Thorn did not know what he expected when he entered the room he had shown Eclipse to last night, but it was most assuredly not this.

From the unsure expression Eclipse had worn upon entering the room, Thorn had thought the pony would have smashed a hole in the wall by the time dawn finally came around.

Based on the pony's unique magical powers, Thorn might have shrugged off any manner of eldritch* abomination or arcane horror in the room, provided Eclipse managed to vanquish it before it caused any serious harm.

The changeling may even have been able to forgive seeing one or both of the Equestrian princesses. Three, including the one at the Crystal Empire.

Instead, the earth pony was listening to a radio in the room, likely by reading a disk with the music on it than actually receiving a radio signal. The peacefulness of the scene is what had surprised Thorn. What really struck him as odd, though, was the stallion's closed eyes and bobbing head as he listened to the song, composed by the very same band of changelings Eclipse had passed on watching in concert.

One beauty of the changeling anatomy was their unique vocal structure, allowing them to imitate any target they chose. The added need of the ability to make the chittering that made up the natural changeling language resulted in the ability to create an astounding array of grunts, chirps, tweets** and other vocal sounds that were impossible for the normal pony, griffin or even minotaur*** to reproduce.

This was used to great effect in various forms of changeling art--when produced by a free-willed changeling, of course--most notably music and singing.

Based on the tapping hoof that was keeping in tune with the song and the mouth that teetered on the edge of movement, wanting to copy the sounds but finding itself unsure how to even begin, Thorn believed that Eclipse was very much enjoying the piece. Not to forget the aforementioned bobbing head and closed eyes.

After a minute or two, Eclipse had turned to find Thorn standing in the doorway. The changeling nodded once, letting a smile creep onto his features. "Enjoying yourself?"

Eclipse shut off the radio, nodding in return. He sighed, mentally preparing himself for the day. "Can we visit Aranna? I'm kinda worried about her."

Thorn shuffled on his hooves. "I believe so. It may work to calm her, at the very least."

Less than a fifteen minute walk had the two standing before a beetle and a classic changeling guarding a cell, one of several in a hall. They were empty, with the exception of one with an angry griffin who was emitting a blistering amount of heat from her body. Her armor and sword were stashed within a chest at the entrance of the cell block. The door out of the cell block led to a small office where one changeling was sitting at a desk. From there, there was a door into Blackreach Hive proper, then a door to another cell block, where the few dis-orderlies that were imprisoned had been moved to when Aranna had come in.

Thorn suppressed a flinch. "We had to enchant the cell to be heat resistant. She has already melted through the bars of one such cell." He gestured towards a cell just two over from Aranna's. The bars were twisted and/or warped, some with chunks melted off.

The griffin shot a look at Eclipse. "Oh? So you're working with them after all?" She snorted derisively. "I thought you might have actually escaped. Guess I was played."

Eclipse gave her a dubious expression. "Do I look like I'm working with them?"

One of the cell guards coughed, making Eclipse realize that he was, in fact, outside the cell with three changelings on his side, while Aranna was locked within. The griffin watched curiously as he applied copious amounts of hoof to his face.

Thorn and the two guards looked anywhere except at the griffin or the pony.

Eclipse raised his hoof, starting again. "What I meant was that I'm not working with them. In fact, I might actually be able to get you out of there if you don't, ah, take off any heads."

Aranna crossed her arms over her chest, scowling at him. "And who's to say that you're not a changeling who's dressed up as Eclipse?"

Eclipse answered immediately, expression deadpan. "When I first saw you in your armor, my jaw fell open. You used your sword to close it. Amazingly, you didn't give me so much as a paper-cut when you did so."

Thorn put a hoof over the cut he had received from Aranna's sword. He wouldn't have let that thing anywhere near his throat!

Aranna blinked. "You... don't waste time, do you?"

Eclipse shrugged. "Not exactly the kind for wasting time. Never really have been. Anyway, can I at least get a promise that you'll stop doing... that freaky... fire... thing. Seriously, how are you doing that? I should have brought marshmallows or something." It was a good thing he had left his cloak and glasses in the office with the desk jockey. The cloth would have kept heat and the HUD would have melted. Even without the cloak, Eclipse was sweating and breathing heavily.

