She was surprised at the sudden appearance of storm clouds over the town. Wrinkling her snout, Royal murmured to herself about how this would delay the takeoff of the zeppelin, as well as forcing her to continue taking orders from that infuriating minotaur.

Jango appeared beside her, ordering several pegasi into the air in an attempt to clear the clouds before the rains started. If they worked quickly, they might stop the clouds. Royal smirked at him, pretending to admire him for his quick thinking.

In truth, she knew something was very wrong with this situation. Her scouts had confirmed that the storm would pass harmlessly by the town, not over the top of it. Unlike Jango, Royal did not tolerate poor subordination. They knew well the price of their foolishness, so they wouldn't have dared to err in their reports.

The presence in her skull came back, a soft purr that calmed her and kept her in check. Royal had long since stopped questioning the presence. It told her to keep her eye on the pegasus teams, so she did. Though the clouds were black, no thunder boomed in them, prompting Royal's brain to fire up. Something must have been holding them in check. The flying ponies drew close to the clouds, nothing out of the ordinary besides the lack of lightning and rain, when that suddenly evolved into the opposite problem.

The lightning was like none she had ever seen before. It crackled and bent in mid-air, pulsing with energy. Several distinct bolts came forth, dissecting the pegasi groups and slamming several individual targets back to the ground. One such target landed near her, dead even before his bone shattering impact with the ground.

She had seen plenty of lightning strikes, more often than not due to a careless pegasus or two. Those had resulted in a zap, some pain and a few singed hairs, but rarely caused any serious damage. These lightning strikes were nothing like that. They flew into their targets with precision accuracy, burning flesh where they struck. One pegasus took the brunt of one bolt to the chest, stopping her heart as the electricity passed through her. She fell to the ground, a scorch mark on her chest.

Several other pegasi suffered similar fates, the skies themselves turning against the ponies which once ruled them. Along with the lightning, a sudden downpour began, quickly soaking through most ponies coats and manes to their skin. It wasn't terribly cold, so their wasn't a soul who immediately began shivering, but it wouldn't have taken much more for the rain to threaten with possible hypothermia to these who didn't keep moving.

Within minutes, the flyers gave up, returning to ground. The lightning storm calmed once more though the rain remained. The sudden halt of lightning seemed to send a message that flying units were it's primary-and only--concern. Royal's eyes turned back to the airship.

The minotaur was descending the loading ramp, holding a sledgehammer in his meaty hands. The presence returned to her, tingling her mind as it ordered her to find whatever was responsible for this.

A rumble that traveled through the earth shortened her search considerably.

climbing onto a nearby roof, Royal looked out over the desert and, to her dismay, saw buffalo descending upon her troops, as well as Jango's and the reinforcements that the minotaur had brought. She was dismayed because the Dawn's Light were more than powerful enough to hold their line. If just a small group had been present, that would have changed, but Royal couldn't spot her personal quarry anywhere.

The presence shifted in her mind, bringing memories of her battle in the mine to the surface of her thoughts, along with a name.

"Eclipse."

She'd have him when he showed his face. Then she'd send him to be dissected, to find where his strange magical abilities came from. After that, he would be her personal trophy. Along with those rebels. She felt the feelings of approval emanate from the back of her mind.

A bright dot on the edge of her vision called to her attention, bringing her head around. A group of ponies, one of which had a red glow around him.

Grinning, Royal readied her whip. He would come to her, then they would have a rematch. How fortunate that good things come to those who wait.

Eclipse laughed as the pegasi flew back to the ground, unwilling to contend with his conjured storm. "Mother Earth's got more tricks than that, boys!" He promised to the Dawn's Light. "And to think, we haven't even hit the volcano stage!"

Braeburn patted him on the back. "That was mighty impressive, Eclipse. If you ever invite me, remind me to never go to wherever it is you're from."

Bringing another part of his magic to the surface, Eclipse didn't answer beyond a confirming grunt. He motioned with his hoof for the others to advance. His was a special team. While the buffalo contended with the main body of their opponents, Eclipse and his select group would break through and take on the enemy leadership.

Actually fighting through the confusion was easy, most of the enemy mistaking the troop for some of their own. The few who might have realized the truth were too embroiled in their personal fights with buffalo to care much about them.

Putting a spear through an earth pony who had stumbled too close, Dust Demon took cover beside a building on the edge of the town. "I'm going for Jango. Try not to blast me with lightning, you got it?"

Eclipse nodded a response, watching the pegasi take flight in an attempt to sneak up on his target, as nopony expected someone to be flying after the mass lightning storm Eclipse had just caused.

Sagebrush took a step forward. "I'll take care of some of the guards around this area. Give us a place to retreat should things get hairy."

Eclipse sucked in a breath as he prepared to go for his own target. "Sure you can handle it?"

"Hah! I haven't been this excited since our assault on the mine! And not before that since I was in service!"

"You were a guard?" Eclipse asked, temporarily forgetting the battle he was in the middle of.

"Oh, no." Sagebrush shook his head. "I was a berserker."

