Eclipse was keeping his magic at a low burn, using up enough energy to turn his eyes into a pair of lanterns, shining light forward so the group would know where they were going. Following him was Aranna, who was bringing up the rear, while Thorn was using his magic to keep a green glow around himself and the others.

They had been trapped and wandering for at least several hours and nightfall was coming. Even if neither the sun or moon shone light into the cave, night was heralded by the slowly dropping temperature.

When a group of loose stones fell from the ceiling, the entire group turned towards the sound, with Aranna brandishing her sword and Eclipse preparing a magical assault. Thorn turned as well, mind already whirling with strategies and combat situations should they be needed.

Eclipse swallowed. "I don't care how many false alarms hit us, I'm still feeling watched."

"Not watched. Searched for." Aranna said, her voice low as she adjusted the grip she had on her sword. "We need to kill the lights."

"How would we know where we are going?" Thorn asked. "It would be too easy for us to get separated!"

"You're just worried about getting sucked into that hive mind. I'd be worried too, in your position, but that won't be a concern if we're ripped limb from limb!"

"The hive mind should very well be a concern!" Thorn hissed. "All the experience of those changelings is working in concert, whether they're willing or not!"

"Will you two shut up!?" Eclipse said in a strong whisper, though it sounded like a yell in the silence of the cave.

The two complied, soon hearing what had spooked Eclipse. The sound of an approaching changeling was coming from just around a nearby building. The trio shared a glance, nodding and muttering "kill the lights" to each other.

The area was bathed in blackness as the three slipped into another building, their way illuminated by the faint blue glow of a large mushroom.

The hoofsteps became louder, until they abruptly stopped just outside. Aranna slowly started to lean back towards the doorway, but Eclipse and Thorn pulled her back just as a bright yellow light shone into the building, coming from the door and every window lining the wall that the three had taken cover behind.

Outside, the changeling buzzed its wings, the light fading into and out of existence every few seconds until it finally shut off.

Eclipse peaked over the edge of a window, just barely making out the outline of a changeling as it approached another house, just across from the one they were in. The changeling bashed the door down, causing a loud crash that echoed throughout the area for some time before dying out.

The yellow light flared again, coming from the changeling's odd tail. It was thick and short, looking like a lantern that had been glued to the changeling's flank. A pair of antennae sprouted from the changeling's head, waving around as they 'smelled' for any oddities in the air. Its wings buzzed lightly as it scanned the building.

the light died for a moment before it flared again, with the changeling looking back at the building Eclipse, Thorn and Aranna were hiding inside. Eclipse ducked, forcibly keeping himself from panicking at almost having been seen.

The changeling began walking towards the building, the light flashing on and off every few seconds.

The changeling almost reached the door, when a small stone fell from the ceiling of the cave, distracting it. Turning away, the changeling investigated the stone before deciding it wasn't worth its time, continuing on its way down the path, occasionally stopping to break down a door or stick its head inside a window.

Once the flashing light and hoofsteps had faded into nonexistence, Eclipse released his breath. "Too close."

"Why not just kill it?" Aranna said. "It'd be easier, that's for sure."

"Hive mind." Thorn said, tapping his head with a hoof. "If even one is alerted to us, or if one suddenly vanishes from the collective conscious, they will know where we are."

The griffin grimaced. "We can't sneak around forever."

"Well, we have to." Eclipse muttered. "I don't like it either. Heck, my entire strategy up to this point as been 'hit it until it stops moving.' But this..." He poked his head back out of the window, motioning to the others that it was clear. "This is something new altogether."

The group quickly filed out of the building, continuing to venture into the depths of Icewind hive. But now, they didn't keep a light source up and running.

Eclipse crept forward, slowly peaking around a corner until he was sure that there weren't any changelings. Motioning the others forward, he rounded the corner, keeping a healthy supply of magic prepared for anything.

Thorn stopped, scanning the houses. "I had a friend who lived in this area. she was... a firefly, I believe."

"Like the one that almost found us?" Aranna asked.

