Aranna’s shield held against another magical onslaught, green beams launching from seemingly everywhere at once. Swinging her sword, she took out another changeling in the air beside her. It was easy enough to tell the Blackreach changelings from the Nexus changelings, being that the Nexus changelings were the ones trying to kill her, not to mention the completely white eyes compared to Blackreach’s blue.

One pointed scorpion tail made it past her defenses, but it banged uselessly against her breastplate, seconds before it was separated from the rest of its owner. On the ground, several strange changelings with six legs and no horns or wings were slowly crawling over the barricade, though a few slipped and impaled themselves.

Thankfully, the thick shells and massive, curving horns of Blackreach’s beetle changelings formed an impassable wall, driving Nexus hive’s forces back, bit by bit.

Returning her attention to the fight around her, Aranna blocked a changeling’s horn jab. The horn slid down the edge of her blade, letting her spin and plant the sword in the changeling’s side in a lightning quick maneuver.

Kicking off the changeling to free her sword and send her rocketing towards a pegasus and Blackreach changeling that had been pressed back to back, Aranna tore through the group of changelings surrounding the pair. The metal claws on her shield arm raked a changeling’s face, while her sword arced around, splitting another in half.

One changeling attacked her from behind, but it rocketed away quite suddenly, propelled by the energy of the pegasi’s spear. Another changeling went after the now unarmed pegasus, but the Blackreach changeling felled it with a wave of green energy projectiles.

The Blackreach changeling grabbed the pegasi’s hooves, flinging him towards the ground. The pegasus flew by the changeling his spear had hit, ripping the weapon from the bug to the sound of a watery scream. The pegasus banked, bee lining for another changeling. The creature shot away, causing the pegasus to miss by inches, but Aranna bashed it with her shield, opening it up for a buck from the Blackreach changeling which sent it hurtling to the ground, where it hit with bone-crushing force.

Aranna and her two allies went back to back, her blocking enemy attacks with her shield, the changeling firing green beams at ranged foes and the pegasus using his spear to great effect on any that got too close.

Thorn huddled with the other non-combatents, changelings, griffins and pegasi alike.

The group had taken refuge in buildings throughout the center of Vangar, but Thorn knew that somewhere, somehow, several Nexus changelings were slipping though the cracks of Vangar’s defense.

The familiar sound of the changeling tongue sounded from the otherside of the door he was sitting near, a clacking and chittering he knew to be taunts. It was an insult against not only Vangar, but the Blackreach changelings as well.

An older Blackreach changeling stood, enraged. He was an beetle, his shell dulled in some areas in a pattern only time could forge. “Those exo-less brutes!” He declared in changeling, staring at the door. “I may be old, but I’ve got one fight left in me.”

Thorn shushed him, but it was too late. The Nexus changeling was pounding against the door, with others of its kind undoubtedly on the way, linked through the hivemind as they were.

Racking his mind for a strategy to use, Thorn called several of the stronger adults of Vangar. Two pegasi and a single griffin that were not guards, and as such did not fight, but were in their prime.

Briefing them, Thorn slowly unlatched the door, letting the changeling outside get a hoof in. Slamming the door on the hoof, Thorn watched as the pegasi grabbed the appendage, dragging the changeling further in until it was stopped by the girth of its body and head. Thrashing, it nearly pulled its own leg out of its socket as it struggled against the trap.

The griffin came forward, armed with a metal pan that he had snatched from the kitchen.

Thorn opened the door, causing the two pegasi to pull the changeling in. The griffin sprung into action, jamming the handle of the pan into the changeling’s eye and, eventually, brain.

Bringing a Blackreach changeling forward, as the dead Nexus changeling was removed, Thorn had it fire a green beam of magic into the air, immediately charging a much more powerful beam afterwards.

When a Nexus changeling came to investigate, Thorn had the changeling next to him fire a beam of magic with all the strength he could muster. The beam lanced through the Nexus changeling, killing it midair.

A group of pegasus guards appeared, having come to drive out the changelings that had slipped into the town. After a quick spell to make sure they weren’t Nexus changelings in disguise, Thorn waved them over, ready to get more protection for the non-combatants around him.

Aranna saw the gray and brown pony riding on the back of a changeling, her hopes soaring. But when Eclipse jumped from the changeling and engaged several of Vangar’s guards, she knew that something was horribly wrong.