With a fierce battle cry, the green earth pony pounced on a group of soldiers trying to block the street, exploding with the same burst of strength and speed he had used during his one pony attack on the mine barracks.

Braeburn shook his head. "He always seemed to talk less than the rest of us."

Eclipse shifted his weight, leaning against the wall of the building. When Sagebrush had routed the closest group of soldiers, Eclipse and Breaburn stealthily moved forward, scouting for their own targets as well as watching for the second group that had come into the town.

The second squadron was headed by Silverstar and Fateweaver, with Silverstar's rebels making up the main body of the secondary force.They were tasked with taking out the zeppelin.

Breaburn tapped Eclipse on the shoulder. "They might be in the jailhouse. Jango probably is, anyhow." He pointed to the building in question, just down the street from where the two currently were.

As if to confirm his suspicions, Dust Demon burst through a window in the building's side, tangled up with Jango as the two tried to beat each other down.

Eclipse retreated into an alley. "Help him." He ordered. "I'll keep watch for Royal and that minotaur."

As Braeburn nodded and left, Eclipse activated his honesty abilities. Almost immediately, an orange phantom whip sprung up, aimed at his torso. Bringing up a hoof to shield himself, he wasn't very surprised at who was on the other end of the snakelike weapon.

Royal snarled as her whip wrapped around Eclipse's hoof. Even as she was frustrated by his preternatural speed in response to her attack, she felt a twinge of satisfaction that she had caught him off-guard. Pulling the whip taut, she then jumped, pulling again with all her might.

Rocketing towards Eclipse, she reveled in the surprise in his eyes, even as he managed to sidestep out of her path. Holding on to her whip, she swung around, turning her weapon into a cocoon for the troublesome pony. Despite several shouts of protest and heavy struggling, Royal soon had him tied up and on the ground. Perhaps a bow to finish the wrapping?

A lance of pain ran through her head. Not an extreme burst, but enough for her to flinch. Clearly, she had overstepped her bounds. Eclipse didn't notice, or perhaps didn't care. His eyes and hooves started to glow red again, a sign of sure trouble for the mare standing over him. She lifted a hoof, preparing to knock him out, but he rolled into ther legs, tripping her and sending her sprawling to the ground.

Grimacing, she quickly climbed back to her hooves and turned to see Eclipse finish wiggling out of her trap. Jumping at him from the side, she had been hoping to flank him, but he quickly responded with a hoof to her face. Now dazed, Royal danced away, dodging several more jabs from him as he took the offensive.

Clearing her head, she felt more than ready to continue the fight, but a nagging feeling told her to wait for Grudge, the self arrogant minotaur who had come to oversee their retreat. She didn't know how she knew, she just knew that he must be nearby.

Obeying the pressure the feeling was laying on her, she switched to a delaying tactic. Keep far enough away to evade attacks, but stay close enough to keep interest. Her change in attitude didn't go unnoticed however, as Eclipse activated the strange power that allowed him to summon objects and contort the world around him.

This time, he pulled a rubber band out from thin air, firing it at her. Royal avoided the puny missile, but the moment of distraction it caused allowed Eclipse to rush her, his front hooves covered in stone he had pulled from the ground. Dodging his first strike, she realized that the rock gauntlets Eclipse had rapidly constructed were nigh indestructible, as demonstrated by a hole he had punched into the side of a building.

He also seemed to be enhancing his physical strength with his powers. While one part of her mind wondered if that was how he was so quick to react to her attacks, another part guided her back to her whip, lying on the ground nearby. Retrieving the weapon, she lashed at her opponent, hoping to drive him back. Instead, he waded into the range of her strike, deftly ducking under the whip's pitiless form.

A shadow appeared behind Eclipse, large and bulky. Smiling, Royal allowed him another few feet of space, fully aware that this fight would soon be over and she would be justly compensated for her success.

Eclipse advanced on Royal, aiming for a one hit victory. The stone gauntlets he had improvised lent his punches weight, while his own magic kept him swinging his best.

Just as he reared back for his next strike, a heavy object slammed into his side. Flying several dozen feet away from where he was standing, Eclipse rolled over the ground, dazed and confused. Wondering what had snuck up on him, he realized with dismay that he could only see phantoms that were approaching from the front, leaving the rest of him without any future warning of an attack.

Climbing to his hooves despite the pain of at least one broken rib, he found Royal standing next to a large minotaur, a mighty sledgehammer in its grasp.

As the two came forward, Eclipse had the pleasant surprise of Jango being tossed at them from the side. Flicking his eyes over, but leaving his head facing the equally surprised pair who had jumped away from the living missile, he breathed a sigh of relief when Dust Demon and Braeburn wandered into his vision.

Dust Demon dashed forward, using his entire body's weight to back his hooves as they slammed into the minotaur's skull. At least, in theory. In truth, the minotaur swung his hammer true, the head colliding with the pegasi's shoulder and tossing him to the ground a few yards away from Eclipse.

A clear "Ow..." escaped the wounded pegasus as he tried to stand but fell back to the ground, clearly finished with the fight.

