked terrified, she could barely handle Nightmare Moon, but a fully in control Luna would be far to much. It wouldn't even be a fight, Celestia didn't stand a chance. The minute of so it took for Luna to reach the throne seemed to stretch on forever. Her hooves landed like anvils, the clink of her regalia sounded like church bells, her mane seemed to suck the light out of the room, and she never took her eyes off of her sister.

"Prince-" Flash looked up at Celestia only to stop dead as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of the sun princesses face. She's terrified, Flash looked back at the towering black princess approaching, "Halt!" As the words left his mouth Celestia's wing moved to silence him. Luna stopped her approach and slowly turned her head to look at Flash. Her eyes meet his, her deep, cold, purple eyes seemed to look right through him. The tip of her horn lit up, it felt like his mind was being squeezed.

"Luna!" Celestia was trying to sound firm, even if she was terrified. Luna dispelled her magic, letting Flash go. The sisters locked eyes once again. Luna was mere steps from the throne now. "I was worried about you, should I still be worried?"

"I came for my throne." Luna said flatly, her voice sent chills through the room. Flash looked up at Celestia again, she looked calm but he had served her long enough to see what was really going on. Celestia was no longer terrified, she was scared for her life.

Acropolis sat in his chambers inspecting his armor. The black steel construction held up well, but the weld marks from the royal forge bothered him. His armor was repaired, but he was hesitant to put it on out of fear that it would kill him. Before Luna dropped them off she had told them she augmented their armor's enchantments. However she said their new abilities were a secret that only she would know. The sun was up, light was beginning to filter in through the curtains. They cast beautiful shades of blue and purple across the room, Spinneret had made them for him. He sighed heavy, knowing what he had planned for her, he didn't remember everything clearly but he remembered enough to feel bad about it. The light hit the armor, how it shined, the glint of the sun of the black steel seemed to ask 'why are you not wearing me?'

"Acro." Rune was awake, she was sitting up in the bed and had been watching him. She slowly climbed out of the bed and walked over to him. Beside his armor was hers, the stitching was garish. Hers was repaired rather hastily it would seem.

"What should we do?" Acro ran his wing along the back of the armor, like he was caressing a lover.

"You once told me to embrace my madness, to channel it." She grabbed his chin with her magic and gently moved his face so she could look him in the eye, "To make it something useful, take what we are feeling now and use it to do better." She kissed him tenderly, "After all I am your little monster."

"You always know just what to say." Acropolis' grin grew wide. He grabbed his helmet a slid it on, he moved to put on the rest of his armor but its magically appeared on his body, "Well thats new-" Dozens of large magical screws appeared all over his body, "Ah, this is gonna hurt isnt it-" It gave a loud crack as the screws all sunk into his body, he could feel their magic pumping into his flesh, repairing it, restoring his strength. The armor began to shake as it morphed into large scale-like plates with sharp edges like blades. The edges of the scale plates were silver, like moon light. His teeth sharpened again and his tongue became forked. The helm changed shape and came further down on his head, sprouting a visor to protect his eyes. Two large plates shot out of his hips adding extra protection to his hid quarters. Steam shot out from under his armor. He didnt scream, he stood there and took it. His transformation complete he was left gasping but upright. "Whooo, that, sucked." he gave a weak chuckle as he fell onto the couch.  

"My turn I guess." Rune lifted up her armor and slowly lowered it on her. The magic screws appeared all round her, she clenched her eyes shut in anticipation. The screws drilled into her, forcing her to a knee. The leather padding melted away reforming into more of a dress than armor. She could feel bindings wrapping around her thighs, a black choker digging into her neck, and the fabric pull tight across her chest. Runic writing lined the whole outfit, she could feel the magic coursing through her, amplifying and focusing her own. Her helmet reformed into a circlet fitted with a purple jewel. After a moment steam shot out from under her dress, her face was red as she got back onto her feet. She walked over to the couch on wobbly legs and sat down next to Acropolis.

"Nice dress." He commented eyeing her black dress socks.

"Nice plate." She ran a hoof along an edge of his armor. "Sharp."

When you are able come to the throne room. Luna's voice echoed in their minds. They looked at each other, and smiled their toothy smiles.  

"WHAT!" Brigade slammed his hooves into the briefing table. The guard opposite him staggered at the force of his slamming, the table barely withstood the force.

"P-P-Princess Luna looks like Nightmare Moon, and was heading to the throne room." The panicked guard explains. "What are we to do sir? Captain Flash is in the throne room."

"Stay here, I have to check something." Brigade picked up his spear and hesitated for second before picking up the Lunar Panzer shield and leaving the barracks.  

The door to Luna's private armory swung open as Brigade pressed on it with his shield. It was dark as he entered the oppressive room. He moved to the statute of Nightmare Moon where Luna had stored Nightmare Moons armor. A basic light spell activated automatically in the room so he could see.

"This isn't good." He spoke under his breath. Before him stood a new statue of princess Luna, with her regalia placed on it. "This isnt good at all."

The surface of the swamp rippled suddenly as Chrysalis floated casually about. Glint looked up from her muck pile in a attempt to find the source of the ripple. Chrysalis fluttered her wings, looked up to the ceiling and smiled.

"I think the queen has returned my dear."

"Queen, mother?" Glint asked.

"The Queen of Madness, Glint." Chrysalis's grin grew.

"You mean princess Luna?"

"Yes, the princess has finally accepted herself, just as I planned. And soon, my daughter, we will have our new hive, here in Canterlot!" Chrysalis was excited at the prospect of rebuilding her hive. Glint looked sadly at her mother, she may be kinder than she was but she was still a Queen. And Queens need thrones.