Thorn bowed his head. "Yes."

Eclipse was just a few dozen feet further ahead, his ear on a door as he listened for any movement on the other side. Hearing nothing, he decided that wasn't proof enough that the building was clear and crept over to a window to peer inside.

He couldn't have been happier that he did so, as a scorpionfly was stalking around the room, silent as a ghost as its scorpion tail twitched every so often.

Eclipse slowly ducked his head back below the windowsill, motioning to Thorn and Aranna to keep quiet and stay low.

They crept past the building and continued on their way, skirting along a darkened section of the cave wall as they moved forward, spotting several more hunting changelings silhouetted against the blue glow of the fungi, or the yellow lights of firefly changelings. Sometimes, it would be a group of changelings that entered their field of vision, rather than a singular entity.

The trio broke away from the wall just to find such a group headed directly for them, but not having noticed them yet.

Taking cover behind a partially collapsed wall, Eclipse waited as the changelings moved past them, unknowingly getting within several yards of their prey. One firefly changeling stopped suddenly, it's antenna twitching. It turned, as did every other changeling in the group as the hive mind transmitted the firefly's findings to every changeling connected to it.

Eclipse stopped breathing when he noticed the growing sound of hoofsteps as the changelings drew infinitely closer. Aranna put both sets of talons over her beak and Thorn crouched low to the ground.

With little warning, a small, beetle-like insect scurried out of cover, darting away. It was quickly impaled by the tip of a scorpionfly's tail, before being drawn up towards the changeling's face.

*Crunch*

Aranna fought her desire to gag as the changelings turned away, continuing on their group patrol. Once both the firefly's light and the entire group's hoofsteps had vanished, the group breathed a sigh of relief.

"The search quickly grows thicker." Thorn muttered. "We must be drawing nearer to an exit."

"Thank the royal sisters." Eclipse muttered, leaning against the wall. "The sooner I get out of the cave is all the better."

Aranna silenced the both of them, scanning the area. "You hear that?"

Thorn glanced around, straining. "Is someone... crying?"

Eclipse briefly searched for the sound as well, but once he heard it he almost immediately spun away from it and began marching in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Aranna said, stopping him. "I'm not a fan of changelings, but I've managed to avoid killing Thorn so far and we need as much help as we can get. If someone survived this, they've got answers."

"Aranna, listen to me." Eclipse said, scared out of his wits. "T-that is not the sound of a survivor."

Thorn stood. "I recognize that voice. It's not a friend, but I still know her."

"Thorn, don't." Eclipse urged, swallowing.

"I have to." He said running towards the sound as fast as he could while still staying silent.

"Come on." Aranna said, following.

Eclipse stared after them, but when he faced the prospect of going through Icewind hive alone, he quickly decided that there was every possibility that he was wrong after all.

"Thorn stop." Eclipse said, finally convincing the changeling to stop. The sound of crying was clearly audible now. "We really don't want to do this.

"I know that voice, Eclipse!" Thorn said. "If it were a pony, you'd be helping them in a heartbeat!"

"If we were talking ponies, I'd be turning tail and running several times faster." Eclipse pleaded. "Look, something's not right and you now it! Why would a survivor let themselves alert every hive mind in earshot?"

"Because she reached her breaking point!" Thorn growled. "She's likely traumatized and possibly hurt!"

Aranna frowned to herself. She could swear that the crying was getting louder, even though they had stopped moving.

"Thorn, I need you to trust me. If we keep going, we will fall right into a trap."

"Eclipse, you have no idea--!" Thorn stopped and growled to himself. "Whether you admit it or not, you'd help a pony!"

It didn't make any sense, but it certainly sounded louder. Aranna kept her sword sheathed, but raised her shield just in case.

"Again, I'd abandon the pony making those noises much faster."

"Then you are a heartless fool." Thorn spat.

"I just like to survive!"

"You'd abandon everyone?"

"If I have to, ye--..." He stopped suddenly, blinking several times. "Thorn, what was her name?"

"Excuse me?"