The minotaur raised his hammer in victory. "None can hold against the might of Grudge!" He bellowed, his voice resonating off the building around them.

Eclipse snarled.

Grudge turned towards him, surprised. "What's wrong little pony? Scared to meet your maker?"

Braeburn took a step back when Eclipse's snarl turned into a grin. "Yep, he's lost it."

Royal looked at him questioningly, but quickly turned her full attention to the pony and the minotaur who were currently engaged in what seemed to be a high stakes staring contest.

His low patience quickly eroding, Grudge raised his hammer in a charge against Eclipse. Eclipse charged as well, but bent low to the ground and slid between the minotaur's legs. Infuriated at the ploy, Grudge turned, hoping to find Eclipse still regaining his footing. Instead, Eclipse had already flung himself at the minotaur, landing squarely on Grudge's face and using the minotaur's horns to hold on.

Grudge grabbed Eclipse and flung him away, barely realizing that he was flinging him directly towards Royal. The mare saw Eclipse land on his hooves and slide along the dirt, continuing his momentum towards her. As he continued across the loose dirt, he grinned and pulled his right hoof back.

Once he was less than a foot away from Royal, he dug into the ground, driving his momentum into the ground and jumping back in a pounce that was assisted by the ground rising up and pushing Eclipse back at Grudge. Despite the massive resistance and pain his body had felt to the sudden stop, reversal and acceleration, Eclipse held his hoof in its 'ready to punch' position.

A cone of fire grew around his hoof as Eclipse began pouring a heavy dose of chaos into his entire front leg. "Falcon..."

Grudge had retrieved his sledgehammer, but even he hadn't expected Eclipse to give up the opening on a surprised Royal that he had accidentally opened. Braeburn watched slack-jawed as Eclipse hit Grudge in the stomach for all either of them were worth, sending the great bull man through the wall of a building. "Punch!"

Despite the obvious drain on his physical and magical energy, Eclipse managed to spin about, launching several large stones from the ground around him and throwing in a cannonball he had found for good measure.

Diving to the ground, Royal was pelted by several smaller projectiles but avoided the brunt of the sudden attack. Getting up and readying her whip, she realized that Jango was beginning to stir. Smiling, she lashed her weapon at Eclipse. The trick he had just pulled wouldn't kill Grudge, she knew, but the minotaur would certainly be kept out of field operations for a while yet.

Eclipse jumped back, avoiding the attack entirely. Jango managed to bring himself to a standing position, facing off with Braeburn. Those two would keep each other company.

In the moment it took her to make that thought, Eclipse had fired a small orange energy blast at her. Without enough time to dodge, she brought a hoof up, hoping to shield her face. The ball dissipated upon hitting her, leaving her entirely unharmed.

Surprised at first, it took Royal only a few seconds to start laughing. "Is that it?" She sneered at him. "All out?"

Eclipse smiled, a cocky lopsided smile. Like he knew something she didn't. It was infuriating to Royal. She had always had a weakness for that kind of -- what was she thinking? This was the time for fighting!

Charging forward, she managed a glancing blow to Eclipse's injured side, the same side Grudge had hit him with his hammer. His face contorted with pain, Royal felt a pang of guilt. But... why? She had done far worse than this, she knew.

Off put by the sudden change in her thought patterns, Royal almost didn't notice Eclipse buck her away from him. This was followed by another orange sphere of energy.

Grunting to herself, Royal shook her head to clear it. Something was wrong. She shouldn't be this unfocused. The small presence in her mind buzzed with confusion, trying to reorient her on her goals. But it seemed so much farther away than normal...

She had to end this fight now.

Eclipse had to fight to keep the grin off his face. If he could pump a few more pieces of honesty into her system, it would override the loyalty someone else had forced onto her mind. Even now, he could see the magenta aura around her starting to fade. If only the others could see this secondary battle that was being waged.

Breaburn had been tackled by Jango, but Dust Demon had also recovered and was helping the earth pony in his fight. From the looks of things, though, he wasn't able to fly until he got medical attention.

Royal bit into the handle of her whip with her frustrations, twisting her neck to strike at him again. Putting his hoof up in defense, Eclipse let the whip wrap around his ankle. Instead of waiting for Royal to pull at it like she had at the beginning of the fight, he grippe it securely and tugged the weapon right out of her mouth.

Pulling the whip towards him and grabbing the handle with his hoof, Eclipse reacted with a slight panic when he saw the shadow of something loom over him. Twisting around and lashing with the whip, he cut Grudge's face open across the cheek and nose.

Dancing away from the enraged minotaur, he could only watch as the bull charged forward, picking up Jango on his way and making a beeline for his airship.

Turning, Eclipse noticed that Royal had fled as well, deeming the fight unwinnable without her weapon or allies.

Breathing a deep sigh of relief, Eclipse chuckled when he saw the airship erupt in flames, along with a good deal of Dawn's Light balloons. The accompanying howl of rage from Grudge brought him to full on laughter.