Flapping her wings as hard as she could, Aranna swerved around several thick clouds of conflict, minor dogfights in the massive aerial battle. Eclipse turned just as she landed, hooves swinging. Aranna blocked one strike with the flat of her sword and knocked another away with her shield.

She was about to ask what he was doing, but a green light flashed over his eyes, accompanied by another surge of energy as he rushed her. Now knowing that Eclipse was no more in control than any other Nexus changeling, she steadied herself. Well, he had been a good friend for awhile, anyway.

She swung her sword, but Eclipse ducked under the weapon, jumped and kicked her in the beak. Staggering back a step, she raised her shield and rushed him, knocking him back. The pony tried to uppercut, but Aranna slammed the hilt of her sword into his forehead.

The pony jumped away and, eyes glowing with red light, summoned as much chaos energy as his controller could make him muster.

Raising her shield just as he fired his energy blast, Aranna peeked over her defenses when a ‘thunk’ signaled something bouncing off of her shield. Before her, on the ground, lay a potato, dented from where it had struck her shield.

Eclipse’s controller must have gone into shock, since he was just staring at the garden vegetable. Trying again, he raised his hooves and tried to fire another chaos attack at Aranna. This time, a marshmallow appeared and bounced onto the ground.

The griffin calmly picked up the soft white puff and popped it into her mouth. The pony rubbed the back of his head, the mind behind it clearly not expecting the way chaos magic behaved. “Third times the charm?” He asked.

Aranna grinned at the pony, who slumped. “This is what I get for not practicing…”

------

“AUGH!” Jule screamed.

Nexus turned to her. “Is everything alright?” He asked. “I understand the pain felt through the hivemind can be… intense.”

“The chaos magic…” She moaned. “It -- AUGH! -- is fickle.” She paused flinching several times. “I can feel everything!”

------

“Fantstic. It’s incentive for you to let him go.” Aranna drawled, slamming the flat of her blade against Eclipse’s skull.

“It doesn’t work that way!” He shouted. “I don’t know the counter spell!”

“Eclipse was my friend, but with you in there, he’s as good as dead to me.” Aranna said, picking the pony up with one claw. “I have no qualms about making you suffer for him or the deaths going on around us.” Several shrieks sounded as a group of changelings turned and sprinted or flew towards Aranna, clearly on a mission to free Eclipse.

A single swipe from a large claymore stopped the advance.

Finnis stood defiantly, his scale mail armor glinting, even with the spattering of changeling blood he had earned over the course of the fight. “Hello, there!” He greeted, a faux friendly smile on his face. “Come to our town for business or pleasure?”

Aranna pointed her sword at one changeling, her inner fire being stoked into existence as her sword began to glow red and the heat traveled straight form the blade to her target. The changeling burst into flames, the shock of which sent it skittering about in a vain attempt to douse the fire.

Eclipse raised a hoof and tried to punch his captor, but Aranna easily caught the hoof and began twisting. The pony grimaced, eyes wide. “Owowowow.” He gasped in a pained moan. “Hurts, hurting, please let go, Ow--”

Aranna ‘tsk’ed. “That was a pretty good copy of what he would say. But, again, you’re not him. You have none of his skills, you can control none of his magic. Under your control, he is nothing more than another earth pony.” She grinned. “And an earth pony, I can beat.”

------

As the griffin twisted her thrall’s hoof even further, Jule had to bite her lip to keep from screaming. “Damnit, you feathery bastard! Put that plan of yours into action already! I can see you standing there laughing at this!”

Nexus stared at his daughter. “What did you just say, Jule?”

The changeling stared at her ‘father’, her mane and tail erupting into green flames that left them a deep purple. “My name is Aurora, you cretin.”

------

Aranna stared at the pony. “What?”

Finnis’ laughter reached her ears, causing her to turn around and face the form of her father, half a dozen changelings laying in pieces around him, plus one that was still whole but completely roasted. “Sorry. But it is kinda funny.”

“Damnit!” Eclipse shouted, the rage of his controller getting the better of it. “I had to fight some of your own guards to get this close, now my cover’s blown. Six months, Finnis! Six! Months!”

“Oh, you baby.” The griffin said, taking the pony from Aranna and setting him down on the ground. “Try twenty-seven years and an adopted kid.”

Aranna turned at the sound of a massive explosion and caught sight of two large changelings grappling with each other in mid-air. Rocks were crushed by the impact of the two when they hit a cliff, just to bounce off and continue their struggle. Beams of powerful magic pierced the air around them, adding extra threats to the fighting. Luckily, the expense of their hive leader being in combat seemed to have a negative impact on the rest of Nexus, rendering them far weaker.