"The changeling." Eclipse clarified. "You said you recognized her. Name?"

Thorn slowly became aware of how silent it was around the trio.

He swallowed. "W-Witch. Her name is Witch."

"Was." Aranna muttered, though Thorn didn't hear. She slowly slid her sword out of its scabbard.

Eclipse widened his stance. "Was she a scorpionfly?"

"Yes. How did--"

"Any unusual traits?"

Thorn tried to glance behind him, but he didn't dare turn his head. "Two tails. She had two tails, but both of them were fully formed and functional, It was a beneficial mutation, if anything."

"Thorn?"

"Yes?"

"When I say three, get down."

"But--"

"One."

Thorn felt his breathing become heavy, sweat dripping down his chitin.

"Two..."

The sound of a single hoof hitting the ground behind him made his body freeze in terror.

"Three!"

Thorn dove for the ground, seconds before a screeching black form sailed over him. She was blasted back by a red lance of energy, but pounced forward again before Eclipse could get another shot off.

Aranna knocked her away from Eclipse with a shield bash, but Witch's two tails swiped at her, almost knocking her sword out of her grip.

Turning back to Eclipse, she struck with her tails, tearing the pony's cloak and putting two shallow cuts into his back.

He reacted with a crossbow, loaded with a flaming woodcutter's ax rather than regular bolts.

Witch easily avoided the missile, turning back to Aranna and attacking with several swipes of her hooves. Aranna blocked as best she could, but every time she tried to get in a strike of her own, the changeling somehow compensated, sometimes before the attack had a chance to truly begin. Eclipse couldn't use his magic without hitting Aranna, but he was of limited use without it.

"Eclipse!" Aranna yelled. "She's too fast! It's like she knows what I'm going to do before I do!"

"Her eyes!" Thorn yelled, pointing. "Eclipse, look at her eyes!"

Turning his head, Eclipse saw that, yes, Witch's eyes were orange. "Well, this is interesting..."

"Screw interesting!" Aranna yelled as one of Witch's tails put a small cut on her cheek. "Help me!" She swung her sword, but it struck empty air.

Eclipse took a deep breath, reaching for his honesty magic.

"Hey, bug girl!"

Witch turned, the hive mind equal parts curious as to what breed of insanity this pony had contracted and shocked when it saw a haze of orange images, as seen through Witch's eyes.

"Come get some."

Having not encountered this situation before, the hive mind put it's effort into observing each of the future images, simply finding ways to counter each. But then, counters for those strategies popped up, resulting in the hive mind countering those, just for the cycle to repeat again.

Infuriated, the hive mind had Witch clumsily charge into battle, forgoing any pretense of strategy and even going so far as to disengage her now useless ability.

With Witch's myriad of possible futures gone, Eclipse easily tracked the one she had left, though her speed was still enough to keep him on the defensive, with but a few short strikes being the only attacks he managed to get in.

Eclipse dove to the side, allowing Aranna to ram Witch with her shield. Less then a second later, Aranna's sword swung around, taking the end off of one of Witch's tails. The second tail struck like a snake, digging itself into the space just below the griffin's breastplate.

Grabbing the tail that had pierced her skin before Witch could strike again, Aranna headbutted the changeling, a loud clang echoing through the area. Eclipse jumped at the dazed Witch, a rapid flurry of hoof-strikes accompanying him.

Thorn turned when he saw several flashes of yellow light, realizing that the rest of the changelings in Icewind were charging their position.

"Aranna!" He screamed, a basic changeling jumping out of the shadows to attack him.

The griffin's sword dug into the changeling's abdomen, creating a wound that it would not recover from. Aranna grinned. "Where's your strategies now, bug brains?"

"Telling me that retreat is a viable option."

Witch sailed past the two, propelled by a red beam of energy. Eclipse slid to a stop between Thorn and Aranna, firing a rocket after Witch just to make sure she stayed away.

"I agree with the shapeshifter!" He declared as he spun around, grabbed his companions, and took off down the nearest path he could find.