Aranna frowned, turning her head away. "I don't want to talk about it."

Thorn tapped Eclipse, but didn't move any closer to Aranna. "Most changelings only know the legends, but their is surely someone who can separate fact from exaggeration. Plus, you still need to find the location of Nexus hive."

Aranna snapped her head back to the changeling, the heat around her dying down. "Nexus hive? You mean there's more of you?"

"Yes." Thorn confirmed. "And they are the cause of your distress. Not Blackreach."

Aranna slammed her fist into the bars of the cell. "You have to let me out of here! I'll cut those Nexus cretins down where they stand!"

Eclipse waved his hoof. "Clearly you didn't hear. We don't even know where Nexus is at!"

Aranna cooled down, both temperamentally and with regards to actual temperature. The air was almost back to its normal setting. "Then find them! And don't you dare leave this hive without me, you understand?"

Thorn shook his head yes as an affirmative to her statement. "When Eclipse leaves Blackreach, you will automatically be released to join him. For release before then, you will need to maintain your self-control. We only keep you here to protect out citizens."

Aranna's wings twitched, but she didn't answer.

"So, can we all get going?" Eclipse hopefully asked, moving his hoof in a circular pattern.

Aranna grunted an agreement, also promising to keep the heater turned off after some prodding.

Thorn saluted. "Aff, Eclipse. With some fortune, we may send you on your way before any more incidents occur."

The two left, leaving Aranna with her two guards. The normal changeling looked to his beetle companion, making a few quick chitters and clacking with his jaw.

In response, the beetle pulled out a box that read 'checkers' from underneath his large shell.

Aranna had to stop and contemplate the sight for a few seconds.

One of the changelings spared her a glance. "Would you like to play winner?"

"Yeah, I can help you out." The changeling said, using a cloth to clean the glass in his hooves.

"See, Thorn? What'd I tell you?" Eclipse asked, leaning back on his bar stool. "You ask around the seedy dives and you'll find what you're looking for. As long as you can pay the price."

The scorpionfly changeling glanced around, a hint of anxiety in his movements. "I still dislike our surroundings, Eclipse. Plus, we have yet to hear a price be named."

Eclipse looked back to the bartender, flashing a grin.

The changeling didn't react other than to put the glass with several others, all freshly cleaned. "In a few hours we open up the ring. Current champion's scaring off all the contenders, plus the gamblers and our profits. Put him down, I'll tell you how to reach Nexus."

Thorn grimaced. "Underground fight club. Just a more advanced dog fight." He turned to Eclipse. "These practices are not illegal, but they are relegated to a lower standing than most other forms of entertainment. Please consider your options."

"Relax." Eclipse said, shrugging. "I knock someone out, we get our info, Aranna and I move out and demolish Nexus Hive. Everyone wins, except my opponent and Nexus. Easy-peasy."

Thorn and Eclipse shared a glance, the former apprehensive while the latter was confident.

The bartender grumbled out a statement. "Two rules: No magic. No weapons. The customers want a straight brawl with no killing, you got it?"

"No magic?" Eclipse asked, frowning.

"Beetles haven't got the magical power of the other changelings. Besides, an earth pony like yourself would be at a disadvantage, yeah?"

Eclipse and Thorn shared another glance. This time, Thorn was the more confident of the two, having been reassured by the 'no magic' rule. Eclipse found himself lacking in confidence now, aware that his chaos magic was strictly off-limits if he wanted Nexus Hive's location.

Their were other places they could ask, but this was the first in a long line of similar places that actually had what they needed. Eclipse sighed, nodding his head. "I'll do it. But if you double-cross me, Blackreach will find itself short one bartender."

The changeling gave a toothy smile. "Beat Whiplash, you won't need to worry about it. Fail, and you're on your own, bloody nose and all."

Author's Notes:

* eldritch keeps trying to correct itself into the word 'britches'.
** not the kind of tweet most humans make. How the f%ck would Twitter even exist in Equestria?
*** Yeah, go ahead and ignore the cows, buffalo, goats, dragons, sea serpents and other species in Equestria (and beyond!) that are capable of speech. Racist.