Aranna spied one of the two ballistae nearby, firing and reloading its massive bolts within a span of a few seconds per shot.

She flew over, taking command of the siege unit. Sitting at the controls, the rest of the ballista team waited for her to take a shot.

“Like fish in a barrel.” She grinned, firing at an approaching changeling.

While Aranna had target practice, Finnis cracked his knuckles. “Alright. Let’s see if I can do this properly…”

Eclipse stirred. He had woken up here before, surrounded by blackness. He sighed, though he knew the action was useless, trapped in his own mind as he was.

He had tried decorating, but every time he slept, it seemed to reset. ‘Slept’ was a relative term anyway. His mind rested, but his body was undoubtedly still strutting around, under control of that ‘Aurora’, she called herself.

“At least mine isn’t the only name that’s not original in the slightest…” He mused, wondering if he should take a peek through his body’s eyes. It was a very odd sensation, that. Like looking through a window. “Naw. Probably just more changeling hive.” He decided. He had tried to break out, but the spell he was under kept him contained. Jule, Aurora, whatever her name was didn’t even need to try and suppress him.

“Eh, I’ma build another sand castle.” He hefted a block of sand, a la minecraft. Before he could start, a magenta colored tendril tore a hole into the barrier around him, ripping through the spell. The sand cube fell apart, falling into a pile while his forelegs still hovered where they had been holding the block.

The tendril snaked around and seemed like it was going to head for him, but he immediately started scooting away. “Not a chance. I’ve seen that side of the internet; I’m not going to be a picture on it.”

The magical tendril, for that had to have been what it was, ignored him, focusing on ripping through the spell around him. When more appeared, Eclipse recognized them for what they were.

“Loyalty magic!” He said, recalling Fateweaver’s very difficult to remember lessons. “But, who?”

The remains of the spell dissipated, leaving him without a floor to stand on. Eclipse took the moment to groan before he felt himself fall.

Finnis stepped back when Eclipse, for lack of better words, spazzed out. The pony jumped up, legs waving wildly. “Not the bees! Not the--...Oh, wait…” He looked around, noticing the griffin standing several feet away with a claymore in his claws.

Some distance further away, Aranna was looking at him from the controls of a ballista, as was the rest of the ballista’s crew.

The gray pony looked down at his hooves, turning them over. Looking up, he saw a massive swarm of movement above him and around him. Realizing that he was in the middle of Nexus’ assault on Vangar, he cracked a smile. Then began laughing.

He jumped up, wooping in joy. “I’m back, suckers!”

Aranna watched, amazed, as he immediately lashed out with his chaos magic, pulling out a grappling hook and ensnaring a flying changeling. Pulling tight, Eclipse sent himself into the air, swinging up onto the changeling and grabbing its head, steering it into some of its fellows.

He was grabbed by another changeling, but this didn’t seem to faze him. “Lego!”

“Not until you’re paste on the ground!” The bug responded.

“Not what I meant!” Eclipse shouted, spitting a large, brightly colored plastic brick into the changeling’s eye. The insectoid screamed in pain, releasing Eclipse and sending the pony hurtling towards the ground.

He laughed, putting one hoof forward and aiming for a changeling that had cornered an injured guard. As his speed increased, he caught fire, turning into a flaming projectile akin to a meteor.

Alas, meteors tend to burn up when falling fast enough.

A cloud of ash covered the changeling, sending it into a coughing fit. The guard took his chance, spearing the creature before it could recover. The ash cloud swirled together, eventually combining into a slice of watermelon.

Eclipse popped out from a nearby boulder and, upon spying the fruit, began to feast. The guard rubbed his eyes at the strange sight, but when he stopped, all that remained was the slice of watermelon, all of the red flesh gone.

Elsewhere, Eclipse put himself between an ant changeling and a beetle. The ant tried to go around, but the pony blocked him. After several more attempts, it grew annoyed and tried to attack the aggravating pony, but a single black seed shot out and hit the changeling in the face. A split second later, a torrent of black seeds pelted the changeling, forcing a retreat. The ant ran right off a cliff in its haste to escape the onslaught, falling to its doom thanks to its lack of wings.

Before he could continue on, Eclipse found a griffin’s claw on his shoulder. Aranna grinned at him. “Nice to have you back, but I think you have another appointment.” She pointed at a large form standing next to a cave.

Eclipse followed her claw, frowning. “Fefvever?” He asked, several black seeds coming out of his mouth. He spat out the few seeds that remained, having planned on strategically using them on other changelings and not just because he thought it was funny. “Fateweaver?” He asked again. “When did he get here?”

Aranna shrugged. “Dunno. He just wanted us to help him open up that cave.”

“Why would he, oh no.” Eclipse slumped, remembering his time in the cave that had ended with him gaining honesty magic. “Not this again.”

“Again?” Aranna asked, a changeling creeping up behind her.

“Seven-thirty. Long story.”

Aranna swung her sword, separating the changeling from the weight of its own head. “Tell me after the fight’s over. Six o’ clock.”

Eclipse bucked, sending the changeling behind him flying away. “Agreed.”

<><><>

“Not a chance.” Eclipse said to Fateweaver as he wrestled with a six legged changeling.

The buffalo didn’t seem fazed. “You are going into that cave and that will be that.”

Eclipse picked up a sizable rock. “The last time I went into a cave that wasn’t a changeling hive,” *thud* “I had to learn an entire new type of magic when I hadn’t even” *thud* “figured out chaos magic yet. I still haven’t figured it out.” He picked up a fish and tossed it at another changeling, which was soon swarmed with a flock of white birds, all of them repeatedly shouting ‘Mine?’ “But I’m getting better!”

Tossing the rock aside, Eclipse stepped away from the bleeding and out cold changeling. Fateweaver frowned. “If Finnis can get at Nexus, the two of you might be able to work together and upheave the hivemind at its source, freeing countless from its bonds. But to do that, you have to go. In. That. Cave.”

“No!” Eclipse shouted, blocking a scorpionfly’s tail when it struck.

“You could end this fight right now! Save lives!” Fateweaver stomped a hoof. “This is for the greater good.”

“The greater good can suck my -- oof!” The scorpionfly changeling threw him against a wall. He quickly regained his footing, hefting a large boot which was quickly covered in bug paste. “I don’t need any of your ‘chosen one’ crap. Chaos magic is more than enough, yet I still got stuck with honesty magic on top of that! Plus, How the hell did you even get to this place? I only got here thanks to my chaos magic.”

Fateweaver stood his ground. “That is unimportant! Would you really allow hundreds to slaughter each other to spite me?”

Eclipse used a well-timed crowbar to break the jaw of the next changeling that attacked him. “Frankly, yes!”

Everything stopped. Fateweaver stared at Eclipse, who completely froze when he noticed the silence around him. Aranna, Finnis, and the Vangar guard corps were all giving him surprised stares. Changelings all over the battlefield, Nexus and Blackreach alike, had stopped fighting in response to his answer. Even Guard Commander Cyclone and his division of the guard had turned to gawk.

“What?” The pony asked, part angry and part genuinely confused. “I never claimed to be an upstanding member of society!”

A changeling appeared just out of Eclipse’s field of view, saluting the pony. “Sovereign Nexus would like to offer a formal apology for his actions. Seeing as you are not an acceptable target for integration into a hivemind, he would instead like to give you an offer on behalf of his benefactors.”

“Benefactors?” Eclipse asked, frowning. “What? Like sponsors?”

“Of a sort.” The changeling replied. “In exchange for his assistance, the Dawn’s Light provided him with the location of several changeling hives for his conquest. You could easily gain rank within their organization.”

Eclipse gave the changeling the best calm-yet-angry stare that Vangar had ever seen, complete with twitchy right eye. “The Dawn’s Light? As in, ‘attacked Appleloosa’ Dawn’s Light? The ‘nearly wiped out the Canterlot research facility’ Dawn’s Light? The ‘I’ve spent most of my time in Equestria fighting them every step of the way’ Dawn’s Light?”

Fateweaver let out a soft ‘ooh’.

Eclipse turned and marched directly into the cave Fateweaver had been trying to force him into for the last fifteen minutes. “I’ll see you lot on the other side.”

Aranna scratched the back of her head. “Well, that was a backfire if I’ve ever seen one…” She eyed the still-frozen battlefield around her, raised her sword and quickly decapitated the changeling she had been fighting.

Suddenly, the sound of metal on metal and screams filled the air again as the fighting resumed, as if it had never stopped.

Author's Notes:

It's one thing to write a crappy story-line. It's another to write a character who hates that story-line.

I probably should have toyed with 'Eclipse under mind control' some more, but he's protected by the shield of main character-ness. Plus I had no friggin' clue how it'd go much further than this.